Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with their family. I wanted to remind you of our meeting on January 9th. We will meet at my house, and we are having our speakerphone interview with "Cowboy Christmas" author Mary Connealy. I am really looking forward to speaking with her. She sounds like such a sweet lady. And she sounds thrilled to meet all of you as well.
Regular meeting is at 11:00, and the book reviewers will meet at 10:00.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your New Years celebration, whatever you will be doing. I pray this upcoming year will bring much happiness and love for you and your family. I pray for growth in our group, I am looking forward to the wonderful new books we will be reading and the new authors we are discovering.
I feel really blessed to be apart of such a wondeful group, sharing each book with you ladies, it is really interesting and fun. Thanks again for another wonderful year!
Blessings to you!!
Deborah

Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lover's Soul-Book Giveaway!!

Hey Ladies-check out this great blog- Colletta's Kitchen Sink. I have become a regular follower of her blog, and she is having a giveaway on her blog right now for "Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lover's Soul". This series of books is always so inspiring and uplifting. You can keep it for yourself or give it aways as a gift for someone else. Either way, hop on over to her blog, (it is adorable), and enter the contest.
Let me also take this moment to say "Merry Christmas" to all you wonderful ladies that follow my blog and the ladies in our book club. We look forward to another great year with the Chick Lit Book Club and Review. I am looking forward to many more adventures that we will experience together through the books that we will be reading with eachother. And of course, with our Heavenly Father guiding our way.
Christmas Blessings to you all**
Deborah

Meeting This Tuesday Night!!

Hello Ladies!
Just a quick reminder that our meeting will be this Tuesday, December 8th,6:00 at Starbucks. We will be reviewing "Sound of Sleighbells" by Cindy Woodsmall. Even if you have not read it yet, please come and join us for great conversation and to just hear what the book was about. You can get onboard too with the next book selection too. We have already picked that one, "Cowboy Christmas" by Mary Connealy. She has generously sent us some little gifts and I will be passing them out at the meeting, so if you want one, come to the meeting to get yours. Order your book now and join us! We will be doing a speakerphone interview with her in January. It should be lots of fun! She has never done one before and is really looking forward to it as much as we are!
Please bring any book choices that you would like to have us vote on for future "Book of the Month's" and we wil start a new list. Lucie and I really appreciate all of you ladies. We look forward to seeing all of you on Tuesday night.
Blessings to you** Deborah

My Review of "Jesus Lives" by Sarah Young

When I received this book from Thomas Nelson Book Reviewers, I couldn't wait to read the first page. Each page is titled with something new (joy, faith, trials, etc.) and depending on how quickly an individual wants to go through this book, you can choose to use it as a daily devoitional or read 3-4 entries a day. The book is very easy to read, the scriptural references are so perfect and it makes it so good to be able to reflect back on them for the future to encourage again and again. What I liked most is that the book is written as though Jesus Himself is talking to us daily from His heart. We can sit down with Him and read what He has for us, He already has it all written down. We know this already, some of the things we have gone through already, and maybe some we have not yet to experience, but the book is encouraging and it gives hope, hope that Jesus lives, that He loves and that He is alive and loves us. That is what I got out of this book. I will be passing it on to share with others as well. For a great way to start your time with Jesus in the morning, this is the book to buy! It will put a smile on your face and draw you closer to the One who chose us!

New Book-Next Meeting Date

Hello Ladies-
It was so good to meet the other day and get ready for the upcoming holidays. As most of you know our next title that we should be reading is The Sound of Sleighbells by Cindy Woodsmall.
We have agreed that our next meeting date will be on a Tuesday instead of Saturday just for the month of December. And that will be on Tuesday, December 8th at 6:00 p.m.
We have already chosen our book of the month for January too, but please be thinking ahead for any books that you would like to add to our list that we can start looking at and voting on.
We look forward to the new coming year. I can't believe that this will be coming close the the end of the second year of the Chick Lit Book Club and Review. Lucie and I appreciate all of you very much! We wouldn't be a group without you ladies!
God bless you all**
Deborah

Next Meeting Date

Hello Ladies*
Just to let you know that our next meeting will be on Saturday November 21st. at Starbucks.
We will have our regular meeting at 11:00 and reviewers will meet at 10:00.
Those of you who have read "Distant Echoes" GREAT! and the rest of you PLEASE do not worry-come anyways. The next book that we will be reading is by Cindy Woodsmall called "The Sound of Sleigh Bells". I know you will love it! So look online to purchase it now or I am sure you can find it at Borders,if they don't have it-ask them and they will be more than happy to order it for you!
This book will get us right into the Christmas Season. We will enjoy it together.
I am so excited about celebrating it with all of you. I also want to remind you that the book for December is "Cowboy Christmas" by Mary Connealy. Now you can order both books and be ahead of the game!! I have been in touch with Mary, she has been so wonderful to agree to a speakerphone interview with us when we meet to review the book in January and has sent you ladies some goodies to enjoy just from her!! So go buy her book and get ready to sink your teeth into some good reading. It is so fun to discover these "new to us" authors-they are so talented!! So enough of my talking-you have lots of reading to get busy with. Remember our meeting on the 21st!
Until that time, happy reading!
Deborah

Just Discovered Another Good Author

Hey Ladies-I was entering another contest-which I do on a daily basis now-thanks to my wonderful friend Lucie, I am now hooked. But it has paid off, I have won 2 great books now. I hope to win more. It gives me the opportunity to find new authors that I may not have heard about otherwise. So recently I was entering a contest on one of the sites and came across this book that sounds really good-I thought I would include a little detail about it so you could check it out for yourself. We may review it sometime you never know. Let me know if it interests you. I guess it is the 2nd book by Christa Parrish-her first one was titled "Daisy Chain". So here is some details about "Watch Over Me" "Her rescue might be the miracle they needed, things like this don't happen in Beck County. Deputy Benjamin Patil is the one to find the infant baby girl, abandoned in a field. As police work to identify the mother, Ben and his wife, Abbi, seem like the obvious couple to serve as foster parents. But the newborn's arrival open old wounds for Abbi and shines a harsh light on how much Ben has changed since a devastaing military tour. Their marriage teeters on the brink and now they must choose to reclaim what they once had or lose eachother forever."
Okay, I have entered the contest to win a copy of this book-I will let you know if I get it! I will keep posting about other good books I hear about. And great authors.
Have a great day everyone!
Deborah**

New Book Choices

Hello ladies! We had a really good meeting today. Discussing the books we have read and choosing the ones for the next couple of months.
We made some choices that I think everyone will enjoy. The books range from suspense to ones that will tug at your heartstrings. And in getting with the spirit of season, we have picked a couple that we will read leading into the Christmas Season.
Feel free to keep reading other books ladies. And get your reviews to Lucie so we can vote on others for the New Year that is just around the corner.
So for October the book choice is Distant Echoes by Colleen Coble, November is Sound of Sleighbells by Cindy Woodsmall, December we will be reading Cowboy Christmas by Mary Connealy. All of these authors are really talented. It is so fun to dive into a new book-just like starting a new adventure. So enjoy ladies!
God's sweet blessings* Deborah

God is Good Through it All

But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
~ Psalm 13:5, NLT

That is the scripture for today, and boy was it appropriate. I know that no matter what happens in my life that God has things under control and I have to trust Him. That is all that matters.
It has been tough too, car trouble, finances are tough, but on the plus side I have so many blessings in my life, much more than the negative things that satan tries to throw at me daily. God is my strength and my shield and with Him guiding my day, I can survive anything.
I hope I have encouraged you a little with this nibble from my life.
I pray that your week goes well, we have a three-day weekend to look forward to. YEY!!! Time spent with family and friends always makes me happy. And when I can get things accomplished around my wonderful home I also feel so satisfied.
I hope you enjoy your weekend, whatever you will be doing-or if you are just relaxing. May God bless your life sweetly.
Deborah

Catching Up

Hello Ladies!
Just taking a moment to update my blog. Thanks to Lucie I found a wonderful new site that gives you FREE blog templates. They are so wonderful and so easy to install.
I hope your summer has been going great. I can't believe school will be starting next week. Wow-where has the time gone?!
As you know by now we will be having our Chick Lit Book Club meeting in September now instead of this month. I hope y'all are reading those books. You still have time to order them if you haven't.
I already have a long list of new books that are coming out in September that I am going to by. Some good ones too. I CAN'T wait to read them!
I hope the rest of your summer is great and you will all be at the resuming of our club meeting. We will make it special since we have been on a big break. See y'all there!
God bless everyone of you!
Deborah

Life Happens

Hello my friends;
Well, July has sped by so fast. My little girl is already going back home to New York on Saturday. My heart is very heavy about that. But every visit is better than none at all.
My daughter Shelby will be due in September with her baby girl Faith Rene', and my daughter Ashley will be due in December with her son Jalen Marques. Wow! I am going to have so many grandkids and so fast! I don't know if my girls know what they are in for, but God planned each child and I am so excited for those little miracles that I am looking forward to loving them with all that I've got.
As for our Chick Lit Book Club. Lucie and I have decided to postpone a meeting until September. So for those of you who have not bought our current book, you still have time and won't miss out on anything. I for one, am glad as life has been so crazy for me that my reading has taken a back seat. I look forward to enjoying every page instead of racing through the book just to get it finished!
My Open Crop will be tomorrow night at 2227 Lee Ct. from 6-11:00. All are welcome! Just bring a snack to share! Time to get those photos into your albums! And have some great GIRLFRIEND time!
Blessings**Deborah

Enjoying the Little Things

Well, here we are already getting to the end of July. Can you believe it? Where does the time go?
I am loving the warm summer days we have been having. We have been blessed with so many. I also have been enjoying the reading of our Book of the Month for June (should have had it read by now, I know) The Measure of a Lady, it is so good. Then I have to hurry and start reading our other book Love Finds You in Last Chance California by Miralee Ferrell. I am really looking forward to that. We are supposed to have a speakerphone interview with her after we are done reading it. That will be fun! She is looking forward to talking to the ladies again. She loves our group!
My Open Crop is set for Friday July 31st from 6-11. Anyone is welcome. Come scrapbook with me and some other friends. Get those Rodeo Parade pictures on some cute pages, or the 4th of July photos scrapbooked too. We have lots of new stuff coming out.
I am just enjoying all the little activities this month has. Spending time with friends and family is always the best memory makers!!!
Gods special blessings to you all!
Deborah

Summer Fun

Wow! I can't believe it has been so long since I have updated my blog. I have never gone this long.
June has gone by so fast. Graduation for my 8th grade son! Can't believe it! We picked up our two kids, Matt and Tori from the Oakland Airport last weekend for their summer visit here with us. And this weekend Jeff's parents are here visiting from Los Angeles.
We have several activities planned already for this summer. Lots of fun! Our annual camping trip with the Buchert Family. I am so looking forward to that. With our kids getting older and changes taking place in our lives, you never know when we will get to have all the kids in one place like this, as it is we won't have Josh and Ashley with us.
We will be having our Chick Lit Book Club Meeting probably the 3rd weekend in July instead of the 2nd.
Lots of activity around our house, but I love every minute of it. I hope you all are enjoying the beginning days of your summer too. We have had some wonderful weather!!
God Bless you all!
Deborah

1st Annual Chick Lit Barbeque!!

Hello ladies!
I know by now you have all finished reading your copy of A Seahorse in the Thames I finished mine awhile ago. I enjoyed it very much.
I hope you all received my email letting you know that our Book Club meeting will be changed from it's original date to June 20th where we will be having our 1st Annual Chick Lit Book Club & Review Barbeque.We will be down at the Rohner Park. Meeting to be held at 11:00-12:00. Barbeque to be after that with family warmly welcomed!
Lucie and I are so excited about this event. We hope you all are too.
More updates will follow soon about the food and such!
Blessings and Happy Reading!
Deborah

OH! Happy! Day!

Hello ladies! I just wanted to share with you the good news. Those of you who know that we will be reading Miralee Ferrell's new book "Love Finds You in Last Chance California" for our Book of the Month in July, well, she has agreed to do a speakerphone interview with us in August after we read the book as well!!! OH HAPPY DAY!! She said to tell you ladies that she really enjoys speaking to all of you anyways!
I hope this gets you all excited! I really like to support Miralee-she is still newer than most of the authors that we read and has really given us some individual attention that is really rare. Lucie and I both receive emails from her quite often.
I know this book is a couple months away we still have two more books to read first...but I just wanted to share this bit of good news.
I hope you have already received your copies of a Seahorse in the Thames. I am enjoying it already.
Those of you who did not get the update, this is our Book of the Month for May-it has been on my blog for awhile. Our Book of the Month for June is called The Measure of a Lady written by Deanne Gist. So don't fall behind! Get your books now and join us for the fun!!!!
Blessings to you all!
Deborah

Hey Ladies!
I am so excited to share with you that I have been in touch with some of our favorite authors and they are willing to share more of their valuable time with us. Author of Chocolate Beach Julie Carobini has offered to have a speakerphone interview with us.!!!! She has a new book coming out called Sweet Waters, and she is already working on the follow-up book for it, it will be titled A Shore Thing. She was one of my favorites, I know some of you were not too thrilled ,but this new series sounds delicious!!! Plus getting the chance to talk to her would be bonus. Lucie and I are going to get things set up. It will be fun!
We also discoved a new author named Deborah Vogts her debut book is titled Snow Melts in Spring. I have spoken with her and she too has said she would be willing to do a speakerphone interview with you ladies!! This is the time to get excited!!!
Sure it is fun to read the book and discuss it, but even better when we can talk to the Person who wrote it!! Amazing!!!
Looking forward to seeing you all this weekend! This book Miss Invisible has been Laugh Out Loud Funny!!
Have a great rest of the week!
Deborah

Reading, Living, Loving

Hello Ladies-hope everyone is doing well! I hope everyone has their book Miss Invisible and is already reading it. I am and I am enjoying it immensely. Very funny!!!
I have already received the other books for the next 2 months as well. I am not going to be caught getting the book 1 week before it is due to be read like the month before last. THAT is frustrating!!
Our kids just left from their visit here during Spring Break-they were here from New York. It was a short but very sweet visit-we made the very most of it-living every moment to the fullest. We took a trip down to Fort Bragg and enjoyed the town and sights down there-spent some good quality time with them. It was fun.
I hope you all love your kids while you have them, because they grow up so fast it blows me away, and saddens me more than I can express. But I am thankful that God has given us the time with our kids that He has because the long and short of it is they really belong to HIM right? Praise God!!
Blessings to you my friends**enjoy your book and see you at the next Chick Lit Book Club Meeting.
Deborah

You Ladies are Missing Out! But It's Not too Late!

Hello my friends; Just wanted to give you a little glimpse of what is coming up in the next couple months with our Chick Lit Book Club & Review:

April's Book of the Month: Miss Invisible Here is a little about it to strike your taste buds..

Freddie Heinz is a single, 29-year-old plus-size wedding cake baker/decorator who feels invisible most of the time due to her size and her still-single status. But she’s about to discover love comes in many shapes and sizes!
Any woman who has ever struggled with body image will enjoy this tale about a woman who finds the liberating love and acceptance she longs for.

May's Book of the Month: A Seahorse in the Thames Here is a little about it to wet your appetite**

This is a story about a woman who is very much in need of an encounter with loveliness. Life has been unfulfilling for Alexa, sometimes downright tragic. She has lost her vision for finding extraordinary within the ordinary. Her vulnerable, older sister Rebecca, brain –damaged from a car accident many years earlier has run away from her group home. Worried, Alexa sets off to find Rebecca with the help of her reluctant-to-get-involved twin sister, Priscilla. She wants to find her missing sister, of course, but she also wants to find a shimmer of hope that her life won’t always be the way it is right now and that beauty sometimes exists in the place where you least expect to find it.

Okay now get on Amazon or Half.com and order your books and come to our meetings. Call me for information and dates 599-4467. I promise you will have a new experience everytime.
God bless you all! Have a great week!
Deborah

National Scrapbook Day Is Coming

Hello Ladies!
Well, It is that time again....the time to catch up on all those projects that you put away for some reason or another and the perfect day to get them done or at least started is on April 4th from 9:30-4:30 at the Fortuna Veteran's Building....Yes! I am talking about NATIONAL SCRAPBOOK DAY!!!! I am so excited, and I hope to see all of you there!!
The cost is only $30 which includes a breakfast, a catered lunch and of course, free goodies and lots of chances to win Wonderful prizes!!!!
Please give me a call at 725-2625 or 599-4467 if you would like to reserve your spot!
Happy Scrapping!!

Deb

Things are going great!

Hello Everyone!
Just checking in to see who has gotten their Book of the Month yet?! Mine just arrived on Monday so I have some crazy reading to do....wow-crunch time. But the book looks great. On Sharon K Souza's web page she even has a book trailer, and that really made me excited to read the book. This one is going to be a good one!
My new job is going great! I love it-learning new things, getting to know so many new and different personalities. And I am getting lots of practice on the WII, yes, I do get paid to play video games....can you imagine? But if that is what the consumer wants to do, then that is what I need to do with them. That is when we are at the center. When we are out at the gorgeous victorian houses in Ferndale cleaning that is another story. My job is definitetly interesting. And the consumers their inspire me-wow! That is all can say. Their determination, some of them, is enough to make me think again before I complain about things in my life again
God is good-in ALL things...we need to remember that!
Love and blessings to you**Deborah

New Beginnings

Hello my friends!
It was so wonderful to have our Chick Lit Book Club Meeting last weekend. Not all of you were able to make it, but we now have an official secretary for the club who takes notes and will get them for all you so you will be able to catch up on what you missed.
It was great getting together after taking the break over the holidays, and now Lucie and I are so excited for the new year to start and the new books that we will be reading.
A new beginning for me will be the new job that God has blessed me with. It will be at a business called "Reaching for Independence" I will be assisting Mentally Disabled individuals out in the community while we clean houses for people, as they become independent adults along the way. I am so excited about this new adventure that God has allowed me to be apart of, and I really just want to make a difference here in this community-in peoples lives now, otherwise, why are we on this earth? Right? I will keep you all filled in on all the wonderful stories. I am sure there will be many.
May God bless your life this week! Deborah

Hello my friends*
I can't believe how fast January went by. Now it is the month of LOVE. And speaking of Love I am so excited to say that Jeff and I get the opportunity to getaway to a special place in Napa called the Vino Bella, thanks to my parents who have a timeshare there. I am looking forward to a wonderful trip away.
I am also excited that our book club will be meeting this weekend after a couple months off. It has been great to be reading again. I just ordered our next book of the month "Lying on Sunday" by Sharon K. Souza. It should be quite interesting.
I hope all of you have been doing well.
See you soon!
Deborah

I Love Discovering New Authors!!

Hey Ladies!
I just came across this author and thought I would post a little blurb about what the book is about-we should give her a try-I am going to get this book and the other one she is going to come out with soon too! The book is titled "Her Unlikely Family" And here is a little bit of what the book is about:
Opposites attract when an uptight banker encounters a free-spirited waitress during the search for his runaway teenage niece. As they work together to heal the young girl's damaged spirit, an unlikely family begins to form...

Sounds good huh? I will definitely be checking out this (new to me) author.
Have a great week!
God Bless you all!
Deborah

I Love a Good Deal

When I was shopping at Winco recentley I was so thrilled to find a bin of discounted books! Yes! That is right I said discounted! And they were of the authors that we know AND love, Karen Kingsbury, Rachel Hauck, Judith Pella to name a few. The highest price I paid for some of the books I purchased was $5.99. And the lowest price was $2.99. I also saw the whole Left Behind series in the bin as well. There were a lot of books there to choose from, so if any of you go shopping up there soon-be sure to check out the great deals! I just wanted to share the new so someone else could have the same opportunity!
Happy Reading!
Deborah

Getting Back to the Books

I have been having a hard time getting into our next "Book of the Month" Thorn in My Heart by Liz Curtis Higgs. I haven't read one book since finishing the Twilight Series. But I need to snap out of it, as I miss getting away to those adventures and lives of those many characters that I had been reading about during the summer. I guess the difference also was during the summer I was not working as much as I am now either. Oh-how I loved that time. Ha!ha! Anyways, I need to get back to the books, I have several that I purchased that I am looking forward to reading and reviewing for our book club-which doesn't meet again until February, so I do have some time to give myself, thankfully.
Any of you been reading some good books I should know about? Or that I should add to my now growing list?
Hope your week is going well!
Deborah

Looking Forward to the New Year

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you all had a safe celebration wherever you were!
We got the pleasure of spending it with our best friends, Tom and Lucie and their kids. It was fun! I got the pictures to prove it! ha!ha!
I am looking forward to new opportunites this year to draw closer to my Creator, first and foremost. And to spend more time with my family and friends.
I am hoping to be changing jobs, we will see where God will lead me. I will keep everyone posted so you can know where to pray.
I am looking forward to my Crop Night coming up on January 9th from 6 -11:00. It will be some fun girlfriend time and some good time to catch up on some scrapbooking pages. I hope to see you there.
God's sweet blessings to all of you!
Deborah