OKC Trip 2019

We were already going to Oklahoma City for the annual Friends of the Metropolitan Library book sale, so Amos took Friday off and we made a weekend of it!

Off we go!  Amos being silly.

Had to stop for provisions...

Turnpike construction

Time for surgery...

Amos gave me this Bible a few days before we got engaged (we added the Ralston later, haha!).  I dropped it a few times over the years, and the spine finally came off, so it was time to get it rebound.

Very large press...

Super Cao Nguyen!  The biggest Asian grocery store I've been in!

I went here a few times when we lived in Oklahoma City.

More provisions...

We have our pho and ramen supplies! :D

Amos was excited about these seaweed snacks.  They tasted like shrimp...or the ocean.

A T-Rex and a good sign...

Hello, poor cow, carved into the concrete

Waffle Champion in Midtown, recommended by Beau and Chrissie

Amos had chicken and waffles and I had the Florentine (tomatoes, eggs, spinach, goat cheese, etc.).

When in town for a book sale, one must also visit Half-Price Books. :D

WinCo!

The bulk section!

More provisions!

[Not pictured: A stop at Duluth Trading Company.  Ooops.]

I love the Loft Outlet store!

City Bites!  I get the California Club sandwich, and Amos gets a sandwich or a baked potato.

We've had a $10.00 gift card for Coldstone for about five years, but there aren't any stores in Tulsa...finally used it up!

Our hotel had a very nice breakfast!  The thing with whipped cream is actually a waffle boat!

We're here, we're here!

Friends!

Amos, me, Tasha, Rachelle, Amelia (belonging to Tasha), and Brittany

Lots of people, even more books

Parked in (why?!?)

Our finds! CDs

Science fiction

Misc.

Kids' books

More kids' books and audiobooks

Don't judge a book by its silly movie cover.  Take it off and see what's underneath!

Wow!

Everyman's Library!  For $1.00!

We went to Earl's.  The internet was down, so they couldn't run cards and they couldn't open the cash register.  Employees were running back and forth from the back room with cash and handwritten orders.  Amos had already gotten a drink, but they gave it to him for free when we decided to go somewhere else...

...like a different City Bites! :D

Last stop: Dunkin' Donuts!

Sunny with a high of 75

When you want to go on a nice walk because it is 70 degrees outside and spring might just be starting, but...

you have to put the frozen food away (oops)
you have to make muffins
you have to wrap a gift for a friend
you have to call the insurance adjuster
you have to fill out insurance forms
you have to make dinner
you have to make lunch
you have to clean the kitchen
you have to get the stain out of your shirt
you have to pack up your stuff for Awana
you have to make a few lists

and then you remember...
you have strawberry lemonade in the fridge and Harry Potter on audio.

Maybe it won't be too bad of an afternoon after all...

Book Journal

My 2017 book list is not up yet, but I do have another post about books to share.  Ever thought of having a book journal?  One of my college friends expressed an interest in keeping a centralized book list, but she wasn't sure how.  Here's how I do it; maybe it will be of interest to one of you!

In 2010, I decided to start keeping track of all of the books that I read in a given year.  I bought an ugly journal at Target and made some decorative covers for it. Much better.

How do I use this journal?

I make a list for every year.  I write down the books as I finish them and add a few labels, if applicable.  My current labels are:
AB: audiobook
GN: graphic novel
PB: picture book
RR: reread

I count audiobooks, graphic novels, and rereads in my list because I try to read or listen to every word and thus can say that I read the whole book.  I add, but don't count, picture books when I find a really fun picture book that I want to remember, either for my annual book list, for myself, or for a friend.

At the end of the year/beginning of the next year, I write a long post of reviews of all that year's books.  These annual reviews are linked at the top of my blog, right under my blog banner (Twenty-Six, Fifteen, Forty-Seven, etc.).  After I've written, proof-read, edited, and published my list, I still find typos...I mean, I print out my list and glue it into my book journal.  That way, I can see my lists and my reviews all in one place.

My journal only has my book lists in it; no losing lists in another journal or on random scraps of paper or in a planner. I keep my book journal in the same spot at all times (on my nightstand).  I do write down quotes and notes in a separate spiral notebook. (I want things to be organized and simple; nothing jumbled up together.)

So, there you go!  My book journal. :)

One more note:
Sarah Mackenzie at Read-Aloud Revival has her kids fill out their own simple reading journals (you can watch a free master class on how they do this).  I like my current method of separate notebooks, but I do think it would be really cool to start reading journals when you are very young so that you can look back on all of the books you read as a kid, especially if you want to find those books (which may be rare or out of print) as an adult.

$15.52

For the last two years, Amos and I have kept a designated jar on our dining room table. This small Mason jar holds all the money we find on the ground for one year.  At the end of the year, we count the change and stick the coins in a bank masquerading as an old, red Nalgene water bottle.  Our total last year was $3.02.

Our grand total for 2017 was $15.52!  We found $13.00 on Valentine's Day, floating in a puddle.  The rest was found a little at a time, here and there: grocery store parking lots, the apartment complex's laundry room, the area around recycling bins, etc. Oddly enough, we didn't pick up any quarters.

So far in 2018, I have found $0.23, two dimes and three pennies.

Now to stick the dimes in a baggy (for occasional library fines), the rest of the change in the Nalgene, and the bills in my wallet.  Maybe we will go out for lunch tomorrow. :)