My Two Blessings

Merry Christmas! Twelve Christmas angels met Up near the Milky Way; To discuss why joy was missing, From the Christmas holiday. It gave them so much sadness, As they tracked the negative trend; So each decided to do their part, To bring this madness to an end. Angel one would touch memories, Reminding of the blessings of life; Angel two would tenderize hard hearts, Removing bitterness and strife. Angel three would gather families, From far reaches of the earth; Then stir feelings of love and peace, Giving hope and joy new birth. Angel four would return Merry And Christ to holiday greetings. Angel five would clear calendars, To make time for family meetings. Angels six would flame enthusiasm, Angels seven would spread cheer; Angel eight would grow generosity, Angel nine would diminish fear. Angel ten would dispel darkness, By lighting colorful decorations; Angel eleven would draw the lonely, To warm and friendly celebrations. Angel twelve would have the hardest job, Bringing won...

Once again I'll be hosting another round of reading 52 books in 52 Weeks ? Whether you are just joining in or continuing on for another round, the rules are very simple. The goal is to read one book (at least) a week for 52 weeks. Make the year easy and casual or kick it up by exploring new to you authors and genres. Challenge yourself to read at least some classics or delve into that chunkster (more than 500 pages) you always wanted to tackle. Do you have books gathering dust on the shelves just waiting to be read? Then now is the time. The goal is to read 52 books. How you get there is up to you.  I have included several mini challenges to make it fun: Read Around the World :  You can read books set in and/or written by an author of a different country each week.  You can hang out in one country, exploring their history and culture or strike out across the world, mixing and mingling.  It's entirely up to you how fast and how far and how many...

Welcome to November and colder days and early nights, curling up in a comfy chair, with a good book or two or three!  November is also the month of writing craziness, National Novel Writing Month in which participants try to write 50,000 words in 30 days.  I discovered NaNoWriMo back in 2007 and have been doing it ever since.  James joined in last year and thoroughly enjoyed himself.  So he will be doing so again this year writing a fan fiction story combining several characters from different video games and movies.  I'm being a rebel this year and totally reworking Eyes in the Ashes which I started three years ago. I've been working on it off and on, more off, than on,  for the past year and haven't gotten too far. Lots of notes though.   Layla, a minor character, turned into a major character and it became her story. I had multiple points of view and plot holes the size of Wyoming.   So, I decided to rewrite the whole thing ...

H ello, yes we are still alive and kicking.  Life is still kicking us in the butt and just haven't had much time to blog.  Over on 52 Books, October Spooktacular reading month has begun.  If you haven't read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or Bram Stoker's Dracula , now would be a perfect time to do so.  Wait, come back. Not right this minute, but this month.  *grin*    I've read them already, and thoroughly enjoyed them, although was really quite surprised because neither was quite what I expected.  Which is actually a good thing, because it keeps one from getting bored.  The mantra this month is expect the unexpected.   Spooky doesn't have to necessarily mean horror.  I'm definitely not into the blood and guts type of books, but do love a great nail biting, give me goose bumps, don't turn off the lights read.  And there are plenty of scary, spooky, chilling, thrilling books that are psychological fiction, ...

Honey Bee I guess you could say life has been busy as bees for us this summer. The past two months have passed in a flash and can't believe it's August already.  We are downsizing and have been busy cleaning out our garage and purging all the stuff that we haven't used in several years.   I'm almost at the point to start getting rid of all the old books  **gasp**  stored in the garage and those in my shelves that I'll never read again.  Shocking, I know.  If there is anything I hoard, it's books.  Note, I said almost. Give me a few more days and we'll see if the feeling passes.  **grin**. In the midst of purging and decluttering, Hubby finally gave up his 1971 Cadillac which has been sitting in the driveway for several years.  He'd been dreaming of he and James working on the engine together, but James isn't technically or mechanically inclined.  He's rather write or draw and play video games.  We've repainted and redec...

Me and My Dad James and John Happy Fathers day to the special dads in my life!

Attended my nephew's high school graduation in Texas. He's a cutie and always been a bit extra special to me since I was my sister's birth coach and was there when he was born. He'll be studying engineering with a minor in Math in college. 

My sisters, one of my nieces and I had a girls day out and went to the Dallas World Aquarium while I was in Texas for my nephew's high school graduation.  It was the neatest place with a rainforest, plants and animals from Mayan folklore.  They even had dancers doing a mayan dance.  It was a lot of fun. Albino Alligator Black Jaguar Carpet Anemone Japanese Spider Crab - right out of a sci fi movie. It was huge. Feeding of the Sharks Rain Forest Sea Dragon Needlenose Shark Fish - don't remember the name but beautiful Mayan Painting Owl Red Flamingos

It's official. James has finished 7th Grade. James says "part one of Junior high complete. Mission achieved."

Happy mother's day!  Since I became a mother, I've learned that a mother's love is unconditional (or should be)  When my son was little, we used to read Lisa McCourt's I Love You Stinky Face and it's one book I never could get rid of.  The binding is taped together now because of how often we read it and to this day the sentiment in the story has stuck with us. Even though my son is now 13, he still ends the day with 'Mom, I love you no matter what.'    Yesterday we went to Marshall Gold Discovery Park and explored, learning more about the gold rush and visiting the spot where James Marshall first discovered gold.    James Marshall learning about James Marshall Happy Mother's Day!

I'm so happy to bid adieu to April.  It's been a month of stress with taxes, lessons, fixing cars and cats, standardized and developmental testing which is why it's been so quiet here on the blog.  I'm optimistic May is going to be a lot less stressful since have four more weeks of lessons left and we are winding down 7th grade. Plans are in the works for a fun family gold mining trip and my sister and I going to Texas for my nephew's graduation while the guys have their own fun time at home.  I've spent most of my free time with my head buried in a book and have been on a urban fantasy / paranormal kick. I discovered several new to me authors and read through all of Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series .  Checked out Kelly Meding' s Three Days to Dead, and Illona Andrews' On the Edge and delved into the 2nd book in Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series One Foot in the Grave .   Finally got around to finishing the Larisa Ione Delive...

  Synopsis :  Estranged from his wife and daughter, former undercover cop Mark Mallen has spent the last four years in a haze of heroin.  When his best friend from the academy, Eric Russ, is murdered, all the evidence points to Mallen as the primer suspect.  Now Mallen's former colleagues on the force are turning up the heat and Russ's survivors are asking him to come up with some answers. But if he wants to serve justice to the real killer, Mallen knows he'll have to get clean.  Turning a life around is hard work for a junkie, especially when a gang of low-life thugs wants him dead.  Bruised, battered, and written off by nearly everyone, can Mallen keep clean and catch a killer? Untold Damage is a dark and gritty murder mystery and once I started reading it, didn't want to stop, even though it had me cringing at times with the graphic descriptions of heroin use.  The main character, Mark Mallen was an undercover cop, and after getting addicted t...

Synopsis : When Evie Ferrante learns that her mother has been hospitalized, she finds her mother’s house in chaos. Sorting through her mother’s belongings, Evie discovers objects that don’t quite belong there, and begins to raise questions. Evie renews a friendship with Mina, an elderly neighbor who might know more about her mother’s recent activities, but Mina is having her own set of problems: Her nephew Brian is trying to persuade her to move to a senior care community. As Evie investigates her mother’s actions, a darker story of deception and madness involving Mina emerges. I love psychological thrillers and happened to stumble across Hallie Ephron's Never Tell a Lie and after reading it, wanted to read more, so was thrilled I received an email with William Morrow's offerings for the month and There Was an Old Woman was on the list.  It is one of those unputdownable books that'll make you want to read it over again to see if you can pick up the clues that...

The House at the End of Hope Street Synopsis: Knocked off kilter by the Worst Event of Her LIfe, Alba Ashby finds herself in front of a house in Cambridge, England, that she's never seen before. There, a beautiful older woman invites her to say on the house's usual conditions--she'll have ninety nine nights, and no more, to turn her life around. With nothing left to lose, Alba takes a chance and moves in. She soon discovers that 11 Hope Street is no ordinary House. Past residents have included Virginia Woolf and Dorothy Parker, how have hung around to help newcomers---literally, in talking portraits on the wall. Here Alba begins a journey that will heal her wounds---maybe even save her life.      Imagine a magical house that only becomes visible when you most need it and provides you with the things you need most to figure out what to do with your life. Little notes full of words of wisdom fall from the ceiling, living portraits of past occupants more th...

It's been incredibly windy the past couple days.  I was in the kitchen yesterday morning when heard a tremendous bang.  Walked outside to discover the birch tree had attacked my car. It could have been worse and gone through the windshield or completely through the hood. Fortunately, even though my car is 16 years old, it still in really good shape and have comprehensive coverage.  Though it doesn't look so bad, the repair will cost $1000.   So my insurance company will be taking care of the damage (minus the deductible of course) and I get the fun of driving a rental car for three days while the body shop does the repairs. Thank you USAA - I love you!

July 14, 1099. Jerusalem awaits the invasion of the crusaders who have surrounded the city’s gates. There, inside the ancient city’s walls, men and women of every age and every faith have gathered to hear the wise words of a mysterious man known only as the Copt. He has summoned the townspeople to address their fears with truth: “Tomorrow, harmony will become discord. Joy will be replaced by grief. Peace will give way to war. . . . None of us can know what tomorrow will hold, because each day has its good and its bad moments. So, when you ask your questions, forget about the troops outside and the fear inside. Our task is not to leave a record of what happened on this date for those who will inherit the Earth; history will take care of that. Therefore, we will speak about our daily lives, about the difficulties we have had to face.” The people begin with questions about defeat, struggle, and the nature of their enemies; they contemplate the will to change and the virtues...

Synopsis:  In a trade-off she’s lived to regret, Emily Castle left home years ago to become an interior designer. The youngest of three sisters, Emily desperately wanted to prove herself. Success, though, came at the cost of leaving behind the man she loved.  For Boone Dorsett, losing Emily left his heart shattered, but another woman was waiting in the wings. Now a widower with a young son, Boone has a second chance with Emily when a storm brings her home. But with his former in-laws threatening a custody suit, the stakes of loving her are higher than ever.  Will fate once again separate them—or is the time finally right for these two star-crossed lovers?  I read very few contemporary romances, but when I do, one of my go to authors is Sherryl Woods. Her stories are relationship driven with characters who are interesting with complicated lives, yet  far from perfect .  She has released a new trilogy Ocean Breezes about 3 sisters set in a ...

Happy Easter! We have had a wonderful spring break and I've enjoyed being extremely lazy, reading and just hanging out.   All those things on my to do list -- are still there waiting to be done and I'm not going to feel the least bit guilty about any of it.  We have nine more weeks and 7th grade will be done.   It was a bit more stressful this year since we joined  Visions, our public home school charter, and followed their schedule which meant fewer breaks. The past few years we did 4 weeks on, 1 week off and usually ended mid June.  I discovered those breaks are absolutely necessary for all involved or we get extremely grumpy with each other and mom has less patience.  So we are going to allow for more breaks come 8th grade.   Reading wise, I should be reading Manuscript Found in Accra which is being released April 2, but I got sidetracked with Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock Series and read Skinwalke r .  Finished it,...

Book Flap Synopsis : A New York Times bestseller and global sensation, Angelology unfurled a brilliant tapestry of myth and biblical lore on our present-day world and plunged two star-crossed heroes into an ancient battle against mankind's greatest enemy: the fatally attractive angel-human hybrids known as the Nephilim. With Angelopolis , the conflict deepens into an inferno of danger and passion unbound. A decade has passed since Verlaine saw Evangeline alight from the Brooklyn Bridge, the sight of her new wings a betrayal that haunts him still. Now an elite angel hunter for the Society of Angelology, he pursues his mission with single-minded devotion: to capture, imprison, and eliminate her kind. But when Evangeline suddenly appears on a twilit Paris street, Verlaine finds her nature to be unlike any of the other creatures he so mercilessly pursues, casting him into a spiral of doubt and confusion that only grows when she is abducted before his eyes by a crea...

New and improved doesn't always mean better.   I've been ignoring Google's little messages up until now about the loss of reader and igoogle because simply haven't  had the time to deal with it. No that's not true. I didn't want to take the time because I knew it would take time, lots of it.   As we all know, when it comes the computer, it takes time.  I've also been contemplating a new laptop but that's a whole other story.  Have been researching and reading and checking out what other folks have been saying about all the choices out there. I personally hate , err dislike Google's Chrome. It's a very simple but important reason - I can't make changes on blogger through Chrome.  Believe me, I've tried. Which is odd since blogger and Chrome are both Google products.  And if I can't update my blogs, well.  Nuff said.  So Firefox remains my number one browser, and I love Adblock plus which between Norton Security and it, pretty...

         Dia duit ar maidin! Happy St. Patrick's day.  It is a beautiful day and spring is approaching.  I'm looking forward to hanging out on the patio, pondering and enjoying nature again.            I just finished a book that really made you ponder -  Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar.   One of those book in which the characters discuss the meaning of life to death in a stream of consciousness fashion.  Plus one in which I needed the dictionary/encyclopedia several times to look up words and people.  Which made me realize I wouldn't have liked or finished the book at all 20 to 30 years ago because I wouldn't have appreciated or understood it.  I totally disliked the main character, Horacio Oliveira, and there were times I simply wanted to throw the book across the room in disgust. He had no redeeming qualities and I felt the same way about him as I did about Gatsby in The ...