Amazing ARTOBIOGRAPHY Giveaway

Have you ever heard of ARTOBIOGRAPHY? If you're an artist, maybe you'll know what I'm talking about.
The Storm of the i: An Artobiography by Tina Collen is part memoir part scrap book, part portfolio and it is beautifully put together. It is a joy to look at but it is also a joy to read about this woman's journey to self-discovery.

The author, Tina Collen is giving away a signed copy of the book to anyone whose answer to this question she finds worthy:

"Oftentimes the objects we hold onto contain cryptic clues that point towards something deeper about ourselves. Take a look around your house (or your room) at the things with which you have surrounded yourself. Is there anything you are still hanging onto that seems to contain a hidden message for you? What do you think it is?"

Do you have objects that you are holding on to? Perhaps you have a book of stamps, shoes, old appliances, vinyl records, or karaoke machines stored in your basement or attic? Do they hold special meaning or contain a hidden message for you? Go leave your story on the Storm of i review on Found Not Lost and you might win a free copy of the book! It's really amazing. You'll enjoy it.

Book Review: Desiree - Napoleon's First Love

There's nothing like good books as natural fat burners. If you've ever picked up a good sized book and become mesmerized from the first page, then you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

This is a reprint of an old novel which was originally published in German by Annemarie Selinko. It is based on the true story of a girl named Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary, the daughter of a silk merchant who was also Napoleon Bonaparte's first love and who became the Queen of Sweden and Norway. Sound interesting enough for you? Are you intrigued already? If you like historical romances then you will love this one. It is full of historical references and woven just so that it is all plausible. You will become so enmeshed in the lives of the characters that you'll have a hard time putting the book down.

Free Books!

I presently have two book giveaways going on and more to come. Come on to my review site and enter to win these books:

I am extending the giveaway for the book, Blue Like Play Dough by Tricia Goyer. You will have another week to enter so get on over there and leave me a comment or click the reTweet button. It’s that easy! It is really a great and inspirational book for every mom or mom to be.

I'm giving away 5 copies of OFF SEASON by Anne Rivers Siddons. This book is a love story about love and lost. “It is a story about those simple truths that often elude us, even when they are in front of our eyes, OFF SEASON explores the hidden places of the heart that continually surprise us.” - from the backcover

Wrinkled and Sagging

OK, I suppose I have to admit it since I can't afford cosmetic surgery, even if I wanted it in the first place; the wrinkles and sagging are slowly creeping in. I'd like to think that I am not a vain person but it's hard to ignore sometimes especially when endorsements for skin treatments bombard you every which way you turn.

Thank goodness for the internet, information is within reach. You can find various sites that offer wrinkle cream reviews and other skin treatment reviews so you can compare products before spending money on them.

Reviews

I've reviewed a few new things on my Found Not Lost blog lately. If you're interested, check out:

The movie I Am Legend starring Will Smith.

The book City of Beasts by Isabel Allende.

and

The restaurant Firebirds Wood Fired Grill for their awesome prime rib.

Meizu MP3 Player

This is my daughter Jade's newest toy. If you have teenagers, you know music is a big part of their life. Before MP3s, CDs were on their 'want lists'. Now, it's MP3 players and a download fund. LOL! She just gave her dad a huge stack of CDs last night. She says she doesn't need them anymore because she has downloaded them all to her MP3. Now her dad is looking at his huge collection of CDs cluttering up his desk shelf and started wondering whether he should get an MP3 player! :)

If you'd like to know what a fourteen year old music fiend thinks of this product, read her review of the the Meizu MP3 Player on Found not Lost.

SPONSOR POST: 10 Tips for Buying a New Home

Homes can be a nightmare to sort out once you buy them, making sure the windows are double glazed, checking the windows and doors and the possibilities of extending it’s size. Here are 10 tips you might need before you actually make the purchase

1. Hire a Home Inspector to do a survey

2. Choose between points and the rate

3. Get help from a professional

4. Do research on the property before making a bid.

5. Try to buy in a nice area with schools, supermarkets etc.

6. Don’t stress if you can’t meet an initial deposit amount.

7. Go for somewhere you can afford, don’t try to stretch the budget.

8. Decide if you are going to stay or not, if not then don’t buy.

9. Get yourself pre-approved before going on the hunt for homes

10. Check out your credit status and try to build up some funds

Go get a job

You've probably heard of Craig's List, the online version of the want ads; now England has it's own version called Gumtree! Gumtree is the place to go if you are looking for jobs in london. Looking through the job listings, they have a lengthy list of available jobs ranging from entry level positions to highly skilled and specialized positions.

If you are interested in things other than london jobs, they also have listings for other items that people have for sale. Items such as cars, furniture, electronic items, books, baby items, and the likes. Pretty much stuff that you would find in a yard sale. It looks like they also have a good number of listings for houses and apartments (flats) that are either for sale or rent. Their personal ads also look pretty extensive. So if you're in the UK, and I think I have several readers from there, this might be a bookmark worthy site to refer to in the future.

Get the Career and Life You Want

I took the evaluation quiz, and it says I have nowhere to go but up. I have never been what I would call an assertive woman. I have always put others before my own needs. They didn't ask me to, I just felt that it was something I had to do. I know I have strengths and talents that could be better cultivated, but they are often put on the back burner while I attend to other things and other people.

Inside Every Woman is a book by Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSD, JD. This book helps women like me realize their vision and potential, now. Who says that we have to give up the people we love and the things that we are doing for them. We don't have to do that. What this book teaches us is to garner our innate strength as women and use that to energize ourselves in order that we may "unleash the forces within". The first chapter holds five promises that you must make to yourself and for yourself in order to live better and attain the goals that you have always dreamt of. The book aims to be your coach in your life and in your career.

You can get a copy of this book on Amazon if you feel you are ready to get the career and life you want. You can also get a free "Inside Every Woman" bookmarks by emailing your request to Vickie@InsideEveryWoman.com.

Midnight Special

At the California Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, there is a small restaurant at the casino level that hits its peak around midnight. In one corner of the casino floor is the Market Street Cafe. It is a 24-hour restaurant which usually serves pretty decent American and Hawaiian fare. However, around eleven o’clock p.m. a line starts to form and, especially on weekends, starts to extend out and wind onto the casino floor. What’s the buzz? Oxtail soup!

Read more...

Home Office Furniture in the UK

It's funny how houses change with the way we live. My husband and I were just looking at old houses in our neighborhood and realized that just about every house started out as a plain square box with probably four rooms: 2 bedrooms, a living area, and a kitchen/dining room. Almost every house has been added on to with over the years as people required more and more living space and now have the means to pay heating and air conditioning better than their owners half a century ago who were probably factory workers who couldn't afford grand houses that would cost too much to keep comfortable.

Now, with the advent of computers and telecommuting, everyone seems to be creating home offices. We have one. Well, I wouldn't call it an 'office' yet, it's more like a corner in the den, but hey, I can dream can't I?

This Home Office Furniture website is based in the UK and they sell office furnitures and storage solutions at very affordable prices. Most of their office furnitures are contemporary in design, made to utilize small spaces efficiently. I like that.

Unfortunately, they do not deliver outside of the UK mainland. I know I do have a few UK readers though, so check them out if you get a chance. They deliver for free in the UK.

This is a sponsored post.

Get Organized with Label Writers

This is a sponsored post
Have you ever crawled under your desk trying to figure out which cable goes with which gadget and wishing your arms are longer as you follow the cable from the computer to the power outlet and back? I have, and it's really hard especially when you're doing it in a short skirt and high heels as I have done numerous times at the office.

Cableorganizers.com presents some solutions to this dilemma and other organization projects you may have. You all have heard me moan and groan about my efforts at organization at work and home before. It's not that I'm messy or disorganized, I just have too much darn stuff to deal with!! I like to label everything as, I've found out, having everything in their own space and having it labeled is the only way to keep track of everything. And that includes those pesky wires that seem to snake all together and everywhere under your desk. I've found that tying them together with cable ties and labeling each what peripheral each wire belongs to, saves a lot of crawling around time.

While labelling is a great way to get organized, sometimes using labels on a sheet that you have to print from a word processing software are not always convenient, especially when you only need one label at a time. I like using portable label makers because you generate one when you need it without having to start up an application on your computer first, finding the right label, and making sure all is aligned before printing it out. Plus, when you put a sheet of labels through a printer multiple times, the unused labels eventually take on a very unattractive grayish tint. I like these handheld, portable label makers for their convenience and portability. For instance, when you're in the storage room and realize you've forgotten to make an a label for a certain item, you don't have to walk all the way back to your desk to make a label. You can make one on the spot.

Here are a few label printers I found on the site that may suit your needs:

Brother P-touch 1650 Labelling System This is my favorite as it has all the features you could possibly need for keeping things organized. This printer uses the new Flexible ID tape and rotated print for cable wrapping and flagging, industrial strength laminated tapes for patch panel labeling, and standard laminated tapes for faceplate labeling. The handheld Brother P-Touch® label maker can create labels with graphics and bar codes up to 1" wide. And for those concerned with inventory management, which is what I have in mind for this model, it has features for sequential numbering and repeat printing.

Brother P-touch P80 Label Printer A step down model from the model above, this one is perfect for home or office use. It uses non laminated, multiple type styles and sizes.

Dymo is a brand I'm familiar with, I use their label printers all the time.
Dymo Label Buddy LM-12813Is a small, portable, affordable and easy to use for basic labelling needs. This label maker uses the embossed adhesive labels that most of us are familiar with, and the labels come pre-loaded and ready to use.

Dymo® RhinoPRO 1000 Like the others, this one has a vertical printing capability, perfect for everyday use.

The RhinoPRO 3000 is a little different from the other printers in that it allows for 2 lines of text which come in 5 text sizes and 3 print styles. It also comes with an optional Hard Case Kit

You can browse through other label printers or read up more on the specifications of the models I mentioned from the website. Another great feature off this website is user reviews are allowed. I like having recommendations or warnings from people who have actually used the product.

EUE Studios

Jade is a huge fan of the tv series One Tree Hill and she has gotten me hooked on watching it too, as improbable as the plot is. Now where do you ever find high school kids who seemingly live independently and pretty much do whatever they want without parental supervision? Well, on TV, apparently. In this show called One Tree Hill.

One Tree Hill is shot on location in Wilmington, NC, at the EUE Screen Gems Studios, the largest studio in the U.S. outside of Los Angeles, CA. Since we spent our last weekend at Wilmington, NC, we couldn't pass up the chance to tour the set of One Tree Hill. The people attending the tour were mostly teenage girls like mine and their parents. I think I only saw a few adult only couples. The rest were like us, moms and their teenage girls.

Photography is not allowed inside the soundstage where all the sets are, photos are only allowed outside the buildings which are not very interesting in themselves. Inside, the stage, if you're a fan of the show especially, is very interesting and brings to life some of the sights that have come familiar to you from the series. Some photos of what to expect can be seen on their website, but as the tour guides said, the sets change all the time so what you see may be different the next time around.

The tour, which lasts about an hour to an hour and a half costs $12 for adults and $5 for children under 12 years old. Tours are conducted on Saturdays and Sundays at 12 noon and 2 p.m. during the months between May and September. The tours are conducted by students from area colleges who are majoring in media communications or film. The girls and I concurred that they could do with a little bit more training, but they are an enthusiastic group and that more than makes up for their lack luster presentation.

A ball is a ball is a ball...

This issue can be so funny if it wasn't for the deeper implications it raises. Here is an article about another book that is being criticized for a word used within the first pages. What one word could possible raise such a ruckus? SCROTUM. Did that shock you? Did it offend your moral sensibilities to hear the word?

It doesn't really do anything for me but apparently it raises the hackles of some people. I have to admit that I hadn't read the book yet, but I will just to see what the fuss is about.

The children's book written by Susan Patron, The Higher Power of Luckyis this year's Newberry Medal winner and it is recommended for children from grades 4-6. The story is about a 10 year old girl named Lucky whose mother is struck by lightning and dies. Lucky's father then asks his ex-wife to take care of Lucky while he is off elsewhere. This is about Lucky and her friends going through the usual angsts of growing up, and growing up without her real parents at that.

The fuss about the book comes about from the reference to the dog's scrotum being bit by a snake (sounds pretty funny to me) at the beginning of the story. Apparently, because of this word, the work becomes unsuitable for reading aloud, and some would even insist not suitable for reading in silence either. Because of the S word. I do not understand what is so wrong with the word. It is the correct term for that body part, right? That body part does exist and not just an imagined perversion, correct? So you would call your head a head, your arm an arm and not think twice about it; so why not call a scrotum a scrotum? I tried to think of other euphemisms (some have suggested it could have been implied in another way) but could only come up with balls. How about you? How many other ways can you call "the thing"?

I know many of us were raised with funny (and I really do mean funny)
ideas about sexuality, but I would like to think that as we grew older and more educated that we have shed some of the puritan ideas we have about sex. I remember my mom having a hard time explaining sex to us and even referred us to the dictionary when cornered with a word she couldn't explain without blushing. I'd like to think I'm a little better with my girls. At least they know their 'thing' is called a vagina and not 'pek-pek'. OK, my mom will argue that pekpek is a word. Yes, but it's a ilocano/filipino word and even at that it is not the proper name for the proper name is also considered vulgar even in the Philippines. Thank goodness for a second language to mask our inhibitions about calling body parts their proper names! But really, what is it about calling IT by it's proper name? Why is that bad?

Besides, most kids nowadays, unless they have been cloistered, will know all these terms by the time they are 9 or sooner (and at least 10 euphemisms to boot). At least mine do... and sometimes in a second language, even!

Words are only dirty when you make them to be.