Embracing Life

It's a dreary fall day - just the kind of day that makes you want to curl up with a cozy blanket and a warm drink... and this book! One More Haunted Evening is a fantastically spooky story just right for the season. This book was written by three authors ( Jane Charles, Jerrica Knight-Catania, and Ava Stone) - which some people may find odd, however, all three authors pulled it off again with great results! This is a follow-up book to One Haunted Evening, although you don't need to have read the first one to pick this one up. Lord Quentin Post and his two rakish friends are back at Marisdùn Castle for a Samhain masquerade. In fact, Quentin hopes that by having a masquerade just like last year's, his mysterious angel will reappear. The other two gentlemen, Thorn and Garrick, are also on the search for something, one for his missing artist, and the other for, well you will see when you read the book. ;)  Quentin's three sisters - triplets, Hope, Patience, and G...

I am a saver. A part-time hoarder, if you will. I have a hard time letting go of things that once meant a lot to me. Which means we have a lot of stuff. Baby stuff, kid stuff, things from my own past that remind me of different times. I'm always saving things for a rainy day. Gift cards, candles, bottles of wine, you get the idea. I don't want to use/open them just now, just in case. I want to save them for a special occasion or to cheer me up on a day that I could be feeling down. But now, more than ever, I am reminded that life is short. There have been rainy days but I didn't burn the candle. There have been days I felt down, but I didn't stop at Starbucks to use the giftcard. And I wonder, whatever am I waiting for? The future is there in front of me, but life is so uncertain. I watch with sadness as a co-worker struggles with her chemo treatments. My heart breaks as a fellow twin mom prepares to bury her 10 year old son. I see my own face in the mirror, swo...

The kids really like their before school charts. I've vamped them up a bit - they love their electronics but do not get them during the school week (other than the occasional TV show in the morning).  I also wanted something for after school, just as a reminder of what needs to be done.  It's very exhausting to me to come home after a full day of work, see the kitchen and living room in total disarray. We go right to supper, finishing up homework, baseball or gymnastic practice, 20 minutes of reading (per school request), and then shower/bedtime.  The kids leave their backpacks where they fall, shoes near the door, clothes all over (seriously why can't they change in their rooms???), etc. They rarely hang up their uniform pants, although many times I will find their dirty uniform shirts hanging up? How weird is that? I created this chart for what they should be doing after school.  I may end up tweaking it after a couple of weeks.  The 7:30 p.m. bedtime reall...

School starts tomorrow. I am trying to get things organized in between working full-time. Ha! We had already been using a shoe organizer in our closet off the kitchen for miscellaneous items, such as hats and gloves in the winter, and sunglasses and baseball hats in the summer.  By moving those things to a different spot, I had plenty of space for our homework supplies. The kids love the ease of being able to find what they want without having to dig through the closet or a drawer! Full view Close-up #1: The first three bags are the kids' markers for art. The bottom two bags hold pencils, erasers, crayons and a glue stick for each twin Close-up #2 Misc markers, rulers, and art supplies for when homework is done and they just want to create something! Art supplies, extra markers (Keith got a great deal at Meijer!) Stamps, envelopes, return address labels, Connor's box with his school pencils and crayons. * I had previously posted this on my other blog, b...

Julie Johnstone 's newest novel, My Enchanting Hoyden , was just released last week. As usual, this is another one of her books that is just a delight to read!  Jemma is a woman who has been duped by her first love. Intent on not wanting to ever make that mistake again, her goal is to earn enough money to be independent and have her own bakery, just like her mother. That's not easy when her grandfather has different plans. Lord Hawthorne, otherwise known as Philip, has a debt to fulfill and marriage to a wealthy woman is his only way out. But he feels he is too much of a gentleman to win a lady's heart, and is intent on changing his reputation to gain a wealthy wife. As the two of them work together, Jemma to foil her grandfather's plan, and Philip to turn himself into a rogue to be wanted by the ladies of the ton, the reader roots for the two of them to acknowledge their feelings for each other! This is a really great story. The characters are very likeable f...

I debated bringing this up, but decided it's my blog, I'll write if I want to. ;) I had a kidney donor. She was approved as a tissue match and was set to come into the hospital for the final round of testing. Let's just say it didn't work out. I don't know the details, but she backed out. She has her reasons, which I am sure are valid, but she did not share them with me. I just hope and pray that they are not serious health reasons or something of that nature. To say I was shocked is an understatement. A few dear co-workers offered to go beat her up, jokingly of course. Keith said it happened because it gives me more time with the kids this summer. I don't see it that way. Since my levels are up enough to push off surgery for a couple of months, I would have had that extra summer time anyway. A friend told me once that she doesn't believe things happen for a reason, that they just happen.  I however, think things do happen for a reason. Not good reason...

Jane Charles' new book, Between the Lines , was just released. The book centers around Gabe and Ellen,  and the Baxter School of the Arts.  It's told from both Gabe and Ellen's first person perspectives, which is great because the reader is able to see both sides of the story as it develops.  Gabe is a teacher at the Baxter School of the Arts. Ellen is a reporter who feels that there is a story that needs to be told about Baxter. Both of them are dead set with keeping their secrets to themselves, but as their relationship grows, it becomes harder for them to not trust each other. I really liked this book, even though it's not what I normally read. Ellen is trying to keep her past a secret, but as she falls for Gabe, she begins to trust him and share her secrets. Gabe continues to protect the school and it's secrets, but not because they are bad. It's his job to protect the students he cares about. As Ellen gets closer to the truth, she begins to under...