Blog Spotlight Tuesday - Wear Nail Polish

Well I wanted to get on here earlier so you have more of a chance to check out my spotlight for today but such is the life when you are waiting for the internet to come back on! I hate that we survive so much around the technological things that we have NO control over!

So I am going to spotlight one of the funniest ladies I have yet to meet!  So drum roll please - yes she does deserve a drum roll! Please meet Stacey at Wear Nail Polish! Now Stacey is not for the faint of heart and that is EXACTLY why I love her! I know I am overusing the exclamation point here but hopefully you get that that is just the kind of gal Stacey is - very worthy of exclamation points! She says it exactly how it is and unfortunately there are not enough people in this world that are brave and honest enough to do so. 

I will just highlight some of my favorite posts for your browsing pleasure.  First of all my most recent favorite has to do with exercising. It is called Fitness Friends are Forever Friends. You must check this out and report on how many you checked off the list!  My next favorite just happened to be yesterday is entitled A whole lotta class and a whole lotta @ss! Yes that should explain a lot but you just have to read this! I really don't want to elaborate on that and ruin the fun for you. Another favorite is My family keeps the F-U in FUn!. Now don't be afraid of this it is hilarious. Made me and my kids laugh A LOT and my husband shake is head is sympathy that another husband has do deal with the same type of in-laws that he does!  Another one to check out is Why God, Why? This one you just have to read. You will laugh and cry right along with her.  

I don't want to give it all away so go over and check out Stacey and get Laquered! She is fabulous and I know you will love her as much as I do!  Follow her and comment on her posts. She will always respond. Oh and she also does guest blogs with Jennifer over at Serendipity's Library and I know you all love her!

Review of A Time To... by Ronald Louis Peterson

A Time To…..

By Ronald Louis Peterson

 

A Time To… is a story about Al Masterson, a baby boomer and a risk manager who worked in the World Trade Center on 9/11. As Tower One collapsed on him and his companions, he was taken away on a mysterious guided tour of his life.

He revisited his childhood in the ‘50’s when he had a hard time adapting to his New York City home. A teacher had rescued him from a disastrous year so he gave her a special gift; he couldn’t imagine how that gift would later impact his life.

In the turbulent ‘60’s, he struggled to become a man, but, his attempt to join a street gang led to a terrible loss that would haunt him for years.

His life drifted into the ‘70’s until he left New York for Ethiopia where he served as a Peace Corps volunteer. While there, he experienced a world full of fascinating people and situations. In the process, his life had purpose once again.

Jobs as a broadcast journalist and a public relations executive in the 80’s gave him a front row seat to social events that defined the times. But, he learned that high-profile glamorous jobs can be more trouble than they are worth.

At the end of his journey, thanks to everything he had experienced on it, he learned that love, faith, hope and charity all survived 9/11 and that his life would never be the same again.

The sub title of this book is A Baby Boomer’s Spiritual Adventures. That pretty much sums this up. It is a very well written story about what Al Masterson’s remembers about his life when he is in trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center. He is caught between life and death and is brought on a journey of his life. He remembers things he has long forgotten about moments in his life that really defined who is has become. Many times he is touched and the feelings about those moments return. He is angered by others he was once friends with and hurt when he finds out they wronged him. But most of his memories were about him trying to do well for those around him. He left most situations not knowing if what he did ever helped those people out.

This is a great book and the meaning is heartfelt. My only complaint is that it could have been shorter. I usually love long books but only if the storyline is capable of carrying the length. The moments when Al is remembering his life were too drug out. The same meaning could have easily been obtained and I think with greater impact if it was shorter.

A good read and I will give it 3 stars. Very uplifting story about how if we all could realize the gifts we are given and to share them with those around us then we could really change this hard, brutal world.

What's UP?!?

Well until yesterday I have taken a 3 week hiatus from blogging! I was out of town with my dear Hubby for 10 days and it was great! It has taken me another 10 days to get back in the groove of things here at home. It is now crunch time to start finding a job again:(  Yes it is sad but also necessary if I expect to eat next month! I think my kids just might appreciate that.  I have enjoyed my time off this past two months and have regained my sanity again to re-enter the work force. Now to find a job that will actually pay will be a challenge. There is a down side to having a lot of experience and education when looking for a job right now. Most only want to pay wages that I haven't made since before college! Well it will work out:)

So I hope you all read my review yesterday and will check out this new author. She is going to be great as she enhances her craft over her next few books. I am also going to be having a great review tomorrow too so come back and check that out too. I will resume my Blog Spotlight Tuesdays next week! You MUST come back and see who I choose for next week -she is one of my favorites.

Also, starting next week I am going to start posting about my vacation that I just went on. I love history but especially American history. While we were traveling we took a lot of pictures and visited so many great places with fascinating histories! So join me each week over the next month to learn more about our great country! Really it will be more exciting than it sounds like from that lame description:)

I was just asked what I have been reading lately. I didn't read even one book while on vacation which is crazy and unusual for me. But I did start a book and I will put that on my blog tomorrow. I have been reading continuously since I came home though so here is what to look for shortly:

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

The Fine Art of Insincerity

The Trees

These are finished and just waiting for me to write and post the reviews. I am going to be starting on the following books:

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

The Dead Tossed Waves

Possession

I can't wait to get them read and posted for you. I only have a list a mile long of what I want to read and it gives me anxiety because I am not a patient person. So I try to only have 3-4 books waiting in the wings on my desk or else I get overwhelmed and I have a hard time choosing. I like to buy several books all at the same time but only the ones I want to read right then. If I bought all of the ones on my list I probably wouldn't even read them because I forget I have them and sometimes don't know what to start with first. I also can only have 3-4 out on my desk at once or else it drives me crazy they aren't put away in the book shelf - hence forgetting they are there. I know I have some weird things going on in my head!!

Well I am also on a fitness quest right now too. I have always been a fit person and loved sports. But the last few years with my back problems I have been not too fit!  But now that I have my Mom Cave I have some great space to workout with out looking like a side show to my kids and all of their friends! Believe me there is nothing better than to start a great workout and your excited and ready to scream and sweat and then your kids and their friends walk in and for some reason they just don't leave. I think it is like a train wreck - you don't want to look because it is so hideous but you just can't stop and look away? Yeah I am pretty sure it is like that. So now I have my privacy and the death threats of STAY OUT I seem to get some good crazy workouts in. I will talk about some of that in the next little while too.  

Being that said Mom Cave is now finished we (my daughter and myself) are trying to think of some acronym for this amazing space. Yes I let her in a little bit. So some of our thoughts have been the following:

The MC - Mom Cave

The EH - Estrogen Haven

The MC - Menstrual Central - this is my favorite!

The NBA - No Boys Allowed

How fun would be to say, "If you need me I will be in the MC!" - or the NBA - you get my meaning. I want to sound cool every time I can point out that I have MY OWN ROOM!! Once I come up with something great then I am going to post it on the door! So any ideas on this will be greatly appreciated. 

Well this has now turned into a very long post. See what happens when I can't talk for three weeks!  I start to ramble and make no sense. Again, my family appreciates all of you for listening to me - because they get tired of it!

Talk to you soon!

Review of Echoes of Savanna by Lucinda Moebius

Echoes of Savanna

By Lucinda Moebius

 

Every generation has their defining moments, events that change history and turn the course of lives. Forever will the children of that generation be defined by those moments.

Savanna Taylor is a medical doctor in 2036, the same year terrorists release a series of plagues and viruses into the world. She is a nineteen year old Brian Trust whose task it is to find a cure for the diseases and develop vaccines to prevent their further spread. The world is thrown in turmoil and Savanna needs to find a way to survive with her sanity and family intact. She needs to find a safe Haven for herself and for those she loves.

Can Savanna cope in a world in constant flux brought on by war and disease? Can she save the world and protect her loved ones or will she make the ultimate sacrifice? How will she be defined?

I had to get past the fact that I had a galley copy so I had to ignore the bad spelling and grammar. That is a pet peeve of mine when I read so at first it was distracting. I had to read sentences several times in some areas to get the meaning. But once I got through that I really enjoyed the story. It was intriguing and interesting and I found myself picturing this really happening in our world in the near future. 

This is the first of five in the Haven Novels. I liked how the author was able to jump forward months and even years in the story smoothly. I didn’t feel like she skipped over anything but made the story move along at a reasonable pace. After all, the events happening in this book cannot all take place in just a few months or even just a few years. This made it more believable and real with the characters and the turmoil they go through. I loved Savanna and those that surround her.

However, there were times that I think should have some more thought put into the scene. There is a fire in one scene where a character is severely burned on the majority of her body, including the face, but seemed to keep her waist length hair?  For the problems that are happening in the end of the book I was disappointed that Travis and Caleb were not anywhere to be found. I would think that during these rough years and where they are located more would have been mentioned about them especially since Savanna is a loving and caring wife and mom.

But still all in all if you are interested in this type of genre of what our world may turn into with disease, viruses, citizen rebellion, etc. then you will love this book. I would give this book 3 stars. I would have given 4 stars if the above mentioned discrepancies would have been resolved. I am definitely going to be reading the next in this series. Ms Moebius is a new author with her first book and she is one you will want to watch and pay attention to as she brings us more of her books.

Thank you Media Guests for giving me the opportunity to read and review this great new author!

Review of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

By Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

 

“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.”

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’d never met, a native of Guernsey, the British island once occupied by the Nazis. He’d come across her name on the flyleaf of a secondhand volume by Charles Lamb. Perhaps she could tell him where he might find more books by this author.

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, she is drawn into the world of this man and his friends, all members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a unique book club formed in a unique, spur-of-the-moment way: as an alibi to protect its members from arrest by the Germans.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the Society’s charming, deeply human members, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all. Through their letters she learns about their island, their taste in books, and the powerful, transformative impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds there will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

This was not a book I would have immediately chosen for myself to read. I did so on the advice and recommendation of a friend. I was completely enthralled and fascinated that I couldn’t put it down and read it in a single day.  The characters are so entertaining and real that you have to remind yourself that this is fiction! I so wanted them all to be real and to be able to meet them someday.

I want to travel to Guernsey! The description of this channel island was beautiful and romantic. The authors have a way with getting you to picture the scenery in a way you can actually smell the sea air and sand.

At first I thought there was no way this could be that enthralling of a read to just read correspondence back and forth between people but I was so very wrong! I forget how a letter, not an email or text, but an actual hand-written letter can be so intimate and revealing about a person. I love the book/movie 84 Charring Cross Road because it is about the correspondence between a book seller in England and a writer in New York. This reminds me of that movie but so much more. Which by the way I have only seen the movie so I must read the book too! The emotion that is felt by reading these personal letters between friends was very moving. You laugh with them and cry with them throughout this whole book.

I give this a definite 5 stars and would recommend it to everyone. It is fun, clean read that will leave you feeling very satisfied at the end.

Where Have I Been????

It has been such a crazy week! Well actually a crazy month. I was laid off from my job at the first of April so I have taken the opportunity while I job search to get things done around my house. I have previously mentioned that my sister and her three kids just moved out of my house after staying here for a year. My son, his wife, and their two dogs just moved out at the first of April after staying for 6 months. So yes, my 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home with the UNfinished basement has been home to 10 people and three dogs! It was quite a fit let me tell you. So now that everyone is in their own places and I have some time on my hands I have been very busy getting my house back. This includes moving things (& people) back to their own rooms and it has been quite the chore.

First of all though I spent two fabulous days with my dear 17 year-old daughter Ashley at the BYU Women's Conference in Provo, UT! Good thing it is just on the other side of the lake from us so the commute was easy. We left quite early on Thursday morning and got home around 11pm that night. We were back at it again on Friday morning and me it home around 5:30 pm. What a great way to spend two days. We were uplifted by the seminars we went to. We laughed ALOT and even cried. The only way it could have been any better is if my other daughter Kayli could have made it too. She is really my daughter-in-law but I call her my daughter because to me she is just that - my daughter. I love her dearly and apologize a lot because I know I raised my son better than the way he acts sometimes :) Here is a quick photo of us in the car getting ready to start Friday - she looks great, I look beat.

So back to this past month. I decide to re-paint a few areas and do the touch-up painting in the rest of the house along with the deep, spring cleaning. When we moved into our house 2 1/2 years ago the colors were not what we would have picked. So we repainted the WHOLE entire house including the trim - by ourselves. We also got new carpet in the whole house so we had a lot to do before the carpet showed up. Once we did the upper level of the house we pretty much got everything painted on the main level of the house that was going to have carpet in it. There were two walls on my main level I just left the burgundy/reddish color. Not because I liked it but because I was beat! So I finally decided to re-do it. I wish I had a before picture but I wasn't thinking so here is how it turned out:

 I still need to do window treatments but I'm working on it. Can't really find what I like so I am just going to make them myself.

 I also did the window seat in my dining room:

 Not long after we moved in we had a bathroom malfunction upstairs that proceeded to leak into the kitchen above the cabinets. This happened three times before it was finally fixed. We had a hole in our kitchen ceiling for quite a while. Once fixed we never got it re-painted and re-done. So here it is now:

This is the other side of the cabinets:

Don’t worry I am not finished shoppingJ

However, we did have some issues with the kitchen.  I needed to have some plywood put on top of the cabinets because they are recessed a few inches and when I would put decorations up there they weren’t very visible. So my great hubby did it for me and this is the result:

FYI don’t stand on Corian counter-tops – especially if you are 6’4” and somewhere around 240ish!  So good news is I really hated these counters and one of these days I will get new ones! – Thanks honey!

  

So the room my sister was staying in was our bonus room. This is now my office and sewing room – yay me! Here are the before and after photos:

I can't believe I have my very own room! I have never had my own room!

I will post some more when I actually have it set up and decorated. Which probably won’t be very soon. I leave Saturday for my Oregon Coastline trip with above said fabulous Hubby! I will post pictures and details of our trip over the course of our week away.

I will have a great book review tomorrow for you. I am going to get back to my Blog Spotlight Tuesdays after I return from my trip.

Thanks for sticking with me even when I am absentJ