A Blog GiveAway Too Good To Pass Up...

 Every so often there is a blog giveaway so great that you cannot pass it up.  There are too many giveaways to name.  Wonderful Moleskin journals and fantastic books to read.  The head of this operation is Tanya Parker Mills. An author who will be releasing her latest book A Night On Moon Hill.  We are all lucky recipients of such a blessing.

 Here is the back cover blurb for the newest Tanya Parker Mills release called 
A Night On Moon Hill
 
Back Cover Copy:
Swimming is Daphne’s one refuge–until the night she finds a body in her pool.
University professor and renowned author Daphne Lessing has never felt at ease in society. But a disturbing occurrence in her once calm and controlled existence suddenly unearths events from her past and thrusts an unusual child into her life.
Ten-year-old Eric has Asperger’s syndrome and is obsessed with fishing and angels. Soon, Daphne finds herself attached to him–and faced with a choice: Does she leave him and return to her solitary, ordered life, trusting others to do right by him, or does she allow this bright child to draw her into the world she has tried to shun? And what about the man that came into Daphne’s life with Eric? Will she be able to shut him out as well?

Sounds very interesting and if you get to Tanya Parker Mills blog/website-you can get your name in the blog giveaway too!!!  There are interesting interviews and lots of information. You will also find out what is being given away--besides this book.  Over 40 items to be given away!!!

 Click here to go to Tanya Parker Mills blog...

From Tayna.....
The contest will run from August 20th to September 24th (the day before my launch party). This being “Moleskine Monday,” prizes have to include Moleskine products, right? What writer doesn’t love Moleskine notebooks? What reader doesn’t love Moleskine journals in which to jot their favorite passages? And what artist doesn’t love Moleskine sketch notebooks?
Also, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I will feature an interview with an author who has donated their own fiction as a prize.

So join the fun and get your name on a few of the entries.....

New Children's Picture Books...

Tina Scott is the mother of 7 children.  She is a grandmother and a teacher.  She is also an author and an artist.  Her years of expertise with children qualifies her to write children's books.  Not only write but illustrate and share charming artwork to match her picture book stories.
Just hot off the presses and great Birthday and Christmas gifts check out Tina Scott's children's books.......

The first book is Coyote's Grand Adventure

  A delightful story about Coyote who wants to experience a grand adventure with Lizard, his friend. This takes place out in the deseret where Tina Scott lives and is very entertaining. 


Click here to purchase Coyote's Grand Adventure


The next book is When I Grow Up
     A wonderful story of children talking about what kind of job they would like to have when they grow up. Cute pictures depicting many different careers with rhyming words which children love. The illustrations are just wonderful and the story is uplifting and positive.

Click here to purchase When I Grow Up


The last book is called Faith Is
    This children's book is faith based for Christianity.  There are pictures of children planting a garden teaching the concept of Faith. You cannot see it but you can feel it and grow it.  A seed planted is the perfect lesson to help children understand faith.
The story along with the pictures help young children understand faith and how faith can help them in different situations.

Click here for purchasing Faith Is.....

 I love these children's books. They are written especially for young children to understand the world around them.  Check them out!!

Cucumbers, Cucumbers, Cucumbers!!!!!

This is from a fantastic email:

Who would have guessed cucumbers have so many uses?!

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
5. - Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6.. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

(But don't think guys should carry one in their pocket.)

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!    

10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.
  13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

Photo by David Castillo Dominici

Pass this along to everybody you know who is looking for better and safer ways to solve life's everyday problems.

A Comprehensive List Of Obama's Worst Executive Orders JUNE 15, 2012

This President of ours does not care about what our Constitution gives us.  He is no American and he ruining our beautiful country. This is taken from an article about what our President has done for our country......
 

"After the announcement by our President to give illegal aliens quasi citizenship by fiat, I looked into the executive orders he has issued in the last three and a half years.  I found this article in "Western Journalism" that scares the hell out of me and should frighten all of us.  Get out the vote in November folks!!!  This guy is dangerous...

 A Comprehensive List Of Obama's Worst Executive Orders

JUNE 15, 2012 BY LAURIE ROTH

There have been over 900 Executive Orders put forth from Obama, and he is not even through his first term yet.  He is creating a martial law 'Disney Land' of control covering everything imaginable.  Some of the executive orders he has signed recently have been exposed thanks to 'Friends of Conservative Action Alerts.'  They have compiled a choice list of 'Emergency Powers, Martial law executive orders':  Get your headache medication out while you still can without a prescription.

 * Executive Order 10990 allows the Government to take over all modes of transportation    and control of highways and seaports.

* Executive Order 10995 allows the government to seize and control the communication media.

* Executive Order 10997 allows the government to take over all electrical power, gas, petroleum, fuels, and minerals.

* Executive Order 11000 allows the government to mobilize civilians into work brigades under government supervision.

* Executive Order 11001 allows the government to take over all health education and welfare functions.

* Executive Order 11002 designates the Postmaster General to operate a national registration of all persons.

* Executive Order 11003 allows the government to take over all airports and aircraft, including commercial aircraft.

* Executive Order 11004 allows the Housing and Finance Authority to relocate and establish new locations for populations.

* Executive Order 11005 allows the government to take over railroads, inland waterways, and public storage facilities.

* Executive Order 11049 assigns emergency preparedness function to federal departments and agencies, consolidating 21 operative Executive Orders issues over a fifteen-year period.

* Executive Order 11051 specifies the responsibility of the Office of Emergency Planning and gives authorization to put all Executive Orders into effect in times of increased international tensions and economic or financial crisis.

* Executive Order 11310 grants authority to the Department of Justice to enforce the plans set out in Executive Orders, to institute Industrial support, to establish judicial and legislative liaison, to control all aliens, to operate penal and correctional institutions, and to advise and assist the President.

* Executive Order 11921 allows the Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency to develop plans to establish control over the mechanisms of production and distribution of energy sources, wages, salaries, credit, and the flow of money in U.S. financial institutions in any undefined national emergency. It also provides that when the president declares a state of emergency, Congress cannot review the action for six months.

It is more than clear that Obama is planning for the total control and takeover of America via Martial Law.  Food, energy, transportation, work, banking, and health. he has it covered.

While Obama is busy pulling executive orders out of the sky to control everything inside our country, he has been issuing executive orders to force us to submit to international regulations instead of our Constitution. 

Sher Zieve exposed this in one of her recent articles.  Damn the U.S. Constitution, damn the American people and damn U.S. sovereignty.
Click here for Sher Zieve's article 

*****We must send faxes, emails, and make calls to all congressman and demand they stop Obama's perverted, extreme, and Unconstitutional abuse of Executive Orders.  It is time to demand our elected leaders start protecting America, our sovereignty, and our Constitution.  So far, they seem to be protecting the Obama - Marxist takeover plans peppered with a little U.N. and Islam."

Yes!!! we should send faxes, emails and make calls to all of our national leaders and flood their communication to tell them we do not want those Executive orders on the record.  They need to be removed!!!  It is a perverted. extreme and UNCONSTITUTIONAL abuse of Executive Orders!!!!  Americans need to unite on this!!!!

My Published Books now Available on Kindle

This is an exciting day!!!  I converted all my published books to kindle including Jim's family research book as well.  My last published book will be added in a few days.  There was a kink in the cover conversion.


I feel as if I just jumped into the 21st Century even though I have been here already for 12 years. 


The covers are exactly the same as the published cover you see to the right----

Here are the links:

Home Is Where the Heart Is Link

Home Is Where the Learning Is Link

Of One Heart: Being Single in the LDS World link

Dogs, Blogs and Hobbits: Writings from a Widow's Perspective

Jim's book on family research---

Finding Your Family


Happy reading!!!

Happy Pioneer Day!!!!

This is such a cool picture!!! Pioneers in wagons coming into the Salt Lake Valley.  How cool is that!!!

Today is the anniversary of the Mormon Pioneers finding the Salt Lake Valley to settle.  July 24!!!

To all those who have ancestors who went many miles for freedoms to worship and live as they please...this day is a great celebration!!!

My grandparents did not cross the plains but they did cross the ocean to live in this great country!!!!

A Reputation as a "Prepper"

Over the last few months, I have been attending monthly meetings strangely called "Prepper" Meetings.  This new word has come about by those people across the nation who consider themselves prepared.  Like a boy scout, we want to be prepared for any emergency so we stock up on certain items which will help us when the electricity goes out, an horrendous storms comes by or in extreme emergency--the economy/government falls or worse an EMP strike occurs.

Prepper's have interesting reputations.  Some preppers are considered very extreme and some are just wanting to keep stocked up on food. Some are considered armed and dangerous because they are so paranoid--they think the sky will fall at any moment.  Others, like myself, are just wary of being caught without any food or water in an emergency and want to be prepared. We even keep chickens and have our own vegetable gardens.

We come in all shapes and sizes---all walks of life and religions.  It really is a fascinating phenomena. As our country struggles for a better economy and life, those of us who can read the "writing on the wall" will continue to prepare ourselves for the worst.

So each week look in your pantry and make a list of what you need to sustain yourself for three months. Make sure your first aid kit is up to date.  Stash away a few cases of bottled water just in case.  Many people set up rain catching barrels for a constant supply of water. If in your heart you feel the need to have other supplies on hand--go ahead and get them. All hygiene items are in need when an emergency strikes so go ahead and stock up. Better safe than sorry in a difficult situation. Have extra clothes and shoes on hand just in case you can't get them.  Even some items which make you happy are always good to stash away as it has a calming affect such as chocolate or games and toys.

Make a plan with your family in case you are separated when disaster strikes.  This will always save everyone a panic attack if you all agree where to meet or what to do if your family is separated.

I'm a big supporter of neighborhoods banning together for safety. It keeps panic at bay and everyone can help each other. Start a neighborhood prepper meeting and find out how everyone can contribute in an emergency.  I think those living in New Orleans wish they had done so before Katrina stuck.

Being a "Prepper" makes good sense because you never know what might happen when.

Second Best Document in our Nation: The Declaration of Independence

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

This is one of the most powerful pieces of writing you will ever read!!!  Remember what we have!!!

Good Advice From a Girl Name Mara

My daughter sent this to me in the form of two emails a while a go. They are called “Advice From Mara”.  I saw who Mara was on some website but I don’t know here personally.  She seems pretty level headed to me and she has come up with some very good advice.  Of course you didn’t hear it from me.  There were 28 entries of advice and I picked out 12 from that list. Any advise I give out to others is usually not believed or used so this is advise from Mara…….

1. If you are voluntarily spending an inordinate amount of your free time doing something, consider that something. Think about yourself at end of your life, looking back on all you have done. Will you want to remember yourself doing this something, or is there something else more worthwhile you could be doing? If there is, do that something else instead. (This is why I no longer argue with people on Internet forums.)

2. Don’t automatically assume you are right all the time. Let others correct you when you are wrong, and be gracious about it; welcome an opportunity to learn. Truth is more important than ego.

3. Sarcasm and snark are not substitutes for wit. Think of snark like salt: it can add flavor, but should be used sparingly. For every Dorothy Parker there are a million YouTube commentators.

4. Being offensive is also not a substitute for being funny. Yes, George Carlin said things that were offensive, but they were couched with brilliant observations and social commentary. You are probably not George Carlin. (If you are, hi, George! Everyone thinks you are dead.) (Actually George Carlin did pass away a few years ago.)

5. As a teacher of mine once said, “being famous is a bad goal.” I agree, for several reasons: first, very few people who want to be famous will ever reach the heights they have dreamed of. Andy Warhol was right when he said that “in the future [i.e., now] everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” It’s very easy to be temporarily famous these days, but that is not what most people hope for when they hope for fame. I doubt there is a point where you will be able to recognize that you are famous enough: more likely, you will never feel you are famous or successful enough. Or you will, but it will be fleeting.

In addition to that, fame alone does not bring happiness. In fact, it may be antithetical to happiness. Sure, you’re known by everyone, but more people knowing you also means more people detesting you. You will be under constant scrutiny. You’ll have no privacy. You’ll have no freedom. Enjoy doing what you want and having fun with your friends without being judged? Then you don’t want to be famous.

6.  Don’t say anything about someone on the Internet that you wouldn’t say to that person’s face is true: “be nice, the world is a small town.” It can and WILL get back to them. The Internet shouldn’t be just a bigger high school bathroom wall.

7.   Yes, it’s important to be honest, but some things do not need to be said. If you feel a compulsion to confess or tell something, ask yourself why. Is it solely to clear your own conscience or to make yourself feel better? In that case, tact should win out. Unless someone is in serious danger, keep it to yourself.

8. The next time you feel like flying into a fit of rage over one of life’s tiny injustices (described here as the Sneaky Hate Spiral), try saying to yourself, “You’re not really angry about this.” Chances are, you aren’t.

9.  There is something interesting in everything as long as you are willing to look for it. And often, it’s someone else that can show this to you. I thought fashion was frivolous until I lived with a fashion designer and saw just how much craftsmanship goes into each piece. I thought football was dull until someone told me to think of it like choreography. Allow yourself to be wowed.

10.   Unless you are in job interview, no one wants to hear about how smart you are.

11. A cynical attitude is like a callus: a layer of roughness formed in response to pressure, covering what was once raw and vulnerable. Recognize it for the defense mechanism that it is.

And last but not least….

12. Enjoy being alive. Please. Yes, sometimes life is miserable, but misery passes, and the mere fact that you able to experience misery and happiness and anything in-between at all is astounding. Seriously: you exist, and you are able to comprehend that you exist! How many creatures can do that?!  I honestly believe that life is the best thing going. Well, technically speaking, it’s the ONLY thing going, but still, appreciate it!! Take some time every day to remember that YOU ARE ALIVE.

So there you have it!!!! Twelve sensible words of advice for everyone!!! 

Musings on Motherhood

Cover

I know this is somewhat late in promoting. I was so tied up with a new job and my daughter's graduation--(homeschool parents are in charge of their own) that I could not properly promote this before Mother's Day.

So I thought that since Father's Day is coming up this would be a great gift for fathers as well because after all ---being a parent is being a parent and it might help fathers understand mothers better.

Susan Law Corpany has been through many trials and tribulations yet sees a lot of experiences through a funny sense of humor.  A cross between Erma Bombeck and Erma Bombeck.  Just a hoot and if you are having a crummy day it will be a much better one because of this book.

Musings on Motherhood is written by Susan Law Corpany who is a great writer friend and has a series of interesting novels about a widow---which I can relate to. Read this in either paper back or kindle version.

From the back cover:

Served alongside her breakfast in bed, this "momoir" will make any mother less inclined to notice the burnt toast, runny eggs and limp bacon. Warm and fuzzy like a pair of comfy slippers, but with a lollipop stuck to them. There is something here for anyone who has ever been a mother or had a mother.

So regardless of what holiday it is---buy this book.  It will do you some good!!!

Where to buy this wonderful book!!!!
  Or if you like the Kindle Version for 99 cents that is good too!


Another Great Review of Susan's Book!!!