From now until 9 August readers can nominate books for the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize contest. Rules listed here. Prize is a mug. Sounds like tremendous fun. I'm off to hunt up a possible entry. I desperately need more mugs. LOL :)
1. Generously built woman jumping up and down along the side of a road barely wearing a bikini. A small bikini. lol :)
2. People wearing various furry costumes: gorilla, pink rabbit, yellow & red something or other & chickens.
3. Fans in Barcelona waving bits of yellow paper all along the route in their region.
4. Inflatable kangaroos & flamingos wearing straw hats & sunglasses. Also small stuffed Camargue bulls.
5. Male fan wearing a knight's costume & waving a sword & shield.
6. Group of fans wearing green shorts & neon yellow wigs running alongside the cyclists & cheering.
7. Cowboy in full "old west" riding outfit, including lariat & hat, riding a western saddle & holding in his stirrup a huge flag streaming behind him.
8. Man, why is is almost always a man??? wearing a red spandex outfit-not AT ALL flattering- with a purple cape & yellow wig.
9. "The Devil", an older man with mostly white hair who wears a red and black outfit & carries a trident. This man is a tradition & has been seen at every TDF for years and years.
10. A European version of what my husband & I call 'drunken bubba syndrome', bubba being Southern American slang, click here for in depth explanation. A fat, shirtless, tanned man wearing shorts hanging off of his genitalia & exposing his butt cheeks holding a canned beverage and jumping up & down in the grass so vigorously I was afraid I was about to see all of his equipment.
11. Always amazes me how much some people can pack into tiny cars: tents, folding tables, folding chairs, tarpaulins, costume paraphenalia, flags, beverages.
12. Speaking of tents, some of my favorite tv shots are of the mini tent villages that spring up in the smallest verges along the roads. Adorable colorful tents sprout like bright mushrooms & disappear just as soon as the Tour goes by.
13. Living near & regularly traveling along one of the busiest interstate highways in the US, I thought that mostly Americans and Canadians were obsessed with recreational vehicles (RVs), aka camper vans or caravans. Images & terms found here, if you're unsure what I'm nattering on about. I'm completely out of the loop though, because apparently Europeans love them too. Complete with satellite tv dishes. LOL :) However, there are hoards of them along the TDF route.
Found on Annie Kelleher's blog, writers and witches and words oh my, a quick game where you list 15 books that made an impact on you, but you can only take 15 minutes to list them:
1. Summer Lightning, PG Wodehouse
2. Edgar Allen Poe's short stories
3. To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee
4. Robert Louis Stevenson's children's poems
5. Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes, Marguerite d'Angeli
6. Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare
7. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
8. The Great Sermon Handicap, PG Wodehouse
9. A Lesson Before Dying, Earnest J. Gaines
10. Breath, Eyes, Memory; Edwidge Danticat
11. The Strangeness of Memory, Lydia Minatoya
12. The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle
13. Moreta, Anne McCaffrey
14. Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
15. The Ocean Between Us, Susan Wiggs
Found at Grasping for the Wind: a little quiz called Which Fantasy Writer are You?
Your result for Which fantasy writer are you?...
9 High-Brow, 11 Violent, -13 Experimental and -3 Cynical!
Congratulations! You are High-Brow, Violent, Traditional and Romantic! These concepts are defined below.
China Miéville writes in the British fantasy tradition of authors like Mervyn Peake and Michael Moorcock, a tradition which is a little darker than the Tolkien kind, but Miéville is also a great renewer, as he has taken care to challenge, for example, race-related (or, to be exact, species-related) stereotypes in fantasy. His great breakthrough came with the award-winning novel Perdido Street Station (2000), which is set in the sprawling city of New Crobuzon in the secondary world Bas-Lag. Apart from its urban setting, Perdido Street Station also differ from Tolkien-style fantasy by taking place in an era reminiscent of the Victorian age rather than the typical quasi-medieval setting of so-called high fantasy. This means that Miéville has the opportunity to explore his socialist beliefs in a fantasy environment, even if both Perdido Street Station and its two sequels also feature monsters, adventures and such.
Setting his book in a rather dictatorical society and occasionally spinning his sories around resistance against an oppressive government means that Miéville's books sometimes contain rather horrible violence, made all the scarier because it's often conducted legally by a ruling government. This also makes the boks rather romantic; although the struggle is difficult, the struggle continues and whether you are a socialist like Miéville or not, it's easy to sympathize with the message that the world can be changed for the better. It should also be pointed out that although Miéville is often inventive and has a love for spicing up his prose with archaic words, his books are, narratively speaking, traditional adventure stories. Actually, Miéville has made a point of taking genres such as the pirate story and the Western story and retelling them in a fantasy environment.
Still, Miéville has brought fantasy to new literary heights and can be said to represent hope for the genre's future.
You are also a lot like Michael Moorcock.
If you want something more gentle, try Susan Cooper.
If you'd like a challenge, try your exact opposite, Orson Scott Card.
Your score
This is how to interpret your score: Your attitudes have been measured on four different scales, called 1) High-Brow vs. Low-Brow, 2) Violent vs. Peaceful, 3) Experimental vs. Traditional and 4) Cynical vs. Romantic. Imagine that when you were born, you were in a state of innocence, a tabula rasa who would have scored zero on each scale. Since then, a number of circumstances (including genetical, cultural and environmental factors) have pushed you towards either end of these scales. If you're at 45 or -45 you would be almost entirely cynical, low-brow or whatever. The closer to zero you are, the less extreme your attitude. However, you should always be more of either (eg more romantic than cynical). Please note that even though High-Brow, Violent, Experimental and Cynical have positive numbers (1 through 45) and their opposites negative numbers (-1 through -45), this doesn't mean that either quality is better. All attitudes have their positive and negative sides, as explained below.
High-Brow vs. Low-Brow
You received 9 points, making you more High-Brow than Low-Brow. Being high-browed in this context refers to being more fascinated with the sort of art that critics and scholars tend to favour, rather than the best-selling kind. At their best, high-brows are cultured, able to appreciate the finer nuances of literature and not content with simplifications. At their worst they are, well, snobs.
Violent vs. Peaceful
You received 11 points, making you more Violent than Peaceful. Please note that violent in this context does not mean that you, personally, are prone to violence. This scale is a measurement of a) if you are tolerant to violence in fiction and b) whether you see violence as a means that can be used to achieve a good end. If you are, and you do, then you are violent as defined here. At their best, violent people are the heroes who don't hesitate to stop the villain threatening innocents by means of a good kick. At their worst, they are the villains themselves.
Experimental vs. Traditional
You received -13 points, making you more Traditional than Experimental. Your position on this scale indicates if you're more likely to seek out the new and unexpected or if you are more comfortable with the familiar, especially in regards to culture. Note that traditional as defined here does not equal conservative, in the political sense. At their best, traditional people don't change winning concepts, favouring storytelling over empty poses. At their worst, they are somewhat narrow-minded.
Cynical vs. Romantic
You received -3 points, making you more Romantic than Cynical. Your position on this scale indicates if you are more likely to be wary, suspicious and skeptical to people around you and the world at large, or if you are more likely to believe in grand schemes, happy endings and the basic goodness of humankind. It is by far the most vaguely defined scale, which is why you'll find the sentence "you are also a lot like x" above. If you feel that your position on this scale is wrong, then you are probably more like author x. At their best, romantic people are optimistic, willing to work for a good cause and inspiring to their peers. At their worst, they are easily fooled and too easily lead.
Author picture by the talented artist "Molosovsky". Visit http://www.flickr.com/people/25360041@N06/ for more!
We had a great weekend. Busy, but great. Saturday was the first weekend day off Hubby's had in way too long. We planned some fun & thankfully the weather held.
Drove to Arlington to see the Air Force Cycling Classic (formerly CSC Invitational). We found a nice spot under a tree although it was on the inside of a curve, so we didn't get the head on perspective like last year. Anime Queen & Hubby are quite fair skinned though, so it all worked out for the best. We left before they were done, although #123 had nearly lapped the peloton.
Drove fifteen minutes down the road to watch the 2nd annual Mayor's Cup Rugby match- Alexandria Select 15 Vs. Dundee HS Select 15. As is to be expected, Dundee won. I am totally in the dark about rugby, but I must say it was very exciting. I'm totally a convert. It's depressing, though. We'll have to travel quite a way to see games here. Both of the kids expressed an interest in playing if we can find a league closer to home.
Have pix. Will load them tonight.
I saw this over at Let's Gab. I love these little 'who are you...' quizzes.
Your results:
You are Deanna Troi
| You are a caring and loving individual. You understand people's emotions and you are able to comfort and counsel them.  |
This isn't me, but I think this is what it has been like around here these past few days: fun & exciting but a little overwhelming! Image found on Webshots.com
So it has been busy around here. And inspiration for blogging evaporated with all of the excitement.
Thursday~ Pretty typical day, but it's the busiest day of the week. Write post & try to catch up on feed reader. Run out of time to write another post for Friday. Drive hubby to work. Pick kids up from school. Drive to piano lesson. Potluck at church. Handbell choir. Hubby off early, have to pick him up earlier than expected. Drive home. Help daughter prioritize homework. Put kids to bed. Collapse.
Friday~ Make sure kids remember we won't be home when they return from school. No "accidentally" missing the bus- no one will be home to rescue them. Drive out to C'ville for entrance interview with prominent state school for potential admission next January. Nerves were strung taught for that one let me tell you. Hubby sprung that one on me Wednesday night. Good thing he surprised me with it, or else I would've cancelled it out of sheer nerves. Drive from C'ville to Lovely Sister's house outside of Richmond to pick up College Student. Drive from Lovely Sister's to MCV downtown to visit hubby's uncle, who is in acute oncology. You'd never know that from the cheerful atmosphere in his room, which resembles nothing more than an indoor picnic/family reunion. No good news on that front, I'm afraid. Drive back home. Enthusiastic welcome for College Student. Collapse again.
Saturday~ Nada. Stayed home & relaxed. Visited with College Student.
Sunday~ B'fast in bed: french toast, bacon, strawberries, homefries, coffee & juice. Newspaper. Peace & quiet. Wonderful. Called my mom. Hubby leaves for work. I decide to go clothes shopping. First time in ages & ages I've gone clothes shopping with the luxury of time to myself. No one with other pressing needs, impatient to leave or whining about how "I need $$ for ______ mom." The store was having a BOGO sale & I managed to do that rare thing: find things that were appealing, flattering and on sale! Bought some cards for hubby's graduation on Tuesday & went home. Chatted with College Student & waited for hubby to return from work.
Monday~ Younger kids go to school after Hubby pats them on the head & makes sure they have lunch money & eat b'fast. He returns to bed while everyone else sleeps in. Drive hubby to work. Buy him his graduation gift (can't tell you yet, he sometimes reads the blog). Take Anime Queen to Kinko's to print out copies of her prom pics & to have several music books spiral bound so Pianist can practice with them. Trot next door to buy a newer copy of the MLA handbook so AQ can write a major paper. Put kids to bed. Dust living room. Load dishwasher & run.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll find a few moments to write up another book review. Or read a book. Then again, The Hubby graduates tomorrow night & he might need to be kept busy so his nerves don't get the best of him before the ceremony. I'll write it all up Wednesday & post it.
This is a fun meme I first saw at The Written World by Kailana and over at The Book Smugglers.
1. What author do you own the most books by? PG Wodehouse
2. What book do you own the most copies of?
Our apartment is too small to keep duplicates. However, I have two copies each of:
3. What fictional character are you secretly in love with? Valentine Corbett in:
4. What book have you read more than any other?
5. What was your favorite book when you were ten years old? I'm unsure, but most likely:
6. What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year? Generally I don't finish books I don't like, but I'd have to say Cherished by Elizabeth Thornton or Light of the Moon by Luanne Rice.
7. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year? I couldn't pick only one. Maybe Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian. 
8. If you could tell everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be? Only one?! Wow. I'll have to think about that one. I think my choice would be: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
9. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read? I absolutely can't stand Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
10. Do you prefer the French or the Russians? Haven't read any of the Russians, so it's the French by default.
11. Shakespeare, Milton or Chaucer? Shakespeare
12. Austen or Eliot? Neither. I like the Brontes.
13. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading? Classics.
14. What is your favorite novel? This is probably similar to #8, but I think it would be either: Uncle Fred in Springtime by PG Wodehouse or any of the Bertie and Jeeves novels.
15. Play? Midsummer Night's Dream
16. Poem? Mab in Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare:
She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate-stone
On the fore-finger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomies
Over men’s noses as they lie asleep;
Her wagon-spokes made of long spinners’ legs,
The cover of the wings of grasshoppers,
The traces of the smallest spider’s web,
The collars of the moonshine’s watery beams,
Her whip of cricket’s bone; the lash of film;
Her waggoner a small grey-coated gnat,
Not half so big as a round little worm
Prick’d from the lazy finger of a maid:
Her chariot is an empty hazel-nut
Made by the joiner squirrel or an old grub,
Time out o’ mind the fairies’ coachmakers.
And in this state she gallops night by night
Through lovers’ brains, and then they dream of love;
O’er courtiers’ knees, that dream on court’sies straight,
O’er lawyers’ fingers, who straight dream on fees,
O’er ladies ‘ lips, who straight on kisses dream,
Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues,
Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are:
Sometime she gallops o’er a courtier’s nose,
And then dreams he of smelling out a suit;
And sometime comes she with a tithe-pig’s tail
Tickling a parson’s nose as a’ lies asleep,
Then dreams, he of another benefice:
Sometime she driveth o’er a soldier’s neck,
And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats,
Of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades,
Of healths five-fathom deep; and then anon
Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes,
And being thus frighted swears a prayer or two
And sleeps again. This is that very Mab
That plaits the manes of horses in the night,
And bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish hairs,
Which once untangled, much misfortune bodes:
This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs,
That presses them and learns them first to bear,
Making them women of good carriage:
This is she—"
17. Essay? Anything by David Sedaris, but especially Holidays on Ice.
18. Short Story? Anything by Edgar Allan Poe
19. Non Fiction?
20. Graphic Novel? Haven't read any of these, unfortunately.
21. Science Fiction? Catherine Asaro's Skolian books, Linnea Sinclair, anything by Robert Heinlein, Scott Westerfeld's Risen Empire duology.
22. Who is your favorite writer? Living Writer? Don't have just one, there are several: Patricia McKillip & Jane Yolen, Katherine Kurtz & Anne Bishop, Jacqueline Carey. Deceased writers? PG Wodehouse & Robert Louis Stevenson.
23. Who is the most over rated writer alive today? Um..Stephanie Meyer?
24. Best Memoir?
25. Best History? 
26. Best mystery or Noir? Any of Laura Joh Rowland's Sano Ichiro
Newest release, 2008
Or else anything in Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma series:
July 2009 release
27. What is your desert island book? Any omnibus collection of PG Wodehouse books. Anything off of my keeper shelves.
28. Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for literature? Uh..no opinion. I read mostly "ghetto" er..I mean genre literature, which as all Nobel panelists know is never worthy of such on honor. *SNORT*
29. What book would you most like to see made into a movie? The Risen Empire duology by Scott Westerfeld.
30. What book would you least like to see made into a movie? No opinion.
31. Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character. Generally I don't remember my dreams. Except the ones that come true.
32. And ... what are you reading right now?
Beyond Heaving Bosoms by the Smartbitches:
If you’re a regular Bookwormom reader you might remember me mentioning a new contributor to the chaos that is life here in Bookwormom Central. He’s about a year and a half old, which we’re told is a teenager in dogdom. Dunno about that last one, I read it somewhere. The inmates are now as follows: three teenagers (two humans and one dog), one Husband and one college student. Plus me. I’m probably the craziest of them all, truth be told.
Anyhow, I’m in a kind of reviewing dead zone right now. I’m in the middle of two rather large books & I read slowly. So I thought I’d discuss our newest family member. The last dog we loved lived with us for nine years. Sophie was a sheltie mix rescue dog. We loved her so much, there are so many cute stories I could tell you. But as is common she eventually reached a point where we had to be merciful and put her to sleep to end her suffering. After that it took us several years before we were willing to look for another family friend.
Our new friend’s name is either Sammy, the name he arrived with, or Bubba, the name we’ve christened him. After doing some brief searching we discovered that Bubba is probably an English Coonhound. A red tick coonhound. According to what I’ve read coonhounds are descendants of English hunting dogs. Anyhow, English Coonhounds are an American breed, common in areas where there’s a lot of hunting. As in- not here in suburbia. Anyhow, since coonhounds are a southern breed we wanted to give him a regional name. Thus: Bubba. Not that he answers to it, mind you.
He’s kind of freckled with white and copper in coin sized patches all over. Sort of like someone let him roll in cinnamon sugar & then turned it all into fur. His ears and head are mostly the copper color with a little splotch of white in the middle of his head. His fur is short and thick and coarse. He waves his tail in big round circles straight over his back. He looks like he’s a helicopter when he’s excited. 
Just lately we’ve started calling him Cagney, after the famous actor who made gangsters famous. Remember how Cagney would sneer/snarl/curl his lip? I swear the dog wrinkles his upper lip on one side just like Cagney did. Honest.
How Bubba ended up here in suburbia is a long story. Ten days before Christmas we drove out to a rescue event looking for a dog to adopt. I asked one of the foster families which dog was the friendliest and was immediately handed Bubba’s leash. Hubby was with me and we hung out & chatted and were interviewed, etc.
Finally we pieced together his story. Bubba was found along a roadside out in Bristol VA (extreme opposite corner of the state, near TN; very rural area) as a small puppy. Someone rescued him and paired him with a family who kept him in an outdoor kennel with a large number of other dogs. He was there for quite a while before he was passed along to another foster family who kept lots of dogs in an outdoor kennel. This person drove a truck full of foster dogs way up here from Bristol to try and find these dogs homes. He needed another foster family to take him or for Bubba to be adopted out. His kennels were crowded & he needed to thin out the dogs if he could. Hubby’s theory is that Bubba was going to be someone’s hunting dog and was either separated from his owner while hunting or he escaped from a home or a pen.
There we were. Interested, but not thinking we’d take a dog home that day. For various reasons we were asked to take Bubba home on a trial basis as a foster family planning to become his permanent family once the papers and visits were finalized. We were handed his leash and his papers and here we are two months later. Bubba is ours.
He fits in pretty well. We had to housebreak him- kennel dogs not needing housebreaking. I have to say, though, that he’s a quick learner when he wants to be. LOL Hotdogs being a great motivator! Other than being housebroken he has very little manners training. Many of the behaviors you see in young puppies have started showing up in him, we assume that’s because he spent so much time kenneled & away from people. He’s fun and energetic, even when we walk him on our usual three mile loop he’s raring to go a short time later. Bubba seems to be a man’s dog: he goes crazy when Hubby or Pianist comes home, but less so for Anime Queen or me. He’ll cuddle with the Hubster, but not with the ladies.
We’re working on the manners. It’ll be a long struggle I think. He’s stubborn & willing to take a couple of miles if you give him an inch. We love him though & don’t want to go back to a quiet dogfree house.
We don't need Valentine's Day to celebrate romance! At Breezing Through we love a good romance and we love to share said romance books.
We also believe that you don't need a single day to celebrate romance.
Well, we are taking Valentine's back with our Anti-Valentines Day contest. We have three categories of romantic books that we will give away. All are new releases. Please pick only one book from each category.
It looks like a fun contest- a chance to win more books! Who can resist? Heaven knows we all need more books, right? Go on over there & sign up! Link in text above.
Anime Queen, our lovely daughter, invited me on a field trip to the National Gallery of Art. Lovely white snowflakes fell as we drove in. Click here for a list of current exhibits. This was with her art class. They've been studying contemporary art, emphasizing artists like Jackson Pollack & Andy Warhol & photographers like Edward Weston. One of the kids' favorites was the room with some of Calder's mobiles. Click here to begin slideshow discussing Alexander Calder's mobiles.
The work that really made me think was a large piece by Anselm Kiefer mounted on a wall. It's a big piece: shades of grey and black and cream. To me it was a desolate, post apocalyptic landscape. The large work on the wall was powerful enough in and of itself, but combined with a nearby fighter jet, painted grey with dried poppies on the wings. - Well, it was amazing. Then to find out the dried plants were poppies on the wings..and that Mr.Kiefer is German, born in the last year of the WW II? It's quite a statement. Click here for examples of Mr. Kiefer's works.
Image found on Wikimedia Commons, this fresco is not seen in this exhibit.
After viewing the contemporary exhibit in the East Building, we went upstairs and walked through the Pompeii Exhibit. The sculptures are beautiful and the artifacts are amazingly detailed. There's a gladiator helmet with scenes from the Iliad on it. None of the life size figures are part of this exhibit. A gorgeous red dining room fresco glows in the soft light. The reds are soft and faded shades, but I wonder how bright and clear they might have been when they were new.
If you go to the Gallery, I definitely don't recommend eating in the 'food court' downstairs in the causeway between buildings. The food is expensive and mediocre at best. Bring your own. We brought lunch, daughter and I, salads and yogurt and Doritos and lemon water. The bookstore is nice and the shop on the next level up is wonderful.
I found this on A Reader's Respite but the meme originated on A Striped Armchair. The questions relate to books as treasured objects, physical beings whose very prescence on our shelves bring us joy and contentment and remind their owners of past history. My answers to this meme will be colored by the fact that I was a military brat and then a military wife, so for many many years the only books I carried from pillar to post were the childhood treasures gifted to me by various family members and some genre titles that particularly captured my heart.
Images found on: Amazon, B & N, Bully's Comics, and Fantastic Fiction
The books that’ve been on your shelves the longest:
Both were gifts to me from my mother and her family when I was an infant.
A book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time, etc.):
I have a collection of Penguin hardcover & paperback copies of UK published PG Wodehouse titles, gifted to me by my grandfather. The oldest one is dated 1953. I can't find images of the covers I have, but this image if one of the newer covers. 
A gift to me upon my 5th birthday from my father.
A book you acquired in some interesting way (gift, serendipity in a used bookstore, prize, etc.):
The hardcover edition was gifted to me by my grandfather on my 11th birthday, less than three years before he died.
A book that’s been with you to the most places:
All of the above books have moved across the United States multiple times, but I guess if you want to be technical the De Angeli & Tudor books have the most mileage because they've moved with me since I was a baby & thus have years' more of mileage.
The most recent addition to your shelves:
Title is Mistress of the Art of Death.
Tagged: CindyS, Annie Kelleher and KristieJ.
The Rules
1. Tag 3-5 people, so the fun keeps going!
2. Leave a comment at the original post at A Striped Armchair, so that Eva can collect everyone’s answers.
3. If you leave a comment and link back to Eva as the meme’s creator, she will enter you in a book giveaway contest! She has a whole shelf devoted to giveaway books that you’ll be able to choose from, or a bookmooch point if you prefer.
4. Remember that this is all about enjoying books as physical objects, so feel free to describe the exact book you’re talking about, down to that warping from being dropped in the bath water…
5. Make the meme more fun with visuals! Covers of the specific edition you’re talking about, photos of your bookshelves, etc.
I saw this over at Book A Rama & thought it was a cute idea. Things I've done are in bold.
1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower~ Perseids
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch Counted cross stitch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train with 2 children under age 5. very worthwhile
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse while on the beach! it was great
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset both
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen a Shaker community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Have enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood book or toy Books
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial Um. yes. quite a lot. it's right up the road. LOL :)
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone broke the bottom of coccyx giving birth
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House a long time ago when it was easier to get tickets to go inside
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life was a life guard as a college student
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous Alan Thicke at a booksigning
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby 3 living children
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant
Bookwormom has been listed as a top 50 chick lit blog on Best Online Dating Sites, link in the title above, in the blog section. I have to say I love the subtitle "the love coach: helping nerds date." Emphasis mine. I don't think I've ever made a popular listing before, never mind a top 50. LOL :) There are other romance oriented blogs on their list, although many are much bigger and more popular than mine, so I can't help but wonder how they found me. Ah well, never look a gift horse in the mouth.
It was absolutely gorgeous today- bright sunshine, breezy, leaves blowing everywhere. I couldn't stay indoors. I wandered around our area doing errands on foot. The library, the grocer, the drug store. Meandered past the rescue station. It's hard to be an obsessed reader 24/7 when fall is outside your window seducing you.
I'm exhausted now. Regular posting likely to resume tomorrow as scheduled tomorrow unless it's gorgeous like today, in which case I may not be here.
