Miss me?

Wow...I had such good intentions with this blog thing, and then April happened...I turned 30 and it all went downhill, haha! Ahhhh! At least that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it.

So, where should I start? I will first tell you that I fell in love. Yep, head over heels...in LOVE. My love is for the book, "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. A good friend of mine suggested this book to me, as a summer reading assignment. I wasn't too "thrilled" when I picked the book up at the library and it weighed more than my child! Whew. After reading the first 100 pages I was assured that it would take me all summer to get through it. I started to hear through the grapevine, from people who have read it, that the first 200-250 pages were the hardest to get thru, but once you get past that, you're hooked. I took their word for it and continued to read. Boy, were they right! After 250 pages, I was a goner. I feel in love with the meaning, the characters, the author. I was just disappointed that it had taken me so long to come across such a wonderful read. Afterall, the book was written in 1957, WAY before I was even born. History or not though, this book was eye opening. It is just as valuable today as it was in Rand's time. Her writing is nothing if not eloquently accurate and deeply valuable. She is the basis of Objectivism, of which I am learning more about. I realize there is something to be said for empathy, only when it is deserved. Acquiring your happiness is not evil, it's a necessity. It's a political read, but there is so much more to it than just a political story. It is a story about life. The good and the evil and how with strength and courage of conviction, prevailing will be the outcome. I highly suggest it. But, remember...you have to bear with those first 250 pages!

The following are just a FEW of my favorite quotes from this book:

"Contractions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong."

"Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper's bell of an approaching looter"

"I swear by my life and love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."


Like I said, these are just a FEW. I could go on and on with her powerful words of enlightenment. I will, no doubt, reread this book in the future. It's already on my Christmas list. ;)


This summer has been a bit more of a challenge than I expected, but with commitment to making our lives better, we're riding the roller coaster of life.

My kids are my strength. Joy is spending some time in Missouri for two weeks, with her best friend, Leah. I'm so thankful that they have remained friends since pre-school! She told me last night on the phone that it's like they "picked back up, right where they left off" and I know that feeling. I'm blessed in my life to have several of those types of friends myself and those friendships are special and treasured.

Nicholas is growing like a weed. When did my baby become a little boy??? He is such a BOY! He's rough and tumbles through the house non-stop. He loves his trucks, balls, dirt, water and currently his favorite toy is his tractor. His new and favorite word is "go" and he says it ALL-THE-TIME! I love watching him discover and learn new things, but I miss the days of that little sleeping bundle on my chest. =(

As for me, I was soooooo looking forward to a summer break, but as soon as it got here, I was done with it. I'm ready for class to start back. Of course, you can remind me of this statement when I'm posting "ughhhhh, I'm sick of studying" on my future blogs!

Anyways, that is all for now. Promise to write more soon.