rushley & crew

Our first book for our book club this year was 168 Hours , by Laura Vanderkam. In a nutshell, this book is about time. Everyone has the same 168 hours each week, so why are some people able to fit so much more productivity, meaning, and breakthroughs into their weeks and lives? That's exactly what Vanderkam explores. She also includes exercises at the end of every chapter for implementing the things she talks about. I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was well-written and full of good ideas and insights. I liked how she talked about a specific person each chapter, and illustrated how different principles applied. She talks about how a huge reason we aren't accomplishing as much as we'd like is because we waste so much of our time on mindless things. We often think  we're working 40, 50, or 60 hour weeks, when really we're putting in 30 hours of actual work, and 10+ hours of breaks. We often think  we don't have any spare time, but that's becau

I was almost ahead of schedule, and then I wasn't again. *sigh* It's hard to read so many books! But here are my last five books I'll get in for my  23 before 23  goal to read 23 books. {ELEVEN} The Tipping Point  by Malcolm Gladwell (5 stars) Genre:  Non-fiction Synopsis:  This book examines how  diseases are not the only kinds of epidemics: other things, such as fashion trends or kid TV shows, have the potential to become an epidemic, and there are certain principles which govern whether or not that is likely to happen.  My thoughts:  Guys. THIS is my kind of book. It talks about real-life things in an intriguing way, and it made me want to understand why things happen. It also gives insights into how you can MAKE things happen, though I haven't quite analyzed all the book's applications. I like that there is supporting data for all of his claims, but not so much data that I get overloaded and information goes over my head. A very interesting read,

Russ and I are trying to be better about going on dates. Sometimes we're successful, sometimes we're not. And then sometimes, I think we try to over-compensate for those times when we don't go on real dates, by having one giant marathon date. A few weeks ago, we got Jimmy Johns for dinner, then went climbing at the quarry, then walked around ShopKo for a while, then got ice cream at Cold Stone, and then topped it all off with Interstellar at the dollar theater. In case you're wondering, the date was about 7 hours long. Ha! We are old married people--we don't stay up til 1am anymore! But we sure did that night. Last weekend, I caught up with my girlfriend, Kari. We met in 6th or 7th grade, became best friends, and then I moved away a year or two later. We've managed to stay good friends over the past 8 years, and hanging out with her was so fun :) We went to the Draper temple together (still checking off temples for my bucket list !). Then we went to

I mentioned this last year , but guys, I love  Valentine's Day. I think it's fun to celebrate love, even if everyone else is celebrating love that day, too. This year was super fun because I actually started planning it like 5 months ago, and Russ had no idea until about a week before that anything at all was going on, and even then, all I said was, "I'm planning a Valentine's something for Friday, February 13. Plan accordingly." (aka, don't plan anything else that night.) So on Thursday night I was running around like a crazy person trying to get everything ready for Friday, and with the help of my mom, I did it. When Russ got to work on Friday, this is what he saw on his desk: His response when he got there? "You sneaky lil lady :)" Haha I loved it :) So each hour he opened a present containing a clue about what we were going to be doing to celebrate Valentine's Day, but I didn't want the clues to be too easy, so mostly they we

I first entered the world of blogging when I was finishing high school/entering college. A bunch of my friends and I all got blogs around the same time, and we'd just read each other's blogs and think we were so cool. But then I fell out of the habit. A few years later, I got married and decided to try out blogging again. I don't know how it happened, but I got looking around at blogs of people that I didn't know, and I started to learn that the blogging world is a way to connect with tons of people you don't know, as well as the ones you do know and want to share updates with. It was awesome! I also learned that the blogging world is filled with giveaways and sponsorships and such. Some people really don't like sponsored posts, but I don't usually mind them. I often find myself reviewing products or places on my blog for no reason other than I like to tell people about good or bad experiences with certain things. (Hmm . . . maybe I'm a Maven

Well folks. I got a library card! And it's made getting books to read so much easier. The first day I got my card, I was just so excited. Having fun isn't hard, when you've got a library card! ;) Name that tv show . . . anyone? ;) Anyway, here is a continuation of my  23 before 23  goal to read 23 books. {SIX}  Daughters in My Kingdom  published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Genre:  History Synopsis:  This book details the history and work of the Relief Society, a women's organization in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My thoughts:  Every woman in my church was given this book about three years ago, but I had never even really glanced at it. I decided it was time for me to read it. I enjoyed reading it because it is uplifting. It talks about being a better woman and living up to God's expectations and plans for us. It was nice to learn more about the Relief Society, and it strengthened my testimony of both Rel

One of my 23 before 23 goals is to read 23 books. Along the way, I'll do book reviews every so often. Here is the first :) {ONE} The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Genre: Historical Fiction Synopsis: A story about a young girl's life, including its normal-ness as well as the difficulties that came from having a life in Germany during WWII, all told from Death's perspective. My thoughts: Russ and I read this book together, so it took us about six months. Perhaps because we spent so long reading it, it lost some of its power. I liked the book, but I can't say that it was completely amazing and changed my life or anything. {TWO} Loser  by Jerry Spinelli Genre: Young Adult Fiction Synopsis: The book follows Donald Zinkoff from kindergarten to fifth grade, and shows how all the other people in the story react to this "different" boy. My thoughts: This book was a really quick read with a powerful message. Humans are so quick to be judgmental an