Birthday, visit from friends, busy translating - oh, and reading

I've been quite busy...

Last weekend we had two of our closest friends from Brazil staying with us for a little over 24h. Before staying up all night talking to them on Friday, we'd gone to bed really late in the previous days trying to get the house in shape (that's one of the things we love about guests - they "force" us to clean up the house!), then this week, I finally had some work to do - two translations (and I'm still not done, 2 more due on Friday), and I stayed up very late again for 2 nights. So... I'm a wreck, but - guess what - sleep can wait (a few more years, probably) because here I am, blogging away...

Should I mention that part of my late night working the past 2 days was due to the fact that I spent part of Sunday and ALL of Monday reading a book? Now, come on, don't chastise me, I haven't read a book of fiction of my own choice for years now... Everything I've read in the past 7 years was either for a class I was taking or for a class I was teaching.

The book I read was: I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson. I enjoyed it, it would be fun to read reviews and comments from the time it was published, since I'm coming to it soooo late (it's from 2002), but I have no time. I had read something about it because the author is writing a new book, and set up a website to collect experiences from women who want to contribute to it (Dawn linked to it): Women Doing It All.com. Then, coincidentaly, I came across the book at one of those "close out" stores, for 3.99, and couldn't resist. It just made me think that moms that stay at home also work a lot, and don't necessarily remember everything or have a clean or organized home either.

Last but not least, I had a birthday on the 7th. 7/7, that really made me like the number 7. No big celebration, since we were getting ready for our guests, but I enjoyed the day - went to a bookstore to get a scrapbooking and a gardening book. The first one is just for me to fantasize about scrapbooking (something I haven't done in 5 years, and intend to start again after I finish my dissertation as a consolation prize, ha ha ha :) and the second is to help me garden right now, and plan for next year.

Very boring post, I know... but that's what I've been doing. The boys are great, will post about them separately.