Meanderings – Page 92

Morning Meanderings… Last day to Register for BBAW (Book Blogger Appreciation Week)

Published on August 13, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

Good morning! 😀

It’s a beautiful Saturday here in Central Minnesota… the kind that calls me outside to my bike. I have the bike locked and loaded on the jeep for later today – but first I have a baby shower today and a house-warming. Both early enough in the day so that I will still have later afternoon to ride a bit.

I also wanted to remind everyone that today is the last day to register for BBAW. I too have to do this today… it’s been crazy busy around here and as soon as I am done writing this post I am going to get busy on that as I think you need to set a little time aside to do it. Be sure to read the Awards Process page and then on to the registration page , you will need a Google account or your twitter ID to log in.

Once logged in (I used my Twitter Id – it seamed easier) I backed out, then went into that same page and now had a nominations link. That is what I am working on now.

If you have not participated in BBAW before, I recommend you do. It gives you an opportunity to recognize the blogs you love to read. It really is fun and I love the community of book bloggers! 😀 Remember – today is the last day to register your blog and nominate.

In other news… as I love to participate in Alyce’s Saturday Snapshot meme, thought I would use a few pictures from Honduras since it looks like I may be leading a team there in November of this year. Honduras is always an amazing experience, and a country that in many parts, is extremely poorish.

155 — How cute are these kids? They would come and watch us work every day.

159 — Me and the kids that live above the dump in Tegucigalpa. We were building a home for a young woman who needed to escape her father

049 — The statue of Jesus up inthe mountains of Tegucigala, Honduras. You can see this statue from all over the city

050 — A shot of the landing strip. Tegucigalpa has one of the shortest landing strips in the world due to the mountains. A captain must fly the planes in to Tegucigalpa.

061 — The flowers and plants of Honduras are GORGEOUS

So that’s it for this morning… Have a great day! 😀

Morning Meanderings…. Time To Get On The Fitness Track

Published on August 12, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

Good Morning! Happy Friday!

I am looking forward to this weekend because really…. I have no big plans. 😀 Saturday I have a baby shower but no bike rides, camping, cabin, travel… nada.

I like that a lot. 😛

Last weekend I biked the Camp Benedict ride with my cousin’s wife. She looks amazing and my cousin and her have been doing a program they found on-line called My Fitness Pal. Between seeing how well it has worked for them (and uh…. seeing some pics of me these past few events) I jumped on the program earlier this week.

There are many things I like about it –

It is easy to use, I put in my height, weight, age and that was about it.

you enter your food into the daily journal and it calculates for you – LOVE THAT!

At the end of the day if you want it will run a report for you that is pretty cool – breaking down calories, fat, protein, fiber, carbs, and sodium. I find it all a little fascinating 😀

After the injury earlier this year I slowed down (yes, I know… some of you will say I didn’t… but I did… 😛 ) and now it is time to kick back in gear. I have been using My Fitness Pal since Monday and I will let you know each Friday how I am doing with the ticker that is below.

Created by MyFitnessPal – Free Weight Loss Tools

Morning Meanderings: The Help movie scores an A+ with me

Published on August 11, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)36 Comments

Good morning. I am coffee free this morning….. but on purpose. 😀 I am going to my first weigh in this morning with a friend and I am anal about eating or drinking anything before weigh in. No worries – my weigh in is at 8:30 am and I will stop for coffee on my way to work after.

Last night myself and a mix of book club gals and friends, went to the 7 pm showing of The Help. I was warned previously by Kathy at Bermuda Onion to bring Kleenex, which I forgot and did need. 😛

I felt the movie was a wonderful stem off the book. While not all scenes ran as the book did, it was a close comparison and changes were small and probably so the movie (which was 2 1/5 hours long) did not become a 3 to 4 hour movie! 😀

The characters were wonderful – Skeeter played by Emma Stone did a wonderful job and Aibileen by Viola Davis, was breathtakingly true to the character. Of course… if you know me…. my heart and my laugh was given time and again to Minny. Minny was outspoken, rough around the edges, and in her home life… abused.

The seven of us in the theater as well as the rest of the theater rolled with laughter when it came to the confrontation between Minny and Hilly. Hilly, by the way, cast by Bryce Dallas Howard also did wonderful! In fact there is no part taken that I would say did not feel true to the book.

I laughed and I cried, and I laughed and I cried again. I highly recommend if this movie comes close to you that you see it. AND – bring the Kleenex. 😉

Morning Meanderings… Celebrating 10 years with the Bookies!

Published on August 10, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)48 Comments

Good morning all!

After yesterday mornings “I am in limbo” post… this one excited me to write!

Last night was my August book club meeting, but this time it was more than that. It was also a surprise birthday party for Sharon in our group who turns 50 today, and it was also our 10 year anniversary.

I am pretty sentimental when it comes to my book club. Bookies was started in August of 2001 as a way to bring people together. At the time I had worked for Wal-Mart about 10 years and thought it was sad that many of us who had worked together for so long really didn’t know anything about each other.

The idea of a book club came out of the air. I figured I like to read… maybe others do too. So I posted a book title by the time clock (Dance Upon The Air by Nora Roberts) and put a date, place and time to meet in a few weeks. And….

crickets.

Yup. No one said a word to me about it.

The night we were to meet I thought I would show up at the meeting place, have a diet Pepsi and then go home if I was all alone. So I showed up. And a few minutes after me, Angie showed up (Angie now runs the book blog By Book or By Crook!) and Karen showed up. And we reviewed the book and I had brought another book to suggest for the next month (Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard). We agreed to meet again the second Tuesday of September. This was 2001.

On that second Tuesday of September… it was the 11th and we had the terrorist attacks on the world trade center. It was a day that filled with a lot of emotion and turmoil, and that evening I told my husband I was going to show up at book club. I did not know if we would have any new people, I had not heard from anyone… but I did not want them to show up and be alone so I went. The amazing thing was, the other two showed up as well as one more. We all agreed that there was nothing we could do at home about what was happening in the world, so we shared our thoughts on the days events, brokenhearted for the world, and yes, we reviewed the book.

Now it is August 2011 and we are currently 17 members. Walking into the Boardwalk Bread and Bagel last night was amazing to look at all the book lovers there… all a part of this group we call Bookies. We no longer can fit into a booth like we did that first meeting (although I did suggest we try :razz:)

Last night we reviewed Devil In The White City by Eric Larson. I can not wait to share with you my thoughts as well as the Bookies. We celebrated a milestone birthday with Sharon, and ate together. Coming home, I just could not get over how blessed I feel to be a part of such amazing women. It started out to be a few girls that worked together… then we added a few friends… and then it grew from there. We never said we were an all girls group… it just turned out that way.

Next month we are reading The Postmistress bu Sarah Blake. I read and reviewed this one a while back but think I will refresh myself by trying it on audio….

Morning Meanderings… So This Is What Limbo Feel Like….

Published on August 9, 2011August 9, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)22 Comments

Good morning! 😀

I have this feeling of well… limbo.

Limbo: A region or condition of oblivion or neglect: Management kept her promotion in limbo for months.

A state or place of confinement.

An intermediate place or state

What has brought this on?

Well normally after a big bike ride like I just had this past weekend I would be flooding you with information and pictures. Day one of the ride (Saturday) was stormy and we rode about 5 hours of the 75 miles in the rain – hard rain. By pit stop one (10 miles into the ride) my camera had taken in moisture and was not working. No camera… no pictures.

SO I am telling you just a wee bit about the ride now as I believe pictures will start getting posted on Facebook and I will be able to find some so you can see how truly soaked we were. It is the first time I rode through hard rain. Wet, cold…. but only 4 riders dropped out and I was not going to be one of them.

Camp as always was beautiful and by that time the sun was out and when we rode in although we were muddy…. we were pretty dry.

The rest of the afternoon I hung out with friends catching up on lives, and then we had a wonderful dinner, camp fire – and bed by 9:30 pm so we could get up and ride 75 miles back on Sunday, which was a really nice day to ride. Not too hot.

I had no incidents. No falls. No nothing. 😛 I believe as a team there were 10 flat tires, and one pulled tendon which involved a trip to the hospital, but all is well now between the bikes and the riders. 😀

That’s limbo #1.

Limbo #2 is that I feel really behind in my reading. The weekend was a bust for book moments as I picked up my book Saturday evening and fell asleep before I read one page. Sunday evening came home after dinner was downstairs trying to read while Al (hubby) watched tv and I fell asleep again.

At this time I have book club tonight (our 10th Anniversary party!!!!) and I have not finished the book because I keep falling asleep. 😛

So there you have it. No pics to show, no books to review… AND

Limbo #3, I hardly got around to any of the Monday What Are You Reading participants yesterday as I worked all day, followed immediately by a 3 hour meeting for the upcoming camp dates, and then came home, made dinner, picked up my book….

and yup – you guessed it…. promptly fell asleep.

(Really – it is not the book…. it is me). 😀

2011 Bike Miles: 372

2011 Blade miles: 42

Morning Meanderings… A BIG Bike Ride for a great cause

Published on August 6, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)41 Comments

Today I am starting a two day ride for Camp Benedict, the ride I participate in for families infected of affected by AIDS/HIV. We will start at 8 am this morning and bike 75 miles (with an option to do 100) to camp, then we get up Sunday morning and bike the 75 miles back to Brainerd.

It’s a great ride and a wonderful team.

For Saturday Snapshots (Check out Alyce’s blog, At Home With Books for more info) I thought I would post a few pics from last years ride…

Friend and co-rider last year - Sheila W and Sheila D 🙂

Where we stay overnight (I know... so spoiled!)

030 — Final stop on the way back (day two) me and Connie in the front. Connie is the organizer of the ride and the camp.

See you all tomorrow afternoon 😀

Morning Meanderings… A Book Sale and A Bike Ride

Published on August 5, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)52 Comments

Good morning!

Yesterday was a blast at the Brainerd book sale.

I arrived around 6:50 am and secured the first spot at the sale as per crazy book girl tradition. 😛

First three cars in the library parking lot!

Soon to follow – two of my awesome friends joined me at the 7:00 am hour. YAY to Dawn and Amy!

Here we are – me, Dawn, and Amy…. holding down the first three spots tot the sale. Did I mention it did not open until 9 am? 😛

As the hour neared 9 am… the line wrapped around the library. They let in the first 50, then as people leave the sale, they replace them with people still waiting. It is quite the system 😀

And then we were in and it was AWESOME! Paperbacks and hard covers alike are 50 cents a piece. Here is my haul:

I am thrilled with my take away! I am excited especially about City Of Ashes, the Margaret Atwood books (I have yet to read her…) and Anita Shreve’s Weight Of Water – which many of you have said is one of Shreve’s best. I am hopeful that many of these other titles are incredible too… I just dont know it yet! 😀

Tomorrow morning I go on probably my favorite bike ride of the year, the Camp Benedict Ride. Two days… 150 miles… possibly 175 if I do the optional 100 the first day, which I really hope to do as I have not ever done a century in one day before and that was the plan at the MS ride in June, but unforeseen happenings made that not be possible. 😀

Morning Meanderings… BBAW (Book Blogger Appreciation Week)

Published on August 4, 2011August 4, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

Good Morning! 😀

Up early… prepping to go the library sale that opens at 9. A couple of friends and I are going and we will be there around 7, just because it is so fun to get our lawn chairs and COFFEE CUPS and hang out like we are waiting for concert tickets. It really is the event to be at this morning. 😛

Yup – had to mention it. Book Blogger Appreciation Week is coming in September. LOVE THIS. It is a fun time to recognize some of your favorite blogs/bloggers as well as a time to meet some new. I am all about community so this is AWESOME!!!

Be sure to stop be the BBAW website to register so you can vote and participate. You will also be able to check out the categories so you will be able to start thinking about who you would nominate for what. 😛

Here are the categories – but please go and check them out on the BBAW category page as well.

Featured Categories

Best Written Book Blog
This blog is consistently well-written, clear, and engaging, no matter what the subject.

Best Author Interviews
This blogger does his or her research and asks the questions no one else does. These interviews are top-notch. Note that this award reflects the quality of the interviews, not the popularity of the person being interviewed.

Best New Book Blog
This blog was launched on or after September 1, 2010. The blogger has already made his or her mark in terms of the quality of the reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content on the blog; it’s hard to imagine the book blogging world without this blogger.

Best Book Blog Meme
This weekly or monthly meme is one that you never miss. You look forward to contributing on a regular basis and/or to reading the participants’ posts.

Best Book Blogging Event
This event, whether it focuses on blogging, reading, collecting reviews, or building community, inspires everyone to join in. It brings bloggers together for fun, learning, reading, or mutual support and help.

Best Book Blog Feature or Series of Posts
This weekly or monthly feature is something that an individual blogger does on a regular basis, but that does not include the community participation of a meme.

NICHE Categories

Best Eclectic Book Blog
This blog doesn’t specialize in any one book genre. It is known for consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in a variety of genres.

Best Kidlit Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content for books written for young children through middle-grade readers.

Best Young Adult Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content for books written for a young adult audience.

Best Nonfiction Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in nonfiction. It may cover a variety of areas or focus on one particular field.

Best Speculative Fiction Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in fantasy, science fiction, horror, and/or paranormal books. The blog may cover several of these subgenres or just one.

Best Literary Fiction Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in literary fiction.

Best Classics Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in classics.

Best Romance Book Blog
This blog offers the best reviews and specialized content in romance books of any subgenre, from historical to contemporary.

Best Historical Fiction Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in historical novels. For the purposes of this award, consider historical anything from 1945 (World War II) and older.

Best Mystery/Suspense/Crime Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in mysteries, suspense, and/or crime. The blog may cover several of these subgenres or just one.

Best Horror/Thriller Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in horror and/or thrillers. This blog may cover both of these subgenres or just one.

Best GLBT Lit Book Blog
This blog features the best reviews and specialized content in GLBT books. This blogger may or may not self-identify as a member of the GLBT community, but he or she focuses on GLBT literature on the blog

Best Cultural Book Blog
This blog features the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in books and/or authors of a *specific* cultural identity. This blogger may or may not self-identify with the culture featured on the blog but focuses on that culture’s literature.

Best Graphic Novel/Illustrated Nonfiction Book Blog
This blog features the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in the graphic medium.

Best Publishing/Industry Blog
This blog features the best content on the publishing industry and is written by an industry professional.

Best Published Author Blog
This blog features the best content written by an author. This is an author who keeps an active blog that engages his or her readers.

Best Spiritual, Inspirational, or Religious Book Blog
This blog features the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content on books that address a life of faith. This blog is not necessarily associated with an organized religion and may discuss either fiction or nonfiction books.

Best Audiobook Blog
This blog features the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content on audiobooks.

Best Poetry Blog
This blog features the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in poetry.

Best Bookstore Blog
This blog is associated with a retail bookstore, offering book news, staff recommendations, and other content of interest to people who love to shop for books.

Best Bookish Miscellaneous Blog
This blog has a specific focus that is related to books, but doesn’t include reviews of books. It might focus on book cover design, books in culture, trends in books, hidden treasures in books, etc.

I have to start thinking about my nominations as well. 😀

Have a great day – I have to go get ready for the sale…. pics of the haul and the event will be up tomorrow in the meandering…. I mean… in the morning 😀

Morning Meanderings… A Book To Win… A Sale To Conquer!

Published on August 3, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

Good morning!

What’s happening in your corner of the world?

Pretty normal around here. 😀 The weather has been nice, 80’s but not killer humid, and other than work this week, I have done a little house keeping and DEVOURED the book Between by Jessica Warman (which was released yesterday). My review will be up yet today.

Are you a Shelf Awareness reader? I love this little email I receive on weekdays by 7 am. It lists book and author reviews, book store happenings, upcoming bookish news, and usually a chance to win a book or two. This morning they announced a little incentive for others to sign up:

Since I had nothing witty or spectacular to say this morning… I am going with the Shelf Awareness sign up. 😛 I will put this in my sidebar too for those who are interested, get on board by clicking and entering…. you wont be sorry.

In other news, the big Brainerd Library sale is tomorrow morning at 9 am. I will be there by 7 am. Yes, as a freind of the library I could have helped set up the sale and get first pick of the books… but if you know me… I like the adventure of the hunt. Besides, as I told my friend on the phone yesterday, they may frown apon how many books I would like to have “first pick” at.

I will take my chances in the crowd. 😀

Here is what happened last fall during the wait for this sale:

1aaa — Waiting for Library Sale August 2010

Whats the craziest thing you have ever done for a book/ author event?

Morning Meanderings… Its Going To Be A Big Book Week

Published on August 2, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)34 Comments

Good morning! 😀

This past weekend I was up North with a couple of friends. It is a tradition to go the last weekend of July and one of the reasons I love this trip is the Silver Bay Book Sale. Yup, at 8:45 am on Saturday the three of us waited in a short line to get in the library when the doors opened at 9.

Here is what I walked out with:

Now to bad at a 25 each on the paperbacks and $1.00 for the hard cover. Two books I am really excited about are Shanghai Girls as I have yet to read Lisa See and A Night To remember because I am fascinated with all things Titanic.

Brainerd’s library sale is this Thursday. It is a much bigger sale and I am quite sure I will have a larger pile than this to post on Friday. 😛