Blog Book Tour - You could win an Barnes and Noble gift card!

I am excited to be participating in a Blog Book Tour for first time author Julie Ford. I was fortunate to meet Julie as she is a friend of my sister in law.  When I heard that she was looking for bloggers to participate I jumped at the chance.

Her new book The Woman He Married is just out.  Here is a brief synopsis of the book:

As an aspiring young defense attorney, Josie McClain looked forward to taking on the injustices of the world—one case at a time. Eleven years later, she is a stay-at-home-mom battling demons that don’t require a law degree, but do demand the ability to remain insanely busy, while nursing a heavy dose of denial. Only keeping up pretenses proves more than she can bear when a bracelet that should have been hers shows up on the wrist of another woman. Now, in the midst of an Alabama judicial campaign, Josie’s marriage to candidate, John Bearden, slowly begins to unravel as an ex-lover comes back into her life. When he offers her the dreams she thought she’d lost, Josie faces one of the most difficult decisions of her life. She embarks on a journey of self-rediscovery, finding that fulfillment was unwittingly within her reach the whole time.

 Julie is an amazing woman. She graduated from San Diego State University with a BA in Political Science and a minor in English Literature. She later attended the University of Alabama where she received a Masters Degree in Social Work.  With an MSW, she had hopes of working as a family therapist.  However, this ambition had to be put on hold when she was diagnosed with Lymphoma during her third semester of graduate school.  In addition to her primary job as a stay-at-home-mom and budding author, she has worked as a substitute high school teacher, Lamaze Certified Childbirth and Infant CPR instructor, family therapist and don’t forget, Parisian’s sales associate.

Let's hear Julie's take on life and her new novel.

Question: How much of this story was driven by your work as a marriage and family therapist?

Answer: I’ve only practiced as a therapist for short period of time but have notice some common threads that run though the couples I’ve treated. One being that infidelity, unless chronic, doesn’t cause divorce, lack of communication does.

With Josie and John their problems started in the beginning when she chose to let him dictate the roles of their marriage. She sacrificed her dreams for his instead of telling him what she wanted. But then over time began resenting him while he was left wondering why she wasn’t happy. Resentment doesn’t exactly encourage productive communication.

 

Question: What role does today’s culture play in the demise of marriages?

 Answer: Couples in today’s society seem to get so caught up in doing the “right” thing. Fathers feel compelled to build a prestigious career, provide a larger than necessary home in a safe neighborhood, expensive gas-guzzling cars, country club memberships and vacations to hip places. The pressure to provide financially is overwhelming.

Mothers feel they need to stretch themselves and their children to the limit with extra curricular activities, volunteering, social clubs, church and even a career. All the while keeping close tabs on what their kids eat and watch on TV, how they dress, and their grades. Parents get so caught up in what society says they “should” be doing that their marital relationships are forced to take a back seat.

 

Question: The book has a somewhat PG-13 element to it. Why not clean it up and make it suitable for the Christian market?

Answer: The book is clean and contains no graphic language or sexual content. But I wrote the book from a non-LDS perspective so that the story would appeal to all readers. I think a story about a woman’s struggle to hold onto her identity while dedicating her life to the service of her family is applicable to women of all walks of life, and I didn’t want to limit my audience to only LDS readers.

Question: Being a member of the LDS church comes with its own unique challenges. Why would a book about a woman with very little faith appeal to women in a church where god is their central focus and the example they look to for guidance?

Answer: Although Josie doesn’t have a strong belief in/or understanding of God in which to draw upon, her struggle to find the right answers is not unlike any woman’s. In the end, she does turn to a higher power for guidance, thus illustrating the need we all have at times for a little divine intervention.

Question: As church members we have been taught that women fulfill the measure of their creation by becoming a wife and mother, yet in this story you have a shown a woman who is somewhat resentful of those roles.

Answer: I think a lot of women, especially those who forgo a career to stay at home and raise a family, question at times if anyone really values or even appreciates their sacrifices—if their time and energy wouldn’t be better spent pursuing other venues. But motherhood is worth it, and thus Josie was able to find fulfillment in the very place she had thought she never would.

Question: Why give Josie a problem with alcohol?

Answer: We all have our vices that may include food, hobbies, or staying so busy we don’t give ourselves time to think—to feel. I gave Josie a problem with alcohol because, whether we want to admit it or not, we all have our own hidden demons. Simply put, I thought this one fit a politician’s wife the best.

Ok, now here is your chance to win an Barnes and Noble gift card worth $50 and a free copy of the book!

 All you have to do is leave a comment on my blog about this review, Julie, the book - you get the point.  Julie will pick a winner from all the blog comments.  The more you comment the more of a chance you will have to win.  For a listing of other bloggers participating in this book tour you can visit Julie's blog.

Life of Pi, My Review

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Note:  this review does have spoilers.  If you haven't read the book and you plan to, don't read this review.  It will make your reading more enjoyable to not know how it turns out.


Pi is a nickname for the main character, whom you meet while he is young and in school, and where the reason he later gives himself the nickname is fleshed out. This book is about his family, who run a zoo, decide to move to Canada and sell the animals to other zoos. They board as ship, with animals in tow, which ultimately sinks and Pi and four animals end up on a lifeboat.



Told in three parts; early life before the move, life on the boat, life after rescue, you almost have to rate each part separately as they are so different.



The first part gives you background on his family and the zoo, him, and his ultimate following of three religions at one time. Some of this was hard to follow only because I wasn't familiar with much of the religious wording used. All the Hindu gods and stories were foreign to me. Just as to him, wandering into a Christian church and seeing the statue of Christ on the cross was a foreign concept to him. Why would a God allow himself to be put through this he wonders. None of the Gods he worshiped would do this. They would use their Godly powers to overcome this adversity as a proper God should. Ultimately he learns form the preacher that Love is the reason.



The middle part was my favorite because it was the most interesting and riveting. At times it was horrific as you can imagine how a hyena would interact with an injured zebra and a female orangutan in a confined space. The most interesting part is how Pi decides that he needs to train the tiger so he will be able to survive. Quite a resourceful boy he makes do and ultimately survives the ordeal.



The last part was strange in a way. Officials from the Japanese shipping company whose ship sank come to interview him to try and find out why their ship sank. During the interviews they had a hard time believing that this story was real. How could a boy survive on a boat this long with a tiger on board. No one had seen the tiger in the jungle since they hit land. How could this be? Finally Pi tells of a different story, one which the animals are really symbolic of people who were on the boat. This story he tells to them because it is what they want to hear. One of human savagery not of a boy's triumph over a wild animal. It makes you wonder; which story is really true? In the final report the interviewer goes with the tiger story and that is the story that I want to believe as well.



This book has some hard things to read in it. At times he talks about cruelty to animals at the hands of zoo keepers and stupid humans who do stupid and unbelievable things.



Aside from that this is a very enjoyable book. I read it over a weekend because I was so interested in finding out what happened.



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Me and my Treadmill

So I am sitting here after spending 45 min. on my treadmill.  My legs have tiny explosions throughout as my muscles relax from the effort.  I kind of have a love/hate relationship with my treadmill.  I enjoy walking and want to work up to running but the process of getting there kind of sucks.  I have never been a runner and running with a 40 something year old bladder and the added weight isn't much fun. The reason I want to work up to running?  You can get a higher calorie burn in a faster amount of time than with walking.   Fortunately my treadmill is in the family room with the TV.  My hubby hooked up a long cord for my ear buds so I can listen to a show on my DVR or a movie on Netflix without bothering the rest of the family.

I have started back on my weight loss journey after taking a break for many months.  (broken foot, holidays, sinus infection for 3 months and 4 antibiotics, antibiotic induced tendonitis)  Anyhoo, it always amazes me how fast you can lose fitness when you don't exercise. 

I also started using my Spark People tracking for my nutrition/fitness/weight loss.  I absolutely hate counting calories and this is the place I have found that makes it easiest for me.  It comes with reports that you can view in graphs or pie charts that show your progress.  ooohhh, pictures!

I had to put in my weight and measurements in when I started tracking and imagine my dismay when the little arrow went the wrong way.  I have gained weight since I was doing this about a year ago.  It is frustrating when you realize you are the kind of person who can't trust yourself with unconscious eating.  As much as I hate calorie counting I am beginning to realize that it is something I will have to do for for the rest of my life if I want to get my weight down to where I want it and then maintain it.

It is kind of like marriage after dating.  You don't just say, oooh, now I'm married, I don't have to work on it any more.  You can't just lose the weight and think you don't have to work on it any more. 

So here I go, starting up a process that I have started many times before, hoping this time I will stick with it and do it right!

Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain, my review

Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain by Portia de Rossi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wow, what an amazing story. Portia de Rossi gives you an extremely personal view of a someone dealing with an eating disorder.

As she says in her book she didn't start out to be an anorexic, it just snuck up on her in the guise of a healthy diet and a professional attitude.

Her pursuit to be loved, admired and to feel worthy of her position as a TV star lead her down a path of unhealthy eating and an obsession with food and exercise. Her entire day, apart from about three - half days per week, was spent in the pursuit of counting calories, burning calories and trying to lose weight. She was obsessed with food. She was obsessed with exercise.

The truly sad thing is that this way of thinking started when she was a young girl. As a 12 year old model she learned about binging/purging, starving and ways to lose pounds in preparation for a shoot.

She has to win and be the best at everything. That meant that being a size 8 when all the sample sizes were size 6 wasn't good enough. She had to be perfect and fit into the sample sizes. If a size 6 was good then a size 4 was better. If people were thinner than her then she wasn't thin enough. She was obsessed with being good enough.

This paragraph really struck me:

"I don't now where this pressure came from. I can't blame my parents because it has always felt internal. Like any other parent, my mother celebrated the A grades and the less-than-A grades she felt there was no need tell anybody about. But not acknowledging the effort that ended in a less than perfect result impacted me as a child. If I didn't win, then we wouldn't tell anyone that I had even competed to save us the embarrassment of acknowledging that someone else was better. Keeping the secret made me think that losing was something to be ashamed of, and that unless I was sure I was going to be the champion, there was no point in trying. And there was certainly no point to just having fun."

This was very fast read for me because the story was so compelling and unbelievably interesting. It is amazing that a woman who seemingly had everything, beauty, fame, wealth, felt like she was nothing.

If you want to see what goes on inside the head of someone with an eating disorder, you should read this book.

If you want to learn some of the signs of an eating disorder, you should read this book.

If you just want to read a compelling story, you should read this book.



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With Love and Laughter, John Ritter - My Book Review

With Love and Laughter, John Ritter by Amy Yasbeck

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What a lovely book. This is written by Amy Yasbeck (Wings, Robin Hood Men in Tights), the wife of John Ritter.

This book is written with love and humor and in such a conversational way you feel that you could just talk with the writer. She has a fun sense of humor (I could totally hang with her) with which she lets you glimpse a little into the life and heart of one of our most beloved comedic actors.

I grew up with John Ritter as Jack Tripper. It was fun to reminisce a little about some of the roles he played. She tells you a little about her life, then his life, how they met, and some fun experiences that they had together.

One such story is the time they were invited to a party a Elizabeth Taylor's home. They were completely star struck. They had gotten their plates of food and weren't sure where to go. They saw Ms. Taylor seated next to and talking with Johnny Depp. Again, star struck. Ms. Taylor patted the floor next to her and they both quickly sat down on the floor so excited that she had invited them over only to notice her gaze looking elsewhere. They looked to see to very disgruntled pooches whose place they had just taken.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loved John Ritter as an actor or who just wants to read an absolutely lovely tribute of a wife to her husband.



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Mockingjay - My Book Review

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(Contains spoilers)

I have real mixed emotions about this book. I had a really hard time getting into this one.

I read the first two books back to back in a week. I was riveted during the Hunger Games and when I was finished with Catching Fire (I hated how it ended so abruptly and left you hanging) I couldn't wait until Mockingjay came out. Well, that was a year ago. It had been long enough that I was having a hard time remembering who everyone one was. New names were being brought in now that they lived in District 13, old names were bandied about; this person died, they saw this person when they did this etc. I struggled to follow along at first. They kept referring to the pearl that Peeta gave to Katniss. I really couldn't remember anything about the pearl.

Once I got into the middle of it things picked up. There were a few twists that surprised me and I think I like the way this one ended. I was shocked when Katniss first goes in to greet Peeta and he tries to kill her. Who would think that sweet loving Peeta would be that crazed. I love when Katniss was getting ready to shoot President Snow that she turned around and shot Coin instead. I was sad that the author decided to kill off Prim at the end. It just seemed unnecessary. I was glad that Peeta was rehabilitated and they ended up together. I liked how in the very last pages it showed a glimpse into the future with them being happy and having children. After all the sadness and darkness in the series it is nice to have a happy ending.



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Katie Up and Down the Hall - My Book Review

Katie Up and Down the Hall: The True Story of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors into a Family by Glenn Plaskin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a nice little book to read. A story of how dogs can enter our lives and change them.

This dog brought neighbors in a New York high rise together into a family. I thought the author spent a little too much time, at the beginning of the book, talking about his profession and the celebrities he interviewed but all in all it was about the dog and the people she brought together.

I was amazed at how dog friendly New York is; at all the places he was able to take his dog with him and all the places into which he was able to sneak his dog.

I enjoyed reading about the hall races Katie had with young Ryan; how Pearl, the Grandma of the group, loved this dog and Ryan as her own. I was riveted when reading how this small group dealt with the tragedy and displacement of 9/11; the Twin Towers being across the street from their apartment building.

This story covered the 15 or so years that Katie was with Glenn and the changes that life will inevitably bring. I was brought to tears when reading about the owner having to come to terms with Katie's end of life and the possibility of euthanasia.

There were a few pages in the middle of the book with pictures of the people you read about. It is fun to put a face with the names and stories. I would recommend this book.






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Nuclear Jellyfish - My Book Review

Nuclear Jellyfish by Tim Dorsey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this book from the get go because I now understand the Serge character and there weren't as many intertwining plot lines as there were in Atomic Lobster. This would have been a better book to start with when reading my first Tim Dorsey book.



Serge is a serial killer that you just love. He is ADD and OCD and a basic psychopath with seemingly boundless energy. He tries to help people out and only kills people who deserve it; usually in an attempt to "help" someone out. He likes to stay in touch with his kindergarten self and often has some great words of wisdom. He hangs out with his buddy Coleman who is in a perpetual state of getting and being stoned.



~~~~~~~~~~~

Example:

(Coleman)"Am I damaged?"

Serge placed a hand on his pal's shoulder. "Coleman, there are three - and only three - kinds of people in this world: Those who don't know they're damaged and blame others; those who realize they're damaged and blame others; and then people like you and me, who wear damage like comfortable pajamas."

Coleman swigged from his pint bottle. "Mine are the ones with the little feet."



~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here they are in a library where Serge wants to find a bar that was around in the 1970's:

(Coleman):"How are we supposed to get to the bar from inside a library?"

"Time travel."

"But time travel's impossible."

"Usually." Serge pulled a book off the shelf. "Unless you're at a library. I'm already in the time pod."

Coleman looked around. "I don't see anything."

"Children have it all over adults, possessing magical powers of imagination. Then they grow into cynical tall people. That's the whole problem with the human race: reverse metamorphosis. We turn from butterflies into caterpillars. The key to keeping your wings is regular exercise of your kindergarten muscles of make-believe." Serge grabbed another book off the shelf and flipped pages. "Wait here. I'll be right back." Serge stood perfectly still.

"But I thought I was coming with you," said Coleman.

"It's just a one-man pod."

"If the time pod's make-believe, can't you add an extra seat?"

"Pretty dangerous," said Serge. "Could put too much stress on the dilythium flux capacitor."

"I'll take the risk."

"Okay," Serge closed his eyes. He opened them. "Time pod, Mark II, with more leg room, extra seating and a killer sound system."

"Shotgun!"

"Don't forget your seat belt."

Coleman made a phantom motion across his chest.

"Stop farting around in the time pod. The strap's on the other side."

"Sorry. Got it now. Click"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Having read both of my Serge A. Storm books, I am sad I don't have another one to read. I think I will have to go out and buy me a few.



I won this book through First Reads!! Yay me!





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Atomic Lobster - My Book Review

Atomic Lobster by Tim Dorsey

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I have mixed emotions about this book. When I first started reading I didn't like it. I felt like things were all over the place. I would be reading and all of the sudden it would change to something else and I wouldn't know what was going on.



Example:I was lost during the Greek religious festival. I think if I had known that the young boys standing in their swim suits, the priest officiating, the boys jumping in the water, Serge talking about this being the sponge capital of the world, the boys diving and coming up frustrated, then Serge coming up with a white cross to have his buddy take pictures with, would have made a lot more sense to me if I had known that the boys were looking for something, namely the white cross and not, perhaps, sponges.



As it got further into the book and I figured out the Serge character a little I began enjoying it more. Like when his therapist told him to go to an anger management support group and he gets thrown out for fighting, she sends him to the Non-Confrontationalist Anonymous support group to try and have some sympathy for the other side of the spectrum. The group goes on a field trip to the zoo (staring down lions and tigers in cages to build courage), the bus ride reminds Serge of field trips in Kindergarten and gets everyone on the bus singing "If You're Happy and You Know It".



Then later in the book he gets the group together, puts everyone in masks and starts a "Fight Club" sort of thing to get them expressing themselves.



There are some pretty funny escapades that everyone eventually ends up in the same local and mishaps aplenty ensue. I did actually laugh out loud a couple times.



I take one star off this book, and feel I can't recommend it to most of my friends, because of the very liberal use of the F-bomb.



I won this book from First Reads and am now off to read Nuclear Jellyfish which I also won.



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BESTeam Feature: Fluttering Flowers

I am so excited to share this Etsy shop with you.   Welcome to Fluttering Flowers.

Everything in this shop is teeny tiny and so cute you just almost can't believe it and the prices are beyond reasonable. This is a polymer clay paradise and since a picture is worth a thousand words I am just going to get to the pictures so you can see for yourself.

bwahahahaha - Squished bug!! - only $1.80!

Small Sleeping Baby - $1.20

Small Bonsai Tree - $2.40

Toadstool Buttons - $4.80

Three Tiered Cake - $2.40

Giraffe - $2.40

Girl and friends - $6.00

I don't know how she does it.  Everything is so detailed and yet so small.  It just makes me happy looking at all this cuteness.  You need to check out the cute bunnies! 

Take a minute and visit Fluttering Flowers and see all the other fun items available. You can also find Fluttering Flowers at her blog Polymer Playtime where you can keep up on her polymer creations and see some pictures of her big fat turkeys!

BESTeam Feature: Elizabeth MD

Meet Elizabeth of ElizabethMD. No, she isn't an MD she is Elizabeth M Duquette.  A daughter a creative parents who has been drawing and designing jewelry and clothing since she was 15.

She graduated from Fashion Merchandising at Fanshawe College in 2004 and has turned her love of design, into a love of one of a kind handmade jewelry. She started designing jewelry when she wasn't finding the kind of jewelry that made her excited to wear it.


You're one of a kind, so why shouldn't your jewelry be? This is the philosophy behind ElizabethMD.  Come look at a few of my favorite one of a kind pieces.

Red Berry earrings.  ONLY $5!!!

I love these berry earrings.  So festive for the holidays.  Only $5!!

Copper Bouquet necklace, $16

I absolutely love this necklace.  "A bouquet of flowers trickle down from this necklace."

Double Stranded Lampwork and Agate Stone Necklace, $31

This is such a versatile piece that would go with just about any outfit.

Gift Certificate, $10

For that woman who has everything, how about a gift card, available for $10, $15, or $25, so she can choose what she wants!



You can also find Elizabeth at her blog Elizabeth MD Jewelry Designs.  Stop on by for her latest updates and deals.

Request a Tutorial

I would love to put some more tutorials on my blog. I did one in 2006, a cute little tote out of a placemat. and it still gets tons of traffic.  This tells me there are other crafty bloggers wanting to expand their crafty abilities.

So -  I am asking for your input. 

What would you like to see as a tutorial?  

Give me some ideas of what you would like to see demonstrated.

• Visit my etsy shop.  Is there something there you would like to learn how to do?  
• Is there a craft or project you want to make after I figure out how to do it first?
• Have you seen something in a magazine or on a website that you want to try and make?

Leave me a comment with your tutorial wish list. 

Make sure to follow my blog so you know when your tutorial goes up!

If I use your suggestion for a tutorial I will send you a little gift of crafty goodness.  

(maybe even the thing you wanted demonstrated)

Let's get our crafty on and make some stuff!

BESTeam Feature: Our Home To Yours

What could be better than buying handmade goodness from a Mother/Daughter/Daughter etsy shop?  You probably think I am talking about my Etsy store, which is a great place to shop, but this time I'm not.  I found another shop that has that same trio as ours.

  Our Home To Yours.

You will find things to keep you warm, things to accessorize, things for weddings, home decor and more.

 Debbi (the mom) and Amanda use yarn, thread, beads, paper and paint and Alison uses any and all material she can get her hands on. (sounds like my kind of crafters!)

  Here are a few of my favorite things from "their home".

Crayon Roll, $12

For the person you know with a touch of OCD that loves crayons (and who doesn't). My 19 year old wants one!

Eternity Scarf, $20

 I love this scarf idea.  It is made in the round so their are no seams.  You loop it around your neck one, two, or three times depending on how loose you want it.

2 Rosette Headband, $10

Headbands with adorable wrapped roses.

Crocheted Tam, $10

Something for that man in your life to keep his noggin warm!  No girly colors here!!

Pink and Purple fuzzy scarf, $12

I just loved this picture. We used to wrap things around our girls faces when they were little and pretend they were flowers.  This would be a "scarf flower".



Come on over and visit this fun little shop Our Home To Yours.  You can also find them at their blog under the same name.