A Merrill Minute: Presidents Day Weekend 2010

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Presidents Day Weekend 2010

President's Day Weekend was so beautifully fabulous that we took advantage and went to the beach . . . twice!

On Monday we went to Zuma with our friends the Johnsons. Baby Kate was so happy to be at the beach!

3 comments:

Gloria said...: Southern California is Great!; February 24, 2010 at 2:37 PM
Sharon and Marvin said...: Kate is a cutie...enjoy her in Primary Nursery. Just love sunny CA, but getting more rain tomorrow.; February 25, 2010 at 9:34 PM
rebecca said...: Looks like so much fun! I need to find my camera so I can post our pres' vacation in the local SNOW:) Have to say, the beach looks heavenly this time of year!; March 7, 2010 at 8:01 AM

What I've Read in '08, '09 '10, '11, '12 and 2013. For my ratings, check out Goodreads.

CURRENTLY READING:
These is My Words - Nancy Turner
The Dark Eagles - Book 2 - David Smith
2014:
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer Smith
Divergent - Veronica Roth
The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
The Wild - Cheryl Strayed
Chasing June - Shannen Crane Camp
Finding June - Shannen Crane Camp
Turtle in Paradise - Jennifer Holm
Sugar Coated - Shannen Camp
The Fiery Cross - Diana Gabaldon (didn't finish)
Cross Your Heart - Julie Wright
Smart Move - Melanie Jacobson
2013:
The Break Up Artist - Shannen Camp
Emmalee - Jenni James
Just Ella - Annette Larson
Drums of Autumn - Diana Gabaldon
Voyage - Diana Gabaldon
Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon
Finding Collin Firth - Mia March
Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
Blackmoore - Julianne Donaldson
These Three Remain - Pamela Aidan
Duty and Desire - Pamela Aidan
Just One of the Guys - Kristan Higgans
An Assembly Such as This - Pamela Aidan
Speak - Laurie Anderson
Crossing to Safety - Wallace Stegner
The Wedding Letters - Jason F Wright
The Wednesday Letters - Jason F Wright
My Fair Godmother - Janette Rallison
Reality Check - Karen Tuft
My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions - Becca Wilhite
The Lonely Hearts Club - Elizabeth Eulberg
The Talisman Ring - Georgette Heyer
Perfect Scoundrels - Ally Carter
When You Reach Me - Rebecca Stead
Star Girl - Jerry Spinelli
Edenbrooke - Julianne Donaldson
Uncommon Criminal - Allie Carter
Snow Angel - Glenn Beck
Killing Lincoln - Bill O'Reilly
The Son - Lois Lowery
Reached - Allie Condie
My Not So FairyTale Life - Julie Wright
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
The Newport Ladies Book Club - Josi Kilpack
Twitterpated - Melanie Jacobson
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
The List - Melanie Jacobson
2012:
The Dark Eagles - First Flight - David Smith (reading aloud)
Northanger Alibi - Jenni James
Forever - Maggie Stievfvater
Toby Gold - Craig Everett
Pride and Popularity - Jenni James
Linger - Maggie Stievfvater
Les Mis Abridgement
Shiver - Maggie Stievfvater
Smiles to Go - Jerry Spinelli
Beauty - Bill Wallace
The Westing Game
Hatchet - Gary Paulsen
Mansfield Park - Jane Austen
NeverMore - James Patterson
Angel - James Patterson
Safe Haven - Nicholas Sparks
My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
The Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Joy Fowler
Midnight in Austenland - Shannon Hale
I'm OK - Gary D. Schmidt
Emma - Jane Austen
Superfudge - Judy Blume
Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand
Persuasion - Jane Austen
Out of Sight, Out of Time - Ally Carter
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
Wednesday Wars - Gary D. Schmidt
Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture - Ross King
Only the Good Spy Young - Ally Carter
Death Comes to Pemberley - P.D. James
Prom and Prejudice - Elizabeth Eulberg
West with the Night - Beryl Markham
Crossed - Ally Condie
Matched - Ally Condie
The Red Blazer Girls - Michael D. Beil
2011:
Palace of MIrrors - Margaret Haddix
The Heist Society - Ally Carter
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy - Ally Carter
Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover - Ally Carter
I'd Tell You I love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You - Ally Carter
The Dark Eagles (revised) - David Smith (editing)
Sacred Hearts - Sarah Dunant
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
Perfect Timing - Michele Ashman Bell
Midway to Heaven - Dean Hughes
The Princess Bride - William Goldman
Pies and Prejudice - Heather Vogel Frederick
Dear Pen Pal - Heather Vogel Frederick
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Much Ado About Anne - Heather Vogel Frederick
As Long As I Have You - Dean Hughes
When We Meet Again - Dean Hughes
Out of My Mind - Sharon Draper
Far From Home - Dean Hughes
Since You Went Away - Dean Hughes
Rumors of War - Dean Hughes
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
2nd Chance - James Patterson
Table for Two - Nora Roberts
The Art of Racing in the Rain
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Jamie Ford
My Name is Mary Sutter - Robin Oliviera
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society -
The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis
The Mother-Daughter Book Club - Heather Vogel Frederick
The Overton Window - Glenn Beck
Angel - James Patterson
Fang - James Patterson
Max - James Patterson
The Final Warning - James Patterson
Finally- Wendy Mass
Black Heels to Tractor Wheels - Ree Drummond
Becoming Isaac - Ben Behunin
Discovering Isaac - Ben Behunin
Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever
Maximum Ride: Angel Experiment - James Patterson
The Girl Who Could Fly - Victoria Forester
Remembering Isaac - Ben Behunin
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
2010
Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson
The Dark Eagles - David Smith (not yet published)
Work and the Glory vol. 5
Marie Antoinette Princess of Versailles - Kathryn Lasky
The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton
Austenland - Shannon Hale
White Sands Red Menace - Ellen Klages
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
The Kite Runner -Khaled Hosseini
This Side of Married - Rachel Pasten
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - John Boyne
The Wedding - Nicholas Sparks
The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Sarah: Women of Genesis - Orson Scott Card
The Green Glass Sea - Ellen Klages
A Loving Heart - Anita Stansfield
The Undomestic Goddess - Sophie Kinsella
The Nanny Diaries
The Choice - Nicholas Sparks
Message in a Bottle - Nicholas Sparks
The Short Life of Bree Tanner - Stephenie Meyer
A Far, Far Better Place - Anita Stansfield
The Best of Times (Dickens Inn Series) - Anita Stansfield
The Sunday Philosophy Club - Alexander McCall Smith
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built - Alexander McCall Smith
Miracle at Speedy Motors - Alexander McCall Smith
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
Anne Frank
Fablehaven IV - Brandon Mull
Rules - Cynthia Lord
2009:
Work and the Glory Vol. 4
Left to tell - Immaculee Ilibagiza
The Undaunted - Gerald Lund
Work and the Glory vol 3
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Work and the Glory vol 2
Work and the Glory - A Pillar of Light
The Lacemaker and the Princess - Kimberly Brubaker
A Crooked Kind of Perfect - Linda Urban
Fairest - Gail Levine Larson
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - Kate DiCamillo
Breaking Dawn
Fablehaven III - Brandon Mull
Marley - John Grogan
The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
2008:
The Christmas Sweater - Glenn Beck
The Tale of Despereaux - Kate DiCamillo
New Moon
Twilight
Promises to Keep (Diane's Story) - Dean Hughes
Bound for Canaan - Margaret Blair Young
Playing for Pizza - John Grisham
Dear John - Nicholas Sparks
Fablehaven II - Brandon Mull
Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
One More River to Cross - Margaret Blair Young
The Princess Academy - Shannon Hale
Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
The Host - Stephenie Meyer
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive - Alexander McCall Smith
The Candy Shop War - Brandon Mull
Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
Blue Shoes and Happiness - Alexander McCall Smith
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
Fablehaven - Brandon Mull
Winter Star - Larry and Lisa Laycock
Before the Dawn - Dean Hughes
The Professor - Charlotte Bronte

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things (Updated Frequently)

A clean house
A good night's sleep
A good run (and making it all the way up the hill)
A really clean house
Ali Baba (a local Mediterranean restaurant)
Awesome neighbors
Back Rubs
Bath and Body Works
Bear hugs from my kids
C.O. Bigelow's Mentha Lip Shine
Camping at Carpinteria
Chocolate Milk
Clean House
Daddy home and with the family
Dark chocolate (must be high quality)
Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel
Emma (movie with Gwyneth Paltrow)
Facials
Family Vacations
Freshly Painted Clean House
Good Friends
Great Harvest Bread
Happy Children
Healthy Food
Homemade bread
Homemade healthy chocolate chip cookies
Kashi Good Friends cereal
Kickboxing
MacBook Pro
Massages
Matrix Biolage shampoo and conditioner
Movie theaters with stadium seating
My babies' cheeks and bums
My husband as my best friend
My iPhone
My kids when freshly bathed
Optimum Power Breakfast cereal by Nature's Path
Panera Bread (restaurant)
Sanitizing Wipes
Scrambled cheesy eggs
Shiny clean house
Silk Almond Milk
Steel Magnolias (movie)
Swiffer Sweeper Vac
The Natural Cafe
The Sound of Music
Totally Clean House
Trader Joe's Chocolate Truffles
Twilight (book)
Weekly Gardeners