Month: October 2011

Gage’s 1st Birthday Winners!

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Gage had a fun first birthday.  We went to a daycare for a few hours to hang out (Gage will not be attending-too crazy there), went to the flower shop, library, grocery store and then to visit a neighbor.  In between activities we had lots of phone calls and a few naps 🙂  Not a bad birthday, right?

Now on to the winners of my October giveaways (drumroll please)…

$20 Barnes & Noble giftcard…Molly (The Bumbles Blog)

Journal & Chocolate…Amy (The House of Seven Tails)

Emma by Jane Austen…Erin (Erin Reads)

Skinny Legs & All by Tom Robbins…Kim (Truly Simply Pink)

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain…Donna S

Four Season in Rome by Anthony Doerr…Staci (Life in the Thumb)

Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose…Margot (Joyfully Retired)

Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman…Jenny (Jenny Loves to Read)

Face Forward bu Kevyn Aucoin…Kim (Truly Simply Pink)

Stacy’s pita chips and Jason soap…Jennifer (Rayment’s Readings, Rants and Ramblings)

Gage did help choose with the hat, but none of the photos came out 😦  Congratulations, winners and thank you all for helping me celebrate this month.  I know my posts have been a little non-bookish this month so one last tidbit of fun.  Jason and I celebrated our 13th anniversary on Monday and we are going to a glass blowing class tomorrow night.  Doesn’t that sound like fun?

First Quiz – guessing closed

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So, someone in the house is turning 1 tomorrow, can you believe it?  So this week’s quiz will be easy.  Tell me which one of the novels is the first one published by each bestselling author.  No need to put them in order – just tell me which one they published first.  10 points for each corrent answer.  You have until noon on Saturday to submit your answers as a comment.

Please play along with us.  For everyone who plays an extra $ goes to the winner and the everyone is entered for a special prize.  Just leave a comment with your guesses and don’t google the answers.

Rules & Leaderboard here.  Last week’s Book Jumble Quiz here.

1. Jane Austen

A.Pride & Prejudice  B.Sense & Sensibility  C.Mansfield Park

2. Agatha Christie

A.The Secret Adversary  B.The Murder of Roger Ackroyd  C.The Mysterious Affair at Styles

3. Danielle Steel

A.Going Home  B.The Promise  C.Palomino

4. Jackie Collins

A.The World is Full of Divorced Women  B.The World is Full of Married Men  C.Rock Star

5. Nora Roberts

A.Irish Thoroughbred  B.Hot Ice  C.Best Laid Plans

6. Debbie Macomber

A.Promise Me Forever  B.Hannah’s List  C.Starlight

7. Mary Higgins Clark

A.Aspire to the Heavens  B.The Cradle Will Fall  C.Weep No More, My Lady

8. Janet Evanovich/Steffie Hall

A.One for the Money  B.Smitten  C.Hero At Large

9. Isabel Allende

A.The House of Spirits  B.Eva Luna  C.Daughter of Fortune

10. Laura Lippman

A. Every Secret Thing  B.Baltimore Blues  C.Butcher’s Hill

Sundays with Gage- When Organic Matters

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I read this post by Constance Marie when we were starting to plan for Gage’s arrival and wanted to do as much organically as possible.  The no VOC paint was the easiest thing to do.  It dried fast and there were not fumes.  I also became convinced that an organic crib was the way to go, but when I started researching them they were expensive.  Jason and I went back and forth on whether to invest in an Amish organic crib and in the end we bought it.  Kids Collection uses organic wood and stain (if you pay more) so that no chemicals will come near your baby when they sleep. Or in Gage’s case, come near his teeth!  This is what Gage works on when mom and dad are sleeping.

 Do you see those teeth marks?!

I also signed up for Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon next weekend. I’ve asked my parents to come up and help with Gage for the weekend.  I’d like to see if I can make it the whole 24 hours.  As a newish mom I can get by on a lot less sleep now, but I know I’ll miss that afternoon nap!  If you haven’t already signed up you should. Here’s the link.  I’m sure some of that time will be spent reading to Gage so that he can participate too 🙂

The Invitation, by Jude Deveraux

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The InvitationFinished 10-14-11, rating 3.5/5, romance short stories/novellas, 376 pages, pub. 1994

I don’t read many short stories, but I had this one and they all took place in Colorado, so I picked it up.  And the stories were actually perfect for my busy schedule the last few weeks.  I’ve always enjoyed Deveraux’s romances and this was no exception.  I think she tells the story from the man’s point of view extremely well.  Overall, a nice selection of stories.

In The Invitation Jackie is one of only a few women pilots in 1934 and when her husband dies she returns home to fly for the superrich Montgomery’s.  Waiting for her  there is  little Billy Montgomery all grown up and eager to please.  Jackie, a successful woman, cared way too much about what other people thought about the age difference.

Edward didn’t fully understand what he had said to Jackie to offend her.  When his wife had reached forty- an age Jackie was fast approaching she had cried for two days.  She’d said it was the end of youth and that she didn’t want to be middle-aged.  Maybe that was Jackie’s problem. She was refusing to face the fact that she wasn’t a kid anymore. No longer would newspapers write stories about her being the youngest person to do so and so.  Maybe her eyesight was failing, or her reflexes.  Maybe she was seeing the younger pilots doing so well, then seeing her own body aging, and it was making her angry. Aging often made a person angry at first.

Maybe, he thought, she was worried about whether or not she was still attractive to men.

Chapter 8 (As a woman who just hit forty I had a good laugh at this one.  What a great first date this guy was!)

In Matchmakers widower Kane Taggert isn’t looking for a replacement for his late wife and mother of his twin boys, and when he takes four city women on the trails of Colorado he finds hate/hate relationship with mystery writer Cale.  Loved the snarky Cale, but the ending was too ridiculous, even for a romance.

A Perfect Arrangement is set in 1882 where a woman is an old maid at 30.  Wealthy Dorrie proposes a sham marriage to gun-for-hire Cole and even though he’s never had a problem with he ladies, he’s found one in Dorrie.  The chemistry was good and this was my favorite of the three.

This is from my personal library.

Current Giveaways – closed

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Well, the big day has come and gone but the giveaways are still open until October 19.  Thanks for letting me share some of my memories and lists with you as I reached a milestone birthday.  Here’s a list of the  stuff you can still enter to win.  My giveaways are always open internationally.  Most of them you just need to leave a comment.

$20 Barnes&Noble giftcard

Journal & chocolate

Emma by Jane Austen, Skinny Legs & All by Tom Robbins, Emerald Dreams by Caroline Bourne

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr

Face Forward by Kevyn Aucoin

Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt bu Beth Hoffman, How to Read Like a Writer by Francine Prose

Stacy’s pita chips & Jason soap

What Book Jumble Quiz *with giveaway

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I used leftover decorations from the weekend party to disguise these books.  There are two parts to this quiz.  List the title of each book.  Take the 1st letter of each title (The’s excluded) and rearrange them for a two word phrase that is appropriate today 🙂  6.25 for each correct title and 19.75 points for the two word phrase.  You have until noon on Saturday to submit your answers as a comment.

Please play along with us.  For everyone who plays an extra $ goes to the winner and the everyone is entered for a special prize.  Just leave a comment with your guesses and don’t google the answers.

Rules & Leaderboard here.  Last week’s 40 Quiz here.

EDIT-I goofed on a title, so an O title should really be a B.  Thanks for the catch Jennifer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.Remarkable Creatures  2.American on Purpose  3.Posed for Murder  4.Heartsick  5.Italian for Beginners  6.Dogshead  7.Practical Magic  8.The Angel’s Game  9.Yesterday I Saw the Sun  10.Time of My Life  11.Hello,Goodbye  12.Of Bees & Mist  13.The Year of Fog

Giveaway

Jason and I both enjoy products that bear our names.  Both of these are staples in our house so I’m giving one random quiz participant 3 small bags of Stacy’s pita chips and a 16 oz. pump of JASON Pure, Natural & Organic Cranberry soap.  You only need to leave your guesses for the quiz as a comment to be entered.

My 40 Bucket List

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It’s my last day in my 30’s and since I’m posting a quiz on my birthday tomorrow I’m posting my bucket list today.  These are things I’d like to do before I die and I figure at 40 I’ve got at least 40 good years to accomplish them.  Plenty of time.  Maybe I’ll find a place on the blog to keep track of it.

1. Write and publish a novel.

2. Open my own bookstore.

3. Spend a night in an English castle.

4. Visit Ireland.

5. Meet a US president. (Jimmy Carter came to Cleveland last year for a book signing but couldn’t do it because of a health scare.  So close!)

6. Learn to start a fire without matches. (this probably comes from watching too many seasons of Survivor)

7. Learn to play the piano.

8. Raise a happy and successful son.

9. Celebrate my 50th anniversary. (13 in)

10. Make exercise a daily priority. (never has been but I need to start taking care of my health)

11. Get back to my wedding weight, just once.

12. Try a vegetarian diet for a year.

13. Drive across country.

14. Visit all 50 states.

15. Stay in an overnight car on a train trip.

16. Fly first class.

17. Take Gage to Italy.

18. Ride a boat down the Mississippi River.

19. Trace ancestry to when all branches entered the US.  (we’ve been here a long time so this will take many more years of research)

20. Spend a week touring Napa Valley.

21. Live somewhere warm year round. (As a midwestern girl I love my seasons but I’d like to see if I’m missing anything :))

22. Volunteer on a political campaign.

23. Sit on a jury.

24. Buy only American for 1 year.

25. Have a library with wall-to-wall built-in bookcases.

26. Write and mail 1000 letters. These can include cards if I include a personal note.

27. Be an extra in a movie.

28. Watch a play from backstage.

29. Go skiing.

30. Attend a murder mystery dinner.

31. Volunteer weekly.

32. Read all the books I own.  (I’d like to have no TBR pile just once.  I can give away books to reach this goal)

33. Start my own book club.

34. See all 4 tennis majors. (2 down, Wimbledon & Australian Open to go)

35. Give blood.

36. Sleep under the stars.

37. Have a hammock.

38. Fire a gun.

39. Make a daily goal list and use it.

40. Do a random act of kindness every day. (and keep a journal for it)

Birthday Photo

Jason and I have attended the US Open a few times.  This was in 2005.

I’m not a tennis player but Jason is very good.  I like to watch.  Rafa Nadal is my current favorite.

 

 

 

 

 

Giveaway

I’m giving away new copies of Reading Like a Writer by Francise Prose and Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman.  Just leave a comment telling me which one you’d like to win (or both!).  I’ll draw a winner October 19.

Sundays with Gage – An early celebration

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A few months ago Jason and I stayed at The Inn in Dresden for a night.  Since it was only 30 minutes from my parent’s house we had babysitters!  This is was Dave Longaberger’s old house (the man who started Longaberger baskets) and it has 10 rooms and 10,000 sq.ft. of deck space.  Yes, 10,000 sq.ft of outdoor space. The house itself is so charming with lots of great rooms and indoor space and the food is excellent.  If you like B&B’s I recommend this one, here’s the link to the site.

While we were there in August we asked to see all of the rooms and realized that the inn would be perfect for a joint birthday celebration.  So, we booked the whole place and invited family and a few friends to come and party the day and night away with us.  We had guests from Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan in addition to the Ohioans.  We had 36 people plus Gage who ate cake, enjoyed a dinner from the grill, played games, and drank.  And 25 people spent the night and enjoyed yummy breakfast before heading home.

Gage and I got way too many gifts, but we love every one of them!  Jason booked me a day at the spa on my birthday and gave me signed first editions of  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Outlander.  Isn’t he wonderful?  My birthday is still a few days away and Gage’s isn’t for over a week, but it was the only weekend we could rent the whole place and we took it.  I am grateful that so many people could come and spend time with us.  I am tired , but happy and refreshed after such a perfect weekend.

I’d like to say we have lots of great photos, but we don’t.  Here is the most important one, Gage with his Elmo cake (and the little dairy free cake that I made that he could eat).  My cousin, Amy, made the cake, isn’t it fantastic?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And one with his mama this morning.

 

We’re celebrating

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No post or giveaway today since we are partying.  Today we are celebrating our birthdays.  Details tomorrow.

Planning this party has kept me off your blogs.  See you next week:)

Birthday Photo

We’re on to my Arlington, Virgina years when I was was manager at the B.Dalton in Ballston.  This was after our yearly inventory.  These books all had to be sorted by publisher/distributor and then sent back.  This wasn’t even when the pile was at its largest.  This could be my TBR pile these days, LOL!

I was 25 or 26. This must have been after I met Jason since he pointed out that this was his shirt!

Favorite Actors A-Z *with Giveaway

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My favorite actors and actresses from A-Z.

A  Jennifer Aniston

B Sandra Bullock

C  John Cusack

D Robert Downey Jr.

E  Aaron Eckhart

F Colin Firth

G Cary Grant

H The Hepburns (I refuse to choose between the graceful Audrey and the sassy Katherine)

I  Jeremy Irons (is there another I actor?)

J  Samuel L Jackson

K  Diane Keaton

L Diane Lane

M Steve Martin (it was tough to leave off the sexy Viggo Mortensen)

N  Paul Newman

O  Timothy Olyphant

P  Joaquin Phoenix

Q Aidan Quinn

R Keanu Reeves

S Ben Stiller

T Marisa Tomei

U  Blair Underwood

V Milo Ventimiglia

W Kate Winslet

X  I tried, but I don’t think there is one!

Y  Sean Young (is there ANYONE else? She’s here by default)

Z  Billy Zane

Giveaway

I’m giving away my copy of Face Forward by Kevyn Aucoin, a makeup artist, emphasis on artist.  He transformed these actresses into icons and then tells you how he did it.  This book is so much fun to look through.  Julia Roberts as Julie Christie, Julianne Moore as Twiggy, Winonah Ryder as Elizabeth Taylor.  It’s an oversized hardcover.

Who is that as James Dean?  Go ahead and guess and I’ll tell you if you’re right.

Let me know if you’d like to win it.  I’ll draw a winner October 19.

Birthday Photo

I spent two summers working as an Orientation Guide at Ohio State.  I loved it.  We all lived on the same floor in the Towers and had lots of downtime together.  You can see how we liked to spend that time 🙂  Okay, this 60’s themed party was the only one we had, but we did have lots of fun those summers.

I’m the little shrimp in the middle (I bought that outfit at the thrift store that day.  Those shorts are so big!).  I was 20. Hey, we’re halfway to 40 (but more than halfway to my birthday)!