Monthly Archives: October 2017

10.03.17
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Tag #31: The Stationery Book Tag

stationery-book-tag

Image Credit: THE JOUSKA

Recently, Jenna at Bookmark Your Thoughts  did this amazing tag!

Here’s the link to the original post:

The Rules:

  1. Thank the creator: Sam @ River Moose Books
  2. Answer the questions.
  3. Add pictures, if you’d like.
  4. Tag about five people.

Pencils – Favorite middle grade or children’s book.

CM_polar_express

Image Credit: Wikipedia

The Polar Express, Chris Van Allsburg.

I literally grew up with this book. My mom read it to all her classes when she taught first and second grade in North Carolina – This was years before I was born. We still have the set with the hardback book, the audio cassette, and the bell. When the movie came out, we went to see it as a family, and the DVD came to our house that Christmas. It’s one of our traditions, and I’m excited to continue it when Al and I have kids.

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Pens – A basic staple for any reader.

Bridge to Terabithia

Image Credit: Goodreads

Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson.

I vaguely remember reading this book in elementary school. Then, I re-read it several times between high school and college. It had a profound effect on me, and it’s now one of my favorite books.

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Notebooks – What books do you own multiple copies?

Image Credit: Harry Potter Wiki

The only thing I can think of is my two copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling.

I was lucky enough to be in London on July 16, 2005, when the book was released. So, naturally, we trekked to Waterstones and waited until midnight! I have a paperback copy of the U.S. edition, and a beautiful hardback copy of the U.K. edition.

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Markers – A book with a beautiful cover.

Caraval

Caraval, Stephanie Garber.

I need to read this book! The cover is absolutely gorgeous!

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Glue – Two characters that work well together, even if they aren’t together.

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Image Credit: Pinterest

Argh. This is the hardest question!

My immediate thought was Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. I’m sure I’m not the only one who wanted them to be together?

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Scissors – What book would like to destroy?

The Scarlet Letter - B&N

Image Credit: Barnes & Noble

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again – The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne.

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Art Kit – What complete series do you own?

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Hunger Games

divergent-trilogy

Image Credit: The Book Wars

  1. Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling.
  2. The Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins.
  3. The Divergent trilogy, Veronica Roth.

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Bonus Question – Show us your desk / stationery that you own for each question.


I love gel pens – They’re so much better than ball-point pens! Since I’m left-handed, most traditional pens leave my hand incredibly dark, black and blue, and smudged!

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Tagging Time!

I’m not tagging anyone in particular, but if you love books, you should definitely do this one!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

10.02.17
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Book Review #48: “Hula for the Home Front: A Nanea Classic 2”

FGM79_Hula_for_the_Homefront_A_Nanea_Classic_2_Book_1

Image Credit: American Girl

If you haven’t already, I would recommend reading the review of the first Nanea volume before checking out this one:

At the end of Classic 1, Nanea and her friends were preparing to return to school, nearly two months after the horrific attack on Pearl Harbor.

To Nanea’s dismay, there’s a new girl in her class. Her name is Dixie Moreno, and Nanea immediately struggles to be nice to her. Donna has left for the mainland, and Nanea is still sour about that. However, Nanea tries hard to not “borrow trouble” and show kindness to Dixie. Along the way, they help each other out, and start to become friends.

Meanwhile, hula is a central theme in this volume. Nanea finds joy in her lessons, and she learns that her dog, Mele, is a talented dancer!

As Nanea prepares to celebrate her tenth birthday, things begin to relax a bit on the island. Her family and friends come together to pull off an excellent birthday surprise! She’s excited to celebrate, but she remains observant and guarded. Her brother, David, constantly talks about Lieutenant Gregory and how much he wants to enlist. He turns 18 in a few months’ time. Nanea is scared, and angry. How will she express her feelings?

Nanea learns several important lessons – Patience, understanding, a hint of wisdom, and how to make her own contributions to the war effort. Through hula, War Stamps, and a few other things, she learns that even kids can make a difference!

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Like the first volume, I received an excellent education about Hawaii and its involvement in the early stages of the U.S. entering World War II. I was impressed at how much detail was included. I can only imagine how much research was done! The books also discussed the challenges that many Japanese-Americans faced in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, and it was well-written.

I’m looking forward to reading her Journey Book! Look for that review soon!

5 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

10.01.17
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Getting Personal #88: October Goals

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Image Credit: Pinterest

Hooray – October is finally here!

There are so many exciting things happening this month!!

Here are my goals for the month of October:

  1. Donate blood.
  2. Celebrate several birthdays!
  3. Celebrate Mary Lauren & Jeremy’s wedding!
  4. Celebrate Nick & Savy’s wedding!!
  5. Write at least 400 new words for my 2012 NaNoWriMo attempt.
  6. Write at least two blog posts on home improvements.
  7. Make / purchase photo canvases.
  8. Attend Hampton Comicon!
  9. Finally start moving items from my parents’ house to ours.
  10. Keep our kitchen table clean!
  11. Update my TBR.
  12. Be a successful co-hostess for the October PEO meeting.
  13. Write some snail mail!
  14. Celebrate Halloween!
  15. Enjoy Little (Lane) when she visits for a week!
  16. Order the Desert Mist Diffuser, and more Savvy Minerals makeup!

Here’s the breakdown:

Donate blood.

  • Our next blood drive is Saturday, October 7th!

Celebrate several birthdays!

  • My mom’s birthday is this week, as well my good friend Ashley’s.
  • Mia’s birthday is in the middle of October. She’ll become our niece in two weeks!!

Celebrate Mary Lauren & Jeremy’s wedding!

  • Their wedding is October 7th – It’s gonna be a blast!

Celebrate Nick & Savy’s wedding!!

  • October 14th!!
  • I’m so excited for Savy to become my sister-in-law!
  • Mia will be my niece!
  • We get to trek to the farm, eat, drink, bounce in the bounce house, and celebrate!!

Write at least 400 new words for my 2012 NaNoWriMo attempt.

  • I’m chugging along. It’s felt really good to sit down and pour out my thoughts. I’ll reach 50,000 words yet!

Write at least two blog posts on home improvements.

  • I’m determined! It’s been over a year worth of work!

Make / purchase photo canvases.

  • I’m excited to pick several engagement photos and wedding photos with Al, and then hang them up!

Attend Hampton Comicon! 

  • We’ll head to Hampton for the day on Saturday, October 21st.

Finally start moving items from my parents’ house to ours.

  • The weather’s finally cool enough, and I’m beyond ready to make my office what it’s supposed to be! My dolls deserve to be in one place!

Keep our kitchen table clean!

  • Our kitchen table has been a perpetual mess for a long time. I’m determined to clean it up, and keep it clean!

Update my TBR.

  • It’s that time again! My final TBR update of 2017 is coming soon!

Be a successful co-hostess for the October PEO meeting.

  • I’m excited to co-hostess the meeting next week at Susan’s house. I’ve already bought Reese’s pieces cookie dough, and I’ll buy some veggies, crackers, and pretzels at the end of this week.

Write some snail mail!

  • I’m long overdue to write letters to several special people in my life.

Celebrate Halloween!

  • Al’s co-worker, Kathryn, and husband Tim, open their house every year for a Halloween bash! This year, the theme is Stranger Things. So exciting!
  • We’re excited to hand out candy to our neighborhood again – The kids’ costumes are awesome!

Enjoy Little (Lane) when she visits for a week!

  • My Little is coming home to visit toward the end of the month. I can’t wait!
  • We’re participating in a fun wood door hanger paint class!
  • She gets to see our house for the first time!

Order the Desert Mist Diffuser, and more Savvy Minerals makeup!

  • I updated my monthly order late last week, and it usually processes around the middle of the month. The plan is to put the Desert Mist Diffuser in the living room, and move the Dewdrop Diffuser to my office!
  • I’m starting to experiment with the Savvy Minerals eyeshadow, but I’m excited to get my hands on the eyeliner, blush, and misting spray!

Do you have any goals for the month of October?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂