Decorating party!

As per Burkhart family tradition (or because I bugged my mom endlessly!) we got out our Halloween decorations today and decorated! :) It's sort of a decoration war in my neighborhood and once our neighbor put up his scarecrow yesterday, I knew we were late. Yep, late. In September. Yes, I know it's only September, but I reaaaally love our pumpkins and witches. So, we got out the decorations and when I needed a break from editing, I put up our spooky Halloween collection. I can't stand scary movies, but I adore Halloween!

Every year, we buy one new item for our holiday decorations. This year, I found the most adorable (you'll see a pic) wreath at Wal-Mart. I had to by pass the Christmas section (talk about way too early!), but I found it.

I'm taking pictures tonight of everything and will post the best ones next week.

Anyone else decorate for Halloween?

Mini horse pics

So, here are the pics of the mini horses! :) These little guys are foals from a local miniature horse farm. Aren't they adorable? That's my brother, Jason, with a colt who loved attention. That's the family's dog and it shows just how small the horses really are. Unlike regular horses, these hardy guys can have a 30 year life span. They were so sweet and they had the most even temper of any horse I'd been around.

Now I want one. :)

Field trip

A few weeks ago I was supposed to visit a local horse farm, but I had to cancel. Today's the day! I'll be meeting M, a local horse farm owner, and spending a bit of time with her horses. I'm so excited! I haven't been around horses much since my spinal fusion in 2000. But being around horses is like riding a bike--even if you haven't done it in a while, you don't forget how.

Pictures will be up tomorrow. Check back. :)

Big news with The Writer

Today is a double-post day! So, I mentioned in my first post that I had great news to share. Well, after waiting for confirmation, I can indeed say that.... I'll be the Breakthrough columnist for the March 2008 issue of The Writer Magazine!!! Woo hoo!! I've been trying to break into The Writer for years with no luck. Persistence definitely paid off and I'll be writing the article over the next few weeks.

Off to celebrate! :)

Weekend of books

I did a lot of reading this weekend. First, I read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants because (gasp!) I've never read it! I've seen the movie a couple of times (love Alexis Bledel), but I forgot about the book.

Then, I tackled two books from Aladdin MIX (*cough* my line). ;) I read Tricia Rayburn's THE MELTING OF MAGGIE BEAN (see sidebar for link to Amazon) and Lauren Barnholdt's THE SECRET IDENTITY OF DEVON DELANEY. Both are amazing books and MIX has the coolest, cutest covers ever! Next on my list is I am Rembrandt's Daughter. It's a historical YA that came out this year.

What books did you read over the weekend? Or what are you reading now?

PS- I've got awesome news to share, but it'll have to wait a bit. Stay tuned! :)

Confessions of a Shopaholic Movie

Did anyone else hear that Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic is going to be a movie? Isla Fischer is playing Becky Bloomwood and Jerry Bruckheimer will produce. I've only read the first book, but I'd love to see the movie! What do you think?

Series

The blog has been quiet (very!) this week, but it should return to regularly scheduled blogging soon.

Today, I wanted to talk about series. I love a good series, especially those by Libba Bray, Stephenie Meyer and (from my childhood) the Thoroughbred series by Joanna Campbell.

Series give such a rare chance to follow and bond with a character instead of leaving him/her behind after one book. For some, one book is all that's needed to tell a compelling story. There are several books that I've read recently where I loved the ending so much, I was glad there wasn't a sequel. Others seemed to leave me hanging and begged for a follow up. Imagine if JK Rowling stopped with the first HP! Okay, that's not even imaginable.

What are some of your favorite series? Why? Did a sequel ever let you down? Or has a sequel ever been better than the first book?