Lately, I've been reading Around The World in 72 days by Nellie Bly. I open a can of Seattle's Best Iced Latte, pour it into a tall glass of ice and curl up on the long low couch on my sunny porch and spend each afternoon traveling the world with Nellie (aka Elizabeth Jane Cochran). In 1888, after reading Around the World in Eighty Days, Nelly boasted to her editor at the New York World that she could go around the world in 72 days. As I lose myself in Nelly's travels on a cold steamer, each sip of Seattle's Best Ice Latte reminds me of the advantages of the modern day world compared to Nelly's world. I sip and think, "I bet Nelly would love a cup of THIS right now"! But, I've learned some things from Nelly that can used today to make our lives easier.
"Ten Tips For Making Your Life Easier and More Efficient While On the Go.
1. Don't pack more than you can carry in one small bag.
2. Layer your clothing so you can be prepared for any weather situation. Consider purchasing clothing with multiple pockets, so you will not need to carry a purse.
3. De-package items. For example: take big bottles of pills and put only the amount you will need in a plastic bag.
4. Carry your own entertainment. Whether it is high tech (a small computer) or low tech ( a book or a deck of cards) - take something that will entertain you if you are stuck in a long line or long bus ride.
5. Take a snack. Particularly if you have low blood sugar. You may not be able to find food quickly when you most need it.
6. Prepare ahead of time a list of key phrases, if you don't speak the language. How much do I owe you? Where is my hotel? I want to order chicken. Where is the bathroom?
7. Hair curlers or dryers are bulky. Cut hair short or grow it long and tie it back - either way you won't have to worry about it.
8. Consider purchasing clothing with multiple pockets, so you will not need to carry a purse.
9. Always visit the Chamber of Commerce or it's counterpart - you will be amazed at the great information you will get there and what you might miss if you don't know about it.
10. Pack your sense of humor. Things don't always go as planned and a smile can go a long way to helping you though a difficult situation.
“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Seattle’s Best Coffee blogging program for a gift card worth $30. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”
"ten tips for making your life easier and more efficient while on the go.
Giveaway - The Link - Ends 8/15/09
The Link - Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor by Colin Tudge, Josh Young
When you think of uncovering our early ancestors, the first thing that comes to mind is a team of scientists with pick axes, shovels and brushes - on their hands and knees in the hot dusty desert, gently sweeping away the last crumbs of ash and yelling "Eureka!"
What you do not think of is a scientist opening a dusty drawer in a museum, looking at an old skeleton and going...hmmmm...
But this is exactly how Ida was found.
This nonfiction book reads like a mystery novel written by Dan Brown..it twists, turns, and Eureka - the forty-seven
million year old primate that is verified as our great great great great great great great great great great.....and so on grandmother, was so complete that you can see
the contents of her stomach. This is not sci fi folks - it is science at it's best.
Number of Copies To Give Away: 5
Host: Hachette Book Group
RULES:
I have 5 copies of The Link - to give away to my readers. The contest will end August 15, 2009. To enter:
1. Write A Unique New T-Shirt Slogan about prehistory, evolution, missing link....be creative.....and leave the slogan in your comment entry below
2. For a second entry Follow me on Twitter.
Winners will be selected from those who have followed these instructions, by random.org and posted on this lens.
GIveaway The Girl Who Stopped Swimming Ends 8/15
Thanks to Hachette Book Group, I have 5 copies of THE GIRL WHO STOPPED SWIMMING by Joshilyn Jackson to give away!
Multiple Options for Multiple Entries:
1. Just visit My Review of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming and follow the rules posted there (You may enter once a day and you can leave a link to your website as long as it is PG)
2. Blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post. Come back and leave me a Comment with a link to your blog post.
3. I’m feeling Twittery. If you Twitter a link to this giveaway, come back and comment here to let me know your Twitter name for another entry!
Feel free to do all 3 to gather multiple entries to win! You have until midnight EST on August 15, 2009, to enter. By entering in this giveaway you agree to get occasional emails from Bookcase Flying Circus Book Reviews and Giveaways.
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Laurel Gray Hawthorne needs to make things pretty. Coming from a family with a literal skeleton in their closet, she's developed this talent all her life, whether helping her willful mother to smooth over the reality of her family's ugly past, or elevating humble scraps of unwanted fabric into nationally acclaimed art quilts.
Her sister Thalia, an impoverished "Actress" with a capital A, is her opposite, and prides herself in exposing the lurid truth lurking behind life's everyday niceties. And while Laurel's life was neatly on track, a passionate marriage, a treasured daughter, and a lovely home in lovely suburban Victorianna, everything she holds dear is thrown into question the night she is visited by an apparition in her bedroom. The ghost appears to be her 14-year-old neighbor Molly Dufresne, and when Laurel follows this ghost , she finds the real Molly floating lifeless in her swimming pool. While the community writes the tragedy off as a suicide, Laurel can't. Reluctantly enlisting Thalia's aid, Laurel sets out on a life-altering investigation that triggers startling revelations about her own guarded past, the truth about her marriage, and the girl who stopped swimming.
Richer and more rewarding than any story from Joshilyn Jackson, THE GIRL WHO STOPPED SWIMMING is destined both to delight Jackson's loyal fans and capture a whole new audience.
