Kimberly Wenzler's Blog, page 7

Tag: Seven Deadly Sins of Reading

This was fun! I was tagged by Lauren at romance4thebeach to participate in this questionnaire. Thanks Lauren!

Defined as: An intense and selfish desire for something.

What is your most expensive book?

 2010 Guide to Literary Agents.

Defined as: Extreme anger.

What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?

Gillian Flynn. I hated the characters in Gone Girl but I couldn’t put the book down. It was so well written and suspenseful, but I hated the ending. I loved the book. No, I hated the book. See?

 

Defined as: Intense over-indulgence.

What book have you devoured over and over with no shame?

I wish I could say I’ve read books more than once. I don’t think I have. However, I will be re-reading The Bronze Horseman at some point. That book (the whole trilogy) just wrung me dry. So emotional. I loved it.

Defined as: a reluctance to work or make an effort.

What book have you neglected to read due to laziness?

I’d have to say The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. This is the only book I stopped reading before finishing. For me, it was slow and I just couldn’t get through it. I also bought Anna Karenina years ago and it still sits, untouched, on my shelf. Taunting me.

Defined as: satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.

What book do you talk about most in order to sound like an intellectual reader?

I read what makes me happy and I’m proud of any book that does that. I guess if I were to try to impress someone, I’d tell them I read The Goldfinch. But I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. The book I talk about most lately, has to be Outlander and prior to that, Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. Fantastic books.

Defined as: a strong sexual desire.

What attributes do you find attractive in male characters?

 I like male characters who are strong, protective, slightly jealous and romantic. Perfect examples: Alexander Belov (Bronze Horseman) and Jamie Fraser (Outlander).

Defined as: a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck.

What book would you most like to receive as a gift?

Definitely Ken Follett’s The Century Trilogy. The whole trilogy. I guess this kind of ties in with Greed, too.

I’m tagging

Gina Ardito

Harry Hauca

MyNovelOpinion

TurnThePageReviews

If you don’t want to participate, no worries! If you would like to be added, just let me know!

Texting My Patience

Hi There,

So, my dad got an iPhone last year.  To help promote his business (he’s a dance instructor), he also joined Facebook and Twitter and seems to have adapted quite nicely to these forums – I see his posts and tweets regularly. I’m quite proud of how seamlessly he took to modern technology.

We used to speak on the phone every week or two, as his schedule keeps him quite busy and our hours don’t really correspond. For instance, I wake up at 6:30 am and go to bed by 10 pm. He doesn’t.

With this iPhone, Dad learned how to text. Now, I hear from him every day.

Every. Single. Day.

Random bits of information about what he’s doing, jokes to me and my kids, questions and pieces of advice appear on my phone. But they’re not your typical, “Hi, how are you today?” texts that you would expect to receive from your parent. I don’t know why I would expect otherwise…Dad is anything but typical.

A Jewish boy from Queens, former restaurant manager turned dance instructor extraordinaire, Dad proudly answers to any of the following names: Rico Suave Salsa, Hollywood Howie, The Dance Whisperer, Howie the Hat, or Ringo Montana.

Ringo Montana, you ask? Take a look:

 

 

Back to his texts. Here is an example of what we receive in a given week:

Monday: What is the difference between ‘Wisdom’ and ‘Knowledge’? Knowledge is knowing that the tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

Tuesday: My girlfriend said she needed more space, so I locked her outside!

Wednesday: I was at a dance the other night and overheard three very large women talking. Their accent appeared to be Scottish, so I approached and asked “Hello, are you three lassies from Scotland?” One of them angrily screeched “It’s Wales! Wales, you idiot!” So I apologized and replied, “I am so sorry. Are you three whales from Scotland?” And that’s the last thing I remember.

Thursday: A Chinese proverb: “When the winds of change blow, some people build walls, and others build windmills.”

Friday: Did you know the film Titanic cost more than the Titanic?

In October, Dad discovered emoticons. Now, it is the rare text that doesn’t include one. He sent a video, (which I can’t show here simply because I’m technically stunted and I should reserve a morsel of privacy to the man), with a message saying “At the Oyster Bay Festival” accompanied by 8 (yes, 8) emoticons depicting various food and drinks.

The following week, he sent this: On our way to SLEEPY HOLLOW (o o a a a ha ha) – with three accompanying emoticons of – you guessed it – ghost, pumpkin, knife

There were many more that followed quickly after, showing various pictures of his wonderful outings (dances, concerts, etc), further imposing on me my lack of social activity and boring existence.

One message that stands out from December was this: “Hi Kimberly, I want to order Unicycles for the boys for Xmas. What I need is their height. Thanks. luv u (2 emoticons).

Did I mention he and Carmen (his fiancé) gave my sixteen-year-old a lava lamp for his birthday? Remember these? 

I managed to talk Dad into buying only one unicycle and promised him that if the boys started fighting over who was using it, he could buy another one.

The texts continue today. Now we’re up to three jokes at a time. One of my sons responds to each: “Funny“.  The other shares them with his friends. I’m thankful for their connection.

Before I go, I’ll leave you with today’s text:

How do dolphins reach a decision? Flipper coin.

First man: Can you tell me what you call someone who comes from Corisca? 

Second Man: Cors-i-can

Why do cod swim erratically? Because cod moves in mysterious ways.

Does anyone else enjoy the luxury of texting with their parents? I’d love to know.

~Kim

PS: If anyone is curious, the unicycle was met with ambivalence and sits lonely in our garage. Dad believes interest will be sparked by warm weather. I’ll keep you posted…

Every Day is Valentine’s Day

I was a hopeless romantic.  

In my youth, I pined for large gestures of love. The bigger the demonstration, I believed, the deeper the emotion that was felt. And Valentine’s Day was the pinnacle of my hopes and expectations.

When I used to travel into NYC for weekly meetings, I’d spend my rides home imagining my (then) boyfriend waiting on the platform of the Hicksville train station as I pulled in, standing before a 3-pc orchestra, wearing a tux, holding a dozen, large, deep-red roses with a ring hidden in his pocket. In front of all of the disembarking passengers, he’d get down on his knee and pronounce his undying love, produce the ring and propose marriage. I’d say yes, through tears, and fall into his arms, while a violin played a sonnet from Boheme and the circle that formed around us clapped and whistled.

Then the doors would slide open and I’d shake off my dreamy reverie as I climbed down the stairs to find him waiting in his idling car. He’d drive me home and return back to work to finish his day.

I was twenty-five and had clearly seen too many movies.

I’m married now for 17 years, with two children and entirely different expectations. The grand gestures I pined for have been replaced by gratitude for subtle daily messages of love. What I didn’t appreciate at the time was that my boyfriend drove me to the station in the morning so I wouldn’t have to look for parking and left work in the middle of the day to pick me up so I wouldn’t have to take a cab or walk home.

This same man, who I married (proposal to be kept private), is still happy to see me every morning, even though I’m less than friendly for the first hour of the day, makes me breakfast on the weekend so I can enjoy my coffee and read, regularly fills my gas tank in the winter so I don’t have to, mouths I love you over the heads of our bickering children to make me smile, assembles a beautiful cheese/grapes/meats platter with wine on a random Tuesday evening, so we can sit and enjoy each others’ company.

No hot air balloons. No sky-writing over the surf. No 3-pc orchestra at a train station.

He’s taught me that love isn’t measured in grand gestures or public declarations. It’s not found in the Hallmark cards written in someone else’s words. It’s knowing that as we climb into bed at the end of another long day, there’s nowhere else in the world he’d rather be.

I still enjoy Valentine’s Day. Cards and flowers are nice but not necessary (chocolate, however, is). What’s more important to me are the daily displays of affection and thoughtful gestures.

I hope your day, like every day, is filled with love.

~Kim

Snow Day? What to do?

Hello Friends,

The groundhog has spoken. There are six more weeks of winter here in the Northeast. And..another forecasted snowstorm next week.

Am I the only one excited about snow? Perhaps. I see your Facebook posts of sad faces, links to summer scenes and countdowns to warm days. I get it. I like summer, too. But short of moving to a warmer climate, we’re stuck here, so let’s make the best of it.

Maybe most of us don’t spend our snow days this way:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, here are some suggestions to pass the time in the house while the weather outside is frightful.

~Light a fire, make some hot chocolate (or pour a big glass of wine) and grab a book. I recently read Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and I loved it. It was a moving, funny murder mystery. I am currently reading The Art Forger, which is good (though I would like it much better if I were into art – just an fyi).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two books on my TBR list are: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng and Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. Why don’t you read them along with me and we can compare notes?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, waiting in the wings, – and one I can’t wait to get back to – is the fifth installment in the Outlander Series, The Fiery Cross - my favorite series to date.

I added “meet Diana Gabaldon” to my bucket list. I’m obsessed.

~ Not in the mood to read? How about a movie? The Academy Awards show is February 22nd. Perhaps you can’t get to a theater (you know, due to the snow), but there are options to rent. The Judge is available. So is The Grand Budapest Hotel. I haven’t seen either movie (yet) but both have received nominations.

If you can get out, I highly recommend American Sniper. Bradley Cooper was A.MA.ZING.

 

Still Alice was just released in the theaters. If you haven’t read Lisa Genova’s book, you must. In fact, read all three of her books (Left Neglected, Love Anthony). Julianne Moore is great, and I will see the movie, but I’ll bet my bottom dollar it won’t be as good as the book. If you can, read first, then see the flick.

 

 

~Not into reading or watching movies? My friend recently taught herself how to Arm Knit. I’m not kidding. It’s actually a thing. Check it out. She followed a youtube video and made this:

I’m told the choices of yarn at Michael’s is overwhelming (in a good way), but you can have this soft, warm, gorgeous infinity scarf that you can proudly say you made yourself.

See? There are so many ways to enjoy a cozy snow day. Trust me, you’ll miss this weather when you’re sweltering under the sun by your pool, holding your drink with the little umbrella…nevermind.

Have other ideas? I’d love to hear them.

After The Fire

Last week over 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes when an apartment building caught fire in New Jersey. You may have seen the story, the footage and updates on the news. It was a massive, 5-alarm fire that – over fourteen hours – completely annhilated two-hundred and forty apartments.

Days later, many of these people have been allowed to return to their homes. However, five hundred residents are permanently displaced. It is a great travesty and though we count our blessings that no lives were lost, there are countless irreplacable treasures and tangible memories that are gone and many are grieving.

My brother and his wife are among the victims of this fire. Every day I speak to him and every day he tells me of the outpouring of support, assistance and love he and my sister-in-law receive. He is constantly surprised by the long-distance and local calls of old friends and acquaintances who want to help.

Hearing this – detecting a glimmer of hope through his deflated voice makes me thankful and reaffirms my faith in humanity.

I think of the firemen who rescued four tenants from the building, who stayed all night trying to contain the fire so it wouldn’t spread, the quiet souls who devote their lives to protecting others. I’m thankful for them, too.

I asked my brother what they need. They lost everything. We’ll be okay, he tells me. They’ll start over. They’ll all have to start over. Others are worse off than us. Just keep these people in your prayers.

As the days pass and the news coverage of this tragic fire is replaced by new events: politics, upcoming elections and the massive blizzard this week, please keep these people- who cannot weather the storm in their own homes, surrounded by their cherished possessions- in your thoughts and prayers.

And for those of you in the path of Winter Storm Juno – be safe and warm.

~Kim

One Smart Cookie

Hello Friends,

I have a small fortune-cookie note taped to my desk (no joke – it’s been there awhile). It says:

Do what you love and the necessary resources will follow.

Here’s a (slightly fuzzy) picture of it:

Pretty good, right?

It’s not easy. And I must be a tad kookie to hold onto a mass-produced fortune note that I found inside a crisp cookie served along with my sesame chicken and egg roll. (Did you know that they don’t serve fortune cookies in China and although popularized in America by the Chinese, they were actually introduced by the Japanese?). My twelve-year-old could have opened this cookie and I could have gotten the one that said: You love Chinese Food.

But I didn’t. I was the receiver of the prolific statement. And I took it to heart.

So, as I embark on another year, I continue to push forward with my writing.  My second book, tentatively titled Letting Go, is finished and with my editor. I plan to have it out before summer this year.

Both Sides of Love will soon be available in your local library! I’m in the process of obtaining a Library of Congress number which will allow libraries across the country to carry it. In the meantime, I was pleased to find out that readers on Long Island have already borrowed copies from their libraries.

I had another amazing visit with a local book club the first week in January- a new group who has only been together for four months. Can’t think of a better way to start 2015. I never tire of these visits and I’m so happy to have made many new friends this past year. Here is a picture of us:

 

I’m not saying the fortune cookie was responsible for setting me on my path. That’s just silly. But when I have doubts, setbacks or simply find myself asking Why?,  I look over, see that tiny scroll of paper and think, Yes, Kim, keep doing it. You’re almost there.

 

Happy weekend everyone!

 

Farewell 2014

Hello Friends,

There’s always a bittersweet tug in my heart that comes with the end of another year.  I say good riddance to painful experiences, so long to happy ones too, and tuck away the fond memories made between January and December, hoping I’ll have time down the road to visit them again.

On the eve of 2015, I wish you all peace, health and happiness. May the new year find you doing what brings you joy, spending time with people you love.

Thank you for your support, friendship and good wishes throughout the year.

Be careful out there tonight.

With love and gratitude,

Kim    

His First Friend

Her name was Alice.

We were in an over-crowded TGI Friday’s at a midwest airport, waiting for the snow to stop so we could board our connecting flight and escape for awhile. Our destination? Gorgeous Salt Lake City, Utah, for some spring skiing at Park City. We were giddy and didn’t mind the wait. We shared a secret – just the two of us – and no delay to our plans could bring us down.

Steve and I were fortunate enough to have found seats at a small table. We placed our order and when the waitress left, fighting through the crowd to reach the kitchen, that’s when we saw her.

She was an elderly woman, standing at the door alone, gazing about the restaurant in search of a place to rest. Steve stood and invited her to sit at the only spare seat at our table. She accepted with a warm smile.

“I’m Alice,” she said as she took her chair. “Thank you for sharing your table.”

Over nachos, we introduced ourselves and discussed our travel plans. Alice was in a more somber mood and explained she was on her way to her sister’s funeral. We offered our sincere condolences and suggested we’d talk and pass the time together. No one should be alone with their grief, waiting in a crowded bar. Alice gave us a small smile and said “I have a special feeling about the both of you.”

My husband and I looked at each other. He raised his eyebrows to me in question. Can I tell her? I smiled and nodded, listening with cautious joy as Steve told Alice that we were expecting our first child. We had told no one yet. In fact, we’d only found out ourselves the previous day. She clapped her hands in prayer and smiled wide.

We talked into the night. I cannot recall the details of our discussions, but I’ll never forget Alice’s reaction to our news, her brief respite from mourning her sister, and how it lifted her spirits, if only for a while.

Eventually our flight was announced over the loudspeaker. We exchanged addresses and at her urging, promised Alice that we’d send news about the baby. We reluctantly took our leave and wished her a safe journey.

We met Alice in March of 1998. I sent a birth announcement of our son, Zachary, just days after he arrived in November. Alice wrote back quickly and signed her letter: Love, Alice, Zachary’s first friend.

Each year at Christmas, we sent Alice a letter with a detailed update on Zachary and soon after, his baby brother, Alex. Without fail, she sent a long letter back, with news of her family and activities; her granddaughter’s wedding, the births of her great grandchildren, poetry classes taken near her assisted living community. She included pictures as well – one of her girls at her granddaughter’s wedding shower and one of her great-granddaughter’s first smile. We felt as if we were extended family, sharing her news.

Every letter we received began the same: Your card and note is something I look forward to with joy at Christmas... Our thoughts exactly.

Every letter was signed Love, Alice, Zach’s first friend.

In 2009, she posed the ‘big question’: Have you yet told Zach you met his first friend in a bar?

The last letter we received was in 2011. In December, 2012, I walked to the mailbox every day hoping to find an envelope with her familiar penmanship, and every day I closed the box disappointed. I sent another card and letter last year, hoping…and performed the same searching ritual with the same disappointing results.

We won’t look for a letter this year. We know why Alice doesn’t send one anymore. But at Christmastime especially, amid busy holiday preparations, we will take the time to think of her and appreciate how truly wonderful chance meetings can be. I’ll continue to write to Alice because it’s something I’ve done for fourteen years, but I’ll keep the letters with me, sure that she knows she’s in our hearts.

We are grateful for what she brought to us, for the years of correspondence and smiles, and we will always remember with love, Zach’s first friend.

Rest in Peace.

Alice Burroughs, September, 1923 – January, 2013

An Early Christmas Gift…For Me

Hi Friends!

I’m so excited! I’ve been following a blogger/book reviewer for several months. Her reviews are witty, well-written and I love her blog. Today she published her review of Both Sides of Love and I’m thrilled to share it with you.

If you want to know what romance novels to bring to the beach (or leave home), or just want to have a good laugh while building up your TBR list, this is the site for you: http://www.romance4thebeach.wordpress.com. I promise, you’ll enjoy it.

Here’s the review:

Both Sides of Love by Kimberly Wenzler.

Giving Thanks II

Hello Friends,

It’s Thanksgiving again. Went quick, didn’t it? Feels like only yesterday, I wrote my first Giving Thanks post. And here we are, at the end of another year, the beginning of another hectic holiday season and the perfect time to extend my gratitude for your continued support. Thank you.

For those of us with much to be thankful for, there is a whole day devoted to appreciating what we have. One whole day.  So, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I will push aside the nagging thought that there are only 4 Fridays before Christmas, turn off the news and turn on the NYC Macy’s Day Parade. I will embrace the time I have with my family, remember, with love, those who are no longer with us,  and count my blessings for the friends in my life and the abundant food on the table – even the brussel sprouts in that sauce. Why pray-tell is that always served?

Ehem.

There will be plenty of time for the craziness. Beginning on Friday.

I’ll leave you with a prayer of thanks, borrowed from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.”

Happy Thanksgiving.