Happy 11-11-11 day

I said that I would try to post something on 11-11-11. And I don't really have a lot of time today....So here it is....

 (ooh, apparently something is coming)

It's like TV but with Books!

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The site is called Big World Network .

This is a new site that will be launched tomorrow, November 9th that allows you either listen to or read a new chapter of a book released on a certain day of the week, for 12 weeks, just like a tv episode. The titles are all new and currently unpublished but range vastly in age level and genre.

I was given the opportunity to preview the site and read the first chapters of a few of the books being offered. And while some of them could use a little bit more polishing, they are pretty good. The site even gives a "rating guide" depicting at what age the story is appropriate for so you know if it's okay to listen with your kids around.

What also makes this site great is that they are always looking for more authors to submit their work for future "seasons". Making this a very good opportunity for aspiring writers...which I happen to know a few.

So if you are interested in reading/listening brand new books or submitting your stories. And getting your name out there.... This might be a good place to start. 

I had a dream...about a sandwich

Ok so,  Last night I had the most infuriating, horrifying dream.
But first I need to give you a little back story.... I love Arby's fast food restaurant. Growing up we didn't have one very close by. In fact my friend Laura and I would make special trips to the Harrisburg East mall, over 20 miles away (for teenagers, that was far) just so we could have the yummy cheesy roast beefy goodness...yeah, we shopped too, but really I went there for Arby's. For me, if I had to choose between the food of any other fast food joint and Arby's? I would choose Arby's every time. They just need to have a play place for the kids and I would never leave.
Now, I realize some of you might think that it's gross and the worse place ever...well, then that's your loss...hand over the curly fries and walk away..... mmmmmmm

Alright, so back to my dream. It wasn't very long but when I woke up, I was not happy.....

I had just gotten back from Arby's. Apparently I didn't get anything for myself but I did get my kids a Ham and Cheese melt. My daughter doesn't really like to eat sandwiches in their pure form so she opens them up and then takes a bite or two and then usually just leaves it. And by "leaves it" throws it somewhere. This time she threw one part of the bun on the chair and the other part with the meat and cheese on the counter. The half on the counter just so happened to skid across and just barely touch the (clean) outside edge of the container we use to put compost in.
Me, being me, and not wanting to waste any of this yummy goodness picked up the half on the chair and went to collect the other half. But just be for I could reach it. Ryan comes in and picks up the half on the counter, looks at it and then, to my horror, throws it inside the very slimy compost bin...making it completely inedible. 
"Hey! I was going to eat that!" I exclaim.
"Oh, I thought it was dirty. I didn't think you'd want it." he shrugged.
This coming from the man who will eat the moldy parts off of cheese because he hates to waste it.
"Uggg!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?!" I yell back
"Uh, sorry." and then he just walks out of the kitchen.

And Scene...

So, needless to say, when I woke up, I was ticked! He had his arm draped over me, so I gave him a shove. I was so mad! I didn't want him to even touch me!
Ug, How could he have thrown that away?! What was he thinking? He knows how much I love Arby's sandwiches. Granted, it wasn't a Roast Beef sandwich, but it was still on the top of my yummy list.
It took a couple minutes for me to calm myself down and only then did I realize that it was just a dream...a very very bad bad dream.

Lola and the Boy Next Door

So, I just finished reading something else that I thought I would pass along. "Lola and the Boy Next Door" by Stephanie Perkins

Lola is a very interesting girl. She just turned seventeen and is having a pretty normal life living in the Castro district of San Francisco.  The only thing that makes her stand out from the crowd, besides her two dads and the occasional visit from her fortune telling birth mother, is that she doesn't wear normal cloths but instead wears "costumes".

Her goal is to never wear the same costume twice in a year. Despite some of the comments she hears at school, she is completely confident with who she is. Everything is going as well as she could hope for. She has the perfect (much older) boyfriend who is in a band. Her fathers hate him, which isn't so perfect, but she's working on that... She's even planning on making a Marie Antoinette themed dress for the Winter Formal that she's sure people will remember for the rest of their lives.  Everything is on track....That is until the original residents of the house next door move back after being gone for two years. Bringing with them her most hated nemesis Calliope Bell and her twin brother Cricket Bell......the boy who shattered her heart.
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Lola is your typical teenager, she makes a lot of choices that I wouldn't condone but can understand. And I love just how confident she is with herself.  She doesn't usually do things just to make others like her. She has her own drummer and she tries to follow it even if, to everyone one else, it's always a different beat.

I really liked this story. It turned out to have a lot of good messages about being nonjudgmental, what real love is, forgiveness and being happy with who you are and accepting what life has placed in your path...

In time I think I would want my daughter to read this but not until she was mature enough for it. It's not for pre-teens it's in the Young Adult category for a reason. It always drives me a little nuts seeing kids reading books that are not for their age group, subject matter wise..especially when their parents are the ones who give it to them. But that's another rant post for later...

Anyway, like I was saying. I really did enjoy this book...maybe because it made me want to break out of my shell a little bit and start being  my true self instead of what others expect me to be...plus, re-inspires me to start wearing more fun outfits and glitter!

Happy 11-1-11 Everyone....

I just felt like posting something today just so it has the date stamp of 11-1-11...If I remember I"ll post in 10 days when it's 11-11-11...