It's Roald Dahl Day! My Favorite Dahl Quotes Episode 3

Learn more about Roald Dahl.

September 13th is Roald Dahl's birthday (1916 - 1990).  In celebration of him, I've decided to share some of my favorite Dahl quotes.  Some are from his books, some are statements outside of his books.  They all inspire me, and make me want to read his lovely, magical books again.

I just love how playful and silly Dahl's books are.  They never fail to make me smile.

It's Roald Dahl Day! My Favorite Dahl Quotes Episode 2

Learn more about Roald Dahl.

September 13th is Roald Dahl's birthday (1916 - 1990).  In celebration of him, I've decided to share some of my favorite Dahl quotes.  Some are from his books, some are statements outside of his books.  They all inspire me, and make me want to read his lovely, magical books again.

Matilda is a particular favorite of mine.  The Wormwoods are some of the most delicious villains in all of children's literature.  Truly awful people, but not scary for little ones.  (Trunchbull is another story, but she also adds the just right bit of fear.)

It's Roald Dahl Day! My Favorite Dahl Quotes Episode 1

Learn more about Roald Dahl.

September 13th is Roald Dahl's birthday (1916 - 1990).  In celebration of him, I've decided to share some of my favorite Dahl quotes.  Some are from his books, some are statements outside of his books.  They all inspire me, and make me want to read his magical books again.

The Dilemma of Not Enjoying A Good Book : A Review of The End Of Your Life Book Club

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Do you ever pick up a book with great reviews that seems like your cup of tea and then not like it?  I'm reading a book right now that I really ought to love.  It got great reviews, it's about a topics I'm interested in - books and relationships - but it just isn't clicking with me. In fact, it makes me slightly uncomfortable.  The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe is the well written memoir of a man whose mother is dying of cancer.  He accompanies her to chemotherapy, and as they have always done, they talk about what they are reading.  Before they know it they feel they have formed a de facto book club, deciding what to read together so they can discuss it.  The book reveals the remarkable life of the mother who is a high energy soul, traveling the world working to help refugees and making friends everywhere she goes.  I would really like to be totally into the whole story, but it's told in such a matter of fact manner that's making it difficult to connect.  These are interesting people, but I'm kind of bored by what should be a compelling read. It's terrible to say a son's writing about the end of his dear mother's life is dry, but it is.  I feel shallow for saying it, but the book is not what I hoped it would be.  Perhaps I didn't fully realize it was a memoir. Possibly I expected a work of fiction?  It reminds me of a really long article from The New York Times.  That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I think I'll be happy when I finish.  If you decide to read it (or already have), I'm interested in your opinion.  Do you have a different point of view that might make me take a second look?

Try Audible (my sleep aid of choice) FREE for 30 days! *Plus get 2 FREE audiobooks!

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Like many people, being an adult has wrecked my ability to sleep. I have to trick my brain in to shutting down.  My primary trick is to plug in some headphones and play an audiobook.  My brain focuses on the story, I relax and most nights I'm out like a light.  On the nights I don't sleep, I get to hear the books I love read professionally instead of just letting my crazy brain run wild.  It's a win either way!

(I don't just sleep to audiobooks, either.  You'd be amazed how pleasant cleaning the house can be when Elijah Wood is reading Huckleberry Finn to you.)

Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks

 I subscribe to Audible's Gold Plan, which means for $14.95 a month I get one audiobook (or a credit toward future books if I don't choose a new one ever month) and 30% off additional audiobooks.  I love having pre-paid credits so I can always download the books I want when I want them.

You can try Audible for fee for 30 days.  The benefits included in the free trial are:

• Get two free audiobooks to start -- after 30 days, get 1 book each month for $14.95/month

• Get 30% off the price of additional audiobook purchases

• Cancel anytime. Your books are yours to keep, even if you cancel.

Audible Gold Membership benefits:

• One audiobook per month for $14.95/mo

• 30% off the price of additional audiobook purchases

• Cancel anytime. A member’s books are theirs to keep, even if they cancel.

**BONUS**

These are my favorite headphones for sleeping.  Sound quality is very good and 
they're comfy!  It doesn't get better than that.    

Happy Thoughts for Readers episode 1

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Sure, I'm bummed out about summer being over, kids back in school, and especially my kids all being old enough to be in school all day, but let me tell you a secret.  Being able to sit down to read in silence is H.E.A.V.E.N.L.Y.  

Product Review: FitBit Surge

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I was SO excited when I received my Surge. I've been a loyal FitBit customer for a few years and was jazzed about upgrading to their best model. Here are my thoughts:

*Right out of the box it was easy to set up and sync with my existing account as well as my iPhone through Blu-Tooth. I like that FitBit now allows two trackers on one account because I've found my One model is slightly more accurate when it comes to counting steps so I've continued to carry it in a pocket but I love having a heart rate tracker on my wrist with no chest strap, too. (Fitbit reconciles the two trackers info to give the most accurate count I feel is possible.)

*I have nothing to directly compare the heart rate monitor to for accuracy but it matches the app I have on my iPhone so since I'm not a serious athlete, I feel it is accurate enough for me.

*The GPS tracker seems accurate, though it sometimes takes a few seconds to find my position.

*The sleep tracker exactly matched my One but I love not having to remember to activate it on the Surge.

*The Surge is a bit big on my small wrist but because it has a very clean design I don't feel it's ugly. It's entirely appropriate for most activities, but I probably won't wear it anywhere fancy. That's okay since I can still discretely use my One.

*I like that the Surge can notify me about texts and calls, and that I can change songs on my iPhone with it. Those are two features I didn't give much thought to before, but they (especially the notifications) have become some of my favorite things.

** THIS IS THE BUMPY START ** My only complaint is that when my Surge arrived the heart rate monitor was not working at all. Fitbit has a great help section and a customer community so I went there first for troubleshooting. I tried everything suggested to fix the monitor to no avail. I've had great success with Fitbit's customer support over email in the past so I wrote an email and waited. For three days. They then suggested I tried fixes I had already told them I'd tried in my initial email. Long story short it took me just over a week of communicating this way before Fitbit agreed to send me a replacement. (Apparently the faulty heart rate monitor is not uncommon.) Once my replacement arrived I was a happy camper though. The replacement has been perfect. The heart rate monitor works flawlessly with all my activities so far without having to adjust it's position on my arm.

*SUMMARY* As a fitness tracker I'm very pleased with it, and I feel like this is a good starter smart watch while I wait for Apple to get the iWatch just right. I plug it in to charge while I shower and otherwise wear it comfortably all day and night.