Em
Happy Friday! It is once again a TGIF kind of day. It may be dreary and gloomy weather-wise, but my mood is just the opposite. 1. I LOVE rainy days and 2. It’s Friday. It really can’t get much better than that. In 5 hours I will be blissfully heading out of the workplace realm and walking to my freedom of the weekend. No plans in sight, hubs will be home, and it is going to be a glorious weekend. I have been getting some questions on what I have been up to lately. Instead of posting a pointless list about random facts, I am going to post a pointless list about yours truly (that would be me). While perusing other blogs, I found one that had a really cool idea called “Currently.” I am going to play copycat and give you a list of things that I am Currently doing/interested in. Enjoy!
Currently
Current Book (s): I am in fact reading two books at the moment. I have been on a Jane Austen kick lately and my current book is “Sense and Sensibility.” The book that I am reading alongside this one is the second book of the Twilight Saga “New Moon.” Don’t judge. J With the release of the last movie, I find that it is my duty to re-read all of the books just in case I forgot any part of them Don’t worry, this will only be my 5th time reading all of the books in the series. Yes, I am a nerd.
Current favorite Color: Burnt Orange. I believe this has mainly to do with the Fall colors (or the lack thereof). I just can’t get enough of it. Now if I only had the money to spend on clothes…..
Current Food/Drink: Well, I bet you can guess what my current drink is. Yes, it is indeed Coffee. My food at the moment is a mixture of Honey Nut Cheerios and Golden Grahams. I believe this does prove that I have a palate of a two year old.
Current Show: Right now I have a couple of shows I am watching. The first (non-embarrassing) one is Modern Family. A co-worker borrowed me the first 2 seasons and the husband and I watch it nightly. It is my goal to have a son or daughter with the personality of Manny. This is indeed a real goal. The other show I am watching is The Vampire Diaries. Something about the sexy bloodsuckers just draws me in. I can’t get enough of the show. (Maybe I should re think this post. Try not to pass judgment on my poor taste J)  
Current Need: (Besides more coffee) I would have to say an Oil Change for my little car. Oh, and money.
Current Blessing: I would have to get cheesy here and say my Husband. He surprises me every day, supports me to no end, and makes me laugh. He provides for me and lets me be me. I seriously don’t know what I would do without him.
Current Indulgence: Sleep. It seems that lately I have been getting copious amounts of sleep. This is also the reason, I believe, that I feel tired. I think I have been getting too much sleep. If that is one of my biggest problems in life right now, I really have nothing to complain about.
Current Outfit: Jeggings, burnt orange tank and a heathered workout shirt. Don’t be confused, I am not working out. The jeggings appear to be real jeans and I bought the ActiveWear shirt for style. J
Current Excitement: It almost the weekend! It takes very little to make me happy and the impending weekend is all I need to get through the day! We are also having some friends over for lunch on Saturday and I am making my famous Chili. Come on, what’s not exciting about that!
Current Mood: Happy and impatient. My work motivation is very down because it has seemed like a long week and the end of the workday can’t come soon enough.
Current Wish list: With my birthday coming up, this has been something that I have put thought into, but alas, it seems like I have very expensive taste. The item that has been on my wish list (for a while now) is a small Kuerig Coffee maker. Now, I drink a lot of coffee so it may seem impractical for me to get a one cup coffee maker. I agree. I want one however. I can’t explain it. I also would like a Northface Jacket, different kinds of coffee, a new coffee mug, slippers, cozy pajamas…. Okay, now I am just getting out of control.
Current Worry: *Sigh* This would have to be money. I think this is a worry almost everyone has and it is probably the biggest worry for me at the moment.
Current Goal: This would have to be to drink more water. I know it doesn’t seem that hard of one, but it seems like I am strictly sticking to coffee these days for a beverage. When I was training for the half marathon, I felt so good about myself and I think it had mainly to do with the large amount of water I drank during the day (well, that and the exercise). I would also like to eat healthier, but it is just sooo expensive to do that. Along with these two, I would also like to start exercising again. With the weather getting colder, I just haven’t been running. As soon as I get my treadmill back, I am hoping to get back on track and start running daily again.
Current time: 9:50 a.m. Man, I should really get some work done.
Well, friends, what are you currently doing?
I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and I will talk to you soon!
-Cheers!
Em
Good Morning Friends. I hope you all are catching up on life and taking the time to see the changing of the seasons. It is beginning to feel that Fall was short-lived as I see flakes float down and dissolve on the cold ground. I am not meaning to be so melancholy right now, but come on. The Pumpkin Lattes were just announced in Coffee Shops and now I feel as if I should be drinking the Ho-Ho Mocha or the Fa-La Latte. Brrrr. That is what I have to say. Some may call me bitter because of how much I love Fall, but the Christmas aisles in departments stores came way too soon this year. As I mentioned almost a year ago today, please friends, do not overlook Thanksgiving. We are so blessed to be living the life we lead. Let’s take the stress out of the Holidays by not starting so early with the gifts and promotions. Don’t worry; I am almost done with my rant. I know you aren’t used to hearing me rant, but maybe it is because my Coffee just doesn’t taste right this morning. This could be because I have been under the weather lately and the talk of snow is in the air, or it could be a metaphor of my life at the moment. Sure, some days coffee may not taste as good but will that stop me from drinking it down to the last drop? No. I will still drink it, all the while thinking how bad it is. I think this scenario happens to a lot of people in life. It may not be coffee, but I am sure it has happened to you. Maybe it was a bad day that kept getting worse. Do we give up and call it a day? No. We keep on going on and get through life and know that tomorrow is going to be better. So drink up, move on, and have a great day today (tomorrow if today is ‘one of those days’).  Never give up because life is way too precious to miss any moment of it.
I will once again be insolently (not on purpose) shying away from my Friday post. Tomorrow morning I will be headed to the North part of the state for a conference and then driving to my old stomping grounds to run my last race of the season. This is bittersweet because not only is it getting a little too cold for me to be motivated to run outside, there is also talk of snow in the forecast. I am hoping to get my best time for a 5k and got out with a bang. Immediately after this race, I will be headed back to my house, take a warm shower and relax. It is going to be a stressful busy weekend and I can’t wait.
Maybe I will have time to do some Christmas Shopping…..wait a minute….
Until next time, my friends, Live long and prosper.
-Cheers
Em
Happy Saturday! And what a Saturday it is! The wind has taken a  turn to the bitter cold and the leaves that I love so much are being raked into piles and jumped into (I may or may not be one of the jumpers). It is the beginning of October and I feel the bite of Old Man Winter at the doorstep. Today, I am back home drinking hot apple cider and celebrating the birthday of a special 3 year old and I couldn't be happier.
Today, I have yet another book review. The book I am reviewing today is unlike any I have read. It is real, the author’s stories are broke down with emotion, and you won’t soon forget the people you meet on the journey through the lives of ordinary people fighting wars that should not be overlooked. Today I am eager to review for you War Stories by Elisabeth Doyle.
Summary
We all carry our own battle scars.

This is the premise of War Stories, a rich collection of short fiction that draws upon both the literal and figurative meaning of its title.  Through a diverse array of characters, settings, and circumstances, War Stories delivers a series of powerful tales from the home front of war: the stories of parents, siblings, and spouses of those who have fought, as well as those who have returned from battle.
Set against the backdrop of contemporary conflicts, War Stories’ compelling nine narratives tell of a wounded veteran who seeks renewal through an imagined relationship with a neighborhood girl, a grieving father who finds peace and reconciliation at the site of a disastrous bus crash, a young woman who searches for identity and meaning in the wake of her husband’s injury, and an urban teenager engaged in a fateful standoff with local recruiters. Interspersed with these tales are powerful, non-traditional “war stories” – of youth, unexpected loss, and heartbreaking love.
War Stories’ thoughtful and beautifully crafted tales, which range in style from deceptively simple to rich and complex, tell of people young and old, male and female, who share two things: humanity and resilience. These diverse and deftly written stories are joined through Elisabeth Doyle’s remarkable style and ease in creating a universe full of despair, hope, and dreams. At turns tender and harsh, tragic and yearning, these stories will leave you wanting more.
Review:
This review is a hard one for me to find a place to begin. I find it hard to start this for two reasons, one of them being the fact that I think story deserves its own review (I will not make you all read my breakdown of each and every nine stories because that would probably be twenty pages long).After finishing each and every story, I felt that I wanted more. Not needed, but wanted. The stories pack a punch and each one gives you a new emotion. The thing is that each story doesn’t leave your mind when you start a new one. The emotions you feel, whether it be sorrow, pity, hurt, pain, a fleeting moment of happiness, loneliness or hate, each emotion stacks up and by the end, you feel relief that its over but secretly wish that there was more. Each character, each story is so powerfully striking that you can’t put this book down. It is an emotional ride and you best hang on. The second reason I find it hard to write a review is that each story has stuck with me that I just don’t know how to express the sensation I feel now, after finishing the book. This book shows the true battles that happen every day. The battles of loneliness, suicide, drug abuse, and just plain sadness. These are the battles that are in every character and these are the battles that are so raw, so real, that they are hard to fight. Elisabeth Doyle has a group of short fiction stories that will stick in your mind long after you finish the book. “We all carry our own battle scars.” Yes, yes we do. War Stories proves to us that one of these days, it will all be over. We just have to wait and see how life plays out and who comes out on the winning side. The nine tales in the book is like a list of nine lives. Each one breaking down to be a battle. A battle we can either overcome or sink.
You will relate to this book in one way or another and feel exactly that way I do. This book should be one on every persons book list and they will then recommend it to their friends. Yes, it is that good.
Well friends there you go. I seriously recommend you pick this book up and read it. Click on the links below to find out how.  Also, I have included some excerpts and information on the author. Read on friends, read on!
War Stories:
Short Fiction

can be purchased at:
MyBookOrders.com

Paperback
Price: $14.95
Pages: 119
ISBN: 9781937928407
Publisher: Two Harbors Press
Release: August 7, 2012
The Deepest, Darkest Part of the Woods Excerpt
It was the summer of the bicentennial, 1976, and the country was celebrating itself. The war had been over for more than a year and things went on as ever, the children playing in the Sullivan’s big back yard under skinny, century-old trees, the kind of trees with small round leaves that look like olive branches.

Driving Excerpt
They drove around that summer because there was nothing else to do. Benji had just gotten his driver’s license and his father let him use his old VW bug, no air condition and a noisy engine, but it ran. They decided to look for jobs, so they drove around South Jersey scouting for places that might hire them, their shirts soaked through in the back and their legs sticking to the seats. They stopped at a bar called Kowalski’s off of Route 70. It was empty in the daytime, just a guy cleaning. He had long hair and a tattoo on his neck that said “Quang Ngai.” The man asked if they were 18 and shook his head “no” when they said they weren’t, and then he went back to mopping the floor.

Median Excerpt
Usually, Wendell’s job involved more typical, straightforward events – a heart attack here and there, or someone falling off a ladder. Every once in a while, a suicide, maybe, and those were the hardest. There was a man who ran the local bicycle shop who shot himself. He had no wife, no relatives, so they just locked up the shop and left it, as-is. When you walked by you could still see all the merchandise in the window, crowded in and piled from the floor to the ceiling. It’s a shame, Wendell thought, all those bicycles going to waste.
About the Author:
Elisabeth Doyle is a writer and attorney living in Washington, D.C. She studied fiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College and the University at Albany, and is completing a Masters of Laws Degree at Georgetown University Law Center.  Ms. Doyle’s short fiction was published in the literary journal Nadir and was awarded the University at Albany’s Lovenheim Prize for best short fiction. Her first short film, Hard Hearted One, was admitted into the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema and the Street Films Film Festival, and was shown on Public Television and Manhattan Cable. War Stories is her first collection of short fiction.