Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Back to School Tips for Busy Moms



I'm not sure how it is around your place, but this busy mom is balancing work and getting the kids ready to go back to school. Here are links to some back to school tips for all us busy moms.

Time management tips: http://lifeasmom.com/2012/08/5-time-management-tips-for-busy-moms-for-back-to-school-season.html

Great list of links for all kinds of good stuff: New School Year Resolutions, After-School Routine Checklist, Must-Have Apps for Moms, and more! http://life.familyeducation.com/parenting/organization/34428.html

Ways to avoid Back to School signup chaos: http://www.workingmother.com/content/4-ways-avoid-back-school-signup-chaos 

Storage solutions: http://www.workingmother.com/content/11-back-school-storage-solutions

Monday, August 24, 2015

CFBA: Cold as Ice by M. K. Gilroy

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Cold as Ice
Sydney Lane Press
by
M.K. Gilroy




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:




Mark won’t claim he has done it all in the world of publishing, but he has packed boxes, edited manuscripts, made sales calls, created marketing plans, directed design and illustration, started companies, consulted, agented the works of others, and written advertising and catalog copy. He’s authored, compiled, and ghost written books that have landed on an array of bestsellers lists and sold millions of copies. His first ghost writing project, The Wal-Mart Way, was done for Don Soderquist, Sam Walton’s longtime right-hand man.

In early 2012 he put on a new hat as a fiction author. His debut novel, Cuts Like a Knife, was released in April 2012 and was met with rave reviews from USA Today, Fresh Fiction, Publishers Weekly, and other leading national reviewers. His second novel, Every Breath You Take, second in the Kristen Conner Mystery Series, released in Fall 2012 to similar acclaim. Kristen Conner returns in Cold As Ice, which releases in Fall 2014.

Gilroy has extensive writing credits. He scripted and served as creative consultant for a two-hour training video that was honored with the Award of Excellence by the International Television Association. He has compiled and written close to fifty books and penned hundreds articles and curriculum pieces for a variety of periodicals and publishers.

Gilroy and his wife Amy reside in Brentwood, Tennessee. Their six children are Lindsey, Merrick, Ashley, Caroline, Bo, and Zachary—the youngest has now headed off for college, so he and Amy are officially empty nesters.


ABOUT THE BOOK



Detective Kristen Conner is back on a new murder case. She’s still fighting with her sister—and no surprise, someone new wants to kill her!

He was a pillar in his Chicago neighborhood: popular school teacher, devoted father and husband, political activist on behalf of underprivileged children—and a master gardener who liked to plant flowers in his neighbor’s yards. What wasn’t to love about him? Who would want him dead?

When Detective Kristen Conner lands the case she knows from day one who the key suspect is. That’s simple. The person most likely to kill you is someone close that you know and love. But the wife? She was always at her husband’s side and just as passionate about his causes as he was. No way could this loving wife and mother of three be a killer. Right?

Mix in her on-again, off-again relationship with FBI Agent Austin Reynolds, a quick trip to New York City where Kristen helps her media-star sister for a new apartment—only to discover the body of a man who appears to have been executed by a professional killer on a run through Central Park—and Kristen Conner is once again swept into a world of danger, intrigue, and a confusing love life.

What she doesn’t know just might kill her.


If you would like to read the first chapter of Cold as Ice, go HERE.



Interview with Lisa Tillinger Johnsen, Author of STOP THE DIET, I WANT TO GET OFF! at The Book Connection



I thought my readers would be interested in an interview posted today at The Book Connection with author Lisa Tillinger Johansen, MS, RD, author of STOP THE DIET, I WANT TO GET OFF! You can find it at http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2015/08/interview-with-lisa-tillinger-johansen.html

Friday, August 21, 2015

As A Busy Mom Thinks: How I Embraced My Messy Bessy Side


I recall what a neatnik I used to be. That was long before the girls came along and way before I returned to work full time. Even when it was just John Boy and me or Paddy (what the girls call their dad), John Boy, and me things were fairly neat around here. As soon as the Lil' Diva and Lil' Princess arrived, my house exploded into a place filled with things, and lots of them too.

It wouldn't bother me so much if the girls would willingly part with the toys, games, and other kid stuff they outgrow or no longer play with; but they get their sentimental side from their dad, so they keep everything. And once I returned to working outside of the house, there was no way I could keep up the regular household chores, never mind bug them to donate some stuff.

So, for the time being, I am embracing my Messy Bessy side: keeping things just clean enough to be hygienic, but certainly not up to par with what the house used to be.

Now, if I could just reconcile myself to the garden full of weeds out in the back yard, I could be happy.

Book Spotlight: Invisible Jenny May by Dawn Aldrich


Jenny May does everything right. She minds her manners, makes her bed, dresses herself, ties her own shoes and braids her own hair without reminding. Yet, despite her good behavior, no one in her large family notices her, except Granny. With Granny's help and some "magic" tea cakes, find out how Invisible Jenny May becomes visible.

A signed copy can find its way to your home by ordering on Dawn' s website, where you may indicate to whom she should sign the book. Otherwise, you may also order through Halo Publishing International, Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Invisible Jenny May is also available in Kindle and Nook versions.

You can learn the story behind Invisible Jenny May at Christian Children's Authors, where Dawn blogs on a regular basis.

Monday, August 10, 2015

Mailbox Monday - August 10

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

It's Monday again. My, how time flies when we're having fun. The real estate world is moving fast and furious. I am working 60+ hours and still can't keep up. Good thing I love it.

My girls are going on a short vacation with family on Wednesday, so at least I don't have to feel guilty they will be bored while I am working my tail off. We are also celebrating a birthday this week. The Lil' Diva turns 14 on Tuesday. Don't know how that happened.



Two books arrived this week. I'll let you think about what's been on my mind lately. The first one is for a virtual book tour that I am participating in.


The Paleo. The Zone. The Gluten-free. Another day, another diet. We’re caught in a never-ending merry-go-round of weight loss plans, fueled by celebrity endorsers, TV doctors and companies angling for a piece of a $60 billion industry. But do these diets really work? And how healthy are they?

Registered Dietitian Lisa Tillinger Johansen examines dozens of the most wildly popular diets based on medical facts, not hype. And along the way, she reveals tried-and-true weight loss strategies, relying on her years of hospital experience, weight-loss seminars and community outreach efforts. With insight and humor, Stop The Diet, I Want To Get Off shows that the best answer is often not a trendy celebrity-endorsed diet, but easy-to-follow guidelines that are best for our health and our waistlines.

*


My girls are huge Restaurant Impossible fans. The show was actually here in town not that long ago. Sadly, we weren't chosen as volunteers to help with the remodel and weren't able to get in to eat that night, but we knew the family whose restaurant was being renovated and got to see how much they were helped.

When my youngest heard that Fit Fuel was coming out, she insisted we pre-order so we could have an autographed copy.

With more than 25 years in the culinary profession, Chef Robert Irvine has cooked his way through Europe, the Far East, the Caribbean and the Americas in hotels and on the high seas. He's best known as the host of one of Food Network's highest-rated shows, Restaurant: Impossible, but equally recognized for his muscular physique and healthy lifestyle focus that once earned him recognition as one of the top 25 Fittest Guys in America by Men's Fitness magazine.

With the release of Fit Fuel: A Chef's Guide to Eating Well, Getting Fit, and Living Your Best Life, Chef Irvine translates his tough love tactics from the failing restaurant owner to the everyday man and woman struggling to get their health and fitness goals on track.

Developed from Robert Irvine's lifetime of training and nutritional knowledge, with support from distinguished fitness writer Matt Tuthill, Fit Fuel is packed from cover to cover with equal parts inspiration and information that can change your life forever.

The book is divided into three parts, the first of which examines the mental aspects of goal setting, habit forming, and long-term maintenance. Here, Chef Irvine provides encouraging, digestible ideas of how to change the way we see and think about food, ourselves, and our own unlimited potential. Just as he's done in season after season of Restaurant: Impossible, Chef Irvine provides readers with the same no-excuses encouragement and mental coaching in Fit Fuel, motivating with tools, resources, and inspiration every step of the way.

The second section of the book focuses on training, with an easy-to-follow resistance training program, demonstrated through A and B photography and well-defined techniques that the 49-year-old British Royal Navy veteran considers fundamental to his own lean and muscular physique. In addition to the main program, there are time-saving workouts, as well as a full starter s program for any beginner who might find the main program too daunting off the bat.

In its final section, Fit Fuel provides recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, all illustrated with realistic photography and step-by-step instructions. Few dishes or main ingredients are overlooked, despite their unmerited reputations as no-no foods. From pancakes to salads, beef to fish, Chef Irvine challenges the idea of good vs. bad as it pertains to the everyday diet, emphasizing the fact that healthy eating does not require deprivation.

When you're finally ready to achieve your full potential, Fit Fuel awaits.

What did you receive this past week?

CFBA: Hope Harbor by Irene Hannon

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Hope Harbor
Revell (July 7, 2015)
by
Irene Hannon




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:




Irene Hannon is a bestselling, award-winning author who took the publishing world by storm at the tender age of 10 with a sparkling piece of fiction that received national attention.

Okay…maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. But she was one of the honorees in a complete-the-story contest conducted by a national children’s magazine. And she likes to think of that as her “official” fiction-writing debut!

Since then, she has written more than 45 romantic suspense and contemporary romance/women’s fiction novels. She is a seven-time finalist and three-time winner of the RITA award—the “Oscar” of romantic fiction—and a member of Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Her books have also won a Daphne du Maurier award, a Carol award, three HOLT Medallions, a National Readers’ Choice award, a Retailers Choice award, two Booksellers’ Best awards and two Reviewers’ Choice awards from RT Book Reviews magazine. One of her novels was also named by Booklist as a top 10 inspirational fiction books of 2011. In addition, she is a two-time Christy award finalist.

Irene, who holds a B.A. in psychology and an M.A. in journalism, juggled two careers for many years until she gave up her executive corporate communications position with a Fortune 500 company to write full. She is happy to say she has no regrets!

In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, gardening and singing. A trained vocalist, she has sung the leading role in numerous musicals, including “South Pacific,” “Brigadoon,” “Oklahoma” “The King and I” and “Anything Goes.” She is also a soloist at her church.

When not otherwise occupied, Irene and her husband enjoy traveling, Saturday mornings at their favorite coffee shop and spending time with family. They make their home in Missouri.




ABOUT THE BOOK



Tracy Campbell never wanted to leave Hope Harbor, Oregon, or the idyllic three-generation cranberry farm where she grew up. But life--and love--altered her plans. When tragedy strikes and changes her plans yet again, she finds herself back in her hometown with a floundering farm to run and a heartbreaking secret. Romance is not on her agenda. Nor is it on Michael Hunter's. The visitor from Chicago has daunting secrets of his own. But when Tracy recruits him to help save a struggling charitable organization, the winds of change begin to sweep through Hope Harbor, bringing healing, hope, and love to countless lives--including their own.


Fan favorite Irene Hannon brings a whole new cast of characters to life in a charming Oregon seaside village. Emotional and heartwarming, this story invites readers to come home to Hope Harbor, where love and hope bloom--and hearts heal.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Hope Harbor, go HERE.