Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The Tender Bar

Just finished another one of the books I listed on the Spring Reading Thing at Callapidder Days!

The Tender Bar is a memoir by J.R. Moehringer. His life trying to "make it" as a writer was definitely tumulus. The son of an absent, alcoholic father who almost killed his mother shares his experiences living in a dysfunctional household with his mom, grandparents, aunt and cousins.

J. R.'s mom (although he does not recognize it at the time) seems to be the only one who has the courage and staying power to move away after a few failed attempts and start anew. He ends up being raised in a local bar where his uncle works. The book gets a little drawn out and long for me in some places. Like when Uncle Charlie describes some of his "adventures" regarding baseball games and racetrack bets, I begun to skim a little! That is most likely because I do not need play by play of the games, etc!!!

The bartenders and regular customers at the bar draw you in with their life stores and struggles. Truly a family, even if not by blood!!! I highly recommend this book, especially for book clubs. Great life lessons, true survival and great love. Moehringer is a Pulitzer Prize winner and national correspondent for the LA Times. Check out more reviews here!

Friday, May 23, 2008

What's in your Car?

This is a hoot!!! Shannon over at Rocks in my Dryer talked about cleaning her car out and what all she found in it. She got so many comments that she set up a Mr. Linky and asked people to share. I LOVE the picture she found and offered to share. I cleaned out my car just for this post! Amazingly, I cleaned my car out about 2 weeks ago, so it's not as bad as it could have been. Not nearly as bad as the blog post a friend of mine did and I left a comment about what was in my purse at the time. YIKES!!! My list is below the pic.

In my car there was/were . . .
  1. Three sheets of tightly rolled up blank notebook paper???
  2. List of paint colors from a dream house I visited
  3. The receipt from where we bought our new floor
  4. 2 doctors office checkout bills
  5. Directions to someone's house
  6. A sticky note reminding me to go to Kroger and pick up a prescription
  7. A sale flyer from Lifeway Christian Book Stores
  8. Kappa Delta Pi magazine
  9. Mapquest directions to someones house in Atlanta
  10. Expired Kohl's coupon
  11. Deposit slip
  12. American Idol kid's meal toy
  13. Starbucks receipt with gum rolled up in it
  14. Wadded up kleenex
  15. Some sticker that got hot and got sticky stuff in my cup holder
  16. Cracker Barrel receipt
  17. Boston fern hang tag
  18. Water bottle wrapper
  19. 1/2 eaten roll of Rolaids
  20. 3 sticky note reminders, sticky gone, lying on the floor
  21. Toothpick (not used)
  22. Empty Tylenol Sinus Congestion and Pain package
  23. Binder clip
  24. Something wrapped up in a paper towel (did not unwrap!!!)
  25. Chili's receipt
  26. Eyeliner pencil
  27. Bandaid wrapper
  28. Mate to an earring I thought I'd lost (see how important blogging can be?)
  29. An "O" ring from a keychain
  30. 5 quarters and 40 pennies
  31. Some Jamaican money from our mission trip 2 years ago
  32. A pencil
  33. Lots of leaves and dirt
  34. and. . . 21 gum wrappers!!!!!
That's it! I DID not open the trunk ~ can only do so much at one time.
Check out what others have in their cars at the Mr. Linky at Rocks in my Dryer!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

SISTERCHICKS YA'LL!

Calling all sisterchicks!!! I AM SOOOOO EXCITED. The new Sisterchick novel by Robin Jones Gunn is out ~ Sisterchicks go Brit! These books are some of my absolute favorites. I began reading them with the first release and our bible study even did a special book review and "chick" party and sent the results to Robin.

Check out the Sisterchick website and Robin Jones Gunn website as well!!! These books are great and I highly recommend them!!!!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

A meme and a question!!!

Found this on Katrina's site, Callapidder Days, who found it on Elle's site who found it on Toddled Dredge!!!! You get the picture. There are some more links at Callapidder Days to see what creeps people out. Would love to know yours. Either leave a comment, or list them on your site and leave a link in to it!

Six things that Creep me Out!!!

1. Well, after looking at them ~ BIKINI JEANS ~ OH MY!!

2. Belly buttons ~ touching mine, having mine touched. Just typing this gives me the heebie-jeebies

3. Men with long fingernails/toenails (I noticed Elle agrees)

4. Flying bugs and crickets. Grew up in Dallas, TX where we had beetles that I called "junebugs" ~ I hated them. Had long hair and they would fly up under it on my neck. My brother used to torture me with them as well, so that probably has a LOT to do with it. Crickets because you can't catch them to get them out ~ jumpin' everywhere!!

5. Slimy things ~ especially the slimey buildup on the shower curtain liner. I probably clean or throw way more shower curtain liners than most!

6. Men in speedos!

I'm sure many more things creep me out ~ but there are a few ~ consider yourself officially tagged!!!

I also have a question ~ got this beautiful plant from a co-worker
today as a gift a and neither of us know that it is ~ she just liked it.
Does anyone out there know what it is????? click on pic for large view

Sunday, May 18, 2008

1st To Die

I'm working my way through my list posted for Callapidder Days Spring Reading Thing. First (1st) to Die is the first in the Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson. There are a total of 7 at this point and even a show on ABC.

I don't read a LOT of James Patterson, but have read some lately and am becoming a fan. I also just finished listening to Pop Goes the Weasel, a popular Alex Cross novel, also by Patterson. I seem to like books that follow a central character.

The Women's Murder Club is born in this novel. Through friendship, a shared drive to succeed and a desire for justice, a group of four professional women team up, almost by accident, and work outside the confines of their respected venues to find serial killer. Although some of the plots lines are predictable, there was always an unexpected twist! This is a good read and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one, 2nd Chance.

Find lots of book reviews at Callapidder Days Book reviews!

HAPPY READING!!!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

A new do!!!

Well kinda! We gotta new floor. We've been in our house for a little over 20 years and the vinyl floor was really nice then ~ but it had become worn and nasty and ~ well, you know ~ old. We have some touch ups to do with the doors, etc. ~ but here's a look see!!! click for bigger image

The flooring had to sit in the kitchen for a
few days to "acclimate" to our house!


Before (don't judge the filth)

Old floor


Before the installers came!


I had forgotten about the original paper we put
up ~ it was still behind the fridge

Original


What we've had up about 6 yrs


New floor!!!!!




Coming Soon ~ NEW COUNTERTOPS!!!
SILESTONE!!!!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

HAIR!!!

A very good friend of mine comes over occasionally to get a rinse put on her hair (and yes, she could do this herself at home, but where would the fun be in that???). Last night she called and asked if Yolanda's, or something like that would be open for business this weekend. I asked her where she got that name and we began to wonder what I ought to call my kitchen table hair coloring chair.

Some of the choices ~ Bitsy's Beauty Boutique, Bitsy's Bodacious Babes, Bitsy's Bitties - (gotta cover the gray you know). My favorite salon name in our little town is Curl Up and Dye! I think that is priceless. It's probably a chain and I don't know it!!!!

So, she is headed over tonight after putting her girls down and getting her gray covered. NOW, when I say gray, I mean just a few strands. She is younger than I and has just begun to gray.

Me, on the other hand ~ began to gray at 18. I have LOTS of gray and get mine covered every 5 weeks. I go to a real salon and get permanent color. Apparently, my hair has had a growth spurt. I accused hubby of putting fertilizer on it along with the grass!!! I could provide some serious solar energy reflection with my roots right now. WHAT HAPPENED, IT'S ONLY BEEN 3 WEEKS???" I screamed as I pulled it back this morning. I cannot BELIEVE how gray I am getting. Getting old is he#@*& ~ I'm just tellin' ya.

Anybody out there got any good tips on covering gray??? Ceasing aging???? Helping with the soreness this old body feels tonight from scrubbing/cleaning all the outdoor furniture today??? GEEZ!

As my friend and I ended our conversation, she thanked me and called me her BFF! I know that was sweet, but in my present state of mind ~ BIG FAT FRIEND is what I think it means now!!!! I'm going to get hubby to bring in the lift to get me off this couch, take some medicine for my achy bones, prepare to color my friend's hair, and find a hat to wear to church tomorrow!!!!!!!! love ya'll

Spring Reading Thing Update!

Over at Callapidder Days bloggers are in the middle of the exciting Spring Reading Thing 2008. Over 300 book reviews have been posted and it's a blast to read all of them and find out about new books to read. I need to update my list a little as I've read some that were not on my original list along the way and have decided against reading a couple of them at this time. I was planning on reading Nineteen Days by Jodi Picoult and will eventually, just not now. Also, Having A Mary Heart in a Martha World might be a bible study this fall, so I am putting that on hold as well.

One of the books I've read is by one of my favorite authors, Diane Mott Davidson. There are 14 books featuring Goldy, a Colorado caterer and crime solver! The books are great and the featured food and recipes are wonderful!!! Sometimes the books are referred to as the Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery Series. Each one is stand alone, but you begin to get close to Goldy, her husband and her son. Not to mention her zany friends and neighbors. Her very first Goldy book, Dying for Chocolate, is the one I just finished. I've read several of the newer ones, but this one explained a lot about Goldy's life. I promise it's worth your time to check some of these out. You will want to read them all!!! Check out Diane's website by clicking on her name above.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Bulls Island

I am a great fan of Dorethea Benton Frank and even met her in Atlanta with my book club. Friends call her Dottie! This book was a good read, although not her best. The story of lifelong love, small town politics, family dynamics, and secrets abound. The main character moves away after a tragedy, leaving her fiance (who's baby she happens to be carrying) and his controlling mother.
The book is choppy in places and when some of the secrets are revealed ~ there is little or no drama or excitement it seems from the characters. I was a little disappointed, but will continue to faithfully read her work!!! B- If you've not read some of her others, I HIGHLY recommend them to you!!