Archives for January 2016

Guilty Pleasures: Comics

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Hello Everyone! Happy Monday. It is so cold out today. The wind is making it much more unpleasant. But the sun is shining so all is really well.

I thought I would start 2016 off with some fun posts. I was recently reflecting on my books I read last year, when it occured to me that I have a lot of other things I spend my time on that I rarely discuss. I call them my guilty pleasures because sometimes I feel like a kid hiding when I am caught indulging in these activities.

For example, this past year has been the union of my oldest son and comic books. I have always been a big reading advocate in our home with weekly library visits, trips to Barnes and Noble to name a few things I do to continue to fuel their love of books. So when my oldest, started reading comics, I had to put my ego in check. I didn’t want to stifle his interests but I didn’t want comics to replace all of the book reading he had been doing. Then I realized that he could love both and then I relaxed. When I did, I decided I would join him on this reading adventure to stay connected.  So when we make our visits to our local comic book store, I searched for one that I might enjoy.  That is how I began reading, “Gotham Academy” which is published by DC Comics, created by Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher with artist Karl Kerschi. Fun fact: In 2012 Becky Cloonan became the first female to draw the main Batman for DC Comics.

Gotham Academy

The series follows Olive Silverlock, a teenage girl attending the prestigious Gotham Academy. After distancing herself from her friends and breaking up with her boyfriend over the summer, Olive attends a new school year at the academy after a run-in with Batman. She finds herself bullied at the start of the semester due to word spreading that her mother was instated at Arkham Asylum. At the behest of her friend Mia “Maps” Mizoguchi (who is also her ex-boyfriend’s little sister), the two begin exploring the archaic halls of the academy…

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I even bought a package of comic book sleeves to store our comics inside for safe keeping. I store them in a basket next to my comfy chair in my reading nook. So I can easily sit back and take in the beautiful artwork. I take my time reading each issue to experience both artwork and story. They are definitely on my list of guilty pleasures but I have no regrets.

Now when we go to the Comic Bookstore, I look for my comic and I know that I am connected to this experience with Nicholas. It’s priceless.

What’s one of your guilty pleasures? For I know I am not alone!!

Have a blessed day friends.

Belinda

Fun Find Friday : Punch anyone?

funfindfridayJan8_2016a Hello friends!  I just thought I would share a recent find at my local Michael’s. Martha Stewart punches for ridiculously cheap prices. I don’t know about you, but I tend to pass by her punches most of the time because I find them way over priced.  But not this time. I found these beauties that are normally $12.99 for $4.99 each.

Not only that, but each of them store companion stamps inside of them. How cool is that? With Valentines’ coming next, I know the heart will be of use. I can’t wait to use the balloon punch on some birthday cards and the flower punch, oh my…simply lovely.

funfindfridayJan8_2016bIt appears that many of Martha’s Stewarts products are on sale so if you have an interest, you should check out your store and see what you can find.

I will be sure to share upcoming projects that I use these beauties on in the future.

Have a great weekend!

Belinda

My Year of Reading 2015

Here is what I set as my reading goals for 2015 and how I did:

  • Read a total of 34 books. – I kept track of my books again on GoodReads. I am happy to say I surpassed my goal and read 38 books.
  • Read 12 non-fiction books. – I only read 4 non-fiction books. I hope to improve on this this year.
  • Complete four series:  I only completed one series (The Lunar Chronicles).
  • Write at least 6 discussion posts in 2015. – I believe I wrote only one discussion posts in 2015. I primarily wrote book reviews and shared hauls.
  • Leave 2 comments per week on other book blogger sites. – For much of the year I did keep up with this and I also left comments on booktubers that I visit frequently.
  • Read at least 3 spiritual books. – What I learned about myself this year is that I tend to dip in and out of my spiritual books. I treated them more like reference materials so I didn’t complete them.  But upon reflection, I would like to change that for 2016.
  • Read at least 1 classic books. – Nope. Didn’t happen. I got swept away with all the reading I wanted to do and never looked back.
  • Read a book that is set in a country from each of the 7 continents (Asia, North American, South America, Europe, Africa, Antartica, Australia). – I read two books -Europe, one – Africa, one book – Asia  I hope to do better this year.

I have continued to learn more about myself as I review my reading goals from 2015 as I prepare for 2016. I will write my goals for this year and write a post them which will help motivate me.

Happy reading my book-loving friends!

Belinda

Tea Time Tuesday: Making Loose Tea

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Leao bought me a beautiful new tea steeper from Teavana for Christmas and two new loose teas. I drink both bagged and loose tea. I love the idea of loose tea, because it’s fresh and I like the control over loose teas.

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More people in the US drink tea from tea bags, I believe mainly for convenience and the price. But loose tea is not that much more expensive. Especially when you think of the quality factor.

There is, of course, a huge taste difference. Teabags generally contain bits of tea leaves (typically fannings and dust), not whole leaves, and these leaf fragments brew up a nice cup of blah tea. As any tea expert will tell you, one of the essential requirements of brewing tea is giving the leaves enough room to expand so that their flavor is properly extracted. Because space is limited in a traditional teabag, the size of the tea leaf is smaller to compensate. Thus, the quality of the flavor is decreased. Thus, loose tea reigns supreme.

For this reason, tea steepers are ideal. You can actually see the leaves expand while they infuse the water with yummy goodness.

Adagio teas is a site that you can order loose tea and they kindly break down the expense per cup so you know exactly where your money goes.

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A lot of times people avoid loose tea because they think it requires a lot of expensive equipment. You don’t have to buy a fancy steeper from Teavana there are other more economical options but remember it is a one-time buy that will give you access to high quality tea.

If only you could put your nose over this steeper when I finished steeping the tea, the aroma is intoxicating. The cinnamon is heavenly.  Nothing like loose tea so I dare you to try it. It’s fun and there are so many to choose from, I promise you will never be bored!

Happy sipping!

Belinda

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