A Few of my Favorite Things
Hi Everyone!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
2012 has been a great year for my family. I'll do a special feature on my 2012 highlights for New Year's, for this blog I want to give you a few top ten lists. My first is my top ten gifts I found this year to give to friends and family.
My Top Ten Gifts of 2012
#1 Harry & David
Harry & David is my go to gift store. The website saves my addresses and even the gifts I've sent previously so I can send the same thing again if they liked it or try something different to change things up. If you've never tried Moose Munch popcorn you really need to. It's spendy but just about the best thing on the planet. There is nothing I've bought at Harry & David that I haven't absolutely loved. This year my favorite new treat was the caramel apples I got for Halloween. So yummy I can't even tell you.
#2 Yankee Candle
Several of my friends are getting the Yankee Candle My Favorite Things sampler collection from me this year. The scents are Brown Paper Packages, Whiskers on Kittens, Schnitzel with Noodles, Crisp Apple Strudel, Edelweiss, Bright Copper Kettles, & Warm Woolen Mittens. The set comes in a cute box and it's perfect paired with one of my other favorite gifts that's next on my list. I think the sampler collection is sold out but you can still buy the big jars.
#3 Classic Julie Andrews CD
Who doesn't love Julie Andrews? Great mom and mother-in-law gift. I even got one for myself. I was wrapping presents with my nephew and listening to Disney music on Pandora and the Edelweiss song came on from this CD. He's seen the sound of music before and even though he's only nine he said, "Wow, this singer is so good. The song is even better than the movie." Listen to the samples online. You'll love it.
#4 Ticket To Ride
One of my absolute favorite games. This is one that Kelsey plays with Li and his friends in Tiger's Quest. They have several expansion maps and they keep adding more so there's always something new to check out. It's also a family friendly game that isn't too hard for the younger kids but keeps adults interested too.
#5 Family Car Stickers
This is a fun gift for a hard to shop for family. This website lets you custom build the family with not only body shapes but with favorite hobbies and interests. You can also add in hair color and can choose from a variety of hairstyles and fun things.
#6 Think Geek
This is one of my favorite newly discovered websites for gifts. I have a lot and I mean a lot of Computer Nerd/Star Wars/Trekkie/Hobbitses loving people in my family and I found some really great ideas on this site. It's a good place to shop for those hard to shop for men in your family.
#7 Ebay
I am a huge fan of case lot sales on Ebay. I love buying case lots of Barbie clothes or Barbie shoes, Legos, or Star Wars action figures. I found an amazing set of Star Wars collectible figures with one of the classic C3PO carrying cases AND a Millenium Falcon carrying case with like 50 action figures for about $70 which is a steal.
#8 Holiday Dresses
I have a hard time resisting frilly, girly, fancy dresses. When my nieces are willing, I like to splurge on on them and my feeling is the more tulle and taffeta the better. Really how many times in a girl's life does she get to wear stuff like this? If I could get away with it I would.
#9 Official or Vintage Tees
These make a great gift for the men in your life. They have vintage tees from pretty much every decade. Not always easy to find the right size but if you keep looking you should find something.
#10 Books
Of course I always love to give away books as gifts. Everyone who comes to my house (the landscapers, the pond guy, the window cleaners, etc.) all get copies of my books. In fact, the guy who came to hang my Christmas lights came back a week after and said he and his wife are reading Tiger's Curse together and they're on chapter eight (which is where it gets good in my opinion). Of course I won't complain if any of you want to give away a boxed set of the Tiger Series this year =) Barnes & Noble even named Tiger's Destiny as one of the top teen books of 2012.
___________________________________________
In case you need more book gift ideas...
Top Ten Books I've Read This Year
2012 is not quite over and I still plan to finish up a book or two before year's end but here are my top ten picks for the year.
#10 Eve by Anna Carey
My Review: The title Eve couldn't be more appropriate as the heroine finds herself in a frightening wilderness after most of the people in the world have fallen victim to plague. At first, I was fooled into believing this world had recreated itself in a certain way and then discovered the home Eve knew, which was already bad enough, held even worse secrets.
#9 Everneath by Brodi Ashton
My Review: First of all I really want the dress on the cover. It's amazing! The myth of Persephone is one of my favorites and this was such a creative take on the story. The beginning was so compelling I just wanted to keep on reading to figure out what was going on. Loved the anchor idea!
#8 Origin by Jessica Khoury
My Review: I had the opportunity to blurb this book. Here it is. ORIGIN is a startling mystery played out in the vivid and lush Amazon jungle. In this deadly clash of science and nature, a heroine emerges. Pia clawed her way through the pages and left her mark on the landscape of my imagination as the almost tangible danger left me breathless.
#7 Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
My Review: Listened to this on audiobook and loved, loved it. So interesting how Seth twisted a vampire novel between pages of history. I think Abraham would have read it with a smile. The man reading the book was really good.
#6 Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
My Review: Loved this book! Adding it to my Dystopian recommendations list. Can't wait to get my hands on the second book. My favorite part was the the powers that come from being exposed to the ether. So creative!
#5 Legend by Marie Lu
My Review: I really fell in love with both June and Day the main characters of this book. I always admire authors who can create and showcase characters with high levels of intelligence. I wish I was that smart! Really looking forward to continuing this story. I kept going back to it every free moment. Love it!
#4 The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My Review: This book is beautifully written. I think one of the best I've ever read. The characters made me reexamine how I think about the universe and death and cancer and even though my fundamental beliefs remain the same, I think they'd be okay with that and I strangely feel like I need them to be okay with that. I find myself wanting to be friends with these characters which means the author must be fascinating. Fantastic!
#3 Divergent by Veronica Roth
My Review: Haunting and creative. Looking forward to continuing the series! Each faction is so unique and different. I'm really excited to learn more about them in future books. It was a bit of Hunger Games mixed with Ender's Game.
#2 Starters by Lissa Price
My Review: Wow! So loved the premise of this book! Creepy and fantastic. My favorite part was the end when she learned...Ha you thought I was gonna share a spoiler. Nope. But still loved the end! Who knew grandmas and grandpas could be so evil! There was some really cool forward thinking technology in here. If you didn't notice it skim through it again because it was really brilliant.
#1 Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My Review: Love love loved this book. It's like 7 of 9 meets Cinderella. Only problem is that I wanted to keep reading after it was over. Love Cinder and Kai reminds me of Ren. Technology so creative! Can't wait to get my hands on the next book!
Now you have ten more book gift ideas!
_________________________________________
Bollywood Boy of the Month
Prateik Babbar
Birthday: 28 November 1986
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Known for the film: Mumbai Diaries
Height: 5' 8"
Before he became an actor he played cricket.
He and his girlfriend, Amy Jackson, have tattoos that say, "‘Mera pyaar, meri Amy" and "Mera pyaar, mera Prateik" which I think means My Love, My Amy and My Love, My Prateik. I could be wrong since my Hindi isn't the best. But still, you get the idea.
____________________________________
Here is a puzzle with a sneak peek of a picture that has inspired me in a chapter of Tiger's Dream.
[Your web browser does not support frames or is currently configured not to display frames. However, you may visit the related page.]
Leave a comment on the page with your puzzle time and Suki will select someone to win a signed bookmark.
___________________________________
That's it for now my friends. I hope you have a safe and happy holiday with your friends and family. Leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite books of 2012 were and tell me what you think of our BBOM of December. Also if you have any good gift ideas please share them with us. We can always use more ideas. =) Happy Holidays to all my tiger fans.
Colleen
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
2012 has been a great year for my family. I'll do a special feature on my 2012 highlights for New Year's, for this blog I want to give you a few top ten lists. My first is my top ten gifts I found this year to give to friends and family.
My Top Ten Gifts of 2012
#1 Harry & David
Harry & David is my go to gift store. The website saves my addresses and even the gifts I've sent previously so I can send the same thing again if they liked it or try something different to change things up. If you've never tried Moose Munch popcorn you really need to. It's spendy but just about the best thing on the planet. There is nothing I've bought at Harry & David that I haven't absolutely loved. This year my favorite new treat was the caramel apples I got for Halloween. So yummy I can't even tell you.
#2 Yankee Candle
Several of my friends are getting the Yankee Candle My Favorite Things sampler collection from me this year. The scents are Brown Paper Packages, Whiskers on Kittens, Schnitzel with Noodles, Crisp Apple Strudel, Edelweiss, Bright Copper Kettles, & Warm Woolen Mittens. The set comes in a cute box and it's perfect paired with one of my other favorite gifts that's next on my list. I think the sampler collection is sold out but you can still buy the big jars.
#3 Classic Julie Andrews CD
Who doesn't love Julie Andrews? Great mom and mother-in-law gift. I even got one for myself. I was wrapping presents with my nephew and listening to Disney music on Pandora and the Edelweiss song came on from this CD. He's seen the sound of music before and even though he's only nine he said, "Wow, this singer is so good. The song is even better than the movie." Listen to the samples online. You'll love it.
#4 Ticket To Ride
One of my absolute favorite games. This is one that Kelsey plays with Li and his friends in Tiger's Quest. They have several expansion maps and they keep adding more so there's always something new to check out. It's also a family friendly game that isn't too hard for the younger kids but keeps adults interested too.
#5 Family Car Stickers
This is a fun gift for a hard to shop for family. This website lets you custom build the family with not only body shapes but with favorite hobbies and interests. You can also add in hair color and can choose from a variety of hairstyles and fun things.
#6 Think Geek
This is one of my favorite newly discovered websites for gifts. I have a lot and I mean a lot of Computer Nerd/Star Wars/Trekkie/Hobbitses loving people in my family and I found some really great ideas on this site. It's a good place to shop for those hard to shop for men in your family.
#7 Ebay
I am a huge fan of case lot sales on Ebay. I love buying case lots of Barbie clothes or Barbie shoes, Legos, or Star Wars action figures. I found an amazing set of Star Wars collectible figures with one of the classic C3PO carrying cases AND a Millenium Falcon carrying case with like 50 action figures for about $70 which is a steal.
#8 Holiday Dresses
I have a hard time resisting frilly, girly, fancy dresses. When my nieces are willing, I like to splurge on on them and my feeling is the more tulle and taffeta the better. Really how many times in a girl's life does she get to wear stuff like this? If I could get away with it I would.
#9 Official or Vintage Tees
These make a great gift for the men in your life. They have vintage tees from pretty much every decade. Not always easy to find the right size but if you keep looking you should find something.
#10 Books
Of course I always love to give away books as gifts. Everyone who comes to my house (the landscapers, the pond guy, the window cleaners, etc.) all get copies of my books. In fact, the guy who came to hang my Christmas lights came back a week after and said he and his wife are reading Tiger's Curse together and they're on chapter eight (which is where it gets good in my opinion). Of course I won't complain if any of you want to give away a boxed set of the Tiger Series this year =) Barnes & Noble even named Tiger's Destiny as one of the top teen books of 2012.
___________________________________________
In case you need more book gift ideas...
Top Ten Books I've Read This Year
2012 is not quite over and I still plan to finish up a book or two before year's end but here are my top ten picks for the year.
#10 Eve by Anna Carey
My Review: The title Eve couldn't be more appropriate as the heroine finds herself in a frightening wilderness after most of the people in the world have fallen victim to plague. At first, I was fooled into believing this world had recreated itself in a certain way and then discovered the home Eve knew, which was already bad enough, held even worse secrets.
#9 Everneath by Brodi Ashton
My Review: First of all I really want the dress on the cover. It's amazing! The myth of Persephone is one of my favorites and this was such a creative take on the story. The beginning was so compelling I just wanted to keep on reading to figure out what was going on. Loved the anchor idea!
#8 Origin by Jessica Khoury
My Review: I had the opportunity to blurb this book. Here it is. ORIGIN is a startling mystery played out in the vivid and lush Amazon jungle. In this deadly clash of science and nature, a heroine emerges. Pia clawed her way through the pages and left her mark on the landscape of my imagination as the almost tangible danger left me breathless.
#7 Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
My Review: Listened to this on audiobook and loved, loved it. So interesting how Seth twisted a vampire novel between pages of history. I think Abraham would have read it with a smile. The man reading the book was really good.
#6 Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
My Review: Loved this book! Adding it to my Dystopian recommendations list. Can't wait to get my hands on the second book. My favorite part was the the powers that come from being exposed to the ether. So creative!
#5 Legend by Marie Lu
My Review: I really fell in love with both June and Day the main characters of this book. I always admire authors who can create and showcase characters with high levels of intelligence. I wish I was that smart! Really looking forward to continuing this story. I kept going back to it every free moment. Love it!
#4 The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My Review: This book is beautifully written. I think one of the best I've ever read. The characters made me reexamine how I think about the universe and death and cancer and even though my fundamental beliefs remain the same, I think they'd be okay with that and I strangely feel like I need them to be okay with that. I find myself wanting to be friends with these characters which means the author must be fascinating. Fantastic!
#3 Divergent by Veronica Roth
My Review: Haunting and creative. Looking forward to continuing the series! Each faction is so unique and different. I'm really excited to learn more about them in future books. It was a bit of Hunger Games mixed with Ender's Game.
#2 Starters by Lissa Price
My Review: Wow! So loved the premise of this book! Creepy and fantastic. My favorite part was the end when she learned...Ha you thought I was gonna share a spoiler. Nope. But still loved the end! Who knew grandmas and grandpas could be so evil! There was some really cool forward thinking technology in here. If you didn't notice it skim through it again because it was really brilliant.
#1 Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My Review: Love love loved this book. It's like 7 of 9 meets Cinderella. Only problem is that I wanted to keep reading after it was over. Love Cinder and Kai reminds me of Ren. Technology so creative! Can't wait to get my hands on the next book!
Now you have ten more book gift ideas!
_________________________________________
Bollywood Boy of the Month
Prateik Babbar
Birthday: 28 November 1986
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Known for the film: Mumbai Diaries
Height: 5' 8"
Before he became an actor he played cricket.
He and his girlfriend, Amy Jackson, have tattoos that say, "‘Mera pyaar, meri Amy" and "Mera pyaar, mera Prateik" which I think means My Love, My Amy and My Love, My Prateik. I could be wrong since my Hindi isn't the best. But still, you get the idea.
____________________________________
Here is a puzzle with a sneak peek of a picture that has inspired me in a chapter of Tiger's Dream.
[Your web browser does not support frames or is currently configured not to display frames. However, you may visit the related page.]
Leave a comment on the page with your puzzle time and Suki will select someone to win a signed bookmark.
___________________________________
That's it for now my friends. I hope you have a safe and happy holiday with your friends and family. Leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite books of 2012 were and tell me what you think of our BBOM of December. Also if you have any good gift ideas please share them with us. We can always use more ideas. =) Happy Holidays to all my tiger fans.
Colleen
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message 1:
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Casey
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Dec 20, 2012 07:50AM
Happy Holidays Colleen!
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Colleen, I've enjoyed your books so much. Thank-you for taking the time to write them. Not a record time, but I did the puzzle in seven minutes.
Some great holiday ideas! I am a middle school librarian in Texas, and I cannot tell you how much my students LOVE your books. We have ten copies of Tiger's Curse, and they stay constantly checked out. Quest, Voyage, and Destiny also have multiple copies, always checked out. They (and I) are huge fans!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!I just want to say that I am your fan, I am reading now the Tiger's Voyage(that was may christmas gift), and I love it!
Tank you for give us this amazing history, and sorry this brazilian fan if something is written wrong.
Hungs and Happy a New Year!!
Hope you had a great holiday! I love your books. The puzzle took me about seven and a half minutes
