Chicks with Guns

It's never too early to start your Christmas shopping, right?  I came across this book on MSN the other day and happen to think it would make a great stocking stuffer. 

Chicks with Guns is by photographer Lindsay McCrum and it captures some amazing pictures as well as stories about gun ownership.

I love this picture of Alexandra and her son Truett, titled 'The magnificence of it all'.

She says “Guns, like everything in my childhood home, were considered treasures and works of art ... My parents taught me to appreciate the art of the hunt, the serenity of the outdoors, and the magnificence of it all. I now have two sons, Thomson, 5, and Truett, 3 years old. The bundled energy and palpable excitement in their eyes as they watch us pack the car with hunting gear is intoxicating! This book actually made me realize that the guns my father gave me when I was married will one day pass to my sons.”

And this photo, featuring Greta, titled 'Trained from infancy', I find so strikingly beautiful.

She says, "I was only 7 or 8 months old when I received my first gun, a gift from a longtime friend of my parents ... For my seventh birthday, my father gave me my first BB gun ... I studied hard with my dad’s help and completed the hunter’s safety course at the California Department of Fish and Game so I could receive a lifetime hunting license. I was so proud when the certificate arrived in the mail three weeks before my 10th birthday!”

Chicks with Guns is probably available in your nearest bookstore, but I found it on Amazon.  Buy it for your mom, your sister, your daughter... or hey, if you don't have any of those, you can buy it for me.

New Tradition

A friend of mine told me about a Christmas tradition that she does with her kids.  We don't have one started with Monkey yet, and since I loved her idea, I borrowed it!

She wraps up 24 different Christmas books and starting on December 1st, the kids get to open one book and read it before bedtime.  The last book is opened on Christmas Eve.  This helps them keep track of how many days are left until the big day and helps to squelch some of their excitement by getting to open something every night. 

It didn't take Monkey long to figure it out... 

And she loves it!

I do believe this is a tradition that we will continue.

Thursday Thirteen

1. I'm glad the elections are finally over. I get so tired of all the negative ads out there. How's about telling me what YOU stand for and what YOU want to achieve for the government. Not the faults of your competitor.

2. Did you know that Thomas Jefferson was the first to use a smear campaign against his opponent? Geeze, if only he knew what he started!

3. My Grandpa had a little spill on Tuesday.  The doctors originally thought he broke his hip, but after surgery last night it turns out he broke his femur.  Still not a good thing, but better than having to have a hip replacement.  It shouldn't be as long of a recovery for him, but still going to be a painful and hard one.  Please keep him in your prayers!

4. I'm really missing my friend Annie right now.  The only thing that makes me happy summer is over is the fact that she'll be coming home for the holidays!

5. Daylight Savings Time ends this Sunday.  I am not looking forward to losing an hour of sleep or getting off work as it's getting dark.  If I was President I would make it Daylight Savings Time YEAR ROUND.

6. And while I was at it, I would mandate a 4-day work week as well.

7. I taught my sister how to make pumpkin puree and roasted pumpkin seeds this week.  I don't think she was really paying attention... I think she just wanted me to do the work for her!  I have two more pumpkins to use, so be prepared for more pumpkin recipes on this here blog.

8. On that note, I've seen recipes for beef stew baked in a pumpkin.  Beef stew is not one of my favorite meals, but I like the idea of baking a meal inside a pumpkin.  I've got an idea I'm working on... I'll let you know how it turns out. 

9. I am STILL swamped at work planning events and working at getting two websites launched.  I could use a vacation.

10. It's volleyball night!  This might be the first time this season where we actually have the entire team there.  It seems like every week we have to have a sub for someone.

11. Monkey dressed up for Halloween this year.  Want to take a guess as to what she was?  A monkey of course!  Cutest little monkey I've ever seen, that's for sure.

12. 5 years ago today, I had Lasik surgery.  It was worth every single penny. 

13. I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and am now reading Undone by Karin Slaughter. What are you reading?

Bookworm in the Making

I really do have the best family in the world.  Aunt Susie surprised me with a big bag of books for Monkey the other day. And when I say big, I mean BIG.  It ripped wide open when I picked it up!   

Most of the books are by Richard Hefter and are part of the Strawberry Library of First Learning.  I regret to say that I had never heard of them.  They really are good books though.  Each one has a strawberry somewhere on the cover identifying it as part of the series.

They are so colorful and bright and full of pictures, Monkey loves looking at them.  And the best part is each one teaches something different.  You have the alphabet...

Opposites...

These probably aren't very politically correct these days, but I like it!

 

I doubt these are even in print anymore, but if you can find them at a garage sale or an old library book sale, I'd recommend them!

Monkey's favorite so far though isn't a Strawberry book.  It's this one:

It's smaller than the rest and she has taken to bringing it with her for car rides.  Just her size.

Thanks Aunt Susie, your the best!

Thursday Thirteen

1.  It's volleyball night.  We are back to playing indoors again and while I miss the sand, with the weather being as chilly as it has been at night, I'm glad we are inside.

2.  I won a blog giveaway, and it's so cool!  The last time I won something was probably back in 6th grade when I won the "Sponsor Wheel" on the local AM station.  I was one stoked kid.  Thanks to Hollie at Blog-o-"Holl"ic and Jill at Lime Tree Gifts for the sweet keychain.  I can't wait to get it!

3.  We have a reception on Saturday for some friends that got married in the Bahamas the same weekend as my sister-in-law's wedding.  They are so cool they even made it on Good Morning America! 

4. Pretty excited to eat leftovers from last night.  Does anyone else get excited for leftovers?  I'm having brat burgers and grilled mac n cheese.  YUM!

5. A friend joined the local roller derby team, the McLean County MissFits, and I'll admit it... I'm jeolous.  I don't have time for both volleyball and roller derby, but I really wish I could do both.  I will have to make it to watch her kick some tail at least once or twice. 

6. Monkey had her 18 month checkup on Monday, even though she won't actually be 18 months until the end of the month.  Anyway, she's in the 95th percantile for height.  Which means she's taller than 95% of the kids her age.  I was not surprised when the doc told me this, it's hard to find pants that are long enough for her!  Poor thing is destined to be like me.  She'll never be able to dry her jeans... ever.

7. I've been reading the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins and only have 40 pages left in the final installement.  Good books, would definately recommend.  Any suggestions on what I should read next?

8. After the incident of JC busting out the bedroom window we decided it was finally time to replace all the windows and doors in the house.  We've had one estimate so far... yikes!  Who would've thought windows could be so pricey?

9.  Last Friday, I went over to my parents to visit after work.  I ended up chasing a herd of cattle through a few fields before getting them back into the pasture RIGHT at dark.  It was a workout, but it kind of made me miss living at home and doing that sort of stuff on a regular basis.

10. We have Dish Network and we love FX shows: Rescue Me, Sons of Anarchy, Justified, etc.  Apparently Dish Network and FX are having a lovers quarrel because when we tuned in Tuesday night to watch SOA, we no longer get FX!  I was quite disturbed, still am actually.  They need to resolve their spat ASAP.

11. I dreamed last night that we won the lottery.  Wishful thinking or a glimpse into the future?  Oh please, tell me I have fortune telling capabilities!  

12. Monkey and Hank have been getting along so great.  For a puppy, he's very gentle with her and she adores him.  One of their favorite games is playing fetch.

13.  Oh, and have I mentioned how much that kid makes me smile?  Like, really smile.  I think I'm going to keep her.

Childhood Favorites

I recently received a package in the mail from a wonderful aunt of mine.  Knowing my love of the written word, she sent me this shirt:

It got me thinking about the books I loved as a kid.  The ones that I think EVERY child should read.  And I wanted to share my list with you (in no particular order). 

1. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

2. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls - There are very few books that I will read more than once (besides Dr. Seuss or various other books Monkey wants to read 100 times in one night).  This book I have read dozens of times and could read it again tomorrow and still love it.

3. White Fang by Jack London

4. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

5. The BFG by Roald Dahl

6. The Ramona Series by Beverly Cleary

7. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak - of course!

8. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

9. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

10. Matilda by Roald Dahl - Okay... pretty much any book by Roald Dahl.

11. Where the Sidewalk Ends - Shel Silverstein

Did you read these books when you were a kid?  What was your favorite? 

I'm sure many of you loved some literary classics that I failed to include, like The Secret Garden, or The Hobbitt.  But for whatever reason it was, those books never grabbed me.  I will freely admit, I loved any and all R.L. Stine books.  He's famously known as "the Stephen King of the children's literature", so maybe that explains my love of Stephen King and other out-there authors now.

Oh and thank you Aunt Jill, you're the best!

Thursday Thirteen: Thanks, 2nd Edition

I couldn’t list everything I was thankful for in my previous Thanks post, so I thought I’d do another one.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

1. Mashed potatoes, with lots of butter and white gravy.

2. FX Network, and their great shows. Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, Sons of Anarchy…

3. Water, ice cold water.

4. Our new gun safe. Monkey isn’t walking around yet, but she will be before we know it and a secure place to put all our firearms is necessary. The old one just wasn’t big enough.

5. Subway Flat Bread. It is so good, try it!

6. The Odd Thomas books by Dean Koontz. They aren’t his normal style of writing, but I like them. I will actually go as far as to say I like them better than his other books.

7. On the topic of books… The Old Book Barn in Forsyth, IL. You can trade your old books in for new books there and I love it.

8. Wine. A nice bottle of wine is nice. And I’ll admit it, I even like cheap wine… Boone’s Farm baby.

9. Email. It’s not always easy keeping in touch with friends/family that I don’t see on a daily basis and email makes that possible.

10. Gorgeous fall weather. Nothing beats the weather when a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt is sufficient. Add sitting around a campfire with friends and you’ve got a perfect night.

11. My health. I don’t get sick very often and I certainly am grateful for that. Being sick is no fun.

12. Grandparents. Not only are they wonderful of course, but they also make great babysitters.

13. Long weekends!  Enjoy yours!

The Books with Bite

I’m an avid reader. I love reading the paper, magazines, online articles, but mostly I love books. All sorts of books spanning over many genres.

I’m in the middle of a series now that is just plain fun. There’s not a whole lot of thinking that needs to go into it, it’s just for the sheer enjoyment of reading and let's be honest, sometimes I just want a book that doesn't make me think a lot when I'm reading it.  And this one does it for me.  It's the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. 

Heard of Sookie?  She’s a pretty popular chick having her own hit show on HBO as well.  I don't get HBO so I had never heard of her, but my sister turned me on to her books and I'm glad she did!  There are nine of them so far and I'm on the fourth one right now. 

I know the covers look a little childlike, but they aren't.  Oh no sir, not at all.  Remember, they did turn these books into an HBO series!

So if you are looking for a new obsession, this series comes with a big fat recommendation. And really, what I've seen of the show is excellent as well. But, um, make sure your kiddies are safely tucked away in bed before you watch.