Weekly Reads, Vol. 36

As you're reading this, I am likely out on my bike in the midst of a 70-mile fun ride with co-workers and former co-workers. We're either rolling down the trail or sitting at one of the stops, sipping beer and eating something made with bacon (that's the theme of the ride).  Pray I don't fall off my bike and that I can still walk tomorrow.  Thanks.

I have a really small apartment (one bedroom, approximately 600 square feet), and storage is definitely a concern.  I might have to employ some of the storage ideas suggested by Jess at Chaotic and Collected.

A few days ago, someone on my Facebook feed posted a link to an article shaming people who refer to their pets as their babies. Taylor at The Daily Tay had a wonderful comeback ... and included photos of her adorable furkid.

I follow a lot of bloggers who are moms (not necessarily mommy bloggers), and I love it when they give an honest, if unpopular, glimpse of motherhood. Cait at Fierce, Fabulous, and Fit shared that she didn't have an instant connection with her darling girl, Lily. Too often we're lead to believe maternal instinct and bond kicks in right away at birth. Sometimes it doesn't.  And that's OK.

I adore Taylor Swift, so this post about blogging lessons we can learn from Tay Tay was an easy addition to this list.  So spot on!  Thanks to Nadine at Blog Brighter for giving my Taylor Swift fandom more validation.

"Jurassic World" came out in theaters recently and even though I'm not a big movie-goer, that one was definitely on my list. Bonnie at Life of Bon takes issue with the main female character and Karen at A Peek at Karen's World explains why she thinks the movie's success is a bad thing for Hollywood.  I have great respect for both women and their opinions, but I still enjoyed the movie. And I'm not sorry about that.

Meg at Miles From Ordinary offers up what she says is her last installment of the Chronicles of Dating, but it's a fine finale in which she talks about the surprises of online dating.  There are certainly plenty of negative stories out there, but there's plenty of good as well.  I especially like the point about opposites, probably because I'm a little surprised by the latest guy to catch my eye.

Heads up -- there will not be a round-up next Saturday as I will be out of town for a big portion of the week. I'll do my best to keep up on blogs and bring two weeks wroth of reads on July 4th.  Wow.  Can you believe it's almost here already?