Photo Hunters ~ Technology

Today is a fun theme in Photo Hunters. There are so many directions one can take with this. I chose one of my favorite pictures. It's my Mom talking to my oldest, her first grandchild, on Skype. There was just something about seeing the headphones on her head, a grandma using modern technology to talk to her granddaughter. It makes me smile.

For more technology themed photos or to join in see Photo Hunters.

Book Review ~ Julie and Julia

Another on my Fall Into Reading list in done. Loved the movie, what did I think of the book?

The review is here. Scroll down to #27.

Friday's Fave Five #64

Hellooo? Is anyone out there? Or you all lined up at Black Friday sales sinces 4 a.m. I tell ya, that is an American tradition that I'm sorta really glad hasn't crossed the border. I cannot imagine myself doing that. Uh, uh. No way. Now a midnight madness sale, I just might consider. LOL. So if you're not in a coma from too much turkey dinner and/or you're not standing in line and you've decided to still join me, welcome to you! We'll get right into it!

1. A nice, patient person on the other end of the phone line when I called customer service for a problem with my daughter's cell phone. She took a long time and did not give up or get frustrated until the problem was solved. Thank you, nice lady, for your wonderful service.

2. Warm, fuzzy housecoats. Such a simple thing, but I love a nice soft housecoat. Perfect for when the evenings start getting colder and can't be without it on a Saturday morning sitting around feeling cozy with coffee in hand reading blogs and books.

3. Perogies. Love my perogies. Especially bacon and sauerkraut. Yum. Yum. And don't forget the sour crean!

4. Hubby's birthday. Or more specifically, planning hubby's birthday and having him love it from beginning to end. I love it when it works out great. Hubby is not a party type person so it was just the four of us (unfortunately the older girl can't make it home from school). We took him to A Christmas Carol 3D. And he thoroughly loved it. Once our tummy's digested all the popcorn we then took him to the mexican restaurant for one of his favorite meals. And then we just let him relax. A perfect day for him.

5. Being in a reading groove. I love being in a reading mode. I love those waves where I just soak up my books one after another and it's no effort whatsoever. Where I'm turning to my books rather than the tv remote. Where I can hardly wait to get a break to get into the book again. I'm in one of those modes now. Heavens, I'm even getting through some non-fiction. Now that's a good reading groove, if I ever saw one. LOL.

What are your favorites this week? If you have done a post please sign onto Mr. Linky linking directly to the specific post, not your home page please. We'd love to come and visit you!

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody who is celebrating! My mouth is so watering as I imagine everything you all are eating today.

And in that mindset, I want to ask a question. Those of you who have tried them, which is better: the Wii Fit or the Wii sport active?

I want to get one for Christmas but am not sure which one I should get.

Random Dozen Early

Linda is doing the Random Dozen early this week due to you American friends celebrating Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, here in Canada, it's business as usual. No day off, no party, no turkey, no pie for us. Bummer.

Anyway, we do have Lid's Random Dozen. Join in and link up at 2nd Cup of Coffee.

1. Are you sticking to traditional Thanksgiving foods this year, or are you being culinarily adventurous? We love tradition at our house. The basics have to be there: turkey, stuffing, whipped potatoes, gravy, chocolate pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie. The sides is where I usually play a bit. I have to have some form of spaghetti squash and some form of yams (we don't get sweet potatoes up here). Although this last Thanksgiving I found an awesome recipe that was a bit hit so that too will be shuffled to the traditional must have list. That recipe is here. You have got to try it, it's awesome!

2. Tell me something concrete that you're thankful for. (Something you can literally touch, see, etc., not a concept like "hope.") I am thankful for my family. I'm thankful that in spite of our quirks we love each other and stick together.

3. You knew the flip side was coming: Share about something intangible that you're thankful for. I am thankful that God says in the bible that I can "cast all my care on Him because He cares for me!" That brings me much comfort and peace.

4. Share one vivid Thanksgiving memory. It doesn't have to be deep or meaningful, just something that remains etched in your memory. Our family always got together with my godparents and my sister's godparents. We were each other's family as none of us had actual relatives here in Canada. It was always fun. My parents would always some card game that I never the English name of but I think it was some form of rummy.

5. What is one thing that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt is going to happen this Thanksgiving because it always does, year after year? Well our Thanksgiving was in October but I can always guarantee that I will most definitely over eat! It happens every single year!

6. Do your pets get any left-overs? Absolutely.

7. Does your family pray before the big meal? If so, do you join hands while seated, stand, repeat a formal prayer or offer a spontaneous prayer? Who does the praying? Yes we do. We usually just all gather in the kitchen, not enough room around the table for everyone and bow our heads. No hand holding as we're scattered all over the room. Hubby usually does a spontaneous prayer.

8. Will you be watching football in the afternoon? If not, what will you be doing? Not a lot of sports fans in my family, we usually put a movie on, that some watch, some prefer to just visit.

9. There are two distinct camps of people on this issue: How do you feel about oysters in the dressing/stuffing? Gag! No! That is just a travesty!

10. Do you consider yourself informed about the first Thanksgiving? The very basics.

11. Which variety of pie will you be enjoying? I prefer my chocolate pumpkin cheesecake, but I do love pie too. Most any kind except mincemeat. I usually buy a pumpkin pie for those who are pumpkin pie purists and think the cheesecake is just unacceptable and usually some other kind of fruit pie for those who can't stand pumpkin.

12. Do you feel for the turkey?? (This is a humorous throw back question related to the 12th question in another Random Dozen!) I don't really think about it, it is what it is, but if I paused and did I might.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all you who are celebrating! And please, don't feel one speck of guilt if you think of me working away as usual, probably having mac and cheese for supper. Don't give it a thought. :v)

Photo Hunters ~ Birds

Today's photo hunter theme is birds. I had to dig into my archives for this one. I wish I had some pics of exotic type birds, but I don't. Geese and land gulls proliferate around here and they are easy to capture with a camera compared to the other, cute, little, fast variety. So I chose these. I shot them at the lake and it was a windy, grey day which sorta made for some neat monochromatic type pics.

Sharing the dock.

Mr. & Mrs.

"That water looks cold!

For more on the Bird Theme visit Photo Hunters.

Friday's Fave Five #63

Welcome everybody! Wow, are we getting close to the end of November aren't we? I'm going to have to work on changing the button again pretty soon. Anyway, thanks for sticking around and playing along for all this time. If you are new, you can go here if you need details, then just join right in.

1. Invitation only shopping. There are a few stores around here that have an evening where it's invitation only shopping on an evening before Christmas. They are a lot of fun. There is usually lots of snacks, and door prizes and scratch and saves handed out at the door. A few friends and I went to one at a Home Hardware store that happens to have a really, really nice decorating section. It was lots of fun. Lots of fun Christmas items. Unfortunately, I didn't scratch the 50% off, but oh well, I got a couple of cute things.

2. A night out with friends. After the shopping what else can one do but stop somewhere on the way home for a coffee and more snacks. Too fun! And totally a destresser.

3. Deep fried mushrooms. Oh my word. So, so yummy. Only a once in awhile treat though as they are not too terribly healthy. Nice big mushrooms dipped in a coating and deep fried. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I had to borrow a picture. But mine pretty much looked just like this.

4. A devotional that really hits home and speaks to me right where I am. I'm not really a regular devotional reader. I go in spurts and waves with them. But I ablsolutely love it when I hit upon one where almost every devotional in it just hits me right where I need it. I am in just such a one now. "The Love as a Way of Life Devotional". So good. For example a quote out of today's devotion: "People notice when we are patient...because it is so much more common to show impatience" and "When we are noisy and when we are hurried, we are incapable of intimacy-deep, complex, personal relationships". You know how you know something sorta in your head but sometimes it just hits you right in the heart and then change can come. These two sentences were awful profound to me today. And that's what this whole devotional has been doing for me at this time. Love it.

5. Slow Cookers. I love cooking with slow cookers. I've used mine 2 or 3 times already in the last week. I find cooking in them so easy, and some of my favorite foods come out of them. Stews, soups, tough old cheap roasts come out fork tender. And I love the throw it in and forget about it aspect. Since I'm into forgetting lately, it comes in darn right handy.

What are your favorites for the week? What has touched your heart? If you do a post, please sign onto Mr. Linky so we can come and visit you.

Book Tour ~ Double Cross

"Double Cross" by James David Jordan

Publisher's Summary:

The day my mother came back into my life began with a low December fog and a suicide.” So begins James David Jordan’s latest novel, Double Cross, which follows the exploits of Taylor Pasbury, a young ex-Secret Service agent with a checkered past and a penchant for finding trouble. Even as a high school kid, Taylor knew she was not like most other girls. Raised by her father, a retired Special Forces officer, she learned to camp, shoot, and most of all, take care of herself. Now a young adult, Pasbury opens her own security agency and finds herself in the middle of a mysterious case full of danger and intrigue.

When the top assistant of her former client turns up dead, all signs point to embezzlement and suicide. But in the world of Taylor Pasbury, nothing is as it seems. A trail of clues leads to Taylor’s mother, who abandoned her when she was nine. What begins as a suicide investigation becomes a personal quest to find the truth about her past.

Double Cross is an action-packed story that provides thrilling twists and turns as well as a thought-provoking look at the personal and spiritual struggles of characters who are as complex as they are flawed. Ultimately, it’s a story of self-examination that describes Taylor’s journey toward the conclusion that some sacrifices can never be earned.

Author Bio:

James David Jordan is a successful business attorney in Dallas, Texas, and was named by the Dallas Business Journal as one of the most influential leaders in that legal community. Jordan followed his aspirations of becoming an author, taking five years to create his first book, Something That Lasts, which was well-received by both critics and the public. His second book, Forsaken, won the Reader’s Choice award from RelzReviews and The Suspense Zone.

Jordan writes with a commitment to tell page-turning stories that challenge readers to explore and grow in their faith. With gripping authenticity, Jordan examines subjects of family and faith and skillfully draws readers into the crisis faced by Taylor Pasbury. Along the way, readers will find ample opportunity to re-assess their own life situations and wrestle with their own thoughts about forgiveness and grace.

My Thoughts:

I was very excited to see that the second installment in the Taylor Pasbury story was ready for release. The first book, Forsaken, left a profound impact on me and made me really think what I would do if I had to make a choice between the life of one of my kids and standing for Christ. A year later I still think on that story. Now in this novel, Jordan takes us further into ex-Secret Service agent Taylor Pasbury's life and explores her relationship with her mother. Taylors mother, as told in the first novel, had left her when she was 9 and she was raised by her father with no contact with her mother whatsoever. Now in the midst of a unexpected suicide investigation, Taylor's mother is shockingly back in her life and Taylor is forced in more ways than one to once again face her past and learn that grace is not something you earn.

I once again was touched by the flawed characters in Jordan's story and how relatable they are in their feelings and reactions. While Taylor is struggling with her private life and how it relates to Christianity, we are privy to her thoughts and self conversations. Tough on the outside, but hurting on the inside, Taylor's character is like many of us. Her mother showing up unexpectedly only makes more of her inner struggles and vulnerabilities rise to the surface even as she is figuring out if the suicide they came upon is really a suicide or a well covered murder.

Double Cross will appeal to both male and female readers and both Christian and non-Christian. The message is there but not in your face and makes for a "cannot put down" fast paced reading that will leave you thinking about your own thoughts on grace.

Thank you to B&B Media Group for providing the book for review.

Visit James David Jordan to learn more and to purchase "Double Cross"