Want a little mystery?

Back in February, our Book Club chose another suspenseful novel called:
Look Again by Lisa Scottoline.


I gave this book 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.  A little mystery and suspense kept me hanging on to what will happen next.  Here is a brief narrative pulled from Booklist.com


Ellen Gleeson was balancing life as a single mother and a feature reporter as well as could be expected. She had taken on single parenthood voluntarily, having fallen in love with her adopted son, Will, now three, when he was a very sick infant. A have-you-seen-this-child postcard featuring a child who could be Will’s twin catches Ellen’s attention, and while she should be pursuing her assigned story about the emotional effect of Philadelphia’s high teenage murder rate, she instead becomes obsessed with the missing child and with pursuing more details about Will’s background. Her questions multiply when she learns that, just three weeks after she adopted Will, the attorney who handled the proceedings killed herself. Where is the birth mother, and why doesn’t her family seem to know that she was pregnant? The answer only leads to danger, but Ellen, her reporter’s instincts on high alert, is hell-bent on finding the truth, no matter the cost. In a departure from her wildly popular Rosato & Associates series, Scottoline still sticks to what she knows in this taut stand-alone: female drama, family ties, legal intrigue, and fast-paced action.

Warning Signs That You May Be Addicted to Scrapbooking

These were just too funny not to share!

1.If you write to the friendly folks at Cropper Hopper to suggest a 2000 square foot tote transportable only by tractor trailer... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
2.If you tried to bribe the school principal to let your unborn child have a graduation diploma early because you found the best page embellishments on sale this week...you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
3.If you use 40 rolls of film to capture those special moments at home during a 24-hour period... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
4.If you keep over half your supplies hidden in the trunk of the car while simultaneously hiding the keys from your husband... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
5.If you force all 45 members of your extended family to sit on Santa's lap at the mall because it would be a great scrapbook page... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
6.If you refuse to take your child to the emergency room without grabbing your camera first... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
7.If have tried to explain the benefits of skipping meals to save more money for scrapbook supplies... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
8.If you carry one camera for black and white photos, one for panoramic, one for 3-D photos, and one for color close-ups with you to the grocery store... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
9.If you're now wondering why you don't have a 3-D camera... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
10.If your idea of a dream date is a man who loves to hammer your eyelets and refill your Hermafix ... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
11.If you try to glue your child's tooth back into his mouth because you want a better "before and after" page ... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
12.If you refuse to take any more pictures, even at your daughter's wedding, because you need to catch up on the ones you have first... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
13.If you are considering hiring professional writers to do your journaling... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
14.If you think that you must take your scrapbook supplies with you for a romantic weekend away... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
15.If the only recipes you collect any more are crop snacks... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
16.If own 8 different tools that cut a perfect circle... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
17.If you have figured out how to scrapbook while driving your car... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
18.If your kids know the only way they can participate in anything is to agree to have Mom there taking pictures... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
19.If you believe Becky Higgins should have her own cable channel... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
20.If your career aspirations include selling punchies and paper piecings on eBay... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
21.If you think it makes sense to leave tags on new clothes because you are going to return them right after you take the pictures of your kids wearing them... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.
22.If you falsely report your child missing so that you can get the digital enhancements of how they'd look ten years from now from the police department... you may be addicted to scrapbooking.

One goal down..many more to go!

Can I just say one thing?  I DID IT!!! I have achieved my first health goal for the year... finishing my very first race... a 5k!!  WHOA BABY!  Oh and in case you didn't know... like me, a 5k is about 3.1 miles.  I ran... or shall I say jogged and walked this race for my church youth missions trip and for my health.  Overall, my finishing time was 51 minutes and 34 seconds.  I know it's not record time, but hey... I was going to finish regardless of how long it took me.  Finishing was the most important thing to me and I did it.  Oddly, I somehow finished this race while in the midst of fighting some pretty yucky stuff.  Later in the day (after the race) I found out that I was fighting an upper respiratory infection, bronchitis and an ear infection.  YIKES!  The Lord knew I had my mind set on doing this race and HE allowed me to finish.  His GRACE was and is sufficient in all things.

This is my mugshot after the race...sporting my official race #  Can you see the elation on my sweaty hot face?

 

Reading frenzy

Boy have I been doing some serious reading.  My love for reading has taken on a whole new level.  Since I began my newfound adventure this past August, I have read nearly 13 books!  I guess you could say I am on a roll.  Seriously, I didn't even read that many books in high school.  At present, I am only reading fiction and although I'm staying in this genre for now I am thoroughly enjoying this crazy reading frenzy.  Just to catch you up...here are my latest reads.

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf.


I give this book *** (three stars).  I read this review on amazon and concur - The main character, Callie is a selective mute. Petra is Callie's best friend and acts as Callie's voice. The two girls go missing, and from there the story takes you on many twist and turns while their parents and police look for them. 

The book is told from many different points of views that switch off throughout it. I liked this because you got a glimpse as to what each person was going through and how they saw the events that played out.

-I enjoyed the book and it's crazy twists & turns throughout.  Definitely kept me on the edge of my reading chair!  

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks


I gave this book *** (three stars).  Overall, I thought this was a good book.  For February's book club selection I thought I would throw in a love story in lieu of Valentine's Day.  Throughout, the book I felt the pure and timeless love story unfolding.  As the story progresses you see John maturing and falling deeper for Savannah and then they drift apart, because of the events that took place on September 11th.  Although I enjoyed the book overall, the ending was not what I had anticipated.  A true tear jerk-er, no doubt, but it's also a wonderful story of an impossible yet unwavering love between two people and an even more wonderful story of love and understanding between father and son. If your looking for a cookie cutter happy ending love story this may not be your book, but if your looking for undying, unconditional love this book is worth a try. 

A Voice In the Wind (Book #1 Mark of the Lion Series)
Written by one of my FAVORITE authors Francine Rivers
I gave this book ***** (five stars).  


I absolutely LOVED this book.  Francine Rivers is phenomenal in her writing style.  She is rich with details which allows you to really envision the backdrop, storyline, characters and plot.  Now on to the book - I read this review and concur - I was warned before reading this book that is was a little 'slow' in the beginning but not to give up! I totally agree! I took the warnings to heart and continued on. Thank GOD I did!!! After about the first 40 pages or so the book took off and I could not put it down! Awesome storyline....a MUST read!!! A book about a faithful Jewish slave girl with a servant's heart who never gives up her faith even when faced with death! The Lord is so good and these books just prove how wonderful HE is even though this is fiction.  -Amen to that!


This book will leave you hanging on until the very last sentence.  You basically CANNOT read this book without having the second book on hand - An Echo In the Darkness (Mark of the Lion Book #2)

My Cleaning Prayer

Someone e-mailed this to me today and I really loved it.  Kind of puts the mundane duties of a housewife into clear perspective.  Lord, may I have this perspective each and every day.

Dear Lord Jesus

As I go about my housework
Let me see each job I do,
As a service for my King
And a way of loving You.

Let me wash away my judgments
Of others right or wrong,
As I wash up the dishes
Place within my heart a song.

As I clean up little fingerprints
And lots of muddy shoes,
May I remember how you cleaned the feet
Of the loved ones you did choose.

As I mend up torn pajamas
And sew a button on,
Show me where I need to mend a breech
That's gone on far too long.

Let me tidy up my thoughts
As I tidy up the toys,
Let me sweep away my fears
Like the dirt from little boys.

May I be just as quick with my forgiveness
As I am with mop and broom,
Sweeping up the clutter
In my heart and living room.

May I rinse out pride and ego
As I rinse the bathtub out,
And while we are at it Lord
Let's take care of anger, hate and doubt.

Please remind me often Lord
That the way I'm called to serve,
Is an honor given me
And not below what I deserve.

You know Lord, as I look
At all the work we need to do,
I think we'd better house clean
At least each day or two.

-- Author Unknown

Monday Fun Facts

I will often use this blog to post reviews of books, movies, restaurants and on occasion some pretty interesting and sometimes completely useless facts.  So today, I chose to steal a posting from a fellow blogger......

Coffee Facts

• Coffee is a no-calorie drink
• It takes about 45 coffee beans to make one shot of espresso
• 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed worldwide, making it the most popular beverage
• Sprinkle spent coffee grounds around the base of your garden plants and it will stop snails and slugs from munching them!
• The US Navy used to serve alcoholic beverages on board ships.  However, when Admiral “Joe” Daniels became Chief of Naval Operations, he outlawed alcohol on board ships, except for very special occasions.  Coffee then became the drink of choice, hence the term “Cup of Joe”.
• Bach wrote a coffee cantata in 1732
• For reducing wrinkles and improving their skin, the Japanese have been known to bathe in coffee grounds fermented with pineapple pulp.
• Coffee, as a world commodity, is second only to oil
• Iced coffee in a can has been popular in Japan since 1945
• Regular coffee drinkers have about one-third less asthma symptoms than those non-coffee drinkers. So says a Harvard researcher who studied 20,000 people.

Scrappy Chicks take it to the mountains

Back in November, my scrapbook gurrrrrrfriends and I (dubbed The Scrappy Chicks) decided to pack our bags and head to Blue Ridge, GA for a crop retreat.  How awesome is that?!?!?!  We headed up on a Friday and stayed three days in a MACK DADDY cabin that was located in the middle of no where.  So relaxing. This cabin was decked out with the following:

***4 KING BEDROOMS***
Master Suite on Main w/ King Bed and jacuzzi tub and fireplace *Master Suite Up Stairs w/ King Bed &*3rd Bedroom with King Bed *4th Bedroom with King Bed *Queen Fold out Sofa Bed in Loft *Queen Fold out Sofa Bed in Living Room *Queen Fold Out Sofa Bed in Basement *ALL Bedrooms have TV's in them *Pool Table *Ping Pong Table *Darts *Big Screen TV in Basement with Stereo System *Play Station 2 in Basement *Big Screen TV in main living room with surround sound *Hot Tub outside *Custom Kitchen with stainless steel appliances *Washer and Dryer *Gas Grill *Gas Log Fireplace in Living Room *Seating for 16 to eat *All Linens Provided *PET FRIENDLY *Outdoor Fire Pit

I mention all this because this cabin was the CABIN of ALL CABINS!  Any and everything you could possibly imagine was at our disposable.  All we had to bring were:

• Pictures
• Scrapbook Tools
• Cricut
• Extension Cord 
• Adhesive
• Pages & Protectors
• Table & Chair
• Towel & Wash Cloth
• Your Meal Items
• Toiletries
• Clothes
• MP3 or CDs 

When we Scrappy Chicks go on a retreat or even a night of cropping we try our best to come fully prepared. Some of us more prepared than others {conspicuously clearing throat}

Here are some photos of our retreat ....pics coming soon!