Birthday's, Bunnies, and Bargains

May is a beautiful month, and I'm not just saying that because I was born in May. May is when Bobby starts searching for and planting wonderful things in our vegetable garden. May means school is almost over. And May means lots of wildlife activity in our yard.

Sunday morning I woke up early before anyone else in the house; and when I opened the living room blind, I saw two baby bunnies snuggled together near my flower bed.

 

Sunday afternoon, Bobby and Emily took me out to lunch for an early birthday treat. We went to Applebee's, and I used my Christmas gift cards. I usually style my hair in braids when I go out and was pleasantly surprised when Emily came down sporting braids as well.

And Sunday evening when I sat down to write this post, I remembered the great book bargain Emily and I found at the thrift store recently. We found the first five hardback Nancy Drew books. Emily is a great lover of mysteries and has loved Nancy Drew ever since her aunt gave her two Nancy Drew paper backs last year. Nancy Drew books are the kind that never go out of style. She has read the first one already, so I'm going to keep my eyes pealed for books 6 through 12.

 

And while I normally don't read anything but children's books for time reasons, I did start reading A Good Creek Christmas (Kindle Version) written by my friend Virginia Smith. I've only had the chance to read three chapters, but the story is definitely pulling me in. With a myriad of interesting characters and descriptions that really create mental pictures, Virginia has created a top notch cozy mystery that I can't wait to finish. And like me, Virginia has a love of baking and has included a great recipe.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by Literacy Musings Mondays for more great blogs as well as my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

Family__The Thankfulness Continues

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone, and all the pie and cheesecake is gone as well. But, that is probably a good thing. I had and continue to have so very much to be thankful for.

A beautiful day spent at my brother's where Emily got to hang with her crazy cousins.

 

 

A couple of days spent geocaching with Emily and Bobby.

 

 

 
Black Friday shopping and bargains galore; my best bargain being the $150.00 coat for Emily for which I paid a mere $19.99.

In other words. Family, Family, Family.

And the family book I read this week was Gator Dad by Brian Lies. It was a celebration of dads and the things they do with their children. My favorite part of this story was the phrase was, "Let's Squeeze The Day". Whether you think that means to squeeze all the fun one can out of a day, to squeeze all the fun one can into a day, or to squeeze all the love you can into every minute of the day, it boils down to putting family first. And family is always something to be thankful for.

  
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musing Monday Link Up where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

I Finally Ordered...

It's that time of year again when they send those lovely little Scholastic catalogs home with the children. Now to be perfectly honest, in the four years that my daughter has been attending school this is the first time I have actually ordered any books. Don't get me wrong, I love books, I buy books, but the truth of the matter is that I am frugal. Okay, okay I will say it; I am the Queen of CHEAP!

But this year they had some dollar selections which is a price right up my alley. I bought two books for Emily. I bought the classic Charlotte's Web and a National Geographic book called Dog Finds Lost Dolphins. I know, who could resist Charlotte's Web for a dollar; and Emily loves dogs so any book involving one of those great animals is sure to please.

Emily hasn't started reading Charlotte's Web yet, but she has seen the equally famous movie; so I can't wait to see what she thinks of the book. As a child I always loved to compare books and movies and I'm pretty sure the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree where she is concerned.



Since neither of us have read Dog Finds Lost Dolphins, it will be fun to explore this book together. And since it is a true story, it should be even more exciting then usual. So what great book bargains have you found lately? As the Queen of Cheapness, I not only love to get a bargain, I love to hear about other people's bargains as well. 


Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day!