TGIF!

FINALLY!
Thank you to all of you who have left a comment here or sent me an email the past couple of weeks. I truly appreciate you stopping by and keeping in touch!


It has been a crap-tastic week at work. I am beyond frustrated and am blaming the full moon that was Monday night! My coming weekend will be short, as I have to work at the library tomorrow. So Sunday, I'm hoping for a day of nothing since I will have worked 7 days in a row.


I am going to encourage you to stop by my "Blogs You Should be Reading" tab, above. There are some fun and fantastic blogs there!

That's about all I have for today. What are you up to this weekend?

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

In keeping with the Wednesday blogging tradition, welcome to another

WHAT I'M LOVING WEDNESDAY!!!!!!!!

*We had a nice spring-like weekend, last weekend.
*Good books
*A nice movie
*Surprise friendly emails
*Baseball is back!
*Blogging friends
*My cousin's HS basketball team going to the state championship this weekend (also my HS alma mater)
*Making dinner that no one in my family wrinkles their nose at
*A new fitness challenge at work


What are YOU loving this week?

Literary Junkies

Good Tuesday morning!

I am jumping into the February Literary Junkies link up

I did not read the book selection this month, Swans of Fifth Avenue - but am going to join in anyway.


This month's questions:

1. What are you reading right now? Tell us about it. Currently Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. At my daughter's encouragement, I am going to read the last two books of the series.

2. Have you ever read a book that made you want to immediately travel to that destination? YES! I have read a couple of books set in Italy. It always makes me want to jump on a plane.

3. What is your ideal reading spot? (Ex. Reading nook in a library, in bed, in a hammock on the beach, etc)  I can read just about anywhere. I like my rocker in the family room; outside in the sun; put a book in my hands and I'm good.

4. If you wrote a memoir, what would the title be?  This Crazy Life

5. One of our great literary giants has recently passed, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee. Did you read the book? Thoughts/opinions. What about Go Set a Watchman? (Surprisingly enough, our February Book Club read was all about Truman Capote (The Swans of Fifth Avenue) who was childhood best friends with Harper Lee!)  Yes I have read Mockingbird several times - I love it! I have also read Go Set a Watchman - didn't like it as much but still enjoyed it.




Feel free to answer these questions on your blog. March's Junkies selection is Seven Letters from Paris.

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a good weekend. It went WAY too fast for me.
Saturday was a beautiful day here - sunny, 60. It felt like a springtime tease. I spent a lot of time finishing vacation laundry, cleaning and organizing.
We went grocery shopping on Saturday evening (always an adventure) and rented The Intern (with Anne Hathaway & Robert DeNiro) - we really enjoyed it!
I worked at the library yesterday and started working on some photography stuff.


As a photography reminder...if you have/know a senior, I am booking spring photos for them right now. I am also booking for just about anything else right now. Email me (photosbyjenmcgee@gmail.com) for dates or details.


How was your weekend?

Hello Friday!

For a short week, it's been a long one!


I'm sorry for not blogging more. February has been a crazy one! *Today is Little Miss's 12th birthday! 
*We are back from vacation (recap to come).
*We took our car shopping to a different level (the Auto Show).
*Spring training is ON!
*Putting some photography promos out there and getting some bites for this spring.


Looking forward to a nice weekend! What do you have planned?

Friday Eve

It's what got me out of bed this morning - tomorrow is Friday!

Over on my photography blog today, I posted my Bucket List for the year. I hope to stay really busy over there and book lots of shoots. (Hold on for shameless self-promotion....)  If you know anyone in the northern Illinois/southern Wisconsin area who needs/wants a photographer (for any reason), I'd love to talk to them!
My email is: photosbyjenmcgee@gmail.com
My photography Facebook is here: Photos by Jen McGee
My photography Pinterest is here: Photos by Jen McGee


Other than that, I have a couple knitting projects I have neglected all week. I need a good TV viewing night so I can just sit, watch and knit.


Not too much planned for the weekend. I work on Saturday; Sunday will be housework and if the weather cooperates, maybe a photo walkabout.


Have a great Thursday!

Ha!

I love laughter!

I love to laugh!

I love listening to others laugh!

When I hear a laugh - I just have to smile.

Keep laughing my friends!

Happy Monday!

Welcome back to the "work week". For those of you on the East Coast, I hope you weathered Jonas ok. We had a decent January weekend here in Illinois. There are birds everywhere (which is unusual for January) - I woke up to birds outside my bedroom window this weekend.


Our weekend wasn't SUPER exciting - we did some shopping and errands on Saturday. Yesterday, we all worked.


The Mr. had a gift card to Berland's House of Tools so we went there on Saturday. He & Young Mr. walked around and drooled for about 1 1/2 hours.


We came across this display while we were waiting for them...and Little Miss started dying laughing. 'It says "Tough Guy" and he's wearing a lei.' So she had to pose with "Tough Guy"

 A boy's wonderland

And then the kids found this hard hat and each had to pose with it on. Who wore it better?

Then on to lunch at Chik-Fil-A. And further shopping. I went to Clothes Mentor - and scored!

That's right: a pair jeans; a pair of khaki pants; 2 skirts; 3 shirts and a coat for $60. Yet another step toward recreating my closet.

Then to Barnes & Noble (oh how I miss our B & N!). And I made this haul...Little Miss also made a pretty good haul too!

We stopped at the violin shop to get Little Miss some resin - she found it in purple and was ecstatic! She also found some sheet music and will probably start working on that soon.

Yesterday, just work at the library for me and Mr. and Young Mr. worked at customer's house on redoing a bathroom.

How was your weekend? What did you do?

Friday Fun

For those of you affected by Winter Storm Jonas...

I hope you stocked up!

Be SAFE!!!!!

My kids say this is going to be my Mr. & I. And I say - YES, probably! (He does have a personal vendetta against squirrels)

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend.

Book Review - Mr. Monk & the Blue Flu

I gave this 4 stars!

Mr. Monk has an obsessive disorder. He is a member of the San Francisco police department. When the SFPD "calls in sick" - Mr. Monk steps in to help solve the case of a serial killer.

This book has lots of humor, a fun mystery and action story.

I haven't watched the show but LOVED the book. I can't wait to read more of them.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, my friends! I hope your week is going well. Another Wednesday, another What I'm Loving segment.


*Baseball is less than a month away!
*My husband keeping me calm the past few days
*We might shake this bitter cold weather
*Sunshine (even when it's cold)
*The support & encouragement my photography has gotten the past couple of weeks
*A good book (I am enjoying the sound of the ARCs I've been receiving - now to get reading...)
*Texts and emails from family and friends
*Blog reading (you bloggers are awesome!)


What are YOU loving this week?

The weekend is over

It's Tuesday...I think. 


It was a busy weekend! Between getting ready at the library for the grand opening yesterday; housework; grocery shopping; a little relaxing time - the weekend flew by. Oh PS - - - the work I had hoped to get done cleaning up my craft corner...didn't happen. It was TOO cold to be out there for very long.


The library grand opening yesterday was good. It was a FRIGID day (high of about 3F) but we had a good turnout and there was foot traffic until about 8 p.m. I feel fortunate to work in that wonderful building. When the second phase (remodeling the old part of the building) is done, it should be absolutely fantastic!


We watched a couple of movies this weekend. The Martian - I loved the book when I read it last summer! The movie did not disappoint!
Hotel Transylvania 2 - it was ok. Cute but a little too forced with some of the humor.


I am still working on knitting a baby blanket. And I "might" have started a sock over the weekend...


How was your weekend?

Yes...

And shout out if you agree...

A word on blogging

9 1/2 years ago, I began this little old spot of mine.

It has changed a lot on that time!

I have changed a lot in that time!

I have found some wonderful bloggers and enjoyed their blogs. I feel like I have come to know them very well - we could sit down with a drink and just chat away. I love that feeling!

I took a mini-hiatus from blogging at the end of last year. Photography was busy; I was busy with my family; and I needed to step away to clear my mind of it. I'm glad I did! I realized I don't care if anyone reads it - I like to write about what I want, when I want to.

I love reading others' blogs! (psst - you should check some of my favorites out under the "Other Blogs You Should be Reading" tab, above) There are some incredibly talented bloggers and storytellers out there - I admire you all. Thank you for sharing your lives, activities, fashions and projects. You inspire me to jump back in and post what I want to.

So if you are inspired, I say - blog what you want.

PS: If your blog isn't in the tab above, leave a link in the comments below and I will get it added!

Hello Friday!

Oh has it been a LONG week!!!! I fought (and lost) a migraine yesterday. It's better today but still aching a little.


Welcome to some Friday ramblings...
It feels good to be back blogging (writing and reading) again.


I saw this and it just cracked me up.

The Cubs Convention is this weekend - I will live vicariously and pretend that I'm there. BUT - it means baseball is just a month away....


I started cleaning up my craft corner last weekend - I didn't get very far.(This is the before)  It's supposed to be a high of 3F on Sunday, so I can see some more work getting done on this...I hope!

Our library reopens on Monday after completing a huge expansion-I will be photographing the Grand Opening. It should be fun, we've been working hard to get it all ready.


Wishing you a great Friday and wonderful weekend.

Treasures from the Shelves, Vol. 1

I am introducing a new "series" on my blog.

I am going to use my quality time at the library for some entertainment purposes too. Welcome to:

TREASURES FROM THE SHELVES! 

I plan to share some of the fun titles/books I find on the library shelves.

I found these last week and they both cracked me up:

Yes - this book is about "the deed". And apparently, we have about 6 other books about dinosaur sex. HUH???!!!!

That's right - just buy your vehicle of choice and you can build your own time machine.

Check out your local library and just peruse one shelf, I bet you can find some fun titles.

Until next time....




PS: I am linking up with Sincerely, Paula for the No Rules Weekend Blog Party. Stop by and check out some blogs!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I think the link up I did for this has fizzled out but I will continue to post it on my blog anyway. (Who doesn't want/need some positive stuff in their life!?)

So - here's what I'm loving right now:

*A warm house (it's been in the single digits since Sunday)

*A car that starts (knocking on wood here...)

*Celebrating my Mr's birthday yesterday (dinner out and dessert with some friends)

*Our new couch (SUPER comfy)

*Good books (I've read a couple good ones lately...and Netgalley has sent me a few ARCs that I'm looking forward to reading)

*Busy knitting needles (working on a baby blanket and have a few more small projects cued up to start soon)

*Powerball being a $1.4 billion jackpot - WHAT?!  (I would settle for a million...)

*Baseball is right around the corner!!!!

*Some photo shoots on the horizon

What are YOU loving???


PS: Tomorrow I am introducing a new blog series here....stay tuned!

Show Us Your Books - December

Today I'm linking up with Steph and Jana for:

This link up happens the second Tuesday of every month.

The next one is Tuesday, February 9, 2016. 

My December Reads (my reading was a little light due to vacation and the holidays):

What the Lady Wants by Renee Rosen. I gave it 4 stars. The story of Marshall Field's rise and his love affairs. There was a lot of interesting Chicago history in this book.

The Art Forger by Barbara A. Shapiro. I gave this 3 stars. This is the story of Claire Roth and the deal she makes to forge a painting in exchange for her own art show. It was ok but I struggled to hold my interest with this one.

The First Ladies by Feather Schwartz Foster. I gave this 3 stars. There were some interesting tidbits on several of the First Ladies of the United States. If you want a quick read - this would be a pretty good pick up.

What did you read?

Please make sure you stop by Steph and Jana's blogs.


PS: You can find me at Goodreads here: Jen

TGIF!

Happy FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!

It's the first full week I've worked in a few weeks. Man, it's been a long one!

Happy Birthday to Elvis.  ;)

We don't have any big plans for the weekend.

*Housework and laundry (of course)

*Photo editing

*Start organizing and cleaning my crafty corner

*Reading and knitting

We may see a movie... It's a fly by the seat of our pants kind of weekend.

What are you up to this weekend?

Any good movie recommendations?

Welcome 2016!

I feel ready for you! I am hoping for a busy photography year. We also hope to end our search for a new car successfully. (We've been looking for over a year...) We also hope to move some time this year (this one is the biggest hope...)


I have already started working toward my goal of updating my wardrobe. You should check your area to see if there is a Clothes Mentor near you. They have wonderful clothes at very reasonable prices (and frequent sales). I have also recently found ThredUp and have been perusing there with plans to purchase some clothes.


I started my first book of 2016 - The Cuckoo's Calling. I am about halfway through it and am really enjoying it! My to read list keeps growing...


I hope your new year has started out well. Thanks for stopping by!