Just Beyond The Clouds

Just Beyond the Clouds: A Novel by Karen Kingsbury

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Book 2 in the Cody Gunner series.

Four years have passed since the first book, A Thousand Tomorrows. Cody has left the rodeo circuit for a few weeks and gone home to his parents ranch to collect his thoughts. His brother Carl Joseph becomes a main focus in this story. He has Down Syndrome and has recently been enrolled in a center that teaches him to work towards life goals. His family starts to question if this is the right choice for Carl Joseph, even though he is happier, more active and finally making friends. In steps, Elle, Carl Joseph's teacher, who believes her students should be giving the opportunity to gain independence. This was a very sweet story. I especially enjoyed reading about the characters with Down Syndrome. They were so easy to love and definitely shared some of the most important life lessons that really shouldn't be that hard for all of us to realize and learn from!


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Giddyupabella

I was digging in the Wish-RAK bucket looking for something to use for this week's sketch challenge and this bella just jumped out. Does a stamp every remind you of a book? Tell me I'm not the only nerd out there!! It's no secret that I'm a bookworm. I'm currently reading the Cody Gunner series by Karen Kingsbury. I posted a review about the first book here. This stamp totally makes me think of Ali, one of the main characters. She's a champion barrel racer in the rodeo and her best bud is a horse named Ace. I will forever think of that book every time I see this image now. Ok, on to the card info. My bella is colored with Koh-i-noor pencils and OMS. I went over her belt buckle with a Sakura Stardust pen. It's nice and shiny. Check out her red boots (Oh that made me think of another book, but I'll spare y'all the details). She is just too cute. If I had a flat stomach, I would be grinning like a fool, wearing tight jeans and red boots too! Yeah, probably not. I've lived in Texas my whole life and never owned a pair of cowboy boots. Never been to a rodeo either. Hmmm! I pieced my whole card together and then realized I didn't have room for the sentiment. So I squeezed it in at the top. The half circle was cut out using my Coluzzle. Kinda reminds me of a saddle! Thanks for stoppin' by today!!!!

Stamps: Giddyupabella (Stamping Bella), sentiment (TAC, Howdy - retired)
Paper: River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Crate Paper - Freeway
Ink: Palette Burnt Umber (TAC,TT-218)
Other: Koh-i-noor pencils, OMS, Sakura Stardust pen, circle Coluzzle (TAC,A-84001) Chocolate polytwill, brads

Tiny Nest

Okay, I fibbed about not posting anything else today, but I couldn't resist showing y'all these pictures. We've been outside, enjoying the cooler weather (90's, LOL) and cleaning up the yard a bit. We have a severely overgrown jasmine bush by our garage. It's growing on a trellis and is in desperate need of a haircut. We were discussing on how to trim it up when we noticed an old abandoned bird's nest carefully placed inside. Back in the Spring, I remember coming outside and there were 3 little baby birds hoping around on our driveway. They had just left their nest and were learning how to fly. The mom was flying around all frantic and chirping like crazy when we came outside. I'm wondering if this is the nest they hatched from. I'm just amazed every time I see one of these. I think it is so cool how an animal can weave something so delicate and intricate. I can cup it in the palm of my hand. Looks like the outside was made from strands of our Pampas grass. Just had to share!

Happy Labor Day!

I hope that everyone is enjoying a day off. We are just relaxing and slowly getting some things done around the house. Oh and Prison Break starts back up tonight. Woohoo. We are excited for that. I don't know about y'all, but there are a ton of people BBQing today; including us. I thought I would share a recipe with you. Have y'all seen the new show on The Food Network called Big Daddy's House? Aaron McCargo Jr. was the winner of The Next Food Network Star and this is his show. We watched an episode and immediately saved some recipes so we now have the DVR set to record all of his new shows that air. Make a mental note though, he makes HUGE portions, so we always cut everything in half. The recipe I made earlier this week was his Mega Egga Macaroni Salad . It was crazy easy and the flavors were really good. It's a great salad to take to a party or picnic!! Like I said we cut everything in half and still had a ton left over, but that was kind of nice because we just nibbled on it for a few days :)

This next recipe comes from Oprah's website. I saved it several years ago, but this is the first time I've ever tried it. Now I always know when Ross is wanting banana bread or muffins because he will purposefully leave 3 bananas on the counter until they are brown and spotted. So I took the "subtle" hint today and made Banana Pecan Honey Bread. Oh My Word, you must save this recipe. It is so good!!!! When I was mixing everything together, the honey and bananas smelled so wonderful together and it only got better while it was baking. The bread came out super soft and moist. Take note of the cooking time. It only took 50 minutes in our oven, so keep an eye on it!

This last picture is for the sole purpose of bragging to my friend Jess, LOL. Check it out girl. I reached a new goal on punching the bags - 44!!!! My arms were aching after that one. Okay I promise that's it for now. Enjoy your day everyone!!!!

A Thousand Tomorrows

A Thousand Tomorrows by Karen Kingsbury

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book 1 in the Cody Gunner series.



This was definitely a bittersweet story that captured my attention right from the beginning. It reminded me of A Walk to Remember. It's about two people who are national champions in the rodeo. Both of them are lonely and hiding behind their sports. Cody is a bull rider who is dealing with anger over his father abandoning him at a young age. Ali is a barrel racer who is fighting a terminal illness only her parents know about. When they meet they learn the importance of friendship, forgiveness and unconditional love. It's a wonderful lesson that focus on the beautiful verse found in 1 Corinthians 13 - And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.


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I wish I looked so good ....

Did y'all see Taylor's Cupcake Challenge today? It's such a cute, yet simple layout. I dug through my Wish-RAK bucket and pulled out this adorable bella. She is now on my must have list. Okay promise not to laugh, but when I was in 5th-6th grade, I had a big three wheel bike that had a basket on the back. Yes I know - major dork alert. I also had a Schnauzer named Blinky. I would put a blanket in the bottom of the basket and Blinky would jump in there and we would cruise the street. She loved going for rides. I can't help but laugh looking back at it now. I know I looked pretty ridiculous. Anyhow, this stamp totally reminds me of that. Although bella looks way cooler than I ever did. Dang those huge blue rimmed glasses that were so in style back in the day. You never knew when you needed to see out of your cheeks! Okay sorry I just totally had a flash back there. Moving on to card details. I colored the image in with Koh-i-noor pencils and OMS. To make the yellow stand out a little better, I shaded it with a Yellow Rose Twinkling H2O. Gave it a nice shimmer too. I also added some brads to the wheels. The felt flowers if from SU's Flower Fushion. The sentiment is cut out using a oval Coluzzle. Like I said, a simple layout that you can totally dress up with embellishments. Give it a try! Taylor thanks for the inspiration and the trip down memory lane!

Stamps: i-wish-i-looked-so-good-on-a-bike-abella (Stamping Bella), sentiment (TAC, For A Friend GWP)
Paper: Kraft, White (TAC,V-292), SU Prints Sampler, Purely Pomegranate, So Saffron
Ink: Palette Burnt Umber (TAC,TT-218)
Other: Photo Corner punch, SU Flower Fushion, brads, Kraft Taffeta, scallop scissors, Koh-i-noor pencils, OMS, Yellow Rose Twinkling H2O, Oval Coluzzle (TAC,A-84000)

Turn Up The Heat

Turn Up the Heat: A Gourmet Girl Mystery by Susan Conant

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Book 3 in A Gourmet Girl Mystery.

Chloe and Josh are still going strong, even though they don't get to spend much alone time together. Simmer, the restaurant where Josh is a chef at, keeps him busy working long, hard hours. They just opened a new patio area and are really starting to make a name for themselves. Especially when Leandra, on of Simmer's waitresses with an attitude, is found dead in the back of the fish suppliers truck on morning. Chloe finds herself with quite a full plate as she tracks down the killer, studies for grad school exams, comforts her pregnant best friend, and finds out about stealing occurring in the restaurant. It was a very cute, fun book; perfect for a quick summer read. I was a little disappointed in the ending. It just seemed to wrap up rather quickly, but I still enjoyed it and will be looking forward to the next book.


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