It's that time a year again..

I spent about 4 hours up at school today and since I am in the back to school mood, I thought I would share some of my favorite children's books. Since I like so many and there are SO many great ones, I will share 10 today, and more later...

Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3 by Bill Martin Junior - Good for preschool and the younger grades. It's as great of a counting book as Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a letter's book. The illustrations are excellent and kids like the repetition.

The Mitten by Jan Brett - OMG. I LOVE Jan Brett. I especially enjoy her website, which has a plethora of activities on it. The mitten is about a little boy who drops his mitten and one by one some animals in the forest come crawling into it. Very cute, and there are some super cute activities to do with this book. Ages approximately 4-8.

Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett - One of my favorite versions of the Gingerbread Man! There are also tons of activites on her site. I should just say I heart www.janbrett.com and almost everything that comes with it. It's got the typical Gingerbread Man story,beautiful illustrations and I've never had kids not love it. Ages approximately 4-8.

Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner - HILARIOUS. I freaking love Skippyjon Jones. I especially love making up various voices for him and the other characters. Skippyjon is a silly little kitten who thinks he is a Chihuahua instead of a Siamese cat. He has an out of this world imagination that has kids laughing. There are others in the Skippyjon series and I also really like Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse. Ages approximately preschool - 4th grade.

How I Became a Pirate by David Shannon - Funny story about a little boy spending the day the beach with his family when he is kidnapped by pirates. Great oppurtunity to make up voices. Every group of Kindergartener's I've read it to, has loved it. David Shannon is awesome, period. Ages approximately 4-8.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst - OMG. One of my favorite from childhood. Great story, great lessons to learn from it. Alexander has one of the worst days ever, and it's funny. Kids start repeating after you half-way through. Always make me smile, especially on a "down" day. Approximately ages 4-8.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle - I'm more in awe of the pictures and the pretty art projects you can come up with this one as opposed to the story. But it's still pretty awesome and kids love it. The book covers the life of the caterpillar and how he grows. For the younger crowd infant - kindergarten...

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch - So heartwarming! I loved it growing up and I still love it today. Mama sings to baby, "I'll love you forever, I'll love you always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.." She continues to sing over and over through all of life's different stages this same song over and over.. and it's really sweet.. Ages toddler to 8

My School's a Zoo by Stu Smith - Yet another favorite read aloud. I have not had this book dissapoint a group of Kindergartener's yet. A little boy goes on a field trip and then the next day at school, it seems all of the animals have followed him there. He has a zebra and rhino has parents and there are LIONS in the cafeteria, among many other animals he finds throughout the day. Ages Kindergarten- 2nd.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett - This always amuses kids and is a book I do not mind reading a gazillion times! The tiny town of Chewandswallow has some unusually weather, it rained soup and juice, snowed mashed potatoes, and sometimes storms blew in of hamburgers. The weather gets bigger and bigger and it causes some problems! Really cute and funny. Ages approximately 4-8!

So here are just 10 of some of my many favorite children's books. What are your favorite children's books?

To Whom It May Concern:

Dear Obnoxiously Rude Lady who works at the Car Wash:

Yes, I saw you scratch at the sap on my windshield and immediately stop scrubbing on said windshield. Yes, I know you “can’t guarantee getting sap off,” BUT and this is a big BUT, you CAN SCRUB my windshield like you would normally do and IT WILL get some of it off. How do I know this? Because last time I went, a very POLITE girl who works at the car wash scrubbed on my windshield and half of the sap came off!! Wow, imagine that. She scrubbed my car. I did NOT pay you 8 dollars for you to half-ass my car because “you can’t guarantee getting sap off.” Do your job and I would have been happy enough!

Sincerely,
Very Disgruntled Customer, who had her mother drive her car through because she is too much of a pansy

Moving my body...

I would just like to happily report that I went on two walks yesterday and did a grand told of 4.79 miles. Yay. I would have gone further but the hub was with me for the second walk and his feet were hurting. He wore the wrong shoes. So, now I am also happy to report that I am headed out to run/walk. With or without the hub. Oh, and I was slightly irritated that I had gained 2 pounds when for the longest time I was a certain weight and usually down from that if I wavered. So basically, I had a lower weight were I hover all the time. So yesterday's marathon walking and the gallon of water I drank, I got rid of one of those pounds. And I am hoping today I get rid of that second one. I know from past experience, if I can just keep the water coming and eat decently during the day it works. I just gotta remember to do all of that.Ahh and because football season is SOOO close. I just had to post this photo...And the fact that I am headed to the Buckeye State for yet ANOTHER quick trip Saturday. Four times in 3 months has got to be a lifetime record.

Review: Sworn to Silence

Wow, I finished Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo, in one evening. Chief Kate Burkholder is a likable lead character who narrates the story from the beginning. Kate is the chief of police in the small town of Painters Mill, Ohio where she was raised --- Amish. A TERRIBLE event occurs when she is 14 that pushes her to rebel against the Amish way of life and head to Columbus, where she becomes a police officer which leads her back home in her current role.

The town of Painters Mill is shocked, when after a 16 year absence a young female is found murdered exactly the same way four other victims died previously. Kate is especially perplexed because her dark secret from when she was 14 is – she killed him.

This is a fantastically told story with likable characters that are well written. There was only one instance where I was not thrilled with this book, and it was a slight mistake in the middle where a time-frame was misrepresented and made no sense if you were reading closely.

Definitely recommend this book and all others that come, since this is the first in a series. Fast paced and a page turner.. LOVE..

Review: Drowning Ruth

Drowning Ruth is disturbing story of a family who upholds traits common of the 1920s in rural Wisconsin, say nothing and show no weakness. Amanda Starkey is the oldest daughter who has gone off to the 'big city' of Milwaukee to be a nurse. She falls in love with a man, Clement Owens, who most anyone not out of the backwoods would have realized was married. She is heartbroken and returns home to her sister Mathilda and her young daughter Ruth. Mathilda's husband is off fighting in France and their parents had died from influenza a few years earlier. When she returns home, Amanda realizes her affair with Owens has put herself in a position of dishonor. She manages to hide this from most everyone and her Mathilda figure out a plan. However, emotions are a tricky business and what happens after the baby is born is forever wondered about.

Amanda ends up in a sanitorium for a year and never appears to be a normal feeling human being. She becomes affixated on certain things and will not let anything stand in her way. This is a rather interesting tale, where the past is always nipping at the present and no one is saying the truth aloud. Some parts unrealistic, some parts you want to yell at the characters, but overall an intriguing look into the lives of the Starkey family.

And I am glad I finished, it because I JUST recieved a copy of Sworn to Silence, that I won!! Yay..

NPR audience picks 100 best Beach Reads..

Apparently NPR had its audience vote on the 100 Beach Reads and I just read the list from The Boston Bibliophile. As I was scanning through the list, I immediately thought, "There is no way I'd read THAT on the beach." When I think of beach reads, I think something light, possibly funny, maybe a little murder mystery, but not something that requires your full attention when reading. Hence, why Pride & Prejudice didn't happen up at Higgins nor did Finding Faith. I've read many a James Patterson, Janet Evanovich, Nora Roberts, Marian Keyes or Jennifer Weiner on the beach. Jane Austen, Jodi Picoult, Shakespeare or Fitzgerald on the beach? Probably, not.

I also do not link beach read = summer read. When I was in school and working three jobs I did use the summer or winter breaks for lighter reads. I polished off almost the entire Harry Potter series one summer. Now that I've graduated college and I'm in semi-employment to un-employment I've read more 'meatier' reads or lighter reads depending on the mood. I want to catch up on books I missed out on and read more about subjects I find fascinating.

Now here is the 100 Best Beach Reads according to NPR. Italicized are ones I want to read, and bolded are ones I've already read. Asterics are the ones I'm currently reading. Underlined and bolded are ones I've actually read as a 'beach read.' Got all that? :)

1. The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling
2. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
3. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
4. Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding
5. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen * (I would have finished by now except that it is sitting 3 and a half hours away in a different state, oops.)
6. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, by Rebecca Wells * (I've started and stopped this about 3924324 times)
7. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
9. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, by Fannie Flagg
10. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
11. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
12. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
13. The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan
14. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
15. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
16. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
17. Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett
18. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
19. Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
20. Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen
21. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
22. The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver
23. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith * (started and hated..undecided on finishing..)
24. The World According to Garp, by John Irving
25. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
26. The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy
27. Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel
28. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
29. The Accidental Tourist, by Anne Tyler
30. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
31. A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole
32. East of Eden, by John Steinbeck
33. The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant
34. Beach Music, by Pat Conroy
35. One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
36. Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier
37. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
38. Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry
39. The Thorn Birds, by Colleen McCullough
40. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, by Michael Chabon
41. Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet
t42. Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
43. Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice
44. Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier
45. Empire Falls, by Richard Russo
46. Under the Tuscan Sun, by Frances Mayes
47. The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
48. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, by Tom Robbins
49. I Know This Much Is True, by Wally Lamb
50. Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie
51. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
52. The Stand, by Stephen King
53. She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb
54. Dune, by Frank Herbert
55. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
56. Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
57. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
58. Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov
59. The Godfather, by Mario Puzo
60. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith
61. Animal Dreams, by Barbara Kingsolver
62. Jaws, by Peter Benchley
63. Good in Bed, by Jennifer Weiner
64. Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner
65. Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson
66. The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway
67. The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand
68. Breakfast of Champions, by Kurt Vonnegut
69. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
70. The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler
71. The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
72. The Hunt for Red October, by Tom Clancy
73. Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Ann Burns
74. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
74. Bonfire of the Vanities, by Tom Wolfe [tie]
76. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bront
e77. Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon
78. The Shell Seekers, by Rosamunde Pilcher
79. Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver
80. Eye of the Needle, by Ken Follett
81. Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck
81. The Pilot's Wife, by Anita Shreve [tie]
83. All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy
84. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson
85. The Little Prince, by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
86. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
87. One for the Money, by Janet Evanovich
88. Shogun, by James Clavell
89. Dracula, by Bram Stoker
90. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera
91. Presumed Innocent, by Scott Turow
92. Franny and Zooey, by J.D. Salinger
93. The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
94. Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris
95. Summer Sisters, by Judy Blume
96. The Shining, by Stephen King
97. How Stella Got Her Groove Back, by Terry McMillan
98. Lamb, by Christopher Moore
99. Sick Puppy, by Carl Hiaasen
100. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson

I really can't think of Vonnegut, or Tolstoy being read on the beach. That's just me. What do you think? What do you consider a 'beach read;? What do you think of the list?

Growing older but not up...

We are the people our parents warned us about...

It's those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes nothing remains quite the same. With all of our running and all of our cunning, if we couldn't laugh we would all go insane..

She came down from Cincinnatti. It took her three days on the train. Lookin' for some peace and quiet; hoped to see the sun again. But now she lives down by the ocean, she's takin care of sharks. They hang out in the local bars, and they feed right after dark!

Headin' up to San Francisco for the Labor Day weekend show.. I've got my hush puppies on, guess I never was meant for glitter rock and roll...

Yes, I am a pirate two hundred years too late....The cannons don't thunder there's nothin' to plunder....I'm an over forty victim of fate....Arriving too late, arriving too late..

Twenty degress and the hockey games on....Nobody cares; they are way too far gone, screamin' "Boat drinks," somethin'to keep them all warm....This morning I shot six holes in my freezer....I think I got cabin fever......Somebody sound the alarm....I'd like to go where the pace of life's slow....Could you beam me somewhere, Mister Scott?Any old place here on Earth or in space......You pick the century and I'll pick the spot.

Another successful concert with fabulous friends, great music and a rockin' tailgate.. :)

Buffett Bound!!

Thanks for all your comments yesterday!! Motivation and a fear are two big things that keep me big. :P

Now, I am off with the hub and friends for the Buffett concert!!! Should be back on Friday.. hopefully alive!!!!!!!

Help, I need somebody

Here, is where I ask for help. Remember a few weeks ago when I had a post written about a boot camp? Yeah, the reason there was no follow up, is that I only worked out one day. That seems to be typical of me. I don't want to be like that. I don't want to sit on the couch every day, afraid to go outside and work out. I want to be healthy and lost the weight I gained in college. Yesterday, I gave myself a new goal, and I want to, I really do, want to achieve it. I do not want to sabotage myself, again. The new goal? Lose 10 pounds by September 12th. I have a tank top that I really want to wear on that day, and people I haven't seen in 2years. I wrote out a week's worth of workout plans, and for the most part, it's about an hour a day of exercise broke up into two parts. Honestly, I have all day, everyday that I could be working out. I know this is doable for me. Heck last night, the hub and I went on a small hike (25 minutes), 4 mile bike ride and then a cool down walk and it was fine. It's stuff like that I want to incorporate into my life on a daily basis again. Instead of sitting in front of my computer all damn day.

What am I unhappy about? Everything would be the short and simple answer, however there are specific things. My arms are too flabby, my stomach is NOT pregnant, and my thighs do not need to jiggle.

This is what I have at my disposal. The internet (that's how I watch 30 day shred!), walk away the pounds 2 mile tape, 8 pound weights (too much for my back to do too much with), a jump rope. a bike, and pavement. I've never been much of a runner, but in the last year I have tried making myself into one. I am doing better on the breathing which is the main part for me. I've even started the Couch to 5k about 4 times and made it to about week 4 each time, and then I stop.

So, the reason I am posting this? I know some of you workout and run. What workout type advice can you give me? Want to plan out a day of exercise for me? How about a week? This is what I have planned for the rest of the week... I know I have to constantly change it up, or I will stop. God I don't want to stop, but I always do and I want that to stop.

Aug 4 - walk/run 30 minutes, 30 day shred
Aug 5 - walk/run 30 minutes, lift weights
Aug 6 - off
Aug 7 - 30 minute bike ride
Aug 8 - walk/run 30 minute, 30 day shred
Aug 9 - walk/run 30 minute, lift weights

August is...

August is...
Jimmy Buffett concerts with friends!!

August is..

A bachelorette party at the hometown bar....

August is.. Saying I do...

August is...

Stopping off the side of the road and sitting on a swing looking out at the pretty view...

August is...

Drinking wine on the beach of Lake Michigan, attempting to see a sunset...

August is....

Cheeseburger in Caseville!!! Lots of good music, good cheeseburgers, an awesome parade and excellent beach time!