Reading "Night Road" and a Giveaway

I have long been a fan of author Kristin Hannah who has published eighteen novels prior to "Night Road," which is due out on March 29, 2011. As a member of LibraryThing.com, I was fortunate to be selected by St. Martin's Press to receive an Advance Readers' Edition of "Night Road" for review.

The story is about a well-to-do, close-knit family of four in Washington state: Jude Farraday, her husband Miles, and twins Zach and Mia who are just entering high school. Jude is a very involved and protective mother which, of course, horrifies her kids while showing them how much she loves them.

Another central character is Lexi Baill, a new girl at school who was sent to live with her great aunt after her mother died. Lexi becomes best friends with Mia and, eventually, Zach's girlfriend, and the Farradays become her extended family. Life rolls along nicely until it comes time to select colleges. The Farraday kids have to decide which 4-year college to choose, while Lexi will be lucky to afford community college. Graduation draws near as well as the time when Lexi and Zach will be separating to attend college, tempers flare, passions heat up and a horrifying life-changing event occurs.

The Farraday family is broken and the community is in an uproar. Charges are filed, a trial is held and things go from bad to worse. This is an emotional book, full of real life situations that make you just want to lock your kids up to protect them from all the bad things that could happen to them and the mistakes they could make.

Kristin Hannah

I actually received and read this book a few months ago so I'm behind in reviewing it. I did like the book, although it was a little hard for me to read at the time since it deals with death and how different people cope with it. We had recently lost a neighbor and a family member so reading "Night Road" hit very close to home and made me realize even more how devastating such losses can be to those left behind.

However, I thought "Night Road" was well-written and a good read and I'm going to share the wealth. If you would be interested in receiving my advance readers' copy, just leave one comment - including your email address - and I will draw a winner on Friday, April 1, 2011, that I will mail it to. I will contact the winner by email to get their mailing address (for U.S. entrants only).

Thanks to LibraryThing.com and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review "Night Road" and thank you and good luck to everyone who visits my blog and leaves a comment.

CSN Stores Giveaway

CSN Stores has very generously offered another giveaway through my blog. The lucky (U.S. or Canadian) winner will receive a $30.00 gift code to purchase anything their little heart desires from any of the over 200 online stores that feature lights, furniture, items for the kitchen, bed and bath, patio, and more!

Here are a few pretties to whet your appetite ...

With Spring right around the corner, you can get something wonderful for your Easter dinner table or think ahead to a special gift for Mother's Day.

I've been fortunate enough to win two of these CSN Stores gift codes, the first through One Crazy Cookie and I got myself some gorgeous Emile Henry baking dishes from France ...

The second from La Esquina de la Estrellita and I got a new Proctor Silex toaster and a beautiful cobalt blue utensil holder ...

I just loves me some new kitchen stuff!

So let's make this simple. Please leave just one comment and include your email address so I can reach you if you win. Once I have drawn the winner, I will email you with the gift code so you can spend your $30 winnings at CSN Stores in any one of their wonderful online stores.

Here's a tip ... look for the items with FREE SHIPPING. It makes your gift code go a lot further.

This giveaway will end at Midnight, Mountain Standard Time, on Saturday, March 12th, and I'll post the winner as soon as I can thereafter. Sorry, this is for U.S. or Canadian citizens only.

Good Luck!

Wordless Wednesday - Gates

For more Wordless Wednesday photos, click here.


If you haven't entered my giveaway for a $65.00 CSNStores.com Gift Certificate, click here now. The contest ends Sunday night and the winner will be doing some shopping next week!

Christmas Knitting and Other Stuff

"I hate it when my balls get caught in my slippers!"

Yes, I actually said that this morning and, as usual, Hubby just gave me a look and rolled his eyes. Because I was talking about these slippers ...

With the pom-poms on top and sometimes when I take them off, one of those pesky pom-poms will flop down inside the slipper and get caught so I can't just slip them on ...

I had a pair of these slippers in cheetah print a few years ago and wore them out until all that was left were the pom-poms. The Granddaughter and I cut the pom-poms off and pinned them to Hubby's slippers on top, then left them for him to find. Wish I had a picture, but I can tell you we all laughed ourselves silly at his "man slippers" with the cheetah balls on top. Ahhhh, good times!

I've been doing a little sewing and embroidery lately. YD requested some elasticized reversible headbands that she can pin a fabric rose on. I made up a pattern -- here is my first attempt -- but she thinks it's too wide so I'll revamp it and make another ...

I also made a cute teacup pincushion for my mom as a teeny tiny thank you for the embroidery machine she sent me this summer. Better late than never. Front ...

Back ...

The Granddaughter saw this and requested one with her name embroidered on it instead of the teacup. She'd like to hang it in her room or on her door. Love the idea. Wouldn't these be cute for doorknob hangers to remind people that a baby is sleeping behind that door?

And I've been knitting up a storm. I just realized that we are less than 8 weeks from Christmas so it's time to go full speed ahead on gifts. Here's a sneak peek ...

YD has been spending some time in a nearby town where it gets much colder than Phoenix so I made her a hat with sunflower buttons ...

I modified the original pattern to make an overlapping button band ...

Here's the top view ...

If you haven't entered my giveaway for a $65.00 CSNStores.com Gift Certificate, click here now. The contest ends Sunday night and the winner will be doing some shopping next week!

CSN Stores Giveaway - Woo Hoo!

Good grief, it's November! With the holidays just around the corner, a giveaway from the awesome and extremely generous folks over at CSNStores.com is just the thing to make you feel festive. And a $65.00 Gift Certificate would put something very pretty on your Thanksgiving table or become a nice gift for someone special on your Christmas list. CSN Stores has over 200 online stores and you don't even have to comb your hair or get out of your comfy jammies to go shopping! They have everything your heart desires from wardrobes to cookware to tableware to small appliances. *sigh* It's a beautiful thing!

While you can certainly apply it to more expensive items, here are a few fabulous things you can get for $65.00 ...

Since I know you're going to want in on this giveaway, here are the details ...

• You must be a jayayceeblog follower.
• You must visit CSNStores.com, do a little window shopping and leave me one comment about what you might like to get with the $65.00 Gift Certificate. Please include your email address in your comment in order to be eligible.
• This giveaway is for U.S. residents only.

A note about shipping: shipping costs will also be deducted from the $65.00 Gift Certificate, although there are many items that include Free Shipping so watch for that as you're shopping. Makes the money go a little further. =D

That's it! The sooner the winner can shop, the better, right? So I'll close the contest at midnight on Sunday, November 7th (MST) and announce the winner in a post within a day or two.

Thanks much to CSN Stores!!!

What Has Blue Done For Me Lately?

About a week ago, I got in a snit about the blue stuff I've ordered recently that has been backordered. Here's the update ...

After I canceled my camera order with RitzCamera.com and placed it instead with 17th Street Photo through Amazon, I received it within a week. And when I emailed them asking for tracking information, they responded right away. Giant smoochy kudos to 17th Street Photo. And one more thing -- when I purchased the pink camera from Target originally, it came to $153 with tax. When I ordered the exact same camera through 17th Street Photo, I paid $118.00, no tax or shipping, so I saved $35. I adore my little blue Nikon Coolpix S3000 ...

Now, about the blue casserole dish I ordered through CSNStores.com. Once I got over the disappointment of not getting the Le Creuset dish that I wanted (because I was not willing to wait until December or later to get it), I worked with a truly wonderful customer service agent named Aubrey at CSNStores, who helped me change my order to the Emile Henry casserole dishes instead. They also arrived within a week. The total on the order was $71.90 and I had a $60 gift card (that I won through One Crazy Cookie), so I paid $11.90.

These dishes are gorgeous -- heavy and beautifully made.

And even though they're not Le Creuset, they're handmade in France. Check out the stamp on the bottom of the dish ...

There is French on the labels -- poterie culinaire -- which makes me feel like a better cook and I haven't even used them yet. Magnifique!

And best of all, I've been contacted by CSNStores.com to offer a giveaway. Stay tuned, because as soon as I receive the details on how this works, you will have the chance to receive your own lovely things, blue or not, from CSNStores.