Five Question Friday

This has been a long week.

I'm so happy it's Friday.

Tomorrow's the Dutch market,

so should be a good day.

But as it's still Friday,

and I haven't participated in awhile,

I thought I'd join in,

once again,

to Five Question Friday!

1. Do you make your kids finish all the food on their plates?

Ethan's quite the fussy eater.

I think he's gotten better,

Scott may disagree. 

But since we know Ethan's fussy,

I make sure I give Ethan what he wants

along with what I want.

I also make sure he gets just enough food.

Ethan's never not finished what's on his plate,

but I'd like to think it's more the habit he's in

and not that we've made him eat it all.

2. Do you give an allowance.

No.

He's five!

What does he need an allowance for?

But then, 

days like tomorrow

when we'll go to the market

and he'll want to buy a whole lot of crap,

I'll give him some money

to spend on what he wants.

But I always make sure he knows

to spend it wisely!

3. Do you actually park your car in the garage.

No.

I'm sure Scott would tell you

we don't because I've got some other crap there.

But seriously,

I have some stuff there.

There's still plenty of room for the car.

It's just not parked there.

4. What is one food you'll never cook.

I don't cook!

5. Do you have anything exciting planned for the summer?

Ethan and I are going to Canada.

Woohoo!

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 7

Saturday night there was a fundraiser for a Trust school

at one of the restaurants here.

There was a salsa theme.

A couple of the kids from the school

put on a performance.

There was fabulous wine at the table.

We sat with a great group of friends.

The food was fantastic.

The men were not really into the dancing,

but they found something to 

keep in the salsa spirit.

Scott and I have always loved raffles,

and knowing the money was going to a good cause

inspired us to unload tons on tickets,

which brought us some goodies.

But the best part of the evening

was knowing we'd help

a wonderful school

and some deserving children.

Happiness is Fiestiva Latina!

Can You Keep a Secret? - Sophie Kinsella

I love the Shopaholic books. 

They're so....

.....

me!

So, I thought I'd give 

Sophie Kinsella

a shot at a non-shopaholic

book.

To be honest,

I think I read this book before.

But I'm determined to read all the books 

currently on my Kindle,

before buying any new books.

And this was on my Kindle.

Emma Corrigan works at a marketing firm.

This is her 3rd career.

She's sure her parents prefer her cousin

over her.

She feels like a loser.

Emma is sent to Scotland for a business trip.

She hates flying.

On the flight back,

being nervous,

she has a wee bit too much to drink.

There's turbulence.

Convinced she's going to die,

she spills all her secrets,

and I mean all her secrets,

to the man next to her.

That Monday,

the owner of the company comes for a visit.

Emma is stunned to see 

that her boss, Jack,

is also the man she shared her secrets with.

Can You Keep a Secret?

is a fun, easy read.

It's a little predictable,

but sometimes you just need a fun book.

All She Ever Wanted - Barbara Freethy

I found this book on my Kindle.

I don't recall purchasing it.

When I went to read it's cover,

to refresh my memory,

it didn't sound like a book I'd normally choose.

So I'm guessing it's one of my free books.

I could not put this book down!

It may have been free,

but it is worth paying for.

Natalie is a doctor working in San Francisco.

One day, while at work

she hears about this fabulous new book out

called Fallen Angel. 

It's about a group of sorority girls.

They were the Fabulous Four.

But one night,

one of them falls off a roof, 

during a party,

 to her death.

Natalie is left stunned.

That sounds too much like what happened to her

10 years ago.

Not only are old wounds being opened,

but the author implies that Natalie pushed her best friend off the roof.

All She Ever Wanted

brings together the remaining three sorority girls.

They haven't seen each other or spoken to one another

since Emily's death.

They are determined to find out,

not only who the author is,

but if Emily was murdered.

During the course of it all,

Natalie is brought together with 

Emily's brother, Cole.

He was her first love.

He broke her heart.

He blames her for his sister's death.

Laura and her husband, Drew,

were college sweethearts.

But he's hiding something.

Could he be the author?

Or worse,

was he responsible for Emily's death?

Madison left the country before Emily's death.

She was, and still is, intrigued by Dylan.

But he's hiding something.

He was in love with Emily.

She never knew.

Could he be the author? Murderer?

While I gobbled this book up within two days,

I often had to put it down and breathe.

I loved the characters.

My heart went out to Natalie.

I suspected many of them

to be the culprit.

It was great!

Legend - Marie Lu

I guess I'm on the dystopia band-wagon.

Because here's another one,

I loved.

Legend has a great storyline

and kick ass characters.

June is born into a wealthy Republic family.

She's a child prodigy,

being the only person known to have

scored a perfect score on her Trials.

Her parents died in an accident years ago.

She's being raised by her brother.

Who is killed by Day.

June vows revenge.

Day was born in the slums.

He failed his Trials.

And he is the country's most wanted criminal.

June and Day come from 2 different worlds,

and yet

"sometimes it feels like we're the same person".

Legend is told in the 1st person.

Each chapter alternated between June and Day.

Since it's in the 1st person,

you can hear their distinct voices.

What's even better,

is each character has their own font!

I read this on my Kindle,

but read that in the book, 

they get their own font

and colour!

How cool is that?

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 6

The nice part

of living in Zambia,

is the greenery

all year round.

That means pretty flowers,

and pretty butterflies.

Try as I might,

I'm never able to get a nice shot of a butterfly.

Until now,

Happiness is watching a beautiful  butterfly.

Before I Go to Sleep - S.J. Watson

Thursday I had lunch with a mate of mine.

We were discussing books, 

and how if you Google

the top 100 bestsellers in the UK

and in the US,

they were not the same.

That night,

I checked out Amazon UK

and found Before I Go to Sleep

on their bestseller list.

So I thought I'd give it a try.

The book begins with

Christine Lucas waking one morning.

She finds herself in a bed she does not recognise.

There's an old man next to her.

And he's married.

Oh no, she thinks.

Not only did she get so drunk

and had a one night stand,

but it's with some old guy

in his house!

But Christine soon learns that she is no longer in her twenties.

This old man,

is her husband, Ben.

They have been married for 22 years.

Almost 20 years ago,

she was in a car accident.

She has amnesia.

She wakes up every morning,

with no memory of the years before. 

Christine meets a doctor

who wants to help.

He encourages her to keep a journal.

Through her journal,

Christine learns about herself

and her husband.

But instead of getting answers,

she has more questions,

and doesn't know who to trust.

Not even her ever-loving,

devoted

husband.

I enjoyed the way the book was written.

It kept you guessing all the way though.

Is Ben lying?

Or is he trying to protect her?

What's Dr Nash's role?

Who is he?

Does he want to harm her?

I've read reviews where people hated the ending,

and although I would have been happy with more,

I think it ends perfectly.

Blood Possession - Tessa Dawn

Today's the last day of Spring Break,

which means my current reading marathon

has come to an end.

And what a great book to end with.

Blood Possession is the third book

in the Blood Curse series.

Napolean is the ultimate Vampyr King. 

He is strong, capable, regal, proud

 and the ultimate protector of his people.

 He is old fashioned

 (well, he is one of the original vampyrs) 

and expects complete obedience from his people.

Salvatore is a powerful and twisted sorcerer,

a Dark Vampyr from the House of Jaegar.

He plans a vengeance against Napolean,

a Blood Possession, 

which requires the assistance of the Dark Lord Ademordna.

Brooke is a human.

She has no idea that vampires exist,

so of course,

when she learns she's Napolean's destiny,

she's not all that happy. 

But Brooke is strong,

she helps Napolean when he sees visions

of his father.

She's not some chick 

that will be a victim.

Nachari is a Master Wizard.

He devises a plan to save Napolean.

But it doesn't go as planned.

But that only leads us 

into awaiting book 4

for his story.

Shoot, Edit, Submit

Every Friday,

I love hopping over to Mom Tried It

for her Shoot, Edit, Submit

posts. 

There are some unbelieveably

wonderful photographers out there.

I'm in awe.

I also never participate,

because really,

I can't compete.

But this week,

even though it's not as gorgeous,

I'm pretty proud of some shots I took in Mfuwe.

So,

drum roll please,

here's my entry....

The Dentist

Ethan went to the dentist today.

For the first time.

Yes, 

I realise he's almost six

and should have seen one already.

I apologise for my bad mothering.

I went through 5 dentists while in Dar,

and the only one I'd trust with Ethan

didn't take kids as patients.

So yes,

my almost 6-year old has not been to a dentist.

Until today.

He did great.

At the beginning.

Maxine was wonderful with Ethan.

She counted his teeth

(he has 20)

and noticed he has 4 wobbly teeth.

Ethan was very excited to learn

he may be loosing his teeth soon

as that means the appearance of the tooth fairy.

He had no cavities.

Yay!

Then she wanted to clean his teeth.

Ethan would not go for that.

He felt the visit was going well

so why end of a scary note.

He would not believe us 

that there was nothing to be scared of.

I guess we'll try the cleaning again

in six months.

Meet Jason

Meet Jason.

He was our fabulous guide in Mfuwe.

Jason knew all about 

the gorgeous birds,

introduced us to the courtship

of giraffes,

and helped me find the leopard

I soooo wanted to see.

But not only that,

Jason put up with this

for hours.

Jason, how many lions are there here?

Jason, how many elephants are there here?

Jason, how much do elephants eat?

Jason, are there any cheetahs here?

Umm Jason, how many birds are here?

Jason is that a male or a female?

Jason, how many kinds of birds are there here?

Jason, how many giraffes are there here?

Jason, is a zebra black with white stripes or white with black stripes?

And why do they have stripes?

Jason, how many zebras are there here?

Jason, what's that?

Yes,

thank you Jason

for your patience and

answering all of Ethan's questions.

Moon Spell - Samantha Young

I love my vampires.
Yes, I know you know that.
But, seriously,
I love my vampires.
To the point,
that I often snubbed my nose at werewolves.
Then I found some books on the lycans,
and,
apparently,
I'm hooked.

Moon Spell is one of those books I came across.
The werewolves here,
have orgins linked to the Greek Gods.
Being a mythology buff,
I was hooked at once.

Caia was seperated from her pack at a young age.
For 10 years,
she lived under their protection,
but hidden away.
But now she's back.
Some pack members blame her for the deaths of their loved ones.
Others seem to fear her.
They know something she doesn't.
And I love how the book keeps you guessing.
There's a secret,
and unlike many books where the reader knows the secret,
here, you're as clueless as Caia is.
And there's a shocking surprise.
Now, I'm usually good at predicting the surprise.
Oh no! Not here.

Of course,
it wouldn't be a true YA novel
without a little love.
And you get it here.
Or rather you would if that darn Lucien
would admit his true feelings!

Did I mention that I love Spring Break?
Because now I can read the next book on my list
and still have time to pick up the second book
in this trilogy!

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 5

The best part of living in Africa,

is the ability to go on safari

and see animals.

This Easter weekend,

that's just what we did.

We went on our first game park

in Zambia.

Mfuwe was great.

We saw tons of our favourite animals.

But my favourite part,

after 10 years in Tanzania,

and a few dozen safaris,

she has always eluded me,

until now...

Happiness is FINALLY getting to see a leopard.

Born Wicked - Jessica Spotswood

I have to say, 

the best part of Spring break

is the ability to just read.

Do nothing but read.

And reading is what I have been doing.

Born Wicked is the first in The Cahill Witch Chronicles.

I originally came across the book

when I joined

The Story Siren's

YA Debut Author Challenge. 

Born Wicked is set in a late 19th Century New England. 

But it has an alternate history.

Here, witches are still persecuted

and society is ruled by the fearsome Brotherhood.

Women are repressed,

forbidden to educate themselves

and forced into marriage

or into the Sisterhood.

Cate Cahill

and her sisters are witches.

Their mother has died

and made Cate promise to protect her sisters.

Cate fears magic.

She soon learns of a prophecy 

that involves she and her sisters.

She's also falling in love

(in a sad attempt at a love triangle).

Cate soon learns

that in order to protect her sisters

she must sacrifice her own happiness.

Covet - JR Ward

Being a huge fan of the WARDen,

you know there's no way I could resist her

Fallen Angels series.

And as the series title implies,

this one is not about vampires,

but angels.

Covet introduces us to Jim Heron.

He has been recruited by both Heaven and Hell.

His job is to guide seven souls.

If they choose the right path,

Heaven wins.

If they choose to stick with evil,

Hell will win.

Jim's first assignment is Vin DiPietro,

a man who has everything

(or does he?).

Can Jim save him and help him find love with Marie-Terese?

For those BDB fans,

we're reacquainted with the Iron Mask and Tez.

Gotta love that.

For those not into vampires,

how does angels strike you?

Writer's Workshop - Instagram

4) Instagram fun! Share a photo you took with Instagram this week and tell us what you love about it.

This week, 

Ethan and I went on vacation.

Just him and I.

We had fun.

We visited old mates.

We drank coffee.

We saw the ocean.

We acted silly.

We made ducky faces!

Larkstorm - Dawn Rae Miller

I really need to stop reading books that are part of a trilogy or series,

unless the whole set is published.

Otherwise,

I get myself wrapped into the lives of these characters,

and forced to wait

before getting the HEA.

I'm all about books where the author's voice is terrific.
I love books with, not just strong characters,
but characters you actually care about.
I found that here,
in Larkstorm.

In my world of vampires,
I shifted to a dystopian world
with light and dark witches.

Lark Green has grown up in a world where she believes everything the State tells her.
She's a rule follower.
She knows she'll be bound to Beck.
She knows the State will choose her career.
She trusts them when they tell her the Sensitives are evil.
That is,
until Beck is accused of being one.

Determined to prove his innocence,
or at least learn the truth,
Lark embarks on a quest
where she learns that Sensitives means witches,
and she's one.
A powerful Dark one.
And her beloved Beck,
a powerful Light one.

Odds are,
they are destined to kill each other.
They were never meant to fall in love.

Lark must sacrifice being with the one she loves,
to keep him alive.

And I must wait,
who-knows-how-long
for them to reunite!






 

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 4

Ethan and I are on Spring Break.

Woohoo!

For two whole weeks.

Woohoo!

We've broken our break up into 3 parts.

Part one,

a trip to Dar,

which is where we are now.

Every morning

we wake up to a gorgeous view of the Indian Ocean.

We've had some great visits with mates.

Catching up on what's been going on.

(I keep forgetting  to take pictures)

I even went to get a new hair colour.

And while I sat there,

getting my hair dyed red,

I had an amazing view of the ocean.

Happiness is being by the beach after months of living inland.

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