education

education
education

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travels
travels

books

books
books

Progressive Dinner Deadly by Elizabeth Spann Craig

Progressive Dinner Deadly by Elizabeth Spann Craig


Goodreads Rating: 3.47/5
My Rating: 3/5

Goodreads SynopsisRetired octogenarian schoolteacher Myrtle Clover is fit to be tied when her book club votes to change to a supper club.  Who wants chips and dip when they can have Dickens and Twain?   The first supper club is a progressive dinner...where Myrtle loses interest during the hors d'oeuvres. But when a body is discovered during the main course, the evening quickly gets interesting. Myrtle pits her sleuthing skills against her police chief son's to find the killer....if the killer doesn't find her first.

My Review: This was an entertaining read, and a nice mystery story.  However, it wasn't a great piece of literature.  I never felt 'hooked' as I read the story.  This book is not the first in the series, which I didn't realize until after I read the book, and I'm not sure if reading the previous stories first would help to fill in any gaps in the characters or not.  If you are a die hard mystery reader, this might seem a little light for you, however, as someone who doesn't read mysteries often, it wasn't too bad!  
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14 in '14

I absolutely love the end of the year.  I love to look back on what a fabulous year it has been and look forward to a new year with a fresh start and a new outlook on life.

I know everyone says that 'this year was the best year ever!'  But it always seems so true!  Every year just gets better and better!

These are in no particular order whatsoever.  It was so hard to rank them that I've just put them in order that they happened!

I'm linking up with Miss Kindergarten for her Fourteen in '14 link-up!



#1
I began grad school!  I'm working on my Masters in Instructional Technology through Virginia Tech!


#2
I turned 25.  And got these crazy cards from my Dad.


#3
Spent lots of time and money fixing up the house!  Even though I bought my house toward the end of 2013, this was my first full year in my own house!! 


#4
Took a road trip to Virginia Tech to watch the Spring Football Game!  Go Hokies!


#5
Ran in my third 5K - the Color Vibe Richmond!



#6
Vacationed for a week at the Outer Banks!


#7
I waved to the Queen while in London!


#8 
Spent a day with Mickey while in Paris!


#9
Rode the canal boats in Amsterdam!


#10
Spent a week at Myrtle Beach!


#11
Visited Christmas Town at Busch Gardens.


#12
Spent Thanksgiving weekend at the Outer Banks!


#13
These cars (and some more you can't see) all came to visit me and have lunch!  I hosted our family's Christmas lunch this year!! 


#14
And (even though it hasn't happened yet...), I'll be celebrating New Years Eve and ringing in the new year..on a boat..in the middle of the ocean!  Hello Bahamas!


It's been an incredible year!  Definitely the year of travel!  There were so many more wonderful and amazing things that happened this year - but these are fourteen of the highlights from the year.

Dear 2015 - I challenge you to beat 2014!  
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Merry Christmas!

 

both images from pinterest

And a quick video from the Christmas Eve service.  My favorite part of the service is the a cappella singing to Silent Night by candlelight.  Beautiful!


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After by Anna Todd

I participated in the After by Anna Todd blog program as a member of One2One Network. I received compensation but all opinions are my own.

Have you heard of Wattpad?  I hadn't either until last week.  Wattpad is a social media site for readers and writers alike.  According to their website, there are 75 million stories to read and over 35 million people on the site.  The stories are free to read and there are thousands of stories added each day.  After registered for Wattpad and perusing the stories that have been uploaded, I realized that there are a large variety of genres represented - and there are some really great looking stories available to read!



Anna Todd is one of the authors that you can find on Wattpad.  She started by writing a novel on her phone in between meetings and running errands.  She was working odd jobs and wrote when she had time.  Her reader base continues to grow - and she now has over 1 billion reads and over 6 million comments.

Wattpad is an awesome website.  Find an author you like, and you'll be notified of any new stories posted by that author.  This is truly a fabulous platform for budding authors!

While I haven't read After yet, I do have a copy of the book and I can't wait to start reading it!  It sounds amazing!  You can find the book here on Barnes & Noble or here for your e-reader.
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This Week & How I Decorate My Planner

Soooo...I had planned to share more about my Filofax planner, how I plan, how I decorate, and how it's all organized.  But, I've been totally slacking on the blog lately.  2015 goal - KEEP UP THE BLOG!  Today, I'm going to share one of the above items with you.

How I Decorate My Planner

I thought about doing a fun video, but decided to stick with pictures this time.  See the step-by-step photos on how I decorate my planner below.  When possible, items I have used are linked.


Before the I decorate for the week, I use sticky notes to add dates and information, which I'll transfer over once the decorating is complete.


Here's what I used to decorate this week.  My favorite Staedtler pens, VersaMagic DewDrop Inkpad, and the snowman washi tape - which was a sample I received from someone in a facebook group.  We haven't had any snow, but I'm channeling the snowmen in my planner this week!


There are multiple ways that I like to decorate with the tape, but this is one of my favorites.  I put the tape over the holes on page of the pages.  This way, the color and fun factor is added, plus the tape is reinforcing the holes.  Then I take my X-Acto knife and trim the tape at the ends of the paper.  The inserts I use are the undated week on two pages from SewMuchCrafting on Etsy.  Check out her shop.  She's fabulous!


I also use the Studio L2E List It clear stamp set for my to-do checklist.  


Place your chosen stamp on the stamping block, and ink it up.


Place the stamping block on your pages, exactly where you want the stamp to be.  I love these clear stamps, since you can see through them and know exactly where you are stamping!


And due to the nature of these stamps, you will need to clean them with a baby wipe as soon as you finish, to avoid dying the color of the stamp permanently.


Add stickers and embellishments to finish off your pages.  I typically add a quote to my NOTES section of the inserts.



Add your dates, events, and to-do lists into your planner...and voila!  You are done!  Simple, easy and fun!  I find that decorating my pages is very relaxing and and a great way to take a look ahead at the week to come!


A little up close view of my quote for this week.  Do you know where it's from?!  :)


And this is how I add events on the go.  I take my pens that I'm using for the week and put them in this super cute pouch, which I also bought from SewMuchCrafting.  I drop this in my purse, and can add color coded events on the go.  I always have 2 or 3 colors for the week.  I choose one for work/school, one for personal, and one for grad school.  My colors change every week, so I don't have standard color coding for the entire year, like some people do.  I like changing up the colors every week to match my decorating!  

And that's that!  Let me know if you have any questions!  I hope you enjoyed this step-by-step on how I decorate my planner.  Keep an eye out - I might try and make a video soon! ;)
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Currently December

Holy smokes!  Where did this year go!?  I can't believe that it's already December - and since it's the start of a new month, that means it's time to link up with Farley's Currently!


LISTENING: I was out of town for Thanksgiving, so I've missed quite a few TV shows and movies.  ESPECIALLY Hallmark Christmas movies.  So, I'm currently catching up on shows I've missed - and Two and a Half Men was first on the list!

LOVING: I LOVE Christmas.  I love decorating, I love spending time with family, I love riding around and looking at lights, I love wrapping and giving presents, and I love celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior.  It's a glorious time of year - that's for sure!

THINKING and WANTING: These go hand in hand for me lately.  Recently, I've had a lot on my mind.  There are things that have been said to me, dreams I'm considering chasing, plans that need commitments made, and changes that are necessary.  I know it's vague, but a prayer or two would be greatly appreciated!  

NEEDING: So - last year, I put up five trees...in my five room house.  I had a Christmas tree everywhere except the bathroom.  The other day, I went to the shed to get out the trees, found that one had a mouse 'nest' in it and another had chewed up lights (OOPS!)...and then realized that I didn't know where my tree legs were!  OH NO!  I currently have five trees LAYING around my house, waiting for me to find the tree legs.  If you were a Christmas tree leg, where would you be??  

GIVING: Today only - my Fewer and Less posters are FREE!  These are an early creation of mine, so I'd appreciate any feedback that you have!  Please download and leave your thoughts!  Thanks!!

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