How to gain a daughter without morning sickness or swollen ankles.... and other fun facts

Wow, it's mid-July, where oh where has the time gone? I just noticed when I commented at Chris' blog that I hadn't been here since my June blog crawl post. It's been a busy few weeks for me (no surprise there) but I did get a nice surprise with my son telling me he's getting married.

We're all very happy and excited for them both. Christina is a lovely girl, very smart and sweet, and they compliment each other really well. They've been friends since high school (close to eight years now) but only during the last year did things get romantic between them. They were going to wait a bit more but since she's going into the Air Force next year they've figured it's easier to be already married at that time. The wedding's set for November 12th and she's working hard with her Mom to get things done by then. I'll be helping when and where I'm needed but thankfully this time around I'm not the mother of the bride so the big responsibility isn't mine.

Aren't they just the cutest? 

More news on the Lily-front~~~

My Sony reader died a few weeks ago but luckily with the help of Chris and Chris (I think it's so cute that their names are Christopher and Christina and when they get married both of their initials will be CJA) I was able to get a new one. This time I upgraded to the Sony PRS-950 Daily Edition. It has a touchscreen, I can make notes and highlight passages as well. It also has Wi-Fi capabilities but I haven't used that feature. My hubby also got me a cover for it which I love cause it has my fave color, purple. I'm very happy with my new baby!!!

Sadly due to the unexpected expense of the new reader (the kids helped but I still had to put out half) and now with the coming wedding I had to cancel my trip to GayRomLit in October. I'm really bummed about that but hopefully next year I can go. It was just too much going on at the same time. The kiddies birthdays, Chris & Chris plus my youngest daughter's birthdays are all in November, my 25th anniversary is also that month plus now the wedding and then Xmas would be just around the corner. Plus we're taking a couple of days in early August to drive to Miami so Christina can meet the family. It's just too much!

Oh My Goodness, I just realized I didn't even think to tell anyone I wasn't going to GRL anymore. Sorry guys! Hopefully it's still early in the planning stages as far as the house-hunting goes. Yikes, how totally inconsiderate of me. Sorry! :(

On the reading front~~~

I've had a really good year reading-wise. So far I've read 227 books this year and have managed to give some sort of "reviewette" in GRs to most of them. Go me for not procrastinating since last year I was really behind most of the time. :)

Fun facts (at least for me) about what I've read~~~

Jan --- 49 books
Feb --- 25 books
Mar ---29 books
Apr --- 29 books
May --- 48 books
Jun --- 31 books
Jul --- 16 books so far

From Jan to June I read 163 books that I acquired this year, 31 from my 2010 tbr, 14 from 2009 and 3 from 2008. I always have the intention to read the ones that have been languishing on my tbr for a long time but then I can't resist all the new shiny books that come out. So bad, lol! :)

From Jan to May I read/reviewed/rated 180 books. I'm still working on June/July reviews.

5 stars --- 11
4.5 stars --- 5
4 stars --- 75
3.5 stars ---21
3 stars --- 59
2.5 stars --- 1
2 stars --- 7
1.5 stars --- 1

Some of my favorites this year~~~

Life in Fusion by Ethan Day
One Real Thing by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox
Sins of the Heart by Allison Cassatta
Firecracker by Jaye Valentine
American Love Songs by Ashlyn Kane
Fun with Dick and Shane by Gillibran Brown
Immortality Is the Suck  and No Rest for the Wicked by A.M. Riley
Outcast Mine by Jamie Craig
Truth In the Dark by Amy Lane
Shades of Gray by Brooke McKinley
The Girl for Me by Failte
Whistling In the Dark by Tamara Allen
Call and Answer by Val Kovalin
GhosTV by Jordan Castillo Price
The Coda series by Marie Sexton
Nothing Ever Happens by Sue Brown
Between Sinners and Saints by Marie Sexton
Visible Friend by K.Z. Snow
The Painting by Fiona K. Wallace

Last fun fact for this rambling post. I went with Alex to see the Harry Potter movie today and we loved it. It's sad to think it's the last one but since it's such a good series I know I'll watch them again.

So what's new with you guys? Work, family, reading? Feel free to ramble like I've done. It's only fair if you took the time to follow along with me.

Happy weekend, everyone!!!!!!