Wordless Wednesday

Tree fell, hit the house, top broke off, rolled down the roof onto the car. It was just like mayhem from those State Farm commercials. We still have no power so we are at my mother-in-laws. Everyone is safe though, so no worries there. 

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Hurricane Sandy!

So Sandy is coming here to NH. We woke up this morning and had no power. No idea why because it isn't that windy or rainy. But since the power keeps going off and on, chances are I won't be able to blog much this week. I promise we will get back to our regularly scheduled awesomeness as soon as we can! Pin It

Things I Found on the Interwebs (18)

Recipes
Twice Baked Lemon Turkey Jerky Hubby would looooove this.
Pumpkin French Toast Bake
Paleo Pumpkin Pie Bites
Paleo Pumpkin Pie Making these for Thanksgiving. You can't have Thanksgiving without pie.
3 Ingredient Cinnamon Rolls Not paleo or dairy free, but I want them in my mouth.

Women
Stop Hating on Taylor Swift I think Taylor is the cutest little thing. I want to keep her as a pet in my pocket.
The Bloggess This post made me almost pee my pants. So did this one.
You Don't Own Me Public service announcement.
Pretty Bow in Your Hair I can't get it to work but I think it is because my fingers are like snausages.
Pros and Cons of Being a SAHM Without judgment, so that's good.

Crafts
Faux Fur Trapper Hat Pattern I want to make one for each of us. So warm and comfy.
Planning a Craft Night I want to do this soooo bad.
Easy Owl Craft
Gorgeous Self Portrait as an Autumn Tree More art than craft. Gorgeous.

CJ School (Toddler/PreSchool)
Pink & Purple I Spy Pictures Here's green, black, and white.
Not so Scary Monster Fun
Crafts for Not Crafty Moms
The Letter V 

75 Fun Ways to Practice and Learn Spelling Words

Halloween Sensory Box

Fall Tot School

N is for Nest

Teaching
Morning Work for November Freebie A great resource.
How to Throw a Geography Fair These are homeschoolers, but you could do it in public school too.
Student-led Parent Teacher Conferences Love this idea.
A-Z Cursive Handwriting Worksheets Don't need these yet, but you might.
Daily Binders This is one of the simplest ways I've seen this done.

Babies & Kids
21 Ways to Get Outside with your Kids Unless there's a hurricane, then stay indoors.
Die de los Muertes Baby Essentials
Toddler Years Bucket List Some great ideas here.
10 Ways to Keep Kids Active in Winter How do I get myself active in Winter?
Teen Auto Agreement
Little Laundry Helpers Make life easier and teach responsibility.
Scheduling Quiet Time with Multiple Children
Classic Cowboy Birthday Party So adorable.
Toddler Dies after Waiting in the ER for Hours A terrible tragedy that could have been avoided. My heart breaks for these parents.
In LOVE with this Boy's Bedroom I want to paint CJ's room dark blue now.

Books
Books about Fractured Fairy Tales  I used to love these kinds of books when I was a kid.
Neil Gaiman Makes Me Feel Bad About Myself I'm always complaining about George RR Martin. I'm a jerk. Love you George.
Books About Bullying, Moving, Death, Divorce, and other Tough Stuff

Life & News
Stanley Tucci is the Crush of the Week I feel like I agree with every week's crush.
Snoop Lion just does not care anymore... There is a whole generation who will have no idea he used to be a thug.
How to be a Good Husband
Invalid Adoptions Scary stuff.
Why Hello Chuck Bass. There's a guy running for Congress here in NH named Charlie Bass. Why wouldn't you go by Chuck? You'd get the vote of every girl from 18-25.
12 Year Old Sues Parents for Drunk Driving. I say good for her.
Letter to a Bully If you are a bully, read this. Then grow up.

Halloween
Easy DIY Cat Costume This is so cuuuute!
Boo from Monster's Inc Not a pattern, but she is freaking adorable so I think you should see it anyway.

Applejack from My Little Pony Costume I can't even handle the cute.

Printable Halloween Scavenger Hunt 

10 Most Horrifying Villains from Are You Afraid of the Dark I hate those GD clowns. 

Whoa that's a lot of stuff. As usual, you can find other awesomeness on my pinterest or twitter.

So true.

OMG I WANT HIM!

CJ would be so disappointed.

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Card Cubby Review & Giveaway

Sorry for the absence guys. Whew, this flu/cold/plague is kicking my butt! I also had to take one of my state teaching exams so blergh. Anywho, I've got a couple of great reviews and giveaways coming your way this week, so boom, let's get started.

If you are a mom like me, your bag is completely full of crap. Just everything. Your bag becomes a catch-all for absolutely everything and then you can never find anything when you need it. You need something that can fit into your bag to keep like things together. Meet my new pal, the Card Cubby.

The Card Cubby is a neat little container that fits into your purse. It keeps all of your business cards in one place. You could also use it to store all your credit cards, insurance cards, etc. I use mine like a wallet. It comes in a ton of great colors, like pink, blue, black. Just in time for fall, the have a new pumpkin color. I'm partial to the blue crocodile as you can see. It comes with little tabbed dividers to keep things separated in alphabetical order. You can also change the dividers to suit your needs. It is 5 inches by 3 inches by 2 inches. The Card Cubby comes with a strap, so you can use it as a wristlet. You can use just this when you are running for a short errand, or you can change it from your diaper bag to your work bag to your gym bag. You make the Card Cubby work for you.

I have the Coupon Cubby. This is just like the Card Cubby, but a little bigger at 7.5 inches by 4 inches by 2 inches. It is the perfect size to store all your coupons, plus your checkbook. I am forever losing my checkbook, so now I keep it in there. It also comes with a chain, so you can use it as a mini-purse. It is grab for taking with you when you are just running to the grocery store. The coupon cubby also comes in a ton of colors. I have the blue crocodile, but I really like the leopard print. There is a ton of space inside here. if you want to use it as your wallet. The Coupon Cubby retails for $26.95 and is totally the perfect for organizing your coupons.
One of you will win your very own blue Card Cubby, which retails for $26.95. Just fill out the rafflecopter below!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway


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WW - Sleeping in Mama's Bed

Every night CJ says "Mama deb pees" on the way up the stairs, which translates to "Mama's bed please".

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Words of Wisdom from the MTEL Multi-Subject Practice Test

A gentle reminder courtesy of the MTEL Multi Subject Practice test -

Which of the following is a fundemental purpose of democratic government?
A. providing for the common good
B. establishing a moral code
C. controlling the economy
D. establishing a bureaucracy

Correct Response: A. A basic purpose of democratic government is to promote the general welfare by protecting individual liberties, supporting public education, and providing for those in need. Democratic governments must be sensitive to the varying religious and philosophical traditions of all their citizens.

(Emphasis my own.) Pin It

Things I Found on the Interwebs (17)

One day spent with 1st graders, and I am sick. So I probably won't be around tomorrow. I'm going to try to sweat this thing out. Yuck. Anywho, here's some good stuff I found this week. There's a ton of links, so have fun exploring!

CJ School/ Teaching
Free Veggie Tales Printables CJ loves Veggie Tales.
Teaching Toddlers to Know God
D is for Dots
Homemade Eye Spy Pictures
Monster Crafts & Activities & Monster Songs & Fingerplays
Finger Painting on a Pumpkin
Little Old Lady Who... Activities
The Turtle Technique I'm gonna try this with CJ.
Fall Theme Tot School Doing this with CJ next week.

Teaching
What is a Scientist? Poster & Lesson
Develop Strong Reading Skills Early
Glad Monster/ Sad Monster Activities This book looks adorable.

Recipes
Fall Sugar Cookies Yum!
6 Scrumptious Pot Pie Recipes
Coffee and Donuts Milkshakes Sweet Jesus, that sounds amazing.
Homemade Mini Corn Dogs
Pumpkin Hummus Hubby would love this, I'm not sure if I would. I like my hummus to taste like hummus.
Fall & Halloween Recipe Roundup
Candy Corn Cookies! Luckily they don't actually taste like candy corn.

Blogging
How to Optimize Photos for Pinterest
How to Run a Blog Series (and get more subscribers)
10 Things to Do Everyday To Stay Organized Useful even if you aren't a blogger.
7 Unexpected Ways to Grow Your Blog
How to Make a Collage on Picmonkey

Life
How to Fly if you forget your Photo ID

Crush of the Week : Skylar Astin I completely agree. Adorable.

15 Ways to Stay Married    &  16 Ways I Blew My Marriage

50 Random Acts of Kindness Just do one today, and then one tomorrow, and so on. 

Easiest Cleaning Schedule Ever

How to Organize Denim

Daily Housewifery Prompts Little things to make life easier.

News

Amanda Todd and the Culture of Sexism Such an absolute tragedy.

The Truth About Fort Hood Breaks my heart. 

Debt Collector Tells Disabled Veteran He Should have Died Absolutely disgusted by this story. 

Ghosts of History A guy took pictures from WWII and superimposed them over their modern-day locations.
Girl in Omaha Dresses as a Different Historical Figure Everyday Love her imagination!

Funny

Twins Fall Asleep Eating Spaghetti So cute!

Mitt Romney's Binder

Nerdery
The Pattern Behind The Doctor's Regenerations Oh ten. You were perfect in every way.
Pumpkins for Gamers & Nerds

Books
Use Nosferatu to Make Books Better
Autumn Crafts Book Pay What You Can Sale Just got this, love it.

Crafts
Glittered Acorns
12 Ways to Use Leaves with Kids' Crafts
Sugar Skull Make Up Tutorial Amazeballs.
Candy Corn Garland So simple!
Minion Nails I wish I had fingernails!
Quick and Easy Fall Centerpieces I <3 Fall

Definitely doing this once the season starts up again.

I'd like Liam Neeson in my bed.

Don't forget!

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Get Unreal - Unjunked Candy Review

I love candy. I especially love chocolate. Lots of chocolate. Down in my belly. Unfortunately, eating all that candy isn't very good for you. Unless, you find a candy company that doesn't put any of the crap in it. Impossible right? Nope. It is time to get Unjunked.

Unreal Candies is a new candy company that has really taken all of the crap out of their candy. This is what isn't in their candy. No corn syrup, GMO's, partially hydrogenated oil, or preservatives. That means there is less sugar, less fat, fewer calories, and fewer carbs. But there is MORE fiber and more protein. So you are probably thinking that this candy tastes like cardboard. Well it is not. It is absa-freaking-lutely delicious.

I had a little get together with some friends and family and we all tried some of the candy. My mother-in-law is a chocolate afficionado. She is especially a huge fan of M&Ms (TM). She loved the Unreal 41. She did say that they weren't as pretty as M&Ms (TM) but they were just as tasty. Hubby loves the candy bars. He thinks that they all taste better than the other brand names. He also loves that there is more protein in them.

I am obsessed with the peanut butter cups and the caramel chocolate peanut nougat. They are amaaaazing. I was super excited to see that Unreal was now at our local Market Basket. The price isn't anything more than regular candy bars, but they are much better for you. As far as hubby and I are concerned, they taste even better than other brands. One of my friends loves Unreal now. She made a great point. She goes out of her way to prepare organic healthy food for her kids, and then they want junk candy. It's completely ridiculous. She now loves that she can give them this when they want it, and she doesn't have to worry about all the crap going into their bodies.

If you don't want to take me and my family's word for it, check out this video with a few celebrities endorsing the deliciousness. You can also get more information on twitter @GetUnreal and on the Unreal fan page.



This is a sponsored review. However I was not paid to provide a positive review. All opinions are my own.  Pin It

The Truth About Fort Hood

On November 5th, 2009, three friends of mine, and fellow Mental Health Technicians, Trey, Dayna , and Kortenkamp were at Fort Hood preparing for their first deployments. I suspected that things would go off without a hitch. Then all of a sudden there were a flurry of reports about a shooting. I saw on facebook that Trey's fiance was freaking out because she couldn't get a hold of him. It turned out that he was ok, he had just gotten separated from the group when he saw that Dayna had been shot. I can't even go on to the rest of the story because I honestly don't know all the details. Kara recently posted this video and I would like for everyone to watch it. People are forgetting that this even occurred and no one is bothering to learn the truth about the situation. I was very lucky that the three people I knew were not killed, my three friends were not so lucky. They lost people they knew and cared about. Dayna was severely injured and has to live with that everyday. Pin It

WW - My Backyard is Robert Frost's Backyard

 

So for reals, if I walk into my backyard it leads to this path. The path leads to a trail into the woods. The trail leads to Robert Frost's house! For serious. This is a literature nerd's dream come true. It is only 2 miles to and from so hopefully I'll be able to do this more often. 

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Books I Hate

I am a book lover. I love books. I love the look of them, the smell of them, the wonderfulness that they hold within. I looooove books. But every once in a great while, I'll read a book and not love it. In fact, I'll hate it. I'll hate it with the power of 1000 suns. Some books just don't click for me, or just irritate me, or (in my opinion) just plain suck. So here are books that I hate. I apologize in advance if you love one of these books. I am not going to be nice to these books.

NUMERO UNO. The book I hate more than any other book on the planet. Wuthering Heights. I hate you Wuthering Heights. I hate you Heathcliff. I hate you Hindley. I hate you Catherine. I hate your stupid incestual children. Sorry for that spoiler there. But I saved you hours of your life. THIS BOOK SUCKS. It is extremely fitting that this book, about a psycho stalker control freak, plays a part in that other popular book about a psycho stalker control freak - Twilight. I've always wanted to go to England, but if I ever find myself on a moor, I'm gonna be mad. Stupid Heathcliff and his stupid moor.

Lord of the Flies - For some reason children going buck wild and killing each other just doesn't get me going. (Except in Hunger Games) There's this whole scene with a pig that makes me want to vomit. Gross.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I might be the only person who doesn't like this book. I hated this book, I didn't even finish it. Booooooring.

2012: The War for Souls - I liked Whitley Schrieber's books about his alien abductions. I know it sounds crazy, but they are really good. I don't know what I was expecting when he wrote a fiction book but this was... this was intense. There are aliens who have taken over people's bodies. There's a scene where Ann Coulter sheds her human skin to reveal her reptilian true nature. While that may actually be an accurate description of her innards, this book was... yea....

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty/ 50 Shades of Grey - Erotica just ain't my bag. I can't do it. I tried. Fairy tales with porn made my stomach hurt, and 50 Shades sounded like it was written by a 10 year old who just discovered what a penis was.

Waiting for Godot - Oh sweet Jesus. This was such a waste of my life. And before you get all bent out of shape, yes, I got it. Existentialism, blah blah blah. NO. It wasn't existential, it wasn't deep, it was boring, and stupid. Just go home. Just GO HOME.

A Discovery of Witches/ The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - Pretty sure these are the same book. No? Could've fooled me. I like books set in Salem because that is where I was born, but this was just really boring and lame. Both of them. Or one of them if they are the same book.

So those are the books I hate. Just for fun, here's my hubby's list:

The Collected Works of William Shakespeare - Yep, my nerdy English major butt married a man who hates Shakespeare. He thinks he was a hack and that Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe actually wrote Shakespeare's works. Whatevs, doesn't just that they are AWESOME.

Gone with the Wind - Did you hear that sound? That was the sound of my heart breaking. The book that I love, that I live for, that I've read at least 100 times, is the book my husband hates.


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Human Beings are Amazing

Did you all watch Felix Baumgartner's freefall jump today? It was one of the most amazing things I've witnessed in my lifetime.

I watched it live. I turned it on while he was still assending. It took him over two hours for the balloon to reach its maximum height, about 25 miles up. That's 128,000 feet up people. As soon as he opened the door and sat on the jumping platform, I was a mess. I was standing up, pacing back and forth, saying prayers. I have no idea how his wife stayed so calm the entire time. When he jumped and started to freefall, my heart was in my throat. I was so scared. Then, after about two minutes of a completely freefall, he started talking to mission control. I started crying hysterically. (Yes, I'm a crier.) Watching him float through the air was awe-inspiring.

Joseph Kittinger, the man who previously held most of the records Baumgartner was trying to break was the only voice that Baumgartner could hear during the ascent and descent. I loved when Kittinger said "I couldn't have done it better myself."

It is things like this that remind me how absolutely amazing human beings are. We reach for the horizons and can accomplish anything we put our minds too. Thank you Felix for reminding us all how truly amazing we can be.

"I wish the world could see what I see right now."

Image is from GrindTV, where I watched this live. Go there to read about all the records that Baumgartner broke.  Pin It

Things I Found on the Interwebs (16)

Did you know I skipped interwebs #14? Whoops.

Don't forget to follow my new RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/BabiesBooksAndBeyond

Family
What Boys Need From Moms
Fire Safety Tips
How to be a Calmer Mom I am taking this to heart.
A Bajillion Fall Activities
Toddler Chores
10 Ways to Turn Exercise into a Family Affair
DIY Halloween Costumes
Your Child and Internet Safety
Best and Worst Celeb Baby Names
Living a Healthier Life for Your Kiddos
Lovely Adoption in Progress Story

CJ School
Monster Theme Crafts
U for Universe
25 Projects for Boys

Monster Printables

BFIAR - The Runaway Bunny

Monster Match Game

Dinosaur Week

Paper Plate Halloween Crafts

Hands on the Alphabet

If You are a Monster and You Know It 

Style
Maiden Braids
I love the look of corduroy, not so much the execution.

Blogging

Great Blogging Tips
Fall Writing Prompts
10 Personal Reasons for Monetizing Your Blog
30 Ways to Promote Your Blog Posts
Blogger Hack - Recent Posts Widget
Overcoming Writer's Blog for Mommies

Recipes (Paleo-friendly)

Paleo Chicken Fingers Made with sweet potato fries, yum!
Balsamic Tomato Pot Roast with Veggies
Pumpkin Plantain Spice Cookies Perfect for Thanksgiving
Paleo Brownies Hubby really wants me to make these.

Life

Things You Need To Survive the Zombie Apocalypse
Fruit Fly Solutions
PBS is the crush of the week.
Best Made for TV Movies And by best, she means worst.

Funny

Monopolies

Books
Beautiful Creatures movie trailer I had no urge to read the book, but this preview looks amazing! Jeremy Irons can do no wrong.
Scary-Ish Books for Little Ones

Giveaways

Win an 8x10 Canvas Print

CJ's Halloween Portrait
(made on picmonkey.com)

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New Name!

Babies, Books, and Signs is now Babies, Books, and Beyond.

I am working on making sure that everything transfers over easily. I'm having a little trouble with getting the domain to transfer, but the RSS feed and everything else should have transferred easily. Please don't get lost! Change your bookmarks!

www.babiesbooksandbeyond.com!

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Getting Political Up in Here

Sometime in the beginning of my blog, I promised that I wouldn't get political. Well, it's 2012. We are about to have an election for president, and I'm about to get political. Hate it or love, it is about to happen.

Here is what I think. We just had the debates between Mitt Romney and President Obama. That night, I got to thinking and this is what I think should happen. I believe that both Mitt Romney and Barrack Obama are genuinely good men. They are both doing what the feel in their hearts is right. So why can't they, as two intelligent grown men, sit down and have an adult conversation about what they believe and what they wish for this country. Why can't they just make a decision to be truthful. Is it really that difficult? If you believe in universal healthcare, say it. Tell America that if you had your way and Congress would just go along with it, you would give healthcare to every single person currently in the United States citizen or not. If you believe that the wealthy do not deserve to have as high a tax rate as the middle class, say it. Tell America that if you were president you would lower tax rates on the wealthy. Don't sneak around, say things, and take it back. Just say what you believe! Is it really that hard? Am I completely naive here?

I'm a big believer in the thought behind "I may not disagree with a word you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Both President Obama and Mitt Romney have every right to believe and say what they wish. You and I do not have to agree with it. We don't even have to respect it. It isn't my right to tell you what to believe and it isn't your right to tell me what to believe. So why can't we all just ACTUALLY respect each other's opinions. Not just say that we do, but actually do.

"Not my President." Nothing urks me more than when people says "I didn't vote for him, he's not my President." Well then leave. Go to another country. Why don't you go to Russia and see how they feel when you say "Not my Prime Minister." I may not have liked George W. Bush's policies, but he was the president when I joined the military. He was my Commander-in-Chief, and if it had called for it, I would have taken a bullet for him. When people say "not my president" they sound like five year olds whining because the teacher is just so mean to them. When did the President become a scapegoat for every wrong thing that happens in America? Last time I checked this isn't a monarchy. The President can't arbitrarily make a ruling and that is final. We have a system of checks and balances for a reason. If you want change, you need to want change everywhere. Congress is going to need to change, the White House is going to need to change, state government is going to need to change. One person winning or losing the presidency isn't going to change the way things are done in Washington.

I think it is pretty obvious that I am generally a Liberal. I am not Liberal on every issue, but on the "big" ones, I definitely am. Marriage equality - for it. Leave my vagina alone - for it. People with more money pay more taxes - for it. But I have friends who are extremely conservative, and I don't care. Being a conservative or a liberal doesn't make make that person good or bad, right or wrong. It's an opinion. I have an opinion that ketchup is delicious, if you disagree are you going to stop being friends with me? I don't recommend it because I'm pretty awesome.

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Wordless Wednesday - Stealing Noses

Uhoh!

Getting his nose back.

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Easy Canvas Prints Review & Giveaway

My absolute favorite way to decorate is to have my beloved pictures all around me. I love having those memories close. I've always wanted to have a picture made into a giant canvas. I didn't for two reasons. 1. Canvases are crazy expensive (or so I thought). and 2. I couldn't find the perfect picture.

Then this happened.

Is that not the most precious thing you've ever seen? It is my sister-in-law Caila and CJ while we were in Cape Cod this summer. I love this picture. It just shows how much CJ loves his auntie and how much of a lovebug he is. (When he's not throwing things at you.) 

So I went and researched the cheapest places to get high-quality canvas prints online. The place I found with the best reviews and prices is Easy Canvas Prints, which is a part of Build A Sign. At Easy Canvas Prints, you can completely personalize your canvas. The sizes range from 8x10 to 24x36. You can make it so the image wraps around the sides or get a contrasting color for the sides. You can have the image retouched and even change the background. It is completely customizable. For more details, check out the pricing options. 

I decided to get the 11x14 canvas as a Christmas present for Caila. (Who I hope isn't reading this.) I can't get a good picture of it, because the flash keeps reflecting off the image. Let me tell you though, it is perfect. She is going to love it. The image is perfectly clear and bright, even better than in the picture above. I didn't pay for any retouching or anything, but they definitely made the picture appear brighter. I love it, and so will Caila. 

Since the canvas print was so awesome, I wanted to give away one 11x14 canvas to a lucky reader. To enter, just fill out the rafflecopter below. If for some reason you can't see the rafflecopter form, just click on where it says "a Rafflecopter giveaway" below and it will take you directly to the form. Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Blog Changes

I just wanted to take a minute to apologize for my blog posts lately. I know I said that I wouldn't apologize again about the blog, but here  it is. I'm not apologizing for missing days between posts, because life happens. I'm pretty much useless from Tuesday to Thursday because I have grad school classes. What I'm apologizing for is the nature of my posts. Because I wanted to have daily posts, I've been doing almost nothing but giveaways. I thought that would drive traffic to the blog and that it was what my readers wanted. While I have gotten some traffic due to the giveaways, is that real traffic? Are those people going to keep coming back to my blog? Probably not. And while giveaways are awesome, I know that my favorite blogs are the blogs that tell a story, or let me into their lives. So that is my new goal. Instead of just giveaway after giveaway, review after review, I'm going to be posting more personal stories, more humor. I'm a funny person (to myself anyway) and I don't think that gets across very well here on the blog. I want to make more of an effort to showcase who I am here on the blog. So bear with me as I go in that direction.

There will of course still be reviews and giveaways. I'll probably only do one or two a week. I'm going to stop saying yes to every single company that is looking for a review, and only say yes to things that will help me my family and yours.

I will get back to the books. When I started off, this was primarily a book blog, but books have taken a backseat to everything else. I want to bring them to the forefront again, showcasing great children's books as well as books for adults. Mostly, I want to read great books!

So there you go, that is where I hope to take the blog in the next few months. I've got a few gift guides coming up next month that I hope you'll find useful. Let me know what sort of gifts you are looking for, like who you are having trouble finding the perfect gift for. I hope you'll stick around as we go forward.

I also would like to change the name of the blog. I don't think that the signs part is fitting anymore. We still sign, but I'm not teaching it because of grad school. If you have any ideas about a name let me know.

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Things I Found on the Interwebs (15)

Books
Banned Children's Books
My favorite quote from Lawrence of Arabia illustrated I would loooove this print!

Neil Gaiman's 8 Rules of Writing
October's A-Z Mini-Challenge

Children

Make Your Own Lion Hoodie
Mother - Daughter Women Power Conference Love it!
A Tanzanian School - Gives you Perspective

Be in the Picture with your Kids - Literally
Scientists Found That A Woman's Son's DNA Winds up in Her Brain Your son will always be a part of you, literally.
A Hansel and Gretel Birthday Party So cute!

TV & Movies

TV's Most Badass Female Characters
10 Theories on Why Marina Left Fresh Beat Band I found her on twitter, she left to get married and become a serious musician. Theories are better.
If the Disney Villains Had Won

Style
Braided Bangs
Gorgeous Basements

Blogs
Stop Stealing Blog Content

10 Crafting Daily Deals Sites

Find Your Blogging Voice

Life

F The World - I'm taking a Bath Except a shower, because baths creep me out.
Things a Burglar Doesn't Want You to Know
To the Man who Called Me Crazy
News Anchor Responds Amazingly to Fat-Shaming

Education
17 Year Old May Have Found Cure for Cancer

Monet Artist Study

As usual, you can find more awesome stuff that I found this week on my pinterest boards.

This is actually how my hubby watches cooking shows. 

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A-Z Mini-Challenge #10 - Scare Tactics

Well it is October. I know right?! How did that happen? I bet you can probably guess what this month's mini-challenge is. In the honor of Halloween, my favorite holiday... read a scary book! As usual, you define what scary is, so this is open to interpretation.

Also, in case you forgot, every time you complete a challenge, you are entered into a drawing. At the end of the year everyone who completed a challenge will be entered to win their book of choice from The Book Depository.





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Fiction Frolic - Raise 1000 Books for Literacy

Help Raise 1,000 books for charity and enter to win $200, signed books and swag!

We are excited to share about an ambitious blog tour—Fiction Frolic for All Hallow's Read—where ten authors from several genres are working hard to raise 1,000 books in three weeks for Books for America.

From October 1st to 19th, donate a new book (or books!) and earn extra bonus points in a huge giveaway that these authors are hosting.

Two winners will each receive the following PRIZES!

$100 Amazon G.C.

5 signed books from the authors hosting the event

A swag bag

Plus—in honor of All Hallow's read, gift a signed copy of one of our books to a friend!

With a total of $200, 12 signed books (including the gifted books) and major swag, what better way is there to raise books for charity and celebrate All Hallow's Read?

Each author participating is also donating signed copies of their books to Books for America, an awesome charity that is officially sponsoring their event and excited to be involved with All Hallow's Read. In 2011, Books for America donated more than $800,000 worth of books and materials to DC area schools, shelters and dozens of other educational programs and organizations.

The authors are blogging throughout the event at The Fiction Frolic Blog.

• 10/1-5 Read about how books shaped their love for reading and writing.
• 10/8-12 Read their scariest, funniest or craziest Halloween experiences, or learn about their favorite Halloween themed book or movie, or favorite work of "dark" literature.
• 10/15-19 Enjoy some flash fiction, short stories and novel excerpts.

So donate, share, and look for daily ways to enter to win. Donate to charity for bonus points!.

This event is sponsored by:

Eleanor T Beaty, author of the YA paranormal Veiled Mist

Brewin' author of the supernatural horror, The Dark Horde

Andy Gavin, author of the fantasy horror, The Darkening Dream

Laxmi Hariharan, author of the YA fantasy, The Destiny of Shaitan

Kimberly Kinrade, author of the YA paranormal thriller/romances, Forbidden Mind & Forbidden Fire

Richard Long, author of the supernatural thriller/horror, The Book of Paul

M.C. Mars, author of the mind-bending novel, Burner

Melissa McPhail, author of epic fantasy Cephrael's Hand

Sheryl Steines, author of She Wulf & Days of First Sun

Pavarti K Tyler., author of the Lit Fic Shadow on the Wall and the erotic horror Consumed by Love

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