My Emmy Winners

I always watch TV/Movies Awards Shows and I'm usually disappointed, because the things I want to win, don't usually win. This annoyed Lil Sis and I so much when we were in middle school/high school that we created our own awards show. We chose nominees and had our family vote on them and then we tabulated the votes and released the results. The ballot always included categories like, favorite Tiger, Best Reality Show Contestant, etc.

So after watching the Emmys last night I decided to declare my own winners. For most categories I just chose the winner from the nominees given, but for some I added my own nominees. Without further ado...

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Jane Lynch (Glee)
Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live)
Jane Krakowski (30 Rock)
Julie Bowen (Modern Family)
Sofia Vergara (Modern Family)
Holland Taylor (Two and A Half Men

And the winner is... Jane Lynch. She is fabulous on Glee, hilarious and evil in a very entertaining way.

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Modern Family (pilot): Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd
Glee (pilot): Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan
The Office (Niagra): Greg Daniels, Mindy Kaling
30 Rock (Anna Howard Shaw Day): Matt Hubbard
30 Rock (Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter) Tina Fey, Kay Cannon

The winner is... Glee- Ryan Murphy, et al. I love Glee, the dialogue is always snappy and funny, but there is still usually a very touching, poignant story.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Chris Colfer (Glee)
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family)
Jon Cryer (Two and A Half Men)
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family)
Ty Burrell (Modern Family)

The winner is... Chris Colfer, and not just because he's the only one on a show I watch. His portrayal of Kurt is so touching.

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
Matthew Morrison (Glee)
Steve Carell (The Office)
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Tony Shalhoub (Monk)

The winner is... I have to go with Steve Carell, who is perfect on The Office. Honorable Mention goes to Tony Shalhoub for his last season of Monk

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie)
Lea Michele (Glee)
Tina Fey (30 Rock)
Toni Collette (The United States of Tara)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine)
Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation)

The winner is...this one is a tough one, because I love Lea Michele, she has an amazing voice, but I don't think she's the best comedic actress on TV, so I give it to Tina Fey, even though I strongly dislike 30 Rock...

OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW COMPETITION
Project Runway
Top Chef
The Amazing Race
Dancing with the Stars
American Idol

The winner is... Dancing with the Stars!!!

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Mad Men (Shut the door. Have a Seat): Matthew Weiner, Erin Levy
Friday Night Lights (The Son): Rolin Jones
The Good Wife (pilot): Michelle King, Robert King
Lost (The End): Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse
Mad Men (Guy Walks into a advertising agency): Robin Veith, Matthew Weiner

The winner is... Lost (The End). Damon and Carlton wrote such a gorgeous finale for Lost!!! They were robbed.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
John Slattery (Mad Men)
Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad)
Martin Short (Damages)
Terry O’ Quinn (Lost)
Michael Emerson (Lost)
Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age)

The winner is... Michael Emerson, with Terry O'Quinn in a close second. Michael Emerson's Ben has always been great at playing a creepy, evil guy and this year his redemption gave him something new to play. And Terry O'Quinn is always fantastic as Locke, but his portrayal of Fake Locke when even he wasn't exactly sure who he was supposed to be, was wonderful.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Sharon Gless (Burn Notice)
Christine Baranski (The Good Wife)
Christina Hendricks (Mad Men)
Rose Byrne (Damages)
Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife)
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)

The winner is... Archie Panajabi- love her on the Good Wife!

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights)
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
Hugh Laurie (House M.D.)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
Matthew Fox (Lost)

The winner is... gotta be Matthew Fox, his portrayal of the forever fixer Jack Shephard was wonderful. His stumble through the jungle and his eye closing- perfect.

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
Mariska Hargitay (Special Victims Unit)
Glenn Close (Damages)
January Jones (Mad Men)
Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights)

The winner is... Julianna Margulies. Love her, Love the Good Wife.

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
The Colbert Report
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live
The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien

The winner is... The Daily Show.

OUTSTANDING COMEDY
Modern Family
Glee
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Nurse Jackie
30 Rock
The Office

The winner is... Glee!!! The few bits of Modern Family I've seen are hilarious, but Glee is the best.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA
Mad Men
Lost
Breaking Bad
Dexter
True Blood
The Good Wife

The winner is... Lost, duh! Best show on TV in it's last season... no-brainer. It was funny, smart, mysterious, mind-blowing, touching, emotion, everything! This is the snub that made me the most mad!!

p.s. I love George Clooney and that Julianna Margulies presented him with his award, and that they are besties from their time on E.R.

I am grateful for... "The Book" Friends

(In case you haven't noticed, I'm doing a "I'm grateful for..." post every Friday. Thank goodness it's Friday and thank goodness for ...)

I am so thankful for the great group of girlfriends that I've been able to keep in contact with since high school. The summer before our freshman year of college we bought a large notebook and decided that we would write about what was happening in our lives and then send it around to the rest of the girls, so we could keep up on what was happening in each others lives. Yes, we got the idea from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants :) We made a big list of rules and took ourselves very seriously.
Of course we got caught up in the busyness that was college and our "Keep The Book for only three days" rule kind of bit the dust. We've had our ups and downs and pretty much ditched The Book, as it was referred to, but still get together twice a year and refer to ourselves as The Book Group or The Book girls, with The Book always capitalized! We always have party every summer and another at Christmastime. We used to do a Secret Santa drawing at Christmas, but last year we donated money to a local children's charity. Whenever we get together, we have sooo much fun, playing games, talking, eating, laughing...


It's hard to believe that the original Book party was four years ago. Now we're scattering even farther apart. Some of us have graduated college, some are still plugging away. Some of us have moved home and some of us have moved out of state, but we've been able to maintain a relationship, which I am so grateful for. These girls have gotten me through some tough times and shared some of my most favorite memories!!!


Tonight is our annual summer party. This summer our schedules didn't really mesh well and we will only have half of our ten girls at the party, which is sad, but we're all busy girls!!









I love these girlies so much!!!
Can't wait to see Stef, Lauren, Angela and Jessie tonight! We'll be missing Holly, Natalie, Steph, Deirdre and Robyn. God has truly blessed me with some amazing friends!!!

The Amazingness that is Mockingjay

This post is all about Mockingjay (Final book of the The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. Haven't read it? Fix that now. I'll wait... well actually I won't but this post will still be here when you get back from reading all three books.) so there will definitely be spoilers... Also, I've only read the book once through (will be starting it again tonight) so there are parts I may have misunderstood, overlooked, etc.





First, I have to say that I loved it! I read it almost all the way straight through and that I cried a lot. I have many wonderful and glowing things to say about Mockingjay, but I'm going to get the things I didn't like out of the way first.

1) I felt like some parts were rushed through. When Katniss was imprisoned after killing Coin was one of these parts. It was confusing and I don't feel like I ever really knew what was going on, she was trying to starve herself, she was trying to become addicted to morphling, she started singing??? what? Maybe it was supposed to be like that because she was so crazy, but I wanted more info on what was going on.

2) I wasn't crazy about the epilogue. It was better than Deathly Hallows' epilogue and I was glad that the kids weren't referred to as Prim Rue Mellark and Finnick Cinna Mellark, but I would have rather it just ended with the last page of the story. Because "You love me. Real or not real?" "Real." Slays me every time and it is such a happy wonderful ending.


3) My one theory: that Katniss and Gale's fathers were alive and holed up in 13 forming the rebelling, did not materialize...

Complaints/Comments I've heard/read that I want to defend/vent against:
1)There is too much war, not enough romance/too much violence- I would say that these books send a pretty strong anti-war message (let's NOT sacrifice our children to settle our differences)so the heavy presence of war and violence in the book is a neccessity. I don't feel like the war was presented in a let's be gory for gory's sake way. It was presenting a realistic portrait of how war can be. War is...., you know the saying, and Collins was presenting it in such a way. She wasn't sugarcoating or leaving out important, but potentially unpleasant details.
- While I didn't enjoy seeing Peeta basically brainwashed and tortured, I think it portrayed a side of war that is rarely showcased. How war can devastate and destroy mentally and emotionally just as much as physically. How you can come out of a war as a different person that you went in, without any agreement on your part. How long it can take for someone who has been tortured and faced true evil to recover, to trust again, to love again, to smile, to laugh. I think these are powerful messages, and more of Collin's intent in writing than a love story was. And I certainly appreciate a good love story, and think this was one! Just maybe not as overtly as some may have hoped for.

2)Gale. Now I am in no way Team Gale. I am Team Peeta all the way. But I've read some comments that Gale didn't really love Katniss because he left for District 2 without saying good-bye, he stopped being her best friend, etc. I actually think he was acting in her and his best interests by staying away. What could he say that would make her not hate him, not be suspicious of him her whole life? Nothing. Would it have made her life easier if he stayed around, haunting her life with remembering he might have had an indirect hand in killing Prim? No. Could they have ever been the same kind of friends, or even friends at all given when happened? No. So why should he have hung around? It just would have hurt Katniss in the long run. I think he left without some big awkward good-bye that would have been painful for them both for different reasons and let her be. He wasn't "giving up" on her because he knew they had no future and any role he played in her future would bring pain. A clean break would be less painful for both.
- Also I don't think you can ever really say who loved her more, because I think Gale did what he did because he loved her, whether that means he loved her more than Peeta, I can't say, I don't think anyone can because how can anyone quantify how much love people have for each other, but just because he loved her doesn't mean they should have ended up together...

3) That Katniss was 'indifferent' to her children. I think that she was indifferent when they (at least the girl) was conceived. She was having kids to please Peeta, which is not the right reason to have kids, but... But once they were born "Only the joy of holding her in my arms could tame" her fear, her anxiety, which is totally legit and allowed considering what she's been through. So while she was apprehensive, I believe once they were born she loved them.

Now what I loved:
1) The above line, which I'm going to type again because I love it so so so much. "So after, when he whispers, 'You love me. Real or not real?' I tell him, 'Real.'" ahhhhhh! So amazing, makes me what to cry every time I think about it. Such simple words, but so beautiful! (Honorable Mention goes to: "You're still trying to protect me. Real or not real." "Real, because that's what you and I do. Protect each other." *thump* that was me falling on the floor dead. I <3 Peeta with a passion. He is amazing

2) I loved Peeta's vulnerability in this book. I love him being lost and scared and confused, but finding his way back to a version of himself, back to Katniss, back to love and trust. I think that Peeta had always seemed so indestructible, solid, steady, that this was a very significant character development for him and I loved it. Some people have said that they wanted "the boy with the bread" they came to know and love, but I loved getting to see a new side of him, a pained side, an open side, a side that can see and love Katniss for who she is, seeing him as a complex character, not just a flat, unchanging leading man. This was the first time I think we saw him really vulnerable, when he wasn't acting knowing that a camera was trained on him and how he acted could save his life or Katniss's. When he was declaring his love for her, while he really meant it, his telling his feelings were the means to an end, saving Katniss. He wasn't truly being vulnerable like he was in Mockingjay, when he was laying it all out and trusting even though he really had no reason to.
- I loved the real or not real game (see above two quotes :)I love that Katniss helps him remember all these things about himself. When he had to ask if her favorite color was really green, my heart broke. It really hit home the total disintegration of his trust in himself and his memories. He wasn't even sure he could properly remember something as trivial as Katniss's favorite color, or his own. And I loved when Katniss tried to tell him all the little things about himself to help him remember, like how he takes his tea.

3) I loved Finnick and Annie. I loved that they were reunited, if even just for a little while. That they had a baby!!!

4) I cried my eyes out so many times, but to me that means that I was highly emotionally invested in the book, the characters and the story. If it was poorly written I wouldn't have cared so much. I cried when Finnick died, when we learned that Cinna was dead, when Katniss thought of all the people who died because of her, when Peeta was beaten on(ish) camera, when Peeta tried to kill her, when Prim died, when Peeta hated Katniss, when Peeta and Katniss ended up together, so many times, some happy, some sad.

5) I liked how Haymitch came to love Peeta and Katniss. I loved when Katniss and Haymitch had their first private meeting in the book. When Katniss says, "I can't believe you didn't rescue Peeta." and Haymitch just says, "I know." And then Haymitch says, "I can't believe you let him out of your sight that night." And Katniss just says, "I know." They both know that they are disappointed in the other, but they have to forgive and move on so they can work together. Brilliant.

6)I love the way Suzanne Collins write and the messages her books are sending. Right after I finished reading I wandered here and read the thoughts of a lot of intelligent and thoughtful people about Mockingjay. One thing that really stood out to me was how well they thought Collins portrayed war and how senseless it can be. Some of the quotes that particularly touched me: " 'To murder innocent people?' says Peeta. 'It costs everything you are.'" "Because something is significantly wrong with a creature that sacrifices its children's lives to settle its differences." (377). So true
--- I read on the message board that Collins has said that the idea for the Hunger Games was based on her watching footage of the War in Iraq at the same time as watching ridiculous (my word, not hers) reality shows on television. I can see where this connection takes hold in the books.

7)I love that Peeta's rose-colored glasses regarding Katniss came off and he still loved her (I did not come up with this idea, I stole it from someone on a message board.) Throughout the first two books, he loves her without really seeing her flaws. He loves her and she is perfect in his eyes. She can do no wrong. She drugs him, he still loves her. She points a bow at him, ready to kill him when it it announced only one can win the Hunger Games (when he's already dropped his weapon), he still loves her. He doesn't see her or love her for who she truly is, but for who he wants her to be/ who he thinks she is. But after his "hijacking" he is able to see her for what and who she is, initially "Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly." And she hates him for it. But after he sees her flaws, he also sees her good qualities. The real ones that she actually possesses: kindness, strength, bravery, love for her family, etc not just the perfection he used to see. And he comes to love her for all that she truly is and that to me is true love and beautiful beyond words.

8) I love that Peeta and Katniss end up together!!!! And that they are happy. I love the cute repeated lines from other books- "Always." and the part about not seeing herself clearly. I love that Peeta, even after he was hijacked, warned 13 about the upcoming attack. I loved that the day after Peeta gave Katniss the bread, he noticed her finding the dandelion, since it was such a drastic and life-changing moment in Katniss's life, it felt so significant and powerful that he noticed and could tell something big had happened. And I love that Katniss later compares him to the dandelion.

9) I love the way the end of the chapters are always amazing cliffhangers that make you never be able to stop reading between chapters. And that I sometimes found myself covering the end page of a chapter with my hand so my eyes didn't accidentally flit over there before the proper time.

As I was reading, I underlined some lines that touched me or I thought were particularly beautiful. Not as many as in some previous books, but I'm sure I'll do more when I'm re-reading and not racing to find out what happens!
- "It's only know that he's been corrupted that I can fully appreciate the real Peeta. Even more than I would've if he'd died. The kindness, the steadiness, the warmth that had an unexpected heat behind it." (195)
- "Peeta and I grow back together...But his arms are there to comfort me. And eventually his lips. On the night I feel that thing again, the hunger that overtook me on the beach, I know this would have happened anyway. That what I need to survive is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that." (388) *sigh* I love Peeta.
- and a bunch of other things I've already quoted above.

I guess that's all for now... :)

Check out what these fabulous ladies have to say on the subject.
Busy Bee Lauren
Kate

"You love me. Real or not real." "Real." :D

I am grateful for... my job

As I wrote a few weeks ago: I love my job and I am so grateful that I have had this job for three summers. Sadly, today was my last day for the summer, but I am definitely grateful that God led me to this wonderful daycare, these wonderful teachers and these wonderful kids!!!

I got to work today and all of the kids were hiding and jumped out and yelled, "Surprise!" So cute!!! All of the kids in my class had painted messages on posters for me and everyone had made cards. I love these cards with misspellings, Tigers Old English Ds and portraits of me! My co-workers presented me with a beautiful mum plant in a pot shaped like a tea cup which looks like a flower. It's beautiful!

Then one of the darling seven year old girls wanted to sing a song for me. So she performed "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus for me. It was so sweet. I never thought that I would tear up while listening to that song, but I did today!

We were having a pajama party today, so we all wore our PJs and ate pizza for lunch. Yum! The rest of the afternoon was pretty normal, until kids starting getting picked up... :(

I am grateful for all of the hugs from small arms, all of the "I love you"s and "I'll miss you"s and "Will you be back next summer?"s. I got hugs from all the kids, teachers and even one parent! We have the best families!!!! I'm going to miss them all terribly, but I'll be back for visits and hopefully employment next summer.

After the last lil guys got picked up, I still had to vacuum. My eyes definitely teared up while I finished cleaning up the empty daycare... but I'm grateful for the passion that I have for my job and the people I work with.

What are you grateful for this Friday?
p.s. I am also grateful that I finally figured out how to make links in my posts...

Eat Pray Love Yourself :)

I went to see Eat Pray Love with a super good friend of mine this evening. I loved the movie! It had romance, cute boys, beautiful scenery, humor, a happy ending and some girl power.

One of my favorite parts was when Liz (Julia Roberts' character) was in Italy eating pizza at a restaurant with a friend. Her friend stopped eating after one piece because she was getting a muffin top. Liz told her to enjoy the rest of the pizza because it didn't matter if she gained a few pounds, they would just buy bigger jeans.

Liz gains weight in Italy, but she still looks beautiful and *spoiler* ends up with a gorgeous guy, who loves her for who she is. He tells her that from far away she looks slender and elegant, but up close she's rounder and fleshier, but he still thinks she's beautiful.

It just reminds me that the 5-10 pounds I've gained since going to college isn't a big deal. Is it going to stop the right guy from being with me? No. Is it going to make me dramatically healthier? No. Is it going to make me a better person? No. Will it make me happier? Maybe. But so does eating chocolate...

So I'm not going to be ashamed or feel guilty that I ate popcorn for dinner tonight, or that I'm going to have pizza for lunch tomorrow, or that last Friday I ate two cupcakes.

But I'm also going to enjoy a whole wheat waffle for breakfast tomorrow, enjoy a whole wheat bun on my grilled chicken sandwich at McDonald's much better than a stick-in-your-teeth white bun I'd get at Wendy's and a delightful wheat wrap stuffed with chicken, cheese, lettuce and cucumbers, I'll eat strawberries and bananas, corn and peas because they taste good and they're good for me.

I'll take walks in the evening, and play tag at work, and Dance with the Stars because it's fun and good for me, but I won't feel bad that I don't wake up 1 1/2 early before I got to school/work which is 45 minutes away this fall, because sleep is more important.

And maybe my pants size will stay a little higher than I'd like and I'll be bothered by the way my thighs look in a bathing suit, but I'll dress in clothes that make me feel cute and sophisticated, I'll look in the mirror and see the beauty, not just the flaws and (as Lil Sis used to say) I'll have fat, but I'll be happy. :)

Finding Your Inner Princess

Saturday was Lil Sis's last day at home before going back to college and leaving me alone with Momma and Daddy. We did some fun stuff: swimming, playing games, but nothing too exciting. So I decided to plan Lil Sis a rockin' going away princess party!

We had already planned to watch the Disney Channel Movie- Princess Protection Program, starring Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez! so I planned the party around that. I only had 1 1/2 hours while she and Momma went to church to do the planning, but I think it turned out awesome!

First I headed to our local grocery store in search of "princess foods," mostly Princess fruit snacks and Princess faces Teddy Grahams. But alas, our small town grocery store is not Meijer and I couldn't find either. So instead I bought Donettes (our movie marathon/pajama party junk food of choice) and some Princessy sugary cake topper things.

Then I headed to the Family Dollar down the road and got $1 princess necklaces, a princess coloring book, a princess puzzle and Disney Princess golf! for under $6 bucks. Altogether I spent about ten bucks.

Luckily we already had some supplies at home! I set up the party in the basement. I put the Disney Princess puzzle on a fold out table.
Here's the coloring book-
Then I set out the jewelry I'd bought with our miscellaneous Pretty, Pretty, Princess jewelry and a couple random crowns I found in Lil Sis's room.
I replaced our Detroit Tigers blanket with a pretty purple quilt and throw pillow...
...set up the golf course...
...and got some movies ready, Princess Protection Program of course, along with The Princess Diaries, The Prince and Me, and A Cinderella Story...
... And then the best part, the food!
I covered our little workout trampoline with part of a leftover roll of purple table cloth from Big Sis's baby shower. Then I added a piece of silver fabric from our old trunk of dress-up clothes. I set out some fancy glasses (which we drank Diet Sprite mixed with lemonade packets, delish!), a bowl of Donettes, a bowl of Animal Crackers with a bowl of chocolate frosting, and a bowl with a bag of Pretzel M&Ms in it. I felt it needed a little something extra so I added some purple shiny Easter grass to the "table."
Then I went upstairs and frosted some chocolate cupcakes I had leftover from an activity at work on Friday. I added the sugary Princess Decorations and arranged them on a tray. I also added a bag of regular M&Ms and half a bag of chocolate chips to the Pretzel M&Ms to make a chocolate trial mix!
Right after I finished Lil Sis and Momma arrived home early from church!
We had lots of fun coloring, eating, doing the puzzle, wearing jewelry and watching movies- Princess Diaries and PPP. We very much enjoyed PPP even though it was at times very unbelievable. For a Disney Channel Movie what do you expect? My fav. line was, "I'd rather eat carbs, than see her wearing my crown!"

I'm missin' my Lil Sis already!!!

I am grateful for... my sisters

Today I am definitely feeling grateful for the two bestest sisters a girl could ask for!
The sister of a very dear college friend of mine was badly injured when she was hit by a car last week. Talking with my friend and worrying about her and her sister (who is quite banged up, but is going to be fine) really got me feeling so thankful for the two amazing women God has given me as sisters and as friends.
Today I just really wanted to give them both big old hugs, which sadly I couldn't do as Big Sis is a couple hundred miles away. But I am so grateful for the times we have shared and the love and friendship we share!!! Sometimes (OK a lot of the time) we're silly and crazy, but we get each other and love each other for all of our weirdnesses.












And of course now Big Sis is a mom, which is weird to think about, as she'll always be my sister who played Barbies with me and drove me home from school and helped me pick out dresses for school dances.
This is one of my fav pics from our trip to meet Lil E!
I could keep posting pics until the cows come home, but it's almost 2:00am and I'm tired...
What are you grateful for today?

Who Doesn't Love New Shoes!

Due to some issues at work the other day I'm getting an extra $28 in my paycheck. So I decided that this extra 28 bucks could be spent as frivolously as possible, which generally means shoes or clothes :)

I went to Payless during my lunch break today and found a super adorable pair of light blue shoes for seven bucks! Plus some gray tights for half off- just $3!!

Then of course I had a photo shoot in my car. If anyone walked past they probs thought I was crazy, but who cares?

Love!


This may be why people thought I was crazy...
Getting Artsy now-
Then I thought, hey Jillibean, you don't have to wear the shoes...duh
I know when I get home Momma will probably say they are impractical and they'll probably hurt my feet, but I love them anyway!

Uhhh... I bought this at Goodwill.

The last couple of weeks I've bought some cheap used books for my future classrooms. Lil Sis, her BF and I stopped by a garage sale in our neighborhood a couple of weekends ago. Lil Sis bought a turtle shaped plastic sandbox for her apartment :) Her BF bought some power cords and I bought children's books. That says a lot about all of us :)
I got all of these for $1.25 Pretty awesome! I love Because of Winn-Dixie. I just saw the movie last week- so good. Plus I love Jeff Daniels :)

Then one day last week Lil Sis and I decided to hit up the Goodwill in our town which neither of us had been to yet. It opened last year and we kept meaning to go, but we never did. So we headed over. We both tried on some clothes, but didn't get anything. But we headed over to the books/ kid's section. First I got Scrabble Junior- Disney Edition :)

Then I got some books. I love Frog and Toad, am only one book from having a complete set of HSM books (still need the first) and love Harriet the Spy. All of this for like $1.50. Sweet Deal. (sidenote- In Harriet the Spy the movie, Sport is played by none other than Ephram Brown. aka Gregory Smith. Love him!)

So I took Harriet the Spy with me to work the next day to read during Reading time. When I opened the book I saw that it had a stamp from our town library. I flipped to the back and it had a barcode and a library envelope in the back... uhhh. So I start thinking, "Did somebody donate a library book? Didn't the Goodwill people look at the book? Who donates a library book?" I told the kids and they couldn't believe that a library book got donated.

I decided to take the book back to the library and see what they said. In the meantime I checked the catalog online and it showed they had a copy of the book in. I took the book to the library and of course the cute young man is working :) I explained what had happened, expecting full well to give him the book and maybe leave with the dollar I spent on the book. But he scanned the book and said it wasn't in their system anymore, so I was free to keep it. Yay!

I figure somebody must have lost it, paid for it at the library, then found it and decided to donate it... All's well that ends well!