Outside my window:  It's still dark (5:30 a.m.), so I'm not sure exactly.  It's been a little cooler around here this week.  We even had a grey, drizzly day, which was perfect!

I am listening to: Nothing but the birds singing outside.  It's lovely.

I am reading:Now that my reading for the Whitney Awards is finished, I'm focusing on getting through the small pile of middle grade novels loaned to me by the librarian at my kids' elementary school.  I need to read them and write tests for them by the end of the school year, which is less than a month away.  Gah!  At any rate, I just finished 13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison.  It's a fantasy/mystery book that's sort of like Fablehaven meets Nancy Drew.  Now, I'm in the middle of the sequel, 13 Curses.  Both books are a little dark, but also clever and compelling. 

I am going to read:  I still owe Stephanie Worlton a review of her debut novel, Hope's Journey.  I'm also planning to read Psuedonymous Bosch's newest, since I enjoy his zany The Secret series and the librarian needs a test on it.  Also, since I've got a couple of airplane rides ahead of me this week, I'm thinking I may be able to get a good start on The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott.  We'll see what actually happens :)

On the Blog:I'm still way behind on reviews, but I managed to post 4 this week (Wow!  I did?).  I also shared some sweet pictures of my 3-year-old selecting books from her grandparents' Little Free Library.

Around the Book Blogosphere: Last week, in trying to figure out how this whole The Sunday Salon thing works, I found the TSS Facebook group.  Not only did the peeps there give me some good advice, but they led me to some fun, new book blogs.  Check out:  Books in the Burbs and Still Unfinished (His blog scrolls left to right, a design I've never seen before.)

I am thinking:  About my upcoming trip to Utah.  So much to do before I leave.  So much to do.

I am grateful for:  Lots of friend time this week.  I've been able to hang out and catch up with lots of lovely ladies.  I need to do that more often.

Around the house:  I'm gradually (very gradually) getting the kids' rooms cleaned out enough to have them painted.  The husband keeps threatening to have the rooms done while I'm in Utah, which makes me a tad bit nervous.  Especially because I think that by "painters," he means himself and the kids.

In the kitchen: Last weekend, we bought a big basket of produce from a local farmer's market, mostly because that's the only way to get the very yummy bread they sell.  So, I've got lots of vegetables.  It's too hot for soup, so I'm trying to decide how best to cook up all the veggies.  Suggestions?

High of the Week: Book Club!  My friends at church have tried several versions of book club, none of which have ever really worked.  A girl who's fairly new in town just started it up again and I think it's going to go well this time since she's both organized and enthusiastic.  We had our first meeting on Thursday, where we discussed (yes, we actually did discuss the book) Matched by Ally Condie and did a whole lot of chatting.  It was lots of fun.

Low of the Week:  My girls have both been scratching their heads a lot lately.  Since their cousins just had head lice, I feared mine might have it, too.  But, after thorough examinations of their scalps, I don't see any bugs or anything out of the ordinary, so I think it's just dryness and dandruff.  Keep your fingers crossed that it is so.

Family Matters:  Leaving my 3-year-old for a few days always makes me nervous since she's a *little* attached to her Mommy.  Hopefully, she'll behave for her Daddy, whom she also adores.

The coming week:  I'm heading to Utah on Thursday for the LDS Storymakers conference.  I'm excited to hang out with my good friend Robin, as well as lots of other writerly/readerly kinds of people.  I'm hoping to connect with some of my favorite Utah book bloggers as well (look for an email from me, Suey and Jenny—anyone else who wants to get together, let me know).

Words of Wisdom:  Have a great week, everybody!