A Right Of Passage

A right of passage. I guess most rights of passages are good as they show growth in the person or persons. My daughter officially has a boyfriend. Whether she wants to admit it or not is up to her but they talk every day even now as she is on vacation at my parents home. It will be interesting to see if he comes over like that Saturday or Monday after she gets back from Michigan. I am sure they are both chomping at the bit to see one another.

I guess my right of passage is many fold. The biggest thing is this time when my daughter went to Michigan. I hugged her and kissed her as she went to go through security at the airport and we turned around and left immediately to do a few things in San Antonio before heading back to Beeville and our home. I usually talk to Emily like once a day for a few minutes. Just basically to find out what she is doing. My whole problem with this whole thing is getting bored. I have been okay since Jeff has been working days this weekend but on Tuesday he will be working his three nights and then Emily will be home Friday afternoon. I think I will be bored then but I have lots to watch including my Medium DVD the first season.

I guess my other right of passage is learning about what a friend is and isn’t and I have learned that the hard way. I cannot even count on my hand the Internet friends I have stuck with. One and it is just because she is an older woman. Could be my Mom and is a member of the church. She doesn’t require anything of me like a lot of my Internet friends have in the past. I have had other Internet friends in which we have moved on. I can only think of three Internet friends two being Marie Doll Friends who left me wanting to be their friends but knowing the relationships were very dysfunctional and not a true friendship at all. I left the MDF’s because of them and then have come back incognito but I think I was found out as one of the moderators mentioned my real name. I don’t know if it was a slip or if it was a foce of habit. It is good to be back and to see all the new dolls Marie is doing even though I could see them without being apart of the forum. There are some that I miss there and I am glad to be back amongst the informed LOL!!!

I am thankful for my true friends and I will gladly name, names Stacey Beaudreau and Gill Armstrong and Maarit Kaukonen & Teri Rodeman and some other friends who are friends but were not extremely close but I can count on them to always be there for me even though we are not in constant contact.

Well I will be blogging on and off this summer. We will be going to Utah at the end of July for two weeks and then home again and then Emily starts her junior year of high school. So scary. She is almost graduated. Time seemed to go slow when she was young but it has sped up since her becoming a teenager. I think I can live when she goes to college even though she has expressed wanting to stay home and not go to college for a year but she knows in order to use her scholarships which we will be applying for this year. She will have to go straight into college. She is talking about going to Jeff and mines Alma marter Texas A & M University~Kingsville. We’ll see if that really happens. She will be able to attend the church’s institute or religion there and be apart of our old ward. So there are advantages…We shall see what we shall see.

Well I am not going to review books this summer and read what I want. I want to finish The Da Vinci Code. It is a fairly simple read and I may read Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon’s book about his son Garrett who committed suicide even after serving a mission in England for our church. It looks like a simple read as well as I plan to read Brenda Novak’s books as well as finish Jewel’s book. That is the only one I will review this summer. The rest I will start reading and reviewing come September when school starts again.


Well Jeff is home from work and I am off to go take care of him. Will catch you all here and there throughout the summer.

Happy Reading!!

Life's Lesson

Well I have goofed around long enough. I am going to go back to blogging once again. As I sit here my daughter who is sixteen is on her first official date with a boy. Well a boy she likes. His name is Michael Scott and he is a member of the church from Victoria, Texas. He is a senior this year. So I have a feeling I will be getting a prom dress a year early this year as it is likely he will ask her to his prom.

I started The Da Vinci Code but have since decided to just wait for it to come out on pay per view. I basically know the premises of the story. The only think that hasn’t been debunked of his novel is Christ may have been married but that isn’t so far fetched, as marriage and family are paramount in our beliefs. It is debatable if that was part of Christ mission while on earth. I think the other things He did were more important than Christ getting married and having children. That can be taken care of in the hereafter. I think I have seen way too much about this book that reading it is like going through a review of it over again. I think I could take a test and pass it with flying colors. I love the book but Memoirs Of A Geisha is by far my most favorite books and movies of all time. The Da Vinci Code is definitely a great mystery/thriller. I will eventually finish reading it. For now I am going to get back to reading and reviewing the other books I have on hand.

Well I am almost done with Jewel’s book. It is a bit sad now. I just realized the main character is black. At the beginning it is not that evident as to the race. I find it kind of inspiring what is going on with this character. It kind of reminds me of what happened about a month ago. With the whole misunderstanding about race I experienced. As her character seems to be struggling with the same issues I was. Being I don’t see people in terms of race at all. I love them for who they are. The prejudices of people are truly amazing in my book and it is throughout all races and ethnicities unfortunately. I don’t think we will ever get away from prejudices. It is part of the human make up I think. I really love and cherish this book. It is by far one of my favorite books that Jewel has written. This is definitely a must read in my book. This is not a review. Just my thoughts.

Once I am done with Jewel’s book. I am going to read Christina Sagnimeni’s summer in Exile and Dianne Crabtree’s Chocolate Therapy…. I could use some chocolate right now. I plan to add more books to my reading. Even some of Brenda’s. I just got Lynn Gardner’s Jewel series. All ten books. I plan to read them as well as some of Betsy Green and Jennie Hansen’s books. I will be reviewing a lot of the books I have on hand.

I will be eventually making some more changes to my website but just giving Marnie and myself a break this summer. I will work on my website more this in the fall.

Well, I am off to go chill out and read more of Jewel’s book. I am kind of sad I will soon be done with it but the story is so inspiring. Jewel has truly found her calling in writing about interracial relationships. She truly knows how it feels and she speaks to the subject of racism very well. She articulates her feelings on the subject very well. She is a truly gifted writer and I truly see her going national in her writing. She can do it.

Will write more next week.

Happy Reading!!!!

The Days Seem To Be Melting Together For Me, Yikes!!!

The days seem to be melting together now that summer vacation is here. My daughter is off on one of her many adventures this summer. She is at three days of Youth Conference that our Church puts on every year. She has been gone since 9:15am this morning. Now it is just Katy and I while Jeff is at work. Tomorrow he starts his 7 days off but he has to go into work tomorrow and Tuesday for a meeting and training. He gets paid overtime so I wont complain.

I am trying to make huge headway on Jewel’s book today, by Monday I want to be writing my book review and then onto Christina’s book. I think I will throw in a few of Carol Lynn Pearson’s Fable books as they are short and try and get some of Lisa J. Peck’s books at least started so I can get some reviews done for her. I will eventually make it to all the LDS authors on my list. I live in hope. I think when I go to Utah I am going to take what I want to read and take a break for the time I am on vacation and then back to the grind when we get back August 9th. The list of LDS authors I want to do reviews on is long but I will eventually get everyone hit once with a review if not more if they are lucky.

I know Marnie is busy but I know she will eventually get the stuff up on my website and this blog that I want. She is one awesome lady. I am grateful to Marcia for getting us together.

Well, I am off to eat lunch and do my dishes and then I am going to hammer away at Jewel’s book, as I know I can get most of it read if not done maybe today if I put my mind to it.

Happy Reading!!!

It's The Middle Of The Week....

Well I am going to write this blog and post it whenever blogspot is back up. Today has been a lazy day for the most part even though I did wash clothes for my 16 year old who is going to Youth Conference for 3 days starting tomorrow. She will be home Saturday afternoon sometime.

We watched a movie on Pay-per-view today called Dreamer with Dakota Fanning, Kurt Russell & Elizabeth Shue. It was very good about a race house. Who broke her leg and was unable to have colt but ended up being a champion racehorse again after much care and retraining. It was a touching movie.

I don’t think I am going to get one ounce of reading done today. I will wait until tomorrow when Emily isn’t here. I hope to have a book review written by Monday providing all goes well this weekend.

I think I am going to start doing a couple books at a time when I read. So I can get some Deseret Book and Convenant books in between all my Cedar Fort books. I know I can do it if I put my mind to it.

Got word from my friend Brenda that my doll signed by Marie Osmond. It sold for $61.00 but the auction itself raised $62,706, which means she nearly doubled her money for Juvenile Diabetes this year. I am going to auction off another doll for her next year although it may not be signed by Marie. I need to get the box out of the attic and the COA and get this baby ready to be sent next week to her new owner. Brenda is a member of our church and writes for Harlequin/Mira. She is an awesome writer though her writing isn’t for everyone but she is a successful National Market writer. I have written one review for her and it is on her website as well as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. I will be doing another book review for her soon. Due to subject matter her reviews aren’t on my website. Here is a link to her website http://www.brendanovak.com

Happy Reading!!!

I Got Two Book Reviews Written...So All Is Good in My World

Well I got two book reviews written and posted on my website and elsewhere. So I am officially in the game again. I did book reviews on LDS author Carol Lynn Pearson’s The Model Mormon Mother’s Notebook, which is a fun, and inspirational read for LDS/Mormon Mothers of all ages. If you want to read the full review you must go to my website to read the review. I also did LDS author Lindsey Shumway’s book I Chose You that is another inspirational read and lets us all know child or adult we are all special and unique in our own ways and that our parents love us so.

Today I am going to tackle finishing LDS author Jewel Adams book Mercedes Mountain. It is getting better with each page I read. I cannot wait to write this review. Jewel has an amazing ability to connect with her readers. One definitely becomes the main character in the story. You are able to feel all the character is feeling. It is an amazing experience. One usually is only looking in from the outside when you’re reading the story but with Jewel you definitely become the character. I see Jewel reaching far beyond the LDS book market.

I plan to also start Christina Sagnimeni’s book Summer in Exile. Which is another LDS book title. I have ended up with two copies of the book and gave one to my daughter to read. It will be interesting to see what a 16 year old thinks. I also plan to sprinkle in some other LDS authors to get their books at least on the move. I would love to get several books read and reviewed before I go on vacation to Utah in July and go and spend a few days with Jewel and her family also.

I am interested in reading Josi Kilpack’s Unsung Lullaby. It is about a subject, which is close to my heart being my one, and only child is adopted. I will see about getting myself a copy soon. Maybe when I go to Utah and see Jewel.

All my reviews are posted on my website http://www.ldsfictionreaders.com

Happy Reading!!!

I Am Officially Back To Blogging

Well, I am officially starting my blog today. I plan to even get Jewel’s book read and reviewed this week as well as I plan to get Lindsey Shumway’s children’s book reviewed along with Carol Lynn Pearson’s The Model Mormon Mother’s Notebook reviewed today also.

I know Carol is tired of me gushing over her work but I so love her books. Her books speak to me and I am grateful for all the complimentary copies I have gotten from her personally as well as her publishers. I will get them all reviewed in a timely manner.

I plan to get all these reviews to the authors personally as well as I am storing them to be included in my first Newsletter that will come out in July. I hope to make it informative as well as fun to read. I plan to implement my recommended reading list to my newsletters each month and try and talk a little about each book for readers interest only and then whatever reviews I am able to get done that month. It will go that the June reviews will show up in July’s newsletter etc…I hope that makes sense.

I am glad I stepped away from this for a bit and have now started it up again. I feel I can be a clearer thinker and be objective in the reviews I do of the certain books I have read.

Well, I am going to go and get these two reviews done and sent to Lindsey and then work on getting Jewel’s book done and reviewed and then onto Christina’s book.

Happy Reading!!