Andrea Pearson Books: Spread-the-Word Book-Giveaway Contest

Andrea Pearson Books: Spread-the-Word Book-Giveaway Contest

Andrea Pearson is the daughter of a friend of mine. She has written a book called "The Key of Kilenya, released July 6th with pre-ordering starting on April 6th.

She has done something most of us only dream about, Andrea is proof books get published! That alone must be honored!!

When people read a book and like it they spread the word.....I feel confident excellence is always rewarded.

So follow this link and check out this great new author and her amazing book. I am including a description of her book...this has to inspire all of us..especially those of us determined to see our words in print...

The Key of Kilenya

by Andrea Pearson
Release Date: 1 March 2010

When two vicious wolves chase fourteen-year-old Jacob Clark through a gateway from our world into another, he has no idea they have been sent by the Lorkon�evil, immortal beings who know he has powers they desire to control.

The inhabitants of the new world beg for Jacob�s help in recovering a magical key that was stolen by the Lorkon and is somehow linked to him. If he helps them, he will be in great danger. But if he chooses not to help them, our entire world will be in peril. The Lorkon will stop at nothing to unleash the power of the key�and Jacob�s special abilities.

Price: TBD
Publisher: Valor Publishing Group, LLC (July 6, 2010)
Genre: YA Fantasy
Binding: Hardback
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-1-935546-23-8
Product Dimensions: 6x9

We will begin taking pre-orders 6 April 2010.

My Computer is Alive!!

Ok so I am completely freaked out by what I just accidentally did. I was reading emails on my computer and something caught my eye. A woman I vaguely know on one of my lists suggested that I sign up for a "live health Club". As ridiculous as that sounds, and it does, I did it, I signed up for a "live health club". I don't even want to think about what I thought a 'live health club' on the computer could be, but the second I signed up things started happening on my computer that I wasn't ready for.

This is the message I got from my new "live health club", it said "Kim is your friend now. Kim has accepted your friendship request. You can now send messages to Kim. Send a message to Kim. View Kim's profile....."

Holy Cats!! The only thing that can save me now is an intervention, or an exorcism.

I don't know anyone named Kim, I don't want her friendship, I don't want to send her a message, and I am completely creeped out thinking I can view her profile.

All from a misguided prompt to sign up for a new "live health club."

Suddenly I noticed I was getting messages from all kinds of people, some I knew.. most I didn't....what have I done? Have I somehow attached the "live health club" to everyone on my list? Maybe, oh my gosh...how do I stop it? I can't, it's going everywhere, and I am pleading with my computer to do something to stop it, sort of a war games kind of experience. I was either going to bomb Russia or spam the world. I started emailing friends, what do I do? Someone suggested I go to "edit friends" and then edit, edit the heck out of it. What? So, I go to "edit friends" and nothing occurs. I am helpless to stop my computer in it's quest to invite the world to join "live health club".

Oh no!! I am getting messages from Jason, Mary, Oscar...I don't even know these people...and then a friend emails to tell me she doesn't accept these kind of invitations,...of course you don't and you shouldn't, only I do bonehead things like this. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to send you anything from the "Live Health Club ".

But then I wonder if she should be so quick to refuse, I mean has she met Kim? or Oscar? How about Jason? See you at the "Live Health club".

Then I get this great preemptive kind of idea to send an email to friends that the "live health club" is a mistake. Don't open it I tell them...I think it is....ALIVE!! I have tried to unsubscribe and I am still getting emails from people I don't even know.

OK so unsubscribing is not working....emailing in some kind of "fire line attempt" is not working...my usual "reboot" is not working, so without a huge amount of extra time to try and figure this out, I am simply going to expand my contact list. I could use a few new friends.
Hello Kim? Oscar? Jason? I'm Donna I like water sports and gummi bears, long walks in the rain and spy novels...

Forgiveness, Donna Style

So, as I said before I am on a journey. I have decided that the first stop on my journey is forgiveness. Now that sounds just right doesn't it? Every single self-help book insists on forgiveness first. Seems it is a road block to progression, who knew? So, since I am determined to succeed on my journey I have decided to forgive any and all people who have systematically colluded (oooo that's a big word...col·lude [kuh-lood)–verb,-lud·ed,-lud·ing.1.to act together through a secret understanding, esp. with evil or harmful intent.2.to conspire in a fraud.)to make me unhappy.

I doubt you will find your name on this list, so please,read on.

I am going to start with RJ Wolever. RJ was my boyfriend senior year in high school...he dumped me two weeks before homecoming for a JV cheerleader. I know it was awhile ago but public humiliation has a long, long shelf life. Unfortunately I can't do anything about the fact I put a curse on him that resulted in early baldness. But at least now he is now forgiven, check.

OK that felt good, let's see who is next...Duke!! That's right Duke, I forgive them for beating UNLV in 1991. I bought a non-refundable airfare ticket and inflated Championship game ticket to watch my beloved Rebels in Indianapolis. My plans were changed by Bobby Hurley of Duke and his crowd. It was awful, and I vowed to never forgive them. OK? check, check...ooooh this is getting harder.

I forgive the woman at the town board meeting who screamed at me and said I should be ashamed of myself for, of all things, supporting a middle school. I can still see her face...that was a bad day. Check, check, check...that was a tough one..she was a shrew.

I forgive my biological parents for giving me genes that do not allow me to eat anything I want. That bites...OK, forgiven...

I forgive the player from hell who gave Mikey the concussion ending his Junior season. (wow, that was really hard) I also forgive the equally annoying player who didn't throw Trey the ball when he was open in the end zone. It would have won a play-off game...wait! This one might be too hard. Nah, what the heck! Forgive the guy!! OK!!

I forgive the teacher who was mean to Ashleigh. You know who you are....Wow, I can't do much more....OK. OK. Just one more and then I seriously must be left with some grudges...Here is the very last one......I forgive you know who, for you know what. There, finished. Now life can go on smoothly, karmically charged, clean slate.

Wow..that was cathartic. My road to Wellville continues.

Wander through the maze with me...

I have struggled, cried, screamed and whined through every diet known to man (or woman) . I have given up every time before I reach any kind of noticeable goal. I don't really cheat on these diets I just stop.....I hate the word cheat anyway because how can eating the wrong food be in the same category as cheating? I mean seriously you can go to jail for cheating on your income taxes, divorce court for cheating on your spouse, and expelled for cheating on a test. So I can't use the catastrophic word "cheating" for eating the wrong food. I prefer to use these words......"yikes!! I am out of shape, my clothes don't fit, (including my beloved navy blue dress with very cool long jacket)I don't think my shoes fit!! I don't fit into anything like I did before....I dread pictures, scales and seeing people I haven't see for awhile....so I need to eat better food. But wait a minute do you see that eating is in the word cheating? Hmmmm maybe something is up...

So enough...I mean it.... enough! I do not have control over anything or anyone but me. I can fit into my beloved navy blue dress with very cool long jacket. I can do this. So every couple of days I will share my ups and downs, tips I find helpful and instead of screaming into my pillow I will share it with you the blogasphere!

I mean we all have goals we want to achieve, and guess what? No matter what you want to do the pattern to get there is the same. So whatever you want to do we can do it together. It doesn't matter what you want to change, just that you want to change.

Any idea you have is clearer if you write it down, any thought you have, maybe an impression...because your better angels always want you to succeed. Listen to them. Let the better angels win. And since they speak softly sometimes you have to get really quiet to hear them. Ponder, meditate, pray...expect miracles.

If you are trying to make a change in your life, join me! Whether you are searching for a better career, save some money, maybe a healthier life, maybe you just want to get along better with people. Or the worst..... you have stopped paying attention to yourself, and you can't even hear your better angels any more.

This is a journey I have really wanted to take for a long, long time. But I never get past the initial pain. So, for once, I am going to soldier on, and see it to the end. Who knows what I will learn? Who wants to join me? We can do anything with the Savior's guidance. His yoke is easy, don't forget that....

The Dream Home I Didn't Win

I am shocked, absolutely shocked that I didn't win the HGTV Dream Home in the HGTV Dream Home Giveaway.
How did this occur? I entered every day. For weeks. I logged on, and I registered over and over again. And then I wished really, really hard. And someone else won....

I get that the chances of winning must have been the same as being hit by a comet, but it has happened. I mean isn't that how the dinosaurs died?

But seriously, did I really think I could win? No....I mean yes....I mean I knew it was a long shot, but why not me? I mean didn't I win that huge tiger when I was 9? I'm due.

And don't I need a fabulously cool house in Santa Fe? A butt load of money and a car? How great would that have been? But no! I lose....again.

What would that moment be like if I had won? Think of it, some guy on the other end of the phone telling me I won the fabulously cool house in Santa Fe...he, of course, would have to convince me it wasn't one of my son's lame friends having some fun at my expense.....but then what would that moment be like? The one where you realize you have won a fabulously cool house in Santa Fe. It would be so great until you realize you don't live in Santa Fe, and you have no time to commute. And forget the fact I am not cool like the people in Santa Fe, I'm not even as cool as a house in Santa Fe! I would never have blended! I would have been dissed by the welcome wagon.

But the truth is I am ridiculously unlucky. I have actually gotten used to it. So why did I even try to win the fabulously cool house in Santa Fe? Because deep down I think.....maybe... maybe this time.

I have always been intrigued by people who win anything. Maybe I just don't have the confidence to win. Maybe that law of attraction is the real deal. I thought it was like wishing real hard, but maybe there is something to it. I am sure someone somewhere has done a big study on it - thank you stimulus money - but I can tell you this is something we need to get to the bottom of.

But doesn't luck intrigue you? I think to some degree winners get used to winning, they expect to win. They have that swagger thing and it is a confidence thing...they expect good things to happen. When they get up in the morning they think, "what great thing is going to happen to me today?" And put that up against the reaction to life most people have ....dang! It's morning!!

So I think I am going to change my attitude and start attracting some real luck. I am going to expect miracles, and I think I will practice my swagger, because I read that HGTV is deciding where to build their dream home for next year!!

Night Brain Vs. Day Brain

So last night I was helping my daughter with her homework. I really don't want to see that homework in the light of day. It is amazing what a night brain will accept...night brain says all kinds of things...like after sitting with Emma for hours my night brain said things like..."yea! that looks good!" Because all night brain wants to do is go to bed. And now that I think of it, night brain says all kinds of things that day brain would never say. Night brain says, "looks good, eat it!!" Day brain asks if you have exercised. Night brain looks at an unmade bed and sleeps on top of it, after putting clothes and socks on the floor...day brain not only makes the bed but sorts the socks. Night brain looks at messages and ignores them, day brain answers the phone. Night brain ignores dust, bills and deadlines. Day brain rearranges furniture.
The trick is to listen to the better angels in your head, ignore what you know is holding you back and go forward. If you want something different, you have to do something different. Stop listening to night brain, it's just a tired 'ole voice trying to keep you on the couch where it is...go out in the sun with day brain, your better angels! They are there. Find them...be powerful!!

My Dad

My dad passed away 5 years ago, he had an accident with his bicycle and died thirteen days later. It was a blessing to him to be able to go home the way he did. And a blessing to me that I didn't have to watch him suffer. What he left behind was, to me at first, a huge mess. He collected all kinds of random things. We were never sure what we would run into. From insurance policies on credit cards for a few hundred dollars, to Mexican pesos. It didn't seem he had very much, but he did. He had the wherewithal to make sure his home was well cared for, his roof was in good shape, his windows were new. He had money in the bank and my name was on his bank account, although I have no idea when I did that. I was able to access funds right away to take care of his burial. He had already paid for his whole funeral. After we went through his hangar, closets and closed up bedrooms we were able to sell his home because he had done such a good job keeping things up and adding things other homes in his neighborhood didn't have. All in all, my dad did a good job, both in being a dad and being a good guy. I appreciate everything he did for me.

I love Cheerleaders!

So my daughter, Emma, is a cheerleader. She has been a cheerleader for years, except for a couple of years that she played volleyball. She cheered when she was just 8 and it was just 2 little girls for my son's little guy football. I remember one time when she was about 10 and they were in a competition with cheer teams from all over the valley....they had the cutest routine, and they just nailed it!! It was a moment I remember with my heart....just a fun thing. And then last week, her cheer team went to Reno and won the state championship. How great is that? When the world gets so scary, and life gets so serious......our cheerleaders won state! It gives us something to smile about, and right now we need something to smile about. Go Bulldogs!!

So what are you waiting to do?

So what are you waiting to do? You know what I mean, what is the dream you aren't living, the picture you aren't painting, the view you don't see? The play not acted, the book not written? How about the trip you didn't take, the stock you didn't buy and the diet you just couldn't do? What is it about us that lets inertia win? We are intelligent, vital people,we should be in charge of ourselves shouldn't we? I don't really understand why I can't have the things I dream about. Or can I? I am not dreaming about things that don't exist, or things that have never been done. I am talking about regular stuff, why can't I do it? Or can I? What if we all decided to do something we have never done before. We could live that dumb line...."If you want something you have never had, you have to do something you have never done." I guess it isn't so dumb, actually it is the key. So all we have to do is gird up our loins, and grab some courage...pick something.....something you wish you could do that has been outside your grasp, for whatever reason you just can't get there. So lets scratch that itch!!
Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe you can do something amazing? You know the vision of a horse running in the wilds? They are beautiful, but useless, now put a bridle on that same horse and now what do you have? A beautiful horse that can be useful. As we bridle our passions we turn ourselves into people who can reach their potential. Let's do something amazing...we can do this!
I will get back to you Friday...