Whoa!

So, right now, I'm exploring a little around Callapidder Days. My gosh, she is giving away a ton of books!

Katrina has a stack of Bethany House books they gave her to give away each Thursday. She's doing #3 now, if anyone's interested. It's called Praying with and for Your Kids. Not my book, I'm a bit too young for that yet. *grins*

Saturdays are the Whoa! I got going on up there. Every saturday there is a Books Galore giveaway. Tomorrow will be #2. Believe me you, I'll be checking it out! A lot of authors have gotten involved and these are the results. A huge contest with lots of books going out. Just leave a comment with what you'd like to win! This is going to become one of my regular blogs, I think.

Ah, and one last thing. Those who review books that they've read off of their Spring Reading List and send in the links have a chance to win some books too. How awesome is this lady!

Shine~Ley

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Finally!

It's taken forever (at least to my impatient mind), but my domestic travel fee has finally been charged to my account. I know you have no idea of what I've been going through waiting, but seriously, I've been meaning to e-mail Heather soon about it. It's been getting on my nerves!

What that means is that I 'officially' have $96 to go. Then I'm done! Except for some spending money. But I can handle that.

Did I tell you about the speech Crystal and I had to give on sunday night? I don't remember, but we did. Just a short thing, but my throat was so tight, I could hardly say a word. A sensation I plan on remembering. (Amazing what sort of things are useful to us writerish folk.) But Mr. Rinehart told Mom last night that I had poise! I'm not sure if I believe him or not, but he's sure not the type to give a false impression. He says what he means.

I had been purposely not thinking about the speech or what I was going to say. It was working too. Probably a week after I had been asked to speak, I was reading my Bible before bed and I hit in verse in Luke, I believe, anyway, it's the one about how the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say when you need them. I was not ready to give this up! I had planned on writing my speech. The only way I seem to be able to get words out is on paper. But God was showing me different and, boy, am I glad of it! Sure took away a lot of the stress. Totally ignoring a thing does wonders that way.

Hope always for the best.
You're never alone! (The Door Within)
Shine~Ley

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Spring Thing Reading List

Ha! It's taken a while, but I'm here with my list. (Finally.) It's kinda long, so I hope I can get all of these done. The good thing is, some of them already are! In between the time I started this list and now, I've read some of the ones on there. Hehe.

1. Midnight Sea by Colleen Coble ~
2. Reclaiming Nick by Susan May Warren
3. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
5. Skin by Ted Dekker ~
6. Tahn by L.A. Kelly
7. Return to Alastair by L.A. Kelly
8. The Scarlet Trefoil by L.A. Kelly
9. Notes From a Spinning Planet -- Papua New Guinea by Melody Carlson ~
10. Head Game by Tim Downs ~
11. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
12. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
13. Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christy
14. Elementary, My Dear Watkins by Mindy Starns Clark
15. The Iron Lance by Stephen Lawhead ~
16. The Black Rood by Stephen Lawhead ~
17. The Mystic Rose by Stephen Lawhead ~
18. The Fields of Bannockburn by Donna Fletcher Crow ~
19. Lightening and Lace by DiAnn Mills ~
20. Reluctant Runaway by Jill Elizabeth Nelson ~
21. The Redemption by M.L. Tyndall ~
22. The Reliance by M.L. Tyndall ~
23. Revealed by Tamera Alexander ~
24. Coral Moon by Brandilyn Collins ~
25. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz ~
26. Secrets of the Rose by Lois Richer ~
27. Silent Enemy by Lois Richer ~
28. Identity: Undercover by Lois Richer ~
29. The Door Within by Wayne Thomas Batson ~
30. Harry Potter and the Bible by Richard Abanes ~
31. Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne
32. Double Vision by Randy Ingermanson
33. Experation Date by Eric Wilson
34. All of my Three Cousins Dectective Club books, one last time before I get rid of them
35. So Dark the Night by Margaret Daley ~
36. The Bounty Hunter and the Bride by Vickie McDonough
37. Tribulation House by Chris Well
38. Pocketful of Pearls by Shelley Bates ~
39. The White Dove by Christoph von Schmid ~
40. Rosa of Linden Castle by Christoph von Schimd ~
41. @ Home for the Holidays by Meredith Efken ~
42. The Master of Secrets by D.S. Lliteras ~
43. Too Good to Be True by Trish Perry ~
44. The Striped Ships by Eloise McGraw ~
45. A Rare Benedictine by Ellis Peters ~
46. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott ~
47. Speak Through the Wind by Allison Pittman ~
48. The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott ~
49. Apples of Gold by Lisa Samson ~
50. The Legend of the Firefish by George Bryan Polivka ~
51. Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt ~
52. Spoke of Love by Cathy Marie Hake ~
53. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset ~
54. Remember to Forget by Deborah Raney ~
55. Summer of Light by W. Dale Cramer ~
56. Saint Julian by Walter Wangerin, Jr. ~
57. Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray ~
58. St. Thomas Aquinas: "The Dumb Ox" by G.K. Chesterton ~
59. In Freedom's Cause by G.A. Henty ~
60. Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi ~
61. The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli ~
62. Men of Iron by Howard Pyle ~

My gosh, that is a lot of books. I hope I can finish all of these. I'll put a tilde (~) after the books I've finished. Wish me luck!

Shine~Ley

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News, news, news

I really should try to keep on this a bit more. *grins*

Well, well. Lots of things going down. Where should I start?

Passport, Ley, do the passport!

Fine, if you insist. My passport actually came! Monday to be precise. It's signed and valid and everything. Now I just need to go somewhere!

You are going somewhere. *sighs in aggravation*

Yes, I know that, thank you. But I was being... *glares* never mind. Anyway, so the passport is good news. Heather is going to be so proud when she calls.

Alright, alright! Enough with the passport already, there's a half a million other things too.

There are not half a million. That's a total exaggeration! Just a couple. Let me think a minute...

Oh, get on with it already.

Yesterday a donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, sent Mom a $1000 check in the mail to be split evenly between both Crystal and I.

Well, you don't have to sound so snotty about it.

Pardon me! Anyway, that puts both of us at about $250 to go. Basically only the domestic travel price. Speaking of which...

I never could follow your thoughts. You jump around too much.

Oh, look who's talking. You're sure not one to be complaining. But to the domestic travel thing. I officially have my ticket! Mom called SkyPass and after a few days of mass confusion (with a little chaos on the side) I am flying to Washington D.C., as (not) expected.

I'm not sure that made any sense at all, but go on.

*smirks* Then we got the news of The Bake Sale. Please notice the caps. This is because this is the ultimate bake sale, the bake sale, as evidenced by the state of our kitchen. There has to be at least $300 worth of cookies sitting around in various places. Probably a good thing as it's being split seven ways.

You didn't tell them about the weather! It's funner that way.

More fun. And the weather has been, well, unpredictable.

That's an understatement.

Tuesday it was eighty. Yesterday, it snowed. I don't think it got above freezing today. A lovely weekend for a bake sale, sure. But the Easter bunny will be there. *grins*

Yeah. Wee-haw, huh?

In other various news, I am going to become a Thingy! (Sweet, huh?)

I, in no way, support or condone this behaviour.

Oh, come on, it'll be fun. Like NaNoWriMo, except in reverse.

In other words, insane.

It's not insane. I think its fun.

How could you know? You haven't done it yet.

Just shut up and let me explain what it is, already! The Spring Reading Thing is basically exactly what it sounds like.

Well, that was helpful.

What did I just tell you? Now this Thing is very simple. You make a list of books you would like to read over the spring and post it on your blog. Then link to Callapidder Days. Voila! You have become a Thingy! I haven't made my list yet, but I hope to tomorrow. Then I'll post and link and we'll see what happens.

Yeah, tomorrow, sometime in between freezing your butt off and selling cookies.

Exactly! Glad you understand. I think I've run out of things to say --

Thank goodness!

-- so I'll leave off with my word of the day. Coinkydink!

Oh, sheesh.

I have no idea what it means (ask Platty!), but isn't it awesome?!

*shakes head and sighs deeply*

Shine!

Yeah, see ya.

~Ley

P.S. Couldn't resist. Sorry. *grins devilishly*

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