Mi Vida Ocupada: My Busy Life!

Thoughts for Thursday: Amazon Kindle and Electronic Reading Devices

I have made it no secret over the years that I am an avid reader.  I love to read and I have been a bookworm my entire life, you can see the long list of books I have read in the past few years in my sidebar or even see some of my book talks here. I love BOOKS, I have hundreds of them and yes, they do take up a lot of space.  Despite all of that, I don't think I could ever replace my beloved printed books with a digital reading device such as Amazon Kindle or Sony eBook or  Papyrus or any of the other devices currently out there.

I can see how these reading devices are convenient, especially if you travel a lot, but I would genuinely miss the action of turning the pages, the smell of a book.  I know it might seem weird but some of my best memories as a kid are of reading Little Golden Books and the smell they had.  There are so many wonderful picture books out for kids now that I cannot even think about how these devices would be used with children.  All I know is that it would be a travesty if picture books ever disappeared.

What do you think about electronic reading devices? Do you have one or would you like one? Or are you a traditional printed-book-person like me? Do you think these devices will increase in popularity in time and eventually put printed books out of business or will man-kind return to the simple things liking reading real books after this craze has ended?

Other TFTs this week:

Kim on Inadequacy

Little Readers....

My parents had a little brunch this past Sunday and I got to spend a little bit of time with my nieces.  It is amazing to me how smart they are and how quickly they catch on to things.  They are smarter every time I see them!

The girls had fun reading their books and they looked so cute while doing so!

 

That's all for now.... I just wanted to brag for a minute about how cute and smart they are ;)

Summer Reading...

Just finished reading The Scandalous Summer of Sissy Leblanc.  Pretty good, fast read.  Now what should I read?  Summer has  begun and I am pretty much of out adult books that I haven't already read, although I did bring a couple of good young-adult Newbery Medal books home from school.  I know I can get through each of those in just a day or so, so I am looking for recommendations for good summer reads. 
This is the current NY Times List of Trade Fiction Bestsellers:

1	THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. (Dial, $14.) A journalist meets the island’s old Nazi-resisters.	4
2	THE SHACK, by William P. Young. (Windblown Media, $14.99.) A man whose daughter was abducted receives an invitation to an isolated shack, apparently from God. (†) First Chapter	54
3	VISION IN WHITE, by Nora Roberts. (Berkley, $16.) A wedding photographer finds romance with the brother of a bride-to-be; Book 1 in the Bride Quartet series.	5
4	PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES, by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. (Quirk, $12.95.) The classic story, retold with “ultraviolent zombie mayhem.”	9
5	MY SISTER’S KEEPER, by Jodi Picoult. (Washington Square, $16.) A girl sues her parents after learning they want her to donate a kidney to her sibling.	36
6	OLIVE KITTERIDGE, by Elizabeth Strout. (Random House, $14.) A seventh-grade math teacher is the link in 13 stories set on the Maine coast; the winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.	6
7	ANGELS AND DEMONS, by Dan Brown. (Washington Square, $16.) A scholar tries to save the Vatican from the machinations of an underground society.	8
8	TESTIMONY, by Anita Shreve. (Back Bay, $14.99.) Sex acts caught on videotape ignite a scandal at a prep school in Vermont.	4
9	UNACCUSTOMED EARTH, by Jhumpa Lahiri. (Vintage Contemporaries, $15.) Stories about the anxiety and transformation experienced by Bengali parents and their American children. First Chapter	8
10	SARAH’S KEY, by Tatiana de Rosnay. (St. Martin’s Griffin, $13.95.) A contemporary American journalist investigates what happened to a little girl and her family during the roundup of Jews in Paris in 1942.	16
11	FIREFLY LANE, by Kristin Hannah. (St. Martin’s Griffin, $14.95.) A friendship between two women in the Pacific Northwest endures for more than three decades as they make different choices in their lives.	21
12*	LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH, by Emily Giffin. (St. Martin’s Griffin, $13.95.) A woman’s happy marriage is shaken when she encounters an old boyfriend.	6
13	THE LIKENESS, by Tana French. (Penguin, $15.) Detective Cassie Maddox is drawn into a murder case in which the victim looks just like her. First Chapter	1
14	THE ALCHEMIST, by Paulo Coelho. (HarperOne, $13.95.) A Spanish shepherd boy travels to Egypt in search of treasure.	89
15	CITY OF THIEVES, by David Benioff. (Plume, $15.) Two men arrested in World War II Russia must complete a seemingly impossible task to save their lives.	9
16	THE BEACH HOUSE, by Jane Green. (Plume, $15.) When a widow on Nantucket learns she may lose her house, she turns it into a bed-and-breakfast.	1
17	7TH HEAVEN, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. (Grand Central, $14.99.) Detective Lindsay Boxer and the Women’s Murder Club hunt for an arsonist.	8
18*	NETHERLAND, by Joseph O'Neill. (Vintage Contemporaries, $14.95.) A Dutchman deserted by his wife after 9/11 finds solace in New York''s immigrant cricket scene. First Chapter	,
19	THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG, by Muriel Barbery. (Europa, $15.) A young girl and a widowed concierge, both closet intellectuals, become friends.
20	CHASING HARRY WINSTON, by Lauren Weisberger. (Downtown, $16.) Three glamorous friends, New York women nearing 30, vow to change their lives.

I would be willing to swap books with anyone who is interested, if you have a book you want to send me.  Just take a peek at the books in my sidebar so you can see what I have already read and what kind of books I like and if there is anything you might be interesting in swapping for :)

Current NY Times Best Sellers (Trade Fiction)

1	THE SHACK, by William P. Young. (Windblown Media, $14.99.) A man whose daughter was abducted is invited to an isolated shack, apparently by God. (†) First Chapter
2	THE READER, by Bernhard Schlink. (Vintage, $13.95.) A German high school student falls in love with a former Auschwitz employee.
3	SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY’S, by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet. (Grand Central, $13.99.) A woman finds an unexpected love.
4	FIREFLY LANE, by Kristin Hannah. (St. Martin’s Griffin, $14.95.) A friendship between two women in the Pacific Northwest endures for more than three decades as they make different choices in their lives.
5	REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, by Richard Yates. (Vintage, $14.95.) Frank and April Wheeler, a beautiful young couple living in 1950s America, see their supposedly perfect life come undone.
6*	AMERICAN WIFE, by Curtis Sittenfeld. (Random House, $15.) A pretty librarian marries the alcoholic scion of a wealthy political family who somehow becomes president. First Chapter
7	A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, by Khaled Hosseini. (Riverhead, $16.) A friendship between two Afghan women against the backdrop of 30 years of war.
8	SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, by Vikas Swarup. (Scribner, $15.) A poor orphan in India is arrested and must explain himself after winning big on a TV quiz show.
9	STILL ALICE, by Lisa Genova. (Pocket, $15.) A 50-year-old Harvard professor is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
10	PEOPLE OF THE BOOK, by Geraldine Brooks. (Penguin, $15.) An expert unlocks the secrets of a rare manuscript.
11	THE ALCHEMIST, by Paulo Coelho. (HarperOne, $13.95.) A Spanish shepherd boy travels to Egypt in search of treasure.
12	WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, by Sara Gruen. (Algonquin, $13.95.) A young man — and an elephant — save a Depression-era circus.
13	THE WHITE TIGER, by Aravind Adiga. (Free Press, $14.) A chauffeur in India relates the story of his transformation from manservant to entrepreneur to murderer; the winner of the 2008 Man Booker Prize.
14*	THE APPEAL, by John Grisham. (Delta, $14.) Political and legal intrigue ensue when a Mississippi court rules against a company accused of dumping toxic waste.
15	THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO, by Junot Díaz. (Riverhead, $14.) A nerdy Dominican-American struggles to escape a family curse.
16	THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG, by Muriel Barbery. (Europa, $15.) A young girl and a widowed concierge, both closet intellectuals, become friends.
17	LOVING FRANK, by Nancy Horan. (Ballantine, $14.) A story of the romance between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney. First Chapter
18	THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, by Sue Monk Kidd. (Penguin, $15 and $14.) In South Carolina in 1964, a teenage girl tries to discover the secret to her mother’s past.
19	THE KITE RUNNER, by Khaled Hosseini. (Riverhead, $15.95 and $14.) An Afghan-American returns to Kabul to learn how a childhood friend has fared.
20	OUT STEALING HORSES, by Per Petterson. (Picador, $14.) In a remote cabin, a Norwegian man circles around his memories. First Chapter

Day 23 ~ $624 in Children's Books

Earlier this week at work I was given $500 to spend on books by Friday.  I went to a local children's bookstore that gives a 20% teacher discount (plus tax exempt).  It was a fun shopping spree, half of the books that I chose are chapter books, half are picture books.   With my discount I was able to get $624 worth of books for $498.  I can't wait to show them to the kids this morning when they get here!

Day 20 ~ Read Across America Day

This is my stack of "next to be read" books!
One of these lucky books will have a date with me tonight ;)
Oh, and since reading is my #1 hobby, this photo will satisfy #21 (main hobby) of Photo Scavenger Hunt.

What should I read next??

I have had this wonderful stack of books sitting on my shelf since my birthday.  Coincidentally, two of them are on the lifetime reading list.
I am not sure which to read next, but I won't complain about that!
Having too many books to read has never been a problem for me, it just makes me that much more anxious to get my nose in the next book ;)

I also ordered a few other books at Paperbackswap.com last week (two of which are also on the lifetime reading list) and hope to add them to this stack within the next few days .  I have said it before, but I love, love, love that site.  I only list the books that I can bare to part with and I have been able to order so many great books!

Lifetime Reading List

I have had this Lifetime Reading List for some time now and I thought  I'd finally share it with you.
There are many on this list (29) that I have read (the ones that are starred), several that have been turned into movies I have seen, and several others that I would like to read eventually or already have on my bookshelf to read.  I think that being well-read teaches a person so much, plus you know these books are on this list for a reason :)  I also must add that there are many other great books that should be on this list but aren't.  

How many of these books have you read?

Author Title Adams, Richard Watership Down Adams, Douglas Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, A Adamson, Joy Born Free Albee, Edward Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Alcott, Louisa May *Little Women Aligheri, Dante Divine Comedy Allende, Isabel House of the Spirits, The Austen, Jane Northanger Abbey, others Beckett, Samuel Waiting for Godot Bellow, Saul Humbolt's Gift, Henderson the Rain King Blake, William Poems Boccaccio Decameron, The Bolt, Robert A Man for All Seasons Bradbury, Ray Fahrenheit 451 Bradley, Marion Zimmer Mists of Avalon Bronte, Emily *Wuthering Heights Bronte, Charlotte *Jane Eyre - Browning, Robert Poems Buck, Pearl Good Earth, The Burgess, Anthony Clockwork Orange, A Burnett, Frances H. *Secret Garden, The Burnford, Sheila *Incredible Journey, The Burns, Olive Ann Cold Sassy Tree Byatt, A.S. Possession Byron, George Gordon Lord Poems C.S. Lewis *Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, The Camus, Albert Plague, The Card, Orson Scott Ender's Game Cather, Willa *My Antonia, Song of the Lark Cervantes Don Quixote Chaucer, Geoffrey Canterbury Tales - Chekov, Anton Cherry Orchard, The Chinua, Achebe *Things Fall Apart Chopin, Kate *Awakening, The Cisneros, Sandra *House on Mango Street, The Coleridge Poems Collins, Wilkie Moonstone, The Conrad, Joseph Secret Sharer, *Heart of Darkness Crane, Stephen Red Badge of Courage, The Craven, Margaret I Heard the Owl Call My Name Crichton, Michael Andromeda Strain, The, others Defoe, Daniel Robinson Crusoe Descartes, Rene Discourse on Method, A Dickens, Charles Tale of Two Cities, A Dickinson, Emily Poems Dillard, Annie Pilgrim at Tinker Creek Dinesen, Isak Out of Africa Donleavy, J.P. Ginger Man, The Dostoevsky, Feodor Crime and Punishment Douglas, Lloyd C. Robe, The Doyle, Arthur Conan Hound of the Baskervilles, others Dreeiser, Theodore An American Tragedy Dumas, Alexandre Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo DuMaurier, Daphne Rebecca Eliot, George Adam Bede, Mill on the Floss Eliot, T.S. Murder in the Cathedral, Poems Ellison, Ralph Invisible Man Emerson, Ralph Waldo Poems Esquivel, Laura Like Water for Chocolate Euripides Tragedies Flaubert, Gustave Madame Bovary Forster, E. M. Passage to India, A Room With a View Fowles, John French Lieutenant's Woman, others Frank, Pat Alas, Babylon Franklin, Benjamin Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Frazer, James Golden Bough, The Frazier, Charles Cold Mountain Freud, Sigmund any work Fromm, Erich Escape from Freedom, others Frost, Robert Poetry Gaines, Ernest A Gathering of Old Men Gaines, Ernest Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman, The Galsworthy, John Forsythe Saga, The Goethe, Wolfgang Faust Golding, William *Lord of the Flies Goldsmith, Oliver She Stoops To Conquer Green, Hannah I Never Promised You a Rose Garden Greene, Graham Power and the Glory, The Hawthorne, Nathaniel Scarlet Letter, The -  Heinlein, Robert Stranger in a Strange Land Heller, Joseph Catch 22 Hemingway, Ernest Old Man and the Sea, The, others Herriot, James All Creatures Great and Small, others Hesse, Herman Siddartha, others Hilton, James Lost Horizon Homer Iliad, The - The Odyssey Hudson, W.H. Green Mansions Hugo, Victor Les Miserables Hume, David Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding Hurston, Zora Neale *Their Eyes Were Watching God Huxley, Aldous *Brave New World - Ibsen, Henrick Hedda Gabler, others Irving, Washington Stories Irving, John A Prayer for Owen Meany The World According to Garp James, Henry Turn of the Screw, The Jean-Paul Sarte No Exit Jones, James From Here To Eternity Joyce, James Dubliners, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Kafka, Franz Metamorphosis Kant, Immanuel Kant Metaphysics Keats, John Poems Keller, Helen Story of My Life, The Kerouac, Jack *On the Road Kesey, Ken One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Kesselring, Joseph Arsenic and Old Lace Kinsella, W.P. Shoeless Joe Kinston, Maxine Hong Woman Warrior, The Kipling, Rudyard Kim, others Knowles, John A Separate Peace Koestler, Arthur Darkness at Noon Lamb, Charles Essays Lawrence, D.H. Sons and Lovers, others Lee, Harper *To Kill A Mockingbird LeGuin, Ursula A Wizard of Earthsea Llewellyn, Richard How Green Was My Valley London, Jack *Call of the Wild, The Machiavelli, Nicolo Prince, The MacLeish, Archibald J.B. Malamud, Bernard Assistant, The Malory, Thomas Le Morte d' Arthur Mann, Thomas Magic Mountain, The Marlowe, Christopher Dr. Faustus -  Marquez, Gabriel Garcia One Hundred Years of Solitude Marshall, Catherine Christy Maugham, Somerset Of Human Bondage McCourt, Frank Angela's Ashes McCullers, Carson Heart is a Lonely Hunter, The Melville, Herman Moby Dick, Billy Budd Michener, James Hawaii Mill, John Stuart On Liberty Miller, Walter M. Canticle for Leibowitz, A Miller, Arthur *Death of a Salesman Milton, John Paradise Lost Mitchell, Margaret *Gone With the Wind Moliere Misanthrope, The Momaday, M. Scott Ancient Child, The Montaigne Essays Montgomery, Lucy Maud *Anne of Green Gables series Morrison, Toni Beloved Nordhof, Charles B. Bounty triology, The O'Connor, Flannery Wise Blood Orwell, George 1984, Animal Farm Paine, Thomas Rights of Man Pasternak, Boris Dr. Zhivago Paton, Alan *Cry the Beloved Country Percy, Walker Moviegoer, The Pirsig, Robert Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Plato Dialogues Plutarch Lives Poe, Edgar Allen Short Stories and Poems Pope, Alexander Rape of the Lock, The Porter, Katherine Anne Ship of Fools Potok, Chaim Chosen, The - The Promise, others Proulx, Annie Shipping News, The Proust, Marcel Remembrance of Things Past Pynchon, Thomas Gravity's Rainbow Rand, Ayn Anthem, The Fountainhead Rawlings, Marjorie Cross Creek, The Yearling Rawls, Wilson *Where the Red Fern Grows Remarque, Erich Maria All Quiet on the Western Front Rhys, Jean Wide Sargasso Sea Richard D. Blakemore Lorna Doone Rostand, Edmond Cyranno de Bergerac Rousseau, Jean-Jacques Confessions Rusdie, Salman Midnight's Children Saint-Exupery, Antoine de Little Prince, The Salinger, J.D. *Catcher in the Rye, Franny and Zooey Scott, Sir Walter Ivanhoe Shakespeare, William All! Shaw, G. B. Pygmalion, others Shelley, Percy Bysshe Poems Shelley, Mary Frankenstein - Shute, Nevil On the Beach Silone, Ignazio Bread and Wine Sinclair, Upton Jungle, The Singer, Isaac Bashevis Short Stories Smith, Betty Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Solzhenitsyn, Alexander First Circle, The - others Sophocles Oedipus Rex, Antigone Soto, Gary Pacific Crossing Steinbeck, John Grapes of Wrath, *Of Mice and Men Stendhal Red and the Black, The Sterne, Laurence Tristram Shandy Stevenson, Robert Louis Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, others Stoker, Bram *Dracula Stone, Irving Agony and the Ecstasy, The Stoppard, Tom Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Swift, Jonathan Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal Tan, Amy Joy Luck Club, The Ten Boom, Corrie Hiding Place, The Tennyson, Alfred Lord Poems Thackery, William Vanity Fair Theroux, Paul Mosquito Coast, The Thurber, James Stories Tolkein, J.R.R. *Hobbit, The Tolkien, J.R.R. *Lord of the Rings Tolstoy, Leo Anna Karenina, The Death of Ivan Illich, others Turgenev, Ivan Fathers and Sons Twain, Mark A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court Tyler, Anne Accidental Tourist, The Undset, Sigrid Kristin Lavansdatter Updike, John Rabbit, Run, others Uris, Leon Trinity Verne, Jules Around the World in Eighty Days, others Virgil Aeneid, The Virginia Woolf To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Dalloway Voltaire Candide Vonnegut, Kurt Slaughterhouse 5, others Walker, Alice Color Purple, The Walker, Alice Temple of my Familiar, The Waltari, Mika The Egyptian, The Roman, The Etruscan Warren, Robert Penn All The Kings Men Washington, Booker T. *Up From Slavery Waugh, Evelyn Brideshead Revisited Welty, Eudora Optimist's Daughter, The Wharton, Edith *Ethan Frome White, T.H. Once and Future King, The Whitman, Walt Leaves of Grass Wilde, Oscar Picture of Dorian Gray, The Wilder, Thornton Our Town Williams, Tennessee Glass Menagerie, The Wister, Owen Virginian, The Wolfe, Thomas Look Homeward, Angel Wordsworth Poems Wouk, Herman Caine Mutiny, The Wright, Richard *Black Boy Wyss, Johann Swiss Family Robinson Author

Day 6 ~ Beginning a Book

Started this gem tonight :)

2 weeks= 4 books

I had a nice long two-week break from work over the Holidays last month (seems like ages ago already!).  With all that time on my hands, I found plenty of time for reading and got started on this stack of books on my bookshelf.  Its been ages since I blogged about books, so I thought I'd give a little run down of the books I read over my break.

Michelle Richmond: The Year of Fog (Bantam Discovery)

This book was about a little girl who disappears on the beach one day while taking a stroll with her soon-to-be stepmom.  Her dad and his fiance spend months looking for their little girl and the estranged mother of the little girl come back into the picture.  When a shoe of the little girl is discovered months later on the beach, it is determined that she drowned and is declared dead.  The fiance refuses to
I thought this book moved really slow and it didn't have enough excitement for me.  It was an okay story but not one I would necessarily recommend unless you like really boring stories. ********************************************************************

Tess Gerritsen: The Bone Garden: A Novel

This is a book I won in a giveaway on Lisa's Chaos blog.  This one was definitely more exciting than the first book.  It was one of those books that switch back and forth through time, revealing different sets of characters.  One setting was present-day Massachussets where a young woman named Julia discovers the skull and remains of a woman on her property.  It is determined by the ME that the body is very old and that the woman had died of murder.  Julia starts researching through old artifacts and letters to solve the murder mystery.  The second setting goes back to Boston in the year 1830 and revolves around a group of young surgeons and a set of serial killings that remain unsolved.

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Lisa See: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel

This book was a good introduction into traditional Chinese culture.  The story is of two young girls who are "old sames", matched by the old matchmaker because all of their "characters" match, including birth dates and date they had their feet bound.  (Yes, I learned all about Chinese foot binding from this story- thank goodness that practice has stopped).  Most of the story tells of the relationship between the two girls throughout their lives and the hardships they face as Chinese women.  I thought the book was very insightful and a fast read.
*********************************************************************************

Paulo Coelho: The Alchemist

This is a book I had seen around for ages, but never had any idea what it was about and thought it was probably boring (good example of mis-judging a book by its cover). Thank goodness I finally discovered it for what it really is: a magical little book!  I picked it up before bed one night and read at least half the book in a very short time.  It is the story of a young man who dreams of going to Egypt where a treasure awaits him.  He never loses sight of his dream and this story tells of all his travels and the mysterious people he encounters on his way.  I loved it and wish I had discovered it a long time ago.

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What have you been reading lately?

New Reading Material......

I was looking for some new reading material and now I've got this nice stack of books sitting on my bookshelf, courtesy of my dear friend Jenny (all except The Bone Garden which was sent to me by Lisa).  Jenny and I spent some quality time together on Saturday night, having dinner at The Bulldog in NE Mpls, and hanging out at her house playing Scrabble and watching the movie Baby Mama.  Good times!

I did not get any photos of Jenny and I together, but I did take a picture of the most delicious chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting that the owner of Bulldog treated us to.  I MUST get a recipe for this frosting, it was heavenly!

What other fun books should I be looking to add to my pile????  (You can see the last 100 books I have read in my left sidebar)

The Twilight Series......

After two months, I finally finished the Twilight  series last week.

YES, I am a self-proclaimed bookworm and it took me over two months to read them!!!  Not sure why, but I just couldn't get into these books the way so many other people have.  Or maybe the fact that I took my time reading them had something to do with why I couldn't get into it??  I enjoyed the story for the most part, but I did not think it was the best series I have ever read.  I enjoyed Harry Potter much, much more.

The first book, Twilight, was good.  It introduced the two main characters, Bella and Edward.  I was not hooked after the first book but went ahead and read the 2nd one anyway because I had already purchased it.  The 2nd book, New Moon, took awhile to get going.  I really enjoyed the introduction of a new character, Jacob, and the twist it brought to the story.  The 3rd book, Eclipse, was my favorite and was the one I read the quickest.  I really, really wanted Bella to choose the one she didn't choose.  The 4th book, Breaking Dawn, was kind of far-out there.  I was not happy with the choices Bella made, but it was definitely interesting.  I kind of thought they humanized the whole concept of vampires too much in this book.  When I finally finished the series, I had a sense of relief that they were finally over, rather than sad that there wasn't another book coming out.

I am glad I read the books so now I know what they're all about, but I just can't give them the same glowing recommendation that so many others have.  They were good, but not great.  Did anyone else feel the same way as me??  Or did you think this series was the best ever?

Book Bandwagon.....

I have seen this book series mentioned on many blogs lately (Greta, Adrienne and others).  The book keeps popping up everywhere and it was staring me down at the grocery store the other night, so I decided to buy it along with the second book in the series.  I guess I will soon see what the BFD is! lol.  Who else is into this book/series so I know who to discuss with when I am finished?

It has been wonderful having the freedom to read for pleasure again!  I just finished another good book by Jodi Picoult, sent to me a few months ago by my blogging-pal Rolana.  Thanks Rolana, I enjoyed it!  The story in this one was pretty interesting.....Jodi Picoult sure knows how to think up controversial topics and story lines. I wonder what she will think of next??!!

A few weeks ago I decided to sell my bookcase, which meant I had to pack up 90% of my books.  I posted many of the "thrillers" on paperbackswap.com.  I LOVE this site and I have been successful swapping several books.  Take a look at this list of books on my bookshelf and let me know if you are interested in any of these books...I need to find new homes for them (Sitting in storage under the stairs is not a happy home for good books)Download [email protected]_Bookshelf.csv.

And in other book news, here is the current NYT Bestseller List.

Happy Reading!

I can't wait to Read for FUN again!

Oh, I cannot wait to read just for fun again!!!!

I do not mind reading the classics, but it is boring sometimes.  It isn't the same when you  have to read in small spurts and then stop to analyze and take quotes for a paper you have to write.  I have been reading My Antonia forever now and I am only half way through.  I enjoyed this book a lot more before I was assigned to read it!

I am on lesson 9 of 15 for this American Literature class.  Not having a strict time line (and the massive amount of writing I am required to do) has made this class drag on forever.  The good news is I got my mid-term grade in the mail and it was MUCH better than I had expected.

I can't wait to get one of my newer Jodi Picoult books in my hands :)
Besides putting myself on a spending freeze, I have not wanted to tempt myself with books I haven't had time to read (for fun).

Any great books I should tempt myself with???? You can see whta type of books I enjoy by checking out my left sidebar :) Your suggestions might give me some incentive to finish these assignments!

A Sore Shoulder, Ethan Frome & More layouts :)

My shoulder has been hurting something awful.  Its the muscle between my neck and my shoulder that is really painful.  Probably from carrying too many things back and forth between my schools.  I was so miserable that I took Friday off of work so that I could rest, put heat on it  and take some medication.  I spent the entire day and night laying on the sofa, reading Ethan Frome and typing an essay for my literature class. 

The rest helped quite a bit and my shoulder didn't really hurt as much today.  I spent most of  today scrapping......its great to see my stack of layouts-to-create get smaller :) These scans just don't do these layouts justice.....
My favorite thing to do while scrapping is watch TV episodes online at www.abc.com. Its funny because I am not a Tv person usually, but its nice to have something to do while I scrap. My new favorite shows are Eli Stone and Samantha Who?

Today was a really beautiful day so we took a drive through the country and grilled steaks for dinner. I can feel spring coming and I love it!

Huck Finn & a couple more layouts....

I finally finished my essay for Huck Finn.  Just how exciting do you think it is to analyze Twain's criticisms of society and document evidence through out the book?  My Lit class is wayyyyyy too much work for a 3 credit undergrad class!!!  I only have 3 lessons done out of 15 (plus a midterm and final).  I hate this and cannot wait to be finished!!!

To congratulate myself on getting it finished, I scrapped for a couple of hours.  I am officially done with 2007 pics!

Skippyjon Jones (Its story time!)

Do you know this book? Its my current favorite children's book...so much fun to read aloud! (I NEED to get the other books about Skippyjon, he's too cute!)

This video isn't the best because I was using my little point and shoot to film while I was reading it...not so easy to do!

Check out my read aloud below, the story is about 7-8 minutes long.  Your kids will enjoy this one!

Best Sellers: Book Talk

Several weeks ago I had a really great philosophical and spiritual conversation with one of my new co-workers following a study group meeting.  The next time I saw her she handed me this book Eat, Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and told me she thought it was wonderful and thought I would love it based on the conversation we had had previously.  The character in the book somewhat reminded her of me and she thought I could get a lot out of reading it.

She was right! It is a wonderful book and I am enjoying it quite a bit.  I do not typically read non-fiction, but I love reading memoirs.  Apparently many other people have taken to this book as well, as it is now #1 paperback non-fiction on the NY Times Bestseller List.  Has anyone beside Jennifer read this yet?

In other books news, one of the courses I am taking this spring is an American Literature course and I am looking forward to reading some great classics, including:

• The Great Gatsby
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Their Eyes Were Watching God
• Death of a Salesman
• Ethan Frome
• My Antonia

I am always searching for new books and new authors. Thanks to all of you who post about good books or make recommendations, it is usually a big help!

Guilt-free reading pleasure!

I did it! I just finished up my last class of the semester, all projects, papers and other assignments have been turned in, graded and a distant memory.....Feels GREAT!!! I have to say i am very proud of myself for my scholarly achievements this semester.  It was grueling, but like ya'll've (LOL, that one was for my Southern girls) told me, it was worth it.  I do have two more classes this spring starting in February, so until then, I am going to read the good books that have been waiting for me.  Starting with this one:

I love books by Jodi Picoult, she is my most favorite author.

Off to start it now!
Goodnight

Books.

I have been reading some good ones lately!

I am currently reading How to Be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward.  This is an extremely fast-moving book about a young woman named Caroline who fifteen years ago decided to run away from home with her two younger sisters, until her littlest sister disappeared on the day they were set to leave home.  Never having given up hope that her little sister was still alive, she heads to Montana after seeing a picture of a young woman who she thinks might be the long-lost sister.

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I also just finished The #1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.  This is the firstbook in a series about Mma Ramotswe, the one and only lady private detective in Botswana, Africa.  Not only is she proud and fat, but she is also very clever and I love her adventures!  I had heard about the book years ago but had no idea what it was about and kind of dismissed it. (I had no idea it took place in Africa).  So glad I bought it! I actually just ordered the 2nd-3rd books in the series from http://www.paperbackswap.com  and another of his from a different series after I finished reading this one.

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I read this one last week, There's a (slight) Chance I Might be Going to Hell by Laurie Notaro. I wasn't sure what to expect with this one after reading the title, but it came recommended by a blogging buddy and I was not disappointed!  It is a very funny story about a 30-something woman whose husband accepts a job at a University and moves them  across the country (away from all their friends) to a small-town.  While there, she has an extremely difficult time making friends (but the things that happen to her while trying are pretty hilarious) and decides to enter the town's Sewer Pipe Queen pageant.  Loved this one also, and have ordered a few other of her books!

PSA: Be careful with the Jalapenos!

PSA: If you ever find yourself chopping real jalapenos, make sure you never rub your eye, no matter how many times you've washed your hands.  It will burn like HELL and you will find yourself flushing your eye and holding ice over it (for what feels like forever) until the burn cools.  Your eye will swell up and you will have a hard time seeing.

So, um, yeah, I am the idiot who pulled that move.  Its all good NOW, 12 hours later!

I cannot believe it is Friday already! Where did the last week go?  I have been hanging out all week, going to lunch with my honey and relaxing to the max.  I even had Mexican food three times this week!

Went out on the boat with my neighbors on Wednesday evening while they fished.  It was very hot and sunny that day....no fish for them, but I caught a tan :) It always surprises me how fast I go from white-girl to brown-girl.  The few hours I was out with the fam on Father's Day gave me a lot of good color.  I have to be very careful of my face though, because I have a skin-condition called melasma and the pigment in my face is very uneven....I get super dark patches when I am in the sun so I usually wear heavy sunscreen and a visor to protect my forehead.  It sucks, but I do NOT want skin cancer like my Gramps.  He has to have them removed like every-other-month.  Here is a pic I captured on the lake (Bald Eagle Lake, a few blocks from our house).  This is one of the only sections of the lake that doesn't have big homes on it.

Books: I am reading a new book, The Kindness of Strangers, by Katrina Kittle.  So far it is very good! It is written from the viewpoints of different characters, similar to some of Jodi Picoult books.  The subject matter also reminds me of something Jodi Picoult would write about.  Very good.  I am also re-reading Harry Potter 6.  I always re-read the book that comes before the newest release so that I can remember all the details when the new one comes out.

Speaking of books, I have already sent out five books to people on www.paperbackswap.com and have received one in the mail (two more on their way).  I have three credits ready to be redeemed for new books too :) Has anyone else signed up yet?  I have soooo many books on my shelves and have collected them for years.  I have many that I would never dream to part with (my favorites and classics), but there are some that I bought that were just "okay",  not "keepers".  Those are the ones I have listed to trade.  I think I need to make a list of all the books I still want to read/own.  Any recommendations out there?

Have a super weekend!

My new discovery: Paperbackswap.com

It was a beautiful, hot sunny weekend here.  We didn't do much this weekend, just took it easy, relaxed and went swimming over at his parents house for most of the weekend.  I love, love, love this kind of weather and sitting out, reading a good book.  I read The Pact by Jodi Picoult.  Very, very good.  I just love her books, the stories are so deep.  I am currently reading Beach Road by James Patterson.

Being that I have just three more days of work and then will spend the summer blissfully unemployed, reading to my heart's content, I have been thinking about all the books I'd like to read. 

Thankfully I just discovered http://www.paperbackswap.com/.  This site is so cool, anyone ever hear of it? It might be similar to http://www.bookcrossing.com/, but I think it is easier to use.  To start you just need to list 9 books you're willing to part with, and you get 3 credits for books you want to receive.  Each time you send out a book, you get a credit.  I started off by listing 27 books (I have about 200 more books to list on there) and I will already be mailing two of them out in the morning.  I am also expecting my first three books by the end of the week...just in time for my summer vacation to start :)  If anyone is interested, I highly recommend this site, it seems incredibly easy and safe. I'd love to be able to swap with people I know, too :) . Make sure to add me as a buddy and use my name as a referrer if you sign up...thanks!

Not much else is new, but I did order a bunch of Love, Elsie papers from www.amillionlittlethings.com .  These should also arrive just in time for my summer vacation :)

3 days to go!

Books, books, books...

I saw this survey about books on Jessica's blog a few weeks ago and I had to steal it for my own!

A book that made you cry: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom.   Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls.  Many others also, but those stand out.

A book that scared you: It by Stephen King.   I HATE clowns!

A book that made you laugh: Books that involve the character Stephanie Plum, Bounty Hunter (Janet Evanovich)

A book that disgusted you: Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane.  The book itself was excellent, but learning about Apartheid in South Africa for the first time made me totally disgusted

A book you loved in elementary school: The Baby Sitters Club, Chronicles of Narnia (C.S Lewis), Where the Sidewalk Ends (Shel Silverstein), Little House on the Prairie (Laura Ingalls Wilder).

A book you loved in middle school: Sweet Valley High, RL Stine books

A book you loved in high school: The House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros), The Bean Trees (Barbara Kingsolver), Sula by Toni Morrison

A book you hated in high school: Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad), Lord of the Flies (William Golding)

A book you loved in college: Catcher in the Rye (J.D Salinger), Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

A book that challenged your identity: DaVinci Code by Dan Brown.

A series that you love: Harry Potter (Jk Rowling), Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich) Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)

Your favorite horror book: ?? Not into horror books.

Your favorite science fiction book: I cannot think of any sci-fi that I have read??!!  I liked Star Wars, but those were obviously movies.

Your favorite fantasy: Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings.

Your favorite mystery: I LOVE mysteries!!! especially those by Tami Hoag, James Patterson, Sandra Brown, Patricia Cornwell, John Sandford and Dan Brown   

Your favorite biography: Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Your favorite “coming of age” book: Are you there God? Its me, Margaret.  By Judy Blume

Your favorite classic: My Antonia (Willa Cather).

Your favorite romance book: Remembrance by Jude Deveraux.  Best story!!.

Your favorite book not on this list: Memoirs of a Geisha, The Time Travelers Wife, Tenth Circle (or anything written by Jodi Picoult)

A happier day....

Today is going to be a MUCH better day, I can feel it ;)

Things I am happy about at the moment:

**Its Friday.  TGIF!!!!!!!!

** The sun is shining and it is supposed to be at least 70'

**I have the cutest nieces in the whole world.  These beautiful pics were taken by Michelle's friend, Christine Keppers.  She has just started a photography business in town and I'd be happy to pass along her business info to any who are interested :) She plans to charge a flat fee for the session and photo editing and will put them all on a disk so you can print your own pics.  Cool idea, huh?

**My wonderful BF put me in a much better mood last night. We went shopping :)

**New reading material purchased last night at Barnes & Noble.  Discovered that they sell Godiva and also products from The Cheesecake Factory.  Love having good reading material all lined up for the next few months :)

**My web design class meets again this afternoon.  Hopefully I will learn some new tricks for Photoshop :)

**Possibly going to have sushi or something else tonight with some friends

**Plans to spend tomorrow up at the lake with my family.  Might even do a little fishing :)

The Secret......

How many of you have heard of or have read this book? Or have seen the documentary movie that is based on it?

I was tempted to buy it last week after my friends Kim and Bradie raved so much about it.  I also saw that it is currently.  #1 on the NY Times Best Seller list.  I looked through the book, but didn't buy it.  Seemed kind of boring to me, but then again I am not the type to buy self-help books.  I guess I won't know "The Secret" unless I leave my comfort zone a little, huh?

For those who have read it, is it really life-changing????

Today you get a list....

Lots of random thoughts today, so this will be a list-type post :)

**Thank you sooooooo much for all the birthday wishes, cards, calls, Ims, e-mails, etc.  Birthdays are supposed to make you feel special, and I do, thanks to all of you :)  30 really doesn't feel as scary as it sounds!  LOL

**I had a really nice birthday.  I was taken out shopping on Sunday (tons of fun new stuff from Bath & Body) and then to dinner at Macaroni Grill.  I was really craving Italian...felt a little deprived after missing dinner on Friday night with my girls at Old Spaghetti Factory.  From the few pics I have seen of that night...looks like I missed out on a ton of fun :(

** Watched a new comedy DVD on Sunday night..... Mike Epps: Inappropriate Behavior.  Do you know him?  He is a comedian who was in all the Friday movies with Ice Cube (played Day-Day).  I was really disappointed in his act.  Every other word out of his mouth was the "N" word.  All of his stuff was really racist too.  So disrespectful!!!  I love comedy, but this wasn't funny to me at all.

**I tried my first Rachel Ray recipe for dinner last night.  Turkey Florentine Meatball Heroes.  Pretty good!  I am going to have to start using ground turkey in place of ground beef more often.  It was fun to try something new....we are totaslly sick of the same old stuff all the time.  Does anyone have any favorite recipes sites they'd like to share???

**Treated myself to some delicious dessert.  Is this eye-candy or what?!!

**Looks like the Anna Nicole drama is getting crazier by the day.....three "Baby's Daddys" now??  I wonder how many others will step out of the woodwork???  So many conspiracy theories all over the internet about how/why she died.  Apparently she was supposedly going to marry Howard K Stern on Feb 23rd.  Was he the one who killed her and her son??Her house was also ransacked following her death.  Who and why? The craziest story I had heard was that Anna and her son Daniel were a little "too close"...and he was the real father of her baby.  He killed himself and then Anna killed herself after paternity tests were ordered because all of this was about to be discovered.  Far-fetched, I know!!!  Who would have thought she'd be more popular in death????

**Reading this really good book.  Would love to have hours on end to read, read, read!  Did you know that if you click on any of the books I have in my sidebar, you will be directed to Amazon.com and you can buy that book?  I am in the Amazon associates program and I'd love to get some credit for showcasing these good books :)  Help a sister out and buy some books!

**Bloglines is making me mad....for some reason, my blog was deleted and is no longer getting subscribers. Hopefully those of you who like this blog will see this post and re-subscribe to it, or you will no longer get updates when I make posts :(  I have seen a slight drop in readers lately....now I know why!! Has this ever happened to anyone else?

Let's Talk Books..

Just finished The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult.  I have to say this was probably one of the best books I have read in the past year, and as you can tell by the left sidebar, I have read many :)  This book was different than her other books in the style that it was written, but I thought it was captivating and had enough twists and turns to keep me up late at night reading.  It only took a few days to get through almost 400 pages.  I cannot wait to get my hands on the books she has coming out later this year and next.  It is only #11 on the NY Times Best Seller list for paper back fiction, but I can see it moving up quickly when word gets out how good it is.  I need to read all of her books, they are so good!

Currently reading the 3rd book in the Nora Roberts "Circle" trilogy about a group of 6 who were selected by the "gods" to fight and lead the war against vampires who plan to take over earth and all the other worlds.  Its slow-going.  I used to be a huge fan of NR, but it seems like she is moving away from the "romance" and more toward "supernatural".  Of course there is still a big focus on romantic relationships between characters as she has always delivered (yes, still some hot scenes.lol), but it just feels different.  The only reason I have stuck this series out is because I have somewhat of a curiosity about vampires.  The three books are so long, it almost reminds me of The Lord of the Rings...but much easier to read, language-wise.

I think there might be only one novel left on my bookcase that I have not read yet: Water for Elephants. So that is next on my list, but  I would love some recommendations if anyone has any...then I can order myself some books for my upcoming bday :)

Many of you might also be interested in this list of the 100 best books for kids.  Many of these you probably read as a kid, I did! I have read probably 80% of them at one point or another and would like to buy more of them for my collection at school.

Happy reading!

Ranger or Morelli??

Ranger or Morelli.  Can I get a shoutout from those of you who know what I am talking about here?????!!!!!!  These two guys are HOT!! I know who the logical choice is, but I also know why it is hard for my girl Stephanie. LOL! For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, I am about half-way through with Janet Evanovich's,  Twelve Sharp,  the most current book in the Stephanie Plum Bounthy-hunter series.  I don't want it to end!! I know some of you ahve already read this...please tell me there will be at least one more book!!!!!!!!!  This series has come a LONG way from where it started, every book getting better.  Love it so much!

On another note....have any of you been reading about my brother Jeff's adventures in Scotland?? He has some interesting stories ( a very detailed account of every day, in fact)  and great pictures on his blog.  Don't forget to leave him a comment...he spent a lot of time writing it all up for everyone to read!

Hola Amigos

Hi! You think I would have so much time to update this blog at the moment, but I am really just lazy!

Thanks to everyone who commented on the album I made for Kara....I worked really hard of it and am proud of the way it turned out! And I think it is safe to say that Kara *loved* it!!

Here are a couple of pictures from her shower on Sunday afternoon.  We had a really nice time!

Leah, Mary, Mandie, Me and Kara.....

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I started a new book yesterday called The Rome Affair by Laura Caldwell.  This is one of the books that Kristin Harmel (who wrote How to Sleep with a Movie Star) recommended for her book club this summer.  Whoa! It is a psychological thriller about a young married couple and the wife's crazy best friend.   I found myself up until like 3am last night reading it about half-way through. Can't wait to see what happens next!

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I also tried to get caught up on the blogs I read last night and came across a very interesting link on Kristi Conte's website.....Blogshares.  It is an Fantasy Stockmarket for Weblogs!  What does that mean, exactly? I am still trying to figure it out, but this is the gist.  Anyone who has a blog can make it "public" and people can buy and sell shares for different blogs.  5000 shares per blog! Popular blogs can be worth a pretty penny, because each share is worth more money.  Each person gets $500 to start with and can buy/trade available stock.  Although I have no idea what I am doing, it sounds pretty fun!!  Anyone with a blog should get in on this action!!  One thing I have found though, is that that website is kind of hard to navigate.  Try it and tell me what you think!!  Anyone already have their blog listed with blogshares???

I guess that is all for now...gotta go run some errands!

Lake Country!

They sure don't call Minnesota "The land of 10,000 Lakes" for nothing!  I have been on like 7 different lakes in the area within the past month....its great that so many of our close friends and family have boats to invite us on! My man has been out fishing with his buddy at least 2-3 nights a week lately, and sometimes I tag along.  They choose different lakes all the time, depending on if they have any luck or not ;) So I went out fishing with the guys on Friday night for about 6 hours.  It was 98'. HOT times out there, but we brought lots of ice and water.   I always bring my camera with in case either of the boys catches a "big one".  Jay got lucky here with this Musky.  Probably a 3-4 pounder!

I am not at all excited about fishing...I think its cool when they catch one, but I think the whole process is pretty stinky and gross.  I enjoy being out on the lake though, because it is usually very relaxing. I always bring along a book.....what could be much better than floating on the smooth- as- glass water looking at the cool scenery....

,

.......and  soaking in the sun while  reading a good book.  And then watching the sun set......

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  So, speaking of books.....

I am currently reading In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.  It is a very well-written true-crime novel published in 1965.  Have any of you seen the movie Capote with Philip Seymour Hoffman?  This is the book that Capote was writing/researching in that movie, about a family in small-town Kansas who were brutally murdered in 1959.  I only just saw the movie about a month ago and bought the book last week at Shinders. I have never read true-crime before, but this story is very captivating....I often forget that it is a true story because I read so many other murder mysteries/thrillers.  He did such a good job of interviewing everyone for his book, that he was able to talk about the characters as though he made them up! It is cool that his book is making a comeback after the movie came out....good stuff.

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It was 100' on Saturday.  HOT!!!  I know it is like this everywhere.....I hope you all are staying cool! The Central Air runs in my house 24/7, I don't know how I'd live (or at least sleep!) without it.  We were supposed to hook up with Lanee, Rog and Jason on Big Marine Lake, but we never got connected with them.  We probably would've melted anyway! lol .  We ended up going to Jeff & Toni's house and watched Pirates of the Caribbean on cable, then we went to Heather's house to watch the Gravity Games on ESPN .....her buddy Tom Haugen was competing in the Bike/Vert event and took 6th place overall! These stunts are really cool (and dangerous)....reminds me of one of my favorite movies from the 80's, Rad.  Do any of you remember that movie? It has not yet been made to DVD and the VHS used is over $30.  Hard to come by, I guess! Makes me want to watch it again....

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On Sunday I met a group of friends down at Bald Eagle Lake (near my house).  We planned a little informal  gathering and everyone brought their kids.  Jere and Shannon also brought their boat to take some of the older kids tubing.

I was so happy to see Sarah and Chris's new baby girl, Mallory.  Such a  beautiful baby and family!

And there ya have it!

Weekend Stuff.......

Had fun on Friday night....  went up to Jason & Ruth's house for the night, along with Lanee and Roger.  We had a BBQ and then played many games of pool in the basement.....

Here is Lanee...

Ruthie and Jay....

Lanee and Me....

We also had a moonlit swim in the ginormous pool they have (no pics) and then hot-tubbed it until after midnight.  I love Jason & Ruth's house...it is the perfect party pad!

On Saturday I went to a birthday/pool party for Bradie's little girl at her mom's house for a few hours and then went home and scrapped.  Got a couple more cute layouts done for Kara's engagement album.  I plan to wait until I have them all done and give Kara her album before I post the pics here, but I am going to post them online in my gallery at Scrapjazz if you wanna see them!

I almost forgot to mention that I got my Purple & Silver Circle Journal back on Saturday!  It is soooo gorgeous!!  So far all but one girl was able to make a layout for me and the artwork is outstanding!!! I also got Alex's Green and Brown CJ and it is gorgeous too!!!  I will complete my entry and then it will probably be on its way home to Alex!  I should be getting Sarah's Red CJ and Valerie's Aqua CJ soon too, and I will make sure I post all those pages on here when finished.  This has been such a great group to work with and I just know that all the books are going to be maazing when completed.  I think it would be awesome to somehow publish the artwork in all the books..... this project should not go un-noticed ;) Here is a sneak peak of my book:

I got talked into going out on the boat again Sunday night.  I totally hate fishing, so I brought the new Janet Evanovich paperback, 11 On Top, to keep me company...Gotta love Stephanie Plum!! I was LOL so many times, these guys were having a hard time fishing! I literally read half the book in the few hours we were out there.  Also finished Mr. Maybe by Jane Green yesterday.  I love her chic-lit books! 

We brought the boat in just as the moon was rising....I love this pic! This is the epitome of what a summer evening should be!

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Quick birthday shout-out to Farrah, who turns 30 today!! Happy birthday hon!

***** New Banner and color scheme today!*****

Lazy Mode.....

During this last week that I have been off of work I have gotten into a bad sleep schedule...up 'til 2-3am and sleeping until about 10am most days. It killed me to have to get up so early again this morning with the start of Summer school.  I am sooooo not in the mood to work this summer!!!!!!!  It was pretty much the butt-crack-of-dawn when I rolled out of bed and made haste in getting my first day lessons ready since there were  so many other things I chose to do over the weekend instead......  Like drinking Mailbu/ OJ  and playing Trivial Pursuit with Heather on Saturday night.  We were both really bored so I made her come over to our house.  Closets have also been cleaned out to get things ready to sell on Ebay.   It was either buy a bigger house or start selling some stuff.  So selling stuff on eBay has now become my second job.  We have been talking about selling stuff on there for like three years and we posted our very first items tonight.  Yay!!!!!!

I got an e-mail today from one of the girls I know at Scrapjazz wanting to know if I had seen that I was this week's SJ Featured Artist. Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!   Its only been like two years now that I was hoping they would pick me :)  I have been fairly active on the boards for over two years now and post all of my work to the gallery, but they had still been selecting unfamiliar artists from time to time.  Someone even commented how one such featured artist was bragging about how she was chosen and that she thought it was funny because she wasn't even a real member. Thats pretty sad and ungrateful IMO!!  I am totally stoked that I was picked!

Currently reading Jennifer Weiner's newest paperback, Goodnight Nobody.  Has a different feel than her other books...kind of like a mystery.  Decent so far....I am about 1/3 through.

Thought I would switch to Firefox last week but it is slower than hell and I cannot stand it!!!!!!  I also cannot get into my Typepad account for some weird reason.  Gonna stick with IE because it is much faster on my computer!

Been craving Italian lately....gonna have dinner with Susan tomorrow night.  Bring on the garlic and cheese! Ciao.......

Book Talk......

Finished My Friend Leonard by James Frey last weekend.  Great book, so sad in so many parts.  I loved A Million Little Pieces (I read it before all the controversy) and this book was just as good.  I thought it was interesting that the cover declared the book  "An imaginative story of a real life."  Not sure what was real and what wasn't, but it was sad how much grief James went through those first couple of years after rehab.  I am glad he put some of his efforts into writing and didn't give up...made a great story. 

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I am currently trying to get through The Effects of Light by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore.  Here is Amazon's summary of the book,

"Miranda Beverly-Whittemore's debut novel, The Effects of Light, is the story of Myla and Prudence (Pru) Wolfe, whose father David must raise them after they lose their mother in a tragic car accident. Helping David rear his daughters are a clan of academics, artists, and intellectuals, including photographer Ruth Handel, whose nude portraits of the girls become the centerpiece around which their lives unravel. Part mystery, part metaphor, part love story, and part philosophical treatise, The Effects of Light is an intriguing, yet perhaps overly ambitious first effort for this young author."

It is an interesting story, but it just isn't that exciting.  More controversial of a topic than anything.  As I near the end I am hoping for a major twist or something.  If I don't get one, I am going to be very disappointed! This has been a slow 350-pager, if you KWIM.

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Got an e-mail from Kristin Harmel about this months The Lit Chic- Book Club picks from the Daily Buzz:

THE ROME AFFAIR by Laura Caldwell

This one is a murder mystery.  Sounds like a story that could easily be made into a cool movie.

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FROGS & FRENCH KISSES by Sarah Mlynowski

This one was intended for teens/pre-teens, but it sounds like any female would like it! I know lots of teachers in particular who read young adult fiction....I need to read more of it, I think :)

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GIRLS NIGHT OUT by assorted authors.

I believe that this one is a compilation of short stories by at least 23 chic-lit authors.  Can't wait!

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I think I am going to order all three on Amazon!    If anyone else plans to purchase any of these books, let me know and we can chat about them on Kristin's chic-lit message board.  She has questions for each of the books that I can send to any of you too ;)

Before I put in my order at Amazon, does anyone else have any titles they think I'd die without? I read an extra lot in the summer.......

Thanks!

Random Post of the Week...

**Went to visit our friends Jeff and Toni after work tonight.  Georgia and Cidney are getting so big! Cidney turns one years old in three days:)

** Tomorrow is the last day of the school year.   It is bittersweet....I am sad to think that I might not be coming back to my school next year.  Might not see my students and their families that I have gotten to know so well for the past two years.  I was lucky to have a job I like so much.  Whether I am there half-time next year depends on if I can find another half-time position in my district SOON.  It isn't looking good, folks. I thought I'd have to go back to teaching special ed, but hundreds of those positions were also cut.  If I can't find a job on my own soon, they will assign me somewhere full-time when something in my licensure area opens up.   That could literally be the day before school starts or two weeks into the next year.  That sucks! The good news is that I am guaranteed my salary either way, so being tenured helps to ease the mind some.

**I will be teaching 4th grade students with learning disabilities this summer.  I will have Mon-Thurs off next week and then summer school starts Friday.  It runs 5 weeks, but I will only work the first four.

** I am having knee surgery on July 25th.  I will have 4 weeks to recover and then back to work..hopefully! The healing time needed for my procedure is up to 8 weeks.  I hope I am good enough to do the Tootsie Roll at Kara's wedding on Sept 9...I know she is looking forward to that!

**In the scrappy news, I ordered a ton of overlays and papers from Hambly Screen Prints today.  You have to check out Their layout gallery.  Wow!!  I even saw stuff made by my girls Christina Padilla, Jaime Warren and Kristi Contes.  how cool!  I am going to make some cool stuff when I get it and try to make that gallery too! I never submit my stuff because I'd rather do it for fun, but that looks fun too!

Then Greta asks me if I have seen the new Cricut by ProvoCraft yet.  Well no, I hadn't until she sent me to their site to check it out and now I want one of these bad boys! They are really sweet.  I have never had a Quikutz and this thing looks pretty techno-savy and you get like a million fonts and you can change the size on it too.  Thanks a lot, Greta...one more thing for me to put on my wish list! I think they are going for around $300? I bet Adrienne has one of these or will be getting one soon! I say that because she loves to shop and always has the coolest tools before anyone else I know.  If anyone seriously has this already, let me know what you think!

**I am reading My Friend Leonard by James Frey.  Not sure if he "embellished" this story, like he did with A Million Little Pieces, but I am enjoying it.  Love both books of his, despite all the controversy. Can't wait to read, read, read all summer long! Love it! Kim...I may take your suggestion and add bookreviews to the book thumbnails on my sidebar.  I might have more time to do that this summer.

**Sending positive thoughts to my girlfriend who is going to the Dr. tomorrow to make sure her cervical cancer hasn't come back.  She is the third friend of mine (that I know of )who has had cervical cancer. It is scary how many people are affected. 

**Sent those bookmarks out yesterday...hope you girls like the ones you get!

Good night!

Overtime.....

Lots of overtime happening in my neck of the woods....The Timberwolves lost to Philly tonight in Overtime, I have been working a lot and E has been putting in 60 hrs/week.  I have had to prioritize the little time I get between a late dinner and going to bed.  I never thought I would have to apologize for slacking on my blogging....but I am sorry that I haven't had as much time lately to read everyone's blogs as I would like.  I have also been MIA on the Scrapjazz Message Boards and I am 672 layouts behind in the gallery.  I plan to get caught up as much as I can on my two week vacation.

So what is keeping me so busy at work? I probably haven't explained much about what I do...I try not to talk about it too much here because I never know when one of those little stinkers might find me.  Not to mention people I work with! But anyway, I teach high-ability children all day long.  I used to be able to do the coolest enrichment activities/projects with them when I first started teaching gifted kids five years ago.  These days everything I do has to be aligned with the standards and the result is me teaching the high ability groups in the core-subject areas of reading and math.   Although I was always a good student in my accelerated math classes, it is not my favorite subject to teach. This year I am teaching the accelerated 2nd and 3rd grade math classes.  Reading is a different story...I love teaching it and working with the GT kids in this area is very fun and rewarding.  I have a 4th grade and a 5th grade class this year.  Sometimes we read stories from the Jr. Great Books and then have discussions based on a series of interpretive questions.  It is fascinating to hear their discussion and they are getting really good at using Accountable Talk and using the text as evidence to back up their opinions.  The books are also filled with rich vocabulary and we spend a lot of time learning the meaning of new words.  Some of my more creative students will write up scenes from the books they are reading and will act them out....I made up a packet of 100 activities that students can do to respond to books.  There is a choice that works great with just about any book they read and they enjoy the challenge.  Right now my 4th graders are reading Holes and my 5th graders are reading The Watson's Go to Birmingham.  Both excellent juvenile fiction books and the kids are sooooooo into it.  I have to stop them from reading on until the end...they would if they could!  Every thing I do takes a lot of planning time so I rarely have time on the computer (other than to check my e-mail about 5-10 times a day).

I also teach an after school program that runs an extra two hours after school.  Takes up too much of my time but I got suckered into doing it AGAIN.  For the 7th year straight! I keep telling myself that I will not do it again next year......but I keep coming back to torture myself some more. Actually, I like the extra $.  I can't think of any part-time job that would pay me this much, so why the heck not??!

I really didn't have any intentions of making a big long post about work and now I have totally forgotten what I wanted to write about in the first place! lol

ummmmm

ummmmm

okay...

Well, I guess I'll have to come back later!

Indulging the Scrap Bug

You like this new banner and colors? Halloween has come and gone and I have been wanting to use raspberry and light green for awhile now....you also gotta love Ricky Martin and this hot new video! Thanks to April for reminding me how awesome this song is and not making me feel ashamed that I still love Ricky after all the rumors.  I'd still let him rock my world!

On Saturdays  I usually clean the house.  Not today! Today was all about indulgence.  Indulging my need to read (finished the 7th Stephanie Plum novel) and also indulging the scrap bug inside me.  Trying to lessen the huge stack of pictures/papers sitting on my dresser.  Got these two finished.  Sorry for the pathetic scans! These colors are much more vivid IRL.....There is actually journaling in the 2nd layout, but you cannot see the pink writing :(

Going to have SukiYaki tonight and then hopefully watching Star Wars III later tonight!

NY Times Best Sellers

I started to read a book called The Traveler a few days ago and abandoned it after just two chapters.   I could tell right away that it just didn't seem to be within any genre that I usually read....it started like an action movie.  Harlequins fighting the something or others.  I don't mind watching these kind of stories as movies, but I just couldn't read it.  I thought it would be more DaVinci Code-like.  So now I am looking for some good books to read.  I just looked up the New York Times Bestsellers List and saw these:

PAPERBACK FICTION
Top 5 at a Glance
1. NORTHERN LIGHTS, by Nora Roberts
2. LONDON BRIDGES, by James Patterson
3. ECHOES, by Danielle Steel
4. HOUR GAME, by David Baldacci
5. TWISTED, by Jonathan Kellerman

6. THE KITE RUNNER, by Khaled Hosseini.

7. GHOST WALK, by Heather Graham

8. WICKED, by Gregory Maguire.

9. NIGHT TALES: NIGHT SHIELD, NIGHT MOVES, by Nora Roberts.

10. LIGHT ON SNOW, by Anita Shreve

11. METRO GIRL, by Janet Evanovich.

12. IT HAPPENED ONE AUTUMN, by Lisa Kleypas.

13. IN HER SHOES, by Jennifer Weiner.

14. HARD TRUTH, by Mariah Stewart.

15. ANGELS & DEMONS, by Dan Brown.

Has anyone read any of them? I have read the ones in red.  Loved Angels & Demons... Dan Brown is really good;  I also have read all of Jennifer Weiner.  I can't wait to see In Her Shoes now that it is out!  On this list I know I have got to pick up Metro Girl...I love Janet Evanovich and the Stephanie Plum series.  I have always loved Nora Roberts too, but I haven't read any of her books in a few years now.  I kind of gave up romance novels when I discovered chic-lit.  I haven't read a Danielle Steel novel in eons either.....every book of hers seems too much the same:  Gorgeous woman who overcomes some hardship and is rescued by some gorgeous hunk who is magnificent in the sack.  Am I wrong?  Are her newer novels any different? Should I give Danielle another chance?

Any awesome mysteries or other novels anyone cares to recommend? I need something, quick!!  I don't think I have ever gone more than 2-3 days without a book.  Remember me, 76% "pure nerd"!?

By the way....I was wrong when I said Memoirs of a Geisha was a true story.  It isn't.  But it sure seems realistic! The author did his research of that time period extremely well :)

Just for the heck of it.....

PAPERBACK ADVICE
Top 5 at a Glance
1. WHY DO MEN HAVE NIPPLES? by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg
2. THE SOUTH BEACH DIET, by Arthur Agatston
3. BAD DOG, by R. D. Rosen, Harry Prichett and Rob Battles
4. WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING, by Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg and Sandee Hathaway
5. RICH DAD, POOR DAD, by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter

Even though these books aren't my cup of tea, after I read the title of book #1, I thought, "That is a great question!"  Why the hell do men have nipples???

Memoirs of a Geisha.....

I have always loved learning about other cultures, people and places around the world.  I love hearing accents and making new friends with people of different backgrounds. It comes as no surprise that I have always been attracted to guys that are tall, dark and handsome!!  When I was growing up one of my best friends was latino and had the most beautiful brown eyes and long, dark, curly eyelashes.  I wanted to look just like her... I would've traded by blue eyes for her brown ones any day.

Anyway, back to my love of other cultures.  My interest and fascination with the Japanese culture began about 7 years ago....around the time that E and I started dating.  Being that he is half-Japanese (and half Norwegian) I wanted to learn more about his family and heritage.  It started with a visit to Chicago where his mother's family has lived since they came from Japan in the 1950's.  I had my very first taste of sushi and tried sake (Japanese alcohol) for the very first time.  Nothing like having the entire family watch you as you try raw fish for the first time!   Prior to having a stroke two years ago, his grandma used to hand-make the most beautiful Japanese dolls.  She would use scraps of silk to make the gowns on the dolls and the body parts are somehow made from egg-shells.  Many hours goes into each doll...she would make one for E's mom and her brother and sister each year.  Here are a few that are in E's mom's collection.  I wish you could see them in real life, because they are so detailed and beautiful!

E and I have always talked about how cool it would be to visit Japan.  Maybe even go there for a year and teach English or something.  I know they have teacher exchange programs like that available, so who knows??  I am incredibly jealous that my two younger brothers were able to go to Tokyo this past May for a little visit.  Check out their pictures at Jeff's Website if you'd like to see them!  Erick and I would also like to learn Japanese someday!

I started this post because I am in the middle of a wonderful read, Memoirs of a Geisha.  Click the link for more details and editorial review.  This book is the fascinating true story of a young girl in Japan during the Depression who loses her family and is taken in by an Okiya where she trains to become a geisha.  For those who don't know, a Geisha is a beautiful un-married artisan who is paid the big-bucks to entertain men (music, song, dance) in Japanese Tea Houses.  Lots of effort goes into making these women as beautiful as possible.  The story is very fast moving and is told from the little girl's naive perspective (but written by an English-speaking author who conducted the interviews with her when she was an adult).  I have had a hard time putting it down! It has given me great insight to this aspect of the Japanese culture.  I definitely recommend it.....it will also be made into a movie sometime soon.

Good bye..........shikkei!!!

Statix X and Harry Potter

Its still incredibly HOT.  Thank God for my Central Air....I am so spoiled! I have been reluctant to leave the house at all this weekend.  I almost opted-out of a rock show.....Static-X at First Avenue.  For those of you who haven't heard about First Avenue, it is THE club in the movie Purple Rain with my man, Prince. Well this also happens to be the HOTTEST effin club in ALL of Minnesota.  So wouldn't it be a great idea to go to a heavy metal show in a club on the hottest day of the year, the humidity higher than my bathroom during a long, hot shower? I knew what it was like and it was all I could do to get myself motivated.  I seriously debated between staying home and finishing Harry Potter or going to see this band who has so much energy, they kick my butt every time I see them.  And I hadn't seen them in like 3 years.  So, of course I had to go!  There were a few opening bands so E and I hung out in the A/C'd bar upstairs where it was only 87' instead of 110' or hotter out on the floor.  I stayed up there by myself for the first part of Static-X's set, but I just couldn't hear the music...so I braved the heat and sweat and went down closer to the floor.  These guys were rockin out...one of my favorite heavy metal bands!  ****For those of you who do not know this, E is a BIG time metal head.  He LOVES all kinds of music, very ecclectic taste, but loves some head bangin' shizit.  It has come to grow on my after all these years of us together :)

***So I finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this morning. WOW! What an ending! Bring on Book 7...NOW! This is now my favorite book of the series because it explains so much and so much happens.  It totally leaves you wanting to know how it all ties together in book 7.  I have been following discussion of the book on a few message boards and find the theories pretty fascinating.  I might even re-read the book soon, that is how much I liked it!

***I also got some scrappin' done this weekend.  Did this layout. The letters that say"summer" are the Heidi Swapp ghost letters and I 'daubered" them and the ink smeared all over, so the little circles were my way of covering them up! I don't love how it turned out, but I have to prove to myself that I can make mistakes and let it go!

Confessions of a Shopaholic

This terrible never-ending rain kept me in the house last night.... I spent at least two hours cleaning the house after work and then made dinner.  My friend Lanee came over for a bit and then I decided to snuggle up with a book....Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella.  This book is hilarious!!!  The main character, Rebecca, is a total shopoholic who has worked herself into a debt that can't seem to disappear.  Of course she is totally irresponsible with her money and does her best to dodge her creditors...you know, throwing out the credit card statements without reading them, etc.  I highly recommend this book to those of you that enjoy a light, fast and extremely funny read.  I guess there is a series of Shopaholic books with this same character....so I am off to Target tonight to get a couple more of them!