New opportunities await at the end of every road.
NaBloPoMo Friday, November 29, 2013
You’re almost done! Tell us how you feel about endings.
Some endings are sad and others are a relief. Many are unexpected and a few are long-anticipated. But overall, my attitude about endings is best summed up in the words of Semisonic’s “Closing Time“–every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.
Cooking, eating, cleaning, eating, shopping. There’ll be time for sleep tomorrow (maybe). Happy Thanksgiving!!
So thankful that my sisters-in-law and their families are here safely from Alabama and Massachusetts–it was not an easy drive for either of them. Thankful that the hubby and I are able to host a family Thanksgiving after five years overseas. Thankful that all the prep-work for tomorrow’s dinner for fourteen has gone smoothly. Thankful that the first snow/sleet mix of the season did not accumulate this afternoon, even though it did look mighty pretty while it fell. Thankful that I’m able to squeak this post in under the wire and not mess up my NaBloPoMo streak. 🙂
Hope y’all have as many blessings as I’ve got this Thanksgiving Eve. Happy Turkey Day!
NaBloPoMo Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Tell us about the last thing you hid.
Just this morning, I hid my roots.
Again.
Second time this month.
It’s a never ending battle. One that began twenty years ago. One that, out of sheer vanity, I’m not ready to concede.
My grandmother, the family member whose genetic patterns I seem to most closely follow, had absolutely gorgeous silver hair. Some day I’ll be proud to have hair as beautiful as hers.
But not today. Not at 41.
So until the time is right to lay down my coloring gloves and embrace the enemy, you’ll find me in front of the mirror every two to three weeks, armed with a bottle of 118.
NaBloPoMo Monday, November 25, 2013
Tell us about the last thing a person or advertisement convinced you to buy.
During my first stateside haircut in five years, my new stylist gunked up my freshly shampooed hair with four different leave-in products before she removed my plastic cape. She talked up the virtues of each in a slick, well-rehearsed QVC-type spiel as she combed, snipped, dried, and styled. I hate high pressure sales during an experience that is supposed to be relaxing, so I was ready to refuse them all on general principle.
Until she sprayed my wet locks with a product she claimed would cut my blow dry time in half. I was doubtful, though admittedly hopeful. Normally, by the time I finish blow drying my thick curly/wavy hair into some semblance of straightness, the under layers are curly and frizzy again because I’m sweating like a pig. It never seems to take as long for the stylist to dry my hair as it takes me at home, and I never leave the chair sweaty, so I wasn’t sure how I was going to accurately judge the effectiveness of the product.
However, she was still pushing all four products as I was moving toward the register, and as much out of hope for a true styling miracle potion as a desire to make her just stop talking, I muttered, none too enthusiastically, “Give me the blow dry stuff.” I returned home with a wallet $20 lighter and a determination to take the bottle back the next day if it didn’t live up to her ebullient promises.
Dang if the stuff doesn’t work. I’m not sure my blow dry time is cut precisely in half, but it is significantly reduced. To the point that I no longer need a second shower after I switch off the dryer. In fact, some days I can even skip the flat iron because I’m not so overheated that I stop concentrating on pulling the brush smoothly through each layer as I dry it. On those days, my overall styling time IS cut in half. A true miracle.
I’m due for a haircut in the next couple of weeks. I’m so impressed with this blow dry stuff that, while I’m at the salon, I’m actually considering buying a second bottle to keep in my gym bag. Because eventually I’m going to forget to pack it, and I’ll show up late for work, cranky because I’m overheated, sporting a head full of frizz and a blouse clinging wetly to my back. That’s never a good start to the day.
Many would argue that a familiar smell can stir up more memories than the most vivid photograph. But since it is exceptionally difficult to collect fragrances as mementos of one’s travels, taking a photo whose subject captures the source of the scent can be the next best thing.
Ailsa at Where’s my backpack? thinks so, too, and invited her followers to participate in her weekly photo challenge, Travel Theme: Fragrant.
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I just finished my second BookSneeze book, and I’m pleased to report I’m two for two in the quality book category! In exchange for an honest review, posted on my blog and at a consumer website like Amazon.com, BookSneeze will send me a free copy of any book I select from their publications. Both of the books I’ve selected to date have been fiction, but there are a variety of genres from which to choose.
If this sounds like a good deal to you, and you have a personal, public blog with a minimum of 30 followers to which you post at least once a week, you can apply to BookSneeze. Be aware, however, that “BookSneeze is a blogger review program owned and operated by HarperCollins Christian Publishing.” I missed the Christian part when I first signed up, and probably would not have joined had I known, simply because I don’t want to be preached at while reading a book for fun. That being said, neither of the novels I have chosen have had in-your-face religious themes, just characters with strong moral beliefs who aren’t afraid to occasionally look to a higher power for help.
Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
Samantha Moore has not had an easy life. As a child moving in and out of foster homes, Sam learned early not to rely on characters made of flesh and blood, instead choosing icons from classic literature as her friends. The lines she borrows from those characters may give her a voice to deal with uncomfortable situations, but they also prevent her from making social connections and achieving professional success. When she is fired from her first post-graduation job because of her inability to engage, Sam is forced to reconsider a grant opportunity she had passed up the previous spring. A mysterious benefactor, calling himself Mr. Knightley, offers her a full ride to the prestigious Medill School of Journalism, so long as she agrees to write him personal letters detailing her progress there.Â
Sam finds freedom in the letter-writing, revealing her heartaches from the past, her struggles in the present, and her hopes for the future. Anonymity allows her to bare her soul as she never has, analyze her weaknesses without criticism, and eventually trust that her own voice is just as powerful as the words she borrows from the characters in her favorite novels. Sam’s journey is not an easy one, and I found myself alternately wanting to shake her, cheer her, and comfort her.
I thoroughly enjoyed the letter format of Reay’s debut novel, although I admit to being skeptical at first about her ability to adequately develop supporting characters through one-way correspondence. The cast was well-rounded, the story was well-paced, and I was moved to tears on more than one occasion. I have not read all of the classics that are referenced in the story, but I did not find the frequent quotes from unknown literary characters to be any worse than getting stuck in the lunchroom with coworkers who are incessantly reciting lines from movies I’ve never seen. On the contrary, I’ve been inspired to download some of Sam’s reading list to my Kindle to fill my time as I anxiously await Katherine Reay’s next novel.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.Â
Things I See and Know 