Category: Photos

Snapshot Saturday – Me, Me, and Me

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To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link here. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Just a few shot from around Bouchercon…

Had a few minutes to chat with Karen Olson and she was as sweet as expected.

Jason and me at the opening night event at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The adorable Chelsea Cain gave me a special gift when signing my book.  You’ll have to check back next week to see what it was.

I’m having a blast at Bouchercon. I still have 1 1/2 days left on my mommy vacation and I plan on savoring every single minute.  Next week is birthday week, so I’ll be doing giveaways along with my mini conference recaps.

Where in the world are you reading? At the library, of course!

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Where in the world are you reading?  Link up here.  Trish orginally turned me on to this meme.  Love the idea.

I’ve enjoyed these monthly link ups and this month it’s all about libraries!  I did work in a library at the reference desk for a year so I have a soft spot for libraries.  At least it was a soft spot before Gage came along, now it’s a big, sticky, mushy spot.  My county has 28 branches, all share materials so if I find a book online and it’s at another library they will send it over within a few days. So convenient!  And in addition to the usual things I can check out, our county also offers TOYS to check out!  How awesome is that?  When I looked through the binder of what was available I found a training potty!  I’m not sure if that’s something to be shared, LOL.

The absolute best thing about libraries is that they are so kid friendly.  Starting next week our local library is offering 3 different storytimes each week for Gage’s age group.  We live within 10 or 15 minutes of 3 branches and we attend story times at 2 of them and I plan on checking out the third because I’ve been told they provide coffee for the parents 🙂

Our library also has the best kids area. Wanna see his favorite place at the library?

Yesterday when I told him we were going to the library he said “choo-choo”.  There’s some thing about little boys and trains.

There were no storytimes in August so they used the big room to set up a bank exhibit for kids.  There were educational, interactive activities, but lots of them included balls and such so the smaller kids could have fun too.  I think you can see a girl pretending to be a teller.  Cute, right?

Libraries are a lifesaver for mothers looking to entertain their kids.  I usually order what I want online so it’s waiting for me on a shelf up front when Gage is ready to go.  Our library rocks (much like Cleveland)!

Happy reading from my library to yours!

Sundays with Gage – Island time

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We’ve spent a week on Kelleys Island with my parents since 2006 (although we did skip the year I was pregnant.  There’s no emergency care there!).  We’ve rented houses, condos and this year since we had to sneak it in before Jason goes back to work, we stayed at the Kelleys Island Venture Resort.

Do you think Gage was happy to see his grandparents for the ferry ride to the island?  I have a dozen pics with him on the ride, all with the happiest of grins.  He loves his grandparents.

We were very impressed with the resort.  This was Gage’s view from the balcony…

We had a great time taking advantage of my parents, who were more than happy to Gage-sit.  Jason and I caught up on sleep, alone-time, and relaxation time.  Gage got to take advantage of his doting grandparents.

We never did meet this other Gage, but next year we’ll have to find him!  This week Gage will be facing his mornings without Daddy.  Prepare for the meltdown post next Sunday 😉

Saturday Snapshot – Balloons

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To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a link over at At Home With Books. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see.

I love this meme because it’s so nice to see a more personal side to fellow blogger buddies.  This is my first time participating, but I’m sure it won’t be my last.

On Thursday night, my mom and I went to the Blossom Time Balloon Glow in the village about 10 minutes from us.  I wish we’d been able to take Gage because he’d have loved it, but it was past his bedtime and he’s still not completely over his cold. 

Ten hot air balloons inflated on a practice field and lit themselves up, to the delight of the hundreds (thousands?).  They’ll be racing them all weekend.

My 40 Bucket List

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It’s my last day in my 30’s and since I’m posting a quiz on my birthday tomorrow I’m posting my bucket list today.  These are things I’d like to do before I die and I figure at 40 I’ve got at least 40 good years to accomplish them.  Plenty of time.  Maybe I’ll find a place on the blog to keep track of it.

1. Write and publish a novel.

2. Open my own bookstore.

3. Spend a night in an English castle.

4. Visit Ireland.

5. Meet a US president. (Jimmy Carter came to Cleveland last year for a book signing but couldn’t do it because of a health scare.  So close!)

6. Learn to start a fire without matches. (this probably comes from watching too many seasons of Survivor)

7. Learn to play the piano.

8. Raise a happy and successful son.

9. Celebrate my 50th anniversary. (13 in)

10. Make exercise a daily priority. (never has been but I need to start taking care of my health)

11. Get back to my wedding weight, just once.

12. Try a vegetarian diet for a year.

13. Drive across country.

14. Visit all 50 states.

15. Stay in an overnight car on a train trip.

16. Fly first class.

17. Take Gage to Italy.

18. Ride a boat down the Mississippi River.

19. Trace ancestry to when all branches entered the US.  (we’ve been here a long time so this will take many more years of research)

20. Spend a week touring Napa Valley.

21. Live somewhere warm year round. (As a midwestern girl I love my seasons but I’d like to see if I’m missing anything :))

22. Volunteer on a political campaign.

23. Sit on a jury.

24. Buy only American for 1 year.

25. Have a library with wall-to-wall built-in bookcases.

26. Write and mail 1000 letters. These can include cards if I include a personal note.

27. Be an extra in a movie.

28. Watch a play from backstage.

29. Go skiing.

30. Attend a murder mystery dinner.

31. Volunteer weekly.

32. Read all the books I own.  (I’d like to have no TBR pile just once.  I can give away books to reach this goal)

33. Start my own book club.

34. See all 4 tennis majors. (2 down, Wimbledon & Australian Open to go)

35. Give blood.

36. Sleep under the stars.

37. Have a hammock.

38. Fire a gun.

39. Make a daily goal list and use it.

40. Do a random act of kindness every day. (and keep a journal for it)

Birthday Photo

Jason and I have attended the US Open a few times.  This was in 2005.

I’m not a tennis player but Jason is very good.  I like to watch.  Rafa Nadal is my current favorite.

 

 

 

 

 

Giveaway

I’m giving away new copies of Reading Like a Writer by Francise Prose and Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman.  Just leave a comment telling me which one you’d like to win (or both!).  I’ll draw a winner October 19.

We’re celebrating

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No post or giveaway today since we are partying.  Today we are celebrating our birthdays.  Details tomorrow.

Planning this party has kept me off your blogs.  See you next week:)

Birthday Photo

We’re on to my Arlington, Virgina years when I was was manager at the B.Dalton in Ballston.  This was after our yearly inventory.  These books all had to be sorted by publisher/distributor and then sent back.  This wasn’t even when the pile was at its largest.  This could be my TBR pile these days, LOL!

I was 25 or 26. This must have been after I met Jason since he pointed out that this was his shirt!

Book Problem Year 3

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Another year, another evaluation of my unread book selection.  Here’s my stack of unread books in May 2008.

And last year I recreated the stacks (I added 49, but read or gave away 49) and took this photo

book problem 09 2

So, now it’s time to fess up.  I did not do so well at keeping my unread book pile from continuing to take over the house.  I started with 369 books, I read or gave away 41, but brought 79 new titles into the house that I haven’t read yet.  Yes, that’s a total of 407.  Here’s the visual…

You can see that even Max is a little shocked!

But there’s more book news that makes this book problem  more serious.  You know when you leave home and boxes of your stuff get packed away in your parent’s basement?  Well, at the age of 38 I finally convinced my Dad that I could handle the boxes (I mean we have a big basement now too ;)), so over the holidays he brought box after box of stuff. 

Wanna guess how many books were in these boxes?

Here’s a look at the new visual with the books in front.

I refuse to count these and add them to my total.  Whatever I don’t read or get rid of by next year I’ll add.

But you will get to benefit from these extra books I now have.  Over the next week or so I will be offering up free books from these boxes.  Take a look at the book selection, tell me which one you’d like to have in a comment and on June 2nd I’ll pick a winner or two from each day and he or she will receive the book of their choice.  PLEASE enter every day.  They are used books, but there are some good titles in there.

By recreating my stacks of unread books every year it does hold me in check for a good six months.  I don’t plan on buying books – well, except for baby – and I won’t enter giveaways unless the book is on my wish list.  I need to be good because I have a feeling when baby comes my reading may take a hit for a while.

So, do you want to post a picture of your To Be Read pile or piles?  Leave a link in the comments and I’ll add you here.  Come on, let me see that I’m not alone!

11 Years and Counting

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putman

This was taken 11 years ago today.  It’s hard to believe, really.  Jason and I met at the B.Dalton in Arlington, Virginia, where I was manager.  His Navy buddy worked there part-time and Jason wanted to use his buddy’s discount to buy a book (my hubby does know how to stretch a dollar, unlike his wife 🙂 ).  His friend put in a good word for him, which I must admit was needed.  You see I was 24, enjoying dating in a new city, and Jason was only 19 and living in the barracks.  But when he came in to the store to ask me out I was blown away by his confidence.  Seriously, that is the first thing I remember about him and it drew me in immediately.  We had our first two dates in one weekend and 2 1/2 years later we were married.   We are currently living our very own happily ever after.

PS – I am wearing my Mother’s wedding dress.