They Almost Always Come Home

No, I'm not trying to horn in on Brie's territory over at The Book Brieview, but I just read a most amazing story. Gotta tell you about it. :)  (By the way, if you haven't been to Brie's, you really need to check it out!)

I recently read a few good books all in a row and suddenly found it extremely difficult to really 'get into' anything else. I started 7 or 8 novels and got no further than the first few pages of each before moving on and trying something else.

Then I grabbed this little number on my Kindle.

Best move I've made in a long while. ; )

This is probably classified as Inspirational or Christian fiction.  I was completely unaware of that when I started reading it, but it also never felt preachy.  Even if you are not into this type of novel, I urge you to give it a shot.  Ruchti has taken some less than pleasant subjects (yes, more than one) that would have had some authors crafting a depressing tale of woe, and penned one of the most hopeful stories I've read in recent years.  Her conversational writing style is a thing to treasure...she writes the way I think.  Scary?  I'm sure The Hubster would think so.  ; )  But there are plenty of you out there who just might get it. 

This is the very realistic story of a marriage and what can happen when men communicate like men and women communicate like...well, women.  Lessons learned?  Neither is exclusively right or wrong and (as I've preached for years) perception is reality.

This is not a book of answers for troubled marriages and I certainly hope that none of you ever has to experience the things that Greg and Libby do on these pages. However, I do think you'll be better for having read their story.  More understanding; more willing to listen with not just your head but also your heart; better able to find some way to reach out when you know you should; more willing to accept a helpful hand, a shoulder to lean on, the support of someone who loves you. 

Yes, this story is about all that.  And then some.

*One word of warning to Kindle users though:  The formatting of this novel on the Kindle is definitely less than ideal.  I'm not sure why but the page breaks are in awkward places, the authors name and the title appear on nearly every page.  Some sentences are centered and others are not.  But it is certainly readable and definitely worth the minor aggravation.  

While I Was Away...

I haven't been been able to post for a couple of days due to connectivity issues (again) but I had plenty to keep me busy. Still, I miss this place when I can't stop in, share a few thoughts, and see what all of you are doing, too. I can read on my phone (and could post from there, too, IF I had the patience...) but it just isn't the same as sitting down at the computer and having a full-sized screen to view your terrific pics and read your amazing words.

Friday ended up (quite unexpectedly, I might add) being date night for Phil and me. Brie offered to take the kids and let us have an evening at home alone to watch movies or whatever, but then Phil (who went on call starting Friday evening) offered to get someone to cover for him for a few hours so we could actually go out to dinner and possibly a movie. What a pleasant surprise! :)

So we ended up going to Charleston to shop and I spent the two gift cards I received for my birthday. One was from Coldwater Creek and the other from Christopher and Banks, so those were the two stores we hit first. I did VERY well at C&B, getting 30% off my purchase since I bought at least 3 items. Here are a couple of the things I got...
(NOT to wear together, mind you! Just a couple of pieces I needed. And the blouse is SO much cuter in person!)
The really good news is that I was able to get that skirt in an 8! An 8!!! I haven't worn anything that small in YEARS.

At CC I paid entirely too much (I think they're terribly overpriced) but got two very pretty blouses. Unfortunately, CC's website won't let me post the pics here. Here are the links to them if you want to go take a peek:
Orange blouse.
Navy blouse.



Then we hit for dinner, which is always good. It was nice to have a 'grown-up' dinner conversation for a change. ;) We decided we'd rather come home and watch a DVD than to go to a movie theater so that's just what we did. We watched this:
Good movie. I can always watch Mark Wahlberg. :)

Nice evening. :) Thank you, Brie!

Since I had trouble staying connected yesterday, I ended up hitting that stack of books I picked up last week. Right now I'm reading this:

If you like Debbie Macomber (which I do) I think you'll like this, too. Just an easy, enjoyable read. I wasn't in the mood for something heavy.

Today has been pretty relaxed, too. Had our Sunday chicken dinner and we've just been chillin' since then. :)

Hope all of you are having a wonderfully relaxing weekend, too. You deserve it! :)