A book is like a garden carried in the pocket - Chinese proverb

Current mood: Sunny (as sunny as the weather)
Current song: August Rush soundtrack - Moondance

Okay, to start us off, I would just like to finish up a thought about my last post. Can I just say, diets really suck. I haven't craved sugar this much since I was a kid, not to mention the constant headache I've had from cutting back on soda. I don't drink coffee and it hasn't been warm enough yet to make suntea, so my caffeine intake has taken a nosedive. But all that is still okay, thanks to the 4 pounds I have lost since my last post. Motivation? I think yes! =]

Now onto today's post: books. And gardens, too. My Chinese proverb is spot on with what I want to get into today. First we'll start with gardens.

Sunday was Mother's Day, as many of you are well aware, and I'm sure you all have your little traditions that your mom likes to do each year, whether it be going to church, or visiting relatives, or going out to eat. Well, it isn't Mother's Day in the Green household if it doesn't involve gardening in one way or another. I had been asking my mom for days what she wanted to do for her day, but she couldn't give me an answer. She didn't care, she said. So come Mother's Day, I gave her her gifts and we sat on the porch enjoying the morning and trying to figure out what to do. I spit off 3 or 4 suggestions, but to no avail. She had no preference, and said she'd enjoy just spending time at home. So I resigned, since it was her day, and if that's what she wanted, that's what she wanted. But a few minutes later, another idea struck me. "We could walk around Gale's and look at flowers..." and that was it. Ten minutes later we were in the car and off to Gale's Garden Center.

I never thought I could walk around the same store for 4 and a half hours and not get bored, but I was proven wrong. I'd been to Gale's many times before, as well as Petiti's, Lowe's, Home Depot, and any other nursery around, but for some reason it was different this time. I've always enjoyed my mom's passion for gardening, but I think I've finally started to adopt one as well. I circled each lot about 10 times (Gale's is huge, if you've never been there), and loved every minute of it. I learned a ton more about horticulture, added on to the knowledge my mom has given me over the years, and now I can name almost every different flowering tree at first glance. Once their petals fall, however, my differentiation skills drop to only about 3 or 4 trees, based on bark and branch. The rest just look like small green trees to me.

But anyway, it was a great afternoon. My mom went overboard as usual buying plants, but they had a bunch of Mother's Day sales, so it wasn't bad. I even got a few more small plants for my room (since my dalia decided to die on me.. that's the last time I buy flowers from Lowe's). Afterward, I took her out to Longhorn for dinner, where they were giving all the mothers a carnation as we walked in. The whole day revolved around flowers. But was that enough for Mama Green? Oooof course not. All day yesterday involved gardening as well. We went back to Gale's to pick up a few more of the lilac bushes on sale, to drive down to my grandma for her Mother's Day gift, as well as stopped at Earth To You to get my mom her mulch. When I was younger, I used to get her Mother's Day mulch in the regular bags you find at the garden centers, but now she has taken gardening to the next level, and just has it hauled in in a small dump truck. Yes, this is extreme gardening, people. But it is already looking great. She worked her butt off all day yesterday, and is continuing today as I sit outside typing this.

All her work these past 20 years we've lived here has certainly developed my extreme love of gardens and nature. The only thing I love more than being out in a garden, is spending time in one with a good book to read.

I'm so glad that this semester I've had time to read for enjoyment again. Usually after I'm done with a semester at Case, I'm so relieved to start having fun, that my whole summer goes to watching tv or playing games or going out with friends. So even in my summers off, reading has gone to the backburner these past few years. But ever since my last surgery, I've brought my reading level back up, and doubled it even further in the last 5 months. When you're stuck at home with your leg casted up for 2 weeks, what better way to pass the time and enjoy the nice weather than reading outside?

When I had my last surgery, I read about 7 books in the time I was stuck at home. All were Laurell K. Hamilton books, which were amazing, but this time around I want to mix them up a little. So I'm going to make a list of what I want/plan to read starting next week. I'm currently reading 4 books at the same time right now, which is challenging, but still awesome. They are all really different, so I'm not getting them confused at all. But since I probably won't be done with all 4 by next week, I'll add them to my list.

Lili's Summer Reading List
Finishing The Song of Ice and Fire series, by George R.R. Martin, including;
~A Clash of Kings (halfway through)
~A Storm of Swords
~A Feast for Crows

Finishing the 3 other books I'm working on;
~Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat by Hal Herzog
~Bossypants by Tina Fey
~Man Down: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers, and Just About Everything Else (yes, that's the exact title) by Dan Abrams

Plus I want to start a few other books, including;
~The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
~The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, including;
~The Hunger Games
~Catching Fire
~Mockingjay
(I've already read all 3, but I want to re-fresh my mind for the movie coming out soon)

I want to finally get into the Study Series by Maria V. Snyder, including;
~Poison Study
~Magic Study
~Fire Study

AND finally, I want to re-read/continue the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton.
I won't list them all, since I think the series has exceeded past 15 volumes. (I own 1-15) I read the first 7 during my last surgery, but unfortunately stopped there. Now I'm afraid I'll have to re-read the first 7 again before I can continue with the rest...
I just looked. The series now has 20 volumes. I'll have to ask my fellow Anita-obsessed friend Jen if that's where they finally stop, but for now I have plenty of Anita-awesomeness to keep me entertained.

So as you can see, that's more than plenty of books to occupy my time during my 2 week surgery stint, especially since each of the Song of Ice and Fire books are about a thousand pages long. And these are all books I currently own! (All but Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat... I got that one from the library. Hopefully I can buy it eventually.) Who knows what other book I may see on the shelf the next time I visit Borders. That's why I named this list my *summer* reading list, and it may take me even longer than that, with Anita Blake tacked on. But that's okay. It's about time I got these bad boys read, before my book buying obsession adds even MORE to my overflowing shelves.

So with plenty of good books in hand, I sit amongst my mother's beautiful flowers, ready to take this summer on. A good book is certainly like a garden in your pocket, but I am lucky to have both!