Ukulele Fun!

Our family has been interested in ukuleles for the last several months.  We attended a local festival a few months ago and took a beginning ukulele class.  It was so fun!  Buttercup is actually the one who was interested first.  I've been taking her to a few free classes and I'd play along with her just for fun.  Well on her birthday this year, she received a ukulele!  She was so excited and has really took off learning everything she can. 

I was surprised last month with a ukulele of my own!  I was not expecting one.  I thought maybe in the future I'd buy one but my mother gifted me with a ukulele.  I am now the proud owner of a Concert Luna Ukulele in Radioactive print.  Now it's time to practice, practice, practice!

You're Never too Old

I love books!  I love to spend my free time reading.  My love of books began when I was very young and would walk or ride my bike up to the library.  I could spend hours looking through the stacks of books.  My current obsession is reading Young Adult or Junior Fiction books and mostly books with a dystopian theme.  There's just something about YA and JF books that I love.  I don't think I can put it exactly into words.

A few of my favorite YA or JF books:

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta    

Matched Series by Ally Condie

Chaos Walking Series by Patrick Ness

100 Cupboards Series by N.D Wilson

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brian

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

The Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

City of Ember Series by Jeanne DuPrau


So stop by your local library and take a look at the YA or JF section.  You might be surprised by what you find.

                                                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                  

I shared my love of YA books for a chance to win a set of books from Beth Revis

TV Nostalgia

I've been feeling a bit nostalgic about some of my favorite TV shows of the past and wishing they were still airing new episodes. A few of my favorites:

Homefront (1991-1993) - Family drama that takes place after WW2 and how the family/town moves on from the war.

Veronica Mars (2004-2007) - Teen sleuth investigates her BFFs murder

Pushing Daisies (2007-2009) - Quirky sleuthing team solves various murders

Party of Five (1994-2000) - Family's struggles after their parents are killed in a car accident

Gilmore Girls (2000-2007) - Relationship between mother and daughter and their eccentric townsfolk

Jericho (2006-2008) - After a nuclear attack, one town learns to band together

Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000) - Two different groups experiences in high school during the 80s


I actually just discovered Freaks and Geeks and I'm loving catching up on all the episodes. I'll be sad when it's over in just a few short episodes.

One thing I've noticed, I watch a lot of shows that seem to get cancelled after just one or two seasons. They are great shows, fun and quirky, or just plain awesome TV but for some reason don't get a huge audience and the TV execs give up on them. Much to the dismay of their fans.

I'm so glad I can catch past episodes of many TV shows on DVD and great sites like Hulu.

What shows do you miss? I'd love to find out if we have the same taste in shows or if there is a show I've been missing and need to go find on Netflix, Youtube, or Hulu.

I *Puffy Heart w/Glitter* the Library

I *puffy heart w/glitter* the library. I always have. I remember as a kid being so excited to ride my bike to the library to find something new to read. The library I visited as a kid is a Carnegie library that was opened in 1903 and in use until 1994. It's a beautiful brick and stone building that I've always thought would make a great house. One of my favorite features of the library was a curved stone staircase that led to the children's section in the basement. I felt like I was in a castle whenever I went down those stairs. I miss the old building; the worn front steps, the vault in the back, the wooden steps so kids could stand at the counter, and the bookmarks made from old wallpaper samples.

(vintage photo of my old library)

(I'll try and find a new photo)

I visit the library at least once a week and sometimes more. They have a great selection of books and if you can't find a book in the library our state has a great inter-library loan system, which I use often. They also have great programs. We've participated in several of them. Kid's reading programs in the summer, story times, zoo animal visits, library at the park, and tea parties. We attended a Fancy Nancy Tea Party recently that was so much fun.

Buttercup and Pony love to visit the library with me and could spend just as long of time in there as me. Each time they visit, they check out an Elephant and Piggie book by Mo Willems. I usually have to keep them from checking out all of them.

One thing about the library that I'm not sure you know (or maybe you do?) is that its a black hole where time doesn't exist. I enter the library, browse some books and choose the book I want. The next thing I know, I've been in the library for 2 hours! and it only felt like I was there for 30 mins. Does this happen to you? I once missed an entire class period in high school because I was so engrossed in my research that I didn't hear the bell ring for the next hour and I looked at the clock and had been in the library for 2 class periods. It happens to me all the time.

I'm headed to the library today to pick up some more books. Show your library some love and go get some books.