Happy Birthday to Me!

Yeah, it's my birthday. Eighteen years ago today, I was born. GO ME. I am officially an adult. And I'm, like, not 17 anymore. Cray cray, right?

I don't remember what I did last year for my birthday on the blog... So I just went and looked it up. I posted a giveaway with a giveaway hop on the 7th, and then did a character interview with Daniel from the TOUCHED series by Nancy Straight on my actual birthday. I actually really freaking love that. If you want to see the interview, just click here. (It shows as February 11 because I'm CST, and I wanted it to go up not too long after midnight EST. Just so you know.)

This year, I have done pretty much no planning. I wish so hard that I had done another interview with Daniel or something, though, because I luuuurve character interviews. Especially ones with Daniel. He is a favorite of mine. Hehehe.

Even though I have done little to no planning, I have still done some thinking. And I AM going to do a giveaway this year. Two, actually. One will be international and the other will be US only. Because shipping is impossible.

Not really. But it is expensive.

So yeah.

Read on for all the info and...stuff. (I'm so good at words today, y'all!)

US Only Giveaway 

I can't remember if I signed up for any of those hops for cleaning out your shelves, but oh well. I'm giving away my doubles (and in two of these cases, triples). Because why the eff not, eh? Here's what will go into one pretty box for the winner:

 (The Collector and Obsidian aren't actually doubles, but I'm going to throw in copies because I love those books so hard, they need to be given away in honor of today. They NEEED IIIIT.)

Wait For You is signed. Not personalized or anything, but signed. 

Now, for the rules:

- One winner will be randomly selected for the prize indicated above

- This giveaway is US only (sorry, my lovely international peeps!)

- My giveaway policy applies, so make sure you've read it

- Enter through the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

International Giveaway 

This one is more simple. One winner will get a $15 Amazon GC! 

So, rule time:

- One person will be randomly chosen to receive the GC

- This giveaway is international! 

- My giveaway policy applies, of course 

- Enter through the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  

So...that's all I've got for you lovelies today. There will be more from me this week and so on. Like reviews. And that Monthly Re-Read thing I was talking about last month. It's all gonna happen. 

But not today. Today I eat cake. With Four. (I wish.)

Have a great Wednesday!!

 

Valentine Book Boy Chat ♥ Daniel from Blood Debt & Centaur Legacy!

As we announced on Saturday, each day this week, we're interviewing some book boys in honor of Valentine's Day! So today we have...

 

Daniel

from Blood Debt and Centaur Legacy by Nancy Straight!

 

 

DANIEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Goodness, long time, no visit! Welcome back to my silly little blog, my dear boy!

C’mere and give me some love, Jessica! *Lifts Jessica off her feet in a tight hug*  It’s great to be back.

Ahhh, you have no idea how great it is to HAVE you back. You have seriously been missed.

Careful, Jessica, you might turn me into a stalker.

So we’re here to talk about Valentine’s Day. Some people are huge fans of this holiday and other people think it’s the dumbest thing to ever exist. What’s YOUR opinion? Why?

Valentine’s Day is a great holiday when you’ve got someone to share it with.  It can be pretty lonely, too. *looks longingly to Jessica*  I bet you’ve got plans already, right?

I don’t know, Daniel. Do we have plans?

*cocks head to the side* You’re playing, right?

Ha, random, but have you seen the movie Valentine’s Day? What do you think of it? Unless you haven’t seen it. Then we’ll have to do that together sometime! Or even if you have…

I’ve never seen it, but I could be persuaded.  *Looks at watch*  Right now, if you want?  I mean, after we finish the interview, if you’re free.

HAAAA. After the interview, we’ll totally work something out. ;)

*cheesy grin* Well, what do you wanna know?  Let’s get this over. . . I mean. . . ask away.

Soooooooo. V-Day is one of those holidays you spend with a special little someone. Do you have someone you plan on spending it with? Do you have PLANS, like, in general? If so, what exactly might these plans be? The people of my blog would truly like to know.

*Sigh* No.  No one special again this year.  It’s only a couple days away.  I imagine you’ve had people vying to take you out for months, right?  *Questioning Look* No?  Well, let me see if I can convince you to spend it with me.  We could start out with a candle-lit dinner, not in some pretentious place, but somewhere intimate – just you and me.  After dinner we’ll slip off our shoes and look for shells on the beach.  If things work out, I’m pretty handy at building a fire with driftwood.  *Eyes boring into Jessica’s*  So, are you in?

*swoons*

Let’s go book-related a little for a second. I promise it’s V-day related, too! Okay?

Crap, that last answer was too over-the-top, wasn’t it?  Okay, we could do pizza and watch ESPN at my place.

Ohhh, no. You were good with the first plan. Trust me.

But we don’t have to rule out pizza. Heh. Ohh! Or we could do chicken wings. Mild. Just, you know…just a suggestion.

Mild?  I would have pegged you for spicy.  Like, a gallon of water, spicy. 

You REALLY liked/loved Camille last time we talked. What’s it like to know that she’s going to be spending Valentine’s Day with her new boy toy? (Hehe, Drake’s awesome, by the way.)

Man, here we go again.  Cami’s a girl I’ll always love.  Don’t get me wrong, if I offered to have an intimate dinner with her on the beach, she’d turn me down cold and then probably punch me in the nose for good measure.  That doesn’t have anything to do with her current relationship; she would have turned me down cold before she met Drake.  What’s it like to know she’s going to be with Drake?  He’s a loser.  I’d rather she spend Valentine’s Day with anyone but him.

Awww, I’m sad you think Drake’s a loser. He can actually be a sweetheart, you know.

A sweetheart?  Cami and I have been friends since the third grade.  We didn’t have our first argument until he came in the picture.  She’s too good for him.  Give her some time, she’ll see she can do better. 

Before, did you ever spend Valentine’s Day with Camille? If yes, you guys weren’t a couple then. What did y’all do?

Well, sure.  We were each other’s “plus one.”  Every time we went somewhere where we were supposed to have a date, we went together.  We spent lots of Valentine’s Days together.  It was usually dinner and a movie. Nothing special.  *Furrows brow*  Scratch that, it was always special, just never lovey-dovey. 

*cough*you are so cute*cough*

Fun fact: My birthday? Yeah, it’s on February 12^th. (I may or may not hope you already knew this…) Obviously, that is miiiighty close to V-Day. Did you know that I know a bunch of people who like to mush my birthday with V-Day? I do not like this. They aren’t on the same day or really connected at all. Now, if my birthday were ON Valentine’s Day, then I’d deal, but it’s not. So. What do YOU think about this? Or do you have no opinion and just think I’m being whiny? Because I’m REEEALLY starting to feel whiny about this.

*Smirks* I did know today was your birthday.  I think anyone who would miss the opportunity to celebrate the day you were born is a boob.  *pulls out package from back pocket*  Don’t open this in front of everybody.  It’s personal.  *places package in Jessica’s hand and winks* 

YOU GOT ME A GIFT?!?!?! *stunned*

Okay, Daniel. That is it for our interview, sadly. You know you’re allowed to stop by whenever you want, right? You are always—always, always, always—welcome on my blog. J

Always, always, always?  So I could park it right here and see you every day?  Don’t tease me, Jessica.  My heart can’t take it.

I am 100% serious. It’s always fun when you’re here!

Before you go, is there anything you’d like to tell us? About V-Day or…oh, I don’t know…the next book or three of the TOUCHED series…?

Hmmm, well, Nancy’s keeping it pretty quiet, but I hear I’m going to meet someone pretty special in the next book.  I can’t stand to see Cami with Drake, so whoever this girl is, hopefully she’s as repulsed as I am with Drake.

Huh. I wonder who this special girl will be. I know *I* can’t wait to read about her.

Oh, and, aha, this is me being completely curious. Does everyone call you Daniel? Like, does anyone call you Danny or just Dan or something? Any nicknames? I feel bad for tacking this on at the end of the interview, but the question literally JUST popped into my head.

Everyone calls me Daniel, *Takes Jessica’s hand* but, you can call me any name you want. 

Thank you SO. MUCH for stopping by! I really have missed you! Can’t wait for you to stop by again. <3

*Slides hand to the small of Jessica’s back and kisses her cheek* So, you’ll think about the beach idea for Thursday? I’d hate to eat by candle-light by myself. What would people think?  *looks at watch again*  I’ve got some time if you want to see that movie, it’d give me a chance to convince you to go out with me Thursday.

As if convincing is even necessary. *smirks*

~~~

And that is it for THIS interview! Goodness knows I'll be having Daniel back around again as soon as I can. But until then, it's time for y'all to head on over to Jana's blog, The Book Goddess, to see her half of the interview! Just click HERE (or any of the other links I've placed in this little paragraph...) and it'll take you on over so you can see what Daniel said to HER. I wonder if he said anything about me...



Oh, and to everyone who's said happy birthday to me ALREADY on Twitter/Facebook/wherever, THANK YOU! You are awesome.

 

Did you catch yesterday's interviews with DEAN from Dracian Legacy by Priya Kanaparti? If not, you can see my interview with him HERE and Jana's interview with him HERE!

 

And don't forget to stop by our blogs again TOMORROW for another book boy interview. Tomorrow, we're chatting with...

 

Trevor

from Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini!

 

One more little thing, I helped reveal the cover for Click to Subscribe by L.M. Augustine. I think you should check it out because a) The book looks awesome, and b) You NEED to add it on Goodreads and "like" on Facebook because yeah. So yeah. :)

 

And that is all. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see y'alla again tomorrow, with Trevor!

 

♥Jessica(:

Announcing the Valentine Book Boy Chat!

 

Hey, y'all! So I have a super fun announcement to make today!! If you follow me on Twitter (or if you follow @J_20_C_, AKA The Book Goddess), you have probably seen us teasing you about some super awesome things we've been planning since...I think the first tease happened in the beginning of January...ha. Anyhoo, TODAY, we're going to let you in on what we were so excited about!

 

As I'm sure you all know, Valentine's Day is right around the corner. And I know it's not really a huuuuge holiday for celebrating, especially if you're single, but I wanted to do something fun on the blog anyway. So did Jana from The Book Goddess (a great blogging friend whom I heart SO MUCH). So, like the blogging Lux-loving Dante-loving best friends we are, we cooked up something we think is kind of cool to entertain you guys (and, lets be honest, ourselves, too, because this was so fun!).

 

WHAT am I talking about, you ask? Well, the Valentine Book Boy Chat, of course!

 

No, it is not a Twitter chat.

 

No, it is not a blog chat (do those even exist...?).

 

No, it is not some kind of live stream chat-thing.

 

No no no. But it's still pretty cool.

 

What Jana and I did...well, first let's see some books...

 

 

Any books on that strip that you're bouncing off the walls for? That you've read and LOVEDLOVEDLOVED? Or that you canNOT wait to get your hands on? I'm sure you all know of at least one on that list that *I* have been chopping at the bit to get.

 

But back to the point. WHAT do all these books have to do with this post? Why am I doing this? WHAT IS THE POINT?

 

Well, all of these books...well, either Jana loves them or I love them or we both love them. And all of these books have book boys to die for. Soooooooooo. WHAT WE DID was interviewed one book boy from each of these stories.

 

SAY WHAAAT?!?!?!!!

 

Mhm. We each did a short interview. With one boy. From each of those books. And we shall be posting them alllll this week! Moday-Friday. Yeah. We're doin' it. It's happening. AWESOMENESS, trust me.

 

Am I making no sense? Because I don't feel like I've explained it well enough. You see, Jana and I interviewed some book boys. Each day, we'll post our interviews with a different book boy. You will be linked in the post so you can just click and head on over to the other blog. By this I mean, at the end of my post (and probably the beginning, too) I'll have a link to Jana's blog so you can go there and check out her interview with whichever that day's book boy is after you're done reading my interview.

 

Get it now?

 

I hope so!

 

So, I said something about "whichever that day's book boy is"... Yes, I said that for a reason. Because OF COURSE there is a schedule. And I'mma share it with you. Right now.

 

Right now.

 

Right now.

 

I'm seriously drawing this out for no reason whatsoever. Sorry.

 

Monday, February 11, 2013

We shall be interviewing Dean from Dracian Legacy by Priya Kanaparti! Dracian Legacy comes out ON Valentine's Day and I've already read it. And I love it. And I love Dean. And this interview was so much fun I can't even describe. DEAN MAKES ME LAUGH. Also, he'll be swinging back around my blog next Saturday (Feb. 16th), too as part of the Dracian Legacy blog tour! So that is something to look forward to ;)

 

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

You remember Daniel, right? From Blood Debt and Centaur Legacy by Nancy Straight? He was my first ever character interview during the Blood Debt blog tour. He is also my ACTUAL book boyfriend. Seriously. Book 3, my friends. Just you wait. You'll see. And yes, this day IS my birthday, thank you for remembering! I may or may not have spazzed excessively about scheduling him on this day...

 

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Trevor from Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini! Oliver WAS considered when deciding who to choose for this interview, and I would have had a GREAT time with THAT sweetheart, but ultimately, Trevor was chosen. And his interview was so great! Plus, I love this book to death. Sometimes, when I re-read it, it can make me shed a few tears. AH, love.

 

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Kaidan. Rowe. I've heard miraculous things about him. I must say, his interview made me giggle for a while after. Not sure why... ;) Anyway, in case you do not know, he's from Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins. And, urm, Sweet Peril. The sequel to Sweet Evil. So yeah. FUN THINGS! Jana insisted we include him and of course I agreed because a) Jana's awesome and b) How could I say no to such an arrogantly charming book boy? Exactly.

 

Friday, February 15, 2013

What would this blog event be without The Collector? YOU KNOW how much I adore Dante Walker. Have you not seen my left side bar? If you're new to my blog, I'll cut you some slack here: Dante Walker is my boyfriend the hot guy in The Collector by Victoria Scott. Which comes out in April. You can keep track of this coutdown with the widget located on my left sidebar. ANYWAY, of course he's included and of course his interview is aweosme and of course we saved the best for last.

 

Goodness, now I feel like going on and on about how much I heart Dante and Victoria Scott and how I met her and how I want this book RIGHT NOW and just ahhhh.

 

But I won't. I'll actually end the post here. Because this post has turned out to be WAAAAY longer than intended. Ha. But before I let you go, I just want to say a quick thank you to the authors--Priya, Nancy, Kim, Wendy, and V! I love them all more than I can say and they were so awesome to let us borrow their boys for a little while. I also want to thank Jana for agreeing to help me with this. I seirously would not have been able to do this otherwise. I'm kind of a wimp, you guys.

 

So that's it. As I've said, the first post for this goes up on Monday, so be on the lookout for it! I am so excited to share these interviews! We've been sitting on them for some time now. EEEP!

 

♥Jessica(:

Romance is in the Air Giveaway Hop!

 

 

And here we go AGAIN. I honestly could NOT pass this one up. Y'all know by now how much I lovelovelove sweet things. So here I am. BUT this is more than just a giveaway hop giveaway.

 

Do you remember when we were all voting for Houston to host the OPAL release party and I was like "If you vote for Houston and we win I'll have a ginormous giveaway because y'all are awesome and I love you and OMG JUST VOTE HOUSTON"? Well, I'm sure you remember that Houston did, in fact, end up winning. Because you guys are the best.

 

So I owe you a mega-giveaway, right? Well, THIS IS THAT GIVEAWAY. This also doubles as my birthday giveaway, since my birthday is on the 12th and I'll be doing...other things....on the blog that week. (Yes, if you follow me on Twitter, these "special things" are the one Jana--the Book Goddess--and I keep grinning about.) So happy birthday to me YAY.

 

Now, back to the hop, giveaway, thingy stuff. It's a romance hop. You should know by now who my favorite book couple is. PLUS, I gave a huge hint by saying that this is the OPAL party giveaway. So, naturally, I am giving away...

 

  

THE LUX SERIES BY JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT!

(Well, the first three books. I'd give the last two, but that's kind of impossible at the moment...)

 

But that is not all. I said it would be my biggest giveaway ever, right? Yeah. I did. Sooooo...

 

They're signed.

 

All three of them.

 

By Jen.

 

And Pepe.

 

Yeah.

 

So read on for the details and whatnot!

 

Deeeeeets:

- As promised, this giveaway is INTERNATIONAL! You know I love you guys.

- ONE winner will get ALL THREE of these signed books.

- My giveaway policy applies, y'all. Make sure you've read it.

- Enter through the Rafflecopter below! Because Rafflecopter is our friend. ;)

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Thanks for entering! Now go see what other cool stuffy-stuff the cool kids are giving away!

 

 

 

♥Jessica(:

Teaser Tuesday! (16)

 

Do you want to participate in Teaser Tuesdays? It's simple and hosted by MizB from Should Be Reading. All you have to do is:

-Grab your current read

-Open to a random page

-Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

-BE CAREFUL NOT T INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

-Share the title & author, too, so that the other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

On September 27, one of my best friends turned 16. When I was on the phone with her that day, I promised her I'd do a teaser post of a book she had really enjoyed recently (and, luckily, one I've read and liked immensely). So, today, my teaser is a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to her, and it's from...

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

Release Date: January 8. 2008

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Description from Goodreads:

Girl meets boy.
Girl loses boy.
Girl gets boy back...

...sort of.Ava can't see him or touch him,
unless she's dreaming.
She can't hear his voice,
except for the faint whispers in her mind.
Most would think she's crazy, but she knows he's here.

Jackson.
The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with.
He's back from the dead,
as proof that love truly knows no bounds.

Teaser:

"He couldn't help it.

He started laughing too.

 

Then he pulled me

into his arms

and whispered

in my ear,

'I just love you so much.

I want to be with you always.'"

 

Yes, this book is in verse. It is beautiful and sweet, and I like it.

 

Leave links in the comments to your teasers--I'd love to see them! And if you feel so inclined, feel free to wish my friend Vicki a happy belated birthday!

 

♥Jessica(:

Review: Exiled by M.R. Merrick

Exiled by M.R. Merrick
Release Date: April 12, 2012 (first published June 28, 2011)
Format: ebook, 264 pages
Series: The Protector #1
Source: Author in exchange for an honest review

Description from Goodreads:
Chase Williams is a demon hunter in the Circle, or at least he was supposed to be. On his fifteenth birthday, Chase stepped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped.

Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna — a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret.

In their attempt to stop them, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.

Exiled was way different than I expected it to be. Which means that I also enjoyed itmore than I thought I would. I was suprised, I laughed, and had an all around fun tome while reading this book.

First, I have to point out the humor in this book. I absolutely loved the sarcasm and jokes exchanged in this book. I've said this before, but I'm going to say it again--sarcasm is never the wrong way to go. It's funny and makes any moment more lighthearted than it would be otherwise.

Another thing I really liked about this book was how unique it was. I couldn't really predict much. which means that some things just happened, and I was like "WHOA" and then laughed at myself for not thinking of it before. Everything about this book was so interesting and just plain COOL.

The fact that Exiled was written from Chase's point of view was something I enjoyed as well. It's not often that I read books from a male's POV--unless there are alternating POVs, but that doesn't really count--so that was a nice change in this book. I think a lot of people would have written this book from Rayna's point of view. Don't get me wrong, that would be just as awesome, but I truly think I enjoyed it from Chase's POV more. Because Chase is just so unvelievably AMAZING.

Which leads me to a Character Rundown, yes? First, we have Chase. Ah, Chase. He's just a downright good guy. A great dude. Strong and confident. Kind and caring. How can one not love him? Rayna--I liked Rayna. She's incredibly stubborn, but nice when she wants to be, too. Plus, she can kick Chase's butt any day of the week, no doubt about it ;)

The ending. I guess the ending could be called a cliff-hanger because the story is clearly not over, but it didn't FEEL like a cliff-hanger to me. That was the perfect spot to end the book and move on. I'm curious about what's going to happen next, but not ravenous because I was left in the middle of something huge. so I loved this ending.

Overall, this book was loads of fun to read. Unique, intersting, and with totally kick-butt characters. I honestly suggest you read this--boys AND girls. This is definitely soemthing both genders can enjoy.

All right, now that the review part of this post is over, it's time to wish my big brother happy birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BILLY! I love you.♥

I know, it seems like I'm saying happy birthday to brothers all the time, but this is that last brother's birthday until next April. There are other birthdays in between, however--parents, sister-in-laws, MINE, but for the most part, we're good until September. I think.

But that's beside the point. Happy, happy birthday to my oldest, bestest, favoritist brother. YES, that makes sense. I hope you have a most awesome day, and I LOVE YOU. Hehe.

Okay, that's it for today, y'all. I'm going to have cake and stuff. YOU have a wonderful Friday!
♥Jessica(:

Kimberly Sabatini Mini-Interview + 55 Follower GIVEAWAY

Hey, everybody! So. I now have 55 followers. Now, I know that this number probably doesn't SEEM all that big. But to me, that's 55 more followers than I ever dreamed of having (yeah, I was a pessimist about the whole "blog" thing). So now that I'm at 55, I have a special little way to say thank you--in the form of some gifts!

Gift Numero Uno:

I did a mini-interview with Kimberly Sabatini, author of Touching the Surface which comes out October 30th! What is my definition of a mini-interview, you ask? Weell, it's not book related. A mini-interview is purely fun. So, let's see what was said, yes?

All right, so we're going to start off with some favorites. Just say what your favorite is, easy-peasy!

Song: Gahhh always changing. When I love something I play it until I almost hate it LOL!  But overall...IMAGINE by John Lennon...oh, the message...
Book (of the moment, because goodness knows it's hard to pick one for all time!): I'll give you all time--THE GIVER by Lois Lowry. It changed me.
Food: Chocolate ice cream closely followed by mashed potatoes.
Beverage: Sparkling water
Movie: White Christmas
Book Character: Skeeter from THE HELP
Quote: "No Day But Today..." RENT
Book Cover (include a picture if you'd like!): I'm going to return to THE GIVER...perhaps I can't separate the inside from the outside, but all I know is that I remember looking at it in high school and thinking that I must know what lies behind the look in that mans eyes. I remember thinking that this was different before I even cracked the spine.

 Okay, now just some this or thats. All you have to do is pick one!
Night or Day? Night
Sweet or Spicy? Both
Summer or Winter? Fall--I can't even pretend that there is another choice for me.
Twilight or Hunger Games? Hunger Games!!!!!!

 Last, we just have two Team questions. I LOVE picking Teams when I'm reading, so I'm just going to ask the two most common Team questions:
Team Edward or Team Jacob? Jacob! Is there even a question?
Team Peeta or Team Gale? Team Peeta of course...although...Gale was looking pretty good in the movie.

And that's it for the questions. Thanks again for being so AWESOME as to answer these for me! This makes things so much more fun, I think. :)

Thank you sooooo much for having me. I LOVE this kind of interview--it's so much fun to do!

Ready for Gift Numero Dos?

I know you're all thinking "Wasn;t interviewing Kimberly kind of random?" And my answer is this--NO. It wasn't. Because . . .

Gift Numero Dos:

I'm giving away some Touching the Surface swag!

I don't have a camera, so I can't take a picture of it all, but here's the cover of Touching the Surface:

(click on the cover to go to the Goodreads page)

Since I can't take a picture of it, I'll tell you about it:

I'm giving away . . .

2 bracelets

3 bookmarks

3 postcards

1 sticker

various little Touching the Surface things

All of this swagis goodness will be split between 3 winners. There will be a Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post, after I tell y'all about the last gift.

Which brings me to . . .

Gift Numero Tres:

This requires a wee bit of explanation. Originally, I was just going to leave this as a swag giveaway. Buuuut, today is my brother's birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABOON JOHNNY B. KEIBLER SASQUATCH BUDDYBOOPER WANNABE ANT ANTHONY!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you! Have a really great day and a most happy 15th birthday!

So, in honor of my goof of a little brother's 15th birthday, I am also giving away my ARC of The Temptation by Alisa Valdes.

I'll probably throw in some more little swaggish stuff with the ARC, too, because I'm a nice person. Yeah. I try. Still, this will be a fourth winner.

So, those are my thank you gifts! I hope you like.

Now, fir the Rafflecopter. . .
GIVEAWAY:
-4 winners will be chosen randomly for my ARC of The Temptation and some cool swag
-You must be 13 or older to enter or have parent permission
-I am not resoponsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items
-This giveaway will start on 6/18 and end on 7/19
-This giveaway is US only (EDIT 6/18)
-Be sure to check out my Giveaway Policy for a full list of rules for all my giveaways

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank y'all for everything! Every single one of you is awesome. I also have two other giveaways happening at this very moment--you should check those out to win some more cool stuff!

Have a wonderful day, Friends!

♥Jessica(:

EDIT 6/18--Kimberly interviews new book bloggers on her blog, and today (wonder of wonders) she's featuring me! So click HERE if you want to see Kimberly Sabatini interviewing me. :)

Job Shadowing

I am aware that is a day late. I was supposed to post this yesterday, but I never got a chance to, so here I am. Still, belated or not, before I jump into my nice little story about job shadowing - yes, job shadowing - I want to wish Jana a very happy 16th birthday!!!!! If you don't remember who Jana is, let me refresh your memory. She is the blogger from The Book Goddess and also the wonderful person who designed my blog button! So I hope she HAD (I can't say HAS because I'm a day late on this post. Grrr.) a marvelous birthday!

All right, so on Tuesday I went on a little trip for school. It was for my BIM class (Business Information Management). I went to the ARAMARK office for out school district with two other girls from my class and we learned about what two women from their human resources department DO in their jobs there. NO, this post is not going to be about books, but it's still interesing to read about, in my opinion.

First things first - what I had to wear. This doesn't sound very important, but it STILL affects me right now, so you all get to hear about it. I had to wear business-y type things. A skirt. I NEVER wear skirts. Like, ever. It's just not my thing. But on Tuesday I did. I have to admit, it was pretty. And soft. Very plain, black. But I think it looked nice in the wind. Anyways, a skirt. A pretty gray and white shirt. I can't explain this, so just go along with whatever image you can conjure from that little bit I gave you - the colors. And lastly, the most important part, was the SHOES. The stupid, stupid shoes. So cute, yet so stupid. My. Feet. Still. Hurt. Yeah, that bad. I looked cute, though, if that's any consolation. Which it isn't for me, but hey.

Now, what is job shadowing? Well it sounds like something where you go to a JOB and SHADOW someone as they do their work. And that sounds boring. What it actually was, was meeting with two women who work at ARAMARK and having them explain what it is they do and why it's important. The two women I met with were named Adriana and Christine. They were so friendly! I will admit that at the beginning of our little meeting, it was boring. They just explained every little aspect of their department - human resources - in detail. Now, I'm not saying I didn't learn anything new. Or that I regretted going. (I mean, did YOU know that the HR department deals with marketing and uniforms? I didn't.) I'm just saying, it kind of went on. And on. And on. And plus, we were kind of shy in that beginning block of learning. Very polite. So that wasn't exactly the best aspect of the trip.

Then, after the explanation was over, we went over to the middle school nearby and looked around at the cafeteria and snack bar (because ARAMARK is who supplies our lunches). On the walk over, we all talked a bit and got to know each other a little better. I think this was the time that we got more comfortable and not so reserved - the walks, I mean, to and from the middle school. My friends told Adriana and Christine about themselves, and thier plans after high school, and I talked about my blog, of course. I love to tell people about my blog. Seriously, when I get started talking about books, I'm good to go for a WHILE.

Okay, so we were looking in the middle school, and Adriana and Christine asked for our input on things. They listened to our ideas and truly seemed to like them. I think I liked that the best, how they got so excited when we came up with ideas. It made me feel included and like I was actually DOING something.

After we got back from our trip to the middle school, we just sat around in the tiny conference room (it was seriously small, but I liked it) and talked about stuff we'd learned and thought up some more ideas. Then, we got on the bus and went back to school where I - thankfully - changed out of my business-y clothing and went to my chemistry class for, like, five minutes. Yeah, that was a perk, I got to miss some classes. Even better, I didn't really get all that far behind and am caught up now. Sometimes being the smart girl really comes in handy.

Now, what was the point of this post? No, it was not to bore you all with a non-book-related adventure. I posted this because I seriously went on the trip because it seemed interesting to me. I also went because it would be a nice thing to add to my college apps when I have to fill those out, but that's not important. What IS important is that I DID learn some things while hanging with Adriana and Christine. Let's list SOME of these things, shall we?
- a bunch of aspects that went into HR - such as the uniforms and marketing I mentioned earlier
- how much thought went into things that students see EVERY DAY
- how sincere the people who choose what goes on our lunch menus are
- how in-depth the HR department really goes into a business' interactions
- and a BUNCH more that I'm much too lazy to list
Yes, I am a lazy person. I admit to this wholeheartedly. It's just the way I am. I mean, it MUST work for me. I get things done from time to time. ;)

Quick little statement: I honestly had fun on this trip. Yes, FUN. Like the band, but not as tangible. I WOULD go on a trip like this again. I'm so glad my teacher(s) asked me to do this!

Okay, now for anyone looking for book blogging news, here it is:
I WAS going to tell you that I had no clue what I was going to post tomorrow, because this was supposed to be posted YESTERDAY. But since I missed a day, I know exactly what I'm posting tomorrow. So, come on by and check it out! ;)

Thank you guys for visiting my blog and reading this post.

Until next post, Friends! Have a safe and fun weekend!

♥Jessica(:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the baby!

Four years ago today, one of the cutest children EVER was born. His name is Billy and he is my positively adorable nephew.

I love that little boy SO much. I am immensely serious right now. Yes, he can be a pain in my behind sometimes (this kid screams SO LOUD, I'm surprised I still have my hearing. . .Okay, I'm joking. Kind of. He really does scream loud.) but there is not much I wouldn't do for this cutie pie. He shall be called the baaaaaby forever, of this I am certain. And by that, I mean that I will be calling him the baby forever. Or until I forget to do it anymore. Whichever comes first. But, the POINT is that he's FOUR YEARS OLD now. Wow, time flies. Wanna see his cake? It is so precious!

In case you haven't guessed, the baby loves trains. Or as he calls them, "choo-choos." I know, CUTE, right? I wholeheartedly agree. And that is not just because he's my nephew. (Well, maybe a little. But still. Cute.) So, today was a nice day with the usual drama, but in the end good. (Don't ask about the drama. Not really a story worth telling.) The important part of the day was that the child is now a year older, and I feel so old. I mean, I know I'm young. I know this. But I can't help but FEEL old. I remember the day Billyboy was born. It was a Saturday and I was in sixth grade. I was living in the B-lo at the time, so we got a phone call that morning telling us that I was officially an aunt. It's hard to believe that little tiny baby is now FOUR. YEARS. OLD. *sigh*

Okay, nostalgic moment over. My point of this whole post is that today was my nephew's brithday! Let's all wish him a big happy birthday together. Ready?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for humoring me. That's all I had to say for today, but keep an eye out for my review of Hades by Alexandra Adornetto. It should be up sometime within the next few days. I have a four day weekend for Easter - thank goodness - and hope to get SOMETHING done on here in that time. The review of Hades will certainly be it. Maybe I'll even get through Hallowed, too. I guess we'll see, right? ;)

Thank you all for checking out my blog post and wishing Billyboy a happy birthday! Please feel free to check out my other posts, and FOLLOW. Yes, follow. My blog (on the top, on the side, whickever works for you), or even my Twitter. @makesmeworse12 Yeah, that's my Twitter username. I know it's weird. It's an insider thing, but maybe someone can guess why. . . ANYWAYS, thank you all and please visit again soon!

As always, I shall speak to you again in my next post. Stay safe until then, Friends!

♥Jessica(: