Beyond the Books ~ Ten Things You Always Wanted to Know About Me...

Welcome to Bookworm Brandee Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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...and were too afraid to ask. ;)

• I have a degree in English Literature...and in Economics. I'd planned on going to law school but changed my mind. 
• I'm an accomplished procrastinator. I come from a long line of procrastinators and I've ensured my legacy having progeny who also procrastinate exceedingly well.
• I'm particular about my pens. Since I hand write my reviews as well as discussion posts, it's of special importance I have my favorite pens on hand. My favorite brand? Uniball Signo. I have them in every color.
• Before I got married, I'd never:
• owned a CD
• owned a computer
• traveled much outside the state of Texas
• I became a coffee addict at the ripe old age of 40! I started drinking coffee in my hot chocolate, then moved to flavored creamer. Now I drink it black.
• I'm originally from Texas (I've lived in Colorado for 18 years). I grew up with grandparents who farmed and spent a great deal of time around mud, animals, gardens, and snakes. And yet, I'd never owned a pair of cowboy boots until two years ago.
• My grandma, mom, and I are all spaced 20 years apart, meaning my grandma is 86, my mom is 66, and I'll be 46 next month. I, however, broke the streak!
• In my family, I've managed to get the 1/4 genetic possibilities (using simple Punnet squares)
• green eyes - everyone else has blue or brown
• poor eyesight - I was legally blind before I had Lasik
• low blood pressure - they worry because it's so low
• O Negative blood type
• although not genetic, I'm the oddball liberal in a family full of conservatives
• I talk to my cats...and myself. A lot. Especially myself. My kids laugh at me but, as I've told them repeatedly, sometimes I'm the only one who listens to me!
• At one time I kept my hardback books pristine, never wanting to crease the spine, damage the dust jacket, fold a page... Now I've decided that having sticky tabs, notes in the margins, and *gasp* dog-eared pages is my way of showing my love for the book.

There you have it! Ten things you've always wanted to know...okay, maybe you didn't really know you wanted to know these things about me. But now you do. Thanks for listening reading!

Beyond the Books ~ My Favorite Things About Fall

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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Fall is, by far, my most favorite season! I love the cooler, crisp air, the changing colors of the forest, marching band season, and, of course, PUMPKIN everything! Here are some photos of my favorite things...

Our first snow of Fall...

A glimpse of the aspens in the Colorado high country!

My daughters and my son...the one with his head down. :) 
(These pictures are from last year as my older daughter, Sky, is no longer in marching band.)

A fresh batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins! Sooo good with coffee. ;)

Beyond the Books ~ Brandee Who?

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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So, I didn't actually fall off the face of the Earth - or a plane of the blogosphere. It's just been one busy summer. I've taken two trips to Texas - visiting both sides of our family. I took an incredible trip to Grand Lake, Colorado, with Robyn. I've been working on staining our house (there are few months this can be done and it *must* be done). I've made so many batches of apple butter (being sold at our local farmers' market with all proceeds going to the high school instrumental music program) that I may never want to eat it again. Tomorrow, our family is taking a trip to the southeast - Sky's graduation gift - as we're following Sherman's March to the Sea (she's a Civil War history buff). When we return, I'll have 2 weeks until school starts for my younger kids and a trip to Portland to drop off Sky for her first year of college. In that respect, this summer has been emotionally difficult. My baby is leaving and I find myself in a mom-unique position of being excited beyond measure as she embarks on this new journey and yet, I'm also incredibly sad that she's leaving the nest. So I've been spending as much time with her as possible. All this activity has made for little time for reading and honestly, that makes me crabby! *ha*

At this point, I've realized maybe I should have taken the summer off from blogging but I'd already scheduled so much - thanks to mini blog-ahead - so I just let it go. However, I've spent very little time visiting any of your blogs. So it's here I must thank you all for continuing to visit me here. And apologize for my absence at your blogs. But also ask for your patience - I will return to visiting  and commenting and commenting back in a very few short weeks. Meanwhile, know that I appreciate and love y'all and am so grateful for your support. Also know that since I follow y'all via email, I *do* read your posts whether I make it by to comment or not.

As a show of my appreciation for your support, I'm hosting a raffle. This one is for a mystery box of books along with some handmade bookmarks from Braine (@TalkSupe) and myself. This particular raffle is for those of you who've visited and commented all summer. The winner will be chosen via a random number generator and I'll announce the winner when I return from my trip. 

I'll be doing another raffle at the end of August so if you want to be entered in that one, just stop by and comment over the next month. :D

Thanks again, y'all. You have no idea how much your continued support means to me. I'm so thankful to be a part of such a wonderful book/blogging community!

Beyond the Books ~ Sons of Anarchy

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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If y'all have followed me for awhile, you already know this. If not, here's a little tidbit about me. I don't watch t.v. Nope. Unless you count my sitting next to Hubs, reading, while he watches football and occasionally has me look up by saying "Hey honey, you have to see this." I used to watch t.v. A lot. But I didn't even finish Lost. I don't know what happened. (don't judge) I just decided one day that, as a wife and mom to 3, I had very limited free time and that I'd prefer using that time by putting my nose in a book (and my head in the clouds.) :D This was a purely personal decision - I have nothing against those of you who love your t.v.

Which brings me to Sons of Anarchy. Now, I knew about SoA because I work at Barnes & Noble and I saw the DVDs there. I'd always been intrigued with this sort of story line because I'd read and enjoyed a few MC books. Plus, Charlie Hunnam. (need I say more?) I admit to being shocked to realize this series began in 2008. Talk about being behind the times, but anyway... I decided at the beginning of January (2016) that I was going to watch SoA - one episode a day while I was on the elliptical. Two birds, one stone. At this point, I've watched 6 episodes. I'm not sure I'll continue past season 1 but here are my thoughts so far:

• I found myself critiquing the show with a reader's eye. Gemma or Jax would do something and I'd think "that's not consistent with your character up to this point."
• This is one dark/crude show. There have been several scenes I wish I could un-see or that I averted my eyes from because it was too graphic. (the sounds were bad enough) And this is where I believe reading beats watching - because no matter how well an author draws a scene, my brain will only conjure an image that I can handle. T.V. is in your face.
• The story is compelling enough that I am curious to see where it goes - to know everyone's story, why Gemma is so evil?!? I probably won't get all my answers by the end of season 1 and it remains to be seen if I'll continue. I'm thinking not at this point since my current read typically appeals to me more and I've found myself reading rather than watching while exercising lately.

Have y'all seen SoA? What are your thoughts on it? Are there shows you watch that make you cringe but you can't stop watching??

Beyond the Books ~ Marveling Over Marvel

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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I used to be such a movie girl. I used to go to movies (when $2 movies were expensive). I loved watching movies on cable. Remember when you could rent a VCR and movies at the grocery store? Yeah, I used to allot a little of my hard earned money to rent movies on Friday nights - when I wasn't working. My hubs, however, is *not* a movie guy. So the longer I've been married, the fewer movies I see.

However, as y'all know part of our Christmas tradition is to watch Christmas-themed movies on the nights leading up to Christmas. Aaand because we took the kids to see Star Wars over the holiday and saw the trailer for the upcoming Captain America movie, we decided to carry over family movie nights into the new year. So, every Saturday night (when the kids aren't competing or performing) we've been watching Marvel...specifically the Avengers movies. And y'all, I'm in LOVE! So far we've watched Captain America, Iron Man I, II, and III, Thor, and The Avengers. My favorite is Captain America, even though I adore Robert Downey Jr and the music in Iron Man. And I think Loki is the best misunderstood villain! I was very upset over a certain character's demise though...*fingers crossed* for a miracle. ;)

We've been unable to have family movie nights lately because of the kids' winter music competition schedules but FOUR MORE WEEKS and we'll be back to regularly scheduled Saturday night movies. I'm anxious for Thor II. ;)

If y'all haven't seen the Marvel movies, I recommend them. If you have, which is your favorite?!?

Beyond the Books ~ Me & My Pal, Fitbit

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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Y'all. I'm such a dork. I'm completely gaga over my new friend, Fitbit! My hubs got it for me for Christmas and I had no idea it'd be such motivator for me.

I really work at getting in my 10000 steps daily because I don't want to let Fitbit down. Plus, I really enjoy the fireworks when I reach my daily goal! ;) I also adore getting my Overachiever notices when I go above and beyond. I even earned my March of the Penguins badge in January, meaning I'd walked over 75000 steps! It made me exorbitantly happy. 

I keep wondering if Fitbit will zap me when I'm being particularly lazy - like last week when I didn't have/make time to get my daily exercise in. I fully expected Fitbit to send me a message saying something along the lines of "You did so well last week...what happened to make you a lazy ass?!?" 

I like it when I can Fitbit 'smile' at me - like when I've gotten in all my water for the day or I've had enough sleep (that one rarely happens). And it's so neat that Fitbit knows if I ran or was on the elliptical for my exercise. (It's just too bad reading doesn't burn many calories!)

I never thought I'd be so into or motivated by something I wear on my wrist. But I love it. LOVE. IT.

Do y'all have a friend named Fitbit? Or do you use something else? What motivates you to get up and move??

Beyond the Books ~ My Planner, a Funny Story

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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Sometime back in 2015, Michelle @Because Reading did a post (Task It Tuesday, I believe) on getting organized and planners. She was lamenting the fact that finding a planner that meets all a mom's/blogger's needs is pretty darn difficult. So she'd taken matters into her own hands and created her own. She shared a prototype and it looked like something that would work for me as well. I decided to make my own. Problem? Michelle is a graphic designer by trade. Me? Not so much. But I do have some papercrafting skills so I set out to craft my own planner.

My original plan was was to create ONE page and then have it copied and bound. Easy, right?

I sat down and decided how I wanted my page to look, what colors I'd use, what design elements, etc. Then, on a weekend where my crafting girlfriends were getting together, I set about implementing my plan. Once I completed my masterpiece, one of my friends *cough*Denise*cough* said, "Wouldn't it be cool if you did a different design for every month?" I had to agree and went back to the drawing board again, so to speak. Here is a sample of my different months I crafted:

A few weeks later, we all got together again and I once again set about creating my 12 pages (one per month). I'd gotten to May when Denise asked an ominous question. See, I'd left a margin on my pages to allow for binding. Denise asked if I was printing front and back, which I was planning on because who wants a planner that's 365 pages thick? We flipped the pages trying to figure out the layout and realized my margin wouldn't work on the backside of a page. SO, I had to go back and do the backsides of all my calendar pages - in reverse - sort of.

This project had now taken about 3 days of my time - and some of Denise's. I've cut ribbon and paper, hand-drawn lines, chosen and written the headings for the different sections. But once I got my pages all finished, I was so happy with the results. I couldn't wait to take it to the print shop. While James was off for the Christmas break, we went to our local print shop to have my planner printed. We roll up into the parking lot and I was floating I was so excited. Then I completely deflated when they tell me it'll cost $182 to print and bind my planner. Aaaaahhhh!!!!

In the end, James had the print shop scan my pages and then he bought extra ink for our inkjet and a heavier weight paper and he printed, front and back, 183 pages (actually a few more than that with the printer hiccups). He also wrote in all the dates and circled the days of the week for those dates. He said there were times when he was thinking maybe the $182 would have been worth it, but he said it was a Christmas gift from him to me. And I love it! 

Here is the final product:

I'm really enjoying it so far. There are some things I'd like to tweak but I don't know how difficult that would be so we'll see if they're things I can live with. It may have been a very pricey experiment. But I'm hoping to use it for years to come since I write in the date and circle the day of the week. Only time will tell, I guess. Eh, it was fun doing the crafting anyway.

Beyond the Books ~ Christmas Traditions

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (un)Conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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I don't know how it happened, but Christmas is almost here! With that in mind, I thought I'd share a few of my family's Christmas traditions with y'all. :)

• Every year, we buy a living Christmas tree to decorate. And then, once the ground has thawed enough we can dig, we plant it on our property. 
• When the kids have a moment to breathe from school responsibilities, we turn on Christmas music and decorate the tree and the house.
• Every night leading up to Christmas, we watch a holiday-themed movie as a family. This year, we added Gremlins to our collection.
• I make certain Christmas cookies and treats, but my kiddos spend a day in the kitchen making cutout cookies together. It's one of our favorite events - it's so much fun to listen to our kids laugh, talk, and have fun together making one of their favorite Christmas goodies.
• On Christmas Eve, we eat pizza for dinner. We used to make our own, but now we're lazy and get Papa Murphy's. After dinner, we go to Christmas Eve service at church. Once we're home from that, the kids put out cookies for Santa and go to bed while Hubs and I watch Christmas Vacation before bed.
• On Christmas morning, we wake up the kids (yes, they sleep in now) and they come see what Santa brought. Then we eat breakfast (I always make a casserole) before opening all the gifts from family.
• We eat ham loaf and homemade mac-n-cheese for Christmas dinner. :D

What about y'all? Do y'all have any special Christmas traditions?

Beyond the Books ~ Fall is Marching Band Season

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (un)Conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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If you've followed me for awhile, you know that I have musical kiddos. (if you haven't, you know now :) In fact, all THREE have been in marching band this fall. (the season is, thankfully, over) It's a busy time of year for us since my hubs and I volunteer quite a bit. My older daughter switched instruments this fall from alto saxophone to mellophone (marching french horn), my younger daughter is in the color guard (they do so much more than spin flags), and my son plays the grand marimba. The second to last weekend in October, we traveled to Pueblo, Colorado, for the State Marching Band Competition. Our band placed 7th in the state.

I thought I'd share a few photos and a video with y'all - so you could see what I spend a large portion of my time around. :D

These pictures are from rehearsal at the State Competition in Pueblo, CO.

The one in the parka is my older daughter, Sky. 

The one in the overalls (and looking towards the sky) is my younger daughter, Berk. 

Here is a little clip of their performance at rehearsal. My son, Jax, is playing the grand marimba. 

Hopefully you enjoyed seeing this little snippet from fall's marching band season. :)

Beyond the Books ~ Inspiration...

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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Here's something about me some of you may not know...I'm a writer. I've always been a writer. I remember writing screen plays in elementary school, that my best friend and I would perform. For Christmas, when I was in fourth grade, I asked for a typewriter (which I still have) so that I could type my stories...like a real writer. In my teen years, I broke into writing poetry. I was a technical writer, in my previous life, because it enabled me to write for a living even if it wasn't the kind of writing I really wanted to do. But when the kids started coming, I stopped writing. Oh, I put together interviews and articles for the school newsletter, and I eventually began blogging...but I didn't really write anymore. Then, in 2012, inspiration struck and I had the sudden need to write. I began hearing voices in my head (the jury's still out on my sanity) and I started writing again. 

I'm not a diligent writer - it's always difficult to find time to dedicate to writing. And then there's all the books I want to read. :) I have several projects in progress. But I *am* working on them.

Last week, I attended the Emerald City Writer's Conference hosted by the Greater Seattle chapter of Romance Writers of America. There I met and listened to some fabulous authors (Elizabeth Hoyt, Sabrina Jeffries, and Margaret Mallory to name a few) and aspiring writers. I learned so much and gained so much inspiration. I took workshops on everything from POV to writing smarter/writing faster. I was able to chat with writers who were self-pubbed as well as those published traditionally, and even those who, like me, aren't to the point where they're considering publishing at all. 

I came home pumped! I have a vision and a plan. I knew this past week wouldn't allow me to put my plan into action because of the kids' activities, but this week, it's a go! I'll keep you posted...

Beyond the Books ~ Having a Schedule is *Exhausting*

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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In an effort to keep my self busy (more busy?) and better manage my time, I decided to create a daily schedule for myself, which I started when the kids went back to school. (See how the two things coincided? That was on purpose ;) I wanted to make sure I had time for all the things I need/want to get done in a day (the part of the day I have to myself, anyway) and I figured that a schedule was the best way to accomplish this goal...having it on paper, on a schedule keeps me accountable, right? Otherwise, I might end up spending an entire day sitting somewhere comfy and reading. *grins*

So I put pen to paper, planned out what time of day I'd do which activity. And thus far, it's worked pretty well. I have a block of time every day where I comment on blogs, exercise, clean, do laundry, work on my book, read, etc. I also carved out specific days to work on my blog, preparing reviews and commenting back. I still have some tweaking to do and I've learned I have to be flexible since my kids have had emergencies which have knocked me off schedule. One thing that's been glaringly obvious? This new schedule is exhausting! *haha* I get up every morning at 4:30 and get started on my day. But I gotta tell ya...I've not been able to stay awake past 10:00 p.m. Usually, my eyelids are drooping by 9:00. Gah!

I'll keep y'all posted on how I fare as I continue following a daily schedule.  

Beyond the Books ~ Back-to-School Blues

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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School started this week. *sniff* All my kids are in high school. ALL.OF.THEM. And since my oldest drives, AND they're all involved in marching band, my role in their lives is evolving. My oldest drives everyone to school now...and that means I have 2 extra hours in my day. Plus, they have marching band rehearsal after-school 2 days a week, and ALL day on Saturday so they're just not going to be here a lot of the time. And while I'm so excited that they're growing up and they're such amazing individuals with their own special talents, I'm also feeling a little blue. I miss them already and it's only the first week. And this is my oldest daughter's senior year. This time next year, she'll be away at college. Gah! 

Kids grow up waaay too fast. So even though I'm feeling a little blue, and missing my kiddos, I'm trying to cherish every minute I have with them. Because it won't be long before they're all away at college and I'll be wondering why I ever complained about all the time I spent in the car taking them here and there... 

Beyond the Books ~ Making Memories

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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We were in Dallas (that's Texas, y'all) for a week visiting my hubs' family over the last week. (which, by the way, accounts for my radio silence AGAIN...there were wifi issues and we kept getting kicked of the internet so I just gave up) On our last day there, we spent the day at Lewisville Lake with some friends. It was a nice day, but we wouldn't have noticed the heat anyway since we were in the water. 

Being from Texas, my hubs and I spent many a summer day on a boat, in the water, skiing, tubing, and just floating. In Colorado, you don't boat. (okay, some people do...but they're probably 'high' ~ just kidding!) Getting to take our kids out on a boat to enjoy an experience like this meant a lot to us. And the kids had a blast. Our oldest said she didn't realize it would be so much fun since she was envisioning a lake like lakes in Colorado...i.e. ice cold and small. *ha* We did end up getting a little more sun than we wanted, but what's a little sunburn when you're making memories like this?!?

Beyond the Books ~ Yellowstone

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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This trip to Wyoming, my first which is sad since I live ~3 hours from Wyoming, was inspired by books for me (naturally) and my hubs' desire to take the kids there before our oldest graduates. Y'all will get more about my trip to Wyoming and Yellowstone in a Travel by the Book post sometime, but I wanted to share some highlights of our trip! By the way, we spent our first night in Wyoming in the Grand Tetons National Park on Signal Mountain Lake. It was gorgeous there as well. And hubs and I plan to go back.

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Being in Yellowstone, in the Geyser Basin in particular, gave us all a really good idea of what prehistoric Earth must have looked like prior to the arrival of cyanobacteria. <-- My oldest, who wants to go into biology and my youngest who is a prehistory expert shared that piece of knowledge when I mentioned my thoughts on the landscape. The juxtaposition of a landscape very similar to where we live and that of what really does look like a moonscape was spectacular to see.

***Things We Saw in Yellowstone or Grand Tetons***

• Bald Eagle - we saw one fly so close overhead we could see lovely detail
• Bison - we saw so much bison and baby bison roaming free
• Cutthroat Trout
• Deer - we saw deer but since we see it at home, we didn't marvel
• Elk - see comment about re: deer
• Fumarole - these are just vents in the ground which steam but have no water
• Geyser - they steam and blow water...amazing!
• Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
• Grizzly Bear - we had resigned ourselves to not seeing any bears (totally fine with me) and then we saw a mama and her 2 cubs on a hillside on our last day. This was the best way to see a bear!
• Hot Spring - beautiful pools of water and seem like they'd be great to take a dip in until you find out they're 250 degrees Fahrenheit and have a pH of 1-2. In other words, it'll boil and eat your skin right off!
• Moose - we saw a juvenile moose in the Grand Tetons NP
• Mountains!
• Mud Pot - a hot spring that has started eating the rock around it and the liquid looks like bubbling mud
• Paint Pot - same as mud pot only it has extremophiles (bacteria) living in it that makes the liquid pretty colors
• Yellowstone Lake
• Yellowstone River

***A Few Things We Learned***

• Mosquitoes in Yellowstone are smarter than those here in our part of the Rocky Mountains. This means we got 'chewed' on quite a bit. The mosquitoes here are more like keystone cops - you can walk through a swarm and maybe end up with a single bite.

• Theodore Roosevelt did not create Yellowstone National Park. He did form 5 other National Parks, but it was Ulysses S. Grant who signed the legislation that created Yellowstone. Yellowstone was a favorite of Teddy's though.

• You can't fix stupid. Despite multiple warnings - BIG signs everywhere - we still witnessed people: a) step off the boardwalk onto thin and dangerous 'crust'. We even saw a woman walking barefoot through the drainage of a geyser and then lie down next to it; b) get too close to a bison. Yep, the bison actually charged the couple. Luckily for them, he was only giving them a warning.

• Don't attempt Uncle Tom's Trail is you're afraid of heights. This grated stairway leads down into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (River) where you can get a great view of the lower falls. My daughters couldn't make it though. They tried but I ended up coming back up with them before they had panic attacks. :)

***Favorite Quote from the Trip***

Kid: But I don't want to get up early. We're on vacation!

Dad/Hubs: Yes we're on vacation, but it's not a relaxing sort of vacation. It's a see everything we can cram in sort of vacation!

***A Few Photos***

Welcome to Yellowstone!

That's a moose!

A hot spring on the shore of Yellowstone Lake

Don't get too close to that buffalo!

Another hot spring - Dragon's Mouth

That moonscape I was talking about - and a geyser

A gorgeous hot spring

A waterfall - sorry I can't remember the name :/

Beyond the Books ~ On Lasik

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level - Beyond the Books. ;)

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As y'all may or may not know, I recently had Lasik surgery...about 3.5 weeks ago now. And overall, I'm loving it! I thought I'd share a few things about my experience just in case you were curious. ;)

The science...the surgeon uses one laser to create a flap in your cornea and another to remove tissue, which reshapes your eyes - essentially creating your "prescription" on your eye. My prescription in my glasses was close to 20/600 in each eye.

First of all, I had myself really worked up over having Lasik done. I mean, they are my eyes after all. What I found was that I needn't have been so worked up. Yes, it's still a risky venture. But the risks are low. And a good doctor isn't going to perform the procedure on you if you aren't a good candidate. (I have thicker than average corneas and small pupils which, apparently, equaled *perfect* candidate!)

Second of all...y'all it's over in less than 2 minutes! Seriously! Here's the quick and dirty...They cover whichever eye they aren't working on, and the first laser gets to work creating the flap. When this is happening, you experience what it's like to be blind. You lose sight in the eye while the laser is working but it only lasts for 20 seconds. I kept hearing my boot camp instructor telling me I can do anything for 20 seconds. *ha* And then the second laser gets to work removing tissue. For me, this took 14 and 12 seconds per eye. Afterwards, I sat up and walked over to the 'eye machine' (like at the eye doctor) where the surgeon checked my vision. All was good! I could see but it was like looking through my glasses with oil smeared on them.

My husband watched the whole thing and was captivated by the technology (some of which was created by NASA!). 

They gave me a sedative prior to my procedure but not far enough in advance for it to really be working during my procedure - you have to be able to hold your eyes open after all. Anyway, I barely remember the hour drive home. I went straight to bed, with a lovely pair of goggles. I slept the rest of the day, only getting up for dinner. And when I awoke on Saturday morning, I could see. I went to the eye doctor that morning for a post-op check up and my vision was 20/15 in each eye.

I had to put antibiotic drops in my eyes 3 times a day for 4 days and sleep with the goggles on for close to 2 weeks. I also have to put 'tears' in my eyes several times a day, even now. But the need for this is tapering off. My last visit, my vision was still 20/15. 

The only drawback for me is this...I already wore progressives so I *knew* I'd need reading glasses. However, I wasn't expecting the reality that I really couldn't see up close anymore. With my glasses, I could take them off and holding an object, say my phone, really close, I could read it. I can't anymore. And I wasn't fully prepared for that. But the benefits of being free of glasses for anything not up close outweigh my need for reading glasses. (although I do have to laugh that my family teasing me about *still* wearing glasses 90% of the time after Lasik wasn't off the mark! I do read often. ;) 

So, after wearing glasses for 30+ years, I'm relatively free of them, can wear lots of cute, colored reading glasses, and I'm happy with my results! I only wish I'd done it sooner!! ;)

Beyond the Books ~ Mountain Living

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level - Beyond the Books. ;)

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Most of y'all know I live in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. I'm sure the same is said around the world, but it is said here that if you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes. Well, we went from sunny and upper 50s to SNOW and 20s in a day. In fact, we have about 2 feet of snow and it's still snowing. I won't complain as more snow equals less fire danger. And my kiddos got a snow day yesterday and enjoyed some wintertime sports for probably the last time this season. But I won't say never. ;) I took some photos yesterday that I thought I'd share. Enjoy!

I took this photo around 5:30 this morning.

This is looking out the back of my house. I was trying to get the bird feeder and bath but they didn't show up as well as the slow leaning off the deck railing.

This is looking out the front of my house. Y'all should have heard the thwump of snow falling out of the trees.

A different view looking out the front of my house.

This is a view from my bedroom. My hottub is under all that snow somewhere. ;) 

Beyond the Books ~ Other Hobbies

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (Un)conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level - Beyond the Books. ;)

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Quick update: I hadn't updated my grandma's health status lately, so I thought I would. She's recovered well from her mastectomy and has been receiving chemo treatments every 3 weeks. She's also on a daily chemo pill. She's doing very well, honestly. She's in good spirits, has more energy than I'd expect - baking bread and cleaning out things. And she hasn't lost any hair and has only lost a few pounds. She has an appointment with her oncologist in April, which I hope to be able to attend with her, to check her markers and find out how much longer she'll have to continue treatment. I'll keep y'all posted.

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One of my other hobbies (what? I have other hobbies besides reading?!?) is scrapbooking. I started scrapbooking when my oldest was born - that was before it was the craze and you can tell the difference when you look at that first album. Now I have scrapbooks of all my children, as well as family albums and albums dedicated to those book-inspired vacations my Hubs and I take. :)

A group of friends and I do scrapbooking getaways a few times a year. We haven't done one in awhile but this weekend, I'm headed on a girls getaway to spend some time getting caught up. (don't worry, I'm taking my kindle too!) 

I thought I'd share a few photos of my craft room and a few samples from album or two.

My craft room...by the way, this is just after getting it set 

up so it's neat. It's not always so tidy. ;)

Getting things ready to go...

From my older daughter's scrapbook when she and her sister 

were much younger. ;)

Again, from my older daughter's scrapbook...

From my older daughter's school album - this is from when she used to be on swim team. 

In getting ready, I've decided to try to get my older daughter's school album up-to-date. I laid out all the photos in groups according to activity. She definitely has a theme going. Can you guess what it is? I told her I was going to do a cover page that reads "Eat, Sleep, Breath Band". 

So what other hobbies do y'all have?