Catchin’ Up

Things have finally gotten a little bit back to normal.  The school carnival was this past Saturday (HUGE sigh of relief), and I sent my pages in today, one day early (HOORAY!)  So for the next few days I’m taking a mini break from virtually everything to clean my house.  (That didn’t sound quite right, did it?)  But seriously, it needs a little TLC, in the form of vaccuuming, dusting, bleaching, etc.  I’m not exactly looking forward to the rest of the week.  There will be a bit of gluten-free experimentation this week too.  Tonight I’m making mac and cheese with corn noodles and hopefully some chocolate chip cookies today or tomorrow.  I’m anxious to see how they turn out.

I’m getting back on track with my reading too!  I finished The Espressologist recently–it was a quick read and I’ll be reviewing it for Barrie Summy’s March 1st Book Review Club.  Since then I’ve started on the 3rd Flavia de Luce mystery, A Red Herring Without Mustard and am super-excited about that.  I LOVE that series.  Catching up on my blogs will be this week’s treat between toilets.  Sounds great, doesn’t it?

Butters and I have started watching the early seasons of The Big Bang Theory in the evenings, seeing as we’re in a programming lull.  I got him the first three seasons on DVD for Christmas, and I think there are a lot of episodes we’ve never seen.  I was seriously belly-laughing last night.  Meanwhile, Butters’ questionable Netflix choices are still rolling in…Harry and the Hendersons was watched (without me) Friday night.  I took the opportunity to read.

Vacation is on my mind constantly because we don’t have anything formally planned, and spring has hit Houston.  I’m thinking I’ll go on a bike ride tomorrow…after at least one toilet is sparkling.  This is the bike I wish I’d be riding.

Posted in stuff on 02/28/2011 11:29 pm | 5 Comments

ShelterBox

So very impressed with Maureen Johnson’s personal quest to encourage donations to the UK-based international disaster relief charity ShelterBox.  Monetary donations are pooled to fund shelter boxes, which include high quality tents, tarps, blankets, water purifier, mosquito net, cooking stove and utensils, warm hats and gloves, and a small selection of children’s activities, all of it stored in a sturdy plastic tub that in itself could have a variety of uses.  Better still, the charity assesses the needs of each deployment sight, adjusting the contents where necessary.

This morning Maureen Johnson offered up encouragement and an ARC of her upcoming The Last Little Blue Envelope as added insentive to donate.  She also agreed to donate the balance of money not collected to purchase a full shelter box (at a price of $950).  As the day went on, she tweeted with updates, and other authors (Scott Westerfield, Libba Bray, Holly Black, and more) joined the cause, donating ARC’s of their own.  Six Shelter Boxes were funded today through this effort, and the effort will continue tomorrow.

Inspiring.  If you’re on Twitter, follow along at #lastlittleshelterbox or @maureenjohnson.
To donate, visit Shelterbox.

Posted in giving on 02/24/2011 03:39 am | 2 Comments

Giveaway!

Some of you may remember the awesomeness of this year’s ninja brownies for GFB’s and PFB’s class birthday treats.  You were probably a little bit envious, and a whole lot impressed, right?

Well, I am giving you the opportunity to win a set of Ninjabread Men for your very own.  Make ninja party sandwiches, ninja cookies, ninja brownies, and ninja pancakes.  Wow your kids, your husband, your neighbors, and friends.  Make them wonder…strike awe in their hearts.  Be awesome.

(You would not even be-lieve how long it took me to get an even marginally workable photo of these–the glare was insane!  And now I can’t get it to rotate.  I’ll work on it.  Until then, don’t let this subpar photo in any way devalue the awesomeness of this set…)

Couple of ways to enter…okay three.
1.  Leave a comment and follow me on the blog.  If you already follow the blog, just leave a comment, reminding me that you’re already super cool.

2.  Friend me on Facebook (there’s a button on the sidebar).  Again…if we’re already friends, just comment there (or here) to remind me, so I make sure to count everyone who wants to be counted.

3.  Follow me on Twitter (link on the sidebar).  One more time…if you already follow, just comment there or here to get your name in.

Okay?  Who’s ready?  This unsurpassed opportunity will be over March 8th, so don’t miss out!

Posted in giveaway on 02/22/2011 08:39 pm | 7 Comments
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