Read / Write / Shoes

If the word "vagina" makes you squeamish, then this is not the book for you. Can I even call it a book? It clocks in around 66 pages, at the most, so it does make for a very fast read. That should have been my first red flag. For those that know me, I enjoy reading nonfiction books about other ways of life. That is why I always enjoy reading celebrity autobiographies or biographies. I will never live life that way, so it is interesting to see what their version of normal is. From Natalie Wood, to Jodie Sweetin, Melissa Joan Hart and Holly Madison, I soak it all in. When there are books about careers I would never dive into, I like to read those as well. I want to read about the one the ER doctor wrote. Kitchen Confidential, Waiter Rant - maybe I wanted to work in the culinary arts in a past life? I even read a book on the history of diners - ok I started skimming that one because it was a bit boring. So when I found a book about life as a bikini waxer, I requested it. Let...

Lexi is a spoiled rich girl who, in the fashion of The Bling Ring, enjoys risky stunts with her equally spoiled friends and brother. Who doesn't go base jumping off of a skyscraper in Downtown Los Angeles? Don't we all?  When her father is arrested for illegal activities at a bank he worked at, Lexi will do anything to help his boss also receive justice.  Christian is a teenage bank robber - he has to or else the gang that rules his hood will kill him and his family. The gang declares that one of the biggest jobs they have ever done is about to go down - with Christian and his friends a part of it all. How fateful that the two of them meet when they both want to take down the bank... For what it was, I really enjoyed this book. I have read reviews about people being upset that it was not realistic, or that it made it seem too easy to rob a bank. I don't know about you, but I don't read these types of stories as a "how-to" - well I don't even read how-t...

I'm too overqualified for this job. It was a panel interview with my old boss and 2 girls who would be coworkers of this position. My last job did not only my job, but also the work of one of those coworkers. This is getting to be difficult now to even find the enthusiasm to search, much less put myself out there this much for something. This has me really looking at my past jobs, and I can see where I went wrong. Promotions I should have turned down. Opportunities at the time that didn't pan out and made my resume weaker. I'm not able to move up the ladder as I don't have experience, there's nothing at my skill level due to outsourcing, and no one wants me down the ladder. So here I dangle. Off to go watch The Ghost Whisperer...

Yesterday was day 2 of this 30 day hell...errr shred...OW OW ow ow OW! I could barely move! Of course that meant my baby girl was all over the place wanting to be chased, and oh yeah LET'S CLIMB THE STAIRS MOMMY! AGAIN! I spoke with my old boss again at length about the company she now works for. She says "I was up all night trying to think of the good things to tell you." Well that sounds promising. At the end of the conversation though, she asked if I was ok to work with her again. I said I was. She has not been a manager for very long and does not know ANYTHING about my job, so I don't receive much guidance. I told her if I wasn't ok, I would not have called her back. I then made a comment of "as long as you are ok to work with me!" Silence. Uh-oh. She then started to ramble about how our old company was so stressful and it was difficult times. Ohhhhhh so she is holding a grudge that I was friendly with the other manager that she did not get along w...

Today was a day that I would classify as...interesting. It started out as what has become my new normal. I wake up, wake up HTB to go shower, snooze and then shower time at the same time baby girl wakes up. I rush to get ready as HTB feeds her, then he leaves for work and I either spend the day playing with her, or I drop her off at daycare. Today was a daycare day. I then walk one of my dogs (my other dog is too old and can't handle a walk anymore) and make some breakfast. Today I decided I was going to binge watch The Ghost Whisperer. Sounds exciting right? Then I make my rounds. Facebook. Goodreads. Twitter. NetGalley. You my little blog. TMZ. And don't forget the oh so fun job search. Somehow I started Googling how to lose weight quickly for a wedding. Don't ask me why. Up until now I have been pretty lazy about losing the baby weight, and made sure my wedding dress would hide the unflattering bits. I found a website though that gave away the secrets. It specified t...

FINALLY - This book has been a long time coming. I, like so many others, fell in love with The Nanny Diaries. Naturally, I would read the follow up books that the authors churned out, only to find that the magic of The Nanny Diaries was gone. I tried, and tried, again, but each book left me more disappointed than the last. I did buy TND's sequel, but I have been too afraid to read it and find out that it steals some of the original shine. I don't know why I continued to try - but I am finally happy that I did. Amanda Luker grew up in a trailer park with a less-than-stellar mother who always looked for a man to save her. Amanda found that she was also looking for a way out as well. As luck would have it, Amanda meets a politician named Tom Davis and his wife Lindsay. Having just lost her job, due to a wealthy man and his friends, Pax Westerbrook, upon meeting the Davis', Amanda hustles her way into volunteering and works her way up into the world of politics and the lives ...

Ouch. I remember before HTB was around that when I was dating I would feel the pain of rejection after dates didn't go well or relationships would break up. The happiness of leaving those days behind me was huge! Never again would I feel the sting of rejection! I found my happily ever after! End of story! Move me into my princess castle! And then fast forward to the job search. Back comes the sting of rejection. I went on this interview a few months ago after being contacted on LinkedIn. I wasn't happy where I was so I figured I would go and see what the job and company were about. Just like in the past, I fell hard after being pursued. Love was in my eyes (**insert emoji of that face that has the hearts for eyeballs!**) They pursued me, told me how much they cared and wanted to start something, and like a person afraid of commitment, they pulled the rug out from under me. "It's not you - it's me. And me wants to pursue other people." Not even a phone ca...

I am such a sucker for books about a fish-out-of-water transplant, and reality TV themes for books. Guilty pleasure? So when I read the synopsis for this one, I knew I had to read it. A.J. Stewart moves to Nashville from the backwoods of Tennessee after the death of her father. She has 2 older brothers and is more of a grease monkey than a makeup hound. Kate Kelly grew up in Nashville surrounded by expensive fashion, extravagance and being perfect in her private school. Hmmm two completely different girls from two different worlds? We can all see where this is going... A reality TV show is a possibility, and what could be better than contrasting Kate and A.J? Sprinkled throughout are thoughts on God, losing your faith and finding it again. With all that being said, as I viewed an ARC, I'm not sure what has changed between what I have read and the synopsis that is posted as of the date of my review on both Goodreads and NetGalley. It discusses Kate's brother Val (not his name in...

And with Friday comes...a potential job interview!!! When I first started my career, I remember being called saying "We like your resume so come meet us face to face." All that has changed over the years to now "We won't waste your time coming in if we don't like you so PHONE INTERVIEW!" I just got the request for a phone interview for a job I applied to earlier this week. Phew! With all the resumes flying out of here and no phone calls I was starting to worry. Keep your fingers crossed for me - I will be speaking with them on Tuesday! HAPPY WEEKEND!!!! Read : Time to start a new book! Fighting between a book by someone from Duck Dynasty (Life Just Got Real by Sadie Robertson) (never saw the show but I was impressed by her credentials!) and a book by the women who wrote The Nanny Diaries. Scared of the second one though, because while I loved TND, I haven't enjoyed ANY of their follow up books. Ever the reading optimist, I will give it a go tho...

Jill Stevens was working towards having it all. She was a high flying lawyer struggling to make partner, while living with a fellow lawyer in New York City. It all comes crashing down when she is unexpectedly fired, and then catches her boyfriend cheating on her. With nowhere else to go, Jill moves back home with her parents. There she finds a list she made when she was 18 -  30 things to do before she turns 30. With only a couple of these items crossed off, she begins to check them off one by one. I really enjoyed this one! I remember when I turned 30 *cough cough - wasn't that last year? cough* I had a lot of the same feelings that Jill did. I wasn't married. I had no kids. I was at a crossroads in my career. I really identified with the feeling lost sensation, and I wish that I had friends like Jill's to help me through. I didn't have a list, but I still was forcing myself to try and do at least one new thing a month. This book reminded me a lot of "The Next...

Hello my little blog! Let's play catch up for something other than a NetGalley review! Read:  I have SO many books that I want to read!! Where will I ever find the time to read them all? I have quite the backlog for my favorite authors, and also a few new authors. The book I have been dying to read is "Diary of a Haunting" by M. Verano, but I really want to wait and read it at night curled up in bed. Sarah Mlynowski's new one has come out that I also want to read. YIKES! I can't even list all of the series I need to finish, or the books sitting on my shelves gathering dust. But first? I am determined to get an 80% feedback rating on NetGalley, so I have about 20 more books to read to clear off my shelf. Right now I am laughing along to "Thirty Days to Thirty" by Courtney Psak (review to come soon as I should be able to finish this soon!) Write: Happy Father's Day! Right now I am finishing up publishing a book that was written by my daughter (ok...