The Catholic Girlie turned 11 years old today, and I’m finding myself in a state of, well, I’m not quite sure what state I’m finding myself in right now. Our little family ‘home’ party went better than planned, mostly because I was able to shop for a few party necessities early this morning, and then pre-cook dinner, bake cookies, decorate and bring treats to her classroom all before the school bell rang for the day. All this left me thinking, “Now that’s why being an independent consultant is so incredible!” Amazing.

So CG returned home from school to find the house all decorated in her honor, along with party goodies like cake, presents, music and more. We took pictures, pigged out and enjoyed her presents - it was total fun for all. In fact, the smile on CG’s face indicated that she was on top of the world about the whole 11th birthday thing, the best present of all. Woohoo!

But all the partying is not quite over yet. Oh no, it’s not. Why? you ask? Because turning 11 years old just wouldn’t be quite right without a sleepover with all of your closest 5th grader friends, now would it? Which is exactly why I’ve planned the party of the century to be held right here in the Catholic Homestead, so that exactly 9 people will get absolutely no sleep whatsoever over the weekend and will return completely bleary-eyed to work/school on Monday. That’s exactly what turning 11 is all about.

Party on.

Finally, here we are with our next discussion about the remaining chapters of the 5th Chicken Lit Bookclub selection. So what were your thoughts about how everything went down? Was it a long and winding road for you? And what about the ending - did it end the way you wanted? Is Green’s novel one you would recommend to others? Or are you ready to chuck this one?

Let’s hear what you think.

BTW: Happy Good Friday to all you fellow Catholics out there! I don’t want to see a piece of fish on my plate for at least another year. Tuna included. *blech*

And so here we go with our discussion about the first sixteen chapters of the 5th Chicken Lit Bookclub selection. You’d have thought I could find a book that didn’t involve cheating husbands this time, right? Well, apparently not. This book has adultery written all over it, once again.

What do you think about the book so far? I’ll leave my thoughts for the comment section, as this book has my head spinning. How about you?

Becca! Yes readers, the winner of the Chicken Lit Bookclub giveaway is none other than Becca. Very soon, Becca’s mug (or glass of tea, pop can, etc.) will be sitting nicely on a custom made tile coaster, complete with our fancy little logo on the front. Let’s all wish her a big CONGRATULATIONS. *confetti*

And you know what? This whole giveaway thing has been so fun that I want to keep it going by having a drawing every few books. Custom pins sounded like a neat new prize, but Catholic Hubs insists that, “Now that’s just dorky. Nobody’s going to wear your pin.” Such a sweet man, isn’t he? So then I thought maybe bumper stickers would be cool. Ok, that’s just plain silly. But a custom JOURNAL? Perfect!

Stay tuned for more…