We have thirteen guests coming this week!  So my meals will have to feed a lot of people and accommodate many different tastes.  I hope I planned well.

Here is my Breakfast menu for this week:

• Cereal w/Milk
• Cheesy grits w/fruit
  
• Fruity Oatmeal w/Milk
• cereal w/milk
• Pancakes w/bacon and apples
  
• Breakfast Tortillas
  
• Biscuits and Sausage gravy w/fruit salad
• Bagels & fruit
  

Lunch menu for this week:

• Leftover Day
  
• Homemade Sloppy Joes w/Tossed salad
• Soup w/grilled cheese
• Mac n’ Cheese w/peas
• Sandwiches, chips, salad, & grapes
• eat out
• Spaghetti & meatballs w/Garlic Bread& salad

Dinner menu for this week:

• Curried Red Lentils with rice, naan, and salad
• Japanese Mum’s Chicken over rice with steamed veggies
• Crockpot Beef Stew w/buttermilk biscuits and cube cheese
• Pizza Night
• Eat out at Captain Steve’s
• Grilled burgers and hot dogs w/corn, salad, & baked potatoes
• Grilled chicken breasts w/risotto, peas, & salad

Head on over to Heavenly Homemakers for more great menu plans.

Most of my breakfast and lunch recipes came from Kid Approved Meals - Weekly Breakfast and Lunch Menus Moms and Kids Love!

I have decided to participate in Blue Archipelago’s Book Blowout Challenge.  The rules are simple - read as many books as I can between July 1st and 31st.   I will then post a list of all the books I have read at the beginning of August.  My goal is ten books.  Don’t forget to checkout the rules and join the challenge by clicking the link above.  How many books do you think you can read in July???

I got a new Gary Fong Lightsphere II (cloudy) for my camara today.  So I decided to play around with it and see if it lived up to it’s reputation.  I have to say, it is awesome!!!!  Elle decided she wanted to pose for me.  Instead she insisted on jumping up in down.  Still, I think the pictures turned out pretty cute!

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day to take it easy and look forward to the weekend.
I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer.
Nothing that requires a lengthy response.

If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog
and leave your link at An Island Life.
Don’t forget to visit the other participants!
It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

Today’s question is:
Who gave you your first kiss?

I got mine from Alphie in first grade.  He used to share his chocolate milk with me.

The Summer Reading Extravaganza is coming to and end.  Our last topic is about books that transport you.  What books do you love that transport you to another place or time?  Here are some of mine:

Harry Potter Boxset Books 1-7

I can not say enough good things about the Harry Potter books.  They are some of the best books ever written.  They capture your imagination and take you into a world filled with muggles and dementors.  If you are looking for a book that you can’t put down, this is the series for you!

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Harper Fiction)

This is the story of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West.  We learn of her life, before Dorothy killed her sister and the Wizard put out a reward for her death.  The story follows Elphaba through her childhood and college years.  We see her develop into a conscientious young woman with a strong sense of right and wrong.  She falls in love, suffers tragedy, and finds herself persecuted and isolated.  It is a great story about a strong woman and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Under the Tuscan Sun

In this memoir of her buying, renovating, and living in an abandoned villa in Tuscany, Frances Mayes reveals the sensual pleasure she found living in rural Italy, and the generous spirit she brought with her. She revels in the sunlight and the color, the long view of her valley, the warm homey architecture, the languor of the slow paced days, the vigor of working her garden, and the intimacy of her dealings with the locals. Cooking, gardening, tiling and painting are never chores, but skills to be learned, arts to be practiced, and above all to be enjoyed.  ~Amazon.com

For more books that transport you, visit The Friendly Book Nook.  Hope you have a great summer of reading and don’t forget to share your favorites!

Today’s topic is summer reading activities. What we love so much about reading is that it expands our world! If you have any fun traditions or activities that you share with your kids or students that have to do with reading, today is the day to share them.If you don’t have kids, maybe you have a book club that does has some fun traditions or you enjoy organizing your books in the summer. Be creative and share with us!

Our summer reading activities center around our local library.  We head over for the preschool storytime and participate in the summer reading programs.  This year there are three programs, one for every age group.

If you are in York County, South Carolina you can join in the Summer Reading fun at all York County Libraries and the Bookmobile, June 9 - August 1. Free programs, great prizes and fun for all ages:

• “Catch the Reading Bug” program for children ages 3-12
• “Metamorphosis @ Your Library” program for teens
• “Reading’s All the Buzz” program for adults

Details are available at any York County Library.

What is going on at your local library?  Do you have any other ideas for reading activities?

Visit The Friendly Book Nook for more fun summer reading activities!

Summer’s Nook is having a birthday bash!  On June 27, 2008 she will have a day chock full of games, door prizes and giveaways featuring fantastic sponsors.

Details:
Finer details are still working themselves out so these are subject to modification:

• Giveaway and comment game posts will be put up every hour on the dot from 9am to 7pm.
• All giveaways and games end at midnight pacific time. Most winners will be chosen at random (unless post specifies otherwise) and announced Saturday morning.
• Games require comment participation and will include prizes.
• Eligibility details for giveaways will be provided in each post.

Be sure to visit Summer’s Birthday Bash on the 27th and good luck!!!!

 Five things I am thankful for this week:

It was brought to my attention that you have to log in to comment on my blog.  I checked into it and some how I must have accidentally enabled that feature.

Thanks so much to everyone who pointed it out. It has been fixed and it will be much easier for everyone to leave comments.  Have fun voicing your opinion!

As you know, I am participating in The Friendly Book Nook’s Summer Reading Extravaganza and today is Magazine Day!

I am a magazine nut!  I have over 10 magazine subscriptions.  I won’t list them all here, but I will tell you about some of my favorites.

What are some of your favorite magazines?

• Dollar Tree Recalls Glue Guns Due to Fire Hazard

• Nordstrom Recalls Girls’ Sandals Due to Choking Hazard

• Jardine Cribs Sold by Babies”R”Us Recalled Due to Entrapment and Strangulation Hazard