A full bucket

I don't like spending money.  It gives me a lot of anxiety and stress whenever I have to buy something.  This is usually why I send my sister to the store for me.  Not only is she a savvy shopper but she buys cute clothes and knows when she finds a bargain.

I am, however, a sucker for books.  There's that scene in Beauty and the Beast when the Beast gives Belle the whole library.  I understand her elation.

Anyways, the Easter bunny didn't do very well on baskets this year but he did leave a few books for the boys.  This was one of them.

I read it to my boys this evening.  At first I wasn't sure if it was really appropriate for my 4 and 2 year old because there were people doing mean things to the main character.  But in the end it shows how we can fill up each other's buckets.  When we do this we also make our buckets full.   

Hopefully I can continue to teach my children how to add drops to buckets instead of taking them away.

No Shortcuts to the Top

I just read No Shortcuts to the Top by Ed Viesturs with David Roberts

My first book review.

My husband had read this and thought I would like it too.  Since I had an upcoming weekend without kids I was excited that I would be able to spend some time reading it.

After starting the first two pages I was a little bummed because I knew this wasn't going to be a book that I would be able to consume in one evening.  My hopes of reading three or four books during my kid free weekend were slowly fleeting away.  The first two pages hooked my interest and compelled me to read through the entire book. 

It is not a gripping, page turning, exciting story.  However, it is a very interesting story of Ed Viestur's quest to climb all 14 mountains that are over 8,000 meters.    Along the way we learn about Ed's personal journey as he balances his career, his social life and his desire to be a mountaineer.  It is more interesting to me because he currently lives on Bainbridge Island and spent many years in the greater Seattle area.  Reading about places he lived or visited that are familiar to me makes a book that much more enjoyable.

I did not finish my book during my kid free weekend but I was able to finish it just a few days after. 

This book has me thinking about climbing Mt. Everest  Rainier.  Maybe I can add that to my list of life goals.  I will have to think about it a little more.  It does sound like a challenge.