http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookprizes/10602664/Costa-Book-Prize-2013-Debut-author-Nathan-Filer-is-shock-winner.html I found this particular award at the library site in the UK. Never heard of the award or the winner but I do like costa coffee. :) Anyway something to browse when bored. Note, last year's s winner was the sequel to Wolf Hall. Gave me a chuckle considering the comments here today.

Thank you for the wonderful update! Still praying!

My dc's are going to prepare some cards. We are cheating a bit using pre made cards but they will write a note!

I just finished "Broken Vessel" and agree with the demotion to 4* but I am not sure what I would edit to be honest. While fast paced and hard to put down it made me a bit sad so not as fond of it. I know who I would edit out but not sure that that would make it 5*. Don't get me wrong it was good just not nearly as good as "Cut to the Quick" was. I have number three ready for bedtime.

I just spent a few minutes looking for lentil lasagna recipes. They all look good. Will have to try.

I have been thinking of them often also. Praying.

I finished "Cut To The Quick" this morning and loved it. I have the other three in my stack of what I hope to finish in the next week. Was the fourth one the one you did not care for? Might be helpful if I have to prioritise! ;)

I have read all four of the Hangman's Daughter series. I took my time and spread them out over 2013. Really liked the last one but probably because the subject matter was something I found interesting. Honestly considered them all pretty equal in quality.

Fun dance videos everyone, I enjoyed watching. I have to say that I would have had a really hard time playing and not watching if I was Jenn. We stopped by Downtown Disney yesterday and were shocked to find the whole place taken over by an Irish Festival with frequent live performances from now til ? . Huge event. When we lived in the area we just ate at Raglan Road on the 17th to watch the dancing. Times sure change. Ds won a potato counting contest there years ago. Lol

I hope you have a safe journey Prairiegirl. Enjoy the time with your parents!

Thank you!

I am hoping the library processes the latest Sebastian St. Cyr book which was released on March 4th before I leave here. First on the wait list...... I finished the 8th in the series, What Darkness Brings by CS Harris. It was very good. It was sad to be reading the last one in my stack! Currently reading several: Stiff News by Catherine Aird Hunted by Kevin Hearne Cut to the Quick by Kate Ross I have The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco and am waiting for World Without End by Follett for my 14th Century reads. Robin's link for Sir Gawin is fabulous. Bookmarked the site to explore later. Looks useful for British Lit class which is next years plan for both dc's.

I am sorry. :grouphug:

I had it freshman year the first time. Then on my auditing internship. I also had it on my wedding day. Any time I got stressed and neglected myself I got sick with mono for years. I know you are only supposed to be able to get it once but I was tested for it and diagnosed by three different doctors. After I married I started taking much better care of myself thanks to dh and no more mono. I had an incredibly sore throat with a really yucky slimey buildup that almost closed my throat each time. Extreme tiredness. The first two times I pretty much collapsed and was unable to do anything other then lay around and sleep. The last time I was a somewhat functional sick. I kept working and simply tried to rest when possible. I had no clue I had it, thought it was really bad strep until the dr pushed on my stomach which led to the blood work

Glad to hear you are back at school. I am sure you were missed greatly there while gone. The Honor Society kicking your son out for not doing 10 new volunteer hours infuriates me. I remember kids belonging who never even came to a meeting, much less participating. Obviously things have changed. Your son willingly gave his time to help others and was even somewhat supervised by the staff, boggles the mind. Time is time.

But is so pretty! Love the skylight shelf.

We are back from our adventure in the frozen north. The dc's and I went for a walk on frozen Lake Michigan. It was fun--I haven't done it since high school. Good thing ds is strong or I would still be struggling up the huge banks of snow. :lol: Thanks to the plane journey I managed to read a bit. Remembering the Night by Stephanie Doyle Her Kind of Trouble by Sarah Mayberry Australian setting Havana Lost by Libby Fischer Hellmann Cuba, Angola, and Chicago for settings. This book was not great but I did enjoy it. I found the parts about pre Castro Cuba fascinating. I got it through Amazon Prime since that has been discussed here recently. Dust by Patricia Cornwall, the latest Scarpetta series book. Taking into account several of the recent ones in this series have been pretty dreadful this one was a decent read. It was much more succinct with less extraneous information than several of the recent ones in the series. A bit more like the first 10 or so in the series.

Like Tress I decided to read "The Dinosaur Feather" by S.J. Gozan for the title. The DC'S had/have a serious love of fossils and dinosaurs. We actually had a local paleontologist as a tutor back when he was local--busy on digs for a couple of years now. I am personally a bit conflicted by the arguments and I still don't really completely believe birds are dinos but for a mystery (genre wise) this book does manage to go over with a broad brush much of that controversy. The story as a whole was fast paced after the first 20% which was intro. This book is by a Danish author and set in Denmark(geography challenge). I had wondered here if Scandinavian books in general would all have characters with the harsh edges that I see in Karin Fossum's work(Norwegian) and I really didn't see many similarities. The characters were pretty damaged individuals but their actions were not as harsh. I gave the book a 4* and have to say it managed to pull me away from my fixation on Sebastian St.Cyr!

I am a bit of a "the books are better" person where Harry Potter is concerned but must admit Uncle Vernon is done wonderfully. I had forgotten that he had died until I read your post. Dh and the kids are planning to visit as many film locations as possible next summer so dh really needs to manage to stay awake through these movies! We have been to a couple (Alnwick Castle and Hardwick Hall..) and it is fascinating to see the real thing and compare it to the finished product. Alnwick was used in the Sorcerers Stone for flying lessons and while smaller looks just like the movie. Hardwick is Malfoy Manor and looks pretty different in the movie imo. I can tell it is the same building but computer graphics certainly made some changes!

I was just thinking about "Siddhartha" as a possible lit book for both dc's next year. It doesn't really fit the lit plan(British for both) but ds might like it. I have read it several times and have always really enjoyed it, fascinating book.

Stacia -- my first response to the Oscars was my mom is watching. :lol: She loves award shows and doesn't care if she has even heard of the movie, just likes the clothing! Unless I am rooting for something to win I never watch. Dh has us watching Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets for the 100th time probably. He keeps falling asleep and has never made it through a single one! Snoring now... :lol: Good thing I have a book.

A couple of days ago I went to renew my library stack and discovered someone had requested an entire series that was in my really really want to read portion of my stack. I have finished all that had to be back by the 5th and am loving the Sebastian St. Cyr series. These must be read in order because the underlying character thread/storyline is fabulous. CS Harris has a Phd in European History and an undergraduate degree in classics. They are well written and from what I can tell very a very accurate snapshot of life in London cira 1812. I completed these this week: Why Mermaids Sing by CS Harris Where Serpants Sleep by CS Harris What Remains of Heaven by CS Harris Where Shadows Dance by CS Harris Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich my number challenge/insomnia read ;) Currently reading: When Maidens Mourn CS Harris The Dinosaur Feather by SJ Gazon I just want to add that the CS Harris books are great historical mysteries with a bit of romance. I suspect many of you would love them! :)

Ds was a huge baby, his rolls had rolls. At 3 months I think he was 24 lbs. Exclusively bf and he ate constantly. At around 6 months I remember FIL begging my to diet him. :lol: He hit his milestones before or at the same time as his sister. Was down to completely normal proportions by two. For a year or so around 11 he was tubby,then he grew a foot and is a 6 foot tall thirteen yo weighing roughly 140. Don't worry.

We are an army duffle bag family. One duffle is all we need. ;) If we are switching locations frequently I segment things a bit with pillow cases. Put all the warm weather gear in one at the bottom. I keep dirty in another pillow case. This pillow case/laundry bag goes into the washer and dryer with the clothing and is used to carry the clean laundry. Another pillow case for rewearable/night wear etc. My last tip is take things to serve as pj's that can be worn in public. Dd always wears her pajamas home -- leggings and a cute tshirt are perfectly acceptable sleep wear.

I took the love of puzzles into activities with pattern blocks, tangrams, and other math manipulatives. I know his interest in geography but he might enjoy those things too. There are lots of puzzles availiable at garage sales frequently.