The beginning of The Book Shack's website was turned on today! It has a ways to go but it is a start! Check it out and let me know what you think. (I didn't build it...Valley Journals did, it's part of the advertising package I have with them) Let me know any suggestions you have for what I could add to it. I will be putting on the Author of the Month information and adding pictures (and deleting some)...anyways take a look, K? http://bookshackmidvale.com/
Allison, Kaitlyn, Teresa, Ellie & Reanna (left to right)Today is my sweet hubby's birthday! He is 65 today and I am having a hard time realizing that we have reached this point together! In my minds eye we are both still in our 30's with our young family and all of life still ahead of us. The years have totally flown by.
So, I just want to say that the years we have had together have been, without a doubt, the absolute best in my life. I hope you have a great birthday Michael and many, many more to come.
Just as a side note you know how people always say that life can change in just a second...yesterday Michael's boss had an accident in the truck that Michael drives fairly often. It just makes you stop and think how quick something could happen...luckily Lane wasn't hurt badly, some burns and glass in his face. I am thankful that Michael did not have that truck yesterday, and I am thankful that Lane will be OK...he and his wife just had a brand new baby!
Here is the link to the news story.
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=7500124
utters! Almost c
artoonish! Ha ha!
So, I kept thinking that there had to be something in my car that they wanted...I couldn't imagine them bashing the window just for fun....well, it finally came to me! I had received my latest shipment from Tassimo (my coffee/hot chocolate machine)...and that was sitting on my back seat! So with a $2,000 computer in the trunk and a pile of money for the bank they got away with a box of chocolate syrup! I hope they enjoyed it!
So I wake up Sunday morning ready to enjoy a day with my scrapbook buddies...I look out my bedroom window to get a look at the early summer morning, birds are singing, flowers are blooming and this is what I see!
Someone has bashed in my car window! Nothing was taken, the doors weren't even unlocked! The police wondered if something scared them off....
It could have been so much worse and I have learned a valuable lesson! In my trunk was my $2,000 laptop that has my complete book store inventory, and business on it...plus my weeks deposit was in the trunk! I was absolutely sick to my stomach until I found everything still there!
We installed sensor lights on the garage last night and I will never...repeat NEVER leave things in my car again!
Reanna.....what can I say? Such a pretty, sweet, wonderful 17 year old with such an attitude!
Jake is now 15 and loves to race motorcycles off road. 
Allison is now 9 years old. She is my little crafty girl...loves to scrapbook and make cards. She even taught me how to make a pop-up card!
Wyatt & Ellie....they both love each other so much! When Ellie walks in to the room Wyatt's face just lights up and Ellie always hurries over to him to give him a hug! How stinkin' precious is that?
Ellie is so in love with Butch...she follows him all over the yard and whenever possible leans in to give him hugs & kisses!
So, with all the things around me that make me smile it's pretty silly to let myself get down at all, right? I gotta keep that in mind and remember how wonderful a simple life can be with such wonderful people in it.Sorry I lost myself for a little while....my blog is back on and I will try to think of something in my life worth posting....I got real tired of posting about the book store. I would post tonight but i am too angry at Kris winning IDOL....
It has been pointed out to me that I have not updated my blog in quite some time....my life has been pretty much consumed with a book store! I have some really cute Easter pics to post but no time to do it tonight but I did want to share a very cute little girl who seems to be growing up way too fast! It seems like just yesterday Ellie was a little baby, mobile only in someones arms...now she is quite the little girl and quite the mover, it is sometimes pretty hard to keep up with her. Yesterday I had a customer at my desk and she put her bag of books on the floor while she was talking to me. When she went to leave her bag was gone, Ellie had it over her shoulder and was trucking down the aisle! It was so funny! The lady felt bad taking it away from her! Anyway, before I go to bed I wanted to share these cute pics of little Ellie.
Well it is finally beginning to look like a book store! The hard work hopefully will start to pay off soon. We have only taken 2 days off since January 27 but we have promised ourselves we will take off this coming Sunday. I am truly looking forward to that! We have gone through probably close to 300 boxes by now and have about 500 more to go. We are not going to fit all our books in here so we have boxed up a lot of duplicates for later. We have a bet going...I think we will fit about 400 boxes in the store and Michael thinks we will fit about 500! All I know is I am getting very tired of going through the boxes.
The one thing I am absolutely certain of is that without this little helper we wouldn't be having any fun at all! Ellie thinks all the aisles were made for a constant chase and hide & go-seek day!
Our opening is March 14! Hope you come see what we have been working on.
Where am I going to put all these shelves? I can't even see the front of the store from the back!
We started spacing them out and I guess it will work out...I don't like these shelves at all, they are ugly, and way too tall! Michael is going to build me pretty shelves out of pine as soon as we get the store open. They will cost a bit so we will do it one row at a time and the new ones wont be so tall! But these came with the books so we will use them for now! 
We are starting to get there! Probably by Monday I can start scanning the books and getting all the new bar codes on them! It is getting way closer!It feels like we work and work and never get anywhere until I look at some pictures...then I realize we truly are getting something done. It is just getting so hard to work these 10-12 hour days, 7 days a week. I would give anything to take a day off and stay in bed with all these achey muscles! I am getting way too old for this hard of labor! But I know the rewards at the end will be worth it! So here are some updates on pictures....
First pic...Jen & Ellie came to visit us and Ellie was learning how to color!
Workers replacing one of the three broken windows!
One full wall of shelves completed! only a million more to go...ha ha!
Front desk/counter...we have begun to bring boxes of books into the building...this is about 125 boxes and we have over 800 boxes total! These were just out of the small storage which is almost empty. (It was mostly lumber)
I made new windowsills....the old ones were so rotted away you couldn't even touch them. These turned out pretty good if I do say so myself!
A book on A Shelf! Ta Da!
My daughter said I needed to do a blog on the new shop and how it is coming...so, interested or not, here we go!
This is the building on the day that we found it....broken windows, old, and in need of some major TLC!
This wall had 3 windows that we boarded up so we could have more shelf space. We also had to rip off a bunch of faux wood paneling, so we have tons of patches that we had to mud, now it is almost ready to paint!
This is "The World's Ugliest Bathroom"! We cleaned it up and decided we will wait until we are open and making some money and then we will do a renovation on it! Put in a tile floor, new sink, and paint a lighter cheerier color.
My front door signage....for all my scrapbook buddies, I am doing all my own signs with vinyl and my Cricut!
My side window sign....old peeling siding on the side walls....it is an old building but the rent is great!
Lumber in the store, getting sized and organized.
So, that is my store so far! It seems like we slave away day after day and it doesn't feel like we are getting done, but I know we are getting somewhere. We are still thinking of the grand opening for March 5 & 6! I hope we can make it!
Dear Utah Autism Advocate!
Autism Speaks is pursuing autism insurance reform in over 20 states across the nation including Utah!
Yesterday, an autism insurance reform bill was introduced in the Utah State legislature. Senate Bill 43, "Clay's Law" sponsored by State Senator Howard A. Stephenson (R-11) will require private healthcare policies to provide coverage of the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. Clay's Law will cover early intensive behavioral therapies and other medically necessary, evidence-based treatments prescribed by an insured's treating physician or psychologist.
There are currently eight states that have passed similar bills across the country, including five states during last year's legislative season: Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Illinois. This is a hot topic in states nationwide and Utah should be proud to be a part of such an important movement!
We need your help to get support for Clay's Law from your State Senator...
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
1. SEND AN EMAIL TO YOUR STATE SENATOR! Let them know that you support Clay's Law (SB 43), that you need them to support Clay's Law, and that passage of Clay's Law would mean increased access to critical autism therapies and treatments for thousands of children in Utah. We've already written some of the letter for you. All you need to do is add in your own words (optional) and click send. It's that easy!
2. STAY INFORMED ON CLAY'S LAW! Check out the Autism Votes website and sign up today to receive alerts and information pertaining to the autism insurance reform bills. Stay on top of the latest developments throughout the legislative season and get involved!
3. FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW! We need everyone's help. If you know other people in Utah that would get involved on behalf of your child, forward them this email and ask them to sign up at http://www.autismvotes.org/. This is the perfect answer for anyone who has ever told you, "If there is ever anything I can do to help just ask!" Send to extended family members - aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents. Send to coworkers, neighbors, therapists, teachers and friends! We need all hands on deck!
For more information on the autism insurance reform initiative in Utah, visit www.AutismVotes.org/Utah.
Thank you!
Brittany RecaldeChapter Advocacy Chair, UtahAutism Speaks
Leeann WhiffenChapter Advocacy Chair, UtahAutism Speaks
Steve MichalskiChapter Advocacy Chair, UtahAutism Speaks
My daughter, (http://jenxoxobri.blogspot.com/), challenged everyone to come up with a "theme" word to help guide us through the year 2009. After much thought I have come up with my word....Value! It seems like I put a high value on the people in my life, my husband, my mom, my children, my grandchildren. I always worry about them, their health, their safety, their happiness. If there is something that one of them needs I try to figure out how I can do that for them. I want to make their lives easier and happier. The one thing I often neglect is my own value. I must have value or these people wouldn't want to spend any time with me. So my word for this year is value...I will put value on my health, my happiness, my safety. I will find time to take care of myself so I can continue to be there for the people in my life. Now I also challenge each of you to come up with your theme word for this year.
