High Five Friday 6.20.14

I'm sharing my High Five Moments from our week.  To see other great moments in other blogger's lives, click the buttons above.  Take a moment to reflect on your High Five moments from your week.

Meet our newest family member, Stormy

1.

On Sunday morning, our family went to go out to eat for Father's Day and as we walked into our garage this cute little kitten jumped out of our trash can.  It was much too scared for us to catch it so we just left and hoped we could find it once we got back.  Our daughter spent all afternoon sitting in the garage patiently waiting and talking to the kitty and finally that evening, she came over to Reagan and let her pet and hold her.  Each day she has gotten more trusting of us and on Tuesday, we decided we could keep her.  After 15 months of no pets, (our cats Buddy and Baxter died in 2012 and 2013) I think we are ready. So, I took her to the vet for a complete check up.  She is a healthy, frisky, and adorable 2 month-old kitten. Her name is Stormy and she is just so much fun to have around right now. A cute kitten that jumps out of our garbage can just has to be the kitten for us!  Welcome to the family, Stormy!

2.

My mom is 75 and went Ziplining.  I wasn't able to go along, but it has been on her "Bucket List". So, my niece and sister took her to THIS PLACE.  She said it was scary in a few spots and she had to keep telling herself not to look down.  But, she is so glad she did it! I'm so proud of her! My niece sent me this photo of Mom ready to take off!  If you are local to Dubuque, Iowa, be sure to check it out, HERE.

3.

Have you seen the Birthday Cake Oreos? They are de-lish-ous! When I saw this recipe on Pinterest for Birthday Cake Chocolate Chip Cookies from Cookies and Cups, I knew we had to try them! I made just a few changes...using a White Rainbow Chip Cake Mix that already had the sprinkles in it and using Chocolate Chunks rather than Chocolate Chips. They were a HUGE HIT! The worst part of making the cookies was waiting for the dough to chill in the fridge before we could make them.  The bonus? The left over Birthday Cake Oreos. YUM! 

4.

Thursday was going to be a hectic day, but due to lots of rain, we ended up having the whole day and night at home.  I love watching our boys play baseball, but after this busy week, I was ok with a day at home. Unfortunately, many are getting too much rain and areas are being flooded.  Not the kind of day off anyone wants. But, I'm grateful our basement has stayed dry.

5.

I love it when a book captivates me and is all I want to think about. When the characters seem real and the story grabs my heart, I can't seem to put it down.  DON'T GO by Lisa Scottoline is just that book. I'm wrapped up in it.  It is one of those books that I want to race through, yet I don't because then I know it will be over.  I love it when a book grabs me and reminds me of why I love to read! 

I hope you have had a week full of High Fives and find a way to celebrate the small moments in each day! 

Book Review: The Fever By Megan Abbott

THE FEVER

By: Megan Abbott

Published: June 17, 2014

Publisher: Little Brown and Co

Fiction




Deenie is a normal teenager attending high school. Her brother, Eli, is a star hockey player and their dad is a teacher at the high school.  Life for Deenie is idyllic until her best friend, Lise, has a seizure at school.  Chaos ensues and rumors of a virus, a reaction to the HPV vaccine, or maybe even a hazard from the nearby lake are to blame.  More of Deenie's circle of friends start having seizures and Deenie wonders if the connection between all them and their symptoms is her.  Parents in the close-knit school become hysterical and the national news even picks up the story.  Deenie, her brother, and her dad are determined to figure out what is really going on in their community.  What they find is the real cause of the hysteria will shock all of them, as well as their community.

Abbott truly has her pulse on how teenagers think and act.  The story focuses mainly on the teenagers and their conversations and actions.  Never once did I question what they said or how they reacted to something. Their feelings, thoughts and reactions were authentic to today's teens. The story is set in current time and gives a glimpse into how technology and social media is at the center of a teen's life and how teens use it to communicate and share every moment of their lives with everyone.

This is a fast read, but a bit choppy at times.  Teenagers tend to jump from conversation to conversation and this book tends to do the same thing, which actually makes it more of an authentic and frenzied story.  The characters are believable and well-scripted.  The cover gives you a glimpse of the first seizure and paints that image in your mind during the scene.  The author leaves you guessing and wanting more chapter by chapter.  I wasn't completely shocked with the conclusion to the mystery illness, but appreciated the way she put the pieces together.

Even though the book has a YA feel, due to some adult situations, I would recommend it for high school age and up depending on their maturity and life experiences.  As the mother of a teenager, it left me feeling uneasy and more urgently aware to stay on top of their social lives.

Megan Abbott

Megan Abbott is the Edgar® award-winning author of the novels The End of Everything Queenpin, The Song Is You, Die a Little, Bury Me Deep and her latest, Dare Me (July 2012).

Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Salon, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Believer, Los Angeles Review of Books, Detroit Noir, Best Crime and Mystery Stories of the Year, Storyglossia, Queens Noir and The Speed Chronicles. 

Born in the Detroit area, she graduated from the University of Michigan and received her Ph.D. from New York University. She has taught at NYU, the State University of New York and the New School University.

She is also the author of a nonfiction book, The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir, and the editor of A Hell of a Woman, an anthology of female crime fiction. She has been nominated for many awards, including three Edgar® Awards, Hammett Prize, the Macavity, Anthony and Barry Awards, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Pushcart Prize. 

Click the photo below to purchase this book:

Thanks to the publisher for sending me an eBook version to review.  This review is my honest opinion.  I was not compensated in any way for this review. 

Book Review: Secret Daughter By Shilpi Somaya Gowda

SECRET DAUGHTER: A Novel

By: Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Published: March 9, 2010 

Publisher: HarperCollins

Fiction

In a small village in India, Kavita is about to give birth.  She is praying this second child with her husband, Jasu is a boy.  If it is a girl, like her first born, she will not be able to bare the consequences. Sadly, this second child of theirs is a girl.  Kavita will not allow what happened to their first daughter, happen to this one, so she makes the choice to give her away.  This decision will haunt Kavita for the rest of her days.

We are then taken to California and introduced to Somer and Krishnan.  Somer and Krishnan are doctors and have tried everything to have a child, but finally decide to adopt. They travel to Krishnan's home, Mumbai to visit an orphanage and bring home their baby.  Somer, an American, hopes her love will be enough to overcome all the obstacles in their path.

The story continues going back and forth between the two couples and their lives starting in the 1980's and continuing all the way through 2009. The interconnecting lives of Kavita and Somer and their struggles with motherhood, with their marriages, and with their future will give you an emotional ride.

The daughter that connects these two women across the world grows up as the reader travels through the book.  As she becomes an adult, she struggles with the two worlds that she is part of, those of her father's family in India and her mother's family in America. By searching for where she fits in, she finds that maybe where she belonged was right in front of her all along.

The author had no trouble placing me in the heart of the tiny village of India or in the large city of Mumbai.  Her descriptions of the people living in the slums of Mumbai and their daily struggles were heartbreaking to read, but I'm sure all too real.  The traditions of Krishnan's family and Kavita's family opened my eyes to a whole new way of living. I'm just thankful our American culture realizes it is the man that determines the gender of a baby and doesn't value boys over girls.  I wanted to scream at Jasu and his ignorance.

This was our book club choice last month and was loved by all of us. As moms we found this book to be quite emotional as we read both Kavita's and Somer's struggles with giving up their child and with not being able to have childen.  We sympathized as they raised their children and confronted frustrating moments.  We empathized as their marriages weren't as they originally dreamed they would be.  This was a book full of feelings, relationships, traditions, and most of all, love.  It is a story you won't forget.

This is Shilpi Somaya Gowda's first novel and I can't wait to read her next one. The novel is also planned to hit movie screens in the future.

Shilpi Somaya Gowda - Source

Shilpi Somaya Gowda was born and raised in Toronto to parents who migrated there from Mumbai. She holds an MBA from Stanford University, and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1991, she spent a summer as a volunteer in an Indian orphanage, which seeded the idea for her first novel,SECRET DAUGHTER. A native of Canada, she has lived in New York, North Carolina, and Texas. She currently makes her home in California with her husband and children. For more on Shilpi, check out her website, http://www.shilpigowda.com/. You can also find her on Facebook, HERE, and Twitter, HERE.

To purchase a copy of SECRET DAUGHTER, click the photo below:

A Little Monday Inspiration

Run when you can, 

walk if you have to, 

crawl if you must; 

just never give up. 

Dean Karnazes, American Ultramarathon Runner

This has been a good quote for me as I am participating in the Runner's World RunStreak Challenge to complete 40 miles in 40 days. From Memorial Day to July 4th, runners just run one mile/day. It sounds pretty simple, just one mile a day.  But, it has been more difficult that I thought.  Some days I just don't have time for even 1 mile.  So, a few times already, I have had to add it on to the next day or even the next day.

But, as the quote above says, I'm not giving up.  I'm getting those miles in whether I'm running, walking or crawling (haven't resorted to that one yet). I will finish this challenge!

What race, challenge, goal, milestone do you need to finish? It doesn't matter how you get there, but just that you finished! Enjoy the journey, get back on track, and finish that race!

Recipe: Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp

I want to make sure you are using up all those great strawberries and the excess rhubarb from your patch ( or in my case, my neighbor's patch).  This has the perfect sweetness/tartness flavor and the crunchy topping makes it one of my favorite desserts.  Best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

RHUBARB STRAWBERRY CRISP

Grease an 8x8 square baking pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3/4 Cup Sugar
3 Tbs Cornstarch
3 Cups rhubarb, diced
2 Cups Strawberries, sliced

In large bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch. Add rhubarb and strawberries. Toss to coat. Place into pan.

1 Cup Old-Fashioned Oats
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter, melted
1/3 Cup Flour
1 tsp Cinnamon

In a small bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the fruit in the pan.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  Best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Click HERE for a printable version of the recipe.

Summer Reading and Writing Opportunity for Kids from Wigu Books

"The more you read,

the more things you will know, 

the more you learn,

the more places you will go."

Dr. Seuss

Wigu Publishing is the publisher of those great children's books, WHEN I GROW UP I WANT TO BE..... that I keep raving about here on the blog.  They have introduced a Summer Reading and Writing incentive for children that you will definitely want to be a part of.

For the summer reading:

All you need to do is go to www.WhenIGrowUpBooks.com/SummerSuperstars. Once there you can enter your child's minutes of reading for each week.  Winners will be chosen each week from the children who read 100 or more minutes.  

TO ENTER WEEKLY DRAWINGS (or enter your child’s submission):

• Read 20 minutes a day (a minimum of 100 minutes per week)
• In the form below, submit the number of minutes you’ve read (daily or weekly – we will track your total minutes).
• To qualify for weekly drawing, you must read a minimum of 100 minutes per week.
• Follow @WiguBooks on Twitter and/or Facebook and check our weekly drawing for $20 Amazon gift card and Wigu Book – simply type in #WiguWednesdays for the latest winners
• Two Grand Prize winners of $100 Amazon gift cards!
• Kids, you may enter every week as long as you keep reading and tracking your minutes.

*First weekly prize to be given away Wednesday, June 4^th followed by each consecutive Wednesday, through August 27^th.

**Grand prize winners will be selected based on top number of minutes read through the summer in 2 age divisions: 8 and under and 9 and up.  Grand Prizes will be announced Friday, August 29^th.

If your child is more of a writer than a reader:

Click on the same website as above. Once you are there, you can enter your child's original essay on their dream career.

TO ENTER (or enter your child’s submission):

• Share your career dreams with us via the form below
• 10 finalists will each receive a $100 Amazon gift card and Wigu Book
• Grand prize winner to receive an additional $250 Amazon gift card and a $1,000 donation to his or her school or library of choice.
• Winners will be notified via email and social media. Make sure to follow us @WiguBooks on Twitter and @WhenIGrowUpBooksbyWigu on FB

*Submission accepted through August 30^th

**10 finalists to be announced on Friday, September 5^th

***Grand prize winner to be announced Friday September 12^th

Even if you are a little late getting started in your summer reading, don't delay any longer. Get your child reading and enter those minutes.  You just might be a winner! 

I'm linking up today with other bloggers at Booking Mama's Kid Konnection.  Find other great children's book reviews and book-related posts as well as those for middle-grade and young adults every Saturday morning.

Winner of HERE AND AGAIN By Nicole R Dickson

I have a winner of a copy of HERE AND AGAIN by Nicole R Dickson! Thanks for being patient with me today while I ran my kids around.

The winner is.................................................................................Rhonda!

Check your email Rhonda!

Thanks to all of you who entered to win and visited my blog.  Be sure you enter my other giveaway for THE NEVER NEVER SISTERS by L Alison Heller!

If you were not the winner, you can still purchase your own copy by clicking the photo below: