The Wonderful Land of Oz

I spent all day at my mom's school today helping in her class and getting her drama kids ready for their play.

They did The Wonderful Land of Oz. It was super cute.  The little girl who played Dorothy was ADORABLE! Here is some pics I took from their play.

Dorothy and Toto

The Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman and Cowardly Lion

All the kiddos after the show!

These kids are in Kindergarten through 5th grade and did a FULL 1 1/2 hour musical production. They were amazing.  Dorothy is only in 3rd grade.  I was really incredibly impressed with the whole show.  Support The Arts in your schools! Kids need it!

Ok well I am incredibly tired. It was a very long day. Everyone you see wearing face paint in this production, I did.  I never want to paint a face again...haha just kidding! I love doing stage makeup and had a great time doing the lion's makeup and Toto's makeup. Little talents no one knows I have. :)

See ya tomorrow! Hopefully we see Friday The 13th tomorrow and I can tell you about how freaked out I was. LOL!

Your Inner Bad Girl wonders what would happen if we decided that every hour was "Happy Hour"--and it had nothing to do with cocktails.

Random Blog of the Day: Food for Thought...reviews of stuff, cute babies and bubbles!

Migraines and Frustrations.

I spent all day today in bed with a migraine. I'm really getting sick of being sick.  I need insurance so I can go to a neurologist or something. My migraines are getting harder to fix and are lasting all day. No fun.

I am totally over debating immigration with people. I hate the fact that having a different opinion than someone else makes me uneducated and ignorant.  Belittling people is not a way to get your point across.  If your opinion is different, isn't it then your job to persuade people as to why they are wrong. Not a single person has persuaded me.  No one has said anything to back up their opinion and most of the time they just tell me I'm uneducated instead of responding to what I've said. It's irritating and I'm over it.

Well I'm off to bed. I'm super exhausted and still don't feel great.  I may or may not go help at my mom's school tomorrow. I haven't decided yet.

See ya later.

Today is "Surprise Yourself Day." Do something unexpected.

Random Blog of the Day: Wandering into a place and beyond

Never Too Old For Naps.

I took a nap today. Yup.

That's about all I did lol. 

We went to dinner tonight at Great Wall Buffet. It was yummy. 

I bought new deodorant and some new colored pencils.

I argued with people about immigration reform.

Yup that's about it.

I'm totally going to leave this post as is. Haha. I just don't have the energy to write anything else.

See ya.

"What do they call a woman who works as hard as a man? Lazy." -Anonymous

Random Blog of the Day: Enjoying the Unique Flavors of Life... The first author blog of come across during this activity!! YAY!

Re-caps, Sidewalk Chalk and Tutus

I'm not going to edit yesterday's post. I just don't feel like it. LOLI'm going to leave it the way it is and just make this a double post.

I watched my nephew the last two days. He is super adorable.  I got him saying some pretty funny stuff. He told me his new dance move is the clap and wiggle...I may or may not have put this idea in his head.  Whenever I say, "whose the silliest boy I know," he yells, "MASON!"  We played trucks and watched Little Bear for two day straight. I can probably go forever without watching an episode of Little Bear ever again. HahaI do now have an obsession with the show The Fresh Beat Band.  I totally want to be on that show. If you've never heard of it, you should check it out. It's made for Pre-schoolers, but I am totally hooked on it

We made videos on my phone today for my friend Sara. They were so cute. In my favorite one, Mason kept saying Hey Giiirrrlll. It was hilarious.

So that was my last two days. Racing trucks for hours on end and watching Nick Jr. I really didn't do ANYTHING else.

Right now I'm working on 3 red tutus for my mom. She's going to use them for head dresses for her flowers in her play at her school. I've finished one and have two more to make tonight. It's already 11:55pm. I'm going to be up for a while.  I'm going to catch up on my shows while I work.

Oh I forgot I finished Fade! I can't wait to read Gone. This is a great trilogy. 

Ok off to finish working so I can go to bed. I'm exhausted. Catch ya later.

Current Book Count: 53...I need to remember to update all my book lists tomorrow.

Taking Care of Business, Inner Bad Girl Style: Sometimes success is more the result of follow-through than of luck.

Inner Bad Girl Food for Thought: If you put "eat chocolate" on your to-do list, the chances are good you'll get at least one thing accomplished.

Random Blog of the Day: Random Dafydd... Pretty interesting blog. Lots of brainy stuff to read.

So exhausted. I'm already in bed. Just wanted to post something. I'll edit this tomorrow.

Great Books

I finished reading Beautiful Dead: Jonas today. It was pretty good. I'll definitely be reading the next ones.

I also read Wake by Lisa McMann. It was really good. I started Fade already and love it too. I'm absolutely in love with the relationship between Cadel and Janie. I think I'm going to do a full review of all three books once I have them all read. I just requested Gone from the library.

We got Aloe Vera Juice from the store today. Supposedly it is super good for you and it's supposed to be good for digestive issues.  My husband has bad heartburn and acid reflux, so we're trying it to see if it helps him at all. I'd rather do home remedies before going to the doctor for medications.  Keep our bodies all natural and healthy. :)

I have to watch Mason tomorrow and Tuesday. So I'll probably have some cute stories to share with you. Off to bed now. I have to be up by 6am to make it across town by 7:30am.  See you all tomorrow! :)

Current Book Count: 52...woohoo!

Random Blog of the Day: Kourtney's Thoughts and Things...A young Christian blogger. Cute stuff.

KICK ASS!

We just got back from seeing Kick Ass. IT WAS AMAZING! It literally is the BEST movie I've EVER seen. The previews totally did not do it justice. I was expecting a super funny dorky movie and it was WAY WAY more than that! Go see this if you haven't already! Everyone must see this movie.

We saw a preview for the new Nightmare on Elm Street that comes out next week. Oh man I was in tears just from the preview. It looks like it is going to be terrifying. Yikes!

I'm still reading Jonas Beautiful Dead. I plan on finishing it tonight or early tomorrow. I bought two books at Barnes and Noble today, Perfect Chemistry and Heavenstone Secrets. I want to read them ASAP and also their sequels that I got from the Bloggers Conference.

Alright, I'm super tired from last night still. We didn't get home till like 3am and there was a big drama that happened. I'm not going to get into it here because I'm over it.  People are lame. That's all you need to know. :)

Ok off to bed. See ya tomorrow!

An Inner Bad Girl Reminder: Getting in touch with your Inner Bad Girl is a choice you can make every day. If you slide into Toxic Niceness, it's okay to start your day over at any point in time.

Random Blog of the Day: *Different Stars*.... Lots of fashion talk and pop culture. Pretty great blog.

Salty Senorita

My title is the name of the bar I'm going to tonight. Isn't that a strange name. I can't think of it in a positive context at all. Haha.

I'm writing this so early because I don't know what time I'll be home tonight.  I'll edit in anything funny that happens when I get home or in the morning.

One of my mom's friend has her birthday today, so we're going out for it.  I think I've talked about this group of friends before. They're much older than me, but a lot more fun than most people my age I've hung out with.  It should be a good time.

I watched Billy Elliot today. I've never seen it before.  It was pretty good. I want to see the musical. Everyone says it is so great.

I really didn't do much else today.  It's been a boring do so far.  Going out tonight like I said.  That should make the day more exciting. I want some mexican food and supposedly they have good stuff. 

Ok I'm out of here. Catch ya later.

Your Inner Bad Girl knows that time flies whether you're having fun or not. The choice is yours.

Random Blog of the Day: So Not Mom-a-licious...funny blog of a mom gone crazy.

I Love You. I Know.

We just got done watching a documentary on The Original Star Wars Trilogy. I love watching stuff like this with my hubby.  We're such big nerds. Sometimes we enjoy movie extras more than the movie itself. 

I finished reading Trouble in High Heels. I really enjoyed it. Good book club book this time around.  I started reading Jonas Beautiful Dead by Eden Maguire. It's interesting so far. I'll most likely write up a review when I'm finished with it.  I was going to read two of my books I got in the mail yesterday, but both were the second of the series, so I had to request the first ones from the library. I'm on hold for both of them. So, when I get those and read them, then I can read the ones I own.  It's all good though. I still have a decent pile from the library that I really need to finish first.

I feel super cute right now. I braided my hair into pigtails and have on my favorite shirt and my new necklace. It's a lot bigger than I thought and the chain is cheap, but it's still cute.  You can check out the necklace at the link above.

I received my first hate mail today. It wasn't exactly "hate", but it wasn't pleasant.  I don't mind e-mails like this. If it makes the person feel better about themselves to put me down, go ahead. I'm a strong person. Please remember though, if you are going to insult someone, even if you think you are doing it "nicely", think how it makes you feel. Do you feel better about yourself belittling people? Does it make you feel good?  Thumper in Bambi says it best, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all".  Also, most of the time, if someone did not ask for advice, they probably don't want/need it. If you are reading someones blog, you probably don't know much about them personally, so don't assume you do.  Eh, enough of that. This person and e-mail don't deserve any more thought. 

Ok I'm off to watch my Star Wars stuff and read before bed.  See ya'll tomorrow.

Current Book Count: 50....half way through my challenge!

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."-Native American Proverb (Oh this would have been great for yesterday's post.)

Random Blog of the Day: The Terrills...guess what? It's another family blog! *Shocked face*

What Ups, Buttercup?

I got books in the mail...wanna see them?

Terry from Romance in the Backseat sent these all to me! I'm so excited. I'll have to add the ARCs to my pile and review them soon. I have a whole bunch of ARCs that are debuting in June. I'll probably read and review them all next month! There is one in there that came out this month. So I'll read that one soon and review it for ya'll. 

I finished the 5th Book  in the Daughters of the Moon series.  I started Trouble in High Heels by Christina Dodd. That's the one I'm reading currently for book club. I'm only a chapter in, nothing to report as of yet. I've rocked out 13 books this month and I still have a couple days to go and a stack of library books to read still. Man I'm awesome. Yup Yup.

I watched America today. It was a Lifetime movie produced and featuring Rosie O'Donnell.  It was actually really good.  The boy who played the main character was amazing.  My post before this one was inspired by the movie.  The Foster Care System is insane.  I learned today that Arizona leads for the most children per capita in group or shelter care.  I'm pretty set on becoming Foster parents when Mikey and I get settled down into our own place and are both making decent incomes.

Speaking of incomes, I applied for a pretty sweet job today. I hope they give me a call. It'd be a great opportunity and I'd make quite a bit of money. Fingers crossed and prayers accepted!

Alright, I'm off to read and stuff. You know the drill. Catch ya later.

Current Book Count: 49

Your Inner Bad Girl knows that if something doesn't feel right- whether it's a piece of clothing, a situation, or that new job you're considering-- it probably isn't right, so just say "I don't think so."

Random Blog of the Day: The Kelly Boys ...AW they're adorable!

America's Children

Foster, it means to support, to encourage, to sustain, to cherish. It's very first meaning was to feed or nourish. That seems pretty simple.


There are more than half a million children and youth in the U.S. foster care system, a 90% increase since 1987.

Three of 10 of the nation’s homeless are former foster children.

A recent study has found that 12-18 months after leaving foster care:
27% of the males and 10% of the females had been incarcerated
33% were receiving public assistance
37% had not finished high school
50% were unemployed

Children in foster care are three to six times more likely than children not in care to have emotional, behavioral and developmental problems, including conduct disorders, depression, difficulties in school and impaired social relationships.

Some experts estimate that about 30% of the children in care have marked or severe emotional problems.

Various studies have indicated that children and young people in foster care tend to have limited education and job skills, perform poorly in school compared to children who are not in foster care, lag behind in their education by at least one year, and have lower educational attainment than the general population.

80% of prison inmates have been through the foster care system.

Children are 11 times more likely to be abused in State care than they are in their own homes.

Children died as a result of abuse in foster care 5.25 times more often than children in the general population.


All a kid needs is one person to hang onto. One person to see them. To listen. To care. To show up. Consistently. One Person. That's what I believe.

Maybe I'm naive, but I think in a country like ours, we can do better. We must. These kids don't belong to somebody else. These kids belong to all of us. They are America's Children.

They ARE America.

*Rawr*

I can't think of a title about my day. So you get that. Rawr is I love you in dinosaur. Did you know that? Teehee.

I'm still reading Book 5 of the Daughters of the Moon series. It's about Stanton. I like him a lot. He's awesome.

Today Nate, the State Youth Director, asked me to be a counselor for kids camp.  I really want to do teen camp, since that's my calling and where I do best, but I told him I'll go where he needs me.  I guess I can make kids camp pretty epic.  I'm wild and crazy enough when it comes to kids stuff to make it awesome.  I convinced my friend Meagan to do it with me. We're going to have a blast.  I'm super excited now that I've decided I'll make it fun. 

I had book club tonight.  Nothing too exciting to report. Those ladies are so great. We had a really heated and lengthy chat about all kinds of stuff tonight. I enjoy going there every other week. I don't know what book we're reading for next time. It's around here somewhere. It's something by Christina Dodd. I think Trouble in High Heels. Yeah that one.

Nothing else to report.  I played neopets a bunch today. I know...nerd. Shhh don't tell. It's bad for my rep. haha. I'm trying to convince people I'm mature and grown up.

Alright, see ya tomorrow.

An Inner Bad Girl Fashion Tip: It's probably not a good idea to go shopping for clothes when you're experiencing PMS. Shopping for chocolate, on the other hand...

Random Blog of the Day: Pecasflynn....yay for family blogs! (I have yet to come across a book blog. This is no good.)

I Love Ice Cream!

I'm sitting here eating ice cream and humming happy tunes to myself.  Ah bliss.

I had a migraine this morning, so I slept like ALL day.  I finished reading Book 4 of the Daughters of the Moon series and started on Book 5.

I made homemade spaghetti sauce and spaghetti for dinner, it was yummy.  Definitely better than store bought sauce. I win.

We played more Lego Star Wars. I like being a jedi. Jedi mind tricks are the best part!

I just realized I can sort of hear out of my right ear! YAY! *Happy Dance*

Ok I'm totally grasping for stuff to write now.  I really don't have anything exciting to say for today. I'm sorry.

See ya tomorrow! :)

Current Book Count: 48...that's 12 for April! I still have lots of days left to read!

If a woman succeeds at anything, the chances are good she's going to be called a "b" at some point.  Your Inner Bad Girl wonders if that's really such a bad thing.

Random Blog of the Day: Blogging from Alice Springs... a decent blogger, with some interesting stuff. She's cutesy and fun.

Lazy Sunday

I had a nice, relaxing lazy day with my hubby today.  We played Lego Star Wars II almost all day.  This is the first game we've come across that we can actually play together and not end up screaming at one another. To be perfectly honest, I'm complete rubbish when it comes to video games.  I'm really bad at steering characters, and I have horrible aim.  In this game though, I actually do alright.  We got through about 9 or 10 levels and had a great time playing.  I can't wait till he gets home from work tomorrow, so we can play some more.

I also finally finished reading The Iron King. You can read my review in the post prior to this one.  Since I wasn't completely in love with the first book, I'm going to hold off reading my e-version of The Iron Daughter till closer to it's release date. 

I started reading Book 4 in the Daughters of the Moon series. I actually like this series so far, so I'm going to keep getting them from the library and try to read them all.  I'm going to spend this week reading my library books and I might read one or two of my review copies, depending on their release date.  Since I'm basically done with my 12 books for this month, I'm going to just read whatever I feel like this week. 

I'm still sick. Today hasn't been that bad, even though my throat still hurts.  I should be back to normal in the next couple of days.  It's getting really hot during the day lately, which isn't helping me feel comfortable and relaxed. I really don't like Arizona heat.  Give me snow and rain any day.

Alright, I'm off to read some more and spend some time with the hubby before bed.  See ya'll tomorrow.

Current Book Count: 47...1 more to go. :)

An Inner Bad Girl Relationship Tip: The best way to avoid romantic dead-ends is to ask yourself "What am I thinking?"

Random Blog of the Day: Of Brown Sugar and Skinless Fingertips! The heading of this one says, "you take life too seriously. I intend to change that." Sounds good to me.

Review - The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King

Ever since the disappearance of her father when she was six, things have never been right for Meghan Chase.  Now living with her step-father, mother, and half-brother, Meghan is about to turn sixteen and life as she knows it will never be the same.  Pulled into a world of Faeries, Piskies, and other mystical creatures, Meghan learns her life-time best friend is not who she thinks he is, and her destiny is one she was never prepared for.  As the daughter of a mystical faery king, Meghan must defend her birthright and fight feelings for an enemy boy.  In this mystical tale of honor, love and war, Meghan Chase not only has to survive being sixteen, but now must save those she cares for the most.

I had a hard time with this book in the beginning.  The similarities to Alice In Wonderland and The Chronicles of Narnia really bothered me.  Once I was able to look past these similarities and see this novel as something of its own, I actually started to enjoy it.  I wish that Julie Kagawa had tried a bit harder to make this something completely different.  The plot in itself was great and I really liked the main characters, but the first two parts of the book just were not original enough for me.  It was just another story of two opposing courts, similar to the red queen and the white queen in Wonderland, and their battles with each other.  Meghan Chase even gets to this land through a closet.  I just could not get passed the similarities to other popular fantasy stories.  However, putting that all aside, I was finally drawn in during part three.  I enjoyed the relationship between Meghan and Ash, and I absolutely loved Puck.  For those facts alone, I will read the next installment, and I hope that in The Iron Daughter, I will feel like I'm reading something new and not a copy of an already existing story. All in all, the story was interesting, the characters were great, I just don't feel like this was something original and new to read.  

Disclosure of Material Connection: I got this book from my local public library! I can say whatever I want. :)

Art, Words and Sore Throats

I spent all day today hanging out with my hubby. We drew pictures, ok his are pieces of art and mine are kindergarten like, but it was fun.  I also wrote two chapters of a story that sort of just popped in my head.  I'll have to go back and edit them a bunch and add stuff, but isn't this what writing is all about. Getting your thoughts down on paper? I really like the premise of the story that's forming in my head. I just had an urge to start writing it and so I did.  I had to stop writing to go to Wal-mart and make dinner, but I'll probably wander back to it tomorrow.  For all I know it's a crap story, but I miss writing stuff.  I haven't written fiction since high school.

I read more of The Iron King today. I'm still not done with it. I just can't seem to get into it. I don't know why.  Maybe I've just been too distracted. I don't know. I'll try reading more of it tomorrow. If I don't get the review up tomorrow, it'll definitely be up on Monday. I PROMISE I PROMISE I PROMISE!

My throat has started hurting again today. Arg! I just want to be better already!

I saw a lot of little kids at Wal-mart today. I'm realizing more and more that I want one! Soon!  Like now!  Haha.  I know I'll get pregnant when I'm supposed to, but I'd be happy for it to happen sooner than later. 

Ok that's all for today. I'm off to watch Superman and eat dinner. We got ice cream! Haha I'm so excited!

No Bad Girl for today...I'm too lazy to go get the calendar from my room. :P

Random Blog of the Day:  iAmBaronVanTito... The last post was about AZ! SWEET!

Meow Meow Meow!

My cat has been meowing ALL day. She is driving me insane. I realize she is probably bored and lonely without her sister, but it's not like I'm not paying attention to her. You'd think her voice would get sore. lol.

I've had a horrible headache all day, so I didn't do my Friday memes. Hopefully I'll be back to 100% health soon and can get back in the swing of things.

We watched 20/20 tonight and the episode was about Somer Thompson.  This poor little girl was abducted from the street on the way home from school and later dumped in a trash can.  Please always be aware of where your children are at all times and if they walk home from school make sure they are in someones care the whole way home.  Visit The Remembering Somer Website to find out more about this case and see how you can help.  Also visit ABCnews to find out about sex offenders in your neighborhood and keep your children safe.

I'm still reading The Iron King . I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. It's too much like Alice In Wonderland and The Chronicles of Narnia so far. I hope something happens to set it apart.

Alright, I'm off to bed. I hope this headache goes soon, so I can sleep. See ya tomorrow.

Today is "What Would My Inner Bad Girl Do? Day." Oh, wait, every day is "What Would My Inner Bad Girl Do? Day."

Random Blog of the Day: Work Your Magic... A Euro and Russian Music Blog.

Chicken and Dumplings & Death By Chick Lit

I finished reading Death By Chick Lit. It was GREAT! I totally recommend it to everyone. It's a great murder mystery with a light, fun edge.  It's a pretty quick read, but totally worth it.  I love Lynn Harris' writing style and will definitely have to check out more of her books.

We went to the library and I picked up MORE books. I got Wake and Fade by Lisa McMann. I found them both, so I figure I'll check them out, so then I can read her newest one, Gone. I also got another Meg Cabot book. I'm going to check hers out every time I find them, till I have them all read.  I got few others, but they're not in front of me, so I can't think of what they are. (Man I am the queen of run-on sentances today.)  All YA Urban Fantasy stuff. I also made a stack of stuff I need to read for reviews.  I'll start The Iron King before bed.

I made Chicken and Dumplings for dinner. IT was my first time making it and man was it good.  I'll definitely have to add it to the list of stuff I make all the time.  It was easy to make and super delicious.

Ok off to watch Sunshine Cleaning.  We checked it out from the library. It looks interesting. See ya tomorrow.

Current Book Count: 46

"Death and taxes and childbirth. There's never any convenient time for any of them."--Margaret Mitchell

Random Blog of the Day: Abundant Curiosity ... A eco-friendly family blog. There is some interesting parenting techniques going on here. Seems to be working well for them.

Photoshop My Life

I am still sick! Holy crap, this is getting ridiculous.  I don't want to be sick anymore. It isn't fun.

I played with photoshop A LOT today. I'm getting really good at enhancing photos. Here's two pics that I shopped:

These are of my Best Friend's little boy. Isn't he just the cutest kid ever?! He's a big part of my world and I love him like I'll one day love my own. :)

I'm reading Death By Chick Lit by Lynn Harris. It's super good so far! I'm about half way through it so far. I plan on finishing it tomorrow and then starting on The Iron King.

That's about all for now. It's been getting so hot during the day. I don't want it to be summer yet! It's too hot to be in AZ. Sigh...hopefully we'll do lots of camping and visits up north this summer. I'll definitely need that.

An Inner Bad Girl Diet Tip: "I've been really bad"is not really a helpful thought when it comes to food. Those French fries were just a choice, not a moral failure.

Random Blog of the Day: People, places, faces, traces...Music, Art, and Life

Brain Fart

I can't think of a title for today. Major brain fart going on.

I finished reading Airhead by Meg Cabot. It was pretty good. I really love Meg Cabot. I'll have to get the rest of this series from the library.  I also read Jinx today. This one was also by Meg Cabot. I got like three of her books from the library. I'm on a mission to read everything she has written.  I've actually read a lot of her books. I've read like 11 of them so far. I still have a long ways to go. She has a couple series that have a lot of books and I also want to eventually read the Princess Diaries series, just because I never have.

Ok enough about Meg Cabot.

Those two books bring my reading count for this month up to 45. Man I'm rocking out this month. I only need to read 3 more books to reach my goal.  I have a couple more from the library I'm going to read in the next couple of days including The Iron King. I'll be in perfect shape come November. I won't have to read at all during Nanowrimo.  Sweet.

I'm still super sick. I feel worse today then I've felt this whole time. They say you always get worse before you get better, but this is no fun.  I know my last couple of posts have been sick Manda whining, but I don't go anywhere when I'm sick, so I don't have anything exciting to write about. Sorry.

I made cookies today! That's exciting, right? I found this amazing Snickerdoodles Recipe. You should go try it out. They came out so good. My only recommendation is to squish them down a bit before baking. The recipe says to make balls, but they stay as balls when you bake them.

Ok I'm off to medicate and go to sleep.  Catch ya later.

Current Book Count: 45

"Women complain about PMS, but I think of it as the only time of the month that I can be myself." --Roseanne Barr

Random Blog of the Day: The Davis Family... another family blog. You should check it out solely for the EPIC banner pic they have. It's amazing.

Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Blogging

 Hi there! I'm back! Did you miss me?

That was a long couple of days without an OFFICIAL daily post. Read-A-Thon went great! I had a blast.  I had a great time chatting with everyone on Twitter and loved all the lovely cheers and comments I got.  The mini-challenges I did were really fun. You can go back and look at my 2 posts from the weekend to see everything that happened with the event.  I'll definitely be doing it again in the fall and I hope you'll be joining me!

I'm super sick still. The ear infection and strep throat are still running their course. I'm not really any worse, but definitely not any better.  I have lots of Nyquil and Chloraseptic drops to get me through.

Nothing else that exciting to tell you. I've just been hanging around being sick and feeling sorry for myself.  I went to the library during the read-a-thon and got a ton of books. I read Wish by Alexandra Bullen and posted a review. It's in the post before this one.  I also got The Iron King. I plan on reading and reviewing it it this week and then reading my e-book of The Iron Daughter and reviewing that too. Don't hold it against me if I don't get those done. Remember I'm a sick Manda. :(

Ok I'm off to read Airhead by Meg Cabot. I'm almost finished with it. I sure do miss the library. I think I'll start going there more.

See ya tomorrow.

Current Book Count: 43

Toxic Niceness goes by many names, but no matter what you call it, the major symptom is that everyone else gets more out of our lives than we do. Getting in touch with your Inner Bad Girl is the cure.

Random Blog of the Day: My Life with Dogs... It's a dog/family blog and it's cute! I want to have kids so I can start my family blog.

Review - Wish by Alexandra Bullen

Wish

In Alexandra Bullen's debut novel, Wish, Olivia Larsen is starting life in a new school and a new city.  The reason behind her families big move is not what most would expect.  Last summer, Violet, Olivia's twin sister, passed away.  Moving to San Fransisco is a fresh start for Olivia and her parents, but not necessarily the start Olivia is ready for. When a visit to a seamstress brings her three wishes, Olivia can't help but wish for Violet back.  With her sister by her side again and two more wishes to make, Olivia has to learn to live life and take things as they come. A tale of sisterhood, loss and living life to the fullest, Wish is more than just a fairy tale.

I really enjoyed this novel.  I decided to read it solely on the fact that it had a pretty cover and the synopsis sounded like a fun and relaxing, Young Adult read.  I was pleasantly surprised when I was immediately drawn into this story and had a hard time tearing myself away.  For the most part it's a funny and bubbly story of young love, fairy tales, and magic, but there is also a bit of a tear jerker and some emotional times.  The characters are lovable and enduring and you will absolutely adore Olivia.  She has this amazing charisma and personality that makes her an fantastic lead character.  I was expecting major fluff and a quick, easy read and I got so much more.  I can honestly say that Wish is up there with my favorite books so far in 2010 and I can't wait to read more from Alexandra Bullen. This has been an amazing year to date for YA novels and Bullen's debut novel, Wish, is among the bests.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I got this book from my local public library! I can say whatever I want. :)

Read-a-Thon Mini-Challenges

I've decided to put my mini-challenges in their own post, since I'll probably do a ton of these. :)

HOUR 1 MEME

Where are you reading from today?

This will change all day. I'm starting out on my couch. I'll be at the library at some point today.

3 facts about me …

1. I've been married for a little over a year, but we've been together for 8 years.

2. I'm 25, even though I look and act 16. 

3. I'm a sucker for a good book and a yummy coffee drink.

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?

10
Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?

I want to finish at least 4 books and make it the whole 24 hours!

FEED ME SEYMOUR

The Mummy by Anne Rice

"The white wicker table was covered with plates of steaming food. As he read the copy of Punch propped before his plate, he ate delicately with his right hand from the meat here, and the fruit there, and the bread to his left, and the bits of roasted fowl in front of him. It was quite a miracle, in fact, the fastidiousness with which he ate, not touching knives and forks, thought he had loved the ornate designs in the old silver."

LIGHTS, CAMERA, READ!

This Mini-Challenge sounds so fun! I of course won't be posting my entry for a couple hours, but I figured I'd add it to the post so I remember.






MID-EVENT SURVEY:
1. What are you reading right now? The Mummy by Anne Rice
2. How many books have you read so far? 1 finished...100 pages to go in this one!
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Wish by Alexandra Bullen
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Nope no plans for today
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I went to the library and got lunch. I read a bit during the time.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? I read slower than I thought and I do get book ADD
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Um maybe a chatroom or forum.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Buy more snacks!
9. Are you getting tired yet? Not really I'm alright.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? Move around a lot. Change your scenery.

END OF EVENT MEME
1. Which hour was most daunting for you? This one! The last hour! I'm ready to crash!
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Wish was great, I suggest light, fun books like YA and Chic Lit!
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Mini-Challenges that took less time...I wanted to enter a bunch but they took away from reading.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I liked the organization of the main blog and updating on twitter.
5. How many books did you read? 3 and a little more.
6. What were the names of the books you read? Night Shade, The Mummy, Wish and Airhead
7. Which book did you enjoy most? The Mummy was great, but hard to read in 1 sitting. I LOVED WISH! Perfect for the Read-a-Thon.
8. Which did you enjoy least? The Mummy got hard to read during the end. Too heavy for this.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? N/A
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I will definitely be back for the next one! I'll be a reader for sure!