Just finished......

Fear The Worst by Linwood Barclay.

It was pretty good. It kept my interest and it was a fast read. I'd have to say, I didn't like it as much as I liked his other books. I got really tired of hearing about cars.

I guess I'd give it a 6 on a scale of 10.

Tomorrow I'll be getting back into The Castaways since I put that down to start Fear The Worst. That should be a good vacation read for my weekend away!

The little things......

Today was a really good day! The weather wasn't bad, sunny but not that humid. The kids were all happy, doing their things.

I took V to the library today to pick up a book she had on hold and to get the next book in her series since we are going away this weekend. Nothing like sitting on the deck or the beach reading a good book!

She also got a few magazines while we were there, American Girl and Discovery Girl. Before Dad got home to make dinner, we were sitting at the kitchen table. She was looking through her magazine and I was making my lists for the weekend. That's when V gave me the eyebrow wiggle. Can't say no to that wiggle. "Hey Momma, there's a Mother/Daughter quiz. Wanna take it with me?" Insert another eyebrow wiggle here. So she ran off to get the paper and pencils. The questions were cute and not just silly questions, they required a little thought. V turns to me and says, you probably know me better than I know myself. She's probably right!

We finish the quiz and compare our answers. Funny how they remember certain things! The first question was what is one thing your daughter/mother says all the time. I informed her that it couldn't be any bad words. That's when she broke out the eraser. What about those cute little saying I say all the time?? Of course we knew each others favorite color. And our favorite candy bar. It was so cute seeing how she remembered certain things about me and how I remembered certain things about her. I loved the giggling she did the whole time.

It only lasted 45 minutes but it was the best 45 minutes of my day!

Morning Meanderings.......

Imagine the fantastic secret garden that goes along with this entrance! I mean, this isn't your normal run of the mill trellis here. This place is incredible and only seeing it in person can do it justice. Just look at the details on the pillars!

Imagine having your morning cup of coffee or tea in this beautiful garden. It's so gorgeous and the only thing that would make it prettier is if the fountain in the middle there was on!

I could actually see myself sitting in these seats, reading my book and gazing out over the lawn, watching the children play. Oh, wouldn't that be something!!

That of course, is if I could pull myself away from my glorious bedroom in this mansion!

And this is just one of the "houses" on this property! It's incredible! I can't wait to go back and take some more pictures in the fall. Imagine what it looks like with a blanket of snow covering it all. The mansion is actually a museum now so we are going to go back in the fall and take a tour. I love old houses, homes, like this. I can't wait to see the inside.

Oh if only the walls could talk!!!

Is there anything.......

more fabulous than getting your hands on a brand new book that you've been dying to get your hands on???

I can think of one thing. Getting that book and reading it while sitting on the beach, relaxing on vacation.

But my vacation isn't until next weekend and I don't think I can wait that long to read my "to die for" book.

I picked up Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay at the library the other day. I didn't get too much reading time this weekend with all the school shopping. But I'm so ready to dive into it this week at work. I've read several great reviews so I really can't wait to put my feet up and get all snuggly with my book.

Next weekend I'll get back into The Castaways while I'm relaxing on the beach! Perfect book for vacation time!

Have a great week and happy reading!

A Picture's worth.....

You know how the saying goes!

Well check out this picture! I found it over at http://ilratb.blogspot.com/ which is a really great blog! She has some great give aways going on right now that are worth checking out and if nothing else, you can sooth yourself with the beautiful sound of the beach that she plays on her blog!

You can almost feel the sand!

I just love this picture!

They are just characters.....

and sometimes I have to keep reminding myself of that. They are just characters in a book.

There are so many times I just want to scream at a character! Come on, wake the heck up!!! You've got to be kidding me!

The book I'm currently reading, Best Intentions by Emily Listfield, has a main character that I want to shake so hard and tell to wake up!!! Now, maybe she's right. Maybe it is the truth. Maybe. But is sure as hell doesn't sound like it. It's making me crazy and I have to get to the end of the book so I can find out who is right....her or me!

I guess that's a sign of a really good book, when you are wanting to choke a character that isn't real, when you are dying to get to the end of the book just to see who was right!

I'm not saying it's great literature or a book that will live for ages, but you have to admit, it's good reads when you get a book like that!

That's what I'm sayin'......

I opened up my Bookreporter.com email tonight and was reading where the author of the newsletter was on a flight recently. Near her was this man who had brought his Kindle along for the ride. He was talking to everyone about his Kindle, telling everyone all about how wonderful it is.

Everyone else was reading a book. When he was all done raving about his Kindle, he sat and read the magazine that the airline provided in his seat.

See, his Kindle died. He didn't charge it before the flight or he forgot his charger or something along those lines.

So, there he is with his $300+ spectacular, you just gotta have this baby, this thing is wonderful, toy and he can't use it.

See, that's what I'm sayin'!

There is nothing as spectacular as having a never needs a charge or battery or outlet, good old fashioned BOOK!

Stickin' with it.....

How long do you give a book before you throw in the towel?

I've been reading this book, Best Intentions by Emily Listfield. I could have sworn that I read on other book blogs that it was a mystery/suspense book. So I got this book from the library and so far, I'm not feeling the mystery part.

Earlier tonight, I'm out roaming the streets in Blogger world and I come across a blog that has reviewed this book that I'm reading. I decided to stop in and read her review, hoping that one way or another I would get some input on what to do about this book.

I'm glad I did. The blogger gave the book a very good review and filled me in on a little secret. It is a mystery.....the mystery is in the last third of the book.

Okie dokie then......I'm stickin' with it!

I'm no Mom of the Year......

BUT, I'd like to think I'm a pretty good mom. Well, actually, I think I'm a little better than pretty good but I'm basing that on the fact that I have great kids so I have to be pretty good to have such great kids, right?

It never fails, if you want to feel good about your mothering skills, spend some time with other people's children.

I've always raised my kids to be kind, especially to their friends. Our rule is, if you make plans with a friend, you don't dump them because someone else calls with a better deal. That just bugs the crap out of me. I can't stand kids that do this and I think it speaks volumes about the mother that let's a kid do that.

I also think that kids should show their friend's parents respect. My children have been told that they are to call a parent Mr. or Mrs. I have had 2 people tell my kids they can use their first name and my kids tell them that their mother prefer that they not do that. They can call them Miss Firstname or maybe Mrs. S instead of the full last name, but I prefer my kids to use titles as respect. I can not stand when a kid comes into my house and calls me by my first name when I've never ever said they could. Again, another thing that bugs the crap out of me and I think it speaks volumes again.

What would you do if someone you worked with told you, based on the stories you tell them, that you are an enabler for your children? This happened to a friend of mine. A male co-worker told her she's an enabler to her children, and they walk all over her for sure. She asked me what I thought on Saturday night and I just smiled at her. She agreed that we are both right. But I seriously doubt she'll do anything to change that. She's going to have track marks up and down her back for years. Poor girl!

My oldest son asked me today what I did that made my 3 kids turn out so good. He spent the night before over a friend's house and saw how those 2 kids acted to their parents. See, as teens they start to realize that acting like a brat is not the way to go. I told him I think it's a mix of a lot of things and I strongly believe it starts when they are young, infants. I think it's the way you talk to them and how you allow them to talk to you. There are things that you have to take control over from the get go and even though many times, it's easier to just give in and throw your hands up in the air, you have to stand strong and realize that you are doing it "for"them not "to" them.

I think you have to take parenting as a very serious full time role! It has to be just as important to you as your full or part time job. It has to be a priority!

Ah, if only everyone thought like me! I wouldn't have to be so frustrated when other kids do stupid things!

I'm saying a prayer.....

for a special intention. Feel free to add one if you'd like.

It's like a little peek....

Our library system used to put a little card into this little slot in the back of your book to let you know when your book was due. But a few years ago, they switched to the computer system where you get a receipt and it tells you a whole bunch of information, including the book title, date checked out and date due.

These receipts look like your grocery store receipts and some people have taken to using them as their bookmarker. Others have left them in the little pockets of the book jacket.

I love when people leave them in the book jacket pockets. It gives me a little peek into what some people are checking out of the library. And sometimes you can get some good reading suggestions from these receipts.

The other day I found a receipt in the back of the book I just picked up from the library. I ordered The King Of Lies by John Hart. In the back was a receipt from the last person and they got this book and The House at Riverton by Kate Morton. Hmmmmm....never heard of that one but I'm going to check it out!

Who knows, might just be a good new book to add to my never ending always growing pile!

Handy little thing......

I found this handy little thing on the B&N site. Maybe everyone else already knows about it but I thought I'd share it with you all, just in case.

You can search for a book and B&N, then once you find it you can check and see if your store has it. Now, let's say they do and you want this book. You know you can't get there that day but you're worried they will be sold out of the book before you can get there....and you really need this book. Well, you can reserve it at your store! How 'bout that! They will hold it for you for 3 days and they will notify you via email that they have the book on hold for you.

I found this out because my son needs a book for school and there's just not enough copies of the book in the library. He's third on the list and they can't even estimate the wait time. He has to read Napoleon's Buttons for his Chemistry class. It doesn't look too thrilling and it really looks thick. Hopefully, three weeks is enough time to get through it.

There's actually been a lot of reading going on in my house which I love! My oldest is a big reader but my other two are a little wishy washy when it comes to reading. J, the oldest, had to read Tuesdays with Morrie and The Andromeda Strain for school. He really liked The Andromeda Strain, which made him think he'd like to check out other Michael Crichton books.

J got G to start reading the Harry Potter series too. Of course they've been watching the movies and got to discussing how the books are so much better. So he managed to convince G to start with #4 and read the series. He's flipping back and forth between Harry Potter and Poker for Dummies. Hey, he's reading, what can I say?

My daughter is reading a series called Suddenly Supernatural and really enjoying it! She's almost finished and with a little luck, she'll want to keep reading the series!

I'm about half way through Best Intentions by Emily Listfield. So far, it's keeping my attention. It's not one of those "can't put down" books, not yet anyway. I'm curious to see where a few things are going and I'm hoping where it's going is a little interesting! I've got quite a few on the burners that I can't wait to get to. The library sent me my emails telling me they have some holds so I'm there tomorrow to pick them up.

I've got several weeks of good reading coming my way!

Monday Madness......

I don't like Mondays! I'm sure no one really does! Mondays are always busy for me and they always make me feel like I'm at the beginning of the tunnel again with no light in sight!

Today didn't disappoint. I did my normal routine of driving J to work after getting my 4 hours of sleep in the morning. The only bright side is that this is his last week of work. Good news for me, I can get some sleep and rest. Bad news for him, the pay checks stop and he's actually going to miss this job. But he's thinking since he needs to find another job for the year, it might be a great place for him to do his volunteer work during the school year. He's like his mom, has a hard time letting go.

I did manage to get G to run into the library for me and return our books but better yet, pick up some things that came in for me. I got my Harry Potter book on cassette and a video I was wanting to see. Of course I forgot to bring HP to work with me tonight but there's always tomorrow. And I got another email from the library telling me that The Castaways has arrived for me to pick up.

I started reading Best Intentions by Emily Listfield. I'm only about 50 pages into it but so far so good!

I have a lot of work to do for the Mothers Association and a few meetings coming up. Both are going to make this month fly by and before you know it, we'll be turning the calendar page again! I'm not ready for September!! I have so much to do to get the kids ready for school and I haven't done everything I wanted to do for the summer yet!

Somebody stop the world, I want to get off!

Weekly Wrap.......

I finished my book this morning while I was curled up in bed before the kids woke up. I was reading The Last Child by John Hart and let me tell you, this was a really good book! I highly recommend it for the mystery/suspense lover! I can't wait to find his other books.

In a few I'm going to curl up with Best Intentions by Emily Listfield. I've seen these book on several blogs and can't wait to dive into it!

I'm going to take a little me time tomorrow and head to B&N to get myself a new book light. Mind is on the fritz and I love this book light. It has a plug so I don't always have to worry about batteries and I can't live without it. I use my book light every day. I'd be lost without it! I also want to try and find another book I keep seeing all over the place called The Weight Of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf. My library doesn't have it and since it's out in paperback, I might just spring for my own copy.

I spent most of today cleaning and getting things done around the house while the kids had friends over so I'm looking forward to getting out for a while tomorrow.

Well, off to curl up with my book! Nite Nite!

Just a little........

Thank you to Karen! She made this wonderful new background that I'm using on my blog and she makes all my pretty tags for my "signature".

If you're looking to change your look or just want something to add to your blog, check her out at http://grabitgraphics.blogspot.com/

Notso Wordless Wednesday....

Even though it's almost over, I just wanted to post something. I was going for Wordless Wednesday but I never seem to be able to just keep my mouth shut.

But anyway.....

New book, where are you???

I keep hearing about this new book! It sounds really good and right up my alley but it doesn't seem to be at my library yet.

It never fails. I see a book in a newspaper called Book Page that is given out AT THE LIBRARY. So you would think that maybe, just maybe, they would have some of the books that are all over the pages of this thing! The cover of Book Page says "Seven new novelists you should be reading". Ok, I believe you! And I'd love to be reading them but you have to supply them to me oh great library!

The one that sounds really good is The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf. This is Miss Gudenkauf's debut novel and it sounds really good. Not to mention, the cover really intrigues me.

Not only is it advertised in Book Page but it's also on the Bookreporter.com newsletter I received today!

Come on! Stop teasing me! I'm thinking I might just have to get to B&N to grab this one.

Here's what the ad says, in case you are interested......

"Heather Gudenkauf's debut is a stunning novel of family
devotion, honestly and regret that will linger long after the last page is turned.
Masterfully written and beautifully told. It happens quietly one August morning. Two families awaken to find the little girls have gone missing in the night. Now these families are tied by the question of what happened to their children. And the answer is trapped in
the silence of unspoken family secrets."

Now do you see why I can't wait to get my hands on this one??

A glance into the past......

Lately, I've been really interested in the "history" of my city and especially my area of my city. Philadelphia is broken down into little sections and there is a lot of history in each of these sections. I've found books some really interesting books at the library that have been written about the areas and even found one about Philadelphia Cemeteries.

I've always been a cemetery person. I've lost close family members and friends and find peace when I go to the cemetery to "visit" them. So to me , it's not strange to just walk around a cemetery and even take some pictures. The older the cemetery the better!

During our adventures yesterday, we found this really cool cemetery out in one of the suburb areas of Philadelphia. It's behind a catholic church there and doesn't have many graves like a typical cemetery does. But it was really old in there! The most recent dates we could find on a stone were from 1954. Most of the ages that the people were when the passed were on the stones and there were a lot of 60+ yr old deceased people. Guess that was considered old!

Some of the grave markers were half buried themselves. And the stones were very thin and worn. You couldn't even read the writing on some of them, they were so worn away. I always walk around and think about the people. What life must have been like back in the 1800s. The things they must have seen and gone through. I thought I was hot just walking around there in my shorts and tshirt. I can't imagine what they wore and how hot it must have been in those clothes. I got back into my air conditioned truck. Can you imagine a time with no A/C??

I enjoy reading about the history of the towns and I love to imagine what it was like. It must have been really something!!

There is nothing......

like spending a little one on one time with your daughter! We had such a good time today and I even got some great pictures. I'm going to have to post some of them tomorrow since I left the camera down in the dining room and I just don't have the energy to go downstairs again.

It was just a really great day and I love spending that time with her!

And I bought a new purple pocketbook so you know it was quite possibly the perfect day!

Thank you.....

Thank you so much Karen!!