A. Pre-Reading

We bought our 9yr old a Kindle for his birthday. He has just started to get into reading but still struggels alittle, so when he asked for the Kindle we jumped on it. He also got $100 in amazon gift cards from family. We let him pick one game, HANGMAN and the rest hat to be books. He has about 6 books on there now and last night I was telling him about a book  I heard about Juniper Berry, by M.Pm Kozlowsky.  I read about it on another blog and it peeked my instrest. So I told my son I thought he might like it.  He said ok but wants me to read it first, so when he reads it he has some one to talk to it about. I loved that idea! What a better way to get him intrested in reading more. He loves to talk, so this gives him a reason to read and get to talk to me more one on one. So here I sit today reading and I have to say I am really enjoying it and looking forward to having my son read it so that I can talk to him about it!

M is for...

Welcome to week M in the Fleur de Aleta ABC Your Home State Blogfest!  Sorry that we are so late to post today, but it has just been one of those weeks.  The heck with the excuses, here we go...

Millville Motorsport Speedway:  Despite the fact that I don't really enjoy watching vehicles speed around a circular track and race each other, I am going to tell you about our track.  It's fairly new and isn't set up or used for any major races yet, but seems to be growing and helping Cumberland County flourish, so I guess it isn't that bad.

Moorestown: Voted in the top 10 places to live in the entire country for about 5 years straight.  Otherwise, aside from a few celebrity citizens like sports stars and such, it isn't much to mention.

Malls: In the state of NJ we don't lack in one thing and that is malls.  They come in all different shapes, sizes, and are designed to service different people, but we are full of them.

M. Self publishing is a lonely path

It is tough to compare our experiences as self published authors to the traditional author.  Mainly because we don't have a basis for which to compare, but so far I feel self publishing is a lonely path.

There is the entire world of Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Goodreads, etc., but no matter how loud you ring your bell and shout your story, only a few are there to hear it.  On a good note, Liberty has received two Goodreads ratings to average out at 4.5 and one small written review.  I don't know how, but some of the people out there are reading and actually liking it.

Despite the minute successes that we have received, there are so many others that we would love to share our stories with and just can't think of how to do it.  You can post comments, try to tell people about it, but when it comes down to it, we are writers and not salesmen.

Which brings me to my point, are any of you traditionally published?  Do you think that having a publisher behind you helps with the lack of feeling alone or is it to the point that they have cut costs and leave you to be a writer and a salesman?

Do you have to be a salesman to be a writer?  If we wanted to be salesmen then we would have followed that path.

L is for...

Here we are in week L in the ABC of your home state blogfest, hosted by Fleur de Aleta.


 In the state of New Jersey, L is a popular letter; here we go! Long Beach Island: So named because of the length from tip to tip.  Long beach is one of the barrier islands of NJ and houses several towns in one.  The beachs are clean, beautiful, and the home to the original Ron Jon Surf Shop.  Also, we aren't sure as to what the lore is behind the stories, but Black Beard was said to frequent it. Lakehurst: Town in northern NJ that is best known for being the site that the Hindenburg crashed, however the zeppelin really crashed at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station that wasn't within the city limits. Lighthouses: They are always a guiding light home and they line the entire coast line.  

A. Computerless (sort of)

I have been with out my main computer since Sunday now.  We were getting new carpet in our office and living room. We did all the demo ourselves sat and sun and had to wait till monday for the new carpet to be put in. Its in!! and I love it!!. The computer is still not hooked up. Our des broke in the process of moving it and we had to get a new one. We both work and have two children that need to be tended too. So last night after work we started to put our rooms back to order. First the TV (had to be able to watch the GIANTS game)  Then Mike spent most of the night puting the new desk together. The base is done, but not the hutch. So hopefully we will have the computer hooked up by tonight. Thank god for smart phones and laptops or I would really be going nuts!

Worst Movies Ever Blogfest!

The Worst Movies Ever BLOGFEST!!!!! Brought to you today by fellow blogger Alex Cavanaugh.

So here we go, we have to come up with no more than 10 of what we feel are the worst movies ever to come out in theaters and on DVD.

1. The Master of Disguise: As we have both discribed from the moment we stood up, this is two hours of our lives that we will never get back.  The characters were horrible, the actors were aweful, and the plot wasn't there.

2. Shark Boy and Lava Girl: For all of the people that read this and don't have kids, let us stop your future children from watching this.  It is a dumb attempt to rewrite The Never Ending Story in a different way, but they failed miserably.  Save yourself the trouble and don't watch this one.

3. Batman and Robin: What a waste of money.

4. Waiting to Exhale: More like waiting for the movie to end.

5. The Grudge: Not our favorite scary movie, it was too unrealistic.

6. Little Nicky: Even though we are huge Adam Sandler fans, this isn't his best work.

7. Mom and Dad Save the World: What were they thinking?

8. Problem Child: They all were pretty bad so we will let you pick which ever one you think was the worst.

9: It's Pat: We still don't know what Pat and Chris are.  Do you?
10: King Pin: Parts of it were stupid funny, but for the most part it lacked in any quality.

A. Back to School Night!

Our children had their back to school night last. It was such a wonderful change from last year. Our children go to Catholic School as i am sure many of your towns have been faced with, we merged three catholics school in to one last year and we now share the building with the local Catholic High School as well. Last year was when this all took place and it was a tough year for all. Our school was very divided. The staff at the school worked hard in tryong to bring everyone together. They had a rough time. A few parents one who my husband and I have grown close to, decided to take matters in to her own hands and started setting up parent get togethers after schoool. Well it worked! This year when back to school night was last night, and what a difference. There was no dividing and all the parents and teachers have formed into the school communtity that made us choose Catholic school to begin with. It was a great relief.

K is for

In the state of NJ, K is for...

Not Much.

Kmart: In NJ, just like most states, I assume, we have Kmart.  Not quite as big as Walmart and far from the level of customer service, but it's there when you need things the other stores are out of.

K-Hovnavian: KHOV is a large building group that designs and builds small communities.  The quality is there, but the houses in those developments all look the same.

Kettle Corn: Popcorn that is popped in a kettle using a mix of sugar, butter, and some salt.  It comes in a bag that is larger then your head and it tastes so so so so so so so gooooood!


Sorry to disappoint, but that is all we have for the letter K.  Can't wait until we move on to another letter.

A. Summer Reading!

Well I did it!  I set a goal to only read books this summer from Aurthors I have never read before and I did. My summer Reads this year were, The High-Impact Infidelity Diet by Lou Harry, Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner, Switched by Amanda Hocking, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and i just finsihed with The Devils Punchbowl by Gre Ilse. All were great books.

A. 9 years ago!!

Nine years ago today, Mike and became first time parents, to a handsome 8 pound 7 oz. son. Cameron Michael. It was one of the best days of my life. We were only 21 years old and had been married almost a year. I can not believe how time flies. Cameron is amazing! He is very bright and extremely athletic he is also one of the sweetest kids I have ever met. He is also very talkative and loves to hear him self talk. 

We really lucked out. Parenting is far from easy, but we do seem to have pretty well behaved children. At least that is what we are told by others.

So today is Cameron's birthday and he asked for a Kindle, so that is what he got. Now we are tring to find good books for a 9yr old and would love any suggestions.

J is for...

This week we will discover the letter J, brought to you by the state of NJ and Aleta de Fleur.  J is one of my favorite letters to cover in this state and here is why.


Jersey Tomatoes: They are hard to explain to someone that hasn't ever had one, but imagine a tomato with twice the flavor and size of the average tomato.  I promise that they aren't inflated due to nuclear waste or anything else, it's just because NJ has some of the best soil for growing tomatoes.  If you're ever in town, stop by a farmer's produce stand, and grab a few.

BonJovi: I know that we should have covered them in B, but we missed it then so we are playing the Jovi card.  John Bonjovi is a NJ native and is one of the stars of our state.  Now, I know that we are from NJ and are partial, but we think they are amazing.  Bonjovi, in our opinion, is one of those bands that withstands the test of time.  They adapt and grow musically to meet the needs of their fans through time.  So, to all of you Bonjovi haters, we are sorry but they are going to stay around for years.

Jelly Fish: Not our best trait, but jelly fish are a part of our shore town's beaches.  They are amazing to look at, but don't step on them - that hurts.

The Jersey Devil:  As promised, here is some more information about the jersey devil.  Supposedly the 13th child born to mother Leeds, the Jersey devil was born human but changed into something else.  Then there is the story of a woman that wished for her child to be a devil/demon and her wish was granted.  There is even a story of a woman that fell in love with a British soldier, during the revolutionary war, and was cursed by the town she lived in to have a deformed child.

There are many renditions, reports, and sightings that date back centuries that all stem from the pine barrens.

The child seems to have been born and was probably just a deformed child that mysteriously disappeared, but either way they have been able to determine that the child was born to the Leeds or Shroud family.  Both of these families were founders in the sixteen and seventeen hundreds.  The Leeds family was so large that Atlantic City used to be called Leedsville.

Nobody really knows where the legend started, but there have been thousands of sightings over the years from campers, travelers, and hikers.  I will say, with the number of sightings that have been documented, it makes you wonder and know better then to walk the Pine Barrens alone at night.