Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop! A big thank you to Kathy @ I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and Rhianna from Diary of a Bookworm for co-hosting this hop!

There are over 400 blogs each signed up to host a giveaway.  This hop runs from October 24 - 31.

The winner of the giveaway on my site will receive a $10 gift card to Amazon! Use it to buy one of my two books (Adventures with the Word of God or Family Home Evening Adventures), or anything else you like.

To enter:

1. Follow this blog
2. Like my author page on Facebook (here)
3. And leave me a comment about one of the topics in either of my books that interests you most (click on linked titles below to read more about my books - see under book description for some topics listed):

Adventures with the Word of God 

or  

Family Home Evening Adventures

Good luck!

Scripture of the Day: Mosiah 3:19

My Head is Under Water

Yep. I am buried over here. I am working on a big research report about black and earl grey teas (yuck!). So far the powerpoint report is over 500 slides long. And I would not be surprised if it needed a few hundred more. So, although I did not intend to take a blog break, please forgive me as I take a few more days to get this report wrapped up. If it weren't for fall break and the kids out of school I might have been able to finish it faster, but spending a little time with them on their holiday is more important than a yucky tea report. So, please bear with me.

See ya soon!

Book Review: Not My Type

A few months ago I reviewed Melanie Jacobson's book The List (which I adored - read my review here). And as soon as her newest book, Not My Type, was released a month ago I bought the e-version to read. And I have to say Jacobson has real talent. I love her wit and humor, her character development (especially the dad in this book), and her use of thank you notes as a literary device. Such great work! So great I have already read this book several times and have been referring to it (more like dissecting it) as I try to improve my own writing skills. I can't wait for Jacobson's next book!


From the back of the book: Twenty-three-year-old Pepper Spicer is not living the dream. She ended her engagement at the last minute because her fiancé — a musician and soon-to-be reality TV star — wanted her to sacrifice her own career ambitions for his.

Now she's stuck at home sharing a room with her little sister, trying to pay off massive debt for a wedding that didn't happen, and spending Friday nights Facebook-stalking everyone who has a better life. Her therapist father urges her to choose her career dreams and count her blessings by writing weekly thank you notes, but gratitude is a tall order when she botches an important job interview and has to settle for writing an undercover dating web-zine column — the last thing in the world she wants to do. Still, as Pepper (byline: Indie Girl) chronicles her bizarre and hilarious blind dates, she gives her father's challenge a try and slowly finds herself leaving self-pity behind. Life takes a major upswing as Pepper's column hits the big time and she tastes the exhilarating thrill of success. But there's one tiny problem: the intensely hot man she's falling for is having issues with her job (again). Will Pepper trade her personal ambition for another chance at love?


Read the first chapter of Not My Type here.

Read additional reviews on Goodreads here.

Scripture of the Day: Psalms 37:8

Ask the Editor #4

This episode of Ask the Editor tells about some of the new words included in the 2011 version of the dictionary. I was surprised to hear cougar (as an older woman seeking a romantic relationship with a younger man) was only added this year. And there were a few others I had never even heard of before. As always, these videos help me learn something new!



Scripture of the Day: Alma 5:46

Dear Wal-Mart,

I know we have not had the perfect relationship over the years, but I wanted to take a minute to thank you for what happened this past week. I will be the first to admit it - I am truly thankful for the Wal-Mart employee who found and turned in the iPad my DH left in the cart last Thursday night. By the time I realized the iPad was not to be found (late Friday night), my DH (at that point it stood for dog house rather than darling husband) was gone camping and had not taken his cell phone. So by the time he returned home Saturday afternoon and realized he had left it at your store, we were almost certain the iPad was a gonner.

My hopes were raised when the Mobile Me app couldn't find it - I began to reason it must be in a safe at the store if the homing device was being blocked. Maybe it was me wishful thinking - I mean, I truly and desperately did not want to tell my mother the iPad she had gifted me was already missing. But when the weekend manager was not able to contact the head manager and give a definitive answer about the iPad, and the Mobile Me app wasn't tracking it all weekend, I have to admit my hopes grew.

Sorry to drone on like this. Really, I just want to say I could have kissed the feet of that manager when she called this morning. Only, being on the phone and all, I couldn't see her feet. And when I got to the store to pick it up and saw the dirty floor in there, I just decided to go with a handshake and a gushing "thank you."

Although I have doubted at times, there are really a few good points about shopping at Wal-Mart.

Too Much Change

So, is anyone out there liking the new Blogger interface? I tried it for a week and found I preferred the old version. And I thought the new version looked too sterile or boring. I miss the blue and find the orange kind of meh. If you like it, please share what you like. Maybe I am missing something.

And then there are the facebook changes, which I am not hip on either. I do like the idea of video chat options--totally nice. But the news story concept is just not needed. Facebook people are totally messing with a good thing. And they are making changes every month it seems. Are they not aware that some people out there need time to adapt to change? Not everyone is as high tech as Mark Zuckerberg.

Scripture of the Day: Revelations 1:4

Book review: Minor Adjustments

Minor Adjustments is Rachael Renee Anderson's third book. I loved her first two (Divinely Designed and Luck of the Draw), so I was excited when this new book was released recently and downloaded it on my eReader right away.

Although Minor Adjustments has a fun romantic element to its plot, similar to Anderson's first two novels, it is different in that it tackles the serious topic of child custody. This marks new territory for Anderson and shows she has the depth of talent for thought-provoking literature.

One thing I especially liked about Minor Adjustments was that the plot did not take the hard challenges facing the characters and then provide them with an easy out. The long distance relationship and custody battle were not wrapped up simply; the decisions made by the main characters were complicated and emotional. I found myself wondering what I would do if I were faced with such a situation. And although I questioned an unethical decision made, I honestly could not say I would have not considered that option myself if I had been walking in their shoes. (Probably I am getting a touch too ambiguous now... sorry! I don;t want to give away too much.)

Needless to say, this was an enjoyable book. I am very interested to see what Anderson comes up with next.

Amazon's product description: Chicago businessman and bachelor Devon Pierce doesn't want to be appointed guardian of Australian four-year-old Ryan Caldwell - but Ryan's solicitor, Stella Walker, won't take no for an answer. Little does Devon know that this "minor" adjustment will grant him a future he never expected to have. Told in a fast-paced, poignant, and witty style, Minor Adjustments will take you on a journey filled with humor, growth, romance, and love.

Watch the Minor Adjustments book trailer here.

Read additional reviews on Goodreads here.

Scripture of the Day: 1 Cor. 12:3