Motivational Quotes

"It matters not what you are thought to be, but what you are.”

― Publilius Syrus

"Circumstances do not determine a man, they reveal him."

-- James Allen

“Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you."

-- James Allen

"Remember this, and also be persuaded of its truth-the future is not in the hands of fate, but in ourselves."

--Jules Jusserand

Book Spotlight: Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry

Brother has never been the rancher that his father and the older boys are. Sure, he can ride a horse, rescue a wayward calf, or mend a broken fence, but his heart just doesn’t seem to be in it. Even worse, every time one of the ranch animals dies he feels it too keenly. Still, with four older brothers to carry the load, it’s never been much of a problem.

Then Brother’s father is shipped off to Iraq with the rest of is reserve unit. With the older boys away at school, Brother must help his grandparents keep the ranch going. He’s determined to maintain the ranch just as his father left it, in the hope that doing so will ensure his father’s safe return. But life rarely goes according to plan. The hardships Brother faces will not only change the ranch but also reveal his true calling.

In her first novel Rosanne Parry takes a thoughtful, uplifting look at one particular corner of the heartland and the people who call it home.

• Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year 2009
• Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of 2009
• Washington Post Best Children’s Books of 2009
• ABC Best Books for Chidren 2009
• Publishers Weekly Flying Start Author 2009
• Indy Next Pick spring of 2009
• 2010 Rodda Award given by the Church and Synagogue Library Association
• 2010 Oregon Spirit Book Award from the Oregon Council of Teachers of English
• Oregon Battle of the Books List for the 2010/11 school year
• Nominated for a Cybil award in Middle Grade fiction– an award chosen by children’s book bloggers
• 2010 Capital Choices Notable Book for Middle Grade Readers
• 2009-10 nominee for the Nene Award–the children’s choice book award in Hawaii
• 2011-12 nominee for the Volunteer State Children’s Book Award–the children’s choice book award in Tenessee
• 2010 Honor Book for the Judy Lopez Memorial Award given by the Women’s National Book Association

Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (January 27, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375848029
ISBN-13: 978-0375848025

VISIT THE PUBLISHER'S WEBSITE FOR PURCHASING OPTIONS!

Tunes Tuesdays

It's time for another Tunes Tuesday. I've shared a bit of my taste in music, but I would really love to hear from the readers this time. Who are some of your favorite bands? What kind of music is your favorite? Is there a genre of music you won't listen to or are you cool with whatever is on the radio?

Winter Time Fun!

One of the best things about our yard is the hill we have that is perfect for sledding. Every winter our home is host to neighborhood sledding parties where the kids from the cul-de-sac visit and spend hours sliding down our hill, followed by hot chocolate all around.

Now that the girls are getting older, they're looking for speed. I want a product that lasts and doesn't cost me an arm and a leg. PoolGear Plus® offers an entire line of snow toys for making winter time fun last: snows sleds, tubes, discs, even an inflatable snowfort. With prices as low as $9.99, PoolGear Plus has snow toys that fit everyone's budget.

Do you remember eyeing a toy for your kids and thinking, “Wow! That’s cool.” That’s exactly how I felt when I saw the Sportsstuff® Snopedo Snow Tube. Its vivid yellow, black and red color-scheme, with its large block letters screams speed. Made from heavy-gauge PVC with a cold-crack additive, the Snopedo features heat-sealed seams and heavy-duty oversized molded PVC handles. The tube’s aerodynamic design allows it to be ridden in a seated or prone position. With a 170 lbs. maximum capacity, older kids can enjoy sledding as much as their younger siblings.

Snopedo has a safety value for fast inflation and deflation, which will make kids and parents happy. It also comes with a 90-day limited manufacturer’s warranty.

Winter is barely a month old here. Our family is looking forward to speeding down the hill with some new snow toys this year. Why don’t you check out PoolGear Plus’ website and let us know which snow toy is your favorite.


This post is sponsored by PoolGear Plus, the fastest-growing catalog and internet company in the U.S.

Product Review: Downy UNSTOPABLES™ In Wash Scent Booster

Laundry is one of those chores I will gladly pass off once the Lil Diva and Lil Princess get old enough. It doesn't take a tremendous amount of time, but it has to be done every day to keep up with it.

Over the years I've tried a variety of products to keep our clothes looking clean and smelling fresh. When I saw this free sample available for Downy UNSTOPABLES™ In Wash Scent Booster, I decided to give it a try. Who wouldn't want their clothes to smell great between washes?

I added UNSTOPABLES into the drum after I had started the water and poured in detergent. I loved the scent that wafted out of the package as soon as I opened it. After washing, I placed the clothes into the dryer with an unscented dryer sheet.

The FRESH scent from the UNSTOPABLES was definitely still there, but would it really stay until the next wash as they claimed?

Definitely. There was even a small trace of the scent after I washed my daughter's pajamas again.

The one down side to this product is that the scent is overpowering in the beginning. It irritated my and the Lil Diva's allergies. Even after my clothes sat in the drawer for two days, I had trouble wearing them and had to wash them to lessen the scent before I could put them on again. I should have thought of that before requesting a sample, as I don't even wear perfume on a regular basis to keep my allergies at bay.

Downy UNSTOPABLES In Wash Scent Booster is a fabulous product that lives up to its claims, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to keep that clean smell between washes. They are available in FRESH and LUSH scents.


I requested a free sample of this product with no promise of a review. I received no monetary compensation to share my opinions.

Book Spotlight: Unbridled Grace by Dr. Michael Norman

Answering a two-line classified ad in the newspaper had life-changing consequences for a trustingly naive doctor fresh out of school, just starting his career and life as a new father. In a nightmarish true story that could occur to any of us, he innocently takes a part-time chiropractic job from employers who were later found to be a Russian-organized crime ring involved in money laundering, insurance fraud and other crimes. Despite his cooperation in a federal government investigation, the author soon finds himself surrounded by deception on all sides. As his cooperation is turned cruelly against him, Michael endures a federal indictment and an early-morning raid upon his home where he was arrested at gunpoint by six FBI agents in front of his five-year-old daughter. He’s left with two choices: plead guilty to crimes he didn’t commit, receive probation and avoid prison time; or fight the injustice and risk going to prison for at least 10 years. The first means cooperating with the government and lying to put people in prison who may be innocent; the second means doing the impossible and taking on the government.

Unbridled Grace is the true story of how one man rises from the forces of evil through his renewed faith in Christ and takes the reader on a journey to redemption through the bold use of our power of choice for God. Along the way, Michael meets a dynamic Catholic parish priest who gives him the courage to forge a path through this crisis and a hard-working attorney who joins him in this monumental battle. Will their efforts be enough to free the author and his family from this nightmare? It is at this time that a series of seemingly miraculous occurrences begin and the reader is shown what courage, faith and the power of heartfelt prayer can bring to all of our lives when all else appears hopeless.

Read an excerpt!

For years, I was plagued by what-if scenarios permeating my mind. What if the deliveryman had forgotten my paper that day? What if I had been too busy to read the paper that day? Why had I surveyed the classified ads that day? Why had that microscopic two-line classified ad so strongly caught my eye back in October 1994? For a time, I guess, you could say I was obsessed with thoughts of how different the next six years of my life would have been if I had simply not found and read that tiny, obscure ad hidden in the paper that day. And to top it off, I would learn that the ad only ran for a couple of days.

I am referring to the tiny classified ad that Irving Healthcare used to attract applicants for employment and that first led me to contact them. I eagerly faxed a copy of my resume the following day and unknowingly set in motion a six-year chain of events that would change my and my family’s lives forever.

“This is a gift from God,” I remember thinking and telling my wife, Laura, regarding the prospects of a new part-time job for myself. I told her of the tiny classified ad seeking a part-time chiropractic position in the Dallas area. We were excited to think of the additional income and that it would not interfere with my private-practice hours. We thought this had to be an answer to our prayers!

Paperback: 164 pages
Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing, LLC (March 31, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1457500965
ISBN-13: 978-1457500961

PURCHASE AT AMAZON!

You've Got Mail Mondays!

Where does the time go? We're back for another You've Got Mail Monday. Not too much from Mr. Postman this week, and no books. That rarely happens.

Early in the week we received an envelope from the Creative Girls Club. I've received mailings from them maybe once a year and I keep toying with signing up the girls. The Lil Diva and the Lil Princess love arts and crafts. They attend an arts and crafts camp each summer and the past two years they've taken a scrapbooking camp in August. Sometimes the Parks and Rec Department in town offers art classes from Let's Gogh Art, but it's been a while since I've seen one.

According to the mailing, you can sign up your daughter ages 7 through 12, and they will ship the first two kits for only $1.99 each (plus postage and processing) , a savings of 80% off the regular non-member price. After that, two new kits are mailed every six weeks at a cost of only $8.99 each, plus postage and processing.  Also included in the envelope I received is a book titled, Wellspring Magic by Jan Fields.

Has anyone ever signed their daughter up for this club? What did you think of it?

You can tell garden planning season is on our minds right now. This week also brought The Gardener's Idea Book from Proven Winners. I'm guessing I must have signed up for something online because I've been receiving emails from them too. While I'll probably never have a garden that looks like those pictured in this book, it's still great for inspiration. I would love to put a small pond in at the corner of the backyard.

Proving that social media is a hot topic, The Wilbraham-Hampden Times had a blurb about a Social Media Workshop being sponsored by the Boston Road Business Association (BRBA). Its focus was to help local businesses learn how to use social media as a recruitment tool.

Another article that caught my eye is the start up of a new writing group at the Hampden Free Public Library. I had inquired about a writing group in town early on when I left Corporate America to embark upon  my writing career, but there wasn't one at the time and the Adult Services Librarian said they didn't usually last long. I wonder if this new group in our neighboring community will inspire the writers of our town to start a group.

That's pretty much it this week--unless you want me to go through my junk mail. There's always plenty of that!