Please link up your wordless Wednesday posts and please leave a comment when linking….
May 20 2013
Lucy’s Life Lesson #1
Hi! It is me, Lucy. And I have an important lesson to share – how to get your mom to be wrapped around your paw (even more so then before).
At first, I didn’t like when my mommy left to go to work. But when she explained that by going there she makes money to buy me food and toys, my whole thought processed changed. Now, when I see her get ready to leave I shout out “Go! Go now! What are you waiting for!”
Usually when she gets ready for work, I head up to the bedroom to keep her company (as well as make sure that she picks out a proper outfit). Hey, she is my mom after all, and I have standards she has to adhere to…
The other day, she bent down to kiss me before she headed out, like she usually does. But, instead of shouting for her to leave quickly, like I usually do, I tried a different maneuver.
Her hair was wet and it smelled so good. I had to take a taste. I nibbled it and it was amazing. Then I stretched my arms up and placed them on her face. I gently pulled myself up, still holding her face, and then started kissing her forehead. You never saw a human turn to mush so quickly!
For the rest of the day (um, okay, week) I could do no wrong… and I got lots of extra treats too… Sounds crazy, but it is worth the efforts my friends…..
TTYL,
Lucy
May 18 2013
Orphan Train by Christina Baker-Kline
There are some books that you wish would go on forever… No matter where the author chooses to end the story it is too soon for you You are just so enthralled with the characters – their past and their future – that you can’t help but want more. Christina Baker-Kline’s novel, Orphan Train is one of these books….
Molly Ayer, a seventeen year old girl in foster care, reluctantly agrees to help Vivian Daly, a wealthy ninety-one year old woman living in a mansion in Maine clean out her attic, as a way to avoid going to juvie. Molly can’t imagine spending so many hours with an elderly lady, one who she is sure would have no concept of Molly’s life.
Molly couldn’t have been more wrong….
As a young child, Vivian’s parents left their home in Ireland seeking a better life in America. Instead of finding happiness in New York, the family was destroyed by a devastating fire. All alone, Vivian was first sent to an orphanage and then placed on an OrphanTrain headed to the Midwest. Like many other train riders, Vivian’s life in Minnesota was far from easy. She lost her name (twice), her childhood, and struggled to survive. But she never lost her spirit….
Spanning eighty years, Christina expertly alternates sharing Molly’s and Vivian’s life – stories of adversity, neglect, love, and resilience. Despite how different these woman’s circumstances are their experiences are so similar… and their unlikely friendship is just what they both need….
On an aside – I am very lucky. I have had the pleasure to get to know Christina, she edited my memoir. Christina is not only a talented writer, but she is an excellent teacher (I hear her voice in my head whenever I write – including work emails), a darling person, and a true inspiration….
May 16 2013
FOLLOW FRIDAY FOUR FILL IN FUN BLOG HOP – WEEK 112
Welcome to the 112th weekly Follow Friday Four Fill-in Fun Blog Hop!
Each week, I plan on listing four statements with a blank for you to fill in on your own blogs. If you want to join the fun and come up with four fill in’s of your own, please email them to me at Hilary(at)feelingbeachie(dot)com. If I use them, I will add you as co-host to the hop! This week’s co-host is Pickles from Purrfectly Pickles who came up with the last two statements! I REALLY NEED CO-HOSTS, after so many weeks I am running out of statements!
I would LOVE it if you could please help me spread the word about this hop…. So, please tweet, FaceBook share, and add the linky to your post…
This week’s statements:
1. I can really use ________ right now.
2. I like to ___ my _____
3. The color of the sky right now is ______
4. I get annoyed _____ because of ________
My Answers:
1. I can really use SOME CO-HOSTS AND FILL IN THE BLANK STATEMENTS right now.
2. I like to POLISH my NAILS BRIGHT HAPPY COLORS
3. The color of the sky right now is GRAY AND GLOOMY – THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF RAIN…
4. I get annoyed AND FRUSTRATED EASILY because of SO MANY THINGS….
Please add the Follow Friday button to your post, or your blog.
Please follow me. Since Google Friend connect is gone, please follow through networked blogs, Facebook fan page or by email….If there is a co-host, please follow them as well. Leave a comment! I will follow back!
Please link your Follow Friday Four Fill-In Fun post to the linky below. PLEASE grab the linky and post on your blog…
If you tweet, please use #F5-bloghop so I can find you…
May 11 2013
Time May Change Me – Changing Times
The view out of my window was always a sense of enjoyment and beauty. Sadly, I took it for granted….
Even when a massive Hurricane was predicted. I took for granted the beauty would remain…. Sure the beach looked different. I didn’t know that literally it was the calm before the storm…
The day before Hurricane Sandy struck…
We evacuated our home the next day after our power was cut off at 7:30 AM and we new flooding was a definite outcome. We didn’t anticipate the storm being as bad as it was…. Until of course the home we evacuated to filled with water. Coming into our home, seeing ocean water inside was devastating. As was looking out of the bedroom window and instead of seeing the beauty seeing this…
taken 10/30/12 – right after we returned home – on of the few photos we have
It has been a long road ever since that day…. Not only repairing and rebuilding our home but repairing and rebuilding the beach community where we live. A community that was destroyed….
But despite the destruction, there was still beauty….
But people are strong, tough and resilient… we learned how strong we are… and we learned how strong our neighbors are. We all worked together….
Slowly but surely, we are getting there….
And I know that soon, once again, our beach community and home will be just as beautiful as it once was…. Actually, it will be more beautiful, because never again will I or my neighbors take it for granted… We know now how precious it is and how quickly mother nature can take our beauty away….
Lucy, was born after the storm… She knows nothing of it, and for that I am thankful. But you never know what tomorrow brings, and today is Animal Disaster Preparedness Day. Please check out my friend, Caren’s blog, where I guest posted about my experience with Hurricane Sandy.
May 09 2013
FOLLOW FRIDAY FOUR FILL IN FUN BLOG HOP – WEEK 111
Welcome to the 111th weekly Follow Friday Four Fill-in Fun Blog Hop!
Each week, I plan on listing four statements with a blank for you to fill in on your own blogs. If you want to join the fun and come up with four fill in’s of your own, please email them to me at Hilary(at)feelingbeachie(dot)com. If I use them, I will add you as co-host to the hop! This week’s co-host is UTLEY from UTLEY’S TAKE– He came up with the last two statements!
I would LOVE it if you could please help me spread the word about this hop…. So, please tweet, FaceBook share, and add the linky to your post…
This week’s statements:
1. If ___ then____
2. ____ is my ___ of the ____
3. Once, I was surprised to find myself __________________.
4. To keep from going crazy, I _________.
My Answers:
1. If I WAKE UP EXTRA EARLY AND then FALL BACK TO SLEEP I ALWAYS FEEL A LITTLE OFF
2. THE EARLY MORNING is my ONLY TIME of the DAY TO BLOG
3. Once, I was surprised to find myself LOST DRIVING HOME FROM WORK (I HATE ROADWORK, ROAD CLOSURES AND STUBBORN GPS SYSTEMS
4. To keep from going crazy, I DRIVE EVERYONE ELSE CRAZY FIRST
Please add the Follow Friday button to your post, or your blog.
Please follow me. Since Google Friend connect is gone, please follow through networked blogs, Facebook fan page or by email….If there is a co-host, please follow them as well. Leave a comment! I will follow back!
Please link your Follow Friday Four Fill-In Fun post to the linky below. PLEASE grab the linky and post on your blog…
If you tweet, please use #F5-bloghop so I can find you…
May 06 2013
Can I take your order?
I love to people watch, because their actions always surprise me…
My husband, Marc, and I were sitting in our favorite Italian restaurant. Right after we put in our dinner order, another regular couple entered the restaurant. This particular restaurant is small and quaint, has a very friendly owner and staff, and tends to be frequented by the same patrons week after week.
Marc and I were sitting, sipping our wine, and chatting as this couple, who was adjacent to us, placed their dinner order. Moments later, the busboy exited the kitchen carrying two salad plates, which he brought to the other couple. Marc turned to me and said, “I bet you those are our salads.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I answered. “I am sure they will tell him.” But, they didn’t. They let the busboy place them in front of them. The picked up their forks and started rummaging through the dry greens that now sat in front of them.
“Is this mesclun?” I heard the woman ask her husband as she tentatively took a bite. He shrugged his shoulders in reply as he poked around his plate. The salad we ordered was tailored to our taste – mesclun greens, shaved parmesan, and candied walnuts with dressing on the side.
“Guess you are wrong,” Marc stated as we watched them pick at their plates.
The waiter glanced at the two tables and spotted the busboy’s error. “You brought the salad to the wrong table,” he scolded in a hushed whisper, and then walked over to our table to express his apology.
“Don’t worry about it,” Marc told him. “I saw him do it. Mistakes happen, but why didn’t they say something and save you guys the effort of having to make another salad. They know salad doesn’t come with dinner, especially the kind we concocted. I bet you they won’t even eat the salad. It is just such a waste.”
And sure enough, seconds after Marc uttered those words the couple pushed the uneaten salad away from them into the center of the table.
If you were in a restaurant, and the waiter brought you over something you knew you didn’t order, would you say something or just accept it? After year of waiting tables, I know what I would do…
May 04 2013
To Katie, With Love – book review
Who hasn’t been there? Who hasn’t been afraid to open there heart to love? And who hasn’t found it easier to satisfy their need for romance with a character in a book or a movie than with a real live person?
Katie James had the perfect plan protect her heart. She was going to stay home, with her imaginary cat, and read (and re-read) the worn out pages of her favorite romance novels. The sexy vampire was all she needed! However, her co-workers had different ideas. They weren’t going to let Katie celebrate her 29th birthday with a book. They made Katie abandon her typical banker attire and dressed her to the nines. All the while, they were plying her with celebratory drinks.
As Katie belted her heart out singing karaoke an unexpected man entered the bar, one of her biggest clients, Cooper Maxwell. Except tonight he looked different. He reminded Katie of the sexy lead character in her favorite book series.
Katie didn’t have too much time to analysis the change in Cooper’s appearance because all the alcohol caught up with her. So much so she found herself waking up in Cooper’s bed!
And in what seemed like a blink of the eye, Katie and Cooper became an instant item. There was only one problem. Cooper was keeping secrets, and they were dangerous ones…..
Erica Lucke Dean, weaves a hard to put down tale of dating, romance, friendships, and suspense. The cast of characters are amazing, all with unique and strong personalities. I couldn’t help falling in love with Katie. It may have something to do with the fact that she is so genuine and almost as klutzy as me. I also couldn’t help loving to hate others, like Katie’s mom. She was one “special” lady alright! But my favorite part was learning Cooper’s secret…. I usually am good with guessing what the secrets are – but not this time. Erica really got me good, and I loved it!
I was featured on Katie Couric’s website
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