IT'S BEEN A WHILE!

Caesars Palace 

I just realized it has been almost a year since my last blog update so I will get right to it, beginning with our recent trip to Las Vegas.

VIVA LAS VEGAS: April 2012

Our Vegas vacation was a wonderful mix of fun, excitement and new experiences. We marveled at the changes since our visit in 2006. The City Center area was in the groundbreaking stages then. The old smaller casinos have been torn down and replaced by pricey hotels and high end retail stores. The Aria, Vdara, and Cosmopolitan tower over the infamous Strip between the Monte Carlo, where we stayed, and the Bellagio. I thought I had entered Heaven when I stepped off an escalator and saw Harry Winston, Cartier and Tiffany’s. Gucci, Dior, Chanel, Prada, Louis Vuitton and jewelry stores of the rich. You know how I love bling. Fascinated by the glitz and glitter that is Las Vegas, I took over 600 pictures and did a lot of window-shopping.

We enjoyed perfect weather, (mid 80’s) most of the week, had a lovely spaghetti and meatball supper on Easter Sunday at D. Vino at the Monte Carlo, went to Dueling Pianos at New York New York and danced at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill at Harrah’s. 

We hotel hopped from Planet Hollywood to Harrah’s. 

I played slot machines from MGM to the Wynn and browsed the Miracle Mile Shops where I was finally able to buy a pretty bronze bangle bracelet at the Landau Store for $19.95. 

That was a miracle!

Friday the 13^th was the last full day of our vacation and the evening of the highlight of our trip, the long awaited Elton John concert, The Million Dollar Piano, at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Elton John’s performance was outstanding. He came out wrapped in a gold sequined cape and sparkly silver shoes. The red drapes at the back of the stage opened up to a huge screen that showed videos that were synchronized to the music. Videos also played on the side panels of the piano. He touched a button and an aquarium appeared across the whole piano screen. He played one hit after another for close to two hours. It was the best concert either of us had ever seen.

We loved the Monte Carlo. It’s in a good location, has some great restaurants, a friendly staff and free tram to the Aria and Bellagio.

Some of what happens in Vegas should be shared. Hope you enjoyed my mini tour.

WRITING UPDATE:  

CAROUSEL KISSES and SWEET VIOLETS

My book signing event for CAROUSEL KISSES was a huge success! We shared memories, had lemonade, penny candy and lots of fun. Thank you to all my family and friends who stopped by.

CAROUSEL KISSES is available online at Amazon and Barnes & Nobel.

Information is also available on the book’s site, www.carouselkisses.blogspot.com and my site, www.luvs2write.com and I post updated info on Facebook and Twitter.

I hope to go Kindle with CAROUSEL KISSES and also to move ahead with SWEET VIOLETS this year. More to follow on that.

MY WRITING GROUP:  NORTH SHORE SCRIBES

Later this month, we will celebrate our fourth year! I am so proud of this wonderful group of talented writers. Together, we have helped one another attain personal writing goals through encouragement, support, the sharing of ideas and friendship.

You can visit us at www.northshorescribes.wordpress.com. Please stop by and see what’s new. We appreciate your comments.

DISNEY TRIP: October 2011

We had a great week in Disney in October. Stayed at the Boardwalk. Really enjoyed the Food & Wine Festival. Went to the Princess breakfast in Norway at Epcot with Gina and Katie and Chef Mickey’s. I’m not sure which one of us gets more excited over seeing Mickey, Katie or me. Just love that mouse! Donald is probably my next favorite character. He’s so darn cute.

We did the Princess experience at the Boutique.  It’s such a beautiful concept and one of those “gotta do it” things, but it’s also, in my opinion, probably the biggest rip off in all of Disney. If you can bring your own princess dress, it will save you a few bucks. You pay around $60 for the makeover, which includes hair, make-up and nails. But, the dress is only the beginning. They have to have the shoes and the pocketbook and the gloves and the wand and the tiara. It just grows and grows and can go way over $200 by the time you are through. I suggest taking your own pictures because the royal photographer will cost you more. Expect the princess to turn back into a typical child moments after the royal event. In that heat, the shoes will hurt, the gloves will have to come off, the dress will itch and need to be taken off and sooner or later, the tiara will create a headache or your princess will want to go in the pool and her hair becomes a mass of sticky hairspray and glitter that will take you a week to wash out.

But, we had fun. My brother Rick and Lori spent a few days there as well and we spent some time at Hollywood Studios and on the Boardwalk together. I went to American Idol with them and watched the show.

Katie and I had a Katie and Mimi night that was great. We had pizza at the Beach Club and walked back over to the Boardwalk and watched the jugglers.

We are looking forward to our next magical trip in October of this year. 

OTHER HAPPENINGS IN THE REHAL WORLD:

We did manage a long weekend in North Conway in February. We stayed at the Suites at Eastern Slopes again. We did some shopping at the outlet stores, had lunch at Horsefeathers and a wonderful dinner at the Stonehurst Manor, a new place for us.

We are looking forward to my nephew Kevin’s graduation party in Vermont, summer on the deck and maybe a quick trip to Kennebunkport and Kevin and Angela’s wedding in September. Can’t wait to take pictures!

Thanks for reading my blog. I will try not to let so much time go by before the next one. Please stop by again.

May you all have a wonderful summer!!

Lina

MY FIRST BOOK SIGNING!!

WRITING UPDATE: CAROUSEL KISSES

I am happy to announce my first book signing event for CAROUSEL KISSES!

SATURDAY, JUNE 4th, 2-4 P.M. AT BORDERSEXPRESS IN SWAMPSCOTT.

We’re going to make it a party with lemonade, penny candy and lots of fun. Hope you’ll stop by and share some of your memories from the good old days.

CAROUSEL KISSES is now available at Borders Express in Vinnin Square in Swampscott and online at Amazon and Barnes & Nobel.

I’m looking into making Carousel Kisses available on Kindle. More on this later.

Information is also available on the book’s site, www.carouselkisses.blogspot.com and my site, www.luvs2write.com and I post updated info on Facebook and Twitter.

MY WRITING GROUP: NORTH SHORE SCRIBES

I can hardly believe it! Today, we celebrated our third anniversary as a writing group with an awesome luncheon at the home of one of our members. You can visit us at www.northshorescribes.wordpress.com. Please stop by and wee what’s new. We appreciate your comments.

OTHER HAPPENINGS IN THE REHAL WORLD:

Disney trip was wonderful! We had a relaxing week, great weather and a lot of fun. The Flower Festival was going on at Epcot. Beautiful flowers and the butterfly exhibit. We went to dinner at Shula’s at the Dolphin Hotel and Il Mulino at the Swan. Dick enjoyed his walks around the Boardwalk and I got in some pool time and shopping at Downtown Disney. We hotel hopped one day and visited the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian. We took a lovely boat ride but got caught in a rain shower on the way back. Guess who was sitting by the open part and got soaked?

We buzzed through the Magic Kingdom. Rode the People Mover, saw the Carousel of Progress, had lunch at Tony’s and caught a little of the parade. We saw Davy Jones in concert in Epcot. Great show. As usual, we spent a lot of time at Epcot and ended our week with a late lunch in Germany.

We are looking forward to summer on the deck, which is just about ready. All we need now is good weather.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please stop by again.

May you all enjoy a wonderful summer!!

Lina

CAROUSEL KISSES LAUNCHED AT LAST!

WRITING UPDATE: CAROUSEL KISSES

I am happy to announce that my book, CAROUSEL KISSES, is finally out there and available for purchase! It’s been a long time coming and a lot of work, but the book is out. Now comes the marketing. Look for press releases in local papers and on Wicked Local online.

CAROUSEL KISSES is now online at Amazon and Barnes & Nobel. It is also available on many distribution lists, including Ingram, for bookstores and through me directly. I even have an estore through Amazon at CreateSpace. http://createspace.com/3559723 if you would like to find out more about the book. Chances are, if you are reading this, you know me and have heard a lot about my book already.

Information is also available on the book's site, www.carouselkisses.blogspot.com and my site, www.luvs2write.com and I post updated info on Facebook and Twitter.

I’m busy learning the ins and outs of the publishing world, a whole new thing to me. All this print on demand and ebook stuff can be a bit confusing, but I’m learning as I go. I’m thinking about making the book Kindle ready further down the road.

WHITE BIRCH BOOKS is a great bookstore in North Conway, New Hampshire. CAROUSEL KISSES is going to be available there. If you are in the North Conway area, please stop in and visit this awesome store. Check out their website: www.whitebirchbooks.com

If you have read my book and can spare a few minutes to go on Amazon.com and write a review, I would appreciate it so much.

Thank you to all who have bought my book already and to those who have been so supportive of my efforts to get this book published. Your comments and encouragement have been helpful and truly appreciated.

NORTH CONWAY: FEBRUARY 2011

In other Rehal news, Dick and I enjoyed another great weekend in North Conway in February. We stayed at the Suites at Eastern Slope Inn again and had the same unit in the Carriage House that we like so much. No Magical Express this time, but we still had fun.

We had lunch at Horsefeathers on Friday and met up with Angela and Kevin at The Moat that evening for a while. On Saturday, we hit the outlet stores as usual for a little shopping. That night, we had a lovely dinner with our good friends Bill and Jean Jones who live in the area. They introduced us to a new restaurant, The Black Cap, not far from where we were staying. I stopped in to visit my friends at the North Conway 5 and 10 Cent Store and showed them a copy of CAROUSEL KISSES. They are mentioned in the book. I am hoping they might carry it as well. I’ll let you know if/when I hear.

MY WRITING GROUP: NORTH SHORE SCRIBES

This wonderful group continues to flourish. We have seven members at present. It’s a phenomenal group of women writers. My good friend, Gail Lowe, (author of Former Things) attended one of our meetings as a guest author. You can visit us at www.northshorescribes.wordpress.com. Please stop by. We appreciate your comments. Bookmark the site and visit often.

OTHER HAPPENINGS IN THE REHAL WORLD:

Our next Disney trip is coming up in May. We are looking forward to some sunshine. This has been a terrible winter. I’m sick of snow. Can’t wait for spring.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please stop by again.

May you all enjoy a wonderful spring!!

Lina

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

The trees are up. The lights are lit. The elves are busy at the North Pole. Santa is at the malls. I no sooner put away my summer clothes and it was time to drag out my Anna Lee dolls. I can’t believe Christmas is almost here. We’ll soon be toasting a new year. Winter is on its way.

We had some major bumps in the road between June of 2009 and May of 2010, but we managed to get through them. We had a great summer, a fantastic trip to Disney in October and a relaxing weekend in North Conway in December. We have a new grandson, a beautiful family and wonderful friends. We are truly blessed.

DISNEY: OCTOBER 2010

This trip was amazing! Two of our kids were there with their families. The whole Disney experience is different when seen through the eyes of children. Some of our grandkids have been to Disney before. This was Mason’s first trip and Katie’s second. I loved seeing the expressions on their faces when they met the characters.

We stayed at the Boardwalk Hotel this time, which worked out well for us. Gina, John and Katie were at the Dolphin, a five minute walk from us. Michelle, Clive and Mason were at Caribbean Beach, also close by. We all spent a lot of time in the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. The kids were great company for each other. They were both a little afraid of some of the rides. Katie did not like Snow White’s Scary Adventure. Mason wasn’t crazy about the Haunted Castle, but he went on Splash Mountain with his grandfather. Both kids loved It’s A Small World. How could they not?

Dick and I enjoyed a nice quiet dinner at Shula’s one night and a lovely Italian dinner at Il Mulino’s at the Swan. We spent a lot of time on the Boardwalk. The kids were fascinated with the magicians and jugglers. It was a magical trip, except the last night when Katie took a header out of her stroller on the way out of Hollywood Studios.

NORTH CONWAY: DECEMBER 2010

Dick and I enjoyed a relaxing weekend in North Conway in December. We stayed at the Suites at Eastern Slope Inn. Our unit was behind the inn near the railroad station. The Magical Express passed by our door. It was so close that I could wave to the people on board as they headed for the North Pole. I got a big kick out of watching the train go by and taking pictures of the children.

We had lunch at Horsefeathers, pizza one night at the Flatbread Company, the restaurant at the inn, and shopped the outlet stores. On Saturday night, we had a lovely dinner at the White Mountain Hotel, another one of our favorite places up north. I stopped in at Zeb’s and the North Conway 5 and 10 Cent Store and all the little shops in the center of town. We did a lot of shopping and eating.

WRITING UPDATE: CAROUSEL KISSES / SWEET VIOLETS

The news on Carousel Kisses is not good. I’ve run into some publishing problems and cannot tell you when my book will be available at this time. I will let you know as soon as possible. In the meantime, I am working on starting a publishing company of my own so that I can publish books myself as many authors do these days. I don’t know the fate of CAROUSEL KISSSES right now, but I can tell you that I am working on my next book, SWEET VIOLETS. I will keep you posted on what’s happening with the publishing company and both books. I hope to have some good news soon. I will update you through my website, www.luvs2write.com , the website/blog for the book, www.carouselkisses.blogspot.com , Facebook and Twitter. Thank you for your support.

MY WRITING GROUP: NORTH SHORE SCRIBES

This wonderful group continues to flourish. We have seven members at present. It’s a phenomenal group of women writers. My good friend, Gail Lowe, (author of Former Things) attended one of our meetings as a guest author. You can visit us at www.northshorescribes.wordpress.com. Please stop by. We appreciate your comments. Bookmark the site and visit often.

OTHER HAPPENINGS IN THE REHAL WORLD:

Dick and I will be celebrating our 11^th wedding anniversary in January. We have a special weekend in North Conway planned in February in honor of the occasion.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please stop by again.

May you all enjoy a wonderful holiday season and a happy, healthy new year in 2011!!

Lina

Summer's End....

I hope you have all enjoyed the beach, barbecues, concerts, boating, golf and other great summer activities.

Dick and I took advantage of a perfect summer day in July. We went into Boston on the Blue Line. In 15 minutes, we were at the Aquarium station about to take in all that Boston Harbor has to offer. The photo opps were incredible: tall buildings, fabulous hotels and condos, restaurants, the Aquarium, magnificent boats offering harbor cruises and tourists from all over the world enjoying the picturesque harbor.

We walked over to the North End for the Feast of Saint Agrippina. It’s a fun place to visit. We love the atmosphere, music and food. Our last stop was Fanueil Hall and the Market Place.

The following Sunday, we continued our walking tour of Boston. We got off at Copley Plaza and wandered through the Copley Fairmont and the Taj on our way to the Public Gardens. I was in awe of the enormous old willow trees and the way their branches touched the water and swayed in the warm summer breezes.

The Swan Boats have been a popular attraction in Boston for decades. They glide through the water carrying passengers who have taken the time to enjoy the tranquility of this beautiful spot. After a quick stop at the infamous Cheers for a bit of nostalgia, we headed to Boston Commons.

It was heartwarming to watch families playing Frisbee or enjoying a picnic under a lovely shade tree and young couples sitting on a blanket reading a book. It was nice to feel the serenity and to watch the kids cooling off in the Frog Pond. Another one hundred pictures later, we stopped at Clarke’s at Fanueil Hall for a leisurely lunch before heading home.

We truly have many great places to visit and some amazing things to do and sites to see, right in our own back yard.

WRITING UPDATE: CAROUSEL KISSES

I am hoping to announce soon that Carousel Kisses is available. When I know, you’ll know. The cover is done and we are close to publication. I have re-vamped my personal website, www.luvs2write.com and have a website/blog for the book, www.carouselkisses.blogspot.com. I am now on Twitter under Carousel Kisses and have a Facebook page for the book. Tide Dancer, my publisher, has added me to their website, www.tidedancer.com . I will continue to send out updates on my blog, through personal email and on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Thank you for your support.

MY WRITING GROUP: NORTH SHORE SCRIBES

We celebrated our second anniversary as a writing group with a luncheon at the home of one of our members. You can visit us at www.northshorescribes.wordpress.com. Please stop by. We appreciate your comments. Bookmark the site and visit often.

OTHER HAPPENINGS IN THE REHAL WORLD:

We are expecting our 5^th (yes, I said number 5) grandchild next week! Another boy.

We are looking forward to our next Disney trip in October. This one will be a magical happening with some of our kids there, including two grandkids. We have a relaxing weekend planned in North Conway in December.

My class reunion is coming up soon. LEHS (Lynn English High School) Class of 1965, September 24^th at Gannon in Lynn. If you were a member of this class, try to make it. If you know someone who was, please tell them about it in case they don’t already know.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please stop by again.

Enjoy the last days of summer!

Lina