Early Christmas Gift

What to my wondering eye should appear, but a miniature package and shiny new books. What a surprise to open a box today from the mailman and discover my books. I wasn't expecting them until next week. And can I just say that I love them! The cover is beautiful. I'm so excited to have everyone read it.

Cover Reveal!!!

It's here. It's finally here! I am absolutely in love with this cover. There was another cover I had chosen about a month ago, but when I saw this cover I was in awe. I'm so pleased with how it turned out. We had to tweek some things in the story to match the cover, but it was so worth it. And it actually made the story even better. I can't wait for you to read it!
INC Cover -

The Popular Song...must watch

Love this!

It has begun!!!

Last week I got my first batch of edits from my editor. So exciting! This is really happening. I love the ideas and suggestions my editor has to make my book better. She said that she has a couple of projects to do before mine, so I'm hoping August will be the month that my book baby is born.

Edits are starting soon

This is the month my editor said that we would start the first round of edits for my book. I'm so excited. I keep checking my inbox to check for emails from my editor. Any day now. Tick tock.

Beach...enough said.

Last week we got to spend a week in California. Two days were spent at Disneyland; the rest were spent at the beach. Oh California, how I love thee!

Pitch Perfect "Cups" -Drector's Cut

Love you awesome nerds!

Dating for Moms

This is to all of my friends who have made it to 4th base with me. :) Love you girls!

http://www.unexpected.org/2013/04/dating-for-moms/

How Animals Eat Their Food

Just try not to laugh. :)

Book Review

 

5.0 out of 5 stars

Love time travler books...and this one was great!, April 5, 2013

By 

Tarrah Montgomery - 

This review is from: The Keeper's Calling (Keeper's Saga) (Paperback)

This story was fantastic. I loved diving into the world of Chase Harper. Since the story was from the point of view of a boy, I was leery of my connection to the main character; however, the author did a great job making the reader relate just as if it was a female main character. I liked seeing the relationship expand from the perspective of the reluctant teenage boy.

This story had action in all of the right places. I didn't feel like the fighting scenes were misplaced, because they were brief and necessary for the understanding of the story. A lot of times, I think fighting scenes in books are overused and I end up skimming over them. With this book, I read every scene because they were tastefully done.

This book is part of a series, and I was worried it would end with the major cliffhanger that almost all trilogies begin with and leave you screaming at the inconclusive ending of the story. To my delight, this book ended peacefully but still left me wanting to find out more about Chase Harper's story and calling. I'm excited to read the next book.

Well done, Kelly Nelson. Bravo!

Frozen Garden

What happens after you have successfully planted your garden and then mother nature decides to put a spin on things and make it snow? What happens to all of those sprouting seeds buried in the frozen ground? Well, we'll find out in a week or two if any plants decide to bloom. Ultimate fail.

Another downer note is that we suffered blistering winds that were 60-70 miles per hour yesterday. We had a bunch of shingles flying off of our house, and we don't have an easy roof with a safe incline to fix the shingles. Oh dear....

On the bright side (where I always like to stand, and it's what has been taught by my momma), at least we had general conference weekend and got to lay around in our jammies and eat lots of snacks while we listened to the prophets. Conference weekends are my favorite. And to top it off, I went with some of my friends to Flagstaff on Saturday for a girls trip. I love my girlfriends, and I love my hubby who supports me and wants me have fun with my friends. Thanks girls. Don't ever remind me how many calories are in the raspberry cheesecake. My ears are covered up. :)

Let it begin...

Last year, we started our raised bed garden. We had a few yummy carrots, a dozen corn on the cobs, big pumpkins, but not so much of anything else. We planted late in the season, so we weren't expecting much. This year is round 2. Big Breath.

I found this diagram online. I'm thinking of incorporating it into our garden space. Our outline is different, but I think it will work. Good luck, to me.

Monday Book Review

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Action Book, March 11, 2013

By 

Tarrah Montgomery -

This review is from: Emergence (Kindle Edition)

I really liked 'Emergence', and I'm not surprised it has gotten good reviews. For me, I'm finicky in my selection of books to read. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a good old western, where other times I want to read about vampires (yes, I'm one of 'those' people :), and sometimes I like a good mystery. This was a good mystery story that had me interested. Because you got to see the thoughts of the hit man, I was curious to see how the story was going to end. Not a lot of books let you see from the viewpoint of the supposedly 'bad' guy. I really liked the author's writing. She is very talented, and she has a way to make the storytelling seem natural and not forced.

Monday Book Review

5.0 out of 5 stars I have never loved the story of Rumplestiltskin until now, 

This review is from: Rumplestiltskin (Faerie Tale Collection) (Kindle Edition)

I love ALL fairytales; however, as a child, I never understood or enjoyed the story of Rumplestiltskin. I didn't like the whole concept of a creepy, old man sneaking into the girl's bedroom, unexplainably spinning straw into gold, and then years later haunting the girl for the payment of her first born child. The love story was non existence; the king plainly fell in love with the girl and married her because he was under the presumption she could spin straw into gold. I love a good romance, so this story held zero interest for me.

Therefore, Jenni Jame's twist on this lack-luster story was just what it needed. There was action, a love story, a sweet heroine, and even a creepy man (but not who you'd originally think it was). The attraction between the two main characters built fast, and I like these shorter stories so I don't feel like I'm waiting until the last page for anything to happen between the two love interests. I felt that the story was well told, fast-paced, and enjoyable. I was hooked in the first paragraph, and I was left with a smile on my face at the last paragraph on the last page.

Thank you Jenni James for making me add Rumplestiltskin to my list of favorite fairytale stories.

Friday Adventure...Thailand

Completely the best vacation I had ever been on. We've traveled to Europe twice and loved those trips, but this trip was the complete package deal of adventure and leisure. It was nice to have optional activities planned and then have leisure time to do what we wanted. The tour guides were great and helped us with everything and showed us the best places to visit and experience.

We first stayed in Koi Samoi which is in northern part of Thailand. It is a jungle and beautiful. We were able to go to Tiger Kindgom and pet the tigers. Crazy. Then, we rode on elephants through the jungle. They even performed for us on how they can trasport wood. One elephant even painted a picture of a tree. Brilliant. Next we saw the long neck ladies in their village. They were nice, and we took pictures and bought some of their stuff.

Next we stayed on an island at the south of Thailand. The resort was awesome. We had our own personal swimming pool in our room. The breakfast was delicious, and the veiw was breathtaking. But, my favorite was the beach. It was a reclusive beach where they bring water and treats every so often just because. One day Ryan and I were at the beach for almost 6 hours. The second day Ryan went scubadiving, and I stayed at the hotel with another wife who didn't want to go scubadiving. So, we went to the spa and got 2 hour facials and foot massages. It was more of an ampucture procudre, but it was good. Then we ate lunch at the beach and laid on the beech for another few hours until the divers got back. That was the day that I like to claim as a vacation day. It was wonderful. I brought my book down to the beach to read, but I had more fun talking to my new friends. We had so much fun.

We flew to Bangkok and got to see the big city. We found a good place to shop. I got me some cute shoes. We took a speed boat tour around to the families who live in houses along the water. It was sad. The houses were falling down. Little children, barely clothed, were playing everywhere and jumping into the filthy water. But everyone was so nice and waved as we went by. The night ended with all of us going to a Thai Fighting event. We didn't stay until the big fighters but we watched 2 fighters with younger kids and they did pretty good.

We flew to South Koreo for a quick tour of it's city and palace. Then we ate some dumpling soup...that were not that good. We each picked up a souvenir or two and then raced back to the airport.

Monday Book Review

 'Turning Pages' by Tristi Pinkston

5.0 out of 5 stars "Sweet love in the library", February 20, 2013

"I love Tristi. She is a great writer, and she always has me hooked on the first page.

'Turning Pages' is a cute story of a young girl who works at a library and is struggling with some major changes in her life. Her father died in a car accident, and her family is made to sell their home. When the news of her library being torn down, everything in her life seems to be crumbling along with her library. Her new cute (engaged) boss, Blake, at first seems like the extra straw on the camels back to make her problems worse, but he later becomes a friend to her and helps her gain the confidence she needs to help her with her life.

Without giving any spoilers, this story has a fun, happy ending. I finished the last page with a smile on my face. It made me want to go to my library and snuggle up with a book on their old, tattered couch.

The story was very well written and kept me entertained with a bit of humor. I like books who can have me laughing out loud and feeling so well what the character is feeling. I really felt like I was in Addie's place, feeling her pain and happiness.

Thank you Tristi for another great book"

Trista turned 8

We are so grateful to have our sweet princess in our lives. Each of our children came into our family in different, unique ways. Trista was adopted into our family, and she is definitely made to fit into our family. We love her sweet spirit. She would do anything for anyone. She loves to share...especially her treats with her daddy. She has so many friends, because she is so sweet and funny. Let's not forget about funny - she is always making us laugh.

Some things she likes:
favorite color...all colors but especially pink and purple
favorite toy...her night night, but she likes to play with her barbies
favorite movie...probably 'elf on the shelf'
favorite book...she's reading all kinds of books.

Her birthday party theme was 'snowflakes'. We cut snowflakes, made cupcakes with snowflake sprinkles, had snowflake stamps, and played some games.

Funeral/Baptism...aka...life after death/atonement

Ryan's grandpa died last Monday morning. He was sick, and it was a blessing for him to die so soon. We had the funeral Saturday morning, and lots of family came to support and remember him. It's times like when someone dies that we look at the purpose of life. I taught my Young Women's lesson yesterday, and it was about the plan of salvation. I am so grateful to know that we live after we die, and we'll get to see those we love again. Death is not the end; it is only the end of the 2nd act of a 3 act play. Life after death is the next act.

My daughter was baptized after the funeral on Saturday afternoon. It was a great way to look at life in a full circle. The reason we will all be resurrected and live again is because of our Savior's sacrifice for us. He died for us so we could live again. When we are baptized, we make covenants to our father in heaven and to Jesus. We are baptized in His name and promise to be a witness for Him.

What a great, spiritual day to be reminded about life.

For all 'Austen' lovers

Loved every word of this book. Jenni James has not disappointed with this fun, modern retelling of one of Jane Austen's most loveable classics, 'Emma'. The author writes with such candor and whit; I felt as if I was in high school again experiencing everything the main character was feeling. I could feel the despair that was portrayed in the book, and I could feel the anticipation of what high school brings. The author did a great job capturing all of those emotions.

'Emma' has always been one of my favorite Jane Austen novels. Emma is such a sweet character to love, because she is normal and makes mistakes like every young person would do. I love all of the adaptations Hollywood has made along with this example of a storyline. Of course, it was similar to the movie 'Clueless', because that is what is about...a rich, spoiled girl who finds her true self along the path of mistakes and unselfishness. Gotta love it.

The only thing I kept waiting for was Emmalee's friend, Hannah, to crush on Chase. I anticipated it and felt a little sad when that pivotal moment that helped support Emmalee's realization of her own true feelings for Chase were discovered. Other than that, the story was apple for apple along the lines of Jane Austen's book, 'Emma'.

G'dnight G'vner

My mind is a blur. I've been thinking about what to say, but I hear a low humming sound in my head. It is telling me that it is done thinking. I guess it's that time of night when I am way past due of going to bed. Why am I past due? No one can answer that. When it's just me in the night, I drift through the minutes until it's unnacountably unnavoidable...I meant to say accountable unnavoidably and terribly late. How's that for rumbling? Or is it rambling? I don't know. haha. I was determined to check in with my Sleeping Beauty book, but haven't even given her a glimpse until before Christmas. I do so much better as a writer if I give a little bit everyday. Now that it's past...a little bit of days, it's brewing in my head. As for my Cinderella book. It's going to be so much fun. The original plan was to begin with editing the book this month and schedule it print in February. When I met with the editor, she said they were behind on 2 books and the schedule had to shift a little bit. Also, since I have my trip to Thailand in February, they decided to schedule my book for edits in March and go to print in April. So maybe in stores in May. Woopee!!! K- I'm starting to say funny words. I better go to bed. G'dnight G'vner. Cheeky, I know.

Met with my editor...Linda Prince

Let it begin...let it begin. My little family and I drove to Utah the day after Christmas to spend time up in good, old Treetown (Tremonton). We had a blast with cousins, sledding, movie nights, visiting the bouncy house in Layton, and dropping in to see other family and friends along the way. After staying for a week, we packed up and headed home. On our way, we stopped in Salt Lake City so I could meet with my editor. I was a little nervous. When Ryan asked why, I said it was because I had been writing stories since I was 6 years old, and everything had built up to this actual moment of making my dream become a reality. Well, after our hour visit, I can say I had absolutely nothing to be nervous about. Linda Prince was a sweetheart and made me feel very welcome. I enjoyed looking at all of their published books displayed on the wall. One day mine will be there. Linda talked me through the process of what we'll do when it is my turn to edit my  book. She also talked about cover selection and how that works. All I can say is that I am very excited to work with this publishing company. I should probably also say that we found books from my publisher at the Deseret Book right by temple square. Yes, we are going to return and get a picture of my book at that store.