Category: Meanderings

Good morning!  I was mowing the lawn last night jamming out to my IPOD and mastering what I call lawn mower dancing and my neighbors fondly refer to as my need to pull a trailer behind me when I mow as I can not carry a tune.  HA!  They are so funny, and yes they really told me that – in a loving way.  😀

So I went to charge my IPOD last night and when my I Tunes pops up it tells me how many times I have listened to each song and I am amazed that the song I listen to the most out of my 124 songs I have downloaded is Jai Ho from the movie Slumdog Millionaire.  If you have not seen this movie I highly recommend it.  I watched it last fall and found it to be a brilliant look at what happens in some third world countries and adds a unique twist to it in this movie.  If you have not seen it, please consider renting it and let me know what you think of it.  I think it was one of the best movies I seen last year.

Here is the video – or the song anyway the way I listen to it on my IPOD.  It is fast paced, a great work out song that I can even run to on the treadmill:

And this is more of a video to the song that shows more of what the movie is about:

Good morning and happy happy Saturday!  I am hitting the gym shortly here with Wendy so I am pounding the coffee and tapping away at my laptop to you.  😀  Today looks like it will be a beautiful day in Minnesota and a great day for skydiving.

My cousin Jarrod will be skydiving today to raise money for the Special Olympic Minnesota athletes at Paul Bunyan Land in Brainerd Minnesota.  I wasn’t sure we would be in town but since we are and Paul Bunyan is about 6 miles from me, I want to attend this event and watch Jarrod.  I am so proud of him and often refer to him as the male version of me….. except… I think he’s braver – but don’t tell him I said that!

You can click the picture to go to a page about this and here is an article in our newspaper

Beyond that – I wanted to make sure that everyone knew that you can sign up now to have an interview swap partner for the BBAW week (Book Blogger Appreciation Week).  It’s a lot of fun and last year I interviewed Ryan from Wordsmithonia and he interviewed me.  It is a wonderful way to get to know another book blogger.   Sign up to be on the list for an interview at the BBAW site.  Hurry – you only have to August 31 to do this and registration takes about 15 seconds.  It is also time to register for BBAW if you have not already.  If you already registered during the award tie them you are good to go, but if you did not, now is the time to sign up to be included in the Book Blogger Directory.

Then yesterday I received an email that I won Mary Kay Anderson’s Beach Bag giveaway for entering a contest about my book club.  I do love my book club and it looks like what I won is something like this:

Kind of excited.  I have not read Mary Kay Anderson’s books before but have heard good things about her latest book The Fixer Upper, which peaking in the basket looks like it is is in there.  SQUUUEEEEEE!  😀

Ok – obviously I am just chatty this morning so hang on while I wrap this up.  Do stop by later today to meet Marjorie Hart of Summer At Tiffany.  She graced this space to share with us about the book – AND I will also be doing a giveaway for a signed copy of her book in hard cover.

That’s it – I am off to prep for my day!  I hope your day is a wonderful sunny one too!

Good morning!  Yes this is the Morning Meandering…. yes I am still sitting here with coffee, not guns…  sleep pants, not holsters….  I just thought it would be fun to try a new pic for the Hit List.

If you remember last week I had a morning where I shared all the books I had come across that I was looking to read myself.  I liked doing that and at this time plan to continue during one morning a week to share what I have discovered while bouncing around the blogosphere.  I have fellow bloggers to thank for many of the books I read – many I had not heard of or would never have considered if not for someones raving about it or reading an amazing review.

Take the Hunger Games books for instance.  Reading the synopsis of this first book I would have never read it.  Kids in a ring – fighting to the death?  No thank you.  Yet review after review told of something more…. powerful…. and once I read the first book I couldn’t wait to read the second – and the third, well – you can see more about what I felt about that later today.  🙂

So this week Hit List is brought to you by Folger’s Coffee….  LOL (Sorry….. its early… I am still groggy)  😆

Amanda at The Zen Leaf has a read-a-long happening August 25 – October 7.  It is the Bleak House by Charles Dickens and it is a MONSTER.  900 pages….  and I am drawn to this like a moth to the flame…. I mentioned recently as fall comes in to play I start to crave larger books….

Check out Amanda’s post – she has the reading broke down to take place so much per week….

At Bookworm With A View, the review of The House On Oyster Creek and the cover (man I do like this cover!) caused me to pull this one on to my lovely library reserve list.  Stop by Bookworm with a View to read more about this book and what it is about.

Over at There’s A Book Arson has been reviewed and I remember seeing this book a while back and wondering what this one would be like.  This is a YA read and after reading the raving review, I had to add this to the hit list.

I had to add this – The Book Maven is having a great Mocking Jay Giveaway – for tweeting the Friday hash tag you can possibly win a $50 gift card tot he book store of your choice.  You will need to pop over to The Book Maven to read the post – but I for one never turn down a chance to win a gift card for books 😀  In order to do the giveaway they have requested that there are 500 tweets – so please take a moment and tweet tweet!

I think it is fair of me to say that Nicole’s reviews at Linus’s Blanket are dangerous to me.  I think I find something I want to read almost every time I visit.  😀  This book is about the lives of three couples that center around an adoption.  Stop by Linus’s Blanket and read the full review.

That’s what I have discovered this week.  I haven’t been around much as I was out-of-town until Tuesday evening, and I have had my nose in Mockingjay since then…  I was thrilled to find out that we are not going to the cabin this weekend which may seem like a bummer – but it isn’t.  I can use the break and have plenty to do around my own home.  AND next weekend we will be at the cabin from Friday until Monday so I will have plenty of time then to hang with friends and enjoy.

What books did you add to the TBR this week?

Morning all!  I am well into my third cup of coffee and glad to be back in my own kitchen and catching up with all of you.  I love Mink Lake camp but after a few days of no electricity, solar showers, and sleeping with a group in bunk beds and sleeping bags – it’s just nice to get back to an electric coffee pot, central air, and  sleeping in my own bed.  (We boil coffee over a stove there… pretty little house on the prairie but it does the trick!)

I arrived home late Tuesday evening and after a glorious real shower and a wee bit of email reading, I was in bed by 10 pm.  On Wednesday I had taken the day off just to catch up on all the days off I missed with all the running I have done lately but also – quite honestly, to dive into Mockingjay.  All of which were nicely accomplished.  😀

Here are a few pics of camp:

I am on page 298 of Mockingjay.  I didn’t start reading until after 3 pm yesterday and will finish it tonight after work and my bike ride.  😀

It’s great to be back and hang out with all of you again!

Oh ….. do not mock me.  If you have followed the Suzanne Collins books at all….. Hunger Games, Catching Fire…. how could you not be anticipating the day – THIS BOOK….  on the week of the big release.  ♥

I am hoping – quite soon here…. to be completely “mocktified” in the book.  I think it will be “mockilicious”…..  and I am not using mockery, I mean it…. I really do.

AND – with this read of course you know I get to dust off The Spoiler Button.  My, how I love this button.  It is I think perhaps my favorite blog creation…. a link… a space to talk openly and freely about a book without any whistle blowing or the dreaded “blog tomatoes” that can be tossed at posts that reveal spoilers to an unsuspecting reader who has yet to experience the book….

That is why I have taken today to read – not peak at any Mockingjay blog conversations until I am done.  And then I am writing the review from my fresh untainted view (at least that’s the plan).  😛

So my friends, are you reading Mockingjay today?  This week?  Soon?  Are you a fan of the series?  Why or why not?

Go on…. push it.  You know you want to.  😛

Oh and for giggles….. feel free to link any Mockingjay type posts you may have here.  Link your reviews – and giveaways…  as soon as I have finished my book I will want to visit others to see what they thought.  **Please distinguish in the heading section your blog name and if it is a Mockingjay review, giveaway, or other.  In the link section – please link directly to your post.

Thanks all 😀

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Good morning all!  What a day yesterday.  Wendy and I left my house at 6 am and drove to Itaska State Park.  We went on the 2nd Annual  bike ride that they had.  Last year they offered a 50 mile ride which my cousin and I did.  This year they had a 25, 50, and 75 mile option.  We opted to do the 75.   Wendy id such a trooper – it was first long ride and she did fantastic!

It was a great ride – beautiful day but close to 90 degrees out.  AND – I have to say it, probably the most hills I have ever experienced on any bike ride I have been on.  This picture here is one that we went up last year too and it is right around 55 miles into the ride.

Oof.  I think I need a minute after seeing this hill again in the picture.  😉

Then last night Al and I met friends at an annual street dance that happens in Brainerd.  It was a good band called The District and it is made up of teachers.  Two of my good friends who I used to work with were there and we had a fun time listening to the music.

How crazy is that tan line on my arm?

That was why you did not see me around here yesterday.  Today I pack for camp retreat and I leave at 1:00 pm for the North Shore and will not return until Tuesday afternoon.  I am prepping a review for later and the Monday, What Are You Reading meme so go forward as always.

Life is a  bit too busy right now and I am hoping to take Wednesday off from work upon my return to home so I can catch up on some things here and relax before I start running full speed ahead again.

How is everyone’s weekend going?

Good morning!  Yes, another early morning post and if I could wrap my head around it, I would love all the meanderings to be this early so those who subscribe to this blog would have them when they check their morning emails.  😀

Today I am up early to head to Itaska which is a bout an hour and a half away for a 75 mile bike ride.  Today is supposed to be beautiful so I am excited for this ride – and it is my friend Wendy’s first BIG RIDE!  I am excited for her and hoping that she will find a love for the rides and the people as much as I do.

I will be gone most of today, Al and I are meeting some friends tonight at an annual street dance and tomorrow, oh that’s a whole other story.

I am guest posting (again) at Trisha’s lovely blog Eclectic Eccentric – and this time it is about Minnesota Festivals.  My only hint… is this picture.  You will have to read the post at Trisha’s for more about that.  😉

In bookish news – and this is DANGEROUS NEWS for book lovers…..  Bookcloseouts is having a summer sale and if you know anything about Bookcloseouts you know the books are gorgeous and the prices are right.  The sale is $1.99 for paperbacks, and the hard covers are $2.99.  AND they have some good titles…  so if you are looking for gifts, or for yourself – this is worth checking out.

Oh – and for those of you who are thinking, “SHE’S GETTING MORE BOOKS??????”  I am not – I am just letting you know about the sale.  😀

Have an awesome Saturday!

Oh!  I knew I should have prepped this post yesterday, but I was so tired….  and I was reading…  AND….. reading won.

So as promised – here is the “rest of the story” about yesterdays plan to be the first people in line for the Fall Library Sale. AND – yes we did it!  Woo hoo!

I arrived at 7:02 (had to stop and get gas, can you believe that?  There are a lot of things you need to consider in pulling off a really good mission and seriously – rookie mistake, not having enough fuel to make your getaway..  GAH!)

My friend Amy arrived shortly after me.

We laughed about our earliness… high-fived over our success…. and since no one was really around yet (or so we thought) we would take a few funny pictures.   I had brought a folding camp chair and a blanket so I decided to give the impression that I had slept at the library.  Amy was happy to oblige by being the picture taker.

It might have been more realistic if I could have stopped smiling….. BUT it was a LIBRARY SALE, what could I do?

The next person arrived at 7:20 and it went on from there.  We had a great time talking books with the people in line and I had the opportunity to hand out my Book Journey card.  Amy was really hoping for a copy of The Passage and I shouted this information down the line asking others if they seen it, she was looking for it.

I really had no book I was looking for.  I just like to see what there it is and what catches my eye.

The line by 8:20 am wrapped around the building.  The doors to the sale open at 9 am and they only let in about 20 at a time so the tables do not get too crowded.

The weather was nice so we were not battling any cold or rain.  At 9 am they opened the doors and we were in!  At 50 cents a book, here are my treasures of the Fall Library Sale:

There they are.  My precious. I mean, my books.  They are all books I think I would enjoy reading but the real “woo hoo treasures” of this pile for me was:

• The Bell Jar:  This is my October Classic book club read and I had yet to purchase it!
  

• Garden Spells:  one I have seen many reviews on and LOVE this cover!

• Precious:  has been on my list to read

• The Children of Hurin:  I am a BIG Tolkein fan!

• Summer House:  If you know me well, you know this is one of my favorite all time books.  I have several copies and I grab them up whenever I see them at sales so I can have extras to hand out.  I have never seen it in hard cover before.

SO that’s the last of the library sales until April 2011.  I hit three this year and was told about a big one in Duluth that I will have to check out for next year as well.

What treasures do you see in these books I chose?

Ok…. before you read this post please humor me by pushing play on the video below.  I will wait here. ……..

It is 6:30  am…. feel free to synchronize your watches.  I am up and dressed warmly, grabbing a blanket, my folding summer chair and I am out the door…. I am meeting Amy at O’ seven hundred.

The Destination:

The Brainerd Library Fall Book Sale

The Mission:

To be the first two people waiting to get in to the sale

Why, you may ask would I care if I was the first one at the sale?  It is something I have always wanted to do.  The doors actually do not open until 9 a.m.  Around 8 am people will start to gather and form a line.  When they do unlock the doors they only let so many in at a time.

This spring when they had the sale…. I lallygagged.   I got coffee…. took my time going through town and when I arrived at 8:15…. I was way back in the line.  WAY BACK.  I was a mere speck to the people in the front… and for the first time in Library Sale history, I was not in the first group that entered the library.  I was in the second group.

Never again.

Amy, who is just a wonderful friend understands my need to be first – at least once.  If for no other reason than I think its kind of funny to be all huddled in chairs, covered in a blanket, like we are waiting to purchase really good concert tickets.  It certainly should be picture worthy…..

So this morning – I have notified work I will be in late…. tomorrow morning you are welcome (and encouraged!) to tune in and see what we accomplished on our mission.  😀

I really did have a second post planned for yesterday, but I was having so much fun watching the comments on the morning meandering that I just let it ride.  🙂

I picked up my library books yesterday which were pretty much the books I seen on blogs two weeks ago. So let me unveil these titles :

I believe we are all familiar with the Harry Potter books, and I have been grabbing these on audio and devouring them like popcorn.  If you have not had the pleasure of listening to the book on audio, I highly recommend them.  You are in for a real treat.

Beach Combers by Nancy Thayer just screams “read me! ANd read me now while the sun is shining!”

The Wives Tale by Lori Lansens has a cover that just makes me want to know more about this book.

PREP by Curtis Sittenfeld is a review I read (I wish I could remember where!) and it sounded interesting.

In other life updates, we played kickball last night, back to back games and we won them both.  Woo hoo!!!

Do you use your local library?