Come here to win some great free books!

http://readinglark.blogspot.com/2011/12/goodbye-to-2011-giveaway-1.html

I keep finding all these cool blogs that I want to follow. Why is mine so lame? LOL. If anyone has any thoughts on that, let me know.

Another awesome thing to share!

http://thehoborg.blogspot.com/2010/09/hob-giveaway-official-stamped-copy-of.html

Quoted from their website - "As promised yesterday, we have an official stamped copy of Mockingjay to give away to one lucky reader! Jen, a member of The Hob Admin, was able to get Mockingjay stamped by Suzanne Collins at a recent book signing in Harleysville, PA (Suzanne is not signing books on this tour due to an existing hand strain). There are many states that Suzanne's tour is unable to visit, so this may be your only chance to get an official stamped copy of the book!"

What an awesome item to win!

Oh My Sam!! The cover of FOREVER was released today!! This is the last book in the Shiver Trilogy. You can preorder a copy here! http://www.fountainbookstore.com/autograph-maggie I met Maggie this summer in Los Angeles during her Linger book tour and she is fantastic!! I laughed a lot listening to her speak and she was so gracious to the fans! I cannot wait for this book!

MUSE CONCERT!

I went to see Muse in concert last night and it was incredible!! I met my fellow TM friend Christina there and I took Alexander. The cover band began at 7:30, but I was at BTS night for my high school kids so we didn't get there until about 8:30. Our seats were directly left of the stage and they had these huge "building" screens up and we were really worried we weren't going to be able to see anything!

The lights dimmed and they had these white images of people going down the stairs of the building screen. It was very cool. Music began playing and everyone was getting very excited. Then one of the "people" at the top started tumbling down on all the people below him. With a huge blast, the screen dropped (Yay!) and the concert began! We could see!


They opened with Uprising and it was fantastic! They played most of my favorites, including Stockholm Syndrome which is one of my all time favorite Muse songs. They got 2 "Twilight" songs in - Supermassive Black Hole and Time is Running Out, plus a number of others that are on SM's book playlists. Matthew Bellamy's piano was the coolest thing I've ever seen. The piano keys glowed in the dark and the top had fiber optic lights that would blink. Alex told me we need to get one of those! They played United States of Eurasia & Ruled by Secrecy with the piano. At least I think it was only 2. I was wishing they had done more with him on the piano, though. The band played until about 10:30, then they just left the stage. (I think it was a potty break. LOL) Of course, everyone cheered and clapped for them to come back out, which they did. They played 3 more songs, ending with Knights of Cydonia. They played at least 15 songs, I bet. MB changed guitars after every song, it seemed like. They didn't talk to the audience much, but that's OK. It was a fantastic, incredible evening that I'll never forget. And a pretty awesome first concert for Alexander!

If you want to see pictures, go to my Facebook. I can't get them to post the way I want here.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=141228&id=648512769&saved#!/album.php?aid=209832&id=648512769&ref=mf

Cruisin'

Just got back from a fantastic 7 day cruise with my family. Not my children, mind you. My mom, 5 siblings & our spouses. Fantastic grown-up time. I've decided a cruise without children is the best way for a mom to take a vacation. No cooking, the room is cleaned 3 times per day, the only person to worry about it myself...and maybe the hubby too. We sat on the deck & read, sat on the beach in Aruba and got sunburned, saw whales in Dominica, snorkled on St. Thomas - it was truly spectacular. Got back Sunday evening. I think the kids were glad we were home. They were all alive & well, although the house had seen better days. I know my bed was made when I left! LOL

I'm so grateful for a wonderful mom who was able to do this for our family. You're the best!

The Wolves of Mercy Falls: A Stop Motion trailer for Linger

One of my favorite new series - Shiver/Linger/Forever by Maggie Stiefvater. Shiver is available now and this is Maggie's awesome book trailer for Linger. AH-MAZE-ING!

There are two sides to every story...

There are two sides to every story...

The Host In Paperback!!

Yay! The Host comes out in paperback on April 13th. And a bonus chapter? Excellent!!

http://www.twilightmoms.com/2010/03/the-host-paperback-edition-and-a-giveaway/

A clean patio...

Trevor swept & cleaned off the patio this afternoon. I was wondering why he was being so helpful. Then I realized he wanted to do it his homework outside on the picnic table!! What a great son!

Down 1 Automobile...

Well, my beloved son, who is going off to college in the fall, has ruined our Toyota Corolla. He said that no one told him engines need oil... *major eye roll* Sadly, it will cost $4k which we are unwilling to fork out at the moment. It's days like these when I wonder why I even had children at all.

Sticks and stones may break my bones...and hallways too...

Here WAS my list for today:

8:45 Drop kids off at school
8:50-11:00 run errands/last minute christmas stuff
11-1 See TWILIGHT!
1-3 finish errands for son's party
3:05 pick kids up from school
3-6 clean/cook get things ready for party

Here is what I actually did today:

8:45 Sent 8yo w/ hubby to get a ride to school
9:00 Take Abby to Dr. because her foot (which she hurt on Sunday night - running, tripped, bent foot backwards) was still bothering her
9:30 Dr. says foot is most likely broken/receive referral for x-rays & orthopedic dr.
9:35 Drop secret santa gift off at school/say hi & bye to Abby's teacher
10:15 arrive at Imaging Center (in San Diego a half hour away)/have x-rays
11:00 arrive at orthopedist
12:00 go BACK to Imaging Center for 2 more x-rays
1:00 arrive back at orthopedist to get cast boot for daughters broken foot (very small/minor fracture in the bone on the top of her foot)
1:05 head out to run a few of the many errands I wanted to do today
4:30 hit Friday/holiday traffic
5:00 get home & drop off packages
5:15 go to Albertson's to get food for the party!
5:50 get home and clean

Good news is - my daughter will be fine. She only has to wear the cast boot for 3 weeks. But she was very tired out by last night! And sadly - I didn't get to see Twilight again either.

I added a widget!

I'm learning something new every day! I added the Muse widget to my blog all by myself! LOL Muse is one of my favorite bands. I'd never heard of them until I heard Starlight on the radio just over a year ago. Little did I know - they'd played in San Diego TWICE before then. ARGH!! Hopefully, someday I will get to see them live. Of course, I've missed seeing U2 3 times in concert as well. *sigh*

If you haven't seen the movie Twilight, GO NOW! 2 words - the BASEBALL SCENE! Made all the more dramatic by Muse!

MUSE in Twilight

Wow - a blog!

OK - I'm just trying this out for now...trying to get a feel for actually having a blog! When I get braver, I'll begin customizing this and adding some pictures!