Wrapping up February

Taking a little idea from Julie, I decided to sum up the month of February, since it was a busy one.

Books:

I had a productive month in February in regards to books. Here are the books I read and brief reviews:

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers- This was a great book about a girl who had a hard life, growing up not knowing what unconditional love was. She ended up becoming a prositute until she met a man who changed her life and her perspective on things--but not without resistance.
I enjoyed it because it talks about letting God in your life and learning to trust after being used and abused.  I can't say I can relate too much to the prostitution part but I can relate to wanting to be more accepting of love and God in my life.
I did like this book but I didn't like how there was a lot of repetition in some of the actions the main character took.  I thought "enough already" several times.   It was like the author was using 3 paragraphs when she could have used 1 1/2 to describe the situation. 
Rating: 3 1/2

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets  by J.K. Rowling- What can I say about the Harry Potter Series??  This is the second time I've read these books. I figured I'd skim along not really thinking I'd have to focus too much for my book club.  I WAS WRONG.  I was drawn in again and I couldn't NOT read them, every word--every line.  I even listened to the audio books at work.  The whole series sucks you in from the beginning.  Every sentence well placed and every part just as important as the last.  One of the best series ever in terms of character development, details, entertainment value--the movies don't do it justice.
Rating: 5

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King- This book gave me the creeps.  I loved every minute of it.  It was four short stories that were about horrible things...horrible and creepy things.  I think for entertainment value, it was awesome.  Well written, not too much fluff and an easy read, even though I had nightmares about rats that night.  ERG!
Rating: 4 1/2

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice- ABSOLUTE CRAZINESS.  OK, Anne Rice wrote this under another pen name--and it was not what I was expecting at all.  This was a sex book--mostly about S&M.  TOTALLY not my kind of book.  I had to force myself to finish the pages in it.  Every page was sexually charged and there wasn't much plot.  I was told to read the other 2 books in the series, but there is no way I can do that.  It was hard enough to finish this one.  If you like erotica, go for it! This would be right up your alley.  I, for one, will skip it, thank you!
Rating: 2 1/2

Orphans of the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein- This was also a recommendation from a friend. This was a very quick sci-fi book that I read in a couple of days.  The beginning kind of lagged, but once the characters were developed a little bit, it was an interesting read.  It's not really my genre, but lets face it, I'm broadening my horizons.
Rating: 4

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf- This was a phenomenal quick read that I couldn't put down about the relationship between two sisters hiding something very dark and twisted that happened years before.  Some of the content was a little much, but given the storyline and context, it wasn't over done at all, and I enjoyed it.  It kept me on the edge of my seat, even when some of it was predictable.  I loved the writing and the story flowed well.
Rating: 4

A Year by the Sea by Joan Anderson- This is a book about starting over.  It's about a woman who's  been married forever deciding maybe she was miserable in her marriage and wanted to make a few changes.  It was actually a refreshing book because the main character took chances and started a whole new life.  It was a good read...and a quick one too!
Rating: 4

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald- I read this for my book club and I was just as confused about the characters at 30-something than I was in high school.  It was a phenomenal classic book.
Rating: 4

Up Close: Ella Fitzgerald by Tanya Lee- this was more of a timeline than a biography.  There aren't a lot of personal details that were revealed by Ella when she was alive, so this went through her rise
to fame.
Rating: 3


Life/Diet

As far as life is concerned, I am doing a lot better lately because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  My bills are being paid and we are thisclose to getting all of our stuff out of Chattanooga, which means that we can start turning the corner on our bills.  We are going to put Audrey in dance class, which I'm sure will make her so happy!  She is my own little stress reliever...thank goodness!

As far as diet, I read a book by Portia de Rossi called Unbearable Lightness and it really got me thinking about being comfortable in my own skin and listening to my own body.  Since these are stressful times and I am a stress eater, I have decided to drink a LOT more water...and listen to my body.  If I feel hungry, I eat, if I don't, I won't eat.  My biggest problem is that I snack all the time and usually it's not good stuff.  Especially when I am stressed, I tend to do this more.  With Lent starting tomorrow, I figured this was the best way to get this started.  Plus, watching my portion sizes is always important and I am more aware of it now.

SO March is going to be a good month, right??