Hooray for us!

Woohooo! We made Amazon's top 20 list!

I found some interesting bits of trivia here -- read on!

This is from a news release from Amazon.com:

Amazon.com Reveals the Most Well-Read Cities in America

Cambridge, Mass., tops the list with the most books, magazines and newspapers purchased per capita of any city in the United States

SEATTLE, May 26, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- (NASDAQ: AMZN)--Just in time for the summer reading season, Amazon.com announced its list of the Top 20 Most Well-Read Cities in America. After compiling sales data of all book, magazine and newspaper sales in both print and Kindle format since Jan. 1, 2011, on a per capita basis in cities with more than 100,000 residents, the Top 20 Most Well-Read Cities are:

1. Cambridge, Mass.
2. Alexandria, VA
3. Berkely, CA
4. Ann Arbor, MI
5. Boulder, CO
6. Miami, FL
7. Salt Lake City, UT
8. Gainesville, FL
9. Seattle, WA
10. Arlinton, VA
11. Knoxville, TN
12. Orlando, FL
13. Pittsburgh, PA
14. Washington, DC
15. Bellevue, WA
16. Columbia, SC
17. St. Louis, MO
18. Cincinnati, OH
19. Portland, OR
20. Atlanta, GA


In taking a closer look at the data, Amazon.com also found that:


•Not only do they like to read, but they like to know the facts: Cambridge, Mass.--home to the prestigious Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology--also topped the list of cities that ordered the most nonfiction books.

•Boulder, CO, lives up to its reputation as a healthy city by topping the list of cities that order the most books in the Cooking, Food & Wine category.

•Alexandria, Va., residents must be reading a lot of bedtime stories - they topped the list of the city that orders the most children's books.

•Summer reading weather all year long? Florida was the state with the most cities in the Top 20, with Miami, Gainesville and Orlando making the list.

Winter's Last Hurrah!

After a rougher than usual winter in the St. Louis area, and a few REALLY nice days just to tease us, Old Man Winter felt the need to give us one last visit.

The temperature was just cold enough to allow the snow to pile up, but still keep the roads safe. The snow only accumulated on the ground, trees and bushes, covering the green grass and delicate blooms that spring had sent only days before.

As I visited Facebook, I read many comments from people who voiced their discontent with the snow. I wholeheartedly agreed that I was DONE with winter. Bring on Spring! BUT, when I made the comment that I thought this snow was "garbage", my wonderful boy warned me that I might regret that statement. He went on to remind me that God does everything for a reason. This snow just might be blessing someone today in a way that we will never know.

Wow. Talk about a paradigm shift. After hearing me say it so many times, it had sunk in his mind, just as I had forgotten it. My entire frame of mind switched and I saw the snow in a whole new light. Yes, I am ready for spring. Yes, I am ready for Eric's baseball practices, Allison's spring play, sitting outside reading and just enjoying the warm sun hit my head.

When I got home, I was able to open the curtains, look out the window and appreciate the beauty of the moment. God was covering my world with a blanket of wet, heavy snow, weighing the branches down and making them droop. It was the kind of snow that sticks to the branches and looks like it belongs on a Christmas card. What?!? Yes, I know it's March -- and the end of it, at that! But I also know that my God works in mysterious ways that I will never fully understand. And I can also take each wondrous moment that He gives me and simply appreciate the moment and what my God can do.

Lots to Learn

Wow. Today, I was at a teachers' conference where the topic was differentiated learning and PLN's (Personal Learning Networks). During this conference, I heard lots of terms and acronyms for things that I had no idea what they were talking about. This one was mostly over my head. While I thought that I had the technological world somewhat under control, the leaders at the conference, informed me that I was wrong and I have a lot to learn. So, I will use this opportunity to my advantage and push forward!

Starting Over~

It's been a long while, hasn't it?

I am at a stage in my life where I am ready to grow. But the question is in what way? I find myself craving to learn again, but not quite ready to go back to school either. I feel God trying to move me outside my box, but not quite sure if I'm supposed to go up, down, forward, left or right. I'm fairly certain he doesn't want me to go backwards though.

One thing I do know is that my love for reading has become more passionate in new and different ways from before. I have found that I LOVE picture books. I miss snuggling and reading to my kids. Thankfully, I have my substitute kids at school that I can hug and love on. They are the perfect age -- 3! Thankfully, I have a grade school where I can go and am allowed to read to the kindergarten class and share with them the exciting things that books have to offer. I am exercising my reading and storytelling abilities with them. Every time I do that, I feel myself stepping outside of my box. But the benefits are twofold -- I get to interact with the kids and I get to do it while doing my favorite thing -- READ!

An added benefit -- I get to help out an awesome teacher who deserves a little bit of a break!

Added Memories......

Just Playing Around.....

Vacation Part 3

After our quick dash to San Antonio, we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's to get one last day in and a visit to the Fort Worth Stockyards. Temperatures had cooled a bit, preventing Allison and Eric from swimming, so after the Stockyards, we went to my favorite restaurant, Anamia's. The rest of the afternoon was spent resting, reading and for one in particular, playing DS. The next day, we arrived home -- allergies back in full force!