Project Journal

Four Letter Words by Bill Giovannetti Blog Tour

2012-01-27T09:19:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday, all! In New Hampshire, we got dumped on with snow and ice all early evening and still as we speak. At home, they got a snow day, leaving me jealous! We keep losing power, so I'm hoping my computer stays charged long enough to write this before I leave for class!

About Four Letter Words:

Thou shalt tolerate every opinion... except the Christian's. Today's postmodern "prime directive" leaves many followers of Jesus tongue-tied. In the global village, isn't it unreasonable, and even dangerous, to suggest that the Bible has a monopoly on truth?

The church needs a new breed of Christ-follower. We need Christ-followers who are alert to today's touchy ideas, the truths that fire up more heat than light. We need Christ-followers who can make a clear case for the Bible's worldview; who are ready to help our friends think through their beliefs; who can recognize inconsistencies and challenge them; and who can do all of this with humility, confidence, humor, and love. For more information visit http://fourletterwords.org.

Link to buy the book: http://ow.ly/8FbUq

My Review: I was actually really disappointed with this book. Though I had high hopes upon reading the blurb and receiving the book, I was let down upon completion. This book discusses four letter worded topics such as 'hurt' and 'love'. It had many biblical references and quotes from the Bible itself yet it came across as though Bill Giovannetti was trying to beat it against your forehead. I also did not like that he advertised his website and had 'sticks' for it any chance he got; this included the new links for iPhones to scan into their phones and go straight to the website. Some may find that convienant, but I found it annoying that he would feel the need to advertise so much.

Overall, my hopes and expectations much exceeded my finished opinion. I would try something by this author again to see if his style and choices had changed at all, but otherwise I wouldn't really recommend this book.

I recieved this book for free for my honest opinion.

About Bill Giovannetti:

Dr. Bill Giovannetti is a professor at A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary and the senior pastor of Neighborhood Church of Redding. An experienced speaker and author, Bill informs the mind in ways that touch the heart. He enjoys life with his wife and two kids in northern California. For more information about Bill and his other books, visit http://maxgrace.wordpress.com and http://fourletterwords.org.

About the Giveaway:

Bill is celebrating the new Kindle edition of Four Letter Words (for only $4.99)! He’ll be traveling coast to coast over the next few weeks on this virtual book tour and he's celebrating by hosting a great giveaway!

Click here (http://fourletterwords.org/2012/01/contest-giveaway) to find out how you can win two gift certificates to Amazon (in the amount of $50 and $25) and free downloads of his yet-to-be-released title, Recession-Proof: Living a God-Blessed Life in a Messed Up World.

The whole scoop here: http://fourletterwords.org/2012/01/contest-giveaway/

Please be sure to check out all the other blogs on the tour too: http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13453469.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! Stay warm wherever you are : ) This has been a good blogging week for me, eh? Lol talk to you all soon!

Muah,

Hannah

Think About Yourself

2012-01-26T10:21:00.001-05:00

Happy Thursday, my wonderful blogging friends :)
Have you ever wondered "why do I do that?" or "why am like this while my friend is completely different?" or even simply "what is my personality like on paper?"? If so, you are in the right place today! We're talking personalities, people! They make us who we are and always stay with us, unchanging.

Quirky Dr. Jung

Carl G. Jung (1875-1961) was one of the first psychologists to study personalities in 1920. He was able to break down and define many types, as shown by Garfield, that exist. There is one problem with the picture which is that one person is not made up of six personalities obviously, though I think we could all argue that Garfield might! Lol! A mere twenty years later, Isabel Briggs Myers set out on a journey to make these personality types applicable to the common man's everyday life. She succeeded with the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), though research is still ongoing on this subject.

Along with the help of her mother, Katharine Briggs, Isabel defined 16 various personality types. Furthermore, it is based on the preference of four opposing characteristics.

These are as followed (pictured above): Extroversion - Introversion, Sensing - Intuitive, Thinking - Feeling, and Judging - Perceiving.

E-I: Extroverted people gain their energy by being around others. They like to party and be social or enjoy going to a big school for college. They are very comfortable in large groups and are known as a "people person" usually. This is different from introverts who gain more energy from their ownself. They focus within themself. They still may like to party, for example, but when it's over they need their space and time by themselves.

S-N: Sensing is very much as it sounds. Sensory people focus on touch, smell, taste, sound, sight. They need stability with their reasoning. They are also very big on taking information from past experiences. Take a book. How do you know it's a book? Sensory people would say it looks like a book, smells like a book, sounds like a book when the pages turn. Intuitive people are the opposite. They are able to look at something and instead of being completely concrete, they can think of all the other possibilities. Sure, it's a book, but what else can it be? A paperweight? A pillow (maybe a little uncomfortable :P)? They also make connections, for example, when a leaf is a seen it makes them think of fall and going back to school, Halloween, state fairs, etc.

T-F: Thinking people are very similar to Sensing people in a way. They need concrete evidence to make a decision. They usually do not let emotions get in the way because that is not the place for it, they need to make decisions. Whereas obviously Feeling people are very in touch with their own feelings. They are ruled not by facts, but by their heart. There is actually a gender bias on this one because from a young age, society says that boys are not supposed to show emotion. Likewise, girls are supposed to be very touchy feely. Knowing that, it is very easy to conclude that many boys will result with T for this and girls with F results.

J-P: Lastly, Judging people sounds really bad, but it's not what it sounds like. Refer to it more as judgement because I think that helps a little bit. This is based on your decision-making preferences. Judging people are planners, every detail is planned out. They are not very spontaneous and are very set in their daily patterns as well. The opposite, Perceiving people are extremely spontaneous! They are usually procrastinators as well, which goes hand-in-hand with spontaneity and very laidbackness.

Now, do you know which you are yet??? I'll give you mine, I am an INFJ. Above you can see the 16 different types. Mine, fits me quite perfectly in fact. It says that I am known as 'the psychic' in many situations because I am very in tune with the people around me. I function best in "person to person" situations and when I can control my own situation yet am not the boss. A good example is being a teacher (which is actually one of the career choices that best match my personality type! Perfect!); a teacher is in charge of their classroom, but that's it! They are not the principal or superintendent, so there is not that much pressure. I need to be able to use creativity and my own original thoughts to be happy in my career. I can handle people with sympathy and understanding and enjoy working with people of integrity and honesty specifically.

I would LOVE to hear some of your results!! If you want to take the indication test, you can HERE for free! I will warn you though, instead of giving you all four letters, it will only give you two I believe. You can use the criteria to decide for yourself, mine was the same pre-test with my self-evaluation and post-test with their questionnaire. Then, you can go to the Myers-Briggs Foundation website to find out what your personality means! You can also find out some of the best career options that fit your type : )

This was me, smiling away :P
Plus this goat is so adorable!!

I know this post was a little long, but I find this stuff fascinating! The fact that so long ago, they were able to come up with a relevant system that still works today. And let me tell you, it is crazy when you find out what you are and choose to read about it how relevant to your life it will be if it's the right match-up for you. Mine literally made me smile as I was reading it LOL it was just like me on a page! So anyway, I know it was a long one, but if you're interested in psychology or personalities or even just learning about yourself a little more, than this is pretty cool!

I have another blog tour coming up that I'll be posting tomorrow for you all, then we'll probably be hitting the road for more of our National tour ;)
Talk to you soon! Hope you're feeling more in touch with yourself after reading this!
Hannah

The Sound of Red Returning by Sue Duffy Blog Tour

2012-01-24T16:59:00.002-05:00

Welcome, welcome! Today is yet again another day :) Keep going, it's Wednesday! You've made it halfway through the week already, wahooooooooooo!!!! Anyway lol here we go, on with the blog tour!

About the book:
After losing everyone she loves, concert pianist Liesl Bower has nowhere to go but to escape into her music. Searching for the peace she usually finds in her concertos and sonatas, Liesl can’t shake the feeling that she is being haunted by her past . . . and by someone following her. When she spots a familiar and eerie face in the audience of a concert she’s giving for the president in Washington, DC, the scariest day of her life comes back to her with a flash. It has been fifteen years since Liesl watched her beloved Harvard music mentor assaulted on a dark night in Moscow and just as long since the CIA disclosed to her that he’d been spying for Russia. She had seen that man--that eerie face--the night Professor Devoe was attacked. And now he’s back--and coming for her.

On the run and struggling to rely on the protection of CIA agent Ava Mullins and handsome newspaper reporter Cade O’Brien, Liesl learns she is the prey of an underground cell of Russian KGB agents determined to restore their country to its former Soviet might. But what she doesn’t know is that she is in possession of something--a piece of sheet music--that Russian intelligence is now frantic to find. Inside that music is a secret code, the hidden transcriptions of her deceased mentor, that clearly identify a Russian mole operating inside Israel’s Department of Defense, a mole with enough power and access to execute a daring assassination that no one would see coming.

Caught in a deadly conflict between American and Russian undercover agents, this innocent young pianist is just trying to survive her own personal trauma. Through it all, Liesl must learn that no matter how dark her world grows or how fiercely her enemies pursue her, God is still in control--if only she can yield herself to His grace. Read an excerpt HERE

My Review:
Upon reading the announcement about this blog tour, I was excited! It sounded as though it would be including many aspects that I love to read - historical fiction, mystery, suspense, and piano which I've played for about 15 years now. The cover is absolutely gorgeous. They chose a woman with striking features to put on it and she really makes an impression. However, from the first page I was confused. I figured that a lot of books start out confusing, but can definitely get better once more information is relayed to the reader, etc. That did not happen, though. Unfortunately, I did not find that the book for any better. I did not like Sue Duffy's writing style in fact. It seemed all too tedious to get through and too factual. This is a fiction piece of work and though I can appreciate the research that must have gone into this novel, she was not able to get it across in a way for me to enjoy.

I really dislike giving bad reviews, but I could not get through this book. I was sorely disappointed with the outcome of this book that held some intriguing possibilities for me. I would recommend trying it because everyone has different opinions of the same things. However, if you have similar interests to the ones I mentioned above, open the pages with an air of caution.

~This book was furnished to me by the publisher for my open and honest opinion~

About the author:
Sue Duffy is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in Moody Magazine, The Presbyterian Journal, Sunday Digest, and The Christian Reader. She is the author of Mortal Wounds (Barbour, 2001) and Fatal Loyalty (Kregel, 2010). Sue has also contributed to Stories for a Woman’s Heart (Multnomah). She and her husband, Mike, have three grown children.Find out more at www.sueduffybooks.com. Link to buy the book: http://ow.ly/8B9HT

Win a Kindle Fire from @SueDuffy2 and @KregelBooks in the "Red Returning" Giveaway! Sue Duffy and her publisher, Kregel Publications, are celebrating the release of The Sound of Red Returning by giving away a Kindle Fire prize package worth over $200 to one lucky winner!!!! (1/23-2/11)

Enter the Sue Duffy’s Giveaway today and you could win:

* A brand new Kindle Fire with Wi-Fi
* The Sound of Red Returning (Book One in the Red Returning series) by Sue Duffy

To enter click one of the icons below. But, hurry! The giveway ends on 2/11. Sue will be announcing the winner of the “Red Returning” Giveaway on February 13th on the Litfuse website!

Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

Please feel free to check out the other stops along the way in the blog tour HERE

So there you have it, folks!! This is my second blog tour :) They're pretty fun to do! Thanks so much for stopping in from time to time. I have some fun interviews coming up!

Talk to you soon!
Hannah

Help, help, help!!

2012-01-19T13:03:00.002-05:00

'Ello gov'na! lol :)

I need some assistance from all my smart bloggy friends. I am unable to change the background on my blog and as you can see, it's back to the plain beige again now. I have tried all sorts of different background codes and actual sites as well. I've also tried in Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Firefox. Lastly, I tried on my friend, Cat's, computer in case it was my computer specifically. So far it's none of those things!!!!

Can someone help me please!?
Thanks SO much,
Hannah

Claire de Lune Story

2012-01-18T20:28:00.004-05:00

HELLO!!!!!!!

My friends, my friends how I have missed you! It's been a worldwind of a couple weeks. Sheesh! On December 30, I had all four wisdom teeth out - yuck!! I ended up getting dry socket in the bottom left tooth which resulted in a MUCH slower recovery time. It wasn't fun at all, but I'm feeling a lot better now fiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally! Haha!

This is my first week back to school, started yesterday. I've got a full course load: Child Psychology, Cross-Cultural Psychology, Desire, Quantitative Reasoning, and Music Appreciation. I'm also taking chorus for the first time this semester. We met today and I'm so excited for it!! We're doing a Disney theme, so all Disney songs will be sung for the concert :D The only catch is that we all have to dress up as different Disney characters lol. Ohhhhhh boy! Right now I'm considering:

~ Minnie Mouse

~ Esmerelda

~ Queen of Hearts

Any thoughts? Lol. I think I'm gonna tell my conductor that I want to do Minnie Mouse, if that's taken I'm not sure which one I'll pick!

Okay, moving onto the title for this post : ) In my music appreciation class, Prof. Sanborn assigned a really cool assignment for homework! We had to listen to a song and write a short story/creative piece to it! Basically she's trying to use the song to evoke emotion and have use that to write creatively. I loved doing it : ) Very, very fun! Now go easy on me all my author friends! So many of your write and I....well.....don't really lol so keep that in mind!

The song - Claire de Lune by Claude Debussy

Now for the story:

One final kiss.

She watches him walk away, backpack in tow. A silent tear slips down her face. Her one true love is leaving her to defend his country. She should be proud, right? Wrong. Her one true love.

Put one foot in front of the other, just keep walking. Constantly urging himself to put more distance between him and her. He had been one of the lucky ones to find his love and in the most romantic city in the world – Paris – of all places. Now, he was leaving her.

Walking up the steps, his heart pounding in his chest, he cannot wait to see her reaction. The butler answers his persistent knocks; she is not home. Curtly, he is turned away and told that she has moved on. Moved on? How could his love move on? Sullen steps carry him away.

Her hand lightly rests on the gateway overlooking the Seine as she slowly walks. He is always on her mind, though he has been gone too long to remember now. The hours blend into days and days into weeks then months, yet she receives no word from her love. Is he still alright? Does he still think of her as she does him? A sad, simple sigh escapes her lips while studying the golden sun dropping.

Sipping his espresso at a small café, he looks out across the Seine. His heart is broken. He gazes at the big, beautiful sun as it slowly melts into the landscape.

THE END :)

Okay, so what do you think? Does it sound okay? Technically we were supposed to write one-two paragraphs on it, but I just wasn't feeling the paragraphs exactly so I broke it down more.

Anyway, thank you SO much for reading!! I'm hoping to get back on track with posting now that I'm feeling better :) Got some reviews to be posting too, so look out for those!

Much love to you all, muah!
Hannah

Strength Post #1

2012-01-09T12:13:00.001-05:00

Just remember that everything happens for a reason. You're brilliant : )

Hannah

From Seas to Shining Sea Road Trip - First Stop!

2012-01-03T00:43:00.009-05:00

Today, we're talking about states! I was out of blogging ideas tonight so my friend, AJ, helped me brainstorm states in our conversation. First of all.....can you all put all 50 states in their correct places on the map!? Try and see if you can beat me HERE ; ) I got an 82% with an average error of 54 miles and completed it in 325 seconds!

America, the beautiful. Our country certainly can be beautiful, can't it? I'm can't say that I am upset to have been born here; I feel fortunate. Yes, I am ashamed of things in our past. I am ashamed of things my white brothers did in their past, but I know things can change. I feel fortunate that I can room with Amanda, my beautiful roommate, and not see the color of her skin. I am fortunate to be able to graduate from high school, go onto college, and choose to study whatever I want. I am fortunate to have a roof above my head every night, food on my table everyday, and running water whenever I need to use it. I am thankful for the opportunities that have stemmed from living in the United States of America. Even though it is not the Fourth of July lol I've been thinking after watching Times Square on New Years. How lucky are we all for living in this country?

This thinking led me to a new idea for the blog. This post begins a discovery of our nation from sea to shining sea. It is a road trip of sorts that will take us into the nooks and crannys of the United States of America : ) Today is merely the first stop of 50 on our From Sea to Shining Sea Road Trip and of course we're starting in the most sensible place to start!

I live in Vermont, as many of you know already. I am so happy to have been brought up in Vermont and New England in general! I love it here with the changing of seasons especially : ) It's so beautiful here and you should ALL come visit me when you get the chance! I'll take you on all the back roads to see things like that picture on the left. It'll be fun, promise.

When I think of Vermont, I think of beauty, cows, blue skies and dark winters, icy roads, dirt roads, muddy roads, roads filled with pot holes! Maple syrup and warm pancakes, hot apple pie (apple pie is our state pie! Apples, our state fruit, ya know :D), apple picking, raking leaves, marshmallows (no, not the edible ones!!), family, home. I can't wait for you all to get a glimpse of my state : )

Alicia and I outside Gramma and Grampa's house when we were little

Some fun Vermont facts:

1) Vermont is the largest maple syrup producer in the country producing over 500,000 gallons a year.

2) Vermont is the second largest state in New England with Maine being the first.

3) Coldest temperature recorded: -47 degrees F Hottest: 106 degrees F

4) About half the milk consumed in New England comes exclusively from Vermont : )

5) Montpelier is the smallest state capital in the US (and also the only one without a McDonalds!)

6) Vermont is the second smallest state in population.

7) Vermont has the least amount of violent crime out of all 50 states.

8) Until 1996, Vermont was the only state without a Walmart! (That's right, we're cool :P)

9) Know as the Green Mountain State.

10) Vermont was the first state admitted to the Union after the 13 Colonies.

Motto: Freedom and Unity

Flower: Red Clover

Bird: Hermit Thrush

Vermont State Song: These Green Mountains

Diane Martin - Composer

Rita Buglass - Arranger

These green hills and silver waters
are my home. They belong to me.
And to all of her sons and daughters
May they be strong and forever free.

Let us live to protect her beauty
And look with pride on the golden dome
They say home is where the heart is
These green mountains are my home.

These green mountains are my home.

So, we're off! On a worldwind adventure, who knows what we'll find, eh? :) I hope you will ALL join me as we visit the treasures our country has for us.

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Hannah

Summers spent in Gramma's pool : )

Books Read in 2011

2012-01-02T23:39:00.002-05:00

This is just a quick post to recap the books I read in 2011 : )

January:
1) Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
2) I know I'm forgetting the book I read between these two! When I think of it, I'll post it : D
3) In Every Heartbeat by Kim Vogel Sawyer
February:
4) The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
5) A Soldier's Promise by Cheryl Wyatt
6) A Hopeful Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer
7) Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
8) Flavor of the Week by Tucker Shaw
9) The Farther You Run by Davida Wills Hurwin
10) Green Angel by Alice Hoffman
March:
11) The Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers
12) When the Soul Mends by Cindy Woodsmall
13) The Lightkeeper's Daughter by Colleen Coble
14) Someone at the Door by Richie Tankersley Cusick
15) Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
April:
16) The Siege: A Family's Journeyinto the World of an Autistic Chid by Clara Claiborne Park
17) Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
18) The Apothecary's Daughter by Julie Klassen
19) Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
20) The Lightkeeper's Bride by Colleen Coble
21) A Strong Right Arm: The Story of Mamie "Peanut" Johnson by Michelle Y. Green
May:
22) The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney
23) Crank (Crank #1) by Ellen Hopkins
24) Room by Emma Donoghue
25) Glass (Crank #2) by Ellen Hopkins
June:
26) The Invention of Hugo Cabert by Brian Selznick
27) A Child Called "It" by Dave Peltzer
28) Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent
29) Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
30) Little Bee by Chris Cleave
31) Twisted by Laurie Anderson
32) Plain Wisdom by Cindy Woodsmall and Miriam Flaud
33) The Dead & the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
34) This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
July
35) Cell by Stephen King
36) An Unlikely Suitor by Nancy Moser
37) The Locker by Richie Tankersley Cusick
August
38) Getting Back Up When Life Knocks You Down by Jeremy Kingsley
39) Homeward by Melody Carlson
40) At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie
September
41) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
October
42) Koyasan by Darren Shan
November
43) The Encounter by Steve Arterburn
44) Remembering You by Tricia Goyer
December
45) Precisely Terminated by Amanda L. Davis

I definitely did worse nearer the end of the year, phooey! But I'm hoping to get back on track this year. I've been keeping an eye out for reading challenges and haven't seen a ton, but I think I have a couple in mind. I've already read two books this year so far lol so reviews to come on those. Currently getting started on The Sound of Red Returning by Sue Duffy for my next blog tour at the end of the month.

More to come, stay tuned!

Hannah

Saying Goodbye to 2011.....

2011-12-29T23:26:00.012-05:00

A big hello and welcome to everyone today : )

First of all, this is my 200th post!!!!!

Woohoooooo!! How exciting is that?? May have taken me awhile to get here, but we've made it to 200 posts everyone :D Thank you so much for giving me the support and encouragement to keep writing. I absolutely love blogging and you all make it worth every second spent on it! So thank you!

Now, I know this is a little early, but I'm having surgery tomorrow morning at 8:30am (think of me!), so we have to have this a little early lol.

In just three short days, we will be waving goodbye to 2011 and moving forward to 2012. It's a time to reflect, ponder, dream, and move on. I know my year has been kinda....crazy. Definitely filled with its' ups and downs alike.

~Meeting my bestie, Catherine Coulombe. I'll never be the same having met her : ) Sticking with me through the ups and downs that life has stuck me with has shown me that true friends really do happen. I love you so much, Cateroni!

~ Getting closer with a couple friends like Ariel Wilson. Ariel, you've been an incredible friend to me since we met. Not sure how it came to be, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I love you too, girl, crazy eyes and all ;) Weddings <3

~ My first car accident - that's one of the pictures shown to the right. Very, very, very scary!

~ More medical drama

~ Almost getting kicked out of college

~ Very, very depressed

~ Finding the right anti-depressant for me and climbing out of my hole - No, Paxil, Lexapro, and Prozac did NOT work for me, but it's a good picture :P

~ Travelling to Europe again - That picture was taken in Wales this summer at our gorgeous hotel! While in Wales....do as the Welsh do!

~ Beginning to review books!

I can't say that I have loved this year. It's probably the hardest year I've had to live through to date. The lows were lower than I ever thought I would find myself in; whereas the highs were good but seemed short lived.

As cheesy as it sounds.....a new year brings new beginnings. I really want to and need to take advantage of these opportunities.

~ Get better grades in school if I want to stay

~ Enjoy more time with friends

~ Take more pictures

~ Read and review more books

~ Be a better friend

~ Blog more frequently

~ Be more aware of myself before I speak or act

~ Be more assertive with doctors and try to find answers

One of my biggest resolutions this year, though I know everyone says it, is to lose weight. You've all at least seen pictures of me. I'm a big girl. I don't mind curves, love them actually, but I need to get to a healthier weight. I have this gut feeling that it is really going to start causing me medical problems, if not already has. I would love, love, love to go back to Weight Watchers. I lost around 50 pounds when I did it as a freshman in high school! Five years later and I've gained just about twofold what I lost. It is frustrating, depressing, hard to live with every single day. I'm hoping by next year at this time, weight loss will be in my 'what happened in 2012' spot instead of resolutions.

So....that's about all for this year, I guess, folks. In a short eight hours I need to be at the office for surgery, kinda scared about that! If you think of it and read this before then, think of me, okay? I love you all and I'll see you in the new year :D

Love to you all,
Hannah

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

2011-12-29T00:56:00.005-05:00

Do those words ring any bells for anyone???

That curly little red headed girl is well known for her cheery, yet blunt disposition. Above is one of her most famous songs, Tomorrow. In this scene, for those of you who don't know, she is seen singing to President Teddy Roosevelt. She got around pretty good for starting in an orphanage, eh? ;)

Annie had two movies made off of the Little Orphan Annie comic strip. The first was in 1982 and the second, 1999. I, personally, have not seen the remake, but have heard it wasn't as good. The original is certainly a classic, however! Starring so many memorable faces such as Carol Burnette and Burnadette Peters, this is not a musical soon forgotten.

Storyline:

In the depths of the 1930's, Annie is a fiery young orphan girl who must live in a miserable orphanage run by the tyrannical Miss Hannigan. Her seemingly hopeless situation changes dramatically when she is selected to spend a short time at the residence of the wealthy munitions industrialist, Oliver Warbucks. Quickly, she charms the hearts of the household staff and even the seemingly cold-hearted Warbucks cannot help but learn to love this wonderful girl. He decides to help Annie find her long lost parents by offering a reward if they would come to him and prove their identity. However, Miss Hannigan, her evil brother, Rooster, and a female accomplice, plan to impersonate those people to get the reward for themselves which put Annie in great danger.

I had the priviledge of seeing the musical Annie performed at our local theater, Northern Stage, yesterday. They put on a successful, magnificent show! Incorporating actors and actresses straight off Broadway and children from the local area, Annie was a special treat. Unfortunately, Mollie Brown who normally plays Annie was out, so we saw it with Margaret Ann Marie Finley. THough she wasn't who we were supposed to see, I have no complaints, nor any regrets. She did phenomenal! You would've never known she was the understudy. She belted the songs like nobody's business. I would almost say I enjoyed her performance better than in the movie :D I had the lucky chance of a run-in with Gwendolyn Jones (Miss Hannigan) when I was working one night! She was the absolute sweetest woman, the antithesis of her character. Shows what good an actress she is :) And booooooooooooooy was she funny!!! We couldn't stop laughing whenever she came on the stage! Plus she did a GREAT job with her costume changes. All the girls playing the orphans were spectacular! Their voices were so strong for mostly 9, 10, and 11 year olds, but some younger. I was in awe at the accuracy of their performance from staging to acting, to singing and dancing. I wouldn't be surprised if someday we saw some of their names up in lights!

Book - Thomas Meehan

Music - Charles Strouse

Lyrics - Martin Charnin

Director - Brooke Ciardelli

Producing Director - Catherine Doherty (she played the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz last December!)

I feel blessed that we have Northern Stage in our backyard. It's in downtown White River Jct, which is about a 2 minute drive from my house, depending on the stoplights :P They are able to bring us quality theater with famous actors from Broadway, tours, movies, and television shows. It is incredible what they can do on this tiny stage (much smaller than our high school stage and auditiorium!). Bravo, bravo to everyone in it! I wish you the best of luck in your future and many more opening nights :D

Thanks for stopping by!
Hannah

Winners Galore!!

2011-12-28T01:23:00.003-05:00

Well, well, well another year has just about passed us. Crazy, isn't it? In turn, this means that Christmas has passed us and New Years is upon us.

I would say overall the Second Annual Christmas Blogfest here was once again a success :) Today is dedicated to the winners. Without further ado, let's see who the lucky folks are!

The Christmas Witness by Susan Sleeman

MELANIE

Winners Choice of a Julie Lessman Book

ANNE PAYNE

Winners Choice of one of the Code Triage books by Candace Calvert

CATHERINE

Love Finds You on Christmas Morning by Trish Perry

EDWINA

'Party in a Box' Kit

SHERRY L.

'Friend' Picture Frame

JULIE

Well, there you have it, people! All winners have been emailed, they have until Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 to respond to me. That gets us through the holidays and my surgery : )

Congratulations to ALL the winners and my sincerest gratitude goes to everyone who participated. It sure makes it worth it to blog when you know someone is reading what you write : ) I have some really fun, new ideas for 2012, so I hope you will all join me then!

Much love,

Hannah

Ho ho ho! It's Christmas Eve!!

2011-12-23T23:59:00.006-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS, one and all! I am so sorry that I've neglected to post this whole week. I was sick at the beginning of the week and had a fun interview planned for yesterday that didn't end up working out I guess, so here we are to Saturday already - almost the day we've been waiting for! How's everyone feeling? Good? Excited? Stressed? Haha :) I'm ready to sit back, relax, and hopefully enjoy the holiday.

The Importance of Christmas

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to lecture you all about how we need to keep the Christ in Christmas. I am pretty sure the people that read my blog all realize that and continuously include Christ in their Christmas season. Nope, I simply wanted to talk about what Christmas means to me. Afterall, I've been holding this blogfest about Christmas but haven't put too much input into it from myself yet :) Lol

Christmas is a magical time of year. I truly feel like I begin celebrating as soon as I possibly can after Thanksgiving. I don't want to cut off Thanksgiving, that has its' own time. However, Christmas is the bigger holiday in our family. I love everything about Christmas minus the added stress! Lol! The sparkling lights, majestic trees, smell of gingerbread men and homemade rolls baking, Christmas carols playing softly in the background. It is truly magical.

Christmas Eve brings many special things, as does Christmas, in this household. Though my sister and I have to work, we will help prepare all the food at Gramma's before or after work (depending on which girl we're talking about lol). I have one last present to finish still, then wrap. Otherwise, it is a very laid back day. Presents are brought down to Gramma's from our household and Alicia and I put our presents to each other and Mom under our tree at home.

Tomorrow night we will sit through one of my favorite church services of the year. Each year, Pastor Lory is able to slightly and subtly change the Christmas story (not that it needs changing) which makes it even more interesting. I think tonight's service will be the first one where I am not going to be Head Shepherd in the pageant, so that will be a change. Afterwards, we will drive around to admire Christmas lights :) Then it's home to cookies and hot coco in our Santa mugs - yum! Alicia and I get our ONE present on Christmas Eve; it's always new pjs but we act surprised lol. Next, the two of us scramble upstairs and watch A Christmas Story while Mom is doing....soooooomething downstairs O_o hmmm wonder what? LOL! It's the one day of the year that Alicia and I actually go to bed pretty well for her, so that's a plus.

All in all, Christmas wraps our family up tight, yes tighter than normal lol. Though we are big gift givers, we also realize this is precious time that holds high value. My great uncle, Edward, was put in a nursing home this fall. We didn't even think he'd still be alive at this point. He is my grampa's last living sibling and only a couple years older than him. Likewise, Gramma has three living siblings still, but they're all "getting up there" so to speak. Edward's health problems and reluctant placement into a nursing home has really breathed new life into the concept of time for everyone in our family. We certainly cherish all the time we have with Gramma and Grampa, our other family too for that matter.

To get back to the happy of the season, Alicia and I did a remake of the classic 'Twelve Days of Christmas'! It was an early present for Mom (since we couldn't wait anymore! LOL!) and our aunt has seen it also. The rest of our family will see it Sunday :P Buuuuuuuuuut Alicia gave me her blessing to show you all, since you're my extended family : ) Please excuse the bad singing, any weird acting, and funky editing stuff lol you have to understand we were up until like 1am working on this! LMBO!! It sure was fun though XD So without further ado:

If video doesn't play, here's the LINK.

Hahahahah whatdya think!? Please be nice :O lol.

Remember that all the giveaways are open until December 27 and there are NO entries on Trish Perry's post so....if you enter, you'll win as of right now :) Winners will be announced before December 30, so get your last entries in and tell your friends too!

I hope this Christmas Eve brings you great happiness and joy in all you do, lots of family time too!

Love,

Hannah

Best Friends Make Holidays Brighter (Plus Giveaway!) :D

2011-12-15T00:21:00.008-05:00

What a week, what a week it has been. Yesterday I finished up finals and now I'm doing extra praying about my grades. Crazy, life-changing times might be ahead of me and that's really scary. I keep trying to tell myself that God has a plan and all things happen for a reason but this particular thing has never even been in the same TIMEZONE as my plan. That's the scary part.

Anyway, I am particularly excited about this post : ) I met this wonderfully talented, hysterically funny girl last April through my roommate this year. They were friends and Amanda said "You need to meet my friend, Cat. I think you two would really get along!" Well this just so happens to be one of those friendships that must have been planned by God lol. We have so much in common and love, love, love spending time together! We're both wicked goofy (especially when studying for hours straight during finals week together, eh? ;) ) but she's just the break I always need. It's strictly a coincidence that our birthdays are also only THREE days apart :D I am so thankful for her friendship and will never take advantage of it because good friends are extremely hard to come by. So it is to my great excitement that I introduce my bestie, Catherine Coulombe!!

Hannah: My lil Cateroni, you're finally on my blog! I've been waiting for this!! When does the Christmas season officially start in your household? What is the first thing done that marks the start (i.e. putting up Christmas tree, baking first gingerbread men, etc)?

Catherine (Cat): It depends on which household we are talking about! In my mom’s household we start in the beginning of December, getting decorations out, finding the perfect Christmas tree and obviously having family time while decorating the tree and house. However, now that I am with my dad we don’t have decorations or a tree, so Christmas starts in my heart on December 1st. I start getting into the Christmas music and watching the 25 Days of Christmas!

H: Ooooooooooooooo similar interests I see ; ) I honestly cannot imagine not having a tree. That seems so sad to me :( But you helped decorate our tree at school with Manda and I :D In a Christmas fantasy land – who would be the famous figures, past and/or present, at your dinner table and why?

C: My dinner table would be full of Christmas characters and Disney characters. I’m a little girl at heart and I would love if Mulan and Cinderella would be at my table. But I would want Rudolph, Santa, and Frosty at my table! Now for real figures I would want Elizabeth Blackwell, Harriet Tubman, Abe Lincoln and obviously Jesus.

H: DISNEY CRUISE!!! Just sayin' ; ) Love the characters idea. It's like our childhood basically; all the claymation figures! Now, I'll be honest, I had to look up Elizabeth Blackwell. Had no clue who she was lol, sorry! For those of you who don't know, she was the first female doctor! Totally appropriate since Cat is studying Pre-Med : ) This girl's gonna be a phenomenal doctor! Anyway, Elizabeth is a pretty interesting gal, so check out the link if you wanna read more! What did you ask Santa for Christmas this year? *wink*

C: I asked Santa for a few things! I asked him for books, movies, money, and a case for my Kindle!

H: Ooooooooooo!! Kindle case, smart idea! What is one unique tradition for your family during the month of December to celebrate Christmas?

C: We have a couple of different things that we do every year. My Nana gave us a homemade advent calendar, and every year I put an ornament on the tree until we reach Christmas Eve. Our family also loves driving around to look at Christmas lights, normally midway through December. Finally every Christmas Eve we open one present, which is normally pajamas, so we can wear them to bed, and my sister and I always watch A Christmas Story!

H: Alicia and I get the pjs and watch A Christmas Story toooooooooooooo :D SO cool! Didn't know we had that in common too! Lol :P I absolutely love the idea of putting an ornament on your tree everyday until Christmas Eve. That is a really, really cool idea and definitely unique : ) How will you be spending your Christmas day this year?

C: I will be spending my Christmas morning with my mom, step-father and sisters, we have a family breakfast and then open our presents. By noon I will be on the road for a three hour drive heading back to my home where I will be with my dad and Sherry (his girlfriend/basically my step-mother). I don’t know if we will be heading to my memere’s but that is always a possibility.

H: You better be safe on that drive!!! I know it might be a hard day for you, but you're gonna do wonderfully : ) And you can always text me, I'll save you with laughs and smiles all day! What have been the highlights throughout 2011 for you?

C: I have done a lot during 2011. It has been an amazing year, but I am always ready to move forward. Some of the major events were;
~ Surviving my freshman year of college, where I met a wonderful girl named Hannah : )
~ Going to Florida for 10 days!
~ Getting a job for the summer and making many new friends.
~ Spending time with one of my best friends.
~ Watching my cousin get married!
~ Finally, I started my sophomore year of college!

H: D'awwwwwww ^_^ highlight of my year too, sexy legs! I love this picture of you and your cousin (the cousin mentioned above's new wife!) and you're even in front of a Christmas tree; how appropriate! You've had an eventful year, I can't believe it's almost over already! Do you have any New Years resolutions for the upcoming 2012?

C: Of course I have some resolutions : ) I am going to start out slow! First I would like to start a diary where I will write in it about every night for the entire year! I want to work on being a healthier and better person! Finally I want to spend more time with my family and friends!

H: Oh Cat, you're already started on these! I love that, girl. And I know you can do it too because you're strong and can do anything you put your mind to. I can't WAIT to spend MORE time with YOU :D

These are some “short answer” questions. You can answer them in as few words as possible, if you want.

Favorite Christmas book read this year? Movie seen? The Night Before Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Last Christmas song you heard? Silent Night!

Favorite food to make or eat during the season? I love baking sweets, of all kinds! I love Christmas Eve dinner which is filled with scallops, kielbasa, ham, cheese, and crackers.

Briefly describe your favorite ornament. My favorite ornament is my ‘Baby’s First Christmas’ ornament. I love it and always will!

Anything else you would like to say? : ) I hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas : )

CAT! Thank you SO, SO much for coming on my blog!!! This has been super exciting for me : ) You are an amazing person and I really do think it was fate for us to meet up! We have our squabbles as all friends do lol but I think it keeps us in check and on our toes ; ) You make me laugh and I mean really laugh! You can help through the tears, fears, and insecurities that life bears. Yet you make it so fun and worth living for me. You love to cook and eat food with me, which is actually such a good thing in my book! LOL! From stalking me and watching me sleep :P to Disney cruises, sexy legs, pranks on Shannon, pranks from Amanda and I ON you ; ) we have had some fun times! I just know they're not going to stop anytime soon. It'll be even more fun when you become a doctor and cure me ; ) That's the plans, ladies and gents! Isn't she awesome!? Lol! There aren't enough words to talk about one of my best friends and yet I've tried and failed miserably. Here are just a few that I think sum it up at least somewhat:

You're my friend, my companion through good times and bad. My friend and buddy through happy and sad. Beside me you stand; beside me you walk. You're there to listen; you're there to talk. With happiness, smiles, with pain and tears, I know you'll be there throughout the years! ~ The Notebook

It's GIVEAWAY time!!!!!!!!!! Today, I'm giving away a friendship picture frame : ) It is pretty simple, 4x6 silver frame with the word 'friends' in block letters across the top. No, it won't get to you in time for Christmas unfortunately, but that's ok : ) Who said you need to give your friend a present just on a holiday or birthday!? Lol or you can keep it for yourself to smile when you see the two of you together. Your choice, but it's up for grabs!

Rules:

~ Leave a comment for Cat

~ Must have a US mailing address for this giveaway

~ Make sure to leave a valid email address so that I can contact you if you win!

+1 If you become a new follower of my blog

+1 If you become a follower of Cat's blog

+2 If you're an old follower : )

Contest is open until December 27, 2011. Winners will be drawn randomly from the List Randomizer at Random.org by December 30, 2011.

Last night, Alicia, Mom, and I saw the Christmas Revels again! Though I know this is more about Winter Solstice, there are still many references to Christmas. This year Dartmouth's took place in a little village outside of London, England. Queen Elizabeth I gets stranded from bad weather and needs to spend the night in a commoner's home which is lively with festivities for the Christmas Revels. Through exuberant dances, songs both somber and cheery but always well sung, and humor, these masterful storytellers create a perfect allusion. From the start, the audience participates by singing the choruses and dancing in the aisles with the cast. It's a fun time for all! Due to this, I chose to play a song from that for you all : ) Enjoy!

Have a GREAT Thursday and take the time to thank a good friend for all they've done for you : ) See you tomorrow!!
Hannah

Special Birthday Party with Giveaway!!!!!!!!

2011-12-13T21:25:00.009-05:00

Welcome, welcome, welcome!!! I am very excited about today's post!!! Now today was my LAST final so I DEFINITELY felt like partying it up!!! Now, who will join me!? Please, please, please come and celebrate :D

Now, not only is this a PARTY (which Amber will vouch for me that I can throw a fuuuuuuuun party ; ) ) but it is a birthday party! Who's birthday are we celebrating?? Nope, not mine, you all still have a couple months yet! Lol! Nope, we're going to throw our very own birthday party for Christ! I know we're a little early, but we will all be celebrating on our own on his actual birthday, so we need to have it now!

First, I thought we'd have a little something to eat. Follow me to the table : )

I hope it looks okay! I thought we'd start out with some Irish vegetable soup that I had sent here for us! This is ALL over the place in Ireland! I kid you now, we ate it soooooooooo much in a two week period. But it's *lips licks* so yummy!

Next we've got a couple choices - Filet Mignon with asparagus cooked in a little olive oil and garlic, and Jersey Royales (potatoes) straight from the Isle of Jersey! (That's what I'M having!!!!)

For my vegetarian friends (or those who want it!) - Vegetarian Alfredo with creamy alfredo sauce, broccoli, and even peas!

There's also some different choices of dog foods over on the counter for our four legged friends : ) Not sure what their preferences are, so I'll let their owners choose for them!

Now how good was that food!? I am stuffed! I need a break before dessert I think ; )

Since this is a party celebrating Christ, I thought that it would be perfect for the entertainment to be the retelling of his birth story. However, I found an entertaining one at that! The following video was made by last year by the children of St. Paul's Church. They are absolutely enchanting! I hope you ALL take just under 4 minutes of your day to watch this, you will not be disappointed!

Aren't they fabulous!? The little lambs made me smile :)

Can I get a drumrooooooooooooooooll please!? *drumroll*

Tada!!! Here is our birthday cake because what birthday party or any party for that matter is complete without cake!? It reads "For unto us a child is born." if you can't tell : ) I just love all the figures, the colors, the different tiers. Made me happy! So everyone, dig in! Who wants a piece, I'll cut....

It's GIVEAWAY time!!!!!!!!!!! Today, I am offering a 'Party in a Box' kit that I'll make up for you : ) Nope, it doesn't have to be a birthday party for Jesus, but use it for something fun!

Rules:

~ Leave me a comment with a birthday wish for the birthday boy!

~ Must have a valid email address (so I can contact you if you win!)

~ Must have a US mailing address for this giveaway

+1 for becoming a new follower

+ 2 for being an old follower : )

Now for our song of the day! The beautiful and talented Judy Collins is singing this one today. I have a special connection to Judy. Alicia and I sang in the Upper Valley Children's choir in elementary school and was the background choir for her in one of her concerts : ) It was a truly amazing experience to perform in such a large theater with such an iconic voice! We sang this song and it really brings back memories for me. One of my favorites that we sang was Joy to the World which unfortunately is not on Youtube :( Another one was Song for Sarajevo though. It is bleak, but with such a haunting tune it is memorable for me and I can remember my part to this day still! Alicia and I like to review it from time to time ; )

Anyway, please take the opportunity to reflect a little today. We are halfway through the month and it is so, so easy to forget the real meaning of Christmas. Take the time to celebrate His birth! It's fast approaching! Time to start gettin' our party on ; ) Those of you who still have finals, I wish you the best of luck, friends! You'll do fabulously!

Much love,

Hannah

Celebrating Books and Christmas with Trish Perry (plus giveaway!!)!!!

2011-12-12T23:29:00.004-05:00

Welcome one and all to our second Tuesday in the blogfest :D

Firstly, I just wanted to say that I am SO thankful to have this blog. It is such an outlet in times like these where I am stressed for my finals, my grades, and my appointments next week. So thank you for following me so faithfully and encouraging me to continue with it : ) I appreciate you all SO much!

Next, I am thrilled to have this guest with us today! I contacted her a couple months ago because I was so excited at the thought of having her hehehe ^_^ Though I have not read any of her books, I have read a couple interviews and boy, they sure do sound good! If you stick around to the end, you'll get the chance to win a fun Christmas story from her! So without further ado, welcome Trish Perry!!!

Hannah: Trish, thank you, thank you for agreeing to join us here today! I am so excited to hear your answers to these questions and to spend some time with you :D When does the Christmas season officially start in your household? What is the first thing done that marks the start (i.e. putting up Christmas tree, baking first gingerbread men, etc)?

Trish: The starting date definitely depends upon what else is going on around here, but usually I start warming up the first or second week into December. The front door wreath is typically my first effort. It makes it look as if I’ve got it all going on inside the house, when in fact I’m completely disorganized and working in spurts.

H: Hahahaha that is a really smart idea, in my opinion! We honestly do not decorate much outside (might try and get a picture for ya), but the wreath is definitely there :) By the way, I love that shirt you're wearing in your picture! Anyway haha, you wrote a Christmas novel, Love Finds You on Christmas Morning, why is it special for you to have written this?

T: Christmas is simply a romantic time of year, even if one isn’t involved in a romance. I mean, the setting is warm and friendly, hearts soften, and people are often more warm, fuzzy, and like minded. So I loved the chance to work a story around that environment. And I like the idea of endurance suggested with a Christmas-based story. They come back into style every year!

H: Awwww, love that you think of it as a romantic time of year. I would completely agree with that! And I'd never thought of that before! They really DO come "back into style" every year, huh?? Who is your favorite character in your book and why?

T: I love Harvey Fennicle, the eccentric old man in whose mansion heroine Nikki Tronnier lives and works. He’s funny, kind, and generous of heart. But, of course, my heroine, Nikki, is my favorite character, because this is her story. I love the fact that, even though she’s very modern and contemporary minded, she hankers for the warm family environment she remembers from her childhood, and she takes steps to recover that environment. She doesn’t just sit there, wishing her life were a certain way. She gets out there to make her life what she wants it to be. At least that’s what she tries to do.

H: I LOVE the names of the characters in your book.....Harvey Fennicle. A name drenched with personality, how cool! And that sure is a cliffhanger at the end ; ) What really happens with Nikki?? Now you've got me curious! In a Christmas fantasy land – who would be the famous figures, past and/or present, at your dinner table and why?

T:
• Edmund Gwenn, the fellow who played Kris Kringle in the 1947 version of Miracle on 34th Street, because he was one of my favorite characters as a kid (watching repeats of the film—I’m not that old).
• Bill Murray, who played Frank Cross in Scrooged, because he’s hilarious.
• Amy Grant, Enya, Rachel Lampa, and Nicole Nordeman, because they sing Christmas carols beautifully.
• The angel who appeared to the shepherds on Christmas Day—I think the common belief is that it was Gabriel—because I just think he has an awesome job and would love to hear about it.
• Jesus, because He’s the whole point. Happy birthday to Him!

H: Happy Birthday indeed!! Love that :D along with your other choices - very unique! Enya is very talented. What did you ask Santa for Christmas this year? *wink*

T: I actually have a lot of uncertainty before me for 2012, so I’m asking Santa (and the Lord) for a productive year, free of all surprises but the happy ones.

H: Wow....that is a very well thought out answer. I actually think that I would agree with that one in thorough. Sounds good to me. I'll certainly be praying for you as I'm sure my readers will too. What have been the highlights throughout 2011 for you?

T: My son finished his freshman year of film school and started his second, happy in his pursuit (which makes his mama happy).
My daughter and her hubby announced that my second grandchild will arrive in February 2012.
I saw the fruits of 2010’s crazy labors, releasing four books this year.

H: WOW! Congrats, congrats, aaaaaaaaaaaaand congrats! Those are incredible highlights!! :D Do you have any New Years resolutions for the upcoming 2012?

T: I don’t tend to make resolutions. But I am planning on doing my chiropractor’s “boot camp,” in January. I’m not exactly sure what that’s going to entail. I know it’s all about getting more fit and healthier in every facet of life. I’m scared.

T: Other than that, my resolution is to keep reminding myself that God has everything in hand. I’m leaning on that in a big way for 2012.

H: These are some “short answer” questions. You can answer them in as few words as possible – even simply one word.

Favorite Christmas book read this year? Remembering Christmas, by Dan Walsh

Movie seen? The Holiday, with Jude Law and three other people who aren’t him. (HAHAHAHAHA!! I love your answer XD)

Last Christmas song you heard? O Come O Come Emmanuel, by Enya

Favorite food to make or eat during the season? Pecan snowball cookies! Yum. I want some right now.

Briefly describe your favorite ornament. I have two, actually. My two kids are grown now, but I still have the picture ornaments each of them made while in elementary school. My daughter’s has her photo surrounded by a tiny grapevine wreath, and my son’s is his photo surrounded by puzzle pieces. I still see them as those little kids sometimes. Always my babies!

Anything else you would like to say? : ) I’d like to wish your readers a very happy Christmas. I pray that this is a joyous season for all of you and that the reminder of Christ’s birth renews a sense of hope and comfort for you now and during the coming year. I love to hear from readers, who can reach me through my website or on Facebook or Twitter (TrishPerryWrtr).
Thanks for featuring me, Hannah!

Wow, what a great interview! I am so glad that I was able to learn more about you! Thanks again for joining us today!

It's GIVEAWAY time!!!! Trish has happily offered you all a copy of Love Find You on Christmas Morning! Excited!? I think yes! Jealous I can't win it ; )

Rules:

~ Leave a comment for Trish

~ Must leave a valid email address so that I can contact you if you win!

~ Must have a US mailing address for this contest

+1 - Become a new follower of my blog

+1 - Follow Trish on Facebook or Twitter

+2 - Being an old follower of my blog : )

Contest is open until December 27, 2011. Winners will be drawn randomly from the List Randomizer at Random.org by December 30, 2011.

Today's song is gonna take you back, people : ) Just needed some happy music tonight before this final!!

Happy Tuesday, everyone. Enjoy chatting with Trish and see you tomorrow : )
Hannah

Holiday Cheer with Candace Calvert and Giveaway!!! :D

2011-12-12T01:13:00.010-05:00

Happy Monday, all!

How was your weekend? Hopefully good and not toooooo terribly busy ; ) I have a special guest for you today, so we're starting the week off on a great note!!

I met this wonderful woman.....well.....actually I can't remember. That's terrible! I think it might have been in Seekerville? But I'm not 100% positive! Egads, sorry about that! In any event, she has become a special guest on my blog : ) Always positive, happy, caring, and kind, this nurse turned author is always reaching out to her readers. I feel very lucky to have connected with her myself : ) Everyone, please welcome my friend, Candace Calvert!!!!!

Hannah: Candace, thank you SO much for joining us today!!!! Two years and strong, eh? : ) When does the Christmas season officially start in your household? What is the first thing done that marks the start (i.e. putting up Christmas tree, baking first gingerbread men, etc)?

Candace: Decorating the house, then the tree—this year I did that early (for us), the weekend after Thanksgiving. I unboxed and fluffed what I call the Faux-Ho-Ho tree, wrapping it in gold ribbon garland, sparkling icicles and the big fabric butterflies that lined the walk at our garden wedding. It’s fun to hang memory-stirring ornaments—mostly from our travels. Like a mini-cruise ship, a glass Maine lobster, and even the Sphinx pyramid!

H: *snickering* Faux-Ho-Ho tree! That is absolutely hysterical XD Coming from someone who cannot imagine having ONLY a fake tree :O But I completely agree about the ornaments, ours are the same way! In a Christmas fantasy land – who would be the famous figures, past and/or present, at your dinner table and why?

C: I think I’ll hit the Easy button on this question and go for the silly answer: Ralphie and his crazy family from the classic comedy “A Christmas Story.” Complete with ever-hovering mother, the Major Award Leg Lamp, Bumpus bloodhounds . . . and Chinese food. Why? Because . . . laughter is good medicine.
H: Ohhhhhh Candace, I LOVE your answer!! You're so right :D I would love that too, especially considering Chinese food is one of my favorites! What did you ask Santa for Christmas this year? *wink*

C: (Still laughing) A Kindle Fire—actually delivered hot-off-the-assembly-line before Thanksgiving. It was hubby’s surprise, BUT he was so excited that he insisted I open it immediately. I plan to re-wrap it and stage an Academy award winning scene of surprise Christmas morning!

H: I WISH I could see that!!! You should make a video ; ) Very cool gift though! What is one unique tradition for your family during the month of December to celebrate Christmas?

C: Not unique, but I love setting up our nativity scene—one that my mother gave me when the kids were small. This year was especially wonderful because our 2-yr. old grand daughter, Ashland Skye, was old enough to delight in it, and listen to the story of that miracle. Big lump in this grandmother’s throat, for sure.
Baking is another tradition in our family—and it must be gingerbread! We host a small gathering of family and friends on Christmas Eve, and guests are delighted to see their names in frosting on their own gingerbread man or woman. (Chuckling) The photos show both the cookies and cook—though scrubs, pearls, and a stethoscope aren’t my normal kitchen attire!

H: You look so happy, Candace : ) I love your smile - it's infectious! I also love that story about the Nativity set, that is so special. How will you be spending your Christmas day this year?

C: Because we entertain the evening before, hubby and I like to have a quiet Christmas morning together—breakfast in front of the fire, then opening our gifts to each other (“Oh my goodness, a Kindle Fire!” How am I doing?). We’ll call family in other states, weather permitting (and it usually does here in northern California) we’ll take a hike along one of the beautiful nature trails nearby. We’re avid birders, so you can bet we’ll have our binoculars.

H: Once again, so interesting to hear about everyone's Christmas days! That is such a unique day, love that! And for the record, I think you'll do fabulously ;D What have been the highlights throughout 2011 for you?

C: Ah, so many blessings this year!
The biggest “highlight” of 2011 was the birth of our newest grand daughter, Piper Coraline. Combined, we now have a total of seven wonderful grand children raging in age from 21 yrs. to 8 months—we are so thankful for them!
Not long after Piper’s birth, we climbed aboard a cruise ship and sailed across the Atlantic, in a romantic anniversary trip that began in Ireland, included Wales, Scotland, London, and Paris. I’m still goose bumpy from all that we saw: like the Blarney Stone at the tip-top of Blarney Castle in Ireland. You can bet that this author kissed it! And apparently the promised “gift of gab” stuck, because . . .
I’ve signed a second 3-book contract with Tyndale House! The Grace Medical series (set in Texas) will debut in May of 2012 with the release of Trauma Plan. I can’t wait to share it with readers.

H: WOW!!! That trip :D Been to all those except Scotland myself. Truly amazing, isn't it? I can't wait to see if Gramma and Grampa will be able to do a trip this coming summer. At 85, they've seen better days, though they still do amazingly well.

(Alicia and I at the bottom of Blarney Castle :D)

YAYAYAYAY!!! Can't wait to see that manuscript as a book, Candace! That'll be awesome, seriously can't wait! Do you have any New Years resolutions for the upcoming 2012?

C: No particular resolutions—simply to maintain a healthy balance in life: Faith, family, health, and good work.

These are some “short answer” questions. You can answer them in as few words as possible, if you want.

Last Christmas song you heard? “Silent Night” from the music box on our nativity scene.

Favorite food to make or eat during the season? Gingerbread! (Who woulda thunk it!?)

Briefly describe your favorite ornament. A handmade shimmery ball which holds: petals from hubby’s wedding boutonnière and my bouquet, and the pearls from my upswept hairdo. It’s a romantic reminder every year.

Anything else you would like to say? : )
Thank you for hosting me here, Hannah—I’m honored. I wish you and your readers a warm and wonderful Christmas, and a new year filled with unexpected blessings.

Thanks so much again, Candace!! This was wonderful hearing about your holiday : ) I wish you the happiest season yet! To visit Candace stop by her website, blog, Facebook page, and Twitter (@CandaceCalvert). She loves to hear from ALL her readers!!

It's GIVEAWAY time!!! Candace wants to give one lucky commentor their choice of one of her books! This includes: Critical Care, Disaster Status, and Code Triage :D

Rules:

~ Leave a comment for Candace

~ Must leave a valid email address so that I can contact you if you win!

~ Must have a US mailing address for this contest

+1 - Become a new follower of my blog

+1 - Sign up for Candace's newsletter

+2 - Being an old follower of my blog : )

Contest is open until December 27, 2011. Winners will be drawn randomly from the List Randomizer at Random.org by December 30, 2011.

Everyone have fun chatting with Candace today! And please think of me during my first final at 10:30am today, please and thank you :D We've got another author interview and giveaway tomorrow, so be sure to stop by!!!

Hannah

Christmas Movie Friday :D

2011-12-09T00:05:00.006-05:00

I feel like this poor lil cat lol!!! And can I just say for the record....Mom and Alicia would want you all to know that some morning my hair actually looks just like THAT! O_O Pretty darn close anyway, it's bad lol. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway, IT'S FRIDAY!!!!! Celebrate that, people! It is also December 9th which means only 16 days until Christmas! AHHHHH! Woohoo! Yippee!! Getting close, peeps!

Today I decided I wanted just a feel good post, so what are we doing you ask? We're going to the movies!! Go grab your popcorn and soda, snag a seat, sit back and relax, and enjooooooy the show!!!

Christmas movies can be magical! Things happen that don't normally happen - snow is always pure and white, the guy and the girl miraculously find their way into each others' heart, and everyone is ALWAYS joyous. I think that's one reason everyone is always so eager for the season to get here. Who doesn't want to be happy? So year after year, we return to our favorites and maybe adopt a newbie to the hall of fame ; ) Here's a few of our must sees:

ELF: Okay, I know this one is probably inducing memories for many of you. Elf made it's way into our hearts in 2003 led by the ever hysterical Will Ferrell. The whole movie brings a smile to the face and as my mom said: "This movie makes you feel like a kid again. I can unwind, sit back, and just laugh! That doesn't happen too often....I love it!" So true : ) This has become an at least once a season annual movie in our household lol and we watched it tonight! I just need to play a clip for you (it was hard to choose just ONE!!!!):

Holiday in Handcuffs: This super FUN movie stars Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez who make an amazing duo in the acting world! Like Elf, this is a modern Christmas kidnappying fairty tale ; ) Yes, kidnapping lol! It's a fast paced, laughs ensuing, 'awwww' inspiring movie from start to finish. I highly recommend it; it'll become a fast favorite!

1994 version of Miracle on 34th Street: First off, I absolutely love Mara Wilson! She was in two of my other favorites: Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire!! Otherwise, this is such a sweet story. Though this isn't the oldest version, I consider an oldie but a goodie. In my opinion, even though it's talking about Santa Clause and believing so strongly in him that he's real, it relates a lot to Christ. I think that a lot of connections can actually be drawn between Santa and Christ interestingly enough, but that's a whole OTHER conversation! For now, this is a great movie for kids and adults alike : )

Falalala Lifetime: I love what they call the Lifetime channel during Christmastime!!! Okay, so we have probably seen pretty darn near ALL the Lifetime Christmas movies. We like them usually....a lot. :P Instead of going into detail, I'm just going to list a couple of my personal faves: Undercover Christmas, Thomas Kinkade's The Christmas Cottage, A Diva's Christmas Carol (Vanessa Williams, eeeeeek!!!), and Home By Christmas. These are so easy because all you have to do is switch the channel over to the Lifetime Channel!

I will leave you with one of the best Christmas movies of all time.....

Christmas with the Kranks: Disclaimer: If you have not watched this movie, I'm giving you homework. Rent it from a videostore or Netflix or Red Box, by it from the store, order it online....whatever you do, get your hands on this movie and WATCH IT!!!! Asap!! I'm not kidding in the slightest lol. You will absolutely love it! It is a movie that we actually watch year round we love it so much. Jamie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen make for a memorable movie that you are sure to relate to in one way or another. Anyone with kids will especially like this one, I think. It is not a kids movie, but it will probably hit on a different level (their daughter is coming home after they thought she wasn't. Since she wasn't coming home, her parents had cancelled Christmas. Now, they have two days until Blair arrives at home and need to make Christmas exactly as she remembers it!). Please, see this movie!!

Tell me, what are your favorite movies? Seen any that I mentioned above? If so, what are your thoughts on them!? Do we agree or disagree? ; ) The comment section is open to talk about your movie favorites of the season!! Can't wait to hear your thoughts :D

Our song today is by one of my absolutely favorite guys!!! If you think long and hard, I know some of you can get it ; ) We heard this one last year, but it's just so....celebratory! Puts me right in the spirit!

Have a terrific Friday!! We have another fun-filled week coming up including a couple more interviews and giveaways! See you then!
Hannah

Wonderful Winter Smiles, Stories, and Fun with Julie Lessman (Plus Giveaway!)

2011-12-08T00:23:00.006-05:00

Well, you all made it through yet another Wednesday! How do you feel? I'm feeling happy that we're one day away from Friday! I am even MORE happy, however, that my dear friend Julie Lessman is visiting us! Lemme tell you, this lady needs no introduction, but since she sent me her own introduction....I guess we'll let that speak for me ; )

Julie Lessman is an award-winning author whose tagline of “Passion With a Purpose” underscores her intense passion for both God and romance. Winner of the 2009 American Christian Fiction Writers Debut Author of the Year and Holt Medallion Awards of Merit for Best First Book and Long Inspirational, Julie is also the recipient of 13 Romance Writers of America awards and was voted by readers as “Borders Best of 2009 So Far: Your Favorite Fiction.” Chosen as #1 Romance Fiction Author of the Year in the Family Fiction magazine 2011 Readers Choice Awards, Julie was also awarded #1 Series of the Year in that same poll and #3 Author of the Year, #5 Novel of the Year and #4 Historical Fiction Author of the year.

Hannah: Jules!! You FINALLY managed to make it onto my blog :D Woot woot lol! Was so bummed last year when you couldn't make it, but thanks for joining this year *hugs* When does the Christmas season officially start in your household? What is the first thing done that marks the start (i.e. putting up Christmas tree, baking first gingerbread men, etc)?

Julie: For the Lessmans, the Christmas season officially kicks off the weekend before Thanksgiving when I put up our Christmas tree and decorations. You see, we split holidays in my family, and I have Thanksgiving, so it just makes sense to put up my decorations prior to so my family can enjoy them as well. Besides, it makes the house SO festive and fun and especially romantic when my hubby and I watch Christmas movies Thanksgiving weekend. Nothing says “romantic” to me quite like snuggling in the glow of the Christmas tree and a crackling fire in a hearth decorated with greenery and lights!

H: Oh you have NO idea how much I can't wait to have what you have with your special hubby, Jules. I know I'm young and definitely not looking for marriage yet, but someday....it's gonna be amazing, I can imagine : ) In the meantime, a boyfriend might be nice! :P In a Christmas fantasy land – who would be the famous figures, past and/or present, at your dinner table and why?

J: Well, Jesus is a given, of course, along with his folks! :) But then I would LOVE to see Margaret Mitchell there along with Harper Lee, Audrey Hepburn, Doris Day, Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant and Clark Gable.

H: Should've known about some of those people, especially Margaret Mitchell and of course Jesus! What did you ask Santa for Christmas this year? *wink*

J: Oh, I am SO easy to buy for, it’s downright disgusting and I ask for the same things every single year—a favorite book, flavored coffees, fun and sexy tops and cheap costume jewelry. Heaven help me, I am a glutton for cheap costume jewelry, and the more dangle, the better!!

H: :O Sexy tops? I'm surprised! LOL! Would've never expected that one out of you ; ) Sounds fun, though! What is one unique tradition for your family during the month of December to celebrate Christmas?

J: As one of thirteen kids, I’d wake up Christmas morning to a wall of presents halfway up our ceiling-height tree. I remember it being pure chaos with everyone opening gifts at the same time, paper flying and everything over within minutes. It wasn’t until I married and we adapted my husband’s family tradition of sitting in a circle while each person took their turn opening one present at a time that I realized how magical and peaceful Christmas could be. Lots of ooohs and ahhhs laced with love and gratitude while we enjoyed the unwrapping of other’s gifts as well as our own. Pure bliss!!

H: Oh man.....that would probably give me an anxiety attack. All unwrapped at once in minutes!? Eeeeeeeek! There's only my sister and I that have ever lived together (I have 5 other siblings) and so it's always been a fairly slow pace. We have been taught to cherish every gift given and usually Mom has to shoo us onto the next one or it'd take too long! LOL! How will you be spending your Christmas day this year?

J: Years ago when the kids were about eight and fourteen, my husband and I awoke early to the smell of fresh coffee and bacon. To our complete surprise, our kids had gotten up early to fix us the same breakfast I’d fixed for them every Christmas—scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, biscuits, hash browns, coffee and juice. What a treat!! This went on for years until my son moved away and got married, but now my daughter gets up to fix the breakfast for all of us along with help from my son and daughter-in-law when they arrive. So we start the day off with breakfast, followed by presents opened one by one, all wrapped up with a reading from the Bible. Then we dress up in our Christmas best for an afternoon of appetizers and fun at my sister-in-law’s followed by dinner. The day concludes with a Christmas movie with just my kids and us or just my hubby and I. Very nice.

H: This is one of my all-time favorite reasons for doing this blogfest - truly hearing how my friends spend their Christmas day. On such a celebratory and reflective day as well, it's amazing to hear of all the different traditions incorporated. Thank you for sharing those memories with us : )What have been the highlights throughout 2011 for you?

J: The number one highlight would be my new granddaughter, Aurora Grace (Rory) Lessman, who is now almost three months—OH MY, what a blessing!!! Following on her heels would be the Seeker get-together at my house during the ACFW Conference in St. Louis (where I was blessed to meet Casey Herringshaw!!) and the “A Kiss is NOT Just a Kiss” workshop that Ruth Axtell Morren and I taught—SO much fun!!

Career highlights would have to be A Hope Undaunted coming up #5 on Booklist's Top 10 Inspirational Fiction 2010 and Family Fiction magazine 2011 Readers Choice Awards of #1 Romance Author of the Year, #3 Author of the Year, #4 Historical Fiction Author of the Year, #1 Series of the Year and # 5 Novel of the Year for A Hope Undaunted.

H: Ohhhhhhh I LOVE your new granddaughter's name!! Truly love it :D It's gorgeous! You sure have a busy year, girl! What I would give at the chance to meet you....very jealous of Case on that one lol. Do you have any New Years resolutions for the upcoming 2012?

J: YES!!! Write more, get back on the treadmill and lose five pounds!!

H: I WISH five pounds was all I had to lose *groan* These are some “short answer” questions. You can answer them in as few words as possible, if you want.

Favorite Christmas book read this year? Movie seen?

Ooops … haven’t read any Christmas books … yet!! Favorite Christmas movie? White Christmas.

Last Christmas song you heard? Emmanuel by Amy Grant

Favorite food to make or eat during the season? Shrimp cocktail, turkey and dressing, and my mom’s Bourbon Pumpkin Pie.

Briefly describe your favorite ornament.
What else??? Scarlett O’Hara in a red dress … : )

(Okay, I know it's not the red dress, but I just LOVE this picture! :D)

Anything else you would like to say? : )
Thanks SO much, Hannah, for hosting me on your blog this week. I want to wish you and your readers a most BLESSED holiday season and an even better new year! I LOVE to hear from reader friends, so they can feel free to contact me through my website, either by sending an e-mail via my site or by signing up for my newsletter. My newsletter is chock-full of fun info on my books and there’s always a contest featuring signed book giveaways including one right now to have a character named after you or a loved one in my next book. Also, I have a cool feature on my website called “Journal Jots”, which is a very laid-back, Friday journal to my reader friends that would give your readers an idea as to my relaxed style of writing. Then finally, I can be found daily at The Seekers blog, a group blog devoted to encouraging and helping aspiring writers on the road to publication.
Hugs,
Julie

Julie! I was going to add all that info on you at the end; you just made my job a little easier! Lol! Thanks ; ) I sure hope you have a spectacular season as well. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you joining me here on my blog. I can't wait to finally have my hands on a copy of A Heart Revealed - nooooo, I still don't! *big hugs*

IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME! Everyone, you are in for a treat!! Julie was in the Christmas spirit when she answered my email ; ) She is offering winner's choice of any of her books AND a copy of "A Kiss is NOT Just a Kiss" that her and Ruth Axtell Morren taught at this year's conference! Wow! What a prize package!

Rules:

~ Leave a comment for Julie here

~ Include a valid email address so I can contact you if you win

~ Must have US mailing address for this giveaway

+1 For becoming a new follower of my blog

+1 For signing up for Julie's newsletter

+2 For being an old follower : )

Okay so for today's song, I stumbled upon these two singers recently on Youtube. They do not post songs terribly often, usually more podcasts and vodcasts. However, I found this AWESOME Christmas song they posted!!! Enjoy!

Happy Thursday, friends! Jules, thanks again for joining us! See you tomorrow,

Hannah

It's Gonna Be a Suspenseful Season with this Newbie to the Blog (and First Giveaway of the Blogfest!)!

2011-12-07T01:00:00.007-05:00

Oh happy day! It's Wednesday! We are halfway through, people! This is one of the hardest days of the week, but with the help of my special guest, I'm hopefully going to make it a little better for you! Stick around to find out about the giveaway at the end : )

I met this wonderful woman in Seekerville last winter, I think it was, wasn't it? She is going to be pretty busy during this holiday season with her husband, two daughter, son-in-law, and grandson! Not to mention writing away at her next novel. Yet, she managed to find the time to come spend some time with us today :D She spends her days murdering and protexting people, sounds fun! Please give a kind welcome to Susan Sleeman with her first time on the blog!

Hannah: Susan! Welcome : ) Thanks so much to stop by today, everyone will be excited to see a new face! When does the Christmas season officially start in your household? What is the first thing done that marks the start (i.e. putting up Christmas tree, baking first gingerbread men, etc)?
Susan: There are a lot of preparations I do for Christmas. I’m one of those annoying people who likes to get my shopping done in November or early December. I do a lot of baking and send the baked goods to family members and mail out the Christmas cards early, but the season or the feeling of Christmas doesn’t really begin for me until my youngest daughter arrives home from college 3000 miles away. That’s when we put up the tree and spend time playing games, laughing and talking. We or my mother has given her a dated ornament every year of her life and we take the time to look at each ornament and remember that year. It’s a wonderful way to remember what is important in life. I’m getting all weepy just writing this and can’t wait until she comes home.

H: Awwww that is so sweet! You can tell how important that mother-daughter time still is for you two. How very special that is : ) I see my mom every weekend; she doesn't miss me very much :P Why is it special for you to have written a Christmas novel?
S: The Christmas Witness is a romantic suspense book and it may deal with revenge, murder and kidnapping, but underneath it all is a message of hope. Hope for a better future. Hope for relief from bleak medical issues. Hope for love. And to me, there is no better time to focus on the message of hope than the birth of our Savior.

H: Wow.....that description really makes you stop and think. Who is your favorite character in your book and why?
S: I’m going to choose a supporting cast member, Jessie Morgan. Jessie first made her appearance in High-Stakes Inheritance, book one in the Morgan Brothers series when she was just eight years old. She’d recently lost her mother to cancer and she was struggling with coming to grips with that loss and forging a new life with just her father. In The Christmas Witness we see her again, but now she’s ten and has found a way to use her grief to help others. She has trained her dog to be a therapy dog and visits children in the hospital who are battling cancer. I love seeing the change in her and the reader can see how the loss has made her grow up and made her wise beyond her years and how she embraces her faith in her life.

H: Ohhhh! She sounds great! I'm so glad you chose her to talk about : ) By the way, I love the cover of the book! It's fabulous! In a Christmas fantasy land – who would be the famous figures, past and/or present, at your dinner table and why?

S: I would love to have Jesus, Mary and Joseph to dinner to talk about their journey for Jesus’s birth, about how it was to raise him, and find out what their family dynamics were like.

H: Very well put. I think most of us would want that, don't you? However, I really like your reasons. What did you ask Santa for Christmas this year? *wink*
S: Nothing will beat the twirler uniform I received when I was little, but I asked him for an Asus Zenbook. Since it’s very expensive, I’m pretty sure I won’t get it, but I am drooling over it.

H: HA! I love your uniform! You look so professional! So cute :) What have been the highlights throughout 2011 for you?
S: So many wonderful things have happened to me in 2011. I have had two books Behind the Badge and The Christmas Witness, release, I contracted another series with Love Inspired Suspense called The Justice Agency and I am super excited about these books that feature five adopted siblings, I signed with a fabulous new agent, and though it actually happened in 2010, I didn’t hear until 2011 that High-Stakes Inheritance made the ECPA’s best seller list. I am so incredibly blessed and seeing this all right here in one small paragraph makes me realize it will be hard to top 2011.

H: Oh wow! I guess it has been a good year for you, congratulations! High-Stakes Inheritance was really great! You should ALL check it out for sure ; ) Do you have any New Years resolutions for the upcoming 2012?
S: My husband and I have just become members at a fitness center. So in 2012 I hope that I will be exercising on a regular basis. Time will tell. : )

These are some “short answer” questions. You can answer them in as few words as possible – even simply one word.

Favorite Christmas book read this year? Movie seen? I haven’t read a Christmas book yet, but I’m sure I’ll be reading The Grinch Who Stole Christmas to my grandson. Ditto for movies, but I have recorded a few Hallmark Christmas movies and will watch them when the mood strikes me.

Last Christmas song you heard? It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Favorite food to make or eat during the season? Cookies. Cookies. Cookies.

Briefly describe your favorite ornament. Many years ago a friend gave me an ornament made from dough. It’s four snowmen (people) connected to each other and the names of each family member are on the individual snowmen. It reminds me of how precious family is and the many years of incredible Christmas’s we have spent together. (I love this! How cool to have an ornament so full of memories!)

Anything else you would like to say? : )
Thanks for inviting me to talk about my Christmas. I would love to hear about your reader’s Christmas favorites, too.

You heard her! She wants to hear about YOUR Christmas! This brings us to....

Rules for our Giveaway! Susan is graciously donating one copy of her newest book, The Christmas Witness, that she talked about today!

~ Leave a comment for Susan including ONE of your favorites from the list above (movie, music, book, etc)

~ Must have a US mailing address for this giveaway

~ Make sure to leave a valid email address so that I can contact you if you win!

+1 If you become a new follower of my blog

+2 If you're an old follower : )

Contest is open until December 27, 2011. Winners will be drawn randomly from the List Randomizer at Random.org by December 30, 2011.

Today's song isn't an as well known one, I don't think. Let me know what you think of it : )

Have a great day today! Come on back by tomorrow! Another amazing author who's giving you the choice of any of her books :O Don't miss it!
Hannah

Feliz Natal, Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr, Novim Godom! (And NO, I haven't been hacked!)

2011-12-05T14:54:00.015-05:00

In other words......Merry Christmas in Brazilian, Gaelic, and Russian!! Today we're talking about what the Christmas season is like in different countries!

Brazil: I decided to look up Brazil because one of my friends and my sister's best friend is from Brazil : ) He was a foreign exchange student at the beginning from January-June and he quickly embedded himself into all of our lives, never to be the same again. He's a very special guy with a brilliant personality! So thankful to have met him and look forward to many more memories over the years. I hope I do this justice for ya, Gui!

(Gui, Me, and Alicia before prom in May!)

First of all, YES, Brazil celebrates Christmas as well :P They also have running water, cellphones, and *gasp* electricity too :O Hahahaha! Apparently they celebrate Christmas because of their Portuguese heritage. Unlike our Santa Claus, Papai Noel or Father Noel is the gift-bearer or notable figure of this season for Brazilians. According to the legend, he resides in Greenland and when he gets to Brazil, he changes into silk robes due to the summer heat! How cool is that!?

One major tradition for most is putting up the Presepio (pictured to the left). Yes, this is equivalent to our Nativity scene that we might put up. The word 'presepio' originates from "presepium" meaning the straw Jesus laid upon in Bethlehem. This is most common in Northeastern Brazil in churches, homes, and stores.

Devout Catholics attend a Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve called Missa do Galo which gets out a 1am on Christmas Day.

A lot of decorations are freshly picked flowers, fireworks are seen and heard Christmas night, and huge Christmas "trees" of lights can be seen against the night skies of major cities like Brasilia, San Paolo (Gui's hometown!), and Rio de Janeiro.

Luckily (in my opinion!), the festivities continue until January 6th, otherwise known as Three Kings Day. This is supposedly the day when the three wise men gave their gifts to Jesus.

Cool, huh!? I hope you all had fun in ever-moving Brazil!! Maybe you'll see the statue of the iconic Christ the Redeemer on our way out! We're jetting off to.....can you guess it?? Ireland!! As you all know, I have a history with this beautiful country. It was my first and longest international trip. Two weeks spent touring all over the place seeing so many wondrous sites! Absolutely fantastic : ) I hope you ALL have a chance to visit someday! So welcome to our second stop!!

Christmas usually lasts from Christmas Eve to Little Christmas which is celebrated on either January 6th (ironic after learning about Brazil, eh!?). This is a very old holiday also known as "Little Women's Christmas" for women to go out with one another. Since Ireland's Christmas tends to be more religious than fun, this is said to be a day of fun for them. Ummmm can I just say I wish we had that :P

Lighted candles are placed in each window of the home as a guide that Mary and Joseph may be looking for shelter. Normally they are red in color and decorated with sprigs of holly.

They, like us, believe in Santa, but unlike our traditional milk and cookies for him, they leave out mince pie and Guinness!! I cannot get over this one XD Don't forget the carrot for his reindeer though!

Another difference is instead of stockings, children leave out sacks at the foot of their beds where basically all presents are left by Santa. Occasionally one big present is found under the tree, but it is unwrapped.

As I said before, a big emphasis is put on religion. Mass is a major excursion on Christmas Eve. Surprisingly, most actions even decorating usually have a religious purpose behind them. In the US, we usually decorate for the sole purpose of decorating and getting excited about the coming holiday. However, the aforementioned candles are due to Mary and Joseph, Christmas trees are fairly new to Ireland. Instead they used to find a holly bush, which are considered good luck in the new year. They Ancient Celts believed that mistletoe has tremendous healing powers, which was then banned until the so called "Revival-of-Christmas" in the Victorian Era.

Here's our family when we were there. Seems like such a long time ago!! Probably six years now or so? In order from left to right: Me, Grampa, Gramma, Aunt Donna (back), Alicia, and Mom. Yes, it is usually that cloudy there :P Those aren't rumors that it rains a lot!! Now, we've got one last quick stop to make! Onto Russia :) In Russia, interestingly enough the religious festival of Christmas is being replaced by the Festival of Winter, but I still thought it was an interesting place!

Christmas is celebrated on January 7th here. A great deal of the population fasts until Christmas Eve, up to 39 days! They then attend a twelve course meal, yes you read that right, twelve! Each course represents one of the twelve apostles. I think that this is a really cool idea! This meal includes things like fish, beet soup, and cooked dried fruit. Isn't it so interesting to hear what other cultures eat?

They do not have Santa Claus, but like Brazil, their story is really cool to me! Instead, they have Babushka, which in English translates to grandmother. The legend has it that she turned down the wise men to see Jesus because it was too cold! Ever since that decision, she has regretted it. So she set out to catch up to the wise men, filling her basket with presents. Unfortunately, she was never able to catch up and thus never saw Jesus. To make up for her mistake, she continues to bring presents to good children every year. I love that!

Though Babushka is the main gift-giver for their holiday, they do have Dedushka Moroz or Grandfather Christmas. Apparently he is known for wearing a blue coat and giving gifts in person instead of being secretive, like Santa for example. He also actually lives IN Russia, which is kind of cool.

Snegurochka is supposedly the granddaughter of Ded Moroz. She is known mostly in fairy tales other than actually having a role as a person. She's known for always having her animal friends with her, as depicted in this picture!

Well, now that we've been on this whirlwind trip, are you glad to be back home? How cool is it though that even though we're all celebrating the same thing.....it's so different amongst cultures. I learned so much today researching for this post about other cultures that I didn't include as well! I hope you enjoyed it even if it was a lil long : )

Thanks to Santa's Net and Ireland Fun Facts especially for helping me with this research!

Merry Christmas, since we're home sweet home! Hope to see you tomorrow for another special interview from a newbie to the blog!!
Hannah

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas with Surprise Guest!

2011-12-04T23:09:00.005-05:00

Ho ho ho! Though I am in the middle of working on a research paper, I'm hoping I can find this to be a relaxing time for my possible all-nighter lol : ) Hope this week is finding all of you much LESS stressed than me!

What a joy it has been to know this mystery guest in person for.....actually, I've lost count how long now! Can you remember when we met? Anyway, not only a brilliant author, but mother, wife, avid church-goer of course! She has many roles and I know I haven't even begun to touch upon them. I am sure many of you know her, possibly (hopefully!!) have even read her books too : ) Everyone please help me give a second warm welcome to Missy Tippens!!

Hannah: WELCOME Missy! Or should I say welcome back? I'm thrilled that you agreed to join us all here again this year : ) To refresh everyone's mind, HERE'S the link from last year's visit. We sure know how to have fun, eh? Lol! Anyway, let's get to it, shall we? When does the Christmas season officially start in your household? What is the first thing done that marks the start (i.e. putting up Christmas tree, baking first gingerbread men, etc)?

Missy: We don’t start doing anything until after Thanksgiving. Usually, the first thing is the kickoff of Advent at a church service. Then we go pick out a gorgeous, live tree (Fraser Fir). It always smells so good!

H: Mmmmmmmm, they so do! And Advent : ) I'm a lil worried I won't be there for much of it this year, even though it's my favorite time of the year in the church :( My supervisor works me every Sunday morning, usually at 8, 9, or 10 all of which would mean me missing the service entirely, right before it starts, or right after it started. So my sister and I miss church every week now (we work at the same place). It stinks for sure. So enjoy it for me too : ) Why is it special for you to have written a Christmas novel?

M: I had a Christmas book, A Forever Christmas, out in 2009. I loved writing that story because of the two little boys in the book. It was so fun having them ask Santa for a mom for Christmas. :)

H: They were adorable, Missy! Enough to break your heart lol, I could just picture them. Again, great job with that book! Who is your favorite character in your book and why?

M: My favorite character in my upcoming book (A House Full of Hope, coming in February) is my heroine’s son, Tony. He’s lost his dad and is having a hard time. But he begins to bond with the hero and come out of shell. I cried for him as I wrote some of his lines!

H: WOW! Must be awesome! Can't wait for it to come out ^_^ You're on my must read automatically list lol. I recommend everyone else do so as well ; ) In a Christmas fantasy land – who would be the famous figures, past and/or present, at your dinner table and why?

M: You know, I never can think of someone famous to have a talk with or to have a meal with. I would just wish for all my family and my husband’s family to have a meal together (which we’ve never been able to do because we’re spread out from Georgia to Kentucky to California.)

H: I absolutely love that answer. I never expected anyone to answer with that, but it's so genuine. I can't imagine because since my parents are divorced all my mom's family (who we celebrate holidays with) lives in town. So it's never been an issue until now when my cousin goes to his fiancee's parents house and my other cousin and her new hubby have to work on Christmas. I wish I could make that happen for you! Ah, the age old question....what did you ask Santa for Christmas this year? *wink*

M: A Coach handbag! Maybe you can put in a good word for me, okay? :)

H: I sure will try! That'd be amazing :O And I'd be sufficiently jealous :P What have been the highlights throughout 2011 for you?

(At RWA after a night of dancing with fellow Seekers: Janet Dean and Debby Guisti!)

M: RWA conference in New York. I took my husband with me for the first time ever because our 25^th anniversary fell during conference. So that 25^th anniversary is a highlight as well! Spending it together in NYC was icing on the cake.

H: I LOVE that picture of you ladies!! Must've had aching feet though ; ) And what a great present for your hubby and experience for you both! New York City can certainly be....enchanting. Do you have any New Years resolutions for the upcoming 2012?

M: To write faster and better.

To step out of my comfort zone.

H: Hey, those are good ones! May God grant you the strength to complete both of them : ) These are some “short answer” questions. You can answer them in as few words as possible – even simply one word.

Favorite Christmas book read this year? Movie seen?

I haven’t read or seen one yet! But Ruthy’s Yuletide Hearts and Mary’s A Home for Christmas are calling my name.

Last Christmas song you heard?

Angels We Have Heard on High

Favorite food to make or eat during the season?

Monkey bread. :) (MAJOR props for answering with this! LOL loooooooooove monkey bread!!)

Briefly describe your favorite ornament.

I love all the ones my children have made through the years. Some are from preschool!

Anything else you would like to say? J

Thanks for having me, Hannah! I hope you have a wonderful, blessed Christmas season!

Thank YOU so much, Missy! Such a busy time of the year and you took time out for me : ) It's been great fun again this year! Wanna make it three? ; ) Anyway, don't mean to cut this short, but gotta post our song and get back to my paper!

Be sure to check out Missy at her website, blog, Facebook reader's page, and Twitter (@MissyTippens). Her books are sold....well....at all the normal places :P

I think THIS is a perfectly appropriate song for today and hopefully a good way to start your week :D

Thanks for joining, see you all tomorrow! Right? Hope so! Back to writing I go!
Hannah

Friday Shout-Out from Jen Brusenhan!

2011-12-01T14:24:00.007-05:00

Greetings fellow Christmas enthusiasts :D

We are boogie-ing onto our second day of festivities here at the blogfest!

I met this wonderful friend this year on Goodreads. Full of support, she always had a kind word to say and a smile on her face. We became friends on Goodreads, then on Facebook, then we exchanged cell numbers and share the occasional text now and again. She just finished her student teaching this week (SUPER exciting!) and will be graduating in 16 days I believe it is! She keeps busy with her kids (at school!), reading, blogging, and more reading! I am so excited to present to you all the fabulous Jen Brusenhan from beautiful Texas!

Hannah: Jen! Thank you so much for agreeing to join us on the blog! I am so excited for this interview : ) Anyway, right to the questions! When does the Christmas season officially start in your household? What is the first thing done that marks the start (i.e. putting up Christmas tree, baking first gingerbread men, etc)?

Jen: It usually starts the weekend of my birthday. I have my birthday on December 5^th and we usually get the tree and all the decorations out that weekend of my birthday. A few days or so before Christmas is when we actually start wrapping presents and cooking all the goodies.

H: Happy almost birthday! Eek! Almost here and what a fantastic present than to graduate, eh? That's awesome! In a Christmas fantasy land – who would be the famous figures, past and/or present, at your dinner table and why?

J: Oooo….hmm, that’s a good questions. I think it would be kind of neat to have Esther or Ruth from the Bible just because I love them and would love to get to know them. Corrie Ten Boom just because she is one of my heroes and I love her story! If you haven’t read The Hiding Place, you should! George and Martha Washington would be fun just because they were the first president and first lady of our country ever. I don’t know who else….tons of people! Lol That’s a loaded question.

H: I've never heard of her before, but looked it up and she sounds amazing, Jen. Very intriguing. Wish we had known about her when we were in Holland, sounds like it would've been amazing to see her house. We visited the Anne Frank House and that was a life changing experience. What did you ask Santa for Christmas this year? *wink*

J: I would love a Kindle. I am also asking for tons of stuff for my classroom since I am graduating in December…hey, maybe I should ask for money to help pay off my student loans?! Lol That would be even better!

H: Bahahahaha! I think a few of us reading can relate to that for sure! What is one unique tradition for your family during the month of December to celebrate Christmas?

J: We always get a new ornament every year for the Christmas tree. We all go out together as a family and pick out whatever one we want to add to the tree that year. Mom also gets an ornament from every place we have gone on vacations and stuff.

H: Awwww that's so cool! Love to hear the things families do together at the holidays : ) How will you be spending your Christmas day this year?

J: Dad will read the Christmas story to us early in the morning. Mom will make her awesome Christmas breakfast and then we will go to church since it falls on a Sunday this year. I am in the choir at church and we always sing a few songs for Christmas from our Christmas concert we have done earlier in the month. More than likely presents will be opened after church followed by a HUGE Christmas lunch!

H: You must be a good singer! Wish I could be there to hear : ) Break a leg, by the way, if I forget to tell you later! LOL! I love that your dad reads the Christmas story to you guys in the morning. Mom always used to read The Night Before Christmas to Alicia and I after church and before bed on Christmas Eve. What have been the highlights throughout 2011 for you?

J: My biggest highlight would be student teaching and the fact that I graduate on December 17^th with a Bachelors in Elementary Education. :D Took me 7 years to get there, but I did it! Plus, my graduation present is a trip to NY. Who doesn’t want to see NYC in December?!

H: WOOHOOOOOOOO!!! We went in February I think it was when I was in elementary school and it was faaaaaaaaaabulous! Bet it's even better in December! That's so exciting! Jealoussssssssssss lol XD Congrats again with your graduation. Hopefully I'll be in your shoes in a couple years : ) Do you have any New Years resolutions for the upcoming 2012?

J: Haven’t thought of any yet…other than finding a teaching job! Can that be a resolution? Lol I can use the old staple of losing weight and exercising more! Which I really need to do.

H: Hush, you look fine. And yes, I think that definitely can be a resolution for sure! These are some “short answer” questions. You can answer them in as few words as possible, if you want.

Favorite Christmas book read this year? Oh gosh! Janet Tronstad’s Sleigh Bells For Dry Creek and the LFYI Under The Mistletoe by Irene Brand and Anita Higman

Movie seen? Christmas movie would have to be White Christmas and The Christmas Story. LOVE LOVE LOVE Those movies! Who doesn’t want to hear Bing Crosby sing to you? Plus, Christmas Story is a classic! Love the 24 movie marathon every Christmas eve on TNT for it. (Yessssssssssss!!! Alicia and I watch that every Christmas Eve!!!)

Last Christmas song you heard? Um, since I just came from choir practice for our Christmas concert that would be O Holy Night.

Favorite food to make or eat during the season? Gingerbread men and my soapapillia cheesecake! I also try to make a Christmas cake every year. I made an elf last year. He was totally cute! (Awwww! Bet he was!)

Briefly describe your favorite ornament. I think my favorite ornament would be one that I made when I was like in 1^st or 2^nd grade. It was a red paper bell with the big, old, line paper on it and I wrote a sentence about Christmas. I think it says something like God sent Jesus as a baby to be our Savior.

Anything else you would like to say? J Yes, I would! Lol I think sometimes we get so caught up in the big commercialism of Christmas that we forget the true meaning. Every year my parents make it a point to give to a needy family. I remember one year in particular that I asked that half the money they use on my presents would go to a family they were helping out. I didn’t get as many presents as I normally got, but it was great to know I was helping a family in need. Sometimes we just need to stop focusing on what we can get out of Christmas and focus on what we can do FOR Jesus during Christmas. After all, Christmas is about HIM, not presents, or Santa or who should host the best Christmas party. LUKE 2

Thank you so much for those great words of wisdom. I wholeheartedly agree that so many people get caught up, this IS a busy time of the year. However, it would do all of us some good to sit back and really reflect on the true meaning. I know last year when I started this blogfest, I was worried you guys would think I was trying to commercialize it. That is not my point at all, I just want to celebrate all aspects of this wonderful time of year with people I know also respect and embrace all points of it : ) Thank you, thank you, thank you for agreeing to fill out these questions again, Jen! It was so much fun!

I chose the song of the day in honor of your concert, m'dear! Listen and reflect on this wondrous day.

Happy Friday, my friends : )
Hannah

Welcoming in the Christmas Season!

2011-11-30T13:32:00.005-05:00

So here we are once again, my friends : ) Welcome, welcome, one and all! Happy December 1st! It is officially the first day where no one can possibly stop my Christmas merriment from beginning! It is December, the month of this glorious holiday! Let's make the whole month a holiday, shall we?

Step in, hurry, hurry! It's cold out there! With a little bit of snow on the ground, but a sharp bite to that wind, you'll freeze outside!

Now as you step over the threshold, listen to that familiar song with a modern twist : )

Right over there on the counter is a Keurig, help yourself to hot cocoa or coffee, please do! Then come snag a seat before they're all taken! *settles into a big comfy chair with my steaming cup of cocoa* Oh, forgot to mention there's dog biscuits and bowls on the counter. Fill 'em up with water for all our cute doggy friends I know will be joining us : ) Maddie's excited to have some visitors!

Now that we're all cozy by our fireplace, welcome again! I am so glad to have you join me in these festivities! I think we all know how December can get.....Ariel and Amber: you're trying to finish up school so you can actually enjoy your holiday and some family time! Jen: You lucky duck, you : ) You finished already! Ruthy: We all know you're gonna be busy with all those lil ones running around! Pep, same goes for you! Kav: I'm sure you wanna spend some extra time reading! How's everyone's shopping going? Have you all started yet? ; )

While we're starting up, I wanted to make sure to ask all of you, what are your favorite Christmas songs!? What should I make sure is on my Christmas playlist on my iPod so we can hear it? Lemme know : )

On the agenda for tomorrow: We've already got a wonderful interview with one of our friends you all know and love probably! Can't wait for you to read, should be a nice way to end your week.

Once again, WELCOME everyone! Let the festivities begin! Happy December 1st!!!
Hannah

It's ALMOST here!!!!!!!!!!

2011-11-28T20:27:00.003-05:00

Ladies annnnnnnd gentlemen,

Are you EXCITED!? As excited as me :D

We have a fun-filled month about to start on December 1st! Do you all remember the First Annual Christmas Blogfest last year? Just to remind you.....here's some memorable posts:

Hannah's First Ever Christmas Blogfest Kick-off!!!

Season's Greetings from Renee!!

Christmas Fun with Cheryl Wyatt and a surprise : )

IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!!!

Anywho, we are a mere two days away from starting up with this again! I, for one, am a little stressed lol but overall extremely excited : ) I love doing this and I hope you all are going to be big participants again this year.

What's on the agenda this year?

~ Interviews! Both Christian authors and some of my good friends : )

~ Pictures from my life

~ Memories

~ Giveaways

It should be so fun!! So tell me this:

What is one thing you are looking forward to in this upcoming season?

Just one :) That's all I need for now!

Let the short countdown begin! See you in TWO days!!

See you sooooooooooon!
Hannah

Changing of the Seasons

2011-11-21T23:02:00.010-05:00

Have you ever thought about the changing of the seasons? I mean really thought about it?

Yesterday I was stuck raking, thanks Mom lol, but it gave me a lot of time to reflect on...things...the slow methodical rhythm that comes with raking was somewhat soothing surprisingly (though it hurt later!).

There are so many pros and cons with the changing of the seasons. There are so many things to be thankful for at this time and yet it is so easy to see the downside in things as well.

Pro: It's beautiful! I am so thankful to be living and have grown up in New England, especially Vermont. Everyone knows that we are known for our foliage here. This year it wasn't as good due to Hurricane Irene messing things up around here, but we still have it nonetheless. To see the leaves change from green to red and orange and gold, it can be absolutely breathtaking. If you have never had the chance to travel here, I highly encourage it (and not just because tourism is one of our major money sources :P)!

Con: Since we do have this beautiful foliage, we pay for it. Yes, I do mean raking. We end up having a LOT of upkeep in our yards, otherwise we'd be in trouble baha. I'm sure everywhere has things to do, but between raking in the fall AND spring then shoveling in the winter....YUCK!

Pro: Leaves can be fun! Luckily it is not all work and no play when it comes to leaves and our family. Mom may not love it, but hey, gotta add some spice to life, right? Our aunt goes all out around Halloween time and makes ghosts using the leaves that are dancing around the trees in their yard. I wish I had a picture because they're really very cool! Instead, however, I have my lovely model - Maddie - our babygirl, showing how fun raking can be!

Should I help??

Wait a minute...how'd I get here?

Was it YOU!?

Oh well, mine as well have fun!

Con: But with all fun, hard work returns right? We made a mess, so had to clean it up. But it was worth it ; )

Pro: Family time. It seems that as crazy busy as everyone is, this is just about the time of year where family is brought back together. The holidays tend to do that, eh? We can certainly get in some good laughs with my family! Whether it's cracking up reading cards at Walmart, singing crazily in the car, or looking through old pictures at Gramma's, we can usually find a way to have a good time.

I challenge all of you in this season of thanksgivings, be filled with happiness. We are all blessed in one way or another. Pour out those things that you are thankful for and you will find happiness in abundance.

"And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years" ~ Genesis 1:14

The seasons are a gift for us. Enjoy them, as with the seasons of life. In this time, be thankful for your loved ones, new and seasoned. Make every moment last with them even if it only a telephone call, do your part. You will be glad you did in the end.

I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday! Don't forget to smile!

Hannah

First Blog Tour: Remembering You by Tricia Goyer!! AND Win a Kindle Touch for YOU and a Friend from Tricia Goyer!

2011-11-16T21:07:00.006-05:00

I am SO excited that I am participating in my very FIRST blog book tour :D And honestly? I don't think it could have been a better book. Without further ado, let me jump right in on everything I got for ya today!

About the book:

35-year-old Ava Andrews' dream job is interrupted by an unusual request--fulfill her 84-year-old grandfather's last wish by joining him on a battle site tour of Europe. Ava is sure her boss will refuse her request. But, instead, he gives her a directive of his own--to videotape the tour and send it back as mini-segments for the show she produces.

As if juggling these two things isn't hard enough, Ava is soon surprised again ... twice. First, Ava and Grandpa Jack arrive in Europe, only to discover the tour is cancelled. Unwilling to let down her grandfather or her boss, Ava and Grandpa Jack head out on their own. Then, while they're on their way, the pair soon meet up with Paul, her grandpa's best friend, and his grandson Dennis. The same Dennis who just happens to be Ava's first love.

Before she knows it, Ava and Dennis are swept down memory lane as they visit the sites that are discussed in the history books. And even though Ava's videotaping old soldiers, she can see their youth, their hopes and fears, and their pride in their eyes. Soon Ava learns the trip isn't just for them ... it's for her too--especially for her heart.

Read an excerpt, watch a video and find out more here. http://www.triciagoyer.com/contemporaryfiction.html#RememberingYou

My Review:

I will be honest, I was wary of this book from the description for some reason. However, I love history, especially historical Christian fiction. What could be better, right!? Boy, am I glad I decided to review it. I sincerely enjoyed this book from front to back. It included every element that I love to read - romance, history, religious elements, and mystery.

This story follows four main characters: Ava, Grandpa Jack (her grandfather), Grand-Paul (Grandpa Jack's best friend and Ava's second "grandfather"), and Dennis (Grand-Paul's grandson and Ava's first true love). From just getting out of a broken engagement, Ava feels she is barely able to keep up with life itself. She is a producer of a morning talk show and has been taken away from everything she knows, her family, her old friends, and God. Last minute she is offered the opportunity of a lifetime - travel Europe with her grandfather a World War II veteran. She takes up the offer, but turns it not only into a trip for her grandpa, but a trip for herself as well. She is to film their way through Europe and do a feature on the talk show everyday. Through the book revelations are made, mysteries are solved, tears are shed, and new love is found.

As I said before, I really enjoyed this book very much. I thought that Goyer had her characters spot on, their emotions were so powerful. The reader feels transported right into the story, which is always proof of a job well done! This was my first book by Goyer and I definitely want to try to find more by her. I loved her writing style. It was emotional, yet simple and easy to follow. One of my favorite sentences in the whole book was: Even with shaky steps they still walk with pride. I feel that gives you good insight to how she writes throughout the book. Though this is a 300 page book, the storyline made it intriguing and you always wanted to pick it up! My biggest critique would probably be of Ava's character. I understand part of her character was to be headstrong and somewhat stubborn, but it really irritated me sometimes. I felt that she pushed her grandfather too much on information he was not ready to tell her and pushed Dennis further away on their improving relationship as well. Dennis gave her excellent advice at one point, that I wish she would have listened to better. He preached to her, for lack of a better term, that it was not her trip, it was Grandpa Jack's trip. It was not her choice to push him with these decisions. Having grandparents of a similar age to Grandpa Jack, I can relate to how easy it is for them to tire. I just did not like the decisions her character sometimes made. On another note though that was another way Goyer caught you up in the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I have already recommended it to a couple people and will continue to do so. Very impressive job, Tricia! I look forward to more in the future!

~ I received this book courtesy of Litfuse Publicity Group for my honest opinion. ~

About Tricia:

Tricia Goyer is the author of thirty books including Songbird Under a German Moon, The Swiss Courier, and the mommy memoir, Blue Like Play Dough. She won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference in 2003. Tricia's book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in 2005. In addition to her novels, Tricia writes non-fiction books and magazine articles for publications like MomSense and Thriving Family. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences, and has been a workshop presenter at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International Conventions. On Tricia's weekly radio show, Living Inspired, she shares stories of inspiration and encouragement. She and her family make their home in Little Rock, Arkansas where they are part of the ministry of FamilyLife.

For more about Tricia and her other books visitwww.triciagoyer.com

Link to buy the book: http://www.triciagoyer.com/contemporaryfiction.html#RememberingYou

Tricia Goyer is celebrating the release of her novel, Remembering You, with a KINDLE Touch Giveaway for you ... and for the friend of your choice. Then on 11/29 she'll be wrapping up the release of Remembering You with a Book Chat Party!

During the first half of the party Tricia will be chatting, sharing a sneak peek of her next book, and giving away a ton of great stuff. Then she'll head over to her website for a Live Chat! Readers will be able to chat with Tricia via video or text.

Don't miss your chance to win a Kindle Touch for yourself ... and to "remember" a friend this holiday with a Kindle Touch for them!

Read what the reviewers are saying here.

One grand prize winner will receive:

A Brand New Kindle Touch and a Kindle Touch for a Friend (winner's choice!)

A copy of Remembering You by Tricia Goyer for each

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on November 29th. Winner will be announced at Remembering You Facebook Party on 11/29. Tricia will be hosting an author chat (on Facebook and Live from her website) and giving away copies of her other WWII books and gift certificates to Starbucks and Amazon.com. So grab your copy of Remembering You and join Tricia on the evening of the 29th for an author chat, a trivia contest (How much do you know about WWII?) and lots of giveaways.

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 29th!

Hope I did this okay! LOL! Posting a little early, but I think that's perfectly acceptable : ) Have a great Thursday, y'all! Almost the weekend! Muah!
Hannah

Review: The Encounter by Stephen Arterburn

2011-11-03T18:37:00.004-04:00

Hey all!
Having grabbed my bowl of Lucky Charms (never get these!), a mint chocolate chip muffin that is even dyed green, and cup of cranberry juice, I make my way to the back table by the window that is my table on the meals I eat alone at : ) I arranged myself and since I didn't have the book I'm currently reading with me, I pulled out The Encounter by Stephen Arterburn that had yet made it out of my bag. I never expected that in the next forty-five minutes I would plow through the 159 page book from start to finish, but that alone should indicate that it was a good read!

Back Cover Blurb:
The past often holds secrets that are too painful to be revealed, too deep to confess.
A wealthy businessman travels to Fairbanks, Alaska, to learn why his mother abandoned him when he was a child, and in the process learns that not everything is as it appears to be.
The Encounter, the unique new book from best-selling author and counselor Stephen Arterburn, is a moving parable involving Jonathan Rush, a wealthy and famous entrepreneur, who is tortured by bitterness toward his mother who abandoned him when he was four. He travels to Alaska to find her but instead meets an enigmatic old woman known only as Mercy. Mercy has the information he needs but is strangely reluctant to talk to him. Somehow Jonathan must find a way to persuade a frightened woman to unlock the secrets of his past.
The book includes an invitation to the readers to verify the facts of their own stories, to accept the reality of their existence, especially the most painful ones, and to live in forgiveness. The end result is a healthy new way to look at life with an ability to share hope with others for the future. Healing is possible but requires truth, acceptance, and forgiveness, including of oneself.

My review:
I will be honest, I was wary of asking for this book because the description didn't completely capture my attention. However, I really wanted to try out BookSneeze's system since I am new to it, so I requested it. But, boy, when I started reading it there was something about it that just compelled me to keep reading.
This was my first book by Stephen Arterburn, never heard of him actually, but now I might try and look into his other stuff or at least keep an eye out for new books! I really enjoyed his writing style. It was simplistic, yet descriptive enough you could picture it quite clearly.
From the beginning of this book, you are being jetted off to the beautiful land of Alaska. This is some place I've never been before, but the things I hear about it sound magnificent. Arterburn definitely shows strengths in descriptions and his characters. I felt like I knew exactly who the people were. They were relatable in their flaws and strengths, which sometimes can be a problem in fictional writing. I would have liked to see Jonathan and Erica's relationship evolve into something more. He simply implies that in the future they will become a couple.
I really enjoyed reading the parts involving Mercy. Her character intrigued me thoroughly. Mercy, meaning 'compassion' as a name, is a mystery in and of herself, I would venture to say. I think anyone who reads this book will be somewhat surprised with how her story turns out.
My biggest criticism of The Encounter is if Arterburn had maybe made it a bit of a longer book, he could have thickened the plot more. There were mysteries, there were twists and turns, but they were not very well developed. I felt like I had just begun to figure out that something was even supposed to be a mystery when they would give me the answer to it lol. So that is my biggest criticism for sure.
Overall, I did enjoy it and I do feel it's worth a read. It won't take you long at all, so why not try it? Who knows? It might resonate really well for you!

~Thanks to BookSneeze for providing me a copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.~

More book reviews coming, peeps!
Hannah

Winners from the Mini Halloween Blogfest!

2011-11-02T19:39:00.002-04:00

Hey all,
How's your week going? Good I hope :)

Well, I have the winners from both giveaways!! The three winners have been emailed already so just waiting to hear back to ship their stuff out! Without further delay, the winners!

Drumrooooooooooooooll, please!!!!

*drumroll*

Caramel Apple Giveaway

JESSIE!!

First place winner of the Mystery Book Giveaway

ARIEL!!!

Second place winner of the Mystery Book Giveaway

KATIE!!!

WOOHOOOOOOOO!! Congratulations, ladies! Thanks again to everyone who stopped by. I am currently hard, yes, hard at work on the Second Annual Christmas Blogfest!! Currently we'll have at least five authors and three friends stopping by for interviews and giveaways :D Who's as excited as me!? Last year was SO fun!!!! Anyway, have a great rest of your week!

Happy November!!!
Until next time,
Hannah

Guest Blogger: Melody Carlson and Giveaway!!!!

2011-10-25T23:47:00.003-04:00

Welcome back, ghouls and ghosts ; )
Today we have a very special post! Melody Carlson has written a short post on the supernatural for you all! How cool is that!? Without further ado, here's Melody!

Teens and Their Supernatural Pursuits

By Melody Carlson

Have you even wondered why some teens are drawn toward things like Ouija boards or psychics? Or why séances are still popular at sleepovers? Does it just have to do with Halloween and that spine-chilling need for a good scare? Or could it be something more? And, as a Christian, should you be concerned?
Those questions, as well as some confused reader letters, prompted me to tackle the “supernatural” in one of my teen novels (Moon White, TrueColors, Nav Press). And whenever I write an issues-based novel, I’m forced to research—and often in some dark places. So I began scouring websites, learning more about Wicca and the occult, trying to grasp what was really going on with today’s teens—and how I could write about it in a helpful and relevant way.
But, as usual, when I write a teen book, I go back to my own adolescence...trying to connect with my inner teen...and I suddenly remembered a short era when a friend and I got very interested in witchcraft. I had honestly forgotten about this time and was fascinated to recall how we scoured some witchcraft stores on a local campus—I think we even purchased a few things. Fortunately, this interest was short-lived and I became a Christian not long afterward.
However, as I reconnected with my inner teen, I had to ask myself—why had I looked into witchcraft back then? Why do teens dabble with it now? Suddenly the answer became crystal clear. I was searching. I’d been calling myself an atheist for several years by then, but I was spiritually hungry—starving in fact. Consequently I was looking for spiritual answers—something that would fill that empty void within me. I wanted a supernatural force in my life and I didn’t even care where it came from. I needed something bigger than me, more powerful than me, something to hold onto. I had no idea at the time that I was really searching for God.
This realization changed the way I viewed my research. Instead of feeling disgusted and dismayed by the witchcraft/Wicca sites (which are not particularly enjoyable) I began to recognize that these people (mostly girls) were simply searching too. They wanted a power source in their lives just like I wanted one in mine. They just hadn’t found God yet.
This led to another discovery. A girl who’s attracted to a religion like Wicca is usually seeking to gain some control over her life. Something is wrong and she wants to change it. To do so, she’s often enticed to purchase something—like “magical herbs”—to create a potion that will give her some control over her situation. Unfortunately, she doesn’t even realize she’s being tricked.
But think about it, wouldn’t you love to have control over a bad situation sometimes? Wouldn’t you love to be able to change the circumstances that make your life unpleasant? So what if someone offered you the “power” to do just that? Perhaps if you’re fifteen, you wouldn’t see that person as a charlatan and you would fall for it.
Which brings me to another important factor in understanding this generation’s attraction to the supernatural. Follow the money. The more I researched, the more it became painfully obvious that Wicca and witchcraft and the occult are money-making enterprises. Thanks to the internet, these savvy distributors sell anything imaginable—and many things you can’t. That leads to some serious motivation—these marketers want to hook their unsuspecting young customers and reel them in. Of course, these potions and trinkets and how-to books don’t come with a money back guaranty. Nor are they approved by the FDA. Yet they are a multi-million dollar industry.
So, in a way, it’s a perfect storm. Teens that are insecure, lost, unhappy, and searching...meet up with an unregulated industry that offers supernatural answers and power and control...for a price. And, oh yeah, I never even mentioned how this opens a door for Satan to slip in and wreak havoc. For that...you’ll have to read the book.

For more on Melody Carlson:
Website
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow! What an interesting post, Melody. I'll be honest, I had a Ouija board that I was given to me by my aunt in.....third or fourth grade for my birthday. Of course, my sister and I pulled it right out afterwards to check it out. As soon as my friends found out, I had to bring it to every sleepover! LOL! There really was an obsession with it. I never really thought about it until reading this post. It just kind of....was, if that makes any sense. I still have it, but we don't use it anymore. It's pretty much a dust catcher now, but holds a lot of memories. Lots of laughs, silly questions, and stupid scares from my friends and I! I have to agree with you though. I think it's just searching. Everyone longs for that power, that sense of something greater in their lives whether they admit it or not. By thinking that there IS a spirit in the room or whatever, it's the same as God but we probably haven't yet. That is an excellent point!

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!!! TWO (yes, two!) lucky commentors will be winners this time! We're giving away books :D Woot woot! There will be few books to choose from. The first winner pulled will get to choose two books they would like to recieve, then the second winner will get to choose theirs from what is left : )

Rules:
~ Must leave an email address so I can contact you if you win

Extra entries:
+1 Become a new follower
+2 Let me know if you're an old follower
+1 Go to Melody's site and tell me one thing you liked, found interesting, etc
+1 Sign up to follow Melody's newsletter on her site

Books to choose from:
~ Clandestine Cover-Up by Pamela Tracy
~ Final Warning by Sandra Robbins
~ Twisted by R.L. Stine
~ The Locker by Richie Tankersley Cusick
~ The Trouble with Magic by Madelyn Alt
~ Steamed by Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant

This contest will run until November 1, at 12am! So you have all day next Monday to still get in your comments, if you're interested! I really hope more people enter this contest compared to the last one, it makes it more fun that way!
Have a great Wednesday, halfway through the week people! You can do it!
Hannah

Brief Break from normal posts: Medical Update

2011-10-22T01:29:00.007-04:00

Hey all,
You know how I like to do these for you guys every once in awhile. I don't know if you care or if anyone's even reading them, but I don't know....guess it makes me feel better since you all know I have medical issues O_o

So I don't have much news actually. I feel like my doctors have been neglecting me for awhile. Things still aren't good, definitely aren't right. I try to be patient, but I'm losing that. No diagnosis still, playing a major waiting game.

It's not easy for sure. I know most of us can relate from some time or another. It's just tough because you're praying wisdom for the doctors yet everytime you have an appointment they tell you "I don't know" or "it's in your head" or "It's 'just' a pain condition, I bet" or "you're a very....special case". I'm tired of hearing that, darnit! Lol very tired of it. They just start to sound like excuses after a little while. Seems like even though I felt like I'd gotten to the hardest part with this....the hardest part is yet to come. That's a scary thought because every single day is SO hard lately.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago I had 18 vials of blood drawn :O I know, right!? Craziness. It felt awful after haha. Basically my rheumy is attempting to test for any random, obsure, uncommon test there is out there to see if maybe, just maybe I have....well THAT. I honestly have NO clue what he was testing for to be exact, but something...? Lol....I dno't have the results yet, but most likely it found nothing like everytime else.

Then uhhhh let's see this past Monday I went to see my neuro again. I had my third Nerve Conduction test and EMG. When I saw him, he told me I've had it two times too much in one lifetime lol...for the nerve test, you lay down on a table with one arm at a time extended straight off the table. They attach wires all up and down that arm, moving them around when testing different nerves. This test involves fingers, palms, and the entire arm. It is an awful test! Since they're messing with your nerves....you get involuntary movements, for lack of a better term. Your fingers move to your whole arm swinging and whacking the nurse! The electric shocks start out very mild, you cant feel it usually. However, when they finish it is as strong as a live barbed wire fence. It hurts....a lot.

Then you move onto the needle EMG. Normally they choose whichever side is bothering you more. In my case, it was the right arm this time. The neuro does this part lol. He takes a needle and sticks it in different parts of your muscle in your arm. This needle is not a normal one, it measures the pulses being sent through your muscle and the reaction times. It is hooked up to a machine, so when the muscle is moving, you can hear it. It's a loud, static sound. He will wiggle the needle around and whoa baby that HURTS! Lol! He did it two places on hand and two places in the arm for me, after the shocks! It's a long process :/

My results were kind of as I expected. It's my ulnar nerve, which runs through your inner elbow. At this point, it is not protected at all, so it can become stressed or damaged. I will need surgery, but they don't want to do it yet. It is still an extremely dangerous surgery and paralysis is still in the running for results after surgery. I'm only 19, he wants to prolong it as long as he possibly can. So now, I have to wear elbow braces 24/7. This is what they look like:

At night, I have to flip them over so that I cannot move my elbows at all. I usually have to stuff a sock in each one to get it to the way. These are SO uncomfortable. The bands are too tight on my arms and this is the big size. So I tend to veto wearing them sometimes. *Bad Hannah*, huh? Lol....

Anyway, that's basically my update. I'm going to try calling my rheumy tomorrow to see about blood tests. Everyone say a prayer that after losing ALL that blood, we find something!
Talk soon, more giveaways and fun posts coming up : )
Hannah

Step into My Kitchen.....and Giveaway!!!

2011-10-18T22:53:00.010-04:00

Step into my kitchen, ladies and gentlemen.....

Well? What do you think?! I love to spend time in my kitchen....experimenting ; ) Or whipping up some concoctions. I have some stew on the stove right now as we speak! You're all welcome to some later, if you want! Can you guess my secret ingredient?
I've also got some other things around, but I wanted to make one of my favorite treats on a chilly, October afternoon!

Caramel Apples
Caramel apples are a favorite with our kids we babysit. They request them every year : ) This year we tried something different and it was the BEST technique yet soooooooo that's how we're doin' it, folks. We like to use Kraft caramels

And Cortland apples because they are so crisp. You do not have to use this type, however when picking out apples to use, especially for our technique, you need a firm apple so that the stick will stay in it!

Now, take a bowl or we used a mug and unwrap your caramels. I would suggest probably starting with half the bag, depending on how many apples you plan on dipping. REMEMBER: when you leave melted caramel out, it will cool off and more impotantly stick in whatever it's in. Therefore, as soon as it's warmed, USE IT. Then get it OUT of the pan! Lol truuuuuuuuust me :P It will not take too long to melt the caramels. Start with about 25 seconds and go from there. Yes, you can burn them and noooooo you don't want that. Here's our melted caramel:

Next, wash your apples, then cut them into quarters. Yep, you heard me. Cut them. They are sooooooo much more managable, especially if you're doing this with kids. Then using sticks of your choosing, stick them in on one end of the apple slice. We recommend finding the wide popsicle sticks because they stay a lot better in the apple. Dip the apple slice into the caramel. You have a choice of whether you'd prefer to dip the entire slice or just the peel side like a normal caramel apple. We only did the peel side because there's a lot of sugar in caramel and that's a lot if you did the whole thing! Lol...but your choice! Be mindful that the caramel could be really warm! How do you think ours came out?

We also recommend covering your cookie sheet (that you put the dipped apples on) with foil. The apple will come right off and it's easy clean up! Feel free to top off your fun apples with some sprinkles too : ) It's so fun for the kids or big kids too!

Now, time for the giveaway! You have the chance of winning a complete caramel apple kit made by....yours truly : ) It will include everything you need except the apples because those wouldn't be so good to ship! Lol! You will definitely have fun making these!!!

Requirements:
~ Be a follower of my blog
~ Leave your email address so I can contact you if you win
~ Tell me about one of your favorite fall or Halloween treats!

Good luck to everyone! Enjoy :D
Hannah

Special Video: Hide and Seek (kinda creepy!)

2011-10-14T13:17:00.004-04:00

Welcome to the weekend!! Well almost :P Weekend for me anyway lol. Today, I have a video that my best friend, Josh, made! It also stars our friend, Jake, and Josh's lil brother, Caleb! Josh is in the white shirt and hat, whereas Jake is in the green Celtics shirt. Caleb is....well...you'll be able to figure that out!

I'm going to warn you, I can't remember if there's any swearing in this (sometimes these videos can get out of hand lol) but the content does involve a fake gun and shooting. I promise you it is hilarious though!!!!! And it's creepy too ; )

So....sit back, relax, and enjoy today's video!

If it does not play: Hide and Seek

Now, how was that!? Kinda creepy, right?! But I hope it made you laugh too : ) I know it does for me! Do you guys have any creepy hide and seek memories? I know I have one that I'll share if you all tell me yours :P
Can't wait to hear!
Hannah

Welcome to Hannah's Haunted October Party!!! Enter if you dare....

2011-10-13T14:55:00.003-04:00

Walking up a long dark driveway, trees surrounding you on either side, you come across a house. The rickety gate opens slowly with a creeeeeeeeeak. Walking hesitantly up the walkway towards the spooky looking house, you see a figure in the upstairs window. Just a shadow floating by. At the bottom of the steps, you look up ominously at this house, yet again, chills running down your spine. The door opens, but no one's there. Gathering up the last bit of courage you are able to find, you slowly step up the stairs. Eeek, squeeeak, creeeak goes the stairs. Through the doorway you pass and into a room you step. A moth eaten rug lays under you feet. A long winding staircase ends (or is it begins?) in front of you. Turning to the left, you see a sitting room. A fire is crackling in the fireplace. It is a spooky house for sure, but nothing to be afraid of...or is there? Suddenly someone stands up from the chair whose back is facing you. The unhurriedly step, step, step until they come into the light.
"Welcome to my house," I say in a hushed voice. "I've been expecting you."

Here, ladies and gentlemen, friends and newcomers, all are welcome to my Haunted October Party. Please spread the word, as spooks and scares and giggles galore may ensue.

You are all welcome.....and I've been expecting you. The fun's about to begin.

Getting Back Up When Life Knocks You Down by Jeremy Kingsley Review

2011-09-12T18:46:00.004-04:00

Hey all,
I finished this book over a month ago and just haven't written the review! Lol! *Bad Hannah* So here ya go, finally!

When I recieved the nonfiction books email of books up for review from Bethany House, I went back and forth whether or not to ask for one. Finally I decided that Getting Back Up When Life Knocks You Down by Jeremy Kingsley could be a helpful read for some people. If so, I wanted to make it more aware to others. I was shocked by how much it related to my own life. Yes, some chapters did not affect me much personally. However, others....it felt like Kingsley was talking directly to me!
Through inspirational quotes beginning each chapter, conversational language, an eye-pleasing layout throughout the book, and relateable examples, Jeremy Kingsley has written an extremely helpful guide. One thing I really liked was that this is a book I can keep on my shelf and whenever I feel it applicable, I can pull it out and reread just a certain chapter as a refresher. It is a guide. A guide that can help one throughout so many different circumstances and hardships in their life. It appeals to a wide audience, which means you really can keep it and more importantly use it.

~This book was furnished to me by Bethany House Publishers for my honest opinion.~

Overall, this book was wonderful. One of my pastors and I are currently trying to see if we can get Jeremy to come and speak at our church! How cool would that be!? Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery cool haha. I'll keep y'all updated about that!

If you want to learn more about Jeremy, check him out:
Jeremy's Website
Jeremy's Facebook
Jeremy's Twitter
Jeremy's Youtube Channel
xoxo
Hannah

Vlogs from Vacation (#2)

2011-09-08T00:26:00.003-04:00

Back again, twice in one night!! LOL!
I was not able to upload these videos as we went on vacation so if everyone wants, I will now. Do you want me to? I will upload one every couple days or so probably so not to bombard you. It's just the two of us talking, but they're funny sometimes! And talk about our trip in more detail :) Let me know if you're interested! For now, here's vlog #2:

Happy watching!!
Hannah and Alicia

Back to School!

2011-09-07T22:36:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone!
Been too long, huh? I'm glad I've been able to keep in touch with you one way or another, mostly Facebook lol. It seems that everyone's been busy, me included. Just wanted to update people on what's been going on! I know I keep saying this but *knock on wood* I'll be getting back into the swing of things now that I'm back to school.

So Monday I moved back into school. I had been dreading it sooooooooooo bad because last year was a nightmare. BUT so far....*knock on wood again* lol it's going well! I have a new roommate this year, Amanda, and she is really great. The first friend I made on campus and the best one too. She is so fun, but we get work done too lol! She's from Chicago, so I'm excited because she will be coming home with me some weekends :) As it happens she'll be coming home next weekend to go to Tunbridge Fair with me! This is a true New England fair, people. And Manda has never been to a fair before! So I am reeeeeeally excited to show her something so important to me. Hopefully some pictures will be taken and I'll post them :D

Our room is double the size of mine last year! It's awesome! And it actually feels like it's partially mineeeeeeee. Soooooo nice. Here's a picture, not the best and sideways but it was taken on my phone!

This is my half of the room. Furthest away is my bed, Meeko's home away from home : ) Here he is:

Then is my desk with my printer this year, flowers and chocolate courtesy of mom lol and my inspirational wall hanging. I read it everyday and it helps sometimes when I get down. I'll have to do a special post for that, ok? Next down is my bureau. We had to put the tv and dvd there, but that's ok with me! I don't really need that space anyway. Lastly and you can't see it is my closest. I didn't have a closest last year because my roommate took it lol....so it's nice because we both have our own this year! (Hanging on the wall for anyone who may care is my Glee Gone Wild poster LOL! It was a cover for an issue of Rolling Stone magazine.)

Classes started yesterday, yesterday morning at 8am as the case may be for soooooooome people *ahem* Here's my schedule for anyone interested :)

Monday: Children and the Media 2-3:15
Tuesday: Lifespan Development 8-9:15, Art History 9:30-10:45
Wednesday: Services for Young Children 11-12:15, US History through 1877 12:30-1:45, Children and the Media 2-3:15
Thursday: Same as Tuesday!
Friday: Services for Young Children and US History (same times as Wednesday)

I also have a practicuum for my Services class. Most likely I will be stationed at Dartmouth Hospital which would be awesome! That's about 15 minutes from home so since I go home on weekends to work I hope I can do it on Monday mornings at Dartmouth. We need to do a three hour once weekly shift working with children. I'm honestly so excited! Lol I miss working with my kids : ( and so I need to get back workin with some.

Oh well, earlier I worked on homework, then dinner with Cat and Shannon. Followed by hanging out in their room. It's freeeeeeeeeezing here!!! Rainy and cold. So we been bunking up at night, watching movies and TV lol. It's good : ) Watched Dance Moms, now Roseanne's Nuts with Manda and Tiffany came down. Chillin' and eatin Doritos.....this is what college is supposed to be like, isn't it?
Talk soon!
Hannah
P.S. SKYPE WITH ARIEL TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!! Just sayin' ; )

From the Gliffaes Hotel

2011-07-19T16:12:00.002-04:00

Good evening all! It is about quarter past 9 here in Crickhowell, Wales. Overcast and cloudy but almost dark now. I'm laying on my bed with Alicia in the adjacent twin bed. Our room is nice, it was the room Mom and I had 2 years ago when we were here. It's got cream walls, a cream and red themed bedspread, a blue/cream plaid couch, a desk, a bureau, a bathroom built up and around a corner lol. Out the window i can see the "big house". This is the main building on the property but our rooms are across the way in a seperate building. Gramma and grampa hqve the room below us and mom and our aunt have the room on the other side of the building. It's pretty chilly so Alicia might make hot chocolate in a bit.

Our flight went pretty well but the people in front of us were obnoxious!! So rude lol. I watched No Strings Attached and absolutely loved it! I was surprised but it was sooooo good. I also watched about halfish of Tangled for especially Tiny but Ariel too :P

I guess that's all for now...alicias having trouble uploading the videos do I'll get those up when I can :) love to you all!
Hannah

Guest Blogger: Alicia Cerasoli, my sister!!

2011-07-18T00:02:00.004-04:00

Yo yo yo all my sister's peeps out there! So Hola chicas...and gents, I'm Alicia, Hannah's younger and crazzzzy sista! I go by Alicia, Ali, Wiz, Wizzie, Sunflower, Leash, or whatever other name floats your boat! So once HM (Hannah) and I found out we were going on this summer's European trip, we decided that we were going to make a few videos! Tonight after dinner we were discussing the idea again and I suggested making some "vblogs." Hence our first vblog baby was born! So anybody reading this betterrrrrrr watch this video! I hope you all enjoy our first ever vblog, its very hilarious! DOnt miss out!
I believe thats all from me for now. Peace out all you girl and guy scouts! TTYL XOXO Ali

If you need the link: VBlog #1

Hannah here again! Okay so she warned you, she's a little crazy, but that's okay right? ; ) Makes it all the more fun! Anyway, we hope for this to be a series of posts to illustrate our wonderful European journey and we wanted all of you to tag along as well! Stay tuned for adventures at the Gliffaes Hotel and the Royal Welsh Show in Wales, footage with the celebrities at Madame Tussaud's, skylight views from the London Eye,
our HIGH level of excitement outside of the Billy Elliot and Wicked theaters, then who knows what
you will see from the Isle of Jersey! Lol! We're really very excited to be doing this and then sharing it all with you. We hope there is a high response to this because it will make doing it even more fun!

Can't wait for it all to happen! Lots of love, stay tuned!
Hannah

Plain Wisdom Book Review

2011-07-17T23:28:00.000-04:00

Plain Wisdom: An Invitation into an Amish Home and the Hearts of Two Women by Cindy Woodsmall

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Before starting Plain Wisdom, I had read Cindy Woodsmall's first series and thoroughly enjoyed it. She has such a powerfully motivating voice in her words that have you eagerly reading each page constantly wondering what will happen next. When I saw this was an option for me from the WaterBrook Multnomah group, I jumped at the opportunity to read her in a nonfiction text. And boy, was I pleased that I chose this! Though I had a hard time starting it (I was reading a couple of other books at the time), once I devoted my time to this book and this book alone, I could barely put it down! I read the majority of the book on vacation and in two or three days flat.

Both of these women have wonderful advice. Though I could not completely relate because like both of them I am not a mother yet, but that is not to say there was not wisdom for me in this book as well. A couple helpful chapters for me were I Am Who I Am; Having It All Together...Or Not; and Nevertheless, I Believe. Every chapter is set up with a verse from the Bible and then a turn taken each by Miriam and Cindy. Sometimes a story is told, sometimes just an inner thought, other times it is their personal advice, but wisdom is certainly a theme throughout the entire book. These women make everything so relateable. You feel like it is two friends or in my case two role models just conversing with you for ol' times sake lol! I really, really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a little perspective, thought, and advice with things wordly and everyday. You will be surprised what you have learned about yourself by the turn of the last page. This book will just make your day anytime you sit down to pick it up. It will definitely be going on my 'keeper' bookshelf and I will refer back to it when needed. Wonderful job to both Miriam and Cindy!

This book was furnished to me by WaterBrook Multnomah for my honest opinion.

View all my reviews

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer Review

2011-06-15T00:51:00.001-04:00

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What if Florida, Rhode Island, parts of California, and more were suddenly washed away by giant tsunamis? What if the sky was constantly ash barren for months straight, without a glimmer of sunlight due to new volcanoes erupting? What if all you could eat was 1/4 of a can of green beans as your entire meal for the day, while knowing you wouldn't eat again for two days? What if I told you this was all caused because of a miscalculation? A miscalculation dealing with the moon. In Life As We Knew It bu Susan Beth Pfeffer, scientists worldwide miscalculate the impact of a meteor hitting the moon. The night of the event, the moon was pushed closer to Earth, drastically changing the gravitational pull and everything with it. Almost instantly, the tides change causing giant tsunamis, wiping out parts of the country. Life changes dramatically for everyone on Earth.

Pfeffer's story follows one family in particular. Miranda and her family have the struggles of everyone else, but to hear it from through the eyes of one high school girl makes it all the more interesting. There are highs (surprisingly) and lows (obviously) but a strong sense of familial effort is felt throughout this book.

I, personally, was touched when reading this. It made me think about what would happen to me if suddenly we were skyrocketing towards the coveted 'end of the world'. How would my life be impacted? What would I be feeling? What are regrets I'd have? Things I wished I'd done, things I'd wished I'd done better, things I wished I'd never done to begin with. It was scary. It was in your face, I don't care how much it hurts to think about it scary lol. It honestly freaked me out a little. Once I got past the initial stages and calmly and rationally realized this is just a book, the world is not ending, I really thought about these things. I felt for Miranda's character so much at times and other times I was smacking my forehead for her! I thought that Pfeffer did a remarkable job penning this character. Perfect of that of a teenage girl going through a crisis.

It was my pleasure to be able to read this first book in Mrs. Pfeffer's trilogy. I am so pleased to say my library is ordering the next two for me to read, so I will read them soon and have those reviews up after doing so! May I finish with thanking Susan Beth Pfeffer. Thank you for closing this Book One by giving us a glimmer of hope.

View all my reviews

Books, books, and yep, you guessed it! More books!

2011-06-07T23:59:00.018-04:00

So with everything going on lately, I've acquired quite a few new books or so it seems! Lol! And quite a wide range in topics too. Everything from Horrow/Thriller to Young Adult, Christian Fiction to General Fiction. I love to read obviously, the same as many or most of you who are going to be reading this. So I thought I would give you a stroll through my most recent bookshelf full of books today!

Horror/Thriller:
">Strangers by Dean Koontz

THEY WERE STRANGERS A handful of people. From different backgrounds, living in different towns and cities across America, they had nothing in common—except fear.
THEY WERE VICTIMS Cold and stark, an unknown terror gripped their dreams and turned their days into living nightmares.
THEY WERE CHOSEN And they could not escape. Deep in the heart of a sprawling desert, a dark memory called out to them, drawing them to the Tranquility Motel—where the terrifying truth was waiting…
(All descriptions were taken from the author's website.)

">Twilight Eyes by Dean Koontz

They’re out there.
Waiting. Watching. Unseen by normal eyes, but all too visible to Slim MacKenzie, a young man blessed – or cursed – by Twilight Eyes…
They’re out there Lurking in the darkest shadows of an eerie, moonlit carnival. Feeding their twisted needs with human suffering. And fiendishly plotting the downfall of the human race…
They’re out there But don’t scream.
They’ll hear you.

Phantoms by Dean Koontz

CLOSER… They found the town silent, apparently abandoned. Then they found the first body strangely swollen and still warm. One hundred fifty were dead, 350 missing. But the terror had only begun in the tiny mountain town of Snowfield, California.
AND CLOSER… At first they thought it was the work of a maniac. Or terrorists. Or toxic contamination. Or a bizarre new disease.
AND CLOSER… But then they found the truth. And they saw it in the flesh. And it was worse than anything any of them had ever imagined…

Young Adult:
The Locker by Richie Tankersley Cusick

FINAL ASSIGNMENT
After the nightmarish death of her parents, Marlee Fleming was starting over - a new school, a "happy life." But her new friends Tyler and Noreen acted strangely when they saw the locker she'd been assigned. They said it had belonged to Suellen, who had mysteriously disappeared. The moment Marlee opened the locker and saw the horrifying vision, she was afraid. Afraid of the future. Afraid of her own premonitions, of powers she tried to deny. With a thrill of terror, Marlee knew she'd been chosen to find Suellen - even at the cost of her own life!

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce (recommended by Miss Ariel!)

Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris– the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She’s determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.
Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax– but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they’ve worked for.
Twenty-five-year-old Jackson Pearce delivers a dark, taut fairy tale with heart-pounding action, fierce sisterly love, and a romance that will leave readers breathless.

The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson (Recommended by my friend, Brittany!)

The grim political problems of Europe before and during World War II set in motion the plot of this upbeat, gently humorous romance, but such grave matters are soon left behind so the author of Madensky Square can spin a predictable but engaging story of love denied, then finally triumphant. As the Nazis march into Vienna, British paleontologist Quinton Somerville decides to save 20-year-old Ruth Berger, daughter of his Jewish-Austrian colleague, by marrying her and whisking her off to England, where the couple plan to obtain a quick annulment. Naturally, complications delay the dissolution of their marriage, so Ruth enrolls in London's Thameside College, where Quin is a highly sought-after professor. Indeed, wealthy, aristocratic Verena Plackett has set her cap for him. Ibbotson's spirited novel features atmospheric locales--Budapest, Vienna and the Somerville estate in Northumbria among them--and a colorful supporting cast of European refugees whose eccentric behavior mystifies their upper-class British sponsors.

Christian Fiction:
A Heart Most Worthy by Siri Mitchell

The elegance of Madam Fortier's gown shop is a far cry from the downtrodden North End of Boston.
Each day Julietta, Annamaria, and Luciana enter the world of the upper class, working on finery for the elite in society. The three beauties long to break free of their obligations and embrace the American dream - and their chance for love.
Their destinies intertwined, each harboring a secret from their families and each other, will they be found worthy of the love they seek?

A Tailor-Made Bride by Karen Witemeyer (Recommended by Amber and Casey!)

When a dressmaker who values beauty tangles with a liveryman who condemns vanity, the sparks begin to fly!
Jericho "J.T." Tucker wants nothing to do with the new dressmaker in Coventry, Texas. He's all too familiar with her kind--shallow women more devoted to fashion than true beauty. Yet, except for her well-tailored clothes, this seamstress is not at all what he expected.
Hannah Richards is confounded by the man who runs the livery. The unsmiling fellow riles her with his arrogant assumptions and gruff manner, while at the same time stirring her heart with unexpected acts of kindness. Which side of Jericho Tucker reflects the real man?
When Hannah decides to help Jericho's sister catch a beau--leading to consequences neither could have foreseen--will Jericho and Hannah find a way to bridge the gap between them?

While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin

In an unassuming apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, three lives intersect as the reality of war invades each aspect of their lives. Young Esther is heartbroken when her father decides to enlist in the army shortly after the death of her mother. Penny Goodrich has been in love with Eddie Shaffer for as long as she can remember; now that Eddie's wife is dead, Penny feels she has been given a second chance and offers to care for his children in the hope that he will finally notice her and marry her after the war. And elderly Mr. Mendel, the landlord, waits for the war to end to hear what has happened to his son trapped in war-torn Hungary.
But during the long, endless wait for victory overseas, life on the home front will go from bad to worse. Yet these characters will find themselves growing and changing in ways they never expected--and ultimately discovering truths about God's love... even when He is silent.

Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin

CAUGHT in a nation splitting apart.
ANGERED by those who would enslave others.
EMBOLDENED by a passion to make a difference.
TORN between the one she loves and a truth she can't deny.
Here is Caroline Fletcher's story.
Candle in the Darkness, Book One in the Refiner's Fire series, tells the story of a timid southern girl who finds her voice as she begins to tell the truth about the atrocities around her. A short stay in the North confirms her abolitionist feelings, but when she returns to the South she finds herself torn between her home, a beloved suitor who doesn't share her feelings, and the principles she knows are true. Standing for right may mean standing alone. Does she have the courage?

Love Finds You in Maiden, North Carolina by Tamela Hancock Murray

The Roaring Twenties comes to a very small town… At a time when most American girls are dreaming of bobbed hair and flapper dresses, Hestia Myatt dreams only of becoming a doctor. On a visit to Maiden, North Carolina, to care for an ailing aunt, Hestia becomes reacquainted with a handsome former classmate, Booth Barrington.
Things are going well for Hestia until her glamorous cousin, Selene, mysteriously arrives from New
York. Selene turns the heads of every bachelor in town and she seems to have set her sights on Booth. Will Hestia become resentful of her cousin, who can talk of nothing but speakeasies and wild soirées? Or can Hestia’s maidenly influence convince Selene to change her world-weary ways?

General Fiction:
Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran

The world knows Madame Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire…but who was this woman and how did she become one of the most famous sculptresses of all time? In these pages, her tumultuous story comes to life as only Michelle Moran could tell it. The year is 1788, and a revolution is about to begin…
Marie Tussaud has learned the secrets of wax sculpting by working alongside her uncle in their celebrated wax museum, the Salon de Cire. From her popular model of the American Ambassador, Thomas Jefferson, to her tableau of the royal family at dinner, Marie’s museum provides Parisians with the very latest news on fashion, gossip, even politics. Her customers hail from every walk of life, and when word arrives that the royals themselves are coming to see their likenesses, Marie never dreams that the king’s sister will request her presence at Versailles as a royal tutor in wax sculpting. Yet when a letter with a gold seal is delivered to her home, Marie knows she cannot refuse—even if it means time away from her beloved Salon and her increasingly dear friend, Henri Charles.
As Marie becomes acquainted with her pupil, Princess Élisabeth, she is taken to meet both Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI, who introduce her to the glamorous life at court. From lavish parties with more delicacies than she’s ever seen, to rooms filled with candles lit only once before being discarded, Marie steps into to a world entirely different from her home on the Boulevard du Temple, where people are selling their teeth in order to put food on the table.
Meanwhile, many resent the vast separation between rich and poor. In salons and cafés across Paris, people like Camille Desmoulins, Jean-Paul Marat, and Maximilien Robespierre are lashing out against the monarchy. Soon, there’s whispered talk of revolution…Will Marie be able to hold on to both the love of her life and her friendship with the royal family as France approaches civil war? And more importantly, will she be able to fulfill the demands of powerful revolutionaries who ask that she make the death masks of beheaded aristocrats, some of whom she knows?
Spanning five years from the budding revolution to the Reign of Terror, Madame Tussaud brings us into the world of an incredible heroine whose talent for wax modeling saved her life and preserved the faces of a vanished kingdom.

Power and Tender by Margret Russell (I am reviewing this book, the author is a woman from our church! How cool is that!? Review and interview soon to follow.)

I do not have a book description available at this time.

Current Library Books:
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Miranda's disbelief turns to fear in a split second when an asteroid knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove. In her journal, Miranda records the events of each desperate day, while she and her family struggle to hold on to their most priceless resource—hope.

The Postcard Killers by James Patterson

Paris is stunning in the summer
NYPD detective Jacob Kanon is on a tour of Europe's most gorgeous cities. But the sights aren't what draw him--he sees each museum, each cathedral, and each cafe through the eyes of his daughter's killer.
The killing is simply marvelous
Kanon's daughter, Kimmy, and her boyfriend were murdered while on vacation in Rome. Since then, young couples in Paris, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, and Stockholm have been found dead. Little connects the murders, other than a postcard to the local newspaper that precedes each new victim.
Wish you were here
Now Kanon teams up with the Swedish reporter, Dessie Larsson, who has just received a postcard in Stockholm--and they think they know where the next victims will be. With relentless logic and unstoppable action, The Postcard Killers may be James Patterson's most vivid and compelling thriller yet.

Now, don't get me wrong, I did not buy all of these, but acquired some of them! Lol! This is my collection of about the past month and a half, maybe two months. Apparently when I'm stressed, I seek out books. Who knew? Lol I guess it could be worse, eh? Anyway, I hope you all might take a chance to check some of these out. I realize that a lot of the horror/thriller you all probably won't be into. However, some of you might've read some of the Christian Fiction! If so, let me know which one(s) and how you liked it!

What are you focusing on reading right now? Have you gotten any new books recently!?

Love and happy reading!
Hannah

Questioning and Grieving

2011-06-06T23:31:00.006-04:00

Why do people feel so hopeless they need to die? When does that become the only option in their mind? What events occur to make a person feel so small? Why can't they open up and just talk to someone? Why do they put their lives in so much danger and eventually the ultimate danger for their self, their personal reasons? Why, why, why, why, why!?

Questions are just pouring through my mind. All day, well since 1pm, when I recieved the news. One of my friends that I have known for quite a few years, since elementary school actually, committed suicide. It came as a complete shock to everybody I know. She did it this weekend sometime, but it became "public" so to speak today.

I don't really know how to feel. I'm sad, confused, upset. I just don't really know what to do. She was literally one of the sweetest girls you'd ever meet. She was ALWAYS smiling. I know you can put up a mask, but she really did seem genuinely happy. I just talked to her at work. She told me she was transferring to my school in the fall. She was excited. She knew me and another girl, but I told her I could introduce her to some people until she got her footing. We were going to go down a day this summer so I could show her around. Just knowing all this eats me up even more.

I have a headache, a dread sitting in the pit of my stomach, unshed tears behind my eyes, a constant worry in my mind.
I want to just wake up and this have been a nightmare. We weren't terribly close, but we were close enough that it affects me and I truly care about what has happened. She was not stranger to me and my family. It is so weird to think about the fact that the first person in our class to die has died. I know that's morbid, but it's true. Just can't believe it was her.

I am trying not to dwell, but I think that there is a very fine line. We need time to grieve when a loved one dies. She is gone forever, no more moments will be made. A song that we actually analyzed in AP English last year, so I think it's kind of appropriate, has been helping me. I keep listening to it tonight lol and would love to share it with you. It's called I Grieve by Peter Gabriel:

If it doesn't work: I Grieve by Peter Gabriel

Yes, it is terribly sad and we're all allowed to be sad for awhile. We've lost a dear friend afterall. However, she wouldn't have wanted us to always mourn her loss. Instead to prosper in her abscense and remember her for all her good. She will be very dearly missed and no, I haven't completely come to terms with it yet, but I know I'll get there eventually. Until then, I am trying to remember her positively in my mind. I will miss her, as I know so many others will. Prayers are going out for her family, her closest friends, the ones who knew her most.

I was at my sister's concert tonight and they sang a song that made me think of this whole situation. It seems that Ashley would've agreed with this and made me smile some thinking about it.

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing

Thanks for letting me vent. This is a tricky time for us here. Love to you all.
Hannah

Yuuuuuuuuum! Your Taste Buds Will Thank You If You Check This Post Out!!!

2011-06-02T23:18:00.015-04:00

Hello again!
Wow! Twice in one week?! ; ) This is a special post that is dedicated to a special lady! Lol I wanted to do this post for Miss Ariel. Ariel, you've been such a crazy amazing addition to my circle of friends! We're soulmates, sisters, best friends, all sorts of things :P In all seriousness though, you've been here for me in the past few months when no one else has. We became fast friends and I will always be grateful for how open minded you have been towards me. We have a lot of memories even though they may not be in person yet, but one day we know it'll happen : ) Speaking of things we need to do together, this is for you, girl!

Hannah's Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

These are so yummy, easy to make, big, but sooooo worth it ; )
1) Melt some chocolate chips. I know this is vague but it really depends on how big you actually want to make your cup. I usually melt a couple handfuls to make sure I have enough.

I would suggest about 30 seconds, stir, 30 more seconds and they should be completely melted!

2) This is what your counter should look like:

You need your melted chocolate chips, favorite peanut butter, cupcake paper (YES mine is Christmas! Lol!), and a clean spoon. Now you will begin building your cup! Place a thin layer on the bottom, keep it about 1/2 inch thick or a little less.

Next put about a teaspoon of peanut butter in the center, as you can tell it does not need to be in any specific shape or size!

Lastly, use the remaining chocolate to completely cover the peanut butter. With this step you can round out the peanut butter if you want to. Whatever happens though, make sure the peanut butter is covered!

Now into the freezer in a FLAT spot your peanut butter cup goes!! I recommend putting it on a plate, which helps too.

And now the wait begins! Tonight while I waited I watched some TV and painted my nails BUT so you have some entertainment, here's some friend related things since this is for one of my besties : )

Now, are you ready for the big reveal?? Go ahead, open up your freezer, pull out that peanut butter cup! Wait a minute before pulling off the wrapper or it'll stick to it! Lol : )

Now dig in!! I know I enjoyed mine ^_^

Now to close this long post lol I just want to repeat Mr. Andrew Gold. Ariel, thank you for being a friend to me. You've opened up and really let me in, even though I know that can be difficult for you. Thank you for letting me be a friend in return, that's all I ever ask. I cannot wait for the years to come: trips, weddings, shoe shopping, even peanut butter cups!! Good times are coming for us, together and apart. I cannot wait to celebrate with you, but remember I'm always here to help pick up the pieces too if need be. I know we're a whole country apart, but distance? Meh. Who cares, we can beat the miles. I love you, Ariel and am so proud to call you my friend : )

Enjoy the peanut butter cups, everyone! But more importantly, go enjoy some time with your bestie!
Love you all,
Hannah

Mystical Read for Kids of All Ages (Book Review)

2011-05-30T23:19:00.002-04:00

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a mystical tale skillfully weaved by Brian Selznick. Using both pictures and words, Selznick hurriedly throws the reader in for the ride of a lifetime. Though at times confusing, more times than not you cannot put it down. Your sole concern is to find out what comes about of Hugo and Isabelle, the mysterious toy shop owner, and the automaton.

Part One pulls you in immediately with a series of pictures starting at the moon and slowly working it's way onto the face of a young boy in a Parisian train station. I need to interupt myself just to say how impressed I was by the illustrations. They captured the true essence of the emotions of the characters and implanted you into the different Paris spots. Brilliantly done! Anyway, you quickly find out that Hugo, the boy, is secretly the time keeper of the clocks in the train station. He is, therefore, also a thief and essentially the ghost of the station. The story that unfolds is a mystery, a very slight romance between Hugo and Isabelle (the kid version of romance!), and a fairy tale. I found myself trying to find even just 20 minutes to sit and read because it was so good! It looks extremely intimidating, especially for young kids, because of the size of it. However, take just a minute to flip through it and you will see that probably half of it is the illustrations and most pages with text are not full pages with it. This unique style made the book go by very quickly. If I sat down for the said 20 minutes, I would get a solid hundred pages read!

Selznick did a wonderful job on this book. I could not put it down and did not want it to end. I will most definitely be checking out what else he has written!

View all my reviews

Hi everyone,
Yep, it's really me. Been MIA for awhile again. Really sorry about that :( Have had a lot going on, I guess. I could focus on medical issues, but maybe that deserves a post all on its' own. I hope to be slowly scooting back into blogging. Just know that I still think of all of you SO much. I miss you and love you terribly. Until next time (which will hopefully be SOON lol). Love you,
Hannah

First OFFICIAL Book Review!!! And oh yeah, I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

2011-03-30T09:54:00.004-04:00

Hello everyone!
Oh my goodness! I cannot believe that it's been sooooooo long. I am so sorry to just have disappeared, though I have kept in touch with a lot of you, thank goodness :) You all keep me sane lol....anyway, things have been crazy here between this, that, and the other thing. I'm hoping to start posting more regularly now though. Yay! And I will have you know that if you all are interested in more book reviews I have about 9 books to review that I've read just for myself, so let me know if you'd be interested in having them reviewed please!

Today, I have my first official review! YAY! Thank you to Miss Teeny Tiny aka Amber :P and Renee for pushing me to do this. I think that it was a great idea and I'm excited to get my next book!

Description of book: “I only know one man who might be able to tell me where I come from, and that man is a liar and a fraud.”

As far back as he can remember, the orphan Grady has tramped from village to village in the company of a huckster named Floyd. With his adolescent accomplice, Floyd perpetrates a variety of hoaxes and flimflams on the good citizens of the Corenwald frontier, such as the Ugliest Boy in the World act.

It’s a hard way to make a living, made harder by the memory of fatter times when audiences thronged to see young Grady perform as “The Wild Man of the Feechiefen Swamp.” But what can they do? Nobody believes in feechies anymore.

When Floyd stages an elaborate plot to revive Corenwalders’ belief in the mythical swamp-dwellers known as the feechiefolk, he overshoots the mark. Floyd’s Great Feechie Scare becomes widespread panic. Eager audiences become angry mobs, and in the ensuing chaos, the Charlatan’s Boy discovers the truth that has evaded him all his life—and will change his path forever.

My Review: The Charlatan’s Boy by Jonathon Rogers was an enjoyable read. It was not my favorite book and disappointed me a little bit after hearing remarkable compliments about it and it did sound really great! It never caught my interest until the very end of the book, unfortunately. I am not sure if it was enough to make me curious enough to read the second book or not. There were not too many characters in this book by way of named, main characters. I did enjoy the character of Grady and his quest to find his way in this crazy world. He is a young boy who has always believed that he was a real live Feechie because that is what Floyd, his pseudo father figure of sorts, has always acted. However, that is simply what it was, an act. So poor Grady is suddenly lost, unknowing of what he really I, who he really is, and he wants to find his real parents. So you can easily be sympathetic to this little boy’s feelings. Floyd simply irritated me, which I almost think was part of the point. Just when you thought that he was getting “good” or at least being nice to Grady, he became somewhat of a jerk again for lack of a better term. It drove me crazy! It was very interesting to kind of see the behind the scenes of what it takes to be a charlatan though. Not that I ever plan on being one or anything, but it was just interesting to see the mechanics of their mind. I think knowing what the book is about, there are a few kids I would recommend this too. I think based on some of the material though; you would want to limit it to a mature fourth grader through middle school aged. I think kids may enjoy the sense of adventure and relate even more to Grady and the other characters!

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Just an update: My school year is almost done :) Last day is April 29, but last final is due by email on the 30th. But still!! I have a roommate for next year!!! Her name's Amanda and I'm sure you will be hearing about her coming up soon lol. I will post on our crazy adventure that we're taking today to my home (*whispers* she's meeting the family and my old friends LOL) I am so very excited about it and having her makes me actually excited to come back next year. I am still working at my grocery store as a cashier on the weekends, but am applying to be able to substitute teach in May and whenever they need me from now on. I will focus on only elementary school because it would just be too tough with especially high school because of my age compared to theirs! It would be cool because if I'm at WRS I know a lot of the kids and I do get paid to do it, so it will be fun. Medically, everything is up in the air right now. Apparently I do not have Rheumatoid Arthritis even though, yes, that is what I have been diagnosed with for five years now. That's very frustrating for me because though RA wasn't good, at least I had a diagnosis and I had come to terms with it by now. So no news still about all that unfortunately :/ I got to skype with a certain Miss Tiny Ariel last night for the first time!!! YAYAYAY! It was really fun and I look forward to many more fun skype dates to come ; ) I've been reading like crazy for who knows why! LOL I always keep the blog updated in that respect. I am on book number seventeen for 2011 which I don't think is too shabby considering it's technically still March!

That's about it for me! What's new with all of you???

OH just ONE more thing ; ) I will be going on TWO trips this summer again! Alicia, gramma, grampa, and I will be driving to Wisconsin for the Jersey cattle convention....it could be interesting LOL! And then Gramma, Grampa, Alicia, Mom, Aunt Donna, and I will be going to....drumroll please *drumming on desk* Wales, London, and the Isle of Jersey again!!!!! Yessss they are all repeats, but they are three of our favorite overseas vacations we've been on : ) One of the highlights, I can tell you right now will be meeting two of my favorite blogger friends who also are coincedentally my best UK friend and my mum ; ) when we go to London!!! We're hoping to see Wicked together (since that is how we found each other afterall) and do lunch or something of the sort. SO excited, you two!!

Okay now tell me about yourselves ; )
Hugs, smooches, and much love to you all!
Hannah

Seasons of Love Blogfest - The Single Girl's Guide to Valentine's Day!!

2011-02-10T00:47:00.006-05:00

Welcome, welcome!! First, can I just say THANK YOU to Amber for organizing this whole thing?! How fun has it been so far, people? Awesome! I'm honored to be among these other women for our blogfest. Bravo, ladies! Love your blogs and the party has gotten a great start!

Now as you can probably tell by the title, I do not have an author here today, unfortunately. Been having a hard time getting someone to fit me into their busy schedules! SO, you're stuck with me today, all me ; )

Now, let me ask you. Who doesn't think of Beyonce when they hear the term 'Single Ladies' now!? Lol! So of course, Beyonce must be our beginning for this post. Anyway, this will take you through one Valentine's Day, what I might suggest you do, single ladies ; )

Step 1: Keep music going ALL day! Start to finish, it'll make you happy ; )

P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

Step 2: Breakfast, ladies! I would suggest letting yourself go all out since it a holiday afterall ; ) So, chocolate chip pancakes, anyone!? Or Bee and I both highly suggest chocolate chip coconut pancakes! Mmmmm even better!

Step 3: Now, just because it's Valentine's Day doesn't mean you shouldn't get your exercise in! But do it in a fun way! I would suggest playing Just Dance on your Wii! *gestures this way* C'mon you're all invited over to my house to play! This is one of my absolute favorites! This is the screen you look at on the TV. You follow the girl. SO fun, trust me! Now who's up for the challenge?? I'm warning you I can get over 10,000 points now! But none of you imagine me doing this, ya here!?

It's Raining Men

Step 4: Now for a little relaxation, ladies. You deserve it. Time for some quality reading time : ) Now, we all love that, no? Here are just a couple suggestions, a total variety of course:

- The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
- A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman
- Flavor of the Week by Tucker Shaw
- A Soldier's Promise by Cheryl Wyatt

Anyone else have any good Valentine's Day books to recommend? These are just romances, not specifically Vday! Lol...

Step 5: Pamper yourself!!

This could be as simple as taking a hot bath and shaving your legs, c'mon you know you're all guilty of not doing it as often in the winter ; ) Or as "complicated" as setting up a mani-pedi or getting a massage. This Valentine's Day is for you, in celebration of you loving yourself, so go all out! Relax, take some time for youself!

Beautiful

Step 6: Now that we're feeling relaxed, why don't we take a road trip to somewhere we love? You get to choose for you. Maybe it's a museum, the aquarium, the park down the street, or even the library! Get outside and do something : )

Step 7: Now at this point I would say you could start to chillax for the evening already lol! I would make yourself (or buy *wink*) a lovely dinner of your favorite food and then watch some movies. Suggestions:

- The Notebook
- You've Got Mail (Amber...hehe)
- 50 First Dates
- Becoming Jane (in a really heartbreaking way lol)
- Big Fish (weird but I like it!)

Oh there's TOO many!! I could go on and on and on! Lol...what about you? Some of your favorites?

Step 8: Take a few minutes to remember yourself. Who's important? YOU are. : ) Here, I'll give you a push in the right direction.

People are like stained-glass windows.
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed
only if there is a light from within.

~ Elizabeth Kübler-Ross ~

Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do.
Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong.

~ Ella Fitzgerald ~

Let It Be

If you look at what you have in life,
You'll always have more.
If you look at what you don't have in life,
You'll never have enough.

~ Oprah Winfrey ~

If you do not tell the truth about yourself
you cannot tell it about other people.

~ Virginia Woolf ~

Thanks for sticking with me through this little guide : ) I know it isn't much, but I hope you enjoyed some good music and maybe a couple laughs too!

GIVEAWAY TIME: It's not very specific but the winner will recieve some chocolate and a book that is to be determined! It's a little bit of a mystery ; ) All you have to do is leave a comment this time around, folks.

Don't forget to stop by the other blogs with giveaways going on currently for the blogfest:

Seasons of Humility
Doorkeeper
Writing for Christ

The winners are announced on Monday!!

One last thing before I go to all my blogger buddies, I wish everything this song has to offer for each and every one of you : )
Happy Valentine's Day to each one of you!!
With love,
Hannah

I Hope You Dance

In Every Heartbeat by Kim Vogel Sawyer Review

2011-01-26T10:36:00.002-05:00

Here's the blurb from Amazon:
As three friends who grew up in the same orphanage head off to college together, they each harbor a cherished dream. Libby wishes to become a famous journalist, Pete plans to study to become a minister, and Bennett wants to join a fraternity and have as much fun as possible. But as tensions rise around the world on the brink of World War I, the friends' differing aspirations and opinions begin to divide them, as well. And when Libby makes a shocking discovery about Pete's family, will it drive a final wedge between the friends or bond them in ways they never anticipated?

My Review:
First of all, let me thank Amber so much for sending me In Every Heartbeat. I am so glad you did!!

This was my first book by Kim Vogel Sawyer and most definitely will NOT be my last. I was so pleasantly surprised on so many levels.

This book follows three best friends as they venture into a new part of their lives as college students. The year is 1914 as Libby, Petey, and Bennett become freshman in college. All three are orphans, raised in the same orphanage, but all having different experiences there. Though they start out with the stongest bond, they soon realize that their relationships are going to change, some for the better and some for the worse it seems.

Now I don't want to give anything away, but I loved this book! Lol...I felt like the characters were quite relatable, especially the feelings because I am in that weird transition face, as they are too. Though I did not completely relate to Libby, she is much more outspoken then me, I related to her on a deeper level. One of the same desires as her. I have to admit that I did not love Bennett's character. He almost became the person you love to hate, but not quite. However....Petey. Oh my goodness. I think I fell for Petey...hard! He was so sweet and true to himself and his beliefs. I don't know how you couldn't not like him. Just seemed like such a perfect guy to me...lol!

Anyway, I say bravo to Kim for her success!! As soon as I finished this I went out and bought A Hopeful Heart on Amber's recommendation ; ) Well the next day...lol! Great job!
Have a great day!
Hannah

Season of Love Blog Party!!!

2011-01-26T10:08:00.002-05:00

Okay people....it is getting very near that wonderful day of romance, chocolate hearts, and roses. Yep, you guessed it! Valentine's Day! Lol...in our suite here at school it looks as though (and I quote) "Cupid puked all over our walls". Bahahahaha! We've got paper hearts everywhere, arrows, etc. It's crazy, we'll just say ; )

So on that note I want to mention the Season of Love Blog Party!

This is going to be sooooo fun, I'm convinced! And why shouldn't it be? Now to steal from Amber's invitation on her blog:

"Who: Everyone is invited!

What: A progressive blog party

When: February 7th through the 14th

Where: Various blogs

Why: To celebrate the wonderful gift called love!

And here's a peek at the tentative schedule, with links to the blogs that will be featured each day:

Monday, February 7th: Amber at Seasons of Humility--Interview with MaryLu Tyndall and a giveaway
Tuesday, February 8th: Renee Ann at Doorkeeper--TBA
Wednesday, February 9th: Casey at Writing for Christ--Interview with Kristin Billerbeck and a giveaway
Thursday, February 10th: Hannah at Project Journal--TBA
Friday, February 11th: Joy at Edgy Inspirational Romance--TBA
Saturday, February 12th: Julia at Darkglass Ponderings--Interview with Jody Hedlund; "romantic" menu of recipes from a chef!
Sunday, February 13th: Renee at Black 'n Gold Girl's Bookspot--Interview with Laura Frantz and a 3-surprise-Christian-fiction-books giveaway
Monday, February 14th: Visit Seasons of Humility for a Mr. Linky listing of all the blogs writing a special Valentine's Day post; winners announced on the participating blogs."

Yes, I'm still TBA. I am waiting to hear back from my author, though, who will hopefully agree! Anyway, I hope that you all will join us because it's going to be a fun time!

Thanks to Renee for making the awesome blog button! And a huge thanks to Amber for getting this ball rolling!!!
Talk soon,
Hannah

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

2011-01-25T13:53:00.002-05:00

Blurb: For over twenty-five years, Ellen Raskin's Newbery Medal-winning The Westing Game has been an enduring favorite. It has sold over one and a half million copies. This highly inventive mystery involves sixteen people who are invited to the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will. They could become millionaires-it all depends on how they play the tricky and dangerous Westing game, a game involving blizzards, burglaries, and bombings! Ellen Raskin has created a remarkable cast of characters in a puzzle-knotted, word-twisting plot filled with humor, intrigue, and suspense.

My review: The Westing Game is one of the only books I will actually choose to reread. Why, you might ask? I have no clue actually! I first ordered this book from the book order in 4th or 5th grade. Since then I reread it at least once a year.

What starts out as a strange storyline, quickly becomes something much more. You become so attached to the characters that you don't know which way is up! There are quite a few main characters but no minor characters really to keep track of. So, in a way it works itself out.

The book is a murder mystery, of sorts. It is extremely interactive, but I'll warn you, it WILL keep you guessing up until near the very end. Just when you think you have it figured out, Ellen Raskin finds a way to turn it all around.

Like I said, I've been reading this for years and it never ceases to delight me with every page turned. No matter your age, I think you will enjoy this wonderfully written mystery that might just leave you in tears by the end too! I really hope some of you consider picking this one up : )

Later, taters!
Hannah

Wish I'd Read That Reading Challenge 2011

2011-01-14T09:46:00.004-05:00

Like Amber, I am hosting a book challenge this year. I am taking it over for Alaine @ Queen of Happy Endings blog. I participated in this one last year also and didn't completely commit lol! But this year I'm ready for it because I have some that definitely go into this category ; )

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This challenge is for all those books you wish you'd read. It might be Pride and Prejudice, War and Peace, a Nora Roberts Romantic Suspense, the Outlander series or a childhood classic Winnie the Pooh. I have a very long list of books that I've been wanting to read for years, not to mention the list of books I've added to it since I've been blogging. These don't have to be books you currently own, you can buy them, borrow them or beg for them. This is a great challenge for getting those TBR piles reduced. So go have a look at what you might read and challenge yourself.

This is kind of a catch-all challenge. A good one to start with, if you ask me!

Challenge Guidelines:

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
--Non-Bloggers: Include your information in the comment section.

2. There are four levels:

-- Curious – Read 3 books.

-- Fascinated – Read 6 books.

-- Addicted – Read 12 books.

-- Obsessed – Read 20 books.

3. Any book format counts.

4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.

5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2011.

So sorry for taking my time about getting it posted, you've lost 14 days already!!!! AHHHHH! Joking ; ) But I am still sorry about that lol. I did decide, however, that for me personally I'm not going to necessarily pick a category. Throughout the year I will instead keep my list updated! Lol! So here's what I have so far:

1) The Help by Kathryn Stockett

2) The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

3) The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

4) House Rules by Jodi Picoult

5) Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

6) The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

7) Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

I'm going to stop there for now, but check back occasionally because I bet you I will be updating this as I actually browse my shelves : )

Now bear with me, folks. I'm trying Mr. Linky for the FIRST TIME! Lol....so if there are problems I'm working on it. If it doesn't work, you'll get to just sign up in the comments.

So, who wants to try this challenge with me!?
Hannah

Contentment Reading Challenge

2011-01-10T08:44:00.004-05:00

I'm back again, folks! Lol...

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Today I'm posting my official launch post for the Contentment Reading Challenge 2011 made by Amber @ Seasons of Humility blog. She is a very dear friend, obviously, so how could I resist supporting her on her very first reading challenge! So now, taken from her blog, this is what the challenge is about and the guidelines:

"The "Contentment Reading Challenge" is based on the idea that we, as avid readers, have many books scattered around our homes (on shelves, in the closet, under the bed, etc.) that we have hoped to read again but have not made the time to do so. It is also based on my own struggles with greed and selfishness--continuing to buy more and more books, while forgetting the wonderful library I already own.

If you perhaps are going through similar struggles or have had similar ideas, I would love to have you join my reading challenge. This is more of a personal challenge, so don't feel like you have to strictly follow all of the rules in order to be involved. What really counts is our heart attitudes, and while this isn't an overnight change, it's something we can be working on together.

Here are the guidelines:

•Anyone can join--just leave a comment below saying you want to be a part of the challenge. I will be posting off and on throughout the year about the challenge, and I would love to hear your feedback at those times on how you are doing and what you might be learning along the way. I'd love to have this become a community event, where we can encourage and pray for one another, as well as share in each other's joys as we re-visit some of our favorite books!
•In order for this to be a "challenge," it's good to set some goals. There's no pressure--just choose whatever level you think would be good for you if you would like to have an overall goal. Since the ocean is the theme for the devotional posts on this blog ("Sundays by the Sea") here are some of the themed levels you can aim for:
◦Floating: Re-reading 5 books you already own. Skimming the surface.
◦Wading: Re-reading 10 books you already own. Getting your feet wet in your ocean of books.
◦Swimming: Re-reading 15 books you already own. Immersing yourself again.
◦Diving: Re-reading 20 or more books you already own. Going deep into the stories you love.
• The challenge officially starts on January 1, 2011 and officially ends on December 31, 2011. I'm sure there will be some fun activities along the way for those involved, and maybe even a celebration at the end, so I hope you can join me!"

I am so very excited to start right in on this!! Who else will join us???

So now, here's my list that I've compiled so far:

1) The Westing Game - Ellen Raskin

2) Pictures of Hollis Woods - Patricia Reilly Giff

3) Little House in the Big Woods - Laura Ingalls Wilder

4) Green Angel - Alice Hoffman

5) Flavor of the Week - Tucker Shaw

6) Someone at the Door - Richie Tankersley Cusick

7) Crooked - Laura and Tom McNeal

8) Tuck Everlasting - Natalie Babbitt

9) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon

10) The Farther You Run - Davida Wills Hurwin

11) A Soldier's Promise - Cheryl Wyatt

12) The Color Purple - Alice Walker

13) Cell - Stephen King

14) A Child Called "It" - David Peltzer

15) The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks

16) Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult

17) The Pact - Jodi Picoult

18) Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult

19) Second Glance - Jodi Picoult

20) The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

21) A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman

Disclaimer: These book titles are subject to change. I might change these twenty, but it also may be that I add more.

As you can tell, I've chosen the Diving category. Now, I must admit that I didn't intend to do this necessarily! Instead, I went through my books and found the books that immediately jumped out at me and grabbed them! Lol....so we'll see how things go this year : )

So, Amber, I just wanted to say thank you for putting this challenge out there for all of us this year!! Happy Reading in 2011, people!! Check back in often for more book reviews : ) If you want to join this challenge go HERE to sign up!

Hannah

SORRY!! And winners :)

2011-01-03T08:56:00.002-05:00

*big sigh* Soooooooooooooooo sorry I haven't been around lol! I've been meaning to make this post, draw winners, etc. But I didn't get to it, until now lol...

There's really not much new news for me. Today school started back for mom and my sister. I'm working a little more (20 hours this week) and am still on break. I'm a little glad that the blogfest is over because it wore me out a little having to get a post out for everyday or try to! However, as long as my good friend, Amber, doesn't mind I might steal her idea of doing themed weeks. That's shorter and I'd love to be more regular about posting, just need things to post about :P So, I am going to try and commit to posting somewhat regularly, a few times per week, or as much as I get up to writing between school and everything else. So once again, thank you all so much for coming around my blog! I LOVE meeting you all and making some really great friends.

So now onto the winners! Firstly, I thought it was appropriate to have this background because it was titled: And the Winner is.... I was like, holy cow! That's so appropriate :) Lol....anyway! All the winners have been notified. They have through Wednesday to reply to their email, I know that's harsh, but if I don't get an answer I'd like to let someone else have a chance. So that's the only reason why : ) Soooooo here are the winners!!

"Mystery Giveaway"

Katy!!

Winter's End by Ruth Logan Herne

Maureen!!

Three Kneeling Santa Ornaments

Renee!!

Renee Ann!!

Andrea!!

Christmas Peril by Debby Guisti and Margaret Daley

Amber!!

The Sound of Sleigh Bells by Cindy Woodsmall

Ariel!!

$10 Amazon Gift Card

Tracie!!

CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners!!! This has been so fun and I really hope you all stick around still! I'm currently working on planning some fun things for you all : )

Thanks so much, congratulations again, and stay tuned for some fun and more medical updates as I get them!
See you soon : )
Hannah

IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!

2010-12-23T23:42:00.006-05:00

I want to keep this really short today since, well, it is Christmas Eve! LOL! So, I wanted to share a couple pictures from my house for you finally : )

These are all our Santa's! We collect them every year, just like our Nutcrackers. I love to see them grow each year!

THIS beauty is our Christmas tree this year!! I actually think it's a great tree :) There's a couple funky spots, but they always look great once the lights and decorations are up! Lol...

And this is my fake tree up in my room! Sorry it's a little blurry because of the lights, but I thought it would look better that way : )

So in the spirit of keeping things light on this special day, I want to once again thank all of you for being so kind to me and following me through this month! We've made some new friends, so welcome again! And to all the old, I appreciate you so much : ) It's fun to know that someone is reading what you write, lol! If I could, I would send this card to each and every one of you!

Here's hoping to a GREAT Christmas for all of you!! But let's not forget about the song of the day! I hope this helps to calm you for a few minutes of your day ; )

Thanks again and y'all come back now, you hear!?
Hannah

True Friends at Christmas - Amber Stokes

2010-12-22T07:58:00.010-05:00

Hello everyone,
This is Wednesday, midweek, the hump you've got to get over, right? Well, I'm hoping that maybe this post will add a bright spot to that not so great day : )

"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend."
- Albert Camus

I want to have an underlying theme of friendship today. I am feeling so, so grateful for everyone who participated in my blogfest and for everyone that followed, who commented. You made me laugh and be thoughtful during this month. So I thank you so much for that!

Now Amber...what is there to say about Amber? I am SO glad that I stumbled across her blog on that fateful Thursday in May : ) Glad is a terrible word to use, though, because it in no way expresses how happy I am that I've met Amber. Amber is a kind and gentle soul, always there to give advice, listen, laugh, and love. I'm proud to know this author in the making because I just know we'll be freinds for a long, long time (here's hoping!). So now before I gush too much, we'll get onto the interview ; )

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."
- Anonymous

Hannah: What is your favorite part(s) of the Christmas season?

Amber: Well, the best part of Christmas is that we’re celebrating Jesus’ birth and the amazing gift God gave us in His Son! Besides that, it’s really hard to choose a favorite part of the season, because I love it all! I love spending extra time with family and close friends, and now that I’m an out-of-state college student, going home for Christmas is even more special.

Hannah: I'm so glad you get to head home for the holidays, Amber! It just couldn't be the same otherwise and I'm sure you feel the same way. Are you a big celebrator of Christmas?

Amber: For sure! I LOVE Christmas!!! I love the decorations my mom and my grandma put up; I love the Christmas tree in our house full of gorgeous and fun Hallmark ornaments; I love listening to Christmas music; I love all the food, like the fudge my mom makes every year; and I could go on and on!

I think my friends at college have noticed how much I love all the different holidays. ;) My mom sends me packages with window clings and decorations (etc.) for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day…you get the idea! I love being festive!

Hannah: That sounds so fun! My roommate put some up in our window, but otherwise we don't usuallky get into the wall clings. They are fun though :) We've got other things though like our Santas and our nutcrackers. I'm trying to get my camera to work so I can show you some pictures! LOL! What are some of your traditions? (i.e. food, gift giving, family traditions, etc)?

Amber: One of our small traditions that I’m currently observing is getting and enjoying Advent calendars. My mom sent my roommate and me Advent calendars that have chocolate pieces you open and eat every day from December 1st through December 24th. Yum!
We also keep a German tradition involving pickle ornaments. My mom hides a couple of pickle ornaments in our Christmas tree for my sister and me to find, and when we find them we get an extra gift. And then my grandparents hide a couple of pickle ornaments in their tree… So we’re doubly spoiled! ;)
If anyone would like to learn a little more about this tradition, I share more in this post on my blog: http://seasonsofhumility.blogspot.com/2010/12/setting-mood-with-pre-party-activity.html
We also have other traditions, like opening gifts sent from out-of-town on Christmas Eve and then our gifts for each other on Christmas. Christmas is so special in our household, especially since my grandparents and one of my uncles live so close to us!

Hannah: I love this! How fun to have a tradition involving a pickle shaped ornament, rofl! Do you have a favorite Christmas themed book/recommendation? Movie?

Amber: I have several! For Christmas-themed Christian romance, I recommend Cowboy Christmas by Mary Connealy and A Currier & Ives Christmas by DiAnn Mills, Lynn A. Coleman, JoAnn A. Grote, and Deborah Raney. I have a hardcover version of the latter, and it is a really sweet collection! I don’t think it’s as easy to find anymore (my mom got it for me years ago), but if you ever do see it anywhere, it’s really good (from what I recall)!
As for movies, where do I begin?! I recently watched The Christmas Card, which was really cute. (You can find my review here: http://seasonsofhumility.blogspot.com/2010/11/thankful-for-military-review-of.html) I absolutely LOVE The Polar Express, as well as Jingle All the Way, Christmas Vacation, The Santa Clause and The Santa Clause 2, and more!

Hannah: We STILL haven't seen this movie, Amber. I know you recommended it to me and we've seen it in the store, but we're still yet to actually watch it. Lol...how have your Christmas traditions changed since you were a kid now that you are at college?

Amber: Good question! I think the biggest change is that I don’t get to be home until halfway through December, so I miss out on helping to decorate the Christmas tree, singing in (or even watching) the Messiah choir’s Christmas concert, etc. There’s so much that leads up to Christmas that I miss being a part of. I just found out that I’m going to miss my younger sister’s Christmas play at school by one day! Such a bummer. :(
But other than that, I still get to be a part of our family’s main Christmas traditions. I still get a stocking! And I’m so thankful that I still get to be with my family for about three weeks. I love them so!

Hannah: I can understand how that would be difficult. Alicia and I still do stockings also, so you're not along there. By this point I'm starting to get a little excited for Saturday, especially hearing you talk about all these traditions! If you had to pick one “symbol” of Christmas (i.e. ornaments, the tree, the lights, the nativity set, etc.), what would you pick as your favorite?

Amber: Hmmm…it’s hard to pick a favorite, but I think I’m going to have to go with the Christmas tree. As I mentioned before, our Christmas tree is covered with ornaments, particularly Hallmark ornaments. I love seeing the memories decorating our Christmas tree, and I love looking at the beautiful Disney ornaments. And some of the ornaments make noises when the lights are turned on, so it’s always funny to hear them go off all at once! The Wizard of Oz ornament lasts the longest, and the last line it says (after the cacophony of other noises has ended) is, “The Great Oz has spoken.” ;)

Hannah: I LOVE that Wizard of Oz ornament!! It sounds phenomenal ; ) What did you ask Santa for this year? *wink*

Amber: There are three specific things I asked for this year:
1. The first season of the new PBS Masterpiece version of Sherlock on DVD
2. How to Train Your Dragon on DVD
3. Head in the Clouds by Karen Witemeyer

Hannah: Well those seem pretty doable! I hope you get them : ) What was one gift that you always wanted, but never got?

Amber: I’m having a hard time coming up with anything… I am so spoiled! My parents and grandparents have been so sweet and given me so much! Ummm…I really want a trip to Prince Edward Island in Canada, and I haven’t got that yet. Of course, I’m saving that for my honeymoon if I ever get married, so I don’t think that counts. ;)

Hannah: Oh Amber, I don't think that does count, lol!! But how cool to want something like that! Ambitious :P

These are some bests. Just fill them in with your favorite/the best.

Christmas present as a child? I don’t know if I have a favorite, but for a long time I loved Disney princesses (guess I still do!) and one year Santa brought me a “magic carpet” (a lovely rectangular, patterned rug with tassels sewn on each end) and a Jasmine doll. So special!

Favorite Christmas? Oh, dear! I have to pick a favorite? I don’t know if I can!

Christmas song? Another hard question! I love so many different Christmas songs. One really fun one is “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause” (as sung by Perry Como). ;)

Character in the Christmas Story (maybe you played them in a church pageant one year? Lol!)? If we’re talking about the Christmas story from the Bible, I’d have to say Jesus. ;) But as far as a character I’ve been, I just loved taking turns being the manger angel standing on stacked hay bales above a live nativity scene at our old church!

Place to spend Christmas day? My house! You should see the way my mom decorates! As for Christmas Eve, that would be my grandparents’ house. :)

Christmas food? Fudge!

Amber, I can't thank you enough for finding the time somewhere to do this for me : ) You are a very, very special person and I'm lucky to have found you! Lol...I look forward to the years to come, being included on the big events in your life. Thank you so much for being such an amazing friend.

"If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you."
- Winnie the Pooh

Today Amber is kind enough to offer up one $10 Amazon gift card to a lucky winner! Please make sure to leave an email to be entered and let us know what you might use it for!
Extra +1 Entries:
- Follower of my blog
- Follower of Amber's blog

"Friends are the bacon bits in the salad bowl of life."
- Anonymous

This would be Amber and I if we had known each other as kids! LOL! That's her on the right and me being dumb on the left :P

Okay, we've got two songs today. They're both not sad, but have a saddish vibe to them lol...Here's the FIRST. Think Glee Christmas...singing around the Christmas trees ; ) And the SECOND. Think The Polar Express!

Thank you to everyone for making this December so fun! No, we're not quite done, but almost. And a very special thank you to Amber too *hugs* Have a great Wednesday, everyone,
Hannah