Monday, December 31, 2007

Road Trip with Three kids

We knew that the four hour drive from our home to Valpraiso IN, where my husband is originally from, would be rough. It always has been. We are driving north, out of scenic southern Indiana into the flatlands of Northern Indiana, and it is just a long boring four hour drive.
This year, the kids had their new Christmas stash to keep the occupied, or so we thought. They had the new dual screen portable DVD player that my folks got us, the bigger two had their new gameboys and then they all three had the personal CD players. That should keep them occupied, right?
Well, it worked for about three hours on the trip up, but the last hour, they were really longing for the hotel and the promise of a pool and swimming. What more could you expect from three kids all under the age of eight.

As you can tell, the pool was the greatest part of the trip, at least for the kids. We checked in at 3pm local time, and the kids swam for about a hour and a half, then got out for some dinner. After eating they went back and swam again for another hour and a half before bed. The next morning they got up at 6:30, even though breakfast didn't start until 7am, then as soon as it turned 7 they were down the hall for breakfast, and then back to waiting until the pool opened at 8am. They swam for a little over two hours before we packed up and headed to Aunt Jo's.
All three love the water. Maeve was doing jumps and practicing her backstroke. Tiernan was jumping in and splashing around. Molly had her floaty swimsuit on and was making her way around the pool edge, and then trying to swim to the ladder. I call them my little fishes, and they were! I am glad they enjoyed it!

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Bowl-ing in Azirona

If you follow college football, like we do here, then you might know that the Indiana University Hooiser are in their first Bowl game since 1993.


To understand how we love football in this family, Brad and I married in July of 1993, and do you know what we did for New Year's Eve that year? We drove to Shreveport LA to the Bowl game to watch the Hooiser play against, if I remember right, it was the Virgina Tech Hokies. Yes, we went bowl-ing on our first New Year's as a married couple!

This year the Hooiser's are playing in the Insight Bowl game in Tempe, AZ. Well, that trips takes a flight, and it was too much to take all three kids to, although had they went to a closer bowl game, we had seriously thought about taking all three kids to the bowl game.

So yesterday brad and his good friend Brian, flew out of Indy headed to Tempe. Today they got tickets to the AZ Cardinals NFL game, then tomorrow night is the Hooiser's game, then they are flying back on Tuesday.

Brad called to check in with the kids and I and told me to check email. He sent this photo, taken by Brian of Brad at the Cardinals Statidum. They are having a good time and looking forward to some good football, both today and tomorrow!
Is it any wonder that Tiernan loves playing football?

Saturday, December 29, 2007

And this makes number four...

Since we were going to visit Aunt Jo on Christmas day, we had to make some "calls" to Santa so that he could deliver the gifts for the kids a day early. On Christmas Eve, we had Christmas with the kids. Besides the gifts we got the kids, everything that Brad's mom got the kids she brought over to our house and then the last of what they hadn't opened from Grandpa David and Leslie was there to open.
This year the big gift for Tiernan and Maeve from us, or Santa, however you want to think about it, were GameBoy Advances. Yeah, I know they are older game players, but I was not about to start out on a $140 DS only to have them break them or never play them. I think I blogged about the time it took me to get them on eBay for Christmas. They went over well. The kids both liked them, and they have continued to play them up through today. Molly isn't ready for a gameboy, so she got a Disney Princess Cash Register. Brad's mom, Grandma Shirley got all three kids a number of games to play. Molly got the new Candy Land game thing, Tiernan got a Laser Battle Game and Maeve got Electronic Monopoly.
The all got clothes from Mom and Dad, and then Grandpa David and Leslie sent these great sweatshirts. Tiernan's was a hooded NIKE sweatshirt, and he wore it for the next three days! Maeve's was a zip-up purple ADIDAS hooded sweatshirt, and like Tiernan, she wore it for the next three days, in fact she wore it out in the 37 degree weather today to go to the grocery store with me! Molly got a pull-over lilac ADIDAS sweatshirt, that ended up matching the new turtlenecks that I got her, so she is going to be styling when she goes back to school!
Once we got through opening gifts, we loaded the Durango and took off for Valpo. A four hour drive, which I will have to post about at another time, I am just not ready to relive that trip anytime soon!

Another Christmas celebration

There are times when I wished that I could do all these little Christmas celebrations in one big celebration, but when you have in-laws, divorces and teh such, it just isn't possible.


On Sunday afternoon, the 23rd, we went over to my Mom and Dad's (actually step-dad, but then who cares about that anymore). It was great to spend time with them, and the kids had a good time.

Tiernan got a big Star Wars Lego set, that he then spent the rest of the day putting together. Molly got a baby doll that you could record the name she chose for it, and then it would respond to the name. Molly named her new baby Emma. Maeve got a karakoe/video camera thing. You plug it into the tv, then into a cd player, and she can sing her favorite songs along with the cd and the player has a webcam that shows her singing on the tv. It is great, epsically for her, since she loves to sing so much!
Well, three down only two more to go! I am starting to get a little overwhelmed by Christmas at this point!

Friday, December 28, 2007

The Devil's Necklace

The Devil's Necklace
by: Kat Martin

This is the second book in the Necklace Triology by Kat Martin, but that does not mean that you actually have to read them in order. The Bride's Necklace is the first book, and I reviewed that one a little bit back, I also posted a list of the books in order in the triology. I finished this book, and I have to say I enjoyed it as much as the first one.
This book revolves around the story of Ethan and Grace. Now we were briefly introduced to Ethan and Grace in the first book, but little of either one of them was really explored in the first book, we learned of their respective connections to the characters of the first book, Cord and Tory. This book could stand on it's own in the story. If you read this book first, you would not be at a loss to follow the story, although after finally meeting Cord and Tory in the later parts of this book, you would probably want to go back an read the first book to find their story.
The legend of the necklace is once again retold, so you are not missing that and the development of the characters together and each one is wonderful. The twists and turns in their lives are wonderfully woven and it is a believeable tale in the way things happen.
Once again, as with the first book, I felt their story was fully told, I was not left wanting more information and I was unaware until the moment in the last page, who would be the holder of the necklace in the next book, and how the final book would center around.
This has been a wonderful triolgy to read, and I have developed a fondness for the author. I am now thinking about looking into more books by this author and seeing what more she has to offer. The other thing I really enjoyed in this book and the first was the time setting, it is set in 1805, give or take a year or two depending on parts of what is being told. I love that era and the romance and splendor of it all in the dress and parties, or at least that is the way they feel when reading about it, so I look forward to more in this era.

Second Christmas Celebration

As I said before, once you get married and have kids, you tend to have alot of different little Christmas celebrations. On Saturday the 22nd, we went down to my Grandpa's house and had Christmas with him.





To say the least, I think the kids made out pretty well!! They all three got a personal CD player with headphones and a new CD from Grandpa. They loved it! In fact Tiernan and Maeve have already went through a set of batteries each in them! Tiernan got the Jump In soundtrack featuring Corbin Bleu and Maeve got the High School Musical Soundtrack. Molly got a new Laurie Berkner CD, and let me tell you, boy are we glad she has the headphones now!!
The picture of Tiernan above with the Dinosaur kit was actually a gift from Grandpa David and Leslie, he elected to take one present from them down to Grandpa's to open. It was a Dinosaur fossil kit, which inclued a plastic skeleton that was buried in a stone-like sand mixture that he had to dig out. He spent all afternoon digging out the skeleton! WOW! He really loved that gift!
Well....that's two down, only three more to go....

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

First of many Christmas celebrations

Well, you might know, as your get married and have kids, the times you have to celebrate Christmas just keeps getting larger and larger. Of course this year, we had five completely seperate celebrations, which is probably more than any kids needs! So, I have decided that since we celebrated five times, they each deserved their own blog post, so you get five blog posts about Christmas. Probably more than that, since the traveling will probably be it's own post too!

We received our Christmas packages from Brad's Dad and StepMom, David and Leslie, who live all the way up north in Minnesota, much farther than we are traveling with three young kids right now, and espically at Christmas, with the limited time constraints already.
Of course the kids wanted to open things the minute the boxes arrived, but we put them off for three days, then we let them each pick one (ended up being two) items to open on Sunday Afternoon (the 16th), the rest had to wait until Christmas Eve when they opened the stuff from Mom and Dad.
So we did! The loved the stuff!! Maeve got the Hannah Montana DVD game, Tiernan got a new generation Rubik's gube, which he loved! We had to talk him out of taking it to school with him. The girls both opened necklaces, and the Molly opened a puzzle (think in might have been Maeve's but Molly claimed it).


So now, all that is left it mailing our gifts to David and Leslie, and getting the kids to write thank-you notes!
One down, four more to go!!

Jucie Media, who and where

Who and where is Jucie Media?
http://www.juicemetriqs.com

Juice Media Worldwide, LLC, a leading provider of on‐demand Marketing 2.0 software services and solutions has moved to new San Diego headquarters at 591 Camino de la Reina on the 11th floor of the prominent Valley Corporate Center building.
Located just 10 minutes from downtown San Diego, the nearly 4,000 square foot state‐of‐the‐art offices are double the size of the previous headquarters. The new office equips Juice Media with enough space for the company to grow its software development and client management staff by an additional 50 percent in 2008.
“Managing rapid growth is always a challenge for successful start‐ups. We evaluated several options for new offices to accommodate our growth and Valley Corporate Center was an ideal location for us,” said Rick Enrico, CEO, Juice Media Worldwide, LLC. ”The office tower’s expansive features and centralized location made it a great solution for our needs as we expand our staff and client roster.” Juice Media employees have access to a number of benefits with the move including an on‐site deli, gym, ocean view offices, and a park next door. The additional meeting space also enables Juice Media to develop even stronger relationships with its clients with more frequent and productive onsite meetings.
‐more‐
About Juice Media Worldwide, LLC:
Based in San Diego, California, with additional offices in Minnesota, Juice Media Worldwide develops JuiceMetrIQs™, a Marketing 2.0 enterprise marketing management platform that is Software as a Service (SAAS) application. JuiceMetrIQs™ streamlines the marketing process by allowing companies to store customer interaction data (sales transactions, demographics, website data, email addresses, etc.) and segment that information to build relevant targeted marketing campaigns. Customer data is housed in a single data warehouse that is tied to a concise central reporting dashboard. JuiceMetrIQs™ provides seamless integrations with top enterprise vendors from online and offline marketing channels such as Email, Direct Mail, SMS Messaging, and Voice Messaging. JuiceMetrIQs™ empowers marketers with the ability to analyze, maximize, and measure cross channel customer purchase behavior across all distributed marketing channels for greater marketing success.
Juice Media Worldwide is a portfolio company of Petters Group Worldwide, which includes companies such as Polaroid, Sun Country Airlines, and uBid.com.
For more information please visit http://www.juicemetriqs.com/
Press Contact: Morgan Witt


Well, I got this press release the other day, and because I am still trying to build the "a TAMM creation" business, and it lloks like I may forever be in the start-up to beginning building stage, I thought I would look into it.
If I ever get big enough, this looks to be hopefully useful. It would allow the business to track who is buying, what they are buying, what area of the country they are in. That alone looks good to me, it would be able to tell me that my items are popular in the midwest, but not on the west coast, or in the north but not in the south. I mean, to think about how I could them tailor the items based on that alone would be great.
It would also intergrate marketing stragies, which would be cool. I mean right now, I have almost no marketing plan. I really need to sit down and work on exactly where and when I am going to promote the business and to who and to what degree. I mean I have some information on my blog, but my blog is more about family and friends and whatnot than about the business, and then I have a signature on my emails, but that mainly goes to friends and family who already know about the business, so where does marketing come in and how to get the most for the money.
You know, I could see this being great in a larger business, and maybe even some smaller businesses. My little home business is way to small for this, but knowing that it is out there and that I would love to be able to do some of this stuff, gives me another push into looking at and promoting and building the business. I mean, I would love to have a business big enough that I could afford to and have the need to use this. I love the idea of being able to cross-reference buyers by location and order amount and just some many other things. Maybe that is the accounting side of me talking, and is probably why I enjoy bookkeeping so much, but I think this is a neat comcept and would be fun to try. Aside from the fun ideas for me, I can see this being a hugh boost to a business, because I mean really, if you know where your customers are coming from, then you can direct your marketing directly at them instead of wasting money directing it where you don't have customers.

I hope you take the time to check it out if you have a business or know someone who has need. I think it could be worth you time and effort. And I say this all the time, but even if you don't have a business, take a look, it might encourage in a dream of a business you had in the back recesses of your mind, or it might encourage you in other ways to work on your life or your job. I think that is my favorite thing about the internet, the way there is so much out there to look at and to use as inspiration in business and in life.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

The Necklace Triology

The Necklace Triology
By: Kat Martin

1. The Bride's Necklace
2. The Devil's Necklace
3. The Handmadien's Necklace

The Bride's Necklace is reviewed in a previous post. I just finished The Devil's Necklace last night, will be reviewing it as soon as time allows during the Holidays. Looking forward to starting the last book in the triology.


Friday, December 21, 2007

Preschool Christmas Play

Last night was the Preschool Christmas play at St Paul UMC. This is Molly's first year in the preschool, but Maeve and Tiernan are proud graduates of the program.

Molly before the play (picture one), Molly as the innkeeper (picture two), Singing songs with the class (picture three).
For only being three years old, she did a great job!


Thursday, December 20, 2007

The Bride's Necklace

The Bride's Necklace
by: Kat Martin

The Bride's Necklace is the first in a trilogy, set in England in 1804, it is a historical romance, but tastefully done. The main characters are Victoria and her sister Claire, their stepfather, the Baron and Cord. Everything seems to revolve around them, but with some smaller, bit parts to others, that sometimes play a larger role for a few pages then drift off again.
The development of the characters and the relationships between them are explored and I loved watching them grow. Each person, although never out-right said, is scared by the past, by the actions of parents or friends, and it colors their judgements in the current relationships, which brings troubles, once the old wounds are exposed and laid to rest, the relationships blossom.
The historical setting, the 1800's when England and France are at war, was wonderful, more is made of the war line, as the sailing of ships is a sub-line in the story, but not much about the time period is really delved into in any great detail. It makes for a classic story that fits no matter the time reference.

This is the first book by this author that I read, and I really enjoyed it. She kept me interested in that I started and finished the book last night after dinner. I liked how, knowing that this was part of a trilogy, I could not surmise anything about the next book, until the last page or two of this book! I had no clue how it would continue until that point, which was really nice, it meant that the main characters had their stories told to a good ending point. I didn't feel cut off, that I would have to wait for the next book to find the end to the story line of someone, only that the next book might give small insides into the future, but that all was well with the characters and I didn't need to revisit them.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Traveling for Christmas

Somehow I got talked into traveling for Christmas this year. Earlier this year we moved my mother-in-law from a town four hours away to here, and I thought we were done with traveling on Christmas, we would all be close and ableto enjoy the holidays! Boy was I wrong! For some strange reason my mother-in-law decided that she wanted to go to see her sister for christmas, and my husband being the all-pleasing man he is, agreed to take her there for Christmas, which means that we will now spend Christmas Eve driving four hours north to spend the night in a hotel and then have lunch with Aunt Jo on Christmas Day and then drive four hours home so that I can be at work on the 26th. Now remember, we are doing thing traveling with THREE kids!
So the only good thing to come out of this was my discovery of
Hotel Reservations
Now this had made it so much easier. Yes, I know there are a number of sites that you can go to, but they give you a listing of the Hotels, the ammenities and the rates, and the rates are good. I thought is was so easy to find what I wanted, and you know with three kids, sometimes it is realyl hard to get the computer availablity things to work right, because they say it's too many people for a room, but I didn't have trouble with this site. For a room over Christmas Day, we were able to book it just under $100 a night. Trust me, I checked the others, and this is a good, competetive rate, and they even have world wide travel rates, not just semi-local, so we could book a vacation. This rate was a really good thing in the middle of the holidays, and we were able to find a place with an indoor swimming pool, which is the only making the kids want to make the trip!
Yea, I think I did good, and I have them bookmarked and I am planning to use them again the next time we have to make a trip anywhere, but if it is another trip over Christmas, I think I might just go nuts!

CadleLight Lunch at School

So, for lunch today, I went somewhere different. Where you might ask? Well, I went to school, Edgewood Primary School and had a candlelight lunch for Christmas with Tiernan.
This was something new this year, but it turned out to be really well attended by the parents. Parent's were invitied to join their child for lunch in the cafe, it was lit with candle (the fake electric/battery ones) and the 5th grade choir sang carols while we ate.
It was so neat, and to get to spend that time with Tiernan was just something special. I am looking forward to next year!

End of the year thoughts, life insurance

So, it's the end of the year and sometimes we start thinking about life insurance, especially if it means something to help Reduce Premiums. I mean, I know that each year, at the end of the year, we look at the budget and really get talking about ways to get better deals. Life Insurance is one of those things that you need, but it is also one place that tends to get cut on the budget first.
Insurance Quotes are available through a number of different places, and nowadays with the expanding information on the web, comparison shopping online has become a big deal. You can visit a number of different insurance companies, get quotes and sometimes even Online Insurance Policy. What could be easier? Sitting in your bathrobe, in the middle of the night and you are shopping and comparing life insurance policies.
Another thing that alot of people overlook when shopping, is the different types; there is Term Life, whole life, and other Cash Back Life Insurance to think about. Alot of these websites will give you information bout the different types and even help to explain the differences and give you the information you need to make the choice that is best for you. And remember just because on form was better for you at one point in your life, doesn't mean it will always be the best form. It is a good idea to review your specific policies and the types of insurance you have each year-end, and compare it with your lifestyle and situation. These things change over time, and it might even be time to just switch which policy type you have.
Some of you may think it odd to think about this right before Christmas, but for me it isn't. Family Insurance and the needs of a family became a big issue to me when I had my children. It also became a thing that my husband and I realized that we needed life insurance on us, just in case, and we needed more than we had ever thought we would need, when we sat down and talked with someone on what we needed the insurance to do. At that time, I had a newborn infant and we wanted me to be able to stay home with him for at least a couple years if anything happened to my husband, which meant that we needed a bigger policy than we thought. Ever since then, it has become a Christmas tradition, that the week after Christmas we go through our policies and look at them and our life, and what we want the plans to do for us if something should happen.
So while you are thinking about New Year's Resolutions, think about Insurance Plans Pros and Cons, and what you need, and be sure to update it each and every year, to make sure you don't get caught short when you really need it!

A Knitting Mystery Series

I recently gave you all a list of another mystery series called, Knitting Mystery Series. There are two series under the same common name, but by two completely different authors, with different books, different styles and settings.
The first series was done by Mary Kruger, now I found that series after I read this series, and I personally liked this series better. I guess I found myself able to relate to the author and the story better in this series.
The series on this one currently consists of four books, and I am personally really looking forward to another book. I do like the author and her style alot as well.

A Knitting Mystery
by: Maggie Sefton

1. Knit One, Kill Two
2. Needled to Death
3. A Deadly Yarn
4. A Killer Stitch

Now, if you happened to notice from some of my recent posts that I have been a busy little beaver, working on Christmas presents, and those happen to be knitted scarves for my sister-in-laws and my niece and god-daughter. I also made one for one of the girls here in the office for her birthday, so I have five already done. The one for Amanda in the office, which I posted a picture of, the Fun Fur in the Purple, her favorite color; then I finished the two chocolate co-ordinated ones, the plain chocolate fun fur one for my siste-in-law Michelle, and the chocolate confetti fancy fur one for my niece Chole. Since that was for a mother-daughter combo, I wanted them to look good together. I just finished a blue disco fur one for my god-daughter. I now have two more for my other two sister-in-laws and then both my girls wanted them, and I have one purple scarf done, but it is shorter, ran out of yarn, so I am going to use it for my youngest daughter, who is only 3 anyway.
Now, knowing that I can sorta knit, probably helps you to understand why I really enjoy the knitting series, but even though I only know the knit stitch, and can't read a pattern to save my life, I still enjoy the series, and not just the knitting undertones, the friendships and the mystery all get to me.
So, if you need a good book for the holiday's, pick up a knitting book, curl up by the fire and enjoy!

2nd Grade Christmas Program

Well, last night was the Second Grade Christmas Program at Edgewood Primary School. It was great!! All the kids did such a good job, and Tiernan surprised us! He preformed the moves and sang and everything! Such a great job.


As you can sorta see, Tiernan's class all had these felt letter "c"'s on their sweaters and the girls had green pom-poms and they did a kinda cheering song called "Shout" for Christmas. Tiernan and the other boys all had megaphones. It was such a cute song.
I really liked all the music that they picked out, they weren't your typical Christmas songs, so it was meaningful and fun.




Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Senstive Teeth?

sensitive teeth
You know, the older I get, the more senstive my teeth become, espically to things like iced tea or hot chocolate. The bad thing is that is is happening more and more often, to the point that I am looking into Senstive Teeth Toohpastes.

Like the other weekend. The kids were spending the night with Mom and Dad, and we were going out to dinner. Well, I ordered an Iced Tea, and the first drink I took nearly knocked me out of my seat. Needless to say, I grabbed a straw pretty quick like, and removed alot of the ice from the glass before I tried again. That jolt of "pain" from the senstive teeth is really jaring, and it always seems to catch me completely off guard.

I was visiting a website, sensitive toothpaste today and I am thinking it just might be a better solution than the other products out there. There seems to be some research and solid ideas behind it, and I am thinking it really sounds like it might just be the ticket.THe website says that is builds increasing protection against sensitivity while the natural immune boosting enzymes promotes healing of bleeding gums, now that sounds good. Something to help with this senstive thing, because it is getting a little too much too often to just let go anymore.
It sounds like it can work on the problem, not just cover it up, and that sounds like just the thing I am looking for.




Thanksgiving Fun

You know, I was thinking about it and realized that I never blogged about Thanksgiving or the pictures! WOW! Where was my head?
This year, my cousin, who is a teacher, had just been to a teaching conference right before Thanksgiving, so she had some new games she wanted to try out on the kids, and then they did Bingo too.
This is of them all playing Bingo, which the kids loved, and better than that, it gave the rest of the adults some time to plan the next days shopping trips!
Gotta love family Thanksgivings!!

Paintball anyone?

Do you paintball ? Yea, No, Maybe? Well, I personally don't but my brother and nephew do, and being the "favorite" sister and aunt of a paintballer means that I really need to know my stuff, espically when it's on the Christmas List.
So I found a website that I like, www.pntball.com that really helps. They have all the name brands that my brother told me about, like Tippmann, Spyder, Smart Parts, Dye, Empire, Draxxus and the website is really easy to navigate and the prices are fair, plus free shipping! The ordering pages are secure, which is a really big plus, so it makes me feel like I am getting the best deal and service when I am shopping for Paintball stuff for my brother and nephew. And it allows me to keep my favorite sister, favorite aunt status, and who doesn't want to be the favorite?
This post sponsered by www.pntball.com
tippmann x7

Monday, December 17, 2007

Christmas Scarfs

So I told you all I was working on scarves for all my family for Christmas?! Well, I got two more done with weekend, and they are goingto my neice and sister-in-law, so they are coordinated to sorta match.


The first one is a Chocolate Confenetti Fancy Fur Scarf and the second is a plain Chocolate Fun Fur Scraf. The Fancy Fur is actually the same Fun Fur, but with another yarn woven into it, so they look good together. I think they will be nice as mother and daughter scaves.
That's two down, only four more to go!!

Friday, December 14, 2007

Lapband by Journey Lite

Okay, so we are all looking for ways to change our weight. When diet and exercise aren't enough were do you turn. Recently there is a newer procedure, a laproscopic lapband, which means no major surgery, faster recovery time, and the lapband is not as drastic as a gastric bypass. Is it right for you? Take a look and see. It just may been what you were looking for. What have you got to lose except for a little extra weight?

thousand oaks lapband physician





A Coffeehouse Mystery Series

A Coffeehouse Mystery Series
by: Cleo Coyle

1. On what Grounds
2. Through the Grinder
3. Latte Trouble
4. Murder Most Frothy
5. Decaffeinate Corpse
6. French Pressed (coming soon)



Decaffeinated Corpse

Decaffeinated Corpse
by: Cleo Coyle
A Coffehouse Mystery - Book 5

Okay, so this is the first series that I every read in the Mystery Theme type. I found the first book in this series, read all that were available at the time and then branched out into the Tea Shop, Scrapbooking and other themed mysteries. That being said, I hold a found regard for this series because it started me on that journey, but even if I didn't I loved this book!

Clare Cosi, is the main charachter, and her development in the story as well as the flashback memories that help paint her personailty and determination are wonderful. He ex-husband Matt, daughter Joy and ex-mother in law, Madame are again in this book, as with all the books. Joy has a very minor role, only occuring in about two scenes in the book, but with her being an "adult" and doing an internship, this seems right. Detective Quinn is again in the mix, and this time he and Clare are becoming a little more than just working together people, but more along the lines of friends. I have loved watching the relationship between Clare and Mike Quinn develop through the series and am really looking forward to the next book and where they go from her.

The history of coffee, information about growing and processes are again wonderful and first rate! I think I enjoy this series for that reason alone almost. There is some great information about the growing of coffeee, how long it takes, the coffee wars and thefts, which is over anmd above the usual coffee brewing information and tips. As always there are the coffee and bakery receipes in the back which are wonderful. If you have never tried any of the reciepes you find in a book, I would suggest you try these. They are always great, altough I wasn't impressed with the Peanut Butter and Nutella Sandwich receipe, I mean really, who doesn't know how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Another fine read in this series and great for this holidays when you need something light to read to help destress.




Thursday, December 13, 2007

Knitting Mystery

As you know I love to give you information about the books I have read, and I just blogged, last post, about Paperback Swap, which I love!! You have to check it out.

Anyway, I said that I would list alot of the series in order as I found the information and so I have that now on one of the series and so now is the time to share.

Knitting Mystery
by: Mary Kruger

1. Died in the Wool
2. Knit Fast, Die Young

Now, there are only two books in this series currently, but there is another author that put out a series of books called "A Knitting Mystery", almost the same series name, and there are more books in that series. I am not sure that this author will be doing anymore in this series, but it was a decent series. I personally liked the other Knitting Series better, but that is my opinion. Also this author already has some other series going as well.
Anyway, if you need a cozy read over the Holidays, these two are good books to keep you entertained while it snows.