tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93798462024-03-23T14:16:50.768-04:00Idle Thoughts and Random LinksPretty much what the title says! :)Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.comBlogger156125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-35653603322362559642013-06-28T14:16:00.004-04:002013-06-28T14:16:49.124-04:00nother test(bye)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This is a simple pattern, with a fairly easy to remember repeat. I wanted to knit a washcloth, but couldn’t find a pattern that interested me. I found this rosebud pattern in one of the Barbara Walker stitch dictionaries, and this was the result.</span><br />
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Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1174083552388571282007-03-16T19:17:00.000-04:002007-03-16T19:19:12.413-04:00MovingFor various reasons I've decided to start fresh elsewhere ... you can now find my blog at <a href="http://bluebunny.wordpress.com/">http://bluebunny.wordpress.com/</a>Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1172866416304119682007-03-02T15:01:00.000-05:002007-03-02T15:13:36.316-05:00FrustrationEver feel like you're banging your head against a wall?<br /><br />That's the way I've been feeling a LOT lately. <br /><br />I hear the message "reach out", ask for help, be willing to admit when I can't do it on my own. Where some say there are answers, none are forthcoming for me. Clarity does not come, reassurance is absent, comfort unattainable. Companionship fluttering out of my grasp.<br /><br />I find myself calling much into question lately. Where I find myself, where I'm heading, my beliefs, my desires .... <br /><br />I feel lost. alone. limited. frustrated. like a hampster running around in a wheel - not really going anywhere, not doing any real good.<br /><br />and I'm sick of it. <br /><br />I want to have purpose. meaning. to feel needed and wanted. to give of myself in a meaningful way. to pour out the passion I know is within. <br /><br />I feel like I must be doing something wrong, but I don't know what. Einstein said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" ... so why is it I try in different ways, with different people, different approaches, different techniques I end up in the same quagmire of depression, disssatisfaction, loneliness, dissillusionment, disenchantment and just plain BLAHness?Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1172368932816885822007-02-24T20:59:00.000-05:002007-02-24T21:02:12.830-05:00Socks!I finished off the socks I'd been knitting myself finally ... I'd post a pic, but that would require my taking them off to get the lighting decent & that's not happening! I finally see what the fuss is about - they are the most comfortable socks I've ever had! It's rare that my feet don't feel frozen in the wintertime & they are just nicely warm :) <br /><br />I've already cast on for my second pair. :)Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1172240084865627062007-02-23T09:06:00.000-05:002007-02-23T09:14:44.876-05:00Whatever Happened to the Kindness of Strangers?We got hit with some pretty nasty weather yesterday & everyone's been driving more cautiously, myself included. This morning the roads were clear and barely an iy patch to be seen. I managed to find one. <br /><br />I'd slowed down to enter the turning lane and hit a long stretch of black ice. There was nothing I could do - if I steered the car right, I'd slide into oncoming traffic. I hit the brakes and hung on. I was fortunate I was going so slow - the car slid the whole length of the lane (and it's a long one!) bumped onto the concrete island dividing the turn lane from the main road, knocked over a street sign but came to a stop before hitting the traffic light pole, thank goodness!<br /><br />I sat there for a moment, stunned. A woman waiting at the lights was looking directly at me. There were plenty of cars around who saw what happened. Not one stopped. Not one rolled down a window to ask if I was ok. <br /><br />I waited a moment to be sure I was ok, and drove off unhurt and the car only a little scratched, thankful it wasn't worse but feeling very dissapointed in people.Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1171674058012362142007-02-16T19:53:00.000-05:002007-02-16T20:00:58.026-05:00sickThe absolute worst part for me about being a single mother is when I get sick. Lots of other stuff is hard, lots makes my heart about want to burst, lots make me feel. helpless but when I get sick - REALLY sick, I AM helpless. <br /><br />I managed to get to the dr's office this afternoon to get diagnosed with some kind of throat infection - maybe strep. I took a course of antibiotics as soon as I paid for them. I dosed myself with ibuprofin.<br /><br />Then I got the shakes. BAD. I got scared - my little one is not quite ready to handle making a phone call should I become incapacitated. I downed fluid, stole one of his freezies. An hour in I called my friend, who was a nurse for advice. I couldn't even think sraight.<br /><br />My friend reminded me I could take some ASA as well, so I did. The shakes continued for another hour. That's a LONG time :(<br /><br />I'm relieved to be finally feeling like I'm thinking straight again, and to have stopped shivering. It's almost The Child's bedtime and I'll does myself up one more time with antiobiotics and line up the asa & ibuprofin by the bed and hope that a god night sleep helps improve matters immensely so I can at least pretend to be supermom again in the morning!Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1171575926210216782007-02-15T16:43:00.000-05:002007-02-15T16:45:26.223-05:00Give your boss the heave-hoFrom <span style="font-style:italic;">Office Playground</span>, the <a href="http://www.officeplayground.com/bosstoss.html">Boss Toss!</a>Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1171552930995589932007-02-15T10:21:00.000-05:002007-02-15T10:22:11.016-05:00Unusual class project<a href="http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=37254&in_page_id=2">Children make coffin for dying teacher</a>Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1171337773276963102007-02-12T22:26:00.000-05:002007-02-12T22:37:36.100-05:00"Crowned in Peace"A friend sent me a link to an incredbily sad video on youtube that briefly told the story of a little boy who lost his life due to seat belt failure. The parents of the boy had published the video to promote seat belt saftey awarenss. They are recommending parents look for car seats that have 5-point harnesses that can hold up to 80lbs as if their son had been in a 5-pt harness he would still be alive today. <br /><br />Definitely a good message to hear. More rsearch to be done on my part as the family in question lives in the Sates and safety standards are different here in Canada, so investigation is needed.<br /><br />BUT that's not why I'm posting tonight. Something on the related playlist caught my eye; "the life of noah steven" Being curious, I clicked it & the video started playing. I stopped it only a moment in, as from the photo montage alone I could work out the essentials. A link to a blog was listed above the video. Off I went to read. and read. and read. and cry.<br /><br />The story of this family has short-circuited most of my brain cells at the moment. I'm amazed at the amount of love, faith, strength and togetherness this family shows in their pictures and posts. They have gone through some awful times and have managed to remain positive and able to see the good in this world. <br /><br />So, I'm suggesting a peek at the blog, which is as much as story about Faith as it is about this beautiful boy and his loving parents and sister ..... take some kleenex with you....<br /><br /><a href="http://noahsteven.blogspot.com/">Noah Steven Crowned in Peace</a>Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1171042210121189892007-02-09T12:28:00.000-05:002007-02-09T12:30:10.120-05:00"I dead you!!"The Child's newest favourite phrase - perhaps we've watched a little too much Siderman and Harry Potter lately!Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1170874261924774642007-02-07T13:50:00.000-05:002007-02-09T12:25:54.680-05:00A Giving HeartGo read <a href="http://www.troll-baby.com/2007/02/06/and-guilt-begat-pride/"> Troll Baby</a> . Take some kleenex. 's all.Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1170773279303322092007-02-06T09:44:00.000-05:002007-02-06T09:47:59.316-05:00Free Tax Programs<a href="http://www.genutax.ca/Tdownload.aspx?exp=212">GenuTax</a> - 30 day trial<br /><a href="http://pacificcoast.net/%7Egthompson/2006.htm">Taxman 2006</a><br /><a href="http://www.studiotax.com/en/home.htm">StudioTax</a><br /><br />I haven't tried any of these myself and none have e-file capability - I think the idea is you enter your amounts intop the programs, let them do the calculations & copy onto the paper form & mail that away. <br /><br />This has been your public service announcement of the day :)Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1170772092250308262007-02-06T09:11:00.000-05:002007-02-06T09:28:12.263-05:00Money, money, money!Lately I've been spending more time than I'd like trying to re-work my budget. It astounds me how it is I make a decent salary yet am always broke. <br /><br />Out of curiosity (ok and maybe I was a little bored too!) I decided to work out how my monthly earnings were being divided up:<br /><br /><ul><br /><li> 25% goes to rent</li><br /><li> 21% to daycare </li><br /><li> 13% utilities </li><br /><li> 17% goes to car-related expenses (car payment, insurance, gas)</li><br /><li> 16% is for food </li><br /><li> less than 1% clothes the kiddo & I</li><br /><li> less than 1% to debts </li><br /><li> pharmacy-stuff, coffee money, entertainment, insurance (life & renter's) and charitable donatrions make up the last 6% - I didn't bother breaking them each down</li><br /></ul><br /><br />Notice anything missing? Yep, I have NOTHING going to savings. Or RRSP's. Or an RESP. And that's with tweaking and re-working the darn thing a bazillion-and-one times. Something is just very very wrong there! <br /><br />I just can't fathom how other single parents DO it! In fact, I can't fathom how any single-income family manages to do more than get by! I'm better off than some, I know, but my kid isn't doing any sports, our entertainment consists of an outing to the Children's Museum or the library, maybe the video store, we shop mainly at consignment stores & sales, my car is nothing special - our life is not at all luxurious. <br /><br />It's a mystery to me how some folk seem to have so much more. I suppose though the key word is seem - I guess I have no way of *knowing* the truth .... <br /><br />Yet I still feel like a failure when it comes to money. I feel like I'm letting my son down by not providing the nest, by not being able to save for his future or mine! The only good thing I can say is I've paid off a staggering amount of debt since separating and if I can manage to keep it up, it should be all gone by the end of this year (other than the car payments). Depressing though that will only free up 1% of my monthly salary! *sigh*Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1169867525635786412007-01-26T21:59:00.000-05:002007-01-26T22:15:03.416-05:00I've got Sunshine on a Cloudy Day ....LOL! thanks <a href="http://celluloidincinders.blogspot.com/">Douglas</a>, for the comment!!! Here's what I probably deserved:<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/BunnyBelle/smileys/ray-of-sunshine.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/BunnyBelle/smileys/rotflol.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />(I know, I know, something about lost marbles, right???)Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1169742944576900222007-01-25T11:34:00.000-05:002007-01-25T11:35:44.590-05:00BlahThis time of year sucks. Please send sunshine. <br /><br />whimper.Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1167842179609296562007-01-03T11:35:00.000-05:002007-01-03T11:36:19.626-05:00Tribute to CanadaReceived this from a friend and it's well worth passing along! Not sure on the original date of publication - too lazy to google it, lol!<br /><br /> Sunday Telegraph Article<br /> From today's UK wires: Salute to a brave and modest nation<br /> Kevin Myers, The Sunday Telegraph<br /><br /> LONDON - Until the deaths last week of four Canadian soldiers<br />accidentally killed by a U.S. warplane in Afghanistan, probably almost no<br />one outside their home country had been aware that Canadian troops were<br />deployed in the region. And as always, Canada will now bury its dead, just<br />as the rest of the world as always will forget its sacrifice, just as it<br />always forgets nearly everything Canada ever does.<br /><br /> It seems that Canada's historic mission is to come to the selfless<br />aid both of its friends and of complete strangers, and then, once the crisis<br />is over, to be well and truly ignored. Canada is the perpetual wallflower<br />that stands on the edge of the hall, waiting for someone to come and ask her<br />for a dance. A fire breaks out, she risks life and limb to rescue her fellow<br />dance-goers, and suffers serious injuries. But when the hall is repaired<br />and the dancing resumes, there is Canada, the wallflower still, while those<br />she once helped glamorously cavort across the floor, blithely neglecting her<br />yet again.<br /><br /> That is the price Canada pays for sharing the North American<br />continent with the United States, and for being a selfless friend of Britain<br />in two global conflicts. For much of the 20th century, Canada was torn in<br />two different directions: It seemed to be a part of the old world, yet had<br />an address in the new one, and that divided identity ensured that it never<br />fully got the gratitude it deserved.<br /><br /> Yet its purely voluntary contribution to the cause of freedom in two<br />world wars was perhaps the greatest of any democracy. Almost 10% of Canada's<br />entire population of seven million people served in the armed forces during<br />the First World War, and nearly 60,000 died. The great Allied victories of<br />1918 were spearheaded by Canadian troops, perhaps the most capable soldiers<br />in the entire British order of battle.<br /><br /> Canada was repaid for its enormous sacrifice by downright neglect,<br />its unique contribution to victory being absorbed into the popular Memory as<br />somehow or other the work of the "British." The Second World War provided a<br />re-run. The Canadian navy began the war with a half dozen vessels, and ended<br />up policing nearly half of the Atlantic against U-boat attack. More than 120<br />Canadian warships participated in the Normandy landings, during which 15,000<br />Canadian soldiers went ashore on D-Day alone. Canada finished the war with<br />the third-largest navy and the fourth-largest air force in the world.<br /><br /> The world thanked Canada with the same sublime indifference as it<br />had the previous time. Canadian participation in the war was acknowledged in<br />film only if it was necessary to give an American actor a part in a campaign<br />in which the United States had clearly not participated - a touching<br />scrupulousness which, of ourse, Hollywood has since abandoned, as it has any<br />notion of a separate Canadian identity.<br /><br /> So it is a general rule that actors and filmmakers arriving in<br />Hollywood keep their nationality - unless, that is, they are Canadian. Thus<br />Mary Pickford, Walter Huston, Donald Sutherland, Michael J. Fox, William<br />Shatner, Norman Jewison, David Cronenberg, Alex Trebek, Art Linkletter and<br />Dan Aykroyd have in the popular perception become American, and Christopher<br />Plummer, British. It is as if, in the very act of becoming famous, a<br />Canadian ceases to be Canadian, unless she is Margaret Atwood, who is as<br />unshakably Canadian as a moose, or Celine Dion, for whom Canada has proved<br />quite unable to find any takers.<br /><br /> Moreover, Canada is every bit as querulously alert to the<br />achievements of its sons and daughters as the rest of the world is<br />completely unaware of them. The Canadians proudly say of themselves - and<br />are unheard by anyone else - that 1% of the world's population has provided<br />10% of the world's peacekeeping forces. Canadian soldiers in the past half<br />century have been the greatest peacekeepers on Earth - in 39 missions on UN<br />mandates, and six on non-UN peacekeeping duties, from Vietnam to East Timor,<br />from Sinai to Bosnia.<br /><br /> Yet the only foreign engagement that has entered the popular<br />on-Canadian imagination was the sorry affair in Somalia, in which<br />out-of-control paratroopers murdered two Somali infiltrators. Their regiment<br />was then disbanded in disgrace - a uniquely Canadian act of self-abasement<br />for which, naturally, the Canadians received no international credit.<br /><br /> So who today in the United States knows about the stoic and selfless<br />friendship its northern neighbour has given it in Afghanistan? Rather like<br />Cyrano de Bergerac, Canada repeatedly does honourable things for honourable<br />motives, but instead of being thanked for it, it remains something of a<br />figure of fun.<br /><br /> It is the Canadian way, for which Canadians should be proud, yet such<br />honour comes at a high cost. This week, four more grieving Canadian families<br />knew that cost all too tragically well.Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1167064158206171422006-12-25T11:27:00.000-05:002006-12-25T11:29:18.223-05:00Season's Greetings!<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/BunnyBelle/Christmas/deer-cane.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/BunnyBelle/Christmas/bestwishes.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1162688476156788622006-11-04T19:54:00.000-05:002006-11-04T20:01:16.183-05:00Concealed Weapon?Ok, this story had me laughing out loud!!!<br /><br /><blockquote>John Sheehan, 33, was arrested yesterday near a train station in El Cerrito, California after police responded to reports that he was lying on a tree stump masturbating. When police asked Sheehan whether he was carrying anything like a weapon, he responded that he had an awl stored in his ass. Police were planning to bring Sheehan to the emergency room but he kindly removed the tool himself before an ambulance was called. From the Contra Costa Times:<br /><br /> Mindful that a 6-inch metal awl wrapped in black electrical tape could be used as a weapon, officers kept their weapons trained on the 33-year-old.<br /><br /> Sheehan went quietly afterward, without explanation.<br /><br /> Sheehan was paroled from state prison last week... Police booked him into County Jail in Martinez on suspicion of parole violations, indecent exposure and one felony count of possessing a concealed weapon.</blockquote>Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1162493483916206372006-11-02T13:49:00.000-05:002006-11-02T13:51:23.916-05:00Getting InkedIt occurs to me I've neglected to share a fairly recent experience! <br /><br />For my last birthday I decided to get myself a tattoo. <br /><br />I'd been thinking about it for a looong time, just hadn't been able to decide on what or where but finally made a decision. I did a couple of doodles, took 'em to a well-recommended shop and after two sessions of about an hour in the chair this is what I have to show:<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/BunnyBelle/100_0206.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1162493289614862312006-11-02T13:47:00.000-05:002006-11-02T13:48:09.633-05:00Hurray for Hallowe'en !<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/BunnyBelle/dalmation1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />Ain't he just the cutest thing??Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1161367446983659342006-10-20T14:01:00.000-04:002006-10-20T14:04:07.003-04:00Gettin' RippedWell, I finally got off my arse & rejoined the gym last month. It feels sooooo good to be getting back there! I'm loving hitting the weights again and even tolerate cardio these days, lol! <br /><br />I've joined some weight-lifting forums & my goal is basically to get in kick-ass shape! lol! <br /><br />Just thought I'd share! :)Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1159805889231140162006-10-02T12:11:00.000-04:002006-10-02T12:18:37.126-04:00Banned BooksI'm shamelessly stealing this from <a href="http://solomom.ivillage.com/parenting/">Solo Mom</a><br /><br /><b>Banned Books Week</b><br /><br />Solo Mom writes:<br /><br />"My favourite Stephen King quotation is about banned books. His advice is that if someone tells you can't read something, run, don't walk, to your local library and find out for yourself what all the fuss is about. <br /><br />In honour of Banned Books Week, I'm offering a meme of sorts. Below is the ALA list of the 100 most frequently challenged books, 1990-2000. Bold the ones you've read. And then run, don't walk, to your local library."<br /><br /><br />Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz<br />Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite<br />I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier<br />The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain<br />Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck<br />Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling<br />Forever by Judy Blume<br />Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson</span><br />Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor<br />Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman<br />My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger</span><br />The Giver by Lois Lowry<br />It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris<br />Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine<br />A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck<br />The Color Purple by Alice Walker<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sex by Madonna<br />Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel<br />The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson<br />A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle<br />Go Ask Alice by Anonymous</span><br />Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers<br />In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak<br />The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard<br />The Witches by Roald Dahl<br />The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry</span><br />The Goats by Brock Cole<br />Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Blubber by Judy Blume</span><br />Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan<br />Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier</span><br />Final Exit by Derek Humphry<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood</span><br />Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George<br />The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison<br />What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee</span><br />Beloved by Toni Morrison<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton</span><br />The Pigman by Paul Zindel<br />Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard<br />Deenie by Judy Blume<br />Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes<br />Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden<br />The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar<br />Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein<br />Brave New World by Aldous Huxley</span><br />Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)<br />Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cujo by Stephen King<br />James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl</span><br />The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell<br />Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy<br />Ordinary People by Judith Guest<br />American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis<br />What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume</span><br />Crazy Lady by Jane Conly<br />Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher<br />Fade by Robert Cormier<br />Guess What? by Mem Fox<br />The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende<br />The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut<br />Lord of the Flies by William Golding</span><br />Native Son by Richard Wright<br />Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday<br />Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen<br />Jack by A.M. Homes<br />Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya<br />Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Carrie by Stephen King<br />Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume</span><br />On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer<br />Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge<br />Family Secrets by Norma Klein<br />Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Dead Zone by Stephen King<br />The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain</span><br />Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison<br />Always Running by Luis Rodriguez<br />Private Parts by Howard Stern<br />Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford<br />Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene<br />Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman<br />Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett<br />Running Loose by Chris Crutcher<br />Sex Education by Jenny Davis<br />The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene<br />Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy<br />How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell<br />View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts<br />The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder<br />The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney<br />Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher CollierVictoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1158765427409492172006-09-20T11:16:00.000-04:002006-09-20T11:17:07.426-04:00Hours of Browsing Fun!I couldn't pick just one favourite from <a href="http://www.iwantoneofthose.com">this store</a>; you'll just have to check it out yourself! The name is perfect!Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1158675085146747262006-09-19T10:09:00.000-04:002006-09-19T10:12:17.436-04:00Creature Comforts<a href="http://http://www.dreamessentials.com/a_relax_heatable_animals.aspx"><img src="http://www.dreamessentials.com/children/images/sleepy_pete-lamb.jpg"></a><br /></br><br />What a much more friendly-looking way to sooth a sore back or warm cold tootsies than those old-fashioned rubber water bottles!Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379846.post-1158589030950704192006-09-18T10:15:00.000-04:002006-09-21T12:45:55.400-04:00"MomAngel"<img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/BunnyBelle/chefsmomheart.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"><br /><br />A dear friend's mother passed away yesterday morning and it's just hit me hard. "MomAngel" as she was affectionately known was a strong woman who battled breast cancer for quite some time but various complications caught up with her.<br /><br />My heart goes out to her family and I wish there was more I could do.Victoria Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422558000728900783noreply@blogger.com1