Why I Won't Have Professional Family Pictures Done...

At least not until everyone can look at the camera...

Spring Fever? Yes, Yes, YES.

It's no secret that I love author Mary Kay Andrews. I remember the first time I picked up one of her books (Hissy Fit) and she had me hooked from page one. If you love books with a Southern flair (and, yes, I capitalized Southern because that's how it's done here in the South), female lead characters that you will root for until the end, and enough sass to leave you yearning for a sweet tea straight from the Mason jar? Her books are exactly what you need in your life.

I recently received an early, not-yet-released copy of her newest novel Spring Fever. Mary Kay did not disappoint. I now want friends like Annajane and Pokey in my life and am searching for a cherry soda named Quixie. Want a little background on Spring Fever? 




About


Annajane Hudgens truly believes that she is over her ex-husband, Mason Bayless. They've been divorced for four years, she’s engaged to a new, terrific guy, and she’s ready to leave the small town where she and Mason had so much history.  She is so over Mason that she has absolutely no problem attending his wedding to the beautiful, intelligent, delightful Celia.  But when fate intervenes and the wedding is called to a halt as the bride is literally walking down the aisle, Annajane begins to realize that maybe she’s been given a second chance.  Maybe everything happens for a reason.  And maybe, just maybe, she wants Mason back.  But there are secrets afoot in this small southern town.  On the peaceful surface of Hideaway Lake, Annajane discovers that the past is never really gone.  Even if there are people determined to keep Annajane from getting what she wants, happiness might be hers for the taking, and the life she once had with Mason in this sleepy lake town might be in her future.


My Thoughts


Where do I begin? I was automatically hooked upon opening Spring Fever and stumbling into Annajane's life. I never wanted to put the book down as evident by dog-eared pages and the dark circles beneath my eyes. Spring Fever is the perfect beach read, the perfect book to have on your front porch while drinking some sweet tea.

Living in a small, Southern town myself I laughed along with Annajane and just felt for her. Here she is, divorced from the town's wealthiest family's son, and working for her ex at HIS family business. Awkward? Very much so.

Annajane has found a new man in her life and has decided that she is leaving behind her loft, career and Passcoe, NC.  Everyone in town is in her business about everything. I sympathized towards her in so much of the novel. Just to have to live with so many people breathing down your neck--and not to mention being on your ex's payroll was enough for me to want to pour her a glass of wine and be her friend.

Her best friend and Mason's sister, Pokey, is determined that Annajane and Mason were destined to be with one another. She has a feeling that Celia is up to no good and she keeps on with her impeccable match making skills. This is one pair of exes that Pokey knows they are meant to be together, not apart.

If you are looking for a new book to tote to the beach, lake or even just to your backyard, Spring Fever is the book for you. The plot is never slow and I never had the feeling of wanting the book to be over. In fact, when I got to the last page I was heartbroken that it was over as now I will have to wait one more year for her next novel to be released.

I have a feeling that once you have read one of Mary Kay Andrews' books that you will buying them all one by one. And when you do? Don't blame me for your late nights and tired mornings from reading into the wee hours of the morning. Add Spring Fever to your must read list this summer--once you discover Mary Kay Andrews your life will never be the same.

Spring Fever receives 5 out of 5 stars!


Where to Buy


Spring Fever will be released on June 5th--mark your calendars!

Pre-order at these stores:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble


About Mary Kay Andrews

Mary Kay Andrews is the author of the New York Times bestselling The Fixer Upper, Savannah Breeze and Blue Christmas, as well as Deep Dish,Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies and Savannah Blues. 


As a lifelong “junker” the author claims to know the location of every promising thrift store, flea market and junkpile in the southeastern United States, plus many parts of Ohio.

Married to her high school sweetheart, she is the mother of two grown children and a proud grandmother. After a brief hiatus in Raleigh, NC, she and her husband moved back to their old neighborhood in Atlanta, where they live in a restored 1926 Craftsman bungalow. She divides her time between Atlanta and her restored beach cottage on Tybee Island, GA.




You can connect with Mary Kay Andrews on:


Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads


Book info:

St. Martin's Press 6/5/2012HardcoverISBN: 9780312642716ISBN10: 03126427176 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches, 416 pages


I received an advance reader's copy from St. Martin's Press in order to read the book and conduct my honest review. No other compensation was given.

Who's Ready For Summer?

Up until yesterday our weather on the Gulf Coast our weather has been warm. I thought of it as being almost summer time. Warm temperatures, plenty of bright sunshine--I was in heaven. I live for warm weather and nothing picks up my spirit more than enjoying the outdoors with my girls.

Then yesterday happened. I woke up and it was so cold outside! Where are my warm temperatures? Where is my warm summer breeze?! I am not a huge fan of the cold--especially after being spoiled by a warm winter. Whose idea of a cruel joke is this? Mother Nature, I blame you. I want my warm mornings back.

I did indulge myself in having a tropical treat, though. I like to tell myself to envision myself on a warm beach somewhere, drinking a fruity drink with one of those little striped umbrellas, falling asleep while reading under the sun. Do you do that? Convince yourself that warmer days are to come and imagine that you are in the most tropical place that you can be--it honestly works for me.

Back to my tropical yumminess, though. Have you tried the Yoplait Greek Yogurt? I opened up a Cherry Pomegranate one yesterday and it took me back to the warm summer months. It was really, really good--and the flavor made me think of summer.

Yoplait's Greek Yogurt is so smooth and creamy. There isn't any gritty texture that some of the Greek yogurts have. The fruit balanced out the rich yogurt and I loved it. It truly was the perfect snack to have on a cool, spring day. With a variety of flavors to include Blueberry, Strawberry, Coconut, Cherry Pomegranate--they pack twice the protein of a regular yogurt and have 110 calories per 4 oz cup.

Bottom Line


I loved the Yoplait Greek Yogurt. With only 110 calories and the smooth taste? I can justify indulging in one this spring and summer. If you love Greek yogurt, try out the Yoplait Greek Yogurt. I think you will love it just as much as I do.


I received the above product to sample in order to facilitate this review. No other products or compensation was given. All opinions expressed above are my own.

The One Where I Grow Up...

After I graduated high school I went to college. Sort of.

I didn't live in dorms. I lived with my parents. Still had rules.

I decided that college was nothing like it was in my dreams.

I dropped out 3/4 of the way into my first year. I didn't feel like it was for me. I needed a break.

I then worked two jobs, lived the party life and was introduced to the Air Force life.

I loved it. I succeeded. I thrived.

I met my husband. Fell in love with my husband. Married my husband.

I got pregnant with Isabella a few years later. Separated from the Air Force.

I then got pregnant with Madelyn.

And eventually with Brynlie.

I am now done having babies. (For now. Maybe later?).

So, I enrolled in something that I dropped out of so many years ago.

I applied for college. I've requested ACT scores to be sent. I requested my high school transcript to be sent.

I have made the jump to being a student once again. I have three little girls that I want to be a role model for. To say that I finally finished college and I did it for our family.

And in case you're wondering what I am pursuing my degree in?

Elementary education.

The job that I have talked about ever since I was a little girl.

Frugal Fail | The Clorox Lounge

By a show of hands (what? I can totally see you raise it...) who has tried to save some money at some time in their life? Are you always finding fun and creative ways to be frugal or are you one of those people who want to be frugal, but either forget or just run out of time in coming up with money saving ideas?

I am one of the latter. I want more than anything to be frugal, but sometimes just don't know when I would have the time or patience to sit down and do the work. Sad, I know. But the thought of frugality is always looming in my mind. After all, I do have three children, a husband, a dog and a cat to take care of in my home.

In one attempt to be a frugal mom I decided that we would try out an off brand diaper. I am usually a hard core name brand diaper momma, but when I was in the store and looking at the price under a box of my favorite and a box of the off brand? My jaw dropped. Holy smokes! I would be saving SO much money by just doing a little diaper switcheroo.

I arrived back at home with a couple of the off brand diapers. I was so excited to tell Leo that I had saved us so much money. He praised my frugal find and we decided to have the girls try out their new diapers overnight. We awoke the next morning and both girls were sobbing. I had a bad feeling about this...

I go into their rooms and find to potty soaked girls. Their beds, pajamas, favorite blankies...holy cow. This? Was a disaster. It was right then at that moment that I realized I was simply a frugal wannabe. My entire dream of saving tons of money backfired completely in my face!

The Clorox Lounge

By now you are probably wondering why I have The Clorox Lounge on top of this post. Clorox has come up with a fun and new site celebrating on of the most underrated rooms in our homes--our bathroom! They have teamed up with Sherri Shepperd to turn our bathrooms into a laughroom. It is designed to be a place where moms can go for comedy, fun contests, coupons, giveaways and more! At Clorox they sympathize that sometimes the bathroom is the only place where a mom can go for a moment of silence.

Last Comic Sitting

The Clorox Lounge is giving you a chance at a $10,000 prize sweepstakes. Pretty sweet, right? To be eligible to win simply sign up at The Clorox Lounge and you are automatically entered into the sweepstakes. You also can vote for your favorite Last Comic Sitting finalist where one of them will win $10,000! So what are you waiting for? Go, sign up and maybe you will be they lucky $10,000 winner.

More information: http://bit.ly/x7m1OB
Clorox Ode to the Commode on Facebook
Follow Clorox on Twitter

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Clorox® blogging program, to earn My SocialMoms Rewards Points. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.

Beautiful Dancer...

Isabella's dance recital is April 29th. I cannot believe that the time for her recital is almost here!

Here is a picture that I snapped before we left to get her dance pictures done. Isn't she beautiful? On days that I feel myself frustrated with her I look at this picture and realize how truly sweet she is. Love her.

Isabella, age 4

Did Facebook Turn My Friends Into Whiny Toddlers?

Over the past week or two or three I have come to a big conclusion. I have some of the whiniest "friends" in the world.

I use the term "friend" loosely here, mind you. Most of the people I am friends with in real life kick ass. Then I have some acquaintances who seem really cool and fun in real life. But online?

Wow.

I think a lot of them opened Facebook accounts to be able to just bitch about life in general.

"I have no friends. My life sucks. But family will be by my side and that's all that counts."

OR

"My husband has been out all night and hasn't answered his phone. He's a jerk and my life sucks!!"

OR

"My life is horrible. I hate it here. Nobody cares about me. Why can't I make any friends?"

OR

"After today I am deleting my Facebook FOREVER."

While the above aren't word for word statuses, they're pretty much statuses in a nutshell. Here's some food for thought: have you ever thought that maybe you don't have any close friends because you consistently complain? Or when you complain you have nobody in your life, have you considered all of the times people have offered to help with whatever you need, yet you turn them down and never accept anything?

And don't get me started on the grown up version of running away from home aka I'm deleting my Facebook account, but not actually because I just want to see how many people beg and plead for me not to.

We all have bad days. On occasion. It's when every day--or in certain circumstances, every few hours--turns into a majorly depressing status.

This is when I wonder what has social media done to so many adults? Has it allowed us to whine and complain more because it's online? And online we don't have to listen to people. We simply can delete a mean comment. Or block a person if they start calling people out on their crap.

Starting today I challenge you all to become less negative and more positive. Having a bad day? Cool. Tomorrow it will be a new day. Start over. Refresh. Regroup. You would be amazed at what can happen with a more positive attitude.

So this is for you Negative Nelly. Stop whining. Stop complaining. We are all going through some obstacle in life, but for many of us we choose to look at life in a somewhat more positive way.

Book Pick of the Week: One Pink Line

Summer time used to be about staying up late, lounging by the pool every day and being carefree. Now that I can't do that as much as I used to (you know, this whole being a grown up thing) I try to read as often as possible. It's my way of escaping reality for a bit.

I just finished reading One Pink Line by Dina Silver. One Pink Line was such a fun book to read. I immediately loved the main character, Sydney, who starts out the book by finding out that she is pregnant. She is nearly done with college, in love with a man that shows her what love truly is, and then she finds out that she is pregnant. Now she has the task of letting her family and the man that she loves know about her unplanned pregnancy. Will she lose the one man that has shown her what true love and compassion truly is?

The story is also narrated by another person, Grace. Grace is young and has grown up in a loving home, but she has yet to meet her "real" father. She loves her stepfather, but to her it's not her "real" father. What is he like? Why hasn't he ever met her? Why is she different? These questions will follow her until she gets the answers that she is looking for.

One Pink Line was written beautifully. It was easy to follow, easy to read, and easy to fall in love with. Dina Silver has a talent for writing and I cannot wait to read her upcoming novel. If you are looking for a fun book to lose yourself in this spring and summer I recommend that you pick up One Pink Line. 


Final Word: Read it. Love it. Have a glass of wine, curl up and enjoy.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

Where to buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble.

About the author: Dina Silver is a graduate from Purdue University. She has spent the past 15 years feeding her red wine habit by working as a copywriter in the advertising industry. In addition to writing ad copy, she formed Dina's Ideas, a greeting card company, in 2003. Dina serves as the sole writer and designer for the business and has penned over 300 greeting cards since its inception.

I received the e-book to read and review. No other compensation was given and all opinions above are my own.

Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes...

When I read the book Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank, I loved it. So much so that I have friended her on Facebook and rejoiced when she announced that she was done writing the sequel.

If you own a Kindle you are in luck--today AND tomorrow you can purchase Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes for FREE! Click here to be taken to Amazon.

And here is a brief synopsis of the book as taken from Amazon:

"For Rose Gardner, working at the DMV on a Friday afternoon is bad even before she sees a vision of herself dead. She's had plenty of visions, usually boring ones like someone's toilet's overflowed, but she's never seen one of herself before. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered on her sofa instead, two things are certain: There isn't enough hydrogen peroxide in the state of Arkansas to get that stain out, and Rose is the prime suspect.

Rose realizes she's wasted twenty-four years of living and makes a list on the back of a Wal-Mart receipt: twenty-eight things she wants to accomplish before her vision comes true. She's well on her way with the help of her next door neighbor Joe, who has no trouble teaching Rose the rules of drinking, but won't help with number fifteen-- do more with a man. Joe's new to town, but it doesn't take a vision for Rose to realize he's got plenty secrets of his own. 

Somebody thinks Rose has something they want and they'll do anything to get it. Her house is broken into, someone else she knows is murdered, and suddenly, dying a virgin in the Fenton County jail isn't her biggest worry after all."

How to Get Your Husband to Do a Project...Without Being a Major Nag...

As much as I adore my husband he sometimes needs a nudge in the right direction to get something completed. I hate being a nag so sometimes it takes a little bit of creativity to get the tasks at hand done.

Take yesterday for example. I have been wanting to remove six bushes in front of our home since we bought our house almost five years ago. I would bring it up to Leo and he would try to tell me to leave the bushes or he would agree with me and eventually that project would get buried under a pile of projects.

I brought it up again yesterday after he had finished mowing and weed eating the yard. By this time he was pretty tired. I, on the other hand, had been inside with my three girls dousing out the flames of arguments galore. I decided that it was then or never to get the bush project completed.

Once I started to dig I thought that it was not as bad as I had imagined. I dug up one bush a few years ago--but had to chop part of it out of the ground with a small ax. I'm pretty sure I accidentally threw away the ax because it has yet to turn up again.

Sorry, I seem to be going off the topic at hand. Anyway.

I'm out there digging and I cannot for the life of me get the first bush out of the ground. There was a massive root that would not budge. I decide to move on to a different bush--I would tackle the first one later. As I was digging bush number two I come across what I thought was a bone. Turns out it was yet another massive root.

By this time Leo had made it outside with the girls. He's sitting on the porch and laughing at me. He tried to direct me and give me tips but I'm too damn stubborn  but I decided to ignore them. I didn't need help--I was determined to do this on my own.

As minutes marched on and I now had two out of the six bushes partially uprooted he couldn't take it anymore. I think it was from the part in the man brain that doesn't like to see a damsel in distress. He got up, held out his hand and I grudgingly happily handed over the shovel.

See how that turned out? I begged for years to dig up the bushes. He put it off. I went out, started to dig and he immediately had to step in and get it done. I am now coming up with a master list of other projects that "I" want to get completed...