A Little Summer Reading (And Writing)…

First up what we're reading...

Audrey has been buried in the Spring issue of Anorak (a gift from Christine), which is pretty fantastic really...fun stories and activities -- she's totally digging it.

We're also working down the list of Summer reading books from her school librarian. Her reading has really taken off lately, and it's thrilling to observe. She furrows up her brow when she reads, silently mouthing the words as she traces her fingers along the page... You can see the wheels furiously turning in that little brain of hers.

I was such a bookworm as a kid, with most afternoons buried in a book, totally immersed in another little world. It changed me. I love watching her enter this phase.

I'm in reading mode too and have just finished No Impact Man which I loved (more on that later) and Garlic and Sapphires...also completely fantastic. I would highly recommend both.

Now I'm in the midst of reading Columbine for our couples book club, which is, needless to say, incredibly heavy. I need something light (but great) to counter it. I was thinking Prodigal Summer. Has anyone read this? Thoughts?

Ok, now onto the writing. I've recently started writing a fun new monthly column in Dallas Child Magazine (my first one is above), and I wrote an article for the Summer issue of Dallas/Ft.Worth Edible Magazine about a new restaurant at the Dallas Farmers Market...

As a side note -- I'm so excited and honored to have these little opportunities to occasionally write pieces for print publications, as if you would have asked me when I was in college what I wanted to do for a living, I would have said "write for a magazine or teach..."

Suffice to say, I did neither of those things, and despite the fact that I love my actual job, I've always wondered what life would be like had I actually pursued the career I envisioned having in my younger years.

These little writing assignments sort of give me that chance -- a bit of a pseudo "second act" if you will... It's good stuff.