Tag: Morning Meanderings

 

Good morning.  My sleep patterns are crazy these days… I went to bed at midnight…. up at 5:30, read a little, fell back asleep… up at 8:30 a.m.  GAH.  That has to stop.  luckily, it is not a work day so I have no commitments until…

10:40 a.m.

At 10:40 this morning is my doctor’s appointment where the doctor will check my left hand and see if I can be …. cast free.  Oh – I want to be cast free.  I have had the cast on since June 11th, so yeah basically all of SUMMER.  And I really want to be cast free for many reasons…. but one in particular that is happening on Saturday:

 

 

The Warrior Dash in Minnesota

OK!  OK!  Before you hit your head on the keyboard again …. let me EXPLAIN!!!!

I signed up with this with Amy in January.  It looked like a lot of fun and it is the first time it is in Minnesota.  You have to admit… it looks cool….

There are only three concerns I have on the route….

1.  The rappelling.  I took classes in High School for Outdoor Adventures and have done rock climbing and rappelling.  However, currently I do not have the best grip in either hand. 

2.  The cargo nets – climbing.  Again – the wrist and grip strength.

3.  Great Wall Warrior – another climb with the help of a rope.  Wrist thing again.

 

SO before you tell me I am crazy to even attempt it. Here is the plan.  I am going to let them know at registration that I have just (hopefully) been released of a cast and may need to bypass these sections.  I will not do anything I feel I am unable to do. 

If I still have a cast – well, in that case I am cheering from the sidelines as I can not get it wet in the water part, or muddy in the mud part.  😦

 

So off to get ready for my appointment… 

Gas in vehicle?  check!

directions to clinic?  check!

dollar bills to bribe doctor?  check!  (Oops!  Just kidding!)  😛

 

Good Morning!

I am giving you something today that I wrote… wasn’t sure I would post… saved it… thought about it (song now stuck in my head) AND today I overslept leaving little time for anything new so here it is:

*whew – run on sentence!*

You will need the words to the real song to follow the beat to the one I made up as I tried the instrumental and it is really a hard one to follow….

Goodbye Harry Potter
Though your parents died too early
You had to hold your head up high
While living with the Dursley’s
They locked you in a cupboard
And they whispered into your brain
They set you up for failure
And they told you nothing of your fame

chorus

And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a wand without a spell
Never knowing who to cling to
When Voldermort crawled out of ****
And I would have liked to have known you
but I was just a muggle
Your scar burned brightly long before
Your life became a struggle

Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
Hogwarts created a superstar
And pain was the price you paid
Even when you followed rules
Oh Snape still hounded you
All the students had to say
Was that Gryffindor deserved you

[repeat chorus]

Goodbye Harry Potter
Though I loved your movies and books
You fought the battle until the end
While Ron and Hermione exchanged looks
Goodbye Harry Potter
From the young mom who read with her kids
Who sees you as something more than magical
More than just our Harry Potter

[repeat chorus]

Ok…hee hee.  That’s me getting my crazy on a little early today 😀  I need to go see the movie again.

Update to this post:  Since my lovely friend Reagan at Miss Remmers Reviews mentioned a VLOG for this song, and then Shirley from My Book Shelf seconded that motion…. an idea grew.  😛   If anyone would care to do a VLOG of this song I created here – yup…. sing it… use the music, create a skit….  whatever, I will put up a $25 Amazon Gift Card.  If there is more than one entry – I will use Random.org to choose the winner.  Anyone who has access to Amazon may enter as I will email the gift card.  We will keep this short and sweet.  Create your VLOG, email me a link at journeythroughbooks@gmail.com by Saturday July 23 at midnight central time and a winner will be announced on Sunday.  I will link all VLOGS as well.  *The only mandatory criteria is that you must use the song I wrote here.  The rest – is up to you 😀

UPDATE 7/24:  We have A WINNER!!!  Winner will be announced and video shown on Tuesday morning the 26th!

There you go… if I have to pay up…. is really up to you.  😛

Good morning!  😀

*Sipping coffee before it gets to hot out*

I was hanging out on Twitter last night and seen that all over the weather has kind of exploded into this sort of “hot fest”.  I really try hard not to complain about the heat as I am soooooo not a fan of winter that I just take whatever summer has to offer.

While our current temps do not look bad (Ryan from Wordsmithonia said they are on their 25th day of over 100 degree weather!), the humidity makes it feel like you are breathing in sauna air.  I go out on my deck with a book… last for about 5 minutes and come back in to the central air.  Only to try again and repeat later. 

I would love to go hang out at the lake, and should probably connect with friends and/or relatives who do live by the water.  I wont go to the beach as that is mainly families with kids – and 1) no kids at home, and 2) I wouldn’t get much reading done with the noises of the beach.  😛

What do you do to keep cool in the hot months of summer? 

 

Good morning.  Up at 5 am this morning, picking up Amy at 6 am and off to St Joseph Minnesota for the Tour Of Saints.  This is my first bike ride since the crash in early June and I am excited, but a little nervous too.

Our goal is 5o miles and we want to start early to beat the heat as much as possible… it is supposed to be 92 degrees today.  We should be checked in and started by 7:30 am.

I will be back later this afternoon to get my book on 😀

Good morning.  My Minnesota view outside my window is overcast and gloomy.  Rain spatters the windows of my home and for once I find this weather quite appropriate for my mood.

I feel…. melancholy.  I feel a  little overcast myself really.

Last night, as the clock struck midnight and many (most) of you were well into the sleep world… I was sitting in a crowded, chatty movie theater waiting anxiously, and a little precariously as the opening to Harry Potter 7 part 2 lit upon the big screen. 

I think most die-hard Potter fans would agree that this final movie is at once exciting and sad. 

I have talked about it more than once here about how Harry Potter came into my kids lives in the later part of 1998 and Scholastic brought it into my home on that lovely little paper ordering sheet that the kids and I drooled over.  Through the years we read them together, and last night while I was here in Brainerd Minnesota watching the movie, my college son was in Mankato Minnesota doing the same thing. 😀

While the movie was exciting and with 5 theaters showing it last night in my small town alone at 250 seats per theater and $8.50 per ticket… well I can only imagine the impact heard around the world –

BUT…

to me it did not generate that same excitement I had standing in the forefront of a line that wrapped around Barnes and Noble or insert book store of your choice here…. waiting for the next book to get in my eager hands.

I am forever grateful to be a part of this era of Harry Potter.  To have lived it first hand as the books were printed, as the excitement grew, the first movie to the last.  I wonder if they even fully know the impact they made not only on the lives of children, but on their parents, not only the movies – but the BOOKS – THE BOOKS.  The books that made readers from non- readers all over the world.

I leave this morning this ode to Harry Potter:

AND for those of you who have shared with me that you have not read the books… have not seen the movies and are on the outside scratching your head as to the over all over the top obsession I have with these books…. here is a 6 minute recap of all that has happened in the movies to bring you up to full speed (also – full spoilers here to all previous movie – but not this last one)

Have an awesome rest of your morning!  I am reading today, and enjoying my day off.  😛

Good morning!  😀

If you visit here occasionally, often, frequently, mornings with your own coffee cup (kudos by the way for that!) then you probably know that I am always gushing about my book club.

If your newer here – hi, welcome, and I LOVE my book club.

Next month will be our ten-year anniversary.  We started in August of 2001 and we have grown in so many ways – in what we read,  how we do reviews, and how to keep it exciting and fun for our now group of 14.

We had our book club meeting on Tuesday (second Tuesdays…. 10 years of second Tuesdays!) and not only was it our Annual Queen Event, Sharon had taken the initiative to design t-shirts for us and take orders and well… here are the two designs we now have:

Ahhh…. right?  I love them!!!

Yesterday I went rollerblading with Wendy.  First time since the big bike crash and it was great to get our on the trail again.  We bladed 12 miles.  Thanks Wendy!  😀

 Bike miles in 2011:  196

Rollerblade miles:  30

Good morning!  😀

Sun shining… mood hitting level awesome…. what could be going on?

OH – many things!  For one, today releases Forever by Maggie Stiefvater.  I reviewed this a few weeks back with the appropriate level of SSQQQUUEEESSSS so you know…. check it out.  😀  (Amazon rating here)

And check this out…. I am so not a fan of book trailers but this is something incredible…

I had pre ordered Forever back in January right after I finished Linger.  When I received the ARC at BEA this year, I still wanted the hard cover that I had pre ordered so that book is due here in the next couple of days.  Hmmm…. what to do with the ARC?  (*see bottom of this post)

Tonight is our book club Queen Event which is basically a potluck event where we all dress up in formal wear and give little speeches of why we should be the Queen.  Why do we do this?  It came out of a book we read years ago called Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King.  It is just a fun crazy thing we do every July and it is a lot of crazy fun! 

Here is a glimpse into last years 2010 event:

Click here to read about this event

and here is 2009 before…

Click here to read about this event

I bought my dress for tonight on clearance… I have a closet full now of these fun dresses… (one of which you may have seen dive into the lake for the polar plunge in May).  😛

I love this event because we all agreed to do it… I wasn’t sure they would, but yes, for the past 5 years we have done this and had so much fun seeing what everyone came up with for their speech… some sing, some rhyme… some read off cards like a politician.  It is all in fun and we do have fun!  😀

Pictures and results will be up tomorrow 😀

**Leave a comment today on this post and I will choose one random winner to receive my ARC copy of Forever which I will send out to them this week.