Sunday, August 26, 2012

Sometimes I'm too busy

Sometimes I'm too busy. This is one of those times when I feel that I'm too busy. I look at my datebook for the month of September and I see something going on EVERY weekend. Here's what my month looks like, beginning with this week.

Wednesday August 29 - baby shower for a co-worker at work during work. I'm finishing a blanket up for her, and I WILL have it finished by then. I'm almost finished with it now. Pictures of it will be posted probably on Thursday.

Wednesday Aug 29th - AWANA meeting at the church that night. Because AWANA starts back up on Sept 5.

Labor Day weekend - that's this next weekend! I will be out of town for a family reunion.

Wednesday Sept 5 -AWANA starts back up.

Saturday Sept 8 - baby shower for my cousin who is adopting a baby. No blanket for them right now, but they will get one.

Sunday Sept 9 -Baby shower for a young couple attending our small group Bible Study during class. It'll be lots of fun. I'm going to make a blanket "cake" out of receiving blankets.

Saturday Sept 15 - baby shower for one of my best friends. She's getting  a blanket, but it probably won't be until Christmas.
There's something on my schedule for the 16th, but I don't remember what.

Friday Sept 21 - Because I've finished this quarter as a star consultant, meaning I get a prize, we have our Star get together that night. I think my sales director told me it's a square dance.

Beginning the week of Monday Sept 24 - my fall TV shows start back up. So Hawaii 5-O, NCIS, NCIS LA, and Amazing Race (starts Sunday Sept 30) will be back on my schedule.

Saturday Sept 29 - I have a cousin getting married.

Add into this the occasional facial & party, plus working, and reading, and I'll be busier than I have been in a long time.
Speaking of reading, here is what I plan on reading in September.

Some of these are for fun and others are for to review.


Bees in the Butterfly Garden by Maureen Lang, Over the Edge by Mary Connealy, Bride Wore Blue by Mona Hodgson, Deposit Slip by Todd Johnson, Path Towards Love by Cara Lynn James, Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz, Submerged by Dani Pettrey, The Girl's Still Got It by Liz Curtis Higgs (the only nonfiction on my list), With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin. So there are five new to me authors on this list. I also plan on reading at least one book on my Kindle and Rick Riordan's Demigod Diaries.

Here's what each book is about. Blurbs are from Amazon.

Bees in the Butterfly Garden by Maureen Lang -
Raised in an exclusive boarding school among Fifth Avenue’s finest, Meg Davenport has all she’s ever needed . . . but none of the things she’s wanted most, like family, or dreams of a future that includes anything other than finding a suitable match. So when her distant father dies, she seizes the chance to throw etiquette aside and do as she pleases. Especially when she learns that John Davenport wasn’t the wealthy businessman she thought, but one of the Gilded Age’s most talented thieves.

Poised to lead those loyal to Meg’s father, Ian Maguire knows the last thing his mentor would have wanted is for his beloved daughter to follow in his footsteps. Yet Meg is determined, and her connections to one of New York’s wealthiest families could help Ian pull off his biggest heist yet. But are they both in over their heads? And in trying to gain everything, will they end up losing it all?

Over the Edge by Mary Connealy - Seth Kincaid survived a fire in a cave, but he's never been the same. He was always a reckless youth, but now he's gone over the edge. He ran off to the Civil War and came back crazier than ever.

After the war, nearly dead from his injuries, it appears Seth got married. Oh, he's got a lot of excuses, but his wife isn't happy to find out Seth doesn't remember her. Callie has searched, prayed, and worried. Now she's come to the Kincaid family's ranch in Colorado to find her lost husband.

Callie isn't a long-suffering woman. Once she knows her husband is alive, she wants to kill him. She's not even close to forgiving him for abandoning her.

Then more trouble shows up in the form of a secret Seth's pa kept for years. The Kincaid brothers might lose their ranch if they can't sort things out. It's enough to drive a man insane--but somehow it's all making Seth see things more clearly. And now that he knows what he wants, no one better stand in his way.




The Bride Wore Blue by Mona Hodgson - The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek—Book 3

Headed toward a fresh start but tethered by her past, Vivian longs to break free, to find forgiveness and love.

At last, the sisters are reunited! The youngest Sinclair, the family“ baby”, is moving from Maine to Cripple Creek, Colorado and joining Kat, Nell, and Ida. But Vivian is a young woman with a will of her own, and made some decisions back in Portland that have begun to haunt her. Will she be able to live up to the expectations of her three perfect and now happily-settled sisters?

The sisters warmly welcome Vivian to the mountain west, but the wild-and-woolly mining town isn’t ripe with opportunities for a respectable young woman. The youngest Sinclair sister is determined to make her own way, so
when she’s off ered a job as a hostess in a sporting house, she takes it, thinking the position is appropriate for a tainted, unlovable woman like herself. Although she’s convinced she’ll never be asked to entertain privately, Vivian
keeps her employment a secret from her sisters, knowing they’d be mortified—as will Carter Alwyn, the kind and godly sheriff ’s deputy who’s sweet on her.

Vivian is descending into a life of secrets, lying to the very people who love her and could help her heal from her mistakes. Will an outpouring of grace remind her that she is still God’s beloved and that her past can be washed as clean as Rocky Mountain snow?


Deposit Slip by Todd Johnson - When Jared Neaton grew tired of the shady ethics of his big law firm and left to go out on his own, he never expected the wheels to fly off so quickly. One big case collapsing on him has pushed him to the brink and it's all he can do to scrape by. He can't risk another bad loss.

Erin Larson is running out of options. In the wake of her father's death, she found a slim piece of paper--a deposit slip--with an unbelievable amount on it. Ten million dollars. Only the bank claims it has no record of the deposit and stonewalls her attempts to find out more. This lawsuit, her last chance, has brought only intimidation and threats. Now she needs to convince Jared to take a risk, to help her because the money is real. And both need to watch their backs as digging deeper unleashes something far more dangerous than just threats.

Path Toward Love  by Cara Lynn James -
Katherine came home to forget her past. The last thing she expected was to find her future.

Young widow Katherine Osborne returns to her family’s rustic camp on Raquette Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. She’s determined to live a quiet life, but her socialite mother is equally determined to push her into a new marriage while she’s still young.

Andrew Townsend has known Katherine since they were children. An attorney who is successful, but not wealthy, he knows she is socially out of his reach. But he’s curious about what changed the free-spirited girl he once knew into this private, somber young woman.

Katherine has kept hidden the details of her unsuccessful marriage. When past sins come to light, she must turn to God for the courage to be honest. But how can she trust the God she feels has let her down? When she confides in Andrew, their relationship takes a dramatic turn into uncharted territory.
Amid impossible obstacles, two young people must learn to trust enough to walk the path that God has cleared for them. A path that leads to healing and restoration. A path toward love.

Love's Reckoning by Laura Franz -
On a bitter December day in 1785, Silas Ballantyne arrives at the door of master blacksmith Liege Lee in York, Pennsylvania. Just months from becoming a master blacksmith himself, Silas is determined to finish his apprenticeship and move west. But Liege soon discovers that Silas is a prodigious worker and craftsman and endeavors to keep him in York. Silas becomes interested in both of Liege's daughters, the gentle and faith-filled Eden and the clever and high-spirited Elspeth. When he chooses one, will the other's jealousy destroy their love?

In this sweeping family saga set in western Pennsylvania, one man's choices in love and work, in friends and enemies, set the stage for generations to come. Love's Reckoning is the first entry in The Ballantyne Legacy, a rich, multi-layered historical quartet from talented writer Laura Frantz, beginning in the late 1700s and following the Ballantyne family through the end of the Civil War.
Submerged  by Dani Pettrey - A sabotaged plane. Two dead deep-water divers.

Yancey, Alaska was a quiet town...until the truth of what was hidden in the depths off the coast began to appear.

Bailey Craig vowed never to set foot in Yancey again. She has a past, and a reputation--and Yancey's a small town. She's returned to bury a loved one killed in the plane crash and is determined not to stay even an hour more than necessary. But then dark evidence emerges and Bailey's own expertise becomes invaluable for the case.

Cole McKenna can handle the deep-sea dives and helping the police recover evidence. He can even handle the fact that a murderer has settled in his town and doesn't appear to be moving on. But dealing with the reality of Bailey's reappearance is a tougher challenge. She broke his heart, but she is not the same girl who left Yancey. He let her down, but he's not the same guy she left behind. Can they move beyond the hurts of their pasts and find a future together?


The Girl's Still Got It by Liz Curtis Higgs - You know Ruth’s story. Now meet her in person. And prepare to be changed.

Walk with Ruth as she travels from Moab to Bethlehem, certain of her calling, yet uncertain of her future. Hold Naomi’s hand and watch love put the pieces of her broken life back together. And hang out with Boaz, their kinsman-redeemer, who blesses both women and honors God, big time.

With best-selling author Liz Curtis Higgs by your side, you’ll tarry in the corners of their ancient houses, listen to their conversations, and consider every word of every verse until you can say, “I
totally get the book of Ruth. And I see what God is trying to teach me through this rags-to-riches redemption story—he has a plan for my life.”

Girl, does he ever!


Think of it as time travel without gimmicks, gizmos, or a DeLorean: a novel approach to Bible study that leaps from past to present, gleaning timeless truths that speak to the heart.







With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin -  Lt. Mellie Blake is a nurse serving in the 802nd Medical Squadron, Air Evacuation, Transport. As part of a morale building program, she reluctantly enters into an anonymous correspondence with Lt. Tom MacGilliver, an officer in the 908th Engineer Aviation Battalion in North Africa. As their letters crisscross the Atlantic, Tom and Mellie develop a unique friendship despite not knowing the other's true identity. When both are transferred to Algeria, the two are poised to meet face to face for the first time. Will they overcome their fears and reveal who they are, or will their future be held hostage to their past? And can they learn to trust God and embrace the gift of love he offers them?

Combining excellent research and attention to detail with a flair for romance, Sarah Sundin brings to life the perilous challenges of WWII aviation, nursing, and true love.



I'm excited about reading the Demigod Diaries  by Rick Riordan as it'll hold my appetite until Mark of Athena, Heroes of Olympus book 3, comes out in October.

Here's the blurb about it.

What dangers do runaway demigods Luke and Thalia face on their way to Camp Half-Blood? Are Percy and Annabeth up to the task of rescuing stolen goods from a fire-breathing giant who doesn't take kindly to intruders? How exactly are Leo, Piper, and Jason supposed to find a runaway table, dodge a band of party-loving Maenads (who just might be a little psychotic), and stave off a massive explosion...all in one hour or less? 

With his trademark wit and creativity, Rick Riordan answers these questions and more in three never-before-seen short stories that provide vital back-story to the Heroes of Olympus and Percy Jackson books. Original art, enlightening character interviews and illustrated profiles, puzzles, and a quiz add to the fun in this action-packed collection that is sure to delight legions of loyal fans.


I'll probably dabble some in writing as well. There's a fun challenge going on right now on one of the Harry Potter sites I'm a part of and it's a year in the life of a Hogwarts student. We're up to the second challenge at this point, and I'm having a blast creating for myself a chance to be at Hogwarts.
I'm sure there will be lots of movies in here too.


So yes, my September is going to be pretty busy, but I like being busy. 



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