Thoughts of a Grasshopper

It has been a while since my last post. I took a break from stamping, sort of. I usually have my Christmas cards out and being received Dec. 1st. This year the out of town cards were 2 weeks later than usual and the local cards were 3 weeks late. Some local friends may have received their card after Christmas *shudders*. Any stamping I did in December was because I was still making cards to mail off. I ended up mailing off around 124. There were still people on our list to mail a card to, but they will be getting a Valentine card instead. I spent the last month enjoying family, the festivities of Christmas, reading, cooking/baking, digi scrapping, working on scout "stuff" with my son and his friends, and enjoying life in general. I went through another spell of trying out recipes that I thought would be good or someone I knew would like. Some weren't so thrilling to my kids and one that was I didn't get a picture of. Guess I'll have to make it again soon so I...

I went to bed with an idea of what I wanted to stamp this morning. I went to my desk to begin and couldn't start because everything is such a mess. I started putting away markers from yesterday's card. Then it was packages of cardstock that were still out. Needless to say, I spent close to two hours cleaning up, I'm still not done but I need to move on to my "list" for today. I'm posting like I usually do and I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully with the idea I had last night. You may be wondering what the picture above is. A few weeks ago I received an envelope with the badges I earned this summer for VC Rocks. They don't usually have badges but they were celebrating 10 years. I think it was a brilliant idea and probably helped the group to be more active. I know I participated in a couple of things I don't usually do. Last night was book club. I didn't make it. I'm kind of bummed about it but I really didn't feel to great. I m...

Have you read any good books lately? I'm reading The Good Earth and should finish it tonight. I hope the main character rethinks something he has done and goes back to the down-to-earth person he was instead of being so prideful. His values have changed and it is sad for him, his family, and others that are affected by his choices. I'm appreciating how swiftly this book moves along and yet, the point is made. I'm on a bookmark kick again. I'm making some for friends and for the girls at church for one of our meetings when we have a book review. I'm looking forward to hearing their top picks and a little of their book of choice. One of my daughters needs to have several gifts this week that total $5 or are free. I was thinking a couple of bookmarks would be good, along with a notebook that is jazzed up. She is thinking lip gloss or something similar too. We are going shopping tomorrow to see what we can find.

The picture doesn't do this salad justice. It is a rockin' salad. My family has liked it for about 10 years. I took it to a BBQ yesterday and it was loved. I had comments even at the end and the host commented that what comes into the home stays. LOL. Guess I should have shared this one sooner. BLT Macaroni Salad 2C elbow macaroni 5 green onions 1 lg tomato, diced (I seed mine) 1-1/4C diced celery 1-1/4C mayonnaise 5t white vinegar 1/4t salt 1/8 - 1/4t pepper 1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled (I use 3/4 lb.) Cook macaroni; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, combine the macaroni, green onions, tomato and celery. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour over macaroni mixture and toss to coat. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Just before serving add bacon. I know a lot of people like the Poisonwood Bible, I'm not one of them. I did like how it was written in that you saw through the eyes of each family member what they th...

I missed a day or two of stamping this week finishing up a book that I've been reading way too long, but I'll get to that in a minute. The first card is made with the stamp set A Rose is a Rose. Every time I use this set, I'm reminded of how similar it is to Cottage Rose that was retired several years ago. Cottage Rose was one of the first stamp sets I bought when I discovered Stampin' Up! I took a close-up of the rose card so you could actually see the "thank you". I like the circle piercing. I used a Coke glass that my husband came home from a trip with. It was the perfect size. Rose Thank You Card: Stamps: A Rose is a Rose CS: WW, Kraft, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal, Parisian Breeze DP Ink: Certainly Celery, Old Olive, River Rock, Regal Rose, Apricot Appeal, Bashful Blue Misc.: Brads, Dimensionals Flower Birthday Card: Stamps: Pick a Petal, Stem Sayings CS: Crushed Curry, Old Olive, WW] Ink: Old Olive, Melon Mambo, ...

Kathryn recommended this to me and having enjoyed Snowflower and the Secret Fan, I was anxious to read this. I wasn't disappointed by this one. I didn't want to put the book down and ended up reading until the wee hours of the morning several nights. The book follows two sisters in Shanghai whose family loses everything. Their father arranges a marriage for each of them within the same family. While they went through with the marriages, they don't plan to go to America but it ends up being an escape from their father's settlement of his debt and to escape from the attacks from Japan. By the time they are reunited with their husbands and their family, they have added a daughter to the family. There are many chapters on the relationships within the family, jealousy, secrets, war, cultures and then some. Without giving away too much, I have to say the ending was a bit of a surprise as I didn't consider Sam's reaction an option. As a result, you are given May...

This was an interesting book for me. It held my attention within the first couple of pages of reading and I read through it rather quickly. I enjoyed the story but I can't say I would recommend reading it. What do you make of that? Ren is a boy that is adopted from an orphanage and is missing a hand. Of course, he would like to know how his hand came to be missing and by the end of the book that mystery is solved. The man that adopted him earns a living a dubious ways. The characters in the book are typical of others, you know them well. The book is good to pass time with but falls short in other ways. Perhaps my expectations were too high from the reviews that I read but I believe they set you up for disappointment. I can't say you will walk away with anything from the book other than an enjoyable read

I loved this book for a couple of reasons: 1) You could read a few pages at a time if that was all the time you had and pick it up again later and 2) the characters/plot were well-formed. The book is comprised of letters between a writer and her editor, friend, strangers (who later become friends). I enjoyed the witty comments of Juliet and in some ways, several of the characters made me think of Can't Wait to get to Heaven . The story takes place in London in the beginning and then Juliet, the writer, ends up going to Guernsey after receiving letters from the people there relating stories of how the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie society formed, experiences they had under the German occupation during WWII, etc. These stories intrigue her enough and she begins to form relationships with them that she decides to go there and focus her next book on it. I found it to be a delightful read. I commented to one of my girls that I had never read a book that was comprised of let...

What makes it puzzling? I read it for clues to find the coordinates to a cache. I found the book itself interesting and in some ways could see a correlation between the economics in the book and the situation we are faced with now. While we aren't faced with as severe a situation as in the book, I've heard from friends that have closed their businesses due to one thing affecting another and so on and eventually they can't stay afloat any more. The book has several philosophical views of which I mostly agree with. They were explored in fullness in the 1,168 pages and I could have done with a Reader's Digest version. Much of the dialogue in the book added nothing to the book, characters, etc. and could have been eliminated or shortened. As I was reading John Galt's speech (~56 pages) I couldn't help think of a professor I had who commented on an author liking to hear them self talk. I believe that view would have been expressed here by that professor. R...

From the author's site: Nothing ever goes right for Eloise. The day she wears her new suede boots, it rains. When the subway stops short, she's the one thrown into some stranger's lap. And she's had her share of misfortune in the way of love. So, after deciding that romantic heroes must be a thing of the past, Eloise is ready for a fresh start. Setting off for England, Eloise is determined to finish her dissertation on two spies, the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian. But what she discovers is something historians have missed: the secret history of the Pink Carnation-the most elusive spy of all time. As she works to unmask this obscure spy, Eloise has more and more questions. Like, how did the Pink Carnation save England from Napoleon? What became of the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian? And will Eloise Kelly escape her bad luck and find a living, breathing hero of her own? I had read this book previously but couldn't remember too much ab...

I read this book this morning. It takes about 2-1/2 hours so it is a really quick read. I cried several times in the book, laughed a little and loved the letters and how they helped this family, mostly the mother, heal from the loss of her husband the previous year. It was nice to read something that has the magic of Christmas and the excitement for the kids and yet focused so much on the real meaning of Christmas. It was touching to learn who it was that gave this family the gift but also the final gift the family received was beyond touching.

Yet another book that I really enjoyed. As I read the book, knowing I was seeing the movie Friday night, I wondered how they would fit certain parts of the book into the movie because quite a bit of the book were thoughts Lily had. They did fit a few in but for the most part, they were left out. I went to the movie with two friends, one of which read the book a long time ago and the other has my copy to read now. Both enjoyed the movie but there were parts they questioned, like kneeling on grits and asked what that was about during the movie. They don't enlighten you during the movie, but show the end result on Lily's knees. Like any movie they altered parts of the book. The movie is worth seeing but I definitely preferred the book. The book starts off with Lily, a 14 yr. old girl, looking at some things her mother had that she kept hidden by a peach tree in the orchard. Her father comes out after her in the night and we get the first impression that he is quite harsh w...

This book is fabulous. It takes place in various locations over a couple of years at the beginning of the Iraq war weaving together 3 stories. One story is based on a CIA agent, another on a Kurd fighter and the third story is based on two soldiers in the Special Forces. Each story is rather fascinating and unfolds showing their point of view and/or experiences of Iraq and the people, fighting and tragedy of what was endured under Saddam Hussein. The book itself reinforced more what I hear from those that have served overseas than what the media portrayed. There were some interesting ideas in the book I hadn't considered. All in all, a great read and one that I think my husband would even enjoy.

This is a card I made before I was down with sciatica for a month. I've been off pain killers for a week now. I still feel a lot of discomfort, but I'm able to function without anything, which is nice and better for the baby. This card is as close as I could get to one on SCS . I had the scallop frame surrounding the image, but it seemed to big with the ribbon. I didn't have the wheel but have ordered it since. I don't know how I didn't see it when I placed the original order. Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes, Floral CS: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, WW Ink: Chocolate Chip Misc: markers, DD, ribbon In the summer I started a book, Eat, Pray, Love and only made it through 2/3 of the book. I loved the first section, the second seemed to drag and I put the book aside to read the Twilight series. I was reminded of the book recently in a conversation and decided to finish it. The end seemed to move quickly enough. The one thing I appreciated about the book was h...

This is the first book I've read written by Jodi Picoult. I enjoyed her writing style very much and the reality of her books. As I read portions of the book it took me back to the book Please Understand Me when it came to the bullying in school. I must confess that the end provided a twist I didn't expect. I knew the book was about a school shooting and I must admit I liked that the shooting happened in the first chapter. I liked how strong her characters were and how it all unfolded. It was an interesting take on how the bullying affected not only the student but the outcome for many families, including his own after he was in prison and how people viewed them at work, in the community, etc.

I don't even know what to say about Eclipse. Back when I was reading the second book someone approached me and told me the book was the best and she was eating it up. It was torture for me. I will admit that I really like Breaking Dawn. A lot of it was redundant from previous books or didn't need to be written because it was implied fairly well. I was extremely disappointed with the end. I'm not into battles or wars, but the way this book ended just left me shaking my head. It moved quick enough and yet it wasn't as quick as one would like to have had. It was more torture for me than the characters in the book. I'm glad I'm done with it and there aren't any more. I'm really not sure what all the hoopla was over. I guess it really comes down to what "type" of book you enjoy and this really wasn't it for me. I'm not willing to take the time to put a more positive slant on the books.

I was heading to bed one night last week and I was tired and didn't think I would be able to read too long, however, I still wanted to read. All of the books I have right now seem to require some thought and I just needed something relaxing. I pulled Twilight off the shelf and started reading, somewhat hesitantly I must confess. I'm just not a vampire type of gal. Right off I enjoyed the writing style of Stephenie Meyer. She holds your interest immediately, which, as of late, I can't say has been the case for other books I've read. I was aware that this series was geared toward young adults. A positive in my mind because it would be a quick read. It was entertaining to read of high school issues/relationships and recall my own experiences. Those memories and reminders of what it was like made the first part of the book somewhat fun to read. I was delightfully surprised at the lack of vampire escapades that I had expected to be there. It is important to keep ...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found the book entertaining because there were parts where I could identify with due to I was as a teenager and what I must have put my mother through. The not-so-funny part is I'm in the beginning stages of some of these antics with our own kids. There were so many parts to appreciate about Claire as she continued to evolve. The worries of being a pastor's wife, wanting a wedding gown way out of her price range and becoming a dog walker to pay for, serving others through her dog walking business and eventually the assisted living facility she worked at. The ways in which we are quick to judge without having the whole picture. Wanting to be that great parent and struggling to know how to handle situations. The situations that are presented in this book are so realistic and it is easy to get wrapped up in the story and appreciate how things are handled and on occasion, consider what you would have done in that particular situation. The thre...

It has been a while since I read the book Leave It to Claire . I needed some light reading and because I enjoyed the first one so much, I picked up book 2 and 3 at a used store online. Time has been pretty short lately and by the time I'm going to bed and ready to read, I really need something light to read and enjoy. A couple of weeks ago a friend recommended Things My Girlfriend and I have Argued About . I know I finished the second chapter but I don't think I ever finished the third chapter. I'm returning it to the library tomorrow. Perhaps another time but it didn't appeal to me right now. I also bought Twilight because so many people have highly recommended it. I must admit I bought it with reservation because I'm just not into vampires. I will read it, but I haven't even tried to yet. I will probably read Anna Karenina and 19 Minutes before I get to Twilight. On to yet another easy read, Claire Knows Best. I really enjoyed this one, perhaps mor...

I started this book 3 weeks ago and found it to be really hard to get into. I found it to be redundant throughout the book, heck even at the end, she was repeating was was said several times in the beginning. I think I would have been more interested in the book had I not known much about the FLDS. I've had the opportunity to talk with someone that left the church and with that conversation, my curiosity was piqued and I learned much more. Of course, with the children that were recently taken, it was yet another opportunity to learn of their beliefs. I put the book aside for almost two weeks before picking it up again. Once I was about a third of the way through the book it started to get a little more interesting. I've been done with it for several days now and have pondered what it was I would have liked to have read. I think it all comes down to I wanted more emotion and feeling. While she writes of her frustrations, she is so removed from her writing that I had trou...