How I Got This Way by Regis Philbin from IT Books, 2011
This was a fun read. Regis has done a terrific job of writing about 31 people who have had an influence on his television/talk show career. Whether this was a person he had to fortune of meeting face to face or that he was forced to admire from afar. Regis' influences come from all walks of life including sports, military and show business. It is obvious that Regis holds each of these individuals in high regard, often portraying himself like a star struck, admiring fan. Regis makes it easy for the reader to relate to him with his essays. For me this book is worth the read and will give you a respect for those people in show business who are really no different than the average person.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Four and Frugal
My little girl is four and has been shopping with me since birth. Apparently she's picked up some of my habits and is starting to incorporate them into her shopping. For starters she knows not to go grocery shopping without a list and I will buy certain things if they are on sale or if I have a coupon.
The other day my daughter was at the Toy Grocery Store and asked if she could use her money to buy a new toy. I said if there was something she really wanted and it was within her $10 budget. At the Toy Grocery Store it is easy to see what is on sale because they use bright yellow stickers. My daughter looked at items on sale and could not find anything she wanted. We then headed to clothing department where she found a cute top. Her first question was whether it was on sale and they could she buy it. Since this wa clothes I told her I'd buy it letting her keep her allowance.
When I related the story to my husband later that day he was surprised that our daughter would know when something was on sale and that she didn't spend her money. He was the one that suggested this post.
The other day my daughter was at the Toy Grocery Store and asked if she could use her money to buy a new toy. I said if there was something she really wanted and it was within her $10 budget. At the Toy Grocery Store it is easy to see what is on sale because they use bright yellow stickers. My daughter looked at items on sale and could not find anything she wanted. We then headed to clothing department where she found a cute top. Her first question was whether it was on sale and they could she buy it. Since this wa clothes I told her I'd buy it letting her keep her allowance.
When I related the story to my husband later that day he was surprised that our daughter would know when something was on sale and that she didn't spend her money. He was the one that suggested this post.
Monday, February 20, 2012
#50BookPledge Book 13 The Power of Positive Thinking
The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale from Simon and Schuster 1999
Pleasantly surprised by this book and how it still applies today. I was surprised by the number of references to the Bible and Christian practices in the book, however, they really do apply making the book easier to follow. Definitely worth the time to read/listen to or otherwise explore. You might even learn something about yourself in the process.
Pleasantly surprised by this book and how it still applies today. I was surprised by the number of references to the Bible and Christian practices in the book, however, they really do apply making the book easier to follow. Definitely worth the time to read/listen to or otherwise explore. You might even learn something about yourself in the process.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Love Notes
Way back when we were dating (some 14 years ago) my husband and I started writing letters to each other at Christmas. I kept them all and like to look back every so often to see what the special memories are (often something very simple). Now this is the one time a year I as hubby to get in touch with his feelings, but he doesn't complain. Some of the letters are longer than others but it is really the thought we both appreciate.
We also write annual birthday letters to our daughter. These started two weeks before she arrived and are really meant as a journal for when she is older. I share the special memories for the year, key milestones like first haircut and hopes/dreams for the future. The future stuff is pretty general because I don't want her reading these in 20 years and feeling she's disappointed us by not living up to our dreams for her.
We also write annual birthday letters to our daughter. These started two weeks before she arrived and are really meant as a journal for when she is older. I share the special memories for the year, key milestones like first haircut and hopes/dreams for the future. The future stuff is pretty general because I don't want her reading these in 20 years and feeling she's disappointed us by not living up to our dreams for her.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
#50BookPledge - Books 9-12 - The Twilight Saga
The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer from Little Brown and Company 2005-2008 #50BookPledge my next four books.
Recently I borrowed The Twilight Saga Collection e-book from my local library at the urging of a couple of friends. Since The Twilight Saga is deemed Young Adult fiction I wasn't sure if this was something I'd be interested in, much less enjoy, but I figured it was worth a shot. Ultimately I enjoyed all four of the novels and the consistent format.
Book 1 Twilight
This book could easily stand alone and doesn't require the sequels, however, it is much more complete with them. The book is well written with a very plausible setting that makes you want to keep reading. The main characters as well as the majority of the secondary characters are introduced in this book and are realistic. Based on Twilight Ms. Meyer has set a high standard for the remaining books in the series.
Book 2 New Moon
Picks up exactly where Twilight leaves off so there is no guessing what happened in the months/years in between. The treatment of Chapter 3 when Edward leaves and Bella retreats into herself is well done. The blank months followed up by living on the edge as a very clear definition of the escape. Maybe I'm biased but I love that the couple gets back together and are going to be facing a number of future challenges together.
Book 3 Eclipse
Not a huge fan of Jacob in Eclipse, but I am intrigued by the new developments. I found Eclipse a bit harder to follow, yet it was still a good reading, just required more attention probably because it seemed like it was filling some dead space.
Book 4 Breaking Dawn
A perfect wrap of the series as it ties up a lot of loose ends including the wedding, relationship with the vampires and wolves, etc. I liked the truce between all of the different factions and the developing relationship between the "vegetarian" vampires and the wolves. While the book mainly follows Edward and Bella, there is a fair bit of attention on Renesmee and I would like to see follow up series about her life.
Recently I borrowed The Twilight Saga Collection e-book from my local library at the urging of a couple of friends. Since The Twilight Saga is deemed Young Adult fiction I wasn't sure if this was something I'd be interested in, much less enjoy, but I figured it was worth a shot. Ultimately I enjoyed all four of the novels and the consistent format.
Book 1 Twilight
This book could easily stand alone and doesn't require the sequels, however, it is much more complete with them. The book is well written with a very plausible setting that makes you want to keep reading. The main characters as well as the majority of the secondary characters are introduced in this book and are realistic. Based on Twilight Ms. Meyer has set a high standard for the remaining books in the series.
Book 2 New Moon
Picks up exactly where Twilight leaves off so there is no guessing what happened in the months/years in between. The treatment of Chapter 3 when Edward leaves and Bella retreats into herself is well done. The blank months followed up by living on the edge as a very clear definition of the escape. Maybe I'm biased but I love that the couple gets back together and are going to be facing a number of future challenges together.
Book 3 Eclipse
Not a huge fan of Jacob in Eclipse, but I am intrigued by the new developments. I found Eclipse a bit harder to follow, yet it was still a good reading, just required more attention probably because it seemed like it was filling some dead space.
Book 4 Breaking Dawn
A perfect wrap of the series as it ties up a lot of loose ends including the wedding, relationship with the vampires and wolves, etc. I liked the truce between all of the different factions and the developing relationship between the "vegetarian" vampires and the wolves. While the book mainly follows Edward and Bella, there is a fair bit of attention on Renesmee and I would like to see follow up series about her life.
#50BookPledge Book 8 Eat Pray Love
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert from the Penguin Group USA, 2007
I looked forward to reading Eat Love Pray having heard a great deal of praise for it especially leading up to the release of Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage. Instead of reading the book I received the audio book narrated by Elizabeth Gilbert.
This book didn't live up to the hype that surrounded it, at least not to my expectations. Elizabeth's book was very much an autobiography of a period of her life, and didn't have any relation to my life. My apologies to the author by this was not a book I enjoyed.
I looked forward to reading Eat Love Pray having heard a great deal of praise for it especially leading up to the release of Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage. Instead of reading the book I received the audio book narrated by Elizabeth Gilbert.
This book didn't live up to the hype that surrounded it, at least not to my expectations. Elizabeth's book was very much an autobiography of a period of her life, and didn't have any relation to my life. My apologies to the author by this was not a book I enjoyed.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Kisses - Little Reminders
Now one would think it is obvious where kisses come into play reminding another person in your life how important they are but maybe there are other times or situations you have not considered.
It seems whenever someone in our house hurts someone's feelings the best way to make the pain go away is for the offender to give a kiss and say I'm Sorry! It is fun when this happens between the adults and our daughters sees it because it helps her to understand how feelings get hurt and how a little caring can fix them.
Kisses also make for a heartfelt yet inexpensive reward system. When I "catch" my daughter being good I'll often sneak a kiss and let her know I am happy with what she is doing. Most of the time this results a smile!
It seems whenever someone in our house hurts someone's feelings the best way to make the pain go away is for the offender to give a kiss and say I'm Sorry! It is fun when this happens between the adults and our daughters sees it because it helps her to understand how feelings get hurt and how a little caring can fix them.
Kisses also make for a heartfelt yet inexpensive reward system. When I "catch" my daughter being good I'll often sneak a kiss and let her know I am happy with what she is doing. Most of the time this results a smile!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Pictures - Preserving Memories
This is where the old saying, "A picture says a thousand words," really holds true. I am not a huge picture person and think my husband's aunt is a bit crazy when she tries to get 75+ people between the ages of 0 and 80 together for the annual family photo.
Pictures are a very important part of who we are and do a great job of telling our stories. We regularly print pictures we've taken from vacations and special events or just a part of everyday life. We find these pictures helpful when our daughter asks a question about something that happened in the passed.
We regularly display pictures around our house, changing them to keep current. My daughter has photo albums she looks at regularly along with the photos on our computers. This encourages me to want to take me more pictures just because. Of course this is becoming more fun as our daughter is starting to take her ourn photos, often of her feet.
Two of the biggest photo events for our family, however, are the slide shows my husband put together for a couple big events. The first was for my dad's 65th birthday and we had a difficult time locating enough pictures to fill five minutes plus nothing from his childhood. Luckily with the help of his coworkers and friends we were able to pull it off. The second slide show was to celebrate our daughter's adoption and baptism. This time the problem was limiting the number of photos.
So enjoy your photos. Share them often, download them and see how they can brighten someone's day.
Pictures are a very important part of who we are and do a great job of telling our stories. We regularly print pictures we've taken from vacations and special events or just a part of everyday life. We find these pictures helpful when our daughter asks a question about something that happened in the passed.
We regularly display pictures around our house, changing them to keep current. My daughter has photo albums she looks at regularly along with the photos on our computers. This encourages me to want to take me more pictures just because. Of course this is becoming more fun as our daughter is starting to take her ourn photos, often of her feet.
Two of the biggest photo events for our family, however, are the slide shows my husband put together for a couple big events. The first was for my dad's 65th birthday and we had a difficult time locating enough pictures to fill five minutes plus nothing from his childhood. Luckily with the help of his coworkers and friends we were able to pull it off. The second slide show was to celebrate our daughter's adoption and baptism. This time the problem was limiting the number of photos.
So enjoy your photos. Share them often, download them and see how they can brighten someone's day.
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