Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Feb 2, 2012, 6:08 pm
A couple of close friends of mine have recently had a baby. I’ve mentioned April repeatedly in this blog and she and her husband Chris have a new baby girl who is just the most beautiful and cool little girl out there! It was a pure joy for their friends and family to watch April grow and Chris ...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jan 28, 2012, 11:00 pm
Sometimes, you have no choice but to go home again. Hannah Benson left her hometown 20 years earlier due to a tragedy that she has not yet moved past. However, when she receives a call from her old flame letting her know that her mother and sister have passed away and she is now the guardian for a...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jan 20, 2012, 10:14 pm
We want to believe that once we’ve found joy in our lives, all of the hardships have been worth it and nothing will spoil that wonder we have gained. As such, we take pains to keep our lives unblemished and pure and for some people, that means hiding the wrongs they have committed or the mistakes...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jan 18, 2012, 6:15 pm
It used to be that technological gadgets were solely for the adults who could afford them. Kids were expected to enjoy kid things and appreciate what they were offered. However, as we’ve grown with technology, we’ve figured out that we can use that technology to help our kids grown and learn i...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jan 15, 2012, 12:02 am
Time for full discloser on this one: #1/I got this book for free to review it and #2/I’m a huge Harriet Lerner fangirl so excuse me while I SQUEE that I got to review one of her books in advance. I know, it’s ridiculous, right? Some of us psychology girls geek out on Harriet Lerner because sh...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jan 8, 2012, 2:12 am
11 years ago today my little AJ decided to grace us with his presence. I would get all sweet and sappy, but I’m avoiding the inevitable Mommy breakdown that comes when you realize your kid is growing up. Happy day, sweetie!
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Dec 30, 2011, 9:47 pm
Usually, I don’t jump right into my reviews, but Solomon’s Oak by Jo-Ann Mapson was so compelling that I feel like I need to get right down to it today. I was lucky enough to snag a copy of this from an early review program, which is odd because this book actually came out in hardback in 2010 a...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Dec 20, 2011, 4:33 pm
Sometimes I have to do things that make me the bad mom in the house. Well, I’m the only mom in the house, but you get what I mean. AJ and I have a lovely relationship that is secure and that most moms strive for in their relationship with their kids. He tells me his thoughts, we communicate wel...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Dec 20, 2011, 1:13 pm
Now, AJ isn’t here to defend himself because his art teacher posts his projects online… This is his “Vegetable Project….” In his defense, I think that’s a carrot holding a gun with a baby corn shooting like a rocket…at least I hope that’s what it is… We’ve already discussed A...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Dec 18, 2011, 11:31 pm
So, this year, AJ mussed and fussed about how he’s soooo tired of our dogs and how because of those dogs he can’t have a tree. Ok. That’s the real issue, right? With four dogs, a big tree just isn’t going to happen. They will either think, “YES, a tree in the house for me to pee on!” ...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Dec 15, 2011, 7:24 pm
We have a winner! Congratulations to Carl Angelo Dela Cruz! I have an audiobook for you! Thanks to all those who participated and I will try to do more giveways. I always just forget that I have that option! Carl, I will send you an email shortly or MacMillan will, with your audiobook! Congrats...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Dec 4, 2011, 4:57 pm
Every now and then an author will contact me and ask me to review his or her book. I’m always a little reluctant to do so because that personal interaction makes it…well, personal! It’s harder to be objective when you’ve spoken with someone behind the book before reviewing it and it’s mu...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Oct 28, 2011, 4:40 pm
Being a mother, the mother-child bond is something that I hold sacred, so when I saw that I could review a book about a single mother who finds out that her only child, a son, has a life-threatening illness, I was both excited and worried about the task. Frankly, I wasn’t sure that I could handle...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Oct 20, 2011, 6:47 pm
Dear friends, As breast cancer affects most of us personally, when I was contacted by Beautymint.com and asked to write a post regarding their sign-up incentive plan for the rest of October, I was inclined to believe this was a plan I support. If you sign up for the site between now and October 31...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Oct 9, 2011, 6:48 pm
I think occupy wall street is stupid. That’s going to bother some of you. I am sorry for your hurt feelings but here is the truth as I perceive it: I am doing 2 internships, work a job that pays next to nothing for a lot of effort, am doing a dissertation, am a full-time student, a part-time blogg...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Oct 6, 2011, 7:34 pm
My car decided to get frisky with another car this morning. Luckily for both of us, I’m not hurt, just sore and the other guy is just fine. His fender is a little scratched, whereas my hood is popped and unhappy. What a morning! In my 32 years, I’ve never been directly in a car accident. ...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Oct 4, 2011, 6:30 pm
As I type this, my favorite dog, Sophie, sits by my side gently licking my hands and distracting me from typing my blog. She lays her head on my chest, looks deeply into my eyes and I can tell that she wants me to know that she loves me and cares for me and won’t I just stop what I’m doing and ...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Sep 20, 2011, 5:26 pm
My sponsor, SkincareRx.com, has asked me to try something new as part of their sponsorship. Most blogs have sponsors that give them cash and put a little link or graphic on their site and thanks to federal regulations, you are aware that they are a sponsor of the blog. My sponsor is neat in that t...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Sep 10, 2011, 8:41 pm
Irma Voth is a young adult who struggles with things she can’t control. Her husband, Jorge, is a drug dealer who is uninterested in her both as a wife and as a person. To Irma, the bigger issue between them is that Irma comes from a Mennonite background and things that she feels should come natu...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Sep 2, 2011, 6:35 pm
Sometimes it takes me a while to determine how I feel about a novel. In the first 6 pages of The Grief of Others by Leah Cohen, I recognized this book was special. I found myself clutching my chest as I empathized and closing my eyes because sometimes you can find magic in a novel. In the introdu...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Sep 2, 2011, 12:31 am
Wednesday was the start of my new semester of teaching. As my undergraduates shuffled into the classroom, I pushed my sweat-soaked hair off of my forehead and looked around at their nervous, but eager faces. I knew they were predominantly freshman and that many of them were brand new to the city a...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Aug 20, 2011, 5:11 pm
It’s been difficult for me to write anything substantial as of late. There are a lot of reasons for this, but the one thing I’ve been focusing on tremendously is that my son, A.J., is 10 years old now. This year, he moved up from elementary school and there is little I can do to stop his growi...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Aug 19, 2011, 11:58 pm
Lately, it seems like the books I’ve been given to review contain a cast of unlikable characters who are riddled with flaws in an attempt to be dynamic and real and the bottom line is that I often read for escape and isn’t life hard enough? In Everything We Ever Wanted: A Novel by Sara Shepard,...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Aug 17, 2011, 9:20 pm
I frequently get emails from sites that want me to promote their products on this website. I pay for my hosting and server stuff so I rarely post about stuff and “give away” free advertising unless I truly believe in something. I think most mom blogs feel the same way and we are pretty protect...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Aug 16, 2011, 7:00 pm
In a rare occurrence, I have found a novel that took me over a month to read. The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson was so vivid with material and imagery that I simply could not take it in all at once. I found myself setting it down after a couple of chapters, of which there are many, to take in what ...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Aug 5, 2011, 11:24 pm
I got this from Cooks.com, but it’s not mine and I don’t take credit for it. I made it tonight and my son proclaimed it “alright!” Frankly, I think it is a little rich and if you are going to make it, it probably needs some nice sides to take some of that richness out. I’d go with corn ...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jul 26, 2011, 7:05 pm
Every family has secrets and even the ones that seem to have it easier than others hide those secrets even from themselves. Sarah Winman has beautifully shown how a secret can be lost to a family and retrieved in the most unexpected ways. In When God Was A Rabbit, Elly’s life is tied to that of ...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jul 19, 2011, 8:25 pm
As I’ve noted repeatedly at this blog, I am a chronic migraine sufferer. I’ve discussed how they affect me as well as how they affect my family. I’ve also mentioned in the past that stress is certainly one of the factors in my migraines, however, and this is the important part, it is not e...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jul 17, 2011, 7:43 pm
As I noted in the post prior to this one, this summer has been little fun for me and, really, for anyone living in this household. Stress and tension are overwhelming and even our mini-vacation back to Illinois was more stress and tension and what felt like a lot of pressure in what was supposed to...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jul 12, 2011, 4:26 pm
At some point this summer, I recognized that my stress levels were a little overwhelming to me. I haven’t been writing in my blog. I’ve been consumed with studying for yet another standardized test that is required for me to prove myself. I cannot count the number of those I’ve had to take ...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jun 27, 2011, 7:25 pm
Most of my friends and family know that I’ve been getting down with my bad self where my health and fitness are concerned lately. One thing I’ve been doing is walking on a regular basis. What I’ve found is integral to my workout is having a decent playlist or music regimen that day. Without...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jun 25, 2011, 11:07 pm
I know you read my title and you are questioning me already. What? Verizon Wireless? But they have awesome customer service! Everyone loves them! Not everyone. Some of us think Verizon Wireless can die in a fire. It takes desperation to get to that stage of thinking, my friends. Let me exp...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jun 22, 2011, 8:41 pm
Being in the fields I’m in professionally, I hear a lot of people that are upset in regards to the economy. I think they are probably feeling that way with some righteous judgment, at the same time, there is a sense of entitlement that comes from the folks with a bachelors degree. I’ve often h...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jun 22, 2011, 8:18 pm
This summer seems to have been the summer of reading in this house and I couldn’t wait to read this book. In the same vein of going on a trip and having a life experience that I found in “Eat, Pray, Love,” Sisters of the Sari by Brenda L. Baker is one of those books that will grab you and tra...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jun 15, 2011, 6:42 pm
Ok, this isn’t mine. I don’t own the video. But this? It has to be shared. Thanks to my friend Jules for sharing with me. This is why people think all single women over 30 are destined to be crazy old cat women. Thanks, Debbie. You big jerk.
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Jun 12, 2011, 3:50 pm
Sometimes, we miss someone we’ve lost so much that it feels like we are never going to get over their loss. I initially wrote this years ago and it still feels pretty open. I made some minor edits to reflect time passed. Marty passed 9 years ago today. May he rest in peace. Or at least have a...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - May 28, 2011, 4:46 am
Down at the little baseball diamond, the parents of little league players sit through most weather conditions on steel bleachers that are excruciatingly hot in the summer, freezing cold on those fall and spring evenings and when it rains? They can collect puddles with the best buckets made. We fr...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - May 27, 2011, 1:20 am
It’s funny to me, and probably to her as well, but my friend April developed a cult-like following after this post. I would be remiss if I never talked about her again, especially in the context of another special part of our lives that she and I share: We love school supplies. In fact, if you ...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - May 25, 2011, 9:45 pm
Some people lead lives full of problems. In Things We Didn’t Say by Kristina Riggle, 26-year-old Casey has a mess of them. She’s engaged to Michael, a man 10-years her senior, who has three children with an ex-wife who is a non-recovering alcoholic with multiple mental disorders. Casey’s se...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - May 17, 2011, 9:04 pm
Every now and then, when I feel a lot of stress or pressure, I find myself reciting old nursery rhymes in my head. Mother Goose was a favorite when I was a child and I may not be able to remember entire stories, but a phrase here and there will pop up like a jack in the box during particularly frus...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - May 2, 2011, 7:16 pm
As he walked through the door with the largest pink flower I’d ever seen, he grinned and talked about how he’d found it on the ground and wasn’t it beautiful? It truly was. Fragrant and bulbous and clearly picked from the yard of one our neighbors. He’d taken to doing this lately and thou...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - May 2, 2011, 4:01 am
As I came down the stairs, I could hear Sophie’s feet pad the floor as she “danced” in circles. She does this when she’s excited and it had been a more recent occurrence this week, more so than other weeks in the past because she’s had good reason to be happy. My dogs get plenty of exerc...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Apr 26, 2011, 11:15 pm
I try to be an introspective person. Generally, because of my various professions, I’m required to be more self-aware as an aspect of my job that allows me to connect with the people I talk to on another level and propel them forward in a way that helps them in life. Usually, I can do this fairl...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Apr 22, 2011, 11:19 pm
Oh Dear. Every now and then a book comes along where the premise sounds so good that you feel like you MUST read the book. In this case, the book in question was How to Love an American Man by Kristine Gasbarre and I’d requested it as my monthly book to review and eagerly waited for it in the ma...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Apr 3, 2011, 2:18 am
As I taught my classroom full of teachers, I looked around the room and my heart grew heavy. Often, my classroom deviates from the class lesson to discuss practical application of our learned principles and today I had to discuss something that bothered me on a personal level. I was teaching my st...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Mar 27, 2011, 3:35 pm
Normally, after reading a book, I allow myself a week or so to process what I’ve read before I write a review.  However, every now and then, I’ve read a book that has consumed me in a way that I feel that I must, MUST, write about it and let others know that it affected me and that if they are ...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Mar 25, 2011, 12:55 am
I’m in a profession where I can’t talk about the people I work with on a daily basis.  However, recently, one of my clients passed away.  A little over a year ago, she sent me a forward and every time I read it, it reminds me of her and I laugh and laugh.  This is NOT something I wrote and I ...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Mar 22, 2011, 10:16 pm
When should I let go of a friendship? This question is a hard one that I’ve asked myself so many times in my life that I truly don’t remember the first time I thought “this isn’t working, I’m not happy and this has to stop.” What I do remember is that I generally have allowed my friend...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Mar 21, 2011, 3:53 pm
When I read Veil of Roses, the first book in this series, I was captivated by the story of Tami Joon. I watched her navigate the complex system of what it was like to be a foreigner in America and avoid deportation. So, when I learned that Laura Fitzgerald had decided to write a sequel, Dreaming i...
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Jillian posted an article on Blueshelled - Mar 20, 2011, 1:02 pm
When Nashville was flooded at the end of April last year, it shook the community. Strangely enough, Nashville didn’t get much national media coverage, nor did we receive very much financial assistance from outside sources. Celebrities outside of Nashville didn’t rush to hold telethons to help ...
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