Booking Through Thursday & Fall Into Reading 2010 Update

I really like the question today over at Booking Through Thursday.  They asked..."I’ve seen many bloggers say that what draws them to certain books or authors is good writing, and what causes them to stop reading a certain book or author is bad writing. What constitutes good writing and bad writing to you?"

For me good writing constitutes developing characters and or the plot, but also characters and plots that I can imagine myself in.  I like to put myself into the stories that I'm reading.

What constitutes bad writing to me is when the author is overly descriptive.  I like my imagination to make up some of what is being told to me.  That can also go the other way...not descriptive enough makes me not very interested in what I'm reading and I'd probably put it down faster than one that is overly descriptive.  At least with the overly descriptive ones I can skip ahead.

Another big factor for me as far as what makes me stay with an author is if the characters are continually evolving.  I can't stand a series where book 5 is starting to read just like book 1 did.  I've even read some authors where their books are not series but all of their characters are just the same.  When they do that it just doesn't pull me into the book and I'll probably put it down. 

These are just some of the writing characteristics in authors that I find either good or bad.  There are many more but these are the main ones for me and what makes me read more of a particular author.  What about you?





Back on September 27, I posted that I was joining in again with Fall Into Reading 2010.  I had a short but managable list of books.  I've finished two on my list and added one.  Today is close to being the halfway mark (it ends on December 20) and I'm not feeling like I've done much reading.  Especially if you consider how many books I usually get read during these reading challenges. You can click here, here and here to see my past lists.  See?  My lists were not only longer but I read much more.  Guess I better get on the bandwagon and start reading more and more often.  Now the book that I am currently reading, and the one that I have added to my list, is one that I found in Sam's library.  It's a book that he had ordered last year from Scholastic and I honestly am having a hard time putting it down.  It's called The Robe of Skulls: The First Tale from the Five Kingdoms by Vivian French. As one reviewer put it, "This book was an absolute riot. While it is a super-fast read, you will find yourself enthralled with the quirkiness of the characters and loving the story. The illustrations are very comical, too!" I have to say that so far it's a fantastic read and I can't wait to read the other books in this series!  Who cares if I'm not the target audience!

I may conquer this list yet and add to it.  It's gotten cooler here and really is starting to feel like Fall.  Not to mention that I think we're finally getting settled into our new schedule of how our days go.  I think that was the biggest obstacle to getting some reading time.  So...have you gotten any reading done lately?  If so, what have you read?  What are you currently reading or what do you want to read?  Let me know!  I should have my review of The Nativity Collection up either later today or tomorrow so don't forget to come back and check it out. 

Here is my "Books to Read" list and my progress:

A Deadly Yarn by Maggie Sefton ~ I'm over half way through. ~ DONE!
The Nativity Collection by Robert J Morgan ~ Book Review coming up! ~ DONE!
The Robe of Skulls: The First Tale from the Five Kingdoms by Vivian French ~ Almost Finished!
I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali
Uncommon Faith by Trudy Krisher
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

And as promised before I'm finally getting you Sam's list.  I'm hoping that we'll add to it as we go along and considering that next week is National Young Readers Week we should do more reading then!

The Last Mission (Laurel-Leaf Historical Fiction) by Harry Mazer
On the Move (Minipedia)

You Capture ~ Silence

I didn't have to look far to capture this weeks "assignment". This week there were actually two themes to chose from. Either Halloween or Silence. I chose Silence. My first thought was church but then I thought of music. I know, I know...silence in music? Yes! For me there is a peace and a silence to music. Here is my capture...

See what I mean? If you'd like to see more captures just click on the button above.  So...what do you think of when you think of silence?

Wordless and Wordful Wednesday ~ Fall Is Here

If you would like to see more Wordless photos head on over to Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom, Live and Love...Out Loud, and J. Leigh Designz. Now if you're like me and sometimes you can't stay wordless head on over to see some Wordful Wednesday photos at Parenting by Dummies.  Don't forget to sign the Linky below.

Three Boys and God

Early this morning as I was walking 3 boys across the street (I'm a crossing guard...remember?) when a couple of them ask me a question.  "Do you believe in God?" 

At first I wasn't sure quite what they asked me so I asked them to repeat the question.  "Do you believe in God?" 

My answer was, "Yes!" 

Then the third boy asked me "How do I know that He exists?" 

Now, remember I'm a school employee and the first thought that ran through my head was, how am I going to answer this...then I replied, "I know it in my heart!" 

The 2 boys that had originally asked me turned to the other boy and said, "See!  There is a God!". 

The third boy replied back, "But you can't see Him or feel Him."

I replied, "Isn't there some things that you know are there but you can't see or feel?" 

The first two boys replied back with me in agreement.  Then they went on to name of quite a few teachers and the principal of the school stating the he could go ask anyone of them and they would say that, "Yes, there is a God!"

Makes you feel good to hear kids talking about God and trying to convince a friend too!

Money Mondays ~ Week 4

Christmas will be here before you know it.  Do you know where you can do a lot of shopping?  Here is a great place to find lots of different products for sale and you'll be supporting all of the wonderful craftsmen out there!  Take a look around and see all that's there!  Please link up if you'd like to join in our fun as well.

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It's Monday and time to link-up and join in on the Blog Hop for Money Mondays. To read how Money Mondays got started check out my Money Mondays Page.

So here we go! Link Up your Etsy Stores, Websites, Photography Sites, ect. I'm enjoying hosting this blog hop every week and visiting all of yours as well. Grab the button above and place it on your site. Please remember to keep it family friendly. Explicit Sites will be removed.  Remember to grab the Blog Hop Code below to share with others!  Let's all have some fun, promote our own businesses and check out every one else!

Flag Football

Sam has had a wonderful season with his Upwards Flag Football team.  In fact they only have one more game to play.  It's a make-up game and they get to play under the lights again on Tuesday evening.  His team is still undefeated with three of those games being shut-outs!  This past Saturday Sam was thrilled to look over at the side-lines where we were sitting to see his Aunt as well as two of our friends that are just like aunts to him.  It was a wonderful time and they won 46-6!  Here he is with his "aunts".  I can't wait till Tuesday!  And, yes, I'll have my camera with me one more time.

Wordless and Wordful Wednesday

This past weekend Sam and I went on his Cub Scout Fall Campout.  This is his last year he will attend the fall campout with his Pack.  Sam and these three other boys built this fire all by themselves.  I didn't get a picture of the fire in it's full roar but this is after they really got it going.  They were so proud of themselves that I just had to capture it.  I couldn't get them all to smile at the same time and this is the best picture that I got.  Oh well...they're boys.  Gotta love'em!

If you would like to see more Wordless photos head on over to Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom, Live and Love...Out Loud, and J. Leigh Designz. Now if you're like me and sometimes you can't stay wordless head on over to see some Wordful Wednesday photos at Parenting by Dummies.  Don't forget to sign the Linky below.

Money Mondays ~ Week 3

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It's Monday and time to link-up and join in on the Blog Hop for Money Mondays. To read how Money Mondays got started check out my Money Mondays Page.

So here we go! Link Up your Etsy Stores, Websites, Photography Sites, ect. I'm looking forward to hosting this blog hop every week and visiting all of yours as well. Grab the button above and place it on your site. Please remember to keep it family friendly. Explicit Sites will be removed.  Remember to grab the Blog Hop Code below to share with others!  Let's all have some fun and promote our businesses.

Wordless and Wordful Wednesday

If you would like to see more Wordless photos head on over to Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom, Live and Love...Out Loud, and J. Leigh Designz. Now if you're like me and sometimes you can't stay wordless head on over to see some Wordful Wednesday photos at Parenting by Dummies.  Don't forget to sign the Linky below.

Money Mondays ~ Week 2

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It's Monday and time to link-up and join in on the Blog Hop for Money Mondays. To read how Money Mondays got started check out my Money Mondays Page. Last week was a bigger success than I had ever dreamed it would be. Let's make this Monday just as great!

Okay...GO!

From Sam's Mouth

Yesterday I told Sam that he got his Pen Pal information from his Pen Pal Club at school. Sam asked if it was a boy and I said yes. Here is his response, "Good...Girls are boring...unless it's Rachel." Rachel is his cousin. Now that is sweet.

Yesterday evening on the way home from his Scout meeting he asked me when would he become an adult. I asked him when he thought he would. Here is his response, "I'll be an adult when I'm 30."

Love this kid!

You Capture ~ Animals

This weeks theme/assignment for You Capture is animals. Since we went to the Ft Worth Zoo for a field trip last week I thought I take some photos there. They do have a lot of animals to choose from right? I know, I know...stop trying to be funny. The first animals you come across there are the flamingos. What we all found very interesting was that the ducks that were there were acting just like the flamingos. Don't believe me? Take a look:

See what I mean?  All of the ducks in this area were doing the same thing the flamingos were.  To see more photos click on the link above.

Sam and His Catch

Here is a very short video of one of Sam's catches at last nights game. He's still beaming! Sorry about me screaming loudly in the video. You could say that I was getting into the game.

Wordless and Wordful Wednesday ~ Proud Mom

Okay...can't stay worldless this week either...as most of you know my son, Sam, is playing flag football this year and if you follow me on Facebook you know that they are doing AWESOME!  Tonight they had a night game as it was a make-up for a missed game earlier in the season due to rain.  They are now 5-0!  They have had 3 of their 5 games be shut-outs.  Tonight was the best game ever!  Why you ask?  Sam caught a pass (he's had a hard time of that this year) and ran it for a 2 point conversion!  He caught a few more balls as well and ran them for yardage.  You can only imagine how happy he is right now.  His coaches have been more than wonderful to him as they have worked with him one on one to get him catching the ball and tonight they all saw their hard work pay off.  Sam has always loved playing rusher and now he enjoying the other side.  I can't begin to say how proud I am of every team member on this team so I give you the team in their after game talk with their coaches as today's picture.  Oh...they won 36-6!  WAY TO GO JAGUARS!

If you would like to see more Wordless photos head on over to Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom, Live and Love...Out Loud, and J. Leigh Designz. Now if you're like me and sometimes you can't stay wordless head on over to see some Wordful Wednesday photos at Parenting by Dummies.  Don't forget to sign the Linky below.

Money Mondays ~ Week 1

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Every Monday over at Trendy Treehouse they would host Marketing Mondays. As of last Monday they are only going to host it once a month. I have contacted them and asked if it would be okay for me to host a Monday like it. They graciouslly said yes! Thanks Tara!  If you haven't been over to see Trendy Treehouse I highly recommend it.

So here we go! Link Up your Etsy Stores, Websites, Photography Sites, ect. I'm looking forward to hosting this blog hop every week and visiting all of yours as well.

Grab the button above and place it on your site. Please remember to keep it family friendly. Explicit Sites will be removed.  Remember to grab the Blog Hop Code below to share with others!  Let's all have some fun and promote our businesses.

Unconscious Mutterings

Unconscious Mutterings ~ If you'd like to play along just click on the link.

1. Intruder :: invader
2. Repelled :: put off
3. Trench coat :: warmth
4. Lipstick :: red
5. Humongous :: big
6. Oven mitts :: protection
7. Case :: closed
8. Daughter :: mother
9. Attorney :: lawyer
10. Shaken :: not stirred

Looking forward...Starting tomorrow I will be hosting a Blog Hop called Money Mondays. Come back here Monday to link up your Etsy Shops, Blogs, Websites, Photography sites, and more!  Share with everyone that this is a FREE way to advertise their sites.

Wordless and Wordful Wednesday ~ Making Your House Smell WONERFUL!

Here is my Wordless/Wordful Wednesday entry.  As you can see it's not very "wordless".  In fact it's longer than I expected...but at least it's recipes.  Please leave your link at the bottom.  I look forward to visiting everyone!  Remember you can click on the pictures to see them at their regular size.

I find myself here again wondering why I haven't updated my blog before now.  I know I've written a ton of posts in my head but have never gotten over to the computer to actually get them posted.

I have decided to try my hand at making my own Apple Butter and coming up with my own recipe.  I think I've done a pretty good job as my son likes it.  He just loves apple butter so he's been my tester.  Thought I would share with you my two recipes that I have come up with so far.  I've got more ideas for different ones that once I've tested them I'll share here with you.

Molasses Apple Butter

(This recipe will give you an apple butter that has a hint of a molasses flavor and I really do mean it's a hint.)

Ingredients:

6 apples (I used 3 Golden & 3 Red) - peeled, cored and chopped
2 cups white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (or less if you don't like cinnamon)
1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/8 teaspoon salt

Place apples, sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt into a slow cooker.  Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.  Reduce heat.  Simmer and stir occasionally for 6 to 8 hours.  At this time use an immersion blender.  Once you are done you may want to cook longer if your apple butter is still to runny.  At this point the longer you cook it the thicker it will become.  If you do find that it's not getting thicker just take the lid off so that the steam will escape.

Once you have reached the consistency that you want, turn off you slow cooker and let cool a bit.  In the mean time you can get your boiling water bath ready for any that you would like to can.  If you're not canning this will store great in freezer-safe containers.  Make sure you leave 3/4 inch space at the top.

Apple Butter

(this recipe will give you more of an original apple butter flavor)

Ingredients:

12 apples (I used 9 Goldens and 3 Reds) - peeled, cored and chopped
6 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Follow the same cooking directions as in the recipe above.

What's  next?  I'm going to start with these recipes and add in different  flavors to them.  Keep your fingers crossed that they all turn out well.   Now I'm just wishing I had an apple corer and a peeler.  It sure would  make this go faster.

The pictures are of the Molasses Apple Butter and as  you can see it is a bit darker.  This is due to the brown sugar.

If you would like to see more Wordless photos head on over to Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom, Live and Love...Out Loud, and J. Leigh Designz. Now if you're like me and sometimes you can't stay wordless head on over to see some Wordful Wednesday photos at Parenting by Dummies.  Don't forget to sign the Linky below.

Fall Into Reading 2010

It's finally here!  Now what I'm wondering is if I can actually get the reading done that I would like to get done. I would love to read a big stack of books but I just don't see that happening this time around.  But I will do my best to trudge through them.  I have my list to share with you and in a few more days I'll have a list of books that Sam wants to read.  Remember there is still time to sign up!  Just click on the button above to read more about it.  You really don't have to have a blog to participate.  Just start reading between now and December 20th.

Books to Read:

A Deadly Yarn by Maggie Sefton ~ I'm over half way through.
The Nativity Collection by Robert J Morgan~ I have just started this one. ~ Book Review coming up!
I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali
Uncommon Faith by Trudy Krisher
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

There are many more books that I want to read but I'm keeping my list short for now.  I'm sure once we add Sam's list here I'll be reading a bunch of those with him so that will in turn make my list grow as well.  I may change this list up a bit but for now I'm happy with it.  What are you reading this fall?  What else should I add to my list?

I Had A Coupon

Yes, I do clip coupons and I do use a lot of them.  I try to clip the ones that I know I'll use but this one just happened to jump off the coupon page and into my pile the other week.  I've taken him with me several times to the store but I never seemed to make myself use him.  You see I hate purchasing something if I don't need it.  But this one was to hard to resist.  So last week I finally broke down and used my lonely little coupon that had been making the trips to the grocery store.  What did I purchase you ask?  I purchased, with the help of my coupon (a $1.00 off), a bag of the new Pretzel M & Ms.  I also knew that I just didn't want us to eat them out of the bag.  So I put together a cookie recipe using them.

I made 3 dozen cookies earlier this week and Sam has declared them the best cookies I've ever made!  That is high praise around here.  Now it's Saturday afternoon and there are just 4 cookies left.  So...would you like to have the recipe?  I thought so. 

M & M Pretzel Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 9 oz package of Pretzel M & Ms
Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla.  In medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt; blend into butter/sugar mixture a little bit at a time.  Stir in Pretzel M & Ms.  Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls (I used a cookie scoop) 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle a small pinch of sea salt on the top of each cookie (trust me...it really makes the cookies taste fantastic).  Bake 10 to 13 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and centers are soft.  Cool 2 minutes on the cookie sheet and then cook completely on wire racks.  Makes approx. 3 dozen.

Dairy and Cheese Farm Visit

I have been busier than busy!  Normally I can see myself coming and going but this past week I haven't even been able to do that.  I'm really looking forward to this evening though.  Sam will be spending the night up at the church with his Cub Scout Pack and Andy and I are going to have a quiet evening at home.  Probably won't do much but watch a movie but you know what?  That's fine with me!  I might even get some knitting or cross stitching done.  Or I might not do a thing.

This past Wednesday Sam and I, along with some other families that are enrolled in Connections Academy, traveled to a dairy and cheese farm.  It was so much fun!  I now have fresh cheese, eggs and milk!  The cheese is wonderful and I can't wait to taste the milk.  I still have just a bit left of the last gallon of milk in the fridge so I'm trying to finish that as quickly as I can so that I can dive into the yummy goodness of this fresh milk.  The farm was 2 hours away but it was well worth the trip.  They even had calves that were less than a week old.  As we held out our hands they would suckle on our fingers.  They are so sweet and gentle to be around.  Here are a couple of pictures of them.

They showed us how they made their cheese from separating the curds from the whey, to pressing the cheese, to placing the cheese wheels into their cave for aging and then to tasting!  YUM!  They are a wonderful family and it was nice to see a family farm and everyone working in it instead of a big industrial one. 

I Heart Faces ~ Smirk

This weeks theme over at I Heart Faces is...Smirk! According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary smirk means, to smile in an affected or smug manner. As soon as I read this definition I knew which photo I would enter. It is a photo that I took of Sam before he went into surgery this summer. I had taken several photos and this last one he said it all with his face. You can hear him loud and clear saying, "Mom, I'm done with the photos!" How about you? Can you hear him too? To see more smirky photos just click on the button above.

You Capture ~ Your Choice

I am hanging my head in shame as I completely forgot to put up my "You Capture" shot for this week.  This week assignment was our own choice and I still forgot.  Gee!  It's been such a busy week this week that I honestly forgot to even use my camera.  It sits here on my desk just waiting for me to pick it up.  And by the looks of my desk right now it's even amazing that I know where it is on here.  I really do need to clean this desk up!  Guess you all know what I'll be doing tomorrow.  So knowing that I haven't even picked up my camera I'm going to use two pictures that I took last week.  I didn't "clean" the photos up any and that's okay.  I might one day but for now here they are.  They are of Sam working his Rubik's Cube.  Right after I took these pictures he got it to where one side is completely finished and the touching 4 sides have two rows completed.  He's so close to figuring it out and I enjoy watching him work on it.

Wordless and Wordfull Wednesday ~ Flag Football

This past Saturday was Sam's first Flag Football Game of the season.  His team this year is the Jaguars and with only 2 practices (one was cancelled due to the 9 1/2 inches of rain we got) THEY WON!  Not to mention that last Saturday the temperature here was in the low 90s with a fells like temperature of 103!  It was unbearable and they all were troopers and kept on playing.  Here are just a few pictures as I didn't take many.  It was just to hot and my hands were too sweaty to hold the camera.  You can see the misery in Sam's face when I took the last picture of him standing next to the van waiting to get in.

If you would like to see more Wordless photos head on over to Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom, Live and Love...Out Loud, and J. Leigh Designz. Now if you're like me and sometimes you can't stay wordless head on over to see some Wordful Wednesday photos at Seven Clown Circus.  Don't forget to sign the Linky below.

I Heart Faces ~ "Vroom, Vroom"

This week the challenge over at I Heart Faces is (per their website), "Adding a vehicle to a portrait session is a fun way to mix things up a bit! This week’s entry should have some kind of vehicle in it (any form of transportation or even a toy!) AND a face. Please make sure a face is clearly showing as well."

I had Sam play with some of his cars along the edge of one of our chairs and took quite a few photos as he really didn't want to play along with mom taking even more photos of him.  But once he started playing with his cars he actually started to get into it.  This is the one that I like the best because he actually was concentrating on the cars and not me.  Head on over to I Heart Faces by clicking the button above to see more!

PhotoHunter ~ Anniversary

The theme over at PhotoHunter this week is Anniversary.  Since this weeks theme fell on the anniversary of September 11th, I thought it would be appropriate to share a bit of history that I have held onto.

The week following September 11th I made these red, white and blue bracelets for Sam and I to wear.  I have no idea where mine ended up but I have kept Sam's.  Here he is holding it.  Sam was just 18 months old when September 11th happened and now he's 10 1/2.  My has he grown!

Looking at the Sky on Friday

For Looking at the Sky on Friday this week I thought I would just take a portion of a picture of a cloud to share with you.  I love the depth of this cloud and once I took just a snippet of it out of the full picture I realized how much more you could see.

Now here is the picture that I took the portion from.

You Capture ~ Signs

Awhile back I participated in "You Capture" which is hosted by a wonderful lady named Beth over at I Should Be Folding Laundry. I loved waiting for her themes and going out with my camera to capture the pictures to share with you here. She doesn't want you to use pictures that you have already taken. Instead she wants us to get our cameras and head on out and find something to capture! I love that and it was what started me going with my photography. I still take lots of pictures but I just don't seem to take these challenges anymore. I'm now going to jump back in there and do just that. Capture!

This weeks theme is "Signs". There are so many different ways we could go with this theme and I'm looking forward to seeing what others out there are going to do with it as well.  It's been pouring rain here all day so I didn't get to go out as I would have liked so I went with the sign that I hold in my hands every day, twice a day for work.  You see I'm a Crossing Guard and hold a stop sign every day.  If you'd like to see what others have come up with please click on the button above.

A Summer Secret ~ Book Review

A Summer Secret by Kathleen Fuller is the first book of the Mysteries of Middlefield series.

Mary Beth Mullet is an Amish teenage girl living with her parents and brothers, struggling with having a little privacy during her last summer of freedom, before she will have to get a job. With her food stash, her journal, and her privacy, Mary Beth finds great comfort in her hideout; a barn close to their property. There are only two problems. First of all, her father has forbidden her from going to the barn. Second, she's not as alone as she thought. Was it her twin brother or someone else using her secret place?

I don't want to give to much more away as this is a mystery but I have to say that at one point I misplaced the book and almost went crazy looking for it because I wanted to know how it ended. This is a quick and good read.

In A Summer Secret, Fuller does an excellent job of helping the reader to understand and appreciate the Amish lifestyle. She even has a glossary of Amish terms, which I found extremely helpful, as this vocabulary is used throughout the book. Though this book is intended for juvenile readers, I believe many adults would also enjoy reading this Christian mystery. I know I did!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Wordless & Wordful Wednesday - Lego Semi-Truck

This is a Lego semi-truck that my son made up!  He just started building one day and this is what resulted.  He's amazing with those little plastic bricks.

If you would like to see more Wordless photos head on over to Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom, Live and Love...Out Loud, and J. Leigh Designz. Now if you're like me and sometimes you can't stay wordless head on over to see some Wordful Wednesday photos at Seven Clown Circus.  Don't forget to sign the Linky below.

Now for you to have a little bit of fun....make sure you watch until the very end.  You won't be disappointed.

Fall Into Reading 2010

It's almost that time again! Now I need to get a list of book together that I would like to read during the Fall Into Reading time span. It will take place between September 22nd through December 20th. If you'd like to participate you can learn all about it by clicking on the button above. It's always so much fun and she usually has giveaways during this time.

I'm thinking of having Sam participate in this challenge. I'd like to see him read at least a few books during this time but I'm not going to make it a requirement. He hasn't read "for fun" in awhile and I need to change that. I know that seeing us read will be good for him so maybe I need to set scheduled reading times again. It will be great for us all.

I'd love to hear if you're going to participate or if you're going to have your family participate as well. Heck...get your kids classmates to sign up too! I don't think you need a blog to do this either. I'm telling you...you need to head on over to check it all out. It's a lot of fun.

Now a couple of questions for you. What are your favorite books? What books would you recommend that I read? I'd love to know.

Catching Up

At the beginning of this year I thought I could post every day for 365 days.  I did great until last month.  Then school started and I'm busier than ever this year.  I have plenty of posts written in my head but I have yet to get them down here.  I think what I really need to do is pre-write them and schedule them to post.  That way maybe I can keep up with what I would really like to do with this blog.

Update on Sam and school...After the second week of school Sam now has all As and one B!  I couldn't be prouder of him!  After the first week I told him that he had all As and one C but I was wrong.  They considered a 73% a D!  So in just one week he moved his D up to a B!  He said that this week he would work the B up to an A!  I've never seen him so excited or concerned about his grades.  I'm just lovin' this!

I've had a great weekend not doing much except for watching some movies and knitting on some socks.  I'm also very thankful to Lizzie Kate for supplying me with a lost key to a cross stitch that I'm working on.  I've been wanting to finish a pattern for some time now but I couldn't find the key to the pattern and now due to the designer I can finish it!  WOO HOO!

For those of you that have asked what I won from the Rayovac Photo Contest I won a Digital Photo Frame Keychain and a Rayovac Platinum Charger!

I'll upload some photos of the sock and cross stitch that I'm working on hopefully later this week.

I Won!

This photo won third place in the photo contest hosted by Rayovac this past month.  I just want to take a moment to thank everyone that voted for me.  It was a long contest but a fun one.