Exceedingly Mundane

Sandra, over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom, posted this meme. Even though she didn’t tag me specifically, I thought I’d play along 🙂

Aprons – Y/N If Y what does your favorite look like?
Yes, I have a grand total of one! Red, with an embroidered “S” on it, that my sister Gail made and gave to me for Christmas a few years ago. I love it! 🙂

Baking – Favorite thing to bake?
Cookies or brownies, but I love to bake everything. Oh, and bread, does that count?! 🙂

Clothesline – Y/N
I don’t have one, but the house I grew up in had one. I wish I did, but the house we are at doesn’t have room in the backyard, and I don’t think it is allowed either here, or the neighborhood where we will be moving soon. Both have pretty strict covenants

Donuts – Have you ever made them?
No. And I haven’t added that to my culinary bucket list… yet!

Everyday – One homemaking thing you do everyday?
Making the bed. Some kind of dishes or unloading the dishwasher.

Freezer – Do you have a separate deep freeze?
Yes. A small one out in the garage. It’s an older one with a manual defrost and I’ll be very happy one day to get a bit larger one, but mostly, a frost-free one!

Garbage Disposal – Y/N
Yes

Handbook – What is your favorite homemaking resource?
My recipes file – I have a personal recipe software program on my computer, and the recipe database I maintain on our website (here)

Ironing – Love it or hate it?
I don’t like it, but will do it rarely, when the need arises. I don’t find that need very often!

Junk drawer- Y/N – Where is it?
I have two in the kitchen right now. Not sure how that is going to translate to the new house. Probably one in the kitchen and one in my desk drawer in the hall

Kitchen – Color and decorating scheme?
Current house – yellow and red. The new house is a very open plan and will have beige most everywhere, with a speckled brown/black/white granite on the island and countertops. Island will be black. For now, I’ll keep my red accents (towels, rags, potholders, etc) until I can afford to replace them. And then, I don’t know what color scheme I’ll go with… could always use suggestions!!! 🙂

Love – What is your favorite part of homemaking?
Making a house feel like our home. Having it be comfortable and cozy. Making everyone feel welcome. Cooking to feed and nourish our bodies. Lots of things 😀

Mop – Y/N
I have a steam mop that I use on the tile. I try not to use it on the laminate, I have a spray that I use, with a rag, on my hands and knees. I’ll have to find out from the builder how to care for the floors at the new house. I think most of the house is pine, will need cleaning instructions!

Nylons – Wash by hand or in washing machine?
I haven’t worn them in years, but when I did, I just wash them by hand and hang them up in the bathroom. Classic!

Oven – Do you use the window to check on things or do you open the door?
Now that I have a nice new stove (sniff sniff, hate leaving it behind, but glad for more new appliances), I use the window.

Pizza – What do you put on yours?
On homemade, it’s usually pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, olives, red onion and cheese. When we order, I usually get a Hawaiian pizza and Tim gets a supreme

Quiet – What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?
Read!

Recipe Card Box – Y/N
Yes, I still have one with some pretty old battered recipe cards. I use it often!

Style of house
Hmmm, no idea! Both our current one (21 years old) and the new house are very similar to other houses in their respective neighborhoods. There’s a certain style to brick houses here. The new house is very open though, which we love 🙂

Tablecloth and napkins – Y/N
I either use a tablecloth or runner on the kitchen table. I will eventually, in the distant future, get a dining room table at the new house and I guess I’ll use either a tablecloth or place mats. I only have a few cloth napkins, just for show. We use paper napkins!

Under the kitchen sink – Organized or toxic wasteland?
Fairly well organized. I hope the new house is the same! Looking forward to having the sink in the laundry room, where I can store a lot of cleaning supplies in there.

Vacuum – How many times per week?
One on a schedule, daily or as needed the rest of the week

Wash – How many loads per week?
Hmm, without Beau, it probably averages 5-6, depending on the time of year

X’s – Do you make a daily to do list and check it off as you do things?
No, I just know what I want or need to do each day. If there’s something special going on, a get-together or holiday or party or something, I make lists for that, but not on a day-to-day basis

Yard – Y/N – Who does what?
Tim does most all of the yard work. I cut grass maybe once or twice a year if he needs help. I do plant flowers and herbs, but he does the regular maintenance stuff

Zzz’s – What is the last homemaking task you do for the day before you go to bed?
Clean up the kitchen

As seen on Kim’s blog, from the original source, Miz B:

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

OK, I haven’t talked books in a while, and I have been trying to read more. I LOVE my Kindle, and have read a lot of books on it since I got it for my birthday last fall. I’ve been trying to get Tim to read on it, so I loaned it to him a couple of weeks ago for him to read a free book I had gotten and really enjoyed. That gave me time to read a couple of “real” books that I had on my bookshelves.

Let’s see, I’m currently reading: The Justice Game by Randy Singer on my Kindle. It’s another freebie from Amazon, a Christian legal thriller. I’m really enjoying it so far 🙂

What did I recently finish reading? While Tim had my Kindle, I knocked out three “real” books from my bookshelves. Two I had won and one I had purchased. I read “The Swiss Courier” by Tricia Goyer & Mike Yorkey (WWII story about the Swiss Underground and the fight against the Nazis). I also read “Mystery at the Inn”, last fall’s offering of the Grace Chapel Inn set of books by Guideposts. Lastly, I read “Secrets” by Robin Jones Gunn, a freebie I won online. It’s the first of a series, but I probably won’t purchase any. They were all good, and I enjoyed each of them (all Christian fiction).

Lastly, what I might read next? That’s always hard for me to pick, as I’m a moody reader. Right now, I’m leaning toward the sequel to “Gone To Green”, that I got free recently from Amazon, called “Goodness Gracious Green” (by Judy Christie). I might read “Always the Baker, Never the Bride” on my Kindle instead. If Tim wants to read on my Kindle again, I’ll probably read “Under the Cajun Moon” by Mindy Starns Clark, which is languishing on my bookshelves.

How about you? Have you read any good books lately? Are you reading one now? Happy Reading! 🙂

I’m going to fall back on an old favorite, doing memes. I did a lot of memes when I first started blogging, but I don’t do them very often now. I think I got burned out! I’ve seen this one at Annie‘s blog, as well as several other blogs, so I thought I’d swipe it and play today. Feel free to keep it going at your blog if you’d like!

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags? Mostly wrapping paper, I like for people to have things to open at the holidays. I do fall back on gift bags if it’s an odd size or last minute thing. Very few though

2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial. And pre-lit now (post here when we bought it two years ago, Tim hates stringing the lights!)

3. When do you put up the tree? After Thanksgiving and Tim’s birthday

4. When do you take the tree down? After Christmas but before New Years

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but Tim doesn’t, so I rarely buy any

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hello. I can’t remember my childhood. I have no idea!

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, and I’ve blogged about it before – it’s olive wood and my mother-in-law bought it for us in the Holy Land. A family treasure, to be sure

8. Hardest person to buy for? a tie between my dad and father-in-law

9. Easiest person to buy for? probably my mother-in-law or sister Gail

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I joke with Tim about the year he bought me a vacuum cleaner…. (oh, and I have blogged about that too. It seems I’ve already blogged about everything imaginable here, huh?!)

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It’s A Wonderful Life to watch on Christmas Eve, and The Bishop’s Wife while wrapping presents 🙂

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? After Thanksgiving and Tim’s birthday, usually around the first of December. I’d start earlier, but I don’t get any suggestions or ideas until I beg for them. It’s like pulling teeth on both sides of the family!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Goodness, all of it! I miss my mom’s divinity, and I do love fudge, but I don’t turn down any sweets or “special” food 🙂

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear

17. Favorite Christmas song? I couldn’t pick one, but I tend to like more traditional hymns like O Come All Ye Faithful, Silent Night, Joy to the World, O Holy Night, etc. I’m really enjoying the new Faith Hill Christmas CD this year, very traditional and she has a great voice

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Both. Always. We travel to Tim’s parents, my sisters and rarely stay home. This year, for only the second time in our marriage, we’ll be home on Christmas Eve and able to spend time at our house. I am unbelievably excited about that 🙂

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Yes, thanks to the Rudolf song!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We’ll open 3 times this year, the Saturday before Christmas (Tim’s side), Christmas Eve (just us and Beau) and Christmas Day (at my sister’s)

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The materialism and overdone-ness at the season. We’re all such consumers and it’s about buy, buy, buy. The crowds and the traffic bug me too.

23. What I love most about Christmas? being with family, celebrating the birth of our Lord

Heidi, over at God’s Grace in Practice, tagged me with this book tag and meme. It’s easy, so I thought I’d play along. Here’s the rules:

Pass this on to 5 blogging friends.
Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56. Write the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that.

I’m currently reading “Till Morning is Nigh” by Leisha Kelly. This is the first book I’m reading as part of the Winter Holidays Reading Challenge. It’s part of a series of books I’m reading about the Wortham’s, a family living in Indiana during the Great Depression. These are Christian fiction books, and I’m really enjoying them 🙂

My passage is:

“You know he always buys us candy in December.”

Here’s what happened before this – the ten Hammond children are staying with the Worthams, whose farm is closest to theirs. Their mother died last Christmas and their father, George, is ill-equipped to raise one children, let alone ten. The task falls mostly to the oldest Hammond daughter, Lizbeth, and Mrs. Wortham. Last year at Christmas, George Hammond tried to end his life, but Samuel Wortham found him in time. This year, the Depression is even worse, and the economy even bleaker. They are struggling just to put food on the table for so many mouths, and to find sugar to bake cookies with and material to sew a small doll from as a gift. Anyway, George Hammond has disappeared and has left everyone else wondering where he is and what he is doing during a snowstorm right before Christmas.

As the tag suggests, here’s the next several sentences:

“He’d a’ took the horse and wagon if he was going to town,” Kirk echoed Franky’s understanding. “It don’t take no wagon to haul home Christmas candy,” Joe argued. He forced a little smile. “He didn’t have money for that much.”

“Well, he’s a grown man,” I told everyone. “And since it is December, it’s probably best not to keep up our guessing.” I knew the skepticism in the children’s faces, especially Willy and Kirk. But I deeply appreciated Joe’s optimism. Far better for the little ones to have a little ordinary hopefulness than a fearful doubting of their father’s intentions.

Let’s see, I’m supposed to tag five others for this… I guess I’ll tag:

1. Gail at More Than a Song
2. Lynne at Lynne’s Little Corner
3. Kim at Mom’s Musings
4. Karen at Over the Backyard Fence
5. Katrina at Callapidder Days

P.S. I haven’t checked to see if any of them have already been tagged. If you have, I’m sorry for not checking first! 🙂

I’ve seen this going around the blogosphere quite a bit, so I thought I’d hop on the bandwagon and play along. My sister Gail recently played, and she tagged me with the letter “T”.

Here’s the quick and dirty: It’s time for some alphabet fun. The goal of the game – List 10 things you love that begin with the letter you are assigned.

Sounds easy, huh? You know what, I came up with more things I didn’t like that start with T than I do like, hehehehe!

1. Tim – easy and should count for more than one. He’s my best friend and partner for life. {Hint: I think he may be why Gail picked the letter T for me!)

2. Towels – hot out of the dryer, especially in the winter. Nothing like an armful of warm, cozy, fluffy towels.

3. TV – it goes without saying that I’m a TV aholic. We watch a ton of TV and I have a long list of shows that I like. Surprisingly, none of them start with the letter T!

4. Tivo – or in our case, the DVR from our cable company (ok, I’m cheating a little here). However did we live without the ability to pause live tv, rewind live TV and record two shows at one time? I can’t remember and I never want to go back. 😀

5. Technology – Tim and I are gadget freaks. We love anything and everything technological. Our plasma TV, our DVR, DVD’s, the Wii, my PDA, our computers, my iPod, etc.

6. Thunderstorms – I actually like bad weather, at least to some degree. I used to go stand outside on our front porch with my dad growing up, and I like to go out now when it’s raining and thundering and lightening. I usually have to stay inside with the dog though, although Beau is not as scared of bad weather as our other dog Sally used to be.

7. Takeout – I love getting Chinese takeout and ordering Papa John’s pizza. We never get Dominos or Pizza Hut, always always Papa John’s. 😀

8. Tennessee – At least the Gatlinburg area. We got married in a little wedding chapel in Gatlinburg, spent our honeymoon there, and have gone back several times. I love that area and love going up there on vacation.

9. Tea – iced tea if it’s sweet or I have Splenda to add to unsweetened tea (I can’t drink it without something added). Sometimes, hot tea in the winter when it’s cold or if I have a sore throat. You know though, I actually like coffee more than tea now, but darn, I didn’t get the letter C! 🙂

10.T-shirts – I’m a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. My favorite t-shirts are my Life is Good ones. Long sleeve or short sleeve, I love them all and can’t get enough of them!

Whew! If you want to play along, hop on over to Gail’s original post and leave a comment… I’m sure she’d be glad to pick you out a letter so you can play too!

I stole this meme from Marianne, over at her blog, Lil Bits of Me. Thanks Marianne!

This is my guy, this past Father’s Day, with both his dad and my dad. 🙂

1. He’s sitting in front of the tv, what is on the screen? football, golf, funky mixed martial arts stuff, crime shows, discovery channel or national geographic stuff

2. You’re out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? honey mustard

3. What’s one food he doesn’t like? English peas

4. You go out to the bar. what does he order? Diet Coke, we don’t drink

5. Where did he go to high school? Mississippi, Raleigh to be exact

6. What size shoe does he wear? usually 10 1/2, but depends on the shoe

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? golf balls. As he shoots lower scores, he keeps them with his score marked on it 🙂

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? I’d guess a BLT but he orders multi-meat concoctions if we go to a sandwich shop. Ok, I just asked him and he said cheeseburger. I said, that’s not a sandwich. He says he’d still pick cheeseburger

9. What would this person eat every day if he could? cheeseburgers!

There’s more questions and answers on the extended page… Click here!
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Time for another Friday meme, to end the week. 🙂 You can go check it out here if you want to join in!

Food 4 Thought Friday

Breakfast
What is one thing you look forward to each day? Each week? Each day, spending time with Tim and Beau. Reading. Coffee. Chocolate. 🙂

Lunch
Are you a hoarder or a chucker? Beyond the shadow of any doubt, a hoarder!

Dinner
Do your dinner meals consist mostly of home cooked meals, convenience foods (i.e. boxed, frozen, heat & serve, etc.), or fast food? Who does most of the cooking in your home? Mostly home-cooked. We go out once a week or pick up food once or twice, usually on the weekends. I cook dinner most every night and since Tim starting working from home, we normally eat 3 meals a day here. I do the majority of the cooking, but he loves to grill out and will always help out if I ask him. 🙂

Midnight Snack
Has the rising cost of gasoline caused you to restrict, limit, or alter anything in your life? If so what? I have tried to cut down on my errands and combine them into one trip. No quick runs to one place here or one place there, on different days of the week. I try to save them all up, as much as I can, and knock them all out in one trip.

Recipe for this Week (instead of your recipe for life – what is it for just this week?) Hmmm…. how about, be kind to one another. 🙂

Still playing along to this meme on Fridays, as I guess the Friday Feast is not returning. This one has fun questions every week, so I’m glad I found it. You can go check it out here if you want to join in!

Food 4 Thought Friday

Breakfast
If you were to choose a new name for yourself what would it be and why? Were there any other names your parents almost gave you?
Gosh, I have no idea. I wasn’t particularly fond of my name growing up, but I am not sure any kid is. My problem stemmed from the fact that people couldn’t spell it correctly (always adding an e, or ending it with an ie instead of a y), plus my maiden name was always getting messed up too. Plus, apparently there are guys named Stacy. I got put in the boys gym class when I changed schools in the 7th grade. Not cool. I don’t remember any names I wanted to be, although I had names picked out for my kids at an early age. If my parents were going to name me anything else, I never heard it. We didn’t tell stories or tales of any kind in our family 🙂

Lunch
How do you usually spend your Sunday afternoons? This time of year, it’s easy to answer this question – football! Other times of year it varies. Tim doesn’t like to be “cooped up in the house” so we sometimes go out shopping or running errands. Sometimes he will go play golf. But right now, we watch football!

Dinner
What would be your last meal if you were about to walk the green mile? Good grief, I couldn’t pick one thing, I guess I’d have to have a smorgasbord of some of my favorites like shrimp, crab legs, chinese food, etc. And dessert, must have dessert – something chocolate or tiramisu or cheesecake 😀

Midnight Snack
Have you ever broken any bones? Nope. And I certainly hope it stays that way!

Recipe for this Week (instead of your recipe for life – what is it for just this week?)
Roll with the punches

I’ve played along to this meme for the last couple of weeks, and decided to do so again today. Fun questions! Go check it out here if you want to join in!

Food 4 Thought Friday

Breakfast
Do you use a day planner, calendar, notebook, computer program, lists on some random piece of paper, or just totally wing things to stay organized? I have a PDA that I use for lists and things. I have my calendar and contact info on my computer, and I use that regularly. I’m very organized until my laptop dies, and then I’m totally lost!

Lunch
What is something that you have too much of? Hmmm…probably scrapbook paper and supplies!

Dinner
What is one of the most important qualities you need in a friend? someone who is understanding and accepting

Midnight Snack
Describe yourself using only three adjectives. Well, how about 1) Organized 2) Nerdy 3) Quiet

Recipe for this Week (instead of your recipe for life – what is it for just this week?) Stacy should never run out of Chloraseptic, as she always gets sore throats. Darn, I wish my parents had had my tonsils out as a child. 🙂

I played along to this meme last week, and decided to do so again today. Fun questions! Go check it out here if you want to join in!

Food 4 Thought Friday

Breakfast
If you were given one extra hour everyday – how would you use that time? Oh, probably sleep! I love to sleep and I require a lot of sleep. If not, then I’d probably read a book.

Lunch
What is your favorite season and why? I love fall and winter. Around here, they are basically the same, since we don’t get a lot of really cold weather. After our long, hot summers though, any break is always wonderful and when fall truly gets here (sometimes not till November), then it’s so appreciated. I love the colors changing in fall, the cool nights, burning my Yankee candles, the holidays of Halloween, then Thanksgiving and Christmas, football season, and of course, both mine and Tim’s birthday’s are in the fall. Definitely my favorite time of year!

Dinner
Are you a tight squeezer, a delicate hugger, a back patter, a hand shaker, or a hands off completely person? Well, I guess it depends on the person. Before I met Tim, I was a hands off person, since that’s the way I was raised. I don’t come from a hugging type family. But Tim does and I’ve learned to like it and accept it through the years. I’d say I was more a delicate hugger, I guess (cute terms!)

Midnight Snack
Have you ever gone skinny dipping? If so where? No way Jose!

Recipe for this Week (instead of your recipe for life – what is it for just this week?) Always be prepared. 🙂

I used to do the Friday Feast, but there haven’t been any new questions in over a month. I always have trouble with the Friday Fill-in ones, but I saw these two today over at Annie‘s, so I thought I’d swipe them and play along!

The first one is called Know and Tell Friday:

1. Are you right- or left-handed? right-handed

2. Any nicknames you have (or have had) and the story behind them? Stace, always. My sister Suzanne used to call me Ace, and Tim calls me Boog or Boogie. It’s a terrible story – we were in the store, Walmart, I think, and he decided to embarrass me and called me “BOOGER” at the top of his voice at the end of the aisle. Everyone turned to look at me, so I acted like I didn’t know him and turned and went to another part of the store. It evolved from there to “Boog” or “Boogie”. 🙂

3. Do you need to do laundry right now? No, I’m about caught up. I did several loads a day the first couple of days we were back from vacation. I’ve also washed Beau’s towels and bedding, the guest bedroom towels and sheets, our towels and sheets, all of our new clothes we bought on vacation and everything else in the last few days. I might take the day off from laundry!

4. What CD is in your CD player/music on your iPod right now? The last thing I listened to on my iPod was Daughtry. My SUV has a 6 disc changer and my favorites are Dierks Bentley and Brad Paisley.

5. How/when did you learn to ride a bicycle? I can’t remember! I only had one bike growing up and haven’t been on one since I was probably 12 or 13. I don’t even know if I can ride one now! 🙄

6. What is your favorite weird food combination? I like to dip things like fries, chicken strips, etc in mayonnaise.

7. What is something you have that is of sentimental value? An antique loveseat that was in my grandmother’s family. My KitchenAid mixer – it was the last gift I ever received from my mom before she died.

And the second one is called Food 4 Thought, and you can play along here:

———————————————————-

Food 4 Thought Friday

Breakfast
Are you a morning person or a night person? I’m definitely not a morning person. I’m not a huge night owl, but I do lean toward night owl more than early bird. Is neither an option?

Lunch
Do you like to shop? If yes, for what? Alone or with others? I don’t like to shop for shoes or purses. Not at all. Not fond of clothes shopping but it’s ok if Tim goes with me or my sister. I do like shopping for food and household stuff (I know, call me weird). I love going to Target and the bookstore though

Dinner
What is something that really motivates you? Hmmm, not coming up with anything off the top of my head. Tim is the driven, Type A in our house. I’m more lackadaisical about things.

Midnight Snack
What is one thing you look forward to each day? Being home, seeing Tim, playing with Beau, reading, the simple things in life.

Recipe for this Week (instead of your recipe for life – what is it for just this week?) Be Happy!

I’ve seen this Favorites meme on several blogs, and after visiting Maria‘s blog a little while ago, I decided to cave and play. If you’ve played along or decide to do so at your blog, be sure to let me know!

Apparently, this meme started out as “Suzie Q’s Favorites Game”. The rules are simple – for most people! There can only be ONE, count it, ONE answer for each question. Aha…you have to pick one! Unfortunately, I’m not that decisive and have a hard time picking one favorite thing on some items, so this was actually a really good exercise for moi 😀

Without further ado:

Sport: Football
Game: Trivial Pursuit
Color: Red
Movie: You’ve Got Mail
Broadway play I have seen: never seen any
Broadway Musical I have seen: never seen any
Song: Wonderful Tonight
American city I have visited: Washington DC
Foreign city I have visited: Freeport, Bahamas (the only city I’ve visited outside the continental US!)
Book: The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg (tough, I had many many to pick from)
Children’s Book: Little Women (maybe doesn’t qualify, but close!)
Classic television show: Bonanza
Recent television show: Lost
Actor: Matt Damon
Actress: Meg Ryan
Perfume: Clinique Happy
Food: Chinese
Dessert: tiramisu
Chain Restaurant: Chili’s
Local Restaurant: Cazadores (Mexican)
Car: Explorer
Condiment: Mayonnaise!
Kitchen Appliance: Kitchenaid stand mixer, red, the last gift I ever received from my mom
Home Appliance: plasma TV
Beauty Product: mineral power foundation
Piece of clothing: Life is Good t-shirt
HGTV Show: None
Food Network show: 30 Minute Meals
Author: Debbie Macomber
Male Songwriter: Eric Clapton
Female Songwriter: drawing a blank here, maybe Shania Twain?
Holiday: Christmas
Ballet I have seen: I’ve only been to the IBC held here and seen snippets, never an entire ballet
Disney character: Mickey
Flower: tulips
Alcoholic drink: margarita
Non-Alcoholic drink: Coke Zero
Magazine: Southern Living
Animated movie: Finding Nemo
Television network miniseries: does the pilot for Battlestar Galactica count?!
Season: Fall
Male vocalist: Dierks Bentley
Female vocalist: Carrie Underwood
Day of the week: Sunday
Household Chore: washing dishes
Ice Cream: Chocolate
Candy: Butterfinger
Artist: Monet

This week’s topic: Vacation Spots

Do you buy books while on vacation/holiday?

Do you have favorite bookstores that you only get to visit while away on a trip?

What/Where are they?

I wish I had a really interesting answer for this week’s question. But you know, I don’t think I’ve ever made a trip to a bookstore while we were on vacation! Years ago, when I was in the midst of my scrapbooking phase, I would have Tim take me to a scrapbook store somewhere while we were on vacation. And a couple of years ago when we were in Savannah, we went a couple of times to the “Bob’s Your Uncle” Life is Good store. I LOVE Life is Good products! The idea of an entire store devoted to their products left me nearly breathless! But I’ve never made a special trip to a bookstore, isn’t that sad? I always take enough books with me when we travel and I haven’t run out yet. I hate to admit it, but we have a nice Barnes and Noble very close to my house, and a Borders across town. While I love to go there, I end up buying the majority of my books online or at a local Christian bookstore. I also utilize my local library – a lot.

Happy Reading!

Since my laptop is still out being repaired, I have very limited computer time. That is leaving me with a lot of time for reading. I’m trying to go through some old magazines I have piled up around here, as well as some books I checked out from the library a week or so ago. You’d think I would be exercising more, on that treadmill we bought a few months ago. Or cleaning out closets. Or something productive. But NO, why on earth would I do that?

On to this week’s questions from the Randomness Meme; they’re book-related, so I couldn’t resist!

randomness…feed your mind and your blog

This week’s questions are book related….

1. Who are your favorite authors? I’d have a hard time picking, as I like a lot of them, both Christian fiction and secular.

2. What are your favorite books? Some of the ones I’ve read and loved are the Redemption and Firstborn series by Karen Kingsbury, books by Kristin Billerbeck, The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg (and most other Berg books I have read), most of the books I have read by Jodi Picoult, The Southern Sisters cozy mystery series by Anne George, and most every other cozy mystery I’ve consumed. The list goes on and on.

3. What kind of books do you tend to read? Sci-fi, Romance, Mystery…etc…? Christian fiction, “women’s” fiction and cozy mysteries are my favorite. I do try to branch out, but not too much!

4. Do you prefer to borrow books from the library or buy them?Both. I do them about equally. Believe me, I have the groaning bookshelves and overused library card to prove it. 😀

5. Do you prefer hardcover or paperback? I actually like the trade paperback size the best, then probably hardbacks next. The small paperbacks are ok, but usually harder for me to hold and harder on my ever-aging eyes!

6. What was the last book you read? What are you reading now? I just finished “Fearless Fourteen” last night and will start the second book in the Restoration series by Terri Blackstock tonight. It’s called “Night Light”.

7. Do you read everyday? I try.

8. On average how many books do you read per year? Let’s see, I started keeping count a few years ago. My average was 35, then 70 and then last year I read 104. I doubt I’ll read that many this year, but I hope to hit the 70-80 range.

9. Do you belong to any book clubs? Nope.

10. Recommend a good book. see #2. Also, I just read Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen and liked them. I also recently finished “Comfort Food” by Kate Jacobs and loved the foodie aspect of it. I’m going to give her first one, the knitting one, a try. I also like books by Dorothea Benton Frank and Debbie Macomber, what I term “women’s fiction”. 🙂

This week’s topic: Springing

Well, here where I live, Spring is sprung–weeks early, even. Our lilac bush looks like it will have flowers by this time next week instead of in the middle of May as usual. The dogwood trees, the magnolia trees–all the flowering trees are flowering. The daffodils and crocuses are, if anything, starting to fade. It may only be April 24th but it is very definitely Spring and, allergies notwithstanding, I’m happy to welcome the change of season. What I want to know, is:

Do your reading habits change in the Spring? Do you read gardening books? Even if you don’t have a garden? More light fiction than during the Winter? Less? Travel books? Light paperbacks you can stick in a knapsack?

Or do you pretty much read the same kinds of things in the Spring as you do the rest of the year?

Good question this week! I wish I had an interesting answer 🙂 While I do read some seasonal stuff, I don’t read gardening books, and I don’t really read travel books. I like light, fluffy books year round! I don’t really change what I read from month to month, with the exception, maybe, at Christmas. I do like reading some Christmas-themed books or short novels around the holidays. It always helps me get more into the spirit!

Happy Reading!