Tag: Morning Meanderings

Morning Meanderings… RELEASE The Read-A-Thon

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)47 Comments

Good morning!  Today is going to be an AWESOME day!  The Dewey Read A Thon has begun!  In my next of the woods here in central Minnesota kick off time was at 6 am, however I have a small commitment this morning and will need to leave for about an hour so I started early, at 5 AM.  I am hoping to make HUGE progress today.

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?  Brainerd Minnesota

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?  Hmmm…. I am not sure, they all look kind of awesome

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I think I am making baked nachos for lunch

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!  Hmmmm…. crazy enough to get up an hour earlier then requited to start this readathon to get in as many hours as I can 🙂

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?  This is probably my 4th or 5th time participating.  I am being more intentional today, if I am moving about I have audio, if I can be stationary I have books….  I have done everything I can to free up my day.

 

I am reading for Camp Benedict, a camp that is for people infected with AIDS and for those around then it has affected.  I have been to this camp and seen the power it has to bring people together in hope and compassion.  I will donate to the camp 10 cents a page, and $1.00 for ever 10 minutes of audio I listen to. If you would like to sponsor this cause with me, please let me know in the comments and I will get the information to you.

I will be doing updates throughout the day here on an update post that I will start and just keep adding on to so as not to create multiple posts.  Please feel free to stop back in and cheer me on 😀  I will take all the encouragement I can get!

In the past, I have shown pictures of the massive PILE of books I would love to get through and honestly… I never get through them… so rather than set myself for the BIG FAIL… I am going to show you the plan in baby step format….

So…. on my morning plate I have:

I have right around a hundred pages left on this read.

Then I would like to make some progress in:

I don’t want to finish this as it is a work in progress, but I would like to get 50 or so pages done this morning. 

From there, I am not sure…. plenty to choose from… we will see what way I go as the day goes on.  😀

Be sure to stop back here at noon as well for my mini challenge… it will be a whole lot of fun and may give you a few ideas as well 😀

Morning Meanderings.. Whatever Happened to SSQQQQUUUEEEEEE???

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

Good morning.  😀  Sipping coffee here in Minnesota at the kitchen table considered taking the 8:25 am Group Power class this morning but apparently that is not happening as I am still relaxing with COFFEE CUP surrounded by books I am dropping in the mail today, trying to clean up a few emails that require responses and thinking about my plan for tomorrows read-a-thon.

*WHEW!  Take a breath*

Anyhoo, this morning I was reading Miss Remmer’s review of Monument and while she does mention the book lacks in some areas, what she did describe… the action, the synopsis, gave me that feeling I love when I feel I need to drop everything and get that book.  I actually SSQQQQUUUUEEEEDDDD  in the comment I left her.

That is when it hit me.  Where had my SQQQQUUUEEEEE gone?  I used to SSSSQQQQQQUUUUEEEEEEE all the time for books that rocked my world, for books that came in the mail, for the mailman even who graciously carried all my books to me without complaining (that I know of 😉 )!  For books I won, for bike rides, for great life moments….

Really…. where did all that go?

SO….. briefly…. here are a few things on my plate that are SQQQQQUUUUUEEEEE worthy:

1.  It is the weekend.   SQQQQQUUUEEEEEEE!!!!

2.  My friend and I are road tripping today to Barnes and Noble.  SSSQQQQQUUUUEEEEEE!!!!!

3.  I am fully registered for BEA, hotel, room mate, and plane… all booked…. all paid.  DONE.   SSQQQQQUUUEEEEE!!!!!

4.  The sun is out.  Today will be gorgeous.   SSSQQQQQQUUUUEEEEE!!!!!

5.  I organized my book giveaway shelves.  SSSQQQQQQUUUUEEEEEE!!!!!!

6.  I will probably have lunch today at one of my favorite restaurants.   SSSQQQQQQUUUUEEEEEEE!!!!!

7.  Some exciting books have come into my home this week.  SSSQQQQQQQUUUUEEEEE!!!!!

8.  The Dewey Read-A-Thon is tomorrow and I plan to participate FULLY.  SSSQQQQQQUUUUEEEEE!!!!!

9.  The new pup in the house has been here  a little over a week ago and he is working out wonderfully.  SSSQQUUUEEEE!!!

10.  While life is always interesting.  I am at peace with it.  SSSQQQQQUUUEEEEE!!!!!

 

Ok.  I feel… caught up. 😀

Tomorrow I will be reading for the Dewey Read A Thon and I will be reading for charity again.  My charity as usual is Camp Benedict, which is a camp for people and family who are connected to AIDS.    I will talk more about this tomorrow – but I will be reading at 10 cents a page and $1.00 for every 30 minutes of audio I listen to.

You are welcome, if you feel called to do so, to sponsor me with a one time donation or a per page donation.

Morning Meanderings… Pottermore… or less

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

 

Good morning!

I wasnt sure I was going to post this morning… I really had nothing to say (SHOCKER!) 😯 and I have a post going us in a bit any way about World Book Night.

However I was checking out a few of my fav blogs this morning while having my COFFEE and trying (trying!) to eat half a grapefruit because I seen on a Gilmore Girls episode it is good for me.  😀

ANYWAY while doing that I seen a couple mentions that Pottermore has gone public.  I was part of the Beta testing early entrants and had checked it out a few months back and found it interesting, informative… but within about four days I had done all you could do with it at that point and I left it.

Seeing Alyce this morning talk about her experience so far, and Amy as well, I popped back in to see if after all the feedback and testing what they may have changed. 

From my little bit of dabbling I did not see any changes from the testing period.  In fact I had ended where it stopped with book one months back and see that it still goes no further.  My favorite part of Pottermore is the fun facts you get to see with J K Rowling, how she came up with names for the characters, why she chose the Dursleys house number, etc… if you want to get your Potter geek on, you can certainly do that.  😀

I will probably check it out more now that I am knowing a few people playing.  To friend me I am Snitchrook100. 

 

Off to work, maybe a bike ride… and that is my major commitments today – I am loving this week of no evening commitments.  I feel refreshed, de-stressed and all out giddy. 😀

 

If you are on Pottermore let me know your name so I can friend you!  😀

 

Morning Meanderings…Huh? What?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

 

Morning.  *BIG sip of COFFEE*

How ya’ all doing?

Do you ever have those days where you wake up super early … like hmmmm…. 4:00 am and feel good?  Real good because you do not feel tired but actually like you could start your day?

AND then you go back to bed because 4 am is just silly and you can top it off with an hour of sleep and then wake up at 7:00?

7:00????  And you work at 8:00!

Hate that.

Now I am having my coffee, missing my relax time of the am…. one eye on my post… one eye on the clock wondering how close I can push it until I jump in the shower… and

GAH!

Any hoo…. in bookish news On audio I am with Detective Harry searching out yet another victims home and yes, there is a snow man.  Who does that???  (The Snowman by Jo Nesbo)

In other audio I am hanging out with Michael Zarkade as he juggles career and kids while Jolene has been called to active duty for a year in Iraq.  As if the marriage wasn’t bumpy enough, the children feel abandoned and Michael cant quite get a grip on anything.  (Home Front by Kristin Hannah)

In yet another audio (my IPOD, Milton Podricker) I am on a lifeboat and the ship has sunk taking hundreds if not thousands of lives with it.  No, it was not the Titanic.  There are 39 of us on the lifeboat and it is day… I don’t remember but it has been at least a week.  The weather is bad and we are discussing that is the weather continues this way the water will sink the lifeboat because there are too many in it.  Hard decisions, UNBELIEVABLY hard decisions are about to be made…  (THe Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan)

and in books, I am on the streets of New York with Sarah Beth as she has just walked out on her life… at least for a while.  She has left her best friend in a restaurant thinking she is in the bathroom, but she will soon get the note from the waiter that things are not good, have not been good for a while and this break, if that’s what it is… has to happen.  (Whole Latte Life by Joanne Demaio)

Ok that’s my time… I look at the clock and find it (and me) wanting.  😀

 

Have a super day!  I want to talk about World Book Night but that will be tomorrow!

 

 

Morning Meanderings… So Many Fun Happenings!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

Good morning!  Happy Tuesday!  I think today is going to be a GOOD GOOD Day!

Monday morning I woke up to this:

Yup.  SNOW.  😯  Let’s recap, Saturday, sunny, 72 degrees, GORGEOUS our!   Sunday stormy…. Monday… snow.

On the bright side… Tuesday morning.  Sunny and should be mid to high 50’s.  I’ll take it. The snow is almost gone.. just a little on the deck.

There is a lot of fun things I want to tell you about this morning so hang on to your COFFEE CUP while I spill all. 

Historical Tapestry is a blog that has been promoting all things Titanic for the last week.  They have some really interesting posts and if you are interested in Titanic topics this is a must stop.  Yesterday I did a guest post over there on Titanic memorabilia, featuring my Titanic Bears.  Yes, I have Titanic Bears.  Yes, you can see them over at Historical Tapestry.

If you know Jill at Fizzy Thoughts you know that she likes to change words to songs, something I used to do all the time in High School with my friend Barb, the only other girl in our home room.  I still can’t sing Eye Of The Tiger with  the correct words after we spoofed it….

Anyway, a couple days ago on one of her post I left her ummm…. a little challenge per se… and rumor has it (ok, she told me) that she will be changing the words to the song I gave her today over at Fizzy Thoughts.  Pop over later and see what she came up with!  I know I will!

I also updated Team Kickin It this morning with my weekly check in of my fitness goals and what is happening in that part of my world.  Stop over cheer me on…. 😀

What does this number mean to me? Click and find out!

And finally, a couple weeks ago I had a major SQQQUUUEEEE  moment when a box of YA books arrived on my door step.  While I would say most of us book lovers would agree, books on the doorstep are totally back flip worthy, I wanted to be sure these treasures were reviewed in a timely manner.  A friend of mine’s daughter Camryn is a big time book lover and I invited her over to look through the books and read and review any she wished, on the agreement that she would point out the super fabulous ones to me so I could make sure I read them soon too.  😀  The day before Easter she left here with five books, that evening she sent me two reviews and by Monday of last week she had finished and reviewed all five for me. 

I should have recruited a long time ago…  😛

So later today, Camryn’s first review is going up for Herafter by Tara Hudson.  I hope you will give her a warm welcome as I see an up and coming book blogger in this one.  😀

I work today… plan to work out after and then a wonderful evening at home…. I really like the sound of that. 🙂

Morning Meanderings… Sunday Salon

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)34 Comments

Good morning and Happy Sunday!  😀

It is back to dreary rainy weather here which… is getting old and I hope it clears up this week as I have a pretty much “no commitment week”

I know right??? 

That never happens for me.  I usually have a study group on Mondays, and we are not meeting this week.  Tuesdays are usually something I have to do, but not this time, Wednesdays I work with students and they are going to a Rally this week and my services will not be needed, Thursday free, Friday free, Saturday is the Dewey Read a Thon..

Whoa… what?

Yes.  The 24 hour Dewey Read A Thon is Saturday April 21st and  I plan to participate and it is not to late for you to sign up as well.  Seriously… get on that.  😀  I love this read-a-thon, it’s about the only one I do, and I read for charity, which I will share more about later this week.  Oh and there are always fun mini challenges where you can win books or bookish items like gift certificates.  I will be hosting one here you will not want to miss out on – it is going to be on so fun! 😛

At some point this next week I also need to road trip to go pick up my books for World Book Night.  Are you participating in World Book Night?  If so what books are you handing out on April 23rd?  I will have 20 copies of The Hunger Games at my finger tips!  AND at some point soon I have an idea to go along with this that I must also get posted this week. 😀

Hmmmm…. what else?  I received one book this week in the mail:

The second book to Wolf Hall.  Which admittedly, I have yet to read.  NOW I really need to get on it as this one sounds good!

And finally, today marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, a topic that always touches me.  I have some artifacts in my home surrounding the Titanic that I am pulling our for a post later.  And today I will spend some time reading Titanic related reads, in memory of the day. 

Have a great day, I am off to church and then back home here to write-up a couple posts and get some reading done this afternoon.  I may go to the Titanic movie today if I find someone to go with.  Pretty sure my hubby will not sit through that 3 hour movie again.  😀  Oh, and one more thing – I added a giveaway to my post that went up yesterday for 2108 Eyes Open.

Morning Meanderings… Spring and a new family member!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)50 Comments

Good morning.  Yesterday was a dreary wet day, gloomy and overcast, cold and windy.  A perfect day to read and write.  Today…. looks to be a little different.

I was on the deck at 6:30 am this morning and the air was not unpleasant.  I am thinking it is going to be a gorgeous day which in my Saturday world means:  bike rides, fresh air, and probably a little more reading as weekends that are not over booked are rare and will get rarer as the weeks go on… bike rides, cabin weekends, and events will soon fill up my luxurious low-key Saturdays.

This morning for Saturday Snapshots (*waves at Alyce*) I thought I would show you some pictures of my world from the back deck this morning.

Let me set the scene…. this is Brainerd Minnesota.  Currently the temp is 42 degrees.  (Yesterday it didn’t even touch 42 degrees).

Taken from the back deck... the yard swing.

 

My reading swing on the deck. Still a little early in the year for me to be in it but once that sun warms up - I will be there!

 

The back yard.

 

The tree in the deck. When we expanded the deck in 1997, I told Al the tree had to stay. So... the deck was built around the tree.
And that little guy in the pic... that is Sam.

 

Earlier this week, I posted a pic of this "maybe ours" dog. A girl in my book club had found him about a week ago and brought him to Book Club on Tuesday. We decided on Thursday morning that he could stay. We are calling him Sam.

 

Stop over to Alyce’s At Home With Books to find more pictures posted for Saturday Snapshots.

 

Tonight we are going to dinner with friends.  That will be nice.  As for this morning and afternoon I am going to spend a little time writing a review, read a little and hopefully a bike ride. 

What are your weekend plans? 

 

Morning Meanderings: Are You Pre-Ordering This? (And WINNER!)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)34 Comments

Good morning!  Happy Friday The 13th!  😯  I know right?  I feel like I need to rent a spooky movie or something! 

Today is my day off and it looks gloomy out there.  The weather may sabotage my bike ride plan for the day… but that may mean that I will be inside reading instead which… makes me smile. 

When asked the question… uh, Sheila… if you were sent to live on a deserted island for five years and you could only take along with you 5 books, what would those books be?  While I would no doubt sweat this decision… I can guarantee you there would be at least one Harry Potter book in this mix. 

SO…. that said…

yesterday Shelf Awareness revealed that J K Rowling (master mind of all that is Harry Potter) is releasing a new book called The Casual Vacancy.  This books sounds as though it will have none of the magic that bought Harry a permanent residence in my heart, however… it is JK Rowling, and that makes me interested.

Publisher Little, Brown called the novel a “blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising” tale of what happens in the English village of Pagford after parish council member Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly. “Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war.”

according to Little Brown Publishing

I quickly popped on-line and pre-ordered this book that is due to release in late September.  While currently  the hard cover is sitting at a hefty $21, I believe it will go down in price before release. 

My question is, do you pre-order books from favorite authors?  Would you pre-order this one?

 

**I also need to announce the winner of the gift card for the Easter Egg Hunt that took place during the Monday What Are You Reading meme!  Thank you to all who participated! I was really pleasantly surprised of how many of you went egg hunting. I had a lot of emails saying that you really enjoyed doing this… enough so, that I will probably do it again in the future. 😀

The criteria was that you had to 1) find 3 of the 4 hidden eggs and email me where they were AND 2) you had to comment on each of these blog posts that had the Easter Egg in order to qualify. (a couple of you forgot that part!).  That said, using random.org, the winner of the $25 Amazon Gift Card is:

Lindsey from Literary Lindsey

Congratulations Lindsey!!!   The gift card will be in your e mail yet this morning, please let me know here that you have received it. 😀

Also…. thank you to my wonderful Egg Hosts:  Mari from Bookworm With A View, Lori from Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book, Kathy from Inside Of A Dog, and Reagan from Miss Remmer’s Reviews.  You all ROCK in my book! 😛

Morning Meanderings… I’m Just In It For The Discussion… and a dog

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

Good Morning! 

Happy Wednesday all, hopefully this day finds you well rested and ready to tackle whatever is to come.  Yesterday was second Tuesday of the month which for the past 11 years has meant something awesome to me….

Book Club!

Have I gushed recently about my book club?  Probably.  Am I about to again?  Probably.

So last night eighteen of us gathered in my home to discuss the 19th Wife.  We laughed, if only we could have had one more… 😛 

 

I absolutely loved our discussion surrounding this book on Polygamy, the mix of truth and fiction together made for an interesting topic and these girls really did their homework.  If you are looking for a great discussion book for your group I would recommend this one.

I was hoping that after all was said and done last night I would sit down and write the review and Bookies thoughts on the 19th Wife for the blog today.  However, after I had worked yesterday came home, cooked and cleaned and then cleaned up after everyone left around 8:30… I had little energy to do anything but answer a few email. 

Watch for it tomorrow.  😀

Oh… and I did mention a dog didn’t I.

 


His name is….. well, I don’t know.

My friend Kerri sent me a picture of him a couple of days ago.  Abandoned in her neighborhood seems to be the answer.  she’s called the police, all the animal hospitals and no one has turned in a missing dog.  She’s had him since last Thursday but already has a dog, a cat, and a day care, and does not want another dog.

I told her in so many words…. no.  With the loss of Elmo last October, Bailey (our shih tsu) has not been the same.  I didn’t want him to think “what is this?  A replacement program???”

Yet…

she could not find the dog a home.  I told her the dog could come with her to book club.  If the dog did not freak Bailey out, it could stay over night…. no promises.

Long story short… the dog is still here.  He knows how to work a room, laying down not bothering anyone… house broken…  we will see.  I have a friend who may be interested in him if it is not us.  Bailey is neutral right now… not freaking out, but not hanging out either.  We will see what happens when I leave the two together in the house ll day while I am at work. 

Speaking of work… I need to go there.

Have an awesome day! 

Morning Meanderings… Two Out Of Three… and it is BEA!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

Good morning!  😀

As you know I have been planning to go to BEA however, my roommate of the past two years will not be attending this year and I have been roommate searching.  For a few days there I was even considering not attending, which really bothered me as it is something I look forward to all year.

Over the past week a few people came forward with possible opportunities I was looking into.  Then thanks to Twitter, I discovered Gail also did not have a roommate this year, hers was also not attending.  I had met Gail last year at the BBC.  We started chatting and emailing and as of yesterday morning we are booked!  😀

Seriously – just typing those words is such a relief! 

SO lat night I finished the BEA registration that had started and stopped over the past few weeks.  That felt good too!  😀

The final piece was to book a flight and I had been watching Orbitz and knew there were plenty to choose from.  Last night I made three attempts to book a flight and each time after I filled everything out and hit submit…

it would come up with a message that said sometimes seats get booked quickly and that one in so longer available.  😯

This happened two more times and I logged on to my credit card account to see what was happening there.  Sure enough, every time I tried to book a flight my card put that into a reserve hold on those dollars.  At that point I stopped thinking my credit card company is going to lock up the card thinking it is fraud… three attempts for flights.

So anyway…. that is frustrating. 

I will try again in a few days, or if I have time this afternoon I may call Orbitz and just let them know what is happening and find out how do I actually find a flight that exists. 

Anyhoo.. thats what is happening here.  I can still bask in the fact that I am for sure going to BEA.  I am excited and now planning out what I want to do there.

Hope your Tuesday is lovely.  I have book club here tonight and I am excited for what is sure to be an interesting review of The 19th Wife.  (Review, discussion, and food we had with the review will all be posted tomorrow)

 

Oh, and those participating in the Monday meme and the egg hunt – remember to qualify you must also comment on those blogs that had the eggs.  I am seeing entrants who have not done that part.  😀