Classic Children's Literature Challenge - Jan 2013

Saturday, January 5, 2013





Host: Simpler Pastimes
Event/Challenge: Classic Children's Literature Challenge
Specifics: Must be written before 1962.
When: January 2013
# of books: Undecided at this point. We'll see what college has planned with assigned reading.

I totally doubt that I'll get all of these read, but it gives me a goal.

1) The Princess & the Goblin by George MacDonald
2) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
3) A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
4) The Borrowers by Mary Norton
5) Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers  
6) Stuart Little by  E. B. White
7) Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
8) The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
9) The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
10) Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild


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Library Loot - 1st Week of January


Weird, they're all teen books. The Boy Sherlock series is pretty cool, I must admit. It almost makes sense that Sherlock might have some Jewish heritage and be ostracized because of it.


New Loot:

•Boy Sherlock Holmes: Death in the Air by Shane Peacock

•The Curse of the Toads by Rebecca Lisle

•Enchanted Inc. by Shanna Swendson


Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.
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Library Loot - 2nd Week of November

Saturday, November 10, 2012




The top two books in my New Loot list are for school, otherwise I doubt I'd be reading them when I could be reading Jane Austen. *le sigh* The two Old Loot ones are realistic teen fiction that I'm reading for a teen reading list at work. Plus, I love S. E. Hinton!

New Loot:
  • Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
  • Intimations of Chritianity among the Ancient Greeks by Simone Weil
  • Dawn of the Arcana manga - Volumes 4,5,6
  • The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle (with a foreward by Martin Freeman!!)
Old Loot:
  • Black and White by Paul Volponi
  • Taming the Star Runner by S. E. Hinton

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

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Life goes on

Thursday, November 8, 2012





It seems that the world rolls on. The apocalypse didn’t happen with the loss of the election. I didn’t stop breathing. This supposedly means that there is still hope in my heart. Not necessarily a hope that a spiritual awakening will occur in America but rather the knowledge that my soul is safe. I was disappointed and angry with the election. I’m numb now. But it is well with my soul. It’s remarkable how I can still feel joy in my faith, in knowing God is in control, even while America has proven to me that our citizens have joined Stupidsville. I’m 100% aware that America has walked into the hands of Satan and that he is gleeful over our surrender to him. But so long as there are righteous men and women in this nation God will not destroy us. He might turn away from us but he will not bring destruction down upon us. This is why I will continue to pray. Even though it might look hopeless, God has our backs.

I heard a story from my father last night. He was talking to someone where he works, a fellow conservative, who had the strangest notion. He holds to the idea that maybe it’s time Republicans dropped some of the social/moral issues that have been a part of our platform since Roe vs. Wade. His idea, and apparently the idea of many fiscal conservatives, is that the moral platform is what keeps people from voting for Republicans. Therefore it should be dropped. You don’t say that to people like my parents. My folks were democrats until Reagan came along. Then the whole Roe vs. Wade thing blew up and because they were Christians they made a choice to walk away from their political party. They were Reagan democrats along with millions of other Reagan democrats who now form the backbone of the Republican Party. Why did they join in the first place? It is because they took a moral stand on life beginning at conception. You can’t just walk away from that ideal. You can’t just decide one day that for the good of the party you’re going to stop fighting for pro-life amendments or defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

I’m not condemning fiscal conservatives. There are many in the Republican Party who joined purely on an economical basis and that’s fine. But they need to realize there’s another half. They can shout to the rooftops that the Republican platform should drop social issues to gain votes. But the word “should” doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. If you want me to betray a part of myself, a huge part of the reason why I’m a Republican, then so long, chum, because I’m finding a different party. The moral Republicans aren’t going to budge on this issue and the sooner the fiscal conservatives realize it the better. Apparently this guy sputtered quite a bit at the idea that anyone would leave the Republican Party because of a moral issue. Well, if they push too hard I guarantee that moral Republicans will be rats leaving a sinking ship. They'll lose votes with this method instead of gaining them. If people like my parents had the guts to leave their prior political party on moral grounds then don’t you dare tell them that the Republicans need to drop that moral high-ground. That’s not the way to win an election.

We lost. Yep, we lost and it was a pretty major loss. But I still love this great nation of mine. She wasn’t always being torn apart like this. There was a time when Christian values were trumpeted as being the right way to go, the successful way to go. You know that statement in the Constitution; the one about freedom of religion? That means the freedom to be religious anywhere: in school, at work, in government, anywhere. Our founding fathers fully realized that Christian faith and our government went hand in hand. When a Christian foundation is removed from government then all hell breaks loose and suddenly the Constitution is being interpreted every which way so that it says what they want it to say. Give me a presidential candidate who’s not afraid to say that we’ve gone morally awry in this nation and then at least maybe he’ll stand a chance.

This loss isn’t the end of the world. It hurts and it’s scary but God is still in control. Let’s not play the blame game. I honestly think we could have had God Himself running and would have still lost. People are just entirely too into the "Me First" concept right now for any Republican to be attractive to them. So let's not apologize for being who and what we are: a political party founded on moral and family values. Instead let’s figure out how to win the next election.
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Major Crimes: Tricks

Tuesday, October 2, 2012


Story: Major Crimes: Tricks

Characters: Buzz and, well, everyone

Rating: K for fun and goofing off

Summary: Buzz finds himself the unsuspecting victim of a rubber band attack. Who could be the culprit?

Moi: One-shots are seriously awesome to write. It only takes me a short time and they're such fun. I've planned this since I wrote Nightmares yesterday but the plotline did change a little bit which made it more entertaining for me. I love it when stories evolve from how I'd originally intended them. Here's hoping you all enjoy it as much as I did. Hopefully more one-shots will follow as the inspiration strikes.

(Click to Read)

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Major Crimes: Nightmares

Sunday, September 30, 2012


Story: Major Crimes: Nightmares

Characters: Sharon & Rusty

Rating: K+ for angst/comfort

Summary: Rusty's sleep turns sour after facing his father and Sharon is awakened one night by his nightmares. Reminded of her own two sons, Sharon's compassion for Rusty's predicament grows, her mothering instinct resurfacing.

Moi: This was written because Major Crimes is becoming a huge part of my television life. I watch not only for the crimes they solve but also for the complex relationship between Sharon and Rusty. This idea came to me last night before bed and I had time to write it down today. I hope you are as touched by it as I was when I wrote it.

This takes place after 1.7 and depending on what happens with Rusty's dad in the next episode, may or may not apply to tv-verse.

Click to Read
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Long time, no see

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

A lot has happened in the last few weeks. I was almost a bit afraid to post about it on here. As if that would make the experience vanish. But it's been 15 days and the experience hasn't faded yet, so I guess it's okay to share now. Two Sundays ago, I was in church, listening to a guest pastor from Louisiana share his story. And the Lord broke my heart. For the last several years I was hardening myself against Him. I didn't want to follow His leading. I didn't even want to ask for His guidance just in case He sent me somewhere I didn't want to go. But very few Christians can keep a hard heart forever. God will find a way to break it and He found a chink in mine.

So I'm on a path of rededication. Which is as scary as all get-out. The world looks different now. My interraction with my family is different. I treat my coworkers differently. And in all honesty, I'd be really happy if I could just stay home with my family and go to church for the next few months. But I can't do that. Life has to carry on and I must go with it which means going to work and keeping engagements. It is weird, though. It's like learning an entirely new me. So despite being sick last week and I'll admit, whining a little bit, my interractions with the people around me is developing into something completely different. And it's not me. It's God. Believe me. He's doing a work in my life and for the first time, I'm letting Him. I'm asking Him.

So . . . hugs all around to my blogger friends!

God bless!
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