Embracing Life

Today is release day for author Julie Johnstone's newest book: M y Seductive Innocent, A Once Upon A Rogue Novel Book 2 .  I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy before today in exchange for an honest review.   Book description: Miss Sophia Vane, a hoyden of the first order, makes an unlikely match when she weds Nathaniel Ellison, the rich and wary Duke of Scarsdale. What starts with an unexpected friendship soon blooms into a fiery passion. But a betrayal plunges Sophia into the thorny world of London Society and entangles her in a labyrinth of manipulation and jealousy that will test the strength of her marriage. Behind her husband’s sudden icy facade, Sophia believes dwells the caring, passionate man she loves. To break through the barriers and reclaim their happiness, they must do more than simply cast away their pride. They must fight for their very lives. My review: Wow! This book was amazing!  The excitement begins at the beginning of...

So life got away from me before I could finish blogging about our amazing family trip to Disney. Here is day 2! Beautiful view outside our hotel We started off early, heading to Hollywood Studios. There was a 30 minute wait in line, where Colin lost his magicband (because nothing says family vacation like losing your ticket into your first park!) He had left it over by the gift shop. Thankfully I had already written my cell phone number on the inside, however, the gift shop attendant had not looked! Our first stop was the Muppets in 3D. Connor and Keith sneaked off to do the Star Wars Tours (twice!). The rest of us put on our 3D glasses for some Muppet magic! I do have to say, one of the best parts of the Magicbands is the ability to book your fast passes well in advance. We knew what three things we "had" to do and what time to be there, and the rest of the day was just wandering and doing other fun things.  We had fast passes for the Frozen Sing-a-lo...

Eight days ago, my life changed forever. But to go forward, I must give some background: In 2011, I had some funky blood work and was referred to a nephrologist because my kidney levels were off.  He couldn't figure out what was going on, since I didn't have high blood pressure or diabetes, so he recommended a kidney biopsy.  The results showed that I had Thin Basement Membrane Disease, a hereditary disease that in his words, "was the best disease to have" since it rarely progressed.  It turns out that my grandma had kidney disease but hers was attributed to high blood pressure and age.  It was not until my biopsy that we learned she had something more. My plan was to live a normal life, with blood work being done every 6 months just to track any changes.  Last May, my levels had changed.  My serum creatinine had doubled, and it appeared that my kidneys were leaking protein.  My nephrologist had me do another biopsy to see what was happening. ...

We just came back from the most amazing time in Disney World! You may remember, our first family trip to Disney was in 2012 when the twins were 3 and Connor was 5. Now at 6, 6, and 8, we were able to make new memories with a different set of grandparents! Side note: My dad learned on this trip that Walt Disney's vision for Disney World is that everyone should visit there only three times in their lives: as a child, as a parent, and as a grandparent.  We are blessed that our children have had the chance to visit Disney with both sets of grandparents! I remember going when I was in 2nd grade with my maternal grandparents. :) Day One was basically a travel day.  We had to get up before dawn in Chicago, where the temperature was NEGATIVE 15.  We arrived in Orlando where there was some sun and it was 75 degrees warmer.  Windy, but seriously, you could go outside without turning into a popsicle.  It was my niece and nephew's first time on a plane, but all wen...

It's here! The final book in Sabrina Jeffries' Duke's Men series. It's the one I've been waiting for: Dominic and Jane. Years ago, Dominic ended his engagement with Jane because he couldn't give her the life he thought she deserved.  After years of waiting, Jane finally becomes engaged to another man, yet needs Dom to help her in the quest to find her missing cousin.  As the two begin their search, they find that neither of them has quite gotten over the other one. However, Jane refuses to give him to "Dom the Almighty". And Dom still believes that he saved Jane from a horrible life by not marrying her. Will these two ever work it out? As usual, Ms. Jeffries writes a terrific story! The scenes between Dom and Jane are entertaining, amusing, and hot.  You can feel the fiery passion they both try to hide.  Dom's interactions with his siblings are great too. My favorite scene is the "insipid kiss" scene. The passion between them build...

Today was one of those mornings: The alarm didn't go off so we got up late.  I have had a horrible headache since 7 p.m. last night.  I had a meeting with Colin's teacher, and we got stuck in traffic. I realized halfway to school that I had life my cell phone at home. Let's not talk about the meeting with the teacher. I hurried to work - no phone, head-aching, jaw hurting (apparently I clench my jaw when stressed...) Upset student waiting in the lobby to walk to me as soon as I walked in the door. All I wanted was some coffee.  And quiet. Obviously that was not going to happen. I sat down with the student ready to take the brunt of whatever had happened to upset her.  Now I can't get into details about students. But it turns out, she had a simple situation. One that could have been taken care of yesterday when she spoke to someone else, but that person had given her wrong information. Thus setting into motion the events that happened today. Not to menti...

I'm that person - the one who makes a list of resolutions - floss more, lose weight, etc - and then never follows through.  It's not because I don't have good intentions.  Truthfully, I just don't have the time. I thought when the kids started grade school, I'd have more free time, more time to myself.  Instead, I find our lives are even more busier than before. Sometimes I find myself wishing for the diaper stage again - at least then they took naps. So this year, I decided to take a different approach and make a list of what I am NOT going to do this year.  Let me tell you, on day 6, I haven't completely succeeded but that's why there are 365 days in a year! If things don't go the way you planned, there is always tomorrow. 1 - STOP being negative.  This is a hard one. By the end of 2014, I was really feeling the pull of life.  I was (am) overworked and stressed out.  That, of course, cannot change overnight (or even by the end of January), but...