Here it is, Graphic Wednesday!!
I am having such a blast discovering the world of book blogging and diving even deeper into books in general that I just knew today's graphic would be about books!
So please pin it and share it! Hmm...wondering if I should change the name to Pinnable Wednesdays....
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
August 2013 Goals
I have been a huge slacker lately. I don't have much keeping me on track...with life. Hubby and I created some Family Goals for June, but a lot of them went unfinished. And now it is almost AUGUST and I need some guidelines to my life to keep me going. So here are 10 goals for August, which doesn't include any of my bloggy goals. These may not be 'big' but they help me stay sane!!
Ten Goals for August 2013
1. Read at least 5 fiction books.
2. Read at least 3 non-fiction books.
3. Workout at least 2x a week.
4. Have "mommy time" 1x a week.
5. Complete 1 ''big'' cleaning project each week.
6. Finish season 6 of Doctor Who with Hubby.
7. Complete the "Anything" study from GMG (although I finished the book I didn't finish the study. Oops.)
8. Try 2 new recipes.
9. Choose 5 signs for Selah and really focus on them all month long. (I have been signing with Selah since 6 or 7 months old. She recognizes "eat" and kind of "more", but I really want to put more focus on this to cut out some frustrations)
10. Complete one large craft.
There you have it! Nothing fancy, but enough to keep me going!
YOUR TURN!
Do you set monthly goals? Weekly goals? I would LOVE to hear about them, for more inspiration :) Leave your comments below!!
Ten Goals for August 2013
1. Read at least 5 fiction books.
2. Read at least 3 non-fiction books.
3. Workout at least 2x a week.
4. Have "mommy time" 1x a week.
5. Complete 1 ''big'' cleaning project each week.
6. Finish season 6 of Doctor Who with Hubby.
7. Complete the "Anything" study from GMG (although I finished the book I didn't finish the study. Oops.)
8. Try 2 new recipes.
9. Choose 5 signs for Selah and really focus on them all month long. (I have been signing with Selah since 6 or 7 months old. She recognizes "eat" and kind of "more", but I really want to put more focus on this to cut out some frustrations)
10. Complete one large craft.
There you have it! Nothing fancy, but enough to keep me going!
YOUR TURN!
Do you set monthly goals? Weekly goals? I would LOVE to hear about them, for more inspiration :) Leave your comments below!!
Thursday, July 25, 2013
FMF: Broken
Welcome FMF friends!
Time for Five Minute Friday. I am linking up with Lisa Jo Baker. Today our word is BROKEN!
Because of some craziness on Lisa's blog, we are sharing our FMF posts on her Facebook Page. Hope everyone can follow along!
GO!
Broken. Broken. Broken. Bleeding. Twisted. Open.
Ugh. I can barely stand the thought of my Savior's body broken for me. I avoid it, I look away, I am unsure, I squirm, I cry, I deny, I wander.
I am me. Blogger, mother, wife, coach, reader, Whovian, baker. All this amounts to just me. A tiny little soul here for the blink of an eye in a tiny little corner of a massive universe. There is nothing significant, there is nothing that stands out. I am a firm believer in Ecclesiastes; there is nothing new under the sun.
Yet. Yet 2000 years ago, some guy named Jesus thought of me. His Dad had told him, "This tiny girl needs your help. She is lost and alone and needs a Hero. I want YOU to help her." And this Jesus replied, "Okay." And he let himself be betrayed by his best friends. He let himself be beaten bloody. And then he carried a wooden cross on his tired back up a hill, where he let himself be nailed to hang, broken. broken. twisted. open.
Argh. My heart bleeds. My heart twists and can't contain the tears. The thought of it breaks, breaks breaks my heart open. And I cannot deny. And I cannot not cry. And I never want to wander again.
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Thanks for stopping by The Christian Sugar Addict!
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Graphic Wednesday Doctor Style
Hey friends,
I missed Graphic Wednesday :( So I am bringing it back Doctor Who style today! Enjoy :))
I missed Graphic Wednesday :( So I am bringing it back Doctor Who style today! Enjoy :))
Labels:
Doctor Who,
graphic
Thursday, July 18, 2013
FMF: Belong
Welcome FMF friends!
Time for Five Minute Friday. I am linking up with Lisa Jo Baker. Today our word is Belong!
GO!
Belong.
I can imagine this will be the heart's cry on many-a blog tonight. Why? Because we all want to belong. We want to be a part of something. We want to make a difference. We want to be acknowledged and we want to be acknowledged by those we believe 'matter'.
So many clamour and fight and worm their way into the 'inner circle' just to belong, to count, to have their opinion voiced. But be counted as cool as well. We think what we think because the 'big important' girls tell us too. We write how we write because that is how they write. We read what they read because we want to say we know, we understand, we support the same cause.
We. Just. Want. to. Belong. But I don't want to become lost to who I am just to belong. I don't want to write on certain topics or in certain ways just to fit in with the popular crowd. I like cookies, but don't want to be a cookie cutter blog, a cookie cutter person.
I belong to the One. And even if I never belong to a group online or inrl, I belong to the One who truly matters and truly loves me. He wants me to be ME. And I am weird, and I am different. I have bad life experiences, and no, I don't/can't always relate it back to God in some meaningful way to share with the masses on a weekly or daily basis. I like science fiction. I like reading. I love baking but don't make my own fantabulous creations to storm Pinterest with.
I guess in short? I want to stopping WANTING to belong to the women of this world, and WANTING to only belong to HIM who loves me quirks and all. He is the only Follower I need.
Time for Five Minute Friday. I am linking up with Lisa Jo Baker. Today our word is Belong!
GO!
Belong.
I can imagine this will be the heart's cry on many-a blog tonight. Why? Because we all want to belong. We want to be a part of something. We want to make a difference. We want to be acknowledged and we want to be acknowledged by those we believe 'matter'.
So many clamour and fight and worm their way into the 'inner circle' just to belong, to count, to have their opinion voiced. But be counted as cool as well. We think what we think because the 'big important' girls tell us too. We write how we write because that is how they write. We read what they read because we want to say we know, we understand, we support the same cause.
We. Just. Want. to. Belong. But I don't want to become lost to who I am just to belong. I don't want to write on certain topics or in certain ways just to fit in with the popular crowd. I like cookies, but don't want to be a cookie cutter blog, a cookie cutter person.
I belong to the One. And even if I never belong to a group online or inrl, I belong to the One who truly matters and truly loves me. He wants me to be ME. And I am weird, and I am different. I have bad life experiences, and no, I don't/can't always relate it back to God in some meaningful way to share with the masses on a weekly or daily basis. I like science fiction. I like reading. I love baking but don't make my own fantabulous creations to storm Pinterest with.
I guess in short? I want to stopping WANTING to belong to the women of this world, and WANTING to only belong to HIM who loves me quirks and all. He is the only Follower I need.
STOP!
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Thanks for stopping by The Christian Sugar Addict!
Labels:
FMF
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Baby Girl 9 Month Update!
So happy to see you all!!
Today I just want to share my lovely child, who turned 9 MONTHS on Monday! Wow! Such a big kid :)
Today I just want to share my lovely child, who turned 9 MONTHS on Monday! Wow! Such a big kid :)
The last update I gave on Baby Girl was her seven month updated! Whoops! Well as you can imagine, a lot has changed since then. She is eating all sorts of foods and foods mixed together (she was actually a fan of Nana-cado!), but she has also started eating puffs. Oh. My. Goodness. The puffs. She is a puff eating fiend. She can go crazy for those things! I also introduced her to some organic yogurt melts I bought at Target and although I find them disgusting, Baby Girl loves them!
Baby Girl also has her first tooth poking through but not all the way grown yet. As you might imagine, this made for some tough times around the household. It wasn't as bad as I suppose it could have been. I found it mostly frustrating because I couldn't find a solution that helped relieve her pain beyond Tylenol. I tried everything: cold chew toys and not cold chew toys just got throw across the room, the frozen washcloth was too cold, she didn't want to chew on my finger wrapped in a towel, and other soft items also seemed disfavorable to say the least. If I turn desperate during the next tooth, I might spring for an amber necklace. I would hate for it not to work after spending money on it though.
Baby Girl is also CRAWLING!! Eep! She was army crawling for about 2 weeks, but never going far just toy to toy in the living room. And then she got all the way up to hands and knees, and then in one morning she realized she could go anywhere. Just like that. Hubby and I ran out that day for a baby gate! We still have to do some minor baby proofing. For instance some of the kitchen cupboards' childs locks are not functioning properly so we want to replace them. Luckily for now she ignores them. Crawling also means I have to vacuum daily because she now tries to pick up any and every piece of dirt or food found on the floor!
Because of her new found freedom, Baby Girl has also discovered how to pull herself up on furniture. Crawling over to mommy and daddy and clinging to their legs is a favorite pasttime. She isn't cruising yet, mostly she just wants to pull up to bounce or eat the couch cushion.
Favorite toys right now are not many. Most toys are cast aside in favor of standing and crawling. We still love the jumperoozie and I think that is one of the best purchases I have ever made! She also has a fondness for a Lucky Bear care bear I used as a kid and the one dolly we seem to own. Noting that this is me, a girly girl, how do we only have one dolly?? But really that is all she needs. Every now and then I see her put Lucky or Dollie up against her face and I wonder if she is trying to hug them or kiss them. SO CUTE.
Other toys she has given a passing interest in include a whip cream container, her orange and yellow ball, and the Barnyard Dance book which mommy eventually had to take away because she was eating the cover to pieces.
Can't wait to see what this month has in store!!
Have you ever tried an amber necklace? What other teething remedies have you tried?
Labels:
baby
Monday, July 15, 2013
How They Blog: Blog Planning Kit!
Welcome Friends!!
Today is the launch day of the HowTheyBlog.com Blog Planning Kit!! This thing is fantastic! It includes a short 'e-book' explaining the use of all the pages.
Here is a picture of some of my pages in rough draft form:
Kat Lee includes pages for all the necessities of blogging, including (but definetly not limited too!) daily, weekly, and monthly planning and goal planning sheets. And if any of it seems overwhelming, Kat recorded a video tutorial that comes with your purchase as well! The lady thought of everything!
I bought mine and printed off the planning pages immediately. The kit was timed just perfectly to the release of my other blog Sunrise Avenue so I got to jump in head first!
I highly recommend checking out the blog planning kit AND How they Blog for interviews with all your favorite bloggers!!
This post included affiliate links! Thanks for supporting CSA! *hugs*
Today is the launch day of the HowTheyBlog.com Blog Planning Kit!! This thing is fantastic! It includes a short 'e-book' explaining the use of all the pages.
Here is a picture of some of my pages in rough draft form:
See how mine are wrinkled?? Overuse :)
Kat Lee includes pages for all the necessities of blogging, including (but definetly not limited too!) daily, weekly, and monthly planning and goal planning sheets. And if any of it seems overwhelming, Kat recorded a video tutorial that comes with your purchase as well! The lady thought of everything!
I bought mine and printed off the planning pages immediately. The kit was timed just perfectly to the release of my other blog Sunrise Avenue so I got to jump in head first!
I highly recommend checking out the blog planning kit AND How they Blog for interviews with all your favorite bloggers!!
This post included affiliate links! Thanks for supporting CSA! *hugs*
Labels:
HowtheyBlog
Thursday, July 11, 2013
FMF: Present
1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back at lisajobaker.com and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..
Today our word is PRESENT.
GO!!
So. When I see this word, I most definitely think of this:
I think of all the presents I have received or given, or not given, or forgotten.
Then what comes to mind is the best present of all: JESUS. And even though I know he is the best present of all, I forget it. How often I forget it.
My baby girl discovered the rest of the house this past week. Once week in fact. One week of my entire world changing. I now need to vacuum daily, baby proof EVERYTHING, and can never shower again unless she is napping. Life is stressful. Oh lordy.
Of course crawling is exhausting as well, so any semblance of a schedule is gone. Out the window. Vamoose! My days are now one endless loop of fighting with Baby Girl to get her to sleep, feed her again, entertain her until naptime, and fight her again. Blah. Boo. Poo.
Jesus as my greatest gift is gone. Out the window. Vamoose! My brain is filled with mindless, stressful, angry things. And I have forgotten Him. Forgotten the One who never forgot me. Turned my back on the One who never turned His back on me.
And motherhood is HARD. But not accepting the present of His presence is even harder. And I am exhausted.
2. Link back at lisajobaker.com and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..
Today our word is PRESENT.
GO!!
So. When I see this word, I most definitely think of this:
I think of all the presents I have received or given, or not given, or forgotten.
Then what comes to mind is the best present of all: JESUS. And even though I know he is the best present of all, I forget it. How often I forget it.
My baby girl discovered the rest of the house this past week. Once week in fact. One week of my entire world changing. I now need to vacuum daily, baby proof EVERYTHING, and can never shower again unless she is napping. Life is stressful. Oh lordy.
Of course crawling is exhausting as well, so any semblance of a schedule is gone. Out the window. Vamoose! My days are now one endless loop of fighting with Baby Girl to get her to sleep, feed her again, entertain her until naptime, and fight her again. Blah. Boo. Poo.
Jesus as my greatest gift is gone. Out the window. Vamoose! My brain is filled with mindless, stressful, angry things. And I have forgotten Him. Forgotten the One who never forgot me. Turned my back on the One who never turned His back on me.
And motherhood is HARD. But not accepting the present of His presence is even harder. And I am exhausted.
Labels:
FMF,
motherhood
Sunday, July 7, 2013
We Go Together
This is it folks, the end of the Summer Lovin' Read-a-thon. I am quite sad to see it go. A full week inundated in book blogging and reading with a purpose. I am really happy with my progress. I have read some of the "Graduation Day" posts that were linked up already and O.M.G. Some of you people read 8, 10, 18 books!! Uff-da! Even if I didn't have a baby I think 18 would overwhelm me.
Here, again, were my goals:
1. Read and complete Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank
2. Read and complete an ebook
3. Participate in the daily blog link ups
4. Follow at least 2 new book bloggers
I read and completed 2 ebooks on my Kindle, both of which will be reviewed over at Sunrise Avenue soon. I managed to take part in the daily participation posts, and even several of the challenge posts! I wasn't sure I would have time to get them all done, but luckily I worked ahead and had some of the posts written/started last week when the schedule went up. And I think I added 4 new bloggers to my Feedly and another handful on Twitter. I love seeing all the book related tweets on my feed!!
Well the semi-bad news: I still have 84 pages left of Folly Beach. :(( I put off writing this post until later this evening to see if I could finish it, but I spent a lot of the morning at church and then with family and this afternoon catching up at the gym (finally). Maybe I will still finish it off tonight since I foresee Baby Girl having an early bedtime.
Overall, this was probably the best read-a-thon to make my first read-a-thon. It had a lot of active participants, amazingly fantastic giveaways, a 24 hours Twitter Party (!!), creative challenges, and fun daily link ups. Read-a-thon Central will have another party in the winter, and I can't wait!! Until then, Christian Sugar Addict will go back to regular programming and the new blog, Sunrise Avenue, will be jumping in head first into the amazingly, awesome world of books!
Thanks for stopping in friends and have a fantastic Sunday evening!!
.
Labels:
books,
summer lovin',
Sunrise
Saturday, July 6, 2013
My Bingo Blog
Folks. I did it. I blacked out my Bingo board.
The scariest part for me was the book rainbow. Most of my books are white and black it seems! Or ....dare I upset a lot of you??...ebooks. GASP. I have waaaay too many ebooks. But I managed to pull off all the colors without touching Baby Girl's books. So Proud. In fact. We will do that first. Please indulge me and say "oooo fascinating!" Thank you :)
Back to my Bingo Board...
Going straight across.
Night ya'll!
The scariest part for me was the book rainbow. Most of my books are white and black it seems! Or ....dare I upset a lot of you??...ebooks. GASP. I have waaaay too many ebooks. But I managed to pull off all the colors without touching Baby Girl's books. So Proud. In fact. We will do that first. Please indulge me and say "oooo fascinating!" Thank you :)
Back to my Bingo Board...
Going straight across.
- The first book I read was Valor (review pending over at Sunrise Avenue).
- You can find 2 of my challenge posts here and a separate post here.
- I tweeted @_RaTCentral_ probably too often :)
- Here is the tweet about what I was reading: "Trying my hand reading Dorothea Benton Frank. Folly Beach inrl is beautiful!! #summerlovin13" (ps I am @am_zech)
Next Row:
- I did all the participation posts! My fave is probably Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On because I got to announce my new blog and I enjoyed the book title scramble!
- I was following Greased Lighting on Twitter all day! I even won a prize! "And....the #SL6 trivia WINNER is......Alyssa @am_zech!!! Congratulations and check your DM for info. #SL24 #SummerLovin13"" SO HAPPY!
- Here are all the authors interviewed through the week. The links lead to the interviews: KA Tucker, Jennifer S. Doktorski, Sarah Fine, S.T. Bende, Jessica Gunhammer, Ardash Vartparonian, and Karla Nellenbach.
- I follow Read-a-thon Central on both Twitter and Facebook!
- And I read PLENTY of blogs this week!! New book blogs and old faves in my Feedly.
NEXT!
- Eat something sweet? Duh. It's me.
- A picture of something I love:
Chocolate via my instagram (@amzech18)
- I shared a favorite author with Read-a-thon Central on Facebook:
For the Bingo!!::I haven't been huge on following certain authors, but I do have 1 that I've been a fan of since 8th grade: Terry Brooks. I love his epic fantasy world and can't get enough!!
- Picture of the book I am reading..and my coffee...and Greased Lightening :)
via Instagram
MOVING ON:
Of course I checked out all the host blogs! Multiple times! I read all the author interviews and I really enjoyed reading their take on the participation posts.
LASTLY:
- Read another book! "Okay!" I says. I accidentally read The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back in one day!!
- Do something outside:
I was outside reading and walking with Baby Girl a lot this week. Sorry its sideways :((
- And last but not least-a picture of my fave snack while reading. Lately. Trying to stay away from the aforementioned chocolate.
I did it!! I BINGO BLACKED OUT!!
And, even more amazing......I made it through this post! WHEW!
Night ya'll!
Labels:
baby,
bingo,
summer lovin'
Hound Dog
This is going to be a fun blog link up! Reading everyone's 'bad boy' character will be quite interesting :)
I wasn't quite sure who to pick so I went back to the beginning, my beginning:: Lestat de Lioncourt. Lestat is one of the sexy vampires of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles series. And well, honestly? I fell in love with him from the Queen of the Damned movie. We watched it once a week in high school. No. I am not exaggerating.
I wasn't quite sure who to pick so I went back to the beginning, my beginning:: Lestat de Lioncourt. Lestat is one of the sexy vampires of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles series. And well, honestly? I fell in love with him from the Queen of the Damned movie. We watched it once a week in high school. No. I am not exaggerating.
While Lestat was something marvelous, they didn't call him the "Brat Prince" for nothing. He did, however, lead me to what I remember as my first 'bad boy' crush: Jean-Claude from the Anita Blake Chronicles.
Pause for deliciousness.
Vampire. Master of the City of St. Louis. 400-600 years old. Owner of several nightclubs and strip clubs. He is powerful and strong and deliciously beautiful.
I fell in love with Anita Blake and her boys almost instantly. Anita is a vampire hunter and also a necromancer. She is well versed in guns and hand to hand combat, an excellent strong female character. Jean Claude is part of her triumvirate, and on numerous occasions, her lover.
Jean-Claude while sincere in his interest in Anita, is manipulative and ruthless, always trying to gain status and power in the vampire world, the extreme bad boy of the fantasy world.
As much as Jean Claude was completely irresistible, the series unfortunately was not. The books grew widely inappropriate (Jean-Claude is an incubus after all) and so I had to quit reading after book four or five.
Have you read the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series? Team Jean-Claude or Team Richard??
***Challenge Post: Summer Flings
Here would be my summer fling:
Damon Salvatore
OR put together...
The Salvatore Brothers
OR Let's Be REAL...
Formy your viewing pleasure!
***Challenge Post: Summer Flings
Here would be my summer fling:
Damon Salvatore
OR put together...
The Salvatore Brothers
OR Let's Be REAL...
For
Labels:
summer lovin'
Friday, July 5, 2013
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On!
Hello All!!
First, a bit of fantastic news: I have my new blog up and running!!!
1) hte h5t vewa The 5th Wave
2) eht scetrsahnen
3) ginwre
4) sujt neo skis Just One Kiss
5) yan shduesc lwil od Any Duchess will do
6) ti dha ot eb uyo It had to be you
7) tols dan dfnuo Lost and Found
8) het yelbon gnki The Boelyn King
9) neoc noup a niprec Once upon a Prince
1) fi het ohes tisf If the shoe fits
2) eth eegd fo vnere
3) rfits gisht a veonl
4) utre lvoe True Love
5) ehtre tletil rdswo Three Little Words
6) eht gniht si velia The Night is Alive
7) feprcte gifln Perfect Fling
8) scoseh hte gronw ugy veag imh het gwonr gefrni
9) meoh ot kewihsy kecre Home to Whiskey Creek
First, a bit of fantastic news: I have my new blog up and running!!!
Sunrise Avenue is my new home for blogging about books, life, and let's face it: Doctor Who! I have copied all the Summer Lovin' posts over to that site, but will finish out the challenge here as well for continuity. Eventually I will delete them from here to keep the sites orderly. I am really excited about it and hope you go check it out (work in progress remember!). Feel free to give me pointers about what you like and don't like so I can keep working hard! Click to visit the Welcome page.
Today's participation post is simply to update the masses on our progress! I am proud to report some good success! First, a review of my goals
1. Read and complete Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank
2. Read and complete an ebook
3. Participate in the daily blog link ups
4. Follow at least 2 new book bloggers
Goals 2, 3, and 4 have been accomplished! I meant to read more of Folly Beach yesterday, but it was busy and I was sick, so instead I laid in bed and started and finished another ebook, The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back. Goal one then is up in the air whether it will be finished then or not.
CHALLENGE POST
COVER TITLE SCRAMBLE from Love. Life. Read.
Guidelines
- Pick 5 from each month and unscramble them. Each grouping of letters is one word (the words are kept in order)
- Put the answers in your blog post
- Link it up!!
.....I should be good at this one.............said the liar.
May Titles:
1) hte h5t vewa The 5th Wave
2) eht scetrsahnen
3) ginwre
4) sujt neo skis Just One Kiss
5) yan shduesc lwil od Any Duchess will do
6) ti dha ot eb uyo It had to be you
7) tols dan dfnuo Lost and Found
8) het yelbon gnki The Boelyn King
9) neoc noup a niprec Once upon a Prince
June Titles:
1) het nomo dan remo The Moon and More
2) ormts dna egies Storm and Siege
3) rtas dsceur Star Cursed
4) teswe lsat ira Sweet Last Air
5) het crenwmeo
6) veorfre oto rfa Forever too Far
7) het miatng fo deyrr uanacvhga .....I was pretty sure it started "The mating.." Wrong!
6) veorfre oto rfa Forever too Far
7) het miatng fo deyrr uanacvhga .....I was pretty sure it started "The mating.." Wrong!
8) wot fo a dnki Two of a Kind
9) neo etswe deri
10) hwta hte kedu sesdeir What the Duke Desires
10) hwta hte kedu sesdeir What the Duke Desires
11) kifagn ti
July Titles:
2) eth eegd fo vnere
3) rfits gisht a veonl
4) utre lvoe True Love
5) ehtre tletil rdswo Three Little Words
6) eht gniht si velia The Night is Alive
7) feprcte gifln Perfect Fling
8) scoseh hte gronw ugy veag imh het gwonr gefrni
9) meoh ot kewihsy kecre Home to Whiskey Creek
August Titles:
1) lafl fo veif Fall of Five
2) wrnco fo gdminhit Crown of Midnight
3) hte desah fo het onom
4) sero bahrro ni mlobo
5) eht rohe The Hero
6) gib ysk diwengd Big Sky Wedding
5) eht rohe The Hero
6) gib ysk diwengd Big Sky Wedding
7) yatacasw veoc a ltehrse yab venlo
8) siht rilg a veonl This Girl a Novel
9) mtetapinto Temptation
WHEW! Barely made it :) For loving to read, I am HORRIBLE at word games. Lucky there were enough easy ones for me to do each month! How did you do??
Labels:
books,
summer lovin',
Sunrise
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Tears on my Pillow
Greetings Amigos!
Day Four of the Summer Lovin' Read-a-thon and I have been having a fantastic time!
Today we share a quote from our current read or tell us about a book that really pulled on your heart strings. I recently added the Life Changer shelf to my Goodreads page, which includes six spectacular books that have caused me to stop and question my beliefs and/or my life in general.
One book I am currently reading with the blog Good Morning Girls is called Anything by Jennie Allen.
Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
No affiliate links. All book links lead to goodreads.com.
Day Four of the Summer Lovin' Read-a-thon and I have been having a fantastic time!
Today we share a quote from our current read or tell us about a book that really pulled on your heart strings. I recently added the Life Changer shelf to my Goodreads page, which includes six spectacular books that have caused me to stop and question my beliefs and/or my life in general.
One book I am currently reading with the blog Good Morning Girls is called Anything by Jennie Allen.
Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
Safe. Comfortable. Happy. Words we all love. Feelings we want. Even crave. We may love God, but being that he's invisible, words like "comfortable" seem to feel better faster. We are all chasing something. Our hearts were made to run hard and fast after things that move us. But as a generation we are all beginning to stir and wake up, identifying that these words don't satisfy for long, especially when compared to God. If God is real, and we are going to live with Him forever, shouldn't He be everything?
Caught in this familiar haze of worldly happiness and empty pursuits, Jennie Allen and her husband Zac prayed a courageous prayer of abandonment that took them on an adventure God had written for them.
"God, we will do anything.''
It is a book that is shaking live throughout the GMG community. And if you are looking for a book to challenge your beliefs, pick this one up!! Here are a few random quotes that I have underlined in my copy:
"It's not just those in prison who are far from God; often it's those of us sitting in the pews, deciding where to go to lunch after this guy finishes talking about a God we barely need" (pg 24)
"I did wonder sometimes, when I closed my eyes and let it get scary quiet, if I was missing the best things, the things that matter most, because I was afraid." (pg 39)
"I believe that being willing to abandon everything requires being willing to go anywhere--and willing to let go of everything. ... If anything has 'buts', it wouldn't be anything." (pg 57)
and last one :))
"..we are actually looking for ourselves to matter. So we keep so busy, so distracted, so in love with everything but our invisible, patient, jealous God." (pg 70).
What books changed your life??
No affiliate links. All book links lead to goodreads.com.
Labels:
books,
summer lovin'
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Page 99 Test Challenge Post
Bonjour!
I am making today's challenge post separate from my participation post so that it is not suuuper obnoxiously long. The challenge is found today at Reviewing Wonderland and is called the Page 99 Test. The idea is to pick a book you have not read yet, turn to page 99 and read just that page. Then give a synopsis of that page and decided, based only on page 99, if you would still want to read the book. No spoilers or plagiarism!
The book I picked out is Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank. I am not including a synopsis because I do not want my opinion biased. I am sure I have read it before but it has been awhile (I bought the book a year ago!). This will be a true test of whether or not I would read the book based solely on page 99!
Conclusion: intrigued but nervous! I think the book will stay on as my Summer Lovin' goal book.......so I had better get a readin'!
Excited to read your challenge posts! If you stop by leave your link below!!
No affiliate links. All book links lead to goodreads.com.
I am making today's challenge post separate from my participation post so that it is not suuuper obnoxiously long. The challenge is found today at Reviewing Wonderland and is called the Page 99 Test. The idea is to pick a book you have not read yet, turn to page 99 and read just that page. Then give a synopsis of that page and decided, based only on page 99, if you would still want to read the book. No spoilers or plagiarism!
The book I picked out is Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank. I am not including a synopsis because I do not want my opinion biased. I am sure I have read it before but it has been awhile (I bought the book a year ago!). This will be a true test of whether or not I would read the book based solely on page 99!
I picked this book because it is the book I want to read for the Summer Lovin' Read-a-thon and I haven't started it yet!
Page 99 is a conversation between the main character and Aunt Daisy about what has apparently happened to the MC to cause her to run to Folly Beach. Turns out her husband Mark was reaching far into debt, and using her name to do it.
"Aunt Daisy looked at me for what seemed like forever, planning her response. At first, she had been angry for me and even with me but now she saw me as I was. Damaged. Floundering."Would I want to read this book based on this page alone?? I think I am torn either way. The writing seems a little odd to me, like perhaps too poetic for normal people to be talking. But the dialogue does intrigue me to want to know how the MC (Cate) got to this damaged state and what it will take for her to heal. Based on the title of the book, I am betting a lot of the healing will simply come from the beautiful Folly Beach scenery.
Conclusion: intrigued but nervous! I think the book will stay on as my Summer Lovin' goal book.......so I had better get a readin'!
Excited to read your challenge posts! If you stop by leave your link below!!
No affiliate links. All book links lead to goodreads.com.
"Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee!"
Greetings friends!
*Goals Update!!!: I finished my e-book goal by reading Valor by Taylor Longford! Still haven't started Folly Beach however...*
Anyone else dying to watch Grease about now? I am for sure, complete with chocolatey trail mix! Today's topic is a bit tougher for me. Although, I love reading, and particularly fiction, I do have a tough time becoming a fan follower of literary characters. TV...don't get me started *cough cough Doctor Who cough*. So I reviewed over my recent-er reads to pick some good female characters, and I am trying to stick to 3!
Like these picks?? Anything you disagree with? I would love to hear it!
No affiliate links. All links lead to goodreads.com
*Goals Update!!!: I finished my e-book goal by reading Valor by Taylor Longford! Still haven't started Folly Beach however...*
Anyone else dying to watch Grease about now? I am for sure, complete with chocolatey trail mix! Today's topic is a bit tougher for me. Although, I love reading, and particularly fiction, I do have a tough time becoming a fan follower of literary characters. TV...don't get me started *cough cough Doctor Who cough*. So I reviewed over my recent-er reads to pick some good female characters, and I am trying to stick to 3!
Elyse from Oppression
In the book, Elyse is given a prophecy for her life, and instead of complaining and resisting...she accepts it! I loved that about her and didn't see it as a weakness. Instead it is more like acceptance; acknowledging her importance and her future and acting upon as best she can. I love characters who can be strong and accept their destiny, and not spend three books whining about it.
Tris in Divergent
I am surprised by how much I loved Tris considering how much I am probably nothing like her. But she is strong and fearless, something I wish I could be more like. Tris makes who she wants to be and doesn't accept her own limits. She is constantly challenging what others think of her and pushing herself to be better. I love that drive and it makes for a great dystopian character!
Hermione from Harry Potter
Let's face it.....she's awesome. Who wouldn't love to be Hermione Granger?? She is strong, brave, intelligent, loving, and kind. The perfect mix. I know she comes off as annoying for books 1-3, especially The Sorcerer's Stone, but she grows on you like a best friend. Hermione is the only one to stick with Harry from start to finish and that deserves some cred (book 5 anyone??)
Like these picks?? Anything you disagree with? I would love to hear it!
No affiliate links. All links lead to goodreads.com
Labels:
books,
summer lovin'
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
You're the One that I Want!
Hey fellow Summer Lovin' friends!!
Today's participation post is focused on our must have summer reads. Let's be honest friends, is it really a summer read unless it is crazy chick lit???
Some examples of books I have read in the past that would qualify as great summer reads would be:
One for the Money (and the whole series). Yes now it is a movie with Katherine Heigl that was only liveable because a. she was in it and b. I had already read the books years before. Trust me, the book IS better!
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. Straight up sob story here folks. So maybe don't actually read this ON the beach, unless you don't mind people staring at you.
Mai Tai One On. Ridiculous summer mystery fluff.
And let's face it...
Treasure Island. What could be more summery than a book on an island searching for treasure with pirates??? SUMMER.
This summer I feel I don't have much good chick lit fluff on my summer reading list. And that disappoints me. I have Folly Beach which is the book I am reading for this challenge. If you check out my To Reads page on Goodreads, what you will find is in need of some drastic updating. But! you may also find a lot of YA 'fluff' that perhaps I should finally get around to.
Which one do you think I should start with first?? Have you reviewed any of these books? Leave me the link in the comments!!
No affiliate links. All links lead to goodreads.com.
Today's participation post is focused on our must have summer reads. Let's be honest friends, is it really a summer read unless it is crazy chick lit???
Some examples of books I have read in the past that would qualify as great summer reads would be:
One for the Money (and the whole series). Yes now it is a movie with Katherine Heigl that was only liveable because a. she was in it and b. I had already read the books years before. Trust me, the book IS better!
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. Straight up sob story here folks. So maybe don't actually read this ON the beach, unless you don't mind people staring at you.
Mai Tai One On. Ridiculous summer mystery fluff.
And let's face it...
Treasure Island. What could be more summery than a book on an island searching for treasure with pirates??? SUMMER.
This summer I feel I don't have much good chick lit fluff on my summer reading list. And that disappoints me. I have Folly Beach which is the book I am reading for this challenge. If you check out my To Reads page on Goodreads, what you will find is in need of some drastic updating. But! you may also find a lot of YA 'fluff' that perhaps I should finally get around to.
Which one do you think I should start with first?? Have you reviewed any of these books? Leave me the link in the comments!!
No affiliate links. All links lead to goodreads.com.
Labels:
books,
summer lovin'
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