Small Miracles

---->6.00 HUGE HUGE MUM I purchased today WHOOOO HOOOO

I kinda shifted gears this weekend (unintentionally) as I power thrifted during a very short window of opportunity I had on Saturday. Okay so I did a little shopping on Friday, too (at work of all places...who knew you could thrift shop at a bank), okay..okay..and today for just a couple of items. But really, all in all, I only spent a few hours shopping@

List of books (in total price for all was 6.25 including 5 hardcovers!)

1) Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson ( HC)

2)At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks (HC)

3)The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks (HC)

4)Sam's Letters to Jennifer (HC)

4.5) lol..I forgot this one: Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz (PB)

5)Mystic River (PB)

6)Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas and Michah Sparks (HC)

7)The Road to Home by Vanessa Del Fabbro (PB)

8)Beach House by James Patterson (PB)

9)Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende (PB)

10)The Nanny Diaries by Emma Mclaughlin and Nicola Kraus (PB)

11)She's All That by Kristin Billerbeck (pb)

12)Sudoku for Dummies volume 2 (they didn't do one puzzle) (PB)

13)The Hundredd Secret Senses by Amy Tan (PB)

All of these books are in EXCELLENT condition. I can't believe my good fortune! Most were bought at one yard sale, and about 4 others were bought at a sale we are having at work to raise money for our Christmas party. This week it's a book sale, next week we will be doing a silent auction.

Look at all these lovely books!! I am definitely a book lover who has taken a hiatus for a few years. What I mean by that is, ever since I have had children, my book reading is nothing compared to what I did pre-children. There are several reasons for that. The primary reason is, children need to be fed. They need attention. When I start reading, I can barely stop. I don't want to do anything but dart towards the finish line, the last chapter, the last page. I don't even want to go to work. LOL So to compromise, I have become over the years a magazine fiend. I can pick up and put down a magazine much easiar (well, sometimes) than I can a book. At one point I had about 10 subscriptions. Now I have none, not to say I don't pick up a magazine or two, or three every month at the newstand. I will NOT miss a issue of Country Living. Country Living is by far my favorite magazine of all. There was a time when I thought I would die if I didn't have the latest Cosmo. I've grown out of that stage. It's kinda scary, I'm in the Better Homes and Gardens and Real Simple stage of my life now. Not that I don't care how to make my man happy...but by now, I think I know enough to get me by. What I'm interested in now, is how to make the home we're in happy. How to make it beautiful. How to make myself more at peace, and just simply learn more about things I didn't know much about before. Anyway, back to my book story. I think it was springtime last year, I popped on a "What are you reading thread" on the Taste of Home Bulletin board and it inspired me to get back into reading again. That thread has wonderful reviews and a seemingly unending source of reading material to choose from. I have had to get back into books in small doses though, because I still have my marathon book reading disease and the children are still young so I must still take care of them. All of these reads should take me till Josh's high school graduation and then I'll buy more. (KIDDING!!!!)

My other half has recently discovered reading as a source of enjoyment rather than pain. I could hardly believe when he told me he has read about 20 books over the last couple of months. You'd have to know him to understand. I about fell over when he told me he would love it if we could just have a peaceful evening reading together sometime soon. He always question me when he found me reading. It's so boring. Why aren't you doing this or that? What do you get out of a BOOK or a MAGAZINE, I don't understand you? It's my escape, I would tell him. It's my mini vacation when I can't go anywhere else, I can travel with my characters and experience life thru their eyes. He'd shake his head not understanding one bit what planet I was on. That has all changed now. He escapes now through reading. He finds the peace that I tried to convey to him. He finally understands that there are other vices then the ones that he previously chose- to escape, to get away, even if it's just for a short period of time, reading can do that for you and has for him. Among other things, I am so grateful for small miracles, GREAT YARD SALE FINDS, and the wonders of books.

Amen

Lucy