a digital scrapbook

So I’ve finally discovered by snow sport of choice: snowshoeing.

That said, today Ryan and I went with Kevin and some family and friends snowshoeing. And right now, I must admit I’m pretty tuckered out. It was a pretty leisurely trek though and the weather was actually rather nice, not that cold and even sunshine.

The day was full of fooding (as it should be) and I personally had Chinese barbecue pork with mustard, PB&J sandwich, pears, and hot chocolate on our “trail”. For dinner we stopped at a bar and grill where I had a fried oyster sandwich with salad, which was actually really tasty. Good stuff!

I don’t have pictures from today yet, but I’ve been meaning to share this one from our last trip to Mt. Rainier. So with that, I leave you with my snow puppy:

Yesssss.

Sent from my iPhone

Last year, after repeatedly walking into Barnes & Noble and looking longingly at all the possibilities, I made a New Year’s resolution to be more proactive reading. And to make it measurable this time, I decided on a simple book-per-month quota. It may not be much for more avid bookworms (er, Val), but I’m happy to report I actually accomplished it. So with that, here are all the books I read in 2007, in order of completion:

♥♥♥♥½	♥♥♥½	♥♥♥♥
♥♥♥½	♥♥♥♥♥	♥♥♥♥♥
♥♥♥	♥♥♥♥♥♥!!!	♥♥♥♥
♥♥♥	♥♥♥♥♥	♥♥
♥♥♥½	♥♥♥½	♥♥♥♥½

So there you have it! Granted I “cheated” a bit by re-reading some Harry Potter, but I’m convinced that’s just plain good for the heart (like red wine, I suppose). That and I noticed I tend to get sucked into series and this year was a cheesy (but fun) Mr. Darcy trilogy, hah.

I’ve listed some rough ratings below each book. But if you’re looking for a recommendation, I’d have to say the best books I’ve read this year are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Kite Runner, and Empress: A Novel.

Also, what I found also to be helpful for tracking and also motivating is the Facebook Books application, so if you’re a book reader, check it out.

For 2008, I’ve decided to do a book per month again, not so much as a resolution, but more now as just a “practice”. I’ve already completed 3 books, so this year looks promising. :)