Create-A-Card Challenge

Whew! Last, but not least, the final Chocolatier challenge (for me) was to create your own card. Of course, our duty as Chocolatiers is to promote their products, so all of the challenges over the past two days have been done using primarily products available for purchase at cropchocolate.com. I waited a long time to get my hands on the Whimsy paper kit (by Making Memories) but it was worth the wait. I love it because it's so fabulously girly and funky - it packs a lot of spunk!

Patterned paper - Whimsy paper kit (Making Memories - comes with diecut letters and other diecut shapes to be punched out), cardstock (Bazzill), diecut frame and flowers (Whimsy paper kit by MM), ribbon (Chelsea's Place by Making Memories), thank you sticker (Heidi Swapp), corner rounder (Marvy-Uchida)

It's so nice working with a collection of papers, because you simply don't have to worry about matching colors - the work has already been done for you! I was pleasantly surprised that Heidi Swapp stickers (I scored a bunch of HS sticker rolls at Tuesday Morning a couple of months ago, for $1.99 each) match both the Just Chillin' Girls and Whimsy lines of Making Memories. Way cool!

Well, this is the last Chocolatier challenge for me. I still have another 3 hours to complete assignments, but I am out of luck - I didn't bring any tools for distressing, I had no cool packages to "recycle" for anything, and I did NOT (*sniff, sniff*) have enough room to bring my brand spankin' new empty Making Memories storage jars for altering. It's been a productive weekend (though a rather frantic past 18 hours!) and I was really quite delighted with the challenges posted - they were fun! And I'm glad I got to use my scrappin' tote, although I wish it was 10x bigger!

Now I just have to figure out how to upload my photos into Yahoo! and I can enjoy looking at my fellow Chocolatiers' works... =)

Gettin' the Travel Bug...

Wow, it's hot out here! Over 100 degrees! After soaking up the sun for several hours (and frantically scrapbooking while my photos were curling in the heat), it was time to come inside, eat lunch, and unwind. I was able to finish another Cropchocolate Chocolatier challenge... developing a layout project from start to finish, with written instructions. For this project, I primarily used the Passport 12x12 page kit by Making Memories (sold by Cropchocolate.com for the amazingly low price of $3.99).

Patterned paper, stickers, and flowers (Passport 12x12 paper kit by Making Memories), flower gem stickers (Chloe's Closet by Making Memories), cardstock (Bazzill), ribbon (Chelsea's Place by Making Memories), ink (Colorbox chalk ink), pen (Sharpie)

Instructions:
1. From the Passport page kit, carefully cut out selected portions of the postcard/postal paper. Ink edges for distressed/aged look.
2. Adhere postcard paper sections to Passport with text and red floral background.
3. Mount main photo onto Bazzill cardstock, leaving room at bottom for date information. Border punch both top and bottom edges for detail.
4. Add supplementary photos below main photo, tucking edges beneath postcard paper sections.
5. Add letter stickers to Bazzill cardstock. Adhere title to page, adding supplementary stickers on top ("destination" and postmark stickers).
6. Add "paradise" sticker and flowers to page.
7. Insert Chelsea's Place ribbon through slot of "destination" sticker tag. Adhere ribbon edges together with double-stick tape and add Chloe's closet gem to ribbon, to mimic the look of a luggage tag. Adhere luggage tag to Bazzill cardstock, ink edges, and add journaling before adhering tag to bottom right corner of page.
8. Optional: you could enhance your layout with any other embellishments from Making Memories' Passport collection. Likewise, you could add some ephemera from your trip to the page.

Feelin' a Bit Whimsical Today... =)

Ah... another Chocolatier challenge - to scraplift! I chose "All Smiles" from a fellow (and head) Chocolatier, Megan Ann.

Materials used: patterned paper (Whimsy Paper kit by Making Memories), cardstock (Bazzill), diecut tag and letters (Whimsy Paper Kit), brads (Pebble Brads by MM), ribbon (Just Chillin' Girls ribbon by MM), rhinestone (Colorbok) , pen (Sakura Micron), tools (Fiskars border punch)

This time, I made the entire layout while sitting out by the pool. Funny... there was a lot more room to work on the beach lounger chairs than on the hotel bed! The hot sun made it a bit difficult to take good pictures, though...

Butterfly Card

This challenge was based on the following sketch:

And here is what I came up with...

Honestly - I don't know how anybody manages to pack successfully for a crop! I knew that the CropChocolate Chocolatiers were having their first crop this weekend and I didn't want to miss it, even though I'd be on the road for most of Saturday. I had just enough time to do ONE challenge and here it is!

I used papers from Making Memories' "Just Chillin" for girls line. I love the combination of pink/brown (which just happens to be the colors for cropchocolate.com!) and of course, as an entomologist - I love insects!

Supplies: patterned paper (Making Memories - Just Chillin' for Girls), cardstock (Bazzill), buttons and flower (Making Memories - Noteworthy (Ava)), rhinestone (Colorbok), sticker (Heidi Swapp).

So seriously... how DO you pack for a crop?! I was most unhappy that I couldn't even bring my paper trimmer with me!!! I've been scrapping while on the hotel bed... using a pencil/ruler to cut my paper...!

Anyway... the crop continues tomorrow for a few hours so I look forward to that! Cropchocolate.com has continually improved their website and their la carte - if you haven't checked them out lately, you should! =)

A Pang of Homesickness

In the evenings when it's cooler, we often go outside to play. As I watched the June bugs fly around, I thought back to my childhood and suddenly - missed the sounds of the cicada (good picture here) and watching the fireflies glow (see here).

I mentioned these things to the girls and they were curious, so we went inside to check out youtube. There really is some good stuff out there! The firefly footage wasn't fabulous, but there's a really good BBC segment on the cicada life cycle (you might want to check out the other videos from the BBC!) and an impressive one on the top 10 most unbelievable insects.

Of course, the things I DON'T miss - associated with listening to the cicadas and seeing the fireflies flash - are suffering through high humidity and mosquito bites. =)

And if you find yourself *really* getting into insects, you may want to check out Isabellini's solo performances in "Green Porno" (insect mating) - she also has a new series called "Seduce Me" (animal mating - mostly marine). These are all available for viewing at the Sundance Channel online. She certainly puts an interesting spin on things in the animal kingdom... it helps to have some background knowledge of the animals in question (otherwise, things might seem really bizarre).

Meet Daddy Dude's Biggest Fan

When we had some friends over a few weeks ago, they saw the picture of Daddy Dude on the fridge. I knew that John - as Daddy Dude's biggest fan - would drive all the way to the Daddy Dude's work and take his OWN picture next to it. Charming, eh?

Daddy Dude says that now he has patients asking if it's his picture. We are still waiting for the modeling agencies to come calling... LOL... =)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads out there! Daddy Dude had to work, but at least he had a baseball game in the evening - and WON! Woohoo!

Our Sunday soccer season ended for this league. We'll finish 2nd or 3rd (out of 5), but we're still "congealing" and our player roster keeps changing. This team won't play again until fall season (in a couple weeks, I'll start in another league that's closer to home - Yucaipa). I really enjoy playing with these ladies... some of them are really kind and sweet to my girls, which makes it all the more fun to come and play, because the girls are almost always with me.

Last week, the girls brought their umbrellas to the game (it was at 2 pm) for sun protection. At the end of the game, Marika flung herself on me, sobbing inconsolably, because her Cars umbrella (quite a rarity) was broken. Mika's umbrella always looks crappy, because she is just brutal with all of her belongings, but it's still intact. I promised Marika I'd try to fix it - and managed to wire it together again - although why I have to use my beading wire, I don't know - we really need to buy some thinner/cheaper wire from the hardware store!

At my game the next day, Kelleen (our injured but amazing goalie) arrived with presents for the girls - NEW UMBRELLAS!

I was so touched by her sweetness. Even Missy said she had been scouring the town, looking for a new Cars umbrella for Marika! They're so spoiled! So for that reason, in addition to the fact the girls have their own "soccer buddies" (other children of soccer moms) at the game, they really do enjoy going to my games (they just don't watch! But, they do fetch wayward balls, which is nice).

Although... at the game today, Mika pitched a fit during half-time because I had forgotten their new umbrellas in the car and she wanted to be in the shade. I wasn't going to walk/run all the way to the car when there was plenty of shade next to her under our friends' big shade umbrella. When I moved her chair to the shade, a mere two feet over (she had to be unceremoniously dumped out of it, because she refused to move herself), she started to bawl like a baby. Behind me, I heard the entire team go, "oooooh" (all but one has had kids) but thankfully, no one moved to console Mika (as Grandma always does). It made me feel better when a teammate leaned over and whispered, "I know exactly how you feel!"

Daddy Dude says Mika is still in the egocentric stage but I'm starting to wonder if it's a lifetime affliction. Miss Mika was informed that from now on, she is responsible for bringing her own umbrella to the car and taking it with her when she wants it. And in case you were wondering, when I bring the girls to my games by myself, my arms are full of stuff. I have become quite the packhorse! We have really got to find the little handtruck (AWOL in the garage somewhere) and strap a crate onto it for transport purposes. *sigh*

This evening, the girls had to go be "assessed" for their swimming class. It was no surprise that they tested for Level 1 (beginners). They appear to be excited about the class... we'll see how it goes... in two weeks!

While the cat's away...

Once a month, Daddy Dude has to work on the weekends. This is one of those weekends and it's a bummer, because Sunday is Father's Day. He's had a long week already, working at least 60 hours during Mon-Fri. Poor guy, he's pretty tired. Still, I have to make sure the girls aren't resentful of his long hours so I try to make those days a little more fun while he's gone.

We had to go to Fresh & Easy today, so I took the girls to a nearby park for a couple of hours. The girls spent most of their time running around, playing with nature. I like their sense of exploring, and I'm glad they aren't children who are afraid of grass and bugs, etc.

The only drama was having a little boy (maybe a big 7 or 8-year old) come up to Mika while she was swinging. "Hey, " he said. "Girl in the spotted dress! I want to talk to you! Could you stop?" I was irked that he made her stop swinging - after all, why didn't he just talk to her at the same time?

Mika nervously stopped the swing and looked at him. He got closer to her and I heard him say something like, "I like you a lot [he'd never seen her before!]. Would you be my...?" I couldn't hear his last words but I saw him start to lean in, like he was going to kiss her and I started to freak out. I called out to Mika to start swinging again - the kid's dad called his kid over and Mika (who apparently is clueless and didn't understand what he was saying, OR hear me tell her to start swinging again) started to swing again in ignorant bliss.

I had to tell the girls to make sure they never let strange kids touch them, that they could back away to put space between them, not to worry about being polite in that situation (on Thursday, some kid at a park pushed Marika). That makes me sad... but I've seen enough little boys start to follow the girls (especially Marika) at parks - it scares my girls and it creeps me out. I know the boys don't mean anything by it - yet. When I told Marika what the boy said to Mika and explained that it seems like the boy probably liked Mika because she was cute, Marika exclaimed, "maybe he wants to marry her!" Oh, dear... those teenage years might turn my hair all white...

Hey, notice anything new about that smile? Tooth #6 fell out last night and could not be found! We checked everywhere, so it looks like it was ingested. Oh, well. Miss Mika already wrote the Tooth Fairy a note about it and hopefully, she'll remember to show up tonight. Her track record is a little bit shaky... =)

This tree is a great photo prop! It's probably the only tree the girls have ever climbed, too, which really depresses me. I think my father picked out our childhood home, based on the fact there were several large maple trees and one fabulous chestnut tree - all perfect for climbing. He used to regale me with stories of climbing huge trees in Taiwan (where he was born) - and consequently falling out of many of them as well! I'd forgotten about that - I guess both of my parents have/had a clumsy gene! Marika found a rolypoly innocently going for a stroll on the tree and grabbed him.

This is the first time I've been able to capture a good close-up photo of a rolypoly. The only problem is - he only had one antenna! Poor little thing... it must have been hard to orient himself properly...

The girls were mesmerized by him. They just watched and watched and watched. Some may think this is silly, but I think it helps to foster a love of biology and nature. =)

I was able to read "The Reader" while at the park - it was a quick read (a little over 2 hours? Remember, I'm pretty fast). I look forward to seeing the movie later this weekend and comparing the two versions.

And that reminds me - a couple of weeks ago, I also read "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and they were FANTASTIC books. I would gladly read any other work by this author (and I also need to see the movie version of the book - taped on our DVR).

More recently, I finally finished Jodi Picoult's "Nineteen Minutes". It was intriguing, but I definitely liked "My Sister's Keeper" better. I'm still waiting for that to come on TV to be taped... =)

If anyone has any other book recommendations, please feel free to share them!

Finally relaxing... =)

Oh, how I love summer! The girls worked hard during their school year (especially Mika) so I just wanted them to relax and smell the roses. Isn't this a perfect example of childhood innocence?

We've been hanging out at different parks for the past 3 days. Wednesday was the first day Marika was able to reach and hang onto the "swing wheel" (whatever that contraption is). I really don't understand why children love that thing - all the older kids that came wanted to hang out on it (which, of course, made me anxious). You can imagine how thrilled I was when I saw the oldest one spit on her hands and rub them before grabbing onto the wheel. Can you say, "eewwwww?!" And the kids wonder why I keep rubbing Purell on them after a park visit... =P

It's still nice to see the girls playing, though. I'm glad they're not couch potatoes and it makes me happy to see their hearts be happy, too. I'm trying to minimize the running around we do.

We finally went to the library today - here are the girls next to one side of the Lincoln Shrine. It's one of the highlights of our city but I have yet to be inside of it. I guess that will have to wait until the girls are older and more responsible... (lots of important Lincoln memorabilia inside).

Has anyone else seen Mothra versus Godzilla? I swear this picture reminds me of the cover! You know, where Mothra is seen looming over and behind an unsuspecting Japanese gentleman...

Of course we had to visit the library bookstore downstairs. We couldn't stop by last week so I was very anxious to see what I could find. There were a lot of good things today (I'll have you know, that the girls picked out the "Little Miss Fickle" and "Arthur in a Pickle"!). All this for $3.20, can you believe it?!

And yesterday, we had stopped by the Goodwill bookstore to see what they had. I'm proud to say, I am now up to 5 (out of 9) "Little House on the Prairie" books and I have only spent $3.50 hunting them down. Not bad, eh? Scholastic was selling the box of 9 for $28, so I am pretty proud of myself!

And oh, by the way, I didn't make that design team I applied for, but I honestly didn't expect to - the girls on there were totally amazing (one, in fact, landed on Prima's design team - which is probably one of the top 3 most coveted design teams in the scrapbooking industry). There were also over 300 entries! So, I don't feel bad at all. =) Here are some cards I made for Daddy Dude's residents. Finally, there are some babies (yay!) and one resident is finishing up with the program.

Speaking of Daddy Dude, I meant to sing his high praises earlier. Last week (right before his bout with food poisoning), he won a pretty prestigious award at work - basically, the residents in the department voted him the best teaching attending. Isn't that cool?! He was pleasantly shocked by the honor and I was so proud of him. =)

Like I said, we've been relaxing and enjoying ourselves - finally! The girls easily find things to occupy themselves, like preparing performances. Do you see those little slips of paper in front of each animal? They say "TICKIT". I was asked to videotape them dancing with their bears.

In another couple of weeks, the girls will be busier - their swim lessons will begin and so will their ballet/tap combo class. We bought their ballet things last week and their tap shoes this week. I think we spent about $100 for their "stuff" and that doesn't even include the cost of the class! So, I hope they'll be able to take at least one more class this year (if AYSO allows). Yowsers!

And as for myself... I'm in three soccer leagues now (woohoo!), so I'm getting plenty of exercise. The Wednesday night league started up again and half the team is new. On the bright side, I got to enjoy playing the starting forward position and though it was a tough first game back... the field felt great (though this is where I pulled my leg ligaments back in March) and we held off last season's champions for a 0-0 tie. Pretty respectable, if I do say so myself. =)

Some recent work...

Yes, I managed to get my materials together to apply for another design team. We were given 3 weeks to prepare. This is a lot of time, except when you consider that making an altered project - or in this case, a mini-album - can take a lot of time. All in all, I submitted 3 layouts, 1 card (that was a Father's Day card, so you'll see it on Sunday, because Daddy Dude does check the blog!) and one mini-album (instead of an altered project).

Patterned paper (Making Memories, SEI, 7Gypsies), cardstock (Bazzill), sticker (7Gypsies), rhinestones (The Bead Company), silver glitter/vintage butterfly (purchased from yourscrapbookstash.com), diecut flowers (Tim Holtz/Sizzix), diecut title (Quickutz), border punches (Fiskars)

I totally love those bling butterflies! The only drawback of using them on cards and layouts is their bulk - and they're pretty much impossible to scan!

Patterned paper (Deja Views, Diecuts with a view), felt butterfly (Creative Cafe), chipboard embellishments (Inque Boutique), glitter (Stickles), diecut title (Quickutz)

Patterned paper (Making Memories, Diecuts with a View), cardstock (Bazzill), acrylic frame (Heidi Swapp), diecut subtitle (My Mind's Eye), ribbon (Junkitz), letter stickers (Making Memories), paint (Making Memories), rub-ons (Imaginisce), diecut pea pod (Quickutz), corner rounder

And here is the wedding mini-album (20 pages!) that was so time-consuming. As a prize from yourscrapbookstash.com, I received materials to make it - almost all of it is from Teresa Collins, a manufacturer I'd never used before. Her stuff has a pretty cool look to it, though.

Flocked album cover with binder rings (Teresa Collins), patterned paper (Teresa Collins), chipboard wedding embellishments (Teresa Collins), red chipboard hearts (Heidi Swapp), transparency (Teresa Collins), letter stickers (Teresa Collins), ribbon (Teresa Collins, Heidi Swapp, creme tricot and pearl strands from yourscrapbookstash.com), flowers (Prima), rhinestones (Colorbok), diecut journaling labels (Spellbinders), rhinestone "weddding" (Me & My Big Ideas), clear photo corners (Pioneer Photo Albums), tools (Crop-A-Dile)

And here it is, page-by-page. I had to reduce the resolution, otherwise it was massive! If you come and visit me, though, it will be on display. I would like it if somebody else would appreciate all of my hard work. =)

We've Had Better Days...

So today was the first alleged day of "freedom", since the girls finished their school year yesterday. I had been looking forward to a leisurely day of running errands, but should have known things wouldn't go as I had planned. We spent the entire morning in the ER today, because Daddy Dude had severe abdominal pains... we thought it was probably a bad case of food poisoning, but there were some other symptoms that caused some concern, so off to the hospital we went.


Really, though, we were very lucky - we were in and out of there within 3.5 hours. The ER didn't seem too busy and perhaps Daddy Dude's connections were helpful (but honestly, that didn't seem to matter - things just went pretty smoothly). He's still in a significant amount of pain, but the catscan didn't exhibit any serious concerns, so back home we went.

(not before, however, Mika pointedly and accusedly said to me, "You know, Mommy - this is taking a really long time!" Like, it was MY fault, like I wanted to be in the ER. She had said something similiar on Monday, after I told her my soccer game had been cancelled b/c we had to forfeit (enough players were available). "You know, Mommy - I had really been looking forward to going to your soccer game." Yeah, kid - you and me both!)

Lucky for me, though, Daddy Dude is a really nice guy and allowed me to turn the hospital TV to PBS so the girls got to watch TV there. This, however, didn't stop Marika from whining about how hungry she was. I tell you, the selfishness of this age is really disheartening. I gave them a big lecture later that afternoon, about how it "wasn't all about them" and how nobody had wanted to be in the ER, but that Daddy Dude had to be taken care of. I was greeted with mumbles of "Okay, Mommy" and figured it all went in one ear and out the other.

But... I was very pleasantly proven wrong later that evening. The girls worked quietly in the Fun Room (that's where all the crafts stuff is) in the afternoon, but when they came down for dinner, they surprised Daddy Dude with "Get Well" cards - completely without any prompting from me! I was proud of them... so proud that they could finally stop thinking only of themselves, at least for a little while. Whew!

So yesterday was the last day of school for both girls. I cannot tell you how relieved I was! It's been a long year and both girls have worked really hard, so it is high time for them to take a well-deserved break. Today obviously wasn't ideal for them, so hopefully the rest of the weekend will be uneventful.

As for me, I seriously need more sleep. Running 30 miles a week, plus the soccer games, is starting to drain me... getting 5 or less hours of sleep a night on top of all that is making me feel like I have serial mono! As if that wasn't bad enough, I was really depressed that after all the regular exercise over the past 15 months, I found that I weigh one pound more than last year. However, I knew I'd lost a few inches around the waist/hips and my doctor had scribbled, "Great!" on my lab tests (Daddy Dude said they were pretty darn good, which is high praise from him), so I guess it's been worthwhile. I just wish I didn't have to drink so much caffeine to keep going... (which is why I feel so crappy this week - I've been weaning myself off it...). *sigh*

Whirlwind Weekend

We had a busy weekend! The girls only have 4 more days of school this week...

In case you were wondering, Mika tied for top girl runner in 1st grade, so both girls got a BIG trophy. We honestly thought the other girl was going to win (she had been a few laps ahead of Mika) and I warned Mika of this. Much to my pleasant surprise, Mika kept on running for the remaining mornings - she never gave up and managed to catch up, if not pass the other girl! This may very well be the last time she comes back with the top runner trophy, though, because the other girl is about a foot taller than Mika (with super long legs) and without a doubt, much more running talent. Mika, on the other hand, exhibited a lot of spunk and heart. =) That makes me so proud!

Michelle came to hang out for a little bit this weekend. I knew she needed to spend some time with some animals, so we took her to Brackenbird Farm. Apparently, goats really love her!

The girls also got down with the turkeys... =)

Michelle had wanted to visit the local craft brewery, Hangar 24, for some birthday beer for her brother. Lucky for all of us, the brewery was celebrating their second anniversary and so, was having a big party! Though the day was scorching hot, we had fun. Here's the beer sampler tray they had... 8 tastes for $4. Seemed like a good deal to me!

Last year, I was sad to miss their anniversary party, simply because I wanted a tour of the facility. Well, I got my chance this year! This has been a fascinating business to watch - they seem to be doing extremely well, especially for a small business in a specialized niche. May they have many more years of success!

Michelle was kind enough to take a family picture for us... =)

Sunday was sports day for the family, since both Daddy Dude and I had games. He was lucky, though - he played at 9:30 am (my soccer game was at 2 pm and BOY, WAS IT HOT!) and was happy to be back at his old field. Unfortunately, they lost (playing against the former first place team). We fans had fun re-connecting (most of us have little kids).

The kids ran around finding bugs. Marika liked this caterpillar the best... (ick!)... thankfully, she didn't squish him...

And speaking of bugs, this little green moth was perched on our front porch a few days ago... =)

Blog Hop at Yourscrapbookstash.com

Ah, yes... there are giveaways and inspiration this week at YSS. Each of their design team members will be posting projects, techniques and how to win $10 YSS GC this week. The weblink above has links to each of the DT members, or you can just click on the links below...

Alyssa - extra chances to win here!
Carrie
Liz
Erica
Wendy
Lady Grace

These ladies are amazing scrapbookers - so if you're looking for inspiration, check out their blogs! And if you want to try out for YSS Design Team, entries are due June 15th...

Happy scrapping!

Winding down... (and some reading recommendations)

One by one, the year's activities are winding down. Last week, Mika's softball season officially came to a close with their team dinner and the awarding of the trophies. At the rate we're going, we're going to be swimming in trophies by the time the girls go to college! What will we do?

This is the last week of school during which the girls will actually "do" something. Next week, it appears to be all fun. I'm still looking for books for Miss Mika, of course... and whatever happens to appeal to me. Here's the haul from last Friday's visit to the library's bookstore (donations)...

Can you believe the paperbacks are all $0.25?! Hardbacks are $0.50. I love that place. Marika's become really good at being patient while I browse. In case some of you haven't heard of Richard Adams, he's the one who wrote "Watership Down", an excellent book about anthropomorphic rabbits. He's one of the few authors who have been successfully selling novels with speaking animals. "Shardik" is another one such book of his (that's about a bear) - but I was really excited about finding "Plague Dogs", because I haven't read it yet. I was also happy to find a book by George Selden - he's the author of "A Cricket in Times Square". Best of all, I spent only $2 for all of these books. =)

And after doing a lot of thinking, I decided it was worth it to go back to the Goodwill Bookstore (paperbacks = $0.99 each), to look for those Little House on the Prairie Books until I had all nine. No such luck today, but I did score with two Paddington books (I'm trying to get Miss Mika excited about reading those). She had requested that particular Junie B. book because she didn't have time to read the one she checked out from the school library - everything had to be back within 2 days for inventory purposes.

Is it really any wonder, then, that when Daddy Dude bought me a Nook for Mother's Day, I asked him to return it? Not only did I think it was too expensive, but there's just something so wonderful about holding a book and flipping pages. Perhaps the biggest detriment, however, is that as a bargain book hunter... you don't save much money with a Nook. In fact, there are really no bargains to be found! I did like the fact you can use it to view pdf files (I am a big list maker). At any rate, the Nook was returned (Daddy Dude was very reluctant - I suspect he wanted to share the Nook). Maybe one day I'll let him buy me one... but maybe not until the house is filled with bookshelves... =)

And speaking of electronic books, our library has system that links up to an electronic library - you can "borrow" books for 2 weeks. The file expires after 2 weeks, so you never have to worry about an overdue fine. The electronic library was limited in selection, but I was delighted to find a best seller that was constantly being checked out and held at the local library - it's called "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. A couple of people had actually recommended this book to me and it is EXCELLENT. Apparently, they're making a movie of it - I think it should translate quite well to screen.

Other books I've read recently are "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenberger (marvelous!), followed by her second novel, "Her Fearful Symmetry" (really good!). I also got around (finally) to reading Jodi Picoult's "My Sister's Keeper", which was a great read.

And lest you think I have tons of time... I am a very fast reader. Coincidentally, that's also why I can read books twice... there's always more to pick up the second time around...

And last but not least - it's true... given time, things become chaotic. Mom and F. are coming over today so we have been cleaning frantically - both inside and outside - for the past 2 weeks. We had friends over on Friday and honestly, I thought it would be easy to keep clean until today. WRONG! The girls were impressed with the cleanliness, but saw it all as a chance to make a mess everywhere. You know it's getting bad when you DREAM that your children have made a mess of the house. On the bright side, at least it wasn't true. =) After today, we need to keep the house clean until Friday, when Michelle comes to visit. After that, I'm going to succomb to entropy and just relax a little bit... but if anybody else is going to visit me, please give me 24 hours notice to straighten up! =)

I couldn't quite finish the weeding, but think the yard is finally presentable. But, should I be glad that my back hurt more than my leg ligaments? On the bright side, I was delighted to find quite a few renegade tomato plants (I didn't plant them! And they're bearing fruit!). I'm not sure which vegetables to grow for the summer, but I better hurry up and decide...