Pushing ahead!

 I got this card in the mail yesterday and thought it was so pretty!  I thought it was a photo but on the back it said it was a painting....I laughed so hard at myself......did I really think they could get all those animals to sit like that for a photo?  I am getting batty in my old age but I have lots of laughter  at my own expense....lol!
The inside of the card had drawings from Grayson and Sam and Amy..and it had this verse which I adored............."Sometimes I just sit and ponder on how you're doing way off yonder"...........isn't that the cutest?  I think that about a lot of people.  It certainly made me smile!

 Okay...so it's Tuesday..........but I have a few 'finishes in the book department...........did I tell you about this one?  Tales of Beetle the Bard by J.K. Rowling...........

Amazon states: "

All profits from the sale of this eBook will go to Lumos, a charity founded by J.K. Rowling to end the institutionalisation of children worldwide.As familiar to many Hogwarts students as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are to Muggle children, The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of popular stories written for young wizards and witches.

Translated from the original runes by Hermione Granger, they include fascinating additional notes from Professor Albus Dumbledore, with intriguing glimpses into his life at Hogwarts, as well as illustrations from J.K. Rowling herself.

For wizarding and Muggle readers alike, this is a must-have edition, featuring fate-seeking witches, a hairy-hearted warlock and the tale of the three brothers who tried to cheat Death . . .
By buying this unique and special book, you are helping Lumos to make sure that, by 2050, no more children live in institutions or orphanages around the world, and that every child is able to enjoy their right to grow up in a family.
All profits from the sale of this eBook will go to Lumos. The Lumos Foundation is a charity registered in England and Wales with registered charity number 1112575."

This was a small delightful book that my daughter gave me and I enjoyed it!
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I finally finished this one...it was alright but I would just read a chapter a night.  It was mostly about commencement speeches he gave at colleges from a celebrity's point of view.
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I finished this little book and it packed a punch for it's little size.  Very good and very heart warming....love these kinds of books.  A tender subject treated with much tenderness. 

From Amazon:"A little book with a big heart!

“I read this beautifully imagined and moving novella in one sitting, utterly wowed, wanting to share it with everyone I know.” —Lisa Genova, bestselling author of Still Alice

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, and Britt-Marie Was Here comes an exquisitely moving portrait of an elderly man’s struggle to hold on to his most precious memories, and his family’s efforts to care for him even as they must find a way to let go.

With all the same charm of his bestselling full-length novels, here Fredrik Backman once again reveals his unrivaled understanding of human nature and deep compassion for people in difficult circumstances. This is a tiny gem with a message you’ll treasure for a lifetime."
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I'm still reading this so obviously it was not "unputdownable' for me but then I  have other things to do in my life...lol!  It is good and interesting but I get tired at night and no matter how good the book I cannot force my eyes to stay open.  I'm hoping to finish this week.
From Amazon:"
“What if what you did mattered more because life happened again and again, consequences unfolding across decades and continents?…A relentlessly paced page-turner and a profound meditation on the meaning of life.”
—Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan Train
What happens to us after we die? What happens before we are born? At once a riveting mystery and a testament to the profound connection between a child and parent, The Forgetting Time will lead you to reevaluate everything you believe…
What would you do if your four-year-old son claimed he had lived another life and that he wants to go back to it? That he wants his other mother?
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 I got this on my Kindle app and it is hysterical besides having great advice for those of us who are not prone to being able to manage our homes, our belongings and chores...........she has a blog too..........here it is

 I am almost finished....now this is an "unputdownable" book LOL!  I am in the throes of cleaning and decluttering and trying to move forward even though the elder care here is taking it's toll on me and the house.  This gave me hope, made me laugh and her tips are working although I did do some of her first tasks already but I highly recommend it....it's a hoot even if you don't need the advice.
From Amazon:"

Bring your home out of the mess it’s in and learn how to keep it under control.

“The dirty little secret about most organizing advice is that it’s written by organized people,” says blogger, speaker, and decluttering expert Dana K. White. “But that’s not how my brain works. I’m lost on page three.” Dana blogs at A Slob Comes Clean, chronicling her successes and failures with her self-described “deslobification process.” In the beginning she used the name “Nony” (short for aNONYmous), because she was sharing her deep, dark, slob secret. Now she has truly come clean—with not only her real name but the strategies she has developed, tested, and proved in her own home. She has learned what it takes to bring a home out of Disaster Status, which habits make the biggest and most lasting impact, and how to keep clutter under control.

In How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind, Dana explains that cleaning your house is not a onetime project but a series of ongoing premade decisions. Her reality-based cleaning and organizing techniques debunk the biggest housekeeping fantasies and help readers learn what really works. Chapter titles include

• My First Step: Giving Up on the Fantasy
• The Worst Thing About the Best Way
• Just Tell Me What to Do
• Conquering Laundry
• Get Dinner on the Table
• Putting an End to the Never-Ending Weekly Cleaning Tasks
• Don’t Get Organized
• How to Declutter Without Making a Bigger Mess
• Fighting the Perceived Value Battle
• But Will It Last?

With a huge helping of empathy and humor, Dana provides a step-by-step process with strategies for getting rid of enormous amounts of stuff in as little time (and with as little emotional drama) as possible."

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 I never really finished reading this book as I got 'stuck' on the budget chapter but I am back reading it again from the beginning and getting even more out of it this time.
From Amazon:"Do you have too much month at the end of your money? Is your credit card screaming for relief? Are you tired of robbing Peter to pay Paul . . . whoever they are?

Meet Steve and Annette Economides. They’ve been called cheapskates, thriftaholics, and tightwads, but in these tough economic times, Steve and Annette have managed to feed their family of seven on just $350 per month, pay off their first house in nine years and purchase a second, larger home, buy cars with cash, take wonderful vacations, and put money in savings. Without degrees in finance or six-figure salaries, Steve and Annette have created a comfortable, debt-free life for themselves and their children. In America’s Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money, they show you how they did it- and how you can do it too.

Steve and Annette share many down-to-earth principles and the simple spending plan that they have used since 1982. They have taught this economizing lifestyle to thousands of people worldwide through seminars and their newsletter, and they include lots of real-life stories to make you feel as if you’re having your own private coaching session. Not only will you find solutions to your financial dilemmas, you’ll also discover a whole new way of life.

You don’t need to be a CPA or a math wizard to learn their revolutionary system, which will teach you:

- hundreds of ways to save money on everyday household expenses, including groceries, clothing, and health care
- how to save in advance for major purchases such as homes, cars, and vacations
- how to stop living paycheck to paycheck
- how to eliminate debt . . . forever!

America’s Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money puts meeting your financial goals- and living well at the same time- in reach for every family."
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I was reading this and then realized I had the library book to get back so once I've finished that book I will get back to reading this one....very good.
From Amazon:"

A moving, exciting, and heartfelt American saga inspired by the author's own family memoirs, these words belong to Sarah Prine, a woman of spirit and fire who forges a full and remarkable existence in a harsh, unfamiliar frontier. Scrupulously recording her steps down the path Providence has set her upon—from child to determined young adult to loving mother—she shares the turbulent events, both joyous and tragic, that molded her, and recalls the enduring love with cavalry officer Captain Jack Elliot that gave her strength and purpose.
Rich in authentic everyday details and alive with truly unforgettable characters, These Is My Words brilliantly brings a vanished world to breathtaking life again."

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That's all for Book Date this week.  I finished my last National Geographic and will start a new one tonight.  I hope you had a great day today and always!
Happy Trails!!!