“Waiting on Mr. Aaron Baker”

by Carol5 Comments
Waiting on Mr. Aaron Baker 361 words Leticia looked at the sketch, a small smile curving her lips. A genius, eh? The man was quite handsome, young,  intelligent-looking. He would be here shortly. Hiding the page under the stack of papers on small table at her side , she stood and sighed. As arranged, he would arrive shortly in his carriage to take her to the theater. She walked slowly to her bedroom, her dress trailing behind her. She thought back to the dinner where they had met last week. It had been, overall, a boring affair. The usual gossip and men trying to impress each other, ignoring their wives, boasting of their latest accomplishments. At her request, she was seated by Mr. Aaron Baker and quickly fell into conversation with him. He had actually been amusing and when tonight's invitation came she was delighted to accept it. So rarely is work enjoyable. Too often, she found herself attending events with stuffy old...
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Friday’s Tale: Paul Bunyan

by Carol5 Comments
Image Source: Myths Encyclopedia Today's tall tale features a lumberjack, a giant lumberjack. In those days, when America was new, people had to cut down a lot of trees. They needed the lumber for houses, churches, town hall, ships, bridges, ballrooms, stores, pencils, wagons, and flag poles. Luckily, the trees were there, stretching in tall, wind-shining rows across America. The trees marched up mountains and down again. They followed rivers and creeks. They massed up together in purple canyons and shoved each other out of the way on the shores of lakes. They pushed their dark roots down into rock and their glossy branches into the clouds. (pg. 13) I don't want to get into forest management or clear-cutting, but I did just love that description of the forests of early America. And what Paul Bunyan was good at was chopping down those trees. But Paul was lonely. He could cut down a hundred trees at once, but he still had to drag them...
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My husband is a sweetheart.

by Carol15 Comments
I have to say that I have the best husband. I may make fun of David occasionally, but he really is supportive and caring. He's not a big reader and not really much of an internet person, but he understands how much work I put into this blog and how much I enjoy doing it. He at least looks at it everyday, although I think he just glances at most of the reviews. Yesterday I mentioned that he had seen the visits counter at the bottom hit 100,000 and had encouraged me to host a giveaway. (Enter here.) Well, last night he surprised with a little celebration of the milestone. Isn't he sweet? Apparently Amber knew that he was planning it and kept it secret, too....
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Review: Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton

by Carol7 Comments
We were talking last night in Bible study about holding on and letting go. I had just finished reading Soul Surfer a day or two before, but it really fit with the topic. You may remember Bethany's story. She's a surfer and had her left arm bit off by a shark. She held on to faith in Jesus and to the support offered by her family and church. She let go of any "woe is me" attitude and is really an amazing girl. She also held on to surfing, something she loved, learning how to manage the board with only one arm. Soul Surfer was written by Bethany, a fourteen year-old girl, and it reads like that. It sounds like a young teenager, but I mean that in a good way. I think it would be easy for middle schoolers to read and relate to Bethany. It's a refreshingly honest story. Bethany talks about her life and the attack clearly and...
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Giveaway!

by Carol28 Comments
My husband is more of a numbers person than I am, and when he noticed that the little stats counter at the bottom there was approaching 100,000 views, he suggested I have a giveaway to celebrate. So that's what I'm doing! This giveaway is international, as long as the Book Depository ships to you you can enter. The prize is a book of your choice, up to $20, from the Book Depository. To enter, just fill out the form below by July 15. I'll announce the winner on the 16th. All personal information will be deleted following the end of the contest. This contest is closed. Sharing and comments will not get you extra entries, but I still appreciate both....
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100 Mile Fitness Challenge

by Carol7 Comments
Alright, I'm in! I can do 100 miles between July 1 and September 31, especially when I need to report in weekly. Amanda and Jill are running the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge. Here are the details. The nitty-gritty: In order to complete this Challenge, you will need to “travel” 100 miles from July 1st through September 31st. You can certainly pledge to walk/exercise more, but 100 miles is the "entry-level" amount. Here's how you calculate your mileage: *Running or walking 1 mile outside or on a treadmill equals 1 mile. *15 minutes of other workouts equals 1 mile (elliptical, swimming, weight lifting, workout video, workout classes, etc.). A few "workout" stipulations: “Workouts” only include activities specifically done for the purpose of exercise. Shopping, house cleaning, walking to and from the parking lot, and other day to day activities should not be included. Partial miles travelled on different days cannot be combined. For example, if you run 1.25 miles on one day, and .75 mile on another day, that does...
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