Wordless Wednesday: Festive Washi tape

Teaser Tuesdays: Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis

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 25 of Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis:

She closed her eyes, sending her wish to... well, whoever collected them. The fountain fairy?

The Karma Fairy?

The Tooth Fairy?

Please, please bring Finn true love because he deserves so much more happy than he's been dealt. 

The Crown

I watched the first episode of The Crown on Netflix and loved it! Now I need to make the time to watch the rest of the available episodes! I also need to have some time to watch on my own because my husband and children are completely disinterested. LOL That's all right, though. 

Have you watched any of the episodes of The Crown? If so, what do you think? I love a lot of things that are British so I had a feeling I'd love this series when I first saw that it was being made. Now, to go back and continue watching it!

Simple beauty

There is so much beauty at this time of year - not the least of which is all the decorations. I was out with my daughter today and really struck by how beautiful this wreath looks against the gray background of the stormy sky. We both loved it so much! It's simple but so beautiful and made us both smile!

The Santa Clause

Here's the trailer from the 1994 movie The Santa Clause. This is what my kids and I watched together tonight. 

It begins

I LOVE the lights on our Christmas tree and the beautiful glow they give. Tomorrow we'll put on the ornaments!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the U.S. To everyone else, Happy Thursday. I am always grateful for my family and friends. I am also grateful to the people who visit this page. I am grateful for the simple, everyday joys of life and kindness that does exist all around us.

Wordless Wednesday: Thankful

The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

The Christmas Spirit reading challenge is happening once again this year. It runs from today, November 21, 2016 until January 6, 2017 (twelfth Day). This is an incredibly fun challenge based entirely on Christmas. Pretty much anything goes, too. It is required to read Christmas books but you can choose your level. I'm choosing the Mistletoe level which is to read two to four books with a Christmas theme. So far I know I will be reading The Trouble with Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis, Marry Me at Christmas by Susan Mallery and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - this one I'll be reading with my kids for the first time. If you wish to join in the fun go to The Christmas Spirit and sign up.

The Rockettes

My daughters and I love The Rockettes and we have watched their Christmas special on Netflix for a few years now. It's the next best thing until we can make it to New York City at Christmas time to see the show live. So, this will be a fun piece to watch with my girls on how the famous Rockettes practice and prepare for their shows.

Another pretty sunset

I love photography - especially nature photography. This is the beginning of tonight's sunset. 

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

We started our Thanksgiving vacation by watching this movie tonight! It is AWESOME! J.K. Rowling is as wonderful as a screen writer as she is as a novelist! I highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to journey back into the wizarding world of J.K. Rowling!

Christmas crochet

Wordless Wednesday: Inspirational nature

Teaser Tuesday: Louisiana Saves the Library

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 8 of Louisiana Saves the Library by Emily Beck Cogburn:

"Well, the library science school is tier three. Which means we might - shoot, probably will - be eliminated," Sylvia said.

"Eliminated? The library school?" Louise nearly spit out a mouthful of quiche.

"Never mind that our graduates run the public libraries, school libraries, and everything else around here. Yes, we are on the chopping block. And guess who still doesn't have tenure.

Not reading as much

I've been so, so busy for the last month or so that I am not reading as much as I normally do. It feels weird and I don't like that I haven't been reading as much. However, I have been getting a lot of other things accomplished and that is important. I'm nearly done revising a manuscript. I hope to have it completely finished and submitted by the end of the month. If I'm not ready by the end of November then it will be the beginning of December and that's a great thing!

I've also been working on Christmas presents and doing some extra work in general. It's a really busy season. I have been reading - I have to read a little each night in order to unwind - just not as much as I'm used to doing. It's all right, though. I know this is a phase and I'll get back to my reading in full force soon enough.

Truth

Thank you Veterans

Thank you to all of the Veterans - past and present - who have served. Thank you to all of their families who sacrifice, as well!

Sunset

I LOVE nature and photography! I took my kids to Starbucks this evening because we all have a three day weekend. Plus, it has been hot here and something cold sounded great. Anyway, after we parked and got out of the car this is the gorgeous sunset we saw! I had to have a picture of it!

Reminder to self

Optimism is always a choice!

I've needed to remind myself of this a couple of times today. I will keep saying it as long as necessary.

Election Day

 Enjoy this song Election Day by Arcadia.

Teaser Tuesday: Remember When

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 234 of Remember When by Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb:

"You weren't stupid, you were in shock. There's a difference. When's the last time you talked to Andrea?"

Musing Mondays: Fast or slow

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: Do you prefer fast-paced novels, or slow, descriptive novels?

I generally prefer fast paced novels over slow ones. However, I have read slower paced books that were so beautifully and lushly described that I was in love with the book. One in particular is called Eternal on the Water by Joseph Monninger. It's a slow, stunning, emotional book. Overall I do prefer the fast-paced page turner, though. 

Early sunset

The sunset is incredibly gorgeous this evening. I'm feeling a little melancholy over the fact that it is happening at 5:00, though. I know I'll adjust and end up being fine with it sometime this week but right now it feels weird. I do so love when it is light out until seven or eight in the evening.

However, I know that when we switch off from daylight savings - as we have today - and the sun sets early in the evening that we are at the cusp of the holidays. I love the holidays! I especially love when all the decorations are put out and the lights strug in our tree and in our windows. My kids and I LOVE all the lights. My husband does as well but our kids and I definitely love them more! The moment it is dark enough each evening we go around our home and plug in or turn on all the lights. They stay on until bedtime and we all enjoy the cozy glow of the colored lights. The lights are a combination of joyous and peaceful to me.

Seeing stars

I've been trying out different colors for Christmas stars. I am going to make garland out of them. I want to try out blue and silver too for my friends who celebrate Hanukkah. Oh, I think the blue and silver or gold and silver could make really pretty New Year's decorations, too.

Love what you write

Wordless Wednesday: Flowers

National Novel Writing Month

National Novel Writing Month - NaNoWriMo - has begun for 2016. It's a journey that a lot of writers take in November to write fifty thousand words of a first draft of their novel. People all over the world take part - some are first time writers, some are writing their twentieth novel. There are even what is called 'NaNo Rebels' - people who rebel against the fifty thousand words and do something else writing related, like create Thirty Covers in Thirty Days. Whatever one chooses to do the NaNoWriMo experience and the camaraderie within the writing community is amazing! I highly recommend it.