It's a little late - OK, a lot late - but finally here is my January Swap post!   Although it is too late to participate in February's, feel free to head over to Home School Blog Awards to read about past swaps and be on the lookout for the March swap sign-up.

My Swap Sister was Christina and what a cool package she pulled together!  Poor Christina spent more than twice on postage what the entire gift was supposed to cost.

She sent:  Superman Valentine cards for the boys to give to their friends, a Safari animal Origami set that my youngest son descended upon like a Hawk after a lame bunny, several pocket folders (what home schooling family can't use pocket folders?) a "year-round tomato" kit (Christina is a gardener!), index cards (which is third on my list of most purchased items, right after toilet paper and Clorox wipes), some very pretty stationary which reminded me I have several letters to write to family, AND these really pretty wooden storage boxes which look like old books and are decorated with an embossed copy of a Byzantine era Jesus mosaic similar to this. 

It was quite a haul!

My gift to Christina was mailed about a week late, as I had procrastinated and then got sick...a good lesson in why NOT to procrastinate.   Of course, I pretty much know the why not, my problem is in the do not.

I sat out the February round, but hope to join in the March fun.  The boys sure get a kick out of opening the packages and there are, invariably, enough goodies for them to share.

Trish of A Joyful Heart has thrown down the gauntlet to all fellow bibliophiles:  How many books can you read between now and the beginning of Spring, March 20?

And, there's a $25 Amazon gift certificate to be awarded at random to a registered challenger!  Head on over to her site to read the rules and register.

This is timely for me, because one of my Christmas presents from my beloved was a $200 Barnes and Noble gift card.  Talk about speakin' my love language!  After about a week and a half of pulling out the card just to caress it, kiss it and rub it against my cheek Chuck finally said, "Spend the thing already!"

So, I did.  Mostly.  I left just under $50 on the card to save for later. 

Not all on my list are from my two-day B&N bender, and many of these I've started, but here are the books in, on and around my nightstand:

Fiction and Literature:

The Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan
The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton
The Portrait of a Lady, Henry James
Gilgamesh, translated by Stephen Mitchell
Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift
The Stranger, Albert Camus
The Trial, Kafka
Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
Collection of five Charles Dickens novels
Possession, A. S. Byatt
The Tenth Circle, Jodi Picoult
S is for Silence, Sue Grafton (A gift from my boys.)

Non-Fiction:  Writing

The Fiction Editor, The Novel, and The Novelist, Thomas McCormack
Easts, Shoots & Leaves, Lynn Truss
Chapter after Chapter, Heather Sellers
Page after Page, Heather Sellers
The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing, Meg Leder, Jack Heffron, and the editors of Writer's Digest
The Writers Way, Sara Maitland
Writing to Change the World, Mary Pipher
Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg

Non-Fiction:  Religion

Timeless Writings of C.S. Lewis:  The Pilgrim's Regress, Christian Reflections and God in the Dock
Total Truth:  Liberating Christianity from it's Cultural Captivity, Nancy Pearcey
How Now Shall We Live?  Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey
The One Year Life Verse Devotional, anthology compiled by Jay K. Payleitner (I got a signed copy from one of the contributors, Jinny Henson)

Non-Fiction:  History

The History of the Ancient World, Susan Wise Bauer
The Art of War, Sun Tzu
The Histories, Herodotus
The Peloponnesian War, Thucydides

Non-Fiction:  Other

The Well-Educated Mind, Susan Wise Bauer (from which my literature list was largely derived)
The Mislabeled Child, Brick Eide, M.D., M.A., and Fernette Eide, M.D.  (on loan from Sprittibee )
The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches:  A practical (and fun) Guide to Enjoying Life More by Spending Less, Jeff Yeager (A buddy on the Writer's Digest forum and guest on NBC's Today Show!)

Last Month I signed up to participate in the "sister swap" hosted by Home School Blog Awards .  I swapped with Jocelyn and she hit on all my favorite things!

The generously sized mug is perfect for my hot beverages.  In my profile, I had indicated that I drink a lot of coffee.  Lots. Of. Coffee.  Turns out, beginning January 1st I quit drinking coffee. (Oh, come on...I felt the concussion as all of you who know me collectively fell off your chairs.)  Truth is, I had been drinking way too much coffee, so I decided to fast from drinking it for a month.  That's another story, though.  This vessel dispenses green tea, just as well! 

I also mentioned that I love candles.  Coffee and candles; Jocelyn struck another chord by sending me a yummy Hazelnut coffee scented candle.  Mmmmm.

Speaking of Mmmmm, she also made some gourmet chocolate stirring spoons and filled the mug with assorted candies.

Ah!  Spoiled me, she did; thank you sweet Jocelyn!

I think I'll do this again.

Sprittibee is holding a contest, sponsored by Academic Superstore,  in which readers are invited to share their favorite homeschool lesson plan.  In order to keep with the theme, I’ve included my favorite lesson plan.  More importantly, however, I want to share with you my favorite lesson.