Thankful Thursday and 31 Day Writing Challenge-Laugh and a Giveaway Link

 
 Things I am thankful for right now.

**  the weather - it's been beautiful this week...sunny and cool...love it!

**  the good supper we had last night...hubby and I made a double recipe of lasagna from scratch. It really turned out good (sorry, don't mean to brag, but I think we were just really hungry by the time we were done. lol).  We are sharing half with my sister and her husband.  He just had surgery.  Everything went well and he is home recovering. Thank you Jesus!

**  our vacation is less that three weeks away!  So ready for the break.

**  our puppy.  I complained about her barking in yesterday's post and while that can get aggravating, I still and so thankful for her.  She brings so much joy to our lives.  And that far outweighs the aggravation.

Look at those eyes!  How could I stay aggravated at her?

 So what are you thankful for today?  Why not join in with Rebecca Jo at Knit by God's Hand and write your own Thankful Thursday post?




Today is Day 15 of the 31 Day Writing Challenge with a prompt from Five Minute Friday. The prompt for today is "Laugh."

I love to laugh.  When I was little I laughed all the time.  In fact, sometimes they called my Giggle Box because I laughed so much. Of course, they called me Chatty Cathy too because I talked to much.  I bet I drove everybody crazy!!

Proverbs 17:22 says:   "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones."  So according to the Bible laughter is good too.

Just have to share this video from Mary Poppins, "I Love to Laugh."  Hope you enjoy.

DaySpring.com is celebrating all of the amazing Write 31 Days readers who are supporting nearly 2,000 writers this October! To enter to win a $500 DaySpring shopping spree, just click on this link & follow the giveaway widget instructions. Good luck, and thanks for reading!

Have a great day!

Giveaway at Mocha With Linda

Linda is giving away an autographed copy of this book. Go here to enter the contest. Of course, if you don't go, that just gives me better odds to win. No, really, go enter. I don't think we want to miss an opportunity to read this.

Have a great day everyone.

Giveaway at Fresh Oil Today

Jackie at Fresh Oil Today is giving away 2 stockings full of goodies. Be sure to go check her out and leave a comment to have an opportunity to win. Wait a minute, on second thought, don't comment so then I'll have a better chance of winning. ;-) No really, go ahead and comment. I promise, I won't be mad if you win.

Giveaway at Shout a Joyful Noise

Click here to go to Wylie's site "Shout a Joyful Noise" to enter to win one of the monogrammed polka dot mugs.  No,wait a minute, never mind, don't go, cause I want to win.  No, really, go ahead and enter cause I want Wylie to get lots and lots of entries.  She's definitely worth a read...so while you're there, check out her site.

And the Winner Is.....

Linda at Mocha With Linda!! Congrats Linda!!  And if you've never been to her blog, you really need to check it out.  She's an awesome lady and she has a giveaway going on right now too.  Oh wait, a minute...never mind.  I want to win that so wait a few days and then go check her out!!!!

Indivisible by Kristen Heitzmann Book Review and Giveway

Indivisible by Kristen Heitzmann - Book Review

Author:  Kristen Heitzmann - While homeschooling her four kids, Kristen Heitzmann wrote here first novel, and it grew into a five-book hisgtorical series.  Since then, she has written more historical novels and several contemporary romantic and psychological suspense novels, including "The Still of Night", nominated for the Colorado Book Award; "The Tender Vine", a Christy Award finalist; and the Christy Award-winning "Secrets".  She lives in Colorado with her husband, Jim, and sundry family members and pets.  Link to Audio Interview with Kristen Heitzmann - Click Here.

Click here if you're interested in buying this book.


Back Cover:  Battling his own personal demons, Police Chief Jonah Westfall has experienced the dark side of life and is committed to eradicating it.  When a pair of raccoons are found mutilated in Redford, Colorado, Jonah investigates the gruesome act, seeking to unmask the perpetrator before the rime escalates and destroys the tranquility of his small mountain town.  Jonah fights for answers -- and his fragile sobriety -- amid a rising drug threat and never-ending conflict with Tia Manning, a formidable childhood friend with whom he has more than a passing history.  But he can't penetrate every wound or secret -- especially one fueled by a love and guilt teetering on madness.  From best-selling author Kristen Heitzmann comes a spell-binding tale of severed connections and the consequences of life lived alone.

My Thoughts:  Good book.  The characters are very interesting.  All the main characters seemed to have hard childhoods, but all in different ways.  I loved how she brought them all together in their various friendships and relationships.  My favorite character was Tia Manning.  I would love to run a shop in a small mountain town like she does.  She seems to know a lot and understand people and loves to help them with problems.  I have to say, the book really didn't end the way I expected, but it was an excellent ending.  I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery.


FTC disclaimer: This book was provided for review by the Random House Publishers.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Random House Publishers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 

If anyone would like to read this book, I'll be happy to give away the copy I read so someone else can enjoy it.  Just leave a comment and I'll pick a winner on Sunday and mail it to you.

And the Winners Are....

And the winners of the 2 copies of "Forget Me Not" are:

Robin at Bits-N-Pieces or Life in a Small Town

and 

Lindsay-Ann at The Cross Stitch House

Ladies, please e-mail me with your mailing address and I'll get your copies in the mail in the next couple of days!!

Congratulations to you both!!!

UPDATE:  Lindsay and Robin the books are in the packages and addressed and should go in the mail tomorrow (4-20-2010)

Forget Me Not by Vicki Hinze Review and Giveaway!

Forget Me Not by Vicki Hinze

Back Cover: 
Crossroads Crisis Center owner Benjamin Brandt was a content man—in his faith, his work, and his family.  Then in a flash, everything he loved was snatched away.  His wife and son were murdered, and grief-stricken Ben lost faith.  Determination to find their killers keeps him going, but after three years of dead ends and torment, his hope is dying too.  Why had he survived?  He’d failed to protect his family.

Now, a mysterious woman appears at Crossroads seeking answers and help—a victim who eerily resembles Ben’s deceased wife, Susan.  A woman robbed of her identity, her life, of everything except her faith—and Susan’s necklace.

The connections between the two women mount, exceeding coincidence, and to keep the truth hidden, someone is willing to kill.  Finding out who and why turns Ben and the mystery woman’s situation from dangerous to deadly.  Their only hope for survival is to work together, trust each other, and face whatever they discover head on, no matter how painful. But will that be enough to save their lives and heal their tattered hearts?


Author Bio:  Vicki Hinze is an award-winning author of twenty-three novels, three nonfiction books, and hundreds of articles. Selected for Who’s Who in America in 2004 as a writer and educator, Hinze is active in Romance Writers of America and serves as a Vice President on the International Thriller Writers Board of Directors. Vicki lives in Florida with her artist husband, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel. Visit www.vickihinze.com to learn more about Vicki’s books, blogs, and writing programs.


My Thoughts:  This is one of the best books I've read recently.  I'm usually not a big mystery or suspense reader, but this has really changed my mind a lot.  I was captured right from the first page.  Actually, the front of the book really captured my attention for some reason.  The characters were well written and I just loved it all.  Usually, I'm a pretty slow reader, but once I started this I couldn't put it down and I finished it in just a couple days.  There were so many different characters in the book and I'd think I'd know where the plot was going with one and then it would take a little different twist and be something different than I thought.  Even some of the "bad" guys had good things about them and would do something that you really didn't expect.  My conclusion is this book is definitely worth reading. 


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 


Click on the green book title and author name to link to Multnomah to purchase a copy of this book.

I was given an extra copy of this book to giveaway here on my blog.  If you'd like to win a copy (actually I have a new one and the one I read, so I'll give away both), then:
1.  Leave a comment = 1 entry
2.  Follow me and leave a comment that you already do or just started = 1 entry
3.  Post about my giveaway on your blog & leave a comment that you did = 1 entry
4.  Twitter about my giveaway & leave me a comment that you did = 1 entry
5.  Post on FB about my giveaway & leave a comment that you did = 1 entry 

I will take entries until midnight Sunday, April 18th.  Winner will be picked and posted on Monday, April 19th.  

By the way, Mocha With Linda just reviewed this book also and is giving away a copy too.  You might want to go enter her giveaway too.

"Here Burns My Candle" Winners

I only had 4 entries to win 2 books. And the winners are ; Mimi at He &amp  Me +3 and Robin at Life in a Small Town. Ladies, send me your address and I'll put them in the mail right away. Congrats

Oh, and I'm really excited too. There were 5 comments on the giveaway post, but only 4 entries. Guess who the 5th comment was from. The author of the book! Liz Curtis Higgs! I think that is so awesome that she took time to read my review and make a comment. Man, I love this lady!

Have a great day everyone and congrats to Mimi and Robin!!!

Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs Book Review and Give Away

Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs

Book Description from Back Cover:  A mother who cannot face her future, a daughter who cannot escape her past.  Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets.  A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.

Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.

His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory's many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.

One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.

A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth century Scotland, Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.

My Thoughts:  I love this book.  It is very well written and I love the story line.  The characters were a little confusing to me at first, but it didn't take long to get them figured out.  My favorite character is, Lady Elizabeth.  She is so sweet and so brave and I truly enjoyed her.  It was fun trying to read the words the author wrote in the Scottish dialect and trying to imagine how they would sound.  That just added another fun element to the book. I also enjoyed the fact that this novel is loosely based on the book of Ruth, one of my favorite books in the Old Testament.  As you read the story, you can't miss the similarities.  Now I can't wait for the second book in this series to come out so I can see what happens next.  I would highly recommend reading this book.

Here's a trailer for you to view, if you'd like.

Go to this link if you'd like to purchase a copy of this book:  
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781400070015

Giveaway:  I was given a free copy of this book to give away.  So if you are interested in having a copy of this wonderful book, just leave a comment and a winner will be drawn on Monday, March 29th.  Actually I'll give away 2 copies (the new one and the one I read).

This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

Giveaway at Me & My Boys by Trish

Trish has a giveaway on her blog you really should go check out. She's celebrating her upcoming 1st blogaversary. You'll love the giveaway and if you spend some time reading her blog, I think you'll love that too.
Go check Trish out at Me & My Boys...our life, one laugh at a time. I promise you won't be sorry you did.

Giveaway at He & Me + 3

 

Check out Mimi's Giveaway at He & Me + 3.  You'll be glad you did.  She's giving away some jewelry from Lisa Leonard Designs

And the Winner Is.....

I wrote the names of all the entrants on yellow sticky tabs and then had a co-work pick one out of the box.  And the winner is.....Heidi at 2 Thinks to Share

Heidi, send me an e-mail and I'll get the book and your gift out to you in the next couple of days!  Congratulations!!!

I Won...You Win! Traveling Book Carnival

We have a fun carnival going on called “I won... You win". This is a traveling book carnival, started by none other than Robin at Be Still and Know. This is a wonderful idea, and it is a lot of fun. I was the lucky recipient from Nel at Fastenau Facts.   Along with the book she sent me several neat little goodies.  See.

 Nel is just the sweetest thing.  You really need to check her blog out.  You won't be sorry.  She gave me a lovely book of poetry and a photo album since she knows I love pictures and a bag of Lindt Lindor Chocolate Truffles.  Oh my goodness, I have never had them before and let me tell you, they are to die for.  Some of the best chocolate I have ever had.  Thank you Nel..I now have a new vice! lol 

The book we are sharing is “Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes” by Robin Gunn. It is a fun book and an easy read. Robin, our blogging buddy chose this book because of the parallels between pen pals and blogging pals. You can read her original post here.  I received this on Wednesday and finished reading it (and I ate the last chocolate too) on Saturday.  Awesome book.  I love all the Sisterchick books I've read and I think you'll love it too.  (Oh and by the way, I did share the chocolates with my family).

If you are the winner of this fabulous drawing here is what you must adhere to:

* Read the book. (Preferably within 4 weeks)
* As you read feel free to make notations in the margins of a specific chapter that you enjoyed or ideas that you agree on. Leave your footprints in the book.
* When finished write the date and your blog address on the inside cover of the book.
* Continue the “I won... You win Giveaway". Post it on your blog and accept entries. Surprise everyone and include a pretty bookmark or a special little gift, something from you in your mailing.
* Link back to Robin and let her know your Giveaway is up and running. She is keeping a running list on her blog.
* Last but not least, Have Fun!

Now for the Giveaway: If you would like a chance to read this book, receive several goodies and agree to abide by the above rules it is easy, all you have to do is leave me a comment on this post and your name will be included. The last day to comment will be Thursday, March 4th.. I will draw Friday morning and will announce the winner sometime Friday. Good Luck Everyone!
 
I've decided to add a couple more ways for you to get extra entries.  If you already follow my blog or sign up to follow my blog, leave another comment on this post saying so and that'll give you an entry.  Also, if you write a post on your blog about this giveaway, leave a comment and that will be another entry and one other way to get another chance would be to Twitter this giveaway and then leave me a comment.  So in all, that's 4 ways to get entries for this book.

Valentines Girly-Girl Gift Basket Giveaway

There's a Valentines Girly-Girl Gift Basket Giveaway going on at Fresh Oil Today.  Be sure to go enter to win.  You won't want to miss out on this one.  Here's a picture of the items Jackie is giving away.  Actually she's giving away 2 Girly-Girl Gift Baskets.

THE TWO WINNERS NAMES WILL BE DRAWN

9 P.M. MT SATURDAY, FEB. 6TH

Friday Freebie

Check out the Friday Freebie giveaway at "Eyeglasses and Endzones". Click the button above to check it out.

King Cake Giveaway

Go visit "The Bayou Belles and Their Beau" and win a King Cake.  I've never had a King Cake but I entered and hope to win so I can try it.  And if you're not interested in a King Cake, check out her blog anyway.  She is awesome fun to read.

I want to tell you about a giveaway

Hey everyone there's a giveaway going on over at Five Moms & a Blog. Be sure to go over and leave a comment.

Fun Times and Winner Picked and Award Won

This post is a mixture of stuff! First of all, here is a picture of the girls in front of the Christmas tree. They received these red pj's and red slippers as a Christmas gift from a family at church. They came home and tried them on and I talked them into posing in front of the tree. Aren't they cute?

Second, I want to announce the winner of my giveaway! We numbered the entries 1-6 and used 6 playing cards Ace-6 and Kerri picked the winner. It was #6 which was Erica of Scottsville! Congrats Erica. E-mail me your address and I'll get it sent out right away. Maybe you'll get it in time to read it before you have to go back to work. I wish I had 6 copies of the book, so I could give all of you one!

Third, I won an award from Renee' at Glow Academy. I won the Honest Scrap Award. Thank you Renee'.

I am supposed to be HONEST about 7 things here, and then pass this award on to 7 others...

1. I love to read Christian Fiction Romance books!!
2. I'm legally blind in one eye. (I've always been that way, so no biggie)
3. I've joined Weight Watchers again.
4. I didn't marry until I was 31 years old.
5. I'm 4 years older than my husband (you know that's not too bad, cause you can raise them the way you want 'em! lol yeah, right!)
6. I'm a middle child (that should explain a lot right there!)
7. I can't think of a 7th thing so that must mean I'm pretty boring! So I guess my #7 is I'm a boring person!

I almost always play by the rules, but I'm gonna break them this time. I'm not going to pick 7 people to award this to, but instead tell you that anyone who reads this and would like to play, consider yourself awarded!!

Leaving Yesterday by Kathryn Cushman and Giveaway

From the back of the book:

Her prodigal son has returned!
But has he truly left the past behind?
The police car outside triggers Alisa Stewart's worst fear--her son, Kurt, is dead, his life lost forever to addiction. Instead, the officer is just following a lead on a crime. And when Kurt calls to say he's checked himself into rehab and found a healing faith, Alisa feels a hope she'd given up on.
It's like her son has been brought back from the dead.
But then the cop returns, asking dark questions about the murder of someone Kurt once knew. Alisa is terrified. Her boy is different now. He's changed and deserves a second chance. But as his old life refuses to stay buried, Alisa finds herself facing an impossible choice:
keep silent and keep her son or risk everything in a quest for the truth.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Author:
Kathryn Cushman is a graduate of Samford University with a degree in pharmacy. After practicing as a pharmacist, she left her career to marry and begin a family and has since pursued her dream of writing. Leaving Yesterday is her third novel. Kathryn and her family currently live in Santa Barbara, California. Visit Kathryn's Web site at www.kathryncushman.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
My Thoughts:
This was an interesting book. About a third of the way into the book, I didn't think I liked it very well. The lead character, Alisa, made some choices and decisions that I didn't like at all and I just didn't like the way it was going. I put the book door for a couple weeks and then finally went back and read it. I'm glad I did. Yes, she made some decisions that I don't think I ever would, but it was for love of her son. I still don't think I could make those choices, but it does really make you think and wonder about how far would you go to protect your child. It was also about how so many times in life we "fake" our faith. We try to make everyone believe everything is okay with us, when really we are falling apart. And how we need to give up the pretense and just be real with each other. All in all, this was a pretty good book.

A copy of this book was provided for review by Bethany House a Division of Baker Publishing Group.

If you would like to have a chance to have this book, please leave a comment by Tuesday 8:00pm and we'll randomly pick a winner.