Home Sweet Home???

I drove back into the mitten state on Monday with mixed feelings. Most of my friends and family still say "hey you're home" but I don't know if I feel the same way. On one hand I'm enjoying being back where I grew up, I get the chance to go to family graduation parties, attend our annual father's day picnic (though it is a week late). But, part of me misses being in a state where I can just be me. I feel like I have to conform to be the person I used to be because that's what people here remember and it's exhausting to try and get them to realize I've changed and have grown into the true me. Plus, my parents have gotten used to living without me and I without them, so it's a lot of learning and compromising trying to figure out how to fit into each other's lives and routines. Am I really home? I guess I don't know the answer just yet, I still feel like I'm on vacation and that any day now I'll be driving back to North Carolina or even Chicago and establishing my home base there.

Things I like about Michigan:

Yummy Breadsticks and Italian food from our local restaurant

The Fenton House

Yes I know it's like walmart, but they have the best prices, and it's just so much better than walmart, target or some of the other grocery store/box stores out there.

My niece Molly!!!!!

Kindle Magic

I've always been an avid reader, from the days when I used to say to my mom "read books to you mommy" (although she always ended up reading them to me) to the days when I couldn't put down the teen christian series Clearwater Crossing, and now picking up my Kindle any chance I get and reading the e-books I've bought and the ones that are free (there are actually A LOT of good ones for free!). But I'll admit I was skeptical of the Kindle at first. I've been asking for an e-reader for about 2 years now, for Christmas, Birthdays etc. not really knowing what they were just knowing that they were popular and I thought it would be cool though I didn't realize how much I would use it. As they've gotten more popular and common in society I've still wanted one though I began to wonder would I miss the physical action of turning the page or being able to skip to the end and read the ending before the rest of the book? Plus, I kind of forgot that I wanted one, it lost the "I need it now" factor and I realized I would be ok without one. Graduation from grad school rolled around and I wasn't expecting much in the way of gifts, I didn't need anything (besides money). My mom thought otherwise and bought me a Nook, but said that I could return it and buy a Kindle. Being the tech geek that I am I decided to do days of research before I decided whether I wanted to keep the Nook or return it and get a Kindle. On almost every tech site and review that I read the Kindle won out over the Nook so I made the decision to buy the Kindle and I am not sorry. The Kindle has this magic to it where you almost don't realize you are reading an e-book and you feel like you're reading a regular paperback or hardcover. On top of that I just can't seem to put the books down, I get so engrossed and love reading even more today than I did when I was little. So if you're looking for a good way to get back into reading and start looking into e-readers I highly recommend the Kindle, maybe it can bring a little bit of magic into your life and renew the spark to read or light the fire if you've never enjoyed reading.