Friday, January 15, 2016

Celebrate: 1 Down, 2 To Go & Giveaways!


This week I'm celebrating:
1) My husband got a workman who cleaned up all the splattered cement from the work done on my kitchen and bathroom. Yay! 
2) Now we only have the plasterer and then the painter to come and finish the job.  (I say "only" trying to convince myself it will be over soon and won't be a huge mess -- though I know it will be.)
3) I was so sad to hear of the death this week of David Bowie and Alan Rickman, both only 69. But I celebrate their lives and the pleasure they gave to audiences everywhere! I'll never forget great Bowie songs like "Changes" and "Space Oddity (Major Tom)" and the Harry Potter movies wouldn't have been as good without Rickman's creepy Professor Severus Snape.  RIP.  They will be missed.

Do celebrity deaths come in threes? Do more people die in winter than summer? What's your opinion?

Celebrate has a new member! Update your blog roll:
Thoughts for the Day (Linda Smoots) at http://lindasmoots.blogspot.com/

Welcome Linda!

At the end of this month, I’ll be doing a cull of the list for people who haven’t made a Celebrate post in over 2 months.


My kind and wonderful co-hosts of Celebrate the Small Things are:
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate The Small Things Linky:



Grab the Linky html-code here:


** To see who’s posted for the hop look at my Celebrate The Small Things Blog Roll, left sidebar bottom **


 Celebrate the Small ThingsTo be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is visit the Celebrate page on Lexa's Blog for the rules, and then post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever! (Originated by VikLit)



Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net
When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Friday Freebies posts -
  • Free short stories, novellas, and novels
  • Giveaways for books and swag
  • Free services for authors


Here are Foxy's suggestions for Jan 15, 2016:

Free Horror Anthology Paperback – Win a paperback copy of Childhood Fears (Anthology) by J.H. Moncrieff, L.L. Soares, Christine Hayton, and J.G. Faherty via Goodreads here. (You must have a Goodreads account and live in the US or Canada; ends Jan 31)

Free 2 Signed YA Suspense/Thriller Paperbacks – Win How to Disappear by Ann Reditsch Sampler, a psychological thriller about a tough cheerleader on the run from a hitman’s son who’s been blackmailed into trying to kill her, and her novel Afterparty, plus a tote bag. Enter via rafflecopter on the YA Books Central blog. (ends Jan 17)

Free 2 YA SF/Dystopian PaperbacksBestselling author Rick Yancey is giving away his novels The 5th Wave (now made into a movie) and his new release The Infinite Sea. Enter via rafflecopter on YA Books Central. (US only; ends Jan 17)

Free $15 Amazon Gift Card, 2 Signed Fantasy Paperbacks, and Tote Bag – To celebrate the release of The Divide (#2 in the Dreamland series) E.J. Mellow is giving away signed copies of The Dreamer (Dreamland #1) and The Divide (Dreamland #2) along with a tote bag and a $15 Amazon card via rafflecopter on My Book Addiction. (ends Jan 17)

Free $25 Amazon or Barnes&Noble Gift Card – To celebrate the release of Cold Blooded (Mystery/Crime) by Lisa Regan, about two detectives trying to solve a cold case involving a serial killer that suddenly become active again, she’s giving away a $25 Amazon (or B&N) card via rafflecopter on the Mythical Books blog. (ends Jan 17)

Free $100 Amazon Gift Card and Signed Rom-Com Paperback – To celebrate the release of Becoming Blue (Women’s Fic Romance-Comedy) by Angie M. Brashears, about a chubby woman being taken from a Weight Watcher’s meeting by a handsome and kind kidnapper, she’s giving away a $100 Amazon card and a signed copy of Becoming Blue. Enter via rafflecopter on the Mythical Books blog. (ends Jan 20)

For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.

If anyone has a FREE short story (for download or online at a free ezine), novella, novel, special giveaway, or author service, please let Foxy know so she can plug you here!  Write to: laura.6eg(at)gmail.com

37 comments:

Heather R. Holden said...

Oh, that's so great about the cement splatter! I remember those pictures you posted of it a while back, so yeah, thank goodness it could all be cleaned up, in the end. What a nightmare it would've been if it couldn't be! Will keep my fingers crossed that all the plastering and painting won't be too big of a headache for you--or that if it is, the headache is over quickly!

L.G. Keltner said...

Glad to hear about the cement splatter. It was definitely shocking to lose Bowie and Rickman in the same week. When I found out that Alan Rickman had died, I changed into my Hogwarts T-shirt. He will be missed.

Sue Bursztynski said...

My favourite memory of David Bowie was the film Labyrinth. He was a delicious Goblin King, very sexy! Somewhere among my cassette tapes I have a recording of him reading Peter And The Wolf. Never mind the singing, he had a beautiful speaking voice!

Yes, Alan Rickman will be much missed. Recently, I saw the BBC Romeo and Juliet and guess who played Tybalt? He was very young, about twenty-two at the time, but the voice was already distinctive and he was well on his way to a career as a villain.

Aw, let's just call off Christmas.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Glad the cement is cleaned up!
They do seem to come in threes, which is odd. Both men died too young. I'll always remember Rickman best for Galaxy Quest.

JeffO said...

Rickman was a fantastic actor.

The deaths of Bowie and Rickman are even more surprising given their similarities: both 69, both cancer victims, same week. In both cases, I thought, "how odd, they've been battling cancer for a year, but who knew?" Given our culture, we normally know far more than we need to about celebrities. Obviously, both men valued their privacy.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Glad you found someone to help clean up your home improvement nightmare and that things are looking up with it.

Linda Kay said...

Lexa, some things to celebrate for sure. Work inside the house is so disruptive, but worth it in the long run. Have a great weekend.

Birgit said...

Glad your kitchen is coming together and the clean up has been done. They do come in 3's-Celine Dion's husband died yesterday. Montreal has the flags at half mast in his honour. I think people die whenever it happens actually. Bing Crosby and Elvis both died within a month of each other in summer and Gregory Peck, Bob Hope and Katherine Hepburn all died within a week of each other at the end of June/beginning July. I love Alan Rickman and had a crush on him. You should check out Truly, Madly, Deeply-all about love, death and moving forward.

Kate Larkindale said...

I'm glad your remodeling nightmare is almost over. That stuff is so distracting.

And it has been a sad start to the year with all these celebrity deaths. First Lemmy, then Natalie Cole, and now Bowie and Alan Rickman in the same week. All too young.

Deanie Humphrys-Dunne said...

Glad you had the kitchen modification to celebrate, even though some sad things happened this week. It'll definitely lift your spirits when your kitchen is beautiful again. :)

Suzanne Furness said...

Yay for your husband, glad you got the cement cleaned up. I know, so sad about David and Alan they will be sorely missed.
Welcome to Linda :)

Mere Joyce said...

Glad you are getting some clean-up done!

My blog today is about Alan Rickman, :( ...he's my favourite actor, and I'm just so sad about his death. At least we can celebrate his and Bowie's legacies, =)

Laura Clipson said...

It's so sad about Bowie and Rickman, both were amazingly talented. Glad you got the cement cleaned up - I hope you're right, and it's almost done!

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

It sounds like you are coming to the end of the remodeling. I hope everything turns out perfectly and just the way you planned. Best of all, the dust will go away.

messymimi said...

While i cannot speak to more people dying at one time of year than another, i can say that the most common month for birthdays in the US is October, 9 months after New Years!

Tonja Drecker said...

So glad to hear that your kitchen is rid of that mess. I'm sure you'll love it when all the renovations are done. Both Bowie and Rickman were amazing and will be missed.

Cathrina Constantine said...

Lexa, so glad to hear about the kitchen clean up!! And I was so sad to hear about Bowie and Alan Rickman. It's always sad to lose such wonderful people who've entertained us.

Enjoy the weekend.

T.F. Walsh said...

Glad to hear the kitchen is almost done... let's hope the next stage goes a lot smoother.

A very sad week indeed. Never really thought about whether more people die in summer or winter... i bet there's a state out there on somewhere to show us.

Beverly Stowe McClure said...

Yay for a cleaned up kitchen and bath. I hope the rest of your remodeling runs smoothly and you can soon relax and enjoy the new look.
It is sad about the recent deaths. I don't know whether there are more in winter or not. I think we notice them more when it's someone famous or someone we know. RIP.
Have a nice weekend.

mshatch said...

Maybe there's a light at the end of the renovation tunnel...

I was sorry to hear about David Bowie and Alan Rickman as well. Especially Alan Rickman. He played Snape so perfectly.

DMS said...

So glad the kitchen is cleaned up! Good luck wrapping up the renovations. :)

I was sad to hear about David Bowie and Alan Rickman too. I didn't know either of them were sick and I was quite surprised. Both were such talented souls who did a fantastic job entertaining us.
~Jess

SENCO Cat Herder said...

Yay for the removal of cement and here's to hoping the rest of your kitchen refurbishment goes much better :) Truly, Madly, Deeply was the film for me starring Alan Rickman - he and David will be missed. Special Teaching at Pempi’s Palace

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

I grew up with David Bowie. He was so exciting when I was a teen. We'd never seen anything like him. Alan Rickman was a close friend of a long-time online buddy of mine, and so this week she's been posting pics of him at dinner parties and small gathering. We forget he was just a man with family and friends and dreams and goals. I hope both David and Alan know they changed the world.

cheerfuloptimistic said...

Thanks goodness the cement was cleaned up.

Doesn't seem like 2016 is off to a good start when we've already lost two artists people loved.

Rajiv Sankarapillai said...

David Bowie and Alan Rickman, both will be missed. Let their souls remain in peace...

Cathy Kennedy said...

Lexa, I'm glad you got someone to take care of the splatter problem. Home renovations and repairs are always a bigger job than first thought. You can also bet there is always some hidden problem that comes with the task, too.

I'm not a Harry Potter fan so I didn't know who Professor Severus Snape is until now. Someone else made reference to his passing, but did not mention what he is best known in. Of course, just about everyone knows David Bowie and I was surprised to hear of his death. 69 is too young to die! He will be missed. It seems deaths occur in threes. I haven't thought about if more people die in the winter verses the summer. That would be interesting to know. If I had to guess then I'd think more people die in the winter because of the cooler weather it brings to many parts of the world.

Yesterday was a bit busy for me. I'm still decluttering. We are trying to get rid of stuff in case we have to make a gigantic move when DH gets a new job. His options around slim, so we may have to look elsewhere for employment. OH well, we'll just go along with the flow and enjoy whatever comes!

Thanks for hosting the fun this weekend, my friend!

kimlajevardi.com said...

It will be finished. It will be free of any more issues. I'm thinking those thoughts over and over for you. It's a chant from across the world--powerful stuff, you know? ;)

The deaths were very sad, but I think both men had lives where they got to live out their dreams. That means something. Better to die at 69 having accomplished some of your goals than live to 100 and be stuck in meaningless drudgery.

shelly said...

I was in shock to hear about both. They were soooo talented.

cleemckenzie said...

You're right. It has been quite a week. The good part of it was about your cement clean up! What a mess that had to be.

Annie Neugebauer said...

Thank goodness they cleaned it up; I just went back and looked at that. That's what I hate about doing work/getting work done around the house; it always causes some other chore. It's NEVER just one thing. >.<

TBM said...

I was surprised and saddened to hear about both of them last week. Such a loss.

Misha Gerrick said...

Glenn Frey of The Eagles died as well, so January was a really heavy month when it came to celebrity deaths. :-(

Crystal Collier said...

The only two constants: taxes and death. It hits me hard when it's close to home, but I've seen enough people leave this world that it's not devastating, just moving on.

Anonymous said...

There have been several celebrity deaths, starting with Natalie Cole on New Year's Eve. It's always shocking, especially when it's not old age. All of these artists will be missed.

Yay for the splatters being gone. I remember the last picture you showed us.

Mark Murata said...

Alan Rickman had a great voice. I could listen to him all evening.

Deanie Humphrys-Dunne said...

Your kitchen is gorgeous, Lexa. Hope you recover quickly from all the stress and hard work. Seeing your kitchen sparkle will keep your spirits up.
Hope you have a lovely weekend.

J.H. Moncrieff said...

Thanks so much for promoting our giveaway! You're awesome. :)

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