An Honest Award from Laurel!

Laurel Rain-Snow from Obsessions and Compulsions; A Journey has awarded me with The Honest Scrap Award! Thanks so much, Laurel!


This blog award has been passed on to me along with nine other bloggers. The rules of this one are to list ten honest things about yourself and then pass the award on to ten other book bloggers.

Ten Honest Things About Me:

1. I tend to let things from the past bother me way too much.
2. My husband is my best friend.
3. I have a strong association with music and memories. There are certain songs from my past that bring me to tears every time I hear them.
4. I have a memory box that holds whiskers from all of my pets past and present.
5. One day I want to live in North Myrtle Beach, SC
6. I have a tremendous fear of flying.
7. I love banana and miracle whip sandwiches.
8. My favorite flavor of ice cream is peppermint.
9. I have to fall asleep on my right side with the covers over my left ear every night.
10. When I make friends with someone, it is for life.

Now to pass this award on to:

Cecile at All I Want And More

Jenny at Jenny Loves To Read

Justine at Just Nibbles

Ice Dream at Reading In Appalachia

Laughing Stars at Stark Raving Bibliophile

Jonita at The Book Chick

I'm choosing only six blogs to pass this award on to......I hope this is ok!

~Flashback 1992~

Economics

US GDP (1998 dollars): $6,244.40 billion
Federal spending: $1380.86 billion
Federal debt: $4002.1 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars): $30,636
Consumer Price Index: 140.3
Unemployment: 7.5%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.29

Events

• Compact discs surpass cassette tapes as the preferred medium for recorded music.
• There are 900 million television sets in use around the world; 201 million are in the United States.
• Woody Allen and Mia Farrow engage in a very public and nasty custody battle over their three children. Allen's affair with Farrow's adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, sparked the feud.
• Johnny Carson hosts The Tonight Show for the last time. He had ruled late-night television for 20 years.

Movies

• Unforgiven, The Crying Game, Howards End, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Player

Books

• Robert Olen Butler, A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
• Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient
• Barry Unsworth, Sacred Hunger

SCIENCE

A text-based Web browser is made available to the public (Jan.); within a few years, millions of people become regular users of the World Wide Web. Background: Computers and Internet

~Friday the 13th - 1987~

This morning I was giggling, remembering a Friday the 13th from my past.....

It was Friday, November 13, 1987. It was The Day From Hell. I guess that is why I remember it so well...

I was working at a bank at the time, and had received a written warning the previous day about my work performance. I had decided that I would go in the next day (the 13th) and quit. I got to the bank very early, so that I could clean out my desk. A guy that I kind of liked was there early, too. He came into my office, and kissed me (didn't see that one coming).
When my supervisor came in, I handed him my letter of resignation, and marched out to my car with my box of stuff.
My car battery was as dead as a doornail. A kind soul with jumper cables helped me out.
From there, I drove to Manpower (a temp agency) to sign up for some temp jobs. I left my car running while I went in there. Of course, the car quit...when I came out, it wouldn't start.
I called my mom, who, had taken the day off for "rest and relaxation". She had to come downtown, and help me with my car. She made it known that I was ruining her day off, but we laughed about it later. We called a wrecker and had it towed to Sears for a new battery. While it was at Sears, we were informed that it needed four new tires. Terrific.
Mom and I walked around the mall, waiting for my car to be finished. While we were walking, I started my (.) and had nothing with me (no pads, etc).
After dealing with that, and picking up my car, I was headed out of town to visit my cousin at Marshall University for the weekend. I was dating a guy down there and couldn't wait to see him. When I got there, he broke up with me.

Friday the 13th, 1987......forever etched in my mind!

What about you? Have you ever had a memorable Friday the 13th?

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is hosted by Miz B at Shouldbereading.wordpress.com.

My Friday Find for today is:

Jump The Cracks by Stacy DeKeyser

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0738712744, Paperback)

What would you do?

As far as I'm concerned, there's no excuse not to be decent...Especially when you're responsible for a kid.

It just figures that fifteen-year old Victoria's dad fails once again to be at the train station like he's promised. Fuming, Victoria watches as a teen mom stashes her bruised little boy in the train's bathroom. When the mom gets off the train alone, Victoria decides she has had it with all the poor excuses who call them selves parents. Making a split-second decision, Victoria boards the next train out of town-taking the little boy with her.

No, really, what would you do?Victoria's staying on the run until everyone responsible starts keeping their promises. This kid's not falling through the cracks. Not on her watch.

I found this book while browsing on Librarything.com. What did YOU find today???

Booking Through Thursday - Life's Too Short

Today's BTT question is:

Do you read everything all the way through or do you feel life really is too short to read bad books?

I can't make myself finish a book that I don't like. I have struggled with this so many times. Unfortunately, it happens....sometimes too often. I have so many books that I haven't read waiting for me on my shelves, so if a book doesn't interest me, bores me, or is just plain bad in my opinion, I stop reading it.

I don't have as much time to read as I would like. So, when I do have the time, I want to spend it reading something that I like and connect with. The trait of a great book is one that when you aren't reading it, you are thinking about it...and can't wait to pick up again.

What about you? In your opinion, is life too short to read bad books?

~Waiting On Wednesday~

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

My pick this week is Unfinished Desires: A Novel by Gail Godwin.

Product Description

From Gail Godwin, three-time National Book Award finalist and acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Evensong and The Finishing School, comes a sweeping new novel of friendship, loyalty, rivalries, redemption, and memory.

It is the fall of 1951 at Mount St. Gabriel’s, an all-girls school tucked away in the mountains of North Carolina. Tildy Stratton, the undisputed queen bee of her class, befriends Chloe Starnes, a new student recently orphaned by the untimely and mysterious death of her mother. Their friendship fills a void for both girls but also sets in motion a chain of events that will profoundly affect the course of many lives, including the girls’ young teacher and the school’s matriarch, Mother Suzanne Ravenel.

Fifty years on, the headmistress relives one pivotal night, trying to reconcile past and present, reaching back even further to her own senior year at the school, where the roots of a tragedy are buried.

In Unfinished Desires, a beloved author delivers a gorgeous new novel in which thwarted desires are passed on for generations–and captures the rare moment when a soul breaks free.

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Random House (January 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345483200
• ISBN-13: 978-0345483201

What are YOU waiting for today?

~Green Books Campaign - Love Each Day by Gail Bernice Holland~

This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 100 bloggers are reviewing 100 great books printed in an environmentally friendly way. Our goal is to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books. This campaign is organized by Eco-Libris, a green company working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices, balancing out books by planting trees, and supporting green books. A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.

Love Each Day: Live each day so you would want to live it again by Gail Bernice Holland

**This book is printed on Recycled/FSC Certified Paper.

Gail Bernice Holland wanted to write a book that offered uplifting stories and inspire readers to treasure and enjoy more days in their own lives. She has successfully accomplished this in her book LOVE EACH DAY: Live each day so you would want to live it again. The book contains 40 True Inspirational Stories of every day people, like you and I, who share a particular day in their lives that they would want to live over again.

Gail notes in the introduction to her book, that "too many days are diluted and even destroyed by worry, emotional stress, and obligatory work." The individuals in this book describe a day in their lives that was particularly memorable - some describe fairly ordinary days, while others focus on extraordinary events. All of these stories are touching, inspiring and memorable, each in their own way.

I have a favorite story in this book; "A Day A Businessman Achieved A Personal Goal" Chapter 9. It is about businessman Richard Snowden, who, ever since he was a young boy, had a dream of becoming a pilot. When asked about his goal, and why it was important to him, he responded with "It was a goal I had set and obtained. I think in our culture we have been sold a bill of goods that getting ahead in life is defined by how much money you make, or how successful you are in your career. This can breed greed and dysfunctional behavior, and people miss the essence of what life is really about..." (pg. 26). He believes that to live a fulfilling life, one must take calculated risks and make commitments to accomplish certain goals that are important to them.

This book is filled with heartwarming and uplifting stories, like the one described above. It has changed the way that I personally feel about each day, and how I choose to live it. It has made me take a look at my long-term goals...what I want to accomplish and experience along the way. Life is not a dress rehearsal....this is the real deal. And how you live it is totally up to you!
Visit Gail's website at www.AuthorGBR.com
A big thanks to Gail Bernice Holland for writing this awesome book. This gem has a permanent spot on my bookshelf and will be read many many more times in MY lifetime!

OUTSTANDING!
Pub. date: July 2009
ISBN-10 1-932690-79-9
ISBN-13 978-1-932690-79-8
134 pages, 6 x 9" paperback
Modern History Press
www.modernhistorypress.com

About Eco-Libris ( http://www.ecolibris.net )
Founded in 2007, Eco-Libris is a a green company working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices, balancing out books by planting trees, and supporting green books. To achieve this goal Eco-Libris is working with book readers, publishers, authors, bookstores and others in the book industry worldwide. Until now Eco-Libris balanced out over 110,000 books, which results in more than 120,000 new trees planted with its planting partners in developing countries.

For more information on Eco-Libris, please contact Raz Godelnik 302-981-9843 or raz@ecolibris.net

~Teaser Tuesday~

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read*

* Open to a random page*

*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page*
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! ;)


I leaned my head against the window. Two small children leapt in the sand as the water swept over their feet. A canoe circled in the middle of the lake and even from a distance, I heard a sudden burst of laughter from the woman in that canoe. It must be wonderful to live that way, I thought, watching the children once more. ~Pg. 112, Against My Will by Robyn Heirtzler


What is YOUR teaser today???

~Let's All Go Green~

It's Time for a Green Book: 1 Day, 100 bloggers, 100 green books, 100 reviews

In times when global warming and environmental issues are receiving growing public attention, book lovers are not indifferent either. On Tuesday, November 10, 2009 , at 1:00 PM Eastern Time 100 bloggers will take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 100 such books.

*****Tune In Tomorrow For This Event!!!!******

The Mermaid Splash Award

The lovely Wendy at Wendy's Minding Spot has kindly awarded me with The Mermaid Splash Award! Thank you so much, Wendy!

The rules are as follows:
1. Put the logo on your blog/post.
2. Nominate up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you.
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog.
5. Remember to link to the person from whom your received your Splash award.
6. Have F~U~N

My nominees are as follows:

1. Trisha at Eccectic/Eccentric
2. Justine at Just Nibbles
3. Reading With Tequila
4. Michelle at The True Book Addict
5. Heather at Word Trix
6. Jenny at Jenny Loves To Read
7. Dog Eared Books Online
8. Lisa at Book Blab
9. Amy at The House of the Seven Tails

~A Stunning Tribute to The Worst Day Of The Week~

~A Holiday Swap!~

It's a Book Blogger Holiday Swap!

It's open to everyone....just sign up HERE!

The swap blog has all of the details, so head on over there and check it out!

The cut-off date is November 12th.....that will allow enough time for bloggers to be matched up, and gifts can be mailed before the holiday rush.

~More 1991~

1991 was a busy year. We were still living in Ft. Myers, FL. I was still with Cellular One, Mark was at the radio station.

I had been experiencing pain in my ovary area since August of the previous year, and it wasn't going away. By February, I was miserable. I had been seeing an OBGYN for the pain, and all he kept doing was putting me on anti-biotics. I made an appointment with a woman obgyn and told her "something is wrong - go in and see what it is...." I had never had surgery before in my life, but I wasn't too scared, because I knew that something wasn't right and I wanted it fixed. The only thing that I was really afraid of was the anesthesia, and how I would feel when I woke up. The doctor did a laser laparoscopy, and found cysts on both of my ovaries. She diagnosed me with Polycystic Ovary Disease, and put me on a birth control pill to prevent the cysts. I was very sick when I woke up, and was running a fever. The surgery was supposed to be "same day", but they wouldn't let me go home because I was so sick. My lovely fiance, Mark, went on to work. I had no one with me....I spent the day being out-of-it in the recovery room, until they could get me into a room. Mark showed up about 10:00 that night, after visiting hours were over, stayed 5 minutes, then went home. The next morning when they released me, he picked me up, drove me to his mother's house...dropped me off, and went back to work. He worked all weekend. Thank God for his mother. Now mind you....this was the man that I was engaged to be married to in August of this same year.

Fast forward to August....the night before my wedding. After the rehearsal, my mother in law had a party at her house. I spent the evening in the bathroom with an upset stomach. I told my mother that "I must have a virus" and she and left. I was up and down all night with my stomach. We were both awake. Finally at 5am, we left and went to Perkins. I remember my mother asking me "Is this what you really want? Because you don't have to get married...its not too late to call it off..." I said yes, it was what I wanted. But I remember being unsure. This was Mark's second marriage. So, he had already treated one woman like garbage before me. At the time, I don't remember being angry with him for things....like leaving me alone at the hospital, or not calling me in the middle of the day at work, just to tell me he loved me....he never did stuff like that, and I assumed that was normal.

We got married on August 24, 1991. We honeymooned in Orlando. After returning from our honeymoon, things went on as usual. My job started getting very stressful, as my supervisor whom I loved, resigned. As I knew was going to happen, they hired a total bitch to replace her. This girl had it in for me from the beginning. It so happened that I was offered the opportunity to work at a vet practice on Saturdays. I took the job, and worked every Saturday. I put in my resignation at Cellular One, which made my new supervisor so happy. By December I was working at the vet practice full time, and Mark and I were in the process of buying our first home.

What about you? What were YOU doing in 1991?

~A Beautiful Giveaway~

Talented jewelry artist Melody at With The Fruit of Her Hands is giving away a beautiful necklace!

The necklace she is giving away is her Mama's Darlings Sterling Silver Birthstone Pendant.

It is beautifully handcrafted by Melody herself! Please click HERE to enter!

Contest ends at midnight, 11/8/09.

~Flashback Saturday - 1991~

Economics

US GDP (1998 dollars): $5,916.70 billion
Federal spending: $1323.63 billion
Federal debt: $3598.5 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars): $30,126
Consumer Price Index: 136.2
Unemployment: 6.8%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.25 ($0.29 as of 2/3/91)

Events

• Fox Broadcasting is the first network to permit condom advertising on television.
• Seattle band Nirvana releases the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on the LP Nevermind and enjoys national success. With Nirvana's hit comes the grunge movement, which is characterized by distorted guitars, dispirited vocals and lots of flannel.
• Paul Reubens (aka Pee Wee Herman) is arrested in a Florida movie theater for indecent exposure.

Movies

• The Silence of the Lambs, Beauty and the Beast, JFK, Thelma & Louise

It's Friday! Time for The Friday 56!

The Friday 56 is hosted by Tonya at Storytime With Tonya and Friends!

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to Tonya's blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

HAPPY FRIDAY!



Halfway to school we came to a barbershop where a few black men were leaning out of the doorway, chatting and laughing. One of them said "Hi, darlin', how you doin' this fine day?" and despite my mother's orders, I responded, "Fine, how are you doin'?" - You Ain't Got No Easter Clothes: A Memoir by Laura Love

Booking Through Thursday - It's All About Me

Today's BTT Question is:

Which do you prefer? Biographies written about someone? Or Autobiographies written by the actual person (and/or ghost-writer)?


Hmm....I would have to say that I enjoy both. Probably Autobiographies more than biographies...but honestly, I do enjoy both!

Some of my favorites include:

Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy

Tales from the Bed by Jennifer Estess

Change Me Into Zeus's Daughter by Barbara Robinette Moss

The Coalwood Way by Homer Hickam

The House On Beartown Road by Elizabeth Cohen

How about you? Which do you prefer?

Waiting On Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors by Michele Young Stone


From Netgalley:

On a sunny day in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1977, Becca Burke, flame-haired daughter of Mary and Rowan Burke, was struck by lightning. She was eight years old. No one believed her, even when her Winnie-the-Pooh watch kept losing time and a spooky halo of light appeared over her head in every photograph taken after the strike. She was hit again when she was 16. Becca survived, but over time she would learn that outsmarting lightning was the least of her concerns.

Buckley R. Pitank never knew his real father, but his mother was the love of his life-- until the day she was struck and killed by lightning on a boat in Galveston, Texas, just as they were making a new home far away from their troubled past. Reeling from the loss of the one person who truly understood him, Buckley returns to Mont Blanc, Arkansas, to live at the mercy of his mother's estranged husband, the Reverend John Whitehouse. When he finally escapes, Buckley's quest to understand the power of lightning will lead him around the country and into the heart of a young woman who once thought she was alone in the world.

Publisher: Random House

• Category: Fiction
• Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
• On Sale: April 13, 2010
• Price: $24.00
• ISBN: 978-0-307-46447-7 (0-307-46447-4)

What is your Waiting On Wednesday pick for this week?

~Teaser Tuesday~

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read*

* Open to a random page*

*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page*
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! ;)



The September heat would waft up from the concrete sidewalks, the smoggy sky closed in from above. She'd ride as fast as she could for the first few blocks, hurtling the apple core into a corner storm drain as she sped through an intersection. ~ pg 76, Garden Of Dreams by Leslie Gould

A Brand New Challenge for 2010!

Alyce at At Home With Books is hosting this challenge. It is a great opportunity for us to read authors that have been recommended to us in the past, and we just haven't gotten around to checking out their books!

Welcome to the Awesome Author Challenge!

The idea behind this challenge is to read works by authors who have been recommended to you time and again, yet somehow you haven't managed to read any books by those authors. These are the authors that everyone else tells you are awesome, thus the "Awesome Author Challenge" title.


The Rules:

The challenge starts January 1, 2010 and ends December 31, 2010. Crossover from other challenges is allowed. Choose the level at which you would like to participate, post about it and come back and leave a link to your post in Mister Linky. Titles and authors do not have to be predetermined, and can change at any time. Books can come from any genre or reading level, the only requirement is that you have heard great things about the author, but haven't yet read any of their works.


The Levels:

Easy: Choose three authors and read at least one title from each author.

Moderate: Choose six authors and read at least one title from each author.

Challenging: Choose ten authors and read at least one title from each author.

Over-Achieving: Anything over ten authors.

I am going to choose the Easy Level. The authors I have chosen are:

Chris Bohjalian
A. Manette Ansay
Janet Evanovich

Is It Monday Already?

I was so grateful for the time change this past weekend. I actually felt rested both Saturday and Sunday - I didn't have to take naps either day! This morning, however, I had to drag myself out of bed, and yawned the whole time I was in the shower. It must be something about Mondays.....

I have had terrible luck with books lately. Friday night I picked up four and tried to read them. I don't know if maybe I wasn't in a "reading mood" which would be strange...I am most always in the mood to read. Every book that I tried just didn't "grab" me. I put them all aside, and just went to sleep. Saturday evening I started another book...Bingo! This one has grabbed me successfully. The book is Garden Of Dreams by Leslie Gould. Has anyone else read this book? What did you think of it? I haven't gotten very far, but what I have read so far is great.

The story begins with a mother, Jill Rhone. She has been sick for awhile, and suspects that it is something more than just a virus. Her best friend, Caye, is helping care for Jill's children while Jill and her husband Rob are at the hospital. Jill has been keeping a secret from those that she loves most....including her best friend Caye.

I didn't receive any books in the mail last week, which is fine....I am in no danger of not having anything to read! :)

How was your weekend? Did you start any new books? What are you reading now and is it interesting/good?

~More 1990~

Me, as the Cat Country Cat

After only living in Bluefield WV for 7 months, my ex was offered a job in Fort Myers, FL. We packed up, and left our single wide trailer for The Sunshine State! Actually, it would be the first time that I had ever lived that far away from "home" (mom still lived in WV) so it was a bit difficult for me. I called my mother every Saturday morning, and we would talk for over an hour. I remember it being a sore spot between me and Mark, but I didn't care...I missed my mom! When we got down there, I was blown away by the scenery. The only part of Florida I had ever seen was Orlando. Fort Myers was so much more tropical. We rented a one bedroom apartment, Mark went to work at Cat Country 107.1 FM, and I found a job within a couple of weeks, working for Cellular One. Sometimes on the weekends, I dressed up as the Cat Country Cat for live remotes that Mark would have to do. The costume was awesome...BUT...it was over 100 degrees in that thing. I could only be in it for 15 minutes at a time, then I'd have to take a break. The little kids loved that cat....they would pull its tail, and ask "Can you talk?" I would just shake my head, as they would try to peek through the eye holes. The worst part about doing it, was when I would have to stand in the median of a highway and wave at cars. All day I would hear "Get a real job!" and get garbage thrown at me. At least I got paid for the suffering!

Another great perk about Mark working for a radio station were the concerts! I had the good fortune of meeting many artists! The first concert that we went to was The Judds...it was awesome meeting them!

Every weekend we would drive out to Sanibel and Captiva Islands and would hunt for sea shells. The sand on the beaches was white and the water so so blue. We ate tons of seafood, and swam in the warm ocean. All in all, it was a pretty good year for us.

What about you? What were YOU doing in 1990?