Broken by Megan Hart

This was such an awesome read! I was expecting it to be an erotic romance novel. It did have some steamy chapters! However, the two main characters, Sadie and Joe, are well developed. Sadie, "the smart one" in her family is living a hard life. Injured in an accident her husband becomes a quadriplegic. She has taken care of him for years but it takes such a toll on her. She meets Joe one day during lunch. Their friendship consists of a lunch meeting once a month where Joe tells Sadie about his latest sexual escapade. Of course Joe is super handsome, dare I say a beautiful gentleman!? I won't give too much more away except that the friendship and tension between the two is real. You will laugh and you will cry. Broken is a fitting title because it definitely breaks your heart then heals it up again. Here are some of my favorite quotes from this book: "We looked into each others eyes for a moment infinite with silence. I had no illusions that my husband did not know every part of me, every thought, every single stir of emotion. The accident that had taken the use of his body hadn't damaged his mind. He'd always known me better than anyone ever had. So why did it so often feel like he'd forgotten?" "...but sometimes it's the sunshine that frightens is more than the big black shadows..." "each man kills the thing he loves, Sadie". "I was afraid listening to my sisters woes would prompt me to reveal my own, and I couldn't risk it. Putting a voice to my feelings, saying aloud the thoughts that gnawed daily at my conscience, would make them real in a way I was certain I didn't want them to be. Joe was right. It's easier to keep being what you are, even if the only person who expects you to be it is yourself.". So yeah I loved this book. It is one of my favorites. Maybe it's because I can identify with Sadie so much. Either way read this and enjoy it!

Taste of Hartford Winter 2012

The taste of Hartford is going on thru February 5, 2012. You get to have dinner at an upscale place for $20.12. Included in this price is an appetizer, entree and dessert. I had the most delicious dinner at Salute in downtown Hartford. The atmosphere, food and overall experience was awesome. The garlic bread with cheese is super yummy, cheesecake, tiramisu and white chocolate mousse were to die for. This was after trying Peppercorn's. Unfortunately our experience was not so great here. The food was just alright. My 3 ravioli had an orange glaze that was just too tangy. The apple pie crumb dessert was pretty good although the crumb tastes more like granola.

Water hot dog stand

I just wanted to share these photos of a hot dog stand on the CT River. It was super cool! You just drive your boat or jet ski up and it is like a drive thru on the water! This is how we spent father's day this year.

I picked these strawberries from my yard. It was so relaxing! The big one in the front is one of the biggest ones I've picked so far. I'm a little stressed today and this picture is reminding me to take a deep breath and relax.

Pride and Humbleness

Today I learned a little lesson about the problems we face (thanks to a very good friend). Simply put, most of our problems are caused by pride. We seem to have too much of it or too much in certain areas of our life. The solution is humbleness. The humbler we become the less pride we have and the happier we will be. This does sound like a very simple answer to our problems but if you think of this for a moment it can apply to many different issues. Just when you think everyting is going well and feel comfortable with " I have this under control and nothing will change that" BOOM you are proven wrong. We are constantly being tested.

Blood Law by Karin Tabke

One of my new favorite books is Blood Law by Karin Tabke. It was a great read!The plot was very good. It was very rich with setting the history and had a very developed plot. It was not just good love scenes without a story, it was a great story with a few steamy scenes. I loved this book!

Beauty of Annuals

This is my first year gardening. At first I thought I'd only plant perrenials since they come back and why would you want to do double work right? Well, today I found some pretty annuals that I will include in my flower garden. I am not sure what they are called just yet, but I will add the names later. I also noticed I have picked mostly purple flowers. Pink is my favorite color but I have not bought one pink flower! I'll update the photo once I finish putting the new plants in.