Guilty Pleasures

Sadly, I do not have a new YouTube video for you today. I had some other commitments and I just ran out of time. On the good side of things, I hit 100 followers over on Instagram this morning! Yay! Just to round out the linkage, here are the other places you can find me: Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. 

Today's prompt is Guilty Pleasures. Most of my guilty pleasures are TV shows. They are so bad but I can't stop watching them...

1. Cheaters - My husband and I watch this together. We both like Clark Gable better than creepy Joey Greco. Definitely a guilty pleasure
2. Supernatural - This is one of those shows that isn't OMG!AWESOME but it isn't terrible either. My favorite character is Castiel and I have a fondness for Misha Collins' off-screen antics. 
3. The Dark Parables game series - Dark Parables is a series of hidden object video games that all revolve around fairy tales. Usually the fairy tale characters have gone wrong and you need to save them. Both my daughter and I love playing them.
4. World's Dumbest... - Yeah, it's that show on the Spike channel or whatever that has the washed up celebrities commenting on videos. It's kinda funny sometimes.

These are the guilty pleasures that I actively watch on a regular basis. Any other guilty pleasures are shows that I only turn on when nothing else is on. I don't think those count. There is just so much bad TV out there! 

Best Places To Find Inspiration

Lately, I have a difficult time finding inspiration. I feel super lazy most of the time and I have to force myself to do things. It's a result of having way too many things to do and not nearly enough time to do them. But there are a few places I find inspirational.

1. The beach. I don't get to the beach nearly enough. However, I do find the beach extremely relaxing, which gives me inspiration to do more things. 
2. Podcasts. This may sound weird but I have been listening to a lot of podcasts during my daily commute. A lot of those involve interviews with people who just DID things. They didn't ask for permission or wait for someone to tell them to do it. They wanted to do something so they did. That is one of the things that inspired me to do my YouTube channel. 
3. My daughter. She is involved in so many things. She inspires me to keep going. Not stop doing something because I'm too tired or anything. 

The Best Things About This Week

This week is pretty generic so there aren't a ton of good things and there aren't a ton of bad things. Let's see what I can cobble together:

1. My daughter got into the jazz band at her school. They started rehearsing this week.
2. My first craft show of the fall season is this Saturday. I'm not doing nearly as many this year as I did last night. I'm not sure if that is good or bad though.
3. It's October! On one hand, I hate it because it means winter is super close. On the other hand, HALLOWEEN! I love Halloween. 

Um, I think that is about it. Like I said, it's a pretty generic week. There will be some amazing things coming down the line. But not quite yet. 

On My Mind Today

I have quite a lot on my mind today but that is because I have a lot to do. Busy, busy!

1. Slight worries that things I need for my full time job will not work properly. I'm not going to go into detail about this though.

2. Pondering some items for my daughter's Halloween costume. Every year I try to get this started earlier and every year something stops us. I hope I can get everything together in time. 

3. Trying to figure out my writing schedule. I have 3 books I need to finish reading for reviews, I have 2 more iPad apps I need to play with to write those reviews, I have to record some more videos for the YouTube channel...there is a lot. I seriously need more time in a day. 

I think that might cover it all. It doesn't sound like a lot but all of those things swimming around in my brain might give me a headache! When will there be more hours in a day?

Accomplishments I Am Most Proud Of

This will probably be one of the weirder prompts but here goes:

While it is not actually MY accomplishment, I am super proud of my daughter. I know this will sound like one of those moms who over-exaggerates how awesome their kid is. Not only is my daughter super well-behaved (she knows there are consequences if she does not), she is also very active in a lot of extra-curricular groups and manages to get all As and Bs in her classes, some of which are honors classes. I am very proud of everything she accomplishes. And they are HER accomplishments.

I don't know that I have any accomplishments, myself, that I am particularly proud of. I guess I'm pretty proud that this blog is still going after 7 years. Yes, it has changed over time but I never gave up on it.

Yeah, I guess that is about it. Now this prompt has made me a little depressed. As if I haven't actually done anything with my life. This was a terrible writing prompt!

This Time Next Year

September is almost over but, don't worry, I'm not quite finished with the 30 Days of Lists yet. I know I have missed a few days this month due to some engagements so I will be posting the 'leftovers' during the first week of October. (I don't think I've missed more than a week's worth of prompts...I'll just post everything I have left until they are all completed. It may take more than a week.) Today's prompt is "This time next year." So let's see what I think I will be doing.

What I Hope I Will Be Doing

I hope that I will have gotten myself to a point where I will be working from home full time. This includes all of my writing gigs, blogging, vlogging, and whatever else comes my way. I would really like to not be working in my soul-crushing desk job. Instead, I can focus on the content for my various formats, giving you guys the interesting stuff. 

What I Will Most Likely Be Doing

Most likely, I will be doing the same thing I have been doing for the past 14 years. Spending way too much time commuting to a soul-crushing job while trying to find the time and energy to do the things I want to do: be a good mom and wife, write interesting content, connect with my readers and viewers, be a "real" person instead of someone who is exhausted all of the time.

I know, I know. That second one sounds awful. I am always super optimistic that the first one will happen one day. I just have to keep plugging away as hard as I can. Man, I didn't want these prompts to get so depressing. I hope tomorrow's is happier!  

Lost in the Tsunami

I recently finished Lost in the Tsunami by Dorit Silverman. It is the story of an Israeli mother, Anna, trying to find her daughter, Ronny in India. 

We begin with Anna's inability to get a hold of her daughter. None of Ronny's friends have heard from her in a few days and Anna fears the worst. She begins to search for the young woman in the city of Tel Aviv. Eventually, she finds that Ronny has traveled to India. Anna goes to India and finds much more than she was expecting.

First, I would like to say that I did find the plot of the book interesting. As a mother, I can understand the panic that floods your body when you think you have lost your child. With that in mind, I do think that Anna was a little insane about the whole thing. She spent a lot of time screaming at people, which is never helpful. (I'm pretty sure the author wanted something more along the lines of "shouting" or "firmly stating" but "screaming" is what is in the text.) She was also very manipulative, which seemed against her character. Perhaps I am misunderstanding the character but it seemed like she was all over the place.

I would also like to point out that there are a ton of spelling and grammar errors in the book. This makes is extremely difficult for me to recommend it to others. They are all words and phrases that would pass a spell check (for example, a pineapple is pealed instead of peeled) so it is painfully obvious that the book didn't have a professional editor read through it. I almost gave up on the book as a result of the errors but I did plow through to the end. 

Finally, the title of the book is Lost in the Tsunami, but the 2004 Indian tsunami is barely a blip in the plot. There are 23 chapters and the tsunami doesn't take place until chapter 18. The majority of the book takes place in Israel. Anna and her guide don't even travel to India until chapter 15. I find it rather fake to title a book after a world-shaking event when it barely has anything to do with the actual story. 

While I did like Anna's story, there are way too many problems and inconsistencies to give it a whole-hearted recommendation. If, like me, spelling and grammatical errors grate on your nerves, stay away. However, if you can push through the errors, there is a fairly good story to be found. I have warned you, the rest is on your shoulders.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using <a href="http://www.tomoson.com/?code=BOTTOM1e0022dde73648d7321c989787876c38" rel="nofollow">Tomoson.com</a>. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Rules For Traveling With Me

I don't think I have all that many rules for traveling with me. I'm mostly a laid-back type of person. But there are a few things that need saying:

1. Please don't roll down one window in the car. Especially if we are on a highway of some sort. the resonating air makes me queasy.

2. Please don't blast the air conditioner. I get cold very easily. I understand that I am, generally, colder than the rest of the population so I don't mind when people have the A/C on. But when it on full blast and I have icicles forming on the end of my nose, it tends to be a problem.

3. Have fun! The best part of traveling is the massive amounts of fun. Be silly, eat a lot of sugar, drink a ton of caffeine. Just relax!

I'll fully admit that I don't get to travel as much as I would like. However, these same rules apply when taking a nice day trip in the car. Trips are for having fun so don't take it too seriously. Enjoy it!

What Balance Means To Me

This is kind of an interesting prompt. You can take "balance" in a couple of different directions. Something interesting to think about.

To me, "balance" is what you do when you are trying to fit everything you want or need to do into a 24-hour day.

For example, my Monday schedule is semi-balanced. I wake up around 6:00AM, shower, and get ready for the day. Then I have to put the dogs out and get my daughter's lunch ready so she can leave at 6:45AM for the bus. I slam some breakfast into my mouth and run out the door between 6:50AM and 7:00AM. Depending on the weather and traffic, I get to my full time job somewhere between 8:00AM and 8:30AM. I work until 4:30PM when I rush home. Again, depending on the traffic issues, I am home between 5:30PM and 5:45PM. I slam some more food into my face before jumping back in the car to take my daughter to her tennis lessons at 6:15PM. While she plays, I try to read one of the many books I have lined up for review or talk to some of the other parents. She is finished around 8:30PM, when we can go home and try to eat some sort of dinner. Finally, I try to finish up any writing projects I can before heading off to bed to start all over again.

"Balance" is definitely trying to make sure you can get everything done. A packed schedule requires balance. So does sleep. I would never be able to get enough rest otherwise.

My Favorite Authors

I think it is a little ironic that I have a bunch of book reviews coming down the road and today's post is about authors. Maybe the universe is telling me I need to read more. Hey, Universe! I need more time if you want me to read more books! Damn universe....

1. John Green - I really loved The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns. I wasn't particularly fond of An Abundance of Katherines and I haven't even read Looking for Alaska yet. But I don't think you have to love ALL of their books in order to list an author as a "favorite." On the contrary, Green is more of a favorite because of his personality and charitable action over his writing. He is just an awesome person that happens to write pretty good books.

2. Raold Dahl - I know this one is a little controversial. He may not have been the most awesome person. However, he did write some very amazing books. When I was in grade school, I made it my goal to read every single one of his books housed in the school library. And I did. I will always love Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, The BFG, and The Witches with all of my heart.

3. Jim Butcher - My husband listens to a lot of audiobooks. The Dresden Files series is one of the series that he snatches up the minute it hits the virtual shelves. While the series started out as an amazing pulpy detective novel, it has matured into something more. And even though there are fairies and demons and ghosts, not once do they ever feel out of place in modern day Chicago. It takes a lot of talent to be able to pull that off.

I'm only going with the top three. I have read a ton of books and, I'm sure if I sit and think about it, I can come up with another dozen authors I adore. Why don't you tell me YOUR favorite author? Maybe you'll turn me into a new fan.