Thankful for.... being taught the spirit of giving

I know I mentioned to you a few days ago that I won a giveaway from an author. On Monday, I got an email from her telling me she sent my packages to me. The ironic thing was that on the same day, I mailed out a package of my own, to the winner of a giveaway I sponsored on my pet blog, The Tales of Dexter and Nora.

Today, I got my winnings from the author, the fabulous K. Dawn Byrd. She is so fantastic and generous. Check out my table full of goodies:

Keep in mind, I also got a copy of the e-book version of Queen of Hearts. I started it at about 11 last night, and am halfway through it; it's an awesome book!

So, I won a giveaway the same time I gave a giveaway. Life comes full circle sometimes.

The funny thing is, I never really told people why I decided to do a giveaway. I mean, yes, it is a great way to gain new readers, and make new friends, but really, I did it to teach myself about the spirit of giving.

I decided I needed to have a better spirit of giving because of my in laws actually. My mother in law and grandmother in law are very giving people. There is a lot I could learn, and have learned, from them, about what it means to have a spirit of giving. Every time we go to visit either one of them, we come back with all kinds of stuff. Bags full of stuff. Sometimes, it is grocery staples, like noodles, and frozen chicken breasts. Often, it is sundries like toothpaste and paper plates. Sometimes, it is just something to make me smile, like baby pictures of Hubby, or a cute little knick knack for my mantle.

At first, I could not understand why we always got these bags of stuff from them. I certainly did, and still do, appreciate it, and can not tell you the number of times all of those things came in so so handy. But I always felt a little guilty, like I am taking something from them that they might need, or that the money they have spent on buying us these things could have gone to something they themselves needed or wanted. Then I realized, they love to give. It is their way of being helpful, of showing us that they love us and were thinking of us.

I need to learn to be more giving. There are always people who are in more need of something than I am, whether it is real physical need, or more spiritual and emotional need. So, today, I am thankful for my mother in law and grandmother in law, the lessons they have taught me about the spirit of giving, and the blessing of receiving gifts from people.

Also, a very large thank you to K. Dawn Byrd for my wonderful goodies, and I strongly strongly encourage everyone to check out Queen of Hearts. There is a reason it is a best seller!

Vampires and werewolves and.....cougars? OH MY!

Can a woman be considered a cougar if the man only looks young, but is in fact a 200 year old vampire?

Let me explain. My mother in law LOVES Twilight. We would not have expected this. She is pretty conservative, and fairly religious, so I thought anything even remotely supernatural would turn her off. Boy was I wrong.

She would stay up until dawn reading the Twilight books. She has bought the first movie, and will probably buy the second. She wants to get the graphic novels. And, hold on to your horses kids, when we went to her house last weekend, she had put up a poster of Edward in the kitchen. THE KITCHEN. She is Team Edward all the way.



She is in love with him I think. Not really, but she has a serious crush. Part of me actually thinks this is a good thing. Since we lost my father in law in May, she has been terribly lonely. She has never lived alone, and does not drive, so her interaction is limited to family, and a few friends. She is fairly internet savvy, so she does email and play games, but she is pretty shy, so she would never do chatrooms or anything like that. I think Twilight has provided her with companionship and romance, two things I know she has been missing. But I also worry about what will happen when the supply of Twilight info dries up. I know we have a couple more movies to come, and maybe Myers will write some more books (if she is smart) but then what. My mother in law was an avid reader her whole life, now nothing really compares to Twilight.

And my poor husband. He thought he dodged the Twilight bullet. I read the first two books, and saw the first movie, and was completely unimpressed. Now, he has had more Twilight themed discussions than any man ever should have to have. What are we to do?