~Sunday Stew - May 8th, 2011~

Sunday Stew is a Weekly Meme hosted Here at Books Devoured

First of all, without any further ado, let's celebrate the wonderful and awe-inspiring creature that is the GREATEST blessing that God put on Earth for her children - the MOTHER! 

 

Bookmark of the Week:
 

 "A hundred years from now, the world may be different because I was important in the life of my child."

I could not agree more with what it says on this bookmark, because my mother is the axis upon which my world revolves. Some people say mothers are God's angels without the wings, but I swear, I see my mothers wings. Her words are a salve for any wound, her arms are a safe haven from all of the pain of this world, and her presence in my life is the biggest blessing that God has bestowed upon me.

In all honesty, my photography skills (as aforementioned) really suck, and do not do this bookmark justice, and my photography especially does no justice to the beautiful woman on this bookmark. In case you guys have not guessed it yet - yep, that's Mama Enamored Soul! :) Isn't she beautiful? She does not wear the hijaab usually, but she took this photo as part of her school pictures (she teaches at a private school) for which she wears it, so yeah. She had this bookmark made by the company that does the school pictures, especially for me. 2003 is the year I graduated, and left to the Caribbean for Medical School, and she gave this to me. Trust me, the only reason I survived some of those days was because I had a book to keep me company, and this bookmark to provide me solace. I love my mother!!! 

 Around The Web:

Recently, I was browsing the web, and came across this article, which evoked a lot of thoughts/emotions in me, so I thought I'd share it with you guys.

Despite Lakers' long odds, Kobe chugs along confidently (NBA News - Sekou Smith) 

Okay, so there are a lot of amazing blog hops taking place, and I know you usually hear about them right here, but today I'm going a different route (and I may be kicking myself for this, later...or worse, YOU might be kicking me for it later) but here's what we're going to do today...we're going to have ourselves a little chat/showcase about the....*drumroll* 

I know, I know...what's "sports" got to do with a book-blog. Not much (except there are hundreds of books written on the Lakers, so I mean...you know...*ahem*) but it has a LOT to do with this blogger (that'd be me!). As most of you may know (or if you don't, yo u do now), I'm a HUGE Lakers fan. But an even bigger fan of the Lakers is (get this) my MOM!  She and I try out best to watch every game together - and even on days where the Lakers aren't playing, once the Play-Offs begin, there's no dearth of "the Lakers discussion" in our house. If you don't know, the Lakers have landed in the 2nd round of the Western Conference of the NBA Play-Offs, and are facing the Dallas Mavericks. Now, the Mavs are a fine team and I've always respected Dirt Nowitzki...wait, I mean, Dirk Nowitzki  (I like him, I like him...this is just the frustration talking!) - I can't believe that our beloved Lakers are behind 3-0! 
 

Now, those of you who are NBA fans know what those stats signify, but for those who don't - no team in the history of the NBA has ever won a round in which they are losing 3-0 (out of 7 games). When they lost Game 3, I cried, I bawled and pleaded to God for it to all be a nightmare - but alas! it was all too real. Kobe Bryant (I know you've heard THAT name!) claims that as much as people may think he's crazy, he still thinks that they're going to make a HISTORIC comeback, and not just win Game 4, but win the 2nd round and go on to win the Finals! 

I love the guy, and I cannot deny it, as much as the stats speak for themselves...some part of me just cannot give up hope. Hopefully the rest of the team is as confident and as optimistic! PLUS, Game 4 happens to be today, on Mother's Day...and I'm really hoping that this day my Mom gets what she's been yelling, screaming, and hollering on about...a Lakers win! :D 

Around Me: 

Okay, so for me, this past week was full of amazing surprises in the mailbox! So this week, I am using this Sunday's post to also work as my (psuedo) "In My Mailbox", and to thank all the wonderful people in my life who always do amazing things to put a great big smile on my face.

So, on Friday, I went to get my mail (which I had completely forgotten to pick up on Thursday!) and I received two packages of PURE AWESOMENESS! You wanna see? 

I've been looking forward to this book for SO darn long, and it was sent to me by my darling friend Jessica from the wonderful book blog Confessions of a Total Bookaholic, as a prize for a giveaway that I had won on her blog a month or so ago, and she had pre-ordered it for me! I cannot thank Jessica enough. But had she not sent me this book, I would still need to thank Jessica who is an amazing person - I remember our friendship began when the Tsunami earthquake in Japan took place and we watched, in apt horror, as nature wreaked havoc on our TV's - she in Tennesee and I in California. Her sensitivity, her kindness and her generosity of heart are evident in everything she says and does. She inspires me every day, and I greatly cherish her friendship! Thank you, Jessica...I love you! By the way, her blog is amazing and she has a TON of giveaways going on at the blog, so make sure to follow her!

Feast your eyes on this specimen of awesomeness, sent to me by none other than our very own meme-hosting diva of pure greatness, Shannon of Books Devoured. I won this book via a giveaway that Shannon hosted as part of the Sunday Stew post on April 17th, 2011. By the way, you don't see them here, but she also sent me SEVEN amazing bookmarks, FOUR of which were SIGNED!!! (I am keeping them a secret,because I'm thinking of doing a giveaway for some swag - I believe in paying it forward!). See, ladies and gentlemen, it pays to have some Sunday Stew with us, so don't be shy, and come and join us this glorious Sunday, with YOUR stew. That being said, I cannot thank Shannon enough. But to just thank her for this book would be a great shame, because let me tell you something guys - Shannon is one of the BIGGEST reasons I began blogging. I happened to chance upon Shannon's blog a few months ago, and I commented on one post of hers asking her readers if they wanted their comments answered by her. I made a comment about that, and she answered me back personally. She was so personable and sweet, that I broke down and told her about how I was going through writer's block, and my total sob-story...and instead of telling me to just snap out of it, she patiently listened and gave me some amazing advice.  And just knowing that there was someone in the blogging world who was SO supportive totally made me feel better, and I finally found the courage to make this journey! So thank you Shannon, for restoring my faith, believing in me, being patient with me, being amazingly generous and just being such a wonderful soul. Thank you Shannon...I love you! Make sure you check out her amazing (purple rocks!) blog, and that you follow her...you can't go wrong with her! 

With this, I conclude yet another intensely LONG Sunday Stew post! Thank you for reading, feel free to leave me any comments/feedback you may like. I hope you have a glorious Sunday, an amazing Mother's Day, a blessed rest of the week, and that you'll continue to visit! :)