Sarcastic Song Shuffle ~ February Edition

We listen to music all the time in our house so we thought it would be fun to share some of the music we love with you in a blog post every month.  Get ready, because everyone is grabbing their iPods and then...

WE ARE GOING TO HIT SHUFFLE!

Coconut

Female ~ Age: 9

Favorite music groups/artists:  One Direction, Justin Bieber, 

Cody Simpson, Austin Mahone

Coconut's Playlist

1. La Da Dee ~ Cody Simpson
2. Beauty and A Beat ~ Justin Bieber (featuring Nicki Minaj)
3. Wanted Dead Or Alive ~ Bon Jovi
4. Can I Have This Dance ~ High School Musical 3 Soundtrack
5. On My Mind ~ Cody Simpson
6. Miss Independent ~ Kelly Clarkson
7. Crank It Up ~ David Guetta (featuring Akon)
8. Have A Nice Day ~ Bon Jovi
9. Happy ~ Pharrell Williams (Despicable Me 2 Soundtrack)
10. Fearless ~ Taylor Swift

Toucan

Female ~ Age: 13

Favorite Music Groups/Artists :  One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer, Shawn Mendes, Jack and Jack

Likes to listen to Top 40 Radio Hits.

Toucan's Playlist

1. Still The One ~ One Direction
2. Be My Baby (feat. Cashmere Cat) ~ Ariana Grande 
3. We Are Never Getting Back Together ~ Taylor Swift
4. She's Not Afraid ~ One Direction
5. Little White Lies ~ One Direction
6. Red (Original Demo Recording) ~ One Direction
7. Heartbreak Girl ~ 5 Seconds Of Summer
8. I Wish You Would ~ Taylor Swift
9. I Would ~ One Direction
10. The Night Is Still Young ~ Nicki Minaj 

Flamingo

Female ~ Age: Adult

Favorite Music Group: Bon Jovi

She will pretty much listen to and enjoy anything.

Flamingo's Playlist

1. Super Bass ~ Nicki Minaj
2. Rhythm Of Love ~ Scorpions
3. I Go To Extremes ~ Billy Joel
4. She Is His Only Need ~ Wynonna
5. Ballad Of Youth ~ Richie Sambora
6. Decode ~ Paramore (From the Twilight Soundtrack)
7. Last First Kiss ~ One Direction
8. Say Somethin' ~ Austin Mahone
9. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead ~ Bon Jovi
10. The World We Knew ~ Daughtry

Banana

Male ~ Age:16 

Likes to listen to pretty much any kind of music.  

Doesn't have a favorite Artist.

Banana's Playlist

1. I'll Fight ~ Daughtry
2. Party Rock Anthem ~ LMFAO
3. Rock & Roll All Night ~ Kiss
4. Break Your Heart Right Back ~ Ariana Grande feat. Childish Gambino
5. All My Love ~ Major Lazer feat. Ariana Grande
6. Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People ~ Frozen
7. Atlas ~ Catching Fire Soundtrack
8. California Gurls ~ Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg
9. My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light Em Up) ~ Fall Out Boy
10. I Wish You Would ~ Taylor Swift

Last up ~ Surfboard

Male ~ Age: Adult

Doesn't like any particular artist, just songs.  

Surfboard's Playlist

1. Polson Angle ~ Winger
2. Great Balls of Fire ~ Garth Brooks
3. Little Goodbyes ~ SHeDaisy
4. Hollywood Nocturne ~ Brian Setzer Orchestra
5. You're Timeless to Me ~ John Travolta/Christopher Walken (Hairspray Soundtrack)
6. Just The Way You Are ~ The Piano Guys
7. You Are The Saint, I Am The Sinner  Winger
8. Jump  Van Halen
9. Kids Wanna Rock ~ Bryan Adams
10. Ebony Eyes ~ The Everly Brothers

Do you want to join us in the Sarcastic Song Shuffle?  We love finding new music and would love to know what you are listening to as well.  From now on, Sarcastic Song Shuffle is going to be a blog hop!  Grab the Sarcastic Song Shuffle sticker at the top of this post and join the linky so we can see what you are listening to as well.  We will be doing this on the LAST SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH so put it on your schedule now and join us in the Sarcastic Song Shuffle!  

(If you would like a monthly reminder email about the Sarcastic Song Shuffle, contact me at sarcasticpalmtrees@gmail.com)

My Best Everything by Sarah Tomp ~ Mini Blog Tour

You say it was all meant to be. You and me. The way we met. Our secrets in the woods. Even the way it all exploded. It was simply a matter of fate.

Maybe if you were here to tell me again, to explain it one more time, then maybe I wouldn’t feel so uncertain. But I’m going back to the beginning on my own. To see what happened and why.

Luisa “Lulu” Mendez has just finished her final year of high school in a small Virginia town, determined to move on and leave her job at the local junkyard behind. So when her father loses her college tuition money, Lulu needs a new ticket out.

Desperate for funds, she cooks up the (definitely illegal) plan to make and sell moonshine with her friends, Roni and Bucky. Quickly realizing they’re out of their depth, Lulu turns to Mason: a local boy who’s always seemed like a dead end. As Mason guides Lulu through the secret world of moonshine, it looks like her plan might actually work. But can she leave town before she loses everything – including her heart?
The summer walks the line between toxic and intoxicating. My Best Everything is Lulu’s letter to Mason – though is it an apology, a good-bye, or a love letter?

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Top Ten Tuesday ~ Favorite Heroines From Movies/TV/Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by 

The Broke and the Bookish. 

This weeks topic: Favorite Heroines From Movies/TV/Books


 Favorite MOVIE Heroines

Becca  ~ Pitch Perfect


Pepper Potts ~ Iron Man



Darcy ~ Thor



Favorite TV Heroines

Chloe ~ 24



Kim Possible



Olivia Pope ~ Scandal


Favorite Book Heroines


Jordyn ~ Jordyn Series by Tiffany King


Tessa ~ The Infernal Devices

Rose Hathaway ~ Vampire Academy

Lisbeth Salander ~ Millennium Trilogy 



~ Encore ~

Katniss Everdeen ~ The most obvious heroine of our time!




That's our list for this week!  What Heroines are on your Top Ten this week?

The Ghost Of You by Amanda Burckhard ~ Blitz and Giveaway

The Ghost of You
by Amanda Burckhard 
Release Date: 02/24/15
Swoon Romance


Emmy has everything she’s ever wanted: a hot boyfriend she adores, great friends, a promising future, and even a well-connected family. But one night rips it all away.

A car accident shatters her world, claiming the lives of her twin brother and her best friend. In the wake of the accident, her friends drift away, her family falls apart, and her boyfriend cheats.

The grief is more than she can handle, so she finds escape at the bottom of a bottle of painkillers. Taking the pills makes her brother alive again, if only in her head. Seeing and talking to her brother as if he were still alive is the only thing that keeps her going. Until Logan King moves to town.

Logan sees past the mask of pristine popularity she wears in public and he’s the only one who can tell she hasn’t moved on. His uncanny ability to read her forces her to open up and she starts to fall for him, no matter how unwilling she is to admit it. But Emmy isn’t the only one keeping secrets and when a close brush with death sparks events that bring everything to light, Emmy will have to decide what’s more important: learning how to forgive and move on, or holding onto the pills and the ghost of her past.

Amazon

Excerpt from The Ghost Of You

Everything in my room reminded me of him somehow. The candle Mom got me he used to joke smelled like cinnamon on steroids. The lopsided dream catcher we made at a school carnival in middle school. The running shoes he got me last Christmas. I didn’t want to see any of it. I wanted him.

Then I was screaming, ripping, tearing, throwing anything I could get my hands on. My vision blurred. My head pounded in my ears. When my hand tightened around a smooth cylinder on my desk, I almost didn’t realize what it was in time to stop myself from shattering it against the wall. Derek had given me the green, plastic flashlight when we were ten as a way to ward off nightmares. It didn’t work anymore, even with new batteries, but I could never bring myself to get rid of it. I collapsed onto the floor, hugging the flashlight to my chest, crying and sobbing so hard I couldn’t breathe or see or think.

What was I going to do without him? We were the Grayson twins. We did everything together. I didn’t know who I was without him. He couldn’t be gone. He couldn’t.

When I pulled myself off the floor, it was nearly dark out. I looked around the room that appeared as if a tornado went through it. The shelves from my dresser lay on the floor, their contents scattered. Papers and posters lay crumpled and torn into pieces. My bedding and clothes were strewn everywhere. Almost every visible inch of the floor was covered. I couldn’t remember doing most of the destruction. I didn’t even feel better after doing it.

Something on the ground caught my eye. Something orange and familiar. I reached for the small bottle of pills and read the label. Vicodin. They were from my tonsillectomy last year. They must’ve been stuck away in a drawer, forgotten and unused.

I remembered how they made me feel like I was floating on water, like my brain was fuzzy and nothing seemed like a big deal. That feeling would be a nice change to what I felt now.
Throwing two pills into my mouth, I grabbed a week-old bottle of Gatorade from my dresser and took a swig. I left my disaster of a room and went down the hall to Derek’s room. The room felt dull and lifeless without him. The posters of old rock bands plastering the walls and wrestling trophies displayed on every shelf didn’t fit without the boy who had put them there.

I set the flashlight on his nightstand and crawled into his bed. His pillowcase smelled of peppermint. Jess and I had picked out that shampoo for him a few weeks ago. He swore he’d never use it, but I guess he changed his mind.

I stared at the flashlight until the pills made my eyelids droop and my mind slipped off into darkness.
Derek’s voice reached out to me just as I was falling asleep. “It’ll be okay, Em. Sleep. I’m here.”

About the Author

Amanda Burckhard grew up exploring bat caves and hunting for dinosaur bones in the Black Hills of South Dakota. When she wasn’t crossing paths with mountain lions, she was making up stories and devouring books at the library. Although, she still does that.

Amanda loves to travel and cross out things on her adrenaline packed bucket list. Some of the things she's been able to cross out include see an active volcano erupt, ride a gondola in Venice, and pet a tiger.

She currently lives in North Sioux City, South Dakota and works as a microbiologist by day. Some of her obsessions include comic book movies, hot chocolate, sushi, sunshine, and Doctor Who.

   

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The Memory's Wake Trilogy by Selina Fenech ~ Trailer Blitz and Giveaway

Memory's Wake
The Memory's Wake Trilogy Book 1
by Selina Fenech

Lost in a world full of monstrous fairies, a troubled sixteen year old has to find out who she is and why her memories were stolen before she is found by those who want her dead.
She takes the name “Memory” and knows she has just one goal – to find her way home, wherever that is. But this land is strange.

No technology to be seen, and iron is banned, thanks to a pact the humans have with the magical creatures who share their pre-industrial era world. In her t-shirt and torn jeans, Memory knows she’s different, even before she performs impossible magic.

Haunted by her past, chased by a dragon, wanted by the king and stalked by the strange, handsome savage that seems to know her, everyone is after Memory, and she suspects it’s not just for her eye-catching outfit. Her forgotten past holds dangerous secrets that will challenge everything she believes and risk the lives of everyone she loves.

Memory’s Wake contains over 45 illustrations by the author and artist.

Hope's Reign
The Memory's Wake Trilogy Book 2
by Selina Fenech


Everything is slipping away from Memory. The bond of friendship between her, Eloryn, Roen, and Will, that was formed while running for their lives is tearing. In a world that doesn’t feel like home, with a mind filled with nothing but questions, Memory struggles to be true to herself… whoever that is. When her past self starts haunting her, she knows her sanity could be the next thing she will lose.

Providence Unveiled
The Memory's Wake Trilogy Book 3
by Selina Fenech

A wicked plot dating back to the very beginning of Avall is coming to its end, and Memory is a vital part. In order to save her friends, Memory will break all the rules. With all worlds put at risk by her actions, she will have to step up and make the greatest sacrifice to repair Avall and make the world something better than before.

The Memory's Wake Trilogy Trailer

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About Author Selena Fenech

Born in 1981 to Australian and Maltese parents, Selina lives in Australia with her husband, her baby girl, an unnamed cat, and a lorikeet who's far too clever.

During her life Selina has found ancient Roman treasure, survived cancer, had knights joust at her wedding, been mugged for doughnuts, made a living as an artist, eaten every bizarre and wonderful food put in front of her, and now enjoys writing novels.

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#TGIT Recap Week 12

   

To see last week's post click here.

Shondaland's Thursday Night Lineup continues.  Sadly, we've been snowed in this week and as a result, I've only been able to do Scandal's recap again.  Sorry, but I live with people who can't watch these shows and if you know me, you know I always try to make the time for Scandal, so once again, it's the only one I have a full recap for.  Just like last week, you will not be left stranded!  The highlights will be posted as well as the link to the official ABC recap!  This #TGIT Recap starts in 3... 2... 1...

The night we thought we were waiting for...

Grey's Anatomy

All I Could Do Was Cry

     Jackson and April have their baby, Samuel Norbert Avery, after a lot of drama brought on by April.  Can't blame her though, any mother would hope for a miracle at this point.  Amelia and Stephanie work on a patient, practicing a technique they'll use for Herman's surgery.  It works so well that they guy actually got his sight back, even though everyone was sure he wouldn't.  Meredith is trying to find someone to cover her on-call shift and take care of her kids while she goes to surprise Derek in D.C.  Her sister Maggie steps up to take care of the kids, because apparently she just loves kids, and Richard ended up taking over her shift even though he originally didn't because he wanted to be their for Catherine.  Amelia gets everyone the hospital to light a candle in the chapel and is happy when she sees them at the end of the day.  She tells Owen about her baby when he sits down next to her. 

Viewer Discretion is Advised! 

Scandal

Gladiators Don't Run

Okay, so I don't know about the rest of you guys out there, but I get a little too excited when they say that viewer discretion is advised.  What can I say?  That means there's a good chance we're going to see Huck do what he does best!  I LOVE IT!  Now on to the recap!...

  Abby sits in the park in front of the White House with two coffee cups, but nobody shows up.  She returns to her office and tries to call Olivia for the ten billionth time.  She goes to Olivia's apartment and sees the wine glass and the stain.  She then goes to OPA because of course Huck and Quinn know!  Huck says that she's not a gladiator anymore, so she can't know.  She leaves and he tells Quinn that they can't trust the White House.

  Cyrus brings in a couple of documents: 1. An executive order terminating the entire secret service staff 2. An executive order that says the navy seals protect the White House instead 3. The Vice President's letter of resignation.  Fitz says he wants to get in on Olivia's auction, so that's exactly what happens.
  Creepy Guy #2 is questioning everything that's happening, "it's not the plan".  Guess what everybody!  He finally has a name!  It's Gus!  Andrew calls Ian and is asking about how "his project" is going and Ian tells him that he's making the a new deal... with the highest bidder.
  The rules of the Dark Net are simple... You have to be invited, but you need "terrorist street cred" and a crap ton of money in order to be invited. Jake, Huck, and Quinn decide to pull their money together to get in the bidding themselves.  Huck has $2,000,400,087.38 that would be 2 billion 400 thousand 87 dollars and 38 cents.  Where did he get all of that money? He routed the B613 money to his account when he shut it down!

  Ian asks Olivia how much she thinks she'll go for.  She thinks about 1.5 billion.  He promises her that she can choose whichever bidder she wants, in order to stay away from the creeps.  With one second to go before the auction begins, they shake hands as Gus shoots Ian from behind and kills him!

  Huck can't find the auction site!  Meanwhile, wherever they are, Gus cleans the blood off Olivia's face.  At OPA, they decide to pick an all star international terrorist to help them get invited... Mama Pope!

While Maya is trying to make a deal, David shoots everything down.  Quinn suggests a TV and it's a deal. Maya starts telling Huck what to do and it leads to the malicious deaths of a few guys as payment to get into the auction.  Jake goes in to check on Huck since he's been in there for too long and sees the devastating excitement that Huck has caused and tells him to clean up while Jake cuts off the heads of the dead for proof.

  Back at the White House, Andrew doesn't accept his resignation and threatens to expose Fitz for going to war with Olivia.  When Cyrus tell Fitz, he  suggests that they try to prove that the assassination attempt was staged.  Cyrus pays a visit to Lizzy Bear while she's shredding a bunch of files, skipping town.  He gets her to agree to testify against him.  Andrew pulls Mellie aside and tells him that if they come for him he will expose their affair.


  Olivia tries to convince the two guys running to auction to turn on Gus in return for protection.  They decide to stick with the current plan.  Abby asks Fitz of something's wrong with Olivia.  She storms into David's office mad that he didn't tell her.  She tells him that he has to tell her when her only friend is kidnapped because she's not in the loop anymore.  He tells her that Olivia's not her only friend.
  Mellie tells Fitz that Andrew will expose her and ruin her reputation so he can't leave.  She asks him what he wants more than anything in the world.  He responds with Jerry.  She asks for something more realistic and he says he wants Olivia home.  He asks her and she says that she wants to become President of the United States.  Because of this, Fitz decides to let Andrew walk.
  Back at OPA, Quinn and Jake talk in Harrison's office.  Quinn also mentions that it was Stephen's office, so she thinks that it's full of ghosts. Jake is worried, but Quinn says that he will be fine once Olivia is back. Huck comes by and says that the password worked and that he's in.  Once they're in and about to bid, the auction is suspended.  Cyrus brings in a red folder and wakes Fitz up so he can go to the Situation Room.  Gus wakes Olivia up and tells her that, because they're paying cash, she has been sold to Iran!  In the Situation Room, Fitz decides to keep going with an extraction plan instead of neutralization.  Cyrus talks to him after and Fitz tells him about Mellie meeting each of the dead soldiers that return.  They have to get Olivia back because these soldiers died because he tried to get her back.  At OPA, they try to figure out which country has her.  Huck says that they will use her as a tool to control  and goes into explicit detail, saying that she's dead and Quinn flips out on him.


Olivia is taken out of a truck with a bag over her head as she is about to be given to her buyer.  The bag is removed and the buyer comes to meet them.  The promo for this week suggests that we don't know who really bought Olivia Pope, so maybe it's not really Iran after all.  One thing is for sure, we will find out tonight!  Don't miss it!

They found a ring!

How to Get Away with Murder

She's A Murderer

  Hannah makes it her mission to put Annalise in jail for murdering her brother.  She even testifies against Annalise to help get a search warrant .  It's spotless, of course. The funny things is that she didn't do it, she just helped cover it up.  Bonnie figures it out after the police search the house, so now she is in cahoots with everybody else.  Connor and Michaela are doubting Annalise's ability to help them get away with murder, and she promises them that she will help them.  She tells Connor that she sees herself in him, so she gets why he'll never fully trust her.  The police trace Sam's remains to the woods where he was burned and Michaela freaks out because her ring was lost there.  The police find the ring, Sam's ring, which Annalise had Frank place with Nate's fingerprint on it.  That's right, she framed him!  She makes a call to her mom and breaks down.

There you have it!  Don't miss TGIT tonight starting at 8/7c on ABC!

Sword by Amy Bai ~ Blitz

Sword by Amy Bai
Publication date: February 10th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Sword shall guide the hands of men . . .
For over a thousand years the kingdom of Lardan has been at peace: isolated from the world, safe from the wars of its neighbors, slowly forgetting the wild and deadly magic of its origins. Now the deepest truths of the past and the darkest predictions for the future survive only in the verses of nursery rhymes.

For over a thousand years, some of Lardan’s fractious provinces have been biding their time.

Kyali Corwynall is the daughter of the Lord General, a child of one of the royal Houses, and the court’s only sword-wielding girl. She has known for all of her sixteen years what the future holds for her–politics and duty, the management of a House, and protecting her best friend, the princess and presumed heir to the throne. But one day an old nursery rhyme begins to come true, an ancient magic wakes, and the future changes for everyone. In the space of a single night her entire life unravels into violence and chaos. Now Kyali must find a way to master the magic her people have left behind, or watch her world–and her closest friends–fall to a war older than the kingdom itself.

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About the Author

Amy Bai has been, by order of neither chronology nor preference, a barista, a numbers-cruncher, a paper-pusher, and a farmhand. She likes thunderstorms, the enthusiasm of dogs, tall boots and long jackets, cinnamon basil, margaritas, and being surprised by the weirdness of her fellow humans. She lives in New England with her guitar-playing Russian husband and two very goofy sheepdogs.

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11 Random Things About Me ~ Amy Bai

Because 10 is just too even a number for my rebellious soul.

1.) I occasionally take 3-hour baths. Yes, really. I have started and finished books in there, and I am not ashamed, except possibly of my heating bill.

2.) I lose every social grace I can (tentatively) lay claim to when I get behind the wheel of a car. I think it is perfectly fine to tailgate people driving too slow for my taste, and just as acceptable to bait fellow drivers tailgating me. I unconsciously speed up when somebody passes me. I gently encourage people driving in front of me to pull over with flashing headlights, honking horn, and occasional hand gestures. And yet, though my grill may be locked to your bumper the whole way in, I’m nonetheless likely to hold the door for you when we’re walking into the building together, even if you’re in the process of telling me what a dangerous bitch I am on the road. Don’t ask me to explain this. It’s a pathology.

3.) I think meat is totally gross. And I have since I was about 7 years old. When we had our family visits to McDonald’s (hey, backwoods town in Maine; it really was the big hangout) I used to eat only cheeseburgers because I believed the cheese negated the beef. This logic only worked for me until I was about 8, and then I moved on to about a pint of A-1 sauce, which certainly had the effect of negating the taste, if not the existence, of meat. And when I was 9 I gave up the red stuff altogether, and I think I was 13 or 14 when poultry went. I’d love to claim some great moral objection, but while I think the methods of raising and slaughtering are more than reason to give meat up, I stopped because it was dead flesh, and well, ew.

4.) I once dressed in poplar leaves stitched together with twigs and tree sap. I wasn’t alone, either.

5.) My first real story was an action-romance about two of my classmates in second grade. Poor Brian and Charity were drowned, mugged, shot from a cannon, chased by lions across the Sahara, and Charity herself died at least once before they shared their first sloppy, painfully-depicted kiss. Their real-life counterparts were horrified when I was picked to read the installments out loud in front of the class. The teacher, who probably wasn’t the best choice for the classroom, was extremely amused. And I, of course, was hooked.

6.) I own The Secret of Nimh. And I do on occasion watch it. So should you. Because it’s awesome.

7.) I loved writing essays in college. Even dreadfully hungover, scratchy-eyed and exhausted, I still loved writing essays. I know this makes me a freak, and I don’t care. 

8.) I am a conflicted cynic: I don’t believe in happy endings, but I still want one.

9.) I count sounds. I don’t mean to; it just happens. I turn on the blinker, sit there in traffic waiting for someone who appears to be moving slowly enough that I can cut across their path, and by the time I get into the parking lot the little ticky noise has happened 128 times, 64 if you’re counting the high and low tics as one unit. 

10.) I cringe when I write big angsty melodrama, and yet somehow both the emotional and the plot arcs of all my books head inevitably toward climactic scenes of great angst and melodrama.

11.) When I am stressed for too hard and too long, or in constant physical pain or ill health, I tend to write backward. And I don’t mean switching letters: I mean whole sentences, spelled (mostly) correctly, and completely backward except for the capitalization and punctuation. 

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