Wordless Wednesday: Iced coffee and crochet

Teaser Tuesdays: The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB at Books and a Beat. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 

- Open to a random page 

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from page 28 of The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews:

"You were crazy about him," Parrish insisted. "Toally gaga for the guy."

Musing Mondays - Excited for and wish I'd written

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Which book do you wish you'd written yourself?

I'm a huge fan of J.D. Robb's In Death series. Next Tuesday, September 6th, the latest installment in the series Apprentice in Death will be released. I cannot wait to get my hands on that book! It's the 43rd book in the series which is amazing to me.

As for the random question about which book do I wish I'd written - there are a few. However, the first one that came to mind was The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I read this book a few years ago and I still think about it. It haunted me and made me think hard about the era it was set in and all that the people of the time went through. I haven't watched the movie but will definitely read the book again at some point. 

Forever grateful

Wordless Wednesday: Crocheted cloths

Teaser Tuesdays: Sting by Sandra Brown

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Books and a Beat. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 

- Open to a random page 

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from page 39 of Sting by Sandra Brown:

"We were going over seventy miles an hour. If you'd opened that door, it would have sounded like a wind tunnel."

Musing Mondays: Currently reading

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Name a favorite book you’d take to the beach.

I am currently reading two books. I am reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with my children. We're one-third of the way through the book. I admit to wanting to gobble the book up in a couple of huge greedy bites. However, I am also enjoying the experience of discovering the book (or rather, the screenplay) with my kids. When I started reading the Harry Potter series I didn't have children. Heck, I hadn't even met my husband yet. LOL When the last book was released my youngest child was a baby. So now, to be reading this installment of a series that has meant so much to me with m children (who also LOVE this series) is incredibly meaningful. So, while a part of me does want to inhale the story I'm happy to be savoring it with my kids. It makes the entire experience of reading it richer.

I am also reading Sting by Sandra Brown. It is a romantic suspense that I started yesterday afternoon. It sucked me in from page one and is so good!

Colorful granny square

So true

National Library Week

I got this off of Facebook but I love it SO MUCH! I LOVE the library and have since I was a kid. I know I've written about this more than once on my blog but I think that libraries are so important and I hope the never go away. The library is important for all of the reasons listed above and it has been a haven in my life more than once.

I take my kids to our local library once a week (often twice per week in the summer and during school breaks) for new books and fun events. My kids and I adore being able to explore a new world in a book - whether it's one of fiction and completely imagination based or nonfiction and we learn about someone or something in our world. 

The libraries in our country - and all over the world - are important. I, for one, am super thankful for the library!

Teaser Tuesday: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Books and a Beat. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 

- Open to a random page 

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from page 29 of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child:

HERMIONE: And the Time-Turner itself? 

               HARRY reveals the Time-Turner. It shines out alluringly. 

          Is it genuine? Does it work?

Bullet journal layout

Have you heard of Bullet Journaling? I hadn't heard of this phenomenon until April. I'd been to a meeting of the local Romance Writers of America chapter and they had a great presentation on planning as it relates to writing. There were great ideas and methods shared in the presentation. The thing was - none of them quite fir my needs and the planning needs of my family. Someone in the audience mentioned making her own planner and that struck a chord with me. I love being organized. I love paper planners, calendars, journals and the act of writing things down. I'd tried many different planner systems over the years but nothing ever quite worked for me. Some parts would but all of it never did.

I left that writers meeting determined to make something work even if it meant creating my own planner. I went home and did a Google search on making my own planner. What popped up was a ton of stuff about Bullet Journals. Curious, I clicked on the first line, then another, and another after that. Then I clicked on a YouTube video about Bullet Journals. As I've said many times since April, I went down the Rabbit Hole. I was fascinated, amazed and completely in love with the concept of a Bullet Journal. It was exactly what I wanted - a paper planner made on my terms. Here's the original concept of the Bullet Journal. It's fantastic. I also discovered many other people and their ways of doing their Bullet Journals. some are incredibly artistic which I love. I don't draw well but I love seeing how others create and use their journals. That being said, I do use color, stickers and washi tape in my journal to give my pages some of my personality. The best thing is that this system has allowed me to figure out what works best for me and my family. As a result I have been much better organized and productive in all ways.

Here's a look at my layout for this week before I added in and of the personal information:

Comfort food

Even in summer we sometimes need comfort food. My kids asked me to make tuna casserole tonight. So we went shopping for all of the ingredients. Then I put the air conditioning on right before the oven. My youngest helped me make dinner. Then, about four bites into their first portions (we all had seconds) my kids asked if I'd put this in their lunches tomorrow. There isn't too much left over which is fine because this was just the right thing to have for dinner - for all of us - tonight. 

Creativity

So glad...

... that it's Friday! It has been a long week! It has been a good one and we've all gotten a lot accomplished but still - FRIDAY! YAY!

Medical Medium

I've been reading a book called Medical Medium by Anthony William. It is a fascinating book - both his personal story and the healing advice he shares. I'm not done with the book yet but I want to put some of what I've learned so far into action for my family and myself. With this in mind a cleaned and cut up a huge batch of raw vegetables. It's fortunate that this is how my kids like their veggies best anyway.

Wordless Wednesday: Fireworks over Disneyland

Teaser Tuesdays: Born in Ice by Nora Roberts

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Books and a Beat. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 

- Open to a random page 

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from Born In Ice by Nora Roberts:

"Well, fiction's nothing but a lie anyway."

"But it's not." Her eyes, softly green and serious, met his as she set a plate in front of him. "It's a different kind of truth. It would be your truth at the time of the writing, wouldn't it?"

Her perception surprised and almost embarrassed him. "Yes. Yes, it would."

Musing Mondays: Re-reading a book

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Name a book that you hope to re-read some day.

It just so happens that I am planning to re-read Born in Ice by Nora Roberts this week. This is the very first book I ever read by her. To this day it is one of my favorites by her, as well.

Home away from home

We had a great time camping! I can't wait to do it again.

Tibetan proverb

I LOVE this!

Beach sunset

We need another family day at the beach.

The Castle

Wordless Wednesday: Cover Love

Teaser Tuesdays: Nobody but You by Jill Shalvis

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Books and a Beat. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 

- Open to a random page 

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from page 108 of Nobody but You by Jill Shalvis:

"I know you're mad at me," he said. "And you have good reason. I shouldn't have left like I did. And I shouldn't have stayed away."