My July reading frenzy

It's hard to believe that I had time to read a ton of books in July, with all my preparations for the walk, but I did! Here are the books I read, along with one DNF that I'm going to attempt again some other time.

Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong
Ascension (e-book)by Lauren Dane
Heaving Bosoms(e-book)by Ashlyn Chase
On Target by Catherine Mann
Buddy System (e-book)by Caitlyn Willows
In Darkness Reborn by Alexis Morgan
Say You Love Me by Rita Herron
Rage Therapy by Daniel Kalla
Succubus Blues by Richelle Meads
Last Look by Mariah Stewart
Blood Drive by Jeanne C. Stein
Unshapely Things by Mark del Franco
Night Hunger by Cathy McDavid
Pure Sin (e-book) by Sahara Kelly and S.L. Carpenter
Last Words by Mariah Stewart
Night’s Touch by Amanda Ashley
Scent of Darkness by Christina Dodd
Cross My Heart by Carly Phillips
Magic Study by Mariah V. Snyder
Are You Scared Yet? by Hunter Morgan
Head On by Colleen Thompson
Sex, Lies, and Vampire Hunters (e-book) by Myla Jackson
Taking the Job (e-book) by Cheyenne McCray
A Taste for Control (e-book) by Patrice Michelle
Dark Harbor by Stuart Woods
Hunter’s Salvation by Shiloh Walker
Until the Day You Die by Tina Wainscott
Damsel Under Stress by Shanna Swendson

**So far this year I've read .... 143 books!**

Winners of my final Fundraising Draw!

Sorry this is posted late!

The winners in my final fund raising draw are:

Jaynie R
Nina C
Lori S
and Pam K

I've sent this information out to you in an email too! Jaynie and Lori, I'll need to get your snail mail addresses. Nina and Pam, I'll let the authors of the books you've won know your email addresses so they can contact you about mailing out your prizes.

Congratulations ladies! I’ve drawn your names for my last 4 draws in my Weekend to End Breast Cancer fund raiser!
Nina, you’ve won the prize pack from Vivi Anna and Sasha White!
Jaynie, you’ve won the mystery prize pack from me, with a book from Sasha White!
Lori, you’ve won the Babe Pack, with books by Dakota Cassidy, Michelle Hoppe and Isabella Jordan!
Pam, you’ve won the books by Shiloh Walker!
Thanks again ladies. With your help, the Weekend to End Breast Cancer Calgary walk brought in 5.6 million dollars for cancer research and treatment! WOW!

5.6 MILLION Dollars!!!

That's how much money was raised by people participating in Calgary's Weekend to End Breast Cancer! $5,600,000.oo!!!

I've learned that ...

* People are amazing if you give them the chance to be.

*Swoobs are icky. (sweaty boobs) If you're not careful you can get friction blisters in bad places (my bra band was my enemy by the end of day 2) *snort* OUCH

*Yes, I really can take just one more step when it seems like I can't.

*Hills are not my friend.

*Yes I can hurt that much.

*Yes it was all worth it.

*I'm crazy enough to think of signing up for next years walk. (I'm just thinking right now though LOL) If I don't do the walk I want to be one of the crew volunteers.

*This was one of the most amazing experiences. Everyone should do this or something like this at least once in their life time.

I'll let the pictures talk. Ask any questions you want, I'll be happy to answer!



Don't I look like I'm ready to take onthe world? OY! lol The guy I'm with is truly amazing. By the end of the summer he will have walked in every Weekend to End Breast Cancer walk in Canada. Chad, my thoughts are with you. You're a new hero of mine now!





We're on our way! Just leaving the Calgary Round Up Centre at Stampede Park! The volunteers were amazing. They are the best cheerleaders EVER!





Boobs on Bikes! *g* They kept us safe. Stopping traffic for us and keeping our spirits up. Don't they look great?






People in the neighbourhoods came out to cheer. Even their dog's participated *g* By the end of the walk we loved all the cheerers ... the ones who sprayed us with water or had ice for us really kept us going 'til we got to our next pit stop! The pit stops were where we bandaged blisters, re-filled with water or gatoraid, got snacky stuff, stretched out muscles and went to the bathroom (OMG the line ups!). The people who worked/volunteered at these were amazing.



The end of the first 35 kilometres is in sight!





The people with The Weekend to End Breast Cancer took very good care of us. These are medical tents. There were nurses, paramedics, physiotherapists, chiropractors (Dr. Dean saved my body from freezing into a ball of pain), and massage therapists. There were only so many (they were all volunteers) so we had to sign up. I was lucky enough to get time for a massage too! There was a band playing after supper and some of us were even crazy enough to dance after walking 35 km! (it did help I think, to keep our muscles from tightening up too much.)





Day 2!!! I think I just might be able to do this :)







The woman in the picture below kept me going. She was an amazing cheerleader. We've stopped here to listed to the Calgary Police band who played for the walkers as they arrived at lunch. I got split up from Cathy at lunch and finished the rest of the day on my own/with other groups (usually as they were passing me *g* OH MY GOD I was tired). Thanks Cathy for giving me the energy to make it to lunch!






I DID IT!!

I'm back

I survived.

I'm exhausted.

I'll have pics and details tomorrow along with the winners of the draws :)

yellow plaid screen of doom

I had the yellow plaid screen of doom earlier today (It wasn’t really yellow plaid but the computer certainly wasn’t doing what I wanted it to do), so I didn’t draw my pre-walk winners from my fund raising draw. I’ll draw all the winners on Sunday night or Monday. Thanks so much everyone! With your help I raised $3,400.oo on behalf of the Weekend to End Breast Cancer!

Thursday 13

Thirteen great books to read aloud to your favourite child (for me it's my nieces *s*) 1. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn 2. Falling Up by Shel Silverstein 3. Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss 4. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch 5. Dogzilla by Dav Pilkey (you must use a mouse voice when reading this to get the best effect) 6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss 7. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein 8. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams and Katherine Wilson 9. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak 10. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff 11. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson 12. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst 13. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE:

Thirteen things I want


Yes this weeks Thursday 13 is completely about me. Some of the things I want may appear to be frivolous (and they are … kind of *s*) but they’re all things I’ve wished for. Do I expect to receive them? … Nope. Hopefully some of them but for now they’re wishes.


1. A tiara. Don’t you think that a tiara would help make a blah (or even worse than blah) day feel better?

2. I want the weight loss fairy to come visit me. I’ve been walking a zillion kilometres a week for the past few months and it doesn’t look like I’ve done a thing. It’s extremely frustrating. (and no it isn’t the muscle is heavier than fat theory people keep talking about. My clothes all fit the same.)

3. That mythical man. I’d really like to find someone who can see past all the physical stuff and see me instead. Sounds corny yes? I’ve always wanted a family. To be a wife or whatever and a mom. I’m not sure I even wish on this one that often anymore though.

4. A magical library in my house that automatically has the next book for me that will capture my imagination. (and I want it to have those sliding ladder things that I see in movies. How cool would that be? *g*)

5. I want a money tree (or to win the lottery). Or I’d at least I’d like to be able to earn enough money to be comfortable. To not worry about being able to pay all the bills. To not have to play the which bill wins the I get to be paid this month game. *s*

6. I want to travel. I want to see the world.

7. I want that Take Home Chef dude to cook for me.

8. I want the What Not To Wear dudes to come rescue my closet.

9. I want to find a fabulous apartment. (OY! I hate apartment hunting)

10. I want the packing/moving fairy to find me and move my crap to the fabulous apartment that I find.

11. Magic walking shoes that keep my feet from getting all swollen and sore and icky during my weekend to end breast cancer walk that happens in a little over a week (YIKES!) … OR I’d like a personal masseuse to come to the event with me and take care of all my needs *g* … Maybe I need both a personal masseuse AND magic walking shoes! How cool would that be? *G*

12. I want my car to be paid for. That would be easily done if I had the money tree mentioned in #5.

13. I want to be graceful. I’m SO clumsy. It’s frightening really. I want to be able to dance (and not fall on my head). Hell I want to be able to walk and not fall on my head!!! LOL Speaking of dancing ... and beauty ...



Danny is beautiful to watch. Every movement is graceful. (he's pretty hot too *g* I didn't have to try that hard to get over his youthfulness lol He's just beautiful to look at.)

What kind of books do you like to read?

This question was brought up in some of the yahoo groups I participate in. I'm finding more and more that I'm just a bit different from many of the people that post in some of the groups. Different in that I don't require a happily ever after in the books I read. I do, however, need an ending to the story that makes sense for that story.

An example of this is the book My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

From the Publisher - New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult is widely acclaimed for her keen insights into the hearts and minds of real people. Now she tells the emotionally riveting story of a family torn apart by conflicting needs and a passionate love that triumphs over human weakness.

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate -- a life and a role that she has never challenged...until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister -- and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.

My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less? Should you follow your own heart, or let others lead you? Once again, in My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult tackles a controversial real-life subject with grace, wisdom, and sensitivity.

This story was gripping. I could NOT put the book down. It made me think and cry and smile a bit even. I was pissed off at the ending ... BUT it was the right ending for the story. I didn't like the way things went for the characters in this book but the way Ms. Picoult wrote the book was amazing. She seemed to choose her words with great care. She made me recommend this story to many people after I read it. She made me look for more of her books.

Some people might wonder why I'd read more by her if this story disturbed me so much. The reason I do is because they let me escape. No, the stories aren't pretty. I can't read a whole bunch of her books in a row. I need to space them out over time. I do, however, find myself feeling better about my own life when I'm done reading her books. I find myself feeling hope and thinking of possibilities.

I like this song

I found out about this at The Sneeze blog.The group is called Cloud Cult. I'm thinking of downloading the CD. You can find it at their website.

Thursday 13

Thirteen things I did today



1. Walked 7 kilometers.

2. Finished the book Last Look by Mariah Stewart.

3. Went out for lunch.

4. Went shopping with the mom.

5. Watched the So You Think You Can Dance results show (totally called it on the ones that got voted off the island or whatever you want to call it)

6. Acquired a new blister (to be friends with the blister I got yesterday).

7. Scanned a few baby pictures of me looking freakin' adorable. *g*

8. Bought the next book in Mariah Stewart's trilogy. (damn her for writing addictive trilogies!)

9. Debated colouring my hair a different colour when I get my hair done on Tuesday.

10.Watched a bunch of video's on YouTube. I'm completely addicted.

11.Pondered which book to start reading next. (btw I've completed 10 books so far this month and had 1 DNF book. YAY me!)

12.Listened to music (while on the computer *s* I love music. Right now the song is Smooth by Rob Thomas)

13.Remembered at the last minute to get a Thursday 13 up!




Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Why am I doing the Walk?

Initially it was a way for me to force myself to get active. There are so many health issues that arise for people who carry extra weight. Especially if they carry a LOT of extra weight. Breast Cancer is one of those things

"The risk triples for obesity with excess caloric and fat intake" ~Breast Cancer Society of Canada

By making the commitment to do this walk, asking other people to support me by giving donations I forced myself to do the preparation that's required for something like this. If it was just my money I'm pretty sure I'd find excuses to not do it. With other people involved though ... I have to do it.



Now even with all the preparation ... the training walks I've been doing I know this is going to be extremely difficult. Lets face it. I'm fat. I'm out of shape (but I have better endurance than I did 6 months ago *g*). I'm also determined. I WILL succeed. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have injuries. Bruises, sore muscles, blisters. Many women I've talked to who've done the walk also mentioned lost toe nails. (ICK!) I've got my fingers crossed that that doesn't happen.

I'm getting pretty close to my goal I set for myself. I want to go way past that goal though. *s* This is the first time I've really rocked at doing something I've set out to do though. I've always been fairly average at what I've accomplished. I've been that shy quiet girl in the corner at the party (on the rare occasion that I've gone to parties). Help me prove that I can do this. My goal is $3000.00 . Wouldn't it be cool if I got to $3,500 or something like that? CLICK HERE to make a donation.

My Last Fundraiser **updated July 10/07

I'm officially 3 weeks away from my Weekend to End Breast Cancer 60 kilometre walk.

3 WEEKS

Three! OY!

I have 4 more packages I'll be making a draw for. I'll do 2 draws on July 25 (2 days before I'm busy with the pre-walk and walk) and I'll do 2 draws on July 30. The day after the walk. They'll be a YAY! I survived draw *g*

Just CLICK HERE to make a donation, and I'll enter your name into the draw! Easy Peasy!

The prizes in the draws will be ...
(prize package 1)books and promo goodies from Vivi Anna and Sasha White,

(prize package 2) books and goodies from The Babes (Dakota Cassidy, Isabella Jordan and Michelle Hoppe),

(prize package 3) Autographed books from Shiloh Walker

and

(prize package 4) a mystery package sent from me (It's a mystery because I still don't know all that will be in the package *lol* It'll be full of groovy things though).

Love Thursday

I felt like doing a Love Thursday this week, instead of Thursday 13 :)

** I don't even know if they're doing the Love Thursday anymore. I haven't been able to find any recent entries (within last few weeks). Instead of taking this down ('cause I love the picture *s*) I'm still declaring this Love Thursday. If you wander over to Karen's site (the chookooloonks one) and look at the photos you'll still have a wonderful time. She's an amazing photographer!

On Thursday, August 17th, 2006, Irene Nam from MOMster in Paris and Karen Walrond from Chookooloonks declared every Thursday "Love Thursday," inviting people to post pictures depicting love on their websites each week. In conjunction with this, behold the "Love Thursday" pool: feel free to upload your photographs depicting love in all its forms -- love of a partner, love of a child, love of a favourite toy, love of life -- to share with everybody. Unusual images of love -- fallen leaves that look like hearts, for example -- are also very welcome.

Just remember love does not equal sex -- let's keep it clean, folks.

Can't wait to see what you share!

http://loveisallaround.squarespace.com

Books I read in June

It didn't feel like I read all that many books in June (compared to other months). I'm not sure why. Considering how busy my month was that's quite a few. There were none that were DNF this month (which was nice) but there was one that almost made that rating. There were a couple that were OHMYGOD fabulous... (Anya Bast - what can I say? Her first book published by Berkley was incredible. I can't wait to read more. Kelley Armstrong is always amazing, I loved Colleen Gleason's second book in her series and then a new to me author, Rachel Vincent, is a new person I'm going to be adding to my authors to watch list.)

*Stray ~ Rachel Vincent
*Don’t Let Go ~ Sydney Somers (ebook)
*Babe in the Woods ~ Lorelei James (ebook)
*Lynda’s Lace ~ Lacey Alexander (ebook)
*Rises the Night ~ Colleen Gleason
*Midnight Sun ~ Rene Lyons (ebook)
*No Humans Involved ~ Kelley Armstrong
*Carter’s Cuffs ~ Lacey Alexander (ebook)
*Fear the Darkness ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon (ebook)
*At the Edge ~ Cait London
*Once Upon Stilettos ~ Shanna Swendson
*Wild Thing (anthology) ~ Maggie Shayne, Meljean Brook, Marjorie M. Liu, and Alyssa Day
*Soul Song ARC ~ Marjorie M. Liu
*Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception ~ Lois Winston
*Witch Fire ~ Anya Bast

Happy Canada Day!