Word of the Week: Setback

I have been noticing a certain word popping up continually this past week, and it got me thinking. The word of the week is setback, read some examples below:

Example 1: Lindsay Lohan on her recent failed drug test: “This was certainly a setback for me but I am taking responsibility for my actions and I’m prepared to face the consequences.”

Example 2: Jerry Jones on his Dallas Cowboys starting the NFL season 0-2: “It’s just something you can’t expect. You can’t anticipate it and you’ve got to realize it’s quite a setback.”

Even though I am a huge football fan and understand the demise of opening the season 0-2, Lindsay Lohan’s constant drug abuse and battles with the court may be a bigger issue. But that’s not really what I’m going for. Everyone has to deal with setbacks, and it’s how we handle these hurdles that build character.

A small example from my life: I was doing great on my better eating plan until the weekend came around and I visited fast food chains three times in two days. Certainly a setback for me. Maybe not a life changing one, but I still had to figure out how to get myself back on track after eating greasy food and gulping sugary sodas. I threw in an extra gym workout and pre-made my lunches for the week so I couldn’t be tempted again to grab McDonalds.

We have to remember, setbacks will always occur in our lives. The unexpected happens. When they do, we must pick ourselves back up, examine the problem and why the setback occurred, and prepare for facing the future in a better way. Whether that entails rehab from Lindsay, a new coach for Dallas, or simply better preparation skills, setbacks will not derail someone forever. It’s a minor glitch, one that wants to be fixed. So put a smile on your face and welcome some setbacks from time to time. You may realize how much better of a person you are after having to deal with one- or several- of these pesky problems.

Book Cover Vote

Author Kaira Rouda needs your help in choosing her latest book cover! Kaira has her choices narrowed down to two, and now she is letting the readers vote for their favorites. I had a tough time with this task! This is Kaira’s first women’s fiction novel, titled Here, Home, Hope, and I think it is excellent she is already involving her readers in the process. The voting will close tomorrow, Wednesday the 22^nd at 5 pm. EST, so be sure to get your vote in right away. Please click the link below to get to Kaira’s Facebook page and place your vote there.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kaira-Rouda-Books/125389587505763?v=photos&ref=ts#!/album.php?aid=26770&id=125389587505763

A Desirable Residence by Madeleine Wickham

I am a huge fan of all Sophie Kinsella’s novels, Shopaholic and non-Shopaholic, so I couldn’t wait to read one under her real name- Madeleine Wickham. My first novel read was her latest, A Desirable Residence, and I loved it! I’m just a bit saddened that I can’t give it a five star rating, but I definitely recommend this to all chick lit fans.

This story has many characters jostling for the spotlight, a handful of sub plots, and an abundance of juicy drama. Liz Chambers, who seems quite likeable at first glance, turns out to be a self-centered wife and mother who becomes bored with her mundane husband and living life in debt. When wealthy realtor Marcus Witherstone takes a drunken pass at her, she eagerly delves into the affair, convinced her life would be better as Marcus’s wife where she would be out of debt and constantly going to exciting events on his arm. Marcus convinces Liz and husband Jonathan to rent out their unsold house to Ginny and Piers Prentice. Piers is a struggling actor hoping to secure a lead part on one of the hottest soap operas on television, and Ginny is beside herself thinking her husband is about to become famous and their lives will be changed for the better. Liz and Jonathan’s teenage daughter, Alice, strikes up a peculiar friendship with Ginny and Piers, partly because she has a crush on Piers and partly because she thinks Ginny is a million times cooler than her own mom. All these lives intersect in the most engaging ways, and all the drama comes to a head when Ginny throws a party for Piers the night of his final audition. Chaos ensues, friendships are broken, and some unexpected endings are in store for readers.

Like I stated previously, I highly enjoyed A Desirable Residence. Lessons were learned from the characters that readers can take note of, there was enough drama to last for days, and the cliff hanger at the end kept me wondering. The reason why I don’t want to give it five stars is because multiple times I felt completely overwhelmed by the amount of characters and the situations they were in. More than once I found myself confused on who was with who and why they were acting that way and what that meant and so on and so on. I do like when books have all these different tales to tell, but when too many characters get in the way, my dislike shines through. Other than that, I thought Wickham’s writing was excellent and her expertise in the field of chick lit is clearly evident.

Rating: 4/5

Author Profile: Lisa Unger

Author Name: Lisa Unger

Website: http://www.lisaunger.com/index.htm

Bio: Lisa Unger is an award winning New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author. Her novels have been published in over 26 countries around the world.

She was born in New Haven, Connecticut (1970) but grew up in the Netherlands, England and New Jersey. A graduate of the New School for Social Research, Lisa spent many years living and working in New York City. She then left a career in publicity to pursue her dream of becoming a full-time author

Currently: Lisa currently lives in Florida with her husband and daughter.

Titles: Beautiful Lies, Sliver of Truth, Black Out, Die For You, and Fragile.

Bio Retrieved from www.lisaunger.com

Beauty Review: Too Faced Lip Injection

I recently tried the Too Faced Lip Injection product, and I have finally found a product that does what it promises! This lip gloss says it will give your lips a plumper look- up to 20% fuller lips with only one application. And it worked! When I slicked it for the first time, I felt a tingling sensation after about five minutes, and wondered if that was normal. After checking the website, I found that the tingling is very normal- it means it’s working! The Lip Injections include a Vitamin E Derivative, which increases blood circulation, plumping lips without creepy and costly injections. Lips appear fuller for up to four hours after application, making this my new favorite lip gloss. It is a little costly at $19 a tube, but I think it is worth the money!

Dating Mr. December by Phillipa Ashley

Emma Tremayne lost her boyfriend and snazzy PR job all in one day, and flees to the Lake District in need of finding herself and forgetting bad memories. She takes up another PR job, and her first assignment is helping a local mountain rescue group raise money for their base. Her idea is to have the twelve male members pose for a “tasteful nude calendar” in hopes of selling enough to raise the funds. The idea is met with some doubts at first, but eventually all the men agree to pose- except one. Will Tennant is the most gorgeous and spearheaded man Emma has ever laid eyes on, but she does not want to feel attracted to him after learning he left another woman at the alter. As her time at the Lake District stretches on, Emma and Will’s feelings slowly begin to show for another, and a near tragic accident leads them to finally admit how they truly feel about each another.

Dating Mr. December by British author Phillipa Ashley is a typical romantic story, telling the tale of a boy and girl who so clearly belong together yet get twisted and tangled along the way before admitting they’re in love. What made this more than the typical romance story was Ashley’s comedic tone that she brought to help make the characters come alive. I especially enjoyed that she not only wrote from Emma’s point of view, but also Will’s, giving readers more of an insight on these two characters. Somewhere in the middle of the story the plot began to fall flat for me, but near the end the pace really picked up. I loved the beautiful ending to the story, and it made want to hear more about these characters and their new lives together.

Rating: 4/5

Author Profile: Phillipa Ashley

Author Name: Phillipa Ashley

Website: http://phillipa-ashley.com/

Bio: I first started writing when I was four, when I sent in a joke to The Beano. After leaving school, I went on to read English Language & Literature at Oxford. Since then, I’ve worked in a vinegar brewery and in advertising, journalism and PR.

I didn’t start writing fiction until 2005, after joining an Internet creative writing site. My first novel, Decent Exposure, a sexy romantic comedy set in the Lake District, was published in October 2006. It topped the Play.com Romance chart, won the RNA New Writers Award and was made into a TV movie called Twelve Men of Christmas which aired on the Lifetime channel in December 2009. Hopefully, it will make its way to the rest of the world and/or on DVD very soon.

And wow! How time flies when you’re having fun. I’ve now had four books published by Little Black Dress and thanks to my lovely readers, they’ve all reached Number One on the Amazon LBD chart. The latest is called It Should Have Been Me which also hit number four in the Malaysian fiction charts.

My books have been or are being translated into all kinds of languages including Thai, Turkish and Russian. They will all be published in the USA from November 2010 by Sourcebooks. Some are available in large print too.

Currently: Phillipa currently lives in a Staffordshire village with her husband and daughter.

Titles: Decent Exposure, Wish You Were Here, Just Say Yes, Dating Mr. December, It Should Have Been Me.

Bio Retrieved from phillipa-ashley.com

A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff

Phoebe Swift is willing to make desperate changes in her life. After the death of her best friend and calling off her engagement, Phoebe abruptly quits her posh job at Sotheby’s and opens her own vintage shop. Her passion for previously worn clothes and the stories they once told is Phoebe’s hook for running her own business, and she quickly befriends a Mrs. Bell and begins to learn her stories. Mrs. Bell is a widow dying of cancer, and asks Phoebe to sell her clothes to new owners. While looking through Mrs. Bell’s closet, Phoebe stumbles upon a child’s blue jacket, and the story behind it fills the pages with mystery and sadness, but a happy ending.

A Vintage Affair by best-selling author Isabel Wolff is a beautifully written story about the essence of friendship, forgiving oneself, and finding love in unexpected places. There are many subject matters that will pull heartstrings, and I found myself wide-eyed in many places due to the emotional intensity of the characters and their situations. Wolff did an excellent job when it came to research for this novel, and it showed when I became quickly immersed in the storyline and could not put this book down. I did think there were a bit too many sub-plots for my liking, but other than that, an excellent read and a definite recommendation from me!

Rating: 4/5

Beauty Review: Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara/Eye Liner

I am still on the search for my favorite mascara, and I was really hoping that Maybelline’s Lash Stiletto would be the one. I was wrong. This mascara promises longer, thicker lashes with an added bonus of a black-patent shine. Well, I didn’t quite see any of those things. The first time I tried it, I thought maybe my lashes looked a bit longer. But within a few minutes of it drying, I didn’t notice the length anymore. And after that first time use, I didn’t notice length at all after applying. Thicker lashes- nada. And this shine I was supposed to see, which was the main reason I was so excited to buy this mascara? I sure didn’t notice anything shiner about my lashes. For $7.49 this wasn’t the priciest mascara, but I will definitely not be buying it again.

On a more positive note, I bought the Maybelline Lash Stiletto Ultimate Precision Liquid Eyeliner and I am hooked! The smaller tip gives me the flexibility of having a thin line or adding drama with a thicker line. It is good for extended wear, lasting through a night of dancing for me without smudging or disappearing. And I like that it doesn’t smear above my eyelids, once I put it on, it’s dry and in place. At only $5.94, I thought this was a good deal for a product that works!

Penelope Cruz 4 1/2 Months Pregnant

Penelope Cruz is pregnant! After photos surfaced yesterday of the actress, 36, showing off what could be a baby bump, reps for Cruz and husband Javier Bardem confirmed the pregnancy. “Penelope is 4½-months pregnant,” the rep stated. The photo in question came from the set of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Cruz’s latest movie, and left fans questioning if she was pregnant, or possibly just her character.

Cruz and Bardem, 41, married during a small, private ceremony held at a friend’s home in the Bahamas in early July.

Photo Credit: Mavrix

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