Freda's Voice

Welcome to the August edition of monthly news! My baby turned 19! Now both of my kids are adults!! That is a change in itself. Won a weekend pass to Riverfest Elora. Saw The Sheepdogs and 54-40 perform, among a few lesser known bands, and that was cool. We only went the one day though. Work calls! Other than that it was all about family as we get set for the next season to arrive. What did you do this month that was out of the ordinary? BOOKS: Winter Chill by Joanne Fluke (recommend) The Midas Tree by Lesley Phillips The Deathday Letter by Shaun David Hutchinson (recommend) The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (recommend) Fractured by Catherine McKenzie (recommend) What We Pretend To Be by Shaun David Hutchinson   Hotel of The Lost (Hotel Ruby) by Suzanne Young (recommend) The Happiness Project by Gretchin Rubin PRODUCTS: Japan Funbox DeLonghi America PACAN120EW Whisper Cool Portable Air Conditioner  (recommend) Fuji Film Instax Share Smartphone Printe

The coolest phone accessory has hit the market folks, and I'm here to tell you all about this thing. Introducing the Fuji Film Instax Share Smartphone Printer! The Instax Share Smartphone Printer SP-2 is a fun, compact, wireless printer that lets you print photos instantly on Instax mini film, from any smartphone, tablet or FUJIFILM X-Series digital camera. Share them anywhere, any time. The Instax SHARE Smartphone Printer SP-2 has many improved features vs the SP-1 including: improved image quality; faster printing speed; rechargeable battery with micro USB charger; additional filters for the SHARE App; stylish angular shape; and, improved LED indicator. The SP-2 is available in 2 colors: Gold and Silver. A variety of customizable templates and filters have been added to the SHARE App including photo Collage and Split that creates an image as two prints. The Instax SHARE Printer also uses a wireless LAN that allows up to 8 users to connect at once making it great

“This book made me happy in the first five pages.” —AJ Jacobs, author of  The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible Award-winning author Gretchen Rubin is back with a bang, with  The Happiness Project . The author of the bestselling  40 Ways to Look at Winston Churchill  has produced a work that is “a cross between the Dalai Lama’s  The Art of Happiness  and Elizabeth Gilbert’s  Eat, Pray, Love .” (Sonya Lyubomirsky, author of  The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want ) In the vein of  Julie and Julia, The Happiness Project  describes one person’s year-long attempt to discover what leads to true contentment. Drawing at once on cutting-edge science, classical philosophy, and real-world applicability, Rubin has written an engaging, eminently relatable chronicle of transformation. Hardcover:  301 pages Publisher:  Harper; 1 edition (December 29, 2009) ISBN:  9780061583254 AMAZON U

From the  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Program  comes a brand-new haunting, romantic, and suspenseful story about one girl’s search for healing in a grand and mysterious hotel full of secrets. Stay tonight. Stay forever. When Audrey Casella arrives for an unplanned stay at the grand Hotel Ruby, she’s grateful for the detour. Just months after their mother’s death, Audrey and her brother, Daniel, are on their way to live with their grandmother, dumped on the doorstep of a DNA-matched stranger because their father is drowning in his grief. Audrey and her family only plan to stay the night, but life in the Ruby can be intoxicating, extending their stay as it provides endless distractions—including handsome guest Elias Lange, who sends Audrey’s pulse racing. However, the hotel proves to be as strange as it is beautiful. Nightly fancy affairs in the ballroom are invitation only, and Audrey seems to be the one guest who doesn’t have an invite. Instead, she joins the hot

Welcome to Week 288! Rules: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56 or 56% in your  eReader (If you have to improvise, that's ok.)  *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) *Post it. *Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url.  *It's that simple. Or join The Friday 56 on  Instagram ! Rules: * Grab a book and find a creative way to showcase your 56. It can be a photo of the book and the 56 in comments, or whatever you come up with. Make sure to use the hashtag  #Friday56 *Add your Instagram url to the Linky. AMAZON PAGE 56 Which cover & title do you prefer with this week's #friday56 ? A photo posted by Freda Mans (@fredasphotos) on Aug 25, 2016 at 5:17pm PDT                                    ONLY FRIDAY 56 PARTICIPANTS MAY USE THE LINKY. Book Beginnings leave your links in the comments if you didn't join in the Friday 56. Book Beginnings **

In  We are the Ants , Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens. Then the aliens give him an ultimatum: The world will end in 144 days, and all Henry has to do to stop it is push a big red button. (How’s THAT for a premise?  If you haven’t read this yet, you want to now right?!) Now, in Shaun David Hutchinson’s new short story,  What We Pretend to Be , fans can glimpse some of the impossible decisions other characters have faced at the hands of the aliens, and even see Henry’s very first abduction. Read it yourself at Riveted Reads 26 pages Shaun Hutchinson  is a writer and geek living in sunny South Florida. He grew up in Florida and has only lived outside the Sunshine State twice in his life. Shaun loves geeking out on tech and sci-fi, and worships at the altar of Joss Whedon. He's fully prepared for the zombie apocalypse. My review  for,  Violent Ends . ( Favorite Read of 2015 ) My review for, The Deathday Lett

Easy Ways to Lose Weight  It’s summertime, and that means that many people are on a mission to shed a few pounds before the end of the year. To end the year healthier than you were before, follow these tips to cut calories and live a healthier lifestyle. Start Walking    For those of us who need to build a significant amount of fitness, walking is the perfect place to start. It’s a low impact exercise that still comes with plenty of health benefits, like boosting your mood and gently strengthening your muscles. If you need to slowly build up your fitness, start walking around the neighborhood instead of joining a gym. Walking is free, and you won’t have to deal with the intimidation and high costs that often come with gyms. Aim for 30 minutes of walking per day for the best results. Opt for Healthy Alternatives   If you can’t handle a salad without a helping of dressing, or a sandwich just tastes better with some mayo, have no fear. Although traditional versions of

Welcome, neighbor! Julie Prentice and her family move across the country to the idyllic Mount Adams district of Cincinnati, hoping to evade the stalker who’s been terrorizing them ever since the publication of her bestselling novel,  The Murder Game . Since Julie doesn’t know anyone in her new town, when she meets her neighbor John Dunbar, their instant connection brings measured hope for a new beginning. But she never imagines that a simple, benign conversation with him could set her life spinning so far off course. We know where you live… After a series of misunderstandings, Julie and her family become the target of increasingly unsettling harassment. Has Julie’s stalker found her, or are her neighbors out to get her, too? As tension in the neighborhood rises, new friends turn into enemies, and the results are deadly. Kindle:  4529 KB Print Length:  334 pages Publisher:  Lake Union Publishing (October 4, 2016) ASIN:  B01CTY1INW AMAZON US   |   AMAZON CA   |   A