Tag: Morning Meanderings

Hey all!   I am so tired.  And having so much fun.

And tired.

But fun.

But oh so tired.

I am only putting up one picture today for the honest truth that I have had such busy days that I have had no time.  Today we were up at 5:30 am and to the Javits Center by 8:30 am.   I sat in on a panel and afterward, Regan, Maltaise, and I went to a YA gathering of authors.  It was a lot of fun and not a lot of people were around this morning so we really had a chance to chat with these wonderful women.

In the afternoon, Reagan and I walked to Central Park and sat in the park and read.  It was fantastic!  A beautifully warm day and a great way to unwind.  I finished reading Opposite Of Me in Central Park.  I loved the book – but more on that later.  🙂

When we got back to our room we had time to change and then we walked the 30+ blocks to the YA discussion tonight and book signing.  That was really fun and we met a lot of fellow bloggers.  Afterward 12 of us went to dinner together and it was a blast.  It was really fun to hang out and meet some fun people.

Back to our room after 10 pm and that explains my tiredness.

This morning Reagan and I are heading to the Javits Center at 5 am(ish) to get in line for author ticket signing.  I know…. a bit crazy (as I am thinking how tired I am) but well.. when in New York 🙂

Later today I have the tea with Adriana Trigiani and that will be exciting!  Then I get back to the Javits center around 4:30 and we will go back to the hotel and get ready for the Blogger Get together at 7 pm.  I think I may need to nap in there somewhere.  🙂

So that’s what is happening here in New York.  Again, I have many more pictures and I will do a recap when I get back with lots detail….

Have a great day everyone!

Hi everyone.  I am having a blast in New York.  As promised here is a little picture “highlight reel” of what we have done so far.  There will be a full BEA recap when I get home, but for now… here is a sampler:

Reagan and I went to Strand Book store on Monday afternoon to check out this book.  Literally wall to wall books.

… and floor to ceiling.

Then we went to the Teen Author Carnival (SO MUCH FUN!) and…..

Squeeeee!!!!  She was so amazing!  I can not wait to read and review her book.

Squueee!!!  She is so down to earth and fun!

Super Squeeee!!!   Sarah was so awesome and I bought her book and I got is signed 😀

Violet was just fun to listen to her talk….. picture a younger JK Rowling.  She is very “Londony” and I fell in love with the idea of her book while listening to her passion about telling the story.  I now have a signed copy.  SQUEEE!!!!

And finally just a fun moment at the carnival….

I met Amy and Natasha in person, two bloggers I truly admire.

So…. today – we are at BEA in the morning and tonight at 6 pm – Class of 2010 Debut authors event.  So excited about that one too.  Really I am just like a kid in a candy store.

Hope your day is super wonderful!  I will be back with a review in the afternoon.  🙂

Hello from the  Minneapolis airport.  I am sitting here at 5 am with fellow blogger buddy Reagan from Miss Remmers Reviews.  (And yes…. she is as cool in person!)  🙂

We fly out at 6 am…. goin’ to Milwaukee, then on to New York.  Super excited and SUPER tired.

Before I log off here this morning I have to share this funny cartoon I found on-line a couple of days ago.  Maybe it is just my humor (or wierd sense of…) but I thought this was funny:

I will be on later….  Have a great Sunday!

So what is happening at the DeChantal household this morning?

Packing.  Working out.  Laundry.  Cooking.  Cleaning.  Call to Grandpa.  And maybe a bit of mowing too if the weather holds out for me.  🙂

I leave tonight at 5 pm for Minneapolis where I will meet up with Reagan from Miss Remmers Reviews.  We are staying overnight there to catch our 6 am flight to New York.  I may need to pause a moment to read that last sentence….

………………………………………………………….

Wow.  Three books are making the journey with me.  Yes, that is conservative of me.  😉

Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish.  This is our book club read for June and it sounds like the perfect plane/hotel read.  (click on picture if you want to read more about the book)

The Threadbare Heart by Jennie Nash arrived in the mail yesterday.  I have heard good things about this one!  (If you want to know more about the book click on the picture)

The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen.  I won this authors NYC package giveaway and while I have seen the book around I have not read it yet.  As I am meeting Sarah in New York, I want to have read this.  I think it looks like a story line I really will enjoy! (Click on pic for more details on this book)

So that’s what is in my carry on.  I still am prepping reviews and a tour for next week that will continue to go on as planned.  I will also have Lap Top with me so I hope to give you morning updates of what is happening at BEA.

What are your weekend plans and what book is going with you?

Oh wow – I can’t wait to share some news with you!  Go refill your coffee cups this may take a couple of minutes to get out of my between the “Squeee’s” and the cartwheels…. and possible another squeee….

Ok.  Ready?  Let me set the scene for you….

I am in my office yesterday afternoon.  We are doing a total office inventory so by mid afternoon my eyes are bugging out of my head.  I click on my personal G Mail link to see if anything new and exciting is going on in the world and I see this email titled:  You Are Going TO NYC For Free!!!

I figured it was some sort of scam advertising but clicked to open the email anyway.  (Oh come on, you would have opened it too!)  Turns out it is from author Sarah Pekkanen (Opposite Of Me) and I won her blogger giveaway for NYC!  I still can’t believe it so I find her website, and start reading the details.  I remember signing up for this much like if you are at a grocery store and they are doing a giveaway for a freezer full of food… you don’t think you will win, but you fill out the form anyway.

So by now (and remember I am still in my office), I am trying not to scream, I read through her email again and she asks me to either email her back or to call her for details.  I start the email – telling her I am so excited, then decide I want to call her too, think I send the email but forget to hit send and dial….

She answers.

I tell her who I am and we have this wonderful conversation where I am excited and bouncing and I think she may be too.  She tells me how they used random.org (I LOVE Random.Org!!!) and explains the package to me.  Since I have paid for most of what she is offering already, all I had to do was email her my flight info and hotel and she is going to give me a check to reimburse me.

I can’t even tell you how high I am flying off the ground right now!  The last couple of days I have been trying to plan how to do BEA and not spend a lot of money.  I was making little deals with myself like “well, if I take from savings I can put it back in with next months check….” and then knowing full well that wont happen as youngest son is getting an apartment when he goes back to college in the fall and he and I are going to look next month to start to furnish that apartment and I want to help where I can..

This is such a gift!

Be sure to look at Sarah’s website – it gives a lot of details of what the package consists of.

So bouncy girl, I mean I, am working out this morning, using a spa gift card this afternoon that my hubby gave me for Christmas for a manicure and pedicure – (I usually do not bother with a manicure because I am always doing stuff that would ruin it, but decided to use the Gift Card for BEA).

I have books to mail today.  Contests to end that I have been trying to get to all week.  Start to pack.  Date night with hubby.  And – in a few hours I have a post where I want to introduce you to a blogger that if you have not already met, you should.

Have a super fantastic day!  If you are going to BEA I would love to meet you so connect with me on Twitter (bookjourney) or email me at journeythroughbooks@gmail.com.

Oh I can just tell it is going to be a BE-A- UTIFUL day today.  The sun is already shining this early and I cant wait to be in it!

I have touched base with all BEA roommates and I am getting seriously excited. (Here is a little background music while you read this post).

Ok… LOL.  I had to do that.

I biked yesterday 18 miles instead of rollerblading.  Wendy has strep throat so had to cancel on me.  Thats ok, I havent had the bike out for a while now and it felt good to do the ride on a sunny day.  The big 150 mile is in June and I am seriously praying on nice weather for that two day ride!

I have so many reviews to write and such a busy schedule.  My plan was to be all caught up before I left for BEA and I hope I can still do that.  Books are read, I just got behind on the reviews.

On another bookish note I am ready for a new audio book on my IPOD.  I received my monthly credit from Audible yesterday and I have chosen The Eyes Of Darkness by Dean Koontz.  I loved Koontz in my early 20’s and read everything he had written.  I havent read him now for a while and I am excited about this new one!

I also think I am going to pick up Kiss by Ted Dekker.  Audible is having a 48 hour sale and this one is one of the sale audio that I would like to have.

We will talk more about audio one of these days!  I know many of you do not listen to them but I love them and I want to do a pro con post….  when I have time.  (Insert smile here).

Have an awesome day – as I type I am already late for the gym and I will have to catch up with Jennifer.

Good morning everyone 😀  I am back from my group power class this morning.  It was what I hope to be a strategic plan – get the class that I normally take on Wednesdays at 4:15 (after work)  in the afternoon and instead do the 5:45 am (pre-work) class.  The plan being that now the afternoon is freed up and I can rollerblade with my friend Wendy this afternoon.  These gorgeous days in Minnesota you just don’t want to be stuck in a building on.

Now back from class I have a few moments to type out this post over my morning oatmeal and of course COFFEE.  Feel free to grab a cup and join me.  I will wait.  🙂

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Ok!  Now that we are properly caffeinated lets see whats got me going today.  BEA – yes…. heading to Minneapolis Saturday evening to catch my early Sunday plane.  A little anxious, but a lot excited.  😀

Biggest Loser.  Do you watch this?  I am so addicted to this show and I am so Team Daris.  (he is the one left from the orange team.  Watching what this group goes through…. wow.  And daris had me from the first time he stepped on that scale in episode one.

Makeover week was a couple weeks back and it is one of my favorites!

Ok obviously I am rambling this morning and pushing my luck on getting to work on time.  GAH!  Have a super fab day and check in later for the review of Forbidden Fruit – Banned Books.

Happy Sunday everyone.  True – I do not normally post a Morning Meandering on Sunday morning due to my participation in “In My Mailbox”, but I spent all day yesterday traveling and hanging out with friends and honestly…

last night…

I came home…

and was so tired I fell asleep on the couch.

I had good intentions of putting together my mailbox post, but think I will just add it to tomorrows It’s Monday, What Are You Reading.

Today will be a catch up day.  I need to hang out with our Kinship Partner Chance at some point, work out, prep packages to be mailed, start packing for New York, finish laundry….  and tonight is the Season Finale of Survivor.

Has anyone seen any preview for the new movie with Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruiz.  I ran across this clip this morning and it cracked me up.  As  i book out the door I am going to share it with you.

Mornin’…..

Yup – off and running again today so couldn’t even finish the word morning!  😀  I have a group of friends that I used to work with “back in the day” when I worked for Wal-Mart.  I left that job in the fall of 2005 when our business was really taking off, but still hung on to this group of close friends I had made during my 14 (yes that’s right) 14 years there.

We try to get together once a month and we are each responsible for different months.  It can be what ever the person chosing wants to do and we have done small things like:

• getting together for lunch
• dinner and a movie
• out dancing
• campfires
• board game night
• spa events
• shopping

To larger events:

• murder mystery parties
• exploring Minnesota
• weekend cabin retreats
• festivals
• cooking and self-defense classes
• Wisconsin Dells weekend

Etc…

Today we are meeting at my house at 7 am and road tripping.  I think we are going to Cambridge for the day for hanging out, some shopping, for sure some eating, and who knows.   As tired as I am of running – it is always a good time to get together with the girls.

On a bookish note – if any of you are going to BEA and want to connect that would be sooooo cool!  Email me at journeythroughbooks@gmail.com and let me know!  😀