Aug 24, 2016 | August 2016, Blog
While I posted a statement on FaceBook the other day I have just realized that I had not done so here on the blog.
For those who read that statement…please note this is a re-post of my FaceBook status.
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It is with a heavy heart that I type this post. On Sunday we buried my Dad. His loss was unexpected and has left me shattered.
We had been vacationing with my parents when he fell ill and needed to return to the states. They flew home and we left by car – a two day ride that felt like weeks.
There was no traffic or delays and I made it to his bedside at the hospital with hours to spare.
Somehow he found the strength to create a few new memories with us and I will cherish those moments forever.
Hug your loved ones a little tighter for me tonight.
Please note that any promotions that I had previously committed and scheduled for this week I will honor and post after the weekend.
Your understanding is greatly appreciated.
-XO
Aug 11, 2016 | August 2016, Uncategorized
Soon we will all have to head to our favorite retail store and stock up on all those items are kids insist they need to make their school year amazing.
To all those parents who must head out to the store and purchase that list of fifty items your child’s future teacher insists they need, I feel your pain.
What are your strategies for surviving the all day shopping event or do you just one-click the buy button for your school fundraiser?
Make sure you bring water and feed your munchkins…you don’t know how long you will be out. May your cart wheels all function, the stores be stocked and your sanity still in tact!
(**Clip art picture from Yahoo)
Aug 10, 2016 | August 2016, Uncategorized
If you are just reading my blog today and wondering where the books are…. I’m taking a week to tackle a bunch of things and thought I’d do something fun. It’s a week of fun posts about things that I love.
Today it’s all about board games. It’s hard to find a game that will engage everyone in the house. Somehow we’ve managed to agree on a few that are sure to engage everyone. My list is a bit eclectic but it satisfies everyone.
- Ticket to Ride – great for all ages!
- Telestrations – recently played with friends and is a blast!
(Don’t have it yet but it’s on my list)
- Card games – old school classics
- Apples to Apples
- Beat the Parents
- Scrabble
- Clue
- Sequence
- Backgammon
- Mancala
Tell me…what’s your favorite?
Aug 8, 2016 | August 2016, Blog, Uncategorized
With the summer in full swing and less time in the “taxi” schlepping everyone around it’s the perfect time to sort out my organizer. Does it work? Do I need something better? Will I even use it? The bottom line is that it needs to be portable, functional and make my life easier. If I can manage to find a system that does all of that my year is guaranteed to start off great.
For the past few months I’ve been hooked on bullet journaling. What is bullet journaling? It’s a system you create and to help you figure out what style works best there are templates, design ideas and even a tutorial or two on Pinterest.
While browsing on Pinterest can lead to a sudden loss of hours for this it’s worth the investment. I have never been more satisfied and happy to find a way to keep from missing anything.
The concept is really simple – you enter all of your important information, appointments, tasks and lists the way that works for you. The page layout/design can change daily, weekly or monthly.
While I’ve tried the expensive planners, filler pages and even the trusty iPhone calendar…I am hooked on this new way of keeping my life sorted and organized.
I’d love to know what works for you…how do you keep it all together between work, family, school and hobbies? Do you have more than one planner or do you have a system within a system to make it work?
I tip my hat off to all the authors who post their journaling system so we can learn from them.
I am raising a glass now to toast a productive and successful year to all!
(**picture from Yahoo Clip Art)
Aug 3, 2016 | August 2016, Blog, Samantha Chase, Uncategorized
** Congratulations Keri B. you are the winner of the e-book ****
You have 24 hours to comment or e-mail
Happy Reading
Waiting For Midnight by Samantha Chase is the perfect must read to kick-off your holiday reading today. It delves into emotions that most of us have experienced at least once in our lives, the ones that sneak in sometime between Halloween and New Years Eve.
Samantha has once again has let us peek into the lives of two amazing characters who must tackle a few obstacles while navigating the holidays. Even the BFF has some fantastic dialogue, gotta love the emphasis on friendships too!
Maddie is not ready to think about her New Year’s Eve plans as she’s munching away on Halloween candy. That elusive midnight tradition involving a kiss will just need to be on hold and hopefully things will work out.
When Maddie finally gets her sexy neighbor Noah’s attention, will they survive the encounter? I love that scene and found it charming and oh so real. I laughed and cried ;)!
For those that have read her backlist you know how amazing her books are and that every story has characters who push through emotional struggles. They all have tension, sexy characters and the intimacy is perfect! This bite sized treat is a dash spicier, and I loved it! Our hero has a few hurdles to overcome and it’s exciting, it was perfect for these characters and this novella!
From our first encounter with Noah I was hooked and blasted through this book. It’s a fast, flirty and a little bit spicy must read. Enjoy an early start to your holiday season dear readers!
This book is for mature readers, 18+. 
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Check out this EXCERPT and see for yourself!
Maddie frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. Noah was big. And tall. He easily towered over her by nearly a foot and he was built like a linebacker, but she wasn’t easily intimidated. “First of all, there’s nothing wrong with my ladder. And secondly, I avoided the bad step. I need to see out here, and no one at the management office is taking me seriously. It’s been three months.” She shrugged. “I was handling it just fine until you scared me.”
“I saw you trembling from the parking lot, Maddie. Don’t bullshit me.”
Okay, fine. So heights weren’t her thing, but if Noah hadn’t shown up, she would have gotten through it and changed the bulb. Rather than respond, she continued to stand defiantly and watch him.
“Look, I highly doubt you saw any trembling,” she said, trying to sound confident, “I was doing fine. I’m annoyed that I have to be doing this when I’ve asked repeatedly for it to be taken care of.” Then she studied him for a moment. “Doesn’t it bother you? You come up these stairs to get to your apartment. Isn’t it annoying that things have been let go for so long? I mean, we pay rent – not cheap rent either – and no one maintains the property!”
“I really didn’t notice.”
She rolled her eyes. It figured. The man was up and out the door at the crack of dawn and normally came home late. A normal person would notice the lack of light or the creak of a broken step, but not Noah. Granted there were only three steps and they weren’t very large so chances were he probably skipped over them with his long legs. Unable to help herself, she snuck a glance at him and then slowly let her gaze go over him until she was looking him in the eyes.
And saw what could only be described as a smirk.
Busted!
“Well, I notice,” she said, doing her best to ignore what he was probably thinking about her for checking him out. “I had a friend here earlier and when I walked her out, it suddenly seemed like too much. I had the bulb, I had the ladder…” She shrugged. When Noah didn’t respond in any way, Maddie began to wonder if her babbling had been too much for him.
“Give me the bulb and I’ll change it,” he finally said after a long, awkward moment.
“It’s not necessary,” Maddie said, not liking the way Noah was glaring at her.
His only response was to hold his hand out.
“Fine,” she mumbled and put the bulb in his hand. Stepping back, she watched as he dropped his duffle bag on the ground – must have been at the gym – and then moved the step ladder into position. It was on the tip of her tongue to mention that maybe he should grab his own ladder since he thought hers was so flimsy, but she held her tongue.
Actually, she imagined how at Noah’s height, he almost didn’t need a ladder at all. But as she watched him, she realized the light was higher up than she thought. She had to be on the top step and even then she was stretching. Noah was on the second step and seemed to be at the perfect height.
While he was busy, Maddie let her gaze linger on him again. He was perfection. So perfect she almost sighed with appreciation. Tonight he was in his standard attire – sweatpants, a hoodie and sneakers. That’s how she knew he was at the gym. In the mornings he left in normal street clothes but every night, he came home dressed like this. She almost kicked herself for knowing these details. Watching the man through the blinds definitely put her in weird, stalker-girl territory and it wasn’t a place she was proud to be.
“Here, take this,” Noah mumbled as he handed the burned out bulb to her. Maddie took it and then took a step back.
In an instant, the porch area was flooded with light. She let out a little cheer and clapped, and for a second, it seemed like everything was fine. The next thing she heard was a loud snap, and watched in horror as the ladder seemed to crumble and Noah fell backwards onto the concrete walkway.
****************** CLOSED GIVEAWAY *******************
I’ve got ONE e-book of Waiting for Midnight up for grabs today!
(Amazon Kindle & US winner only)
For a chance to win tell me when you start talking about New Year’s Eve plans? Halloween? Thanksgiving? Christmas? or that morning?
Contest runs from 8/3/16 – 8/4/16 12 noon. The winner will be posted here.
Be sure to follow me on the blog, FB and Twitter so you don’t miss those posts!
Once winner is announced they MUST contact me with their e-mail within 24 hours or a new winner will be drawn.
