Good Morning.  Picture this.  I am up but I am not.  It is early and I am here with Coffee Cup trying to relax a bit and scrape in some caffeine before I go to the gym.  My hair is everywhere…..  My eyes I think are still slits….

The dogs get out of bed.  I hear the “thwump” as their little shih-tzu  feet hit the floor.  They wander out of the bedroom and I open the door to the deck so they can go out for their morning jaunt.

I go back to the lap top…. where was I?  Oh yeah…. working on my post for later today….  great read…. what should I say ne….

“Woof Woof!”

Seriously.  They have been out all of a minute…. maybe a few seconds more …. I look over my shoulder at Elmo and Bailey wagging their tail waiting to be let in.   I ignore them.  It’s not cold out… in fact its lovely… must be almost 60 degrees already, I will just…

“Woof Woof.!!!!!”  “Woof Woof!!!”

GAH.

I let them in and they parade past me like I am scum.  I am so beneath them.  They do not even throw me a kind glance.

I shuffle to the kitchen rubbing my eyes and refilling my cup.  Elmo comes up and looks at me.

“What?”  (That’s me saying that.. not the dog…. although I am not sure if it would surprise me.)

He does his excited “follow me” dance where he looks at me and runs to the entryway and then comes back to get me and runs again and makes sure I am following.

I look at the kitchen clock.  I have to get moving.  Elmo is still doing his Lassie and Timmy is in the well impression.  He should have been an actor.  Seriously he is wasting good talent here in central Minnesota.

I go to the entryway… yup.  The water dish is empty.  I fill it.

I go back to the lap top…. look at my post.  I will have to finish it later.

That’s my morning…. anyone else have pets that own them?  😛

Why was The Color Purple by Alice Walker banned?

2010

Challenged and or banned for offensive language, being sexually explicit and unsuited to age group.

2009

Challenged in Burke County schools in Morgantown (NC) by parents concerned about the homosexuality, rape, and incest portrayed in the book.

2008

Banned for sexually explicit and offensive language and homosexuality.

2003

Challenged in Fairfax (VA) school libraries by a group called Parents Against Bad Books in Schools for “profanity and descriptions of drug abuse, sexually explicit conduct and torture”.

Good morning!  Coffee Cup and I are off to a good start today.  After a really good weekend and a pretty decent Monday here we are back again.

So…. fact about me… I really like about three tv shows.  Survivor, Biggest Loser and Amazing Race.  I love the challenges, I love to see them succeed…. I love to cheer for my teams.  SO… on Sunday evening Al and I sat down to watch the season premiere of Amazing Race.  They had one challenge where the teams had to use a big sling shot with watermelons to knock over life-size suits of armor that were lined up in a field.  It was a pretty cool challenge and this one team of two girls was really struggling.  And well….. look for yourself:

Can you even believe how that happened?  I was amazed that she didn’t break her nose or knock out some teeth.  How she was able to go on from that was like….. “Whoa!”  Unbelievable!   Poor girl!

Anyway – had to share that with you.

In other news…. I hope you had a chance to check out my new sticky post.  We are currently looking for Mini Challenge Hosts for the Dewey read A Thon and we would love to get some new people involved who haven’t hosted a mini challenge before.  Check out the Read-A-Thon site for more information.  Basically all you do is plan a giveaway around a little challenge.  It can be to answer a question, do a little task….. whatever, then you offer a prize to your winner.  It is a two-hour commitment and will drive traffic to your blogs.  If you need any help thinking of a challenge let me know and I can try to assist you.  Please consider being a mini-challenge host for the October 9th event.

Oh – I was also featured on Reading Minnesota yesterday promoting the Twin Cities Book Festival and Book Blogger meet up.  If you have a second stop by and check that out.

And finally yes…. the “Banned Wagon” is still moving full steam ahead.

I am off to work and tonight I have kick ball (feel free to insert giggles here).  Hope you have a fantastic day and moments of good reads!  😀

Ok Ok… that was a little cheesy but I am trying to have a little fun with the word banned this week.  😛  I noticed that Natalie over at Mindful Musings has a wonderful post for banned and challenged books as well as links to other posts and giveaways around this topic.

Yesterdays trip to Barnes and Noble in St. Cloud was a lot of fun and I chatted with quite a few Minnesota authors.   Many of them will be at the Twin Cities Book Festival in October that we are doing the book blogger meet up at, so if you are in the area and able to join us, let me know.  I have information I can send you.

Of course… book stores and me mix together well and I did leave with several…. err…… ok, more than several books.

Today Navy Son will be hanging out for the football game and for the entire day!    That will be a lot of fun!  He has been so busy since he got home and trying to get around to see everyone that this will be our first full day to hang out and catch up.  Of course during the game, while making shrimp chowder, I fully plan to read. 😀

Have an awesome Sunday everyone!

Why was J K Rowlings Harry Potter Series, banned?

JK Rowling, author of the wildly popular Harry Potter series, is sometimes referred to as the writer Americans would most like to see banned. According to librarian scientists, there were more than 3,000 attempts to have her books removed from U.S. libraries between 2000 and 2005 alone. Fanatics across the nation still claim that Rowling’s books promote the occult and Satanism.

Good Morning and welcome to Banned Books Week, officially September 25 – October 2.   You can read up more about it here .  I for one am excited and my plan is to review a book a day this week from the Banned Books Lists, as well as give you a little background on why it was on the list.  I am hoping many of you will join me in reading a banned book or two this week and reviewing it.  If you are, please link your banned books related  posts to the linky below.  I would like to stop by and see what you are reading.  I am hoping to do a drawing at the end of the week from those who linked their posts…. still looking for the right giveaway item for this event.  😀

I also plan to share a book a day on my Morning Meanderings that tells about a banned book.  Hopefully by the end of the week we will all know a little more about banned books.

Please add your links to your actual posts.

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Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links…

Today, is going to be fun.  I am meeting up with Chance, our 15-year-old dynamic Kinship Partner and he and I are going to drive the hour to St Cloud.  I want to stop in Little Falls at their book store and see if they are doing anything for banned books week as it is on our way.  Once in St Cloud we are going to have lunch at Mongo’s and then off to Barnes and Noble where they are having a local author event.  Chance is also a reader so I though this would be a fun little day trip.

Tomorrow I will be spending the day with hubby and Navy Son.  They will watch football and I will read…. and then we will do dinner together.

Any plans for the weekend?

Why Was Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Banned?

On March 18, 1885, The Committee of the Public Library of Concord, Mass. expelled Huck from the library as “trash and only suitable for slums.”

In 1902, the Brooklyn Public Library banned The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with the statement that “Huck not only itched but he scratched,” and that he said “sweat” when he should have said “perspiration.”

In general, the debate over Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has centered around the language of the book, which has been objected to on social grounds. Yielding to public pressure, some textbook publishers have substituted “slave” or “servant” for the term that Mark Twain uses in the book, which has been considered derogatory to African Americans.

Good morning!  Another yuck day here in Minnesota.  The weather is cold and damp, the sky is deeply overcast.  Horrible weather for bike riding (which I have canceled for the weekend) but a wonderful day for reading!

It is the day before Banned Book Week start and I have many of my contenders in house, and a few I am waiting on at the library.  Earlier this week, I posted a list of the top 100 Banned Books of the last two decades.  Many of you were shocked to see that titles that you know and love were on that list.

Banned Book Week starts on September 25 – October 2.  My plan is to review a banned book a day as well as give as much information as I can as to why it was banned.  I encourage you to join me by reading banned books over the next week.   If you write-up a post about Banned Books Week,please let me know in a comment here.  Tomorrow, I will set up a linky where you are welcome to link your reviews of Banned Books over the next week.  I would love to stop in and see what you have reviewed.

Audio counts too, in fact I was on Audible.com last night and they too have a group of audio’s that are available for this week.  I think I am going to try Fahrenheit 451 again as it is by a different reader than the one I found at the library.

I would also be very interested if there are any activities or displays in your book stores or libraries having to do with Banned Books Week.  If so, please share that information here in a comment and if you are doing a banned books post, include that information in there as well.

Twas the night before banned book week and all over the table,

were books I planned to read this week, as much as I am able.

The books were chosen from the ALA list with care,

In hopes to encourage others to read these books if only they dare!

Now J K Rowling, what could you have been thinking?

Writing about a magical school – you must have really been drinking!

And Judy Blume, sure kids love to read your books,

but you are on that long list and getting dirty looks!

Irving, Bradbury, and oh yes you too Harper Lee,

some people think what a waste of a tree.

But I tell you I plan to read each with great care,

in hopes that during Banned Book Week you will join me there!

(Ok… I dabbled a wee bit in writing and poetry in school… and yeah, they were pretty much all silly like this.)

Have an awesome day!  😀

Good morning!  What a wonderful day already!  Thank you to everyone who commented yesterday on my missing book and passports.  I appreciate the advice, concern and the shared stories.  You really made my day!

First Find:  My passport.  After searching all the usual areas, I started searching purses I have used over the past year.  BINGO!  Sure enough I not only found my passport in the purse I used last year during the trip but also my lost license, a little cash in American and in Limps.  WOO HOO!!!!

Second Find:  Al’s passport.  He spent the afternoon searching his office and before we left for a meeting we had last night he came up to the house and said he had no idea where it could be.  I asked if he had checked his brief case that he carried his lap top in when he travels.  We went back to the office and FOUND!  Both passports secured!  😀

Third Find:  The book.  As much as I totally want to blame Bailey….  I can not.  As I went over my moves again and again I kept remembering that there was a point when I was leaving for kickball that I thought maybe I should take the book and thought better of it.  I went out in the garage and walked around my vehicle and then seen the book on a box with some papers I had brought out for recycling.  Good Grief…..  FOUND!!!!

Fourth Find:  Ok…. if you read yesterday mornings meandering you should be counting on your fingers right now all the things I mentioned I had lost….. there was three.  You are correct.  SO you may be wondering what else could I have possibly lost and found?

Well… I have a fun story.  I was in a deep sleep at 6 am when I heard a voice…. I slowly woke up and as my eyes adjusted…….

There was my son from the Navy!  SQQQQUUUUEEEEEEE!!!!   I didn’t know he was coming home!  He has been in the Navy since December and he graduated a couple of weeks ago but said that he did not have his orders yet when he could come home and thought it would be some time in October.  Apparently my husband knew he was coming but Brad wanted it to be a surprise.  Oh WOW!!!!!!!

So how about that for an exciting 24 hours?

Good morning bookie, bookette, bookers, booklings, and all around bookish types.  You will not BELIEVE what happened to me yesterday.

I lost the book I was reading.

Yup.  You heard me…. let me recount my steps:

4:45 pm I am in usual reading room in the reading chair…. errr…. reading said book.

5:22 pm I get up from said chair, and place junk mail acting as book mark into said book to hold place.

5:45 I am changed for kick ball (do not laugh…. I play kick ball… all the cool kids are doing it) and I leave said house in said jeep to go to said ball park

7:33 I return home after two kickball (yup there’s that word again) games in which we were beaten to a pulp at both.  My only happiness will be found in the pages of the book that I am successfully reading through with full intentions of having review up for today.

7:40 I realize said book is not where I thought it should be (in said reading room by said chair)

7:45 a search is conducted of the area I had been in prior to my leaving the said house.  This includes:  my closet, the bathroom, the kitchen, the front room, the couch, the entryway, the garage, the jeep… I was thorough.  I did this twice.

8:10  Now I am annoyed.  I am wasting precious reading time during this search and I can not imagine where book has gone.

8:20 I start looking for suspects.

• Suspect #1:  The Husband.  Sure, he is not a big reader but he is in the house where the book has turned up missing.  I ask if he has seen it and he says no (a likely story!).  I describe what the book looks like… I am sure he is thinking how is that different from the hundreds of other books in the house.  His eyes glaze over and I let him go but tell him not to leave town.

• Suspect #2:  The dogs.  Elmo is old and blind in one eye so I am doubtful if it was him.  Plus he is so loyal to me.  Bailey on the other hand, has never liked me and has always been Al’s (hubby) dog.  I could see Bailey doing something with it just to watch me go crazy.
  

• Suspect #3:  me.  I was in a hurry leaving the house and in a bit of a panic as I had just realized I did not know where our passports were (I know… a real night for losing things!) and we are 8 weeks out from Honduras.  I was changing for kickball and looking for passports and I do not honestly know how much of this time the book was with me.  Did I drag the book along the passport search trail?  Honestly I do not know.

As of this morning.  Book is still missing.

What book?

ROOM.

I know, right?  I was at a really good part too.

*sigh*

Good morning!  Coffee Cup and I are hanging out at the lap top this morning, and watching what appears to be the sun breaking through the clouds.  I am thrilled to squeeze in another sunny day and have been watching the weather carefully as I am on for a large bike ride this Saturday in Itaska.  I have decided that if the weather is “el yucko” I am instead going to the cities to an author event.  As much as I want to ride bike, I do not want to be cold, damp, and miserable.

Today I wanted to remind everyone about the upcoming Banned Books Week.  It starts this Saturday and is an event I got behind for the first time last year and I was shocked at what books were considered banned.   Before I really followed what banned books were, I figured they had to be horrible books, filled with filth and language that would probably make your ears bleed.  Turns out, that’s not true.  My beloved To Kill A  Mockingbird is a banned book.  All the Harry Potter books are and just last night I discovered that Twilight was as well.

Twilight?

Yes, currently Twilight ranks the 5th most requested book to be banned by Libraries.  The word is that the book has been criticized for sexual content .

(And here I was thinking that I likes the twilight series because it was not heavy in that area)

My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Piccoult also makes that same list – for offensive language, homosexuality, drugs, suicide, and violence.

If you have been on Twitter or around any book blogs lately you probably have heard about the recent banning of the book SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson.  It is about a young girl who has been raped and her battle to speak up and speak out.

My plan next week, starting on Saturday is to review a banned book a day.  I have quite a little reservation sheet at my local library.  I will share with you the book, the review, and the information I find on why it is considered a banned book.

I hope you will take a look at this following list of books that are banned books.  I would love to know which you have read, if any.  I am going to highlight the ones that I have read.  Which would you like to read?

Top banned list from 2000 – 2009

1 Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
2 Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3 The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
4 And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
5 Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
6 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
7 Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
8 His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
9 TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Myracle, Lauren
10 The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
11 Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
12 It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
13 Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
14 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
15 The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
16 Forever, by Judy Blume
17 The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
18 Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
19 Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
20 King and King, by Linda de Haan
21 To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
22 Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
23 The Giver, by Lois Lowry
24 In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
25 Killing Mr. Griffen, by Lois Duncan
26 Beloved, by Toni Morrison
27 My Brother Sam Is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier
28 Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
29 The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline B. Cooney
30 We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier
31 What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
32 Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
33 Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson
34 The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
35 Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison
36 Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
37 It’s So Amazing, by Robie Harris
38 Arming America, by Michael Bellasiles
39 Kaffir Boy, by Mark Mathabane
40 Life is Funny, by E.R. Frank
41 Whale Talk, by Chris Crutcher
42 The Fighting Ground, by Avi
43 Blubber, by Judy Blume
44 Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher
45 Crazy Lady, by Jane Leslie Conly
46 Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
47 The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, by George Beard
48 Rainbow Boys, by Alex Sanchez
49 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
50 The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
51 Daughters of Eve, by Lois Duncan
52 The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson
53 You Hear Me?, by Betsy Franco
54 The Facts Speak for Themselves, by Brock Cole
55 Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Green
56 When Dad Killed Mom, by Julius Lester
57 Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause
58 Fat Kid Rules the World, by K.L. Going
59 Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes
60 Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
61 Draw Me A Star, by Eric Carle
62 The Stupids (series), by Harry Allard
63 The Terrorist, by Caroline B. Cooney
64 Mick Harte Was Here, by Barbara Park
65 The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien
66 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor
67 A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
68 Always Running, by Luis Rodriguez
69 Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
70 Harris and Me, by Gary Paulsen
71 Junie B. Jones (series), by Barbara Park
72 Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
73 What’s Happening to My Body Book, by Lynda Madaras
74 The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
75 Anastasia (series), by Lois Lowry
76 A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving
77 Crazy:  A Novel, by Benjamin Lebert
78 The Joy of Gay Sex, by Dr. Charles Silverstein
79 The Upstairs Room, by Johanna Reiss
80 A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck
81 Black Boy, by Richard Wright
82 Deal With It!, by Esther Drill
83 Detour for Emmy, by Marilyn Reynolds
84 So Far From the Bamboo Grove, by Yoko Watkins
85 Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, by Chris Crutcher
86 Cut, by Patricia McCormick
87 Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume
88 The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
89 Friday Night Lights, by H.G. Bissenger
90 A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle
91 Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Graighead George
92 The Boy Who Lost His Face, by Louis Sachar
93 Bumps in the Night, by Harry Allard
94 Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine
95 Shade’s Children, by Garth Nix
96 Grendel, by John Gardner
97 The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende
98 I Saw Esau, by Iona Opte
99 Are You There, God?  It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume
100 America: A Novel, by Frank, E.R.

Top Banned from 1990 – 1999

Scary Stories (Series), by Alvin Schwartz

Daddy’s Roommate, by Michael Willhoite

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou

The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

Forever, by Judy Blume

Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson

Heather Has Two Mommies, by Leslea Newman

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

The Giver, by Lois Lowry

My Brother Sam is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris

Alice (Series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Goosebumps (Series), by R.L. Stine

A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

Sex, by Madonna

Earth’s Children (Series), by Jean M. Auel

The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson

In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak

The Witches, by Roald Dahl

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle

The New Joy of Gay Sex, by Charles Silverstein

Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous

The Goats, by Brock Cole

The Stupids (Series), by Harry Allard

Anastasia Krupnik (Series), by Lois Lowry

Final Exit, by Derek Humphry

Blubber, by Judy Blume

Halloween ABC, by Eve Merriam

Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George

Kaffir Boy, by Mark Mathabane

The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison

What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters, by Lynda Madaras

Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers

The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton

The Pigman, by Paul Zindel

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier

Deenie, by Judy Blume

Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes

Annie on my Mind, by Nancy Garden

Beloved, by Toni Morrison

The Boy Who Lost His Face, by Louis Sachar

Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat, by Alvin Schwartz

Harry Potter (Series), by J.K. Rowling

Cujo, by Stephen King

James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl

A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein

Ordinary People, by Judith Guest

American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

Sleeping Beauty Trilogy, by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)

Bumps in the Night, by Harry Allard

Asking About Sex and Growing Up, by Joanna Cole

What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons, by Lynda Madaras

The Anarchist Cookbook, by William Powell

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume

Boys and Sex, by Wardell Pomeroy

Crazy Lady, by Jane Conly

Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher

Killing Mr. Griffin, by Lois Duncan

Fade, by Robert Cormier

Guess What?, by Mem Fox

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

Native Son by Richard Wright

Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies, by Nancy Friday

Curses, Hexes and Spells, by Daniel Cohen

On My Honor, by Marion Dane Bauer

The House of Spirits, by Isabel Allende

Jack, by A.M. Homes

Arizona Kid, by Ron Koertge

Family Secrets, by Norma Klein

Mommy Laid An Egg, by Babette Cole

Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo A. Anaya

Where Did I Come From?, by Peter Mayle

The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline Cooney

Carrie, by Stephen King

The Dead Zone, by Stephen King

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison

Always Running, by Luis Rodriguez

Private Parts, by Howard Stern

Where’s Waldo?, by Martin Hanford

Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Greene

Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume

Little Black Sambo, by Helen Bannerman

Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett

Running Loose, by Chris Crutcher

Sex Education, by Jenny Davis

Jumper, by Steven Gould

Christine, by Stephen King

The Drowning of Stephen Jones, by Bette Greene

That Was Then, This is Now, by S.E. Hinton

Girls and Sex, by Wardell Pomeroy

The Wish Giver, by Bill Brittain

Jump Ship to Freedom, by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

I am up and have about 30 minutes to get ready and go into town to help tear down our IHN serving week.  That will consist of grabbing all the blankets and sheets, all the food and cleaning the areas we were in.  I am hopeful to do this in record time…. one hour so I can make it to the 9:15 church service.

I have Coffee Cup by my side (hello friend!) and I have petted the dog as he got up and to go outside (hello friend!)

Last night we went out with friends for Al (hubbies) birthday celebration.  As tired as I was, I do really enjoy hanging out with friends and after about an hour of good food and company I could almost feel the stress of the week melting off.  I always have with me my trusty camera (carry it in my purse 24/7) so I had to get a couple of shots in.

I had such a blast and can chalk up some more good memories from last evening.  😀

Once my morning activities are done – I have no more commitments today.

Did you hear that?

No more commitments today.

The sound of silence….  crickets really…..

ooh… I like that!

I hope to do more reading a bit this afternoon and hopefully finally conquer The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and as I finish mowing the lawn I will be listening to ‘I’d Know You Anywhere by Laura Lipman’ on my IPOD.  I love being able to sprinkle literature through my days.

Have an awesome day!  The BIG crazy week is alas over!  Hazzah!!!!

Good morning!  I am posting this a bit later than usual and for today that is a good thing.  That means I actually got to relax this morning and sleep a bit longer than usual.  The day is looking like it will be lovely and my only serious commitments today are to my lawn (desperately needs to be mowed), a trip up town for a little shopping and then later tonight I am taking my hubby out to celebrate his birthday that was on Tuesday but we were both to busy then to celebrate.

Ahhhh……  I survived the week.  I feel….

invigorated.

Yesterdays final BBAW prize package winner is:

Ibeeeg

Woo hoo!  Congrats’!

And – I need to draw for the two book winners from the BBAW comment contest as well.  if commented during the BBAW dates, you are entered.  Every comment was an entry…. so using the magic of random.org, out of 627 comments during BBAW, the winners are:

Martha E of Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf

The Winner is:  Patty from Book and Thoughts and a few Adventures!!!

So yay to all the winners!  I am off to make myself a hot cup of coffee and some oatmeal.  Have a super day everyone!  😀