Archive for the ‘Contests’ Category

Moms and Dads… are you starting to see that restlessness, moodiness, and overall change in the attitudes of your children?  As a getting-to-be-seasoned parent, I am convinced that this has to do with the fact that the beginning of the school year is happening just right around the corner.  For most kids in our area, school starts next week. 

I have a theory that internally, they are excited, yet anxious, about the change in their schedules and social status.  Therefore, they begin to act out.  I see the same behavior out of my twins at the end of a school year and the beginning of a school year.  And, I must add, they drive me crazy the entire time!  The pouting, challenging, mouthiness, and overall moodiness… it’s for the birds.  SCHOOL… just start!

Speaking of which, who is actually willing to wage the school supply wars at Staples the week that school starts and the kids come home with this unbelievable list of things that they “have to have” because the teachers require it?  I think that if the teachers REQUIRE IT, then they should supply it.  I get the girls as prepared as possible mid-summer and avoid the Staples Stampede, but something inside myself just tells me that I’ll end up there next week despite my great desire not to. 

How are y’all coming along with your little ones with school starting?  Are they being “little darlings,” or are they in that “back to school funk” like mine? 

I know most moms are just happy to see their little ducklings leave the house and give them a few more hours of peace and quiet!

Stay cool!

Books I Am STILL Currently Reading

Current Book Giveaway
  

Broken: A Love Story by Lisa Jones.  Three copies are up for grabs! See this post for more information! Rated 9.5 by ANM.

Also, you have only a couple more days to enter the giveaway for WAXED by Robert Rave.  Here is the review and contest link. 

Books that Have Come In…

I have been working, coaching soccer, and keeping really busy with the twins over the past week or so.  I hope that you all are doing well and my best wishes for you all to have a wonderful week!

With one twin off at the movies, I had the other one all to myself yesterday.  We went to the bead store to get some earring clasps to make new jewelry.  Some regular readers may recall that the twins recently had their ears pierced in May.  They want to branch out and wear new earrings.   As I have so many supplies at home, all we needed were a few extras to make some new earrings for the twins.

Gratitious earrings shot...

As you can see, everything from lollipop earrings to ones with angel wings.  Nicole’s creative juices were flowing  (and, yes, Mom helped).  Here are my two pairs (one didn’t photograph well)…

For Mom...

I only had time to make the two pairs for myself.

As I had earlier mentioned, Nicole and I were making earrings while Deanna was at the movies.    We were listening to music and I started to sing. Nicole looks at me and says, “It’s too bad that Dad ruined your life.” 

“What?”

“Well, you could’ve been so much more.  You could’ve followed your dreams and been a singer and an actress,” she answered.

“But, then I wouldn’t have you.”

“What if you could go back and have that opportunity and have 18 billion dollars?” she pressed.

“Nope,” I replied, “then I still wouldn’t have you and to me you are worth more than 18 billion dollars.”

“I am???”

“Yes.”

“But, you were so young and pretty and talented… you could have had it all!” she continued.

“Like I said, I wouldn’t trade my life, because I wouldn’t have you.”

“Yeah,” she answered in a coy and devilish manner, “but, you wouldn’t have Deanna… and that wouldn’t be so bad at all!”

She’s always making cracks about her sister; that was a good one.

Here is one of my “head shots” from when I was singing/dancing/etc:

I certainly do love to sing, but I know in my heart that I was meant to be their mama more than anything else on the face of this planet.  As much as I love to be alone, be a work-a-holic, hide with my nose in a book (or in a blog), I am starting to realize that it is my time shared with them that will be my biggest and greatest memories at the end of my life…  even the day when we grabbed a slice & a coke and crafted earrings all afternoon singing to Tori Amos.    It is true that I was a performing arts major in college and that being a successful singer/dancer/actress would have been an interesting career.  But, I think God had the better plan for me in store!

So… if you could go back, would you do things differently?

Books I Am Still Currently Reading

Current Book Giveaway
  

Broken: A Love Story by Lisa Jones
 

Three copies are up for grabs! See this post for more information! Rated 9.5 by ANM!

OH…. and, keep your eyes peeled for a giveaway of WAXED.  The post is tomorrow.

The Rest

Still underwater at my new job.  I can’t finish any books, I just keep starting new ones.  EEK!  I nearly ran a red light.  The garden looks well.  My adult on-set acne is so incredibly awful that I want to plunge my face in a vat of acid.  OH!  But, I did get rid of one fishtank and consolidated.  This means only 2 fish tanks.  I’m going to have to shop IKEA and see about putting a bookshelf in its place.

HOW are y’all doing?  Have you entered for either of the two above contests?  I LOVED Broken! 

I hope you’re managing the heat, enjoying  your vacations, and loving your summer!

 That’s all folks!

Best wishes for you all to have a wonderful week!

Publish Date: August 3, 2010

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

ISBN: 978-0-312-54437-9

Pages: 307 Trade Paperback

Author’s Website: www.robertrave.com

Type: Fiction: Women’s (“ChickLit”)

Purchase: $10.19 from Amazon.com

*** GIVEAWAY: 1 Winner ***

 Being the self-donned world biggest fan of ChickLit, I couldn’t wait to participate in TLC Book Tours’ book review of Waxed. After Robert Rave’s success with Spin, I had high hopes for a funny, yet heartfelt story in this novel. I wasn’t disappointed. Like a seasoned bartender, Rave concocted a perfect blend of humor, escape, and “you-go-girl!!!” in Waxed. Although not to be sipped over ice, it will make the perfect vacation pool-side companion. Or, if you’re like me… a great Friday night date on the couch because there is never anything good on TV! A cocktail and Waxed will make the perfect combination as you escape into a world quite most unbelievable, yet at the same time plausible.

The story is based on three sisters who work together at the eldest sister’s premier hair removal studio in New York. Unwanted hair, anywhere, is no problem at Impresario’s, the exclusive salon where privacy, confidentiality, and composure are the core values of the salon. Every client is to be treated with the upmost dignity and respect as this service is a necessity for the elite before summer vacations, or trips to The Hamptons.

Carolina Impresario is the owner of the salon and is reminiscent of Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada. She is the supervisor of both her sisters who work for her at the salon. Although normally never less than the picture of perfection, she ends up in a love triangle between her consistently wonderful boyfriend and an old love that has been the only man who ever truly held her heart. Then, there is Anna, the middle sister who is finding her way in the world as a single mom after a hard divorce. She gets a rather unique house call client that leads her life in a path of, well, utter strangeness… but, perfection! The youngest of the three, Sofia, was my favorite character. She is gorgeous… married to a stunningly handsome man… and seemingly the most balanced and composed of the three. But, something is missing in her life and she starts to find it in an unlikely new best friend whom she meets at the salon. This friend takes her outside her domestic and responsible world and shows her an entirely different side to herself. However, Sofia’s consequences were shockingly bitter and sad.

Robert Rave does a magnificent job understanding the inner psyche of a woman’s mind in this ChickLit tale. I always wonder how men are able to write “ChickLit,” as a only few of them actually do… and do it quite well. I’m not trying to be sexist, I just wonder… you know… how does he get the woman’s mind? But, in all of my rude skepticism, I immediately forget that a man had written this book and was swept away into a story that I finished in less than 24 hours. I loved it. I thought it was hilarious, heartwarming, and touching. I must admit that I would have chosen a different ending for Carolina, but overall I was very happy with the novel. I think Rave’s got more than enough here for a sequel!!! (Hint. Hint. Hint.)

For the ANM’s Scale, I’m giving this book a rating of 9 out of 10 for the genre Fiction:Women’s (“ChickLit”).

Now… for the good news…..

ANM IS PROUDLY GIVING AWAY TO ONE OF ITS LUCKY READERS ONE COPY OF WAXED!

Contest Opens Today & Ends on August 31, 2010

Open to U.S. & Canada Only

Fill out the form below.

The winner will automatically receive their book via mail and it will be announced on an upcoming ANM Sunday Salon post.

 

Disclosure:  The copy of this novel was provided to me by TLC Book Tours for review as is the giveaway copy.  There are links within this post that connect to Amazon.com as I am an Amazon.Com Affiliate.  No purchase is necessary.

I lie there glaring, staring, fuming… somthing gross smudged on the wall.  What is that? 

There are 8 tufts of Oliver’s cat fur about the floor of the house.  8.  I counted them.  8.

The handles on the refrigerator door are sticky… why don’t the twins wash their hands more when they are cooking?

The dog scratched another hole in the window screen AGAIN!

There is an empty soda can on the couch.

My room is not picked up.

There is a pile of clean clothes that have to be put away.

The carpet needs shampoo’ing. 

The garage is a nuclear disaster zone.

I’m overwhelmed.

This disaster zone is my house.  And, as I look around I also see two teenagers laying down watching television, one lazy yellow dog, and three sleeping cats.  They could CARE LESS what the house looks like.  Dust or no dust, the house is fine.  I go to my sister’s house and feel completely incompetent.  Her house is spotless.  And, she has 2 dogs, 2 cats, 3 kids and a husband.  She works more hours than me.  It’s like she is magical.

I am feeling so disappointed in myself.  I don’t know why, but I have no desire to get up and start cleaning the garage.  I know that I should, but I don’t want to.  I’d rather read… or do work from the office… or blog… or watch tv.  I don’t want to clean it.  I want a magical fairy to come and clean it all for me. 

Oh.

If only I were rich.  Or, like my sister, able to do it all.  How do some women do it all? 

Well, I was wondering this Sunday… how important is it to have a clean house?  On a scale of 1-10, how important is it to you? 

Give me your thoughts in the the voting booth below.

Books I Am Still Currently Reading

Current Book Giveaway
  

Broken: A Love Story by Lisa Jones
 

Three copies are up for grabs! See this post for more information! Rated 9.5 by ANM!

OH…. and, keep your eyes peeled for a giveaway of WAXED.  The post is tomorrow.

The Rest

The new job is keeping me busy  I’m behind on all of my television and movie gossip.  But, I love my new boss and that’s super cool.  I’m a tad overwhelmed with the amount of work that we need to get done in a short amount of time and am hopeful that I can do it… and not let them down!

Other than that… we had our first soccer meeting and I was a total embarressment to my children when I gave my little speech.  We start pactices next week. 

I’m peeling from my sunburn and still haven’t dated in a millennium!

That’s all folks!

Best wishes for you all to have a wonderful week!

We talk about telling white lies, to spare the feelings of others.  Let me share with you that I am most definitely saying those little white lies over the past two days by saying that I am enjoying my Intermediate Soccer Coach Training.  Burnt to a pulp and 11 hours later, I am dreaming of any plausible white lie that I can tell to get out of tomorrow’s 4 hour final hours of classes for the accreditation.  But, I know that it will just catch up with me in the end and I’ll have to suffer the consequences sooner or later.  So, I won’t lie and I’ll go.

We all try not to tell  those nasty little white lies (and, BTW… why are they called “white” when they are a tad dirty?) and yet many of us do…  Some think nothing of it, others they seem  to bother and stick with.  It just eats them up.

I’ve told my share, that’s for sure.  I have also came clean on many of them.  To my surprise, most of the time that I come clean, it didn’t really bother the person at all.  For example, I exchanged my sister’s Christmas gift from jammies to a duvet cover.  She didn’t seem to mind at all.  I felt so much better after I told her.  And, what about telling our children “those little lies” to protect them?    As a mother, I have to tell them those little lies about my past…right?  I mean, God forbid they learn EVERYTHING that I did, right? 

So where is the dividing line?  Where do the little white lies or lies via ommission go from being harmless to harmful?  Is it okay to say that you had a flat tire when you are late for work, but not acceptable to say “Oh, no… don’t worry about it” when you really wanted to say, “damn, that really hurt me?”  If you are religious, do you believe that God views all the lies as equal?  If so, which ones do you actually take the time to repent for?  All of them?  What if I can’t remember them all?

I guess tonight I have to say my prayers for forgiveness for my little white lies today.   They most likely hurt nobody, but I should try to get in the habit of not saying them at all. 

How do y’all handle this topic… or sunburns?  ~

Books I Read This Week

For the TLC Book Tour

Books I Am Currently Reading
 

Current Book Giveaway
  

Broken: A Love Story by Lisa Jones
 

Three copies are up for grabs! See this post for more information! Rated 9.5 by ANM!
 

TV Mania
 

Well, with The Bachelorette over, I’m going to have eyes peeled to Bachelor Pad. I’m hoping for Kent in SYTYCD.   Whale Wars has me hooked.  I’ve fallen away from America’s Got Talent and must catch up.  BUT, Jersey Shore 2 is on and the finale of The Real Housewives has been my guilty pleasure watching of the week.  I’m sooo bad!   

The Rest
 

I got a brand new job and I couldn’t be more thrilled.  This means that I won’t be underwater financially anymore (thank The LORD!)  The twins were away at girl scout camp this past week, so it will be nice to have them back tomorrow.  But, it has been fun sending them those bunk notes!  

Other than that… we’re just preparing for the upcoming soccer season in which I will be the Asst. Coach for the twins’ team.  So, there will be a’plenty o’ mommy-braggy posts about that coming up.

Best wishes for you all to have a wonderful week!