Category: Meanderings

 

Good morning a brief check in before I go garage saling…

I was so busy yesterday I was not on line at all after the morning.   After work, I shopped and came home and got ready for my House Party for the upcoming movie Hope Springs. 

What House Party is, is an online site where you can sign up to host parties over new products, games, books, movies, etc…. my friend Angie has done several of them from Craft Macaroni and Cheese (they sent her 16 bags of macaroni!), to coffee creamer.   I signed up and was excited to be offered a host spot for Hope Springs.  At first I was really nervous… I was supposed to invite people to my home to discuss a movie that was not at the theaters yet…. whatever would we do?  What would we talk about?

 

Here is the movie trailer:  (which we all watched together)

 

House Party sent me a box of goodies and then I started to get into it…  they sent 12 of these super cute Hope Springs glasses:

and as you see – these cute IOU coupon books came with, those were for my guests to give to their souses, fun relationship guides, save the date cards to plan a movie night, fun discussion questions and these cute tote bags:

I bought wine and made horduerves… some of my friends brought horduerves too…

We actually had a blast sitting on the deck and enjoying each others company the conversation flowed easy and the questions that were sent along in the party box were fun to discuss.  It was one of those nights where I have known most of these girls for YEARS but I learned something new about them through our fun conversation.  Funny enough, my hubby came home during the conversation as we all sat on the deck talking relationships… he had no idea what we were talking about when we all started laughing. 😀 

There were 8 of us total… I forgot to get a group picture – we had so much fun though and it was a great evening just to hang out with friends.

I will be back later today with a review.  😀

Good morning!  Thursday already!  Did anyone elses week fly by?  I feel like I have run from one thing to the next but it has all been so good!  I am drinking my coffee and hustling through my morning traditions in anticipation of riding my bike to work.  I think… 😀  I do have errands to run after work so that puts a little damper on things but I am seriously considering biking to work 😀

Reading Shelf Awareness this week (if you do not receive this AWESOME daily email you should and you can link up on my right sidebar) and I have seen a couple of book trailers that caught my eye.  Yes… I said book trailers, and yes – I am not a fan of book trailers because I want to develop the story in my head… but… I am warming to a few of them.

First, on Monday – this trailer for the book Cascade really caught my eye… and then my heart.

and then last night I was reading email and seen this trailer hiding at the bottom of yesterdays Shelf Awareness and wow… I am turning into such a James Dashner fan want to be and have not read a thing he has written yet… obviously Maze Runner is in my near future so I can then read this one:

Tonight is my Hope Springs House Party.  I am getting kind of excited…  😀  Hope your Thursday is fab-tastic! 

Are you a book trailer fan… if so, any books call to you by seeing their trailer? 

Good morning!  Wednesday already!  I feel like the week is flying by!  I am not ready…LOL.  Tonight I have a get together at friends and tomorrow I have a get together here.  Have you heard of House Party?  It is a website where  you can sign up to host parties for products, board games, book releases and movies.  I signed up a while back and was chosen to host a party for the upcoming movie, Hope Springs with… Meryl Streep (I am on a Streep fest – but that is another post….)

SO… tomorrow evening I am having friends over to talk about the movie, other Streep movies, and to go through some fun questions that House Party sent me.  They also sent me coupon books for the guests, engraved glasses with the movie title on them, and tote bags.  I am kind of getting excited about this…. still need some appetizer ideas…. (anyone?  anyone?)

(More on that tomorrow)

August first huh?  Wow.  Where did July go?  This morning my email graced me with Amazon’s thoughts on the books of August.  While I am going to post this today… I am thinking I will make up my own some day soon….

			The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman Hardcover  |  Kindle book
			The Dog Stars by Peter Heller Hardcover  |  Kindle book
			Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies by Ben Macintyre Hardcover  |  Kindle book
			Dare Me by Megan Abbott Hardcover  |  Kindle book
			When It Happens to You by Molly Ringwald Hardcover  |  Kindle book
			Winter Journal by Paul Auster Hardcover  |  Kindle book
			The Double Game by Dan Fesperman Hardcover  |  Kindle book
			Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep by David K. Randall Hardcover  |  Kindle book
			We Sinners by Hanna Pylvainen Hardcover  |  Kindle book
			City of Women by David R. Gillham Hardcover  |  Kindle book

 

Hmmm…. out of this group – I have Dare Me and City Of Women waiting for me to read.  I would like to read Molly Ringwalds book as well.  As for the others, I don’t really know much about them.  Any thoughts or advice from you on these books?  Any books you would add to this group as a great August read? 

Oh and one more thing… lat night I posted a Bel Canto read-a-long!  I think it is going to be fun… .care to join me?

Good morning.  I am sitting here with coffee this morning watching Mater (new dog – part beagle/ part basset hound) tear through the house.  Its funny… and like I said, I have coffee so all is well in my little corner of the world.  😀

Yesterday I actually found some time between work and laundry and lawn mowing and reading to visit a few blogs, most were part of the Monday What Are You Reading Meme, but a few were blogs I just love to read and some were random that I seen in my travels.  Point being, when one (errr, I) travel around to blogs….  books, maybe movies, sometimes recipes or ideas, travel back with me….. clinging to my brain.  😀

So while looking around the blogs yesterday here are a couple finds I came back with:

Heather at Based On A True Story just read this one and many things appealed to me about it.  One and probably two… the title… Eat and Run…. I do like to eat and while I do not like to run…. I wish I did.  Scott’s memoir s about his training, how he ate to get the best performance and 3., he is a Minnesotan… and well, Minnesotan’s are just really cool people.  😛

Heather’s entire book list she posted yesterday were books I wanted to read…. dangerous site!

And then…. I stopped in to see how Meg was doing from write meg! and she is cooking.  Yes!  Cooking…. and she is cooking these awesome looking Spanish Green Beans that have me thinking… I could do that! 

Seriously, look at these – this is Meg’s picture and links to her recipe:

I seriously am going to make these this week some time.  I am trying to make healthier eating choices and this has all goodies in it!

My final thought for the day, (well, actually I hope this is not my final thought for the day because work is going to be interesting if I can not think…) I mean – my final thought here on this post that I want to share is that BOOK PAGE listed Gone Girl yesterday as their book of the day and that is super SQQUUUEEE  Worthy if I do say so myself, and yeah, I guess I just did. 

My day today looks like this – I work until 3, then I pick up my bike from the shop.  It is getting new tires, an a few other goodies I am excited about.  Then I hope to go for a bike ride to check it all out because I have a BIG ride this weekend and want my bike to be in fab working order. 

Hope your day is awesome and many great reads come your way! 

On that note, while blog traveling, and books that you decided you must read thanks to someone’s gushing/raving sqquuueeeeing about a book?  (I do love it when that happens!)

Good morning and HAPPY FRIDAY!  I have been up for hours already but you would never know it.  I have walked the dogs and started some laundry, had a little coffee and really what has kept me busy this morning is that I wrote my review post to Gone Girl.  WOW.

That book kept me reading and readers, you know how we all love that.  I carried that book to the kitchen, to the living room, to my car, to work, and last night, even next to the grill (for those who borrow my book, I apologize in advance for the BBQ sauce on the lower corner of the final pages).  I even went up to the attic of the blog and pulled out the Spoiler Button.  I do not get to use it often… but I love it when I do. 😀

The Spoiler Button was something I created a couple of years back that led to a page where I could discuss a book in-depth with those who had also already read that book…. spoilers in that case, are allowed.  If you check out my SPOILER page, you will see all the books I have written Spoiler Pages for and some of the discussions are still going strong because some of these books became movies and that opens it all up again.  😀

 

I leave this afternoon for the cabin with my cousin’s wife and two other friends I ride bike with.  We are taking the bikes to the North Shore and biking tomorrow and I am looking forward to it, but will also miss Mater and the gang here.  I will be back Sunday afternoon.  I have another review to write and will hopefully be able to do that after I run a  few errands this morning and then get back here to pack. 

Any fun weekend plans for you?  I would love to hear about them!

 

 

Good morning!  As for the title of this post… not me, I am not tired.  I am pretty good…. rested, good quiet low-key week so far 😀  However, you may know I have pretty much started a dog rescue site in my home since April…

Bailey, 14 years old now, lost his best friend (and one of mine as well), Elmo last October.  One of the hardest days of my life.  I suddenly understood how people said they could never own a dog again after doing something like that… too painful.  I agree.  It took my breath away for days.

Then in April, a friend of mine finds a stray dog by her home.  After searching desperately for its owner, calling all the area vets, humane society, etc, she calls me to see if I can give him a  home.

No, is my response.  Can’t do it no way no how….

but I did let her bring him over…. and I did let him stay over night while she looked for a home… and uh….. Sam, is still here and not going anywhere.

 

Then, my Navy son comes home a couple of weeks ago.  He is sitting on the deck one sunny Monday afternoon and he shares with me this story about this abused dog his friend has that was rescued by the Pequot Vet.  No home, major surgery from the beer (you read that right) they were feeding it, pins in his shoulder from a recent surgery from being tossed out the back of a truck.  He is 16 weeks old.  Enter, Mater into our life.

 

 

So yeah…. I think I am done now.  Three dogs… all great, but yeah.  My quiet house… not so quiet anymore with the addition of Mater.  I know he will settle down… but currently I feel a bit like “that crazy dog lady”.  😛

 

 

 

 

So that’s what is happening here…  I am finishing up Gone Girl today and holy smokes… so good.  My friend Heidi is coming over tonight to pick it up and I am just loving it but at the rate I am going, I may have to wait to give it to her on Friday…. I still have a ways to go 😀 

Have you read anything lately that was sooooo awesome it was hard to put down?  I need a few more of those. 😀

 

 

 

Good morning.  A quick pop in before I go back to work this morning.  Yes, my glorious two free days are over but they were just what I needed.  😀 
I got a little sun, I got in some reading (YAY!!!), my home is all caught up on the cleaning, I had time with friends, and two days to love on the new puppy, Mater.
This morning I am sitting here with Coffee cup, one eye on my keyboard, one eye on the time trying to balance this post, my getting ready, and packing my lunch, with sailing into work at precisely 5 or so minutes early because that is the way I like to start my days, smoothly… and non rushed. 

In bookish news I have read almost the first 200 pages of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and holy smokes I wish sleep was not necessary!  What a good read… I think I know whats happening, but then I don’t… and then… GAH!!!  😀  I also started listening to Paper Towns by John Green last night and it is still in the really early part but I am already picking up themes from Looking For Alaska… 

Ok, thats my time.  Review up later today…. looks like the rain storm that hit us last night has stopped so I think it will be another lovely day for reading on the deck after work today!

Where do you like to read this time of year?

Good morning.  Day two of my “bonus” days off and I am enjoying the down time.  Yesterday I read, I napped in the sun, I wrote a bit, I blogged a bit, I visited with a couple of friends, I left the house only briefly, otherwise I layed low, listened to audio and not much else 😀 

Today I need to ship some books but other than that I plan to repeat yesterday because once you master something so well… I think it is best to repeat 😀

So what am I reading?  Well… that remains to be seen.  I started The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjallian…

… but seemed to struggle getting into… I am thinking just a bit heavy for my deck hanging out plan, so I switched to The Reunion by Lauraine Snelling…

…. and the book is perfectly fine and I may continue it today but what is calling me thanks to my friend Angie, is Gone Girl…

 

Which I quote Angie:  ” Has anyone read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn? I definitely need to talk to someone about this one!”  SO, my copy arrived yesterday and I may just drop everything and do that one instead.  😀

 

Do you find that this time of year your book attention span is ummm…. smaller?  I know mine is… I need books that grab me right away and hang on tight.  My attention span grows again as we get into fall and winter.