Friday I'm in Love: Divergent

I fell in love with Harry Potter grudgingly. I'd had the first three books for months; a not especially favored gift from my mother. But one weekend (before kids, before Hot Guy) I was home sick. Like, really sick. Too sick to go anywhere. And I was out of reading material, because that's the kind of challenge we faced back before Kindles, children.

I picked up the first book and got hooked. The first thing I did when I got better was go out and buy the fourth book. And now, when people talk about a YA series, I don't tune them out. Unless that series is Twilight. Then not only do I tune them out, I probably inch away from them.

Divergent is like the anti-Twilight.

I wasn't all that inspired to read it, actually. The descriptions didn't grab me. Plus, I'd already read a trilogy about a teenaged girl surviving in a dystopian society. I enjoyed it, but not so much that I thought I needed to read ANOTHER one.

But then my book club was reading it. And I had promised myself that I was going to get myself back to my book club, because I so love it every time I go. So I picked up Divergent  last weekend.

I fell in love with it. I got Insurgent and Allegiant  as soon as I could. I cannot wait until my kids are old enough to read them; I cannot wait until I make everyone I know read them. I am sorry that it took me so long to get around to reading them, although they have definitely improved my crappy January.

Also, they should be required reading for every teenager who has adored Twilight, Flowers in the Attic and all those Sweet Dreams romances I read when I was a teenager.

PS: I also loved, loved, loved this post at Momastery this week.

Friday I'm in Love: Postacular

I Google things compulsively, being both innately curious and a natural procrastinator. So this post over at Good Day, Regular People really got my attention.

I find Steph's posts at All For the Love of You really soothing. Usually, there's also a terrific parenting idea or two thrown in. This post is older (did I mention I'm way behind with the blog reading?) but I love the tradition - I want Beachmas too.

Speaking of borrowing clever parenting ideas, I also love this one from My Mommy's Place.

And if you'd like some brutally honest advice about parenting, you should check out this post from Lisa at Life As I Know It.

Christine Whelan is my idol.

This post makes me feel slightly inadequate, but if you want to see what quality homeschooling looks like, check out Confessions of a Homeschooler.

If you've ever wondered about affiliate marketing, Blogging with Simply Stacie is really informative.

I love that Buzzfeed posted Jason Brown killing it at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Friday I'm In Love: Books, Books and More Books

So all (two) of my gift guides have focused on kids' stuff. Being an ex-elementary teacher in the middle of raising kids will do that to a person. But I realize that some people actually buy gifts for other adults, so I wanted to give some adult suggestions.

My go-to gifts (were I to have an income that allowed me to buy gifts for all the people I love and not just my children and parents) would be vibrators, booze and/or books. And since I don't recommend buying booze or vibrators online. . . .

Books for people who love Game of Thrones:



This fantasy series has fewer characters, story lines and bloodshed than George R.R. Martin's, but has the same dark humor, shocks and long waits between books. Reading these three probably won't keep you entertained all the way through until Martin's next book, but they will definitely help.



Okay, I discovered Robin Hobb while I was stalking  casually looking at Martin's blog waiting for A Dance With Dragons to come out. There's a lot more magic in these and maybe a little less violence, but the characters are what grabbed me. And all the series are complete - no waiting around! Woohoo!

But I'm actually not a huge fantasy fan. I'm more of a mystery person, especially well-written series. I'm just going to share the first book (or, at least an early book) from some of my favorites, otherwise this post will go on forever.



Not everything I read is dark and violent. Really. Those just happen to be my favorites. But I like funny people too.





Books for writers:




I just realized that this post is extremely long. I could keep going, but it's possible books I love is just going to have to be an ongoing series. What do you guys think? And what books have I left out of the genres I've already covered?

Friday I'm in Love: Books For the Kids in Your Life

There are few things I love more than books. So when I did my Holiday Gift Guide a few weeks ago, I didn't include them. I knew I couldn't limit my recommendations enough to just include a few in a gift guide - once I start talking about books, I can go on and on. Ahem.

So, click on the links below to order books for the loved ones in your life. Or buy them from an independent book store. I mean, you could get them some other way, but. . .don't you want to support me? Or an independent book store? I'm just sayin'. Without further ado. . .

For Preschoolers:





For kids just learning to read independently:





Picture books for older kids:





Early chapter books:






More advanced chapter books:





Originally, this guide was going to include books for young adults and adults, but um. . .I kind of went overboard with the children's books. So look for the adult book guide next Friday. . .

Pop Culture Thursday: David Spade's Best Movie

Look, I'm not saying David Spade films are known for their quality, okay?

But.

This movie came up in conversation the other day and I remembered how much I loved it. It's probably the only David Spade movie that I could describe myself as loving, mainly because he's not the main character.




(I'm not sure why I'm hating on David Spade so much. I mean, Jeremy Piven is in the movie too and he's a total douchebag.)

Part of my love for PCU undoubtedly stems from the fact that it came out just after I graduated from college and I definitely experienced some of what the movie mocks. And I've always loved Animal House (Yes, I'm a feminist who loves Animal House. And PCU. And American Pie. I would like Lena Dunham and Diablo Cody to write a similar movie, except with female protagonists. Can anyone out there arrange that for me?).

But I swear it's not just the era and the subject matter that appeal to me. I like the hint of romance, here and there. I like that the "frat" is a bit inclusive. I like Jeremy Piven getting in Jon Favreau's face about his t-shirt choices.

One of the things that made me fall for Hot Guy was our mutual love of this movie. I know that sounds stupid, but it's true. My ex-husband was an art house movie kind of snob, rejecting popular culture just because it was popular. He wouldn't even watch the movie with me. Guys I dated later didn't get its appeal or had never even heard of it. Hot Guy, though, broke into a huge grin when I mentioned it.

Do you have any movies that you're ridiculously attached to? Even if they're not exactly the best movies out there?

My other one is Just One of the Guys. It makes PCU look like a masterpiece.



I know, I know. I'm ashamed. But I can't help it. Tell me your shameful obsessions so I can feel better about myself.

A Love Letter to Blogging

ONE MOTHERFUCKING THOUSAND blog posts.

On this blog.

Well, not exactly. This blog used to be a blog called Dirty Little Secret. Because it was 2007, okay?

I didn't know any better.

Which is also why I called myself "Jerseygirl89".

This was taken right around when I started "Dirty Little Secret". 

This was taken a few months after I started blogging. 

I was on this group writing site, and it was dying, and everyone moved to Blogger so I did too. I had no idea what the hell I was doing. I just knew that suddenly I was home with a toddler and an infant and that all my friends were at work during the day. I was lonely, dammit.

Also, anything to avoid vacuuming.

To further establish my clueless bona fides, I did not prepare a ginormous giveaway in honor of my ONE THOUSANDTH* post. Mainly because I didn't notice until about 5 days ago and it's not like brands are dying to have me host awesome giveaways. Unfortunately.

I guess my swearing, ranting, randomness, lack of editing and inability to choose a niche don't scream, "Brand Ambassador."

Oh fucking well.

• I started blogging because I love writing. 
• I started blogging because the idea of people reading anything I wrote used to scare the fuck out of me. 
• I started blogging because I didn't know how to make mom friends. 
• I started blogging because I didn't know what else to do. 

And I am so glad I did. This blog is like my fourth kid, if I had a kid who never threw up on me or talked back.

• Because of blogging, I have no fear of letting people read what I have written. 
• Because of blogging, I have "met" so many people I consider friends. 
• Because of blogging, I have been able to take my kids places we otherwise couldn't have afforded to go. 
• Because of blogging, I have (occasionally) earned money that we really needed. 
• Because of blogging, I have gotten so much love, support and advice when I really needed it. 
• Because of blogging, I didn't lose my mind when I became a full-time stay-at-home mom to two toddlers.

I feel honored that you are reading this post. I appreciate everyone who has stumbled here, even those people from Russia who stayed for .5 seconds. Thank you. Thank you all for letting me call myself a blogger.

I know it's not much, but I've got an Amazon Gift Card for one of my readers. It's only $25, but it's just to let you know that I really do appreciate you guys. Hopefully after my next thousand posts I'll be able to give away a car or something. :) 

Entry-Form

*Look, I don't accomplish much anymore, other than folding laundry and keeping tiny smallish humans alive. So 1000 posts means a lot to me, even though it's not a cure for cancer or the development of comfortable Spanx. My point is, I'm gonna spend the day bragging. Please excuse. 

Friday I'm in Love: Post Positive Day

Today is Post Positive Day.

Which should explain why I've been so negative all week - I was clearing everything out so that I could be positive today. Okay, I'm exaggerating. It's really just that I vent a lot on social media.  In real life, I am much more positive than I am on social media. I promise.

Anyway, here are some things that made me happy this week:

• The Cybex Arc Trainer: My gym just got these. They are like elliptical trainers, but harder. Much harder. My calves - the one part of my body that I've always thought were in shape - were on fire after day 2. We won't talk about my thighs and arms. 

• Travis Erwin, author: A million years ago, when the internet was new and shiny and pretty, I "met" Travis in a blogging community. Now he is the author of real, published books. I promise that his first, The Feedstore Chronicles, is hysterical. I'm about to start his second book,
  Twisted Roads, which looks like it will be really interesting. 

• Terrible Real Estate Agent Photographs: If you like Cakewrecks, you will like this. Though the site isn't exactly positive, it makes me feel positive, so that's something, right? I can't help that I'm a huge fan of snark. 

• A great reminder to be awesome at the awesome From Tracie. 

• A Fluffy Alphabet from an amazingly positive lady at BecominNeurotic. 

• I'm still not yelling. Though I may have banged my head against a wall once or twice and maybe kind of raised my voice a few times, it's still a huge improvement. 

Friday I'm in Love: Stuff That's the Best

Best James Gandolfini tribute (if you're a parent who loved The Sopranos)

Best. Pinterest. Board. 

Best advice I've read lately. Er, not that I'm really good at taking it. (special thanks to HomeBody Fitness Personal Training for sharing it on her page - which I never would have discovered had I not gone to college with her, but which has lots of good advice).

Best article about the Paula Deen debacle.

Best blog post about the PaulaDeen thing.

Best cooking related blog post about the Paula Deen issue.

Best post about political evolution.

Best scary article about what we feed our kids.

Best birthday cake made by a non-professional baker.

Best photo of Hugmonkey from his preschool beach party.

Best coverage of Wendy Davis' awesome filibuster, if you like things short and easy to read.

Friday I'm in Love: A Few Things

I am so tired of winter and being cold. And someone in this house always being sick. But I did find a few things to love this week. . .

1. Congratulations to Leslie from My Mommy's Place - now a mom of four absolutely gorgeous children! Click over if you need a smile on your face. For real.

2. This "movie trailer", which I am surprised is not for a real movie. . .

CollegeHumor's Favorite Funny Videos

3. This genius list on how to stop rape.

4. All of the people standing up for marriage equality.

5. Next week we're going to Georgia, where we get to see family we haven't seen in ages and get to congratulate my aunt and uncle on being married for fifty years.*

6. Then we get to go to Florida, where we get to see Hot Guy's family, whom we don't see often enough. And we also get to see another of my aunts!**

*There is going to be ninja housesitter staying here. He'll have nunchuks. And we have an alarm.

**She's our second family member to move to Florida in the last year. I'm hoping that all of our family members move there eventually. And that they don't mind us living with them every winter.

Friday I'm in Love (again)

I easily found things to love this week. Maybe I should keep taking the cough medicine.

1. Band Back Together was nominated for a Bloggie. If you would like to vote for it, or for your other favorite blogs, go to the Bloggies page.

2. This is one of the most powerful posts I've ever read. Thank you for writing it, Cindy.

3. This is my new favorite thing on YouTube. I like to listen to it when I'm writing. Sidenote: I may be officially old now.



4. This kid writes better posts than I do.

5. Congress finally reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act.

6. Hot Guy is being super-dad so I can get more crappy articles done and finance our trip to Florida next month.

7. These little people are so full of the awesome. The 4 year old is now obsessed with making art like Jackson Pollock's, the 6 year old is making a comic book with his friends and the 8 year old reads a new book every 2 days.