I slacked off reading in February....

I have to say, I am embarrassed by how slack I have been since the new year. One would think that giving up the gossip magazines would have helped me with the reading real books. But no. I'm still a slacker. I'll do better next month. Promise. Anyway, here we go!

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister. I heard of another book club reading this, so put it on my list. Lillian is a chef who owns her own restaurant. At a very young age, she discovered that cooking is its own language and almost an art form. She decides to share this wisdom and offers cooking classes at her restaurant. This particular group of students consists of a married couple who has overcome difficulties to reach this point together in their lives, a young mother who has forgotten who she is as a woman, an architect who struggles to maintain the integrity of the homes she redesigns, a young widower who rediscovers his love affair with food that had been cultivated by his late wife, a teenager confused about the path her life is on, and several others. The class teaches them more than cooking, it teaches them about their own lives and how to make their lives richer through love.

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Oddly enough, I have had this book on my shelf since before the movie came out. And never got around to reading it. It was not one of my favorites. I will admit, I was jealous of her life (or rather, one year of her life). Wish I could get someone to pay me to take a year off of work and travel. And perhaps my jealousy is why I did not enjoy the book as much as I think I was suppose to. But I had a really hard time getting into the book and found myself thankful when I was finally done. And, to be honest, I really didn't enjoy the movie all that much either. So there you go.

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella. Poppy is happily engaged to the handsome, academic Magnus. Then her world slowly starts to spin out of control. She loses the priceless family heirloom engagement ring Magnus gave her. Her cell phone is stolen. Then she finds a new cell phone in a trashcan and decides to use it. The phone belonged to a personal assistant of a man named Sam and suddenly Poppy is swept into Sam's world. All just a few weeks before her wedding day. This book was typical Brit chick lit. It was an easy read and made me wish I could have been sitting on the beach while reading it!

Oh my back!

Growing up, I was always a very healthy kid. No major illnesses. No broken bones. I had hay fever. Seriously, that was it. When I got the chicken pox in eighth grade, I had about 20 poxes. Literally, 20 poxes. I got braces and only had them for a little over a year because my teeth were so well behaved and moved exactly like they were supposed to. My biggest problem was tearing the ligaments in my right ankle during my senior year of high school (stupid Camden Military football field).

Then, my body started falling apart. I blame it on years of dancing and cheerleading. It took its toll. And by took its toll I mean the following: tearing the ligaments in the same ankle 2 more times. Developing chondromalacia ie runner's knee (yes, I get the irony of the fact that I do not run, not in the slightest) on my right knee. And then, there was yesterday.

For the past few weeks, my lower back has been hurting. A nice dull pain. I'm sure that some of it has to do with my 10 year old mattress that most definitely needs to be replaced. But I'm thinking the rest of it has to do with just a bad back. Yesterday, I decided to do a little spring cleaning in my kitchen. The older I get, the more like my mother I am becoming. Everything has to be organized and in its place. So I emptied out most of my kitchen cabinets (this is my second time doing this in the past year, so some of the cabinets are nicely organized) and got to work. I started labeling the interiors of my cabinets so I would know what was in there. I started organizing by categories. I was in OCD heaven. Then, after putting something on the counter, I leaned over to pick something up off of the floor. And bam! There went my back. Tears were streaming down my face. And as it turns out, I was in the middle of a back spasm. That lasted for over 8 hours. I normally eat dinner with my parents on Sunday nights. So they came and picked me up for dinner. I passed the evening laying on their floor, drugged up and heating pad slapped on the back. Once back home, I couldn't even fall asleep for the pain. I woke up today, still in pain but no longer in the throes of a back spasm. Here's hoping I wake up feeling even better tomorrow or court's going to be SUPER fun!!

But if this is the sign of things to come, I'm going to be one decrepit 40 year old!