Tag: Morning Meanderings

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)43 Comments


Good morning!  I think I will have Coffee Cup do the talking this morning because my head is pressed into the keyboard.  Ok, not really…. but I am tired.

Yesterday morning I participated in my Group Power Class for the first time in two weeks.  Today, I feel like I was ran over by a truck.  (Since I have a business conference today I can only be hopeful that I do not look like I was hit by a truck as well…)  After class, Justin (my 20 year old) and I road tripped to MPLS. for the day to go to IKEA to look for ideas for his apartment he will have when he goes back to college this fall.

We had a great day of hanging out together and … of course I did stop at The Mother Ship (B & N) and picked up…. The Short Second Life of bree tanner.

Ok I admit it.  I am a closet Twilighter.   For the most part I liked the books and do plan on seeing all the movies.  There.  It’s out there.  What a weight off my shoulders.  (*as I cross my arms across my chest to cover up the Team Edward T-Shirt).

Funniest thing… on the book cover there is a sticker that says one dollar from each book sold will be donated to The American Red Cross.  That – is just plain brilliant.  Hey, it had to be said.  Think about it.  That’s just great marketing.

Ok…. but enough about my super fun but lllloooonnnngggg day.  I do not have a bunch of time today as I leave here in an hour and a half, hopefully showered and fresh-faced (hoping I have dri-cleaned my spare fresh face because the one I have on I think looks tired).  Tomorrow…. is my Blogoversary.   YES!  I am planning a party here like its 1999.  Mmmmm hmmmm…. and you are going to want to attend because there will be a 48 hour giveaway and if you seen last years Blogoversary, it was a lot of fun.  It’s going to look a lot like that.  😀

As for today – The BEA Swag Bag Giveaway will start a bit later so watch for that.  You are going to want to be a part of this.

Leaving you with a little Kool and The Gang, Celebration.  (ahhhhh…the 80’s…… we really had good dance moves didn’t we?  ;D  )

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)40 Comments

Is it just me…. or are my morning posts later than usual this week?  LOL.  I feel like I am sleeping more.  I woke up at 5 am when hubby got up (I believe he is insane) to meet up with his friend Kevin and go to an auction today.  I thought I’d sleep another hour, hour and a half… but no.  Opened my eyes again at 7:45 am.  And I napped yesterday.

This is all just so embarrassing.

Anyway – I didn’t wake up to share with you my sleeping habits (although reading the above paragraph I see I did just that).  What I really want to share is that this coming Wednesday is my official one year Blogoversary.  (insert SQUEEEEE here).  Now – if you look back you will see I had posts prior to June 9th 2009, and before that I have posts going into 2008 on another blog –

BUT…

to me my Blogoversary is the day that I officially discovered the book blogging world (prior to that date I thought I was journaling what I read for me).  I remember the day, June 9th because someone commented on my blog.

I know right?  Super scary.  A comment!  I shudder to think of it…

Here’s what you need to know about that.  I didn’t get comments unless you were a friend of mine or a family member.  A comment outside my tiny world was unheard of.  But there was one.  And it kind of freaked me out.  How did this person find me?   If I click on their name will it take me to some site that will cause me to instantly want to delete the comment?

So I clicked on it.  And…. they were a book blogger.  What I saw was reviews and giveaways (wow, giveaways?) and I thought – amazing, there are two of us in the world who do this!  (Yes, you can laugh….  I really had no idea)

And then on their blog they had a sidebar badge that said I am a member on Ning Book Blogs.  Well… what is that?  Click.  Ahhhhhhhh….. and my world grew 10,000 sizes that day.

So anyway, you get the point why that day, June 9th, is the day I wish to celebrate.  And it is sneaking up on me fast.  Last year I did have a Blogoversary Party using the date I started my original blog.  Check out that post as that is how I plan on doing this years as well.  I will go forward using this June 9th date only so please make a note to stop in on Wednesday for the one day giveaways and invite your friends to come too, it is going to be a blast!

Today I am off to help a friend shop for a new bike and then hopefully meeting my friend Heidi to do some rollerblading and book talking.  Two things we love.  I have a review coming up later and I am still trying to figure out how to most efficiently do my mailbox post with the BEA books (all have arrived but one box).  Catching up…. catching up… 😀

GAH!  Got to run – the mailman just arrived with my final BEA box!!!!!

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)25 Comments

Good Morning! (*yawning, stretching, reaching for coffee cup….*)

I need to announce the May winners today.  May was another great month of fun comments and I so enjoy them all.  There were 997 comments (not counting my own).  You can read the details to my monthly giveaway in the sticky post that is always at the top of this blog.

My two random comment winners this month are:

#37:  Lizzy (Cornucopia Of Reviews)

#775:  E.J. Stevens (From The Shadows)

you each get to pick out of the Prize Box and email me at journeythroughbooks@gmail.com with your address and I will send you your pick!  🙂

AND…

The Top commenter who will be emailed a $20 gift card for May 2010 was:

(and it was very close this month…)

Library Pat!

Congratulations everyone!  The June comment contest has already begun!  You can find details here.

I am feeling pretty well today.  I went to bed earlier than usual and slept until 7:30.  The day is a dreary one as I look out my window.  It is cooler and it is suppose to rain.  I don’t work today so I will be continuing my quest to get caught up on reviews.  Catching my Group Power Class later today and pretty much not doing anything really exciting but loving it all the same.  Its date night tonight and I think it is Al’s pick (we switch every other Friday).  If it was my pick we would be heading to the movies.  Not sure which one, but seems like it has been forever since I saw a movie in the theater.

Later – I have a review going up that I have been so excited to write.  AND, later, I have contest winners.

Any big plans this weekend?

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Que the Rocky Theme.  Can you hear it?  If not, mosey on down to the bottom of this post and hit play on the video so you can have the music to go along with the theme of this post.

I’ll wait…………………………………………………………………………..

Picture it… I have been working hard  to get caught up on the reviews for the books that I have finished and wait for me in a pile.  I read and read and add them to a pile.  “Review me!  Review me!” their little voices cry, but I have procrastinated and busied myself with other things…. and the pile grew and grew….

And now…  I am Review Conqueror Girl (picture blue tights, a red cape, and a large coffee cup).  I am able to review tall piles of books in a single swipe of my keyboard!   Ok…. maybe not a single swipe of the keyboard, but you get the picture.  I am moving forward.

Today I will be posting my review of The Opposite of Me as well as my wonderful meeting with author Sarah Pekkanen.  I will also be posting my review for The Girls From Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow.

Have an awesome and productive day – I hit the gym tread mill this morning and this afternoon I am rollerblading with my friend Wendy!


Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)23 Comments


Whew!  I am up and active, just took me  a bit longer to put together what I wanted to this morning then I thought it would.  That’s me eternal optimist….LOL  😀

This morning, with the help of Coffee Cup (x3), I attempted to put together a slide show of my New York pics.  Yesterday afternoon I posted my BEA recap (check it if you haven’t – it was fun!), but I couldn’t put all my pictures in that post so here is the slide version.

Later I am posting the Tea with Adriana event so don’t miss that – I know my post wont do it justice, but I am going to try.

Have a super day – it is gorgeous here in central Minnesota.  I rollerbladed 8 miles yesterday with me friend Wendy (I missed that while I was gone!) and hope to get in some biking later this afternoon.

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments


Good morning.  It is good to be back in Minnesota with Coffee Cup in hand and still trying to stretch out all the kinks from my whirlwind trip to New York last week for BEA.

Yesterday I accomplished….. not much.  I had arrived home around 7:30 pm on Sunday evening and by 7:45 was heading to dinner with my hubby to a small restaurant about 2 miles down the road from us so we could catch up.  Yesterday morning I spent cleaning up emails on both my accounts….. I had way more that any sane person should have and it took me past noon to get them manageable.

Then I spent quite a bit of time catching up on blogs and attempting to clean out my suitcase and do laundry.  After grilling last night for dinner, I sat down with my son Justin and he and I watched Kite Runner together.  This movie has been owned by me for over a year but I have refused to watch it until I had finished the book.  Now that I have done both I feel as though I have been left with something incredible – I hope me review will do it justice.

My plan today is to give you a recap of BEA, and then after that if I can squeeze it in I need to also start getting reviews up for books I have read but have yet to do the reviews.  I have a lot of catching up to do and just havent had a lot of time to do so.

Warning – my BEA posts will probably take at least the next three days as today I will post the overall recap, tomorrow I need to share the authors tea event with Adrianna Trigianni and on Thursday I want to share the meeting of Sarah Pekkenen author of Opposite of me (book review will also be that day).

So there is somewhat of a plan.  This morning I am helping train someone in our business office and then off to my own office to catch up from everything that went down last week – whatever that may be.  🙂  This afternoon I hope to either bike or rollerblade as I have missed both terribly.

Have a super day!  I leave you with a little video from Time Square.

Morning Meanderings….

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)34 Comments


In about an hour I will be heading to the airport on my way home from New York and BEA.

Ahhhh…. just saying those words makes me smile.  It has been more fun than I could have imagined.  I accomplished everything I had hoped to, including an idea for a book…. and a thought is brewing….

Now I am ready to get home.  I have had 8 pretty full days in a row and I just want to catch up with my husband, see my son and play with my dogs.  I want to blog from my kitchen table (instead of a small table in the breakfast area of our hotel) and I want to use my Coffee Cup.  🙂

This mornings post I want to give a shout out to my 4 roommates I had throughout the week.    I had such a great time getting to know them all:


Reagan from Miss Remmers Reviews:  Reagan is fun and funny.  She was a blast to get to know.  She can break a trail through any crowd in New York!  It was wonderful to just sit in Central Part with her and read.


Esme from Chocolates and Croissants: Esme is an amazingly busy all the time woman.  She was always on the go and explored the nooks and crannies of the Time Square area of New York.  She made me laugh and knows how to choose amazing Thai restaurants.


Care from Care’s Online Book Club is a hoot.  She introduced me to book titles that made me want to record everything she said.  I have to stop in to her blog more often and see what she is reading!  We had a lot of fun planning our amazing race video….  😀


Kim from Sophisticated Dorkiness is so incredible.  She reads books that are fascinating and almost primarily non fiction.  I wrote down titles she was speaking about and will have to make a stop at my library soon!

Stop in and check out their blogs if you haven’t already.

Ok – I am off to catch me a taxi!  Its Monday What Are You Reading will be on as scheduled and I cant wait to spend some time tomorrow visiting and catching up with you and seeing what you are reading!

Can you name this author?

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)34 Comments


You know you are super tired when:


You actually forget to make a morning meanderings post.  GAH!

So here I am later that planned – but hey, I am here!  😀  Still in New York today – last day and I am ready to come home.  BEA has been wonderful and I am so glad to experience it but the running from 7 am to 11 pm has taken its toll and I look forward to being home again with my hubby in my own chair and in my own bed.

Yesterdays BBC (Book Blogger Convention) was wonderful and I took some good notes that I will apply once I get myself organized.  I have shipped 4 boxes of books back to my house.  (I know, right???)

Then last night we went out to dinner at a wonderful restaurant with 22 other bloggers and that was a wonderful wrap up to the end of the Blogger stuff.  I made some wonderful friends this week and I look forward to reading their blogs and hopefully seeing them again next year.

Today I had an early lunch with my roommates and we said good-bye to Carrie (Care) and Kim.  Now Esme (Chocolates and Croissants) and I are going to the King Tut Exhibit and later to Mama Mia.

Another full day, but again making the most of time here in New York.

Thanks everyone for your comments this week.  When I have had time to read them they have made me smile.  For those of you who were unable to attend BEA – stay tuned… I have a surprise I will be chatting more about when I get home.

Me and Sarah Pakkennen (author of Opposite of Me)

Have an awesome day!!!

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments


Good morning!  This morning In New York is warm and overcast.  I am in the hotel lobby having my COFFEE of course, oatmeal and scrambled eggs. I feel good.

Yesterday was another whirlwind day.  We were at the convention by 8 am and I spent my morning and early afternoon talking to publishers and authors.  Grabbed a few books along the way – shipped two boxes of books home and will have a third to do that same with today.

At 2:00 pm Kathy from Bermuda Onion, and I, met with author Sarah Pekkanen.  She is just a wonderful,fun, full of likfe person.  We went to her publishers office at Simon and Schuster and were toured by the assistant to her editor.  We sat in the editors office, and were each given a bag of new released or soon to be released books.  (Oh, but more on that later!)

We were back at the convention center by 4 pm where I met my two newest of the roomies – Kim from Sophisticated Dorkiness and Care from Care Online Bookclub.  Both are super fun!

Care and Kim

We were at the Blogger gathering from 4 to 6 pm and it was a nice mix between authors and bloggers and I just had a lot of fun mingling and meeting.

Afterwards we all gathered back at the hotel and Esme (Chocolates and Croissants) had an invite from an author for all of us to join them for dinner so we did.  That was a lot of fun as they asked us questions on blogging, reviews, tips for authors and marketing.  Did I mention I just the mix of authors and publishers and the conversations between us all.  It’s like we are one big team!

Then back to our room for a wonderful earlier night then we have been having.  I think we were all zonked out by 10:30 pm.


Today is the Blogger Convention and I am excited to see the panels and take notes.  I am charging up Flip Video and have my camera ready to go!  Hope you are all having fun – would love to hear what you have going for the weekend!

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments


GOOD MORNING!!! 😀

You may have noticed that I am not posting reviews for the afternoons like I usually do and said I would continue as the BEA week went on.  In fact, you may notice that even my morning meandering has a little sleep in its eyes this morning.  BEA is beyond fantastic.  I am having so much fun talking with authors, picking up books, and meeting other bloggers.

I am not even sure I can put into words how much fun I am having.

My lack of review posts is that honestly, I am not around.  I have been going to BEA (yesterday Reagan and I were there at 5:30 am) to get tickets to author signings).  I run around all day seeing publishers and authors and going from event to event.

Highlight reel of yesterday:

  • In BEA from 5:30 am – 2 pm
  • Meet Adrianna Triggiani at 2 pm.  (So much to tell you about this tea I had with her but it will have to wait.  I will just give you a one word hint now:  Limo.)
  • Back to BEA at 5:30 and back to hotel to clean up by 6 pm
  • Blogger Party at 7 pm – and so much fun!!!!!

Basically – I was back in the hotel at 11:00 pm at night completely shot but had so much fun I wouldn’t have traded a second of it!

And today… I will do it again.

Coffee Cup and I are currently in the hotel lobby grabbing a quick bite to eat and a rare relaxing moment.  Next stop is the post office where I am going to sent a media mail box to my house of the books I have picked up.

Today the new room mates come in!  Reagan went home this morning, Esme is still here and Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness) and Care (Care’s Online Book Club).

So now I am off to another day of adventures!  Enjoy your day, stop in and say and know that soon it will be business as usual and will be back with reviews and posts that I cant wait to share!  😀

I will be more detailed later about who is in this picture but for now – Adrianna is in the middle!