Kindle Fire HD is Coming to Canada!!!

Today as I was going through my facebook feed, I found that Amazon.ca had posted an update with a link to this:

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00A...fiona-hardware

I've been intrigued by the idea of owning a Kindle Fire from the moment they first released, but was obviously deterred by the fact that they are not directly available here. Sure I could have bought one while in the states, but I'm one of those paranoid people who would worry about whether it will work--at all--when I got it home.

To me this seems like pretty exciting news, so I figured I'd start a thread to see what thoughts others could add.

-- Does anyone outside the US have experience with Kindle Fire coming to your country? Is it worth getting if you're not from the states?

-- My logic in getting a Fire would be to use it as a tablet. (And, of course, to read. Though I'm sure I'll still keep my regular kindle around as well--longer battery life + e-ink). Has anyone else used the Fire in this manner? How does it stack up? What advantages or limitations does it have next to a 'regular' tablet? Next to an iPad?

-- If you own a Fire in general (anywhere in the world) are you happy with it? How do you use it / what has it improved for you?

-- Does anyone have advice on which model is the best choice? Which accessories are must haves? Which bluetooth keyboard(s) work with this device? Which apps are the most handy / interesting?

-- My fellow Canadians: Are any of you excited about the release of the Kindle Fire here, too? What are your hopes? Concerns?

Anyway, I hope there are others who are interested in this too and I figured it was worth a try. Thanks so much for taking the time to read. Have a great day!

Giving thanks for a day of awesome!

This is a very special day

The breeze swept the clouds all away

It swept the sky like a broom

And got ready for a very special day

-- "This is a Very Special Day" by Peggy Lee

I don't usually treat my blog like an honest-to-goodness journal. While it's true that I am journaling my adventures with books, I usually don't sit here and tell you guys what's going on from a day-to-day timeline. Well, today is an exception. Because today has been so all around awesome that I simple have to stop for a moment and give thanks to whatever's out there that lets little coincidences line up so that the universe can catch my attention.

As some of you may know, there is a great book group called Bookurious and part of that is an opportunity to be part of Blog It Forward. Today I received a copy of My Beating Teenage Heart, the first book I'll be reviewing for this program. (I took part in last month's review for Dearly, Departed but I'd already read it so I admit I got to cheat a little there.)

Not only am I super excited to read this book -- it sounds totally fabulous -- this is the first time I've been sent a book for review that I get to keep. I've *won* books before. And I absolutely loved being part of Bloggerhood of the Traveling Book. But the idea that I get to read this, tell people what I thought of it and have it on my shelf (even if my shelves are going "Oh my God, stop!") is really thrilling.

So that was a pretty epic start to the day.

Something some of you might know about me, but most of you probably don't, is that I collect Monster High dolls. I was hugely into dolls when I was a kid and a couple years ago, having admired them at stores but not making any purchases, I finally asked myself "What's stopping me?". I now have 14 Monster High dolls. I think the only characters available that I don't have copies of yet are Clawd Wolf and Abby Bominable. (Correction: Toralei Stripes has been released. Want. Now.)

Today's new doll was definitely a big surprise, though. And I hadn't even gone out to look for her. I actually managed to get ahold of Spectra Voltergeist. I've wanted her for months. Where was she? Sitting at the book table in WalMart, as if someone knew I was going to come along and pick her up. In an even freakier moment of "Yeah, that was suppose to happen" the theme I chose for Kyden, In These Arms by Bon Jovi, started playing. I love when odd things like this happen. They keep me optimistic.

Then we went to the grocery store. My mom wanted to get steaks for dinner and was taking a bit longer in there then I thought she would be. This turned out to be because she was chosen as a winner who got her groceries for free in some kind of holiday promotion.

When I got home, I checked my e-mail to find that I've been added to a contact list for an upcoming YA imprint, Strange Chemistry. (Thank you. Very excited!) and to put a cherry on everything, my amazon order has shipped, which means I'll likely get it tomorrow and if not it should get here on Friday. (Wondering what I got? Well, I'll tell you ... When I get it. :p )

So, has your day been blessed with any awesome little surprises? Just look around you. Little moments of joy are everywhere, just waiting for us to notice them.