BookMooch!!!!

In 2008, I have been determined to give myself more time for reading BOOKS. I have a huge pile of books given to me as gifts as far back as three Christmases ago. I also have a mother with an insane amount of reading time on her hands. She has passed a lot of books on to me. And then there was the school book fair. I have a lot of reading catch up. When I am feeling ambitious, I will make a little sidebar list of books I have read since the start of 2008. There will be no reviews from me, beyond a thumbs up or down. Writing a book review feels way to much like homework. I read for fun.

Two weeks ago, Geoff and I discovered BookMooch, a website for trading books. You list the books you are prepared to give away, and for every book you send to someone else, you receive a point. You can use your points to "mooch" books from other people. Geoff is an even more avid reader than I - he actually gets up a half hour earlier than he needs to each morning so that he can read for a bit before heading off to work at 6AM. When he realized that we could get "free" books, he ransacked the house for books to trade. Consequently, I spent an hour the next day preparing and shipping 11 books off to their new owners. We are giving away all the chick lit. I buy in the summer, all the books given to Geoff by one of his accounts at work, as well as the occassional literary work deemed not worth keeping on a book shelf. (Geoff is not just a reader. He is a collector.) So far we have received a Nancy Drew book for Thing One and a couple Sophie Kinsella books for me - because I might as well get my summer reads for free.

And while I am throwing around the word "free," I should mention that shipping is paid by the sender of the book. Between shipping materials and shipping charges, I figure we are spending just under $4.00 for every book we send. But still, what is more exciting than a book coming in the mail?

Kissing the Girls

Ladies, lock up your preschoolers.
Tonight, Thing Two told us he kisses all the girls at school. (He is 4.)
Us: All the girls?!
Him: Yup. All of them.
Us: Do they run away or kiss you back?
Him: No. I don't know what they do.
Us: Do you really kiss them, or do you just want to kiss them.
Him: Yeah. I want to kiss them.

Clearly, we are not going to get any real answers out of this one.

My New Addiction

Stumble Upon!

Holy Cow. What a fabulous time waster this is! I cannot get enough!

You add the StumbleUpon toolbar to your browser, and whenever you need a little distraction, click on "stumble" and a randomly generated website pops up on your screen. Don't love it? Click again. And again. And again. It is easy to bookmark sites you want to find again. You know - things you want to go back and read later (yes, I know I am never going to go back and read them, but it feels good to know I could find them if I wanted to.....)

You are warned. You will become addicted. You can thank me later. Go stumble!

Barack Obama

Normally, I would never mention religion or politics in my blog.

However, I have just read the transcript of a speech Barack Obama made in Philadelphia yesterday, and I cannot help but share it.

Please click and read here.

If the 10 people who read this blog take the time to read this whole speech (it is long, but worth it) and feel the swelling pride that I feel right now, it will be worth sharing.

If the 10 people who read this blog decide never to visit again, because they all love George Bush, well, so be it.

I have never felt so strongly that a candidate was exactly the person we need in the White House. In my voting history, my votes have always been against the other guy, rather than FOR someone.
In the Pennsylvania primary, I will be voting FOR Barack Obama.
And I fervently hope and pray that I will have the option of voting for him in the general election as well.

Trunk Show Flyer

Trunk Show Flyer, originally uploaded by stephgibson23.

Biting the bullet.
Doesn't "Trunk Show" sound sooooo much better than "home party"?

Click on the flickr link if you want to see the whole thing - I am much too lazy today to fix this photo.

REM, Pot Roast and Jennifer Garner: A Birthday Ramble

I celebrated my birthday a couple weeks ago. One of my Mom's gifts to me was to watch the kids while Geoff and I went to a movie (Juno) and then after the movie we all had dinner at her house. And the best part: pot roast! My mom makes the most fabulous pot roast with carrots and potatos and onions. Geoff does not eat red meat, so I never cook this sort of thing; it is a huge treat for me to have my mom's pot roast. I was going to share a photo, but sadly, though delicious, Mom's pot roast does not photograph well.
I know Juno has been criticized for being a fairy tale, but personally, I love fairy tales and really enjoyed the movie. The entire cast was terrific, but Jennifer Garner was just amazing. Her longing is palpable. It is difficult to believe that someone with dimples as cute as hers can be a good actress, but she is. Perhaps I am influenced by the fact that since the writers' strike we have been watching nothing but DVD's of "Alias" (DON'T spoil it - we are three episodes away from the series finale.) I am not sure how we missed this show when it was on the air. We are maniacs about it now. How did JJ Abrahms ever think he could find an actress who could play Sidney Bristow? No one but Jennifer Garner could do it, of that I am sure. And don't even get me started on Victor Garber! A little aside (and obnoxious name dropping): when Geoff and I worked for Circle Repertory in NY, we worked on a show with Ron Rifkin. Among other things, I ironed his socks. He is a sweet man and more than once took all the interns out for dinner after the show. But anytime he has a fight scene, Geoff and I nearly wet ourselves laughing.

Since my birthday, here are some things that have made me feel old:

1. Thing One is singing REM's "Stand" in music class.
2. Last week, I was running across the yard in my fake Uggs (these shoes should come with a "no running" warning) tripped, face planted, and actually SLID across the yard, ruining a new pair of jeans and my dignity in one go. But here is the part that made me feel old - when I stood up, every part of my body ached, and I had a sudden knowledge that it would be DAYS before my body felt normal again.
3. Facebook

You Must Check This Out

I love it when bloggers post weekly installments for me to look forward to. I highly recommend littleputbooks' Etsy success tips, fluffyflowers' craft fair suggestions, stilettoheights' wickedly funny celebrity letters, or her sassy web comic.

But the most unique, wet-your-pants laughing , marvel-at-the-creativity, holy-cow-they-must-have-spent-a-lot-of-time-on-this, series of posts, is Jenn Marushka's "Lake Resort Nurse" recaps. Jenn and her husband Josh, a photographer, recap and deconstruct chapters from a cheesy romance novel. The recaps are accompanied by photos of action figures reenacting choice scenes from the book. This week she posted the last chapter and promises a wrap-up and contest for next week.

To read all the posts, click here and scroll down to the beginning.

An Interview

My workspace: not as messy as it was after Christmas, not as neat as it was a week ago.

I took this photo to accompany an interview I did for EtsyCafe. Kim of SchroederSisters put this blog together to feature seller interviews and she posted several great ones today.
Have you ever wondered why I live in Amish country? Or what my most important piece of advice for crafters may be? Do you lay awake at night asking yourself - "What percentage of Stephanie's business comes from Etsy?" These answers and MORE can be found here.
And once you have perused my interview, and perhaps a couple of others, check out Kim's Etsy shop full of soft scuptural goodness and celebrity art brilliance!