Trips to the movies and preparation for another kind of trip, a busy autumn weekend...

Hi all! Here with you on a dreary Monday afternoon, amidst a valiant attempt to keep my spirits high. That's no easy feat on Mondays this semester, but we're persevering and doing just fine.

#offeringitup

*halo* ;-)

And so today, I have my usual menagerie of teaching, reference shifts, dueling swim lessons for the kids, and finagling a dinner for them after we get home. Actually, that doesn't look that bad, what am I complaining about? It's not that bad, it's just a little tiring. And Monday is Mike's long teaching day too, so it's a family-wide tiring day. :)

But the weekend? The weekend was lovely. Gorgeous fall weather here. Getting cooler, leaves starting to change. The warm September that we had seems to be impacting the foliage in a negative manner, which is unfortunate, but I still have hope for a glorious second half of October. Saturday morning, Mike and Henry took on grocery store duty, and Anne and I headed to Carter's to get her some warm winter pj's since she had outgrown all of hers. Can I say that I just adore warm winter pajama shopping for young children? ADORABLE.

Those footed sleepers? *swoons* Gingerbread men and women abounded, along with cupcakes, princesses, foxes and owls. I got her a slew of jammies, along with some long sleeved tops, and because Mommy is a soft touch and Anne knows this, she also managed to procure a new stuffed animal. Here she is modeling one of the new sleepers, and showing off her new friend:

What do you think he is? An owl, right? A snowy owl? But with a pink beak and feet? That's what I think he is. Anne insists that he is "a chickie!" But I'm not convinced. ;-)

At any rate, after our little clothing adventure, I took both kids to the movie theater, my mom in tow, to see Hotel Transylvania 2. I have to say, I love this series. VERY cute and funny, for both kids and adults. I loved the first movie, and so was excited to take the kids to see the sequel. And the verdict is... I would recommend, once again. Just as cute and funny as the first one. All four of us had a great time.

My mom wanted to take the kids to see the 3D version as a treat, and although I usually don't see movies in 3D (it's a waste of money for me, since I have a vision impairment that impacts my ability to see 3D images on a screen. I know, lame, right?!) I agreed that it would be fun for the kids, so why not?

Well, Henry enjoyed the 3D. He popped his glasses on, and sat back happily munching popcorn for the entirety of the movie. My mom enjoyed the 3D. As for me, 3D means that the screen looks fuzzy, I pop the glasses on, and then it looks super clear, but nothing else. A little anti-climactic, to be sure. ;-) Anne?

"Mommy, I do not like these MOVIE THEATER SUNGLASSES!"

Of course, it makes the experience less than enjoyable when you muck around with the glasses while you're eating your buttery popcorn, and quickly, your glasses become coated with layers of gunk. Multiple times. And then Mommy has to put down her beloved popcorn and Diet Coke to *clean plastic glasses 3 times*. But overall, Anne did not want to be bothered with the perching of glasses on her tiny nose in order to watch the movie, so I don't think she'd vote for 3D a second time.

On Sunday, we went to our favorite 10 am Mass *blissful sigh* followed by the monthly parish coffee/donuts social. We kibitzed. Then we went home and drank beer and watched football. Or, at least that's what Mike and I did. ;-)

In other exciting news, in preparation for a trip I'm taking this weekend (more details about that below) I upgraded my e-reader to a Kindle Paperwhite, da da DA!

An autumn scene, because I would have it be autumn year round ;-)

Isn't he handsome with all of his customized collections?

I had a Kindle Basic (that I coined "Patrick") which I loved, but which I was starting to have a difficult time seeing the screen in certain light conditions. I gave Patrick to Henry (who happily received him) and ordered this new Kindle Paperwhite, whose name, if you were wondering, is Francis. :0 And oh my goodness - SO MUCH BETTER! It's not just in dimly lit situations that I can see the screen more clearly now. I love it.

The reason this was on my mind is because I'm traveling on Friday, and when I travel, I read a lot on my Kindle. Traveling? Doesn't Tiffany not like hurtling through the sky on an airplane? Yes, yes, you would be correct, my friend. :) I don't really like doing that. BUT there are people that I love who do not live near me, and so I sometimes suck it up and force myself onto one of those tubes so that I can visit them. This time, I'm going to Maine (with Henry in tow) to visit my younger sister, brother-in-law, and twin nephews. I'm very excited, but you know, FLYING. And I'm going to miss Mike and Anne, who will be home enjoying a Daddy/Daughter weekend. *sad* But four airline tickets just wasn't in our budget right now.

I'll talk more about my trip likely in my video post for this week. In the meantime, how was your weekend? Did you go to a movie? Do tell. Have a Kindle Paperwhite? How do you like? :) Write all about it in the comments!

A new electronic member of the family...

After an obsessive two days of tracking, my new Kindle arrived on Saturday, and I've been dying to review him on here. I've christened him "Patrick." ;-) That's Mike's middle name, it's just sentimental and cute for me. But let's start with a little history, shall we? Settle in with your tea or coffee...

My very first foray into an e-ink reader was in March 2012, with the 4th Generation Kindle, the model with the small 5-way controller at the bottom:

I loved her from the first moment. :) I assumed that maybe I'd read 50/50 ebooks vs. traditional print books, but I was wrong. Very quickly, I was reading about 90% on my Kindle. It is incredibly convenient - no paperbacks taking over my bookcase that I'm unlikely to reread, so easy to hold and read in bed or while eating, no worries about procuring new books since I just snap them up when they're heavily discounted (which happens a LOT with Kindle books), complete instant gratification, and when you travel, you just bring one device rather than multiple books. This Kindle always worked great for me and is one of my top purchases of all time. Love it.

Since Christmas, I'd noticed that occasionally the device wouldn't turn off, and I'd have to do a hard restart to get everything working again. That always worked, but it was a sign to me that this beloved Kindle was showing her age a bit. Plus, the newer models all have touchscreens, and I have to admit, the 5-way controller is a pain in the backside. It was fine when that was the only option, but now? Better options available for the same price.

So, I started looking. The newest basic Kindle went on sale (regular price is $79), and the rest is history. :0 $59?! I swooped in. New Kindle now in my hot little hands, my older model currently residing with Henry. So here we have Patrick:

Notice how I already have collections set up on him (Catholic Fiction, Amish Fiction, Suspense, etc. Total librarian nerd over here, unashamedly), and the touchscreen is a breeze. Everything is SO much easier on this device in comparison to what I was used to. Set up was a breeze, downloading all of the unread books from my cloud a total dream. Although, can I say how humbling it was to realize that I had 86 unread ebooks waiting for me? :0 Need to read what I have for a time, that's for sure.

I got the home screen set up the way I like with all of my book collections, and lovingly got Patrick settled into his case:

ADORE. It automatically puts the device to sleep and wakes it up just by closing/opening the cover, no need to ever touch the power button. Brilliant. The device itself does feel, I don't want to say "cheap," but this is clearly the low end model. It's a little blocky, has a clear plastic feel, but for the price? Can't beat it.  It feels sturdy, and it does what it does very well. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for an inexpensive e-reader.

One thing that this model lacks is a light. For that, you need the middle model Kindle Paperwhite. From the reviews I watched (very enjoyable lunch hour spent on YouTube right there) the software on the Paperwhite and this basic model are identical. But the Paperwhite is made of more rounded, smoother material, and has a built in, adjustable light so that you can read in the dark. I believe there are also some hardware differences, and the resolution is crisper on the Paperwhite. I'm thinking of a Paperwhite for Henry for Christmas, since he has been asking for more light to read by in his room. But for me, the basic model is perfect.

I've been happily reading with Patrick since Saturday night and couldn't be more pleased. I have no desire to read on my phone or on a tablet in terms of books. I absolutely adore the e-ink devices as a standalone for pure reading enjoyment. Anybody else have one and want to give us your device's story? :)

7 Quick Takes {Take 72} A Lenten update, and a new gadget! edition...

It's nearing the end of the second week of Lent already, holy smokes! Everything is happening so quickly. Hence, I thought I'd write about that a bit, and see how Lenten things are going with you. :) Plus there's a few other new tidbits going on with me right now, including an exciting electronics purchase! Do read on, dear ones!

-1- "Wait. Was that water dripping?!" *rampant paranoia*

As I mentioned earlier in the week, our Lent has been full of ice damming, roof leaks, and ceiling damage. The roofing company did come and remove ice from our roof yesterday, so we're hoping we're going to be all set for the thaw that is to come. Of course, we're also worried about our basement flooding, but one can only worry about so many things, yes? I'm dying for the snow to melt, but at the same time, whenever I hear water dripping I panic, thinking it's bad, insidious water, out to destroy our home. Doing my best not to fret. ;-)

-2- Daily rosary, going pretty well, mostly because of the sheer volume of rosaries that I own...

One of my Lenten goals was to pray a full rosary each day, and so far that's going really well. My weak day seems to be Saturday. I pray in the car on my commute during the week, and on Sundays I squeeze it in on my way to and from Mass, and while I pray after Communion, but Saturdays slip my mind a lot. I do love praying the rosary though, and I like having the goal of getting through an entire set of mysteries before I fall asleep at night. This one is a win.

-3- That little Magnificat Lenten Companion? So adorable.

And the Lenten Companion? Could this thing be any cuter? I am really enjoying it this year, especially the daily prayers based upon the reflection, and the suggested penance each day. I'm not always able to follow through with the penances (usually for logistical/scheduling reasons) but every day they challenge me to think of small things I can do to grow in my faith. I have it by my bedside and read the day's selection upon waking each day. Fab.

-4- Fasting? Well, partial credit counts, right?

And here we get to the not so fabulous. :) At the start of Lent, I was doing *really* well, fasting from food between meals, especially a sweet after lunch, which is a huge source of joy for me. I tried giving that up, and it worked great. For a week.

Then this roofing crisis hit, and well... Having a piece of chocolate after lunch soothes my frayed nerves. :0 I'm trying to get back into it, but some days just go better than others. But I'm trying! And I'm very aware of why I'm trying to do this and the benefits it has. I'm taking that as a positive.

-5- Marian consecration delayed due to lapse in brain cells #adventuresinaging

As is so often the case an embarrassing amount of the time, I FORGOT. I was supposed to start the daily readings and prayers on February 20th, and right out of my mind that little thought flew. Instead of trying to play catch up, I decided to start on the next cycle, which falls during the Easter season this year. I thought that would be lovely, since I have other things I'm doing for Lent anyway. So, the new start date is Friday April 10th, with a consecration date of May 13th, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. If you'd like to join in, please let me know! It's always nice to know that someone is praying along with me. The book I use is 33 Days to Morning Glory, by Fr. Michael Gaitley (available both as a print and ebook):

-6- Fun Lenten reading

Being the Catholic librarian nerd that I am, I am of course reading a Lenten murder mystery. :0 That would be Up From the Grave: A Berdie Elliott Lenten Mystery, by Marilyn Leach:

I read the first book in the series, set during Advent, several months back, and then I discovered this one. I immediately downloaded it (only 99 cents, scoop it up!) and queued it up to read during Lent. The time is nigh! This is a lovely light read, set in an English village featuring a vicar and his mystery-solving wife. I just started, and it seems we're gearing up for a new church garden at the parish, and something mysterious is about to be discovered during the sod turning ceremony. Love. The third book is set during the feast of the Ascension, and is my book club selection for May!

-7- New Lenten device to read on! *heart*

My beloved Kindle, at several years old, is finally starting to act a bit glitchy. I just love her to pieces though, this was my very first ereader, and I will never forget her! She introduced me to the wonderful world of ebooks, and I can never go back. This Kindle is the old 5-way controller style. I never minded that, though it was a bit awkward to search for books in the Kindle store (to put it mildly). But I usually just purchase books from my computer or phone and simply send them to the device, easy peasy.

Well, earlier this year, when Kindle started refusing to turn off sometimes, and I'd have to do a hard restart, I thought I should keep my eye open for an upgrade. I'm not really interested in the very popular Kindle Paperwhite, because I don't need the back lighting. When I read in bed, I use my bedside lamp, which doesn't bother Mike's sleep at all. So when the basic Kindle model, now equipped with a handy touch screen and other improvements, went on sale this week, well. :)

My new Kindle is now on his way to me, and I am simmering with excitement. I keep tracking him and anticipating his arrival. It's this model here (cutie, yes?!), and like I mentioned, is on sale until tomorrow night for $59 (!) in honor of National Reading Month. If you end up getting one too, leave me a comment to let me know your thoughts. :) I'll review it here next week.

*beams*

Well, that's my Lent so far. How is yours going, dear reader? Do check in with us in the comments, and take a look at other 7 Quick Takes over at This Ain't the Lyceum!

Catholic Book Club: Advent of a Mystery

Happy book club Wednesday everyone! Today I am pleased to be reviewing a title that fits in perfectly with the season, Advent of a Mystery, by Marilyn Leach. I received this book as a gift, but it is officially out of print, and available only on Amazon Marketplace. I found out, however, that is has been reissued as Candle for a Corpse (A Berdie Elliott Mystery, Book 1). The happy news is that if you didn't read this book already, and my review intrigues you, you can now buy it in print and get two day shipping with your Amazon Prime membership, or download it to your Kindle or Kindle app for 99 cents! Pretty awesome, and thank you to Ashley for letting me know about this!

Ok, so let's get right into the scoop. This is a light-hearted mystery featuring an Anglican vicar and his wife in a small English village, and as the title indicates, set during Advent. The book begins with a large Christmas party hosted by the couple for the members of their parish, and we are introduced to a motley assortment of characters. One of the parishoners (an eccentric sort who engenders mixed feelings among the group) is later murdered. Who is the culprit?

I really liked this book, and found that I breezed through it, as one would expect for a cozy mystery. My only constructive criticism is that I found the characters hard to keep track of, there were a lot of them. I had to flip back several times to remind myself of who was who. But the heroine, Berdie, is quite endearing and I liked her very well. She and her good friend Lillie get themselves into all sorts of trouble by poking around on their own to try and figure out what happened. The murder actually ties in the victim's Advent wreath, which I found a nice touch. :) And again, this is all in good fun, it is a light mystery. In contrast to last month, it is very easy to remember that this is fiction. There is a romance brewing for Lillie, which was a sweet side story, and general happenings involving Berdie and her husband acclimating to the parish and its accompanying village since this is a very new assignment for them.

This is a cute, cute book, and I really enjoyed reading it. I had my suspicions about the murderer, which likely means it was easy to tell, since I'm terrible at that. But that did not ruin my enjoyment of the book. I loved the characters and the setting. An enjoyable seasonal read, and I definitely recommend this book to cozy mystery lovers.

The author has published a new title in this series, which is Up From the Grave: A Berdie Elliott Lenten Mystery. I mean. :0

It too is 99 cents for Kindle, and man! I may have to download this one. In fact, I just did. :) It's now happily residing on my Kindle. A British cozy mystery set during Lent? Can't pass that one up, my friends! I'm very excited to read it this spring. :) I may very well make this an official book club selection to review here on the blog. We'll see!

Just a side note on Kindles: I have an older model of the small Kindle e-reader, the one with a 4-way controller. That thing is a workhorse and I adore it. The controller, rather than a touchscreen, is a pain in the backside, but I rarely use it. I download books from my phone and send them to my Kindle. Then they automatically download when WIFI is connected, easy peasy. But the reason I'm mentioning this is that the Kindle e-readers are on sale right now, in this pre-Christmas sales bonanza time, and the deal is amazing. They are normally $79 (also dirt cheap for what you're getting, really) and are marked down to $59. That's a heck of a deal. These are the new versions, with a touchscreen, although lacking lighting of any kind (but the Kindle Paperwhite is now on sale for $99, just fyi). But at any rate, I know a lot of people use the Kindle app, which is convenient and easy and all of that, but this is just a quick plug from the librarian about the beauty of a dedicated e-reader device. ;-) LOVE. The e-ink is just gorgeous and so easy on your eyes. I actually prefer reading books on my Kindle to reading print books anymore, for fiction especially. Some non-fiction I still prefer print due to illustrations and such, but the e-reader is a gem. I always have a ton of books on there, no worries about clogging up your bookshelf, and I love how easy it is on my aging eyes to read with it. There's your Librarian Public Service Announcement of the day. :)

Back to books! If you've read either Advent of a Mystery or Candle for a Corpse, do chime in in the comments! Next month we're back to non-fiction with Blessed Mother Teresa's Come Be My Light. Join us January 28th for the discussion!

Adventures with my Kindle

Yesterday afternoon, I was working away at my computer.

*halo*

Suddenly, I see that little alert out of the corner of my eye signalling that I have a new message in my yahoo email. The subject reads "Your Recent Order with Amazon.com."

Well that can't be good. I haven't ordered anything from Amazon, even a Kindle book, since exactly a week ago when I ordered my iPod adapter (which came and works, by the way). I had a bit of a backlog of books to read on my Kindle and was trying to get through them before I ordered anything new. Feeling a bit anxious, I click on the message.

Amazon cheerily informed me that my download of 2 Kindle books was complete, and here was my receipt. I scan the message quickly and see two titles that I've never heard of before.

Uh oh. Somebody besides me bought 2 books on my Amazon credit card. That can't possibly be good...

Another message pops up: "Your Recent Order with Amazon.com." This one for yet another digital download of a mystery book. All told, we're now at nearly $20 in books. I do the reasonable thing.

I panic. Clearly, I am under attack by some kind of vicious hacker.

In seconds, I am on Amazon's web site and going to my Kindle account. I see the 3 downloads in question but am relieved that no new ones have appeared. I immediately call Amazon customer service.

"Hello, Kindle support, Opie speaking, how can I help you?"

Yes, his name was really Opie.

I explain the situation and Opie tells me that he is refunding me for the 3 downloads. Great, but I'm worried about a larger issue of how these got downloaded to begin with.

"It's usually just a mistake. It had to have happened either from the web site or from the device. It's probably fine."

Not exactly the vote of confidence I was looking for.

I explain that my Kindle is currently at my home, where my toddler daughter was also residing. Perhaps she got her hot little hands on my Kindle and somehow managed to download multiple books? That seemed unlikely, but it did amuse Opie. I kept my eye on my Kindle account for the rest of my work day and saw no new downloads. I changed my Amazon password and tried not to worry.

Later, I pull into our driveway and open my car door. Hank greets me.

"Mommy, Anne got your Kindle, and she was PUSHING and PUSHING buttons!!"

Mystery solved. When I turned my Kindle on, it was still open to the Kindle storefront.

She's a very resourceful little stinker.

Precious Kindle, how I love thee...

Yesterday was July 1st, you know what that means, right?

I used my downloaded version of Living Faith for the first time on my Kindle.

*angels sing*

I used to subscribe to Living Faith in print, but somewhere in the past year trailed off. I received an email from them recently advertising their brand new e-versions of the pocket devotional for both Kindle and Nook. Say no more. I headed right to Amazon and downloaded the July/August/September issue to my Kindle.

I love this little devotional. It's a short entry each day tied to the Mass readings. And having them on my Kindle makes it all very accessible for me, since my Kindle accompanies me pretty much everywhere. *kiss*

Relatedly, I have an rss suggestion that you'll love should you also have an e-reader in your life. Inspired Reads is a blog with daily updates on free and heavily discounted inspirational fiction and non-fiction in the Kindle store. Although I've yet to see any offerings on this site from Catholic publishers, I have downloaded some really books based on what I've found here, and all are very wholesome and solidly Christian. I just read a Mennonite fiction romance that was just adorable, and the only reason I found the author was because of this blog (my husband is hysterical that such a thing exists as "Mennonite fiction", but hey, if it's out there, I will find it :)). I have it entered into my Google Reader, so I catch all of their posts. Usually, the books are free that they advertise, but sometimes they'll be titles that are on a deep discount, maybe for $1.99 or $2.99. I've been quite happy with what I've found there.

I may have broken Amazon

I'm loving my new Kindle, and frankly, I need something to cheer me up given the rough nights we're having these days with Anne.

So yesterday, I took some time to pluck out a few titles that I'd like to read, and place them on my shopping list for future purchase. Then I noticed that when you have a Kindle, you can get a short sample of the book for free, to decide whether or not you like it. I got excited. Free is right in my budget right now. :) Thus, I downloaded a few samples.

Then, I started to justify a small purchase to myself. I have plenty of traditional books that are as yet unread on my shelves at home, but I *really* wanted to experiment with reading something on the Kindle. I had the samples, but I wanted more.

I'm avoiding secular books for Lent, so I browsed my wish list of Catholic titles. Eureka! Book 3 in the John Paul II High series. I've blogged about earlier installments in this series before. It's a young adult series that is really well done and I've loved both books that I've read. Books 3 and 4 and newly out and I'm itching to read them. For the Kindle, they are only $5 each.

Ha ha! Maybe I'll just download book 3. It's Catholic fiction, so it qualifies under my lenten reading plan. And I've been dying to read it. I'll just click "purchase"...

Uh oh. Amazon, in her infinite wisdom, is telling me that "due to copyright restrictions, this title is not available in your area: United States." Oh, this is bad. What about the next book in the Fairy Tales Retold series, which I'm going to blog about tomorrow or Friday (excellent young adult Catholic fiction from Chesterton Press)? Same message.

I started to panic. I went through my list of desired titles, including all the old Harlequin romances that I have queued up, plus the NASCAR books. All of them were listed as "unavailable in my area."

For an embarrassingly long period of time, I was convinced that my not-exactly-mainstream reading choices (Catholic fiction and Harlequin Treasury titles, combined with racing romances, *snorts*) were simply unavailable for me to read on Kindle. How many other people read these things? Maybe they'll never be available for Kindle!! Since I had just registered my Kindle the night before, I thought to myself:

"Now it knows where I am, since my new Kindle is registered to me, and so now all of this information about what is and is not available in my home area is coming out!"

I mean, seriously. Who is "it"? The Mysterious Amazon People Behind the Curtain? That makes no sense. I'm at the *U.S* Amazon store, it's not exactly rocket science that people from the U.S. are going to be buying those books. And they were all listed with a price as available before yesterday afternoon.

I forced myself to squelch my panic-induced paranoia and went back to the listings for the sample that I'd downloaded just that morning, for one of the modern Fairy Tale Novels. Same message. I released a little of my tension, since I knew that that was impossible. The sample was currently on my Kindle, no problem.

I went into the Kindle Forums, and saw a thread with lots of confused Amazon customers. Apparently every single person currently living in the United States could not at that moment download anything from the Kindle Store.

Dear me. This wasn't the fault of me and John Paul II High, was it? Had I broken something and screwed the entire country? Well, nobody knows, but they were all blaming Harry Potter. All these years after those books came out, and yesterday was the very first day that all 7 Harry Potter books were available for download onto Kindle. Previously, the author has resisted having them converted into ebook format. And speculation was that maybe it was all those Harry Potter fans that broke Amazon.

But at any rate, an hour later, when I went to leave for home, Amazon was still broken. Sometime over the evening, they fixed it, since everything is put to rights again over there. But still. Panic abounded. We all couldn't get our instant gratification of having a book we desired in our hot little hands within a single minute of ordering it. Travesty!

We are all so incredibly spoiled. :)

A new member of the family

Yesterday was a long day. I worked, then went home to collect the children. Mike had to teach in the evening, so I took the kids to my parents for dinner. By the time Anne had finished throwing puffs on the floor and Henry started to whine that he was bored, I was all done in.

We stacked into the car and drove home. As I struggled to the door with Anne in her bucket style car seat, the diaper bag, my purse, and the bag of stuff that my mom had sent home with me, Henry opened the side screen door. There it was.

My Kindle.

Needless to say, this made the exhaustion of the day much easier to take. I quickly got Anne into her jammies, nursed, and down into her crib. I had Henry go up to put on his pajamas and brush his teeth. As he wandered upstairs, I relished the sound of the quiet house and triumphantly tore into my package.

Kindles come in Amazon guaranteed "frustration free packaging" for which the powers that be deserve to be canonized. I'm certain we've all nearly killed ourselves Christmas morning while trying to free our child's new Batcave from the package. Those hard plastic restraining straps? The sharp plastic coating that one could easily impale a limb on? Things with SCREWS in them?! Ugh.

Anyway, I quickly freed my Kindle and turned her on. I've been thinking about a name all week, but it wasn't really an option to give her a name like I do my iPods. (I was thinking about Kateri. I always use holy names. My current iPod Nano is named "Max" after St. Maximillian Kolbe. Well, I suppose they're not all holy. My old iPod Shuffle is named "Spike." "St. Spike, pray for us..." No, likely not). Anyway, she calls herself "Tiffany's Kindle" which is just fine with me.

I got her all registered and set up with our wireless network. I slipped her into her snazzy pink cover for protection. Then I downloaded St. Therese's Story of a Soul and a bunch of free romance novels. I was glowing.

The screen is unbelievable. It is positively unreal how beautiful it is. I expected it to look like a computer screen, I guess. But it doesn't. The e-ink actually looks like a *book*. I love it.

I'm *dying* to dive into my new novels, but I'm not reading secular books during Lent.

*halo*

And this is one lenten resolution that I've actually stuck with, and we're in the home stretch. I've really been enjoying the Catholic fiction and non-fiction that I've been reading so it's hardly a hardship. I have more books to review this week, so keep an eye out. :)

Anyway, I peeked at Story of a Soul and that is going to have to tide me until Easter Sunday. There was a bunch of other good stuff available for free due to being out of copyright. St. Thomas Aquinas, G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy.

So far, I'm terribly glad that I finally purchased an ebook reader. I have Kindle with me today at work, and she's happily nestled on my desk after charging up. We're getting along just fine.

HOT

It's freakishly hot here, and frankly, I'm not liking it. :) We had a barely recognizable winter here, and now it's 80 degrees in March. I don't want to *sweat* in March. There's just something apocalyptically wrong with that.

So, not only am I hot, but my hair is sticking up. *sighs* Remember how I mentioned the postpartum hair loss thing? Yeah, that thing. Well, after both of my babies (I still did have hair left, don't worry) I would get regrowth *right* at the front hairline. And right now, it's at that awkward phase where it won't lay flat. And it's right in the front. I keep wetting it, and it'll still stick up the instant it dries. I got desperate. I stuck a bobby pin over it, and I just left it in. I mean, at work and everything. It actually looks kind of cute. Better than a tuft of hair sticking up in front anyway.

However, significantly cheering me is news from the world of my Kindle: She has shipped.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I even got a special email from Amazon, congratulating me on her impending arrival into my arms.

I am SO EXCITED. She's due Monday, even earlier than I anticipated! Oh sweet day!

I've been perusing the ebook options both at our public library and via the Kindle store, and I've made even more exciting discoveries. Some old, out of print romances very dear to my heart but that I no longer own are available for the Kindle. And they're like $3-$4 per book! I'm so super thrilled. I used to love this Harlequin romantic comedy series called Love & Laughter. It became defunct in the late 90's. They're all available in the Kindle store as reissues under a "Harlequin Treasury" imprint. The public library does not catalog these old Harlequins, so this is pretty much the only way to get your little hands on these old titles. Well, there is the used bookstore, but she tries to get rid of the old series romances quickly because they're not hot sellers. I am *so thrilled* that I'll be able to pick the exact ones I want again!

I'll have to calm down a tad since I'm not reading any secular books until after Lent. But still, I can play with Kindle and load on some spiritual classics while I'm waiting.

SO EXCITED.

Adventures in Best Buy, and Magnifikid! review

A couple of interesting purchases to detail. :) Henry used his Magnifikid! for 3 weeks, and finally I made a decision: I decided to get him a subscription. It's $34.95 for one year.

Magnifikid! comes in a clear wrapped packet of 1 booklet for each week of the month. Each booklet contains artwork and prayers associated with the Gospel theme of the week. It includes a kid-friendly rendition of the liturgy, explanation of tough terms, a comic starring "Brother Goodventure," and a puzzle, maze or picture to color. It's targeted to children ages 6-12.

Henry likes having his own book to carry to Mass. I will admit that his favorite feature is the maze or other activity included on the back cover. Last week was a holy word find.

"I LOVE WORD FINDS MOMMY."

Next week is a picture of stained glass to color, not sure if he's going to be as crazy about that. But he does ask me where we are in the Mass so that he can follow along in his little book. He'll look at the pictures and flip through it during the homily, etc. Even though he's not studying it in depth or anything, I still thought that anything that improves his enthusiasm for attending Mass was worth the subscription price. Since we started bringing the booklets with us, he's been better about going to Mass with me. So, that's that, and I'm glad I got him the subscription. We have one last free trial issue for this Sunday, and then we're out of them until his new subscription starts arriving. I'll be curious to see how much he asks about them in their temporary absence.

Once again, I wasn't using my sample Magnificat, so I didn't order a subscription for myself. I already own the 4 volume Liturgy of the Hours set, so I can always use that when I want more discipline for daily prayer. But when Lent started, I was using my Liturgy of the Hours like a good girl. As soon as I started trying to use the Magnificat, I fell off the wagon. That's a wonderful little magazine, but I just don't use it.

So anyway, in other purchase news, I journeyed to our local Best Buy yesterday after work for a few things. I was eligible for a cell phone upgrade, and plus, I wanted to play with the Kindles.

I tackled the more interesting task first. The Kindles and I, we frolicked. I tested out their features and they let me hold them. I am quite taken with them. The "demo" mode really restricts you in the store, but overall, I loved them.

After that, I moved sections real quick-like to do my cell phone upgrade. It's pretty uncomplicated with me, which I don't think the suave salesman was prepared for.

"Can I help you, Miss?" *beams*

He gets bonus points for calling me "Miss" rather than "Ma'am." Makes me feel younger.

"Hi, yes. I have Verizon, and I'm eligible for an upgrade. I don't have a data plan, nor do I want one. I'd like a Qwerty keypad for texting, but I want a free phone. I'm pretty sure these are my few options right here, correct?"

"Um. Wow, you're very prepared. Yes, without a data plan you're very limited. There are your 3 options here."

I can see the little bubble over his head saying "No data plan. What a strange, strange creature."

There were 2 additional phones available for $30 with my upgrade, and they had a touch screen, but I'll show my old-fashionedness (is that even a word?) again here. I don't want a touch screen. Finger prints make me spastic.

So the choice was easy. I simply chose the same phone that I already had in the newer model. In electric blue, because I like loud colors. My cell phone is purely functional for me. I do like to text my sisters and friends, so I pay $5.00 per month for 250 texts, and I never surpass that amount. I have a *really* old plan that is $39.99 for 450 minutes per month, with free Verizon to Verizon and nights/weekends, yadda, yadda.

The phone guy's eyebrows raised again when he went tappy tappy on his computer keyboard and looked up my plan to renew it.

"Wait. It says 'this phone is incompatible with the current plan.' Why on earth would it say that? Oohhhhh. Your plan is REALLY OLD. They're going to make you upgrade."

I'm assuming "they" are the Verizon People From Up On High. This made me sweat for a second, since taxes really add up on these cell phone plans, and I don't want to pay any more per month than I'm already paying. I don't *need* anything else other than the service I'm already receiving, so I don't want an "upgrade."

Well, the good news was that they call it something else now, but I could still have the same plan as I was currently registered for, so that's good. He set everything up on my cute new blue number, and I was set. Payment: $0. Sweet.

I lingered over the Kindles again before I left. We bonded.

So, the big news is: I did it. I just placed my order for a Kindle (the $79 entry model) with accompanying (and adorable) pink case. She needs a name, but I haven't thought of one yet. Perhaps it will become clear to me once she arrives and I hold her for the first time. :)

At any rate, I'm *super* excited. She's due to arrive mid-next week. Now, if only babies were on this type of gestation timeline...

Big news Monday:

ANNE IS SAYING "MA MA."

Clearly, my months of indoctrination have worked. I mean, she doesn't seem to realize that Ma Ma is my *name* given that she just chants it at random, but we'll ignore that part. I'm just thrilled that she's saying it at all, given that Hank was 18 months old before he said Ma Ma. The only good part about that was that when he'd wake up at the crack of dawn and start chanting "Da Da Da Da," I'd tell Mike that he should go fetch him, since clearly, the baby wanted him. :)

She also slept better this weekend. The 7:30 bedtime really seems to be helping, plus, well. She's doing the one thing that that is pretty much guaranteed to improve her sleep: she's developing and getting older. That's what all the "helpful" sleep advice people whose children allegedly slept through the night from the hospital fail to tell you. Your baby WILL sleep better. They're just not going to do it as a young infant. When they get older they'll sleep better. And thank God for that.

Anne turned 10 months old this weekend. I have very mixed feelings on this. :) She's so extremely precious, and we're enjoying her so much. So I'm focusing on the positives. But on the other hand: my baby! I don't want her to turn a year old, I'm just not ready for that.

Anyway, that's that. If you didn't catch my Sunday post, be sure to do that and let me know what you think. :) I'm still contemplating that ebook reader, so leave a comment if you have some advice. I did, however, remember something that has the potential to put that plan on hold: the used bookstore.

How I *adore* the used bookstore! I haven't been there in years. But I could trade in my romances there and you get 25% of the cover price in credit. Then when you buy other books there, you automatically get 50% off the cover price, plus an additional 25% off from your accumulated credit. So, you end up getting 75% off. And this store is targeted to women's fiction. It's full of romance novels. I haven't traded in any books there in ages, but I could again very easily. This would solve my space problem. Plus it would preserve my love of my precious print books. And buying the print books via Harlequin's web site is still dirt, dirt cheap, even cheaper than ebooks! They have everything discounted, plus perpetual coupon codes for money off your total. So I could get new romances there and trade them in at the used bookstore for supplementary books. Hum. Not sure what I'll do. Mike is pleased with my desire to explore the used bookstore again. He nearly keeled over last night when I mentioned that I was contemplating a Kindle. He's definitely not an electronic device lover. If I tried to read in bed with my Kindle he may contemplate an annulment.

But the Kindle would still be a nice supplement to my print books, no? If you love your ebook reader, convince me. :)

I may go over to the dark side

That's right. I'm considering buying an ebook reader.

This is rather anathema in my world. You see, I love books. Real, live books. I like the way they look all lined up on my shelf and tucked onto my bedside table. I like the way they feel in my hands. I even like the way new books smell. And I became a librarian because as a child I so loved to read, and that has continued throughout my life.

I'm certain that actual print books will always have a place in my life. But I've been noticing a few things lately. The first is space. I keep having to weed my print collection because we simply don't have room to store all of the books that we'd like to. Plus, there are a lot of free ebooks out there. Stuff that is out of copyright (St. Therese's Story of a Soul!), promotional offers to get you hooked on an author. I've been getting back into my Harlequin roots again, and that's been making me ponder: I love these books, but what do I do with them after I read them? I'll keep some favorites, but I don't need all of these little romance novels taking up space on my one bookcase. I end up giving them to friends to read, or donating them to the library book sale. AND there are many of those books out there for free as ebooks! Or, very inexpensive, often times much less expensive than getting the print. Not always, certainly. And there's nothing I like more than having a shipment of books waiting for me. But sometimes, there are things available as ebooks that you can't get in print (or would have to order used in print, adding shipping fees to your purchase that you wouldn't ordinarily pay if you bought new).

Like for example, I'll embarrass myself by admitting something: I like the old Harlequin NASCAR series. Go ahead, laugh. But those books are mostly out of print now. A few are available new on Amazon. Harlequin only sells them as ebooks now, they're totally out of stock in their print book store. One is availble for free as an ebook over at Amazon, and they have others in the Kindle store that are all less expensive than buying them in print, either new or used. Harlequin has the whole series available in ebook format.

Anyway, I have about $56 in credit from Amazon from trading in some old books I wasn't using anymore. And their least expensive Kindle is a mere $79. It's got me to thinking that maybe I should just buy it. It would only cost me $23 with the credit! I'd still certainly buy and read print books. But the Kindle would allow me to access free books I wouldn't ordinarily have access to at all, and save money sometimes if I'm not really wedded to keeping a copy of the print book lying around.

But it worries me. Will I still enjoy reading on the device the way I do print books? Will I become one of those annoying people who always has their nose buried in their electronic device? No offense, but those people really get under my skin. :)

So, what do you all think? Should I do it? Do you have a Kindle or a Nook?