Reading: Slacker or Realist?

Last year I tried a less lofty list of books I wanted to read. And guess what, I ended up with less books read. Ridiculous, really. I set my bar very realistically I thought and I ended up reading exactly three off that list. Even more ridiculous.

The List of Books, 2013 edition

Sarah's  Key
Bossy Pants
Wolf:  The Lives of Jack London
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Lolita
Let's Pretend This Never Happened
Team of Rivals
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
The Pillars of the Earth
The Silver Linings Playbook
Unbroken
One Thousand Gifts 

Dirt: Balancing it all

I started a new job. An easy, fairly mindless job four days a week.

The fact that I show up, work and leave and don't really think about it again until I go back is a blessing.

Challenging, no.   High paying, no. But it covers some of the basics, and with two girls entering private school in the fall, it contributes something, even if it is just the fact that I feel like I am doing so.

Even though it is not a mentally fulfilling job, I have a lot of other things in my life that challenge me.

My consignment business has really taken off and my partner and I are working on revamping another endeavor we started last year. My kids are getting older and more involved with school and sports.

Between those things, trying to run my household and keep my marriage going, I lead a pretty full life.

However, lots of things fall through the cracks and I am making peace with that.

My house is never 100% in order. Floors need mopping, laundry needs folding or dogs need baths. 

Always, something is undone.

However, I don't really care all that much. I am trying to work out a plan that allows the basics to be done (ie no laundry on the pool table) but still allows me to sit down and watch tv with my husband and kids and turn off the part of my brain that makes me feel the need to be doing something else.

The plan is a work in progress of course. But I have to say, we are getting there.

I bought this which allows me to mop and not be in pain.

Via

I have kids that for the most part do their own laundry and I have learned to close the door to their rooms. And, I have learned that my friends are my friends, even if I have a sticky floor and dust bunnies that are poised to attack.

Via

Life is really precious, we hear all the time.  What we don't take into consideration is that the bonds we build are just as precious. My best job is being wife and mother. Building those bonds is the most important thing I can do, and sometimes I forget that fact. 

Balancing it all, for me at least, means having a happy home

and a family that loves and cares about each other.  So far, so good.