Tag: Morning Meanderings

Good morning!

I am so freshly awake.. honestly I am not even sure if I am awake yet.  I think I woke up with a catching of my breath… seriously… not sure what that was about other than the internal alarm saying time to MOVE.

Gah…

it was right.  😛

Yesterday afternoon was BEAUTIFUL for many reasons… the biggest is that after the morning cancellation of life due to the snow storm…. I went to work and by noon by evening training class was canceled and all evening commitments I previously had were canceled due to the weather.  Then an amazing thing happened…

around three in the afternoon, the sun came out.  It had stopped snowing, the roads were finally plowed clear and all was right again with my world.

NOW – any sane person would have probably taken full advantage of a night off…. which I did…. but not by staying home.  Oh no… Chance and I went out to Chinese buffet (seriously – its like crack to me) and then to the movie which I LOVED.  LOVED.  That is two for two… last weekend Al and I went to Lincoln Lawyer and that was so fantastic as well.

Limitless left me with a great message on power.., I talked about it all the way home…

Anyway… so now what i was going to talk about this morning…. maybe I should change the post title?

Nah…I am back on track now.

I was curious if anyone else gets excited about new covers… even perhaps to the point of wanting a favorite book that you may already own – in the new cover just because it is WOW.

At the theater yesterday I seen that the posters are up for Water For Elephants.  I can not wait!  I love the movie poster!  When Chance and I got back in the car after the movie…. I pulled out of my back seat a copy of Water For Elephants with the new cover.  I grinned.  Chance looked frightened by my odd enthusiasm….

“What?” he said…

“Look” I said, in my best Smeagol impression, “New Cover”.

He was not impressed – but I am as now I have the awesome cover of the original Water For Elephants:

and the super awesome new one that makes me excited to read this book all over again 😀

I have seen other old and new covers too.  And normally I don’t go for the movie cover…. but there is something about this one that reminds me of this book, what is inside these pages I treasure so…. and makes me want to return to them.

Good morning!  “Wot’s up?”  Couldn’t resist – we had bonus book club night at my home last night and I made Wot, a spicy chicken dish which is popular in Ethiopia.  This was for our review of Cutting For Stone…. which… with a little luck, will be posted yet today 😀

In the mean time….. the good news is, this past week has been weather in the high 30’s to mid 40’s…. for Minnesota this time of year that is practically a heat wave!  In my excitement for spring, I went out last weekend and bought these super cute sandals:

 

Are they not just awesome?

The bad news is…. this is our current weather forecast:

* Timing and location: a winter storm is affecting the Brainerd
lakes region… Saint Croix River Valley… and an area from
Hayward to Phillips tonight. The storm will produce heavy snow
across these areas… with the heaviest snow expected to fall
overnight until mid morning Wednesday. 

* Snow accumulations: 10 to 14 inches of snow is expected by
late Wednesday afternoon.

* Main impact: heavy snow combined with northeast winds of 15 to
30 mph could cause power outages due to downed trees and power
lines.

Precautionary/preparedness actions…

A Winter Storm Warning means heavy snow will occur. Expect
extremely slippery and dangerous snow-covered roads. If you must
travel… exercise extreme caution and allow extra time to reach
your destination. Let someone know your travel Route and expected
arrival time. Have a working cell phone in case you become
stranded. Keep a winter survival kit in your vehicle… including a
flashlight… food… and water.

 

Don’t worry – I have changed my shoes.  😛  Off to work to see what is happening.  I am going to guess most people are snowed in… I live by a major highway and have four-wheel drive so I am usually ok to get where I need to go.

If you have real spring where you live… please tell me about it.  I need green” stories.  😀

I frequent my library a lot these days.  We have been having internet “opportunities” at home so many times after work, Laptop and I (who by the way I have named Lazareth due to his dying and coming back to life many times now…) wander over to the local library where I can catch up on emails, visit blogs, and respond to comments.

Lately though… I have discovered a trend at my library that has me typing with clenched teeth and a little bit of smoke coming out of my ears…. enough to give that nice BBQ grill scent……

Teens talk talk TALKING at my library.  Now I am not an angry person… I think for the most part I am pretty easy-going, but seriously…. I want to say,

“HELLO….. It’s called a LIBRARY!”

Yesterday I went in to find a quiet corner to do a bit of work and that was just not to be found.  All the great tables were taken, and believe me this is not a complaint, as I am proud that our library is well used…. it is the teenage hang out part that has me riled up…. not book reading teens, but hang out teens.

As I sat trying to get my work done and wondering if it was worth it for me to truck up to the front counter and say something only to get the “wrath of teens” when I returned with the “Book Authorities”… I decided just to wait it out and of course, this blog post was forming in my mind.

Question to you, if you do use your library – and I hope you do, is it still a sanctuary of quietness, or has it become acceptable to use the library as a social hang out?  Honestly, I think I could have had it just as quiet if I had went to a coffee shop and typed over the sound of the whooshing espresso machines and caffeinated chatter people.  😛

Good morning!

I have about a 14 minute window here before I need to shower, pick up Chance, get to Church, sell Banquet Tickets for all three services… then I am going to come home and attempt to make this:

Crock pot pizza pasta.  If it works, I will share the recipe next Saturday for Weekend Cooking.  If it doesn’t… we will pretend this never happened.  😛

The Dewey Read-A-Thon is coming April 9th.  This 24 hour read-a-thon is a wonderful event and I plan to participate as much as I can.  I do have a charity auction I need to participate in on that day but a book will be going with me 🙂  I have participated in the last 4 of these read a thons and they are a BLAST!  Not only is there reading but there are mini challenges, prizes, cheerleaders (yes – this event even comes with cheerleaders!)

I really can not say enough positive about this.  Go over to the Dewey Read A Thon website, check it out and sign yourself up for fun!  😀

Yipes got to run!  😀

Good morning people!  😛

I am home from the gym…. yup that crazy Wendy and I hit the 5:45 am Group Power class.  Well… to be honest, I got there about 5:48, and Wendy about 5:50… but we were there!  😛

Now I am home and having coffee – which for some reason when you fly out of bed at 5:25 and realize you set your alarm wrong and throw on work out clothes and run out the door to hit a gym class you are cursing yourself for agreeing to…..

suddenly… coffee becomes an obsession.

Now back home, I am glad I went…. it was fun and now I am back home and having COFFEE and can cross “workout” off my list of the “to do’s” for today.

NICE.

At 9 am I have breakfast with my friends Key, Julie, and Sandi.  Julie’s birthday is next Friday and she will be in Florida so we are doing a little pre-birthday gathering over eggs.  😀

From there I think I may spend a little time in the Library hanging out and getting things done as well as finding time to recruit a team for floor hockey that starts this Sunday…. YIPES.  That needs to be a priority today.

Looks like there are finally a couple of movies out that I am interested in so may see if Al wants to go to a movie later today.

Yup… looking at that it does sounds like a day off.

Yesterday evening I got together with three of my cousins.  This is something new we have started, there are five of us girls on the McKinney (my dads) side that decided we should try to get together once a month and just catch up.  I can’t tell you how much I LOVE THIS.  We are a variety of ages (I am second to the youngest) and did not necessarily hang out together when we grew up because of that age difference, but now this is our second get together this year and I have enjoyed getting to know them better.

In April we are planning to attend a wine tasting for a charity and a possible comedy night that one of my cousins sons will be performing at.  🙂

Ok… I must get in the shower and start my day.  Enjoy your Friday!  I should have blog hop time this weekend so hopefully will get in some more visits 😀

Good morning!

I am trying to shake things up here in my busy schedule so thought I would try to get work outs in BEFORE I go to work at 8:00 am.   On Monday and Friday I can do mornings, but Tues – Thurs gets a bit tricky to get them in.

Today was my day to give this a try.

Last night I mentioned this plan to Wendy and she said what time?

I responded, “6:30 a.m.”

She said, “For sure you will be there?”

I said, yes, if she said she was going to as well I would be there.

She said she would let me know at 10 pm last night through text if she could make it.

THERE WAS NO TEXT.

At 10:30 I went to bed thinking I was crazy to try to fit one more thing in my already crazy Thursday…. I work 8 -3, at 3 I am getting a phone call from an author who I am interviewing for a local magazine, I need to run home and check the crock pot,  recruit a floor hockey team to start this Sunday, at 4:30 I am meeting my cousins for dinner…. it was just best to cut myself a little slack.

………..

oh you know it is never that easy right?  😉

At 6:15 am I heard my phone…

I am still in bed.

I shuffle out to the counter and with the one eye that is awake, I read it:

Wendy:  I am on my way to the gym!  You had better be there!  😀

Ok….

I text back that I will need…. ummm…. a few minutes.

RUN RUN RUN to get my work out clothes that I washed last night, RUN RUN RUN to grab my crock pot from downstairs storage to prep the roast for Al tonight… RUN RUN RUN to pack my clothes that I need for work… RUN RUN RUN to let dogs out, let dogs in… RUN RUN RUN to make myself presentable and get ready for my day…. and head for the front door wishing the dogs a good day, the slow cooker my best wishes for a day of seasony goodness and mouth-watering smells…

and GYM TIME.

GAH.

I will get better at this.

So my message for today to you is this….. may your slow cookers always work to take pressure off us who have crazy lives and may the result always be moist and delicious.

**Thank you to Wendy for making me laugh on the elliptical, for talking about the crock pot, for coming up for the title of this post that I could not remember so I had to ask her again and again and again….   I told her today I hang out with her because she gives me so much to blog about. 😛

Have a great day everyone!!!!

 

Good morning.

Was the night short for you too?

Last night after work I popped home had a quick dinner and then went to create gift baskets for the silent auction for next weekends Mission Banquet.  It did not go as quickly as I had hoped and I popped back into the house (not as energetic a “pop” as it had been earlier in the day), exhausted and ready to wind down.  unfortunately I had hit that level of exhaustion that causes a person not to be able to read because my eyes just can not focus on words and my mind can not cling to whats happening…

*sigh*

However today – excites me because tonight after working out, my friend Wendy and I are going to have salads and have a registration party.  That means it is it that time to start registering for bike rides…. and that..

ENERGIZES me.

Somebody – call in the rabbit!

There – that’s better.  😀

Here is the ride list:

May 1, 2011:  The IronMan (60 miles/100 miles)

May 7, 2011:  MS Ride (50 miles)

June 3-5:  Tour of Lakes (3 smaller rides – 1 each day.. between 30 – 70 miles)

June 10-12:  MS 150 (150 miles)

July ___:  Tour of Saints (yet to be determined what date)

July 23, 2011 Warrior Dash – not a bike ride!

August 6-7:  Camp Benedict Ride for AIDS (175 miles)

August 20:  Tour De Pines (may have a conflict on this one)  😦

That is what is on my radar for now 😀

Have to run and get ready for work!  Have an awesome day!

Good morning!

After a day spent almost entirely in bed (I think it was the flu – achy, queasy, and tired – and not these are not names of dwarfs…) I am up and still feel a bit weak but able to function.

Top Book Club Books in February

The following are the most popular book club books during February based on votes from readers of 27,000 book clubs registered at Bookmovement.com:

1. Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue
2. Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
3. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
4. Little Bee: A Novel by Chris Cleave
5. Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen
6. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
7. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
8. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt: A Novel by Beth Hoffman
9. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel by Jamie Ford
10. The Forgotten Garden: A Novel by Kate Morton

Rising stars:

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
Juliet by Anne Fortier

The ones I have highlighted in red are the ones that my book club has (or in the case of Cutting For Stone – will be) read as a group.  The other 4 on this top ten list I have read on my own.  I kind of felt good about that 😀  I have not read either of the rising stars.

 

Have you read any of these books?  Would you agree they make for good book club discussions?  Are there books that you would recommend for book clubs to add to this list?

Good morning.

Yes – I am late but it is still morning 😉

By the time I came back home last night at 6 pm I had dinner grabbed a book went to read in bed and fell asleep.

True story.

Apparently the cold water wiped me out.  😀

So all I really have this morning is a few plunge pics and to tell you that it was COLD.  It was a little SCARY.  BUT for the cause and to hang out with my bike ride team it was also AWESOME and FUN.

More pictures may come in over the next few days… I did not know everyone taking pictures so I am waiting to see what other people post on Facebook.  All my pics are on Facebook – Sheila DeChantal but here are a few highlights: