Guest Post: Traditions by Alyce

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)36 Comments

Have you met the amazing Alyce?  I remember when I first found Alyce’s blog and I  loved how her sidebar says “Alyce (rhymes with peace)… I think of that whenever  I stop by her blog and it makes me smile.  🙂

Sheila


 

Alyce and her family

The Christmas tradition that stands out the most in my memory from childhood is that of retrieving boxes of ornaments from the attic and decorating the house.  But the first thing that my mom would do prior to decorating was reach into our cabinet and pull out all of our holiday records and stack them up next to the record player.  There was a lot of Christmas music there, and I know that we did listen to most of the records, but the only one that I remember; the one that got the most play time, was the Elvis Christmas album.  I have so many good memories of dancing around the house and putting up decorations with Elvis singing in the background.

Prepping the tree

During those first few years of marriage the memories of Christmases blur together, in part because we always celebrated at our parents’ houses.  When we had our kids, however, we wanted to create our own family traditions and I couldn’t resist incorporating Elvis Christmas tunes into our holiday.  So now, each Christmas when my kids get ready to decorate the tree they are accompanied by “Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me” and “If Every Day Was Like Christmas,” among others.  I will be curious to see if those songs will bring back nostalgic memories for them someday when they are older, or if they just melt into the background of Christmas memories.  If there’s one thing I know it’s that nostalgia is different for everyone, and the best we can do is create a lot of fun memories and then wait to see which ones are treasured most by those we love.

I know that making Christmas cookies is a family tradition for many people, but it was not something I remember doing often when I was growing up, so I was excited to make it into a yearly event with my kids.  Every year, at some point during the two-week break from school I get out the cookie press and make dozens of butter cookies.  Most years I buy the boys each a tube of frosting and a large bag of mini-M&Ms to decorate a plate of their own cookies.  Last year though, I discovered that the butter cookies taste even better (at least to me)  if they are made with colored sugar sprinkles  instead of being slathered with frosting and piled high with candy.

Below is the recipe that I like the best for butter cookies (which this recipe calls shortbread cookies).  I think calling them butter cookies makes more sense; after all they are made with a pound of butter!

Shortbread Cookies

1 lb butter
1 cup sifted icing sugar
3 cups sifted flour
½ cup cornstarch

Cream butter, add sugar & gradually add flour & cornstarch sifted together. Whip mixture until fluffy & mixture breaks or looks curdled. Drop by teaspoons or put through cookie press onto cookie sheet.  Bake at 300F until light golden brown (about 20 minutes).

Check out Alyce At Home With Books.

Guest Post: Holiday Tour Of France

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

I found Esme over a year ago when I was blog hopping one day and discovered this book reviewer and food lover.  Her book reviews drew me in and then her food pictures and recipes held me there.  I was like a kid in a candy store and I told her I had to start limiting my visits to her blog because it made me hungry!  Who knew that this original connection with this California blogger would eventually put us together as roommates at BEA.  (Yes, another roommate!)  😀 You are also soon to discover… she is handy with a camera too!

Sheila

Hello, I am Esme from Chocolate and Croissants.  It is an honor for me to be guest posting at Book Journey.  Today I am going to take you to one of my favorite places France, as we tour the Christmas markets.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

This time of the year, Christmas markets can be found along the French-German border.  Given the tumultuous history this area has experienced changing hands between the French and the Germans the food is a beautiful mixture of both French and German cuisine. While each market enjoys it’s own potpourri of decorations, vendors and food, the baked goods reflect the history of the area.

A few years ago, I took the TGV train from Paris to Strasbourg.  Strasbourg home to the printing press was my gateway to a world of epicurean delights and Christmas treasures.


The largest market in Strasbourg could be found in the main square.  All the buildings were decorated with Christmas tinsel and holiday cheer.

From Strasbourg I had a rental car and drove through the French countryside visiting little villages.

These Christmas loaves are full of dried fruit, nuts and a healthy dose of liquor.  Each village had baked Christmas goods different from other villages.  By the time I left, my bags were packed with cakes and cookies to bring back home with me.

Of course, everyone should enjoy a chocolate Santa.

Of course, one must try marrons glace (glazed chestnuts).  Did I? No, I must confess I do not like chestnuts, but I think I really missed out.

Joyeaux Noel and Merry Christmas and be good you never know where Santa may be.


Stop in and bring your appetite at Chocolates and Croissants!

Morning Meandering… Where I Am Going And What I Am Doing

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

Good morning!  Coffee Cup and I are off to early start today.  All that craziness of late all comes down to this day.  I am packed, have the dog/house sitter lined up…. packed (FINALLY!), caught up at work, dropping Chance off at school pretty quick here, returning library books, mailing packages (Yes Secret Book Santa – this includes you :D), fueling up Durango and at 1:00 pm…

we are on our way to Honduras.

I am going with my husband, and five other people.  We will fly to Texas tonight, stay over night, and then fly out of Texas to Tegucigalpa Honduras tomorrow morning landing in Honduras around noon.   We are on an exploratory team and we will be looking at several different areas of Honduras to see where we feel called to do future missions.  I have been on work teams going to Honduras since 2004, but this is the first time we will not be working and instead traveling all over Honduras exploring.  (Just call me Dora the Explorer).

I will have internet service occasionally while I am there and on those days I will try to pop in and do a morning meandering.  Thanks to a group of wonderful bloggers, I will have guest posts each night that I am gone…. and they will all have a little something Christmasy in store for you.

I hope you will stop by often over the ten days that I will be gone and check out their stories.

Have an awesome start to your December!!!

Me in Honduras in November of 2009 doing what I love

2011 Where Are You Reading Challenge

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)130 Comments

This Challenge starts January 1, 2011 – December 31st 2011.  The Challenge consists of reading at least one book that covers each of the 50 states of America and you can add as many other countries as you like.

So how do you decide what state a book is categorized under?

1.  In a fiction read it would be the State or Country that the book spends the most time in.  (Ie. If your main character is from Wisconsin but the book is all about his/her time in college in California – the books should categorize under California….)

2.  Non fiction reads categorize  in whatever State or Country it is about (Ie…. a book about fly fishing in Colorado is a Colorado point, and a book about women in Afghanistan is an Afghanistan point.

How to get started

Set up a map under Google Maps.  It is easy to do!  Every time you read a book in 2011, upload a cover picture to Picasa Web Albums (there may be other sites to use, feel free to use what works best for you).


Questions?

Do you have to have a blog to participate? No.  You can do everything on the map above without linking the book to a review.

Do I have to have my post up by January 1st, 2011? No, but I would think you would want to get started right away at the beginning of the year.  However, you will be able to sign up throughout January as well.

How will people see my map? There are a couple of possibilities.  On your original challenge post you should have a link to your map.  You could also put it on your side bar to draw interest to it (see mine on my left side bar)  I will be linking my map to every review and you could as well, or do a monthly update post….

I dont get it – I cant figure out how to use Google maps but I really want to participate! No worries!  😀  You are welcome to create a challenge post that lists the 50 states (as well as bonus out of USA spots) and then fill them in as you read in the areas.

Do audio books count?  ABSOLUTELY!


Once you are ready and have your map set up please create a blog post (those who have blogs) using the Challenge picture of the map I provided above as well as link to this post so others may join in.  Then come back and link that post here to Mr Linky so I as well as other participants know that you are participating and we can pop in throughout the year to check out your map and how we are all doing.

This is actually a fun and easy challenge as all books you read qualify and it will be fun to see where you generally read books from as well as searching out books to fill in areas that you need.

For those who have covered the 50 states by the end of 2011, they will go into a drawing for a $50 gift card to Barnes and Noble or to Amazon.  **  All other areas beyond the 50 states are bonus points and we will have a drawing using random.org for those who read 10 or more books throughout 2011 in that category.

You can see my map I worked on in 2010 here to see what the map looks like and how the pictures link to the reviews.  (If you zoom in you will see the individual areas I read in and clicking on the blue pins will show you what book it was and clicking on the picture will take you to the post!

That’s it!  Any questions – please leave them in the comments section below.  😀

I can’t wait to see Where You Are Reading!

 

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Morning Meanderings… The books that grabbed me this week

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

Good morning.  Life is pretty insane these days as I juggle my way through the next 30 hours before I head to the airport.  I am trying to balance the “to do’s” with some down time each day so I do not get overwhelmed and crack like an egg…

seriously… I can’t imagine it would  be pretty.

So yesterday – between work and making tacos for 30 people and a wrap up pre trip meeting last night… I squeezed in a little down time and read through the Monday What Are You reading participants as well as a few of my favorite blogs I just love to read and see what they are reading.  I seriously pick up awesome reads this way!

For example…

Over at Mundie Moms I found this cover that I thought was very eye-catching.  This book is the last of a series but the review I read was enough to make me think that this may be a series I would like to try.

At In The Forest this title and review caught my eye.  I know very little about cutting but do know someone who has done it so I have looked it up on-line to understand it more.  I would be interested in trying this book.

You may be seeing this book start to pop up around the blogesphere but I first seen it at Word Lily.  I have not (that I can recall) read any books like this one.

And finally, over the weekend this little gem caught my eye first at My Friend Amy’s and then I read a couple other reviews on it as well.  I was on my way to the book store to talk with Pat Bluth at a book signing so as long as I was there I inquired about this book.  They did not have any in stock but I was able to order it and with a little luck it will be here Wednesday morning and may make the cut as the fourth book that I will take with me to Honduras.

So that’s what happens when I visit other blogs and bloggers who book opinions I trust…  I wind up with uhhh…… more books.  However, I do not find that a bad thing because honestly the good ones are worth promoting and when a book interests me… I cant wait to grab it at my library or support my local book store when I can.


Any books that have caught your eye on other blogs recently?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)72 Comments

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

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.  You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.

Last weeks winner (using Random.Org) was:

TBA (I did not have time to pick yet)

Congratulations!  Please choose an item out of the PRIZE BOX and email me your choice with your mailing address as well!   journeythroughbooks@gmail.com

 

It has been a whirlwind of a week.  Chance has been staying with us since last Sunday and I have been prepping all week to get ready to go to Honduras this Wednesday.  In a nut shell (and that term is perfect) I have been running in several different directions this week and unfortunately reading didn’t always get on the agenda.


Here is my week in review:


Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows A Movie Adventure (Have you seen it?  Have you seen it?)


Don’t Sing At The Table… Life Lessons From My Grandmother by Adriana Trigiani (Book review – OH WOW!)


The GaMeS BiBlE by Leigh Anderson (Hey board gamers and card players – this is a “must have” book!


Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman (an audio review that is totally SSQQQUUUUEEEE worthy!)


Coffee and Fate by RJ Erbacher (a review of a book that still is making me wonder….)

The Secret Is Out… It Is I Who Has The Invisibility Cloak (my real tale of a recent shopping experience)

This week I have finally picked the three books that will go on the plane with me and the two audio books on my IPOD:

From the author of the bestselling The Good Women of China comes the uplifting story of three sisters who, like so many migrant workers in today’s China, leave their peasant community to seek their fortune in the big city.The Li sisters don’t have much education, but one thing has been drummed into them: their mother is a failure because she hasn’t managed to produce a son, and they themselves only merit a number as a name. Women, their father tells them, are like chopsticks: utilitarian and easily broken. Men, on the other hand, are the strong rafters that hold up the roof of a house. Yet when circumstances lead the sisters to seek work in distant Nanjing, the shocking new urban environment opens their eyes. While Three contributes to the success of a small fast-food restaurant, Five and Six learn new talents at a health spa and a bookshop/tearoom. And when the money they earn starts arriving back at the village, their father is forced to recognise that daughters are not so dispensable after all.

In 1967, not long after the Six Day War, three young Arabs ventured into the town of Ramla, in Jewish Israel. They were on a pilgrimage to see their separate childhood homes, from which their families had been driven out nearly twenty years before during the Israeli war for independence. Only one was welcomed: Bashir Al-Khayri was greeted at the door by a young woman named Dalia.

This act of kindness in the face of years of animosity and warfare is the starting point for a remarkable true story of two families, one Arab, one Jewish; an unlikely friendship that encompasses the entire modern history of Israelis and Palestinians and that holds in its framework a hope for true peace and reconciliation for the region.

In a middle-class neighborhood of Iran’s sprawling capital city, 17-year-old Pasha Shahed spends the summer of 1973 on his rooftop with his best friend Ahmed, joking around one minute and asking burning questions about life the next. He also hides a secret love for his beautiful neighbor Zari, who has been betrothed since birth to another man. But the bliss of Pasha and Zari’s stolen time together is shattered when Pasha unwittingly acts as a beacon for the Shah’s secret police. The violent consequences awaken him to the reality of living under a powerful despot, and lead Zari to make a shocking choice…

 

A young woman appears in a small NC town. She makes one friend, a woman who lives nearby, but other than that, she keeps to herself. Soon, however, a series of events pulls her into the circle of a local merchant, a widower with two children, and against her better judgment, she finds herself drawn to him and letting down her carefully constructed guard.

For this women has a secret, a secret that has forced her to hide her identity, run as far away as she can from home, and escape a past that still haunts and terrifies her.

It is inevitable that her past will catch up with her-in the form of an abusive husband who refuses to let her go. But what remains unknown is whether she will allow herself to love and trust again, and to what extent her husband will go to ensure that she’ll have a future…but only if it includes him…

Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them-in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul-they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman’s love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.

I hope in the next ten days to accomplish getting through all of these between the plane time and hopefully some down time between our travels.

There will be a It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading? Next week – I am pre-setting the post.  AND I hope you will stop by after Wednesday and check out the wonderful bloggers who have shared a Christmas story with you as well as a book recommendation.

I am excited to see what you are reading!  Please add your post to the LINKY below where it says click here.


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Morning Meanderings…. The Secret Is Out – It Is I Who Has The Invisibility Cloak

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)46 Comments

Good Morning!

I wanted to share with you my funny (or really – not so much) shopping experience I had recently with Chance.  Our destination was to go a certain (I will not mention the name) establishment where the idea was for Chance to get a haircut, while that was happening I was going to get a pedicure (upcoming Honduras trip = sandals!) and then do a little shopping.

First, I took Chance over to the salon area.  We stood at the front counter while the lady behind it proceeded to ignore us for several minutes.  Finally she said, “Can I help you with something?”  (Uhhhh… you cut hair….. what else would I be here for?)  I told her that Chance needed a hair cut and she tossed a clip board my way to write his name on.  Even Chance commented when she walked away about her pleasant – errr….. lack there of….. personality.  The next lady came up and I pre paid for Chances cut so I could go to the nail area.

Second, I went into the nail area where I have frequented many times before and they are usually quite friendly and get you set up right away.  Even if they are all busy they will still put you in that wonderful massage chair and your feet in a warm jacuzzi style water while you wait.  I had my book to read and I was so ready.  I went in and picked out my color and sat in the waiting chair.  No one acknowledged me other than a lady I knew who was getting her own pedicure done.   I sat and read for about 15 minutes slowly getting more and more irritated.  I decided that if Chance showed up done with his haircut before I was waited on I would just leave.  25 minutes in a guy who worked there approached me and said “what are you waiting for?”

I said I was there for a pedicure and he turned and walked away saying nothing and he did not return.  Now I am annoyed – and really, I am pretty easy-going so it takes A LOT to annoy me.  One of the ladies doing a pedicure turned and looked at me and said, “Oh, are you waiting for a pedicure?”  I said yes I was but now I felt I probably did not have time.

I returned the polish to the rack and walked out.

Third (oh yes, there is more), Chance and I shopped the store and I picked up the things I needed and we proceeded to the check out.  We got up to the counter and the cashier started ringing us out without saying a thing.  I looked at Chance and said, “I am so ready to just go home now.”  She continues to ring and then at the end of my order I had two large pizzas.  She said, “Are the pizzas yours too?”

I said “yes.”

She hesitated a minute, looked at me again and said, “Are the pizza’s yours too?”

I said “yes they are,”  (a little louder this time resisting the urge to wave my arms to see if she truly seen me).

When she finished ringing the order she handed me the receipt while looking at the next customer…. I had to chase her hand to get the receipt as she kept floating it around trying to find me.

As we walked out of the store I told Chance that I had no idea that I played such a large part in The Deathly Hallows.  “What do you mean” he said.

“Well, I clearly must be the current owner of the invisibility cloak” I responded.


😀

True story…..  for the record… no employees of said establishment were hurt during this transaction.

How About Some AMAZING Winners?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)9 Comments

Crackling fireworks Batman!  It is time to announce some winners for recent giveaways…..  I am hoping to have all my winners in and mailed by the time I leave on Wednesday…. so lets see what Random.Org had to say…


My Lost Daughter by Nancy Thayer Rosenberg

I have three lovely copies of this book and they are going to (using random.org)….

Laurel

Kelly B

Mary Beth l

Woo hoo and chick a pow wow….. (I have no idea where that came from….)

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!


 

Next up…. you may remember the fantastic book package … 3 copies each of SIGNED BOOKS from the

lovely Lori Lansen!!!

Here are the much-anticipated winners:

The new and proud winners of The Wife’s Tale are:

Julie

Anita Yancey

Rhonda

The ultimate and super fine winners of The Girls are:

Robyn Lee

Sarah G

Sandra


 

Oh and lets give it up for the Rush Home Road peeps who can officially make room on their book shelf:

Kathy

 

Julie P

 

Melanie L

Thanks every one for participating in this fun giveaway!!!!

Coffee and Fate by R.J. Erbacher

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)7 Comments

Val is your average run of the mill college student.  She has a roommate Jean and friends she enjoys  hanging out with…

Bud is an elderly man…. having raised his own kids, and now enjoying now only their kids, but also their kids-kids, his life is full.

Yet both Val and Bud hold a secret.

Val has a power within her that can push and pull people and has saved lives….  Bud has visions of future events that he can see not only the event itself, but also how the future changes due to these events….

Together they can make a difference.


I am not really sure what I thought I was going to be reading when I chose this book for review.   I can assure you it turned out to be nothing like I could have imagined.    The characters of Val and Bud are both likable and I liked the ideas of these hidden powers (think Hero’s)….

As I started getting into the heart of the book there was something about the Val/Bud relationship that just didn’t sit right with me.  I do not want to give away too much but I have to say there is a point in this book that bordered on creepy, uncomfortable…. and well… awkward.

Honestly, it came to a point where I almost stopped reading.

What kept me going?  If you can make it through the “Oh Gah!  Did that just happen?”.… and take a deep breath and move on…. there is a storyline deeper within the surface story that is actually amazing.

I can’t say that I ever fully recovered from the one part of the book… but I can say that in the end it wraps up incredibly with a powerful happening that left me in tears that only come when I have just experienced something incredible.  I can certainly say that I hope there is a sequel as I would love to know what happens next.

Amazon Rating

Cover Story:  I like it….At first glance of course it is the coffee cup that draws me in but then if you look closely at the smoke it is a skull…..   leaves you thinking, “what is up with that?”

I received this book for review from the author

Morning Meanderings… What To Do With A Saturday…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

Good morning!

I love days when you can get up grab a cup of coffee and your laptop and go back to bed.  Saturday is my favorite day of the week!  AND – here it is… in all its glory it is spread out before me like a port-hole….. so many choices of which direction to go….

I can be low-key Sheila and hang out for the morning tapping away at my key board and prepping guest posts for later this next week…

I can be reader Sheila who keeps the coffee coming and completes the two books on her nightstand.

I can be “Housekeeping!” Sheila and start organizing the house for the dog sitter….

I can be pro active Sheila and get ready for my day, hit the gym for group power, and then off to the store to find Al lightweight pants for the Honduras trip, and then home to start packing…

I can be coffee Sheila (ok who am I kidding, when am I not Coffee Sheila) and take my friend Wendy up on her offer to get together at Starbucks today to chat….

I think I will be a mix of all of the above starting with the laptop in bed and writing a couple posts.  😀  Did I mention I love days like this?

Bookish news…. I finished and reviewed Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt yesterday and have been basking in the after read.   I will be chatting with author Beth Hoffman soon here and I am so excited for that!

I am planning to stop by Pat Bluth’s book signing today at Bethany Book Store between 11-2.  Pat wrote From Pain to Peace, which I read last year and I told her I was planning to stop by.

I have 4 new audio books on my IPOD for the trip and I am excited about that.  Two are books we have been reading as a group anyway:  When Helping Hurts by Brian Fikkert, and The Hole In The Gospel by Brian Stearns, Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Of course…. that’s not including the books I have yet to pick out – however I do not plan to overdo it like I have done in the past and am planning on three tops – THREE.

What is happening  this weekend for you?

Any movies you are seeing or recommending?