Book Worm

So, I've been bitten by the book worm again! It'll start with 1 book and then once I've finished that book, I'll start searching for another, and another, etc. I have several books at home, but I've either read them already, or aren't in the mindset to read them at the moment. Speaking of books, I have a bone to pick with Hollywood and book publishers...

It seems (and this is only my observation) that when Hollywood decides to turn a book into a movie, people want to run out and read the book. That's fine, but what I don't understand is when this happens, why is the only copy of the book that seems to be available to read is the movie companion (ya know, the copy with the movie poster on the cover)? It seems that the original copies magically disappear from Barnes and Noble bookshelves to make way for the movie version which isn't always the accurate story. I had to search for a few years before finding the original book for Nicholas Sparks' "The Notebook" and usually have to order the real story online from amazon.com because they seem to have the original story. I observed this yet again when I was at BN earlier and walked past the table with all "The Hunger Games" books on it. I saw the movie companion, but no original book. I can understand when they're out of copies, but when you walk past other books (The Help, The Lucky One, etc) and notice a bunch of books like that, it strikes me as odd. I would just like to say to Hollywood and the publishing companies that if you could possibly e-mail me and tell me what books will be turned into movies in the coming months so I have the chance to buy the original book, I'd be ever so grateful, LoL.

Now, onto what I'm currently reading and what I will be reading hopefully soon...

CANNOT CANNOT wait to read this one!

Love the movie!

Started reading in 2010 and hope to get back to it

Up Next, book 7 of the Drake Sisters Series by Christine Feehan

Hoping to read before seeing the movie

Book 2 of the Dark Hunter Series

Loved the movie!

Currently reading (book 6 of the Drake Sister's Series by Christine Feehan)

Started reading the book, hoping to finish before seeing the movie

Updates!

Hello again! I know I haven't posted in quite some time, but a lot has been happening!

First off, my husband and I moved in January to a townhouse closer to Atlanta, but much closer to both our jobs! We have a Walmart literally across the street and tons of restaurants much closer and shopping is also closer :)

February was an up and down month, which, with only 28 days (this year because of leap year we had 29 days), a lot happened. The beginning of the month started off with us finding out we were pregnant! only to be saddened 2 weeks later with a miscarriage. Please don't ask about details; my husband and I are surviving the best we can and will definitely try again, once we recover emotionally from what happened. There was also some happy things that happened in February! My Georgia family took in a local hockey game when the Gwinnett Gladiators hosted the Kalamazoo Wings the week before my birthday, a trip to Phipps Plaza in Atlanta to the Vera Bradley store for another purse and wallet (my weakness) and I met my healthy drink match: Teavana's Strawberry Lemonade Blueberry Bliss Iced Tea! I also continued my painting nights at Masterpiece Mixers to help decorate our white living room! Oh, and I can't forget what I did at the beginning of the month...I stood in line for 6 hours to get Chipper Jones, Dan Uggla, and Brian McCann's autographs and pictures from the Atlanta Braves baseball team!!!!!

Chipper Jones!

Brian McCann

Dan Uggla!

Lakeshore

Palms at Sunset!

After Christmas

So Happy Holidays!

I have been pondering what to spend my Christmas money on. Do I want to buy the size 35 knitting needles? More yarn? Some of the history books I saw at Barnes and Noble recently? I did get a BN gift card for Christmas (funny thing; Christine Feehan has a new book coming out tomorrow; Spirit Bound-book 2 in the Sisters of the Heart Series)!

Do I buy some clothes at the amazing after Christmas sales (Old Navy!) or buy a new knitting book? Or...do I opt for a Vera Bradley purse? Or possibly a Braves jersey for the upcoming baseball season?

I know I should save, but every once in a while, you have to spoil yourself! Suggestions are appreciated, LoL!

P.S. Here's a picture of the purse I'm thinking about...

Mandy in Mocha Rouge!

Or...

I'll just go and get my book tomorrow, order Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 2 online before they disappear on Thursday (sad) and ponder some more. 

Non yarn

As much as I love yarn, I'll play with other crafting supplies. One of my favorite things to craft with is glitter! I'm someone who loves sparkle and glitter definitely achieves that! I don't recommend using it with little kids, but there are ways to get kids and glitter together without using the loose glitter (glitter glue pens).

I had a thought a couple weeks ago that I wanted to make a Christmas ornament to symbolize mine and my husband's first Christmas together as a married couple. I went to Michael's to buy some glitter and a pack of clear glass ornaments. I came home, spray-adhesived the entire inside of the ornament, put some light blue and white iridescent glitter inside along with some of the leftover sand we used at our wedding and swirled it around to coat the inside of the ball. It looked amazing! I then took a sharpie and wrote on it with our names and the year and hung it on the tree! I think altogether the supplies costed just over $10, but I am thrilled with how it turned out and am thinking this idea could be next year's gift to all the family!

Crafting Thoughts

So I thought it was only smart to list some of my favorite crafting tools and supplies since this blog is supposed to be about being creative, LoL.

My passion in the crafting world is knitting and crocheting! I guess I should have said that my passion was yarn and I love to knit and crochet with it, but it makes me happy to make things with yarn; especially when I make something for someone else! I get the greatest pleasure out of making things for other people!

I absolutely love LionBrand.com yarn! Granted, some of the yarn under the label can be a little on the pricey side, but the quality makes it worth it! I'm not a fan of the cheap, scratchy yarn so I'm willing to spend a little more on softer, nicer quality yarn because it shows you care more. Which brings me to a point: When you make a gift for someone as opposed to just buying it, I think it means more to the receiver. I just want to point out that I'm not against store bought gifts!

So here's some of my LionBrand yarn creations:

Beach Scarf

Jelly Bean Scarf

Furry Pocket Scarf

I also love the 100% cotton yarn (sugarncream.com)! It's great for making anything for the kitchen (dishcloths, hotpads, potholders, etc) and one of my favorites, purses!

Striped Tote Bag

Concert purse and Ice Cream purse

Another non-creative thing

I thought I'd share some cool things from the last few years. I love country music and in the last 5 years or so I've had the extreme pleasure of meeting some up and comers. I learned a few things about meeting singers (I haven't met an actor or an athlete so I don't know if the same rules apply) and the big thing is meeting them before they're big because once they're doing sold out shows, it's not so easy to get an autograph and a picture with them!

The first country singer I met was Keith Anderson. He was playing a show about 40 minutes from my hometown and after the show, I hung around for a bit. I followed some people to his tour bus and a while later, he came out and headed to the merchandising tent to sign and take pix with the fans who didn't have the meet-and-greet passes!

Keith Anderson 2006

I won't go into a long story about everyone I met, but listening to the radio helps! 

American Idol contestant Bucky Covington

Jason Michael Carroll-such a nice guy!

American Idol contestant Matt Giraud

Newcomer Frankie Ballard!

Newcomer Shelagh Brown

So among my concert travels, I've met a few people from 'close to home'. Frankie Ballard is from a city 20 miles from where I used to live, Shelagh Brown is from my hometown, Matt Giraud went to school in my hometown and last but not least, newcomer Brantley Gilbert is from a town a little ways away from where I'm currently living!

Newcomer Brantley Gilbert

My other passion...Reading!

As creative as I am, my other passion is reading! My favorite things to read are romance, historical, romance and historical, comical, and some fantasy. I could literally spend hours lost in a Barnes and Noble, with books scattered all around me and be happy as a lark! Even with the somewhat recent purchase of my Kindle, I can't quite let go of the hard copies of some of my books. Weird, I know, but some of my favorite books aren't in print anymore and after tracking them down (thanks to alibris.com), I couldn't get rid of those paperbacks.

I'm currently reading "Dangerous Tides" by #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Christine Feehan (christinefeehan.com). This is the 4th book in her Drake Sisters Series about 7 magical sisters. Christine is my favorite author because not only because she's a fantastic storyteller, but she writes in a way that can grab you from the first chapter! I usually tell people that it's one thing to have a great story, but if it's not written well, the story can lose it's appeal. 

My favorite book!

About 8 years ago I came across a series in the teen section at my local BN that I absolutely fell in love with. It's a 'diary' series about a girl named Georgia Nicolson who tells of the trials of being a teen girl in England and everything that comes along with it (georgianicolson.com). Granted, I'm probably beyond the age this series was intended for, but this series is HILARIOUS! Georgia talks about the 'sex god' (the hot, older guy that Georgia has a crush on), her fat cat who longs to be with the cat next door, etc. It's how Georgia chooses to tell her story that makes this series so funny (come on, we were all teenagers once)!

The first of Georgia Nicolson's books!

I also fell victom in the last few years to the Harry Potter series and the Twilight series, but I won't go into that because most people already know about those stories.