C.S. Lewis Quote

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.

-- The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis

How Lucky Am I?

I came home today from a long day at work (didn't leave work until about 7:30 PM) to find that I had received some more wonderful gifts! Then I realized that I had fallen behind on acknowledging the gifts that I've received. So here are the latest gifts that I've gratefully received:

First there was the book Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea.




I won this ARC on BermudaOnion's blog. The back cover says: "Nineteen-year-old Nayeli works at a taco shop in her Mexican village and dreams about her father, who left the family to work in the USA. In fact, there are almost no men in the village-- they've all gone north. While watching The Magnificent Seven, Nayeli decides to go north herself and recruit seven men-- her own "Siete Magnificos"-- to repopulate her hometown and protect it from the bandidos who plan on taking it over." The book will be released in May 2009.

I also won these beautiful notecards from Invitations by Jane through a giveaway on Busy Mom.



I had the cards personalized for my mother, and gave them to her as an early Mother's Day gift. She loved them! I have to add Invitations by Jane to my list of favorite stores. I love her stuff!

Today I came home to find that I had received the latest book that I won from Drey's Library. It is How I Got To Be Whoever It Is I Am by Charles Grodin.


I've heard good things about this book, and they say it is pretty funny and entertaining. I plan on sharing this book with my mother, as she loves biographies.

And my favorite gift(s) to receive today come from Susan of A Drawer Full of Dreams. I actually won the book The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg through the One World-One Heart event that occurred in February. However when I got my package today I was surprised to find that it included a home knit hat and a beautiful card.


The book is Susan's favorite, and she wanted to share it with others.


The back cover says "Sometimes you have to leave your life behind for a while to see it and really live it freshly again. In this luminous exquisitely written novel, a woman follows the pull of the moon to find her way home. Sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, always honest, The Pull of the Moon is a novel about the journey of one woman-- and about the issues of the heart that transform the lives of all women." Beautiful!

The package also included this lovely little card.


The back of the card says: "Alisa fine art cards. "First Snow" reproduction of an original painting by Pacific Northwest Artist Alisa Anne. http:www84.pair.com/waw/art/myweb2/ Lisajane63@yahoo.com AlisaPaints.etsy.com" Look at that face!

And to top it all off (no pun intended. You know. It's a hat. You put it on your head. You "top off" yourself...nevermind), she sent along this beautiful hat that she knit herself.


She said that she knitted it in a light yarn, knowing that I am in Florida and don't get too much of an opportunity to wear a knit hat. It is SOOOOOOO soft! I had to try it on right away, even though I'd just gotten home after a long day at the office, and was wearing my ratty clothes and in need of a shower.


I could have used this hat when we went camping last weekend! I love it!

My thanks to BermudaOnion, Drey's Library, Hatchette books, Invitations by Jane, and Busy Mom for everything. And a special bit of thanks to Susan of A Drawer Full of Dreams for knitting the hat on top of the book and the card she sent. Be sure to check out her blog. She has the greatest kids, and she is currently hosting another giveaway that includes notecards of her daughters artwork as well as her son's favorite book. She is extending the giveaway deadline to next Friday 4/17.

Thank you everyone! You have brightened my day, and reminded me again how lucky I am!

More Gifts Received

Yesterday I received two more gifts that I've won.



From Enroute To Life, I won Mrs. Meyer's Clean Clean Home: No-nonsense advice that will inspire you to CLEAN like the DICKENS. I sorely need this! I am not a natural cleaner. It takes me hours to do something it takes another woman minutes to do. My mother comes over and is a whirlwind as she spins around with a broom and a rag. Me? I stand in a room and look around and think, "Where do I begin?" I've always been easily overwhelmed by cleaning. Something badly hard-wired in my brain!

I also received the pottery I chose from trashcanpottery.





I won a $20 gift certificate to trashcanpottery through a giveaway on Etsy Finds and Giveaways. I chose a piece that had a little blemish on the bottom of it, and therefore was a larger and "nicer" item than I might normally be able to get for my $20.







Thanks so much to Enroute to Life, Hatchette, trashcanpottery and Rainbowswirlz for the great gifts!

Gifts Received and 100th Post

You know, I probably wouldn't have even noticed if I didn't see everyone else making a big deal out of their 100th posts, but this is it. Number 100.

And I'm using my 100th post to acknowledge some gifts that I've received from the blog world.



I'm so excited to have won this book! The Terror by Dan Simmons. I've wanted this book since I first read about it. I won this from A Book Blogger's Diary. I can't wait to read it, but right now I'm reading Robin Cook's Invasion.



I also won this Thank You card from Owen Says through a giveaway on Crow and Canary. Lovely little card!



And I won a one-year subscription to The Essential Herbal magazine! This magazine is just chock full of great little herbal tidbits.

Such great gifts, each and everyone! My thanks to the bloggers and Owen Says and Hatchette Books for these great gifts, and for sharing my 100th post with me!

Books Are Like Methadone

You know, I used to LOVE reading. I couldn't get enough. I could read a 600 page book in a week.

Then computers came along, and I created a website, and then I discovered blogging. Of course, probably the real problem began when I found that I could borrow the company laptop to use at home. That meant that I could sit in bed and "laptop it", or carry it to the living room and settle in, or out to the porch. Whatever I wanted! Now all of my free time is spent on a computer, and I can't remember what was the last book that I read. A 600 page book now takes probably a month or two for me to get through.

I miss reading. I miss the simplicity of it, and of losing myself in the story on the page and in my mind.

I've won a few books lately, so I hope to get back to reading soon. I've been visiting different book review blogs, and I see all of these reviewers who are doing "100 Book Challenges", and I'm amazed how people can find time to read 100 books in a year. That's a book every 3 1/2 days. And we're talking big books, not little 100 page books!

So I am issuing myself a challenge. In an attempt to wean myself off of my computer addiction and back to my true love (books), I am issuing myself a 12 book challenge. A challenge to put down the computer and pick up a book. My goal is to read twelve books before the end of 2009.

Twelve books may not sound like much, but that is time that I will have to spend away from the computer. No blogging or emailing or surfing while I just lose myself in what will hopefully be twelve good stories.

I hope to regain some creativity, passion and innocence while I hearken back to simpler days. I hope that the books become the methadone for my computer addiction, taking the edge off and giving me the incentive to stay away from the computer.

The first book on the list is Robin Cook's The Invasion.

Others on the list:

• The Terror by Dan Simmons
  
• My Little Red Book by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff
  
• The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

I'll keep you posted!

OWOH Giveaway, Prize #2 Received!

Today I received my second prize won during the One World One Heart event a few weeks back. This gift is My Little Red Book.



See the NY Times review here.

It's funny. Only a woman can "get" the appeal of a book like this. Most men would either be disgusted by the content, or just bewildered and perplexed as to the appeal of this book. But it's a common thread that all women share. I look forward to reading this book.

My thanks to Belle for the book! Please stop by her blog and say "hi"!

Blog Love

The following is a list of gifts that I've received from fellow bloggers and online sites. Please check out their sites!:

• My Little Red Book from Belle (RECEIVED 3/6/09)
  
• Peace pendant from Eileen at Dorset Hill Beads (RECEIVED 2/23/09)
  
• Pull of the Moon book from Susan at A Drawer Full of Dreams (RECEIVED 4/9/09, along with a card and knit hat)
  
• Essential Herbs magazine 1-yr subscription from Tina at The Essential Herbal (RECEIVED 3/16/09)
  
• The Terror book from A Bookblogger's Diary (RECEIVED 3/26/09)
  
• Mrs. Meyer's Clean House from Enroute to Life (RECEIVED 3/27/09)
  
• A single Thank You card from Owen Says, thanks to Crow and Canary (RECEIVED 3/23/09)
  
• $20 gift certificate to trashcanpottery, thanks to Etsy Finds and Giveaways(RECEIVED 3/27/09)
  
• Notecards from Invitations by Jane, thanks to Busy Mom (RECEIVED)
  
• Charles Grodin biography from Drey's Library (RECEIVED)
  
• Galway Bay book from Bookin' with Bingo (RECEIVED)
  
• Engine 2 Diet book from So Many Precious Books, So Little Time (RECEIVED 4/20)
  
• Into the Beautiful North from BermudaOnion (RECEIVED)
  
• One year subscription to Relish! via Everything Up Close (RECEIVED)
  
• Wall decals by Wall Talk thanks to SimplyStacie. (RECEIVED 4/29)
  
• The Complete Whole Grains Cookbook thanks to Olga of Mango & Tomato (RECEIVED)
  
• An adorable plush penguin ornament made by Zooguu thanks to New To This Whole Mommy Thing (RECEIVED)
  
• A sample of tWOWels by Nature's Wizard, thanks to Glimpse.
  
• Earrings by Beads by Evelyn (RECEIVED 4/20)
  
• Personalized Notepad by Sweet Life Paper, thanks to New To This Whole Mommy Thing (RECEIVED 4/20)
  
• Cleaning products from Simply Neutral and Razor Family Farms. (RECEIVED 5/10/09)
  
• A peacock pendant from papermenagerie. (RECEIVED 5/4/09)
  
• An original pendant from an Unoriginal Sinner and From Athena's Desk. (RECEIVED 5/2/09)
  
• A chocolate pack from Evergreen Moms. (RECEIVED 5/1/09)
  
• Two bird decals from Lewa's Designs. (RECEIVED 5/18/09)
  
• Big giveaway from Audrey's Country's Crafts. (RECEIVED 5/18/09)
  
• Heirloom seeds from The Victory Gardener.
  After this you can simply look under label "Thanks" for all gifts won.