Category: personal

Blogme MAYbe, Observations, personal, writing

Your significant other is a writer? Don´t panic! 10 rules to follow…

Elodie

This month (well until my honeymoon :D), I will be participating in Blogme MAYbe. This wonderful idea is the brainchild of SaraMcClung and is a weekly blog format with an easy schedule to follow. For more information and join the fun (you can at any time!), simply click on the banner created by the super-duper-talented Tracey. On Thursdays (yes it is already Thursday on my side of the world), the prompt is: May I tell you something about someone else...

Enter my husband aka The Chemical Engineering. He already wrote a guest post with his review of The Hunger Games and he´s back with wonderful advice 😀

Your significant other is a writer?



Don´t panic! 10 rules to follow…

First I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who commented on my last guest post. I meant to answer to everyone, but I am just a very lazy and inexperienced blogger. So please accept my apologies. Despite my bad blog etiquette my wife let me do another guest blog entry. Thank you!

Today I would like to share the ten ground rules that should not be broken when your significant other is a writer:

1. Don’t criticize the Twitter usage

Even though it might seem like Twitter is taking over all aspects of life, for some reason it seems to be an important tool for all of the writers who like to share short messages about everyday tasks and events.

2. Make sure to read new blog entries

You might not care about monthly book reviews, but you better know if he/she mentioned you in a blog post. I suggest to quickly fly over the post and look for some key words (Ctrl+F). I look for “Hubby” and “Chemical Engineer”.

3. Make educated comments about their WIP

First you needed to figure out what WIP stands for, but that is not the end of it. When reading two (very similar) versions of the same paragraph you better decide which one sounds better. Comments like “They are good” will not be accepted. A literary analysis (like back in the school days) is the least a writer would expect from their significant other.

4. Blogging takes time so just accept it

Blogging entries have to be done at a particular time. Wether it is Road Trip Wednesday or Happy Friday Posts. They are all important and have to be done at the planned time no matter what happens (yes, this article had to be writtenon a Sunday). All comments have to be addressed as well. The 24 hours in a day should be enough time for this.

5. Buying more books is essential

A writer can never have enough books after all they are “research” and will help in refine the writing style. Room for storing the books can be found anywhere even if it means double stacking the books in the book shelf. Next apartment/house will have to have a room just for books.

6. Don’t make fun of the way he/she talks to other writers

It doesn’t matter if it sounds silly and is absolutely not how grown-ups are meant to interact, this is how they tick. After all they are writers and should know much more about communication than anyone else.

7. Learn how to spell correctly

I don’t know how to spell in any of the three languages that I know. I am so happy that some programmer came out with spell check. I don’t know how I would do without it. When I write an e-mail to my wife I really don’t even run spell check. She takes my misspelling almost as an insult and does makes fun of my spelling at any opportunity that she gets (and there are many opportunities).

8. Don’t bore a writer with technical things (at least not my writer)

As a good wife, mine of course asks me about my work day. I know that if I want to keep her attention I only have about 15 seconds to explain anything technical about my work and most importantly I need to keep it simple. That is also true if we talk about anything else technology related. I guess fictional writers (maybe except science-fiction writers and again this only applies to my writer) are just more into interpersonal relationships and stories and can’t be bothered with the little things like science.

9. Try not to argue that characters in a book/film are fictional

In the mind of a writer characters become almost as alive as any other real person. There is no point in explaining that a character that died, didn’t really die, but just acted out a role. It’s like explaining a child that Bambi’s mother wasn’t shot by hunters.

10. Don’t think that your guest entries in the blog are just as good and/or funny as his/hers

This one is pretty straight forward. You are the engineer (or non-writer) and she is the writer; deal with it.

I was able to come up with these rules only because I have broken them many times. I hope you can agree with some of them. I am going to continue and break them from time to time. It is good to remember them in certain situations, like when you annoyed her and can turn to her with a smile “thanks for the mention on the blog today”, but following them all of the time would just be a bit boring and practically impossible.

Blogme MAYbe, personal

Are you a daydreamer?

Elodie

This month (well until my honeymoon :D), I will be participating in Blogme MAYbe. This wonderful idea is the brainchild of SaraMcClung and is a weekly blog format with an easy schedule to follow. For more information and join the fun (you can at any time!), simply click on the banner created by the super-duper-talented Tracey

 

On Wednesdays, the prompt is: May I ask something about you?

I have always daydreamed. As a child and as a teenager, I used to tell stories out loud in my kitchen, even trying out my foreign language skills or I could just get lost in my thoughts. I still do it 😀

 So tell me were you a daydreamer? What did you dream about?

Blogme MAYbe, personal

It´s all about me – From A to Z

Elodie

This month (well until my honeymoon :D), I will be participating in Blogme MAYbe. This wonderful idea is the brainchild of SaraMcClung and is a weekly blog format with an easy schedule to follow. For more information and join the fun (you can at any time!), simply click on the banner created by the super-duper-talented Tracey

On Tuesdays, the prompt is: May I tell you something about myself? Not too long ago, I came across an Alphabet Survey on the lovely Katy Upperman´s blog which she had found on Just Everyday Me…what a perfect way to start Blogme MAYbe (on Thursday, The Chemical Engineer aka my hubby will be back on my blog – and let me tell you – with very useful advice)

It´s all about me – From A to Z

A is for age: The BIG 3-0…turning 31 this year…I´m totally wise (Hubby, stop laughing!)

 B is for breakfast today: Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal (with a sliced banana and chocolate chips), Coffee

C is for currently craving: The French Toasts my hubby made on Sunday

D is for dinner tonight: Cutlet with spaetzle and mushrooms…

E is for favorite type of exercise: I love swimming (and aqua gym) but I have not had the time to do it in a while so instead I’ll have to go for tennis (I also enjoy pilates, yoga and jogging).

F is for an irrational fear: BIG spiders. I have many fears if I’m honest and I’m working on them but let’s concentrate on spiders. While I used to have a tiny spider as a friend when I was small (I even had given it a name), I’m super duper scared of BIG hairy spiders.

G is for gross food: Not a fan of celery and of cold endive. Everything else is a go in my book.

H is for hometown: A small village an hour north from Paris.

I is for something important: My hubby, my entire family, for sure and my friends.

J is for current favorite jam: Raspberry

K is for kids: None. My husband is a big kid, does he count? 😀

L is for current location: My living room

M is for the most recent way you spent money: Books, quite a wonderful way to spend money!

N is for something you need: Internet, a hug from my hubby, a book, a laugh…I´d also love a massage!

O is for occupation: I sometimes pretend to be Super Woman…:D 

P is for pet peeve: People sneezing and coughing in public transportation without covering their mouths. I’m sorry but not a big fan of your germs and people not letting their seats for old people or pregnant ladies. Inconsiderate.

Q is for a quote: So many, so many quotes…I am going to go with this one

                                                                                                                                                       Source: etsy.com via Elodie on Pinterest

R is for random fact about you: I slid across three lanes of I-95 S (you know the interstate going towards DC) sideways on my way to school because a truck hit my car. Not fun to see all those cars coming at me. Came out of it with a BIG scare.

S is for favorite healthy snack: A banana or an apple

T is for favorite treat: Coffee at my grandmother’s with the cookies I used to eat as a child. Otherwise, dark chocolate or my sister’s chocolate cake…However, when I want to treat myself, I go to Starbucks and buy a Caramel Macchiato with a Blueberry muffin.

U is for something that makes you unique: My smile? I also lived in 3 different countries, in 13 different apartments/houses and in 7 different cities…

V is for favorite vegetable: I love veggies! Green peas, green beans, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes…

W is for today’s workout: Will do some cardio on my elliptical while watching Friends later on today and might go for a walk with the hubby this afternoon.

X is for X-rays you’ve had: Teeth, arm (broken as a child in two places), lungs, head…

Y is for yesterday’s highlight: Cuddling on the couch with my hubby

Z is for your time zone: Central European Time

The CET countries are in red

So tell me, are you participating in any blogfest this month?

What is your favorite treat? Have you started reading INSURGENT?

personal, writing

We all deserve a pat on the back…

Elodie

Writing is fun, writing is difficult, writing is challenging, writing is amazing…

Yes, writing is all of this but sometimes we have those moments where we think:

  • “Is it good enough?”
  • “Why don´t I write more?”
  • “I´m never going to find an agent”
  • “my agent will not like this idea”
  • “I´m never going to get published”
  • “Ì´m never going to get published again”
  • “People hate my book”
  • “It sucks” “I suck” “The plot sucks”…
  • “It may be great but my query will suck”

                                                                                                                                     Source: happythings.tumblr.com via Lori on Pinterest

We´re all hard on ourselves. We´re much harder on ourselves than on others.

If one of your friends came over and told you: “I´m writing a book, I finished the first draft but I have the feeling that I can´t do it all, that I don´t spend enough time with other things. Plus, some of the subplot is just not where it´s supposed to be and my characters don´t make sense. I feel so tired.”

Your friend would reply: “You wrote a book! It´s amazing! I don´t know how you do it all.”

Yes. most people would turn to any of us, impressed by our creativity, impressed by our dedication…Not everybody but most people.

Some may even tell us we´re a tad insane to write when we have so much uncertainty about being published for us, writing is just a thing we have to do because, most of the times, it makes us happy.

However, we do need to take a moment to sit back, to realize how much we´ve accomplished and to give ourselves a pat on the back.

Feel yourself hugged!

Books, personal

Monday smiles…

Elodie

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Hubby and I spent in France with my family and it was GREAT 😀 I have so many happy news that I want to share with you that I have to make a list 😀

  1. Friday started off quite well. I noticed my name on Friday the Thirteeners (a small group of YA writers debuting in 2013). The lovely Erin Bowman picked my Truth or Dare question: Who is your secret crush from YA lit? You should definitely check out her answer. She even did a Vlog! Oh and if you want to know more about Erin, you can visit her blog or  follow her on Twitter! Not only did Erin answer my question, but I also won a $13 gift card for amazon. Since Erin mentioned COLD KISS and since this book has been on my TBR for awhile, I decided it was the perfect occasion to get it 😀 Yay!
  2. The weekend was really lovely: my parents took us back to the restaurant we had the sort-of rehersal dinner before our wedding in August. The food was yummy and on top of this, it brought back a lot of wonderful memories. We strolled the park of one of Napoleon´s castle afterwards, spent time with my grandmother, sisters, brother-in-law, niece and nephew.  Oh and we played tennis with my dad. Fun all around! On Sunday, we also enjoyed a family lunch and afternoon.                                                                        My mom makes the most beautiful tables doesn´t she? Today, after a delicious brunch prepared by my mom and saying goodbye, we headed back to Germany. I may be turning 31 this year but leaving France is always a tad difficult :D…On our way back we stopped at Hooters, because well, we love wings!
  3. Awards: Thank you Lora for the Versatile Blogger Award and Thank you Word (en)Counters for the Liebster Blog Award! Blushing!
  4. I may have developed a new addiction: INSTAGRAM has been made available to Android phones and I´m loving it 😀
  5. I finished reading THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE this weekend and wow, this book…this story…is brutally honest and poetic. Loved it! I just started ACROSS THE UNIVERSE and I´m already pulled in the story after a few pages…quite happy about it! And next on my list is JELLICOE ROAD…:D I mean, after hearing Erin talk about it and reading Katy´s take on one of the main characters, I have to read it!
  6. Honeymoon, honeymoon, honeymoon…We are full into preparation mode and I am so so excited that we just booked the Isaiah Jones Homestead Bed and Breakfastin Sandwich, MA where we stayed a night in 2007. We are ready to meet old memories there and to make new ones…Plus it will be after we drive more than 4000 miles around the US so I think we´ll be ready to settle in and really relax for a few days. After Cape Cod, we´ll be off to NYC and watching this:

How was your weekend?

Observations, personal

A Young Engineer’s (not so serious) Review of The Hunger Games Movie…

Elodie

Disclaimer: I have been talking to my husband aka The Chemical Engineer quite a lot about The Hunger Games, I also showed him this particular post from YA Confidential which he found hilarious. And then I thought it’d be interesting to have him write a guest post sharing his (not so serious) views on the movie as somebody who hasn’t read the books, doesn’t really read fiction and sometimes gives me a hard time cos’ I read too many books a month 😀 Looking forward to your comments (yes, Chemical Engineer, I am leaving you the floor, stop figeting!)

A Young Engineer’s (not so serious) Review of The Hunger Games Movie…

Just so I can still keep my manhood intact let me mention that my wife got (forced) me to go and watch the movie with her.

First things first: I don’t want to (and can’t) compare the movie with the book. I haven’t read the book. My wife read a few chapters to me while I was falling asleep, trying to get me interested in reading it. It didn’t work despite the fact that it worked for one of her blog friends; I don’t read fictional books, I wait until the good ones come out as a movie. This strategy has worked out well for me. I tried to remember when the last time was that I read a book and watched the movie based on the same book. It seems to be about 11 years ago in high school. I am not sure it counts though, the book was Othello and the Movie was O (a modern interpretation). But since novels and movies serve the same purpose, entertainment, but do it through a very different way, I find it pointless to compare the two. I do have to mention one thing about comparing the two:

When there is a shower scene described in the book (on the train to the Capitol):  How dare do you leave that out of the movie?  I get the whole PG-13 rating, etc., but how can you do such a thing as a movie director! Shame on you Mr. Gary Ross!!!

In general the movie was quite entertaining and for the most part kept my attention. Obviously having cool guys like Woody Harrelson and Lenny Kravitz helps with that.

              

The story in itself is pretty good. Showing the young adults as regular teenagers with fears and joys and then having them fight until death is quite compelling. Even though the underlying story of individuals who can change the world by starting a revolution unintentionally is probably older than literature itself. As long as the packaging is right, who am I to weigh heavily on an old literature cliché – After all I am just an engineer.

Speaking of packaging, here are two things that I didn’t get about the movie:

  1. So they all live in a very advanced society with scanners that analyze your blood right away, with dresses that burn like fire but still safe and with hovering space ships… Why in the world would you travel by train for almost an entire day instead of taking a space ship? I get that district 12 is not as developed as the Capitol, but this still wouldn’t explain why a space ship couldn’t fly in and just pick them up!
  2. Staying with the thought of a dystopian society that is technologically progressed. Why in the world would you still be mining coal? Do they have a little coal burner inside those space ships? So they developed all of this technology and still are bound to use coal. Really? Just think about this for a second. They spend all of this energy developing new technology that probably consumes even more energy and the only solution that they could find to fulfill their energy demand was coal? I understand that it was important for the story that the residents of District 12 had to be manual laborers, but couldn’t they have been robot-mechanics or some kind of electrical circuit makers (like the ones working on making our smart phones). 

I know you probably think it is not important for the whole story, but I think a writer or director (again I can’t compare the books) should take the time and think through such details in order to make it more coherent (at least for me).

It helps if a writer is married to engineer that can double check the story 😀

personal, Road Trip Wednesday, writing

My life version of The Butterfly Effect

Elodie

If you have not entered my “I love reading” giveaway, you can still do it :-): You can win 2 books (up to a total of $30): one for you and one for a teenager or a child or a baby you want to share your love of books with.The giveaway is open to all countries that The Book Depository ships to. Just fill out the entry form by Friday March 16th.

 Today is Road Trip Wednesday 🙂 RTW is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic

Name this life: What would your memoir be called?

I cry, I laugh, I smile, I yell. I make mistakes. I learn.  I find it unfair sometimes but I’m grateful for all the hardships and all the joys because it brought me to where I am today. I love my life even if it’s not always easy. Looking back, I realize that sometimes the small decisions, the tiny steps turned out to become milestones. I don’t think I’ll write a memoir, but I do like to look back…So my title would be:

My life version of The Butterfly Effect

International life: As a child, I used to say that I would never leave home. I enjoyed the comfort of my place. Always a tad anxious, going to summer camps was not easy. My parents always pushed me. I am so grateful for them. Why? Because 10 years later, I decided it was time to see the big big world and to go to the United States. My parents once said to me: “We know we did a good job with you girls if you can leave us but are always happy to be back.” I am definitely always happy to go back home.

Funny how it works out: At the age of 11, I decided German was indeed quite an interesting language to learn. 9 years later, in the United States, I met a cocky boy who was surprised a French girl could speak German and English (yes he’s funny :-)). 19 years later, I live in Germany with a charming man I am lucky to call my husband (he’s still cocky).

Writing: My parents read to me at night. They encouraged my passion for books. My sisters read my first attempts at poetry, not mocking me but nodding along.  My teachers gave me positive feedback when I was young on my imagination. My sisters, my brother-in-law and my high school friends didn’t cringe away from my drafts when I tried my hand at writing a novel. My husband trusts that I can do it. He tells me several times a week or a month or a day (depending how stressed I am). All those little moments encouraged me and are still with me today.

These are only little moments but I am just amazed by how those little moments help shape who I am today.

How would you call YOUR memoir?

personal

I´ve been tagged :D

Elodie

So, I have been tagged several times these past weeks and I also received an award…How fitting to receive the Lovely Blog Award from the lovely Jaime (and if you do not follow her blog, you really should because it´s a treat!) Thanks again!

Now, on to the tagging business.  I have been taggboozzled (reference to Friends – because well, there´s always a possibility to refer to Friends).

In the past week, not one, not two but six wonderful bloggers tagged me.

First a shout-out to them:

Colin, Kiperoo, Elise, Gwen, Sophie, Diane

Really, you should go and pay them a visit, it´s worth it…I promise.

And since all this tagging amounts to 61 questions (and I´m not sure anybody would go through reading 61 questions about me…), I will mix them in my magic mixer and tada…here is the result:

1. Think of one person you aren’t able to see for whatever reason (distance, availability, etc.) you would love to meet up with. Who is this person? This can be a famous person, a relative, a literary agent–anyone, as long as they are alive.

My grandmother.

2. If you were a crayon, what colo(u)r would you be, and why?

Blue. Like the sky. Like hope. Like happy.

3. When you get (or got) “the call” from an agent, who will be (or was) the first person you will tell (or you told)?

My hubby would be the first person I would tell. I´m not sure he´ll understand the words coming out of my mouth though, I might be a tad over the moon.

4. What genre(s) do you write?

I recently finished the first draft of a YA paranormal romance and I started a YA contemporary romance.

5. What is your secret weapon of choice?

My smile 🙂

6. If you could sit down for coffee with any historical figure, who would it be?

Louis XIV – I have a healthy fascination with this period.

7. What was the #1 song the day you were born?

My friend “Google” told me that the #1 song in the US on August 18th, 1981 was: Endless Love (Diana Ross & Lionel Richie)


8. If you could speak a (another) foreign language which would it be?

Russian. First, it´s a beautiful language and then…I could understand the jokes hubby and his family make – they´re not easy to translate…

9.  Which series are you eagerly anticipating the newest release for? 

I cannot wait for Insurgent by Veronica Roth! Just a few more months…

10. Keeping with the foodie theme, what’s your signature dish? Something you make that blows people away and that you luuuuurve.

Aussie Chicken. It´s a dish which resembles one from Outback (love that place) and it has a lot of yummy ingredients: chicken, honey mustard sauce, mushrooms, fried onions, mashed potatoes, bacon…hmmm

11.  What’s something that made you smile today? 

Catching up with one of my best friends (big hug across the ocean Tonya!)

If you´d like, you can use those questions on your blog as well 😀 Just let me know in the comments. Otherwise, tell me: what foreign language would you LOVE to learn?

personal

11 things about me…

Elodie

The lovely Moosenoose tagged me into the 11 things blog series 🙂

The rules are:

  1. Each person must post 11 Things about them on their blog.
  2. Answer the questions the tagger set up for you and come up with 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
  3. Choose 11 people who you are going to tag, and tag them in your post.
  4. And finally, make sure you let them know that you tagged them!
  5. P.S. No Tag Backs

Ok so here I am going to do it in a different manner – instead of tagging 11 people, every blogger who reads this and wants to do it can feel free to do so – just let me know so that I can hop on to your blog and learn 11 things about you 🙂 I have been doing a lot of tagging lately so you know it´s starting to feel like poking (Facebook reference, I went there :D) but since it is a wonderful idea in the first place to learn more about people I enjoy the posts/comments, it´d be great if you decide to go for it 🙂

11 things about me

    • I recently developed an addiction to pinterest (there are a loooot of shiny things on there)
    • At my wedding, I danced with my father to this song
  • And with the hubby to that one
  • I used to live in Maryland
  • I got to see Jon Stewart at a show in Columbia and at the taping of the Daily Show
  • I like to read people magazines (People, US Weekly…) – yes I do
  • I don´t really like change but still go through the motions
  • I love to play scrabble
  • A great evening with friends can be spent playing poker 🙂
  • I love Disney movies
  • I am 30 years old

Here are the very original questions Moosenoose came up with:

  1. If you could visit just one place in Europe, where would it be?  Home. So that I could spend time with my family.
  2. Do you have a favourite book? Nope. Really. I love too many books to play favorite or I´d just feel bad to pick just one.
  3. What chore do you absolutely hate doing? Cleaning the bathroom. Not my thing.
  4. If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be and why? I like my age right now. 30 is good. But that can only work if everybody can stay the same age. I could not stay young while everybody else grows older. I mean have you seen Highlander, it´s not easy!
  5. Do you have any bad habits and what are they? I have plenty of bad habits. I can be super organized at work and not as much at home (even though that is getting better). Worrying too much. Just to name two.
  6. What is the one thing that you love the most about yourself? I am nice to others and I don´t judge easily at all. Basically I am much easier on others than on me 🙂
  7. How many languages can you speak? Fluently: 3
  8. How did you come up with your blog name? I spend more than 2 hours each day commuting…and I´m a girl 🙂
  9. Do you have any tattoos or piercings (full details please)? Nope the only thing pierced are my ears…
  10. If you had to be a mystical/supernatural being which would you be (e.g. Vampire, Werewolf, Zombie, Wicca, Banshee, Succubus, Ghost etc) and why? Probably a ghost, I don´t feel like biting people, werewolves are a bit too hairy for my taste. I enjoy Zombie movies (and the Walking Dead series) but come on zombies just don´t appear to be super happy people…As a ghost, I´ll make sure others are ok or I´ll look for The Ghost Whisperer 🙂
  11. What is the one item you can’t live without (not a person or pet!) a book

And here are mine if you choose to take on the 11 things mission…It´d be great if you do 😀

  1. What was your favorite cartoon as a child?
  2. Did you have an imaginary friend?
  3. Favorite drink?
  4. If you could tell one thing to your first love what would it be?
  5. If you could have dinner with one character from your favorite novels, where would you go?
  6. Name one thing your parents taught you
  7. Do you have a pet? If yes, what is it? If no, why not?
  8. Where would you love to travel to?
  9. Your favorite memory from high school?
  10. What song makes you want to smile as soon as you hear it?
  11. Why did you start blogging?
personal

I would like to thank the academy for…The Versatile Blogger Award :-)

Elodie

I received the Versatile Blogger award from both Ann Elise Monte and S.M. Boyce. By the way if you do not know their blogs, go pay them a visit, I promise it’s worth it 🙂 Thank you again very much ladies, I really appreciate it!!!

So what I’m supposed to do is: (1) share 7 things about me and….(2) pass on the award to 15 bloggers – (I´ll probably pass it on to less people than 15 though – I am feeling a tad playful today :-))

7 things about me: 

1.            My hubby is also called The Chemical Engineer

2.            My married name is Ukrainian

3.            I played volleyball in Junior high

4.            I miss the piano (played it from the age of 5 until 15)

5.            My hometown is a village (less than 600 people) an hour from Paris

6.            I have two older sisters – yes I am the baby of the family 🙂

7.            I first came to the US as an “Au Pair” and I took care of two little girls (they were my junior bridesmaids at my wedding)

Drum roll

Are you ready? Set! At your fingertips and mouse to discover some great blogs! (by the way if you’d like to see to which blogs I had passed the Kreativ award to, you can check here)

I am happy to pass on this award to:

Jaime – Her blog is not only adorable, she is witty, funny, honest in her writing and talks about books, writing and random things which make me smile…

Juliana – I really enjoy Juliana’s voice. It breaks through the written words 🙂

Robin – She has a great mix of things including the feature “news to novels” which triggers my creativity buttons and if you have not read her RTW take on two characters from different YA novels meeting up, you should it´s hilarious!

Colin – Colin has been one of the first blog I started to follow and I love that he mixes things up while keeping it real.

Tracey – She not only has great graphics (no really look at them!), she also has great ideas! For example: creepy children prompt and the YA book club.

Jessica – She has the sunshine shining on her blog and in her posts 🙂

Thanks again for passing on the award to me – it really does warm my heart to know people enjoy my posts…