Product Review: Liquid Chalk Markers

Kitchen Surpreme’s new chalk markers bundle with chalkboard labels is a fun way to help get organized!  I’ve had scrapbook paper sorted out for quite some time but have now been able to label all my colors with labels and not only that – the color of the chalk on the label matches the color of the paper!  In addition to using the markers to label my scrapbook papers, I also used the black chalk to create a graffiti-like background paper for a scrapbook page I will be putting together very soon.  I love the look of it and that I can customize things however I want with the 10 colors included in the bundle as well as the 2 tips that I can use depending on if I am writing or if I just want to create accents with the chalk.  These are a great addition to my scrapbook area and I can’t wait to use them on more projects. Even if you are not a scrapbooker, you can use these markers to label items in your bathroom, kitchen, or anywhere else you may need some help organizing.  To use the markers just shake them, press down until the chalk starts coming to the tip and start writing! The tip pulls out and has 2 types of tips that you can flip around quite easily to find the right one to suit your needs.

Look for my scrapbook page (Lee DeWyze) coming to a Scrapbook Saturday post coming soon! And keep an eye out for future scrapbook pages that may included these markers as well!


I received a free set of the markers bundle in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

Author Apologizes

Daniel Handler, also known as author Lemony Snicket, came under fire recently for some racially insensitive comments. Unlike other people who have made similar missteps, Handler did not rush to defend himself. Instead, he graciously apologized. He had the humility to admit that he was in the wrong.

As the host of 2014’s National Book Awards, Handler was tasked with introducing the award recipients. While presenting the Young People’s Literature Award to Jacqueline Woodson, he made the seemingly lighthearted comments that resulted in the ensuing scrutiny. Woodson, a black author, had previously spoken about the impact of racial stereotypes on her personal sense of self. She mentioned how absurd she finds the pervasive images of black people eating watermelon, since she is allergic to it; this supposedly quintessential aspect of the black American identity is completely irrelevant to her actual experiences as a black woman. She was using that example of a stereotype to make a larger point about how white Americans simply refuse to let go of their prejudices and how she dealt with feeling forced to absorb those preconceived notions even though they have absolutely nothing to do with her as a human being. Woodson is clearly a gifted thinker and writer worthy of her award.

Handler reduced all of this nuance and deep introspection to a context-free announcement that Woodson is allergic to watermelon. Though it is easy to see how a white man would find this amusing, it was still a tasteless thing to say. He was criticized for minimizing a triumphant moment in Woodson’s life and for making light of a significant moment of visibility for black women.

What happened next surprised everyone. He accepted the blame for what he said without justifying it or making excuses. He acted like an adult by acknowledging that he still has a lot to learn. He willingly attached the “racist” label to his statements, something that is very rarely done in public apologies. He even donated $10,000 the We Need Diverse Books campaign and pledged to match other people’s donations up to $100,000. It showed incredible good will and strength of character to not only admit that he was wrong, but to use his apology as a platform for real action. He then did what he should have done from the beginning: he turned the proverbial microphone over to Jacqueline Woodson and encouraged the public to read her wonderful work.

Book Review: You Couldn’t Make It Up!

youcouldntYou Couldn’t Make It Up is the autobiography & memoir of Mike Freedman – it talks about his life and travels, among other things – but isn’t in chronological order (other than his early years – which ARE in order, it doesn’t really matter.)  The chapters are made up of several shorter stories, which I liked because I found things easier to read with it all broken up like that.  Some of his travel stories included being detained in Canada for “taking a job from canadians” and searched in Canada for staying only for dinner – only for them to not find anything other than what he said in his luggage.  A lot of the stories, after reading them, you think – “You couldn’t make this up!” hence the name of the book.  Oh and did I mention he even got bitten by a tarantula once? *shudders*

Mike has held a lot of different and interesting jobs, and has a lot of stories about it all. As the write up says – it is an amusing and fast read – it is written like Mike is telling you the stories more conversational than anything else – which I find helps me to get through books faster.

Definitely an interesting read worth taking the time out to check out!

I received a free e-copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.

About the Book

Believing life is not a rehearsal, and with the world at his feet, Mike took it full on!

How many people can say they’ve survived a tarantula bite, been deported from Iran, explored the wilderness in Antarctica, and served on a Foreign Office Commission? Mike Freedman can.

You Couldn’t Make It Up! is his memoir, spanning 70 years, that details his extraordinary experiences. Having been on a plane halfway across the Atlantic during 9/11, as well as exploring the Malaysian jungle and Namibian desert and running marathons, Mike tells of how he is lucky to have had such an array of exciting and scary experiences. Despite having been expelled from school, Mike has received degrees from University College London, Oxford, University of the Arts, London, and Saskatchewan in Canada. His life is littered with unusual events and unbelievable escapes that show just how you can make your own luck.

An amusing and fast read, written in a chatty and friendly style, You Couldn’t Make It Up! will appeal to anyone of an adventurous nature, while serving as an inspiration to the younger generation and providing a reminder to the older of a golden time. In addition to Mike’s many adventures, You Couldn’t Make It Up! also details his moral and political values, adding a serious facet to the book.

“I wanted to leave my story as a legacy to my children and grandchildren,” says Mike, who classes himself as a wilderness adventurer as well as being a husband, father and grandfather. He had a successful international business career and parallel political one. Mike is now an artist.

Book Review: If You’re Not The One

ifyourenotIf You’re Not The One is about Jen Wright.  The book jumps around a lot from different time periods, but the main idea is that Jen was in an accident and is now in a coma.  While in the coma, she thinks about what led up to the accident and her life with her husband.  She is having all sorts of what if questions, wondering about what would have happened if she ended up marrying some of her earlier boyfriends so we find out about Aiden, Tim, Steve and Joe as well as Max.  The book bounces from her fantasy life with these other men and how it would have turned out, what children she would have had, etc. And present day where Max is by her side hoping she will soon wake up.

I have to say, I really was not a fan of this book. I didn’t like the jumping around, it made it confusing and difficult to follow at times.  And the ending was LAME! I may even say it didn’t really have an ending.  I wasted all this time reading the book just to be left hanging.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review.

About the Book

What if you could do it all over again?

Jennifer Wright is pretty sure her husband doesn’t love her anymore. She and Max used to be the perfect couple, but the pressures of work and kids have pulled them in opposite directions. Now , Jen is full of “what if” questions about whether her bland, suburban existence is all she was ever destined for.

When a terrible accident sends Jen into a coma, she is able to see what her life could have been if she had run off to Australia with the handsome, dangerous man she met on vacation, or if she had stayed with her workaholic college boyfriend. Would she ever have loved another child as much as she loves her daughters? Could she have become rich? More than anything, Jen wants to do the right thing for her family. But what she discovers may leave her with even more questions about the choices she made, and no easy answers about what to do next.

Book Review: Heart of the Game

heartofthegame

Heart of the Game is a baseball romance novel, but it is unique because it is a romance between two women which really is not typical of books where baseball is involved.  Sarah Duke has just become a full-time sports reporter for the biggest website in the major leagues. She loves her job and she loves baseball and she loves that she is one of the only few women who have such a job.  Then one day she meets a young boy who is as into the game as she is.  She talks to him about the game but when she offers to take him to the bullpen his Mom is not happy that she was going to take off with him without asking permission.  Sarah, or Duke as she is called throughout the book, apologizes profusely and ends up forging a friendship with this boy, Joe, his little brother Charlie and his mom, Molly.  She wants to be friends with the boys and talk baseball with Joe and keep him in love with the game, so she offers to babysit while Molly goes on a date with a woman named Lauren that had been pursuing her.  Once things go south there, Molly and Duke end up having a bit of a thing – but it’s hard for Duke to balance her love of baseball and her love of the job with Molly, the boys and their schedules.

I enjoyed this book, but I really didn’t like the character of Molly.  She liked you to think that she was in control, but when she lost control then it was everyone’s fault but her own.  I also felt like a lot of the time she couldn’t make up her mind as to what she wanted (especially when it came to Duke) and she would agree to things in the moment and then as soon as things went south it was all Duke’s fault and they shouldn’t be together, blah blah blah.

I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.

About the Book

Sometimes baseball is just a metaphor for life, and sometimes it works the other way around.
All Sarah Duke ever cared about was baseball, and she’s finally earned her shot as a full-time sports writer. She loves the work, she loves being one of the few women to ever gain access to a man’s world, but most of all, she loves the game. When Duke meets Molly Grettano and her two sons at the ballpark, she instantly connects with the young family, but Molly isn’t sure Duke’s ready for something more. Molly wants someone softer, more feminine, and more importantly, someone steady. She and her boys have been abandoned before, and she’s vowed to never to put them in that position again. If she were ever to trust anyone, it would have to be someone fully dedicated to her and her children. Duke has a lot of heart, but neither woman is sure there’s enough room left in it for anything other than baseball.

Book Review: Tom Gates: Excellent Excuses (and Other Good Stuff)

tomeTom Gates is back in Book #2. I haven’t read Book #1 but that’s ok.  Tom Gates is in Middle School and this is his diary.  I found that he puts a LOT of effort into the book, drawing letters bigger than others, drawing pictures and doodling – but comes up with all sorts of excuses when it comes to homework.  If he put half as much effort into his homework as he does his book – well, I guess there’d be no reason to have a book then, would there?  Tom is in a band called DOGZOMBIES and they are getting ready to have their first gig, after they find a drummer, of course.  Then one day Tom realizes he has a toothache but tries to hide the fact that it kept him up all night by blaming the scary movie he watched instead because he didn’t want to have to give up sweets.  Tom also can’t stand his sister Delia and the band’s one song is “Delia is a Weirdo”

This was a fun read, mostly due to the way that Tom wrote the book with all the drawings and doodles.  A great Children’s read.

I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.

About the Book

Middle-school comedian, homework dodger, rock-star wannabe, master doodler—Tom Gates is back with two more episodes full of visual humor and kid appeal.

No school for two whole weeks! Now Tom has plenty of time for the good stuff, like finding new ways (so many!) to annoy his big sister, Delia. Or watching TV and eating caramel candy. Or most important, band practice for DOGZOMBIES in his best friend Derek’s garage (while not encouraging Derek’s ’60s-music-crazed dad). All that stands between this band and rock greatness is, well, a song (besides “Delia’s a Weirdo”). And finding a drummer. And landing a gig. Will Tom let a killer toothache and pesky overdue homework get in his way?

Throwback Thursday: Clay Aiken 9/14/04

04-09-19

Headliner: Clay Aiken
Opener(s): Ben Jelen
Cost: $10

Setlist:

Ben
Wicked Little Town
Christine
She’ll Hear You
Revolution
Setting of the Sun
Come On

Clay
Where The Streets Have No Name
Perfect Day
When You Say You Love Me
Kyrie
I Will Carry You
Without You
Sweet Baby James
How Sweet It Is
Fire and Rain
Whenever I See Your Smiling Face
You’ve Got a Friend
Measure of a Man
Still The One
I Survived You
I Knew You Were Waitin’
Rosanna
You Were There
This Is The Night
Invisible
Solitaire

Recap: This was a show at The Big E and I think one of the last shows I’ve gone to at the Big E (and maybe the last time I had even visited the Big E!) We were in the way back because that is where they decided handicapped seating was (lame) and no photos were allowed.

Where Are They Now:

Ben I’ve mentioned before – was in a band but I havent heard much from him lately.

Clay is into politics now!

KTUphoria 2015

Euphoria – a feeling of happiness, confidence or well-being

When I woke up Sunday, I didn’t know what I had in store for me.  I had a message from my friend Miriam that she had tickets to KTUphoria at Jones Beach on Long Island and meet and greet passes for Kelly Clarkson.  I had never met Kelly before, so despite it being the end of the weekend I decided I would join her at the show. Also performing were Adam Lambert, Pitbull and Ricky Martin (and others) – who I’d wanted to see as well.

She told me that she was taking the Rally Bus to the venue which would give her the chance to win Adam Lambert passes. I opted to drive in case I wanted to leave the show early and she told me that doors were at 5 and her bus would get in at 4 so I told her I’d meet her there at 4.

Despite getting a bit lost and driving around in (literally) circles at one point I arrived right at 4.  I checked my phone and had a message from her that they hadn’t even left yet, though it was from about an hour before.  When I told her I had arrived she said she still hadn’t even left yet (!) and was getting the contact info for someone who could get me inside even though she had our tickets. (Which made me laugh because I *promised* the guy at the parking lot I had a ticket rather than parking by will call. Guess I lied!)

Melanie met up with me and got me inside and gave me a pass to meet Adam – but I still had no ticket. I walked around to see if there were any other contests going on and to case out where I had to go to meet Adam and to see if I could figure out where to go to meet Kelly (turns out it was the same spot)  Melanie said Miriam would be getting there at 5:30, but Miriam was telling me otherwise. We had no idea if she’d even arrive in time to meet Kelly and the passes were in her name!

I talked to the girl at the pick up for the M&G passes and she told me if I could get an image of Miriam’s ID, even if she texted it to me, that I could get the passes.  That is what we did and I had the passes and was still hoping the bus would show up by 6:30pm.

Kelly’s set started and Melanie ended up giving me her ticket so I could go inside and watch. I stayed for a couple of songs but then headed over to the M&G area to make sure I wouldn’t miss it. I left Miriam’s pass back at the pick up area on the off chance she made it in time. (spoiler: she didn’t)

We walked back to the “backstage” area and lined up to meet Kelly. She is so cute! (I even told her that) she greeted me with a hug and asked my name and we took the photo. It was a small group to meet her so we got a bit more time with her than usual rushed M&Gs.

I had asked if I could hang back since Adam’s M&G was next and I didn’t want to walk back and forth again and they said that would be fine. Things ended up delayed so I had a chair brought over for me and was able to watch Adam’s set (and I had heard Prince Royce’s during the Kelly M&G) and then was first in line for his M&G.  I got to see Kelly leave and Laura Marano from Austin and Ally walked by too but I didn’t say anything to her.

I ended up getting a text from Miriam around 7 that she was in line for the Adam M&G so I told her I would see her after since I was already back there. The Adam M&G was super fast and didn’t have much time to say more than hi!  Justin Baron was on during Adam’s M&G and I realized that I had seen him walking around earlier but wasn’t sure who he was!

After the Adam M&G Melanie found me and she was also with the CEO of Rally Bus. We chatted a bit before Miriam came out of her M&G and talked to him. She obviously had a lot to say – since she had missed the M&G with Kelly (the reason we were going) and was not happy about it – she was heartbroken.  The CEO bought us drinks and Melanie was able to track down closer seats and a M&G for Jason Derulo for us.

We finally went inside at this point to see the show and Shaggy was on stage. We saw a couple of his songs and then they set up for the next act. We thought it would be Jason, our M&G with him was going to be after his set and I was worried I’d miss Ricky Martin.  But it turned out that Ricky was up next instead! His set seemed to be extra long so we wondered if maybe Jason hadn’t arrived yet and was on a rally bus of his own.

Jason was up next and he seemed to have a long set as well, especially since I was told the show would end at 10:30 (if on time) and we still needed to wait for Pitbull! Of course,with Jason and Ricky’s longer sets I should have known that something was going on.  They had JASON announce that Pitbull was unable to make it to the show before he did his last song. I thought this was such a copout from KTU – they knew that no one would lash out at Jason like they would if one of the DJs made the announcement instead.  After Jason’s set was done, everyone was booing because a lot of people were there to see Pitbull! (He was the only artist who had merch available for purchase at the booths!)

We made our way over to where the M&G for Jason was going to be and started walking to backstage again. Of course about half way there it started to downpour so we got to the tent looking like drowned rats. They huddled us all under the tent where the other M&G photos were taken but then ended up taking us to the actual backstage area (or ‘behindstage’) to meet Jason.  After checking multiple times for our passes (mine was a soggy mess at this point) we were told we MUST be in groups of 2 (or more) and it was going to go quick. So we got our pic, look soaked and ridiculous while Jason is dry and almost shirtless… and then headed back to the car – only this time I had the chance to put my rain coat on. I gave Miriam a ride home so she wouldn’t have to deal with the rally bus on the way home too. (Though we heard they got home without incident)

All in all, I am not sure the evening was anything close to “euphoric” but rally bus does seem like they’re going to try and make things up to us.  I will of course keep everyone posted but I am hesitant to try them for any event that actually has a starting time or where any sort of M&G opportunity is on the line!  I am so upset that Miriam was the one who got the passes for Kelly and wasn’t able to meet her 🙁

Ed Sheeran Mohegan Sun Arena 5/23/15

Saturday night Ed Sheeran had a concert at the Mohegan Sun Arena. At first I wasn’t sure if his music would do well in an arena, but turns out it actually went over quite well. If you weren’t looking at the stage, you may not have realized that it was just Ed, 2 mics and some pedals where he was able to play percussion by tapping on his guitar, record it, and loop it. He recorded background vocals for himself and looped that and then sang the song on top of it all to a much fuller sound than a guy on stage with an acoustic guitar. (He did have an electric for a song or two.)

The show was amazing and I was thoroughly impressed – if you have a show of his coming up and you’re not going, I strongly recommend that you reconsider!

Opening act was Foy Vance – who it turns out I kept getting confused with Vance Joy – but they are indeed two different musicians. Foy mentioned that he almost did not make the tour because he had visa problems trying to get in to the US from Ireland. This would explain why Ed was having spot openers for a few shows in the beginning of the tour and why Hanson got the nod to open in Tulsa and St Louis earlier in the tour!

I’m not sure that Foy Vance was the right choice for the crowd. He wasn’t bad, but I just don’t think that the young crowd really enjoyed him. My friend Christine said he’d probably do better opening up for Bruce Springsteen or a rocker with an older fan base and I’d have to agree!

Ed came out on stage at about 8:30 and said he would be entertaining us for the next 2 hours – and that he did. Very impressive that he played for the almost 2 hours straight (with a quick break after his ‘technical’ last song and then came back out for the encore) completely by himself and was able to keep up his energy the whole time!

I’m a Mess
Lego House
Don’t / Loyal / No Diggity / Nina
Drunk
Take It Back / Superstition / Ain’t No Sunshine
Photograph
Bloodstream
Tenerife Sea
Thinking Out Loud
Feeling Good  / I See Fire
Afire Love
The A Team
Give Me Love

You Need Me, I Don’t Need You / In The Club / Fancy
Sing

Book Review: Dolphins Don’t Run Marathons

dolphinDolphins Don’t Run Marathons is 26.2 loving thoughts on why you should not run a marathon. It breaks down humans into human ants, human chimps and human dolphins and how all three relate to running. The book then tells you what is more important than running, like being happy in your heart and looking for adventures other than running. There are also tips for running the New York Marathon. It’s a cute idea and I like the comparison between humans and animals. I think I’m a chimp because I am not athletic and can probably be considered lazy.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

I am trapped in the marathon world.

Help!! I cannot find any way to escape the marathon jungle world.

Stop being a case study in the runner’s world.

Dolphins Don’t Run Marathons will lead you towards a new direction so you will be able to find a way to escape from the world of marathons and move on to a new, positive sporting life.

Sam Brand thinks that the peak of the marathons may have been reached. Dolphins Don’t Run Marathons will show you the way to reinvent yourself, to become a new you, with the 26.2 loving thoughts that will change your running world.

Dolphins Don’t Run Marathons is Sam Brand’s philosophy behind sports and happiness.

You can shape your world, become a dolphin, all other animals are already taken.

Go for the human dolphin’s magic life.

Social Media Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com