Bookworm, Bookworm...

I was singing those two words to the tune of "inch worm, inch worm, measuring the measuring stick..." in case you want to join me.

At my last counseling session, my counselor asked what I was doing for me now that Jeff and I are seperated. I had to stop and think a minute because to be honest I'm not used to having SO much me time. But I quickly realized that I have been reading. and a lot. The library has become my friend again after a seperation of several, several years.

I remember as a child, the enjoyment of just sitting in the stacks and randomly pulling books off the shelf to see what kind of adventure or treasure that they contained. I was blessed that my mom worked for a library system, so access to this wonderful world was easily obtained.

For the past year, I have been taking the Thursday edition of USA Today and scouring the Life section for thier editiorials on the newest books. If something sounded good, I would write it down for possible reading later. It was from one of these editorials that I came across "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle". Several months ago, I also printed out "50 Amazing and Essential Novels to Enrich Your Library". I can't remember who created the list but I obtained from my daily dose of Zen Habits (a blog). From this list, I discovered "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler, "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon.




This picture shows three of the books that I have just finished or am reading. "Bel Canto" by Ann Patchett came off of the "50 Amazing ..."list and was WONDERFUL. I could not put this book down and I can't wait to read more of her work. "The Reader" by Bernhard Schlink came from the newspaper and ,of course, the preview for the movie. I haven't seen the movie, not sure that I will but book I read in two days. It was very insightful, a great read and one that I left me several tidbits to ponder over. The third book in the photo is "THe House at Sugar Beach" by Helene Cooper. I just started this book and so far it has started out V-E-R-Y S-L-O-W-L-Y for me. I will let you know how it ends up.

I was hoping for a warm, spring weekend but it looks as if we are going to be given a chilly, wet weekend instead. I will be inside for the most of the weekend, so chilly and wet I will still be warm and dry. I am working at the Scrapbook Cafe tomorrow and then on Sunday I start a new house cleaning job. I have my first choir practice Sunday afternoon followed by Sunday service and then it's the start of a new week. Where does time go that it has to arrive so quickly?

I hope you have a blessed weekend....

From the mouth of babes...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

My morning started out with a good laugh. When I came upstairs this morning, Delaney was sitting at the table coloring. She was working on one of those "design a mug" projects where they provide you with a drawing that you color and then slip between the clear outside and the mug itself. Anyway, Delaney says to me that she had been up ALL night working on her mug. This made me laugh because I knew that she hadn't been up all night. A moment passed and she said "I think I'm nocturnal because I'm up all night and when day comes I sleep". Now, what other five year old knows what the word nocturnal means? I couldn't help but laugh.

Here is a St. Patrick's Day card that I mailed out to a few people:



and the inside



I just love this saying!!!! If you were one of the recipients of this card, I hope you enjoyed it. For those card making folks out there, the base of the card is made with Stampin Up Very Vanilla, the mat and DP are items that I pulled out of a clearance bin and the stamps are from Hambo Stamps.

Speaking of stamps---I was a winner during Hannah Stamps blog hop give-away!!! If you haven't checked out Hannah Stamps you can find them here
I don't know what I've actually won as the owner is sending out suprize bags. But hey, a prize is a prize!!!!

The weather here today is almost 80 degrees---LOVE IT!! I told Tim that I wanted to move my desk outside. Nothing much else new today. I have my second counseling session tonight, which I'm still not 100% sure about. I know it's helpful and I need to be there but I just cringe at paying the money, especially now.

Happy Trails!
Jess

Has Spring Sprung?

Has Spring finally Sprung? I would like to think so given the 70 degree weather and sunshine that we have today. However, I know that there is still the possibility of snow and cold weather. I remember an Easter with snow on the ground and me in open toe shoes!!!

Has anyone read "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle"? I just finished it last night and it was a GREAT book. It's about a mute boy born into a family that breeds and trains dogs. However, the ending has really gotten to me and I am dying to chat with someone else that has read it to get their opinions. I think I am going to have to go back and reread the last few chapters just to make sure that I read everything correctly.

It has been one month today that Jeff was arrested and it will be one month on Wednesday that I moved in with Tim and Becky. This past week, I spent Thursday and Friday night at my house. So on Thursday morning, I gave Delaney a hug and told her that I would see her on Saturday. She told me that she would watch my stuff for me. She said that my kitty missed me and I needed to spend some time with her as well. Such understanding from a five year old. On Saturday, I walked into the Philipps house around 3:30 and Delaney met me with a HUGE hug. She ran into the family room and came back holding something clutched in her hand. She said "I made this for you" and handed me a "necklace" which was a ribbon that had green beads on one side and clear beads on the other. I immediately put it on and thanked her. I went down to the couch which has become my bed and took a nap. When I got up, Delaney was so excited that I had slept with the necklace on. Later on as I was rocking her for bed, she told me that the clear beads represented salt and the green beads represented green beans. LOL

Yesterday morning I attended Sunday School and morning service. It was only a week ago that Pastor Winters of Maryville Baptist Church was shot and killed during his 8:15AM service. So our sermon yesterday morning was entitled "Why". It was very good and very thought provoking. One of the things that has stayed with me is this. Pastor Winters was only 45 years old. Our pastor said that many people are asking why God would allow such a tragedy and especially one for someone who was so young. Our pastor, Pastor Schneider, referred to the passage in Job that reads "man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed". Pastor stated that God has given each of us only so much time and only He knows what it is. Because of this we should live every day as if it were our last. Who is to say that if someone had apprehended the shooter before he was able to reach Pastor Winters, that Pastor Winters would not have died in a car accident on the way home or had a heart attack that night? God has only given each of us a certain amount of time on this Earth and it is up to us to use that time wisely. Pastor also said that sometimes God allows us to suffer because we need to be in a place of suffering for our soul to mature. If our soul is shallow we cannot receive the blessings that God has for us. As you can see, this sermon has stayed with me.

I had an enjoyable lunch yesterday with my friend Tammy and her daughter Brandy. We stopped by my house so that I could give her the Longaberger she had purchased from me and then I went back to Tim/Becky's. Tim and I made a wonderful dinner of pot roast, mashed potatoes and peas---YUMMMMY.

Today, the sun has shone, work has been steady and I had an interview for a part-time job at Country Inn Hearth and Suites. Becky just called to let us know she thinks Carson has strep throat and she is taking him to the doctor.

As I write this, a song from Casting Crowns is echoing through my head " here I am to worship, here I am to bow down down, here I am to say that you are God..."

If this were your last day, would you be satisfied with how you have lived it?

Jess