Review: Every Freaking Day with Rachell Ray by Elizabeth Hilts

This book is an unauthorized parody of Rachael Ray who is well known for her cooking and travel shows on the Food Network, and her daytime talk show, as well as her magazine "Every Day with Rachael Ray".
I recently won this book and since I am a subscriber to the real Every Day magazine and watch her shows once in awhile, I wanted to read it right away. I read this book in an hour, but it was an enjoyable hour. I was very impressed with the way Hilts was able to mimic so much of Rachael Ray's style in her magazine and put it into the book...with a twist. Some of my favorites from the book were: 1- The Big Deal Kitchen Fix. They showed before and after photos of a kitchen with basically dirty dishes, poor lighting, clutter and then an after photo with a new sparkling kitchen with all items put neatly away and a new rug on the floor!
2- The Burgers of the Month. She listed a breakfast burger with eggs, bacon, and a burger on 2 powdered donuts, or the Thanksgiving burger with ground turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and gravy on corn bread.
So, obviously Elizabeth Hilts has a great sense of humor and a creative flair. Hopefully the real Rachael Ray is laughing along as well. It was an enjoyable, humorous, quick and easy read. I plan to donate my copy to our local library so others can enjoy it as well! Thanks to http://www.myfriendamysblog.com for sending me this copy!

36 is here!

So, I turned 36 on Friday. Where did I think I would be at 36 when I was 18 and dreaming about my future. I know I imagined I would be married and a mom. I know at 18 I imagined that I would be married to someone different than who I am now...and that's a good thing. I was a senior in high school and dreaming of going off to college. I knew I wanted to be a social worker. After I went off to college, so much of my life changed. I did become a social worker, but didn't get married until I was 26. I was a mom at age 27 1/2 and no longer a social worker. This is my last year of being a complete stay-at-home mom. Our youngest will go to preschool next year. Now 18 years later I am thinking about what my future will hold. What do I want to be when I grow up? What do I want to do with my time when the kids are in school? Who am I if I am not "just a mom"? It isn't that I haven't thought about things I could do, but just which of those are the best fit for me. Being a mom has been my best fit. No matter what career I dreamed about or what college classes I took, all I ever wanted to be was a mom. How can I do anything to top that? How can I ever get that same fulfillment from any other job choice out there? So, as I move through my 36th year, I will look for those small opportunities that may step in front of me. I will cherish those mom moments because I know before I am ready, those hugs and kisses each morning and night will soon be "see ya mom" as they run out the door. But, most of all I will be grateful for the fact that I have the ability to choose what to do with my life and take which ever path is leading me forward!

Giveaway: Hannah's Dream

Booking Mama is giving away 3 signed copies of Hannah's Dream by Diane Hammond. You can read her review and a chat with the author herehttp://bookingmama.blogspot.com/. I really think this sounds like a fabulous book and thought you might too! If you fell in love with the elephant in the book Water for Elephants then this book is for you. Just leave a comment on her blog to be entered to win.

The letter H

Today I was working with my 3 year old on her letters. She was matching the upper and lower case letters and did a great job. She rushed off to show Daddy her papers. He asked her why the H and h looked different. Reagan replied, "This h is the real h and this H is the Caps Lock H." Do you think she is on the computer too much?

Determination!

On Saturday, as I was watching our sons play soccer and snapping photos, I noticed something that was very obvious to me. Their determination! These 2 photos are just a couple examples of their determination they showed throughout the game to go after the ball and make a goal. They ended up tying the game 2-2 and scored in the last minutes of the game.

This got me thinking about some quotes that deal with determination.

The difference between the possible and the impossible lies in a person's determination. Tommy Lasorda

The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand. Vince Lombardi

I have no doubt that the boys played to the best of their abilities and gave it their all, so I was definately proud of them. But, do I give it my all every day. Am I determined to be the best wife, mom, friend I can be? Am I dedicated to the task I am completing at the time? Maybe...most of the time...but also, I could do better. I need to be an example of determination to my kids. Let them see me working hard towards a goal, especially since I don't work out of the home. They need to see that I too can accomplish a task, and win or lose, as long as I put forth my best effort, I can be proud. Maybe if we all put forth a little more effort, our determined spirit would spread to others as well.

Author: William Kent Krueger

A few weeks ago, I was privileged to meet and visit with mystery author, William Kent Krueger. He came to my small Iowa town on a library tour, and even though I had never read any of his books, I couldn't miss the chance to hear an author speak. He was a wonderful speaker and I was able to have a conversation with him as well as have him autograph a couple books. You can find out more about him on his website http://www.williamkentkrueger.com/. His newest book, Red Knife was recently released.

Mr Krueger prefers to be called Kent. He started writing at the age of 40 and has 9 novels to his credit. His books create magic in the Northwoods and as Kent says, "if magic doesn't happen, why write?" (The Northwoods are in Northern Minnesota near the Boundary Waters.) He chose to write mysteries because of their structure. In a mystery 1-something happens, 2-there is an investigation, and 3-answers are found. He felt this structure worked best for him. It took him 4 years to write his first novel, Iron Lake.

Kent also stated that in learning how to write a novel, developing the character is more important than the plot. I would have to agree...most of the books that I didn't enjoy was because I didn't think the author took the time to develop the characters. Kent also feels that working with words is like working with jewels. Also as a mystery writer, you have to understand what would motivate ordinary people to do strange things out of their realm.

Kent feels to be a writer, you have to write every day. You should MISS it when you aren't writing. Kent has several stops on his current book tour. Check his website to see a listing. If you get the chance to go see him, I highly recommend it!

I had such an enjoyable time listening to Kent talk and even though I am not a huge mystery novel reader, I am very anxious to read his novels. I have nightmares easily so I usually shy away from mysteries, I know I am a wimp :( Please check out Kruger's books, he has a huge fan base and readers are anxiously awaiting his next novel. Some of them use the same characters, so you may want to read them in order.

Check out all of William Kent Krueger's books, HERE. 

Review: Jackie and Me by Dan Gutman

Like every other kid in his class, Joe Stoshack has to write a report on an African American who's made an important contribution to society. Unlike every other kid in his class, Joe has a special talent: with the help of old baseball cards, he can travel through time. So for his report, Joe decides to go back to meet one of the greatest baseball players ever, Jackie Robinson, to find out what it was like to be the man who broke baseball's color barrier. Joe plans on writing a prize-winning report. But he doesn't plan on a trip that will for a short time change the color of his skin - and forever change his view of history and his definition of courage.

Joe was a baseball player who was teased by another kid because he was Polish. He got mad and ended up fighting with the boy and getting kicked off the baseball team. When he had to do the book report he chose a baseball player because he loved the sport. He used his baseball card to travel back in time to Jackie Robinson, but went back as an African American boy who lived in Jackie's house. He then witnessed how Jackie handled bullys and teasing on the field. He witnessed many incidences of prejudice towards Jackie. Jackie taught him to turn the other cheek and how to shut them out while he was playing the game. Joe was taught a valuable lesson from Jackie and ended up back in the present time being let back on the baseball team. He played in the championship game and was able to meet face to face with his bully and handle it the way Jackie showed him to. This book had a great message for kids about teasing and bullying and how to handle those situations. The story was also full of great American history regarding baseball. The boys gave this an "I liked it a lot" ranking.