Places I Should Avoid

I had to run a few errands last week.

Had to get a birthday present for my nephew.
He loves dinosaurs, so I found this cute little Triceratops at Toys R Us.

I may have spent a little too much time looking at toys there. But I exercised amazing restraint and only purchased what I went for. 

I also wanted to get a dinosaur book...so of course I had to to go Barnes and Noble.

I already know that I should avoid book stores!



 Found the perfect book...I might go back and get myself a Triceratops! I think he is so dang cute!

I was doing fine in the bookstore...I looked at a few books but then put them down and headed for the children's section.

That's when things got a little dicey!

I love children's books!!!

First book that caught my eye was "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Wright Penn. I have these on my list to purchase~ but not right now. I contemplated...picked it up and looked at it...set it back down...walked away.

Came back...thought about it some more.

Nope! Not today!

Then I found the paperback section.
Oh my!

This is the alternate dinosaur book I had picked out.

I guess I accidentally forgot to put it back!

 

Then there was this little book. I used to sing this song to Shane when he was little.

"I Love You a Bushel and a Peck" from the musical "Guys and Dolls".

I didn't know it had been made into a children's book~ so of course I had to buy it!

Shane is still young enough that he'll let me read stuff like this to him.

He did roll his eyes at first~ but then he got right down on the floor with me as I read to him.

Fun memory for us!

(He was my fussiest baby, so I sang to him A LOT!)

This book also caught my eye.

I read it last night. To myself!

It's really a cute little story.

Maybe I can get Shane to read it with me.



I have boxes and boxes and boxes of books sitting in my garage, waiting to be unpacked.

I love books!!!

Maybe I should just stick with the library from now on?

Look What I Got!

This lovely book arrived in the mail yesterday.

Let me tell ya, if ever there was a day that I needed a surprise in the mail, it was yesterday! And it was not in a BOX, which right now is an added bonus!

I won this lovely book in a giveaway hosted by Susan at Bloggin 'Bout Books.

Can't wait to read it. For now, it's being added to my stack of "books I want to read soon"!

Thanks Susan!!!

Coming Out of the Closet

Not that closet. Sorry if I caused alarm.

No, no, I mean this closet:

I love Harry Potter!

There, I said it!

I love Harry Potter! I am a Harry Potter fan!

I ♥ Harry Potter!

I was a late comer to the whole Harry Potter craze. I started reading the first book (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, if you must ask), while on a camping trip with the family. I think I grabbed it with a stack of other books for us to read aloud. I don’t remember the unusual circumstances that lead to me reading the book (fantasy/sci-fi is not my genre of choice). But read it I did, and I was instantly captivated. This was around the time that the movie “Prisoner of Azkaban” came out, so I was a little behind! It didn’t take me long to catch up though!

I did get a little bogged down with "Goblet of Fire", but took off again with "Order of the Phoenix".

"Half Blood Prince" is probably my favorite book of the series…so I can hardly wait for the movie to come out! (Hence the countdown at the top of my blog). And yes, I cried (didn’t everyone?) Oh my gosh! Did I say I can hardly wait? I have enjoyed the movies every bit as much as the books. I can hardly wait! (Sorry, I just can’t control myself!)

After I read HBP, I was so excited for the release of the final book that I pre-ordered it from Amazon. Guaranteed release date delivery to my doorstep! It was spontaneous and totally out of character for me! The day the book arrived, I wouldn’t let anyone touch it! We were going on vacation the next weekend and I was saving it so I could have (mostly) uninterrupted reading time. I refused to even open the box, and sat it on top of the chest of drawers in my bedroom. Okay, okay…I’ll admit that after about 3 days of seeing that darn box there…I ever so carefully opened it and slid the book out. I, of course, had to make sure I didn’t have one of the copies with missing pages…that would never do! I flipped through the pages, being ever so careful not to read anything, caressed the cover and then very gently replaced it so no one would know I had opened the box! (As if anyone dared even come near it!)

I had to endure much harassment over my obsession as well as pleas from both Curtis and Spencer to let them read it already! Yes, I was mean and made them wait. I took it with us camping and read it in about 2 days (Why yes, I did cry. Thank you very much for asking)…Then, and only then, I passed it on for others in the family to read.

I am so excited for the HBP movie! I can hardly wait…and then after that…"Deathly Hallows" x's2…Oh my!

And just to clear the air…I really like the “Twilight” books too (even though I didn’t want to).

You won’t catch me wearing a “Team Edward” baseball cap or a “My heart belongs to my husband, my neck belongs to Edward” t-shirt, though!

I’m just sayin’ ;)

I'm glad to get all that off my chest...
I feel much better now!

A Father's Legacy

Rick loves to read every bit as much as I do. In fact, he probably reads a lot more than I do.

He has recently been reading the "Great and Terrible" series by Christ Stewart. He's been traveling a lot for work, and likes to have a book with him. Volumes 3 & 4 of the series were supposed to last him a couple of weeks...he finished them both in about 5 days!

This, however, left him with nothing to read last week. At the last minute, I suggested he try reading the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" books. They are YA novels and some of Spencer's favorites. I read them too, and really enjoyed them.

Shane has been toting the first book around, pretending to read it. (It's a little above his reading level). I remembered it was on the shelf of his bed...

When I grabbed it, I had to laugh. Can you see something sticking out of the top of the book?


Here's a closer look:

And closer still:

Any guess what that is? Why, it's what passes for a bookmark in this household. If you haven't figured it out yet, this picture should leave no question in your mind...

Yep, toilet paper bookmarks is the legacy my husband has passed on to his children. Every single one of the kids do this! Every. Single. One.

I think I will make laminated toilet paper square bookmarks for Christmas this year.

*And just so you know; Rick really recommends the "Great and Terrible" series, didn't really like the "Percy Jackson" books, and...I did find him a regular (no pun intended) bookmark to use while he travels...but here at home? TP all the way, baby!