Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Review - The Bourne Legacy

Synopsis from Goodreads.com:
Jason Bourne is known and feared in the deadly world of covert-ops as one of the most highly skilled assassins for hire. Bourne, however, was merely an identity assumed by CIA agent David Webb, a personality implanted by the CIA to facilitate a dangerous operation, but one that threatened to subsume David Webb entirely. Years after the events of The Bourne Identity, Webb is no longer an active CIA agent and is now a professor of Eastern Studies at Georgetown University, living a quiet life, far from the dangers of his previous life. Until one day he finds himself the target of an assassin nearly as skilled as himself and is framed for the brutal murder of his two closest associates and friends. As he fights for his life against unseen assailants, as well as the full resources of the CIA, who believe he has gone dangerously rogue, the Bourne identity asserts itself, leaving Jason Bourne in control. Now Bourne must use all his skills to stay alive as he battles against a determined assassin, the combined skills of the world's intelligence networks, and a shadowy figure in the background, skillfully manipulating events and people, in a far deadlier and more dangerous game than any of them realize.

Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne series is continued with Eric Van Lustbader'sThe Bourne Legacy. I loved Robert Ludlum's original series and was uncertain if I would like the new books that Eric Van Lustbader is writing about Jason Bourne. I really enjoyed reading this book.  It had all of the suspense and twists that I expect when I read a Robert Ludlum.  I'm looking forward to reading more of the Bourne series as well as other books written by Eric Van Lustbader.

Day 21 of 30 Days of ME! - A recipe

I usually post any recipes on my cooking blog so I need to think about this...in honor of Delta Zeta's National Convention going on this week, here is my recipe for Raspberry Sherbet Punch.  I've used this recipe for recruitment parties.

Ingredients:
  • 2 2-liter bottles of Sprite or Ginger Ale
  • 1 c. Concentrated Fruit Punch
  • 1 container of Raspberry Sherbet (lime sherbet may be substituted)
Directions:
  • Pour one bottle of Sprite into a punch bowl.
  • Add the concentrated fruit punch.
  • Pour the second bottle of Sprite into the bowl slowly.  You might want to add it one cup at a time to avoid splashing.
  • Add the sherbet.
  • Serves 20 - 30.
Note:  To add an extra touch, allow the sherbet to start to melt.  Once this happens, add fresh raspberries to the sherbet and refreeze before adding the sherbet to the punch.

Review - A Touch of Dead

With all of the '30 Days of ME!' posts, one might not think that I have been reading recently.  The truth is that I've been reading a lot, both for myself and with my 2 year old, but more about her later.

I recently checked A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris out of the library.  This book is a compilation of the Sookie Stackhouse short stories that she has written.  Each story was a quick read and in the case of "Fairy Dust", the story filled in a hole in my knowledge of the fairy twins, Claudine and Claude.  I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is reading the Sookie Stackhouse books, if they have not already done so.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Day 19 of 30 Days of ME! - A Talent of Mine

I love singing.

Day 20 of 30 Days of ME! - A hobby of mine

I love crafts and hand made items.  Two crafts that I do a lot are cross-stitching and crocheting.

For Christmas this year, I cross-stitched these ornaments for each family in my immediate family, i.e. parents, sister, etc.


Last year, for Christmas, I made Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls for my daughter, niece and nephew.

Day 18 of 30 Days of ME! - Whatever tickles your fancy

As I started to type this post, my 2 year old walked in from her nap.  As she curled up in her PBK chair, she asked me to turn on Disney.  I just turned to ask her a question and she's sound asleep.  I guess she was more tired than she thought.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Day 15 of 30 Days of ME! - A fanfic

I never read fanfic but since I love Harry Potter and this was one of the first hits when I Googled the term fanfic I'll use this one.

Harry Potter fanfic:  http://www.harrypotterfanfiction.com

Day 14 of 30 Days of ME! - A non-fictional book


From Goodreads.com:
In a landmark work of history, the National Book Award—winning author of American Sphinx explores how a group of greatly gifted but deeply flawed men–Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, and Madison–set the course for our nation.

Joseph Ellis illuminates the profoundly deep bonds and the often fractious, sometimes blind, efforts of the Founding Fathers–re-examined here as Founding Brothers–to realize strikingly different visions of America. During their own time, and even more so in ours, the Founding Fathers were perceived as demigods no more tainted than marble statues by the stain of imperfect humanity. Ellis’s penetrating analysis of six fascinating historical episodes, including Hamilton and Burr’s deadly duel, Washington’s Farewell Address, and the correspondence between Jefferson and Adams, brings these statues to life and their visions into focus.

Day 13 of 30 Days of ME! - A fictional book


From Goodreads.com:
Don't leave earth without this story of the end of the world and the happy-go-lucky days that follow. The writing of New York Times Best-selling author, Douglas Adams, has been brilliantly successful on both sides of the Atlantic in radio, television, theatre and spoken word audio.

Day 12 of 30 Days of ME! - Whatever tickles my fancy

Just some random thoughts here.  Nothing that is going to be very coherent.

Some of my favorite summer things to do...eat ice cream on a hot afternoon...listen to the rain falling while relaxing on the deck...playing with my daughter in the pool...

It's the simple pleasures in life that make it worthwhile.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Day 11 of 30 Days of ME! - A photo of me taken recently

My 1st Award: The Versatile Blogger


I want to thank Kailia from Reading the Best of the Best for this awesome award, my first! If you haven't seen her blog yet, hop on over and take a look.  It's great!

Here's how this award works:
  1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
  2. Share 7 things about yourself.
  3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (In no particular order...)
  4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.

7 Things:
  1. I'm the oldest child in the family with a younger sister and a younger brother.
  2. I LOVE chocolate!
  3. I am a romantic!
  4. I love sports, especially football and hockey.
  5. I love traveling and miss it.
  6. I would love to write a book and get it published one day.
  7. I've got the cutest little girls in the world.
I am passing this award to:
  1. The Vintage Pearl
  2. Life As Wife
  3. There's A Book
  4. The Plum Bean Project
  5. Lost in Books
  6. Crazy-for-Books
  7. Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!
  8. BookMarc Blogpants
  9. It's All About Books
  10. Life and Times of Lizzie
  11. My Friend Amy
  12. Cleverly Inked
  13. Manda's Movements
  14. Reading on a Raining Day
  15. This is the Story of a Girl...

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Day 7 of 30 Days of ME! - A photo that makes you happy

My girls

Day 6 of 30 Days of ME! - Whatever tickles my fancy

What tickles my fancy today is the World Cup.  The opening weekend was filled with some great matches.  Here are some of the highlights that I watched.

The USA team holding England to a draw...Japan beating Cameroon 1 - 0 when they were expected to be beaten....Maradona's debut as the Argentina coach.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Bloggiesta Update - Final Wrap-up


Bloggiesta is over and I was able to get several of my to-do items done.  I have one review left to write and a new post that I want to write that is a follow-up to a post that I wrote over the weekend.  I'll try to get to those this week. 

The only template/layout item that I didn't get completed was a wishlist/nice-to-have item so that's ok.  It's not something that I need to have.

I also had a good time checking out the other blogs and seeing what others were doing this weekend. 
  • Write  reviews for the items that are currently in draft mode and schedule  them.
    • Review Savior the Moment by Nora Roberts
    • Review Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
    • Review Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
    • Review The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer
  • Write Part II of books to  movies
  • Write a post  about turning books into movies.
  • Work on template
    • clean up sidebar
    • add Subscribe via email to  template
    • create drop down for main menu (will need to work on this outside of Bloggiesta since it wasn't working with my template.  I need to figure out where the code was breaking.  :( )
  • Review and  update pages.
  • Review and update challenge  lists.
  • Work on getting Google Analytics working so that I understand it.
  • Clean out and organize my feed reader list.
I'm already looking forward to the next Bloggiesta to see what else I can get accomplished.

Thanks Natasha for organizing this event!

    Sunday, June 13, 2010

    Review - Dead in the Family

    The latest Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse did not disappoint me.  I read it very quickly and had a great time with it.

    After the Fairy War, Sookie is having a hard time springing back.  She was captured and tortured during the war, and she also lost loved ones.  On top of this, while she loves Eric, she is also angry at him.  She feels that he let her down since Bill was the one to rescue her from the fairies, not Eric.

    While she is trying to heal, she also has to deal with the appearance of Eric's maker and the new vampire regime (Nevada) keeping a close eye on Eric.  Eric's maker's visit is causing problems for Eric as well as putting a drain on Sookie through the blood bond.  Sookie is also contending with Were politics within the Shreveport pack.

    Will Sookie ever catch a break?  I'm interested in seeing what the future holds.

    Bloggiesta Update - Day Two



    A quick update on how my Day Two.  Day Two wasn't nearly as productive as Day One was.  I was only able to get one item on my list completed because of my family.  Hopefully, Day Three will be better.
    • Write  reviews for the items that are currently in draft mode and schedule  them.
      • Review Savior the Moment by Nora Roberts
      • Review Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
      • Review Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
      • Review The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer
    • Write Part II of books to  movies
    • Write a post  about turning books into movies.
    • Work on template
      • clean up sidebar
      • add Subscribe via email to  template
      • create drop down for main menu (will need to work on this outside of Bloggiesta since it wasn't working with my template.  I need to figure out where the code was breaking.  :( )
    • Review and  update pages.
    • Review and update challenge  lists.
    • Work on getting Google Analytics working so that I understand it.
    • Clean out and organize my feed reader list.

    Review - Dead and Gone

    Once again, I had a great time reading a Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse book.  I had a hard time putting this down once I started it.

    This book had several things happening.  First, the Weres announced themselves to the world.  The people of Bon Temps need to decide how that announcement affects their view of Sam, Sookie's boss at Merlott's.

    Then, the FBI shows up in Bon Temps to ask Sookie about the bombing in Rhodes.  If they determine that she has psychic abilities, Sookie is afraid that they will make her leave Bon Temps, something that she doesn't want to do.  Their conversation with Sookie is interrupted because of a murder of a Were.  If all that isn't enough, Sookie finds herself married to Eric and is drawn into the fae war.

    While a reader can read this book without having read the earlier books, knowing the background from those books definitely makes this easier to follow.

    Saturday, June 12, 2010

    Review - Savor the Moment

    Savor the Moment is the latest novel in Nora Roberts' new romantic series, The Bride Quartet.  The Bride Quartet is about four childhood friends, Emma Grant, Lauren McBane, Mackensie Elliott and Parker Brown, who have turned a favorite childhood game, Wedding Day, into a successful wedding planning business, Vows, in Connecticut.  Each of the friends has a special talent that she brings to the business.

    In the first novel, Vision in White, Mac, the group's photographer, found love with Carter Maguire, a high school English teacher who had a crush on her when they were in high school.

    In the second novel, Bed of Roses, Emma, the group's florist, found love with Jack Cooke, another childhood friend who is also the best friend of Parker's older brother, Delaney.

    In Savor the Moment, Lauren, who is the wedding baker for Vows, must decide if she is willing to take a chance at finding love with Delaney Brown, the older brother of her best friend, Parker.  Del is also the group's attorney. 

    This novel is a fun romance as Lauren goes through the ups and downs of figuring out if she and Del have a chance at making a life together.  Part of Lauren's problem is that she has had to work hard to achieve her goals and dreams since her father lost all of his money while Del comes from old money.

    I have been enjoying this series.  The characters are well developed and the story keeps the reader entertained from start to finish. The interaction between the four friends, as well as Mrs. Grady, the Browns' housekeeper, the clients, and the men in their lives is beautifully written.  While you can see some of things coming, getting there is full of laughter and sadness.  Mac's mother is a recurring character that you love to hate.

    I am looking forward to the last book in the quartet, Happy Ever After, and can't wait until it comes out in November 2010.

    Day 5 of 30 Days of ME! - Favorite Quote

    I actually have two favorite quotes.

    The first is from Mark Twain:

    "Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth."

    People need to live their lives to the fullest and not be afraid of what others think.  I know that there are times when I need to remind myself of this.

    The second quote is from Eleanor Roosevelt:

    "Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent."

    Bloggiesta Update - Day One



    A quick update on how Day One went.  I was able to knock several of the what my old boss would call "quick win" items from my list.  I'm going to spend the rest of the weekend working on the more time consuming items of writing reviews and other post ideas and getting them up on the site.
    • Write reviews for the items that are currently in draft mode and schedule them.
      • Review Savior the Moment by Nora Roberts
      • Review Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
      • Review Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
      • Review The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer
    • Write Part II of books to movies
    • Write a post about turning books into movies.
    • Work on template
      • clean up sidebar
      • add Subscribe via email to template
      • create drop down for main menu (will need to work on this outside of Bloggiesta since it wasn't working with my template.  I need to figure out where the code was breaking.  :( )
    • Review and update pages.
    • Review and update challenge lists.
    • Work on getting Google Analytics working so that I understand it.
    • Clean out and organize my feed reader list.

    Friday, June 11, 2010

    Taking Books to the Screen

    I don't know about you, but I hate to see a movie or TV show before I've had a chance to read the book.  This is especially true if I am reading a series such as Harry Potter or Sookie Stackhouse or Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan.  One of the reasons that I love to read books is because I love to use my imagination to "see" the world that the author has created.

    When I read a book, I create an image of the characters and how they speak and act in my mind.  When I am reading a book that is part of a series, I carry that image with me throughout the series and make adjustments to the character(s) along the way.

    When I see a movie about a book, that influences my image of the character so that the next time I read the book or the next book in the series, I see the characters as the actors portrayed them and not necessarily how I originally pictured them.  For example, ever since I saw Tom Clancy's "The Patriot Games", every time I read one of the Jack Ryan novels, I picture Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan and hear his voice in my head for the dialog.  Yes, I know that Alec Baldwin played Jack Ryan first, but Harrison Ford's version made more of an impact with me.

    When I was reading the Harry Potter books, I couldn't watch the movies because I had a picture in my mind of what Harry and his friends looked like and how they acted and sounded and I didn't want to replace that with the actors in the movie, especially if I didn't like them.  I bought "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" when I came out, but I didn't watch it.  I loaned it to my mom so that she could watch it with my sister one weekend.  I didn't see any of the Harry Potter movies until after I read book 7, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".

    I have more on this topic, but this is enough for now.

    Day 4 of 30 Days of ME! - Favorite Book

    Today's topic is Favorite Book.  Once again, I don't think that I can pick just one book.

    I loved the Harry Potter series and was sorry  to see it end.












    This series definitely makes me laugh!  I can't wait to see what happens next.








     This is one of my favorite books from when I was growing up.











    I loved this series!












    This is one of my truly all-time favorite books.  Ever!

    Bloggiesta - And I'm off and blogging

    The 3rd Bloggiesta starts today.  If you haven't already signed up and want to do so, head over to Maw Books and sign up on her Bloggiesta! Ready, Set . . . Let’s Fiesta! post.

    Over the last week, I've been making a list of the things that I would like to get done this weekend.  Here are the things that I would like to get done this weekend.  Let's see how well I can do with getting to everything.
    • Write reviews for the items that are currently in draft mode and schedule them.
      • Review Savior the Moment by Nora Roberts
      • Review Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
      • Review Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
      • Review The Tourist by Olen SteinhauerRite Part II of books to movies
    • Write a post about turning books into movies.
    • Work on template
      • clean up sidebar
      • add Subscribe via email to template
      • create drop down for main menu (?)
    • Review and update pages.
    • Review and update challenge lists.
    • Work on getting Google Analytics working so that I understand it.
    • Clean out and organize my feed reader list.
    Well, I'm off to start on these items and to check out some of the other blogs which are participating.

    Happy Blogging!

      Thursday, June 10, 2010

      Day 3 of 30 days of ME! - Favorite TV Show

      Today is supposed to be about my favorite TV show.  I have to admit that I don't have just one, but several that I watch when I have the time.  Here is the current list in no particular order:
      • Royal Pains
      • Law & Order: SUV
      • Bones
      • CSI: NY
      • NCIS
      • Burn Notice

      hmmm...I'm noticing a theme here...all of them are dramas.  LOL  That's what I want to watch at the moment.

      My all time favorite show though was MASH.  I miss that show.

      Wednesday, June 9, 2010

      Day 2 of 30 Days of ME! - Favorite Movie

      I am having a really hard time picking just one movie.  I have my favorite movies for the holidays, for when I need a good laugh, or when I just want to sit and relax with a good movie.


      Some of my favorite movies!

      But my all time favorite movie is Casablanca!

      Tuesday, June 8, 2010

      Stephanie Meyer Eclipse Novella - FREE

      For all of you Twilight lovers... Stephanie Meyer is making her Twilight novella, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, available online for free for a limited time.

      3rd Bloggiesta is coming!


      As I mentioned in an earlier post, Natasha over at Maw Books is hosting the 3rd Bloggiesta the weekend of June 11 - 13, 2010.

      Some of the things that I am going to try to get done this weekend are:
      • completing some reviews of books that I recently completed and haven't written about yet;
      • making some modifications to the template of my blog;
      • review and update my challenges lists so that they reflect what I've read, etc.;

      30 Days of ME!

      I saw this on my friend Heather's blog, This is the Story of a Girl... and thought that I'd give it a try.  I'm going to do my best to keep up with it!

      30 Days of ME

      Day 1:   Your favorite song
      Day 2:   Your favorite movie
      Day 3:   Your favorite television program
      Day 4:   Your favorite book
      Day 5:   Your favorite quote
      Day 6:   Whatever tickles your fancy
      Day 7:   A photo that makes you happy
      Day 8:   A photo that makes you angry/sad
      Day 9:   A photo you took
      Day 10: A photo of you taken over ten years ago
      Day 11: A photo of you taken recently
      Day 12: Whatever tickles your fancy
      Day 13: A fictional book
      Day 14: A non-fictional book
      Day 15: A fanfic
      Day 16: A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
      Day 17: An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
      Day 18: Whatever tickles your fancy
      Day 19: A talent of yours
      Day 20: A hobby of yours
      Day 21: A recipe
      Day 22: A website
      Day 23: A YouTube video
      Day 24: Whatever tickles your fancy
      Day 25: Your day, in great detail
      Day 26: Your week, in great detail
      Day 27: This month, in great detail
      Day 28: This year, in great detail
      Day 29: Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
      Day 30: Whatever tickles your fancy

      Day 1: My Favorite Song
      I had a hard time with this one because I really enjoy listening to music and what my favorite song is changes all the time.  Here are 2 of my favorite Kenny Chesney songs.  Yes, at the moment, when not listening to Disney for DD1, I'm on a country music kick.



      Tuesday, June 1, 2010

      Mark your calendar - 3rd Bloggiesta

      Natasha over at Maw Books is hosting the 3rd Bloggiesta the weekend of June 11 - 13, 2010.

      For those who have not participated before, this is a chance to take a look at your blog and knock off the items on your blog to-do list that seem to always get pushed to the side because of life, etc.

      Take a look at Natasha's original post about the 3rd Bloggiesta to get ideas on what others might be doing during this weekend.  I'll be writing a follow-up post in the next couple of days with items that I will be trying to get done for Bloggiesta.

      If you would like to participate in Bloggiesta, make sure that you sign up with the Mr. Linky on the original 3rd Bloggiesta post on her site.  While this event is being hosted by a book blogger, it is open to anyone who has a blog.  I hope to see you there!

      Giveaway over at This is the Story of a Girl...






      Heather over at This is the Story of a Girl... is hosting her first giveaway!!

      Heather is a really good friend as well as a great sorority sister.  I always enjoy seeing what she has to say and am very excited about this giveaway.  Make sure that you stop by her blog to check it out.