Twitterpated Sky

I have some pictures of swallows and a cool video of them swooping around our doorway.  I've been meaning to post these  since July, when I took them! I miss the swallows at our door.

 

Oh, and if you missed the memo 

earlier this week, I'm on Twitter now! 

(Seemed to fit today's theme). 

Sky Watch Friday

 

Throwback Thursday

Fall into Reading

I used to be a voracious reader...hey, I used to be an English major*, so it comes with the territory. Since kids I've done much less reading. But I still get a chance to read now and then, so I thought I'd go ahead an participate in the Fall Into Reading Challenge over at Callapidderdays, since its a very easy challenge without much pressure or rules.

Most of the books are actually books I just need to FINISH, as I've already started them but got way-layed along the way. One is one I would like to read again, with my oldest son. Only one is one I haven't started yet.






1.  The Gospels, In Order
I've actually read these before...but last Christmas I decided to try to read the four Gospels in order, using the Gospel Harmony list I found here.  I meant to try to finish it between New Years and Easter (ha ha) and am just now at Jesus' entry into Jerusalem with on a young donkey (ie Palm Sunday).  It's been interesting putting the various stories in order, and reading the overlapping stories of the four Gospels side by side.   I REALLY want to finish this up before Christmas.



2.  One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp

 This is a book a friend gave me...its beautiful and deep and needs to be taken in small doses.  I'm so grateful for this gift...and though I may or not finish it by Christmas I hope to keep wading into it's deep waters.





 3. To the Hilt by Dick Francis

Years ago my dad gave me a bunch of Dick Francis books...he said he thought I'd like them.  I was into other things at the time and never popped one open.   Until, that is, my Dad's Parkinsons progressed to the point where he couldn't focus enough to read (he'd always been an avid reader).   So, I went out looking for books on tape for him, and started to read some of the books he'd given me so we could talk about them together.  The whole books on take thing didn't turn out the way I'd hoped...don't know if he ever used them.  But Dad was right, I did like Dick Francis.  I've finished two (Bonecrack and For Kicks), so this will be my third.  I'm half way through already. 


4. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

This is the only book on the list I hadn't started.  My 9 year old so brought this 500+ page book home from his school library not long before school ended last year, and wasn't able to finish it before school ended, so asked if he could buy it.  We did, and I told him I would like to read it after he did.  Well, summer came and he lost interest a little...he probably has less than 100 pages to go.  When he finishes I'm giving it a go.  I'm thinking I may not finish this before December though.


5.  The Hobbit by J. R. Tolkien

I've read this one before...but my children haven't.  I want to read it with them BEFORE we go see the movie that is coming out in December.  (Well, with my oldest two at least...save this for later with my youngest).





So, there it is, the books I hope to read this fall.  :-)


*Oh, and side note:  Yes, I was an English Major.  No, my grammar does not always reflect it.  Sorry folks, but my grammar reflects the fact that I'm a mom who really shouldn't be taking the time to blog as much as she does.  I don't always usually do the proper self-editing, so Texifornia is not a typo free zone. 

Texifornia is Tweeting

I've broken down and gotten a twitter account on Texifornia.  You Can find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TexiforniaGirl. 

I was actually tickled that Texifornia and Texifornian were already taken.  Might have to follow them!

And thanks to U Stand Out for the cool free Twitter button!

Book Drive at HEB

Have some new or gently used kids books your children have outgrown?  HEB is collecting books for children in need as part of their read3 campaign to encourage parents to read to their children 3 times a week.  If you are lucky enough to have an HEB in your area, you can drop them off at bins found at your local HEB.  There's also some fun coloring pages and other freebies on the site.  Click here to learn more.

Ah, just one more reason why I love HEB!

This is Wheverver Giveaways

To encourage participation in This is Wherever Wednesday, I'm going to be giving away some Texas souvenirs to anyone who links up next month, and I'd like to see if I can get some other blogs to offer giveaways from their town too!  I'll be listing these giveaways on TIWW to send some traffic to your blogs!

TO HOST A GIVEAWAY FOR The "THIS IS WHEREVER WEDNESDAY" 

• Your giveaway can be any "souvenir" item from your city, state, or country.  Here's some ideas of things you could give:  A postcard, wildflower seeds, a pressed leaf or flower from your area, an item with the name of your city or state, a digital photograph from your area to use as a desk-top background, a book set in your state or city, a CD of music from a local artist, a craft item with the state flag or state flower, an item your area is famous for,  etc.  You notice, this doesn't have to cost much!

• Feel free to talk about where you live in your post, and link to any posts you have about your hometown. 

• To enter the giveaway, people must be required to link up a blog post on the "This is Wherever" linky OR to read a post listed on and leave a comment on it (or both if you like). 

• You may offer whatever extra entries you want, but one of them must be: "Enter one of the other souvenir giveaways listed on This is Wherever Wednesday for an extra entry."  This helps us to promote each other. 

• There should be a link-back to This is Wheverever Wednesday (http://texifornia.blogspot.com/search/label/This%20is%20Wherever) somewhere in the blog post.

• Giveaways should go live sometime between November 7th and November 15th, and should end before December 6th. Please don't start them earlier than that since people won't be able to link up to enter before then. 

If you want to participate, please e-mail the following info to ecarian@yahoo.com.  Please title your e-mail SOUVENIR GIVEAWAY so I can spot it easily.

Your Blog Name:
Your Blog URL:
Item You Plan to Give Away:
Date Your Giveaway Will End:
(I'll get your giveaway URL after the 7th). 

What Song is This?

Hi!  Welcome to Two Questions Thursday and Aloha Friday!  Just for fun, want to see if you can guess which song is illustrated below? It's a song from the 80's  (one of my faves now, though don't know if I had even heard the song then). The items below are things mentioned in the lyrics (or pretty close...plus some of the items mentioned are up for debate). Leave your guess in the comments.  I'll post the answer later.

'What 80's Song is This?' 

Gorgeous Vintage 70s Gi... VintageTieGirl $24.00	Detachable Faux Leather... FLORyFAUNA $26.95	Fine Art Photo Print--P... ThePDXPhotogra... $30.00
Vtg. Dinky 1960s Lincol... Izzydaizy $26.99	Pretty in Pink Adorable... MySoulBoutique $15.00	Orange Knit Leggings O... FineThreadz $29.00
Vintage Beau Brummel Do... poetsy $16.00	2-way loudspeaker - The... DanP313 $180.00	women's Giddy Up sn... dandyrandirose $15.00
Lot of 5 Digital images... photosfromthea... $2.98	Socking it -- (Gil Elvg... SILVESTROMEDIA $39.00	Billy Joel gold record ... GoldRecordOutl... $79.95

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Did you guess? Yes? No? 

Well, my second question is easier. What's your favorite 80s song?


....

Someone guessed the picture riddle, so I'm revealing the answer. .

IT'S THIS SONG

If you open it in another tab you can look at the pics above while it plays and see if you can spot everything.   Or read the blow by blow below.

WHAT'S PICTURED ABOVE FROM THE SONG

tie too wide
old tab collars (eh, it was close enough)*
white wall tires
blue continental (lincoln continental)
pink sidewinders**
bright orange pair of pants
Beau Brummel***
speakers
sneakers (and cheep for etsy at least)
A+ student (I used grads)
looks and a whole lotta money (she has dollar bills in her pantyhose)
Rock and roll (the Billy Joel record) 

THINGS THAT REQUIRE MORE EXPLANATION

(and yep, I had to look these up)

*Tab collars are faux collars you can add to a shirt.  I thought that was "old time collars" til I read the lyrics.

*Sidewinders is said to refer to either slip on sandals or a way of tying your laces, according to this. I went with the sandals cause I was using sneakers later.

**Beau Brummel is the guy who invented the tie. I always though it was "bold runner" til I looked up the lyrics for this! Ha!

---

Also linking up with

 Tuesday Treasury

and

 

(Cause I totally have a Billy Joel station on Pandora)

Texifornia Round-up

TEXAS HEAT
Ah, it's been a nice summer.  Really, compared to last year this summer has been a dream.  We got some rain this week that sent temps to the 80s where I am.  This year, I guess we sent our heat up north.  But still, overall August has been hot like...well, August in Texas.   So I thought you all might enjoy an hilarious post I found last summer at Signature Gardens where she changes the lyrics to "The Beat Goes On" to match the Texas Heat.


 AS GOES CALIFORNIA...
..so goes the nation.  At least as far as laws tend to go.  Right now the law they're considering would require companies to clearly label genetically engineered ingredients on food labels.  I'm all for that!

TEX-MEX
I've been attempting to teach my kids Spanish, so this article "We Don't Speak Tex-Mex Here" by SpanglishBaby caught my attention. 

That's all for this round-up.  Have you got an article you think would be interesting to Texifornians?  Let me know in a comment, and it might end up in the next round-up.