Book Update

Once again, I have flew through another couple of books to share with you:

Such A Pretty Fat, by Jen Lancaster

Yet another installment of the hilarious Jen Lancaster. Man, these books make me laugh out loud! Such a fun read! I have kept the other two of her books that I have read, but this one I will be lending to a friend at work, then it is hitting my swap stack. I like it a lot, but am being very choosy about which books I am keeping vs ones that I can afford to get rid of in the meantime. 

Book summary from amazon.com

"To whom the fat rolls…I'm tired of books where a self-loathing heroine is teased to the point where she starves herself skinny in hopes of a fabulous new life. And I hate the message that women can't possibly be happy until we all fit into our skinny jeans. I don't find these stories uplifting; they make me want to hug these women and take them out for fizzy champagne drinks and cheesecake and explain to them that until they figure out their insides, their outsides don't matter. Unfortunately, being overweight isn't simply a societal issue that can be fixed with a dose healthy of positive self-esteem. It’s a health matter, and here on the eve of my fortieth year, I've learned I have to make changes so I don't, you know, die. Because what good is finally being able to afford a pedicure if I lose a foot to adult onset diabetes?"

Something Borrowed, by Emily Griffin

It was funny that I actually picked up this book (as well as the second and third book in the series that I know of) because I hadn't heard anything much about it other than it was a 'guilty pleasure' read. This novel has also been made into a movie:

So, it will be next on my list to see that one probably. I thought this book was alright - pretty long for what it was, but it made sense. I am interested to see what the other two books expand on from this piece of chick lit. This one was funny, a very fast read, but will also hit the swap stack.

Book summary from amazon.com:

Rachel White is the consummate good girl. A hard-working attorney at a large Manhattan law firm and a diligent maid of honor to her charmed best friend Darcy, Rachel has always played by all the rules. Since grade school, she has watched Darcy shine, quietly accepting the sidekick role in their lopsided friendship. But that suddenly changes the night of her thirtieth birthday when Rachel finally confesses her feelings to Darcy's fiance, and is both horrified and thrilled to discover that he feels the same way. As the wedding date draws near, events spiral out of control, and Rachel knows she must make a choice between her heart and conscience. In so doing, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk everything to be true to yourself.

Books books books

Update on the books that I have read. Oddly enough, I am finding that more and more of the books that I want to read, are quickly adding to the swap stack under my desk...

The latest books that I have finished reading:

The Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro

description from Amazon.com:

"I’ve changed a bit since high school. Back then I said no to using and selling drugs. I washed on a normal basis and still had good credit.”
Introducing Laurie Notaro, the leader of the Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club. Every day she fearlessly rises from bed to defeat the evil machinations of dolts, dimwits, and creepy boyfriends—and that’s before she even puts on a bra.
For the past ten years, Notaro has been entertaining Phoenix newspaper readers with her wildly amusing autobiographical exploits and unique life experiences. She writes about a world of hourly-wage jobs that require absolutely no skills, a mother who hands down judgments more forcefully than anyone seated on the Supreme Court, horrific high school reunions, and hangovers that leave her surprised that she woke up in the first place.
The misadventures of Laurie and her fellow Idiot Girls (“too cool to be in the Smart Group”) unfold in a world that everyone will recognize but no one has ever described so hilariously. She delivers the goods: life as we all know it.

My take:
I thought the book was a quick, quirky, funny read, but just a book that I would read only one time. Off to the swap stack with you!

Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson

description from Amazon.com:

It's been a long summer for Goldy Schulz, who is engaged in planning a wedding reception for Aspen Meadow's nuttiest bridezilla. But then Doc Finn, beloved local physician and the best friend of Goldy's godfather, Jack, is killed when his car tumbles into a ravine. Jack thinks Doc was murdered because of the research he was doing at the local spa—allegations that are confirmed when Jack himself is attacked.
So Goldy adds more work to her plate and dons chef's whites to go undercover at the spa, where coffee is outlawed in favor of smoothies. But if she doesn't find the clever killer on the spa grounds who's watching her every move, catering weddings and cooking low-fat food might just be the death of Goldy Schulz . . .
And enjoy Goldy's delectable recipes, including fatally flaky cookies and nutcase cranberry-apricot bread!

My take:
This was a bad comparison to the series I love love love from Joanne Fluke - the Murder She Baked Mystery series. This book was pretty lame and too long for what it was and how long it took to get to the point. Off to the swap stack with you too!

Running in Heels by Anna Maxted

description from Amazon.com:

"To say that Babs has been my closest friend for sixteen years is rather like saying that Einstein was good at sums. We were blood sisters from the age of eleven (before my mother prized the razor out of Babs's hand)."
But now Babs, noisy and as fun as a day at the beach, is getting married. And Natalie Miller, twenty-seven, senior press officer for the London Ballet, panics. What happens when your best friend pledges everlasting love to someone else?
It doesn't help that Nat is dating a guy named Saul Bowcock. As the confetti flutters, her good-girl veneer cracks, and she falls into an alluringly unsuitable affair that spins her crazily out of control. Nat is on the rebound and allergic to the truth—about Babs's relationship, her boyfriend's ambition, her parents' divorce, and her golden-boy brother's little Australian secret. Her mother's lasagna and her roommate Andy's fuzzy slippers are also monstrous affronts. But what Nat really needs to face is the mirror—and herself . . . .
Wickedly witty and refreshingly honest, Running in Heels is a hilarious look at the lies we tell ourselves—and the unwanted truths that only our best friends can tell us.

My take:
OMG - could this book BE any longer?! I was just wanting this book to be over. it was bad, like stupid, and if I said that the one prior to this took a long time to get to the point, then this one took that times infinity longer to get to the point, without much of anything there to keep you reading ugh. snooze. Swap. Stack.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

description from Amazon.com:

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell has embarked on an urgent, secret mission that will take him through the five boroughs of New York. His goal is to find the lock that matches a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11. This seemingly impossible task will bring Oskar into contact with survivors of all sorts on an exhilarating, affecting, often hilarious, and ultimately healing journey.

My take:
This book was NOTHING like what I had assumed it would be. I had seen the movie trailer for it and thought it would be more along the lines of the amazon.com description, but it was so weird in there and really hard to follow and figure out who was talking when and to whom. I am not even sure that I want to see the movie now...swap stack...

World Diabetes Day 2012

Today, November 14, 2012 is World Diabetes Day

Supporters are supposed to wear blue or grey to show their support today. I have on a couple shades of blue :)

Also, looking through facebook posts today that my fellow type 1 diabetics have posted, I came across this link to a comparison site - comparing Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. 

I wish that everyone could see this comparison and not lump in Type1-ers in with the Type2-ers. 

The one block that stood out to me the most was this one:

Even though I have lived with Type 1 for 23 years, seeing that stark one word in black and white still makes an impact.

For all my diabetic buddies out there living with type 1, stay strong, reach out, live well, pay it forward.

-LD

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

This year, we received very late notice that we would be able to dress up for Halloween at work this year. Of course, given the more recent years, I have been geeked about creating costumes for myself - mostly with the help of my Grandma. This year was no different. I had my sights set on Strawberry Shortcake or Mary Poppins. I chose to go the Strawberry Shortcake route...
This entire costume was started on Saturday, and with exception of the hat, was finished late the same night.I hopped in the car after I got home and showered from the ADA Diabetes Walk, ran over to Walmart to get an apron and a slip, and then to my Grandma's house. From there - we laid out a plan for what we would need from the fabric mecca, S.R. Harris. Finding the strawberry print proved to be much harder than I thought it would be, but lo and behold, the last printed fabric aisle we walked down -- there is was - the 'perfect' strawberry print for the hat!! YES! I seriously need to take pictures of this place inside and post them sometime. IT is INSANE how much fabric and notions they have in that place - tons and tons and more tons. Brilliant.

We took a quick pitstop at Perkins to refuel ourselves for the busy day of sewing and costume-making we had ahead of ourselves.

Then, it was back to Grandma's house to lay out the fabric and cut out the material based on a pattern she had for an amish-looking costume. I will be honest, she scared me a little when she brought out that pattern and said that we would be basing my costume off of this pattern. Um...what? But never fear, with a few tweaks and alterations, it transformed from Amish into Strawberry's dress in a matter of a couple of hours.

laying out the fabric and pattern pieces - here goes nothing!

Grandma at her awesome sewing machine. I swear, this thing can make anything!

sneak peek of the costume mid-creation during one of the fittings that I posted to Facebook!

Ta-DAHHHH!

I purchased the tights from a pop-up Halloween shop ($8.99)
Basket from Goodwill ($1.99)
Strawberry (coasters?) from Goodwill inside the basket ($1)
Apron from Walmart ($6)
Fabric and lace trims for entire outfit and hat from SR Harris ($28)

I already had the other items:

• Brown Doc Martens
• White socks (over the tights so I would not slip and slide around in my shoes all day)
• Red wig (Ariel wig actually - I had failed tried making a wig twice - once with yarn and once with a mop head - neither attempt worked out well)
• Brown eyeliner for the freckles

So, for about $46 I made an awesome costume that I could wear again and again and again...not the cheapest option, but I spent less than I would have if I would have gone out and bought the cheap rayon fabric version, and let's be real, I wanted to be Strawberry Shortcake, not Strawberry Skankcake...

I plan on going back to the Halloween shop tonight to see what there is that I might be able to purchase for next year in the name of wigs and accessories. They are running 50% off Nov 1-3, so I figured I might be able to score some sweet items for the upcoming years.

I have a running list of some things that I have thought to be in the next years...

• Mary Poppins (of course - the highest contender for next year's costume)
• Gumby
• Trinity from the Matrix
• Belle from Beauty and the Beast
• Jessie from Toy Story 3
• Frenchie from Grease
• You Tube video cutout frame
• Leia from Starwars

I went to work in full costume -- on the bus -- and got a lot of smiles, laughs, and double-takes. it was pretty  freaking hilarious. I was laughing just watching everyone take in my costume. There was only one other guy on the bus who was dressed up - a Spartan on his way home from a vacation in Hawaii...interesting.

At work this year, we had a Halloween costume contest. There were only 10 people at work that dressed up and entered the contest. 

and...

I won second place!!!

My prize? A fishing rod/reel combo and a Camelbak water bottle! Pretty neat! Rather than a bag of turkey or deer hunting stuff that I couldn't use whatsoever!

Then, I went home --on the bus -- in full costume still. As I was waiting for my transfer bus in Mpls, a mom and her two younger kids were trick-or-treating at the businesses. The little girl was all dressed up as a princess with a mask on. As she walked by me, she just stared at me, then ever so shyly, she gave me a smile and a little shy wave. OMG - heart melted. I waved and smiled back at her. So stinkin cute. 

At home, I got ready for trick-or-treaters. But the thing about our area is, that you never know how many kids will actually come from year to year. We had six. S-I-X. All night until 9pm. That is when I said, enough of this - I am dead tired and the only kids who came to our door were all junior high or high school students, not dressed up, and one (pretty overweight) kid who had his pillowcase full of candy already, asked me if he could take a HANDFULL of candy. Um no - Sorry kiddo, you should probably lay OFF the candy this year...

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope is was Sweet!

LD

Happy (almost) Halloween!

Happy (almost) Halloween!

There is a funny thing about me and Halloween. The older I get, the more into creating costumes I get. When I was younger, I remember liking Halloween just like any other less-significant-than-Christmas-Holiday. Being a diabetic, sometimes it had its negatives. My parents sometimes traded my candy haul for cash, but then they gave up on this completely when more of the "strict diabetic rules and regulations" went out the window and gave way to more (and better, more efficient) insulin consumption.

The past couple of years, I have leaned heavily on my Grandma's mad sewing skills to help create my last minute spontaneous masterpieces. This year was no different. We got the green light email from work on Friday telling us that we can dress up tomorrow for Halloween in work appropriate costume. Trust me, my costumes are and have always been tasteful and cover all the naughty bits...well, with one questionable costume (Wonder Woman) from my college days. It DID cover everything, but I had to wear some additional layers beneath the cheap rayon fabric to make that happen and not flash any innocent bystanders.

when I wore this, think less push-up bra and hooker boots...and  more shorts and leggings...
um hello, Halloween in BEMIDJI, MINNESOTA!

Last year, I had my Grandma help me create my Cupcake costume. It was good in theory, but as I look back on that decision to wear lots and lots of lemon-yellow colored tulle, I am not so sure that was such a wise decision...but it was fun to have my Grandma help me make my costume. Though I need to work on telling her to HELP me do it and not do it all herself. She likes projects - but she ends up doing the whole thing, while I just watch from the sidelines. 

She did give me her old sewing machine -- that I am still learning to have a love-hate relationship with. The bobbin confuses the heck out of me every time I use the dang thing. I don't use it often enough, so that is probably the majority of my problem right there...

I was deciding between two personas for this Halloween. The one that I did not choose this year, I am plotting on being next year. I might try to get a jump on the costume for next year and have it pieced together MUCH more in advance than this year's costume. 

I will post pictures tomorrow of my costume persona that I chose to be this year - I want you all waiting in suspense!

To bringing back childhood, to being someone else for one day, to Halloween!

-LD

Always and Forever

Four years ago today, I was getting my hair done for one of the biggest days of my life.

After a night of taking care of my anxious flower girl, new puppy, and having my junior attendant and both bridesmaids spend the night, and almost no sleep...

Thank goodness for a bridesmaid who handled things with grace. And cappuccino. And chauffeuring skills. and cappuccino...

But it was all worth it, stepping into that white dress, pinning the veil my Grandma made into my hair, pinning corsages onto my Grandparents...

Walking to the gazebo to see my man waiting to see me...

Taking pictures - lots of pictures, smiling till our cheeks hurt...

Lining up to walk down the outdoor aisle on that crisp fall day...

Standing before everyone as Mr. and Mrs. Doberstein!

Happy Anniversary to my hubby. Four years already - time flies when you are having fun. I would not have chosen another man to be by my side to have gone through all that we have together - the rough financial times when we were first starting out, drama, firings, hirings, promotions, events, fishing, camping, birthdays, holidays and much, much more. I can't wait to see what this year brings us as things are feeling like they are turning a corner for us and where life will lead us. I am excited for our future adventures and learnings together.

ILY A&F *promise* 

Book Binging

Hey there!

I just wanted to give you a quick review on the two latest books that I have devoured on my bus rides to and from work:

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt


This book was one of the strangest books that I have read. It is first and foremost a memoir - which I find very tragic. There was no break to tell when people were talking - no quotation marks at all - so that took some getting used to - to try and sort out who was talking to whom and when. It was such a sad, sad, sad desperate, lonely book. I read this book because I had heard it was a really good book - and possibly one that some schools were reading. After reading this book, I sure hope no kids read this book! Scandalous and pretty dark through the majority of the book.

Summary from Wikipedia:
Angela's Ashes is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Frank McCourt. The memoir consists of various anecdotes and stories of Frank McCourt's impoverished childhood and early adulthood in Brooklyn, New Yorkand Limerick, Ireland, as well as McCourt's struggles with poverty, his father's drinking issues, and his mother's attempts to keep the family alive. Angela's Ashes was published in 1996 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. A sequel to the book, 'Tis, was published in 1999, and was followed by Teacher Man in 2005.

I actually picked up the sequel, Tis, in Godwill just the other day. So, we'll see how that goes!
This book will go into my Swap Stack, but it was an interesting read.

The second book that I read - completely the other side of the spectrum:
Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger (wrote the Devil Wears Prada and Everyone Worth Knowing)


This book was more of a happy fun time book to read after reading Angela's Ashes. It was much much needed! It was a fun read, really quick, but not too memorable or relateable. 

Summary from Amazon.com:
The bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada and Everyone Worth Knowing returns with the story of three best friends who vow to change their entire lives...and change them fast.

Emmy is newly single, and not by choice. She was this close to the ring and the baby she's wanted her whole life when her boyfriend left her for his twenty-three-year-old personal trainer -- whose fees are paid by Emmy. With her plans for the perfect white wedding in the trash, Emmy is now ordering takeout for one. Her friends insist an around-the-world sex-fueled adventure will solve all her problems -- could they be right?

Leigh, a young star in the publishing business, is within striking distance of landing her dream job as senior editor and marrying her dream guy. And to top it all off, she has just purchased her dream apartment. Only when Leigh begins to edit the enfant terrible of the literary world, the brilliant and brooding Jesse Chapman, does she start to notice some cracks in her perfect life...

Adriana is the drop-dead-gorgeous daughter of a famous supermodel. She possesses the kind of feminine wiles made only in Brazil, and she never hesitates to use them. But she's about to turn thirty and -- as her mother keeps reminding her -- she won't have her pick of the men forever. Everyone knows beauty is ephemeral and there's always someone younger and prettier right around the corner. Suddenly she's wondering...does Mother know best?

These three very different girls have been best friends for a decade in the greatest city on earth. As they near thirty, they're looking toward their future...but despite all they've earned -- first-class travel, career promotions, invites to all the right parties, and luxuries small and large -- they're not quite sure they like what they see...

One Saturday night at the Waverly Inn, Adriana and Emmy make a pact: within a single year, each will drastically change her life. Leigh watches from the sidelines, not making any promises, but she'll soon discover she has the most to lose. Their friendship is forever, but everything else is on the table. Three best friends. Two resolutions. One year to pull it off.

This one will also hit my Swap Stack - though I own both of the other two books she has written.

I laughed a couple of times through the book, but it was just a quick, fun read. 

Happy Reading!

LD

Step Out: Walk To Stop Diabetes

Hello (insert one of my enthusiastic smile and waves here)!

It is that time of year again, when the weather gets cooler, the feel of fall is in the air, and the Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes event approaches!

This year, on October 27, 2012 is the annual American Diabetes Association's walk event. With just a little under a month to get some fund raising dollars in, I decided to take a few minutes to write the following (long-ish) note to you. *Ahem*

Reasons why I walk:

I walk for the bad days, when in-control blood sugars seem too good to be true

I walk for the days when diabetes seems like it controls me, my life and my plans

I walk for people that told me, "no, you can't do that/eat that because you're a diabetic."

I walk because of a disease I am told I will have my entire life

I walk because insulin is not a cure

I walk for others who have gone into despair and neglect their disease

I walk for the ones who say I CAN'T
I walk for the little ones diagnosed that can't understand what is wrong with them
I walk because diabetes kills more people each year than breast cancer and AIDS combined
I walk for doctors who think there are "perfect" diabetics and expect you to be
I walk for being bullied in school for having diabetes
I walk for the incorrect ways the media portrays diabetes in movies and sitcoms
I walk for those who give up and say, "I'm done"

I walk to support the friends who are with me in the fight

I walk to thank my family and friends who I have depended on to live this thing through
I walk to thank those who gave me shots when I was too young to understand

I walk to give us all hope that things can and WILL be different in the future

I walk for a cure

I walk to prove people wrong about diabetes and its hold on people's lives
I walk to be a part of something bigger than myself - to do great things
I walk to join the others who want to make a difference
I walk to prove naysayers wrong
I walk to represent those affected

I walk to make a difference

I walk because I have diabetes

I have had diabetes for 23 years, have kept good control and have led a wonderful life. I love volunteering with the ADA in the Step Out Walks, the Diabetes Gala, and most recently, the Tour de Cure biking event, (and soon to be the ADA Expo!) as well as offering my services to Camp Needlepoint in the summer, a two-week camp set up just for diabetic kids. Yeah, we're THAT awesome.

I will be volunteering at the Walk event again this year - and raising money through my online website (online donations), through checks made out to the American Diabetes Association and given or sent to myself to be turned into the American Diabetes Association on the day of the event, and of course, cash donations (online or check donations preferred, but note: I will not be rejecting ANY donations to the Walk!)

I would like to take just a minute to THANK all of you who have donated for my past events, been there as a support system, who have attended a walk event with me in the past, and/or encouraged me in my fight against Diabetes! Each event like this gives me personally more hope that someday there will be a cure for this disease. Insulin is not a cure.

Please note, do NOT feel at all pressured to donate money - that is not this email's intention. I will not judge you :) your encouraging words are amazing!! But DO remember that EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR helps the fight to do more testing, to get one step closer to a cure.

Hey think of it this way - you know that mani-pedi you want to get? Or those weekly cups of designer coffee -- What about throwing that, what, 20-30-40-50? dollars into a Walk collection envelope and feeling amazing about helping people?! (Do I feel a DIY mani-pedi party at my house coming on?!) Oh and a bonus - all donations are tax deductible - look at you, donating, feeling good AND getting a tax break out it it!

Attending this event each year is truly something. The past few years, seeing all of the people there to support the walk is incredible. It chokes me up seeing all of the people out on the walking course that day and thinking, "they are all here for the same reason." If you have never been a part of something - anything like this, I would recommend this walk as your "jumping off point." It is a casual walk - one mile or the 5K, and it gives you a taste of what an event like this is like. (for some of my runner friends, yes, you CAN make it a 5K RUN!!!) 

If you want to take it a step farther, volunteer! I will be stationed for some of the event - at the volunteer check-in T-Shirt booth! There are many different areas to volunteer! You could help me in the volunteer booth, be a route cheerleader for all of the walkers/runners and many more areas! If you would like to attend the event as a walker or as a volunteer, let me know or sign up through the ADA website!

THE DETAILS!!

This year's WALK event is being held at the General Mills Campus on Saturday, October 27th, 2012

1 General Mills Blvd, Golden Valley, MN

There is free parking at this event - in the main ramp or the dedicated surface parking lots.

Check-in time starts as early as 7:30am

The Kids Dash begins - 8:30am

The Walk or Run 9:00am

You can choose to participate in the Kids Dash (If you're a kid), 1 mile or 5K Walk or Run

The official event summary:

Bring your family members, friends and colleagues to the General Mills World Headquarters in Golden Valley for a morning of exercise and entertainment! Park free on the campus and enjoy a light breakfast and aerobic warm-up before heading out to take in the fall colors. After walking or running the distance of your choice, stick around to get your picture taken with General Mills equity characters, visit with vendors or hang out in the Kids Zone! There will be fun for everyone! Come rain or shine. Please note that this is a non-competitive run/walk event.

http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/StepOut/A6MNN-MinnesotaArea?pg=entry&fr_id=8383

If you would like to make a donation to my walk page, please visit my personal walk site:

http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/StepOut/A6MNN-MinnesotaArea?px=5241432&pg=personal&fr_id=8383

Have a great weekend everyone - and maybe I'll see you in a few weeks!!

-LD

Updated Bucket List

So, I have been a bit of a slacker when it comes to updating my Bucket List...

Travel to Paris

Go Hot Air Ballooning

Buy a decent camera previously accomplished!

Take a cooking class

Take a cake decorating class this one I am in the process of completing right now through a Community Ed class! I am taking an Intro to Cake Decorating Class, and will also be taking a cake decorating flowers only class later this month

Be promoted in the workplace Hear ye - hear ye - I was recently PROMOTED at work. My new title: Store Operations Coordinator (from Store Operations Specialist).

Get another dog

Move into a single-family home

Alaskan Cruise

Travel to see more of the West and East coasts

Travel to Hawaii

Travel to Australia

Live on or near a lake

Host Thanksgiving Dinner at our home (must obtain home with larger kitchen first...)

Ride in a Limousine

Road Trip with Derick

Take a get-away vacation

Host a Holiday Cookie Baking Weekend at my home (must obtain home with larger kitchen first...)

Start a retirement account

Rebuild my hard-copy and electronic portfolios

See my work in print

Pay for the meal or dessert of a prom couple anonymously while at the same restaurant

Eat more fruits and vegetables

Serve food/meal at a charity during a major holiday

Re-read a book series

Read or review all of the design books I own

More seriously discuss if and when to have kids

Find an Endocrinologist whom I interact well with

Snowboard again

Go Scuba Diving

Skype with my Twitter Twin someday previously accomplished!

Work more closely with or for the ADA

Organize my digital pictures

Obtain my education degree to teach art or design

Learn how to play acoustic guitar

Busy Little Book Worm

The latest of my novel conquests is The Heroines, by Elieen Favorite. First of all, how cool of a last name is Favorite?!

Secondly, this was one of the books that I found while searching the Swap Site. The book summary caught my attention and sounded like it would be an interesting read:

In the padlocked attic she'd hidden all her books on shelves with locked pine doors. One never knew who might show up and in what state. The last thing you wanted was for Anna Karenina to discover accidentally that she was bound to take her own life on the railroad tracks...' Watergate is breaking news, but at the Prairie Bluff boarding house in rural Illinois, there are more immediate concerns...Emma Bovary has arrived unannounced - and distraught - and Anne-Marie and her daughter Penny have torn themselves away from the television coverage to attend to their new guest. But if there's one rule at Prairie Bluff, it's never meddle in the lives of the Heroines, however cruel the destinies to which they are bound. There's nothing to be done for poor Emma, immersed in her narrative crisis, save for the provision of tea, a tirelessly sympathetic ear, and clean linens...Adolescent angst isn't a patch on beautiful and grief-stricken- and Penny, a moody thirteen, knows she's no competition for her mother's attentions against these ethereal creatures. Hurt and excluded, and frustrated by her mother's passivity in the face of Emma's terrible fate, Penny strikes out across the Prairie to cool her hot head. But when she arrives at the forbidden woods, she's in no mood to obey her mother's second rule, never to enter - and soon finds herself in a world of very real heroes and villains, an unwilling heroine in her very own terrifying story... [Amazon.com]

The book was a pretty quick read - something that was more odd than other books I had read before - an interesting idea of classic novel heroines coming to visit in the storyteller's present day - and they were not allowed to interfere with the heroine's story line. Obscure, but interesting. This book went back on my Swap Pile, because once read, for me, it was a simple read and return type of book. Speaking of which - I should probably get out my library card and go peruse those shelves instead of purchasing books, even IF they are being purchased at Goodwill.

-LD

Readin' Queen

One more book down - the last of my Nicholas Sparks books that was in my stack:

I think I have seen the movie based on this book and didn't much care for the movie. The book also wasn't the greatest Sparks I have read either. Funny, considering it was one of the first ones that he wrote, following  The Notebook and A Walk To Remember. Both of those books are on my "for keeps" shelf at the moment. 

From the website:

Thrown to the waves, and to fate, the bottle could have ended up anywhere. Instead, it is found just three weeks after it begins its journey. Theresa Osborne, divorced and the mother of a twelve-year-old son, discovers it during a seaside vacation from her job as a Boston newspaper columnist. Inside is a letter that opens with, “My Dearest Catherine, I miss you my darling, as I always do, but today is particularly hard because the ocean has been singing to me, and the song is that of our life together….” For Garrett, the message is the only way he knows to express his undying love for a woman he has lost. For Theresa, wary of romance since her husband shattered her trust, the message raises questions that intrigue her. Challenged by the mystery, and driven to find Garrett by emotions she does not fully understand, Theresa begins a search that takes her to a sunlit coastal town and an unexpected confrontation. Brought together either by chance or something more powerful, Theresa and Garrett’s lives come together in a tale that resonates with our deepest hopes for finding everlasting love. Shimmering with suspense and emotional intensity, Message in a Bottle takes readers on a hunt for the truth about a man and his memories, and about both the heartbreaking fragility and enormous strength of love. For those who cherished The Notebook and readers waiting to discover the magic of Nicholas Sparks’s storytelling, here is an achingly lovely novel of happenstance, desire, and the choices that matter most.

I also found it interesting that there is a "Did You Know" section about his books on the website:

Did You Know...

Theresa was named after Nicholas’s agent, Theresa Park?

The novel was sold to Warner Brothers when it was only half complete?

The first draft of the screenplay was finished on the same day the novel was finished?

So that is what the book is about. It is going into my Swap Pile though - not a book that I need to keep around any longer. 

I feel like I might be in a reading funk at the moment. 

I got through this book to get through it. At times it held my attention, and it was a pretty easy 300-ish page read to go through on my commute. I do have to say, it is enjoyable to have the option to spend about 40 minutes in a book on the way to/from work every day if I want.

Next on the docket is:

The Heroines by Elieen Favorite

Come to think of it, I have accumulated quite the stack of books under the desk in the office, waiting for the right swapper to request them from me. The more I see them sitting there, the more I want to build one of these at my parent's lake place:

A Little Free Library. Check it out, I think it's an awesome idea!

And how perfect would that be right at a cabin?! I think it would be a great place - especially since there are people around my parents' cabin who stay year-round, and I am sure there would be some great books that show up there from time to time - and I could stock it with my stack of books right now!

-Happy Reading!

LD

The Great Minnesota Get Together

Here in Minnesota, the Minnesota State Fair is a pretty huge deal. The past few years, Derick and I have been attending the fair in search of yummy fair food, and to take in the sights and some of the shows that the fair has to offer.

This year, as a part of work, Gander Mountain was sponsoring an area of the Fair again this year. As employees, we could sign up for shifts to work the Gander area! my immediate team of three all signed up to work the Fair together this week and it was a lot of fun.

After my four-hour shift at the booth, a friend from college stopped by the booth and wanted to walk the fair with me, eat and catch up! It has been a few years since we have seen each other and it was a blast! My feet sure were tired by the end of the day, but it was a day well-spent!

On the "food consumed list," I had:

• a Pronto-Pup (like a corndog, but way, way better)
  
• Fudge Puppy (basically a waffle covered with chocolate, whipped cream and sprinkles.mmm)
  
• Cheese Curds
  
• and brought Kettle Corn home for Derick and I to share
  

What a great shot to end on the other night!

-LD

Business Or Pleasure

As some of you may know, I was able to go and participate in one of our new store openings happening for Gander Mountain last week! I was Valdosta, Georgia-bound on Monday afternoon (8/20/12) though Friday 8/24/12 - the store's "soft opening" date!

WOW - what an experience!

I had opened a Christopher & Banks outlet store before, but this was a huge change. I really love store openings. Granted, they are a TON of work, and you are dog-tired by the end of the day and the end of the week, but the rewards are SO worth it.

The store had an AWESOME team - I mean stellar. From the neighboring store help that was brought in to assist the new store associates, the new associates, and the Store management team were all amazing and I was so glad to have been able to meet them, get to know them, laugh with them, work alongside them and spend time with them while I was there for my one-week stint.

I wanted to share some of the photos with you of my experience. From the hotel room - one of the nicest ones I have been put-up in for work-related travel to date, to the day we opened the doors of our first store in the state of Georgia!

Enjoy some of my photographic moments!

The true meaning of work and play!

I found this helpful and humorous- the front two pillows were banded with "soft" or "firm" tags on them.

Since when did they stock Bath and Body Works supplies in the hotel bathrooms?! NICE!

  

GROSS! One of the biggest bugs I saw while down in GA - my boss pointed this guy out to me on our classy morning gas-station run.

The spoils of mine from said classy gas station run - this was the second to last day of the adventure - keep me awake juice!!

Message board - message from the store manager to all the helpers and staff at the store - aww.

The Gander sign out front by the road - the logo needs to be tilted back into place, but the graphic display board is working now! (don't ask, I am a little bitter that I was activated tech support for the better part of two days to get this thing functioning.)

In my true southern stereotype, I had to get a photo of the tree with Spanish Moss on it - I do declare, it was a sight to behold!

As I was merchandising the magazine rack up front, I saw this cover and it made me burst out laughing. It still makes me laugh. lol loony dog!

Now, where did all that apparel go? I swear there was some here a minute ago, but I can't see any apparel on the floor, do you?!

My mad magazine merchandisng skillz, yo.

This was at a place we ate on the last night before opening. Though I did not get a steak there, everyone else who had it said it was really good!

On the opening morning of the soft opening 8.24.12. A Gander Mountain is born and released into the world!

It's The Greatest Place I Know

It was that time of year again - Camp Needlepoint time!

I went to camp again this year as a staff training assistant, aka Camp Mom again this year. While I do enjoy going and giving back every year at the same camp that gave so much to me, I think I am getting a little too old for a lot of the shenanigans that happen there more and more in the past couple of years. So, this might be my last year at camp for awhile. I wanted to share a few pictures of one of the greatest places I have ever had the pleasure of being:

Camp Needlepoint, Hudson, Wisconsin

The new tables and benches in the dining hall - what a transformation! I sort of miss the old tables and benches!

 

A pretty big moment for me - I was talking with one of the nurses about one of the newer pump site inserts and at the end of our conversation, she asked if I wanted to try putting one in! I said sure, why not, and i did it by myself and it was really neat! First time for everything!

Nature building

The Lodge

The stairs by the lodge that begin your decent to the Beach Path

Staff during the opening ceremonies of week one of Camp Needlepoint 2012!

This place has such a place in my heart, and no matter how old I get, I at least always hope that I will be able to be there in spirit, or some form or fashion through the years.

Peace. Love. Diabetes.

-LD