Manic Monday

Manic Monday #152

brought to us by Fleur de Lisa---play along today!

What gives you hope?

My two boys give me hope. There's a lot of creative, energetic, good-hearted, smart, kids out there today. I believe in them and that they can make this world a much better place!!

How often do you get your haircut?

Because it's short, about every 6 weeks or so...I'm pretty lazy when it comes to keeping up with my hair!!

Describe your worst haircut.

I did it to myself when I was 12. I cut my bangs when my hair was wet...yep, you guessed it!! When my hair dried...NO BANGS!! I wore my dad's golf hat for what some liked weeks!! I looked like Gilligan's twin sister!

What's your most treasured piece of jewelry?

My amethyst cross that my hubby and boys bought me for my birthday about 5 years ago.

Why?

Because I hardly ever get gifts for my birthday, I was home sick for days, and it was a total surprise...I bawled like a baby!!

Happy Monday everyone!!

Manic Monday

Manic Monday #151

brought to us by Fleur de Lisa...come on play along!!

What do you do to make yourself feel better when you are sick?

Well, I'm usually the last one to fall so you would think that everyone would be so willing and happy to do whatever Mom needed or wanted in order to feel good. Does that happen? NO. Usually I try to take a hot bath, drink hot tea, and cry for my mommy!!

What is the most amazing weather you've ever seen?

One day that stands out to me was about 4 years ago. We woke up to a blizzard, school was canceled and the snow measured over a foot. It was April 11 or something like that. By noon, it had warmed up to around 50 degrees and all the snow melted..I loved every minute of it!!

Do you listen to music or talk radio in the car?

I do a little bit of both. When I'm sick of the radio stations playing the same tired songs I'll try to find a NPR station. My hubby has satellite but poor little old me doesn't rate quite so high so I have to make do with whatever will come in!! Right now I've been listening to a book on CD.

Manic Monday and a nice shout-out from JonJon

Manic Monday #150

If you were to name the most creative outlet that you have, what would it be?

For me it would be scrapbooking. When I first got into it I was very anal about everything being perfect, then I went through a spell where I just did what I wanted. My biggest mistake was subscribing to magazines that tried to force down your throat that you A) needed their help B) they knew it all C) Your style sucked and theirs didn't and D) without these products your pages would look like poop. Needless to say, I have let all my subscriptions

lapse, I don't really look at scrap sites online anymore, and I do what makes ME happy!! I tell my stories for my children and my future grandchildren and no one else :)

What spot in your body would you say is the center of your emotional being?

My brain and my heart. One I'm really upset my whole body hurts, but I truly feel that my brain is the center of my emotional being.

What do you think is the secret to a tranquil soul?

Being at peace with the choices you've made in life.

And now I want to catch-up with an award that Jon

Jon at ...a dedication of love... gave to me last week. We're new friends with each other in the blog world and I just want to say that she's a sweetheart and I really enjoy reading her blog! So please take a moment and visit her!!

She awarded me the Butterfly Award

JonJon...Thank you so much!! And I would like to pass this award on to a few people.
Here are the rules:

This is a 'meme' award, so it gets passed on. The rules for passing it on are:

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded the blog to you.
3. Award up to ten other blogs.
4. Add links to the blogs you award onto your blog.
5. Leave a message for your awardees on their blogs.

I would like to pass this on to the following cool bloggers:

• Heather at A Day in the Life

• Drgngirl at Creative Self Belief

Now I'm off to catch up on blogs and then read more of Edgar Sawtelle!!

Happy Monday Everyone!

Manic Monday Post

Manic Monday #149

Do you have any idiosyncrasies or unusual quirks when it comes to food and/or eating?

None that seem odd to me!!

Have you ever written love letters?

Of course, who hasn't?

If so, do you still have any of them?

Yes, I do. They're tucked away in a box somewhere. I thought about throwing them away but then I decided that maybe one day my grandchildren might get a kick out of them. They're not love letters from my husband though!!!

How easy or difficult is it for you to say you're sorry?

Most of the time it is very easy for me to say I'm sorry. And most of the time I'm the one who ends up apologizing first.

Manic Monday and a book review

Manic Monday #148

What is the biggest mistake you made in 2008 and will not make again in 2009?

Trusting certain people. I must be one of the most naive and gullible people walking the earth. But no more. My heart is hardened and I will not bend!

Do you make New Year's resolutions?

I use to but not going to do it this year.

Why or why not?

What's the point? I never follow through with them!!

Who do you nominate as “Man or Woman of the Year” for 2008?
Big Mistake
What was your greatest accomplishment in 2008?

Losing some weight and starting to put my health and well-being on the front burner instead of the back burner. I'm no good to anyone if I'm falling apart.


I had to get up pretty early this morning...4:00 a.m.! In order to take my oldest son to the Amtrak station. So when I got back home I sat down with a hot cup of coffee and finished Sweet Life. Here is my goofy review!! (I wished that I sounded more scholarly but oh well)


Sweet Life by Mia King
From the back cover: When her husband, Paul, gets a new job, Marissa Price leaves the island of Manhattan for the island of Hawaii. Paradise seems like the perfect place to find herself, save her marriage, and reconnect with her eight-year-old daughter. But once there, Marissa discovers her new life is less about beaches and beautiful sunsets and more about cows and lava flows. Their new "home" is a fixer-upper at best. But what most needs fixing-her marriage- is the first to crumble when her husband announces he wants some time apart to find himself.

rating:
bookshelves:	read, winter-reading-challenge-2009 (edit)
status:	Read in December, 2008
review:	This book is absolutely sweet! I really liked the author's first book Good Things and was not at all disappointed with her follow-up. Set in New York and then Hawaii, this book flowed very well and was a very enjoyable, easy read. At first I have to admit that I wasn't too crazy about the main character Marissa. I found her to be a very picky, hard-to-please, label crazy, self-centered brat. But after her family lands in Hawaii and things start to fall apart her character took on a little more d...more This book is absolutely sweet! I really liked the author's first book Good Things and was not at all disappointed with her follow-up. Set in New York and then Hawaii, this book flowed very well and was a very enjoyable, easy read. At first I have to admit that I wasn't too crazy about the main character Marissa. I found her to be a very picky, hard-to-please, label crazy, self-centered brat. But after her family lands in Hawaii and things start to fall apart her character took on a little more dimension. The cast of supporting characters were very believable and I was absolutely pulled into the main island of Hawaii. The recipes in the back sound delicious but I'm not that ambitious so I settled for just reading them and dreaming of actually visiting Hawaii in order to sample some of these dishes.

Manic Monday

Manic Monday #147

If you were at a friend’s house for a holiday dinner and you found a dead cockroach in your salad, what would you do?

I would very carefully and without attracting notice take the bug out of my salad and put it in my napkin. I then would make some excuse to my friend that I was saving room for the big meal and pretend like I was eating the rest of the salad.

If you could put anyone you know on Prozac, who would you choose?

Myself!!!

How do you feel about public displays of affection?

Holding hands and kissing quickly like hello or goodbye , I don't have a problem with at all. It is when they get down and dirty that totally repulses me. I especially hate the whole "let me put my hand in your back pocket" and let's walk around the mall like that because we're so cool......NOT!!!

Manic Monday #146

Have you ever returned an item to a store for a refund after having used it?

I plead the 5th on this one!!

You are going out for the evening. If your partner objects to what you are wearing, would you change your clothing?

Sure, if he helps me find something better and I'm o.k. with it.

What item that you don’t currently possess would you most like to have in your home?

My upper cabinets in the kitchen. We remodeled this summer but haven't done that part yet!

Another cold and boring day....

Manic Monday #145


What is the most expensive meal you've ever eaten?

It was when I was an exchange student in Japan. We had dinner at a steak house and the bill for 5 of us was over 600.00!!!

What is the fastest speed you've ever traveled in a car?

Good lord, I don't remember, but speed scares me so I wouldn't venture any higher than 90!

What is the highest building you've ever been to the top floor of?

The Sears Tower in Chicago. Scared me to death!!

Manic Monday and my 100th book review!

It's "Cyber Monday" today, the ceremonial kick-off of the holiday online shopping season in the United States. Do you do much online shopping, holiday or otherwise?
I do a lot of shopping online when I get a good price and free shipping. For my hubby I have to shop online because I just can't find what he wants (for his motorcycle) close to home.

Are you a Mac or a PC user? Why?
PC user only because I'm too poor to afford a cool MAC!!

What website do you spend more time on than you care to admit?
GOODREADS and reading blogs!



I belong to a Bookworm club on a scrapbook site and I just posted my 100th book!! Wow!! Here it is:

Looking For Alaska by John Green
O.K. I think that this must be the best book I've read this year! This one has been on my list for over a year and I finally checked it out to see what all the fuss was about. First off, let me explain about the fuss. The media specialist that I worked with purchased this book for the middle school library. The library lady (at-the-time) was fanning through the book, when the words "blow-job" jumped off the page and slapped her in the face! From there it just spiraled out-of-control an...more O.K. I think that this must be the best book I've read this year! This one has been on my list for over a year and I finally checked it out to see what all the fuss was about. First off, let me explain about the fuss. The media specialist that I worked with purchased this book for the middle school library. The library lady (at-the-time) was fanning through the book, when the words "blow-job" jumped off the page and slapped her in the face! From there it just spiraled out-of-control and the book was scanned for every "f" word and sexual act that could be found. Needless to say a big book cleaning (banning) took place and a group of closed-minded people were able to remove 60 books from the library. All of these left the shelf without going through any proper consideration. I have the list of books. I've been reading them a few at a time. I've been slowly adding some of them back to the library, but this time they are flagged in the system. A permission slip with information about the book is printed out and signed before a student can check out any "objectionable" book. I have no respect for the media specialist, (he no longer works for the school...yippee). He never fought for any of the books but even more important, he had no idea what he was ordering. I would NOT put this book in the middle school, but it did not stop me from allowing my 13 year-old son to read this before me.
John Green captures what it is like to be young, geeky, unsure of yourself, and to be friendless. He touched a nerve with me that has me thinking about this book a lot deeper than I thought I would. Pudge reminds me of my oldest son in too many ways to count. My youngest son and I have been talking about this book for several days and to me that is what counts!