A to Z Challenge: S

S = Sorry, Sacrifice, & Salvation

Sorry. Because I'm sorry this is a late post. I had intended to get this posted last night, but it just didn't happen. We're out of town now for the Easter weekend, and that's thrown me off a bit. So, my apologies for being late with this.

And mention of Easter brings me to the second item.

Sacrifice. As most of you likely know, today is Good Friday. For most, I'm guessing, it's just the Friday before Easter. Something to do with Jesus, but no specifics.

For me – and Christians everywhere – it's so much more than that. So very much more. It is the day on which we remember the Ultimate Sacrifice. The day that Jesus died for our sins. The day that we were shown the ultimate in mercy, grace, and love. It is the day on which I remember what He did, and am humbled by it. I am thankful – more than usual – because it's a day on which it's impossible to push it out of my mind. When 364 (or 365, in Leap Years) other days in the year I'm able to push aside thoughts of Christ's sacrifice and what it means to me, it's such a good thing to have one day to focus on it. Thank Him for all He has done – not just with His death (and subsequent resurrection), but in my life since He came into it, too. He is my everything. I am nothing without Him.

Salvation. It's what I have through Christ Jesus, thanks to the day we celebrate in two short days: Easter. The day we celebrate His resurrection, and everything it means for us.

Thank You, God, for sending Your Son for me. Thank You for using Him to pay my debts. I am so unworthy, and so very thankful.

Thank You, Jesus, for paying my way into Heaven. Thank You for loving me enough to die for me. Thank You for all that I am, and all that You are making me.

A to Z Challenge: R

R = Riyria

Most of you, I'm sure, are wondering what the heck Riyria is. Well, it's a realm. It's also part of a title of a series that I am in LOVE with: The Riyria Revelations. The author is Michael J. Sullivan, one of my favorite contemporary authors.

I discovered his books on a whim, when his wife approached me about getting the first book in the series, The Crown Conspiracy, at a discounted price. I decided to go for it, and have never ever even considered regretting it! I have since read the following five books, with the sixth coming my way in the next few weeks. And I cannot wait. How many teen (and not-so-teen) girls around the country couldn't wait for the release of Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn. That's how excited I am. I am not exaggerating.

You see, The Crown Conspiracy is the book that reacquainted me with my love of reading. It's the book that reminded me why I love to read, and why fantasy is one of my favorite genres. It got me back in touch with my inner book nerd. And I haven't looked back since.

The series gets better and better as it progresses through the books. And that's why I just cannot wait to read the end. (Although, it will be bittersweet, as is often the case at the end of any type of series.) Best of all, this series was picked up by Orbit Books (an imprint of Hachette), making its awesomeness official.

Thursday Thunks

1. Describe yourself, in sentences, using the main word of the sentence with the letters in the word: VANITY

Wait, what? If I'm reading (and understanding this properly), I'm supposed to make a sentence about myself using the letters in VANITY. Um ... let me try.

Very antisocial – nah, introverted – today, yup.

Does that work?

2. List things you own using the letters in the word: POSSESSION

Purse
Out-dated T-shirts (as in, from college and high school)
Sunglasses
Shoes
Erasers
Scissors
Samsung HDTV
IPod touch
Old car (2000 Dodge Neon)
Novels

3. List food items that you absolutely will not eat using the letters in the word: DISGUSTING

Donuts that have jelly inside
Italian sausage
Sushi
Green peppers
Undercooked meat (mine must be well-done)
Scallops
Tomatoes
Ice cream that is coffee-flavored
Nuggets from McDonald's (you know, McNuggets)
Goat cheese

4. List things you do online using the letters in the word: USB CABLE

Update my blogs
Stay in touch with friends & family
Buy things

Change passwords
Access our banks
Bingo (and other games) on facebook
Library book renewals
E-mail

A to Z Challenge: Q

Q = Quindlen

Q. A bit of a tricky letter. There are a bunch of words: quiet (not in my house), quick, quail, Quayle, quality, quite, queen ... I could go on and on. But, instead of forcing myself to post something about which I didn't have much of anything to say, I figured the old standby would work. I'll post about a favorite author whose last name starts with Q.

Thank God I have one!

Anna Quindlen ~ I have only read one of her novels (to date), but that is enough. It was probably the best novel I read last year, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Every Last One. It was amazing. I was blindsided, and you will be, too. So. Well. Written. I don't actually own it – yet – but I fully intend to. For how good it is, here's the proof: I liked it more than The Time Traveler's Wife and Water for Elephants ...

It is THAT GOOD!

(In the interest of full disclosure, most book-title links in this post are to reviews I have written and posted on my book blog, Proud Book Nerd. If I haven't written a review, then the link goes to the Goodreads page for the book.)

A to Z Challenge: P

P = Proud Book Nerd

Yup. I'm using this as an opportunity for self-promotion. Might as well, right?

What is Proud Book Nerd?

My book blog. Over a year ago, I was posting a lot of book reviews and stuff here on Ramblings & More. And my blog started to feel quite cluttered. So I decided to make a separate blog for my bookish postings. And voila! Proud Book Nerd was born.

Earlier this month, Proud Book Nerd had its first anniversary! I cannot believe it's been a year, but it's been an awesome year. I'm so happy and pleased to be able to share my love of reading with others.

How do I share my love of reading?

Book reviews, mainly. But I also post book-related memes, such as Teaser Tuesday, an occasional giveaway, and occasional book-related chatter. And it's a blast. The book-blogging community is absolutely fantastic. We book nerds stick together! ;-)

My love of reading goes back as far as I can remember. I remember my dad reading various books to me as a kid, and me reading tons of things as soon as I was able. My love of reading stretched into college, when I majored in English (lit). It was a blast. Hard work, of course, but a blast.

Where is Proud Book Nerd?

That's easy: proudbooknerd.com. Easy to remember, easy to find. (And it's linked from here, too.)

So, if you love – or even occasionally enjoy – reading, please come join me over on Proud Book Nerd! You'll be glad you did!

A to Z Challenge: O

O = Oliver, Oliver, & Osborne

I had a few ideas here and there about what to do for "O," but nothing really appealed to me. I decided that I really liked what I did for N, and wondered how I hadn't thought of that before! LOL I mean, given how much I read ...

Anyway, so, I'm sharing three of my favorite authors whose last names start with the letter O.

Jana Oliver ~ Just last week I read her latest novel, The Demon Trapper's Daughter. Wow. It was so good. Now, before reading it, I was quite skeptical. I wasn't too into the demons and whatnot in my books. But, I've found over the course of the last year that I'm really surprising myself by what books I like. I've found that I like much more than I'd ever have guessed. So, after reading the summary of this one a few times, I finally decided to participate in a tour for it, and I am so glad I did! I look forward to the rest of this series!

Lauren Oliver ~ I have heard all about Before I Fall, a book I have yet to read. But I have read Delirium, and WOW! It's the first dystopian novel I've read, and I never thought I'd like the genre. But I do. (Yes, yes, I know, I love books but haven't read The Hunger Games. Bad me. I haven't read Twilight, either.) This is the first in another series, and I cannot wait for more.

Mary Pope Osborne ~ My daughter LOVES her Magic Treehouse series. My daughter, Abby, is 7. Before discovering this series, she claimed to hate reading. Since, she likes it, and is exploring more authors and books she never would have looked at before. I'm certain of it, because before Mary Pope Osborne, Abby was so not into reading. Now she says that Mary Pope Osborne is her favorite author, and she's always looking in her Scholastic book orders to see what Magic Treehouse book is available. Any author who can help my daughter learn to love to read is a favorite author of mine, too!

(In the interest of full disclosure, most book-title links in this post are to reviews I have written and posted on my book blog, Proud Book Nerd. If I haven't written a review, then the link goes to the Goodreads page for the book.)

Sunday Stealing: The 65 Questions Meme

Taken from the-blog-that-encourages-stealing, also known as Sunday Stealing!

1. Tell us who the last person that you took a shower with. Um ... my husband? I'm guessing, given that I'm not really one who enjoys taking showers with others. It's been a long time, and is entirely possible that it was one of my children when they were babies.

2. Tell us about your favorite tee-shirt. Extra points if you show a pic. (We know. What can you do with freakin' extra points?) I don't really have ONE favorite. I just like them big and loose, so I don't feel like they're showing off my leftover baby fat ...

3. Has anyone ever hit on you even though they knew you were taken? Um, I don't think so.

4. Do you plan what to wear the next day? You mean tomorrow? I don't know. I'll decide when I'm ready to get dressed.

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? Why? That I am exhausted. Because it's past my bedtime.

6. What's the closest thing to you that's black? My mousepad.

7. Tell me about an interesting dream you remember having. I'm to tired to think of any at the moment. Sorry!

8. Did you or might you meet anybody new today? Nope.

9. If you could be doing anything right now (or perhaps after you finish this ridiculous meme)what would it be? If I could, I'd finish my book. I probably have about 50 pages left to read. But I am so friggin' tired that I think I'll just have to wait until morning.

10. Do you floss? Occasionally

11. What comes to mind when I say China? Nice dishes

12. Are you overly emotional? Sometimes

13. If you could listen to just one rock album (CD, vinyl or mp3) which one would you pick? Skillet's Awake

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? Both

15. Do you like your car? Yes

16. Do you like yourself? Yes and no

17. Would you go out to eat with Charlie Sheen? Only if he's paying and not on anything.

18. What was the last song that you listened to? A Kutless song, but I can't remember which one at the moment and I'm too tired to go find my iPod to check.

19. Are (or were) your parents strict? Yes

20. Have you ever wondered what attending a wild orgy (if only to watch or...) would be like? No.

21. I say cottage cheese. You say: food

22. Have you ever met a celebrity? Um, does a former Illinois governor count? If so, then yes. If not, then no. Although, I did meet Dick Butkus at a book signing once. But it was a brief "Hello" as he signed a book I bought for my hubby.

23. What was the last movie that you watched at home? Something's Gotta Give (not very good)

24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? My diamond rings are always in whatever room I'm in! ;-)

25. What countries have you visited? The Bahamas, Germany, and France

26. Have you ever made a phone call while you were drunk that you've regretted? If yes, do tell. Nope.

27. Where were you going the last time that you were on a train? Probably Chicago

28. Bacon or sausage? Bacon, but only if it's CRISPY, otherwise I'll take sausage links

29. How long have you had a cell-phone? More than 10 years now, unless I have to start counting over since I gave up a cell phone for about 6 months after Natalie was born. It's been two years since that little short-lived stint was seen as a bad idea!

30. What other memes do you do regularly? On this blog? Not many – at least not regularly. At least I don't think so. I do a bunch of book-related ones on Proud Book Nerd, though.

31. Who is the craziest meme host? Dunno.

32. Who invented chop sticks? I have no idea, and I don't really care.

33. Who are you going to be with tonight? My hubby.

34. Are you too forgiving? No. I'm probably not forgiving enough.

35. When was the last time that you were in love? Still am. :-)

36. Tell us about your best friend. Which one? The one I'm in daily contact with is Mr. Ham. There's also Chris, my BFF out in Jersey (whom I've never met IRL). Then there's Jen, a woman who was my BFF in high school and now lives near Seattle. While we aren't in touch as much as I'd like, I still consider her a BFF. Whenever we see each other (every few years or so), it's like we've never been apart.

37. What was the stupidest thing you learned in high school? I can't think of anything. All knowledge is useful. Sometimes things I never expected to be glad to know are the very things I'm finding myself using when I least expect it. Knowledge is powerful.

38. What was the last thing that you cried about? Um ... I don't remember.

39. What was the last question you asked? I asked Natalie how many eyes Zeus (our cat) has.

40. Favorite thing to do this time of the year? Sit on the swing on the front porch and read.

41. If you had to get a (or another) tattoo, what would it be? My kids names, maybe? Or a cross.

42. How would your best friend describe you? Depends on which one you ask.

43. Have you ever seen all three Twilight films? Yes, I have.

44. Ever walked into a glass door? Um, I can't remember if it was a door or just a big window in a mall ... thankfully, I was walking slowly.

45. Favorite color on that person that you are attracted to? Blue, gray, or white - they all bring out his eyes.

46. Have you ever slapped someone? Only playfully

47. What hair style (for you) would you like to see return? I don't know. I don't style my hair based on trends

48. What was the last CD you bought? I don't remember.

49. Do looks matter to you? To some extent, yes.

50. Could you ever forgive a liar? Wouldn't I be a hypocrite if I didn't?

51. What's the hardest bill to pay every month? The credit card, because – unlike the mortgage or the utilities – it is unnecessary.

52. Do you like your life right now? For the most part.

53. Do you sleep with the TV on? Hell, no.

54. Can you handle the truth? You bet! I know the Truth and the Truth has set me free!

55. Do you have good vision? When I have my contacts in ... ;-)

56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people? Hate? No. Dislike? Maybe. I'd have to think about it for a bit to come up with three.

57. How often do you talk on the phone? Only when absolutely necessary. I hate it.

58. What celeb would you like to come home to? As in romantically? I dunno. Johnny Depp or James Marsden

59. What are you wearing? PJ pants and a T-shirt

60. What is your favorite wild animal? Bald eagles, I think.

61. Where was your facebook picture taken? It wasn't. It's an avatar graphic.

62. Can you waltz? Yes. I can also cha-cha, as well as a few other dances.

63. Do you have a job? You bet – I'm a full-time stay-at-home mom. I don't get paid in currency, but in intangible benefits. But, those benefits do not include sick days, days off, vacation, or lunch breaks. Still, it's the best job in the world!

64. What was the most recent thing you stole? I am not in the habit of stealing.

65. Have you ever crawled through a window? Not that I remember.

A to Z Challenge: N

N = Nadol, Nepa, Nieffenegger,
Northrop, & Numeroff

I was stumped, absolutely stumped today. I considered "No Idea" as well as books with an N title. Nothing really rung true. But I decided to stick with the book theme, and check out (via Goodreads) my list of N authors. Perfect!

Jen Nadol ~ Her debut novel, The Mark, came out last year. It was very good. It's first in a series, and I'm very much looking forward to the release of Book 2, The Vision.

Andrea Nepa ~ Last year I had the pleasure of getting to review her children's book, Red in the Flower Bed. It's about adoption, and it is wonderfully written. And the illustrations are absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Their beauty is not adequately shown on any photos I've seen. When I opened the book, it is just breathtaking!

Audrey Nieffenegger ~ Author of one of the best books ever, The Time Traveler's Wife. This book was recently made into a movie, and it doesn't do the book justice. The book is so amazing. One of the best books ever – also one of the saddest ... but so GOOD! I'd like to say I want to read this again and again. But, I don't know. It haunted me for a while. Fabulous, fabulous book. I haven't read her others yet, but Her Fearful Symmetry is high on my list of books to read soon!

Michael Northrop ~ Fabulous YA author. I read his latest book, Trapped, last month and it was very, very well written.

Laura Numeroff ~ Author of several, very clever, fun children's books, the first of which (at least to my knowledge) is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. The book is so cute, so clever. I find it fascinating. To come up with something like that would take painfully long! LOL My kids love her books, and we have several of them.

(In the interest of full disclosure, most book-title links in this post are to reviews I have written and posted on my book blog, Proud Book Nerd. If I haven't written a review, then the link goes to the Goodreads page for the book.)

A to Z Challenge: M

M = Music

Well, this one is easy for me. :-) I have always loved music, to the point of considering it one of my passions. I played the violin during 4th through 9th grade, quitting because of an injury. After that, it was choirs. I also played the clarinet in 4th and 5th grades. I think all of this experience in very different genres helps explain my quite eclectic tastes in music. And instead of me talking about music and you reading about it, I thought I'd share some of my current favorite songs.

Rebirthing by Skillet

Tiny Heart by Flyleaf

Keep Breathing by Ingrid Michaelson (from Grey's Anatomy soundtrack)

Hanging on by a Thread by The Letter Black

I could spend hours doing this, so I'll just stop now. It's really hard for me to pick favorites. These are just some I've been listening to a lot lately. Ask me again next week, and I'd come up with a whole different list (although Skillet almost never leaves the list – just the song changes from time to time).

A to Z Challenge: L

L = Lilacs

I considered love, language, leaves, and other L words. But, decided on lilacs. You see, they are my absolutely favorite flower of all time. They are so beautiful and I LOVE how fragrant they are. The only thing I hate is that they don't last long. They bloom, hang around for a few days, then die and fall off. Then I have to wait another YEAR for more. But, I still love them, and maybe their brevity is partially why I love them as much as I do.

In case you hadn't noticed, lilacs are part of the design elements here on this blog. (<––– Look to the left.) And they were the inspiration for the color scheme, too.

Too bad the scent can't be integrated into a Web site ...

Speaking of the scent. Lilacs where the basis of Estee Lauder's Pleasures perfume, and it's Heaven in a bottle for me. I even wore it for my wedding. This perfume is so close to the scent of fresh lilacs that it's kinda nice to sniff occasionally when there's not a lilac in sight.

In short: Lilacs make me happy! :-)

A to Z Challenge: K

K = Kindergarten

There are so many K words I could have gone with: kids, kitten, kites, kitchen, kisses ...

I decided on kindergarten. Because I cannot believe my baby boy will start kindergarten this fall. I love my kids, and I just cannot believe how fast they make time fly. Well, I think it's more just the awareness of how quickly they're growing resulting in my being more aware of the passage of time. (I hope that made sense. LOL)

Anyway, Grant turned 5 in December, so he missed the cutoff for kindergarten during the current school year. That is a VERY good thing, as he had such a speech delay that I don't think he'd have done very well this year. His communication skills have improved a LOT this year, and I think he'll be ready in the fall.

But will I?

I don't know. Part of me is sad. My baby. Once they head off to school, the separating from the parents seems to speed up. A LOT. I know it's what's supposed to happen, but I don't have to like it! ;-)

I have more thoughts about this, but I'm going to stop now. In the interest of keeping this short for those who are trying to read all of the A to Z posts this month.

Thanks for stopping by!

A to Z Challenge: J

J = Jesus

This is an easy one. You see, I'm a born-again Christian. Have been for as long as I can remember. Jesus is everything to me. He means the world to me. I'd like to say that I'd give up everything for Him. I pray I'm never tested on that, though! ;-)

As a Christian, I am not perfect. I make mistakes, I sin – often willingly. Hey, I'm human, too. One of my worst habits is having a foul mouth. Sometimes, nothing feels quite as good as a well-placed F-bomb. I don't use that word lightly, but sometimes I feel it's warranted – I use it for emphasis. Or I'm just pissed and it comes out without my thinking about it. One thing I do NOT say, however, is the Lord's name in vain. If I type OMG, I'm saying Oh My Gosh! And I never, EVER say Jesus' name unless it's in reference TO Him or directed AT Him. I can handle most swearing, most crass language – even the use of "God" as an explanation. (Although I don't like it.) But, when Jesus/Jesus Christ/Christ is used as an expletive, that really, really, REALLY bothers me. I guess you could say it grieves my spirit  – BIG time. I hate it, really hate it. It is very rare that anyone says it in my presence, and I am glad for that. I want to speak up, ask the person to stop. But I'm too chickenshit to actually say anything. I wish I was stronger. I wish I cared a LOT less what others thought about me. I wish I wasn't such a chickenshit about stuff like this. Why can't I stand up for what I believe in? Why can't I ask people NOT to say that around me? I mean, most people are decent and would probably try to accommodate me in this. It's odd to me, how much it bothers me. It really, really does, though. It's like a punch to the gut. And often I can't take the disgust – or at least shock – off my face when that happens. I hate it. Hate it.

Maybe one day God will give me the strength, resolve – or whatever it is I need – to be able to speak up. Tell my friends, or whoever it is, that enough is enough. Jesus might not be real to YOU, but He is very real to me. He is the Lover of My Soul. My Lord. My King. My everything. Please, please, PLEASE respect that.

Top 2 Tuesday: Drinks

This Week's Topic: Top 2 Drinks (alcoholic or not)

My Answer: This one's pretty easy for me. Heck, I just posted about one of them last week ...

1. Dr Pepper ~ There are times I wish I drank coffee, but I hate the stuff. As such, Dr Pepper IS my coffee! I'd probably lose the weight faster, if I wasn't drinking all of these empty calories. Most days, I hate to admit it, but I take in 2-3 cans. Bad days, I drink 4. Occasionally, I limit myself to 1 or 2 per day. It seems like I go in spurts.
 2. Chai Tea Latte (preferably from Starbucks) ~ If I could get this EVERY day (probably once in the morning and once again in the afternoon), I think I could give up Dr Pepper. But, well, that's just too damn expensive! Plus, I looked it up – the calories are about the same. Granted, with tea it's not necessarily empty calories. But still. When you're trying to lose weight, calories are calories.

If you wanna play along, there's a linky HERE.

A to Z Challenge: I

I = IEP

Friday we have Grant's annual review of his IEP (Individual Education Plan), and for once I'm not all that worried. Those of you who know me know I've been worried about his development for since about when he turned 3. We even went so far as to have him evaluated by a team of doctors/specialists at the children's hospital in Iowa City (affiliated with the University of Iowa). You see, one of the speech pathologists we were talking to wouldn't stop talking about ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and putting him in a special education class for preschool. Neither of those sat right with me. I felt like she was pushing her own ideas. I think that when she first met us, she thought she had an instinctive inkling about him, and she saw what she saw based on that. Filtered through her initial impressions.

All along, our fabulous pediatrician kept telling me he thought Grant was just fine and was taking his time on the verbal development. Iowa City agreed with him, and flat-out denied any thoughts of ASD. All he needs is speech therapy. I felt like a butt for not having trusted our pediatrician, but he never once felt like I was doing the wrong thing. He agreed with our going to Iowa City – gave us the needed referral, etc. Even now when I talk to him about it, he just reminds me how very different each child is. (You see, Grant's sisters are both WAY ahead of the curve in verbal development.)

Since all of that went down, I have occasionally talked to Grant's teacher and speech therapist about concerns I had. Most of the time, they assured me that he's fine and just being Grant. We went so far as to have a long meeting in December, during which I asked if we should take him back to Iowa City. They didn't think so. They increased his speech therapy a little, but that's about it. And he's improving in huge strides as of late. (Part of my concern is that next school year he starts kindergarten!)

We are required to meet regarding Grant's IEP ever year – I think it's a state requirement. Every three years he has to be re-evaluated. (I'm thinking that when the time comes, we'll go back to Iowa City.)

So, on Friday we go back in to just update on how he's responded to changes made in December. From what I can see, it was just what he needed – praise God!

Sunday Stealing: The 5000 Question Meme, The Final Part

Taken from the-blog-that-encourages-stealing, also known as Sunday Stealing!

76. Do you prefer Disney or Warner Brothers? Disney

77. What is the first animal you would run to see if you went to the zoo? Whatever's closest.

78. Would you consider yourself to be romantic? Yeah

79. If the earth stopped rotating would we all fly off? I suppose so.

80. What is the one thing that you love to do so much that you would make sacrifices to be able to do it? Reading

81. If you (and everyone) had to lose one right or freedom, but you could pick which one everyone had to lose, what would you pick? I don't know.

82. If you had to choose would you live on the equator or at the North Pole? Equator

83. Would you rather give up listening to music or watching television? Watching television

84. What do you think makes someone a hero? Sacrifice, bravery, selflessness, inner strength

85. What cartoon would you like to be a character in? How to Train Your Dragon

86. Name one thing that turns your stomach: Vomit (like when the kids puke – just the smell of it!)

87. What was the last thing you paid for? A new purse and a few other things at Kohl's

88. Are you a coupon clipper? Sometimes

89. Get anything good in the mail recently? Sure. I get a book or two (sometimes a lot more than that) in the mail every week.

90. Which would you rather take as a gym class...dancing, sailing, karate, or bowling? Dancing

91. In Star Trek people 'beam' back and forth between different places. What this means is they stand in a little tube and their molecules are deconstructed and sent to another tube somewhere else where they are reassembled. Only problem is when the molecules are deconstructed the person is dead. When they are put back together it is only a clone that has all the dead person's memories. Is the person who gets beamed the same person on both ends? That is a good question. If we go with the Star Trek analysis, I guess we'd say yes.

92. What insects are you afraid of? Anything that can hurt me.

93. If you could print any phrase on a T-shirt, what would it say? You don't have to believe something for it to be true.

94. What's the most eccentric thing you have ever worn? I plead the Fifth ...

95. If you could pick one food that you could eat all you wanted but it would have no effect on how much you weigh, what food would it be? Chocolate or cake ...

96. What are your parents interested in? Um ... movies, music, their kids and grandkids

97. Have you ever caught an insect and kept it as a pet? No
Have you ever caught and tamed a wild animal? No

98. What is more helpful to you, wishes or plans? Plans

99. When do you feel your life energy the strongest? Not sure.

100. You are spending the night alone in the woods and may bring only 3 items with you. My cell phone, a tent, a book.

A Bitof Me(Me): School Time

Hosted by There's a Book, this is one question every week to help bloggers get to know each other. The latest post/question (and linky) can be found HERE.

This Week's Question: What are/were your favorite subjects in school?

My Answer: No surprise to anyone who knows me, my favorite subject was English. I loved reading, and was good at writing about it. It was one of few subjects that came very easily to me. I was actually inspired by my AP English teacher my senior, and I think he's why I chose to major in English.

I also really liked biology, and briefly considered majoring in it. Until my senior year (when I had a horrible teacher), I also really liked math – because I was good at it.

Finally, anything music-oriented, especially choir, was also a HUGE favorite.

A to Z Challenge: H

H = Heather/ham1299

That's me! :-) Ham1299, a "screen name" I acquired shortly after I got married. Mr. Ham and I celebrated our 12th anniversary in January, so I've been using this for quite some time. It's hard to remember me as NOT being ham1299. Even on my book blog, I go by ham1299. I rarely (if ever) refer to myself as Proud Book Nerd.

Sorry, no pictures this time. I'm not too keen on sharing pics of myself as of late. Has everything to do with the needing-to-lose-weight thing I have going on. (Now, if only I could find my motivation. If you've seen it, please sent it my way!)

Sorry this is such a short post today. I feel like this was kind of a lame half-ass post, but my mother's in town visiting, and I'm trying not to spend all of my time online or doing anything that isn't in some way interacting with her. I'll be back Monday with an "I" post – whatever that'll be about, I've no idea. I'll figure it out, though!

Have a great weekend!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. In the near darkness shadows can be a bit freaky.

2. Mr. Ham might be on furlough til further notice.

3. But this time everything will be OK.

4. Please don't pee in the stream.

5. It's always nice when my mom comes to visit.

6. It's time for good food and pleasant company.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging out with my mom, tomorrow my plans include a possible soccer game (depending on the weather) and more hanging out with my mom and Sunday, I want to catch up on reading (since that won't be the bulk of my weekend for once!

Wanna play along? Go HERE.