Carol's Notebook – Page 672

Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey

September 24, 2009September 25, 2009 by Carol3 Comments

Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey I'm not a money person, period. I don't understand it or care, really. I don't think about it that much, tracking where it comes from and where it goes is a pain. I've heard that arguments over money are one of the main difficulties facing married couples, but that's not true in our house, because David's not a money person, either, which is a problem. We read Financial Peace as part of a workshop we attended over about three months at our church. It's simple, clear baby steps are perfect for us. Ramsey explains them in terms we can understand, gives clear goals, and encourages partners, spouses to actually communicate, not yell or let one person be solely responsible. If I had to boil it down, Ramsey advocates saving, getting out of/avoiding debt and then moving on to investing for retirement and college. I like, too, that it is Christian-based and encourages giving, but it's still practical. I'll grant...

Winners!

September 23, 2009 by Carol7 Comments

Congratulations to the winner of The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson and a temporary tattoo. Suzie And a bunch of people won temporary tattoos. Have fun with them. Ken Dina Renee Catherine@The Blonde Diaries Paula Patterson Dawn Jessica diane Rebecca S. Cox heatherzilla John Freda Mans Janel Joani Julie P. bermudaonion Rebecca N. Lisa Rita K amanda I will be e-mailing everyone. I just need your mailing addresses. Thanks....

RIP IV Challenge

September 23, 2009January 14, 2010 by Carol1 Comment

Fall just seems the perfect time to curl up on the couch under an afghan with a cup of coffee and a spooky, mysterious, scary, thrilling, eerie book. I'm giving in to the urge and joining the RIP challenge, hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings. I'm only committing to Peril the Third, which is one book, but hopefully I'll read more that fit these categories: mystery, suspense, thriller, dark fantasy, gothic, horror, supernatural. The challenge runs through October 31. Here is a list of books I may be pulling from. Of course, I might read entirely different ones altogether. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón Salem's Lot by Stephen King Frankenstein by Mary Shelley The Ghost Writer by Josh Harwood The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken...

G is for Girl

September 23, 2009 by Carol8 Comments

Vicki of Reading At The Beach hosts A-Z Wednesday. Today's letter is G. This is one I read back in 2006. All I remember is enjoying it, but I've always been a Nancy Drew fan. Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak This is the publisher's description. A plucky “titian-haired” sleuth solved her first mystery in 1930. Eighty million books later, Nancy Drew has survived the Depression, World War II, and the sixties (when she was taken up with a vengeance by women’s libbers) to enter the pantheon of American girlhood. As beloved by girls today as she was by their grandmothers, Nancy Drew has both inspired and reflected the changes in her readers’ lives. Here, in a narrative with all the vivid energy and page-turning pace of Nancy’s adventures, Melanie Rehak solves an enduring literary mystery: Who created Nancy Drew? And how did she go from pulp heroine to icon? The brainchild of children’s book mogul Edward Stratemeyer, Nancy...

Teaser Tuesday

September 22, 2009January 9, 2012 by Carol12 Comments

Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12. You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from...that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given. Please avoid spoilers! I'm cheating a little today, with three sentences, starting on line 4. My teaser: "About eight years ago, almost by chance, I found a novel by Julián Carax in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. You had hidden it there to save it from being destroyed by a man who calls himself Laín Coubert, " I said. She stared at me, without moving, as if she were afraid that the world around her was going to fall apart. -pg. 162, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along....

Guest Post- Balthazar Rodrigue Nzomono-Balenda, author of Freedom of Press the Sitting Duck

September 22, 2009September 22, 2009 by Carol1 Comment

I would like to thank Balthazar Rodrigue Nzomono-Balenda for taking a page in my notebook today to talk about his journey to becoming published. My journey to being a published author I hope my story can inspire any writer around the world, who is determined to find a publisher that’s willing to publish his/her works. I have been asked to share my experiences which I would like to do now. On June 2008, I was publishing poems at the International Library of Poetry’s website (Poetry.com), when I received an invitation to Las Vegas by the International Society of Poets, which was one of the world’s largest poetry organizations. I was invited in Las Vegas because I was one of the nominees as Poet of the Year 2007. I was invited because of my poetic accomplishments at Poetry.com. It was an opportunity for me to meet the Pulitzer Prize Laureate, W.D. Snodgrass, Academy of American Poets Past Chancellor David Wagoner and others. But I couldn’t...