Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Promises She Keeps by Erin Healy


Promise is a college student with singing aspirations. However, she has a cystic fibrosis and is not expected to live past her mid-thirties. She therefore wants to leave a legacy of fame behind to keep her memory alive. Porta is an aging sorceress and art collector who is searching for immortality. When Promise survives a series of bizarre accidents that should have ended her life, Porta believes that she has found the girl who holds the key to eternal life.

We are also introduced to Chase, an autistic artist who falls in love with Promise and attempts to help her. Soon Chase, Porta, Promise and several other interesting characters are thrown into a confrontation of finding hope and faith.

I really liked this book. It was a faith based thriller that really seemed to become suspenseful towards the end of the story. The beginning of the book focuses a lot of time and attention to introducing us to Promise and to the other characters. I did not like the character of Porta. She was the definite "villian" in the novel, but it sometimes was annoying to read the passages by her. I also disliked Zack even though Promise seemed to always see the hope within him. The author seemed to be trying to share that eternal love, not life, may be the greatest gift of all. Twists and turns at the end of the book made for a really good read and I'm glad I had a chance to read this.

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.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Scrappin"


Okay, this post is for my mom since she is always begging me to post pictures of my recent scrapbook pages. So here is one that I made about 2 weeks ago and I have hanging upstairs in the craft room. I've been on a real reading binge the last week, so have not made anything new since then, but lots of ideas ready to go; photos and paper laying in piles ready for a new page.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Meet Miffy and Nugget!


Millie has been begging for a pet for a long time now. Of course, she asked for a dog, bunny rabbits, or even another cat, but we decided to start with something smaller. Then last week, we unexpectedly got the opportunity to adopt 2 sweet gerbils.

We have been having so much fun with them. I surprised myself too by becoming rather fond of them. Nugget, the brown gerbil, will spend hours on his wheel. Miffy loves attention and eating sunflower seeds.


Here they both are attacking a toilet paper roll, probably their favorite pastime!

Saturday, February 5, 2011

January 30


I had a really nice birthday on Sunday. Millie was so excited to help Mike make homemade frosting for my cake and they got up early to do that.

Later on we got ready to go out on a hike.

Off we go! At least it wasn't raining...

Later that night, a trip to Olive Garden in Kirkland. That was delicious! I am so excited to have a new flip video! Now we can make cute movies of Millie!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Inheritance of Beauty by Nicole Seitz


George Jacobs and his childhood sweetheart Maggie, along with her brother Ash, were just kids living in small-town Levy, SC, when the train brought a magician and Joe Stackhouse into town. What happens next changes all of their lives forever. Eighty years later, George and Maggie are spending their remaining days in a nursing home. After a mysterious package arrives, followed by a new resident at the nursing home whose identity haunts them, Maggie and George are forced to remember a past they'd rather forget.

The story was bittersweet with mix of suspense and even humor. It's told from the point of view of Maggie, George and Annie. Later on, we hear Ash's point of view through old letters written by him. The story goes back and forth between the year 1929 and the present. There is a large group of characters, but the short excerpts told by each one is easy to follow and leaves you wanting to find out more. I so enjoy books that have different characters narrating each chapter. None of the characters are perfect, each have a mixture of good and bad in them and decisions they have suffered over. I was riveted and anxious to find out what tragic event happened to these characters eighty years ago. This book encourages you to speak the truth and believe in miracles. Guilt, grief and redemption are some themes in this tale.

The author did a really nice job inhabiting her elderly characters. I would definitely recommend this book to others. I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. The opinions I have expressed are my own.