Jill Smolinksi’s Objects of my Affection

Let me just say this book pulls you in from the start. You have two women, from different walks of life, they seem so different, but soon find they’re more alike than they know.

Marva—the 65 year-old artist, alone by choice, surrounding herself with “things” rather than people to comfort herself in the house she’s inherited and lives out of necessity. Lucy on the other hand has given up everything in her life to send her drug addicted son to rehab. Both women has loved and lost but see’s people an things in two totally different ways.

Blend these two personalities together in what seems to be a hopeless situation, trying to clear out Marva’s home which could be featured on the next episode of Hoarders you get a wonderfully witty and emotional story about two woman trying to find their way in life after losing the things that were so important to them. Find out how these two women find common ground in a house filled with “things”, two sons that hate their mothers, and past loves and tribulations to bond together in Jill Smolinski’s latest book, Object of my Affection.

Smolinski has written a warm, entertaining read that ask what’s important enough in life to keep and what mean so much less and that we need to know when and how to let go.

I definitely recommend this book for your to be read summer pile.

Hmm…What to do with a rainy day in the mountains

What to do. What to do.

On a day like to today, when Mother Nature can’t decide if she’s watering the buds of Spring or show off her power with a mighty roll of thunder accompanied by a bright clash of lightning, I revert back to being a young adult. I go to my book shelf of dvds and pull what? The Twilight Series. Yes folks…Twilight.

I love the power struggle between light and dark. The same old Romeo and Juliet story, spun this time with Vampire and Werewolf twist. I even like the love triangle between Edward, Bella and Jacob. (I’m Team Jasper BTW) But what I absolutely love the most is watching how horrible the first director’s vision was, and change over a course of four movies to grow into something worth watching with the other directors. While still being a story designed for folks mostly one third of my age, I have to admit the saga has become my guilty pleasure. I now find myself waiting to see the outcome of  Breaking Dawn more than my teenage daughter.

Yes, I could have selected something from my selves that was more age appropriate to fill the hours in my day. Something like The Book of Eli or From Paris with Love, but…why? When life has become already oh so real, why not escape to a world where the protagonist is one that will never appear in daily life?

So on this stormy day, I decided to allow my brain cells to rest. I think I’ve accomplished my mission. If I concentrate really hard, I can almost hear the pitter-patter of irresponsibility creeping up behind me.

Uh-oh…with the question of what to prepare for dinner slipping into my head maturity returns.

Okay so…it’s been awhile

 Let’s face it, I was never the greatest blogger anyway and yes, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted on my first venture into social media. I’ve been a little busy in the past year and a half or so making a baby, learning what it means to be a mommy all over again, beginning to take my Avon business seriously to be able to stay at home with previously mentioned baby, began a new venture with two friends, trying to finish at least one of the thirty stories I’ve started in my database, all while trying to be a wife and mother for my family . What this is called people is SPREADING YOURSELF TOO THIN!

I didn’t think it was possible, but I’m finally admitting it to the person who needs to know this…me. During this process I’ve found that attempting to do so many things in my life, I’m neglecting most. I considered myself to be the queen of multitasking only to later read an article that proved that multitasking is NOT a good thing. Here I am thinking this is a great quality to process, and the corporate positions I’ve held tended to agree as well. In day-to-day life, with a toddler demanding cookies and cake for breakfast, two teenagers going in different directions, team members who need my assistance, and a husband who seems to have been left in the cold by my ever shifting focus, I find that multitasking no longer works for me.

So today I declare–”Today is the day I take back my sanity!” I know, I know, I haven’t quite figured out how to do that yet, but I’m working on it. I’ve started with a family calendar. I already see a change in using it. I now know where my teens are and what time and how many times Super Why will air between PBS and Sprout. I can calculate what time I need to have dinner prepared and for how many, and not go ballistic when my husband being on call can change that at the sound of a ringtone.

I’ve placed more restrictions on myself in the past year or so than the U.S. Army did during my years with my fellow soldiers. I’m learning to come to grips with being a stay-at-home mom after over thirty years of working for someone else and being told what to do. It’s a new experience to start my day in my PJs and not be required to get out of them before 0700am.

“Take time for yourself today.” The last words I hear from my husband everyday, but never take action upon. Well I think it’s time.

Let’s begin…

Internet Diversions: eBay Seller Auctioning Nicolas-Cage-is-Really-a-Vampire Photo

You can be the proud owner of said photo – for just a million dollars!

Posted by Kate Erbland Monday, September 19, 2011 12:10:22 PM

Last week, an eBay auction of a photograph lit up the Internet-ing world with both silliness and a big conspiracy bent. The photo came with its own wacky theory – that Nicolas Cage was secretly a vampire. eBay seller “jack_mord” was hawking a photo, billed simply as “Nicolas Cage is a Vampire / Photo from 1870 / Tennessee,” complete with its own presumption that Cage is not just a talented (and Oscar-winning!) actor from a Hollywood family (who may be prone to some of his own offbeat life choices), but a vampire who will rise up like a phoenix every few years, only to garner popular glory in whatever time period he lands.

The price for that little photo? A cool million dollars.

The photo is said to be from the 1870’s, featuring a man that looks like Cage, but whom seller jack_mord believes is Cage and “that he is some sort of walking undead / vampire, et cetera, who quickens / reinvents himself once every 75 years or so. 150 years from now, he might be a politician, the leader of a cult, or a talk show host.” If I was going to go through all that trouble, I think I’d aim a tad bit higher than “talk show host,” but who am I to presume that I understand vampire Cage’s endgame career choices? The photo is billed as documenting a Civil War-era man who lived in Bristol, Tennessee. Found in album that contained “an unusual number of Civil War era death portraits,” the man in the picture was the only one not identified by name. Conspiracy!

And while the photo alone is worthy some serious scrutinizing and a few laughs, the Q&A section on the photo’s auction page is truly priceless. In it, jack_mord answers various questions like “If Nicolas Cage dies, thereby being proven to not be a vampire, do I get a refund?” and “will you hand-deliver anywhere in the universe?” and the comment-as-question “Nick Cage has aged terribly in the past 10 years, he’s obviously not been drinking his daily amount of blood to stay young” that results in an answer that expounds upon the Cage-as-vampire theory.

Of course, there’s one small hitch when it comes to this clever little slice of movie memorabilia and conspiracy theory – vampires don’t get captured in photographs. Duh.

Sadly, as of now, the photo has been pulled from auction. Now that’s a conspiracy. [THR]

Source: social.entertainment.msn.com

Gabrielle Donnelly’s The Little Women Letters

As a fan of the original March girls, I was very interested in reading Gabrielle Donnelly’s The Little Women Letters.

Ms. Donnelly, breathed new life into a story that had fallen to the back of my mind and been simply forgotten as an adult. Sisterhood holds a bond that is completely sacred to those involve, and Donnelly captures that spirit blending our March sisters of old with the lives of the Atwater sisters. As a teen, I wondered where these women would go in their lives. What happened to them? The middle daughter Lulu, discovery of the lost letters helps shed light on the lives of the March girls and their family after the book. We find out there’s a different bond between the first sisters and the new set: Jo is the grandmother.

Lulu is on the road to self-discovery. Her older sister Emma is the centered, focused woman of the family, much like Meg in Little Women. Sophie, the baby of the family is young, vivacious, with talent to lead her to be the next big actress.

As with the original set of sisters, these three are very different with one main character bringing them together: Lulu. Words from her grandmother’s pen help Lulu to find her way as well as put things right for her family as well.

In a time where books about vampires and werewolves rule, The Little Women Letters proves to be a nice refreshing change. I recommend this book for any fan of the original Little Women, and any little women they may know. What a great summer read to take along to the lakeshore, beach or just a quiet porch.

Come shop my store!

And the winner is…

Lynda Peters!

Congratulations Lynda, you win a copy of Santa Montefiore’s “The Mermaid Garden”. You’ll be receiving you copy next week.

Thanks for visiting, playing and commenting.

Santa Montefiore’s The Mermaid Garden Contest

Since we’ve had no comments in this contest, I’ve decided to open it up to a few more sites.

I’ve extended the contest until midnight, 8 June.  Contest details can be found here, http://networkedblogs.com/iiVEz and here, http://networkedblogs.com/ij1GJ.

My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy by Albert "Prodigy" Johnson

By Albert “Prodigy” Johnson with Laura Checkoway

Touchstone, April 2011

Hardcover, 320 pages

Description:

From one of the greatest rappers of all time, a memoir about a life almost lost and a revealing look at the dark side of hip hop’s Golden Era . . .

In this often violent but always introspective memoir, Mobb Deep’s Prodigy tells his much anticipated story of struggle, survival, and hope down the mean streets of New York City. For the first time, he gives an intimate look at his family background, his battles with drugs, his life of crime, his relentless suffering with sickle-cell anemia, and much more. Recently released after serving three and a half years in state prison due to what many consider an unlawful arrest by a rumored secret NYPD hip hop task force, Prodigy is ready to talk about his life as one of rap’s greatest legends.

My Infamous Life is an unblinking account of Prodigy’s wild times with Mobb Deep who, alongside rappers like Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Jay-Z, and Wu-Tang Clan, changed the musical landscape with their vivid portrayals of early ’90s street life. It is a firsthand chronicle of legendary rap feuds like the East Coast–West Coast rivalry; Prodigy’s beefs with Jay-Z, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Ja Rule, and Capone-N-Noreaga; and run-ins with prodigal hit makers and managers like Puff Daddy, Russell Simmons, Chris Lighty, Irv Gotti, and Lyor Cohen.

Taking the reader behind the smoke-and-mirrors glamour of the hip hop world, so often seen as the only way out for those with few options, Prodigy lays down the truth about the intoxicating power of money, the meaning of true friendship and loyalty, and the ultimately redemptive power of self. This is the heartbreaking journey of a child born in privilege, his youth spent among music royalty like Diana Ross and Dizzy Gillespie, educated in private schools, until a family tragedy changed everything. Raised in the mayhem of the Queensbridge projects, Prodigy rose to the dizzying heights of fame and eventually fell into the darkness of a prison cell.

I generally don’t read rap autobiographies, but I have to say that Prodigy’s view into his life as one of the high ranking rappers in the game was a bit different from the pompous, self-glorifying stories I’ve come accustomed to hearing. 

Straight, and to the point, Albert Johnson (Prodigy) takes you on a tour of his rise to fame and his fall from grace of the rap world during the nineties. From Jay Z to Lindsey Lohan, you find that no matter where come from you can rub elbows with people from all walks of life, and bump heads with a lot of them.

If you’re a fan of Mobb Deep, you’ll enjoy this true-life, story told and seen through the eyes of Albert “Prodigy” Johnson.

Santa Montefiore’s The Mermaid Garden Contest

The Mermaid Garden
Author: Santa Montefiore
Pages: 400 Reading Level: Adult
Release Date: May 3rd 2011
Review Source: Simon & Schuster
Available: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Borders

Not one, but two beautifully written stories. Young love at its best, unfolds in the first story with Floriana and Dante. A poor girl meets rich boy, and they fall in love story, but the heart provides a difficult path to follow.

The second story takes you to the coast of Devon England. Here you find a husband, Grey and his wife, Marina struggling to keep the hotel they own open. Rafa, a handsome, young Argentine is hired by Marina to teach painting during the summer. He soon makes an unforgettable impression on the town, Marina, and her family.

If you believe in the power of love, then I suggest you read The Mermaid Garden. The wonderful details of the settings, take you into a world of love waiting to blossom. I love a book that introduces the characters with such detail, you feel as though you know them. Knowing them, makes your care what happens to them. Isn’t that what we all want in a romance novel?

Santa Montefiore’s The Mermaid Garden, will make a great addition to your summer reading list.

Now for the good news. To kick of that list, I’m offering a chance to win a free copy of The Mermaid Garden. All you have to do is leave a comment about the best romance story you’ve ever read, at one of the following blogs: Formulations, Dusk to Dawn Romance.

Your name will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of the book. (Only one entry per person) Winner to be selected by Random.org. Winners be notified via email, and the name posted on all three sites. So please make sure you leave your email address.

Contest will close at midnight on 3 June. Winner announce on 4 June. Don’t miss your chance to enter.

Good luck!