Update On My Activities.

Hi there,
I just wanted to let you all know that, YES this is very much a book blog as well as a whatever goes blog. I am behind on my reading and at the moment reading "50 Ways To Hex Your Lover" by Linda Wisdom. I am enjoying the book and hope to finish it to do an "actual" review.

I also have lots about my blog on my mind and in a notebook. I tend to forget otherwise. Right now I am in the process of thinking up names for my various family members to "Protect the Innocent". (rolls eyes) So nobody can come back to me and be angry should they feel violated. LOL

This coming week is very busy with BBAW activities and or giveaways. Lots of fun. Amy from My Friend Amy has been VERY busy and working her tail feathers off. I for one really am appreciating her efforts.

Keep checking back, there will be more posts today and here on through the comming week.

The Official BBAW Giveaway List

We have many activities and information to share regarding the Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Here is an official giveaway list and information on where to go to join in the fun.

The Official BBAW Giveaway List

If you follow along for the festivities of BBAW at My Friend Amy, you will find many chances to win LOTS of goodies! Like what? Well have a look below. All of these things will be given away between September 15-19. There will be a huge variety of ways to win them and giveaways will be announced constantly throughout the week. So be sure to check in often!


A HUGE thank you to Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group USA, Harlequin, The B&B Media Group, Shera of SNS Blog Design, WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, Catherine Delors, Pamela Binnings Ewen, Andromeda Romano-Lax, Ceceilia Dowdy, Sormag, Book Club Girl, Savvy Verse and Wit, Cafe of Dreams, Fashionista Piranha, and Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?.

Daily Raffles:
Monday--Books and Chocolate sponsored by My Friend Amy and Hey Lady! Whatcha' Readin?
Tuesday--Books and Going Green sponsored by My Friend Amy
Wednesday--Books and Coffee sponsored by My Friend Amy
Thursday--Books and Charity sponsored by My Friend Amy and Fashionista Piranha
Friday--Books and Movies sponsored by My Friend Amy

Win a Book Club Girl Hostess Survival Kit!
Do you find it's your turn to host book club and not only do you not know what to serve but you don't know what books to offer up for the next month's selection?! Let Book Club Girl come to your rescue with the Book Club Girl Hostess Survival Kit.

One lucky winner of the kit will receive:

* A basket of cheese, crackers, cookies and wine for up to 12 people
* 5 great book group books to vote on for your group's next pick. And Book Club Girl will then donate 12 copies whichever book is chosen for your entire group to read.
* 12 Book Club Girl mousepads to give out as party favors that night
* 12 Book Club Girl bookmarks to mark everyone's favorite passages
* 12 Book Club Girl coasters to protect your coffee table from all those wine glasses!

TWO SORMAG Goody Bags containing books and more!


A Special Pamper Me Basket from Cafe of Dreams!
From Avon Foot Works
~ Inflatable watermelon shaped foot tub
~ 3.4 FL oz Watermelon Cooling Foot Lotion
~ 3.4 FL oz Watermelon Exfoliating Foot Scrub
~ 12 count Watermelon Effervescent Foot Tablets
~ An ARC of So Long At The Fair by Christina Schwarz
~ A variety of Hot Chocolate and Tea mixes

A pre-made blog template from SNSDesign!

A Subscription to Poetry Magazine from Savvy Verse and Wit!

BOOKS
Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors
The Moon in the Mango Tree by Pamela Binnings Ewen
The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax
John's Quest by Cecelia Dowdy
Confessions of a Contractor by Richard Murphy
Acedia & Me by Kathleen Norris
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer
Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley
A Tale Out of Luck by Willie Nelson with Mike Blakely
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
Exit Music by Ian Rankin
The Smart One and the Pretty One by Claire LaZebnik
Gunmetal Black by Daniel Serrano
Isolation by Travis Thrasher
The Miracle Girls by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt
Every Freaking! Day With Rachell Ray by Elizabeth Hilts
Dewey by Vicki Myron
The Shiniest Jewel by Marian Henley
Keep the Faith by Faith Evans
The Book of Calamities by Peter Trachtenberg
A is for Atticus by Lorilee Craker
After the Fire by Robin Gaby Fisher
Mike's Election Guide by Michael Moore
War as They Knew It by Michael Rosenberg
Fixing Hell By Col. (ret.) Larry C. James
Wild Boy: My Life with Duran Duran by Andy Taylor
The Last Under-Cover: The True Story of an FBI Agent's Dangerous Dance with Evil By Bob Hamer
Border Lass by Amanda Scott
Insatiable Desire by Rita Heron
Hungry for More by Diana Holquist
Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee
Trespassers Will Be Baptized by Elizabeth Emerson Hancock
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Trish Ryan
Never Surrender by General Jerry Boykin
Dream in Color by Congresswoman Linda Sánchez, Congresswoman Loretta Sánchez
Beyond Belief by Josh Hamilton
Cobain Unseen by Charles R. Cross
Doing Business in 21st Century India by Gunjan Bagla
Branding Only Works on Cattle by Jonathan Salem Baskin
Launching a Leadership Revolution by Chris Brady, Orrin Woodward
How to Hear from God by Joyce Meyer
Knowing Right from Wrong by Thomas D. Williams
Pope John Paul II: An Intimate Life by Caroline Pigozzi
Pure by Rebecca St. James
He Loves Me! by Wayne Jacobson
So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore by Wayne Jacobson and Dave Coleman
Move On, Move Up by Paula White
The Rosary by Gary Jansen
Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
Right Livelihoods by Rick Moody
by George by Wesley Stace
The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold
Trunk Music by Michael Connelly
Hollywood Crows by Joseph Wambaugh
Dead Boys by Richard Lange
The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters by Lorraine Lopez
Sisterchicks Go Brit! by Robin Jones Gunn
Beyond the Night by Marlo Schalesky
With Endless Sight by Allison Pittman
Harlequin Titles: To Be Announced

Many other blogs are giving away books and prizes for BBAW as well! You can see the links to all of these giveaways here.

"Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

"Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."
In medieval times baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

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

This has been our 1st Post of "Where did that come from?". Now, what the heck does that mean when your mother says that to you? I don't fricken know!! Usually when this is uttered to me, I smile and nod indicating that I understand, all the while thinking what that would look like with a baby falling out of a dirty tub. When in truth, I don't know. Thankfully I can only remember one time it was said to me by my mother. Next time...I will be armed with such knowledge that I shall stun her into forgetting what she was speaking of in the first place. LOL

After googling it. (man that sounds dirty) I have however come up with some answers. It is a version of a German proverb. It was first written in a book by Thomas Murner. (1475-1537) His satirical book had a chapter in it titled "To throw the baby out with the bath water" {Are you snoring yet? Because I am about to.} Basically the meaning, put in simpleton terms, "Not to throw out the good with the bad" Which is the good or the bad, I think is up to personal preference.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I want to thank Wolfgang Mieder of the University of Vermont for his article on this phrase and how it became Americanized. You can see the article here.

Pump it.............Dayuum!

I thought this video was cute and fun. Thought I would share with you all.

Pain in the Neck!

Image via Wikipedia So yesterday, I woke up with this HORRIBLE pain in my neck. I must have slept wrong. I think it started because I was reading to my 15year old daughter a couple chapters of a book over the phone. I was reading the chapters not from a book, but from the internet. I was holding the phone with my shoulder while reading, 2 very long chapters of "Midnight Sun" by Stephanie Meyers. My daughter, who lives with her Dad in another state, is OBSESSED with the Twilight series. I believe she has read the whole series at least 3 times now in the past 2 months. In all fairness though, I am the one to blame for the obsession and the way I held the phone. I went to bed right after our phone call. Then who knows what happened.

Have you ever wondered where some of our sayings have come from? For example; "Pain in the Neck". I always have thought about sayings through the years. In this case that phrase is fairly simple to figure out where it came from. Other times though it is difficult to sort out. I of course ask my mother. Mom's are supposed to know EVERYTHING right? Well, now that I am in my 30's and have kids of my own, she felt the need to let me know, that phrase is actually a lie. Of course now my jaw drops. My own sweet mother admitting to "LIEING"!! What other crimes has she committed in the past? Is she even "MY mother"? (Again another fine example of my overactive imaginnation at work, folks. Don't be alarmed for she is in fact my mother.) I can not however vouch for any crimes she may or may not have commited. *giggles

Now because of my grand pain in the neck, I have decided on a new series of posts, I will be posting every so often. It will be called, "Where did that come from?". I wanted to post yesterday and cry and whine about my neck. Then I didn't. I want to try to think of the positives in things. For me this is just that positive. Oh, by the way, my neck feels better but still sore. I can at least move more to the right and look up and down now. LOL

Review: Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 384pp
Isbn: 0380776847
Challenge This one covers two challenges at the same time.
#1 Read Around The Genres
#2 Fall 2008 Reading Challenge

First Sentence or two: "A bodyguard! I don't need any damn bodyguard!"

Synopsis: From the author of It Had to Be You comes a deliciously, sexy contemporary romance. Former pro-football star Bobby Tom Denton has agreed to lend his fame and his name to a movie. But when he doesn't show up, the film company sends straight-laced Gracie Snow to bring him to the set—with surprising results.
Come heck or high water, Gracie Snow is determined to drag the legendary ex-jock Bobby Tom Denton back home to Heaven, Texas, to begin shooting his first motion picture. Despite his dazzling good looks and killer charm, Bobby Tom has reservations about being a movie star -- and no plans to cooperate with a prim and bossy Ohio wallflower whom he can't get off his mind or out of his life. Instead, the hell-raising playboy decides to make her over from plain Jane to Texas wildcat.

But nothing's more dangerous than a wildcat with an angel's heart in a town too small for a bad boy to hide. And all hell breaks loose when two unforgettable people discover love, laughter, passion -- and a match that can only be made in Heaven.


Random Thoughts - I loved this book from the first page on. I could not put it down. I read this in one day. This may be my favorite one of the "Stars" series. This is another "INSIST" read. No recommending about it!

Favorite Scene - I had several so it's pretty hard to nail down just one. I think I will go with the scene in his trailer on the set. The one where she had like 6 of his fans in the trailer just to annoy him. Then he turned it around on her and announced to the girls that he was engaged to her. After the girls left and they got into an ice cream fight with each other. That to me was the first physical step they took in getting together. I was so happy and excited with that scene. Not to take away from any of the other many scenes in this book.

Rating - I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

*Note This is part of a series she has written about the Stars Football team. The first book is "It Had To Be You". To see the rest of the books in this series, or to see what order. Go Here

Review: Prince Joe by Suzanne Brockmann

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 256pp
Isbn: 155166948X
Challenge This one covers two challenges at the same time.
#1 Read Around The Genres
#2 Fall 2008 Reading Challenge

First Sentence or two: Friendly fire. It was called friendly because it came from the U.S. bombers and missile launchers, but it sure as hell didn't feel friendly to Navy SEAL Lieutenant Joe Catalanotto, as it fell from the sky like deadly rain.

Back Cover Blurb: Veronica St. John is facing the challenge of a lifetime. The media consultant has two days to teach a rugged Navy SEAL to impersonate a European prince who has been targeted by terrorists. It's a tough assignment, but Veronica is sure she's up to the task — until she actually meets Joe.

Despite his physical resemblance to the handsome prince, Lieutenant Joe Catalanofto is nothing like the stuffy aristocrat. Everything about the combat-hardened Navy SEAL — from the arrogant gleam in his eyes and streetwise attitude to the New York accent — says regular guy, not royalty. One conversation and Veronica knows nothing could turn this military man into nobility. Joe, on the other hand, is confident he's got what it takes to complete his duty.

But neither of them expects their assignment to include falling in love . . .

Random Thoughts Well truth be told, I am not a huge fan of contemporary books. On that note though, I somehow find that I am reading them almost as much as the historical. Enjoying them too. So, that said. I enjoyed the book even though I was HUGELY distracted this week. It took me twice as long to read this book due to the setting up of my Blog.

Favorite Scene My favorite part was when Veronica told Joe she loved him in front of God and everybody. He had his secret ear piece on as well as a few other SEALS and many other agents who were there to protect, and she says into the ear piece that she loves him. I thought it was cute. He couldn't stop smiling like a fool. Not to mention guys in the service tease each other mercilessly. So I know his SEALS will never let him forget that.

Rating I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

*Note This is part of a series she has written. She has a few different series. This book is the first book in the "Tall, Dark and Dangerous" series. The rest of the books feature the rest of the SEALS on Joe's team. We got a peek at some of the guys so now it will be fun to read their very own books.