Category: Meanderings

Morning Meanderings… January re- cap

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

Good morning!

This year I started the WHERE Are You Reading Challenge and I have already been having a lot of fun with it.  The idea was to just read what you are planning to read anyway – and just see where in the world you are reading.  I offered prizes as you got to the end of the year if you were able to read in each of the 50 states, and bonus entries and prizes for those who read outside the states.  You can find all details here.

Each month, I would like to recap where we have been and how this challenge is going for us.  Here is where I am for the month of January 2011:

I have read 11 books so far in January, and listened to 6 audio.  On my Reading Map they have landed:

Georgia

North Carolina

New York

Minnesota (2)

Australia

California

Mississippi

New Jersey

Maine

Illinois

Connecticut

Washington

Missouri

Massachusetts

One unknown (Clementine – friend Of The Week!)


What I have found most exciting is that all of these places I have landed have been unintentional!  It is really for to see where they land on the map and how many areas I have already covered!

For those of you participating in the WHERE Are you reading challenge, please feel free to create a monthly wrap-up post and link it here if you would like.  I plan to do this each month.  For those of you who are not connected to this challenge, it is not too late to start your map and join in!  Challenge details here.

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And finally… I have come to really enjoy Alyce’s  (At Home With Books) Saturday Snapshot. It’s a fun weekly meme she has created of just random pictures that mean something  and anyone can join in.  I love seeing what she posts weekly and want to start participating when I can.  Saying that, here is my Saturday Snapshot:

My cousin Jarrod, me, and Brian - 150 mile bike ride

This is a picture of a bike ride I was participating in my with my cousin Jarrod and his friend Brian in 2009.  The winters in Minnesota are LONG and I anxiously am awaiting when I can bike again this year.

Morning Meanderings… Christmas In January

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments

Good morning.

For those who read the meandering yesterday – weigh in was 3 pounds down.  WOO HOO!!!

Last night for dinner I met up with girl friends who I used to work with.  LOVE these gals!  We had all been so busy since late November that we had not connected for our monthly get together in a while and this was our Christmas gathering.  We met at yummy El Tequila in town and I had a chicken fajita salad.

We also exchanged gifts.  I had bought each of them a photo frame that said “The Girls” and the idea along with it that we plan a fun getaway this fall that will result in great picture memories worthy of these frames.  Yes, I bought myself one too.  I also bought them yummy smelling candles.  I LOVE candles!

From them I received a wonderful $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble!!!  (Thank you Cindy you know me so well!).  From Heidi and Sara I received  a gorgeous book about the Split Rock Light House up by our cabin – SIGNED by the author!!!  You have to see this book!  It is beautiful – Sara and Heidi know me pretty well too!  😀


Then Sara produced a bag for each of us that had in it aprons for our newly annual baking weekend in November.  GAH!  They are so cool!  And she also had these super cute ornaments made for us!


So all in all – I love that Christmas has been spread out over a 5 week period!  Just makes it all so fun!

Today the plan was to peel out-of-town this morning to the cabin to write for the weekend but looks like I am going to have to put a pin in that idea and do what I can to catch up on my writing around here.  Maybe I will spend some time in the library this weekend and see if I can not concentrate there.  Either way – the plan for the weekend has been to write and that is what I am hoping to do.

Morning Meanderings… A No Coffee Morning…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)25 Comments

Good Morning!

For those of you that read me often you are probably SHOCKED.

Me.

NO coffee.

Is that even possible to operate that way?

I am currently back in my training mode for spring and biking and whatever else I can get myself into this year so each Thursday morning is a weigh in.  Until weigh in time, I do not eat or drink anything Thursdays mornings.

The current training going on around here is nothing fantastic – Group Power, elliptical, treadmill… I can add more once we have Spring.  (OOOHHHHH how I long for spring!)

So – I am off – weigh in is at 8:30 am…

and afterwards…

 

that’s right….

C O F F E E

Morning Meanderings… Signs I Am A Book Dork

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)45 Comments

Ok…. as I look at this post title I am thinking that maybe this should be a series….

I believe a big sign of being a book dork is when you get a book in the mail and you actually do SSSQQQQQUUUEEEEE when you see what it is.

It is….


the Iron Queen.

I have not read any of this series yet but I have been wanting to.  Iron King has been on my shelf FOR-E-VER.  And then came Iron Daughter and it too waits on me…. then I seen Iron Queen and thought, ooh… if I could get a review copy of that book in my hands I will read all three books back to back and just have an Iron festival….

and the book came!

SSSQQQQQQQUUUUEEEEEEEEEE

(I just seen on Kathy – Bermuda Onion’s blog this morning that she is offering a chance to win the entire set of these books!  If you do not have them pop over and enter for a chance to win!)

Oh but I am sure as book lovers I am not the only one whose book dorkiness shows occasionally.  Come on.. share with me today – whats a “book dork” moment you have had?


Oh… and FYI:  I could have sworn I hit publish on this early this morning….  this post was ready to go at 7:00 am…..

Morning Meanderings… I will probably never be a ski instructor

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)35 Comments

Good Morning!

I was not around much yesterday because I went skiing.

Considering I am from Minnesota you probably are thinking this is like fish being able to breathe under water – we are born with skis on our feet and can leap tall snow piles in a single bound.

Well…

If that is true…

I am an impostor and will need to speak to my parents about my true heritage… 😀

Skiing is not something I do.  I went once with my family to Lutzen and mastered the bunny hill.  You should have seen it…. small children aside, I was the master of this hill.  Nothing could stop me!  Yet, when I tried a different hill I started down and picked up speed and had visions of Sonny Bono in my head and promptly fell over to avoid such a fate.  I took the skis off and walked (and walked and walked as it was really large!) down the hill.

However…. I rarely back down from an opportunity to try something new or learn something new.  So when friends of ours asked me if I would be interested in going skiing with them and learning more about it, I said, “WELL YEAH!”

(Of course this was a few weeks ago and I am pretty brave when it is not an on the spot commitment)

And so – yesterday, after work, that “WELL YEAH” came back to collect.  I met my friend Wendy (who was also roped into this agreed to join in the fun).  And at 2 pm yesterday…. we were on the slopes.

First – kudos to our teacher – Al is a patient patient man.  He took us open a little incline and had us “ski” down.  And again… and again.  AL would have his wife Julie demonstrate.  They are quite the team! Then we learned the “snow plow” or “pizza” which I preferred…. and then how to turn.  After an hour or so of this… we were able to try a partial slope.  Yes, we went half way up a hill… and skied down.

By the end of the day Wendy and I were doing pretty good… we each had one wipe out and are still alive.  We went into the chalet to warm up and by the time I felt the warm air, I knew they would have a hard time getting me back out there.  I was cold and I was done.

Fun day – and I learned something new so I guess that makes it a good day too.

Al, me, Julie, and Wendy

Got to like that 🙂

 

Morning Meanderings… Bloggiesta Day Three

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)31 Comments

Good Morning! Hello to my little friend – COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE  😎

Yesterday was a pretty good day as well as I continued work on the Bloggiesta.  Between house cleaning, a little reading, and an afternoon movie – I managed to put in 6 hours for a total of 16 hours in the past two days.

Today being the big finale what I most want to do is visit other participants.  I love visiting new blogs.  I have a little more sidebar work to do and a couple of post ideas to finalize but I feel good about what has been accomplished.  I will post my wrap up tonight before I put up the Monday, What Are You Reading meme.

I hope everyone who has participated this time is having a lot of fun!  I think this time around is the first time I didn’t have a lot of internal work to do…. mainly, I have spent this Bloggiesta working on updating and future posts.  Two things I have wanted to be working on for a while now but did not have the time.

Now here is my early morning funny happening.  At 6:03 a, my cell phone rings.  It is in the kitchen on the counter but I can hear it from my bedroom.  I drag myself out of bed and fumble my way to the phone .  I check to see whose call I missed and it was my Pastor.  I dial back thinking something must be going on, first service starts at 8:15, maybe something is needed, there was an accident (my imagination is vivid!).  He answers the phone and I ask him what’s up.

He says, “Did I call you?”

“You did.”  I say.

“That’s weird,” he says, “this phone rarely does that, did I wake you?”

“Yes, but that’s ok, I thought maybe something happened.”

He laughs, “Nope…. sorry about that.”

I laugh and in a strained high-pitched voice I say, “Are you calling everyone?”

“Yes,” he responds.  “Just trying to drum up some first service attendees.”

LOL.  I LOVE my church.

Have a great morning everyone.  I am up now and going to make the most of it 😀

 

 

Morning Meanderings… Day Two… Bloggiesta Update

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)37 Comments

Good morning!  Day two!  I had a great Bloggiesta day yesterday.  I managed 10 hours of updates and maintenance… I had on my workman overalls and I was right down in the midst of the blog engine…. tinkering, cleaning, a fresh oil change, tweaking the carburetor and I think I actually accomplished a lot.

Sure, when I was all done putting it back together I had a few parts left over… but I don’t think they are really needed… I am pretty sure in fact they are extra pieces…

which I just put under the rug.

 

Today I will continue on catching up on post writing and a few planned posts that I have been thinking about for awhile….I am hoping by the end of the weekend I will have Wordshakers up and running again too.

Game on!  😀

Morning Meanderings: BLOGGIESTA STYLE!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)36 Comments

Good morning!  25 below zero this morning in Brainerd Minnesota …. a perfect day to BLOGGIESTA!!!!

This morning kicks off the 4th Bloggiesta weekend and I have participated every time Natasha at Maw Books has hosted this.  I have said this before but I feel it is worth repeating…  Bloggiesta is probably why I am still blogging today and loving it so much.

Here is the short version of that story:

When I first started book blogging on June 9th, 2009, my blog looked nothing like what it does today.  I knew how to basically put up a post.  That’s it.  I knew nothing about changing the background color of my blog, linking, copyright,drafting new posts for the future, RSS… basically – if it had to do with blogging, I probably didn’t know it.  😀

The first Bloggiesta (my post here)was 10 days after I became a blogger and I embraced it fully.  I wanted to know how to do the things I had seen on the other blogs.  I literally spent every free hour I had that weekend working on my blog, doing the mini challenges and learning as much as I could.  I came out of that weekend a better blogger and I know that has to do with everyone who participated in Bloggiesta and really helped me with all my questions.

Every Bloggiesta since I have participated and I have learned something new.  If you have not already signed up to participate – pop on over to Natasha’s and learn more about this.  You will not regret it.

My goals going into this challenge will be posted here and I will cross them off as I achieve them.  I am sure I will add to this list as I think of more:

Clean up my sidebars – I have some thoughts on this – just have not taken to time to do it

Participate in all the mini challenges

Go through and update my blog tags

prep posts to books I have started or plan to be reading soon with book cover, basic synopsis and notes to make things quicker when I do write the review

Clean up posts I need to write for book completed

Prep 3 – 5 “rainy day” posts for the days I literally…. got nothing.

Visit all participants – I love seeing the other blogs!

Possible color tweak… it is kind of a Bloggiesta tradition that my blog background changes but I am not sure about that yet. Changed my mind…. I like it the way it is.

On a side note, I was just thinking how I met Natasha at BEA this past May,  She was with Amy from My Friend Amy’s and it was great to meet them both because of what I see them do throughout the year to contribute to my favorite part of all of this:  The Book Blogging Community.  Both of these bloggers invest a ton of time into events like this Bloggiesta, and Amy hosts the BBAW (Book Blogger Appreciation Award).

Amy (My Friend Amy), me, and Natasha (Maw Books) BEA in May 2010

I will still be doing my regular reviews this weekend as well, I will just start each morning updating you on what is happening with the Bloggiesta!  😀

Ready?  Set?  Bloggiesta!!!!

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments

Good Morning!  Thursday already?  And even scarier…. it is the 20th of January…..

where did the first month of 2011 go???

I am up early today so I can get into work and get started before  I have to leave for  a quick 8:30 appointment and I want to get to that and get back as quickly as possible.

Seems like I am always juggling time.

Tonight I am going to go out and chat with my cousins and I am pretty excited about that!  I have 4 female cousins that all live in the area, all pretty close to my age and we just never get together.  I think that is like most families right?  We all have our own “stuff” going on and we just don’t take the time.

I ran into (not literally) my cousin Cheryl at Ski Gull last Saturday and this was her suggestion.  She said it was a lot of work when we try to put on the big family gatherings and what if we tried something smaller – like a monthly connection with just us girls?  I liked the idea and she text me yesterday to say it is a go for tonight!

I am pretty excited mainly because I really appreciate family and we do really not get a lot of time together.  I hope to catch up with all of them – a couple I have not really seen in over a year.

Quick bookish news – and please do not harm me for sharing this link…. BOOKCLOSEOUTS.COM sends out a sale email a few times a year and the January one arrived yesterday.  This link is for books that are no more that $3.00.  I purchased from them for the first time almost a year ago… I bought around 15 books off a sale like this – some of the titles fairly new, and I received a box of books for an amazing price and they were in excellent condition – no stickers or anything.

On that note… got to fly and start my day!

Morning Meanderings… kidliocandesto

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)36 Comments

Good Morning!

My Snookie (NOOK) tales continue…. (trust me … when I am learning how to use anything electronic it is always interesting!) .  Last night I wanted to download the first of my two books I received from Netgalley.  I finished up all my things around the house and finally (FINALLY!) in the evening I was able to sit down and but the books on my NOOK.

However…

Apparently I did not know how.  I downloaded one and it was on my computer but I had no idea how to get it to my NOOK.  I went on Twitter for advice and this is something I LOVE about book bloggers… to my rescue came 4 incredible people who twittered me through the steps to get it done.  Ending with a link that took me step by step through the Netgalley to Nook process.

They were even supportive when they told me I had to plug my NOOK into the computer to complete the download.  I could not recall getting a cord for that so I ran around the house looking for the NOOK box to see if there was a cord in it.  All it came with was one that plugged into the wall…. no Nook to computer cord.  I looked around the house for a half hour for the Nook box.. found it… no cord.  Then I started looking at my other cords to see if I had one that fit…. nope.  Frustrated I went back to Twitter and said I must not have received the cord with mine.

The response:

whatsheread

@bookjourney The cord you use to plug it in the wall comes apart to become a cord to computer connection. via TweetDeck in reply to bookjourney

 
Oh good grief.

I rushed up stairs and sure enough the plug-in word came apart to reveal the cord I needed.

Mission accomplished.  😀

Oh and if you are wondering why I named the post “kidliocandesto” here is my short version of what happened at the YMCA while I was on the tread mill with my friend Heidi.

 

Me:  …”And then I encountered Netgalley and I was really excited to sign up”.

Heidi:  “So that allows you to receive books to read and review through your NOOK”?

Me:  “Yes!  Oh and when I clicked on the catalog and seen all the books they were offering I was like a kid in a candy store!”

Heidi:  “You were what?”

Me:  “I was like a kid in a candy store.”

Heidi:  “Oh, I heard kidliocandesto.”

Me:  “LOL, that is awesome…. that is how I am going to refer to this saying from now on!”

 

What things in your life make you feel like kidliocandedto?