I have loved reading for as long as I can remember. I can remember when I was very little my parents reading to me; the memories are so firmly etched in my brain that I can vividly recall not only the stories and words themselves but also the pictures on the pages. Fast forward a few years and I can’t count the nights during elementary school that I’d park myself under the covers with a flashlight and read past my bedtime. I’m lucky that my parents were happy to feed my “addiction” and took me to family night at the public library, let me order from every Scholastic form that came across my desk and bought me the entire series of the Babysitters Club books (and that’s a lot of books).

I still love to read, I just have much less time to do it. The invention of the e-readers has definitely made it easier, at least for me. Now I can just load up my Nook color with all the books that I am interested in, and when I catch a spare minute while waiting in the doctor’s office or to pick A2 up from football practice or on the couch after Baby C has fallen asleep on my lap, I can flip through a few pages of one of them.

Recently I had the opportunity to read a new book called The Fine Art of Insincerity by Angela Hunt. Ms. Hunt is the author of more than 100 books, including the New York Times Bestselling novel The Note which was filmed as the Hallmark Channel’s Christmas movie for 2007 (it was the highest rated television movie in the channel’s history).

The Fine Art of Insincerity

This book centers around three sisters – Ginger, Pennyroyal and Rosemary – who return to empty their late grandmother’s cottage where, after losing their mother at a very young age their father would send them to spend every summer. Between them they had nine marriages, causing them to wonder if they had inherited “the Grandma Gene” as their Gran had herself been married seven times. They each also had a number of secrets that they were keeping from their spouses, each other and, in some cases, themselves.

I had a feeling that I was going to enjoy the book after reading the first sentence of Chapter 1 that reads “Even without a calendar, I can feel MondayIt’s these secrets and the relationships between the sisters that really draw you into the book. settling into my bones.” I mean, who hasn’t woken up and had the same feeling at one point or another in their lives? While that was Ginger’s chapter (each chapter is written as coming from a different sister and bounces back and forth among them), as you get to know all the sisters you feel that it was a sentiment that could easily have come from any of them. One sister is about to find out that her husband is unfaithful, another is bored with hers and is tempting herself with thoughts of another, and the last is plotting the end of her own life in search for freedom.

The book is a fairly quick read. It’s the kind of novel that you’d want to take out onto the hammock or to the beach and finish it off in a day or two. There are a lot of interesting webs both holding the family together and keeping them apart at the same time, and these webs keep the pace moving right along. The overall themes may seem a little less than light, but the lessons learned and conclusion make any “sniffly” parts worth it.

You can purchase The Fine Art of Insincerity on Amazon in paperback or for the Kindle or at Barnes & Noble for Nook or in paperback.

I received a free copy of this book to facilitate my review but no other compensation. All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.

If you’ve read my “About Me” section – and based on much of the content you read here – you probably know that I’m big on shopping and even bigger on finding a great deal. So I’ve always looked for deals on anything, including toys, even before Baby C was born. It was always nice to have a few gifts on hand for baby showers, last minute gifts, Toys for Tots or Good Samaritan shoe boxes, things like that. Don’t get me wrong; I’m big on organization and clutter-reduction, so I didn’t have stacks of things packed into closets, but I did have a few things here and there.

That shopping helped keep me at least a little bit current on “hot” toys and brands. I had kind of slacked off on it, though, in the past few years. So when we found out that we were pregnant with Baby C I felt like I had some catching up to do. Fortunately there are a number of blogs out there that were reviewing them. One name that kept coming up which I was unfamiliar with was Melissa & Doug. I read a number of reviews and everyone seemed to have positive things to say about them.

Occasionally after that I would try and share sales on those items when I would run across them. At that point Baby C hadn’t arrived yet and we were trying to not go overboard on the pre-shopping since we’re still looking for a larger place, so I was passing on most of the sales myself. But when Amazon.com had some of their items in their Gold Box a few weeks ago, I was tempted. And when I saw the adorable Melissa & Doug Plush Bosley Bear, I decided to pick it up.

Melissa & Doug Bosley Bear

It seriously is one of the softest plush animals I’ve ever seen. I can’t imagine any kid not wanting to snuggle it; I want to snuggle it.

Shortly after it was delivered I needed to change Baby C so I set Mr. Bear down next to her and to my surprise, she actually rolled over on her side (I change her on the floor, she was very safe) to try and get to him – and then rested her hand on him. Now, this child is not deprived in the “stuffie collection” area. She received a small collection from various wonderful people during my two baby showers, but up until that moment, she hadn’t shown much interest in any of them other than maybe one of her little grins when we would snuggle them up against her cheek. So now every time I change her I set it down next to us and she turns and stares him down something fierce while swinging her hand out to try and knock him towards her.

I honestly think that part of the reason she was so instantly interested in him was because he is laying on his belly with his head on his paws. This lets her look him right in the eyes as she lays there so they can “connect”. It also makes him a little flatter so it’s easier for her to rest her hand on him and will make him easier to hug as she gets a little older. And it’s very well made so I envision that it will stand up to hundreds of future hugs.

Now that I’ve had such a positive experience with the company’s products I am looking forward to making future ones with them, like possibly these Linking Crabs that can hook to the stroller or this Picnic Basket Fill & Spill toy which I think would be really fun.

If you are looking for a lovey for your little one – or maybe even a baby shower gift – then I very much recommend the Bosley Bear.

This post is not connected in any way to the retailer. I received no compensation or product; I simply wanted to share something I think is great with all of you.

When you hear the words “Home Ec”, what do you think of? Maybe your mind may instantly drifts back to your junior high or high school days of learning to hem a pair of pants or sew on a button, balance a checkbook, or boil eggs.

For me, the first thing that comes to mind was the mandatory Home Ec class that was part of my eighth grade curriculum. We learned how to sew a pair of Bermuda shorts and a stuffed sundae-shaped pillow, how to set a formal table with all the extra forks and spoons, and how to cook a few basic dishes. Later in high school anyone that had been inspired by these lessons could sign up for a Textile Arts (sewing) or Foods (cooking) class. I actually did take one semester of Foods; we learned to make homemade Alfredo sauce, grill a mean steak and bake a cake shaped like a Big Mac (don’t ask, I have no idea why). We also learned that you suddenly had a lot of friends when you left class with a big box of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.

So I was curious as to what to expect when I recently had the opportunity to read an advance copy of Chapter 20 of Heather Solos’ Home-Ec 101: Skills for Everyday Living – Cook it, Clean it, Fix it, Wash it. (You may be familiar with Heather and her “Home-Ec” ways from her blog). While I have not yet had the chance to read the entire book, the chapter that I read – a chapter on meal planning – gave me good insight into the style of the book and author.

This is not reminiscent of your grandmother’s Home-Ec. While some of the tips may be timeless and may, in fact, be lessons you learned at your mother’s knee, the book is written in a much more contemporary style. Heather interjects a bit of wit while she teaches you how to plan a menu (sample menus are even included), stretch a dollar, and make dinner a less hectic event.

One of the things I most enjoyed about this chapter – and Heather’s style, in general – is that she doesn’t try to force a lifestyle change overnight. She approaches meal planning and all it’s coordinating pieces with common sense and baby steps. Baby steps are something that if you are anything like me you will enjoy; I really hate books that say “start by throwing out everything you own, here’s a recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon, and why don’t you organize your closet by season while you’re at it”.

With other chapters that give tips on scheduling, cleaning, home repair and more, I believe that most people will find something helpful or interesting in this book.

In order to facilitate this review, I was provided a copy of Chapter 20 of this book by the One2One Network. I received no other compensation and the opinions are 100% my own.

I recently received a digital copy of Yanni’s new CD Truth of Touch to review. Truth of Touch is Yanni’s first instrumental release of original compositions in over eight years.

I really didn’t have any prior experience with Yanni other than when I was hearing his name being tossed around as a great new instrumental musician. I am sure that I must have heard a song or two of his, but none that I remember or could name. His style of music is also not something that I would likely have spent too much time dwelling on as a junior high student (we were far too busy seeing how tall we could get our bangs and dressing in way too much neon).

New Yanni: Truth of Touch Album

Pretty Delivery Gowns for Your Special Day

One of the things that I had started to think of when I found out that I was pregnant was that eventually I would be in the hospital to deliver our little bundle of joy. Having not experienced it before I was definitely a little apprehensive. I decided that it must not be too bad once the labor was actually over because most pictures I have viewed of friends and family shortly after birth have everyone looking pretty happy. One other thing that those pictures had in common, though, was that everyone also looked pretty tired.

Now, I know (especially now) that labor is going to tired you out; it’s hard work. But it doesn’t help that everyone has to wear the hospital gowns that are designed neither for fashion nor to flatter anyone’s complexion. The gowns wash everyone out and make them look even more tired and bedraggled than what I’m sure they were feeling. I have always thought it would be kind of nice if they had more cheerful “gowns” (what a misnomer is that?). If they could update scrubs and make them cute they should be able to do the same for the gowns.

Fortunately someone has decided to help out the hospitals and make delivery gowns that are not only cute but also more functional for giving birth. If you read American Baby magazine, you may have read the little blurb a few months ago about disposable Pretty Pushers Delivery Gowns in the October 2010 issue. I thought it was a very unique and interesting idea so I was thrilled when Matriarch Maternity, the company that makes the Pretty Pusher, sent me a Delivery Gown to review.

The Pretty Pushers come in four different styles: I Dream of Coffee, I Dream of Mai-Tai, and I Dream of Sushi (all things you’re really supposed to skip while pregnant) and then an Organic style. The style I was provided with was the I Dream of Sushi. The other “I Dream of” styles look basically the same, only in different colors with the applicable subject matter printed on them. The Organic one has no print, but is a little more frilly.

“I Dream of Sushi”

While I’m not a huge sushi fan (okay, so I’m not a sushi fan at all. You tell me all my life that you shouldn’t eat under-cooked meat, and then you offer me raw meat. My brain just can’t compute.), I the I Dream of Sushi gown would probably have been my pick just because of the colors. I’m very fair-skinned – and now that I live in Kentucky and not Florida also very pale – and the dark colors pop a lot more against my complexion.

So the gown passed the “cute” test, but would it pass the “practicality” test? When we arrived at the hospital and the nurse handed me one of their gowns, I asked if it would be okay if I wore my own instead. He looked at me kind of strangely and just gave me a “whatever” which made me a little nervous about how it would be received by the rest of the staff. Fortunately that was the only nurse who found it strange. The rest of them thought that it was adorable. And as they asked about it and where I got it, I had the chance to explain some about blogging and reviews and things like that. Once they knew I was going to share my opinions on the experience of the gown, they would finish up their procedure/test/check-in/etc and then say “okay, here’s my impression of the gown” and they would say how it had worked for them in that particular instance.

“I Dream of Coffee”

All in all, the nurses found the gown to be very practical. I had to lift the gown up to let them place the monitors (fetal and contraction), but once they were in place, the ties in the front of the gown let them access them easily. That turned out to be an excellent feature, considering how many times they had to readjust it because my little acrobat moved away from the monitors every chance she got. When it came time for the epidural the low-cut back exposed enough (by design) for the anesthesiologist to do his thing. The top is a halter-style which made it easy to slip over my head after Baby C was born so she could snuggle skin-to-skin on my chest.

“I Dream of Mai Tai”

My only suggestion for the gown would be to have some kind of extra support built in for those of us who are, shall we say, “chesty”. Especially with pregnancy-induced growth, the little cording that goes under your breasts and ties in the back didn’t keep things quite as placed as I would have liked. I also wish that you could choose your color and style combination. I would have picked the “I Dream of Coffee” in the same blue/pink combo as the “I Dream of Sushi” one. Very minor details, though, in an otherwise very unique, very cute idea. This is something I would definitely tuck into a baby shower present for a friend so that she could feel a little extra-special on delivery day. They offer a “Dressed Up Delivery” gift pack that includes one of the Pretty Pushers, a Picture Perfect Sheer Gloss and Mirror, Pretty Pushers Headband, Wipe-Out Lemon Water Towelette, and Get Ready to Rub Heated Massage Oil.

Views From the Ville

The Fine Art of Insincerity – Book Review

Looking for a lovey for your little one?

Home-Ec 101: Skills for Everyday Living – Cook it, Clean it, Fix it, Wash it – Review

New Yanni: Truth of Touch Album (Review)

Look Stylish on Your Delivery Day with Pretty Pushers Delivery Gowns

Pretty Delivery Gowns for Your Special Day

What do you think? Would you have worn one of these (or would you if you’re currently expecting)?