Daily Bargain - Library book score!

When I was a kid, my parents would drop me off at the local library and I would read books until it was time to walk to my tap dance class.  It was a Saturday morning ritual that I enjoyed, being the avid reader that I was.  Currently, I'm a member of two local library networks and it's become somewhere to take Owen, who I've been reading to since he was born.  He seems to have inherited a healthy enjoyment of books and we share a nice, long story each evening before bed.

This week, the Burbank library annual book sale was happening and I took the opportunity to head over there on a lunch break.  All children's books were $0.25 - can't beat that for a bargain.  20 books and $5 later, I hauled 2 gigantic bags of books back out to the car, half expecting for somebody to stop and accuse me of theft!  Including the 5 books I bought at a different library branch the week before, Owen's bookcase is definitely a lot more packed this week. 

As it turns out, I'm attracted to beautiful illustrations, especially if they involve dragons.  One of the books was signed by the author, so a definite collectible, while another was signed by Mickey and Minnie Mouse back in 1998.  We're debating taking it back to Disneyland with us when we go in a few weeks and seeing if we can get it signed again!  Not only was this a vast assortment of books, they were also in excellent condition.  Owen has been carrying around the two Thomas The Tank board books since I got them, even insisting he take them to daycare, where I was informed he shared them with the group. 

So, if you have a library near you, I highly recommend looking to see if they have a book sale coming up.  It's a great way to expand your book collection without breaking the bank, plus you get to support your local library, which is never a bad thing.  I've included the full list of books we purchased below as they are highly rated and we've really enjoyed all the ones we've read so far!







That's All Folks: The Art Of Warner Bros. Animation by Steve Schneider
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame  Disney
Ignis by Gina Wilson
Hieronymus Betts And His Unusual Pets by M. P. Robertson
Lucia And The Light by Phyllis Root and Mary GrandPre
Magic & Mischief: Tales From Cornwall by Shirley Climo and Anthony Bacon Venti
Olivia by Ian Falconer
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams and William Nicholson
Something Special by David M. McPhail
Garfield Stories by Jim Davis
Dancing Dinos At The Beach by Sally Lucas and Margeaux Lucas
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
The Cat In The Hat by Dr. Suess
The Cat In The Hat Comes Back by Dr. Seuss 
Stop, Train, Stop! by Rev. W. Awdry
A Crack In The Track by Rev. W. Awdry
The Train Of States by Peter Sis
About Dinosaurs: Little People Big Book by Time-Life Books
Baby's First Library ABC by Yoyo Books
The Enchanted Forest by Ben Marcus
Uncle Lester's Hat by Howie Schneider
Twenty One Elephants And Still Standing by April Jones Prince
Once Upon A Cloud by Rob D. Walker and Matt Mahurin
Paddington's Loose End Book by Michael Bond
The Sea Serpent And Me by Dashka Slater and Catia Chien

Daily Travels - Visiting home

As some of you may have picked up on, I originally hail from England.  My brother and I live in California, but my parents are still holding down the fort on the other side of the pond.  Admittedly, I'm a terrible daughter and haven't been back home to visit in a long time (think 4-ish years) and after husband lost his job, it didn't seem like we were going to be able to make it back home this year either.  Then, mom calls me to say that they are officially knocking down and rebuilding the house at home, so it's now or never in terms of going back to my childhood home one last time.  This led to a bit of a dilemma though seeing as there's no way that we could afford 2 airfares home and, if he's travelling with me, husband also won't be around to claim his unemployment.  On the other hand, if by some miracle he finds a job in the next few weeks, he also can't take off for 10 days nor would he want to delay a start date.  It's going to be weird, but we decided the best thing for me to do is go without him.  I seriously don't recall the last time we spent that much time apart - certainly not since we got married.  I just hope Deuce keeps him in check while I'm gone and that he remembers to attempt to not let the dishes pile up.  :)

I would like to give a little shout out, however, to Expedia's bargain fares for making the airfare vaguely reasonable at least.  I remember the days when a flight to Heathrow was $500 (on the high end) with Virgin Atlantic, you could drink all you want on the plane for free, and the food was pretty decent.  This time though, my search for flights were coming up in the $800+ range.  While I was busy lamenting the price, an Expedia bargain fare popped up for $710.  The problem is that it doesn't tell you what time of day the flight is, or the airline, until after you've booked.  Seeing as neither factor was of particular importance to me (although I'll admit I had my fingers crossed that the airline wouldn't be AA or United), I went for it.  Turns out, I'm flying with Virgin with flight times around what I would have picked anyway.  Dear Expedia, thank you for being awesome.  Now I can relax knowing that I'm with an airline that has good in-flight entertainment and (hopefully) better food on offer than a stale bagel or soggy sandwich.  Plus, that $100-something I saved means I have more funds to spend on stuffing my suitcase with Cadbury's chocolate.  Can't wait for some good Indian food either.  Just delightful!