The Acquiring of books

Well, after such an exhaustive list of book recs, :) i decided to take a break :) and let you know about some really neat places to get such books..... at a fraction of the price you'd pay brand-new.

First up:

Paperbackswap.com. This is a sort of book club. When you join, you automatically are given a credit or two, to have fun with until someone requests one of your books. This is a really good way to get rid of books that you enjoyed, but don't really want to keep. You post these books and then when someone requests one of them, you mail it to them, and when they receive it, they mark it as "received" and you are given a credit. You can use that credit to choose any book on the website and they will mail it to you. The only expense involved is postage, and the gas to the post office. I've done a good bit of sending and receiving, and the only problem I've had was a book getting lost in the mail, meaning I never got the credit even though I paid to send it.

A few other cheap used book websites:

Thriftbooks.com. They have a really good variety of books and the best part is the free shipping. I often get books for $3.50 or less making it a really good deal. Oh, and you can do a wish list as well. Post what books you'd like to get and they let you know when they become available.

Betterworldbooks.com is another good place to find books with free shipping as well. They also have a bargain bin and sometimes have sales within the bargain bin making the books really cheap.

This next thing is not really book-related but I thought I'd tell y'all about swagbucks, if you have not already been enlightened. Swagbucks is a program that gives you "bucks" for searching the web. You download the swagbucks toolbar and use it to search for whatever you usually do with your google toolbar. And it will randomly give you bucks that you can redeem as gift cards,etc. For example, just the other day I searched for a restaurant menu in my swagbucks toolbar and I won 23 bucks. Now, you don't win every time you search, and if you do goofy searches constantly in hopes of winning, they can detect it and shut you down. You also receive one swagbuck a day for using the toolbar. You can also win swagbucks by voting in their daily polls, completing some surveys, etc. And the best thing about it is there are no strings attached. No junk emails or spam messages. I like to use my swagbucks to redeem amazon gift cards. 450 sb gives you a $5 gift card. So far, I've gotten more than $30 in giftcards.... all from searching. Getting paid to do what I usually do online isn't such a bad idea in my book! If you want to get started, here is my referral link. It will also help me out :)

If y'all know of more great places online to get books, drop a line in the comment section whereby we may all benefit and our lives may theretofore be enriched.

Vicki

Randomocity

"It is virtually impossible to be in a bad mood when surrounded by flowers." I said that to Kelly and the others when we were at Callaway Gardens on Saturday. She said that we should have flowers in every room in the house. She might've not meant it that way.

 When you have a dear friend who volunteers at the aforementioned Gardens and can get you in for free, you go. And let your soul feast on soul-cheesecake, ie-flowers. When I come away from there I dream of being a botanist or a landscaper or a flowerbed engineer or designer or whatever those folks call themselves. I'm playing around with  getting a greenhouse this winter and seeing what all I can grow.

 

The mum balls were breathtaking...........

And don't even get me started on container gardens.

    

Have you ever seen cascading mums? We got to meet the lady who painstakingly tied each mum stem down to train them for the cascading effect.

 

And now that I've sufficiently persuaded you of my love for flowers, shall we move on to other things?

Such as........ flower bouquets?

Just kidding.

I had plans of doing some fairly regular book reviews on here but obviously it didn't last long.

I hope to do a random assortment so today we have....

A cookbook!

   

This cookbooks is more than just recipes.... it has lots of interesting tidbits about the origins of foods, the different ways they are prepared depending on which state you live in, etc. It also contains a few digs at the North, but it is, after all, a southern cookbook. 

That's my thumb in the corner. Hopefully it's a green thumb cause did I tell you that I love flowers?

 This makes me an awful southerner, but I must confess that I really don't like cornbread. Or gravy. Just say it a couple of times..... gravy, gravy, gravy. It even sounds blah. I don't dislike the flavor of gravies, I dislike the lack of flavor. It is monotonous. Dull. A dipperful of gravy over a pile of mashed potatoes does not automatically make it better, just as writing "lol" after a sentence doesn't automatically  make it funny.

I have no clue how I got so far off track. 

Anyway, if you get a chance, at least look through this huge cookbook. It has all the good southern-style recipes that have lived through the years, plus it has more elegant, gourmet recipes. Which include ingredients I can't pronounce. The beautiful, full color pictures are a feast for the eyes as well. 

And lastly, a recipe from the cookbook that I want to try:

Layered Cornbread and Turkey Salad

(I don't like cornbread by itself. It makes a mean salad, though.)

1 (15)oz bottle roasted garlic dressing

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 head romaine lettuce, shredded

1 1/2 cups chopped smoked turkey

8 oz. crumbled feta cheese

1 (12 oz.)jar roasted bell peppers, drained and chopped

2 cups crumbled cornbread

8 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

5 green onions chopped

Stir together dressing and buttermilk, blending well.

Layer a 3 qt glass bowl with half each of lettuce and next six ingredients; top with half of dressing. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients and dressing. Cover and chill 2 hours.

'till next time,

Vicki

And I remember....

Well, they say the third time is a charm so maybe you will see this post tonight :) I sat down and attempted to write it at least twice but nothing came so here i am today and it will come. It must, because today is a day to remember.

My mind has been thousands of miles away today, re-visiting a land and a time that my family holds dear. Today three years ago we left Liberia and came home to the States. I think back to that day and can remember with a lot less pain then I could have two years ago. I was not prepared for the depth of emotion that I felt as we said goodbye to the people and the land that we had come to love with all of our hearts. I can still so vividly remember the heart-tearing sobs, the unreal feelings of this-is-the-last-time for so many things, the last clasp of Vashti's arms as she hung onto my neck, the sight of all of our friends waving goodbye through the glass doors and the pulling up of the jet wheels as we left Liberian soil. 

And today, three years later, I look back and remember. And miss so many things:

 
The children, who loved us in spite of, or maybe because of, our white skin. They have the warmest of hearts and are so friendly and fun. There were always neighbor children around always up to making pizza or playing lappa. They crept right into my heart and will always have that spot. I miss them so much.....

The ocean, ever changing and always beautiful. We had a  healthy respect for it after a few close calls. We lived only a few blocks from the ocean and could hear the waves crashing on the beach on especially quiet nights.

It feels a bit irreverent to mention our monkeys after the children and ocean. However, they were a very entertaining part of our lives and kept life interesting at all times. Let's just say our dog was kinda boring after we got home :) Stinker's (the biggest monkey) grand finale after we left and gave her to someone else, was her debut into a pot of pepper soup, after she bit the children too many times. I'm sure she died fighting. That's just the kind of monkey she was. We got Sassy, the smallest monkey, as a traumatized, wee little thing. She wouldn't sleep unless someone was holding her, we had to blow her food when it was too hot, and she pretty much lived it up until one night she squeaked one too many times, and had to go out and live with Stinker. Stinker willingly and capably adopted her as her own and they spent many happy hours together, playing and helping each other get out of the pen.

 

We were blessed to work alongside a lot of wonderful people during our four years there. Together we battled homesickness, loneliness, malaria and all those overwhelming feelings of trying to understand a new culture. We became family to each other when we had to miss out on weddings and special events that are part of family life, and holidays when family gets together. 

There is still a special bond there between us and we can do and say things that no one else gets. Our reunions would be fairly entertaining for non-Liberians :) 

This group is the same group as the picture above. A few spouses and children can change a lot :) We had a little Liberia missionary reunion back in July and talked and ate and reminisced all things Liberian.

 

It's a little sad, but the memories are already starting to fade. We have to scratch our heads a little harder when we try to remember names. Our Liberian English is so rusty it's embarrassing to talk it. 

Basically, we have slipped back into North American life. And while we do look back with the most awesome of memories of our Liberia stint, we know that we were called back home too, and are happy to be back. Sure, it still does ache inside sometimes to remember all of "our"children, that we loved on and had in our house and yard so much of the time, to remember the richness of the culture, to remember the fun times we had with our high-energy, interactive monkeys, to remember the chocolate-skinned fingers tentatively feeling our hair and exclaiming over how soft and straight it is, to remember the acceptance and love of even the neediest of the people...... the list could go on but I'll stop.

We came back richer people than when we left. I'm not talking monetary riches either. The Liberian people taught and gave us so many things, and parts of our hearts will always be there.

~~*Vicki

Wherein she has an adventure...

Hey y'all!
Life has been very, very busy. I've been hither and yon and back a few times and have had such a nice time doing it all :) A couple of weeks ago I flew out to Arkansas to be with my friends out there for a very short (48 hour) weekend. I basically always fly Airtran (go Airtran!), cause it's the cheapest way to go. Kelly and Ruth Anne got me to the airport nice and early which I was all over. The last time K and I flew to Ohio, we got to our gate just as the plane was backing up :( It was due to a combination of not allowing enough time and the picker-upper guy who was supposed to pick us up 5 minutes after we parked the car at Park-N-Go, showed up 22 minutes later. Oh, and it was July 4th weekend which meant that flights were packed and even overbooked. We had to change our destination and ended up at our friends' house at 1:30 in the morning. So I was all good with being in Atlanta in good time. I really do love the Atlanta airport. I've been through there so many times i feel right at home and know exactly which train to get on, cause you have to get on the train to get to pretty much any gate. (I'm not sure why y'all need to know all this. Consider this a tutorial on how to do the Atlanta airport).


Ok, so to make a short story very long, everything was on time for my flight to Branson. I boarded, said "hi" to the little old lady beside me, picked up the In-flight magazine, perused it (just felt like using that word :) and then waited, and waited. Finally a flight attendant showed up, and said, "Victoria _______?" I indicated that she was indeed talking to the right person, and then she handed me a new boarding pass and asked if the little old lady and I would mind moving because they were trying to accommodate a family with children. Would I? Not if the new assigned seat was 2A. The little old lady looked at me and said, "What are we doing?" I grinned kinda cheesy like and said, "they're moving us north." I happily got my carry-on down from the overhead bin and headed north. I'm one of those stingy flyers who will do everything not to check in luggage which means I often probably have the heaviest bags on the plane. I always appreciate when a gentleman notices that as well and offers to put them up or take them down for me. I'm never quite sure if they are looking out for me or themselves but that's all okay. I have this phobia of losing control and having it whank some nice old man on his shiny bald head. ( I coined the word, "whank" myself. It means to fall and hit with a resounding, will hear-it-the-rest-of-your-life, sounding thud.)

So I settled into my new seat and tried not to look as excited as I felt. You know, the cool, done this lots of times before, old hat kinda look. It is so roomy up there! I just wanted to stretch my toes and move around just because i could. All my fellow first-classers had already gotten their pre-flight beverages so i tried not to be too miffed that I missed out. It wasn't their fault or anything.

Well, we took off  and I decided that first class passengers get tilted back in their seats further because they are up front. That was my only rational thought on the flight. I spent the rest of the time trying to keep my eyes to the right size. They just kept wanting to get bigger. Because, for one thing, they brought us beverages on trays. We got beverages.... the ordinary people behind us were served drinks.  The trays were little and black and plastic, but every so much more elite than just being handed a glass from a flight attendants' hand.

Oh, and here is where I faced the moral dilemma. How much does an upgraded passenger impose on the good graces of the crew when he or she really paid for drinks, not beverages? Ok, so I wasn't going to ask for a bottle of the most expensive wine. I am a Christian and a teetotaler and all that so I'm good without the wine. But chocolate milk now...... that's where I started to waver. Yes? No? Should I? Should I not? The ordinary people behind me had to pay two bucks for a small bottle of chocolate milk but it was mine for the having. I broke down and nonchalantly asked for a bottle and they brought it, no problem. Even served it on a little black tray.  And then they brought the snacks out. (in a  pretty wooden basket). We had a choice of several elite things such as some kind of gourmet cookie and TGI Friday potato skins. I again, nonchalantly picked out a bag of potato skins, had moment of silence for the pretzel-eating folks behind us, and enjoyed my high class snack of potato skins and chocolate milk. Oh, and then the nice flight attendant came through and asked if we needed anything else. I asked for a glass of water. I needed it, I promise. I have no idea where you'd get the idea that I'd ask for it just because I could. Duh!

The landing was uneventful and I was the first person off the plane! Wit whew for writtendownbig! I love the Branson airport. It's the only privately owned airport in the States and it's decorated like a Bass Pro Shop. Everything is rustic and there are animal heads mounted all around and there's lots of greenery. It has all of two gates I think and the whole terminal area is about the size of a fairly big house. Coming from Atlanta to Branson is quite a study in contrasts.

So that's the story of how I got to Branson. 98% being true and 2% being writers privilege :) What I did in Arkansas is a whole other story. But relax. I'm not going to write it here. It included lots of good times and chats with friends and my first and second graders and family. I taught school out there two years ago and i have so many good memories of my time there. Culturally, it's a bit different than central GA :) You can still buy snuff at Wal-Mart if that tells you anything :)

So that's the story of my first business upgrade..... and I could have enjoyed another first on my way back. It was my first opportunity for being bumped but I felt like getting home and crawling into bed.

Stay tuned for another book review soon.....
Vicki

P.S. I didn't take the pictures in this post. Just didn't want y'all thinking I was capable of such art.

The Hawk and the Dove Trilogy

I love to read. In fact, I often read a chapter or two (or 7) of a new or favorite book before going to sleep at night. I read a large variety of books and I admit to even enjoying childrens' books :) You should pick up or borrow the Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. It is a charming re-telling of the old favorite and I like it better. It is colorful and has lots of great pictures.

I've decided to start doing reviews on the books I love best. Today's book is :

The Hawk and the Dove Trilogy by Penelope Wilcock.

 I find it a little hard to describe what I love about it. It's a book that takes me to places and times I have never been in and will never go. It's a story about quietness and a monastery and prayers and love and forgiveness and fighting personal battles. It's not your average, easy reading book. It is out far enough of my world that it's fascinating, yet not too far that I'm bored and overwhelmed. It somehow strikes a chord somewhere deep in me that not many other books do.

Living away from society and being shut away from the greater world doesn't take care of man's problems. The men in this story facing their problems and facing themselves is a large part of what the book is all about.

Do pick it up and read it. It may be dry as cornbread to you, and if it is, I am very sorry. Then would be a good time to pick up the three little wolves book. :)

And I realize that several months and posts ago, i asked you (whoever is reading this), what your favorite books and authors are. But I'd love to hear again, especially if you are new to this blog.

 I'll try to keep going on this book review thing and eventually I'd like to have a special section for recommended reading (using suggestions from y'all).

So, what's on your bedside stand?

My Calling~ His Pleasure

Do you ever wonder if God gets any pleasure from what you feel He has called you to do? Do you ever feel like it's pointless and wonder what's the use? I've been doing a lot of thinking about callings and our wills and decisions.

A very dear friend/cousin is needing to decide which fork in the road to take as it relates to vocation. All her options are wonderful, fulfilling and kingdom building. And yet she has to decide which one to do. I remember the feeling of uncertainty. It seems like surely God must have an opinion about what He wants you to do but you feel no clear leading one way or the other. It's like you are whirling around God's roundabout, the choices veering off like the spokes of a wheel. And not only are you flying around trying to get some sort of direction, but the people behind you are honking their horns, impatiently waiting for you to decide which road to take.

Why is it so hard to decide God's will? Why doesn't he put your name and an arrow at one of the roads?
And then there are those who seem to easily understand the specifics and the reasons of His calling. He calls them to something that He made them good at doing. I think of Eric Lidell, the man who could run like the wind.

"I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure." Eric Lidell

We sometimes struggle with the mundane-ness of our callings. I don't feel His pleasure every time I arrange juicy red tomatoes on top of a bed of lettuce, put the bread on top, and finish a sandwich. There's no sort of spiritual thrill there. There is, however, an inside-my-heart sort of feeling that I am doing what He wants me to do right now. There are times when I look out and think of what all I could be doing. Bigger things. More thrilling things. Things that I feel would surely pleasure Him more. 

But you know, if I can't even happily put a sandwich together, wish someone a blessed day, smile at the grumpy and listen to the hurting, right in our own store I'm not sure how I'd do in the jungles of Ecuador. For, after all, "she does most in God's great world, who does her best in her own little world."

I highly recommend the book, The Grand Weaver, by Ravi Zacharias. He says,

The doctor reveres the patient for the same reason the ball player takes care of his physique. The particulars of their call differ because the site of their sancturary differs. But the privilege of individual access to God-anytime, anywhere-remains the same. That is what makes their calling equally sacred.

I like that. We each have a sanctuary. The place where we are in active service for God. Mine happens to be a deli/specialty food store. It's ordinary, glitter-free, and simple, but it's there I can worship. Because He has called me to be there.

And maybe someday I can be big enough to say:

I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me to serve people. And when I prepare pasta salad, I feel His pleasure.

~*``*Vicki

Makeover!

Cheers and thanks to my dear friend Julia for transforming my blog! My siblings and I were over at her family's house for a few hours on Saturday and we had such a good time together. I wanted some tips on the technicalities that exist in blogger and she helped me out and more! She whipped that header together in practically no time and I love how it turned out.

We always enjoy being with them because we share a lot of the same values and love the same Lord. Oh, and they live only a few miles from us too. Double plus! Her brothers have a really neat duct tape weapon business and can make all kinds of swords, shields, etc with what i always thought of as ordinary duct tape.

More posts coming up. Gotta do this new makeover justice!
Vicki