Butterfly Award

O.K. somebody pinch me...cuz I just won the Butterfly Award not once, but twice in one freaking day!!!!!!!!!!! As you see I'm not use to being a WINNER!!! But seriously, this was something that totally made my day when I saw the comments from these two lovely ladies.

Here's my cool award:


I want to give a big shout out to----- Bonnie, her blog Redlady's Reading Room is absolutely fantastic. I love it when I log on and see that she has a new post for me to read. Her book reviews are very informative, insightful, and spot-on. I've added a lot of new authors that I haven't heard of because of visiting her blog. The other person that I want to thank for awarding me The Butterfly is Lisa, she writes a blog titled, Books and Cooks. She too participates in a lot of meme's that I do and I always love seeing what she has to say about that particular topic of the meme. She also does a stand-out job reviewing books. I've picked up so many suggestions from her blog. So if you're stopping by here today reading my blog (of which I thank you for spending your valuable time reading this post!!) please click on the above links and add these 2 outstanding blogs to your reading, you will not be disappointed!!

So, I now have to follow the rules of this award and do the following:

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 you.

3. Award up to ten other blogs.

4. Add links to those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message for your awardees on their blogs.


I am passing this award on to:

Shannon at Shannon's Moments of Introspection

Jodi at Moody Blue

Joy at Joy's Blog

Kathy at My Space...my blog...my life...

Only a Movie at Only a Movie



These are some fun blogs to read and I hope that everyone takes a moment to check them out!!

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.

Saturday 9: Dying to Know

Saturday 9: Dying to Know

1. What do you believe happens when we die?

I would like to believe that we do actually go to heaven and are then reunited with our loved ones that have been waiting patiently for us to join the party.

2. Do you consider yourself religious?

I believe in God and in Jesus, have read the Bible through once, but I am really not much for organized religion.

3. Do you believe in ghosts?

YES!! I have a little child who inhabits our home. Our house is over 100 years old and it was originally a school house.

4. Do you believe that people live on other planets?

Um, no I guess I don't.

5. Have you ever seen something abnormal?

Sure, I work in a middle school!!! LOL!! I had to break up all this seriousness with a little joke!

6. Do you believe in reincarnation?

Personally for me....I think it could be real.

7. Have you ever witnessed a miracle?

Yes, right now, my friend Heather's cancer on her bones is shrinking and responding to treatment. This is her 2nd round going against Breast Cancer.

8. Is there a person living or dead that influences your philosophies?

I was never really introduced to any sort of religion when I was growing up and now that I'm an adult I'm learning as I go. I would have to say that my friend Tracy has a certain amount of influence on my philosophies.

9. Is there a work of fiction that closely matches your spiritual beliefs?

I can't think of one right at this moment. If I do I will have to come back and readdress this question.

Whew, that was a pretty intense Saturday 9!! I may have to come back to this post and edit some of my answers because I never really thought these issues in depth until just now.

Check out Redlady's Reading Room Blog for a book giveaway!!

Who out there doesn't like to bake? Well, if do then you need to get over to Redlady's Reading Room where she is giving away this fun cookbook!!
And while you're there take your time and browse through her posts. She is a wonderful book reviewer and I'm sure that after reading some of her reviews your book list will have expanded!!!

Good Luck to everyone who enters!! I'm going to enter and if I win I am giving this book to my wonderful sister-in-law Heather. Because she has little ones and she is Betty Crocker!!

Friday Fill-In #105

1. The world is _a wonderful place to explore____.

2. __No more vodka shots___ was the last thing I said.

3. I wonder _what my dog is thinking when he's looking at me so intensely____.

4. _There is growth be it spiritual, emotional, physical____ at the end of all things.

5. There's something to be said for __thinking first and then speaking___.

6. ___With my loved ones__ is where I want to be.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _catching up on some blogs and then reading____, tomorrow my plans include __organizing my scrap stuff___ and Sunday, I want to _get ready mentally for going back to school____!

A book review and why I'm so late writing this!

We were invited to our neighbors house for their annual New Year's party. I was all ready to go and have a great time ringing in the new year. I made a crock-pot of meatballs for our passing dish, put on my makeup, and raced out to the truck. So every time my husband and I go out I try to call dibs on being the person that gets to drink. I wish that Matt would've beat me to the punch last night!! As soon as we got there we found out that they were waiting for us so that the drinking of Lemon Shots could commence. Me, I am a sucker!! I love Lemon Drop shots!! But I'm also quite the flyweight when it comes to alcohol. That did not matter last night. I was determined to get a good buzz no matter what. I'm a fool!! Just writing this is making my stomach queasy!!!


Take this picture and multiply it by 8!!! I think...!! At midnight I wasn't feeling too good but I managed to make it outside and watch the awesome fireworks the guys put on for all of us!! Prior to that I was rockin' the house with Rock Band on the x-box 360. It is amazing how when I get a little, LOT, drunk I really think my voice is awesome. The kids seemed to love my version of Crazy Train by Ozzy!! Then of course I had to sing Hotel California, Joker, and some other oldie stuff. By 12:40 I was sitting on the couch with my 2009 tiara and trying harder than hell not to get sick. We got home around 2:00 and I took a long, hot bubble bath, climbed into bed, and managed to sleep until about 9 a.m. When I woke up I had the mother of all headaches!! Then after downing 3 Advil I fell back to sleep until 3:30!! What a loser!! It is now 10:23 pm and I'm still not feeling that great. I really did have a fun time last night but I'm mad about losing most of the day to my wonderful hangover!! I've already told my hubby to not let me drink again next year!!! We'll see if it works or not!!



My first book review of 2009!! It took me 2 hours to finish the last 15 pages!! It was my headache holding me up, not the book!

A Mercy by Toni Morrison
From the inside book cover: in the 1680s the slave trade was still in its infancy. In the Americas, virulent religious and class divisions, prejudice and oppression were rife, providing the fertile soil in which slavery and race hatred were planted and took root.
Jacob in an Anglo-Dutch trader and adventurer, with a small holding in the harsh north. Despite his distaste for dealing in "flesh," he takes a small slave girl in part payment for a bad debt from a plantation owner in Catholic Maryland. This is Florens, "with the hands of a slave and the feet of a Portuguese lady." Florens looks for love, first from Lina, an older servant woman at ther new master's house, but later from a handsome blacksmith, an African, never enslaved.
There are other voices: Lina, whose tribe was decimated by smallpox; their mistress, Rebekka, herself a victim of religious intolerance back in England; Sorrow, a strange girl who's spent her early years at sea; and finally the devastating voice of Florens' mother. These are all men and women iniventing themselves in the wilderness.

rating:
bookshelves:	read, must-read-in-2009, winter-reading-challenge-2009 (edit)
status:	Read in January, 2009
review:	I really did enjoy this book but I found Florens voice very hard to understand. I was very thankful that Morrison did not write the book entirely from her viewpoint. This is a story about slavery, and how women's lives are hugely impacted by their owners, which were almost always men. It wasn't until the ending did I realize what a Mercy was truly about. The final chapter is Floren's mother. It helps put all the pieces of the puzzle together. The character Jacob is central to the main story as e...more I really did enjoy this book but I found Florens voice very hard to understand. I was very thankful that Morrison did not write the book entirely from her viewpoint. This is a story about slavery, and how women's lives are hugely impacted by their owners, which were almost always men. It wasn't until the ending did I realize what a Mercy was truly about. The final chapter is Floren's mother. It helps put all the pieces of the puzzle together. The character Jacob is central to the main story as each woman's life revolves around him. He deplores slavery but finds it acceptable when he feels that he is saving someone from a miserable life. I truly loved the other voices in this book, Lina, Rebekka, and Sorrow. This is a story that will stay with me for a while as I contemplate what the conditions were for slaves being traded and sent to the colonies on ships with deplorable conditions. To know that most of them would rather jump ship and die a horrible death to the sharks is disturbing. I've never experienced such despair and lack of hope. Then to know that most all women regardless of their race were held hostage by the men in their lives. This is a very moving and powerful story.

Booking Through Thursday Post

Happy New Year, everyone!

So … any Reading Resolutions?

Well, I have thought about this quite a bit after reading other people's blogs and seeing what everyone else has been reading. I've noticed that I tend to stay in a certain genre for too long and I haven't incorporated more genres into my reading lists. This is something that I would certainly like to change for 2009!! I also stepped up to the plate and entered myself into several reading challenges. I'm really looking forward to participating in these as it will make me "branch out" and read books that I might have passed up. I would also like to become a more astute reader. So I'm going to really question myself during my reading journeys and try to make sure that I'm getting the deeper meaning and am not just skimming it!! This I believe will be my hardest challenge for myself!

Say, specific books you plan to read?

I most definitely want to read Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion. I love Jane Austen and I want to read these this year! I will no longer tell myself that looking at them is good enough!! LOL!!

A plan to read more ____?

Well, I've read 106 books this year, so I already think I read a lot. But I noticed that I can find all kinds of ways to waste time and when I look back at how I spent my time I have lots of regrets!! I want to cut down my television time for sure!!!

Name me at least ONE thing you’re looking forward to reading this year!

Anna Karenina!! That will be in February and I will definitely have Cliff Notes for it!! Plus all the other stuff from Oprah's website!

I want to say a big heartfelt THANKS to all my blogging friends who have taken the time to read my blog and to leave me comments. I've never had so much fun on the computer until this past year. Each and every one of you have added so much to my life!! I love reading your blogs and getting a glimpse into your worlds. Thanks for sharing. Here's hoping that 2009 will bring all you much happiness, prosperity, good health, fun times, and great books!!!