JJ Heller has a beautiful voice and is a wonderful song writer. I do not have all of her music, but I do have her CDs "Painted Red" and "When I'm With You." "Deeper" was on my wish list, but I didn't get it...sooo I'll grab that as well. Soon JJ will be releasing another awesome CD. It is titled "Loved" and it is due out in March! If you would like a bit of a sneak glimpse into loved, check out the videos below AND go to JJ's website for a free download of some of her lovely songs as well as 3 songs from "Loved." By the way, "Loved" is also available for preorder now.
Ending tonight (12/31/12) you can get eight free downloads from JJ via NoiseTrade. Go to her website for details.
**I took a picture of these flowers on the grounds of the Tickle Pink Inn in Carmel, CA. Ahhhh when the New Year rolls in, we all have so many exciting plans! The idea of a fresh start is so exhilarating! The plan making so fun! It is kind of like dreaming about winning the lottery. The possibilities are endless. Then the new year begins and the the day and and day out begin, and it is all...well...a bit daunting.
I decided that rather than make myself any firm commitments of total change for the year, I would instead make two week changes. If I like them, I will go for two more. If not, I will drop them without feeling guilty. I like that part the best. I figure that I can do anything for two weeks. And trying different things every two weeks sounds pretty awesome. I don't know what each plan will be for the two week intervals, but I do know that I will focus on many aspects of my life.
Now I do have ONE resolution. I picked up a pretty awesome devotional from Billy Graham. I do plan on reading that each and every day. Other than that, it is all going to be a work in progress two weeks at a time. TWO WEEK CHANGE NUMBER ONE - HELP MY DRY TOESIES, ELBOWS & HANDS
As the new year has not begun yet, but the beginning of the week has, I am beginning my first two weeks with working on softening up my seriously thyroid and winter-dry skin. Being hypothyroid makes this already a problem. Add in the winter, and it is all over. For the next two weeks, I will be following my endocrinolgist's advice and try Milk of Magnesia on my elbows and feet. He said it will soften them right up. I've been putting off trying it, but I'm ready now, we'll see how it all works out. Does this seem like a silly and small first step for the new year? Maybe. But it is my first start in trying something new and seeing if something I heard about actually works.
SHORT STORY REVIEW I love short stories. There is something keenly satisfying about picking up a short story and knowing that before you are through, you will have payback. I wish there were more short stories out there. Well, I suppose there, and I just need to get out there and find them. My love of the short story began when I was quite young and sleeping over my grandma's house. I always read my grandma's books and had just finished Jaws (yep, granny had a taste for a thriller or two). I decided to look for another book and discovered Stephen King's "Night Shift." I admit, I was pulled in by the cover. It was a picture of a heavily bandaged hand with eyes on it. That was enough for me. I began to read. In a word or three...it was love. I have devoured short stories ever since from romantic to horror. It is a nice way to spend a short amount of time. Anyway, I decided to share my reviews of the shorties I come across here. Blink by Bradley Convissar
Info from Goodreads: Meet dentist Brian
Mallory. He's always considered himself a grounded man. A rational man. A
reasonable man. But what he finds in the mouth of nineteen year old Amy
Gladwell one afternoon during a routine cleaning makes him begin to
question his own sanity.
It's amazing how quickly everything can change in a a blink of an eye.
From
the author of the Pandora's Children collection of short stories, the
novellas Dogs of War and King of the Merge, and the short story Last
Dance of a Black Widow, comes Blink, a chilling, 3500 word short story
about a simple day gone horribly wrong. My Review: I picked this up for free via Barnes & Noble for my Nook. When I
grabbed it, I didn't realize it was a short story, although the cover pic certainly states it. It was free and it looked kind of creepy, and that worked for me. I loved that it
was a short story. We need more short stories. I actually forgot it was on my Nook
until standing in a long line at the post office. This was the perfect
read for that line.
It was a quick science fiction type story. I liked
how the story flowed without really knowing what was going on until the
very last bit. Having once worked in a dental office, I liked the idea
of a little thriller in that setting. The doc was the perfect pic of dentists I worked with in the past. The ones who work with the young really do develop kind of like a caring uncle thing. They see these kids grow up. Dr. Mallory was like that. He is picking up the slack in the office and filling in for the hygienist when one of his long time patients, Amy comes in. Things go from every day to not so much. I do not want to spoil anything here soooo stop
reading now. Or continue...I kind of wish Amy was completely unaware. I
would have liked that better. It was a good story though, and I will
definitely look for more from the author. Blink is available for free download from Barnes & Noble and Amazon right now.
I have been enjoying a plethora of Christmas movies with the goal of seeing 30 before Christmas. I am going to probably have a blogging extravaganza to cover what I have seen, but today it is all bout movie number six "The Heart of Christmas."
Movie 6 The Heart of Christmas Starring: Candace Cameron Bure, George Newbern, Jeanne Neilson, Eric Beck, Karl T. Wright, Dendrie Taylor, Burgess Jenkins, Anita Renfroe, Erin Bethea, and Matthew West.
"The Heart of Christmas" is a movie inspired by the story of the Locke family, and how their community in Illinois all supported young Dax and his family, by decorating the whole neighborhood for Christmas in October to bless this sweet boy who had been battling cancer. In fact people all over the world decorated in the Christmas spirit for Dax that year. My review: Whoa! First of all, I totally have wanted to see this movie since it was released last November 2011. One of my favorite singer-songwriters Matthew West wrote this song called "One Last Christmas" inspired by the family and Dax's story. It is a song that tugs right at your heart. When I found out that a movie would be made, I knew I had to watch it, yet...I couldn't bring myself to do it until this month. In the end, I am soooo glad that I did. "The Heart of Christmas" is a touching story of a family's love and of joining together to support one another in anyway we can. It is also a story of living life now, enjoying each moment and cherishing every experience and person around you. "The Heart of Christmas" shares the story of the Locke family through memories captured in the mom's blog as she and her family deals with their son's cancer treatment. Another mom, reads the blog and we see how the Locke's story can impact other's lives. It is a story that should impact lives. We are all blessed, no matter what the circumstances, with the time we have. Dax's family learns this, the community learns this, and we as viewers catch on too. Will you cry? I can't imagine you not. I cried, and my husband cried. There was certainly a sadness felt, but also inspiration. :) I'd rate "The Heart of Christmas" four candy canes out of five. I watched "The Heart of Christmas" via Netflix streaming, but I also own it. I picked up my copy at Family Christian Stores. :) If you would like to support the work of St. Jude's you can learn more by clicking on the banner below.
*Taken in Carmel as well. The water just reminded me of the dreaded but necessary cleanse.
Well, this Friday I tried the Christmas Cleanse that I found in First magazine. You can check it out at my post here. I was a little nervous about doing the Christmas Cleanse. I was not sure if I could handle not eating and only drinking the cleanse mixture and water with lemon all day, but I handled it well. The cleanse drink was sour, but it wasn't overbearing. I definitely was ready to eat the next day and I had a caffeine withdrawal headache, but I was also delighted with the results. My pants which were tight two days before were loose in the waist and I had dropped 5 lbs. Now I know this was 5 lbs in water weight, but I have been totally retaining water so this is okay with me. It also gave me some extra motivation to move onto bigger and better. Also just knowing that I could say no to everything even one day meant I could say no later.
After Christmas, I will work on getting an elliptical trainer, and in the meantime, I am going to practice some portion control. I am thinking about switching to salad plates for meals so I can visually trick my tummy. I will also try to knock down my coffee drinking a bit. I think I consume a lot of unnecessary calories with my coffee. Whenever I drink it, I always hear Jillian from The Biggest Loser saying not to drink your calories. This will be my biggest challenge. I LOVE COFFEE! :)
For now I am just going to enjoy the rest of the Christmas season and be as intentional as possible about my intake. I'm just happy about a fresh start. :)
*Pic from wine tasting at our favorite spot in Carmel, The Tickle Pink Inn. This is where my husband and I celebrated our honeymoon and second honeymoon. :) It is also my reminder that for a while...I just have to say "I don't." Yesterday I went shopping for a costume for our office Christmas party which was a themed murder mystery. I was picking up something that would pass for 1950s attire. I also realized that I have gained WAY TOO MUCH WEIGHT! I knew that I had gained some weight, and it has been bothering me, but there is nothing quite like the unforgiving light of the Goodwill dressing room to totally bring that message home! If you ever want to see your body as is...go for it. Those mirrors tell no lies! I was inspired. I felt so annoyed with myself. Just last year, I had worked my tail off and lost lots of weight, and here I was just sneaking back up in size again! So begins my action plan. 1- Change what I say. I read in First magazine that it is far better to use the word "don't" rather than "can't." I am a late night munchie girl, and last night I made a point of saying to myself "I don't snack at night." "I don't crave chips." It totally helped. The magazine said that typically when you say don't, you have more power, whereas when you say "can't" you simply do not feel powerful and you often end up binging later. It totally worked! Last night was the first night in a LONG time that I worked late, but did not snack on anything more than water. Yay!!!!!! 2- Cleanse. I am going on a 24-hour Christmas cleanse. I found this in First magazine too. I cut the recipe out and pasted it in my handy little recipe notebook. Here are the ingrediants: 8 oz Unsweetened Cranberry Juice 7 cups of of water 1/2 cup Orange juice 1/2 tsp Cardamom 1/2 tsp Cinnamon Pinch of cloves Combine everything in a stock pot and heat until boiling. Throughout the day you sip one cup of this brew (after heating up in microwave for 30 seconds) every other hour. The hour that you don't drink the brew, you drink 8 oz of water with the juice of half a lemon. Supposedly this heals and detoxifies the liver AND you can also lose some quick weight.
I don't plan on making this a historic daily plan, but right now, I need a boost. Boy do I ever need a boost. I can't wait until the holidays are over, because I am totally going to buy an elliptical trainer. :) First things first though.
I am loving all the Christmas movies that I have had the chance to enjoy. I have found quite a few that I have never seen before. This is one. "One Magic Christmas" is a Disney film and I am actually surprised I have never seen it before.
Movie number 5: One Magic Christmas Starring Harry Dean Stanton, Mary Steenburgen, Gary Basaraba, Arthur Hill, Sarah Polley, and Michelle Meyrink (plus Elias Koteas - had to mention that...I'm a big fan)
It is Christmas season and Christmas angels are getting their assignments to help others. Gideon has been assigned to help Ginny Grainger discover the true meaning of Christmas and the joy that she had lost along the way which is likely to happen when life gets you down. The Grainger family has had it rough. Jack lost his job at the factory six months ago, and Ginny has been doing her best to make ends meet with her job as a cashier in a grocery store. Needless to say, things are not working out well. The Grainger kids have the Christmas spirit as does Jack who spends time working on a bike for a gift for a poor neighbor and doing a little dreaming of a shop of his own. Ginny just doesn't have room in her busy schedule for more than taking care of business which also involves the family moving out of their home (that is owned by the company her husband no longer works for). Gideon has his work cut out for him. My review: One Magic Christmas is a gem. With an angel, children, parents, a struggling town and Santa, it has everything a movie needs to have in order to give a lift to the spirit during the holiday season. There is a life change and a little magic sprinkled in the story. It is sweet without being over the top. It came out in 1985, and somehow I never saw it. By the way, I'm glad I didn't because it was lovely coming across it this week. It is available via streaming on Netflix. Catch it, you'll like it. I'd rate it 4 candy canes on a scale of 1 - 5.
I have been getting into the Christmas spirit with lots of forays into Christmas movies. I have been watching at least one a day, and it has been lots of fun. It has also been pretty easy thanks to Netflix and their instant streaming. I have been able to watch all kinds of fun holiday movies. I hope to share each one here. The good, the bad, and the merry.
Starring Nicole de Boer, Patrick Muldoon, and Gig Morton.
The film begins with Liz a very career oriented real estate agent heading off with her son Mason to visit her father Jack in a small town named Hollyville (also known as America's Christmas town). Liz's father is much like herself. A city person who was very focused on a very successful career. Now that he has taken up residence in Hollyville, Jack has tossed his life of a banker to a life in the sweetest little Christmas town around, and Liz is not thrilled with the changes in her dad nor the quirky little town. One of the townies named Kevin shares with Liz that he was once a mess before he came into town and that Hollyville is like the land of misfit toys. All the residents had the need to be fixed. Liz definitely fits that description. Young Mason is completely taken with the town. Mason is also intrigued with the small factory outside the town called NP Enterprises. Mason is convinced that the guy they call "the big guy" just could be Santa Claus. My thoughts - Christmas Town is a sweet movie. There is a lot of fluff to it, but it has its moments. I liked that Liz and her father became close again, it was nice seeing a little town dedicated to Christmas, but it was also weird because there was no snow. I like snow in Christmas movies. This could seem kind of silly since I grew up in California for half of my life and where I lived there was no snow. The characters were all pretty sweet and on the dorky side, but they fit the movie. For me the only oddity was Patrick Muldoon. The dude's hair distracted me throughout the movie. This is what happens when your husband buys a very hi definition TV. :) On a scale of 1 to 5 candy canes, I'd give it 2.5 candy canes.
*Every week at the radio station, I have been sharing DIY Christmas gifts that can be made on the cheap. I had been struggling for a good guy's gift. I've read about duct tape wallets, but I have never tried it. I decided to dive in. Of course I went dull old silver for this first try, but once I get a little more practice in, I may try to get color crazy. :) CRAFTY GIFT - For Guys! It took me FOREVER to figure out a decent guy crafty gift. I have a few planned now, but we'll start with a duct tape wallet. :)
I have never made one of these before so truly anyone, yes anyone can do it. Here's what you need:
Roll of duct tape. I used Duck brand. Scissors Ruler Clean surface that the tape wont get stuck to. I used a wooden TV tray. Explaining this can be a bit difficult. I am going to do my best but also include a link to the WikiHow page I found in order to make my wallet. 1 - Pull off a strip of tape about 8 inches long and lay it face up.
2 - Pull another strip off and place it face down along the strip covering roughly half of the strip.
3 - Fold the sticky part of the bottom strip over the top and flip the strip over.
4 - Add another strip face down covering the sticky half of the bottom strip and repeat process several times.
5 - When you have a large enough rectangle fold remaining sticky tape over the shiny side and fold lengthwise. At this point you can determine your wallet size. If it is too large you can cut it down and refold until it looks good. The tutorial says to not go beyond 6 inches by 8 inches. Tape the ends together to make a pocket.
6 - Make another rectangle by following the steps 1 to 4. Go about half the size as your last one. Cut this in half to make two squares. Tape these squares into the inside of the wallet and secure by taping to the inside pocket and outsides of the wallet while leaving open pockets facing the inside fold of the wallet.
7 - Make credit card holders by following steps 1 to 4. This time make a long strip. Cut this strip in half and use it to make credit card holders by staggering inside the wallet and taping the sides and bottom areas. Use a credit card or driver's license as a guide so you make sure it fits right.
We saw this at church on Sunday, and I thought it was kind of cute. It is funny, I read a post by someone who said that as Christians, they believed we shouldn't have a problem with people saying Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas and actually doing it ourselves, because really Jesus doesn't need us fighting his battles. It sounded like the poster knew a lot of people who really get in other people's faces over the whole thing, and honestly I don't know anyone like they described as far as getting in anyone's face, but I know plenty who believe that the battle is also our own. That we as Christians have a right to say Merry Christmas, have a Christmas tree and not have to feel looked down on or made to feel uncomfortable for wanting to do this by anyone especially other Christians. I don't think we should be in anyone's face if they say Happy Holidays, but I am still going to celebrate Christmas and say Merry Christmas. I think it is important to always show love for others and kindness, but I don't think we have to give up who we are to do it.
Of course I don't plan on being the Christmas Linebacker about it. :)
Knit One, Kill Two By Maggie Sefton Summary from Goodreads: Kelly Flynn never picked
up a pair of knitting needles she liked—until she strolled into House
of Lambspun. Now, in the first in a brand-new series, she learns how to
knit one, purl two, and untangle the mystery behind her aunt's murder. My review: Kelly Flynn has returned to Colorado upon the death of her aunt Helen. Kelly originally plans to settle affairs after her aunt was murdered in a robbery. Kelly sticks around when she decides that the police simply could not have the right guy and when she finds that she has quite a few more issues to take care of when it comes to her aunt's estate. Kelly's aunt lived in a cottage across the street from her former farm house. That farmhouse now houses a knitting shop and cafe. Helen apparently spent a lot of time at this knitter's paradise, and made great friends with many of the frequent patrons. These friends quickly befriend Kelly, and support her as she tries to find out who killed her aunt. I liked the setting of the story. The knit shop sounded like a dream to go to if you were into knitting. The author described it so well, it was definitely like you were there. The whole area was described beautifully. I like small-town cozy mysteries, and I really wanted to like this one. To be honest though, things kept pulling me out of the story. I haven't had something like this happen before to such a degree. So I hope I don't sound nitpicky. 1 - The cafe in the old farm house has a cook who apparently makes a great coffee. It is so great that it is named again and again and again. It was so tiring reading about Eduardo's aromatic brew in various different ways. It pulled me out of the story time and time again because it was so annoying.
2 - The knitting shop - Kelly spends a lot of time at the knitting shop and makes fast (I mean FAST) friends with some of the other women. They are all youngish probably mid to late 20s with full time jobs yet have endless time to always be at the knitting shop. The friendships all seem a little too familiar for such a short time too. I could understand the author rushing the friendships. I just wish she maybe went with one and kind of moved the circle wider as the series moves. It was the crazy flexible schedules that were weird to me and overly distracting.
3 - I hated that Kelly was obnoxious to this dude Steve simply because he looked similar to an ex of hers. She continually scowls about him and grouses which is the oldest recipe in the book for romance novels. Girl meets boy, girl hates boy, boy teases girl, and they fall in love. It hasn't yet, but it is already obvious. When a woman in the real world acts as obnoxious as Kelly does to a guy who is so obviously nice, any guy with half a brain would have no interest in her because they were see her as a witchy crab. 4 - Kelly's aunt was her last living relative. Supposedly like a mom to her. Yet from the description, she would have to be in her late 60s close to 70. I couldn't figure out if Helen was a great aunt or much older sibling to her dad. Either way, it distracted the heck out of me. Why? Because Kelly would talk to people who knew her aunt when she was much younger. If her father and her aunt were siblings you'd think she would mention her dad to these people. If not, you'd think she would mention her grandpa who would be the sibling (since Helen had the same last name as Kelly). Either way, the familial ties were so unclear, I kept wondering about this and loping right out of the read.
I'm going to stop there. I don't want to cover everything that bugged me. It was a good effort and just the start of a series. A friend lent me the first two books in the series, and I have already started the second. My hope is that the things the distracted me in the first book will be resolved in the second. I look forward to seeing how things work out.
In order to really get into the spirit of Christmas, I thought it would be fun to watch 30 Christmas movies in 30 days. I unfortunately haven't been able to post about each and every one each day, because my schedule has been a little busy so, I will probably post several today to catch up. So far all the movies I have watched have been through Netflix streaming.
Starring Dudley Moore, John Lithgow, David Huddleston, Burgess Meredith, Judy Cornwell, Christian Fitzpatrick, and Carrie Kei Heim. Santa Claus the movie begins with telling the tale of how Santa became THE Santa. Santa is first a kindly toymaker who along with his wife delivers the toys every year. He and his wife have no children of their own so it is a special delight for them to make children happy with handmade toys. Santa and his wife are given immortality by the toy making elves in order to share their toys with children all over the world. Hundreds of years pass with Santa delighting many with his wonderful gifts until we find ourselves in the 80s. Santa is getting tired and needs an assistant. One of the elves named Patch is up to the task with his creative ideas. But of course some things go wrong and an evil toy manufacturer sets his sights on eliminating his North Pole competition. In general, Santa Claus: The Movie has some sweet parts and fun parts. Santa and Mrs. Claus were amazing. Both actors were completely delightful. The elves were also wonderful. Their home in the North Pole...FABULOUS.
I think it all went great until they landed in the 80s. At that point, the story lost its magic. There is a Dickensian boy living on the streets that befriends Santa. This boy Joe and his friend Cornelia (the poor little rich girl) defend Santa against all naysayers when people begin to turn against St. Nick. They were sweet, but again seemed to be an odd addition to the film. You picture little street urchins in old Dickens stories, but this loner boy was kind of odd. The poor little rich girl seemed to belong in a movie in the 50s. Sweet kids. Just odd. They aren't why the film fell flat for me. It was just an odd combination of everything that went down from the modern era on.
It was fun to kind of look back on the special effects choices that were made back then, but all in all, this was not a story that delighted me or gave me the holiday spirit like others. I didn't get all misty eyed. Not that getting misty eyed is necessary, but it just didn't tug at me emotionally at all. There were a few moments that made me and my husband laugh. When it was over, I didn't feel anything. It was just okay. With so many other Christmas movie options, I'd probably give this one 2.5 candy canes. :)
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 I played this song for the first time this year on the air. It is a song that moves me every single time I hear it. It kind of chokes me up, but it is so beautiful, I had to share it today.
Be Born In Me is from last year's CD of music inspired by "The Story" and sung by Francesca Battistelli. Truly it is just the sweetest image of the heart of Mary the mother of Jesus. Imagine being this young woman with so much promise growing inside. Each thought is captured so beautifully in this song. This is a lyric video so you can read along if you haven't heard it before. Every time I hear it, it truly brings tears to my eyes. This Christmas story is also our story. The story of God's love for us, for His creation. Doing what only His son could do. Do you think Mary fully understood what was ahead for her baby boy?
I love Christmas and I love Christmas movies. Now ordinarily I go for more of a thriller or dark movie, but I thought it would be fun to really get into the spirit of the season by watching a new Christmas movie every day for thirty days before Christmas. So here we are on to day number 2. Movie 2 Christmas with a Capital C PureFlix Entertainment Starring Ted McGinley, Brad Stine, Nancy Stafford and Daniel Baldwin.
I initially was taken with the movie because I just love the Go Fish song also titled "Christmas with a Capital C." I work at a Christian radio station, and kids always call asking for that song. Christmas with a Capital C opens in a small town in Alaska called Trapper Falls. The scenery is so beautiful that I was ready to move on the spot. I love movies that capture areas so well. Anyway, the townsfolk are getting ready for the Christmas season and see a car pulling into town along with a moving truck. The owner of the car turns out to be Mitch a gentleman who grew up in the town and left for college and big city life as a lawyer. He pretty much brushed the snow off of his shoes many years before, so Dan (the mayor and Ted's former rival) is a little suspicious when Mitch says he is coming back to town and even more suspicious with Mitch's plans to pretty much put the town on the map as far as tourism goes. Things go downhill from there with Mitch annoyed at the town's Christmas display and Christians altogether. It is obvious that Mitch is holding some pain inside. Mitch is holding his own issues inside from pride with the town's traditions and his old rivalry bringing back old feelings. Both learn the real reason for the season and that truly it isn't what is displayed on the town grounds that count, but the love you display to others. Christmas with a Capital C may have some silliness to it, but the message is definitely on point. Everyone truly learns the meaning of Christmas and community. It is nice seeing people in the town reach out with love to others. There are quite a few comedic moments thanks to comedian Brad Stine (you can hear part of his act in the Go Fish song). My husband and I both really enjoyed it. I would give Christmas with a Capital C 3.5 candy canes. :) Check it out for free on Netflix streaming.
I thought it would be fun to get into the spirit of Christmas daily with 30 days of Christmas movies. Movie 1 - Christmas Angel PureFlix Entertainment (I love their stuff) Originally released as "Angel Next Door" Starring Kevin Sorbo, Teri Polo, Izabela Vidovic, Tyler Humphrey, Della Reese, Tamera Mowry-Housely and Jaiden Kaine.
Olivia's class is sharing their impossible Christmas lists. As they listen, Olivia and her friend Lucas take note of these wishes and share them by tossing rocks at the abandoned house next door. Olivia notices a light in the house and believes an angel is living there and that if you shout out your wishes, they will come true. Some of the wishes indeed are coming true. This begins a series of events that causes Olivia to wonder to her mother if God is about to do something really special. Christmas Angel is a really sweet movie. It isn't about Santa but learning about what we can do and what we should give to God. Of course leaving things to God is not always easy. It is a very sweet movie and well acted. It is definitely a great family friendly movie that may get you a bit teary eyed. I watched "Christmas Angel" via Netflix's Instant Watch. There are two Christmas Angel movies available. This one is from 2012 in case you are looking. I would give Christmas Angel 4 Candy Canes.
I love my Kindle Fire and my Nook. They are ideal for reading on the go, workout reading, and for grabbing lots of amazing free reads. I have always wanted to join a reading challenge and have found one thanks to Escape With Dollycas Into a Good Book. The challenge I am entering is the 2013 Ebook Challenge from Workaday Reads. I can't get into all the details follow the name behind or the link here to get all that, but here is a quick run down. Don't forget that the rest of the details can be found at Workaday Reads. The challenge will run from January 2013 through December 31, 2012. You can sign up at any time up to December 15, 2013. Here are the levels: 1- Floppy disk - 5 eBooks 2- CD - 10 eBooks 3- DVD - 25 eBooks 4- Memory stick - 50 eBooks 5- Hard drive - 75 eBooks 6- Server - 100 eBooks 7- Human brain - 150 eBooks I am going to go with CD because this is my first challenge. I am totally excited!
My husband's boss gave me his Nook a while back (he knew I was a reader and it was a business gift that he wasn't going to use) and for my birthday my husband bought me a Kindle Fire. They are both awesome! Although I am still a huge fan of traditional books, I love that both my Nook and Kindle Fire make it possible for me to read anywhere and any time. Every week I search out free ebooks for these devices. Here is what I downloaded today: *Always be sure to check the price when you see a book in emails or on blogs, because prices can change from free to a fee any time. A Marriage Carol by Chris Fabry & Gary Chapman - AMAZON Kind of a Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" for marriage. Christian. Game Plan for Life by Joe Gibbs with Jerry B. Jenkins - AMAZON I listened to an interview with Joe Gibbs, and it was very inspiring. My husband has previously read "Quiet Strength" by Tony Dungy (who does the forward), and I thought he would enjoy this as well. Christmas Gifts They'll Actually Like! 25 Easy Homemade Gift Ideas - Plus Instructions by Casey Tucker and Lynn Rogers - AMAZON Every year I make several Christmas gifts. I am hoping that I can get some new ideas here. A Cutthroat Business (Savannah Martin Mystery 1) by Jenna Bennett - AMAZON I have never read this author but I love mysteries and especially mystery series. So we'll see how it goes. Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride - BARNES & NOBLE I love a thriller. This was the Friday freebie at Barnes & Noble. It is the beginning of a series with some great reviews. Grave Danger by Heather Graham - BARNES & NOBLE This is a short story and the description got me right away. Special effects, a horror film set, and murder. Sounds good to me.
Today was a mellow day after Thanksgiving for our household. My husband had to work. This is not new. He works for a car dealership (not a salesman) so he is ALWAYS working most holidays and after holidays. For the last five years I haven't had to work holidays (YAY!), so I have been a huge Black Friday shopper. Today though, I had no interest in going out for the Black Friday deals.
To be honest, the whole idea of Black Friday starting so very early just made me decide to take a step back. Now don't get me wrong. I am not saying that I didn't shop. I just shopped online and didn't leave the house for Black Friday shopping until about 11:00 am. And it felt amazing! I loved not standing in line at the registers, I loved not hearing people complain about other people cutting, I loved not seeing grumpy faced people trying to squeeze past others in order to get a great deal on a box of storage containers. This morning, I got up, made my husband a pot of coffee, and went back to bed. Oh the joy of simply laying in bed and not having to get up!!! Later, I relaxed with a good book, my son and I ate brunch together and when ready, we went to Game Stop to turn in a printout for a Power Reward that we earned. We returned a movie at the grocery store and picked up a few much needed items. And lastly I went to Family Christian Stores to pick up a few things that I really wanted. All other Christmas shopping took place online in between my washing two loads of laundry and making turkey pot pie stew which is a great way to use up some turkey leftovers. The whole day was lovely. I think I may make not doing Black Friday my new tradition! :) Tonight my husband and I enjoyed "Field of Dreams" together. It was a nice step into the past for both of us. If you haven't seen the movie in a while you should. It is very sweet. Of course the last ten minutes were just full of tears for me. It gets me every single time.
A while back I started using Recyclebank for rewards, and I really do love it. We are big into recycling in our home, and it is nice getting rewarded for those actions. Recyclebank also informs you of even more ways that you can live greener and spend wiser. There are always great articles there where you can gather great tips on all kinds of ways to reuse. One of my favorites was "8 Great Ways to Reuse Bananas." One memorable tip: Use the inside of a banana peel to whiten teeth. I have to admit I have tried it, but probably not with the consistency that whitening will take. Okay definitely not. I do want to see how it works though. Maybe that will be a new grooming goal. :) One of the awesome bonuses of Recyclebank is that you can earn rewards for things that you do at their website. Pledge to make greener purchases or do different green actions, learn about ways to save water, play some games, and more. They all lead up to points which you can in turn redeem for great items like coupons, gift cards, discounts on purchases and magazines. Today I did a little shopping via Recyclebank for some magazines subscriptions (not digital) to purchase with my rewards points. I picked up Martha Stewart's Living, O, The Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Redbook, Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan. All with my Recyclebank points. This totaled up to a savings of $84! Not too shabby for doing things that I love. Oh yeah, and it is totally free to join up. Check it out.
I work as a midday host at a Christian radio station. This gives me the opportunity to enjoy great music all day long.
We are starting up our Christmas music this week, and I couldn't be any happier. I absolutely love Christmas music! This week I got to begin playing Mandisa's new song "Somebody's Angel" from her Christmas CD "It's Christmas - Christmas Angel Edition" I love this woman! I saw her at Women of Faith several years ago, and she just astounded me with her realness and of course stunning voice (her songs moved me to tears). Seriously I admire her tremendously. "Somebody's Angel" will be featured in the GMC television movie of the same title. I'm bummed that we don't have GMC, because I would love to see it. Here is Mandisa's official video for "Somebody's Angel" which contains clips from the movie. You can catch the movie on Saturday night at 7 pm ET if you have GMC.
I just love how pretty the sky is reflected in this old building (a work in progress) in Jerome, AZ. One of our favorite haunts in Arizona. I took this picture around the end of the summer this year (2012).
I entered a lot of giveaways last week, and one of the major questions was: "What are you thankful for?" I was surprised too at the few who asked people not to just say family or spouse. The thing is, if I am going to count what I am most thankful for, second to my salvation it will be my family. I have a great kid. He is 17 and has really given me very few reasons to worry. He is kind to others, loyal and extremely respectful. I was a single mom for many years so we have that kind of relationship where we are entirely honest to each other and comfortable hanging out together. I love him fiercely. Next year he should be off to college. THAT will
be tough for me. I imagine for him as well, but to me, ridiculously
so. As a single mom there were many years where every material item I purchased was second hand. Even our silverware and plates. This has caused him to have a real appreciation for what he has and also a solid understanding of wants and needs. He prefers comfy jeans and t-shirts to jeans with embellished bums. He'd much rather shop at Goodwill and Ross and spend wisely there so he can splurge on a good pair of sneakers elsewhere. His only flaw is, like his mom, he's a bit untidy. We'll get on that. My husband is amazing. He too is kind, loving, funny, and so very supportive. When I was exhausted from working full time and also felt I was missing out because I couldn't spend as much time with my son. He totally supported my changing my hours to part time. When my feet are aching, he gives them a rub. He says "I love you" without hesitation EVERY morning and EVERY night with lots of love in between. He loves my cooking. He laughs at all my jokes, and he never tires of telling me that he thinks I am beautiful. he is good to me and my family. He is my hero. I am thankful for my home. We have a roof over our head when so many do not. We can afford the home we live in. We do not make a lot of money, but we make a living and we are blessed enough to be able to sponsor two children and really that is what life should be about. That is enough and really so much. :) It is a really good life.
Another picture from Carmel. Such a pretty place. Even a rusty ole bike is a nice addition.
Confession time: I am not a neat gal. Oh I'm neato, as in people really like me, but neat as in tidy? Not happening. I try. Well, not terribly hard. I more like try to want to be neat. The fact is, as long as things are clean, I don't care how neat they are. When you are single this is no real big deal. No one else feels the burn of your untidy ways, but when you are married and have children, this is not a good thing.
I married a guy who is the sweetest dude EVER. He is also the neatest dude ever. He was raised by a neat single mom. She rubbed off on him. I was raised by a neat single mom who used cleaning as an excuse to snoop. So I made huge messes to keep her busy. Too busy to snoop. It worked for us. This is not something that works good as a married couple. My husband doesn't snoop, but I am still...well, sloppy. Clean but sloppy. Now I don't bring this up to say that it is some crazy bone of contention between us. We have an amazing marriage and get along great. I just know what my husband likes, and frankly I'm not giving it to him. Really I need to find some new motivation. I need to learn how to give a rat's patooty about it all. I figure I am going to just work on some baby steps and do a little something every day that goes against my let-it-go-until-you-can't nature. So today after work and doing some grocery shopping for Thanksgiving, I worked on cleaning out the fridge. I got out all the leftovers which was a nice start. I still need to wipe it all out, but again, this was just a start. I also did the dishes and a load of laundry. Although the idea of all this cleaning still didn't excite me, I am glad I did what I did, and I will do more tomorrow. The change isn't huge...yet. I have toyed with picking up "I Used To Be So Organized" by Glynnis Whitwer. The trouble is, I've never been organized so I am not sure if it will help. Maybe I'll ask for it for a stocking stuffer.
I used to love reading. I shouldn't say "used to" because actually I still love it quite a bit. I simply haven't found the time to indulge in reading like I once did. This is one of the reasons I want an elliptical trainer. That will give me the much needed exercise I need (and boy do I need it!) as well as the opportunity to read again! When I was at the gym I read all the time. I have a Kindle and a Nook, and I found it absolutely fantastic to be able to escape the workout that I was doing by following a crime solver in the latest cozy! Then my hours changed just enough to make those gym breaks impossible. But I digress. I do that often. I have decided that before the new year even gets here, I am going to dive back into reading like I enjoy. I will not just read for work, but I will read for fun again. Oh the joy, the joy, the joy!!!!! I have reviewed books in the past on a blog and of course at commercial sites. The one thing I didn't do though was use a book journal. When reading recently I realized how very cool it would be to have one. There are many times that I have read a book and then come across something that just annoyed the pulp out of me. I also found things I absolutely loved. The trouble is, I couldn't always remember those details. My hopes is that a book journal will help with that. I have seen lovely journals and would like to go that route some day, but for now, I am going to use a composition book. I bought lots of them during all the back-to-school sales and I believe this will work just fine for now. Maybe I'll even decorate it at some point. Who knows. Why I am sharing this with you? Because for now, no one but me is reading anyway. :) I don't mind. I like it. I can get a little crazy with this if I want. The beginning really is the sweetest thing. My first book that I will be enjoying and eventually reviewing is "Knit One, Kill Two" by Maggie Sefton. As Thanksgiving is this week, I think I should actually finish it by the end of the week. I don't plan on doing too much Black Friday or Nightmare Thursday shopping anyway.Well, except to maybe locate an elliptical trainer of my own.
I have this Google+ profile with no blog to go with it. That really is kind of a waste as I see it. I have no idea where this will go, but let's see what happens. Brief. Sure. But it is just the beginning. Brief is good for the beginning. So things look a little prettier before I get going. Here is a picture from one of my favorite places.
This is the view in Carmel from the Tickle Pink Inn. My husband and I honeymooned there and just celebrated our fifth anniversary there in may. It is truly a beautiful place to be. Okay nuff for now.
