I love this

Today at Target...

...I hit the Mother Lode!!

FOUR. Count 'em....FOUR!

(Dear Target Shelf Stocker: I'm sorry that I messed up your shelves by scrounging thru all those coffee cans like a crazy person. I was temporarily insane.)

I'm in heaven

I've been in a bit of a funk after discovering that my beloved Cafe Francais International Coffee is now "new and improved."

It is not "new and improved."

It is new and awful.

Whoever the anonymous commenter was on my blog post was absolutely right.

After over 20 years, I have stopped drinking it.

Until TODAY -

When I went to the grocery store and there was one of the old cans - the not new and not improved.


Oh, happy day.

And by the way, if anybody out there finds a can of Cafe Francais with a BLUE label, I'll pay big bucks.

1. Open eyes 2. Get out of bed 3....

I write down everything (or I forget it). This is the time of year I throw out my old datebook. I'm always a little amazed to look back and see the minutiae of my days.

The above page says:

Apple Store - return mouse
Call Rita - Matty
Train - May 21
Card - Amy
Easter stuff away

The Winery - Oysters @ $1 each [hey, come on, that's a good deal!]
Rose's Sweet & Sour (2)
Thistle seed
Popeye review list
Target - photo album
Bubble wrap

Orzo salad
Change train

Leave $ for Crystal - 20th and note re: 5/12
Dump [note: we have to take our own trash to the dump]
Write blog paragraph for NCTE [this was the only one not marked off. hmmm]
Clean basement
Canned dog food
Bank
Make stationery with books
Foreign rights - Greetings - Japanese




The above week was jam packed with important stuff:

Send Popeye review list to FSG
Library/Bank
Put golf club on eBay [heh - I never did do that]
Janet - travel?
Lamp shade
email Frances and Lisa
Dixie - pitching wedge [I have no idea what that means]

Call Moyni regarding tax ID and mom's annuity $
Transfer $ to tax savings acct
Foodies - beets/grapefruit
Get rental car voucher

Clean basement [hey, I thought I already did that on April 15]
Thaw ribs & tips
Beets
Staples - print ms
Janet - travel
sunflower seeds
copy sub stuff

Marcilene tomorrow
Crate
Marinate tips
Library
Peat pots
Call Linda

There! See how important my life is. Ha Ha

Decade recap

Okay, I've been inspired by others who have recapped their accomplishments over the last decade.

In the last ten years I have:

Visited 181 different schools

Done 1526 PowerPoint presentations

Answered the question: What's your favorite book? 1432 times

Published 7 books (all with the same editor)

Had books nominated for children's book awards in 34 different states

Received 13 starred reviews

Had the same fabulous literary agent (Barbara Markowitz), the same fabulous publisher (FSG) the same fabulous editor (Frances Foster) and the same fabulous booking agent (Zade Eduational Partners)

Visited England, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland

Visited South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York

Drunk 7304 cups of fake coffee

Attended NCTE, ALA, TLA, IRA, MLA, but luckily not AA

Done 2080 loads of laundry

Watched my son graduate from high school and college

Watched my husband restore 8 cars (give or take a few)

Watched 1400 episodes of Judge Judy

Returned 31 pairs of jeans bought online

Learned to play African djembe drums

Attended a racing pigeon auction

Used a jackhammer

Met 456 children's authors (okay, I made that number up, but, close....)

Okay, I'm tired....

Bon appetit

Ruby really enjoyed Julie and Julia:

P.S. Notice the latest issue of School Library Journal? Could the day be any better?

Hope springs eternal

Outside my front door:

In my mailbox:

Cybils Finalists

A great way to start the new year:

The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis made the list of finalists for the 2009 Cybils Award in the middle grade fiction category.

Yay!

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

My husband and I always make up a little ditty for each new year.

We haven't come up with one for this year yet.

Maybe:

We'll all get thin in 2010?

Sun and sin in 2010?

Um, that's all I got.

One year in two minutes

Bad dog year

You know you've had a bad dog year when you get a Christmas card from the Neurology Department of the 24/7 emergency veterinary clinic.

Two more favorite gifts

My sister-in-law makes THE most amazing quilts. This one is my favorite ever. I love the birds. I love the color. Both sides are equally pretty. Love it.




And this way cool reading light (from my son) that lights up the whole page and is so easy to read in the dark. (Thank you, Janet, for steering me toward this!)

Christmas gifts

I had a lovely, blessed Christmas.

As the song goes, these are a few of my favorite things:

A silver baby cup engraved with Popeye and Elvis (Isn't my hubby great?):

My dad's Army Air Corps pin converted into a charm/pendant. (Isn't my hubby great?):

Some antique silver corn on the cob holders from my sister:

A Keurig coffee maker:

My gift to hubby.
Can you guess what they are?
Give up?
Vintage pigeon racing clocks!

Christmas Ramblings

I had a glorious but chilly Christmas. The furnace went out Christmas Day.

We played with our traditional remote control helicopter from Santa:

I enjoyed my Brookstone heated shiatsu massager (in my down jacket because it was so dang cold in the house):

Matty supervised the unwrapping:

Ruby enjoyed her new toy:

Christmas dinner awaits (during which we open our stockings):

Santa brought me lots of nips for those cold winter nights:

Ho Ho Ho

Wishing you all a wonderful and blessed holiday season.

Signing off until next week.