How I Spent My Winter Vacation

I know I severely neglected my blog last year, especially over the past month. I am slowing working to get the most important things up, though honestly, not much has been going on. That is not to say that life has been slow at all, it has been quite the opposite! But writing about grading papers/relief society visits/laundry/cleaning/etc. just doesn't sound very exciting! So though life has been very busy (and good!) I haven't found a whole lot of inspiration for blogging.

I really, really love Christmas break! By the time Christmas comes along I am ready for a break, and I feel like 2 weeks is the perfect amount of time for a good break without going nuts. And by the time school starts again, I am ready to go!

I ended up getting strep throat the week before school got out. It had been years since I had strep, and it was MISERABLE. I spent most of the first week of the break sleeping, reading, and letting my body recover. It was nice to have the time that I was really able to do so!

During the break I read four books. Yes, four books in 12 days. My name is Katie and I am a bookaholic. My stack of "to read" had gotten so big, I had to get to the ones that I have been craving for a while.

The first book I read was Crossed by Ally Condie. I was so excited to finally get my hands on this book. I had been waiting for what seemed like forever (really, only 10 months, but still!) I loved the first in the series (Matched) A LOT! Sadly, I do not feel the same way about Crossed. I found it quite dull, and I was really exasperated with the characters. As Lacey said, it is the epitome of a middle book (there is another one coming out later this year). I will still read the third one, though it is not likely that I will look forward to it with the same anticipation that I did Crossed.

After Crossed I wanted a book that I could really sink my teeth into and enjoy! I hoped that Pretties could do that for me. It is also a middle book, one in a series that I have wanted to read for years. I finally read Uglies a few months ago, and really enjoyed it. I found Pretties just as enjoyable as the first! A very fun and thought provoking book!

After finishing Pretties I knew it was time to move onto the book my book club is reading for January. I knew if I didn't read it over the break it wouldn't get finished! I was not super excited for the book. Though I do not dislike nonfiction it is not usually what I go to for leisure reading. That being said, I was surprised how much I liked this book! Though my heart broke for the little girl and the injustice she faced, I could not put this book down! I love learning about Chinese culture, which added to my enjoyment of the book. A surprisingly enjoyable read!

Enna Burning started out slow for me. I wasn't sure I was going to like it, and honestly didn't for the first third of the book. It took longer for me to get into than other Shannon Hale books that I have read, though when I reached the last third I literally could not put it down. In fact, I will probably go back tonight and read the last third again!

So really, that is what I did over the break. I spent lots of time with family, enjoyed days without stress and pressure, and finally got around to doing something that I have needed to do for a year.

See that envelope? The one I am holding upside down? It holds the manuscript for the book I wrote LAST December. Over the break I FINALLY got it ready to send to a publisher! For some reason it has really scared me, so I hadn't done anything yet. You are only suppose to send manuscripts to one publisher at a time, so I carefully picked the one I wanted to try first, pulled everything together, and it got mailed off (thanks Dad)! It usually takes months and months and months to hear back, but keep your fingers crossed! I know the chances of the first publisher I send it to picking it up are really small, but never hurts to hope!

All in all, a perfect way to spend winter break!