2014 Reading Challenge

One of the best parts about going back to work was getting my reading time back again. No, I don't sit at work and read books all day, I wish, but I read on the subway. It's less than an hour a day, but I really value that time alone. Actually, a coworker offered me a ride home tonight, and I said no thanks, I actually enjoy taking the subway and reading my book. It's my alone time for the day!

Last year, I challenged myself to read 42 books. I came in a bit short at 33 (which is 79% of my goal). This year, I brought the goal down to 40. So far, I'm on book #11 and I'm 3 books ahead of schedule. Everything is tracked on Goodreads, it's a great site to find new books, and track what you've been reading or want to read. You can check it out here: https://www.goodreads.com/

I thought it would be interesting to write quick reviews and rate the books I've read so far. To keep it short, I'll do it in groups of 5 and rate them - they will be rated out of 5 Harry's (since I'm a geek and I love One Direction) . Here we go:

Baby Bumps: From Party Girl to Proud Mama, and All the Messy Milestones Along the Way by Nicole Polizzi aka Snooki

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17836509-baby-bumps

I thought this one was going to be super cheesy. But I was pleasantly surprised, I read the whole book in 2 days. It was honest and funny. She doesn't gloss over any parts of being pregnant. She did admit that her editor had a huge part in almost re writing it, but I didn't read it for the quality of the writing. I would recommend it to my friends who have had a baby or who are pregnant now and need a good read that's different from the usual "What to Expect when you are expecting" I give it 3 Harry's 

How to fall in Love by Cecilia Ahern

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18161265-how-to-fall-in-love

This was easily one of my least favorite of the first 5. It was written like a self help book, and I just had hard time getting into it. I don't usually stop reading a book unless things get really bad and I was able to finish it without too much struggling, but it didn't leave a lasting impression and it didn't leave me want to tell others to read it. I give it only 2 Harry's  

The Hole in the Middle by Kate Hilton

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18080970-the-hole-in-the-middle

I found this book while browsing the bookstore after Christmas. It was a new to me author and it caught my eye because it's about a woman who is trying to balance her life as a career woman, mother, wife and friend. She struggles to find that balance. It was really refreshing to see someone who works full time and runs a household and doesn't love every single second. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants validation that it's normal to not love every second and to be tired at the end of the day! I give this one 4 Harry's!

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128029.A_Thousand_Splendid_Suns

This was our Book Clubs pick, so I don't want to say too much as we are meeting this week. I will say though that I was really looking forward to this book as I read quite a few similar books in the past few years and I really enjoyed them. For some reason, this one couldn't hold my attention. I found myself skipping pages and willing the book to be finished. Once again, I did get through it, but I wasn't rushing to tell anyone about it. I am looking forward to the other ladies opinions, but I will be sharing only 2 Harry's with them.  

An Unexpected Grace by Kristin Von Kreisler

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17802741-an-unexpected-grace

I will be honest and admit that I only picked up this book because of the super cute dog on the cover. That and it was 30 or 40% off at Shoppers one day and I had a weak moment. I read 95% of my books on my Kobo but I couldn't pass this one up. It was really sweet and a quick and easy read. It reminded me why I love Rambo, and a reminder is always good :) I tried to pawn this one off on my Grandma this weekend, but once I told her it was about a woman recovering from something traumatic by learning to love a dog, she quickly shut me down. I enjoyed it though, and I will continue trying to pawn it off on my fur loving friends. I will give it 3.5 Harry's  

I will be back soon with the next 5! I just started Crazy Town - about Rob Ford, so I'm looking forward to getting through that one!!

Have a great weekend and Happy Reading!!

A Blog about why I haven't blogged...

The irony of the name of my blog hasn't escaped me. It's called a Working Mom's World, yet I've blogged maybe once since I actually started working!

It seems I thought I would still have all kinds of spare time once I went back to work full time. I was kidding myself. The days are jammed packed from wake up to bed time. Which these days is pretty darn early. So what's been happening in the past year and a half?

I can't believe I've been back at work for nearly 2 years! 2013 was a really good year for us! I was the Top Performer on my team for the first time! It was good timing since I will be heading off on maternity leave again in August! Yup, Charlotte is going to be a big sister! Baby T 2.0 will be joining us around mid August and we are all excited! Things were a little rougher this time around, my thyroid has been super low, but it seems to be under control now and I can actually function like a normal human during the day!

Charlotte is doing great at daycare, she's comfortably in the preschool room now and she will be there until she starts school. She's fully potty trained (except at night) and she's a talking running machine.

We've converted her crib to a toddler bed and she's so good. She calls for us whenever she needs anything and won't get out of bed! She will be moving to the 3rd bedroom sometime in the next few months. We want to plan the transition so she doesn't think she's moving because the baby is taking her room. She's picked out her paint (yellow and pink). Melvin has his work cut out for him now with the painting and building of the new bed.











Melvin has been busy at work and at the gym. We have a pretty good routine, he drops Charlotte off at daycare and heads over to the gym before work. He's looking forward to the new addition and I think he's hoping for a little baby Melvin!


Early this fall, we had to say goodbye to Oreo. He hurt is neck somehow and it resulted in a slipped disk. We tried steroids and pain medication, but he wasn't able to do anything and wasn't enjoying life as much as he should. Charlotte still asks for him, but she knows he's gone to heaven and I think Rambo still looks for him too.



Otherwise, we've all been pretty good, and busy! Apparently working full time, and keeping up with family and friends and ourselves/eachother takes alot of time and energy! I really want to keep up with the blogging world, so I bought myself a keyboard for my ipad since I'm never on the desktop or the laptop anymore, so we'll see how that goes!

Thanks for reading and I'll be back soon!