A Deliciously Busy Week

This past week was busy but productive and delicious. Our Thanksgiving celebration started on Wednesday when I made cheesy ham and potato soup to take to my  mother-in-law's house. Ever since my father-in-law passed away she no longer likes to host or attend big family dinners, so I thought it would be nice to stop by and visit her and bring lunch. I also took along some of my famous blueberry banana bread, a recipe that appears in my latest book, Cooking In Fern Valley.

On Thursday, we invited my mother and sister over and we dined on left over soup. We finished up with a new recipe for raspberry bread that I have been dying to try for quite some time. It must have been delicious because my mother asked if I had a spare mini loaf for her to take home. 

Later that evening we stood in line at Wal-Mart to get my mother-in-law a new television since hers died. Normally I wouldn't shop on Thanksgiving, but she needed a television and you can't beat $150.00 for a 40 inch screen. 

Friday I headed back out for my yearly Black Friday shopping and was pleasantly surprised to find virtually no one our and about. I easily found everything I wanted and was home before 9:00am. This certainly had to be a record for me. It worked out well because a fellow author and friend emailed and said she was going to be in the area, so I invited them over for coffee and zucchini bread. Can you tell quick breads are my go to recipe? I did make pie as well, but that was for Saturday.

On Saturday we celebrated our Thanksgiving at my brother's new house. This is the first time in many, many years that I did not host Thanksgiving, and I have to say it was kind of nice not to have to worry about dishes or clean up. We also managed to get a family picture taken.

On Sunday, I caught up on my laundry, dishes, bathroom cleaning, some writing, and we even got the Christmas tree up and lighted but no ornaments yet. And of course, I read a bit because this is my Monday Kidlit Book Review after all.

I read two fun books. The first was called Froggy Is The Best and told the tale of a small forg trying to figure out what he was the best at. It took him a while, but he did not give up until he figured out what it was at which he excelled. This book is great for readers who are just beyond the beginning reading level but not quite in the chapter book range yet. And it is totally encouraging to know that if we just keep trying things we will eventually find what we are good at and what we love.

The second book was called The Cuddle Book. It starts with__Everybody likes a good cuddle. I find this to be true and so it was a joy to read this book. When reading you see how all kinds of animals cuddle but in the end who cuddles best of all?

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley,  and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

Summer Reading Finale and Small Moments In Time!

This past week we attended the library's Summer Reading Finale where Emily enjoyed spending time with her friend. There were centers set up with activities for the kids like hula hooping and craft making, and there was free ice cream. Now I ask you, who doesn't love free ice cream?

 
Bobby took Friday off this week so we had a cook out Friday evening and invited my mom and sister over before we all headed out for our Friday night fun__Summer Bowling. After, we stopped at a little ice cream shop for our second day of yummy ice cream.
 
We also participated in our usual Saturday morning farm market where one of my vendors had some vegetables that were so beautiful; I just had to capture the images permanently. And while I was managing, selling, and socializing, the children took advantage of the bubbles I brought.

 

And lastly, we spent Saturday evening at some friends house celebrating a birthday with a feast and a bonfire. Some very adorable tiny kittens were involved as well, but none of them managed to sneak into our car for the ride home.
 
Thinking about all the little things that constitute our week, I realized how important all the seemingly small events are. I realized that these ordinary everyday occurrences are what bind us together as a family. They are what help us to create the memories that sustain us throughout our life times.

The two books I chose happened to be about parents and children and the beautiful bonds we create. The first book was about a father and daughter and was called Ask Me. The father and the daughter in this story take a walk and along the way the daughter keeps asking her father to ask her what she likes. She then regales him with all the things she enjoys like lightning bugs and ice cream cones. It is simply written and quite a beautiful story that children and adults will more then likely enjoy together.

The second book I read was called Where's Mommy? It was the story of two girls, one human and one a mouse. The two girls are friends but they don't tell their family members because they fear that their families will not understand. One night, as each girl gets ready for bed, she comes to the realization that her mother is not there to tuck her in. Her mother is missing. Each girl searches for her mother and in the end, they each find a delightful surprise.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015) and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

Mothers, Bloggers, and Panera Bread

Yesterday I had the pleasure to join six other wonderful moms from around Ohio at the first ever BlogOh event. We met at Columbus which is pretty much smack dab in the center of the state and therefore not too much of a drive for most everyone. Another fun bonus was the fact that we met in the conference room of the local Panera Bread which was another first for this gal. I personally recommend the frozen berry drink!

Although I have been blogging for a couple of years now in a sort of hit or miss manner, I thought it would be great fun to attend this blogging event and maybe learn a little something along the way. The first thing I learned was that mom bloggers are way more serious about blogging then I ever imagined. I had no idea the extent of sway a really good mom blogger can have over an audience and I am in awe of the ladies I met.

Our organizer, Tonya, writes about her families travels @ her site The Traveling Praters. Jenilee the FaceBook friend who invited me, writes the most interesting antidotes about her family @ her site Our Goodwin Journey. Fellow mom, Stacey, writes a funny blog called I'm A Lazy Mom. Heather, from the Cincinnatti area, is working on starting a fresh blog. And co-bloggers Mona and Valerie blog about what's happening in Columbus on their site Social Moms Around Columbus. Although each attendee and their perspective blogs happen to be very different, what each lady has in common is an enthusiasm and joy for sharing their lives and connecting with others. Blogging takes hours of their time but it is done with such love and talent that the reader probably never takes thought into the effort that goes into each and every post.

What I personally came away with  from the experience was a group of new friends and a rejuvenated desire to blog and blog well. Not only does blogging help me connect with potential fans for my book, Fern Valley, but it also helps me to continue to perfect my writing. And if someone gets a chuckle out of something I say, finds a book worth reading, or a finds some useful tips to help them in their own writing journey, then that's just icing on the cake.

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