![Nobody's Cuter Than You by Melanie Shankle (a Busy Mom Book Review)]()
by Catherine | Oct 13, 2016 | Everything Else
Ever since Philip and I started enforcing a strict early bedtime to accommodate our 5:15 a.m. alarm, we’ve been getting in a lot of reading before bed. I thought I’d start writing and sharing my book reviews on the blog. My goal is to keep the reviews short, direct, and full of enough detail to help you decide whether or not it’ll be a book-mance for you. I’m calling this series Busy Mom Book Reviews. Yes. BMBR. I’m great at coming up with abbreviations or acronyms or whatever you call them. If it starts with “BM,” you now it’s gonna be good!
Alright…on to my first Busy Mom Book Review (BMBR)…
Cover Art from Amazon.com
Nobody’s Cuter Than You: A Memoir About the Beauty of Friendship by Melanie Shankle
Star Rating (out of a possible 5): ***
I first learned about Nobody’s Cuter Than You from The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey when she had author Melanie Shankle on the podcast. After I heard Melanie and Jamie giggling on The Happy Hour, I wanted to hear more of Melanie’s voice in her book. I went into the book anticipating a light beach read that would make me walk away feeling grateful for my girlfriends. Mission accomplished, Melanie Shankle. Mission accomplished.
The book has 19 short chapters. Melanie goes all the way back to her first best friend and shares stories from all of her most important friendships up until present day. My favorite part was Melanie’s chapter about her annual tradition to get all of her Christmas shopping done over a weekend with her friend, Gulley. I appreciated how Melanie’s introspection interspersed among anecdotes forced me to think about how my friendships shaped and continue to shape me. I struggled with the pace and flow of her narrative, though. While I appreciated Melanie’s lightness and sense of humor, I wanted her to lean into the pain a little more when it happened. As a reader, it made me feel like she didn’t feel comfortable sharing her whole story. I felt like I was being kept at an arm’s length with humor and couldn’t get the full story. At times her humor felt out of place or she’d go on and on about seemingly unnecessary details that didn’t help advance the narrative of friendship. While Melanie’s devotion and affection for her dearest friends shines through, I struggled with how she handled the toughest moments. As a reader, I kept wanting to get back to the details of what was happening in her relationship instead of her interest in the superficial (hairstyles, fashion, etc.). Melanie has a knack for remembering all of those colorful details that take you back to times and places, but I think she took it to a level that distracted from the story. Perhaps it would have made more sense to plug in a few little vignettes. A small “ode to the 80’s” or a “love song to my Honda CR-X” would have been great! Just my $.02. I wish Melanie’s editor had forced her to trim out the fat and keep us along for the ride of the most important details. The chapters felt isolated and read like individual blog posts instead of a narrative weaved together to help us learn more about why Melanie is the woman she is today.
In brief: Nobody’s Cuter Than You was a fun, light, vacation read that made me reflect more on the power of friendship, but I don’t think I’d recommend it unless I was giving someone my copy.
![Nobody’s Cuter Than You by Melanie Shankle (a Busy Mom Book Review)]()
by Catherine | Oct 13, 2016 | Everything Else
Ever since Philip and I started enforcing a strict early bedtime to accommodate our 5:15 a.m. alarm, we’ve been getting in a lot of reading before bed. I thought I’d start writing and sharing my book reviews on the blog. My goal is to keep the reviews short, direct, and full of enough detail to help you decide whether or not it’ll be a book-mance for you. I’m calling this series Busy Mom Book Reviews. Yes. BMBR. I’m great at coming up with abbreviations or acronyms or whatever you call them. If it starts with “BM,” you now it’s gonna be good!
Alright…on to my first Busy Mom Book Review (BMBR)…
Cover Art from Amazon.com
Nobody’s Cuter Than You: A Memoir About the Beauty of Friendship by Melanie Shankle
Star Rating (out of a possible 5): ***
I first learned about Nobody’s Cuter Than You from The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey when she had author Melanie Shankle on the podcast. After I heard Melanie and Jamie giggling on The Happy Hour, I wanted to hear more of Melanie’s voice in her book. I went into the book anticipating a light beach read that would make me walk away feeling grateful for my girlfriends. Mission accomplished, Melanie Shankle. Mission accomplished.
The book has 19 short chapters. Melanie goes all the way back to her first best friend and shares stories from all of her most important friendships up until present day. My favorite part was Melanie’s chapter about her annual tradition to get all of her Christmas shopping done over a weekend with her friend, Gulley. I appreciated how Melanie’s introspection interspersed among anecdotes forced me to think about how my friendships shaped and continue to shape me. I struggled with the pace and flow of her narrative, though. While I appreciated Melanie’s lightness and sense of humor, I wanted her to lean into the pain a little more when it happened. As a reader, it made me feel like she didn’t feel comfortable sharing her whole story. I felt like I was being kept at an arm’s length with humor and couldn’t get the full story. At times her humor felt out of place or she’d go on and on about seemingly unnecessary details that didn’t help advance the narrative of friendship. While Melanie’s devotion and affection for her dearest friends shines through, I struggled with how she handled the toughest moments. As a reader, I kept wanting to get back to the details of what was happening in her relationship instead of her interest in the superficial (hairstyles, fashion, etc.). Melanie has a knack for remembering all of those colorful details that take you back to times and places, but I think she took it to a level that distracted from the story. Perhaps it would have made more sense to plug in a few little vignettes. A small “ode to the 80’s” or a “love song to my Honda CR-X” would have been great! Just my $.02. I wish Melanie’s editor had forced her to trim out the fat and keep us along for the ride of the most important details. The chapters felt isolated and read like individual blog posts instead of a narrative weaved together to help us learn more about why Melanie is the woman she is today.
In brief: Nobody’s Cuter Than You was a fun, light, vacation read that made me reflect more on the power of friendship, but I don’t think I’d recommend it unless I was giving someone my copy.
![Year of Me: Me Time/Marriage/Friendship Goals Update]()
by Catherine | Oct 12, 2016 | Everything Else, Marriage
When I wrote my first post about the Year of Me, I ended with “Me Time” and touched briefly on marriage and friendship. For Me Time, I said I wanted, “Guilt free regularly scheduled sitter during the day a few days a week so that I can nap, run errands, read a book at a coffee shop, blog, exercise, etc.” As for marriage and friendship, I wrote, “I’m still pondering specific goals for these two areas, but I’m envisioning more regular contact and in-person visits with my friends as well as some new hobbies and ways to spend quality time with Philip.”
Goal updates:
Me Time
Philip has always been and continues to be so generous in helping me to find pockets of time for me. Over the summer, I had a sitter help with the 3 older kids Monday/Wednesday/Friday from 8 a.m. until naptime at 1:30 p.m. It was wonderful! It gave me a chance to bond more with Dorothy as we worked on nursing. After I got my morning workout in, she tagged along with me to get errands run or get things done around the house while she snoozed.
Now that we’re into the school year, we have a sitter come over on Wednesdays after school for two hours. That way, I can get a few things done in the middle of the week. I use the time to do dinner prep, run an errand or two, prepare for my parish women’s group, plan something for GodTeens, or blog.
I started taking tennis lessons last month, and I love it! Philip was a tennis player in high school, so it’s fun to have a sport that we can play together in addition to golf.
Playing tennis on vacation last week (More on that later!)
Going forward, my Me Time goals are to:
- Write:
- Publish at least 2 times each week on my blog
- Dedicate at least 10 minutes everyday to writing
- Reach out to writers I admire to learn more about the nitty gritty of blogging/writing for them
- Read for at least 30 minutes everyday
- Tennis: continue weekly lessons
- Sew
- Schedule a sewing lesson by November 1st
- Finish my receiving blankets by November 15th
- Finish my napkins by December 1st
For marriage, my goals are to:
- Schedule regular date nights with Philip (at least 2 out and 1 at home each month)
- Get ready for bed at 9:00 p.m. so that we have time for “bedtime book club” and pillow talk
For friendship, my goals are to:
- Call one person everyday instead of just texting–even if it’s just for a few minutes
- Schedule bimonthly outings with girlfriends
Questions for You:
How do you keep your tank full? When was the last time you scheduled time to do something that you love just because? How are you keeping the spark alive in your marriage? Are your friendships as strong as they could be? How do you keep in touch with your friends when life gets busy?
![Year of Me: Rest Goals Update]()
by Catherine | Sep 28, 2016 | Family
When I started the Year of Me, my goals for rest were:
- In bed by 10:00 Sunday – Thursday, by midnight Friday & Saturday
- Guiltless napping whenever needed (this is the first day I haven’t taken a nap since Dorothy was born)
Oh, how I love rest! I used to be a night owl, but I think I’ve officially become an early bird convert. Being a night owl worked when I was in college and a newlywed, but those days are over now that we have 4 little ones. Our goal to be in bed by 10:00 p.m. Sunday – Thursday and by midnight on Friday and Saturday was fairly easy to reach. There were a few weeks in the summer that we were staying up until 10:30 or 11:00 p.m., and it definitely hurt the following days. I think a big part of me felt like I deserved a few hours of time to just hang out with Philip each night and that we were somehow missing out if we didn’t stay up past 10. Silly, I know. Now that I’ve seen how much more energy I have and how much we’re getting accomplished in the early morning hours, I don’t feel the need to stay up. I look forward to the quiet, uninterrupted time we have together before the kids wake up.
Power Mornings > Netflix Binging
The older three kiddos go to bed at 7:30 and Dorothy has her last feeding around 8:30, so it’s not terribly difficult for us to squeeze in some together time once they’re asleep. Philip and I started a new routine a few weeks ago to start getting ready for bed between 9/9:15 p.m., and we turn the lights out by 10 p.m. It’s very important to us that we go to bed at the same time since we have such limited time together in this chapter anyway. We have been getting so much reading in since we implemented our new bedtime! This bibliophile is a happy camper! We’re getting up at 5:15 a.m. most weekdays. We’re still feeling very rested in the mornings, and we love being able to get our exercise in before the kids wake up.
My second rest goal for the Year of Me was to take a guiltless nap whenever I needed it. I still take naps on weekends or occasionally during the week, but my exercise and better nutrition have given me more energy. More often than not, I opt to get some work done while the kids nap in the afternoon. I try to give myself at least a 10-minute break to read for fun during this time, too. I like to think of it as my mini mama sabbath everyday.
Going forward, my goals for rest are to:
- Get ready for bed at 9:00 p.m.
- Lights out at 10:00 p.m.
- Get up at 5:15 a.m. Monday – Friday
- Nap whenever needed
- Take a 15-minute break to read while the kids nap
Questions for You:
How much sleep are you getting? Do you have a bedtime ritual that helps you transition into slumberland? Are your days feeling frantic? Could you build in a break somewhere in there?
![Year of Me: Prayer/Spiritual Life Goals Update]()
by Catherine | Sep 26, 2016 | Faith
Prayer/Spiritual Life
When I started The Year of Me, my goals for my Prayer/Spiritual life were:
- Resume spiritual direction and monthly confession
- Daily Mass 1x/week
- Reintroduce my morning prayer routine when Dorothy has more of a schedule (Saying a Morning Offering before my feet hit the floor and listening to the daily readings while I nurse/pump/eat breakfast via the USCCB website is where I am for now, and that’s a-okay!)
I’m pleased to report that I resumed spiritual direction and monthly confession over the summer. Game. Changer. There’s something so powerful about having the same confessor month after month. It’s been great to clear the spiritual cobwebs away and feel like I’m ready to keep fighting the good fight again. I continue to make progress in this area, but progress in the spiritual life stuff is tricky. Once you realize you’re making progress, you become aware of your shortcomings in a lot of areas. My spiritual director describes this like a window in the sunlight. When the light is shining on it (in other words, when you’re getting closer to God), it’s easier to see that one dirty handprint on the clean window than it would be if the whole window were filthy. All of my imperfections become more glaringly obvious with each meeting we have. This is a very good thing, and I’m glad to have a good and holy priest helping me to work through my personal struggles. One day at a time!
My second goal was go go to daily Mass at least once a week. We succeeded in going probably 4 or 5 times in addition to Sunday Mass over the summer, but it never became a habit because of the interruptions in our summer schedule. One week we’d have a camp that started early in the morning, another week someone would get sick, another week we’d have an appointment, blah, blah, blah. Now that the school year has started, I’m still looking for a Mass time that will work with school drop-off and Dorothy’s morning nap. It may not be in the cards for this fall, and that’s okay. This just might not be the chapter for me to get to go to daily Mass.
Another goal was to reintroduce my morning prayer routine. I like to say the Morning Offering before my feet hit the floor. Do you know this prayer? It’s one of my favorites. There are a lot of different versions. Mine goes like this:
Oh, my Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day. Through all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for all my sins, for the intentions of my relatives and friends, and for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.
When I’m eating my breakfast and pumping, I read the daily readings from Magnificat before jumping on the treadmill. I recently joined a women’s Bible study, so I plan to start incorporating my study into my morning prayer time as well. We’re doing Keeping in Balance from the Walking With Purpose series.
Cover art from Keeping in Balance (Image from the Walking with Purpose website.)
Going forward, my goals are to:
- Continue monthly meetings with my spiritual director for confession and spiritual direction
- Create an abridged examination of conscience for the evenings that I can commit to doing nightly
Questions for You:
What’s your prayer/spiritual life looking like these days? How are you making time for this essential? Do you have any favorite prayers or devotions? Are you a journal-er? Do you go to a holy hour? Are you like me and struggle to get your brain to quiet down? Any tips on listening in prayer? Share away, friends!
