Queen For A Day

It's official. I am Queen for A Day! Yesterday I received the Queen of All Things Awe-summm!!! award, not once, not twice, but THREE times. OMG! I'm not sure how to react to that. I think maybe my blog circle must be pretty small. LOL! In any case, I'm dumb-founded and honored.

I received this royal award from Valentine and Demosthenes at Letters from Valentine AND Beth at be careful what you wish for AND Clare at this and that . Wow! I'm so flattered and honored to be the recipient of such a cool award. And I will be honest, it's kind of the perfect award for me because when I was a little girl my grandfather nicknamed me The Queen. I loved it, but I think he called me that because I a bit bossy and always had to have my own way. (Some things never change. Just ask my husband). So here's how the award works:

Queen Duties are as follows:

1. List 7 things that make you awe-summm.

2. Pass the award onto 7 bloggers that you think are awe-summm.

3. Tag those bloggers to let them know they are now Queens too (and link back to the Queen who tagged you).

Alrighty then. 7 things that make me awe-summm:

Wow this is harder than it sounds!

1. I am an awe-summm multitasker. I can literally do 3 or 4 things at once. This makes me amazingly efficient at home and has earned me the nickname of the "whirling dervish" from the Children's Librarian at work.

2. I have been married for nearly 22 years! I think this is pretty awe-summm in and of itself, but the fact that I'm married to my HS sweetheart and we were apart for most of the four years of college (except for summers and other breaks) makes this even more awe-summm! And the most awe-summm part is that we dated for 7 years before we got hitched, so we've been together for nearly 29 years! It hasn't always been easy, but it has most definitely been worth it!

3. I can touch my nose with my tongue! Having a long pointy nose (think the Child Catcher from Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang) has it benefits. Pretty awe-summm, right?

4. I LOVE to learn new things and believe in being a life long learner. It doesn't have to be academic subjects either. In recent years, I've learned to play piano, taken tap dancing lessons, learned to knit, learned to play Mah Jong and now I'm blogging. And as you all know, blogging is totally awe-summm!

5. A year and a half ago I got my dream car. A car I had been coveting for 4 years. A car I got when I gave up the minivan I had been driving for 13 years. My red/white Mini Cooper is most definitely awe-summm!

6. I am a fast reader. This is awe-summm because I love to read and I have a very long list of books I want to read. So this is an essential skill for me!

7. I think it's awe-summm that I have made so many bloggy friends since starting my blog in February. I was not expecting that. I figured my blog would be a sort of personal journal of book reviews and that maybe my friends would read it occasionally. I never expected that other people would be interested. Truthfully, I had never even read a blog before I started this one, so I wasn't aware of "Followers", and SITS, and Google Reader, etc. Totally AWE-SUMMM!!!

7 Awe-summm bloggers I want to pass this on to:

1. Alex at Please Try Again

2. Anita at a wife, a woman, a mom

3. Tammy Keep in Touch with Mommakin

4. Julie at Midlife Jobhunter

5. Gibby at Lost in Suburban Bliss

6. Cat and Ben at 4 Nuts in a Nutshell

7. Lady Grey at Miss Lady Grey

Thanks again ladies. I'm so flattered and honored to have received this award!

2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge

In my last post I said I was going to participate in TWO book challenges. The second one is hosted by J. Kaye's Book Blog. How could I possibly pass up the 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge? Come on! Not only am I a library lover, I work in a library! This challenge was made for me. In this challenge you decide whether you will read 12, 25 or 50 library books, in 2009. I chose 50. Check out J. Kaye's Book Blog for all the details. Luckily for me the rules for the New Author Challenge allow using books from other challenges, so most (but not all) of my books will overlap (gotta love that). Here's my list so far:



2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge



1. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
2. The Last Queen by C. W. Gortner
3. The Glimmer Palace by Beatrice Colin
4. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
5. How Not to Die by Jan Garavaglia
6. Publishing a Blog with Blogger by Elizabeth Castro
7. A Parting Gift by Ben Erickson
8. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
9. The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir by Patricia Harman
10. Song Yet Sung by James McBride
11. The Everything Blogging Book by Eliza Risdahl
12. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
13. Goldengrove by Francine Prose
14. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
15. The Courtier's Secret by Donna Russo Morin
16. The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging by the editors of the Huffington Post
17. The Secret Currency of Love edited by Hilary Black
18. Ex Libris: Confession of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
19. Mistaken Identities: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope by Ryn, Don Van
20. The Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo
21. The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz
21. Against Medical Advice: A True Story by James Patterson
23. An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
24. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
25. Nov. 22, 1963 by Adam Braver
26. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
27. The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney
28. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
29. Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar
30. Writing on Stone: Scenes from a Maine Island Life by Christina Marsden Gillis
31. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
32. Upstate by Kalisha Buckhannon
33. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
34. Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind
35. Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books by Paul Collins.
36. The Gardner Heist by Ulrich Boser
37. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker
38. The End of Manners by Francesca Marciano
39. The Lost City of Z by David Grann
40. Teaser by Jan Brogan
41. Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell
42. The Cradle by Patrick Somerville
43. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
44. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
45. The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
46. A Daughter's Love: Thomas More and His Dearest Meg by John Guy
47. Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian
48. Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark by Jane Fletcher Geniesse
49. Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure, and the Man Who Dared to See by Rober Kurson
50. Darling Jim by Christian Moerk


You can follow my progress by clicking on the 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge button on my sidebar. Anyone interested in joining me? Leave me a comment letting me know and be sure to sign up at J. Kaye's Book Blog.

New Author Challenge 2009

While trolling the blogosphere the other day I stumbled upon a whole new corner of the bloggy world. Apparently there are bloggers out there who are SERIOUS bookworms and participate in all manner of book challenges. Are any of you familiar with this? It was certainly news to me. And I was intrigued. Of course this appeals to my nerdy bookish side, but I also love a good challenge. (I can be a wee bit competitive at times). So, I've decided to participate in two of these challenges. The first is a New Author Challenge and is hosted by Literary Escapism. Check out the website for all the rules, but basically you choose your own goal and try to read that many books by authors that are new to you during 2009. I've decided my goal will be to read 50 books by "new" authors by December 31, 2009. Luckily, I can count the books I've already read this year.

2009 New Author Challenge

1. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

2. The Last Queen by C. W. Gortner

3. The Glimmer Palace by Beatrice Colin

4. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

5. How Not to Die by Jan Garavaglia

6. Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

7. Publishing a Blog with Blogger by Elizabeth Castro

8. A Parting Gift by Ben Erickson

9. The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir by Patricia Harman

10. The Everything Blogging Book by Eliza Risdahl

11. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

12. Goldengrove by Francine Prose

13. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

14. The Courtier's Secret by Donna Russo Morin

15. The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging by the editors of the Huffington Post

16. The Secret Currency of Love edited by Hilary Black

17. Ex Libris: Confession of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman

18. Mistaken Identities: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope by Ryn, Don Van

19. The Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

20. The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz

21. Against Medical Advice: A True Story by James Patterson

22. Five Skies by Ron Carlson

23. An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken

24. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

25. Happens Every Day: An All-Too-True Story by Isabel Gillies

26. Nov. 22, 1963 by Adam Braver

27. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

28. The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney

29. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

30. Writing in Stone: Scenes from a Maine Island Life by Christina Marsden Gillis

31. Upstate by Kalisha Buckhannon

32. Still Alice by Lisa Genova

33. Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind

34. Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

35. Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books by Paul Collins

36. The Gardner Heist by Ulrich Boser

37. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

38. The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly

39. The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

40. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

41. Away by Amy Bloom

42. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond

43. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

44. The End of Manners by Francesca Marciano

45. The Lost City of Z by David Grann

46. Teaser by Jan Brogan

47. Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell

48. The Cradle by Patrick Somerville

49. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

50. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

You can follow my progress by clicking on the Author Challenge 2009 button on my sidebar. Anyone interested in joining me? Leave me a comment letting me know and be sure to sign up at Literary Escapism.

Never Forget

Happy Memorial Day!


As some of you might remember from the post where I revealed 13 things about myself, I am very patriotic. So while we are all enjoying the warmer weather and the long weekend, let's take a minute to remember why today is a national holiday. Memorial Day was started after the Civil War to honor Union soldiers. After WWI, it was expanded to include American casualities of any war or military action (information from Wikipedia. Shh! Don't tell anyone. Librarians hate Wikipedia).


Yesterday my local paper was full of stories of veterans remembering their fallen comrades and honoring them in different events around the country. One story in particular really touched me. I will admit I had tears in my eyes while reading it. At Riverside National Cemetery in California 300 volunteers will read the names of the 148,000 veterans buried there. This roll call of the dead will be read aloud over 10 days - day and night. And some time today, they will read the last name on page 2,465. I am humbled by this. I am even more humbled by the fact that one of these volunteers, Jon Landaker, is the father of 26 year old Jared Landaker, who is buried at Riverside National Cemetery. Jared was a Marine helicopter pilot who was killed on his last mission - one week before he was scheduled to come home. This breaks my heart. So, please take a moment today to remember Jared and all the other military personnel who gave their lives so we can be free. And sometime today while you are enjoying the day off, take a moment to tell your kids about the reason that they have a day off from school today. It's important that we teach them the importance of honoring those who have the made the ultimate sacrifice. And to those of you who have lost a loved one during military service or have a loved one serving in the military, I thank you for your sacrifice as well and I wish you peace.


Image from Google Images

Sentimental Sunday

Last week I said I would show one picture per week for three weeks of our trip to Iceland, France and England. Well, I lied. It's going to take four weeks. You see, our trip to France was really separated into two parts and I wanted to highlight one picture from each part of our trip . So, here is the picture from the first part of our time in France:



During the first part of our trip to France, we were fortunate to be staying with a family that lives in Buthiers, France - a tiny village of 600 people north east of Paris. We became acquainted with the Plet family in May 2007 when we hosted their eldest daughter, Laeti, during her 10 day visit to the US as an exchange student. Laeti is a wonderful girl and we enjoyed her visit immensely. When Laeti and her family learned that we would be traveling to Europe in July of 2007, they invited us to visit and stay with them in Buthiers. We were anxious to accept. At that time, our plans were to go from Iceland, to Scotland and then on to England. Fortunately, we were able to rearrange our airline tickets and we decided to skip Scotland in favor of France. The photo above is the 200+ year old stone and stucco Plet family house. The house and the town itself is picture perfect and like being in a fairy tale. This photo was taken from the second story of the barn that sits in the back yard of their home. (This is actually the back of the house). Beyond the barn is a lovely meadow. At the time that we were visiting, Mr. Plet was renovating the barn into a gorgeous house that the family was anxious to move into since it was larger and more modern than the original house. Needless to say, having the experience of living with a French family was a once in a lifetime experience and for me, it was the best part of our trip. Next stop... Gay Paree!

TV Quick Quips

Seems so weird that there are only two shows left to "quip" about. Well, here's my thoughts about this week's episodes of my favorite shows (what's left of them):

The Tudors - Three things struck me in this episode. First, I don't think poor Anne of Cleves looks like a horse! YIKES! And if Henry would just be kinder and gentler to her, maybe it would all work out (yes, I know I'm trying to rewrite history. And in reality Anne was supposed to have been badly scarred by smallpox. But Joss Stone isn't, so saying she looks like a horse is not working for me). Secondly, in the previews for the next episode we seen Henry's next wife (his 5th). Since he only had 6, does this mean next season will be the last? Say it isn't so. And lastly, I've always been sympathetic to the Duke of Suffolk (no, not just because he's handsome) because he seemed to have a real sense of morality. BUT, he is starting to be just as scheming and unethical as everyone else now and I really don't like it. I agree with his wife when she says she wants her "sweet Charles" back. Yeah, me too!

American Idol - I'm writing this next part on Wednesday afternoon (after the performances of Tuesday night, but before the results show). On Tuesday night I was BLOWN AWAY by Adam's rendition of Mad World. I missed his first performance of this song, because that episode went long and my DVR didn't record it. I was able to watch in online, but seeing it on the larger TV screen was a completely different experience. So haunting. I can't get it out of my head. I will definitely download this song to my iTunes library. And that's saying something because I don't even use my iPod very much right now. Anyway, I know after last week's show I said that I would be OK no matter who won, but as the days passed, I really started to find myself hoping that Kris will win. I'm a real sucker for a (deserving) underdog. And the more I think about the season as a whole, I really do think Kris grew so much as singer and he has a fabulous knack for changing popular songs and making them his own. That being said, I really do think Adam had a much better night. That last song was just horrible and it was not at all appropriate for Kris' voice. Even Kara (who wrote the song) said that. I sure hope that this won't work against Kris. As Kara said I hope everyone voted based on the season as a whole. Though it seemed clear to me from what all the judges said to Kris, that they expect Adam to win. We will see. I can't wait for tonight's show. I'll be back with my reactions after the show airs tonight!

This next part is being written after the finale. OMG!!!! I can NOT believe Kris actually won! I'm so happy and so bummed all at the same time. But more happy - I think. I really wanted Kris to win, but then when he did I felt bad for Adam. (Who handled not winning like a champ, I might add). And wasn't Kris just so humble and adorable when he won? I've never felt so torn about an Idol finale before (and I've watched them all). I wish they could both win. Anyway, I think Adam is going to have an amazing career, with or without the Idol title. I'm not sure I can say the same for Kris. So maybe it is good that he won. Anyway, I'm rambling again. I just love them both!

What did you all think of the rest of show? I was amazed by it. I had no idea there were going to be so many "stars" performing. Some were truly stars, but I thought a few were has beens. Oh well. And did anyone else think Rod Stewart was drunk - or possibly suffering from a medical condition that makes old people unsteady on their feet? Geoff and I actually had to fast forward through it because it was just so upsetting to watch. How about when Kris sang with Keith Urban. Are Geoff and I the only ones who thought Kris sounded better than Keith? Wow! Anyway, I thought it was an entertaining show. I could have missed the silly awards they gave out. But, I LOVED hearing Kara sing! I've liked her right from the start, but now I think I have a little bit of a girl crush on her. She's a great singer in addition to being personable, likable and a good judge. She always has something valuable to say to each contestant. I hope she's back next year.

Images from Google Images

Musing Mondays (better late than never)

Yesterday I stumbled across three intriguing book blogs. And I thought I was a crazy book lady. These ladies put me to shame. The three bloggers are Nan at Letters from a Hill Farm, MizB at Should be Reading and Rebecca at Just One More Page. Apparently every week Rebecca hosts MUSING MONDAYS in which she poses a question about reading and books. Being a bibliophile myself, I couldn't resist. So even though it's Friday, here is this week's Musing Monday question:

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading? Was it from a particular person, or person(s)? Do you remember any books that you read, or were read to you, as a young child? (question courtesy of Diane)

I don't remember exactly how or when I developed a love for reading, but I do remember always being curious about books. I also remember my dad reading to my brother and me when we were very little and using different voices for the different characters. I also remember the Scholastic book orders in elementary school and how, even though we didn't have a lot money when I was growing up, there was always money for me to order books.

I do, however, remember exactly when I fell in love in libraries. I was 10 years old and in 5th grade. I had a friend who always seemed to have an interesting looking book in her desk. I asked her about those books and she said she got them at the public library in town. Believe it or not, I wasn't familiar with the public library - just the school library. I asked my mom to take me to the town library and she did. I can still vividly remember standing in the children's room, holding a Katie John book (do any of you remember that series? I absolutely loved it!), and marveling at all the books I could choose from. And, unlike the school library, I could browse as long as I liked and take out as many books as I wanted. That was it! I was smitten. I've been in love ever since.

How about you? Do you remember how you developed a love of reading? I'd love to hear about it.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your thoughts in a comment here. Thanks.