Attention summer readers!

While I love the fact that so many people love to read and that they enjoy reading on vacation, there can be a drawback.  IF you are going to the beach, please try not to take a book with the plastic protective cover (most hardcover library books).  The sand tends to get between the plastic and the cover artwork and it is a PAIN to clean out of there! (I think I dumped half a beach out of one last night...)

Consider a paperback...

Thanks!

Movies....

I've watched a few movies lately...

IMDb synopsis:  Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.

My review: I was disappointed in this movie. I guess I thought there would be more baseball action in it. It was a lot of the business of baseball (which was interesting to a point) but I don't think I would recommend it to anyone.
2 stars

IMDb synopsis:  Unemployed and newly-divorced Stephanie Plum lands a job at her cousin's bail-bond business, where her first assignment puts her on the trail of a wanted local cop from her romantic past.


My review: DULL!!!!!!!!! The book was WORLDS better! The highlight for me? The 30 seconds Debbie Reynolds was in it as Grandma Mazur.
1 star

IMDb synopsis:  Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki and his army.


My review:  FANTASTIC!  I was hoping I would enjoy this movie but I LOVED it!  There was humor, action and some background history.  I can't wait for the next one.
5 stars

And last weekend, we came across

on TV
I don't know how many times I've seen this movie but I still love it!
IMDb synopsis: A couple of high school grads spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.

5 stars from me!
**********************************
Remember this post?  It has a title:  At Any Price. They are still saying it will be out this year but that it might go to the Sundance Festival before it comes "to a theater near you".  We'll see, I guess!

Still on my "to see" list....
The Help
Horrible Bosses
The Lucky One
Madagascar 3
The Vow

What have you seen lately? What did you think of it?  I'm always looking for a good movie!

8???!!!!

Seriously - this is getting stupid!

Dear Chicago Cubs,
WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!  You've lost 8 in a row, this isn't a beer league team - you're getting paid to win something now and then... Get it together!  I was just blaming the bullpen, but I'm not so sure they're the ones to blame anymore.
I'd like to see you salvage tonight's game. Take your day off tomorrow and think about how badly you have been playing and figure out how to fix it.
Sincerely,
Getting Pissed off Cubs fan

Not that I'm excited....

but 46 days until I see these guys live!!!!!

Monday stuff

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a nice weekend.

This past week I have been grateful for:

*My family

*A cookout at work

*A weekend doing relaxing things (ie: not work)

*A little scrap time

*Reading a fun book

*Rum & Coke

****************************************

On a Cubs note....Kerry Wood (one of my favorite players) announced his retirement this weekend. I'm sad to see this era ending but glad he knew when to call it quits. I hope he & his wife keep up their charitable work in Chicago.

Thanks for the memories, Kid K!

Photo from chicagotribune.com

**************************************
3:30 pm: My observation for today:
If the full moon makes people act crazy, the solar eclipse has made people STUPID!!!!!  Good grief!

Have a super week!

Quick post - blog hop

Here's a link for: Chick Lit Blog Hop    "Hop" on over, check out their blogs and leave a comment for a chance to win an e-book.
Also, each author has an italicized word in his or her post - collect all 34 words and e-mail them to:   CLABlogHop@aol.com   before midnight on May 20, 2012 for a chance to win a Sephora gift card.
Join the fun!!!!!!!

My favorite life reminder!

All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten

by Robert Fulghum

Most of what I really need
To know about how to live
And what to do and how to be
I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top
Of the graduate school mountain,
But there in the sandpile at Sunday school.

These are the things I learned:
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life -
Learn some and think some
And draw and paint and sing and dance
And play and work everyday some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world,
Watch out for traffic,
Hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.

I have read the book by Mr. Fulgham several times. I love it!  I find that those things you learned in kindergarten hold true all through life.
 
Thank you for the book and reminders, Mr. Fulgham!!!

Monday gratitudes

*Mother's Day well wishes
*A gorgeous day on Sunday
*Some scrapbooking time (photos to come...)
*Our rose bush about to bloom
*A pretty week (weather wise) ahead

Drama ensues

I am surrounded by it!!!!!! 

But I classify drama into two categories - funny and not-funny.  Funny usually has to do with something crazy going on at home.  The not-funny is usually related to work something or other...

Not-funny:  Girl arguments at work and snide comments. Annoys me to death!!!!  Seriously, sometimes I wonder how old the people are that I work with.  My new motto:  I show up and shut up.

Funny:  DD sitting grumpy at the kitchen table on Tuesday morning and when I ask why she's grumpy, she says (with a VERY dramatic sigh...) "You don't love me anymore." (and turns her face away from me - seriously, this girl need to think about getting into acting!)
Oooooookay....I can't wait to hear this...  "Why don't I love you?"
"Well....IF you loved me, you wouldn't make me go to the dentist today."
Ahhhhh...the root of the problem.  "Well, I make you go to the dentist because I DO love you!"
She looked at me with a quizzical look and says "It doesn't seem like something you would do if you love me."
I sigh quietly, shake me head and give her a hug.
She did finally get over the grumpies and did GREAT at the dentist. (She even happily declared that she got to watch TV while they did her filling and impression)

May you have a drama-free weekend!
Thanks for stopping by - HUGS!

Friendship

"Make new friends, but keep the old..."

I think we've all heard this. The older I get, the more true it becomes for me.

In this day and age, it's easy to "meet" people on-line and get to know them. I have had the honor of meeting some wonderful people on-line in different forums, message boards and blogs. Some of them I continue to be in contact with them, others have gone by the wayside.

Do I still treasure my elementary school/junior high/high school friendships?  ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!  I am still friends with many of my school classmates.  Are we as close as we used to be? I don't think so - we don't see each other as much as we used to and we all have our lives/kids/work to deal with.  We keep in contact as we can though. Do I treasure my on-line friendships?  YES!!!!!  Many of these ladies know quite about my life and are "shoulders" to lean on.

I think that ALL my friendships I have had over the course of my life - no matter how short or long they may have lasted - have all helped shape me and how I handle different relationships. 

I hope everyone has treasured friendships in their lives!

Wordless Wednesday

July, 2007

Monday gratitudes

*A nice family weekend
*The blessing of modern technology
*The flowers blooming
*Family and friendship

Read these...

 

On Folly Beach
by Karen White

I gave this 4 of 5 stars

From the publisher:

Folly Beach, South Carolina, has survived despite hurricanes and war. But it's the personal battles of Folly Beach's residents that have left the most scars, and why a young widow has been beckoned there to heal her own...

To most people, Folly Beach is simply the last barrier island before reaching the great Atlantic. To some, it's a sanctuary for lost souls, which is why Emmy Hamilton's mother encourages her to buy the local book store, Folly's Finds, hoping it will distract Emmy from the loss of her husband.

Emmy is at first resistant. So much has already changed. But after finding love letters and an image of a beautiful bottle tree in a box of used books from Folly's Finds, she decides to take the plunge. But the seller insists on one condition: Emmy must allow Lulu, the late owner's difficult sister, to continue selling her bottle trees from its back yard.

For the most part Emmy ignores Lulu as she sifts through the love letters, wanting to learn more. But the more she discovers about the letters, the more she understands Lulu. As details of a possible murder and a mysterious disappearance during WWII are revealed, the two women discover that circumstances beyond their control, sixty years apart, have brought them together, here on Folly Beach. And it is here that their war-ravaged hearts can find hope for a second chance...

My review:
I loved the characters in this story and the writing style of Ms. White, between present day and WWII era.  The story of love and sacrifice was wonderful.

********************************************

Five Fortunes
by Beth Gutcheon

I gave this 4 of 5 stars

From the publisher:
Witty, wise, and hope-filled, "Five Fortunes" is a large-hearted tale of five vivid and unforgettable women who know where they've been but have no idea where they're going. A lively octogenarian, a private investigator, a mother and daughter with an unresolved past, and a recently widowed politician's wife share little else except a thirst for new dreams, but after a week at the luxurious health spa known as "Fat Chance" their lives will be intertwined in ways they couldn't have imagined. At a place where doctors, lawyers, spoiled housewives, movie stars, and captains of industry are stripped of the social markers that keep them from really seeing one another, unexpected friendships emerge, reminding us of the close links between the rich and the poor, fortune and misfortune, and the magic of chance.

My review:
I loved the cast of characters and how their lives all entertwined at camp and in their "everyday" lives after they had departed camp.  It was a wonderful, touching story and well written.
********************************************

Girl in Translation
by Jean Kwok

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars!

From the publisher:
When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she quickly begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life like the staggering degree of her poverty, the weight of her family's future resting on her shoulders, or her secret love for a factory boy who shares none of her talent or ambition. Kimberly learns to constantly translate not just her language but herself back and forth between the worlds she straddles.


Through Kimberly's story, author Jean Kwok, who also emigrated from Hong Kong as a young girl, brings to the page the lives of countless immigrants who are caught between the pressure to succeed in America, their duty to their family, and their own personal desires, exposing a world that we rarely hear about. Written in an indelible voice that dramatizes the tensions of an immigrant girl growing up between two cultures, surrounded by a language and world only half understood, Girl in Translation is an unforgettable and classic novel of an American immigrant-a moving tale of hardship and triumph, heartbreak and love, and all that gets lost in translation.

My review:
I had some reservations when one of my reading groups picked this as a monthly selection.  But this book sucked me in immediately! It was a coming-of-age story of a Chinese-American girl as she dealt with what life was like for her & her mother in the United States. I laughed and cried through this one. I highly recommend this book to anyone!

I apologize for the delay in getting book reviews posted - I will certainly try to be more timely with these!!!!

Book Review: Dancing Naked in Dixie

by Lauren Clark 

Her website:  Lauren Clark Books



artwork from goodreads.com

From the media sheet:
The Story:

Travel writer Julia Sullivan lives life in fastforward. She jet sets to Europe and the Caribbean with barely a moment to blink or sleep. But too many mishaps and missed deadlines have Julia on the verge of being fired.

With a stern warning, and unemployment looming, she's offered one last chance to rescue her career. Julia embarks on an unlikely journey to the ‘Heart of Dixie’—Eufaula, Alabama—home to magnificent mansions, sweet tea, and the annual Pilgrimage.

Julia arrives, soon charmed by the lovely city and her handsome host, but her stay is marred by a shocking discovery. Can Julia's story save her career, Eufaula, and the annual Pilgrimage?

My review:
5 stars out of 5

I was fortunate to get an ARC of this book!

What happens when a big city journalist gets sent to a small Southern town on an assignment she's dreading? Chaos, surprises, hilarity and good ole Southern hospitality. I loved Julia from the start, she's my kind of gal - busy, disorganized and honest to a fault. Shug and the Jordan family struck me as the stereotypical Southern family and I am ready to go visit them.  The characters were wonderful in this story. The story was engrossing and enjoyable.

This book makes this Yankee long for Southern hospitality. :)

Thank you, Ms. Clark for asking me to preview this book, I feel honored. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to see what you write next!
 
 
Dancing Naked in Dixie is set to be released May 21, 2012.  I hope you'll pick it up!

Tales from the Library, part 5

Happy May!!!!

This installment of Tales I would like to call: 

Mom Embarasses Daughter

As I stand at the circulation desk (with my back to the patrons) I hear:
"MOM!" (in an panicked voice) "You can't get those!" 
Hmmmm....this sounds interesting, I think to myself. So I casually turn around (I hate to miss something good, you know!) and see mom and probably her junior high age daughter standing at the desk. Daughter is wearing "that look" (you all know the one...) and you can read EVERY thought going through her mind.

Mom says, very calmly, "I can and I am."

Now my curiosity is KILLING me. So I peek at the items in question and take a quick peek at daughter who I am pretty sure is thinking... 'if anyone from school sees this...'.  The items being checked out?

OMG - I was mentally dying laughing (any maybe choking on my laughter a little...)! 

Barry Manilow - ok; Michael Bolton - yeah, not cool.

So the whole time they are getting their items checked out, the daughter is dancing around nervously and mom is taking her time.  (We all worked very hard stifling our giggles while they were there - even though I'm pretty sure mom knew we were about bursting!) They finally collect their items and head out and the parting comment we hear daughter say is, "Well you are NOT going to listen to those while I am around you!" 

Mom's response?  "I am going to listen to them on the way home."

That did us in at the desk, we were all dying laughing.  And we heard the exasperated sigh from daughter then.

Ahhhhh - it's the little things that make you laugh!