Great Scott! It's a Twister!

The munchkin has been off of school since Monday and for the last 3 days she has been hooked on tornado's! It all started Monday afternoon, when we read the Magic Tree House book "A Twister on Tuesday" by Mary Pope Osborne (GREAT books by the way!).

We read the store and afterwards she wanted to know more about tornado's... So I youtubed a few videos for her to watch, and then she wanted to know how they worked, what they are made of, how they are created, where they strike and so on... sooo... 45 minutes and a mom's science crash course and Fujita scale discussion later she wanted to know even more! With a promise to a trip to the library to get even more books about these fascinating storms the next day and watching "Twister" the movie... she was some what satisfied...


I am just ecstatic that she has taken a HUGE step in the interest of meteorology! As a kid... I was some what of a weather nerd myself... I kept a weather journal and as I got older I took measurements and recorded them as well. I'm from Florida so my interest was always into Hurricanes, funny enough, she was born in Oklahoma City... the heart of tornado alley and is really into tornado's!

Yesterday we read more books about tornado's and went over the facts, talk about what we would do if a tornado came near us (she even made an escape plan... which was awesome!) And tried to convince me that we should dig up the back yard to make a "storm shelter". My kiddo is nothing less than thorough and detail oriented... she gets it from her momma... what can I say! She drew a picture of her tornado and we made a "tornado in a bottle" so she could actually see the vortex and feel the spinning. I just love seeing her eyes light up from the knowledge she gains!
I now have tracked down a kids weather lab kit from www.smartlabtoys.com and will be ordering her the "you track it weather kit" in a few weeks. I can't wait to see her face when this comes in the mail! The station comes with a Rain gaug, Anemometer with glow-in-the-dark indicator cup, Compass, Weather vane with thermometer, Weather board with cloud chart and a book about extreme weather. We have also put together a weather journal for her to chart all her meteorology forecasts and predictions! I just love my little nerd!

"Storm Chaser" has now topped her list of "What I want to be when I grow up" LOL!

30 Days of Books: Day 30

Day 30 – What book are you reading right now?

Seeing how I have quite literally just finished my last "Candy Shop Mystery" book (Sucker Punched by Sammi Carter) I have the pleasure of saying I will be starting Sprinkled with Murder by Jenn McKinlay YAY!!! The Candy Shop Mysteries have been really good reads and I will be putting these on my bookshelf for some rainy day reading :) I am really excited to start this new "Cupcake Bakery Mystery" series tomorrow though, oh and be on the look out for my review of Sucker Punched soon ;)

30 Days of Books: Day 28 & 29

Day 28 – First favorite book or series obsession.

I'm sure its no mystery to you all by now... which books I love ;)

Day 29 – Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)

*Spoiler Alert!!! Contains Spoilers for Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows*

When I was a kid it was Leslie Burk in Bridge to Terabithia... I don't think I ever cried so
hard over a book. At the time I think my mother was beside herself... I was such an emo
child. I guess you could say I was emo before emo was considered cool LOL!

And of course now its when Dobby ultimately sacrifices himself to save his friends in
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. "Here Lies Dobby- A Free Elf" :*(

30 Days of Books: Day 27

Day 27 – If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!

If a book contains Vampires, Wizards, Witches, Ghosts or Murders I will read it! I just like things that are supernatural, paranormal or mysterious. For me its only worth reading if they are gonna keep you guessing, with a few exceptions of course ;)

30 Days of Books: Day 26

Day 26 – OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending

Happened for me at the end of Twilight... I HAD to know what happened next! I remember the night I finished it very clearly it was probably around 3am, I had just read it straight through, and I ran over to my back door neighbor turned BFF (its ok shes a night owl like me) and begged her for her copy of New Moon! I think I read both books in a 24 hour peiord and the other 2 in the
next 24 hours LOL! It was the FASTEST I've ever read a series. :)

30 Days of Books: Day 24

Day 24 – Best quote from a novel

ZOMG! there is soooo many! How can I blog about just one?! Truth is... I can't! So here's a
few that I love.

"If there were an international butt competition, Eric would win, hands down-or cheeks up"
-Charlaine Harris (Dead to the World)

"Here's to books, the cheapest vacation you can buy"
-Charlaine Harris (Club Dead)

"Sookie, my little bullet-sucker... Eric, my big bullshitter"
-Charlaine Harris (Living Dead in Dallas)

"Hey, our hair's the same color, I said, eyeing us side by side in the mirror. Sure is, girlfriend!
Eric grinned at me"
-Charlaine Harris (Living Dead in Dallas)

30 Days of Books: Day 25

Day 25 – Any five books from your “to be read” stack

Well, I am about 3/4th's of the way through my last book in the Candy Shop Mysteries by Sammi Carter. I have to say that I have really enjoyed reading this series and am kinda sad that the series will be over for me, but I will keep them on my book shelf for rainy day reading :)

Up next for me will be The Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series by Jenn McKinlay. She currently has two books out in the series which are; Sprinkled with Murder (Book # 1) and Butter Cream Bump Off (Book # 2).

After that I would like to try The Tattoo Shop Mystery Series by Karen Olson. And then its just a few other randoms of my list of "To Read's" :)

30 Days of Books: Day 23

Day 23 – Most annoying character ever

Its by far "Karen" the cousin that works for "Abby Shaw" in Sammi Carter's books
The Candy Shop Mysteries. Abby is the shop owner/boss lady, Karen is her resentful,
annoying and bossy cousin that is employed by her. She does put in her time working
for Abby but she makes sure she "earns" every penny of it when she gives Abby her
two cents...which is constantly. There is nothing I hate more than someone looking over your
shoulder and telling you what to do, espeically when you know your the one in charge.

30 Days of Books: Day 22

Day 22 – Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)

Id have to say Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger! They were hilarious when they were younger you could see or rather read the tension between the two... and now... well, lets just say I told you so! Haha! They are aweosme though, they are probably my two favorite characters in the whole series :D

I'll never forget Ron in his auntie Tessie's dress robes and when Hermione turned her self into a cat with polyjuice potion LOL!

30 Days of Books: Day 20 & 21

Day 20 – Favorite kiss
Day 21 – Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)

I think you all know by now my favorite fiction relationship is between Eric Northman and myself, uh I mean sookie stackhouse! Oppps! LOL! Silly Jess! I think the best books in the series that
"describe" their relationship is book # 4 "Dead to the World" and book # 7 All Together Dead.
Charlaine really heats it up! ;)

30 Days of Books: Day 19

Day 19 – Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)

Not that I judge books by thier covers or anything ;) Buuuuuuttttt.... This is my all time favorite... and let's be honest... its what made me buy the book LOL! Why? Because it looked like a comic book ;) And I just knew this was gonna be a good tale... I was pleased to know I was right!

30 Days of Books: Day 18

Day 18 – Favorite beginning scene in a book

"A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive,
Which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky,
The very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen.
Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up.
One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on,
Not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous,
not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's
scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles,
Nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched
by his cousin Dudley...He couldn't know that at this very moment, people
meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and
saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter - the boy who lived!"

Which is from Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone.
Because it all started with the boy who lived! It's
what basically got me hooked, because you know if they
let you in on the secret from the start, it's bound to be a good
book/series. ;) I really love the book, and its my favorite out of
the series... because it goes through how it all began, there
is just something that gets me when Harry heads off to
Hogwarts for the first time. I can't wait till the munchkin is
old enough to read these... I hope that she will be into them
just as much as I am :)

30 Days of Books: Day 17

Day 17 – Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)

To be honest... I haven't read many short stories or novella's... I guess I just prefer full fledged
novels lol. I have read a few books that have had a collection of ghost stories in them, I have also
raed Southern Vampires a collection of tales by Karyn Kay Zweifel and then there is Charlaine Harris's Touch of Dead which is her sookie novella. I loved it because it filled in a few gaps I had in sookies life.

30 Days of Books: Day 16

Day 16 – Favorite poem or collection of poetry


My favorite collection of poetry is from Jim Morrison (yes, the lead singer to the doors)

I have his book Wilderness which kinda like a memoir of lost poems. His poetry is amazing
and beautiful, I first discovered it while I was in high school.

My other favorite poet is Steven J. Javan he has a collection of poetry in books called; Something
to Someone, A Heart Full of Love, Meet Me Halfway and Footprints in the Mind.

I also love classic poetry by Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Edgar Allan Poe, Willaim Butler Yeats, and William Shakespear.

They have all inspired me at one point or another while writing my own poetry.

30 Days of Books: Day 15

Day 15 – Your “comfort” book

Ahhh, that would be Little Miss Strange by Joanna Rose. I first read this book while I was a freshman in high school and have loved it since. This book has gotten me through many things over time and I will always come back to it when I need it. Its a story about a girl (Sarajean Henry) growing up to be a woman in the 1970's. Sarajean is raised by hippies and comes to age in a world of drugs and poverty.

30 Days of Books: Day 13

Day 13 – Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)

Oh where do I start?! I guess I'll start with childhood books, my two favorite were;
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.

And when I got a little older I started reading R.L. Stine's Goosebumps & Fear Street Series.
I also loved books by Richie Tankersley Cusick (like "The Mall" which I STILL own a copy of), Christopher Pike and Ann M. Martin's the Baby Sisters Club.

30 Days of Books: Day 12

Day 12 – A book or series of books you’ve read more than five times

I think its a little obvious by now but, just in case you missed it... its the sookie stackhouse series by Charline Harris. I just really love how she writes! And if I haven't mentioned it a half dozen times I love the cast of characters. It's also the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling... these books had me at "the boy who lived"... there is just something truly awesome about the stories. And like I said before, I am so sad that they have come to an end.

30 Days of Books: Day 11

Day 11 – A book that disappointed you

This book surprised me in not so good ways. Charlaine has never disappointed me until I read this book. I felt like maybe it was rushed? It just didn't make a whole lot of sense to me..
I felt like alot of the side plots were just jumbled up without alot of follow through and I was a bit confused at the end. I am hoping it was just a fluke... and that her next book will amaze me like they normally do.

30 Days of Books: Day 10

Day 10 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophia Kinsella. I picked this one up last year while at the airport for just plane reading... I had a HUGE 4 hour Delay in Atlanta and my flights were at least an hour each so I figured I'd better pick up something to pass the time with. I was actually surprised that I liked this book because these are not typically the kind of books I like, only because shopping as in clothes shopping is not a big part of my life.. I'm just not really into designer stuff. However the main character was cute and made me laugh with alot of the senarios she went up against. :)

30 Days of Books: Day 9

Day 09 – Best scene ever

LOL! Well that's easy for me... there are several "steamy scene's" in my favorite book
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris that involve a certain viking vampire... but my favorite by far is a certain shower scene! And is incidentally why I love books... because your imagination can run away with them ;) LOL!