Wacky Dreams

I don't know if it's my end of summer ten day cold or a serious case of Post Olympic Depression, but I've been having some wacky dreams lately. Actually, I tend to experience two particular dreams a lot. And whenever I wake up from a crazy dream, I usually head over to Dreamota to analyze it. 

1. Tornadoes - During the past ten years, I consistently dream about tornadoes. I'm terrified of tornadoes. Okay, I've never actually witnessed one, but they look really scary on television. Usually, the tornado is heading my way, I hide with a mattress over my head, and it never hits. Interpretation: Sudden emotional upheaval. Yikes. 

2. Polar Bears - This one is particularly strange, since I live in New Jersey and I've never even seen a polar bear before. But this giant white polar bear chases me, my hubby, and my daughter through the woods. Interpretation: Mothering or hibernation. Or it can mean someone is being overbearing and/or I need to bare my soul. Hmmm... 

Do you dream? Did you ever have a strange dream? Do you interpret your dreams? If so, what do your dreams mean? Anyone else out there dream about natural disasters or large animals? :)

Kudos to USA Soccer star, Carli Lloyd, from Delran, New Jersey who scored the game winning goal against Brazil to win Olympic gold. My hometown is literally minutes from Delran and they're consistently a girl's soccer powerhouse. :) Congratulations, Carli! And congratulations, Mr. Croly, coach of the Delran High School girl's soccer team and one of the best teachers and coaches ever! 

Pretty Tough Tuesday: Miss the Olympics? Battle the post Olympic blues here. 

Screwball News: I'll be chatting with Devon Plumberg from Gutzy Gab tomorrow. Check it out here.  

Have a great day everyone! 

End of Summer Checklist

I've had a fun summer so far - the beach, boardwalk, bay, barbecues, parties, a Long Island wedding, trips, swimming, the Summer Olympics.. One problem, I'm a bit behind. 

With only two short weeks left of summer (yuck), here's the top three tasks on my End of Summer Checklist: 

1. Hang out with our brand new family member, Benji. 

2. Begin serious potty training. Help me! :)

3. Finish writing and revising SCREWBALL 2 (untitled). 

What would be your top three end of summer tasks? Is anyone taskless? :)

Pretty Tough Tuesday: Tonight's the night. Team USA is two wins away from gold. Check out Pretty Tough's Olympic coverage here. 

Contest Alert: Don't miss this one! Tera Lynn Childs is hosting a huge Olympic book giveaway. Check it out here. 

Have a great day, everyone! :)

Summer Olympic Obsessed

Like a special friend who only visits once every four years, the Summer Olympics are back. And I'm in heaven. The competitions, the sports, the athletes, the NBC specials. The Summer Olympics are by far my favorite television event of all time. Why? Softball, soccer, basketball, gymnastics, diving, swimming, track and field, wrestling... I love this time of year! 

I began my Olympic obsession back in 1984, hypnotized by gymnastics. Everyday, I begged for magazines, Olympic gear, the Atari game, an exercise mat, gymnastic lessons, and every single book about an Olympic athlete that I could get my hands on. 

What sparked my Olympic obsession? Three words. 

Mary Lou Retton

She was cute and girly, yet powerful and strong. I wanted to be Mary Lou Retton. 

Immediately, I raced to the hairdresser for the pixie cut and emptied my piggy bank to buy the official Olympic leotard. I rolled out my mat day after day dressed in red, white, and blue, attempting to do what I saw on television. I sucked. Seriously, I couldn't do a split, I was scared to death of the uneven bars, and I grew to be five foot two before my tenth birthday. Eventually, I gave up, tossed my mat in the closet and dusted off my glove and shin guards. It was not meant to be. 

What Summer Olympic sport is your fave? Can you think of a time in your life when you tried something new and it didn't exactly go as planned? Or did you ever obsessively idolize someone? 

PRETTY TOUGH TUESDAY: Check out Olympic Softball coverage here. 

Have a great day, everyone! :)

Movie Mania

Have you watched any fantastic flicks lately? After endless channel surfing to no avail, my hubby and I rented some DVD's over the weekend. 

1. Atonement - I wanted to poke my eyeballs out during the beginning, but the ending was worth sticking it out. Great film.

2. Never Back Down - Vision Quest is one of my all-time favorite movies, so Never Back Down was met with high expectations. I assumed it would be like Vision Quest but more MMA instead of wrestling. Since I always enjoy a sporty movie, this was no exception. However, I could kind of predict what was going to happen throughout the film. And the main character looked exactly like a young Top Gun Tom Cruise, which was freaking me out in a good way.  :)

3. Juno - I absolutely love this film. The acting was fantastic. The writing was amazing. Juno is one of my all time fave movies. 

What did you think of Atonement, Never Back Down, Juno, or any movie you've watched recently?  Is there anything you want to rent or see in the theatre? 

SCREWBALL NEWS: Check out the fabulous Melissa Walker's blog for a book a day giveaway. She's giving away a copy of SCREWBALL today. :) Happy Violet In Private Release Week, Melissa! :) 

And have a great day, everyone! :)

What Would You Do?

Note: Names have been changed to protect identities. :) 

Jack and Jill were together on and off for about five years. Jill learns something about Jack. He vehemently denies it. Jill freaks out, doesn't believe him, and never talks to Jack again. She's left devastated. This particular moment ends the relationship and friendship forever.

Fast forward eleven years. Jill is happily married to someone else. Jack has also moved on. Ironically, Jill finds out she was wrong by complete accident. Jack was telling the truth the entire time. Does she contact her ex to admit she was wrong even though she hasn't talked to him in eleven years? Or should Jill stay mum and attempt to forget about it? 

Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever made a life decision based on one event? Then, years later you found out the circumstances that led to that life decision were false. 

What would you do? If you were Jill, would you contact Jack? If you were Jack, would you want to Jill to fess up? 

SCREWBALL NEWS: The amazing Beth wrote a wonderful in-depth review of SCREWBALL. Check it out here. 

PRETTY TOUGH TUESDAY: I'm over at Pretty Tough blogging about the Back Softball campaign. 

Have a great day everyone! :)  

YAY FOR YA AUGUST GIVEAWAY

Happy August, everyone! I'm always extremely enthusiastic about June and July, but August is a toss up. When I was going to school, August meant incredibly hot soccer conditioning practices and shopping for back to school, which could go either way. I love to shop, but back to school shopping? Urgh. And I absolutely love soccer, but, conditioning sucks. August is a bit more tolerable since there is still time for the beach, boardwalk, bay, pool and plenty of company. But, the end of August still symbolizes the end of summer. Yuck.

To celebrate this final month of summer, I'm giving away three incredible books: Linda Gerber's Death By Bikini, Cammie McGovern's Eye Contact, and Sue Monk Kid's The Secret Life of Bees. 

Death By Bikini was fantastic. It's a great mystery filled with tons of suspense. In fact, when I read it last month, I seriously could not put it down. And the sequel, Death By Latte drops this September. Death By Bikini is in incredible shape because I didn't want to mess up it's amazing cover. 

This year's South Jersey Mom magazine April Chick Lit Pick was Eye Contact. Another fantastic mystery. Two kids disappear behind an elementary school and one is found dead. The only witness? A nine year old boy with autism. This book blew me away and is loved. 

Bees get angry in August. In fact, I've been stung three times in my life and each one occurred during the month of August. In celebration of mean bees, I'm giving away a third novel, a loved copy of The Secret Life of Bees, which is being made into a movie set to premiere this year. The Secret Life of Bees is a total classic and a must read. :) 

To fight off the dog days of August, my hubby and I like to plan something fun.  After a ton of thought, we're adopting an adorable Bichon Yorkie mix puppy named Benji later this month. What are you looking forward to doing in August? Any plans? Do you like August? 

Here are the contest rules: 

1. To enter to win, leave a comment about what you are planning to do during August or if you like or dislike August. 

2. The contest ends at midnight on August 31st, 2008 and the winner will be posted on September 1st, 2008. My daughter will pick the winner out of a basket. :)

3. The contest is open to everyone. Don't be shy my writer friends. :)

4. If you post about the contest on your blog or MySpace, you automatically receive two entries. 

Good Luck! TGIF! :)

 

YAY 4 YA JULY GIVEAWAY WINNER

The winner for the Yay 4 YA is.....

SUZANNE YOUNG

The first one my daughter picked up after she tossed around the entries was Suzanne. Congrats, Suzanne. Please email me your address and I'll send out the books right away. Don't forget to check out August's Yay for YA giveaway. BTW, the hairy knee in the pic doesn't belong to me. :)