While the weather is mild here today, it looks like March is roaring like a lion in other parts of the country.  I can't help wondering if it's coming our way.  In the meantime, I'm enjoying the newly showing grass (almost all our snow melted last week) and sunshine.  My kids start outdoor soccer practice this week.  It's nice when they get to be out again.

February didn't turn out to be as productive in some areas as I'd hoped (writing) but there was a lot going on with my family and kids school projects (and yes, some stalling/procrastination on my part).  For February being a short month...it was really long.  :)

I haven't been doing a lot of reading -- only six books this month and all at the beginning of the month.  (I have so many I'm trying to get to).
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (YA) -- an interesting take on the afterlife but not a book I'd personally read again.
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock  (YA) -- great voice!
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (again, to get ready for my book club) by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barows - interesting format, relaxing read.
Kissing Frogs by Laura Marie Altom (adult) -- fun idea but plotting felt a little weak even for a romance novel.
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George (YA) -- lovely retelling.  I personally like her Dragon books better.
Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix (YA) -- interesting ending that I didn't expect.

I did 22 critiques for friends.

Only wrote 7,666 words on my WIP -- didn't complete the novel as I'd planned (probably another 25,000 -30,000 words needed).

Didn't do as well at journaling this month.

Improved exercise and healthy eating -- Lost 7-8 lbs. Woo-hoo!

Well that's about it for me (more than you wanted to read, I'm sure).  Hope you all have a happy Monday!

So today's my dad's birthday...and like usual, he welcomes it with the groundhog's joyous news: Six More Weeks of Winter!  Lol, seriously?  It hasn't been too bad of a winter here, but I'm thinking of all of you out there without power and with ice crystals dancing in your trees, still frozen to your windows, and I say ugh!

Review of January:

I only read five books:
Mistress of Trevelyn by Jennifer St. Giles -- not my usual genre, but I read it for a friend who writes historical gothic romance and asked me to read it before I read her manuscript (so I'd have a better understanding of the genre and what she was aiming for).   I liked that Jennifer had several plausible red herrings for the murderer.
Stepsister Scheme by Jim Hines -- Nice twist on your regular fairy tale characters. 
Court Duel by Sherwood Smith-- A slower, more reflective book than the first, but I liked the complexities of thought here.
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe -- So interesting to compare the changes in time and culture from when Lincoln and Stowe lived to now, 2009.  Great book club discussion.
Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon & Dean Hale, Nathan Hale -- Loved this!  I think they did a fantastic job on this graphic novel retelling.

I completed 18 critiques for friends.

I wrote 20,979 words on my new novel.  Not bad, although I'm hoping to finish it in February, so I have to pick up my pace -- we'll see if the stars line up this month.

Need to improve on my exercise workouts, but I did well with my personal, family, and church goals.

Not a bad start for 2009 -- despite the slow start to the economy and on other fronts.

Hope you're all hanging in there and are blessed with a little sunshine today!