Staying Calm During the Holidays from A to Z

'Tis the season to feel totally overwhelmed and stretched in all directions. The past few years, I've been taking a stance against holiday stress. If Christmas baking doesn't happen, that's fine by me. I'll pick up something delicious from the bakery. I avoid Costco in December like the plague and do 90% of my holiday shopping online. The holidays are supposed to be about being with family and friends and celebrating wonderful things in our lives. We can't do those things if we're stressed out. Here's a list I brainstormed (with my mom actually!) of ways to keep calm and carry on this Christmas season.

A - Actually nap.

B - Breathe deeply.

C - Count your blessings.

D - Don't over commit. Keep a few days and nights free just for you.

E - Exercise (even just a little).

F - Find a way to give back to others.

G - Get enough sleep.

H - Have a glass of wine.

I - Invite friends for an open house to cut down on individual visits.

J - Joyfully add a treat for yourself when online shopping. I call it "Elf Tax".

K - Kiss someone you love.

L - Listen to music. Christmas-themed or not.

M - Make yourself a cup of tea.

N - Nourish your soul with some yoga.

O - Order out for dinner. You don't need to make a feast every night.

P - Prioritize. What really needs to happen? What could you let go?

Q - Quilt, sew, or do another crafty activity that makes you feel good.

R - Read a romance novel.

S - Schedule a massage.

T - Treat yourself to an adult advent calendar.

U - Use a budget for gift-buying and stick to it.

V - Vent to a friend when you start to feel overwhelmed.

W - Watch something you consider a guilty pleasure. 

X - X out the toxic people in your life. Find ways to cleverly avoid them during the holidays.

Y - Yield to your children. Spend time with them. The number of Christmases in which they are little
are few.

Z - Zone out in the bathtub.

xo
Jenn

Book Review and Author Interview - The Thread That Binds by Alice Hayes

I just finished reading The Thread that Binds, by Alice Hayes. A book that demands to be read with a hot cup of tea or coffee by your side.

This is Alice's first published novel. Last year it won third place in the World's Best Story contest.

The Thread That Binds is the story of five women who are either new mothers or mothers-to-be. These five women don't know each other at the beginning of the story, but through different circumstances, their paths cross and friendships form. Sherice is a new mom herself, coming to terms with an illness that is changing her own mother. Sylvie is a French woman who fell in love and now lives in the US. She and her husband are stricken by poverty as she tries to find prenatal care. Joanne is single and determined to have a baby, so enlists her gay best friend, Marty to help her. Payton is 17 years old, pregnant, and on the run from a family that has all but disowned her. And Gloria is trapped in a loveless and abusive marriage, in love with another, and pregnant with a baby that could belong to one of two men.

The Thread That Binds is told from the perspective of each of these five women. I loved that we only were introduced to a few characters at a time so I could really get to know two or three of the women before she added the other narrators. The book is fast-paced and really kept me wondering how each of the women's stories would end. I was easily invested in them and their babies and was wishing for things to work out. I loved how the women's lives wove together, and I could really see these women building new friendships with each other. The overall message is that kindness and empathy can triumph over situations that feel hopeless.

Reading this book has the potential to make you laugh, cry, feel distressed, and feel joy. The Thread That Binds is a perfect book for anyone who enjoys contemporary women's fiction.

To learn a bit more about the author, Alice Hayes, I hope you enjoy this interview with her:

Where do you get inspiration for your stories?

A lot of it comes from music and poetry. The Thread That Binds was hugely influenced by country music and my own experiences living in Georgia. Another novel I’ve written, War Wounds, was inspired by the Gillian Clarke poem On The Train. My current project is a novel set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, heavily inspired by the history of the conflict and the Seamus Heaney poem Whatever You Say, Say Nothing.

Do you ever get writer’s block? What helps you overcome it?

I think we all do. I’ll take a break and work on another project, whether it be my blog or a different novel or even a short story. Usually it helps things to come unstuck.

You’re a single mom writer. How do you balance your time?

With a type-A personality and a strict schedule… I write when my daughter is in bed. I do homework on my lunch break at work. I cook and clean and run on my downtime, and sleep… Well, virtually never. Honestly, though, it helps that her dad and his family are in the picture. She’ll visit him most weekends, and I get to recharge.

Do you have another profession besides writing?

I work in a law office. The big dream is to finish my Bachelor’s degree by the time my daughter starts school, and then to go to law school.

In today’s tech-savvy world, most writers use a computer or laptop. Have you ever written parts of your book on paper?

I keep a journal by the side of my bed to scribble down any ideas that come to me in the middle of the night, but that’s the extent of my hand-writing. I prefer to edit on paper, though. I print my work and then edit by hand with my trusty red pen. I have a typewriter in excellent working condition, but I definitely prefer the comfort of having my work saved and backed up on a computer.

What advice would you give to budding writers?

Keep at it! It’s hard to get motivated sometimes, especially when writer’s block sets in. But the only way you can make any improvement is if you keep working at it. Cherish your writing time, and don’t let anyone tell you it’s not important.


About the Author:
Originally from Winchester, England, Alice's plans to read law at a British university were disrupted when she fell deeply in love with Georgia, USA while studying abroad. After moving all over Georgia, Alice has finally settled in Athens and has no plans to go anywhere else.

She is a single mother to a three-year-old girl and a 65lb hound dog. She likes coffee, wine, and anything edible with the words "salted caramel" in its description.

At the time of publication, Alice is a 24-year-old history student working full-time in a law office, and writing fiction at every stolen moment. She hasn't slept in approximately two years. You can find her on Twitter or over at her blog.

xo
Jenn

GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED

Giveaway time!

Win one of five copies of the Thread That Binds. 

Open to residents of the US and Canada.

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Disclaimer - I received a copy of The Thread that Binds from TLC Book Tours. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ladies' Weekend at the Inn Boonsoboro (or The Weekend We Lived Inside a Book)

Does it make me officially an 80s housewife if I'm in love with Nora Roberts books? I remember my mother reading them when I was growing up. Earlier this year one of the women in my book club asked us, almost in a hushed tone, if any of us had ever read one. We hadn't, and so she proceeded to tell us about the trilogy she was reading called The Inn Boonsboro Trilogy. Reading a romance novel was on my 2015 Read Harder list, so I picked it up.

From the first page I knew I was totally going to love this book. It's a guilty pleasure at its finest. The first book in the trilogy is about Beckett Montgomery. He owns his own construction company. He's in love with the young, widowed mother who runs the local bookstore. He's rebuilding the inn across the street with his brothers. I think you get the idea.

My co-worker, Dani, and I devoured this trilogy and many other Nora Roberts books over the summer. Move aside 50 Shades of Grey. There's a new romance trend in town, even if we have to bring it back all by ourselves. Lovely, sweet, romance stories with healthy relationships and happy endings. That's what I want to read about before bed. (Plus, Rob really can't complain about my newest favourite book genre. I think he's reaping a few extra benefits from it all.)

In August, I get a text from Dani and the conversation went something like this:
Dani - Did you know the Inn Boonsboro is a real place?
Me - What?! No way! We have to go there.   (...not even knowing where on Earth it is.)
Dani - Yes!

I checked online and yes, it actually was a real inn. Better still, the inn was owned by Nora Roberts herself! And the bookstore from the trilogy was real - Turn the Page. As was the pizzeria from the trilogy, Vesta. As was the gym from the trilogy, Fit in Boonsboro. As was the gift store. These were all real places. It was like seeing a book coming to life.

Dani and I booked a room at the Inn Boonsboro and officially declared a road trip planned. To say we completely loved it would be a massive understatement. It was only 2 nights, but has gone down as one of my all-time favourite vacations. Here's a bit of a photo essay from our trip, and you'll see why. Even if you're not a Nora Roberts fan, this inn is absolutely a worthwhile trip for a weekend away. (Travel tip - book well in advance! We booked in August for a November trip and got one of the last 2 rooms available.)

To Do: Drive 430 miles, spend the weekend reading books and drinking wine

The drive from Toronto to Boonsboro, Maryland was just over 8 hours and really a beautiful drive in the fall. I wouldn't make the drive in the winter though. We saw quite a few "watch out for icy roads" signs.

The drive was so lovely. Most of our drive looked like this. Just keep your eyes above the shoulders of the roads. I've never seen so much roadkill in my entire life than during this drive in Pennsylvania and Maryland. An insane amount. Both ways. Consider yourself warned.

So what do you do when you have an 8 hour drive ahead of you to the inn from a Nora Roberts book? Listen to Nora Roberts audiobooks of course! #soawkward #stillamazing

The Inn Boonsboro

This is the front porch of the inn. The front door is actually the front door used on the cover of the first book in the Inn Boonsboro Trilogy - The Next Always.

The Inn Boonsboro has 8 unique guest rooms, each named after a famous literary couple. We stayed in Nick & Nora (from The Thin Man). Photos do not do these rooms justice. We had seen pictures online and were so blown away by how beautiful everything was throughout the whole inn. As an aside, the inn has a number of themed packages you can add onto your stay. They also do in house massages. We didn't book a package only because our single goal for the weekend was to sit in the library and read books all day.

The bathroom in our bedroom was incredible. It was a bathroom that bathroom dreams are made of. There were heated floors, heated towel racks, a massive bathtub, and an enormous shower that had 7 different shower heads.

Each room has its own signature scent and signature tea. Ours was green tea and ginger. All of the tea and products are available for purchase at the gift store across the street (or online).

Every night from 6-7pm there is wine and cheese in the lounge. We took our wine to sit beside one of the two beautiful gas fireplaces in the common areas (Two of the guest rooms also have guest fireplaces).

The first night of our trip, we got some pizza from Vesta and brought it back to eat in the open kitchen. We had our pizza, some wine, and played a Pride and Prejudice board game that we found in the lounge. Then we went back to our room and watched a Nora Roberts DVD. The inn has a lot of romantic comedies or classic romance DVDs available to watch at anytime.

Across the street from the inn there are a few cute gift shops and Turn the Page bookstore (where Nora Roberts books reign high, but there are also a number of other great books to buy and a small children's section, so you can pick up a gift for your little one to bring back after mama's weekend away).

There are balconies around the inn and a large terrace out back that would be beautiful in the summer, but mostly for the weekend we lived here, the library.

We got up each morning, made some tea and read here until it was time for the gourmet breakfast that is prepared for inn guests each morning. After breakfast, we came back here and basically read all day long.

In the afternoon we switched from tea to wine and enjoyed some of the fresh baked goods that are available each day.

And then continued to read...

If you prefer whiskey, there is a crystal whiskey decanter of Jameson in the library available for guests whenever they'd like to enjoy a glass or two. And make sure you add a pin to the map on the wall of where you've traveled from!

Eventually we did pull ourselves away from the inn later in the afternoon because we had booked a wine tour and tasting at a new winery just outside of Boonsboro called Big Cork Vineyards.

Big Cork Vineyards also has a restaurant and terrace for dinner. Plus, on our tour they also told us we could bring blankets and food and just set up a picnic near the vineyards in the summer if we'd like as well. I'd absolutely go back and either have dinner there or bring a picnic. (One more dinner tip - we had booked reservations at Dan's Restaurant and Taphouse and were a bit disappointed. It's really just a pub, so if you're looking for a pub, Dan's is fine, but if you want a nicer place for dinner, go try the winery.)

One more library shot in the morning before we headed back home....

This weekend was like a mini fantasy. We felt like we were living inside a book the entire time. It was so incredibly relaxing and lovely. I feel like my new bucket list in life is to stay in each room at some point. Even if it takes me the next 30 years. I know my mother would love it here, so I foresee a mother-daughter trip in our future. I also really really want to re-read The Boonsboro Inn Trilogy because now that I've been to the inn, I can read the stories and picture them actually happening in these rooms.

The Inn Boonsboro is highly recommended! Thank you so much to everyone at the inn who made our stay so wonderful. (Seriously, the innkeeper went out at 7 in the morning to get me milk for my tea because they were out).

I really hope you get a chance to visit this beautiful place.
xo
Jenn

Koala Crate Box Review

You may have heard of Kiwi Crate which is a subscription box of hands-on art and science activities. Koala Crate is the same subscription, and is tailored for children aged 3-4.

I signed us up for a 6 month subscription because I thought this would be a great thing to do throughout the winter. Each month the box is themed and comes with a number of different items designed for a minimum of 3 separate activities or crafts. This month's theme was Numbers. Here's a look at what we got and the activities we did together!
(It was a cloudy day when we opened our Koala Crate, so my apologies for the darker photos. But Koala Crate really is perfect for the days you feel stuck indoors.)

This months kit came with all of the supplies necessary for making play-doh, including Kool-Aid to colour it blue :) There was also play-doh rolling pin and cutting wheel. The remaining items were a plastic mat and 4 reusable play-doh activity sheets, 2 dice, and a set of special Koala Crate cards for a couple of different number games. Finally, and this is one of Seb's favourite parts, each box comes with an Imagine magazine. Each Imagine magazine is connected to the topic of the month and includes little stories, games, and activities. Imagine is published in partnership with Highlights so you know it's awesome.

Activity 1 - Make the play-doh

Activity 2 - Play-doh number and measurement games

Activity 3 - Dice and card games (matching and dominoes)

Overall, I think the value of this subscription is pretty great because everything you need for your craft or activity is included each time, and the supplies are always excellent quality.

If you'd like to sign up and try out Koala Crate (or any of the others for older kids - Kiwi Crate, Doodle Crate or Tinker Crate), using my link will save you $10 off your order. 

xo
Jenn

Interview with Quinn from Rustic Daisy Designs

Please welcome Quinn Graungaard from Rustic Daisy Designs! She has the most adorable Etsy store with beautiful burlap banners for any occasion. I had a chance to meet her in person this weekend and see all of these beauties in person. Enjoy!

Tell me a bit about yourself.  

I married my best friend, Caley, in May of 2013, am a new mom with a 17 month old baby girl (Annabelle), and we have a gigantic 5 year old golden doodle (Charlie).
I studied Kinesiology and Health Science and dabbled in business courses for my electives (marketing, new business ventures, accounting, etc).  I continued my education with a Bachelor of Education (primary/junior) and graduated in 2012. Worked part time as a bartender to pay for my education. I still work a few nights a week when my husband is home.
Prior to going to university I had a career as an Event Planner for a non-profit organization where I discovered some of my creative passions.
I come from a big family of 9 kids total with all of the step siblings, half siblings and one adopted sibling from China!
I spend much of my spare time with my siblings many of whom are musically talented. There are many jam sessions and now playdates with the kids. Our last family get together included about 15 siblings with their partners, 3 little babies, 6 dogs and 7 puppies. My sister fosters dogs, owns a few of her own and of course we all bring our doggies too! 

Merry Everything Banner

How did you begin your journey in the world of selling handmade goods?

When I got married in 2012, I made all of the banners and decorations for my wedding. I received many compliments on the décor, many saying it was the best and most beautiful wedding they had attended. When I became pregnant a few months later (and not employed as a teacher), I found myself thinking about what am I going to do?!  When I was about 4 months pregnant a cousin of mine who had attended the wedding asked me to make a banner for a baby shower that she was organizing. I spent $300 on a machine to help me make the $50 banner perfect, and Rustic Daisy Designs was born. I dove in head first! Knowing that my time and focus would be limited once the baby was born, I raced to get the business going; developed marketing materials, set up my Etsy shop, took product photos, created product descriptions, and so on. I worked right up until the morning my baby girl was born! Of course I had to take two weeks off after she was born, but then I quickly jumped back in.  I did not want to lose momentum. One of the joys of owning your own business is that you are never left without something to do!

I will be celebrating my 2 year anniversary on February 26^th, 2016! 

Where do you find your inspiration for your products? 

Literally everywhere! Party invitations, bakery packaging, trending party themes, nature, and now my little girl inspires many of the items I create! We recently celebrated Annabelle’s first birthday, and I created a sunshine and lemonade theme. I made all of the decorations for her birthday and my goal for the future is to become a premier custom boutique party supplier for many moms like me who want their celebrations to be sweet and unique. For example in the photos below, I made the cake topper, birthday hat, hand-painted wooden sign, bunting hanging across the table, tissue poms, party hats for guests, wands for the little ones, and custom name confetti. 

Birthday Banners

What is the process of getting one of your banners created from start to finish?

I am a one lady shop. I source and purchase all of my fabrics locally. I cut the flags. I cut the various fabrics that I need for images and lettering. Some banners I paint the lettering and images while others I cut the letters and images out of fabric. I sew the banners together, package them up, and ship them.
So far I have shipped to: Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Germany, Singapore, Ireland, England, Scotland, United States, and of course to my fellow Canadians. 

Merry Christmas Banner

In your opinion, what is the value and appeal of the handmade/maker movement?
There is so much value in handmade.

You can customize items – usually you can communicate directly with the maker and tweak colours, design, fonts, etc so that your piece is truly one of a kind. The possibilities are endless!
Handmade items aren’t typically made in waste-producing factories. You can reduce your carbon footprint, particularly when you buy locally handcrafted items.
You get to connect directly with the artisan.
You can buy quality goods that have been made to last.
You can support local businesses and have a direct effect on the artisans financial well being without paying all of the various levels within a large corporation. 

I love Santa Banner

What handmade possession do you own that you must cherish?
I have two:   

1)   A wooden shelf that my dad made many years ago that I now have hanging in my living room adorned with Christmas stockings of course!
2)   A small ceramic dish that I purchased while studying to become a teacher. We all made and painted clay bowls that had a social or eco justice theme. After many student teachers made their bowls, we held a fundraising event and the entrance fee included lunch and a handmade clay bowl.
It’s a nice feeling to support a greater cause just by purchasing handmade. \

Christmas Cupcake Toppers

How do you balance motherhood, working, and finding time just for yourself?

Ha – I don’t!  Honestly this is something that I struggle with all of the time. Some of the moments that I find for myself are just that – moments! Going for a run with my dog in the local park, having a hot shower, heading to the gym for an hour are a few of my favorite moments! 

What’s your favourite thing to do as a family in Toronto? 
Right now it is simply walking down the street with our little girl. (I think that this will change as Annabelle’s interests develop). There is nothing more enjoyable than getting down and playing with rocks, sticks, ladybugs and grass. Taking joy in walking on new materials and taking delight in the sound the leaves make when you walk through them. Taking a seat wherever your heart desires. Walking around a tree 20 times. Stopping to smell the flowers. Dancing in the rain and anywhere our little girls reaches up and says “dance”. 

Be sure to visit Quinn's Etsy shop - Rustic Daisy Designs to order a banner or see more! 
You can also follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

xo
Jenn

Hilarious Book Alert!! The Science of Parenthood by Norine Dworkin-McDaniel & Jessica Ziegler {Weekends are for Reading}

Have I got a treat for you today! For this week's Weekends Are For Reading feature, I have a Q&A with the authors of a brand-new book, Science of Parenthood, by Norine Dworkin-McDaniel and Jessica Ziegler. I love parenting books and blogs that help us find the humour in parenting. Norine and Jessica have both! (Plus a sweet giveaway at the end of this post, so keep reading!)

This is not another book just about the crazy baby-stage of parenting. Anyone who has ever spent any amount of time around children will enjoy reading this book. I found myself laughing out loud often and reading parts of the book aloud to my husband as well. There are lots of times when I look at my son and just think, "What the heck is going on here?" And since none of us really have a clue, we might as well make up some science for it.

Using "very scientific" flow charts, colourful graphs, along with hilarious anecdotes and observations, Norine and Jessica have come up with a number tried and true laws of parenting. Important, real, science that they just don't teach in school. Get ready for some laughs and a big dose of reassurance that it's not just you.

What’s Science of Parenthood all about?

Science of Parenthood started nearly three years ago as an illustrated humor blog. We use fake math and science to “explain” the stuff that puzzles parents every day. Things like ...
Why are broken cookies “ruined?”
Why does it matter what color the sippy cup is?
Why can’t you put the straw in the juice box without your kid having a melt down?
Why will a kid whine-whine-whine for a toy, then lose all interest in that toy once they have it? 
Where the eff is my phone?  

We’ve come up with some pretty hilarious theories.

Our book, Science of Parenthood: Thoroughly Unscientific Explanations for Utterly Baffling Parenting Situations, is like our blog … but like our blog on STEROIDS! We utilized the blog to road test--perhaps we should say “field test”--material, and now the book contains the kinds of cartoons and writing that fans love to find at Science of Parenthood, along with all new cartoons, infographics, flowcharts pie charts and quizzes that we created just for the book. About 90 percent of the book is brand new material.

Divided into four sections--biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics--the book lives in the chasm that exists between our collective hopes and dreams and expectations of what parenting will be like … and the brutal, slap-you-upside-the-head reality of what parenting actually is. We cover all aspects of pregnancy, birth and the hilarious frustrations that come with early childhood (tantrums, picky eating, diaper blowouts, illness, sleep issues, play dates, toy creep, homework battles and encounters with crazy parents (not you, of course, we mean other parents). And you know what? You don’t even need to be a scientist to “get” it.

Our goal is just to make parents laugh. Because when you’re a parent, you NEED to laugh. Humor is a survival tool. After your tot has gotten the top off a jar of Vaseline and smeared every surface within reach--as happened to our friend Gail--or tried to “help” you paint a room and ended up covered in blue paint--as happened to Norine’s sister Shari--you have to laugh. Or you’ll end up sobbing. Or wearing one of those fancy white jackets that buckles up in the back.

Is any of the book autobiographical?

Pretty much all of the book reflects through our experiences as parents. Take the piece “Experimental Gastronomy: A Study in Potatoes” from the Chemistry section. It’s written like a scientific paper about an experiment in which a researcher tries to determine if a preschooler who likes French fries will eat mashed potatoes. Raise your hand if you can hypothesize the outcome (see what we did there?) The piece is completely based on Norine’s inability to get her five-year-old, who loves fries, to even taste mashed potatoes. Says Norine: “I tried everything! I even offered him extra chocolate for dessert, and he still refused to take even one tiny nibble.”

Why science? Are either of you scientists?

Not at all. We’re moms dealing with the same kind of crazy stuff everyone else is. Science just makes a great metaphor for the frustration, exasperation and humiliation that comes with everyday parenting. Think about Einstein and how he explained his theory of relativity: “Sit on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour; sit with a pretty girl with an hour and it feels like a minute. That’s relativity.” Well, that’s parenthood too. One minute you’ve got a newborn covered in goo and then next, you’re watching teary-eyed as they skip into kindergarten without even a backward glance or a kiss goodbye. And yet, when you’re into your third hour of Candy Land on a rainy day, time seems to stand still. (If you haven’t played Candy Land with your toddler yet, trust us on this. The scars never really heal.)

Where did you get the idea for Science of Parenthood?

Our “eureka” moment came when Norine’s son, Fletcher, came home from school talking about one of Newton’s laws of force and motion: An object at rest stays at rest unless acted on by an external force.

Says Norine: “That instantly reminded me of Fletcher with his video games. He’d sit on the couch and play games all day if I didn’t confiscate the iPad. I jotted down, Newton’s First Law of Parenting: A child at rest will remain at rest until you want your iPad back. Later, I posted that on Facebook. It got a good response, so I started posting other parenting observations and giving them a math or science twist, like Sleep Geometry Theorem: A child will always sleep perpendicular to any adult laying next to them. Both of these are fan favorites and two of the very few cartoons we pulled from the blog to include in the book.

“As a writer, I’m always looking for new ways to tell stories. And in that eureka moment, it struck me that math and science make fantastic metaphors for telling the universal stories of parenting. Like scientists, we parents are always fumbling in the dark, searching for answers, wondering if we’re on the right track and second-guessing our methods. And because a picture is still worth a thousand words, I knew that these science-y quips would be a lot more popular on social media if they were illustrated. So I called Jessica and asked if she wanted to illustrate a book of these funny observations.

“Jessica was the one who saw that Science of Parenthood could be much bigger than a single book. She saw the potential for a blog and a social media presence and ancillary products. She quickly secured a domain name for us and created a Facebook page and Twitter feed. She began illustrating the observations I had already banked. Two weeks later, we debuted on Facebook; a week after that we rolled out the blog. Now we’re three years in, and along with Science of Parenthood, the book, we have mugs and magnets and posters featuring our images. Earlier this year we published two collections of humorous parenting tweets—The Big Book of Parenting Tweets and The Bigger Book of Parenting Tweets. 


How do you find time to read on your own with kids at home?

Hide in your bathroom with bourbon and chocolate :)

Where can readers find Science of Parenthood?

Science of Parenthood is available on Amazon, Chapters Indigo, and other bookstores near you.
And you can always find Science of Parenthood on Facebook, Twitter,  Pinterest, and Instagram. 


About The Authors

Norine is the primary writer for Science of Parenthood, the blog, and Science of Parenthood, the book. A longtime freelance magazine writer, Norine’s articles have appeared in just about every women’s magazine you can buy at supermarket checkout as well as on The Huffington Post, Parenting.com, iVillage, Lifescript and Scary Mommy websites. Norine is the co-author of You Know He’s a Keeper…You Know He’s a Loser: Happy Endings and Horror Stories from Real Life Relationships (Perigee), Food Cures (Reader’s Digest) and a contributor to several humor anthologies, including Have Milk, Will Travel: Adventures in Breastfeeding (Demeter Press). She lives with her husband and 9-year-old son in Orlando.

The daughter of famed New Yorker cartoonist Jack Ziegler, Jessica is Science of Parenthood’s co-creator, illustrator, web designer and contributing writer. In her “off hours,” Jessica is the director of social web design for VestorLogic and the writer/illustrator of StoryTots, a series of customizable children’s books. Her writing and illustration have been published on The Huffington Post, Vegas.com, InThePowderRoom.com and in Las Vegas Life and Las Vegas Weekly. Jessica was named a 2014 Humor Voice of the Year by BlogHer/SheKnows Media. She lives with her husband and 11-year-old son in Denver.

Together Jessica and Norine published The Big Book of Parenting Tweets and The Bigger Book of Parenting Tweets earlier in 2015.


xo
Jenn

Book Review - The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom {Weekends Are For Reading}

Does Mitch Albom sound familiar? He's the writer of Tuesdays With Morrie. I read it ages ago along with The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I remember loving both books. Then, and I'm not sure why, I never really crossed paths with another Mitch Albom book until now.

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto is Mitch Albom's newest book, and it's a book I am so grateful to have had landed on my "to read" pile this year. The voice of Music narrates the journey of Frankie Presto from newborn to adult. Only Music knows the whole story of Frankie's life, so Music must be the one to share his story with us. The tone of this book is very much redolent of Forrest Gump. Frankie is a gifted musician, and Music tells us how Frankie navigates the music world throughout his life. At times charming and at times heartbreaking, Music also tells you its thoughts on money, love, drugs, violence, and family.

Peppered throughout the book are chapters written by others who knew Frankie Presto, each sharing their own anecdotes and memories of Frankie with their distinct voices.

The book itself is profoundly lyrical. I found myself often pausing after reading certain lines from the book because I just wanted to savour the words I had read a little longer.

"All humans are musical.

Why else would the Lord give you a beating heart?"

"Suddenly it was terribly quiet, as if the earth itself were too stunned to breathe. I know this sound; silence is part of music. But just because something is silent doesn't mean you aren't hearing it."

"You're never in love with anyone the way you are when you're eighteen, on a beach, at night, with your shoes off." 

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto was descriptive, engaging, and full of powerful messages. I loved Music as the narrator. Such a unique idea that very much works in this book. I could clearly see Frankie Presto growing up and changing throughout this book. I'm not a musician, and I still deeply loved the story of Frankie Presto. I am captivated by stories that dance and and weave themselves together within a novel, and Mitch Albom certainly accomplished that with this book. So much so that I was actually in tears near the end of the book because of how invested I felt with this enchanting story. This is 100% true. I was at Starbucks carving out some time to finish reading and then found myself in the corner at my table quietly trying to wipe tears away, so no one would notice.

I wanted so bad to post a photo of the line that brought me to tears, but my husband told me it's too close to a spoiler, so this is the photo I took right before things got real.

Overall, I firmly believe anyone who reads The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto will finish the book feeling warm and deeply touched to have been part of Frankie's life. Keep this one in mind for a holiday gift idea. I've read a lot of books in 2015, and this is one of my favourites!

xo
Jenn

Follow Mitch Albom on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. 

Disclaimer - I received a copy of this book for review purposes from TLC Book Tours. All thoughts, opinions, and obsessive need to take photos of books and lattes together are entirely my own.

A Day in the Life of the Navy

I've mentioned before that my sister is in the military. She's currently in the middle of a 9-month deployment and asked me if she could put together a guest post for my blog to tell people what a typical day looks like in the Navy. (Sadly, there are no Village People...) I hope you enjoy her post!

My name is Amanda Cassidy, I have been in the Royal Canadian Navy for 7 years and am currently deployed on HMCS Winnipeg.  My rank is Leading Seaman, and I am a Sonar Operator.  I hunt for submarines using either a system like a big microphone in the water and listening for noise in the water like engines or by putting noise in the water ourselves and listening for the echo to come back.  Kind of like in the movie The Hunt for Red October, when Sean Connery’s character Captain Marko Ramius asked for “1 ping and 1 ping only."

The ship is 134 meters long, and we have over 250 crew members, from cooks to engineers to technicians to operators to medical staff.  Everyone onboard is trained to fight fires and floods, as it’s a little hard to try and call 911 and ask for assistance when the ship is in the middle of the ocean.  The ship operates 24/7, so we must be able to respond to any emergency day or night.  If, at 3am, the alarm goes off everyone has to get up, dressed, into assigned positions throughout the ship, and we must have people advancing on the fire within 6 minutes.

HMCS Winnipeg deployed on June 15, 2015 from Victoria BC, and we are expecting to return home around the end of February 2016.  This ship is part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, which is a task group consisting of the German frigate FGS Hamburg, the Canadian frigate HMCS Winnipeg, the Spanish frigate ESPS Santa Maria, the Spanish supply ship ESPS Cantabria, the Italian frigate ITS Bersagliere, and the USA destroyer USS Donald Cook.  HMCS Winnipeg is operating in support of NATO operation Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean Sea in order to deter, defend, disrupt and protect against terrorism and terrorist support activities. 

Temperatures average around 33 degrees Celsius every day with 75% humidity.  Sometimes the only daylight I see is when I am out on the upper decks of the ship working out.  

For me a typical day at sea looks like this:
5:45am – wake up
6:00am – workout
7:10am – breakfast
7:30am – in the Operations Room, work for 5 hours
12:30pm – lunch, free time (some people use this to watch TV, read a book, study for an online course, or take a nap)
4:00pm – workout
5:10pm – supper
5:30pm – in the Operations Room, work for 7 hours
12:30am – to bed, then repeat is all again the next day.

There are days when your off watch time is filled with work do to a secondary duty you may have such as Ship’s Team Diver or Naval Boarding Party.  This means some days its over 18 hours before your head hits the pillow. 

Being in the Navy has offered me so many opportunities than I would have had in the civilian world.  I have travelled down to South America, been to Hawaii 5 times, through the Panama Canal 3 times and around the Mediterranean Sea twice.  I have been hanging 50ft below a helicopter and helped fight a fire onboard. 

Being in the military also allows people the opportunity to look at and take different courses and career paths.  The next challenge I am looking at is becoming a Shipboard Air Traffic Controller (SAC).  That means I would be monitoring and directing the ship’s helicopter and any others that come out to play with the ship.  

Challenges do come with being in the Navy and especially with being deployed for a long time. My bed space is only 2 feet high, 3 feet wide and 6 feet long.  I live out a the locker that keeps of all my uniforms and any personal items.  Sailors are away from family and friends for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. We also depend on those left back home to take care of any problems.  Navy deployments might not always have military members right in the middle of a live battle where we are being shot at but it can still be dangerous and stressful. 

While I miss my family and friends, I miss these two things most of all: taking long hot showers and baths and cuddling with my cat, Abby.

I hope you enjoyed hearing about what life is like for someone deployed in the Canadian Navy. If you know of any Canadian military service members currently on deployment, you can send them parcels and letters for the holidays free of charge though Canada Post until January.

xo
Jenn

Go Buy Now - Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone: Illustrated Edition

Nothing is more beautiful than a bookshelf full of books. I've even done that thing where you colour-coordinate all of the books for Instagram-worthy shelfies. My newest addition is the Illustrated Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

I'm fairly certain that part of the reason I wanted to have children is so that I can read them Harry Potter in bed at night. This book is going to make that dream even more wonderful.

This book is unbelievably stunning. It's a hardcover copy of the complete first book in the Harry Potter series. There is a red ribbon attached to the binding to use as a bookmark. Every inch of this book has some kind of charming, colourful illustration or detailing. There are no plain white pages of text. The scope and detail of the drawings actually gave me goosebumps. I just can't even imagine the time it took the illustrator, Jim Kay, to complete this work. (If Jim Kay sounds familiar, he also did A Monster Calls by Siobhan Dawd).

Whether you just want a copy for yourself, or you know someone for whom it would make the most perfect holiday gift, you will not regret picking up a copy. Also, buying the illustrated edition online is $10 cheaper than in the store. (American friends - here's the link on Amazon)

Seb may not be old enough to understand the whole story yet, but I'm one step closer to introducing him to this magical world.

xo
Jenn