Sunday, May 29, 2011

Two Things I Learned This Week...


 Macy and I couldn't comment all week...
It was awful! 
 I missed you guys so much. 
Then a couple people told me to uncheck the gmail stay signed in box...
and BAM, I can comment again.
YAHOO!
 

 If you know me very well you, know I've complained about the wind in Iowa....


It turns out the reason it's so windy here is...someone installed great big fans!

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I'll be back on Thursday with Part Three of What Happens in Vegas...The Dam Tour. 
If you missed Part One or Part Two you can pop over to them or scroll down.

I hope you are having a great holiday weekend.  Don't forget to thank a veteran...

Thursday, May 19, 2011

What Happens in Vegas...part two

 Please forgive me...I posted a few lot of pictures of things we saw on the strip and inside some of the casinos in Las Vegas.  I did use quite a bit of restraint...I took over 300 pictures and am only posting a small sampling of them. 


 This spray of water looked like it was in a tube.  It arched over a walkway.  My Brilliant Husband stuck his finger in it to prove that he was right.  It wasn't in a tube...and we got wet. 


 This butterfly house was inside a casino.

One thing that surprised me were the outdoor escalators and walkways over the street.
 Isn't this a cool chandelier?
 The Bellagio had a ferris wheel inside it!
 I can't remember which casino had a merry-go-round in it.
 Another cool chandelier!


 Did anyone see the movie Big?  Zoltar was at Circus Circus Casino.


 This was an awesome shopping mall!




 Quite a few of the casinos had fake grass!
 There were lots of sparkly lights...
 Sadly, the Sahara is closing it's doors according to a newspaper we saw when we were leaving for home.  We thought it was awfully quiet in there...
 We also saw the Brooklyn Bridge and a tug boat.  The inside of the New York, New York Casino was full of "buildings" that looked like brownstones and apartments...It was very cool!
We didn't make it to this casino, but it looked really fun...

Thanks for stopping in and checking out part two of our 25th anniversary trip.  If you missed part one you can check it out here.  I'll be posting part three on Monday.  (My sister is coming for a long weekend, so I won't be posting on Sunday night...)

What is the most interesting place you have been to on holiday?


Tuesday, May 17, 2011

What Happens in Vegas...part one

Sorry I was absent from Blogland last week.  
It was my Brilliant Husband's and my 25th anniversary. 
We took a four day weekend and went to Las Vegas...alone. 
 This was the view of the Strip from our room...
 This was looking the other direction...Check out those beautiful mountains!
 Our lovely room at the Mirage...

 Our bathroom...
 Isn't this great carpet...(Yeah, I know photographing the carpet is strange.)
 Twenty-five years is a long time to stay together...
 But a trip to Vegas is a nice reward for being a  loving girlfriend for two years and a devoted wife for 25 years.
 I know  you are all worried that I lost Katherine's college money...but we  I didn't. 
I played around $5 in slots at about 12 casinos... (I used a lot of self-control!)
We went to Cirque Du Soleil The Beatles LOVE show...It was super!

Have you been to Las Vegas?  What did you think???

Monday, May 9, 2011

Possession Bookmark Winners...

The winners are:

Comment number 16: LynNerd
Comment number 19: Jeff King
Comment number 17: Beth Pollock
Comment number 5: Story Queen...  Shelley Thomas Moore

Please email me at sharonkmayhew at gmail dot com with your name and address.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

The Gift...

I'd like to wish each of you a Happy Mother's Day. 

About 17 years ago my Brilliant Husband and I decided we wanted to be parents.  Becoming a parent wasn't as easy as it sounds...  It took us several years of trying, along with a wonderful fertility doctor before we finally got pregnant.  

Every year has been a blessing.  Every phase of her life has brought us so much joy.    

Now my baby is fifteen.  I still cherish every moment I get to spend with her.  It makes my heart ache when I think of her going off to college in three years.  

Being a parent is a gift.  Not everyone gets that gift, so if you are lucky enough to be a parent...treasure your babies.  Show them you love them.  Tell them you love them.  Make sure they know that you are blessed because you had them
 

 Do you have a special memory with your kids or  with your mom?   Care to share??? 

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Kudos Elana....Possession is Awesome!

If you liked the Uglies Series, your going to LOVE Possession!  You might be wondering how I can say this, considering Elana Johnson's book Possession won't be released until June 7th... Well, I was one of the lucky people who won an ARC (Advanced Reviewer Copy) from Simon and Schuster.  I was beside myself with excitement when it arrived in the mail.  As I finished reading it another surprise arrived in the mail...6 bookmarks!  I'll be giving away four of them to four commenters on this post. (Sorry, I had to keep one and give one to my YA.)  I'll announce the winners on Sunday. 

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POSSESSION by Elana Johnson

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

****
My Review...

Possession is a young adult dystopian novel.  Elana does an awesome job creating this new world!  I fell in love with the characters and desperately more of them when the book ends.  We'll have to pay attention to Elana's blog to see if and when we'll get a sneak peak at future books. 

The three main characters are Vi, Zenn and Jag.  Zenn is Vi's boyfriend and she's willing to break the rules to see him. 

Vi has a lot of baggage which causes her to not trust many people.  She's been hurt on more than one occasion. 

When Vi and Jag meet up there is some chemistry followed by a LOT of action.  Vi and Jag have special skills that draw them together in a battle against the thinkers who seem to decide what is best for everyone.  There are lots of twists and turns and surprises in this book. 

Elana has  a knack for world building and I can't wait for everyone to read Possession.  I'm giving it five stars on Goodreads!  I hope you'll put it on your TBR  (to be read) List.  My only complaint about the book was... it ended!  I could have read another 400 pages.

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For more information about Possession follow the links:
Add Possession to your Goodreads list.
Visit the official Possession website for ordering & ARC information.
Click here for giveaways and contests.

I know you have to be excited about one of us...Elana...publishing such an awesome book.  The Uglies and the Handmaid's Tale are the only dystopian novels I had read up until Possession.  I really like them. 

What about you?  What dytopian novels have you read? 

Sunday, May 1, 2011

What's Most Important To You???


First, I have to make an apology to my Brilliant Husband of almost 25 years.  (Hangs head in shame.)  During the A-Z Challenge, I honored him with  my "D" post.  I called him dependable, determined, diligent and devoted.  To my surprise all he saw was that he got a "D."  So I'd like amend his letter grade to an "A."  My Brilliant Hubby is awesome, attentive, adventurous, affectionate, ambitious, and appreciative.  (Hopefully, this will get me out of the doghouse.)

What is the most important trait you want to see in a friend?  What about in your children's friends?  Or if you are a cat, your playmates? 

What about when you were little, what was the most important quality for a friend to have then?


Thanks to all my old and new lovely bloggy friends for listening to me talking about friendship for the whole month of April!