I Joined a Book Club

Boy, do I love to read! I go through phases where all I want to do is read books than other times I am content with just flipping through magazines while enjoying the fluff. When I lived in Nashville, I was part of a book club with some of the other teachers at school. I loved that academic time together with friends! I have searched here and have yet to find one where I would feel comfortable -- honestly, I was looking for women my age in hopes of making some new friends. After not finding anything online, I decided to check out the Frisco Library.

I attended the first book club meeting Tuesday evening. Although I was the youngest member by about 20 years, it was still an enjoyable 2 hours. We read an awesome book called, The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker. The leader even made food and drinks that went along with happenings in the book! I was very anxious to discuss it. It is so interesting to me that some people love a book while other people hate it!

I am going to go back to next month's club. Everyone is to read a different book revolving around a food theme and discuss it. Should be interesting!

Bathroom Update: Part 2

Bathroom update number 1 was clearing out all of the sinks and cabinets along with installing a new bathtub so now, on to update #2!

Mark had an electrician friend from work install new ceiling lights to make our bathroom a bit brighter. They look so great and didn't take the guy long at all to put them in. Next step is to paint the walls and tile the shower.
While the electrician was there, he helped Mark hang up the TV that I gave Mark for our anniversary. We hung it on the wall that faces our bed so we can lazily watch TV at night or in the mornings.
It looks great hanging there though it doesn't get any channels as of yet. My Dad is coming over tonight to see if he can help Mark figure out how to get our DVR connected to that TV.

I am so looking forward to a completed bathroom and completed bedroom!!!

Free! (or almost free)

I was just beginning to think that my free samples that arrive in the mail were becoming few and far between then all of these arrived:







I was also able to score a great deal on make-up at CVS. I got both of these for a little over $8 (I saved $17 off the original price). I am a bit of a snob when it comes to really good (though sadly, really expensive) make-up. I have always bought make-up at Bobbi Brown, MAC, or Trish McEvoy but now that I don't have an extra tutoring job after school, I have to cut back and make choices on how I spend my monthly money. I figured I could try a drug store brand and see if maybe I could switch! My Mom shared that L'Oreal had a matching system on their website that told you what shade to buy based on a more expensive brand. I loved that idea so I went with L'Oreal. I bought 2 different bases to try....keeping my fingers crossed that I will love it and I can make the switch to something cheaper!Lastly, I made my weekly Aldi trip and left with all of these items for just over $10. Wonderful!

Mandy's Surprise Baby Shower!

Mandy is one of the girls in my girl's group. We go out for meals together (or host meals in our homes), talk about what is going on in our lives, and laugh a lot. Mandy is having her second baby in early November so we decided we wanted to do a little something for her so she knows how excited we are for her!

We met at Le Peep for brunch with presents in hand. Mandy arrived and was totally surprised and so happy that we were doing this for her! She got many cute outfits and other baby gear.
Below is the baby blanket I knit for her. Her nursery is brown and pink so naturally, I wanted to do something that would match!We had such a nice time together but had to cut the morning short since the restaurant was busy and other people needed our table. There is nothing like a good laugh with girl friends!!!

Patricia Polacco

Patricia Polacco, a great children's author, was at the local Barnes and Noble this weekend. I have seen her once before but couldn't resist getting to see her once more. She is an incredible story teller and quite a unique woman. I like her not only because her books are great, but she is also a learning different person. She tells children how people called her stupid, put her in the slow reading group, and made fun of her, but also speaks of how this difference made her special. She is honest but encouraging all at the same time. Since I work at a school for learning different children, I am particularly sensitive to this topic and how people treat these sweet children. I love how she handles this topic with teachers, students, and parents!

Patricia Pollaco has written a new book called, "The Junkyard Wonders." I didn't get to read it or buy it since the line was so long (apparently now you have to pre-register and get a band in order to get an autograph). I will be buying this book as soon as I have a coupon though! It was such an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Dixie Is A Hunter!

My sweet, little Dixie is all grown up now and is officially experiencing her first year of hunting. According to Mark, she is even doing it pretty well! She is returning home from her hunts totally exhausted and ends up sleeping away the majority of the day. She is so tired she even ignores Bandera when Bandera wants to play with her -- now that's tired!

I think this one makes Dixie look like she belongs in an official dog encyclopedia or on the cover of a hunting magazine:And this one makes me laugh because not only is her face telling Mark she is tired of holding this bird in her mouth, but the sticks in the background make it look like she has reindeer antlers. It just makes me laugh....
I am so proud of her. I know I am biased (I am her Mom for goodness sake!), but I think she is pretty darn cute too!!! I am so happy Mark has a great hunting companion!

Free! (or almost free)

Again this week, I forgot to take a picture of my great CVS purchase. Ugh! I did manage to buy $32 worth of items for a mere $4 so it was quite a success!!!

As far as totally free goes, it was a pretty good week!

I got a free soap from Bath and Body Works. They were promoting their new men's soap line and so I will happily "support" them by giving Mark a free soap to use!

I also arrived home to find this package waiting for me on my doorstep:
A totally free 2 pounds worth of Mrs. Fields cookies...delicious!!! I got this by sending out an e-mail to 3 people. We decided to freeze the cookies since we have had a lot of sweets around the house lately. It will be something to enjoy later!