Mundie Moms

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Thoughtful Thursday- Your Favorite Holiday Charity

This time year seems to bring the best out in a lot of people as they look for ways to help those out around them. We've listed some of our favorite charities we donate to and we want to know, "What charities do you like to donate to?" It can be ones you donate to every Christmas season or ones you donate to through out the year.

We've put together a list of charities/organizations we've donated to and/or ones we wanted to spotlight-











































* Salvation Army (we can't walk their red kettles and not put something in them)

















* Children's Miracle Network (The Oakland Children's & Dell Children's Hospitals)









* Safe Place (womens, childrens and mens shelter for domestic abuse)









* Make A Wish Foundation









*National Wildlife Foundation








* Local Libraries - they can always use book donations and money towards getting items they need such as new books, supplies etc.

* Operation Christmas Child

* Our local Toy Drives like Blue Santa (Austin, TX) & giving trees at our kid's schools

BIR2010- Day 4 SIGNED Firelight Giveaway

If you haven't picked up Sophie Jordan's Firelight yet, I highly recommend doing so. It is one of my favorite reads from 2010. There's an amazing dragon lore, electrifying chemistry, romance, action and more. I just wish the rest of the series was already published, as I can't wait to find out what happens next. Today you have a chance to win your own autographed copy!

Firelight
By Sophie Jordan
Published by Harper Teen
Released On September 7th, 2010

Summary:
A hidden truth.
Mortal enemies.
Doomed love.
Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.
Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.
Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide (quoted from goodreads).

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Today's last giveaway is for a SIGNED copy of Firelight!!


Thank you to Sophie Jordan and Harper Teen for this wonderful giveaway!

BIR 200 Day #4- Author Guest Post & Signed ARC Giveaway

Today we're excited to have author Laura Kreitzer, author of Shadow of The Sun, with us today. I've recently read and reviewed her debut book and it's a favorite adult book of mine. It's full of great mythology, action, romance and I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the books in her Timeless series.

Shadow of the Sun
by Laura Kreitzer
Publisher: iUniverse
Publication Date: February 22, 2010
http://laurakreitzer.com/

The Story: Gabriella's past is a mystery, but that never stopped her from achieving her goals. As a supernatural specialist, and far more intelligent than anyone her age, she has always been ignored by her peers. Because of the isolation she has always felt, she put her life and soul into her job. Being a supernatural specialist hasn't given her the divine intervention she always longed for, until one day a shipment arrives from Italy containing three dead bodies with an uncanny ability to regenerate. Gabriella is frightened and intrigued, but not as scared as she becomes when a dark creature attacks her. As the bodies come back to life, the plot takes an unexpected twist that you won't see coming. The supernatural world only begins to unfold before her as angels appear, her dreams start to haunt her, and the very past she has forgotten comes back with startling clarity. Romance blooms, escape plans are made, an assassin is out to kill her, and death is only around the corner. But what is more terrifying than all of it is the fact she is the chosen one, the Illuminator, the one who will save them all.
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Today we are honored with a guest post from Laura-

Angel History

At the beginning of time there was a planet called Celeste. There were two beings that lived on this planet: Gods and Umás. Both of these beings had amazing magical powers and strengths, yet they never intermingled or mixed together because the Gods thought of the Umás as inferior.

Around 500,000 B.C. (just to use references that us humans can relate to), the Umás and Gods began to mix and have children. The Guardian Spirits were born of the two.

200,000 B.C. the Umás and Gods had a horrible falling out due to the Gods still believing they were better than the Umás. Instead of their death, those Gods who still cared for and loved the Umás sent them to a planet called Earth.

Their children, the Guardian Spirits, on the other hand, were left in a sort of limbo. The Gods loved them very much, but couldn’t stand to see the Umás’ faces in the Guardian Spirits’ and soon made a sort of heaven for them—the Ethereal Eternity around 50,000 B.C. They gave them free reign over many worlds they created. This was a mistake because soon they began to mate and have children with what the Gods considered inferior races on other planets. The only reason I say this is a mistake is because it caused a horrible chain reaction.

One of the Celestial Gods, Devil (Lucifer, Hades, etc), as you might call him today, became jealous of a Guardian Spirit’s relationship around 20,000 B.C. Devil had fallen deeply in love with the beautiful Guardian Spirit woman that another *inferior* was courting. He became wrathful and ripped a hole through the fabric of the Universe and straight to Earth where the Umás were. The peaceful life of the Umás was destroyed as Devil’s wrath crept into their souls. Some people relate this event to when Eve ate the apple.

The Guardian Spirits, with the help of the Gods, began to build an army—the Empyrean Guard. They were able to travel through the hole that was ripped through the worlds and find Devil. What the Guardian Spirits didn’t realize was that the Devil had begun to impregnate several of the Umás and turned his children, called Demons, against the Guardian Spirits. He did just as the other Celestial Gods did and made a world for his children called the Perpetual Inferno.

“The Demons lived in fire and reveled in it. They also began to build an army of Phantoms to fight the Empyrean Guard. There was a war on Earth and, for the Gods and Devil to protect their worlds, they closed them up and built portals between their worlds. Umás who had special abilities were called Angels, able to travel between Earth and the Ethereal Eternity. But many Phantoms convinced some of these special Umás to join their side. We call them The Fallen.

This was called the Covetous War because the Devil coveted, causing the war. After seven thousand years there was a stalemate between the two destructive worlds after almost all of the Umás on Earth were killed. There were few who survived and, through the years, they forgot the battles of old as they grew and changed into the humans the world knows now. The Empyrean Guard and Phantoms haven’t been on Earth in thousands of years.

Angels who fought and lost their lives on Earth were gifted with the Timeless Oblivion, the place between. They are called the Archangels who are messengers for those Angels that still live on Earth.

Several of The Fallen, who were living in limbo between Earth and the Perpetual Inferno, called the Abyss, asked for forgiveness of their transgressions five thousand years ago. The Celestial Gods gave them a second chance by giving them a human life. The Archangels watched over the once Fallen, and now humans. The original Fallen have all died a natural, human death and passed on to the many heavens, or hells, that exist after being judged on how they lived their human lives. But the many generations of children left behind still held some of their magical abilities The Fallen had once possessed.

In the Angel’s time of need (or as we called ourselves the Senzo Tempo: timeless), the Archangels broke the rules and helped them become immortal once again. They would never die a natural, human death and would never be judged like the Celestial Gods had demanded. The Archangels were sent back to the Timeless Oblivion.

The Celestial Gods never changed these new Angels back into humans because they were good and protected the humans, the ancestors of the Umás who they once loved.


Click the links below to see the history, an estimated timeline of events, and an Angel chart that Laura uses for her series:


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Thank you to Laura, we have a SIGNED ARC of Shadow Of The Sun we're giving away. Please fill out the form below to enter.

BIR2010- Day #4 Prize Pack #1




It's now Day 4 of our BIR celebrations and if you're just joining our celebrations, here's a little history about it- we, along with 8 other bloggers have come together to collectively bring you our favorite reads for 2010. Each blog came up with a small list of their favorites and every blog will be featuring the list. We, along with the other bloggers will be featuring BIG giveaways, I'm talking more than 30 books, along with author interviews. This event will be running from now through December 14th, though on MM's our events will be running now through Friday. That means more giveaways each day! To follow all of our BIR2010 posts, just click on the BIR2010 button on the top right hand corner of our blog.

Today we have more great author interviews, another favorite 2010 book of mine giveaway, Firelight and some great giveaways, including a name giveaway. We also have International giveaways and one winner will either get their first, middle or last name in a book!!!

All giveaways are open to residents of the US only, unless other wise noted. If you are an International follower and have someone in the US we can send your winnings to, please feel free to enter. All giveaways will end on December 15th. All winners will be announced on Monday December 20th. This is to ensure that we don't have winners winning the same books on the other participating blogs. **Publishers will be mailing out most of the winnings and with Christmas and the holiday rush, books may not be received until after the first of the year.

Thank you to all the wonderful publishers and authors who have allowed us to host such wonderful giveaways! Be sure to visit the BIR site to see the list of bloggers taking part in this huge giveaway.
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Here's what today's 1st Prize Pack features:


Intrinsical Yara Silva Trilogy #1
Author: Lani Woodland
Released: August 17th 2010
Publisher: Pendrell Publishing

Summary: Sixteen-year-old Yara Silva has always known that ghosts walk alongside the living. Her grandma, like the other females in her family, is a Waker, someone who can see and communicate with ghosts. Yara grew up watching her grandmother taunted and scorned for this unusual ability and doesn't want that to be her future. She has been dreading the day when she too would see ghosts, and is relieved that the usually dominant Waker gene seems to have skipped her, letting her live a normal teenage life. However, all that changes for Yara on her first day at her elite boarding school when she discovers the gene was only lying dormant. She witnesses a dark mist attack Brent, a handsome fellow student, and rushes to his rescue. Her act of heroism draws the mist's attention, and the dark spirit begins stalking her. Yara finds herself entrenched in a sixty-year-old curse that haunts the school, threatening not only her life, but the lives of her closest friends as well. Yara soon realizes that the past she was trying to put behind her isn't going to go quietly.
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Dark Flame
By Alyson Noel
Published by St. Martin's Griffin
Released June 22, 2010

At the start of this mesmerizing new installment of the Immortals series, Ever is helping her friend Haven transition into life as an immortal. But with Haven drunk on her new powers and carelessly putting them all at risk, their friendship becomes more and more strained. At the same time, Ever delves deeper into magick in order to get control over her enemy Roman and free Damen from his power. But when the spell she casts on Roman backfires, she’s bound to her deadliest enemy. Frantic to reverse the spell the moment the moon enters a new phase, she finds her efforts are fruitless—there’s a strange, foreign pulse coursing through her, one that propels her toward Roman. Desperate to break free of this terrible curse before Damen or the twins can discover what she’s done, she turns to Jude and delves deeper and deeper into dark magick, ultimately risking everything she knows and loves—including Damen.
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My Double Life
By: Janette Rallison
Published by: Putnam Juvenile
Website:http://www.janetterallison.com/

Book Summary: (from Goodreads)
Her whole life, Alexia Garcia has been told that she looks just like pop star Kari Kingsley, and one day when Alexia's photo filters through the Internet, she's offered a job to be Kari's double. This would seem like the opportunity of a lifetime, but Alexia's mother has always warned her against celebrities. Rebelliously, Alexia flies off to L.A. and gets immersed in a celebrity life. Not only does she have to get used to getting anything she wants, she romances the hottest lead singer on the charts, and finds out that her own father is a singing legend. Through it all, Alexia must stay true to herself, which is hard to do when you are pretending to be somebody else!

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Penitence Heavenly #2
By Jennifer Laurens
Published by Grove Creek Publishing

Book Summary from Goodreads: Seeing good and evil spirits is a gift Zoe guards with her life.

Despite her guardian angel’s disappearance, Zoe forces herself to accept that she still has a purpose—but how does she carry the weight of her brother’s drug abuse, the hardship of living with an autistic sister, and a best friend who’s obsessed with a guy who only wants Zoe?


She’s never felt more alone.

When a mysterious spirit appears, Zoe thinks she has a new guardian angel. Instead, her brother’s addiction worsens, her parents are on the brink of separation, and her best friend tries to kill her. The spirit she thinks is her new guardian isn’t there to protect her: he’s out to destroy her family and seize Zoe’s soul. . . for Hell.

Will Matthias’ return mean that he is Zoe’s guardian angel again? Or is their love the reason the jaws of Hell now gape open?



Absolution-Heavenly #3
By: Jennifer Laurens
Published By: Grove Creek Publishing
Book Summary from Goodreads:


Zoe’s secret is out. And the powers of Hell are ravenous to claim her soul. Her brother, Luke, knows her secret: that she sees both good and evil spirits. Her boyfriend knows. At least Matthias is her guardian angel again. But now Hell’s most ruthless leader will stop at nothing to have her soul.

Albert, Matthias’ father, is relentless in his hunger for Zoe. He wants to destroy Matthias and will use Zoe to do so.

The battle between Heaven and Hell tests everything Zoe has. As she witnesses everyone important in her life suffering, she’s brought to the ultimate choice: will she sacrifice her soul to save the ones she loves?
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We will be drawing one winner per book/name giveaway. Please be sure to note which items you'd like to win. Many of today's items are open Internationally!!


Thank you to Lani Woodland, Jennifer Laurens, Janette Rallison, Putnam Juvenile, and St. Martin's Griffin for today's wonderful giveaways.

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