Dads and Grads Books Giveaway Winners
The winners of the Dads and Grads Books Giveaway are Nigel Williamson, Lisa A, Dad of Divas, Sunnymay, and Mozi Esmes Mommy. I used a random number generator to select the winners. Special thanks to Hachette Book Group for sponsoring the giveaway. I will contact the winners for shipping info and then forward the information to Hachette Book Group.
Summer Beach Bag Books Giveaway
We have another giveaway offer from Hachette Book Group. This time, we’re giving away ten books. Five winners will each receive a set of all ten books in the giveaway. Just leave a comment to enter. The deadline is July 23rd. The giveaway is limited to US and Canadian residents. No PO Boxes please. Here are the books in the giveaway:
Obama’s BlackBerry by Kasper Hauser
When Obama stated that if elected, he would keep his Blackberry, debate echoed through Washington and among the ranks of the Secret Service. What would it be like to have a president who could Twitter, send text messages, and navigate the web with ease? What would it be like to receive a text message from inside the Oval Office and, most importantly, what would it say? Now, for the first time, We The People are privy to our new leader’s epistolary back-and-forths on his wily hand-held device. We’re about to discover that his emails (and the replies, from his wife and daughters, Biden, Palen, Rush, Hannity, the new first puppy, and even Bush) are so tuned in to the language of electronic correspondence they come hilariously close to the brink of legibility.
Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell
Julie Powell, nearing thirty and trapped in a dead-end secretarial job, resolves to reclaim her life by cooking in the span of a single year, every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child’s legendary Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her unexpected reward: not just a newfound respect for calves’ livers and aspic, but a new life — lived with gusto. The film version is written and directed by Nora Ephron and stars Amy Adams as Julie and Meryl Streep as Julia.
Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
A breathtakingly beautiful supermodel disappears from a swimsuit photo shoot at the most glamorous hotel in Hawaii. Only hours after she goes missing, Kim McDaniels’s parents receive a terrifying phone call. Fearing the worst, they board the first flight to Maui and begin the hunt for their daughter. Ex-cop Ben Hawkins, now a reporter for the L.A. Times, gets the McDaniels assignment. The ineptitude of the local police force defies belief — Ben has to start his own investigation for Kim McDaniels to have a prayer. And for Ben to have the story of his life.
The Secret Speech by Tom Smith
Soviet Union, 1956. Stalin is dead, and a violent regime is beginning to fracture — leaving behind a society where the police are the criminals, and the criminals are innocent. A secret speech composed by Stalin’s successor Khrushchev is distributed to the entire nation. Its message: Stalin was a tyrant. Its promise: The Soviet Union will change. Facing his own personal turmoil, former state security officer Leo Demidov is also struggling to change. The two young girls he and his wife Raisa adopted have yet to forgive him for his part in the death of their parents. They are not alone. Now that the truth is out, Leo, Raisa, and their family are in grave danger from someone consumed by the dark legacy of Leo’s past career. Someone transformed beyond recognition into the perfect model of vengeance.
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Trying to make coffee when the water is shut off, David considers using the water in a vase of flowers and his chain of associations takes him from the French countryside to a hilariously uncomfortable memory of buying drugs in a mobile home in rural North Carolina. In essay after essay, Sedaris proceeds from bizarre conundrums of daily life — having a lozenge fall from your mouth into the lap of a fellow passenger on a plane or armoring the windows with LP covers to protect the house from neurotic songbirds — to the most deeply resonant human truths.
Any Minute by Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford
Sarah Harper is driven to achieve success no matter what the cost. She wants to do good and not hurt the people she loves — especially children and her husband, Joe — but her desire to succeed in her career too often leaves little time for family. One cold, autumn afternoon, all of that changes when Sarah’s car plunges off a bridge and into a river. She is presumed dead by those on the “outside,” but Sarah’s spirit is still very much alive. What she discovers on the other side transforms everything about Sarah’s view of life — past, present, and future. When Sarah is revived, she is a changed woman. And the unsuspecting world around her will never be the same again.
The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer
In Chapter Four of the Bible, Cain kills Abel. It is the world’s most famous murder. But the Bible is silent about one key detail: the weapon Cain used to kill his brother. That weapon is still lost to history. In 1932, Mitchell Siegel was killed by three gunshots to his chest. While mourning, his son dreamed of a bulletproof man and created the world’s greatest hero: Superman. And like Cain’s murder weapon, the gun used in this unsolved murder has never been found. Until now. Today in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Cal Harper comes face-to-face with his family’s greatest secret: his long-lost father, who’s been shot with a gun that traces back to Mitchell Siegel’s 1932 murder. But before Cal can ask a single question, he and his father are attacked by a ruthless killer tattooed with the anicent markings of Cain. And so begins the chase for the world’s first murder weapon.
Kill for Me by Karen Rose
Five teenage girls have been murdered. One survived, and only she can reveal the secrets of a disturbing ring of people who kidnap and sell teenage girls on the black market. But those responsible for the crimes will do whatever it takes to maintain her silence. Susannah Vartanian and Luke Papadopoulos have both sworn to stop the murderers for their own reasons. Susannah suffers from a mysterious past that is connected to the sinister black market. Luke is an investigative agent and a computer expert who refuses to let another child predator get away. Susannah and Luke are instantly attracted to each other, but their troubled pasts prevent them from immediately acting upon their feelings. The case will lead them to the shady realm of Internet chat rooms, where anyone can mask their identity. As Susannah and Luke draw closer to the criminals, they discover a chain of deception so intricate they don’t know who to trust. Susannah and Luke find comfort in one another’s arms, but the killers are ruthless and determined, and will take extreme measures to insure their anonymity and keep their business intact.
A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand
Claire Danner Crispin, mother of four young children and nationally renowned glassblower, bites off more than she can chew when she agrees to co-chair the Nantucket’s Children Summer Gala. Claire is asked to chair the benefit, in part, because she is the former high school sweetheart of rock star Max West. Max agrees to play the gala and it looks like smooth sailing for Claire — until she promises a “museum-quality” piece of glass for the auction, offers her best friend the catering job, goes nose-to-nose with her Manhattan socialite co-chair, and begins a “good-hearted” affair with the charity’s Executive Director, Lockhart Dixon.
Miscarriage of Justice by Kip Gayden
Based on actual events, Anna Dotson is a passionate modern woman of the 1900s who finds herself stifled by the lingering outdated rules of Victorian society. When her every attempt to rekindle romance and affection with her husband — a prominent local doctor — fails, she finds herself turning to the friendship of Charlie Cobb, a new man in town. But as their relationship becomes more intimate, small town tongues start wagging, and their star crossed affair leads to a shocking public murder.
My Little Painter
When are kids old enough to be helpful? You parents out there know what I mean. Kids want to be helpful, but that usually means more work for us parents and the chore will take a lot longer to finish. Funny how little kids think chores are fun, but when they get older they hate chores and don’t want to do them. Back to my question, when are kids old enough to be helpful? Is it nine? Eighteen? Never?
I’m bringing this up because we painted the living room last week. As you can imagine, all four of our kids thought painting would be fun and wanted to help paint. Yes, even the little baby. Little Disney can’t talk yet, but he let us know he wanted to help by eyeing the paint roller and then crying every time we picked up the roller.
We decided to let the Little Princess “help” paint, but we said no to the other kids. With Spiderboy and the Little Monkey, there was a 200% probability they would “accidentally” paint each other. We didn’t think the Little Princess would be very helpful, but we wanted to give her the chance to prove us wrong. She didn’t. We had to repaint most of the sections she painted. Oh well. At least she didn’t lose a limb, paint the carpet, or knocked me off the 20′ ladder (note: a 16′ high living room is cool until you have to paint it, then it really sucks — sorta of like holding a baby when he has a diaper blow-out, but one hundred million nine times worst).
Energizer 15 Minute Charger Giveaway Winners
[Update: Anthony lives outside of the US and did not mean to enter the giveaway. He was only leaving a comment. The new winner is Danielle.]
The winners of the Energizer Rechargeable 15 Minute Charger Giveaway are Annalene and Anthony. I used a random number generator to select the winners. Special thanks to Energizer for sponsoring the giveaway.
Note: Amazon currently has the Energizer Rechargeable 15 Minute Charger on special for $23.49 (list price is $45.99).
Do As I Say
When I look at this photo, I see four cute kids. It’s my job to make sure they stay that way and not menace society when they grow up. Every day I’m forced to make decisions that will influence my kids for many years. Make a wrong decision and the kids start their journey to the Dark Side. So, what do you say when you’re eating ice cream and the kids ask if they could have that for breakfast too?
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