Wordless Wednesday: Celery juice - family style

Love Actually 2

I LOVE this SO MUCH! Love Actually is one of my all-time favorite movies! I was ecstatic with joy when I heard they were making a sequel. Then I was a little sad to learn that it was just a short. However, I am so over that sadness because this is for charity plus it's EPIC! If you haven't seen it - enjoy! If you have - well, feel free to watch it and enjoy it again!

Teaser Tuesday: His Wicked Reputation by Madeline Hunter

Teaser Tuesday is newly hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker. 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 Nook page 8 of His Wicked Reputation by Madeline Hunter:

She scolded herself for inventing ghosts. Her current mission made her nervous, that was all. SHe should not have this painting, and guilt made her overcautious. 

Memorial Day

Thank you.

Painted flower

My favorite because my husband painted this for me early in our marriage.

Words are magic

I'm in a bit of a writing slump. I find it frustrating but am also trying to cut myself some slack for it. Words are magic and hold a lot of power so I want to use them use them wisely rather than carelessly. I hope their magic begins to flow for me again very soon, though. 

LEGOS house

I love the hours and hours of joy that LEGOS have brought my kids! I also love that I know it's vacation time - in this case summer - when the LEGO creations begin! 

The end of the school year.

The sun is setting on this school year and we are SO ready for summer vacation! My kids had a great year and were fortunate with their teachers but there is something so special about summer vacation! We out for lunch this afternoon and my oldest asked me if I'd turned off the alarm clock for tomorrow morning. It made me laugh even as I said no I hadn't but then made sure to turn it off at once. With today's ever-changing and fast-moving pace I think the simplicity of summer, the more relaxed schedule and just being able to sleep in a bit arr so important! We do have a couple of things planned for the summer but mostly we'll be relaxing, swimming, hitting the beach, going to the library and getting lots of books to read and spending more family time together. It sounds blissful to me!

Wordless Wednesday: Pretty rose

Teaser Tuesday: The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

Teaser Tuesday is newly hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker. 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 Nook page 45 of Jenny Colgan's The Bookshop on the Corner:

"Just do something. You might make a mistake, then you can fix it; but if you do nothing, you can't fix anything. And your life might turn out to be full of regrets." 

Cover love

I try very hard not to judge a book by its cover. However, I have been known - on more than one occasion - to buy a book because I love the cover. That is exactly what happened with The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan. It did help that I also loved the description of the book, which is:

Nina Redmond is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion… and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now the job she loved is no more.

Determined to make a new life for herself, Nina moves to a sleepy village many miles away. There she buys a van and transforms it into a bookmobile—a mobile bookshop that she drives from neighborhood to neighborhood, changing one life after another with the power of storytelling. 

From helping her grumpy landlord deliver a lamb, to sharing picnics with a charming train conductor who serenades her with poetry, Nina discovers there’s plenty of adventure, magic, and soul in a place that’s beginning to feel like home… a place where she just might be able to write her own happy ending.

I've started the book today and there is a quote in the front that I LOVE:

""Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world."

VOLTAIRE

Come Sundown by Nora Roberts

Thank you #stmartinspress for the ARC of Come Sundown by Nora Roberts. It's a really good Romantic Suspense story that comes out on May 30th. The romance between the main characters is leisurely but worth it. The suspense portion of the story is definitely dark and difficult in some places. However, the story is so well written by Nora Roberts that I kept anxiously flipping pages.

I will post a full review in a couple of days. 

Family time

Wild Blueberry smoothie

This smoothie is delicious and good for you! Also, with only five ingredients it is really quick and easy to make, too! I originally got the recipe from the Medical Medium blog.

Ingredients:
1 cup wild blueberries
2 bananas
2 dates, soaked
1/2 lemon
1 cup of water

Directions:
Combine the wild blueberries, bananas, dates, and water in the blender. Add the juice from half a lemon. Blend the ingredients until smooth and well combined. Serves 1-2

I double the entire recipe so it will serve four. It is DELICIOUS and good for you! Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

The secret of concentration

Wordless Wednesday: Summer colors

Teaser Tuesday: Come Sundown by Nora Roberts (2)

Teaser Tuesday is newly hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker. 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 334 of Come Sundown by Nora Roberts:

It matters, Callen, what you feel. Not just to me, but it sure as hell matters to me. They're options, and all of them good. Why shouldn't what you want count?"

Happy Mother's Day

Rio - by Duran Duran

In honor of the fact that the Rio album was released 35 years ago this past week - here is the excellent video for Rio!

Love Actually 2 "red Nose Day" trailer

I adore the movie Love Actually! So when I heard they were doing a sequel for it I was thrilled! Then I heard it was only a ten-minute short to catch up with the lives of the characters. At first I was disappointed in this but now that I know it's for charity I am super excited to see this small, catch-up piece. Plus, I've watched the trailer and it looks rather adorable! I'm really looking forward to this and expect I'll quite enjoy it!

Friday vibes

It's been a cool and pleasant day so far! I'm hoping it stays this way! I love the jacaranda trees and their pretty purple buds. The green and purple of these two trees in the gray morning light struck me as so peaceful. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Reading is Brain exercise

I love this quote and believe it with my soul!

Wordless Wednesday:Palm trees and the moon

Teaser Tuesday: Come Sundown by Nora Roberts

Teaser Tuesday is newly hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker. 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 112 of Come Sundown by Nora Roberts:

Alone with the horses, Callen gave some thought to bitter young boys - he'd been one - and to a father who'd never been mean, but weak enough to lose everything. Including his son's respect.

Bout of Books begins

The Bout of Books readathon begins today, May 8th and goes through Sunday, May 14th. There are challenges, Q & A's and other fun things to do over the course of the week but reading is the main goal. 

I'm still listening to Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith. It's good, really good and grips my attention while I'm listening. I'm also reading a Nora Roberts book. I'm also reading the latest Land of Stories book to my kids. So, hopefully I can finish these three books (at least the two I'm reading for myself only) this week and star ton something new.

What are you reading? Are you taking part in Bout of Books?

Healing Eczema and Psoriasis

I know this is a rather off post for my blog but I feel compelled to share this information! I have suffered with eczema all of my life! I can go a long time with a flair up but then get hit by eczema really hard! I've always thought it was hereditary but I've learned that it is not! This soundcloud recording by Anthony William is LOADED with information on the history and the WHY of eczema and psoriasis. He also tells HOW we can heal from it with FOOD!

If you or anyone you care about suffers (and it is suffering!) with eczema or psoriasis I highly recommend this podcast!

Healing Eczema, Psoriasis and Acne

Sending love into the universe

I think this is beautiful and so needs to be shared! We need love and blessings in our lives! So, love and blessings from me to all of you!

Crochet every day

This picture came up in my Facebook memories today. Since I still agree with the sentiment wholeheartedly I thought I'd share it (again?) here, too? I'm so glad I took the time to teach myself how to crochet. Now that I think about it I started in February 2011. So I've been crocheting for six years. I do crochet nearly every day, too. 

Wordless Wednesday: Crochet Daisy bookmark

Teaser Tuesday: Beyond the Kingdoms by Chris Colfer

Teaser Tuesday is newly hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker. 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 397 of The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms by Chris Colfer -

Conner tried summoning his magic like he summoned his creativity. It started in his imagination, not his heart. He visualized magic as an idea for a new story. 

Bout of Books

Yes, I am posting about another readathon! Bout of Books is a week long readathon that I've heard about in the past but usually after it has begun. This time I remembered it in time to participate. Here is the official description from their site:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 8th and runs through Sunday, May 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 19 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy sign by May 8th.