The joy of reading

For personal reasons, I recently took a break from school, and I have found that I have more time after the kids go to bed to do what I really enjoy doing - reading - reading books that aren't related to work or school (especially since Matt ISN'T taking a break from school, so he's pretty preoccupied).  It has been really nice; I've done more "choice reading" in the past couple of months than I have in many years combined.  But I have also found that I'm not good at sticking to one thing, and in the past two weeks I've grown restless.

I want to garden, but here in the lovely state of Okla-havenoideawhatseasonitis-homa, those of us who have watched the weather have put off doing much in terms of actual planting, so all I have is this (which looks pretty rough in this photo but is actually quite nice now that it's been fully worked and staked):

On Sunday, it was almost 80 degrees, tornado watches and thunderstorm warnings.  Monday, it snowed.  Granted, unless you looked outside at the perfect time, you didn't know that it snowed.  But it snowed.

Anyway, back to my point - I'm bored of reading books for the time being.  There's nothing worth watching on TV - the excitement of the final episode of HIMYM is over.  Note: we missed the 2 seasons prior to this one because we were bored and ready to just meet her already!  So, this season was fun for us.  Again - off point. . . . SQUIRREL!!!!! Sheesh.

Long, ridiculous story later. . . I decided to start reading blogs.  Not those blogs that make me feel bad about myself - that my house isn't fancy enough at all, I don't do enough "extracurricular" stuff, my kids aren't clean enough, house isn't clean enough - I put enough pressure on myself without all of that.  But I do find it helpful to read blogs that help with dinner preparations, feeding a family healthy food on a budget, real people doing real exercises, and stories from other moms who understand what it feels like to step on a lego in the middle of the night or to sit on the toilet in the dark and realize the last person who used it didn't aim well.  These things speak to me on a level that even the best Nicholas Sparks book can't reach.

Now, if you're like me, finding/reading/following blogs can be a daunting task, but a couple months ago a friend (*her blog is posted below) told me about bloglovin.com  I didn't have time for such nonsense at the time (ha!) so I didn't looked into it.  But this weekend, as I was hunting for menu ideas, etc., I pulled it up.  I have found my new Nicholas Sparks book, my new, beloved reading companion.  And while my fickle self will probably change back to real books in a few weeks, for the time being I will love me some bloglovin!!

Here are just a few of my new (as well as trusty) faves - all of which I can follow and read through my bloglovin app:

The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Wellness Mama
100 Days of Real Food
FitSugar - Healthy, happy you
The Real Arnolds*

Are there any blogs/bloggers that you just can't live without?