A Few of My Favorite Things

Beth, Feb.13th,1961-Feb.28, 2010

2010-02-28T04:27:00.000-08:00

Wildflowers by Dolly Parton

The hills were alive with wildflowers
And I was as wild, even wilder than they
For at least I could run, they just died in the sun
And I refused to just wither in place

Just a wild mountain rose, needing freedom to grow
So I ran fearing not where I'd go
When a flower grows wild, it can always survive
Wildflowers don't care where they grow

And the flowers I knew in the fields where I grew
Were content to be lost in the crowd
They were common and close, I had no room for growth
I wanted so much to branch out

I uprooted myself from home ground and left
Took my dreams and I took to the road
When a flower grows wild, it can always survive
Wildflowers don't care where they grow

I grew up fast and wild and I never felt right
In a garden so different from me
I just never belonged, I just longed to be gone
So the garden, one day, set me free

Hitched a ride with the wind and since he was my friend
I just let him decide where we'd go
When a flower grows wild, it can always survive
Wildflowers don't care where they grow

In memory of my beloved baby sister.
Lori Beth Browning Wilson.
Our own wild mountain rose...

Review: Reasons by Tracy Fabre

2010-01-19T14:42:00.000-08:00

From the back cover of Reasons: Delphi Brent, seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident as a teenager, is ready to spend the summer with old family friends when her parents make a distressing confession: the driver of the car that nearly killed her was one of the three sons of the Laughlin family she's about to visit. They urge her to stay home and let the past be, but she resolves to go out West anyway to learn the truth about what happened the night she was struck and one of the Laughlin sons died. However, in reconnecting with the Laughlins, who operate a sprawling ranch in Colorado, Delphi learns a lot not only about brothers and families, but also about the reasons people keep secrets, and what to do with the truth once it's uncovered. She also falls in love with one of the Laughlin brothers, which wasn't part of the plan at all.

My thoughts:

About four hours ago I fished this book out of a stack I have on my desk,
and I just read the last page.
I would've finished it sooner but I was interrupted by hungry family members who wanted supper.
I loved this story-I loved the characters and I loved the way it flowed.
The pages seemed to turn themselves and I almost hated for it to end.

Tracy Fabre's book isn't just a cute little love story.
It's about families and the ties that bind,
and ultimately it is about forgiveness and redemption.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to more from this author.

About the author in her own words:
Vaguely-worded statements about "me"... from tracyfabre.com

I consider myself a resident of the "mid-South", which is defined as everything from Oklahoma to upper Alabama. I've lived in various southern states and feel a pretty strong connection to Alabama, which doesn't claim me but hasn't figured out how to stop me from coming around.

In fact, three of my other (also unpublished) novels are set on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay (a series of mysteries) and I hope you'll see them in print someday.

I really am a "closet writer," but you can find me posting bits of fluff on Gather.com (they can't figure out how to keep me from coming around, either).

Steadily writing for my own entertainment--because I just haven't been able to stop--for the last eight years, I am glad to finally get into print so I can find out whether anyone else has any interest in what I've
been doing "in the privacy of my own home" all this time!

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: StoneGarden.net Publishing (February 25, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1600761259
ISBN-13: 978-1600761256
Disclosure: I received my review copy of Reasons from Renee Giroux of Stimulating-Conversation.com

HP TouchSmart 600 Giveaway at DaddyForever!

2009-12-21T10:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday everyone! Just wanted to give you all a heads-up on a wonderful opportunity to enter to win the incredible HP TouchSmart 600 computer.
This awesome giveaway is being hosted by DaddyForever and you can get up to 7 entries in for this one.

You need to hurry though because the deadline to enter is Wednesday, Dec.23rd!

So get on over to DaddyForever and get those entries in!

Good Luck.

Blog Tour: A Blue and Gray Christmas by Joan Medlicott

2009-12-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

About the book from simon&schuster.com

In this stunning holiday story, a cache of Civil War-era letters and diaries sweeps the ladies of Covington up into a dramatic and heartwarming historical saga that inspires them to plan an unforgettable Christmas for two families forever changed by war.

When a rusty old tin box is unearthed at the Covington Homestead, longtime housemates Grace, Amelia, and Hannah discover that it contains letters and diaries written by two Civil War soldiers, one Union and one Confederate.

The friends are captivated by the drama revealed. The soldiers were found dying on a nearby battlefield by an old woman. She nursed them back to health, hiding them from bounty hunters seeking deserters. At the end of the war the men chose to stay in Covington, caring for their rescuer as she grew frail. But while their lives were rich, they still felt homesick and guilty for never contacting the families they'd left behind.

Christmas is coming, and the letters inspire Amelia with a generous impulse. What if she and her friends were to find the two soldiers' descendants and invite them to Covington to meet? What better holiday gift could there be than the truth about these two heroic men and their dramatic shared fate? With little time left, the ladies spring into action to track down the men's families in Connecticut and the Carolinas, and to make preparations in Covington for their most memorable, most historic Christmas yet.

My Thoughts:

I joined this blog tour thinking this might be a charming holiday story, but I realized a few pages into the book
that this was a flat-out good read.

After discovering a cache of old letters and diaries, three best friends, Hannah, Amelia and Grace set out to reunite the lost families of two Civil-War soldiers.

A very charming and inspiring tale that also has a sub-plot of how three "Golden Girls" reinvented their lives anew, and met the challenges that life as a Senior had brought them.

Book Tour Participants:

Books Reviews by Buuklvr81
The Life (and Lies) of an Inanimate Flying Object
Good Books & Wine
I Read
Rundpinne
Morbid Romantic
Book Junkie
Drey’s Library
My Book Addiction and More
Red Headed Book Child
Blog Business World
My Reading Room
Frugal Plus
Book Magic
All About {n}
The Bibliophilic Book Blog
One Person’s Journey Through a World of Books
Psychotic State
That’s a Novel Idea
My Friend Amy
Brizmus Blogs About Books
Found Not Lost
Jen’s Book Talk
The Princess and the Monkey
Marta’s Meanderings
Readaholic
Broken Teepee
Books, Books Everywhere
Books, Books, The Magical Fruit
Reading at the Beach

About the author:
Joan Medlicott was born and raised on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She lives with her husband in the mountains of North Carolina. Visit her website at www.joanmedlicott.com

Pocket, November 2009
Hardcover, 336 pages
ISBN-10: 1-4165-9735-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-9735-3

I received my review copy for this tour courtesy of Simon & Schuster.com

BOGO Today at EyebuyDirect.com!

2009-12-07T04:43:00.000-08:00

L@@K!
It's 2 for the price of 1 Monday at eyebuydirect.com

You need to hurry though-this is a 24 hour only special, and the clock is ticking!
This is a great time to pick up an extra pair of prescription glasses and while you're there, check out their Deal of the Week on these great frames.

Old Gringo Boots-A Love Affair

2009-12-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

There are boots and there are boots.
And then there are Old Gringo boots.

I've long lusted after this brand but they've always been just a tad too pricey for my limited (sigh...) shoe budget.
Even on Ebay they go like hotcakes if you can actually find a pair without a high reserve to bid on.
I have a few times, and although I pride myself on being a crafty sniper when faced with a bidding war, some wily shoe maven has always beaten me to the punch...damn her.
I finally found a fairly reasonably priced pair over at a website called 6pm.com. Actually there were a few that I liked but I chose the ones pictured above.

First off let me say that these boots are so pretty that I just want to display them somewhere so everyone can see the details.
The distressed leather is so soft and the craftsmanship that went into making these boots is just meticulous.
Now a few words about the fit.
A good fitting cowboy boot is different than what you expect or want in a regular shoe.
The foot should feel snug across the instep and will be a little loose about the heel until they are broken-in. As you break them in, the heel will naturally conform to your foot. Here is a great little guide to properly fitting a western boot.
No way in hell is your foot ever supposed to reach all the way into the toe box..can you imagine the pain?
Always buy your boot true to size. Unfortunately some people think that the classic western style boots "run big", and will order a half or full size lower than normal.
This is a common mistake.

Now as far as comfort goes my pair of Old Gringos would have been absolutely perfect if only for one important detail...the insole.
Or lack of one to be precise.

Don't get me wrong-these boots are gorgeous with leather detailing inside and out, but they have no padding whatsoever and I'm at the age where I don't care how good a shoe looks on the outside, if there is no shock-absorption in the heels and at the ball of my great toe, I won't be doing much dancing or anything else in them.

This problem was easily solved by inserting a pair of good old Dr. Scholl's foam insoles, but for the price of these boots I really wish this were not necessary.
Take Dan Post boots for example, another one of my favorite brands-their insoles are outstanding-more comfortable than sneakers in my opinion.

I don't know if this is true of all Old Gringo boots or just for the style I bought, but don't let this deter you from this brand. The more I wear them the more I love them, and I've received tons of compliments.
I'm already saving up for my next pair.

Review: Life After 187 by Wade J. Halverson

2009-12-01T11:20:00.000-08:00

Penal Code 187:
Murder, to take the Life of another...

About the book from 187books.com

Sentenced to life in prison when he executes the men who murdered his wife, Kane Silver is singled out by the warden for his fighting ability. Along with inmates Valentino Lopez and Si’Ling Lee, Kane is drafted into service and forced to fight for money in high-stakes tournaments. But when the three friends escape during a New Year’s Eve match in Lake Tahoe—saving the warden’s life in the process—their situation becomes more complicated.

Their status undetermined, they vanish underground and sign on to help a young woman whose parents are being held by an Argentinean drug kingpin. Follow Kane and his friends as they compete and grow closer while rediscovering what it means to be free. From Lake Tahoe and the western United States to Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, and Thailand, Life After 187 takes readers on an exhilarating ride filled with big money, intense action, justice, and the pursuit of honor.

My thoughts:

What a thrill ride! This book grabbed me right from the get-go and kept me glued to my seat with every twist and turn of the page.
The hero, Kane Silver is a charismatic figure who due to the most unfortunate of circumstances, finds himself teamed up with two ex cons, and even though the scenario was incredulous at times, the fast-paced action of their adventures has left me wanting to know more about this trio.
Bravo Mr. Halverson-this was a great read!

About the Author from 187books.com

Wade J. Halverson is the author of the 187 book series. For the past twenty years he has owned kickboxing gyms and has worked as a bodyguard. Living in Alaska, Miami, Colorado, Thailand, and Los Angeles. He currently resides in Southern California.

Readers may correspond with him at: wadehalverson@ymail.com.

Paperback: 238 pages
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation (August 4, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1441540261
ISBN-13: 978-1441540263

I received my review copy of this book courtesy of the author.

Enter The Coach Handbag Giveaway Extravaganza!

2009-11-26T14:46:00.000-08:00

If I had a Fairy Godmother like Cinderella,
I'd definitely want her to turn my pumpkin into a Coach but only if it were the kind I could carry on my arm!

I was just over visiting at The Fashionable Housewife's blog and Yowsa!
She is taking part in the most fabulous giveaway of this Holiday season.

She's teamed up with none other than Coach as one of the blogs that are participating in their "Holiday Blog-A-Day Handbag Giveaway"

Be sure and visit her blog and check out all the different ways you can gain entries to win a gorgeous bag just like the one pictured above.

You have until Dec.20th at 11:59 pm est to enter.
Good Luck!

Review: Children Of Dust by Ali Eteraz

2009-11-25T10:10:00.000-08:00

From FSBmedia.com

Ali Eteraz's Children of Dust is a spellbinding portrayal of a life that few Americans can imagine. From his schooling in a madrassa in Pakistan to his teenage years as a Muslim American in the Bible Belt, and back to Pakistan to find a pious Muslim wife, this lyrical, penetrating saga from a brilliant new literary voice captures the heart of our universal quest for identity.

Children of Dust begins in rural Islam at the lowest levels of Pakistani society in the turbulent eighties. This intimate portrayal of rustic village life is revealed through a young boy's eyes as he discovers magic, women, and friendship.

After immigrating with his family to the United States, Eteraz struggles to be a normal American teenager under the rules of a strict Muslim household.

In 1999, he returns to Pakistan to find the villages of his youth dominated by the ideology of the Taliban, filled with young men spouting militant rhetoric, and his extended family under threat. Eteraz becomes the target of a mysterious abduction plot when he is purported to be a CIA agent, and eventually has to escape under military escort.

Back in the United States, with his fundamentalist illusions now shattered, Eteraz tries to find a middle way within American Islam. At each stage of Eteraz's life, he takes on a different identity to signal his evolution. From being pledged to Islam in Mecca as an infant, through Salafi fundamentalism, to liberal reformer, Eteraz desperately struggles to come to terms with being a Pakistani and a Muslim.

Astonishingly honest, darkly comic, and beautifully told, Children of Dust is an extraordinary adventure that reveals the diversity of Islamic beliefs, the vastness of the Pakistani diaspora, and the very human search for home.

My thoughts:
I was interested in reading this book because since Nine-Eleven, I have attempted to gain some understanding into the Muslim beliefs and culture.
This book is a memoir of one man's reflection of his life growing up in the Islam faith. It begins with his humble childhood in Pakistan, and extends through his immigration to the US, ending up as a teenager in Alabama, then back to Pakistan.

The religious zeal with which he was brought up was actually not unlike a couple of people that I knew back in grammar school.
I knew a couple of girls in my class who weren't allowed to cut their hair or wear pants. There was no television in their household, no dancing or rock'n'roll, and wearing make-up was of course, out of the question.
Not surprisingly, it was these same girls who rebelled the loudest when we were all thrust into high school.
As they began to question their parents beliefs, and search for their own identities, out came the scissors and the eyeshadow.I recall one of them coming to school with huge welts on her calves from the whipping she'd received from her mother after she had defiantly taken a razor and shaved her legs for gym class.

Back then it wasn't considered child abuse for a parent to do that.

The Author's detailed descriptions of his youthful upbringing left me amazed at the all encompassing fervor of the Islam faith.
So many details and points to remember and live by. And the punishments seemed barbaric and harsh. At least to me.
I also couldn't help but wonder at the almost superstitious beliefs that the adults held on to and instilled in their young.
When his baby brother died, the women of the household actually blamed it on a barren sister-in law, as if she'd cast some sort of spell or curse in this case.
After reading this memoir I can't help but be grateful that over-zealous, religious baggage was the one thing that I didn't have to drag with me into adulthood.
Why should Life be such a struggle?
Thank you Mama.

About the Author from fsbmedia.com
Ali Eteraz, author of Children of Dust: A Memoir of Pakistan, was born in Pakistan and has lived in the Middle East, the Caribbean, and the United States. A graduate of Emory University and Temple Law School, he was selected for the Outstanding Scholar's Program at the United States Department of Justice and later worked in corporate litigation in Manhattan. He is a regular contributor to True/Slant; has published articles about Islam and Pakistani politics in Dissent, Foreign Policy, AlterNet, and altMuslim; and is a regular contributor to The Guardian UK and Dawn, Pakistan's oldest English-language daily. His blog in the Islamosphere received nearly two million views as well as a Brass Crescent award for originality. Eteraz has spoken publicly about the situation inside Pakistan, Islamic reform, and Muslim immigration. He currently divides his time between Princeton, New jersey, and the Middle East, and is working on a novel.

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: HarperOne; 1st edition (October 13, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061567086
ISBN-13: 978-0061567087

I received my review copy of this book courtesy of FSB Media.com

ALERT! HP Touchsmart 600 Computer Giveaway!

2009-11-17T06:02:00.000-08:00

While perusing my emails this morning I came across this incredible giveaway that is going on at Jolly Mom's blog.

She's bringing us a fabulous giveaway with this incredible prize of the HP TouchSmart 600 computer valued at $1,497 retail! How awesome is that?
If you're in the market to upgrade your old machine (or etch-a-sketch with a cord as I fondly refer to mine) you'll want to get on over to JollyMom's and get your entry in.

The giveaway officially launches Monday, Nov.23 but JollyMom's generously offering us the opportunity to get in a few extra entries early on so click on over there and see what it's all about!

Review:The Manufactured Identity by Heath Sommer

2009-11-16T11:54:00.000-08:00

I invite you to read this FIRST CHAPTER. As I was invited to read it by the author himself.

My thoughts:
The Manufactured Identity tells the story of lives that are connected by deceit of the worst kind.
Imagine if the person that you have spent your life with, and built a relationship with did not even really exist?
Their whole identity simply made-up.
How would you feel?
Would it change your perceptions of your memories of time spent with this person?
Would you begin to even doubt your own existence, if someone squandered your love and time this way?
Suppose you learned there were others involved.
Just like you.
Innocent and unaware.

Lory Latchley's husband is missing.
Unfortunately, several other ladies partner's have flown the coop also.

As Lory seeks to unravel the mystery of her husband's disappearance, she stumbles upon a common thread that ties them all together in this absorbing and suspenseful tale.
As a reader I found myself drawn in to Lory's character, and I kept reading to learn each new discovery about her husband as she made them.

While some of the characters storylines seemed disjointed, I knew they were all going to tie together somehow, but I admit that the ending surprised me.
This is probably one of the best psychological thrillers I've read all year.

About the author:

Doctor Heath Sommer earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Idaho State University and holds an additional degree in Marriage, Family, and Human Development. A native of Sacramento, California, he has enjoyed many opportunities for public speaking and regularly conducts workshops/gives lectures on psychologically related as well as theologically related domains. In addition to his literary interests, Dr. Sommer specializes in the assessment and treatment of trauma, anxiety, and marriage, family, and child development.

For further information please visit the author's website at www.heathsommer.com.

Paperback: 308 pages
Publisher: Tate Publishing & Enterprises (June 23, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1606965506
ISBN-13: 978-1606965504

Disclosure:I received my review copy of this book courtesy of the author Heath Sommer.

And The Winner's Are...

2009-11-16T09:15:00.000-08:00

The Funky silver bracelet goes to:

Pamela S said...
I love the "Rome" earrings. pamelashockley(AT)netscape(DOT)net
Thanks

The Glacier earrings go to:

erma said...
I like the Hip Hoop Bling gold.
erma.hurtt@sbcglobal.net

Congratulations to Pamela and Erma and a big Thank You to everyone who entered my impromptu little giveaway!

Remember if you didn't win you can always get the items at TwistedSilver.com and be sure to sign up for their emails 'coz there is always something great happening there.

Blog Tour: To Desire A Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt

2009-11-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

About the book from hatchettebookgroup.com

NOTHING IS MORE INTOXICATING-
Reynaud St. Aubyn has spent the last seven years in hellish captivity. Now half mad with fever he bursts into his ancestral home and demands his due. Can this wild-looking man truly be the last earl's heir, thought murdered by Indians years ago?

OR DANGEROUS-
Beatrice Corning, the niece of the present earl, is a proper English miss. But she has a secret: No real man has ever excited her more than the handsome youth in the portrait in her uncle's home. Suddenly, that very man is here, in the flesh-and luring her into his bed.

THAN SURRENDERING TO A DEVIL.
Only Beatrice can see past Reynaud's savagery to the noble man inside. For his part, Reynaud is drawn to this lovely lady, even as he is suspicious of her loyalty to her uncle. But can Beatrice's love tame a man who will stop at nothing to regain his title-even if it means sacrificing her innocence?

Elizabeth Hoyt has done it again with this fourth installment of The Legend of the Four Soldiers series. In To Desire a Devil we follow the steamy and delicious tale of Viscount Reynaud St. Aubyn and Lady Beatrice Corning.
If you missed the first three books in this series
To Taste Temptation, To Beguile A Beast,and To Seduce a Sinner,
-not to worry.
Each is a "Stand-Alone" saga by themselves.

Be sure and check out these other stops along the tour for reviews and giveaways!
Tour stops:

Oct. 30: My Overstuffed Bookshelf, Maria's Space, Just Another New Blog,
Oct. 31: Bookin' with Bingo
Nov. 1: Froggaritaville's Bookcase,
Nov. 2: Readaholic
Nov. 3: Reading with Monie
Nov. 4: I'm Booking It, Book Soulmates, A Journey of Books, Find the Time to Read
Nov. 5: Bookfan, Seductive Musings
Nov. 6: Found Not Lost,Book Junkie
Nov. 7:Starting Fresh
Nov. 8: 'Manda Blogs About...
Nov. 10: My Reading Room, Anna's Book Blog
Nov. 11: Morbid Romantic
Nov. 12: The Eclectic Book Lover I ♥ Book Gossip

About the author from hatchettebookgroup.com

Elizabeth Hoyt is a USA Today bestselling author of historical romance. She also writes deliciously fun contemporary romance under the name Julia Harper. Elizabeth lives in central Illinois with three untrained dogs, two angelic but bickering children, and one long-suffering husband. Please visit her websites for chapter excerpts, book extras, and author appearances: www.elizabethhoyt.com and www.juliaharper.com.

Disclosure: My copy of To Desire a Devil was provided courtesy of the Hachette Book Group for this blog tour.
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Vision (November 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446406945
ISBN-13: 978-0446406949

Review: Feddie Girl by Nona David

2009-11-11T05:49:00.000-08:00

Back Blurb: from bernardbooks.com

Carlotta Ikedi (A.k.a Feddie Girl) has never liked school. Not in California. Not in Oklahoma. When her exasperated parents ship her off to boarding school–in West Africa–Carlotta faces a life, culture, and existence unlike anything she’s ever known.

School rules and regulations, rising bell, lights-out, manual labor, inspections, dining time, prefects, punishments, mean bunk mates, and visiting days–it’s all here. But author Nona David takes Carlotta’s story a step further when her adventure’s lead to unfortunate incidents that threaten to drive her American family into the clutches of infidelity and organized crime.

Boarding school doesn’t get any better than this…

For those who have experienced the boarding school life, the adventures of Feddie Girl will bring those memories crashing back… For anyone else, get ready to see the world as Feddie Girl.

My thoughts:

I love to promote reading, especially for teens so I picked up Feddie Girl, and after skimming the back cover
I thought "Oh good, a YA book I'll pass along to one of my nieces after I'm through".
Not entirely so though as I was soon to discover.
The central character Carlotta aka Feddie girl, an almost stereotypical rebellious teen is after all, a product of her upbringing, whose parents I found dysfunctional as well.
Ward and June Cleaver they are not.

You have a philandering father with a somewhat shady past, and an alcoholic mother whose solution to being called to the Principal's office one too many times is to ship their daughter off to boarding school, preferably one halfway around the world.
And not just any boarding school.

Federal Government Girls College Uddah-or FGGC Uddah- is not your typical finishing school for well-bred young ladies, as Carlotta soon discovers. Thus begins Carlotta's life at Sapphire House where she soon learns to adapt to the rather institutionalized, somewhat rigid curriculum with rules set forth by the Senior girls or "Prefects" as they are called.

The cover of this book bears the description of "The Hilarious Adventures of an American Teen in a Nigerian Federal School"
I kept waiting to be amused, but maybe something got lost in translation because nothing that happened to Carlotta tickled my funny bone.

The book periodically would jump back to Carlotta's parents Richard and Shelley, but mainly told the story of Carlotta's adjustments and maladjustment's at school.There were also some rather improbable plot twists towards the end of the book which frankly, left me a little bewildered. Perhaps you had to have attended boarding school to appreciate this "adventure".

About the author from Benardbooks.com:

Nona David currently lives with her husband in Cincinnati Ohio. She has a passion for foreign cultures and zeal to visit new places, learn new languages, and experience new things. Her background, friends, and experiences in Nigeria, West Africa is the major influence for her debut novel, FEDDIE GIRL...

disclosure: I received my copy of this book for review courtesy of Bernardbooks.com

TITLE: Feddie Girl: The Hilarious Adventures of an American Teen in a Nigerian Federal School
AUTHOR: Nona David
AUTHOR E-MAIL: nona.david@yahoo.com
GENRE: Women's Fiction, International Adventure, Thriller
PUBLISHER: Bernard Books Publishing
PUBLISHER WEBSITE: https://bernardbooks.com
PAGE COUNT: 400
PUBLICATION DATE: February 2010
TARGET AGE: 13 and above
ISBN: 978-0-9824526-0-8

A Fabulous Twisted Little Giveaway!

2009-10-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I love to win stuff-who doesn't? Right?
And among my favorite things to try and win is jewelry.
Especially the cutting-edge, trendy jewelry like they have at Twisted Silver

I was fortunate enough to be selected as a winner during a recent giveaway at DailyDivaDish.com and as part of my prize I got to select 2 incredible pieces of jewelry from Twisted Silver-Yay Me!

Unfortunately (or maybe not;))due to a recent move, my prize went to my old address and I never received it.
I wrote to Elizabeth at Twisted Silver and she tracked the package for me and discovered the mistake. Being the awesome person that she is, she immediately sent me out a duplicate package, as it appeared that the original was being returned to her.
Imagine my surprise (and embarrassment) when 2 identical packages containing both items of jewelry showed up in my mail on the same day? Gotta love the Post Office right?
Well now for the fun part.
I immediately emailed Elizabeth about my prize faux pas, and I rather boldly proposed doing a giveaway here instead of returning the duplicate items.
To my delight (but not surprise because as I mentioned Elizabeth is an awesome and amazing gal,) she agreed that a giveaway would be a smashing idea!

So here goes! There will be 2 winners!
First prize will be the incredible Funky Silver Bracelet
And I will draw a second winner for a lovely pair of Glacier Earrings.
Let me describe these items a bit for you-the pictures do not do them justice.
The Funky Silver bracelet is huge! It is bold and shiny-It rolls up and down your wrist with the trademark Twisted Tag dangling and jingling-I tell you, it is a party for your arm-I love mine!

The Glacier earrings are rather elegant-long and sexy with a light catching crystal bead on the ends.They are perfect for the upcoming holidays.

For an entry just click on over to Twisted Silver and come back here and leave a comment telling me which piece of jewelry is your favorite. Make sure to leave your email address in your comment, so I'll have a way to contact you if you win. You can get a 2nd entry if you follow my blog but please leave a 2nd comment letting me know.

Additional RULES-Please Read!
This contest is open to USA and Canada.
Deadline for entering is November 15th 2009 at 11:59 pm eastern standard time.
The Winners will be drawn the following day and notified by the email address they provided in their comment.
They will have 48 hours to respond with their shipping info or I will choose an alternate winner.
The prizes will be shipped directly from me.

Good Luck Everyone!

Get Your Read On: A Highlander's Temptation by Sue Ellen Welfonder

2009-10-20T02:38:00.001-07:00

About the book from hatchettebookgroup.com

Darroc MacConacher spends sleepless nights dreaming of a raven-haired beauty who makes him ache with desire. Then his dream comes true: the lady with her lush curves and fair skin appears shipwrecked on his shores. Darroc is immediately drawn to her strength and beauty, and from the moment she lays eyes on this powerful, broad-shouldered warrior, Lady Arabella MacKenzie knows she'll never want another man.

But theirs is a forbidden love. The MacKenzies drove the MacConachers from their lands and destroyed their honor. Now, Darroc can use this sapphire-eyed seductress to shatter his foes. Yet how can he deny the passion that burns between him and Arabella, and ruin the one woman who touches his very soul?

Whew! I was in the mood for a little romance reading and I'm so glad I grabbed this one up.
There are a couple of elements that always make for a great romance book, and one of them is of course the Love Triangle.
My next favorite hook is Forbidden Love.
It worked for Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet, and it still works today in A Highlander's Temptation, only so smoking hot that it would curl the Bard's hair if he read it.

The characters are well-defined and the Author's use of Scottish dialect will have you wanting your own castle by a misty loch for an afternoon tryst with his lordship...aye...
Throw in a romantic historical setting like the windswept shores of medieval Scotland and you've got yourself an afternoon of curled-up in your favorite spot, self-indulgent reading-and isn't that what a good romance book is all about?
My thanks to Anna from hatchettebookgroup.com for my review copy.

About the author from hatchettebookgroup.com

Sue-Ellen Welfonder is a dedicated medievalist of Scottish descent who spent fifteen years living abroad, and still makes annual research trips to Great Britain. She is an active member of the Romance Writers of America and her own clan, the MacFie Society of North America. Under the pseudonym Allie Mackay, she has also written contemporary Scottish-set paranormals for Signet. Sue-Ellen Welfonder is married and lives with her husband, Manfred, and their Jack Russell Terrier, Em, in Florida.

Blog Tour: 9 Dragons by Michael Connelly

2009-10-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

About the book from hatchettebookgroups.com

LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is off the chain in the fastest, fiercest, and highest-stakes case of his life.

Fortune Liquors is a small shop in a tough South L.A. neighborhood, a store Bosch has known for years. The murder of John Li, the store's owner, hits Bosch hard, and he promises Li's family that he'll find the killer.

The world Bosch steps into next is unknown territory. He brings in a detective from the Asian Gang Unit for help with translation--not just of languages but also of the cultural norms and expectations that guided Li's life. He uncovers a link to a Hong Kong triad, a lethal and far-reaching crime ring that follows many immigrants to their new lives in the U.S.

And instantly his world explodes. The one good thing in Bosch's life, the person he holds most dear, is taken from him and Bosch travels to Hong Kong in an all-or-nothing bid to regain what he's lost. In a place known as Nine Dragons, as the city's Hungry Ghosts festival burns around him, Bosch puts aside everything he knows and risks everything he has in a desperate bid to outmatch the triad's ferocity.

I am excited to be part of the 9 Days of 9 Dragons book tour.
Award-winning author Michael Connelly, has written another fast-paced thriller with the twists and turns his books are known for, and crime-fiction addicts will not be disappointed.

Although homicide detective Harry Bosch is a recurring character from Connolly's' earlier work beginning with The Black Echo, don't let it stop you from picking up this book, even if you've never read the earlier books.

This book is a "stand alone" roller-coaster ride all the way through the final pages.
Be warned though, after reading 9 Dragons you're going to want to go out and read those other Harry Bosch books.

My thanks to Miriam From Hatchette Book Groups for my copy.

Check out the other tour stops along the way for other reviews and giveaways, and visit michaelconnelly.com for news, excerpts and more.

Blog Tour Participants:
10/13
http://booknerdextraordinaire.blogspot.com/
http://www.chickwithbooks.blogspot.com/
http://www.reviewfromhere.com/
http://justonemorepageblog.blogspot.com
http://popculturenerd.wordpress.com

10/14
http://bookrevues.blogspot.com/
http://bookseriesreviews.blogspot.com/
http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com

10/15
http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/
http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/
http://froggaritavillesbookcase.blogspot.com/

10/16
http://www.rundpinne.blogspot.com/
http://mindingspot.blogspot.com

10/17
http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/
http://www.bookingmama.blogspot.com/
http://www.lovingheartmommy.com/

10/18
http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/
http://luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com/

10/19
http://justanothernewblog.blogspot.com/
http://ilratb.blogspot.com/

10/20
http://bermudaonion.wordpress.com
http://mandablogsabout.blogspot.com/

10/21
http://libslibrary.blogspot.com/
http://abookbloggersdiary.blogspot.com/
http://myreadingroom-crystal.blogspot.com

Winners-We Have Winners!

2009-10-16T04:48:00.000-07:00

A big "Thank You" goes out to everyone who entered my giveaway for Bo's Cafe'.
All of the winners have been notified and I am waiting for their replies for confirmation.
Without further ado they are:

bison61-confirmed

kyslp-confirmed
The Book Pixie-confirmed
Mum-confirmed

So if you see your name here-Congratulations and be sure and check your email and reply with your mailing address.

Blog Tour and Giveaway:Bo's Cafe' by John Lynch, Bill Thrall and Bruce McNicol

2009-09-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

About the book from HatchetteBookGroup.com

High-powered executive Steven Kerner is living the dream in southern California. But when his bottled pain ignites in anger one night, his wife kicks him out. Then an eccentric mystery man named Andy Monroe befriends Steven and begins unravelling his tightly wound world. Andy leads Steven through a series of frustrating and revealing encounters to repair his life through genuine friendship and the grace and love of a God who has been waiting for him to accept it. A story to challenge and encourage, BO'S CAFE is a model for all who struggle with unresolved problems and a performance-based life.

Steven Kerner is your typical "A-type" personality.
Over-worked and over-stressed, he finds salvation through an unlikely encounter with a group of B-types (or, are they?)
This book is for anyone who has ever felt at the end of their rope-I swear my blood pressure went down just by reading it. You'll stop and think, you may just be tempted to take the book and go sit in a park or garden to read it-this is the mood it will put you in-if you allow it. :-)
Bo's Cafe' is a collaboration, written by John Lynch, Bill Thrall, and Bruce McNicol.
You can learn more about these writers by visiting here.

I am pleased as punch to be participating in my very first Blog Tour and Giveaway.
To learn more about the book Bo's Cafe' please visit boscafe.com and check out the other tour stops below for reviews, author Q&A and more chances to win.

Participating Blogs:

September 28th
http://deenasbooks.blogspot.com
http://www.thinkinggirlsguide.blogspot.com
http://frugalplus.com/
http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/
http://abookbloggersdiary.blogspot.com/

September 29th
http://sharonsgardenofbookreviews.blogspot.com/
http://libslibrary.blogspot.com/
http://metroreader.blogspot.com/
http://reviewfromhere.com/
http://momofajl.blogspot.com/

September 30th
http://www.mgpblog.com/
http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/
http://www.cornhuskeracademy.blogspot.com
http://www.crazy-for-books.com/
http://homespunlight.blogspot.com/
http://readinggroupguides.com/blog/blog.asp

October 1st
http://books-movies-chinesefood.blogspot.com/
http://hopeofglory.typepad.com/
http://booktumbling.wordpress.com/
http://www.hip2bhomeschooling.blogspot.com
http://www.psalm516.blogspot.com

October 2nd
http://berlysue.blogspot.com/
http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/
http://molcotw.blogspot.com
http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com
http://justanothernewblog.blogspot.com/
http://word-up-studies.blogspot.com/
http://tsuzanneeller.com

Thanks to Miriam at The Hatchette Book Group, I have 5 copies of this book to give to 5 lucky commenter's.

If you'd like to win this book, just leave a comment about which personality traits you most identify yourself with (Type A-multi-tasking over-achieving stress-junkie, or Type B,patient, relaxed, easy-going-or maybe you're a combination of both?) IMPORTANT! Include your email address-leave it in code if you like-example:you(at)yahoo(dot)com. After all, I can't notify you that you win otherwise!
I will notify the winners individually by email for their shipping address to forward to Miriam at the Hatchette Book Group. The winners will have 48 hours to reply with their shipping info, or I will draw new winners.

The winners will receive their books directly from Hatchette. Sorry no PO boxes.
This contest is open to US and Canada.
This giveaway ends on October 15th at midnight EST.

Review: Playing House a novel by Fredrica Wagman

2009-09-28T05:05:00.000-07:00

About the book from FSB Media:

When Playing House appeared in 1973, Publishers Weekly hailed it, "A probing descent into madness that will fascinate the same audience that appreciated I Never Promised You a Rose Garden." This nationally bestselling story of one woman’s struggle with the lasting effects of a childhood sexual relationship with her brother shocked American readers; it remains a literary work of enduring quality and value. In his foreword Philip Roth writes, "The traumatized child; the institutionalized wife; the haunting desire; the ghastly business of getting through the day -- what is striking about Wagman's treatment of these contemporary motifs is the voice of longing in which the heroine shamelessly confesses to the incestuous need that is at once her undoing and her only hope."

When I began this book I wasn't quite sure what to expect.
I knew it was about incest.
I quickly realized that I needed to put other thoughts aside to be able to fully grasp the story.
If you've ever read I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, or even to some extent, The Catcher In The Rye then you'll know what I'm talking about.
This novel is a first person narrative told by someone with a shattered psyche.
You hear the child and the woman's voices interwoven throughout the story.
The voice is different, yet it is one and the same.

I could feel the intense anger and the deep yearning for something that she could never get back. She could never rationalize her feelings, or the events that took place. In telling the story, she never tries to. She simply can't. Everything stopped for her.

While some readers may perceive that the narrator was longing for the taboo relationship she had with her cruel sociopath brother,
I felt that what she truly wanted was her childhood.
Unspoiled. Pure. Innocent.
She was never a child. But she also never matured.
Everything was frozen in time with her lost innocence.

While one is tempted to make the brother the one villain, the whole dysfunctional family dynamic comes into play in this tale.
The absentee father. The cold uncaring mother. The suicidal sister. They are not without blame. And one senses that they are also victims with their own stories to tell.
This narrative is a haunting portrait of one woman's life in a curious and sad limbo.

My thanks to Julie from FSB Media for my review copy.

About the Author:

Fredrica Wagman is the author of six previous novels. She has four grown children and lives with her husband in New York City.

For more information, view Fredrica Wagman's Web site

The Coveted Zombie Chicken Award

2009-09-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

Recipients of this award believe in the Tao of the zombie chicken – excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all.

Rachel over at Bookwormwannabe has bestowed the much sought-after Zombie Chicken award to me, so rather than face the wrath of the Feathery Fowl, I must pass it along to 5 other worthy bloggers.

Without further ado, I hereby bestow this most coveted of bloggy awards to the following blogs. Some I've followed for a while, and some are new discoveries.
Check them out!

1-Mandatory Blog Here

2-The Peach Tart

3-Chaotic Compendiums

4-GayGuy/StraightGuy

5-The Ladies Room

Review: Deconstructing Sammy by Matt Birkbeck

2009-09-16T03:42:00.000-07:00

Book Description from harpercollins.com

Adored by millions, Sammy Davis Jr. was considered an entertainment icon and a national treasure. But despite lifetime earnings that topped $50 million, Sammy died in 1990 near bankruptcy.

Years later his once-vivacious wife, Altovise, heir to one of the greatest entertainment legacies of the twentieth century, was living in poverty. With nowhere else to turn, she asked a former federal prosecutor, Albert “Sonny” Murray, to try to resolve Sammy's debts and restore his estate. For seven years Sonny probed Sammy's life and came to understand the tormented artist as a man of tragic complexity.

Deconstructing Sammy is the extraordinary story of an international celebrity whose outsize talent couldn't save him from himself.

I was eager to read this book. I find that one of the most fascinating facts of our celebrity culture has always been their ability to continue earning long after they have left us.
They cease to be individuals and in fact, become corporations and icons, their names and likenesses a logo, with every part of their existence licensed and trademarked.

According to Forbes, Elvis Presley was the top earner in 2008 for the 2nd year in a row, pulling in an impressive $52 million dollars...(which is incidentally, 8 million more than Justin Timberlake earned, and 12 million more than Madonna, who are both still alive and kickin'.)

And depending on which source you read, there are reports that Michael Jackson has already topped $100 million just since his death in June.
To quote Forbes reporter Peter Hoy "While things might be topsy-turvy in the financial markets above ground, it's still a bull market in the boneyard."

So my question is not why did a cultural icon of the sixties and seventies like Sammy Davis Junior die over 15 million dollars in debt and owing half of that to the IRS,
but how come 20 years later his estate is still in shambles?

By all accounts Sammy should still be bringing home the bacon with his heirs enjoying a handsome income from their father's legacy. He was Mister Bojangles, he was the Candyman, (ironically that hit was a song that Sammy hated and didn't want to record) There would've been books, a movie deal or two, merchandising, and royalties that should have long ago satisfied the IRS and other outstanding debts.

He was part of The Rat Pack, that infamous group that included Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, who ruled Vegas for almost a decade.
These men, or rather their estates still earn tidy sums of money posthumously-why doesn't Sammy?

Matt Birkbeck has written an in depth probe into the entertainer's life and death and all that followed afterward.
It's a tragic report of greed, excess, and mismanagement.
This book was so well researched and written, that it held me enthralled from start to finish. I knew I was watching a train wreck but I couldn't look away.

I guess I am always amazed to see that someone who had it all could end up with so little, and this book is a hard lesson on what happens to someone who chooses to live their life "In the moment".

My thanks to Kateri Benjamin of Harper Collins for my review copy.

About the author: from booktour.com

Matt Birkbeck is an author and award-winning investigative journalist. A reporter for the Morning Call, he has written for the New York Times, Reader's Digest, People Magazine, Boston Magazine, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is the author of Deconstructing Sammy, the critically acclaimed book on Sammy Davis, Jr.; A Beautiful Child - the remarkable true story of a brilliant young woman raised by the felon who kidnapped her as a toddler - and A Deadly Secret, which was the subject of an MSNBC documentary. He also coauthored Till Death Do Us Part with Dr. Robi Ludwig.

Review: The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

2009-09-12T17:38:00.000-07:00

From USPenguingroup.com

Rare-book theft is even more widespread than fine-art theft. Most thieves, of course, steal for profit. John Charles Gilkey steals purely for the love of books. In an attempt to understand him better, journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett plunged herself into the world of book lust and discovered just how dangerous it can be.

Gilkey is an obsessed, unrepentant book thief who has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of rare books from book fairs, stores, and libraries around the country. Ken Sanders is the self-appointed “bibliodick” (book dealer with a penchant for detective work) driven to catch him. Bartlett befriended both outlandish characters and found herself caught in the middle of efforts to recover hidden treasure. With a mixture of suspense, insight, and humor, she has woven this entertaining cat-and-mouse chase into a narrative that not only reveals exactly how Gilkey pulled off his dirtiest crimes, where he stashed the loot, and how Sanders ultimately caught him but also explores the romance of books, the lure to collect them, and the temptation to steal them. Immersing the reader in a rich, wide world of literary obsession, Bartlett looks at the history of book passion, collection, and theft through the ages, to examine the craving that makes some people willing to stop at nothing to possess the books they love.

I love to read but I am not a bibliophile.
Perhaps that is why I had trouble getting into this particular book.
Or maybe I just don't care for the subject matter.
And I don't mean collecting rare books.
I'm referring to thieves.

It's the true story of John Gilkey, a man who stole a fortune in rare books simply for the pleasure of owning them.
It's also the story of Ken Sanders,a book dealer/detective, who made it his mission to put John Gilkey and his like behind bars.

Gilkey is just like any other sociopath.
From the author's interviews, he presents as narcissistic, and totally unrepentant of his crimes, although he robbed legitimate collectors of their treasures.

He doesn't feel that what he's done is wrong,
and he repeatedly justifies himself for his deeds.
Even the simple act of being put on hold by an unsuspecting bookstore clerk
during a phone call, makes him feel validated in robbing the same store.

Not to mention all of the stolen credit card numbers he used to "purchase" the books with.
Anyone who has ever had their credit information stolen, and suffered fraudulent charges,and knows what a pain in the ass it is to straighten the mess out, will not feel empathy for this man.

I sometimes felt that the author was trying to (maybe unintentionally) romanticize this man, because after all, it's not like he was some drug-addled thug who stole simply to sell the books for profit.
He was a collector. He truly loved his acquisitions. He wanted to build himself a fine library.
He just didn't feel that he had to pay for his hobby like everyone else.

That having been said, I don't give a rats patooty how much he adores and cherishes books, he is nothing but a thief-plain and simple.
Frankly, I don't know if he was worth the couple of years this author spent interviewing him, let alone, writing a book about.
And those are my thoughts.

Like I said before, I'm not a bibliophile,
but as I also stated, I do love to read, so my thanks to Lydia from The Penguin Book Group for my review copy.
This book has a release date of September 17th.

About the author from USPenguingroup.com

Allison Hoover Bartlett's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Salon.com, the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, and the San Francisco Magazine, among others. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children.

Award Time Again!

2009-09-08T10:19:00.000-07:00

I just got an awesome award from Rachel over at Bookworm Wannabe
If you haven't checked her blog out yet I highly recommend doing so.
You'll find great reviews and fun book giveaways there!

Now I am going to pass this sweet award onto some other people with great content.

B-loody Good Blog- Bloody Bad a Book Blog
I-nvestigative Blog- True Crime Book Reviews
N-aughty but Nice Blog- Seductive Musings
G-enerous and giving Blog- Sweeps4Bloggers
O-utrageously funny blog- Pretty But Shallow

Amazing What a Little Paint Can Do.

2009-09-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

We decided to paint.
It came out so nice that it made us realize how shabby the carpet looked, so up came the carpet and I talked Yankeeman into hardwood.
He's a do-it-yourself-er, so the floor is about halfway done but looking beautiful.
So beautiful that the furniture looks like recycled yard sale decor in it's reflection.
So with his blessing, I have been touring the furniture stores looking for sales.

Next comes the kitchen. Of course we can't do the kitchen and just leave the same old bathroom.
Then the bedrooms.
I may end up with a new house out of this yet.
All because we decided to paint.

Review: The Sum of His Syndromes by K.B.Dixon

2009-09-03T02:56:00.000-07:00

About the Book from academychicago.com

“This is a strangely, enigmatic novel, which is kind of addictive, the story of a young man on the cusp of something . . . With passages that are so well turned they can be called lyrical—and others that are laugh out loud funny. This is the kind of book where we see a bit of ourselves and grimace—but keep reading.” —A.M. Homes

The Sum of His Syndromes is a wry, odd, idiosyncratic book. A collage of notes written in a sixth-floor men’s room, it is the story of a dissatisfied, slightly disturbed young man named David who has found himself at a personal and professional crossroads. He has a job he hates, but cannot leave, and a girl he loves, but cannot fully understand. With help from his friend, Peter, and his therapist, the irrepressible Dr. Costa, he struggles to make sense of his complicated young life.

A fractured, fragmented, unconventional narrative, Syndromes offers a comic look at office angst, contemporary psychiatric practice and romantic uncertainty.

A conglomeration of thoughts, observations, commentary, overheard conversations and cameo appearances, its story—David and Kate’s story emerges surreptitiously from this innovative presentation of a confused and chaotic time.

This little (126 pages) novel is a first-hand collection of observations told by a young man named David as he sits in the men's room at work.
Through his comments we learn about David's relationships with his therapist Dr. C., co-workers, best friend Peter, and girlfriend Kate.

Almost like reading someone's journal, I followed along David's commentary,
often funny, sometimes sad, and I began to wonder if this was all leading to some psychological break-through for him or, maybe he was just going to go "postal" one day.

He clearly hates his job and loves Kate.
He's also very insecure in his relationship with her.
He refuses to let his therapist prescribe antidepressants for him, and one senses that he is in fact, waiting for some sort of epiphany that will give meaning to everything.
Or,(to quote Jack Nicholson's character Melvin Udall from the movie,) "What if this is as good as it gets."

Overall, I found this book to be an engaging, quick, and quirky read.
My thanks to Michael from Academy Chicago Publishers for my review copy.

About the Author from academychicago.com
K.B. Dixon’s work has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers and journals. The recipient of an OAC Individual Artist Fellowship Award, he is the author of Andrew (A to Z), a novel, and My Desk and I, a collection of short stories.

Review: Insatiable by Gael Greene

2009-08-25T04:26:00.000-07:00

From Insatiable- Critic.com

The tastiest, most uninhibited memoir in years, INSATIABLE is a feast for the senses and an aphrodisiac for the soul.

"Nobody knows the truffles I've seen," writes Gael Greene, the revered restaurant critic for New York magazine whose fierce wit and sensuous prose changed the way Americans think about food. Now Greene, the author of the sensational bestseller Blue Skies, No Candy , lifts the lid on her most outrageous subject yet—herself. And, oh, what a pot-au-feu it is, bubbling over with piquant humor, saucy celebrity sex (Elvis, Eastwood, assorted star chefs), and some of the most epic, lovingly described meals in literature (at Troisgros, Tour d'Argent, Moulin de Mougins, La Pyramide, Lutece). From Manhattan's swankest boítes to the gourmet shrines of France and Italy, this is the story of a woman who made a fabulous career out of dining on someone else's dime.

With her passion for fine food, her nose for hypocrisy and social humbug, and, above all, her appetite for love and adventure, Greene traces her rise from Midwestern Velveeta beginnings to Detroit journalist wannabe to powerful critic of New York magazine, un grand fromage in the world of food, just when food was becoming a national obsession. Love and food, foreplay and fork play, haute cuisine and social history—all become inextricably linked as the author embarks on a lifelong quest for a god in the kitchen and a master chef in bed. Along the way there are intimate portraits of the culinary icons of our time - Henri Soule, Andre Soltner, James Beard, Craig Claiborne, Alice Waters, Jean Troisgros, Julia Child, Michel Guerard - and revealing looks at New York's legendary "in" spots and their invisible caste systems - The Colony, Elaine's, La Grenouille, "21," Le Cirque, Odeon, and Balthazar.

Earthy and delicious but also penetrating and astute, Greene's memoir belongs on the narrow shelf of amorous and gastronomic classics.

I became interested in reading this book after watching the entire Bravo series called Top Chef Masters, which is a reality show that pits professional chefs against each other as they cook their way to a one hundred thousand dollar prize for their favorite charity and the honorary title of being a "Top Chef Master" (which by the way, went to Chef Rick Bayless on the season finale.)

Author Gael Greene is also one of a panel of three judges on the show who get to taste the culinary endeavors each competing chef produces each week as they vie for the top prize.

This memoir first published in 2006, is a delicious account of Ms. Greene's fascinating life as a food critic for New York magazine.
My God, this woman has figuratively eaten her way across Europe and back, and she tells all as we follow her on her sojourn from some of New York's most famous, and infamous dining establishments, to the quaint little bistros, and great restaurants of France and Italy.
And she made a handsome living doing this-how grand is that?

Her lusty appetite is not limited to the dining room either-This author embraces life fully-she names names and dates, and describes her encounters in such a tantalizing, yet tasteful way. Compared to most of us, she has lived "larger than life" and makes no apologies-(I loved it when she wrote of seeing two very famous men together on the cover of Time, and realized that she had slept with both of them.)

Foodies will love this book for the almost poetic, gastronomic descriptions, and Ms. Greene's own recipes peppered throughout the pages.
Biographiles will adore her sheer honesty,delight in her amazing adventures, and sympathize with her disappointments.
You almost feel like you are there with her for the ride.

I'll rate this book the same way they judge the food on Top Chef Masters- It was a juicy, decadent,utterly satisfying read.
I give this book 5 stars.

Disclosure: I purchased this book myself and my opinions as always, are my own.

Change Is Good!

2009-08-19T02:29:00.000-07:00

You've probably noticed that things look a little different around here.
Well everything can use a little sprucing up now and then, and this little corner of the blogosphere has needed it for some time now.
I wish that I could take the credit but I can't, it all goes to Sara Bonds over at Subjective Beauty.

You've probably seen Sara's work before and not even realized it.
She does the most fabulous blog make-overs, and her signature designs are popping up all over the place.
I wanted something fresh and cohesive to tie it all together, and it was just like she read my mind.
Sara worked with me to get just the look I wanted, and I am thrilled with how everything turned out.
Now if only my my hairstylist were so easy... ;-)

A Hard Goodbye.

2009-08-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away last week.
She was of course, the sister of John and Robert and... Ted.
Mother of Maria, daughter of Rose.
Founder of The Special Olympics...Benefactress of a great many philanthropic endeavors...
I sat and stared rather blankly at the TV screen as I heard this sad news,
But all I kept thinking was that Arnold Schwarzenegger lost his mother-in law too.

We brought her home Saturday morning,
for it was her wish to come home.
My husband stated "I don't know if I can do this"
I reassured him "Yes you can...I'm here".

...I secretly wondered if I could handle this.
I wondered if you'd mind. I wondered if you were aware.
I prayed to God for guidance...

The people from Hospice were amazing.
They brought us a hospital bed and an oxygen tank...
...and the morphine.

Together, my husband and myself and my sister-in law turned her, bathed her,
wiped her brow, and held her hand.
Always talking to her. Hating to leave her side, lest she slip away.
Yet praying for release of her pain.

...Don't leave just yet.
Open your eyes one more time.
I can't remember if I told you what a wonderful mother and grandmother you are...

...I know that you'd hate this.
To be so vulnerable.
You who were always so strong.
The one we always turned to.
The one with all the answers.
The fixer of our problems...

We assured her that all would be fine.
That we were OK.
That she could go.

...Please linger just a while longer.
There is so much left unsaid.
I need to thank you.
For everything.
I need you to know that you were my role model and I tried to be like you...
...I need you to know that I loved you...

Early last Monday morning, my husband lost his beloved mother,
and I lost more than my mother-in law.
I lost my friend.
Rest in peace dearest Lil.

I Don't Want to Sleep With You, I Just Want You to Feed Me

2009-08-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been watching Top Chef Masters on BRAVO.
It's a reality show featuring some world-renowned, some quasi-famous, chefs who are competing for money for charity.
Every week there is a $10,000 winner, and also one of them is eliminated from the competition. At the end of all this drama, someone will walk away with $100.000 for his or her charity.
I like this show. I like men who can cook. There is just something so sexy about a man in an apron. I have a mad crush on Anthony Bourdain who stars in No Reservations on the Travel Channel. He's not a contestant though. I don't think he wears an apron on his show either.
Acclaimed French chef Hubert Keller is competing, and looks fine in his culinary whites. He can cook for moi' anytime.
There were a few women competing in the initial qualifying rounds, but only one of them made the cut for the finalists.

I find the judges to be interesting as well.
Namely, Former New York Magazine Restaurant Critic, Gael Greene.
She wrote a memoir a few years back called Insatiable which I plan to review in an upcoming post.
From the excerpts I've read, this book is a tell-all of how she ate her way to the top.
So to speak.
Elvis...Clint...Burt...
She may just be my new idol.

My silliness aside, I'm truly interested to find out how one becomes a Food Critic.
You are paid to go to nice restaurants and eat, and then write your opinion.
Not that I'm planning on changing careers mind you, I'm just curious about stuff like that.

And did I mention...Elvis...Clint...Burt...
Stay tuned.

Get Your Read On: Water Witch by Deborah LeBlanc

2009-08-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

From FSB Media

Dunny knew from an early age what it meant to be an outsider. Her special abilities earned her many names, like freak and water witch. So she vowed to keep her powers a secret. But now her talents may be the only hope of two missing children. A young boy and girl have vanished, feared lost in the mysterious bayous of Louisiana. But they didn't just disappear; they were taken. And amid the ghosts and spirits of the swamp, there is a danger worse than any other, one with very special plans for the children -- and for anyone who dares to interfere.

This fast-paced thriller begins in the dark, and mysterious Bayou, deep in the heart of Louisiana.
There the villain "Olm", performs centuries old rituals hoping to gain favor with his ancestral "Great Warrior Spirit" whom he hopes to please by offering blood sacrifices. In Olm's deluded mind, he feels that the God "Tirawa" is displeased with him and he needs to offer a larger sacrifice.
This leads to the kidnapping of two young children.

Meanwhile living in Texas, our heroine Dunny Pollock is called upon by her younger sister Angelle, to come to Louisiana to help locate the children.
Dunny is not a cop-she just happens to possess a special talent for finding things.
Dunny has polydactyly-in the form of an extra pinky finger on her left hand, and she discovered at an early age that the extra digit acts like some kind of a divining rod.

She not only helped her neighbors find water on their land, but also found oil on her grandparents land. She has also been able to find missing items including a lost pet, but never before has she tested her gift on finding people.
In fact, she is ashamed of her power and has done all she can to hide it.
All of that is about to change once she sets foot in Baton Rouge.

With all the folklore I grew up hearing about, I think that The Bayou is always the perfect setting for a little paranormal-even if you're a little skeptic.
I really loved the character of "Poochie" the slightly demented (or as we prefer to say down South, "eccentric") grandmother-in law of Angelle. Poochie has more than a touch of ESP herself, and she plays a vital role in helping Dunny with the search for the children.

I enjoyed this book and read it practically in one sitting.
It has just enough of the paranormal without being too out there, although there was some creepiness of evil visiting Angelle's house and assaulting her, that didn't quite gel with me.
My thanks to Anna at FSB Associates.com for sending me this review copy.

About the author from FSB Media

Deborah LeBlanc is an award-winning author from Lafayette, Louisiana. She is also a business owner, a licensed death scene investigator, and an active member of two national paranormal investigation teams. Deborah's unique experiences, enthusiasm, and high-energy level make her a much sought-after speaker at writer's conferences across the nation. She also takes her Passion for literacy and a powerful ability to motivate to high schools around the country.

She is the president of the Horror Writers Association, the Writers' Guild of Acadiana, Mystery Writers of America's Southwest Chapter, and an active member of Sisters in Crime, the National Association of Women Writers, and International Thriller Writers Inc. In 2004, Deborah created the LeBlanc Literacy Challenge, an annual national campaign designed to encourage more people to read, and soon after founded Literacy Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting illiteracy in America.

Review: American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

2009-08-05T03:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was reading a group of mini-reviews posted by Mo at her blog Unmainstream Mom Reads and one of them reminded me that I had this title still sitting on my shelf about 3/4's read.

I hate to get that far into a book and abandon it, so last night I pulled it out and finished it.
I was quickly reminded of why I didn't finish this book, and I'm not talking about all the disgusting, horrific ways (and there were loads of those) that the main character, Patrick Bateman murders people.
I mean, come on, I expected him to kill people-after all he was a psycho.
What made me yawn and dislike this character was his incessant name-dropping.
Frankly, the man was a "Label Whore".
God, he prattled on and on about Hugo Boss this and Ralph Lauren that until I couldn't stay awake.
He didn't limit his spiel to just his own wardrobe either-he would pick apart bit by bit every other character in the room's attire as well, so by the time you turned the page you knew the brand-name of every stitch of clothing they had on, right down to their drawers, and all their accessories to boot.
When he went out to eat (which was often) you were rewarded with the name and ingredients of every item on the menu, including all the labels on the wine list, plus whatever his companions were eating and drinking as well.

OK. I get it that the author was showing us some weird OCD going on with this man, but seriously, when he bought a new entertainment center and went on and on about every single component imaginable, from the CD player to the sub-woofers, right down to the gold-plated AV jacks, I just wanted to stab myself in the eye.

Maybe this is what the author was trying to achieve-if so-Brilliant!
After reading this book, my dislike for Patrick Bateman was so intense that I felt I could strangle him myself...preferably with a silk Hermes' scarf from Bergdorf's or a pair of Perry Ellis trouser socks-black of course.

After all, plain old pantyhose just wouldn't do.

About The Author from randomhouse.com

Bret Easton Ellis is the author of four previous novels and a collection of stories, which have been translated into twenty-seven languages. He divides his time between Los Angeles and New York City

Review:The Blue Star by Tony Earley

2009-08-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

From Hatchette Book Group.com

Seven years ago, readers everywhere fell in love with Jim Glass, the precocious ten-year-old at the heart of Tony Earley's bestseller Jim the Boy. Now a teenager, Jim returns in another tender and wise story of young love on the eve of World War Two. Jim Glass has fallen in love, as only a teenage boy can fall in love, with his classmate Chrissie Steppe. Unfortunately, Chrissie is Bucky Bucklaw's girlfriend, and Bucky has joined the Navy on the eve of war. Jim vows to win Chrissie's heart in his absence, but the war makes high school less than a safe haven, and gives a young man's emotions a grown man's gravity. With the uncanny insight into the well-intentioned heart that made Jim the Boy a favorite novel for thousands of readers, Tony Earley has fashioned another nuanced and unforgettable portrait of America in another time--making it again even realer than our own day. This is a timeless and moving story of discovery, loss and growing up, proving why Tony Earley's writing "radiates with a largeness of heart" (Esquire).

I've carried this book about with me for the past week.
If work and Life hadn't got in the way, I would have finished it long before now.
Truthfully, it flowed along so easily that I didn't really want it to end.

The story is set in 1940's America just before World War II.
Jim Glass is poised to graduate high school and take his place alongside his kinfolk, and more than likely live out the life he has always known in the small town of Aliceville.

Jim has also fallen in love.
He's fallen the way that we all fall when we are young and hormones are raging.
Of course Chrissie Steppe is not the perfect girl for Jim. Slightly wrong side of the tracks and all, so to speak, with a boyfriend overseas to boot.
And that naturally, is what makes her all the more desirable.

This is a beautifully written novel, I felt like I was watching it happen, and even if you wern't born or raised in that time, you are drawn back to it.
This book is sweet, funny and sad.
And as corny as it sounds, Tony Earley has written a Norman Rockwell painting.
I don't know how else to describe it. Just read it.
My thanks to Valerie from The Hatchette Book Group for this review copy.

About the author from hatchettebookgroup.com

Tony Earley is the author of four books: Here We Are in Paradise, a collection of stories; the novel Jim the Boy; the personal essay collection Somehow Form a Family; and The Blue Star, a novel forthcoming in Spring, 2008. A winner of a National Magazine Award for fiction, he was named one of the twenty best writers of his generation by both Granta, in 1996, and The New Yorker in 1999. His fiction and/or nonfiction have appeared in Harper's, Esquire, The New Yorker, The Oxford American, The New York Times Book Review, Tin House, Best American Short Stories, New Stories from the South and many other magazines and anthologies. He is a native of western North Carolina and a graduate of Warren Wilson College and The University of Alabama. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife and daughter, where he is the Samuel Milton Fleming Associate Professor of English at Vanderbilt University.

Cooler Contest

2009-08-04T06:53:00.001-07:00

Get Your Read On: Dancing With Ana by Nicole Barker

2009-08-03T06:22:00.000-07:00

From the website dancingwithana.com

Beth is a lucky girl…

She comes from a loving family. She has three best friends. She loves to surf and lives five minutes from the beach. She also recently discovered that the boy she’s grown up with has the most amazing green eyes…
Beth has every reason to smile. Every reason to be happy. Every reason to feel blessed.

Then why is she sticking her fingers down her throat?

Sixteen year old Beth Baxter’s life merely resembles the one she’s always known. Her father has left. She is falling for Jeremy Duscana and the diet she started has somehow turned into an obsession. Yet her three best friends remain the same, always there for her.

But even their love can’t save her from herself.

Dancing With Ana. A story about the journey to acceptance of one’s own reality, the incredible bond that exists between friends and a love that truly endures all things.

In Dancing With Ana, Nicole Barker has written a fine, sensitive book that looks at the very real issues young girls face. The peer pressure to be perfect, and unrealistic views of body image begin young, and are enforced by the media daily.
If you're an adult reading this, you'll find yourself looking back and remembering that one "perfect girl" in high school-the one you both revered and hated because try as you might,
you could never be quite as popular, or pretty.

Or maybe you were that "perfect girl"...but you had a secret...

From the website:dancingwithana.com

...Ana is definitely a character in the book…a main character. She is a strong force, a reliable friend found in despair, a manipulative enemy. You want to please her, earn her acceptance and admiration. You want her to go away, forever...

...Ana will take you away from your family, friends, life.

This is the truth. This is anorexia...

Although the genre of this book is Young Adult, I believe this is a story that should be read and shared by both parent and child.
This story begins with four friends who decide to go on a diet, but for one of them, it quickly spirals out of control.

Fueled by not just the desire to be thinner, but by a deep need to have some kind of order in her life,
Beth Baxter's unhappiness due to her parent's recent divorce, and feelings of rejection by her father is played out by her obsession with the one thing she has found that she can control-her weight.

Also touched upon is another issue of self-injury or self-mutilation.
Beth's friend Rachel has chosen this sad, seldom talked about, and self-destructive mechanism of coping to deal with the pain and anger of a neglectful, abusive home life. (I found myself really wanting a happy ending for Rachel and I hope that perhaps this subject will be explored more fully by Mrs. Barker in another book.)

In summary I believe that this is an excellent book to be read,shared, and discussed by teens and their parents, and educators as well. I'd like to thank the author herself for sending me this review copy. To learn more about this book, please check out her website
dancingwithana.com.

About the author:

Nicole Barker grew up in Portland, Oregon and attended Southern Oregon State College in the town of Ashland.
Nestled in the foothills of the Siskiyou Mountains, Nicole took to writing while pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities with a strong emphasis on early childhood development.
Shortly after graduation, she spent several months traveling around the United States and parts of Canada.
Nicole now lives in south Florida with her husband, two kids, two dogs, toads,
frogs, hermit crabs and fish. She is currently working on her second YA book.

Book Review: Now What? by Laura Berman Fortgang

2009-08-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I read a "self-help book".
It's not that I have anything against them-in fact I find them useful-(Raise your hand if you read Dr. Wayne W. Dyer's Your Erroneous Zones back in the seventies)

And tell the truth. Even if you didn't read it, weren't you just a little bit curious about The Secret by Rhonda Byrne?
Now that book just made me feel bad to learn that I had brought all my troubles upon myself, just because I thought about them, therefore I attracted them-(hey, I'm not making this shit up-it really says this in the book...)

I personally loved Dr. Dyer's book. I caught him on PBS the other night promoting a new book and he's really "Zen-like" now, but darn-it-I still like him and will probably buy his new book as well. Much of what he says now is oddly similar to what I read in The Secret but I guess I just like the way he says it better.

Which brings me to the book I want to talk about today,
titled Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction by Laura Berman Fortgang.
First a bit about the author.

From FSB Associates.

Laura Berman Fortgang is a nationally renowned speaker and life coach, helping individuals, small businesses, and corporations forge new directions and weather change. Recently ordained as an interfaith minister, she lives in Montclair, New Jersey.

and from laurabermanfortgang.com

...Laura appearances on Oprah, The CBS Early Show, NBC's Today, Good Morning American, various nationally syndicated and cable outlets and many others, combined with major print media such as USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, MONEY and many international newspapers have paved the way for most of the successful coaches in the industry today.

Through her coaching company, InterCoach, Inc./Now What?™ Coaching, Laura has provided coaching to diverse clients ranging from homemakers, celebrities and Fortune 500 companies to NASA and the Army Corps of Engineers. Her company was voted one of the top 100 companies to watch in NJ...

First off, this isn't a book you sit down and read in one or two sittings and suddenly you are this brand-new person.
It's really a guide with good, sound, practical, and doable advice, and you find yourself flipping forward and backward to research the individual chapters as they pertain to you.

Or if you prefer, you may follow each chapter through the weekly program laid out in the two parts of the book.I particularly liked the small self-reflective exercises that appeared throughout each chapter.
There's also a resource guide in the appendix with valuable leads and tips for your quest toward self-growth and change.

I think it's a great book to keep on your desk or in your bag for easy reference, because the author writes with contagious energy-she walks the talk-and you can feel it, and as I read through, I couldn't help but wish that I could hear her speak in person.
I guess I like the way she says things too. :-)

My thanks to Caitlin at fsbassociates.com for this review copy.

All About Bette

2009-07-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

Quite possibly my favorite movie!

Get Your Read On: Wait Until Twilight by Sang Pak

2009-07-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

From harpercollins.com
Book Description

A hauntingly strange and powerfully affecting debut novel that heralds the arrival of a unique and captivating literary voice, Sang Pak's Wait Until Twilight is a coming-of-age story that explores the complex darkness infecting a damaged psyche in a small Southern town.

Not long after his own mother's death, sixteen-year-old Samuel discovers a set of deformed triplets hidden behind closed doors in his sleepy Georgia community. The babies—whose shut-in mother believes they were immaculately conceived and whose menacing brother is a constant threat—take control of Samuel's every waking and sleeping thought. His only escape, he realizes, will be to save the monster children. But to do so, he must rein in his darkest impulses as he undergoes a profound transformation from motherless boy to self-defined man—because sometimes the most terrible monsters are those that live inside us all.

When I first read the description I was expecting a dark, Southern-Gothic type tale, perhaps along the same line as the short story Children of the Corn by Stephen King.
The book actually reminds me more of another King short story titled The Body.(Many of you will recall that novella was later made into a movie titled Stand By Me.)

Unlike the King story which focused on the coming of age of 4 friends, Sang Pak's novel hone's in on the loneliness and depression of one young boy on the brink of adulthood.
Sixteen year-old Samuel Polk lost his mother to cancer, and has neatly compartmentalized his life in the year since her death.
He lives with his father who although loving, is obviously dealing with his own grief, and there is a mostly absentee older brother named Jim who is away at college, and avoids the family.

It becomes obvious that this is a family that is simply going through the motions, and that no one has really come to terms with losing the mother.
Samuel is carrying around a load of guilt to boot, because he feels that he let his mother down during one of her final requests.

It is during a school project that Samuel discovers the Greenan babies-a set of triplets with profound birth-defects, whose own mother believes them to have been "immaculately conceived". What enfolds from this meeting is a sequence of events that evolves into Samuel's own soul-searching journey to salvation.

This is the first novel by Sang Pak and I found it haunting in his descriptions of the rural south and the characters were not unlike people from my own past.
For better or worse, we all grew up knowing about a family similar to the Greenans.
This story evoked memories of whispered secrets behind old ladies fans after Sunday School, and I appreciate Mr. Pak's portrait of teenage angst verging on adulthood.

This was a thoughtful, engaging book, and I look forward to more by this talented young author. A special thanks to Harper Collins for sending me this ARC. This book has a scheduled release date of August 4th

About the Author:

Sang Pak is a Georgia-raised writer with English and psychology degrees from the University of Georgia. He is currently on hiatus from New York University's graduate program in psychology. He divides his time between Georgia, southern California, and Seoul. Wait Until Twilight is his first novel
To learn more about this book and author, visit his website by clicking HERE.

Do You Think She Knew?

2009-07-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

My friend sent me a copy of this photo.
As I studied it I was reminded of why I will only get on the back of a Harley
as opposed to the back of a "Crotch Rocket".

On a Harley you can sit back just like you are in the saddle, with your knees bent, lightly embracing the driver.
The contoured seat makes for good posture,
thus greatly reducing road fatigue as you tool about the countryside.

Now riding a Crotch Rocket, while although "breezy looking" appears rather painful.
I think it would bother my back to be all hunched forward like that.
And what about the driver of this machine?
Notice how his or her body is bent forward with his or her upper torso engulfed in hanging bosom, and their spindly little legs are bent forward?

But who am I to judge?
I could be all wrong.
Maybe it all made for an enjoyable, comfortable ride.
I'm glad to see that they observed the helmet law.

Book Review: BoneMan's Daughters by Ted Dekker

2009-07-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

I won this title from a giveaway, and I dived right in with relish a couple days ago when it arrived.
I have always enjoyed a good suspense thriller, but lately I've felt immune to a lot of them, probably because I've read so much True-Crime, and the sheer ugliness of how one human being can treat another has left me numb and a little detached.
Now that in itself must be some kind of defense mechanism-probably so I don't wind up having nightmares.
Well, enough of my amateur self-psychoanalysis.

I want to tell you about this book.

It's main character is a career Navy Intelligence Officer named Ryan Evans, who after witnessing brutality of the most barbaric kind in Iraq, has returned to the States a broken and changed man. He is determined to win back the affections of the wife and daughter that he had emotionally abandoned years before.
Too bad, so sad though.
He is too late. His wife Celine, has moved on, and his daughter Bethany totally rejects him.
Not exactly a hero's welcome home.

Enter the Boneman.
At least, that is what the press has dubbed him due to the fact that he tortures and kills his victims by methodically breaking practically every single bone in their bodies without so much as breaking the skin.
So far he has claimed six victims and has set his sights on the daughter of Officer Evans as his next.
Ironically, Evans himself has become the FBI's prime suspect for the slayings, due to the methods of torture he endured in the desert of Iraq.
The real thrills begin when Evans is forced to go on the run from the Law while at the same time trying to track down the madman who has his daughter before it's too late. In this he becomes both the Hunter and the Prey.

This book was gripping. It had the psychological edge that I think makes for a great page-turner.
Now of course I'll have to read something light and fluffy before I can tackle another thriller. You know, kind of like cleansing the palette.
And those are my thoughts.

Prescription Eyeglass Deals!

2009-07-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

This is for everyone who wears prescription eyeglasses.
There are a couple of great deals going on right now that I'd like to tell you about.

At 39dollar Glasses.com you can get $20 off a pair of glasses right now.
If you wear single vision glasses they will only cost you $19 bucks plus shipping.
Or even if you wear bifocals or progressives like some of us, the same discount applies. Grab your prescription and use this LINK.
Hurry because it expires Friday 7/24 at midnight.

Now at Eyebuy Direct.com they're having a buy one, get one sale until Sunday at midnight 7/26. Use this LINK to check it out.
For those of you who have never bought prescription eyewear online,
and are still throwing away hundred's of dollars at the brick and mortar stores,
I can personally vouch for how easy it is.
And how inexpensive! Buying glasses is like buying shoes-seriously-no need to walk around in out-dated or patched together frames because new glasses are so expensive.
Sarah Palin would be so jealous if she could see my eyeglass wardrobe.;-)

All you need is your current prescription.(and just so you know-your optometrist is required to provide you with a copy of this-it's the law).
Don't just take my word for it though.
You can read more testimonials by visiting GlassyEyes.com.
It's a great site started by a guy named Ira who is dedicated to helping consumers like you and me make informed decisions when it comes to eyewear.
Enjoy.:-)

Get Your Read On: Benny & Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti

2009-07-20T01:04:00.000-07:00

From FSB Media
Two middle-aged misfits and a love that should not be as complicated as it seems

It started in a cemetery, where they begrudgingly share a bench. "Shrimp," the childless young widow and librarian with a sharp intellect and a home so tidy that her jam jars are in alphabetical order, meets Benny, the gentle, overworked milk farmer who fears becoming the village's Old Bachelor. Both driven by an enormous longing and loudly ticking biological clocks, they can't escape the powerful attraction between them.

But how will she learn to accept that he falls asleep at the opera and has a house full of his mother's cross-stitch? And how could he ever feel at home in her minimalist apartment, bare as a dentist's waiting room?

An international sensation now available for the first time in the United States, this quirky, humorous, completely readable novel breathes new life into the age-old conundrum that is love

This book delighted me in so many ways.

I love that the author let's each character tell their stories from their own perspective. Each narrative flows seamlessly along and switches back and forth with ease.
I love how it begins.

First you have two lonely people meeting in of all places, a cemetery.
They are both in their 30's and set in their ways-and as they size each other up, and began to enumerate the many reasons in their own minds why they don't find each other attractive,(Benny refers to Shrimp as "The beige woman"
and she describes Benny as "funny smelling with three fingers on one hand")
This story is told in such a way that
as the reader, I felt the chemistry that was there before the characters did.

When they finally get together, they are like teenagers with that first powerful, all-consuming "true love", totally immersed with discovering and delighting in every new thing they learn about each other.
Yet as the flush fades from passion, and the differences began to annoy each other, I felt sadness that "love does not conquer all" as I sensed the end coming.

But as Tina Turner once sang
"What's love got to do with it"?
And the surprising ending reminded me of why I can now look back on my own first love with fondness and no regrets.
I found this story sweet, poignant, and funny.
I loved it.
Thank you to Caitlin from FSB Media for this review copy.

Katarina Mazetti was nominated for the Prix Cevennes in France in 2007, and has worked as a journalist, teacher, and author of books for readers of all ages. For twenty years she lived on a small farm in northern Sweden, an experience that became the basis for Benny & Shrimp, her first adult novel.

For more about this novel, including an exerpt and other reviews click HERE.

Book Review: A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi

2009-07-14T05:29:00.000-07:00

Last night I sat up and read the debut novel, A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi.
I started the book yesterday and thought I'd read a while before bedtime as is my habit.
I did not stop until the end.
This engrossing story captured me, and I must say held me until the final page.

It began with the gruesome abduction and murder of a young girl in Newbury,Connecticut, but this was not your usual 'Investigate and solve the crime' tale.

Central to the story are the characters of Dr. Peter Gram, a pediatric psychiatrist,
and another little girl named Naya, who is haunted by nightmares that have resulted in terrifying her parents to the point, that they have brought her into Dr. Gram's emergency room.

Dr. Gram finds himself faced with a scenario that challenges his learned medical training, and his perceived notions of diagnostic reasoning.
Indeed, he learns that sometimes there are no pat, textbook answers.

This book is a quickly engaging, psychological thriller, with a touch of the paranormal. I don't want to give too much away, but this story is chilling,
and I don't mean just the murder at the beginning either.
I found it to be a quick read, and am looking forward to more from this author who writes on the subject of child psychiatry with the clarity and authority of one who knows his subject matter well.
My thanks to Dr.Grandhi for sending me this review copy.

About the author:

Preetham Grandhi, M.D. immigrated to the United States from Bangalore, India. A graduate of Yale, he has been the chief of service for House 5 at Bronx Children’s Psychiatric Center.
A Circle of Souls is his first novel.

You can read more about this book at Dr. Grandhi's website A Circle of Souls

Love It or Hate It?

2009-07-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

Here I go again! Last time I came in 3rd place!
I need votes everyone.
Click HERE and Love it or Hate it! I have until 11am EST tomorrow to rack up as many loves or hates as possible. Any opinion will count. Remember click this LINK to vote.

Opportunity for Fashion Bloggers from Twisted Silver

2009-07-09T02:11:00.000-07:00

Are you a fashion blogger?
I love fashion but my blog sure as hell couldn't be called a "Fashion Blog" by any stretch of the imagination-
unless of course you include my Granny Panties and Padded Bra posts-but I digress.

I wanted to give you Fashion Savvy gals a heads-up today, on for what could be a super opportunity for you and your readers!

I've done promo posts for a company called Twisted Silver before, usually as part of my own entry into one of their jewelry giveaways at other blogs.
Their jewelry is trendy, fun, fabulous and well...twisted! But aren't we all just a little?;-)

Right now they are looking for "Insiders" to share in promoting their Fall/Winter Salvage line.
14 lucky Fashion-based bloggers will get this amazing opportunity.
Not only will you receive free items of their fantastic jewelry line to wear and keep forever, but you will also be afforded the opportunity to have your own reviews and giveaways sponsored by Twisted Silver.

I told you that this was an amazing opportunity.
Check out all of the details HERE at the Twisted Blog on how to apply.
Get your application's in by August 17th!

GabbyGale Handbag Giveaway at Just For Me and You

2009-07-08T05:21:00.000-07:00

Just For Me and You has yet another amazing handbag giveaway going on.
This time you can win your choice of any bag you want at GabbyGale Bags.com
Talk about feeding your handbag fetish!
Get over there and get your entries in ladies 'coz this one expires on July 16th at midnight.

Handbag Heaven Giveaway at Just For Me and You

2009-07-08T04:06:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love cute, affordable handbags?
Handbag Heaven has loads of them starting at just $15 and all under $75.
If that isn't enough incentive to get you to click their link, then how about FREE?

Yep-you could win your choice -(well up to $50 that is) if you hurry on over to the
Just for Me and You blog and get your entry in.
That's right. She's having a giveaway for a $50 gift certificate to Handbag Heaven.

But you need to hurry because this contest will end on July 13th at midnight.
Good Luck!

8/29/1958-6/25/2009

2009-07-07T04:39:00.000-07:00

Soupbeans and Cornbread

2009-07-06T07:50:00.000-07:00

Having spent the better part of the past thirty years in New England
may have faded my southern drawl a bit, but not my appetite for Southern cooking.
I grew up in a family of ten children, and my Mama had to be thrifty when it came to feeding all of us. We didn't always have meat on the table, but we always had plenty of beans and black eyed peas.

We ate a lot of pinto beans at our house.
Big cast-iron pots of beans that were soaked and simmered for hours with huge chunks of salt-pork that everybody called "fatback".

She'd ladle these up with huge wedges of golden, buttery cornbread, and garnish them with plenty of chopped sweet onions and bowls of her pickled beets that she and my aunt put up and canned themselves. There were usually some collard greens simmered in a delicious vinegary/salt-pork potlikker as well, or string beans with new potatoes that she raised in her own vegetable garden.

We'd wash this down with tall jelly glasses filled with sweet iced tea that was brewed so dark you couldn't hardly see through it. Mama wouldn't drink tea with us though. She loved chicory-laced coffee,(a brand called
Luzianne) and that is what she drank all day long.
We just called this simple meal "Soupbeans"

Sometimes, usually on a Sunday, there would be a plate of crispy fried chicken and a dessert of old-fashioned banana pudding, thick with high golden peaks of real meringue, or best of all, my Mama's own decadent chocolate fudge cake, rich with frosting that she perfected herself, and I've never come even close to duplicating.

Lord knows, I've tried.
Finding the pinto beans and black eyed peas was easy.
It took me almost five years to get the meat department at my grocery store to carry ham hocks-seriously, I had to tell them what they were.
I gave up trying to get good salt-pork.

I gave up on collard greens too-they are just impossible to find up here-I've learned to make do with whatever dark, leafy greens I can find in the produce aisle.
Stop and Shop does carry Vidalia onions when they can get them, and occasionally I'll find some juicy, Ugly tomatoes-I scoop those when they are available.

I love to drink fresh churned, ice-cold buttermilk.
When I was growing up, there was a lady down the road from us who used to make it and she'd sell it for seventy-five cents a gallon, (but Mama always gave her a dollar because the lady had half a dozen kids herself to feed.)She had a little hand-painted sign on her door, advertising it for sale.

I refuse to drink store-bought buttermilk-it does not even come close in taste or appearance.
I'll use it in recipes but that is about all it is good for.
There are some things you do have to go home for.

I've tried over the years to instill in my children a taste for Southern cuisine that is after all, a part of their heritage, but I'm afraid it hasn't worked out too well.
Whenever I got the urge to cook 'Ala Dixie', they would usually run to their father when he came home, announcing "Daddy, she's cooked that Georgia food again, we're hungry-can we get pizza?"
Sigh...damn little Yankee heathens.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T02:28:00.000-07:00

Gone Fishin'
Have a safe Holiday everyone!

Get Your Read On #2

2009-06-29T03:45:00.000-07:00

My Forbidden Desire by Carolyn Jewel.

This is for all of you paranormal fans. How about some sexy, romantic paranormal?
And even for those who don't usually delve into this genre, the reviews look promising.
I'm going to give this one a whirl...that is, if I am lucky enough to win a copy.
After all, it's more fun when you win it!

Here's the big list of blogs that are participating in the tour and promotion.
Feel free to get your entries in as many as you want to increase your odds.
Many are giving away up to 5 copies,
Good Luck!

Readaholic
Book (heart) Soulmates - June 28 review and giveaway
A Journey of Books - June 28 review and giveaway
Morbid Romantic - June 28 review, giveaway, and Q&A
Debbie's World of Books - June 28
Yankee Romance Reviewers - June 28 giveaway
This That and the Other Thing - June 28
Drey's Library - June 28 review, giveaway, and Q&A
Undercover Book Lover - June 28 giveaway and Q&A
Bookin' With Bingo - June 28
Marta's Meanderings - June 28 review and giveaway
My Guilty Pleasures - June 28 review and giveaway
Starting Fresh - June 28 review and giveaway
Bloody Bad - June 28 review and giveaway
Must Read Faster - June 29 review and giveaway
Love Impossible - June 29 review and Q&A
Seductive Musings - June 29 review and giveaway
Review From Here - June 29 review
Books and Needlepoint - June 29 review; giveaway
Wendy's Minding Spot - review, giveaway, and Q&A
Maria's Space - review and giveaway
Carol's Notebook - June 29 review, giveaway, and possible Q&A
Horror and Fantasy Book Review - June 29 review and giveaway
Darby's Closet - review

Vanity Fair #75266

2009-06-25T07:06:00.000-07:00

Last week I went bra shopping. This was out of extreme necessity due to the fact that my underwear are truthfully, the most neglected part of my wardrobe.
Most of my disposable income goes towards cute shoes and handbags and the occasional shiny baubles for my ears or wrists.

I generally ignore my underwear until they are raggedy and falling apart.
I wasn't brought up this way mind you.
My mother would shake her head and cluck"for shame,for shame" if she were to go through my lingerie drawer today.

Then she would place all the blame on my Yankee husband (and I would let her)
as being too "insensitive or cheap" to buy me nice unmentionables.
For you see, she dragged me at the age of 12 to Miss Debbie's Women's Apparel Shop to have me fitted for my first bras, and I endured long lectures on the importance
of proper fitting and well made underpinnings.

So it wasn't her fault. She raised me right.
It's not that I didn't care about these lessons, it's just sort of a "out of sight-out of mind" kind of thing with me.
She blamed my poor unsuspecting husband but all the time it was me.
Sorry Mama.
Sorry Yankeeman.

So last week I found myself in the lingerie department at Macy's, totally mystified.
When did all of the bras become padded?
Seriously.
Rows and rows of beautiful, perfectly sculpted boulder holders.

Now I'm no Dolly Parton, but my "girls" have never needed any help either.
Every single bra from size A to Double D had enough foam lining to stand alone.
You can't lay these flat in your drawer either unless it's deep.
They need to be on hangers.
I need more closet space.

Sigh...so here I sit wearing my lovely new padded bra.
The overall look is a nice and smooth silhouette. A definite improvement.
and I must admit-it's very comfortable.
Can't help feeling a little deceptive though.
I think I'll go buy some tight tee-shirts now. ;-)

I Need Your Vote!

2009-06-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

Quick Poll here!

I need as many people as possible to go here
and either choose whether you "Love" or "Hate" this shoe.
That's all. No signing up for anything. Just click either the heart "love"
or the X "hate" symbols in the green box.

Yes, I am trying to win a contest here. I need as many votes one way or the other that I can gather in 24 hours!
WooHoo! Thanks in advance! Remember click HERE to vote. There is no right or wrong answer, just vote!

Get Your Read On

2009-06-24T02:48:00.000-07:00

Anne Rivers Siddons.
I've loved this author ever since I first read Peachtree Road all these many moons ago.
She often writes of the South, and paints such a vivid picture with her words that I feel I am there again.
Her books have got me through many a cold New England winter, but I admit I do feel a little homesick for all things southern after I read one.

Many of the blogs I frequent are having a giveaway right now for one of her more recent novels titled Off Season.
I haven't personally read this one yet but it is on my TBR list.
If you'd like to try and win a copy just click on any or all of the following links and enter.

Luxury Reading

A Hook... A Line... And A Girl

Peeking Between The Pages

Socrates' Book Reviews

A Bookworm's World

Hot Deals By Bec

Drey's Library

A Sea of Books

My Own Little Corner Of The World

Falling Off The Shelf

This That and the Other Thing

Never Not Reading

Bella's Novella

Trisha's Book Blog

Just Another New Blog

All About {n}

Bibliophiles 'R' Us

Readaholic

Chaotic Compendiums

Chick Loves Lit

Sweeps4Bloggers

So Many Books, So Little Time

I won from Supershoes.com! Twitters Best Kept Secret.

2009-06-16T16:39:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite things came into combination last week.
Twitter and Shoes!

Let me explain.
I usually tweet from Tweetdeck and I have my columns set up so that when certain words are tweeted I will see the tweets that contain them.

Two of my favorite words are Giveaway and Shoes so last week when Supershoes_com tweeted the magical
phrase of "Shoe Giveaway"
I was all over it like a hawk on a garter snake!

It was a live twitter contest where anyone could play and Supershoes_com asked a question and provided a hash tag to use when the players submitted their answers.
The whole thing lasted about an hour and you were allowed to give as many different answers as you could think of.

Naturally, my fingers were flying as I submitted my tweets
because the prize was any pair of shoes I wanted from their Sofft line.
This was war-and I was determined.

Now I am sitting here admiring my lovely pedicure that is beautifully showcased
by my fabulous Figi Sandals by Sofft.:-)
Those very ones pictured above.
Sweet!
Take a moment and check out all the awesome shoes at supershoes.com

And go to twitter and follow Supershoes_com.
Seriously, they had another live contest just today.
You never know when they might have another, but if you're not following them
then you won't see their tweets and you'll miss out.

Of course, you know that you'll be competing against the Master.;-)
Don't say you haven't been warned.;-D

Bloggy Award Time!

2009-06-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

I received a lovely kudos from a most fabulously funny gal
The Peach Tart today and I want to pass it on to a few of my favorite spots also.

I'd pass it to Cult Diva of Pretty But Shallow but she already has one ;-)

So without further ado, I bestow this lovely award to the following people
who are some of my favorites from my most Fabulous Blog Roll.

1- Bantering Blonde

2- Blogmania

3- Mandatory Blog Here

4- Chic Book Reviews

5- My Friends Are Sluts

6- Ordinary And Awesome

7- Our City Lights

8- I don't Care For Your Tone

So accept this reward ladies, 'coz your writings brighten my day!

L@@K! Coach Handbag Giveaway at A Purse Full of Cheerios!

2009-06-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

I love to twitter and I love to read other tweeples tweets!
Wanna know why?
Because I learn about the most awesome giveaways like this one going on right now at A Purse Full of Cheerios.

She's giving away this beautiful Coach Ali Signature Flap Bag.
So what are you waiting for?
Get over there and enter!

Winner will be announced Sunday, June 21st.

Now I'll Get That Pedicure!

2009-06-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

After buying those cute little nothings of a sandal(see previous post)
and reading The Peach Tarts
aptly titled "Didn't Your Mama Teach You Better about those Unkempt Feet" post,
I knew I had to do something with these withered old dogs of mine.

After all, why buy pretty, strappy shoes when your feet look like you have been walking barefoot in a gravel pit for the past 10 years?
I've really neglected my feet.

The weather is so crappy up here that they spend a great portion of the year encased in socks and boots or water-proof moccasins.
I rarely think of them unless they are cold or tired.
Other than making sure they don't smell and trimming the nails, (the latter usually after the old man makes a snide comment)I pretty much take them for granted.

I thought about going over to the local nail place but frankly, I was just too embarrassed. (Yes I am one of those women who if I had a maid, I would tidy up before she came.)
So, off I go in search of a PedEgg at my local Walgreens.
No PedEgg in stock.:-(

Instead I bought another product called Pedi-Expert by Revlon.
It looks similar and works on the same principle-good enough for me.
I got it home and went to town on these puppies. Afterwards, I liberally applied some lotion to them.

Guess what?
It works!

My feet are so soft and smooth-I am ashamed I let them go for so long.
The old man actually let me put them in his lap and held them while he watched his beloved Red Sox. By God, I think he would have actually massaged them if I'd whined a little.
:-)

Anyhow-another marvelous product from my old standby-Revlon.
(Although, I'm pretty sure that had I bought the PedEgg, the results would have been the same):-)

Impulse Shopping

2009-06-05T04:34:00.000-07:00

I saw a lady trying these on at DSW the other day.
I immediately coveted them, and searched in vain at the clearance rack that she got them from.

Not finding another pair like them, I slyly stalked her throughout the store, hoping that she'd change her mind and put them back. I briefly contemplated swiping them as she sat them down to dig around in her purse.
Of course the hag bought them and merrily went on her way.

So I get an email. From DSW online.
They're having a sale.
Hmmm....

I tell myself that I am not going to buy-just going to browse as I click over to the site.
Unless of course I actually find those exact shoes.

Even if I find those exact shoes, I'm only going to look...
Unless they actually have my size in stock...
...And they have free shipping.

They had the shoe.
They had my size.
They had free shipping.

Some things were meant to be.:-)

Win it! HP Mini netbook at Blissful Style

2009-06-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

How cool is this?
This tiny little laptop, or netbook, or notebook, or whatever you want to call it!

It's so cute and it fits right into your purse. And for something so small, it carries a lot of powerful features. Check them out at the Official HP website

Then head over to Blissful Style and enter to win this darling little gizmo.
Contest ends June 8th, 2009 at 11:59 PM

Join The Party at Drey's Library!

2009-06-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

Drey's Library is having a delightful contest starting today.
Her birthday is coming up and she's having a wonderful giveaway of the winners choice between 12 different titles if you can guess her birthday!

There are several ways you can get extra guesses but you have to go HERE to find out how.

OK, time to put my "psychic" hat on and see if I can get an entry.
See you there.:-)

Oh and by the way...Happy Birthday Drey!

contest ends:June 30th

Marc Jacobs Giveaway at Our City Lights

2009-05-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

Is this not a thing of beauty?
It's Marc Jacobs
Need I say more?

You can win it-yes you can!
Check out Our City Lights website for details.

This contest ends June 1st, 2009 at 12:01 am Los Angeles time

Nikita Lynne Handbag Giveaway at Frugal Mommmy of 2 Girls!

2009-05-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Look at this bag! Isn't it adorable?
I love the braided leather handles and the hand-embroidered details.

And I am known for loving my bags to be as pretty on the inside as the outside,
and this beauty has a polka-dot lining!

Check out all the great bags at NIKITA LYNN

Then get on over to Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls and enter to win this one.

This contest ends on June 4th, 2009 at 9pm EST.

Book Tour and Giveaway Spotlight-A Hint of Wicked by Jennifer Haymore

2009-05-26T17:29:00.000-07:00

The last time I enjoyed reading a hot, steamy, historical romance was when I was pregnant with my boys, which was practically the entire decade of the 80's.
(No, I wasn't preggers for 10 years-I just had my four kids real close together):-)

Some women craved ice cream-I craved swash-buckling, bodice-ripping adventures of wild days of yore. It had to have been hormonal, because once all those babies were crawling and toddling around, I switched to slightly more cerebral fare and broadened my horizons a bit.(God, that sounds so hoity-toity and pretentious-lol)

However,:-D

There's a book out now that is currently on tour around the Blogosphere, that is getting rave reviews, and I've added it to my "must read" list for this summer.
It's called "A Hint of Wicked" by Jennifer Haymore.
And from what I've gathered from the reviews I've read, this one is going to sizzle.

Now I mentioned the blog tour-well many of these lovely blogs are not only reviewing this book-they are having giveaways for it as well!
You can bet that I am entering to win a copy.

Now some of you may be thinking "Why doesn't she just go buy a copy"?
And to that I reply "Because it is more fun when you win it Baby"!

Now check out these links below for all the different sites that you can put your entries in. Take note of the dates because they don't all start at the same time.
Have fun!

http://www.foreigncircuslibrary.blogspot.com/ - May 19 review
http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/ - May 19 intro; May 21 review; May 23 Q&A; June 6 announce winners of giveaway
http://ajourneyofbooks.blogspot.com/ - May 21 Q&A
http://chicbookreviews.blogspot.com/ - May 22 review and giveaway
http://www.findthetimetoread.blogspot.com/ - May 26 review and giveaway
http://www.readingwithmonie.com/ - May 26 giveaway
http://zensanity.blogspot.com/ - May 26 Q&A
http://booksoulmates.blogspot.com/ - May 27 giveaway
http://yankeeromancereviewers.blogspot.com/ - May 28 giveaway
http://www.myspace.com/darbyscloset - May 28 review
http://confessionsofaromancebookaddict.wordpress.com/ - June 1 to 4 Q&A, review, and giveaway
http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/ - June 1 giveaway
http://www.morbid-romantic.net/ - June 2 review, giveaway, Q&A
http://mindingspot.blogspot.com/ - June 3 review and giveaway
http://kayespenguinposts.blogspot.com/ - June 3 giveaway
http://thereviewfromhere.wordpress.com/ - June 4 review
http://www.thebookgirl.net/ - June 5 review and giveaway
http://yougottareadreviews.blogspot.com/ - June 6 review and giveaway
http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com/ - June 8
http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/ - giveaway
http://www.alphaheroes.blogspot.com/ - review

The Sak Handbag Giveaway at Mommy Goggles

2009-05-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

One of my absolutely favorite things-A Handbag Giveaway!
And not just any old bag-It's a Sak!
Isn't it lovely? And You know it will look good on your arm! Uh-Huh.

And it's going on right now at
Mommy Goggles.

So ladies, head on over there and get your entries in.
This giveaway ends June 17th at 11:59pm central time.

Who Knew?

2009-05-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

Snippet of conversation today between my mother-inlaw age 87 and her baby sister age 82.

Mum:"Gawd Helen,did you watch the movie the other night with What's his name in it"?

Aunty:"No, I went to bingo-why what happened"?

Mum:"Well I don't know". "I got distracted by those damn Extend commercials they kept showing every five minutes".

Aunty: "Oh Extends-thank God I don't need to wear those yet".

Mum:"Oh Helen, not Depends-Extends-you know the pills"?

Aunty:"Pills"?"I take enough pills already"."What are they for"?

Mum: "They're for the men"."You know".

Aunty:"For the men"?"What pill for the men?"

Mum:(exasperated)"Oh for Gawd Sake's Helen, you know for the men down there".

Aunty:(perplexed)"The men down where"?

Mum:"Oh for Christ's Sake-"Down there" Their things Helen, their things"!(rolls her eyes)
"They take the pills to make their things get longer".

Aunty:(amazed) "They have pills for that"?

Awww-I Got a Bloggy Award! :-)

2009-05-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

I came home from work tonight to a very sweet message that I have received my very
first Blog Award from Bingo at Bookin With Bingo
In order to accept it though, I must pass it on to ten blogs that I have discovered and enjoy.
Well actually I've wanted to do a post on this subject for a while now, because if I am reading something and it's making me smile-well heck-I think everyone should know about it.
So without further ado, I hereby bestow this Attitude & Gratitude Award
to these fabulous writers and fellow bloggers.

Pretty But Shallow

The Peach Tart

Mandatory Blog Here

Drey's Library

Sweeps 4 Bloggers

Unmainstream Mom Reads

My Friends Are Sluts

Mommy Goggles

Skip-Trace

Aunt Pam's Closet

These are ten of the blogs that I thoroughly enjoy visiting-an eclectic group to be sure, but that is how I roll. :-D
If you want to read, laugh, learn something new,
or just toss your hat in the ring for a prize or two, check them out with the links above.
Nite'all.

What is Up With This?

2009-05-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

OK, I am getting seriously fed up.
What is wrong with Internet Explorer today?
Every single link or button I click will take me to the page then a little grey box pops up telling me that IE can't open the page and will have to abort.

What is really irritating is that it does this after it's already opened the damn page. Then when I try and close the stupid grey box, it closes the whole page.

Crap.....}:-(

Good God! What Next?

2009-05-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

This is going to be the first of what may become a series of postings I shall
refer to as the "Good God Chronicles"

My inspiration for this all began this morning while I was doing my usual admiring of my ever increasing "character lines" as I massaged one of my vast array of anti-wrinkle products into them.

As I tilted my head back to get to my neck , Lo and behold, what should peek out at me from my right nostril but a long black nose-hair. And I mean Loooonnnnggggg!
I could just about have flossed my teeth with that sucker!

Where the hell did it come from?
I mean it didn't just sprout up overnight did it?
Was it lying up there all coiled up, with me being blissfully unaware?
Had my friends already noticed it and were just too polite to mention it?

What to do?
I grabbed my Lacrosse ultra-fine tweezers and went to work.
Grasping the unwelcome intruder between the fine-stainless pincers I yanked-HARD!

And then I swear my right eye almost damn near fell out.
Seriously-the root must have reached to my eyeball for it watered and teared,
and the pain though brief, is now seared in my memory, and shall be known forevermore as "nose hair removal pain".

I carefully checked for others as experience tells me that these things often come in pairs.
So far, so good. Now just the wait to see how long it takes to grow back, or more likely, how many will grow back in it's place.

I will not give up without a fight.
I mean just look at what relentless tweezing did for my brows?
I certainly beat them into submission.

Then again, perhaps my brows never disappeared at all.
Maybe they just migrated lower on my face to a quiet dark cavern where they could grow wildly in peace.
Hmmmm...I'll have to think about this some more.

A Funny Thing Happened When I Tried to Make My buttons Scroll...

2009-05-14T04:22:00.000-07:00

Last night I decided to try and make a scrolling marquee out of all my fabulous bloggy buttons that I've been collecting.
Sara, over at Subjective Beauty has published an awesome video tutorial for doing this over at her place.
Well although Sara's instructions are clear and concise,leave it to me to foul it up anyways.:-)

(My husband has oft told me that I could F-up a wet dream and evidently
that is what I did. This is also why I don't cook much-but that is fodder for another post.);-)

Anyhoo,

What was supposed to be a smooth, upward marching display turned into a lop-sided, hiccuping,mess that made my page load ever so slowly.
I tried to fix it this morning but alas, no luck.

And unfortunately because of my technology-challenged ineptness,
I lost a great many of my buttons.:-(
So today I shall being going through my fabulous blog roll and making visits to see how many I can retrieve.

Have a great day all!

I have Eyebrows Again!

2009-05-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I find a product in the endless array of cosmetics out there, that actually works and
I just have to crow about it.
I have been bemoaning my sparse, over-plucked brows for a few years now.
They just seemed to get lighter and thinner with every passing birthday, and I have been dreading the day I'd have to give up and "draw" them on.
Either that or resign myself to wearing bangs down to my eyelids.

I had tried a few products in the past but the effect was too 'Mommy Dearest' and I didn't want to go around scaring any small children.
This Saturday I decided to try again, and I bought a product from Revlon called
Brow Fantasy.

It's a duel-headed product with a soft color crayon on one end and a wand with sheer color gel on the other end.
Now I am no expert when it comes to applying products, (especially to my eyes) but I admit that this was easy. I took the crayon and penciled in light short strokes to my skimpy brows. Next I took the wand end and lightly applied the setting gel.
That's it. Instant brows and they don't look all drawn-on-(Believe me I checked in my 5x power magnifying mirror!)

So God bless Revlon-this product is a keeper!

My Mother's Memoir

2009-05-09T15:20:00.000-07:00

In the summer of 1999, shortly after my mother passed away, the following was found in her personal papers, written in her own hand on spiral bound notebook paper. I would tell you the exact day she died but I cannot remember. I have blocked it out. (I'm sorry Mama, but that day does not live in my "memory place")

Mama, here is your story.

Lake Tot-A-Wayne

This is the tale of a dream that began long ago. The dream of a little red-hair, freckle faced girl everyone called Tot. She was a bright child and loved nature. She loved flowers, birds and most of all creeks and rocks. About every other day her mother would send her to her Aunt's house to get fresh milk.

Tot would walk down and over hills, across a branch and creek, through the fields and some woods. she would get very tired and when she walked along the path she would stop to rest at the top of a small rise before she got to her Aunt's house.

She would look down into this beautiful green meadow that had a creek running by it and think to herself, "Oh how I wish I had a little house in that meadow with lots of flowers and a small lake with lots of rocks around it."
She would dream a while and then she would go on to get the fresh milk.
This routine went on for some time.

As things go, the little red-hair, freckle-faced girl grew up to be a young woman and she put her dreams away in her memory place.
She married and had lots of children. They grew up and she became quite sick.
She was very sick and Life wasn't very good for her but she made the most of what she had. Yet, there were times when her memory would recall the little green valley.
But as these things go, the valley belonged to other people and she just put it aside.

She was getting old by now, but near the little green valley lived a young man named Wayne. He also had a dream. He wanted a log cabin and a lake. He was lucky because he lived on one side of the little green valley and he built his log cabin and was very happy living in it with his wife and boys. Still he would look out over the valley and visualize the lake, dreaming how it would look. But the little valley belonged to someone else who had no plans to let it go.

Now here is where Fate steps in.
One day the now old lady (by the way, she still has red hair) heard that the little valley was for sale. She told her husband that she wanted it and he replied "You can have it, but take me to see it". So she did.
Alas, the old man could not see any green valley with creeks running near it.
All he could see was overgrown brush and bramble head-high.
But the old lady knew it was there, she could see it inside of her.

The next day she bought the place and the young man came over to see her and told her of his dream of a lake. In fact, it was the same dream she had stored away in her memory place.
They soon started planning, thinking and working very hard.
It wasn't long until a big machine came into the little valley and began making their lake. Soon, the skeptics came and laughed and said "It can't be done". But the old lady and the young man knew it could.
Nature came along too, it rained and rained for many days.
Mud was everywhere. It was a mess. The skeptics laughed.

One day amidst all this, a tiny duck came out and swam in the mud hole.
It gave hope and the sun came out and the big machine finished the little lake and after lots and lots of hard work, the little lake was finished. People came with fish to put in it.

Flowers were blooming all over the little green valley and the old lady and the young man just smiled...dreams do come true, because Lake Tot-A-Wayne is real.
This is a true story, tell it however you want, but always remember...

Dreams don't die, Only the Dreamers do.
By- Dolly 'Tot' Garrett.

The Peek Pronto-One of My New Favorite Things

2009-05-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

I had never heard of The Peek until I came across an excellent review at Mommy Goggles. In fact, it was this very review that inspired me to purchase one.

For those of you who have never heard of the Peek, it is a nifty little hand-held gadget about the size of a Blackberry that enables you to take your email with you anywhere and you are able to text message with it as well.

I opted for the Peek Pronto and made my purchase at amazon.com
My total price was $79.99 with free shipping.
The only color available in the Pronto was grey so that is what I got.
(you know I love pink gadgets but oh well...)

Amazon shipped it out quickly and although I am not very tech-savvy, I had it up and connected within a few minutes of taking it out of the box.
The cost of the monthly service is a flat rate of $19.95 with absolutely no contract to tie you down-love that! And you have UNLIMITED text messaging-woohoo!

Now since I've had a few weeks to play around with my new toy I thought I'd let you folks know how I'm liking it.
I figured out how to send tweets on twitter with my Peek!
Now, no I can't see other people's tweets-who knows though-maybe that is in the Peek upgrade future.(Are you listening all you app-creating geniuses out there?)
I am very impressed with the tech support-I follow @peekinc on twitter and I have asked questions both via twitter and by emailing tech support and both times have received prompt and friendly replies.

One thing I'm not wild about though, is that if I don't use my Peek for a couple of days, when I turn it on, all of my email that I've already read and disposed of on my laptop is still on my Peek. Not a big deal-I just have to mass-delete it and bring it up to the present.
Like I said-The friendly Peekster people will probably come up with a solution for that too-who knows?

All in all, I am quite fond of this little gadget and I take it with me everywhere.
It's simple-Email and Texting-all in a thin, portable little device.
It does just what it claims, and for that I am happy. You can learn more about the Peek by clicking any of the blue links in this post.It is also available at getpeek.com

Now I just have to find a little pink case for it.:-D

The Thrill of The Snipe

2009-05-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

I sit here now before this keyboard, basking in the afterglow of a successful hunt.
For you see I have just won an auction at ebay that I have been stalking for the past six days.

When I was a novice ebayer I used to go and blindly bid on my chosen items.
Gleefully, having the winning bid right up until the last moment, when a phantom bidder would suddenly swoop down and scoop my prize away from me. Even as I pitifully cried "Noooooooooo"
so loudly that my husband would leap from his recliner,
and rush into the room to see what evil had befell his Darling.

Then I wised up.
For you see, I learned that there was a name for what was happening to me.
I was being "Sniped"
Oh yes, you can visit the Help forums of ebay and read all about it.
Some folks have it down to an art form.

Desperate, I enlisted the help of a dear friend and seasoned Sniper herself who
advised me on how to hone my skills in order to bag my prey.

She taught me how to be patient. To watch and wait.
And never reveal my bid until the last possible moment.
And to only hit confirm after it was far too late for another bidder to come from behind.

Now I know how those sweaty, panting guys sitting in their tricked-out bass boats
feel, as they are reeling in their catch on the fishing and hunting channel.

I am not always successful.
I still am "out-sniped" on occasion.
Then I find consolation by telling myself that the other buyer paid far too much.

But not today.;-)

7 Days of Fabulous Gifts for Mom at Hip Mama's Place

2009-05-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

Heads up on another fabulous giveaway going on right now at Hip Mama's Place!

Take a gander at all of these marvelous goodies she's put together to celebrate Motherhood.
*Sterling Sentiments Mother Bangle Bracelet in Sterling Silver engraved in Five Languages – English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian by Carolee LUX Jewelry (a $115 Value)

*Mama Mio Skin Care Gift Pack (includes full sizes of the O-Mega Body Oil, Wonder-Full Balm, Massage Oil and Gravida Candle, a $106 Value)

*Natasha Satchel Bag in Gray by Shopsuey Boutique, (a $58 value)

*Rose Ann Hall Designs Confetti Glass Pitcher from Cambria Cove (a $50 Value)

*Weleda Almond Facial Care Kit (each a $15 value), 3 Winners

*n-fini shape Shapewear - any (1) top or bottom undergarment, 2 Winners

*MarieBelle Signature Truffle Chocolate Assortment - 16 piece box from Cambria Cove (a $38 Value)

*Cilantro Farmer's Market Bag by Sweet Pea Toad on Etsy (a $25 Value)

*Hallmark Greeting Card Pack (each a $32 Value), 4 winners

*Mrs Meyer's Clean Day Snap Pea Spring Cleaning Kit and a 7.2 Oz Jar Lavender Candle (a $25 Value), 2 Winners

*EcoTools Bamboo 6 Piece Makeup Brush Set, (a $12.99 Value)

*ALMOND PIE Rich Soufflé Lotion for the Body by Votrevu (a $48 value), plus a $50 Bruno Jamais Restaurant Gift Certificate (PLEASE NOTE: This prize is available to U.S. addresses only)

Click HERE or on the button in my sidebar or at the bottom of this post and get over there and get your entries in.
This awesome promotion will end May 9th.

I Won at Hip Mama's Place!

2009-04-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

I'm tooting my own horn here everyone, but I was so excited to learn that I won the Aurora bracelet by Twisted Silver at Hip Mama's Place.

Ok. It's pretty obvious that I love giveaways and I enter a lot of them.
Nothing wrong with that-who doesn't love winning stuff?

Problem is, I'm not really that lucky but however-I am persistent!
And yesterday it paid off.
Now in case you missed my post below, you need to click HERE and go to Hip Mama's Place and check out all of her fabulous giveaways.
Who knows? You just might be the next person to announce
"I Won at Hip Mama's Place!"

New Twisted Silver Giveaway at Hip Mama's Place

2009-04-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

I am always on the lookout for a Twisted Silver promotion and another one landed in my inbox today.
I subscribe to Hip Mama's Place emails and today I learned that she has a fabulous Twisted Silver giveaway up for the recently released Old World bracelet.
You can enter to win this gorgeous bracelet until May 6th but please read the rules
in the post-they are very specific as to what you need to do to gain entries.
Click HERE to go directly to the post.
Good luck.

Win a Good Night's Sleep at Blissful Home

2009-04-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

Everyone needs a good night's sleep but not everyone gets one(hint):-)
I found a great giveaway today at Blissful Home.

They are giving away one of those fabulous Sleep-Number beds by Select Comfort that the Bionic Woman is always talking about on the tv ads.
Now all of us "kids" from the 70's recall that Lindsay Wagner aka Jaime Sommers
recieved bionic legs, an arm and bionic hearing after her terrible skydiving accident.
Evidently though she just kept her regular human spine so she ended up with backaches and sleeping problems just like the rest of us.

Not anymore though, coz' she has the Sleep-Number bed baby!
I want one too-Do you? Click here
and get your entry in.

$50 Dollar Wal-Mart GC Giveaway at Mandatory Blog Here

2009-04-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

Do you follow Mandatory Blog Here?
I do-have for a while.

I enjoy reading her posts-She shoots from the hip and I love snarky humor!
Like this one-Super Baby To The Rescue

and Fashion Flubs
Lol-now that basically happened to me too, only it was my Mother-in-law!

Pop over and check out her blog by clicking here and while you're there you can enter her contest for a $50 Wal-Mart gc.
But stay and read a while-you'll be glad you did.

Steamboy T1 Giveaway at Focus Organic!

2009-04-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

I have seriously been considering purchasing one of the steam mops that I keep seeing on tv and on the web.
One in particular that I keep reading excellent reviews about is the Steamboy T1 from Reliable Corporation.
I really want to do away with chemical cleaners and steam seems like the way to go.
Good for my family and good for the environment!
Right now there is a review and giveaway going on at the Focus Organic website.
I'm entering and so should you. Click here to get your hat in the ring.

This giveaway ends on Saturday, May 9th.

Mother's Day Giveaway Event at 5 Minutes For Mom

2009-04-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

The annual Mother's Day Giveaway event kicks off today at 5 Minutes For Mom
and it promises to be spectacular!
Prizes include a laptop computer, designer purses, a digital camera,and jewelry just to get started-all in all there are thousands of dollars of prizes to be awarded!

This event will run until Saturday May 9th and the winners will be announced on Mother's Day, May 10th.
Good luck and see you there!

Vado HD Pocket Video Review and Giveaway at The Dirty Shirt

2009-04-15T12:58:00.000-07:00

I just love learning about new gadgets and one in particular that has caught my eye is the Vado HD pocket video cam from Creative USA.

I'll be the first to admit that I am intimidated by most of the video cams out on the market today, but the simplicity of this one is so appealing that even an amateur like me could use it.

Don't take my word for it though. Head on over to The Dirty Shirt and read Jennifer's awesome review and see if you don't agree.
And while you're there get your name in the hat to win one.

That's right! She's giving one away to some lucky reader.
This contest ends at midnight April 30th!

Not your Mother's Book- Mobile-Kindle 2 Giveaway at JulieStratford.com

2009-04-13T04:50:00.000-07:00

As a little girl growing up in rural Georgia, (and I mean really rural-dirt roads, paths through the woods, and unpainted houses with rusty tin roofs) I used to look forward to summer vacation as much as the next kid but for a different reason.

Not so much that I would be free to roam around and play with my friends,
climbing trees, swimming, fishing and what-ever, but my adventures were exciting to me none the less.
You see my mother had taken it upon herself to sign us up for bi-monthly visits from the Book- Mobile during her weekly trek into town for groceries.

The Book- Mobile only came during the school vacation months and I would stand outside on the day it was due
patiently looking for the red cloud of dusty Georgia clay that the lumbering old winnabago would stir up as it made it's way up the hill to our house.

After it wheezed to a stop and the Book-Mobile Lady lowered the aluminum steps down to my level, I would happily climb aboard and make my selections, sometimes painstakenly, for there was a limit on how many books you were allowed and I wanted to be sure I chose well because I was a fast reader and the time before the next visit would crawl by if I finished my selections too soon.

So there I was 10 years old, along with my Nancy Drew's clutching a fat copy of Annemarie Selinko's Desiree', because I just knew that with such a beautiful lady pictured on the jacket, that this book was going to be wonderful and last me a while.

Of course the Book- Mobile Lady peered over her glasses and stated "Oh, you're getting one for your mama too, I see".
Needless to say after that, I got quite a few books for my mama that summer-Never could quite care about old Nancy and her shenanigans after reading that one!

Which brings me to why I've taken this trip down memory lane
The Kindle 2. Or a contest to win a Kindle 2 to be precise.
You probably know that The Kindle 2 is Amazon's totally awesome electronic reader that will hold over 1500 books-imagine!

I love the idea of taking my library with me and being able to download right from the web to this slender gadget in less than 60 seconds, all without a having to use a pc.
I guess when you get right down to it-this is the "New Book Mobile"
only without limits, and you don't have to wait 2 weeks to get new books to read.
I wonder what the Book- Mobile Lady would think of this?

This amazing giveaway is being hosted by Julie Stratford of juliestratford.com
and you can enter to win the Kindle 2 for yourself by clicking right here.
Hurry though-you only have until noon April 16th.

The Mothers Day Gift Guide Giveaway

2009-04-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

This is HUGE!!!
Take a look at all of this loot!

Here is the list of items you can win:

1-Portia Pocket Shopper in Teak from Elliot Lucca.

2-$30 dollar Gift Certificate to Alli's Originals.

3-An item from Belisi

4-A Pair of Mommy Pajamas from Karen Neuberger

5-A bag from eenamaria

6-A Built NY French Bull Laptop sleeve from Cool Computer Bags

7-An item from The Emancipation Network

8-A PhotoSharing Kit from Giftybox

9-Digital Picture Frame from Kodak

10-A $50 dollar Gift Certificate to Photofiddle

11-A $50 dollar Gift Certificate to 1 800 Flowers

12-A $25 e-gift certificate to Coco-Zen

13-An item from The Beauty Closet

14-One PUR Water Filtration with Flavor Option

15-A Patent Leather Medium Tote from Lands End

These Fabulous contests are being hosted simultaneously at
Mommy Mandy's
Rockin' Mama's
and An Ordinary Life
UPDATE-Psssssst! Just so you know-There are THREE different Elliott Lucca Bags to be won! ONE at each website!!!!WOWZER!!!!
And best of all you can get multiple entries in at all three sites!
Remember,
All of the Mother's Day Gift Guide Giveaways will end on April 27th.
Happy Entering!

My Thoughts on Granny Panties

2009-04-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

I've been a grandmother since the tender age of 42 :-)
I had barely got over the shock of turning 40 when my oldest sat me down and sprang that one on me.
I won't lie-it took some getting used to, I mean how can I be "Granny" when I've always been "Mom"?

I think I read somewhere that the famous country singer Loretta Lynn became a grandmother at age 29-damn!(Of course I think she was married at 13) She must be a Great-Great Grandma by now.

One of my good friends became a mother for the first time at the same age that I was,as I prepared for the arrival of my 1st granddaughter.
Life is funny that way.

I guess I'm musing on this because I remember both of my grandmothers as old ladies.
When I was born they were each in their 70's.
By the time I was in my teens they were both gone.

My grandchildren number three now, and I am quite used to being "Granny"
and yes, that is what they call me-nothing cute like "Nana" or "YaYa" or "MiMi":-)

My knees don't buckle when they run to me, and my back doesn't break when I scoop them up in my arms. I don't get out of breath from chasing them (well, maybe a little) and I don't take more naps than they do-at least not yet.

So I guess these Granny Panties fit me pretty good, and I'm wearing them well
but can I help it if they still say VS on the label?

Aurora Bracelet Giveaway at Hip Mama's Place

2009-04-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

Another chance to win the gorgeous Aurora bracelet from Twisted Silver is now
up at Hip Mama's Place.
What are you waiting for? Get over there and enter already, before someone else wins your bracelet!

UPDATE!4/30/09 MOI won! I am so excited-my first Twisted win!
Many thanks to Hip Mama's Place for hosting this fabulous giveaway and of course Twisted Silver for sponsering this promotion-I tell ya Ladies-you got to be in it to win it!

Who wants the Peek?

2009-04-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

I do! Ever since I read Tanya's review and watched her video demonstration
over at Mommy Goggles I have been itching to get my hands on one of these amazing gadgets.

Finally an inexpensive way to keep on top of my inbox without having to lug my laptop
with me whenever I leave the house.
And did I mention unlimited text messaging?

You have to check this out.Click here.
Then get back over to Mommy Goggles and enter to win one!
Hurry-this ends April 8th at midnight!

Hoover Giveaway at Life Starring Ellie and Eve and Blessings Abound

2009-04-07T15:37:00.000-07:00

Spring is here and the Spring Cleaning must commence!
Have you heard of the Hoover Floormate SpinScrub?
It is a wonderful innovative product that vacuums,mops and dries your floors!
How's that for multi-tasking?

Right now there is a giveaway going on at Life Starring Ellie and Eve.com
where you can read their awesome review of the Floormate and enter to win one of your very own.
Get on over there and enter, 'coz this one turns into a pumpkin April 28th @midnight!

You can also check out the review and giveaway going on at Blessings Abound for another chance to win this amazing product.This one will end May 6th @ 11:59pm

Can Someone Tell Me WHY?

2009-04-07T02:36:00.000-07:00

I was browsing about for some yoga pants when I happened upon these beauties.
Ummm...NOT...
Why on Mother Earth would I want to buy these?
I am looking for the top 10 reasons. Feel free to be creative.

Another Favorite Thing of Mine-SHOES!

2009-04-04T04:26:00.000-07:00

I am nuts about shoes! I mean really, what lifts your spirits better than spying just the right pair and bagging them before anyone else?

One of my favorite places to shop for shoes is DSW-Gawd-If there were a way to measure your "blood shoe level" just like you can measure your sugar level with one of those little glucometers-my numbers would be through the roof after visiting that store.
Right now there is a giveaway going on at the Sure Baby Blog for a $100 gift card to DSW! WooHoo! That's right-$100 smackaroos to feed your fetish!
You have until April 30th to enter so what are you waiting for?
Enter at Sure Baby Blog
See you there.:-)

Reliable Steamboy Giveaway

2009-04-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the Reliable Steamboy Mop?
Wouldn't you like to have sparkling clean floors without harsh fumes and chemicals?

Check out the features of this innovative cleaning tool at the Reliable website
then go to Barefoot Mommy's blog and enter to win one of your very own.

contest ends April 13th.

Beautiful New Bag Giveaway!

2009-04-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

I was just over at the Feisty,Frugal and Fabulous blog and I am excited to announce that she is hosting a wonderful giveaway right now for a stunning amykathryn handbag.
For those of you not familiar with amykathryn bags I suggest you get on over to her site and check them out.
She creates gorgeous fashion-forward bags in the most delectable combinations of color and designs that will knock your socks off.

If you want a chance to win go to Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous and get your entries in.
This giveaway will end on April 10th at 10pm.

Twitter, Twitter, Tweet, Tweet!

2009-03-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

It seems like all the world is a'twitter these days.
I've been using Twitter for about a month now and I must say
it grows on you.
I down-loaded TweetDeck-(a desktop application) and I find I miss it if I don't have it up and running in the background.
I'm following more than 100 fellow tweeters or "tweeples" if you will, and at last count 93 are following me.
When I first began, every time I got an email alerting me to a new follower, I immediately returned the "twitter love" by following them back.

Now I know better-I actually go and check their profile and see what they're saying
before returning the favor.
After-all, it's all about finding common threads of interest-right?
And though I love entering contests and sweeps just as much as anyone, I'm pretty sure that my new followers who "really, really got a new laptop" by clicking that link
in their tweets probably aren't really on the same page with me.
Oh, and then there are the ones whom I'm not quite sure what their agenda is,
but why they want to know if I prefer pads to tampons, boxers or briefs,waxed or shaven...
and enjoy sharing with me and the other 1000+ people they've decided to follow what turns them on?-Well, I've learned what that Block button does.

I've actually discovered some pretty wonderful websites and new blogs to visit
since I've joined, and there are some people that I follow simply because their tweets are so friendly and positive, that I enjoy reading their quips.
Also there are others with biting sarcastic wit, (or the gift of gab as my mama would have said) that just appeal to my quirky side.

There are so many talented photographers and artists, as well as tech-savvy people
ready to help out those of us who aren't, with great tips and advice.
Many of my fellow tweeters are extremely adept at getting their point across in the 140 characters allotted which is really pretty cool.

All in all I'm finding Twitter to be a very useful and even fun thing to do in this ever-changing thing we call cyberspace.
Now excuse me, I have to run-Gotta go tweet this!

Don't You Just Love Twisted Silver?

2009-03-24T04:27:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of Twisted Silver for some time now and am always excited when I find a giveaway for one of their fabulous pieces of jewelry.

Today I'd like to share a giveaway going on right now at Rundpinne's blog.
It is for a gorgeous Aurora bracelet and you can get up to 10 entries to win this amazing prize.

Just click over to Rundpinne's and read all about it and get those entries in.
See ya there!

UPDATE!!! There is a giveaway going on right now at Hip Mama's Place for a Chic necklace by Twisted Silver-you need to hurry-it ends 3/27th!

Jump Into Spring Cleaning With Swiffer!

2009-03-21T10:52:00.000-07:00

Those gals over at Rockin'Mamas and MommyMandy's and MommyGoggles are having a Spring Cleaning Frenzy!
And it's a triple whammy to boot!
All 3 are hosting giveaways for The Swiffer Sweeper
and best of all, you can enter at all 3 for your chance to win.
Hurry on over and get those entries in
before someone else wins your Swiffer.:-D

Imagine-Sparkling Clean Floors Without Chemicals!

2009-03-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

Don't you just hate smelly old mops and hauling out pails and filling them with harsh detergents...or even worse, getting down on your hands and knees to scrub away those sticky messes?
Then of course you have to find a place to store all those cleaners and the mop.
I can recall to this day my Grandmother taking her mop outside to shake it
just in case something had decided to take up residence in it between cleaning sessions...EWWWW!(Think Earwigs)Gross!

Well thanks to the modern advances of the Reliable Corporation
we'll have no more of that!
They have come up with a wonderful product called the Steamboy mop that allows you to safely clean your floors without harsh chemicals and without having to use a stinky old string or sponge mop.
Right now if you hurry you can enter to win one of your very own over at RockinMamas
blog. UPDATE 3/17/09-You can also enter at MommyGoggles!

Be sure and watch the video demonstration to see it in action.
Hurry though, you have until March 30th to enter.

32 Gig Ipod Touch Giveaway!

2009-03-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

Whoa, check this out!

Gosh I love Twitter-and one of the reasons I do, is that I stumble upon tweets like this.
Jeremiah Cooper of the website "Coop" is having his first giveaway.
The prize is a rocking 32 gig Ipod Touch!

Now there are several ways to score some entries, but I'm not going to tell you.
You'll have to go see Coop to find out. Enter by March 31st.
Are you in?

Change Is In The Air!

2009-03-11T04:13:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! Remember, I posted about the fantastic blog make-over contest that was going on at A Daily Dose of Toni?
Well sadly-I didn't win, but I found out that I could get my make-over at 50 percent off just because I had entered and Toni was my referrer!

Now this is fabulous news because Sara of Subjective Beauty is not only a Graphic Artist-Extraordinaire but her prices are already amazing to begin with,
so all in all, this feels like a win!

Also, while I was over at Sara's browsing about, I noticed that there is another bloggy make-over giveaway that she is sponsoring over at Punky Monkeys.
If you need a bit of sprucin' up for your blog, you should just high-tail it on over there and enter.

Hurry though-it started March 9th and will end on March 23rd.
And be sure and go to Subjective Beauty and check out Sara's portfolio.I can't wait to see what ideas she comes up with to "beautify" this place.
(Now if only I could get a make-over for "Moi" so easily!)

So Many Handbags...But Only 2 Hands!

2009-03-05T06:37:00.000-08:00

Now why did the good Lord give the octopus so many arms, but only 2 for me?
I mean all they do is float around in the ocean all day
squirting ink at other sea creatures.
Pardon my musings but I was just over at Handbag Heaven
drooling over all of the gorgeous bags and it's made me a little goofy.

So many bags of every shape, size and color!
Right now if you hurry on over to Ramblings of a Wannabe Writer
you could just possibly win one!

Now why am I telling you this? I obviously don't need the competition
in this wonderful giveaway,
But what the hey? We handbag mavens have to look out for each other...right?
I wonder though, if anyone would think I flipped if I were to carry 2 bags at once?
Who knows...maybe I could start a new trend!

****UPDATE**** I just went and bought myself that sweet bag pictured above!
Yeppers! Had to have it!

Win a Custom Blog Makeover!

2009-03-04T08:24:00.000-08:00

Wow! What I wouldn't give to win this!
(Coz' Lord knows my blog is really BLAHgy looking.)
I was at A Daily Dose of Toni
http://www.juststopscreaming.com/2009/02/giveaway-blog-makeover-welcome-to-new.html when I came across this fantastic promotion Toni is having.
A total blog makeover by a fabulous designer named Sara Bonds of Subjective Beauty
http://subjectivebeauty.blogspot.com/2008/12/live-designs.html

I went over to Sara's site and checked out her portfolio and I was blown away.
First off, her work is amazing and second,
I realized that I had seen many of her designs before on blogs that I have visited.

So Sara is the secret to all of those great-looking blogs!
Well, (even though I sorely need this and don't need the competition haha!)
I encourage you to get on over to Toni's and enter.
You'd better hurry though 'coz you only have until March 10th to get your entry in.

See you there!