~Sunday Stew - April 24th, 2011~

Sunday Stew is a Weekly Meme hosted Here at Books Devoured

First of all, I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter. May your day, and the forthcoming year be rife with blessings. 

Bookmark of the Week:

Recently, a book was delivered to me via The Book Depository , and along with the book came this bookmark. I mean, technically, it's a plain bookmark - nothing too exciting. But take a look at the content. On one side, there's a list of The Phonetic Alphabet and then, on the other side, there's the Morse Code Alphabet . I mean, we're probably never going to use either of those (Actually, I always have to use the Phonetic Alphabet to relate my name to any operators/organizations I may call) - but isn't it just cool? After receiving this bookmark, I was almost tempted to send my tweets in Morse Code. I desisted because I was afraid some of you might throw rocks at me! lol :P 

Around The Web:

Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Blog Hop

April 20th to 25th

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

& Once Upon a Twilight

Since it is Easter Weekend, I thought it would be best for me to direct you guys towards this amazing blog hop going on - there are a TON of amazing blogs to be discovered (I mean, there are more than 200 blogs participating), and a ton of great giveaways to be entered. So hop along, and make yourself some new friends! :) 


Around Me:

First of all, I finally created a Facebook Account so that I could interact with all of my fellow bloggers, and authors, outside of Twitter. Feel free to add me, if you'd like! :)


Most of you may know, and some may not (and now all of you do), that I drove up north to San Francisco to see my uncle Paul, who has been in the hospital, in the critical care unit. I, along with my mom, my aunt, my cousin and another uncle drove up there - to see him, and spend some time with him. It was a REAL shock to see him, since he was very sick, very weak, under heavy sedation, hooked up to a respirator, and a dialysis machine. His face, arms, legs were extremely edematous and his abdomen was severely distended due to ascites. But Thank God, the day after we got there, his condition began improving. So much so, that by the time we left on Friday afternoon, his edema was completely gone, they had taken him off the respirator, and were soon gonna take him off the dialysis machine. I wanted to thank EVERYONE who prayed for him, for me, and kept our family in your thoughts and prayers - they were greatly appreciated. 

The pictures taken above were taken during the trip, and this happens to be my uncle's "backyard", so to speak. This is the deck behind/at the side of the house, since the house itself sits on a hill. It overlooks the ocean, and when it's not so hazy, you can see the outline of San Francisco, and I love it. During this trip, I didn't get a lot of time to read, but when I usually go up there for a vacation, or some time away, I love sitting on the bench under the tree on the top deck with his doggie Cedric, hook my feet into the tree, and get my read on. It's one of my most favorite places, ever, and I just thought I'd share it with you guys! :) 


Thank you SO much for reading my ~Sunday Stew~ Post, this week. I hope you enjoyed it, had a wonderful weekend, an amazing Easter Sunday, and that you'll continue to visit. Au Revoir, for now ! :D

~Sunday Stew - April 17th, 2011~

 

Sunday Stew is a Weekly Meme hosted Here at Books Devoured .

Bookmark of the Week:

Since I'm reading "The Liar Society" by Lisa & Laura Roecker I am using the bookmark that the author sent me with a copy of the book. I am so thoroughly enjoying the book, and I love the bookmark, because not only is the "pink hair" so exciting, I also love that it has a blurb by other awesome authors, Kimberly Derting (author of "The Body Finder" series) and Mandy Hubbard (author of "Prada and Prejudice"). Plus, its signed, which is another thing that makes me go "squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" (yes, just like that!). 

P.S - If you want a chance to win "The Liar Society" you can enter the contest for a copy on Goodreads (make sure to add it to your "to-read" list, ok?). 

Around The Web:

Okay, so Ann Aguirre's "Enclave" was released on April 12th, 2011 - and it seems the world has gone "Enclave" crazy, overnight! I, for one, am really psyched for to read this book. So, since I've been seeing the book everywhere, I thought I'd share my excitement with you and share some of the contests/giveaways that are offering "Enclave" as a prize! :D

• Ends 04/17 - Win "Enclave" by Ann Aguirre Giveaway by For What It's Worth
  

• Ends 04/19 - The Bookish Type is giving away "Enclave" by Ann Aguirre as part of "The Cornucopia of Dystopia" Giveaway Event

I wish you all the best of luck! Also, since April is "National Autism Awareness Month" I'd really appreciate it if you would read my post on Autism Awareness

Also, in my (vile) attempt at shameless self-promotion (it's for love, really) I'd urge you to consider entering my "Happy Birthday Mr. Enamored Soul" Giveaway - you could win your choice of either, The Notebook or A Walk To Remember (Nicholas Sparks), This Lullaby (Sarah Dessen) or The Body Finder (Kimberly Derting). 

Around Me:

So last night, I babysat a 4 month old BEAUTIFUL baby boy. And as I held him, and rocked him to sleep in my arms, he hung on to my shirt. He didn't let go, the ENTIRE night. And as his tiny fingers clung to the tortuous creases in my shirt, I realized how badly I want to be a mother. I know, I sound like a complete sap - but I honestly cannot explain the way I feel every time I hold a child in my arms. On most days, I feel like I'm in a fugue, in a constant haze and not knowing where I am or what I am doing - but as soon as a child finds their way into my arms, I always feel like I'm right where I ought to be. I know I have a LONG way to go before I'm going to be a mom, but seeing this beautiful baby folded into my arms like a half moon lying in a hammock, I was overwhelmed with emotion, and my heart filled with joy. I just thought I'd share that with all of you. 

Also, I really wanted to thank Shannon Pearcy of Books Devoured for being patient with me, and giving me the chance to participate in the Sunday Stew. I really enjoyed writing this post, I hope you'll enjoy reading it! :D