Book Journey

Morning Meanderings… Dogs Life

Published on November 24, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)37 Comments

Good morning! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We did here! Did a little eating, did a little shopping, watched movies and just spent time together.

For my Saturday Snapshot today I thought I would give you a little update on the adopted dogs. Sammy, was a stray and came to live with us in April:

In July, we rescued Mater who was abused:

Sammy is Lap-so, and Mater is art beagle and part basset hound, “A Baggle”. 😀 As you can imagine my house went from a quiet home with just Al and I and Bailey (our 14 year old Schi-tzu) to a BUSY house with Sammy who they believe was 1 1/2 when we got him, and Mater who was 4 months old when we got him.

Mater made the biggest changes to out home. He grew fast. He is extremely curious. In the last 4 months he has taken food off the kitchen table, went through a “running through the house with a roll of toilet paper” phase, 3 pairs of shoes, perhaps most painfully – 10 books, and a lot od saying “MATER!” when he plays non stop.

Sammy and Mater are buddies, although Mater is a year younger than Sammy, he is three times as big as Sammy now.

If you want to check out other Saturday Snapshots, check out Alyce’s site At Home With Books where she hosts this fun meme.

I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday. Justin, College Son, goes back home this morning. I have a volunteer fair to help out with for a few hours this afternoon and a few hours tomorrow. Other than that, I get to hang out at home the rest of this weekend… get a little exercise and catch up on my challenges from 2012 so I can post about what the plans are for 2013. 😀

What’s the rest of your weekend plans?

Breaking Dawn Part II (yes! See it!!!)

Published on November 23, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

For the second time this afternoon, I went to see Breaking Dawn II at the theaters. I would have reviewed it when I seen it opening night but life busyness has not made it possible until now.

And believe me when I say I want to review this book.

Like most Twilight fans I have read the books a long time ago. I have heard the feedback on books and the movies, even have written reviews for all three books. I have watched the movies and have understood the jokes people had made of them – but let me say… no matter what you have thought of the Twilight books/movies in the past, this one is worth seeing.

Visually the movie is amazing. Everything that has true up to this point pulls together for a dynamic finish that is in a word….

POWERFUL.

Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, and yes, Kristen Stewart (she must have read the online comments) were at top game. The supporting actors are pretty incredible too and we are treated to many new faces. While we did not get a gratuitous shirt removing from Jacob (Taylor) like we were treated to in Breaking Dawn part 1, we are treated to many laugh out loud moments, as well as intense ones. It’s a good mix.

The ending – well, the ending is BRILLIANT. I can say nothing more than that, I can say – readers of the books and fans of the movies alike are in for a real treat.

My final thoughts…. treat yourself to this finale.

Morning Meanderings…. Turkey Coma and Kick Off To New Things!

Published on November 23, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

Good morning! 😀

Who’s up? Who’s shopping? Who’s sleeping? Who can’t move off the couch or recliner? 😀

My son and I did the Thursday evening shopping thing but with a bunch of snow that was dumped on us yesterday it was cold and windy and wet and we decided we were not going to wait in lines and freeze for a good deal. We didn’t really care if we got the items that were on out list or not as there was no “MUST HAVE!” item this year on our lists.

A friend of mine got to Wal-Mart at 5 pm and waited for the sales. We walked in at 5 to 8 (when the sale started) and got the same sales that she did 😀

We then went to Target and walked in after the doors had opened at 9 pm and walked right to the TV I was looking at for our cabin and the Blueray DVD player I have been considering as well. Justin got a dvd player and we both picked up an assortment on movies. BOOM! 😀 We were done with both stores and home by 10 pm. 😀

We did not see any big draws to pull us back out this morning so I am enjoying a nice quiet morning with my Jasmine tea. Justin is sleeping, Al left at 4 am to move equipment to the next job. Later today Justin and I will go see Breaking Dawn II (yes I have already seen it… do not judge! 😛 ) This will be a beautifully quiet day and I am so glad for it. 😀

As far as new things I mentioned a week or so ago the shakes that my son has been doing and has me on now too. So far I have been inconsistent with them as life has again been busy and I have had many food related events as of late. This week though looks to be a better one to get started on, I will be posting an update today on what I am doing and what I know so far. 😀

I hope you all enjoy your day. I would love to hear if you went shopping and if you did how was it and did you get what you were looking for? 😀

Morning Meanderings… Thanksgiving Plans and beyond….

Published on November 22, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)13 Comments

Good morning all and Happy Thanksgiving! I had an unintentional drop off this week from the blogesphere which amounted to awesome company stopping by, a change in a Tuesday agenda, Wednesday shopping for today and well.. here we are. I have posts to write and just have not done them.

Our Thanksgivings are pretty quiet around here and that is just the way I like them. College son will be here around 10:30 and he will help me prep food. Hubby is so not a cooker so he has to stay out of the kitchen. 😀 We will have a big dinner, I am planning turkey and mashed cauliflower and broccoli, cottage cheese, and corn bread stuffing, and carrots, and dinner rolls, shrimp and later pumpkin pie and or pumpkin bars.

We spend out afternoon and evening traditionally watching movies and playing board games and grazing on left overs. We may go see Breaking Dawn 2 later today as Justin has not seen it yet, or we may wait and do that tomorrow.

Tonight – yes, we are going to go see the crazies that shop the sales , which I guess by going out there makes us crazy too but it is fun and you never know what goodies you may find. 😛

BEYOND…

This weekend I have posts for you… a late Bookies Book Review one on the Language of Flowers which is fab and fun, a couple of audio books, a great discussion coming up, a movie review, and who knows what else.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving everyone. 😀

Morning Meanderings…”Pinterest, It’s A Mid-Western Thing”

Published on November 20, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

Good morning and happy FOGGY Tuesday. Yeah – it is CRAZY foggy here this morning. I tried taking a couple of pictures off the back deck this morning and they turned out well… interesting.

(Wow…. if I said “morning” one more time in that opening paragraph we would have had to turned it into a drinking game….)

Here is one of them:

20121120_065337 — You can see my deck railing along the bottom….

Creepy pic right?

Ok so what I wanted to share this morning is that while at the Rural Libraries and Literacy Leadership Institute this past weekend (wow… that is a mouthful!) we were having lunch on Saturday and our speaker was Jon Gordon on Social Media and the role it plays. One woman in the group who had been to MLA spoke up and said that she had heard that Pinterest was really a “Midwestern Thing”.

“Huh?”

So of course we were all Googling and sure enough, the Pinterest phenomenon seems to be more successful with us who live in the midwest. You can see an article here that the Los Angeles Times wrote in April. It says that Pinterest is the third most popular social network site falling behind Facebook and Twitter, but most interesting is that most of the traffic into Pinterest is coming from the Midwestern states.

Apparently these states are more crafty? 😛

For me, I have an on again off again relationship with Pinterest. I go on and I am fascinated. I am pinning recipes and craft projects and home improvement tips. I will do this for about three days and then I will forget about it for weeks and then… maybe pop on, get excited all over again and pin some more.

Does this happen to anyone else?

I think I may have made a couple of recipes from the Pinterest files, but nothing more. I hope when I have a craft weekend next week that I will take a couple of these ideas with me.

So that’s my morning meandering. Any thoughts on Pinterest? Are you a pinner and a doer? Just a pinner? Or really can’t take on one more time suck (which…. it really can be! Bright shiny pictures – oh my! 😀 )

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on November 18, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

Welcome to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. I offer a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment telling me how many you visited. **You do not have to have a blog to participate! You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.

Last weeks winner: Sam from The Little Munchin Reader!

Congratulations! Please choose a book or bookish item from the Reading Cafe!

Email me your choice at journeythroughbooks@gmail.com

Well it is another Sunday and I am pretty sure I posted nothing this week besides a couple morning posts to say “heyyy….. I am alive”. 😀 My week was so busy each night that I did not pick up a book all all – until today. I did get some audio time in but I did not finish any… just made a dent. I do have a few posts to write but did not get them finished yet.

So I will move right on to the next section… what I plan to read this week.

Nashville music star and family man, Cole Michaels, is persuaded to embrace an ‘American Dream’ theology that promises comfort, happiness, and success. But when the unimaginable happens, Cole blames God and abandons his faith. More vulnerable than ever, he is clueless that an evil character with an unspeakable secret is using every available resource to find him.

Can two old sages, a beautiful blonde, a violin called the Mysterious Lady, and a Triumph motorcycle help prepare Cole for his ultimate trial?

Many (many) years ago I read this author and LOVED his writing. I watched his sire for years and seen no clue of anything new coming out so I kind of forgot about him. I was thrilled when he emailed me a little while ago to say he seen my reviews and would like to know if I would review his new book. Uh – YEAH!!!! 😛

In a Norman Rockwell town in North Carolina, where residents rarely lock homes, retired army colonel John Matherson teaches college, raises two daughters, and grieves the loss of his wife to cancer. When phones die and cars inexplicably stall, Grandma’s pre-computerized Edsel takes readers to a stunning scene on the car-littered interstate, on which 500 stranded strangers, some with guns, awaken John’s New Jersey street-smart instincts to get the family home and load the shotgun. Next morning, some townspeople realize that an electromagnetic pulse weapon has destroyed America’s power grid, and they proceed to set survival priorities. John’s list includes insulin for his type-one diabetic 12-year-old, candy bars, and sacks of ice. Deaths start with heart attacks and eventually escalate alarmingly. Food becomes scarce, and societal breakdown proceeds with inevitable violence; towns burn, and ex-servicemen recall “Korea in ’51” as military action by unlikely people becomes the norm in Forstchen’s sad, riveting cautionary tale, the premise of which Newt Gingrich’s foreword says is completely possible.

I think (I hope!) this is a book my friend Amy recommended to me about a year ago. I am anxious to give it a try.

I think the audio’s I am listening to this week will be ending and that will generate dome reviews. I also have a movie review and my book club review to finish.

This week should be more productive with another quiet weekend coming up 🙂

So… I am curious what are you reading? Please add your Its Monday link below where it says click here. I am hoping to get around to visit many of you this week. Thank you all for making this meme so much fun! 😀 If you post about this meme on Twitter please use the hastag IMWAYR.

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

and those of you who read mainly children’s through YA reads – please also link your post here:

Sunday Check List – I survived!!!

Published on November 18, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

Good morning! I am home and so happy to be here and have a pretty mellow day ahead of me. A much-needed mellow day. 😀 I just came off a week of Monday – small group study, Tuesday – Book Club, Wednesday – help with students, Thursday – Pampered Chef Party and opening night showing on Breaking Dawn 2, Friday – left for St Paul for the Literacy Institute which went until Saturday at 3 pm then drove home and arrived around 6:00 pm at my door.

This week is way less busy. Yes, it is Thanksgiving week but it will be College Son coming home and our traditions are have a nice dinner then we dish up throughout the day whenever we are hungry and watch movies and play board games. I ♥ LOVE ♥ our traditions and really look forward to them.

As for today…

I am reading Forgotten Road by Randall Arthur

I am listening to Steve Jobs (yes still…) on my IPOD, finishing up Abraham on my CD player and still listening to The Quilters Homecoming in my car.

I am planning a possible lunch date with a friend who is in town for the weekend and possibly helping the library decorate this afternoon for Christmas.

I am hoping I can keep the next 5 weeks a little mellower.

I am working on finishing up my challenge updates and some fun discussion posts, and putting life and posts back into Kickin It (my neglected fitness blog).

I am looking forward to a meeting on Tuesday afternoon that is going to lead to my winter project (more later) and a nice weekend with one of my sons. 😀

Here are the books that graced my home this week:

That is it. On with my day, what id your plan for today?

Morning Meanderings… A Look At A Historical Library

Published on November 17, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

Good morning from my hotel room in ST Paul Minneapolis. I was so wiped out last night I was in bed by 8:30 pm…. I couldn’t be on line, I couldn’t read…. but I could sleep 😀

We are finishing up today our second session of the Literacy Institute program I am involved in. This afternoon we will head back home and I am excited for a little quieter week this week and College Son will be home for Thanksgiving.

Yesterday when we arrived in St Paul we were a little early so our local Librarian Jolene and I walked down to check out the St Paul Library. Such a massive building compared to our one level all in one are library at home.

From their website I found this:

The Saint Paul Public Library traces its earliest beginnings to 1856 when the newly formed Young Men’s Christian Association opened a reading room. The following year, both the Saint Paul Library Association and the Mercantile Library Association also were organized. These early efforts all merged in 1863 into the Saint Paul Library Association.

In 1879, under the leadership of Alexander Ramsey (who had served as Mayor, Governor, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Secretary of War), the Library Association proposed that the City accept responsibility for their collections and establish it as a free public library. Finally, on September 7, 1882, the city council approved an appropriation of $5,000 to establish the Saint Paul Public Library. By this date, the collection had grown to include 8,051 books.

In the following years, the Library grew rapidly. As early as 1890, there were calls for the construction of a new building. Instead, in 1900, the Library moved to the old Market Hall, located on Seventh Street. Many civic leaders continued to push for the construction of a new building, but the Library remained in the Market Hall until a tragic fire in 1915 destroyed the entire building, including the Library and most of its collection of 158,000 books. Fortunately, construction of the new Central Library was already underway.

I should have taken more pics but here is what I have:

20121116_113414 — Their books in a bag program

The library is very spacious the complete opposite of where we are at with the Brainerd Library which is so full and nowhere to go with more! In Brainerd if I were to go in and get a book or browse I could be in and out in 10 to 15 minutes. In St Paul I think you have made a much bigger commitment. YA is on one floor while several floors up you will find fiction. Even higher up you will find a room dedicated to magazines dating back to the 1970’s! Some of these magazines I had never heard of!

It really was something to see. Friends of The St Paul Library is a HUGE group of highly motivated people who have huge ideas. We have been hearing from them frequently throughout this program we are in and they really have my ideas flowing of what we can do with Brainerd.

Thanks Alyce from At Home With Books for hosting Saturday Snapshot so we can share the pictures of our lives.

Ok I need to get ready for the breakfast meeting. See you all… back in Brainerd,

Morning Meanderings… Brief Update

Published on November 16, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)6 Comments

Good morning! 😀

I thought I would be around more this week even with the crazy schedule but that turned out to be not so true…. yesterdays work – Pampered Chef Party – opening night of Breaking Dawn 2 was fun, but I got to bed around 1 am, and got up at 6 this morning to pack for the Literacy Institute that I will be leaving for shortly here…

Had to pop in though and say “Hey”.

“Heeeeeeeyyyyyyyy.”

😛

SO in case you are wondering Breaking Dawn at points is cheesy… I laughed, my friends laughed – at points that normally you would not laugh at… at one point there is a confrontation and the entire theater laughed. However just when I was about to say that the Twilight series is going down as a cheesy epic fail… it redeems itself and in the end I have, as well as everyone else… a WOW moment.

Nicely played.

Any hoo – more on that later. I just wanted to let you know I am alive, I will have my laptop this weekend and I am home late tomorrow afternoon anyway so I will still have part of the weekend to catch up on other things.

Insert *yay!* here.

So hope your weekends are off to an awesome start!

Morning Meanderings… A Little Addition To The Book Room SSQQUUEEE!!!

Published on November 15, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

Good morning all! 😀

I was MIA yesterday – unplanned, but there it is. Morning was busy – then work, then I helped out with the students last night and then watched Survivor with my hubby. The day flew by and now here I am and it is already crazy Thursday which = work 8 – 3, Pampered Chef party here at 6 and Breaking Dawn Part 2 Movie at 10 pm but get there as soon as I can after the party to get in line…

Then I leave tomorrow morning at 8 am for the Literacy Institute program until Saturday afternoon.

Ok…. I am going to need extra energy. 😀

But…

I wanted to talk about the book room.

The chairs came Tuesday late morning and they are so AWESOME!!!! I really feel they complete the book room. I had book club at the house on Tuesday night and the girls really liked the lay out. After book club ended my friend Amy and I sat and chatted and caught up in the book room… it was put to use right away!

So here is what they look like: