You find yourself rooting hard for the protagonist, Jacob, and hating Uncle Al and August so much that your heart actually races with the turn of each page. If this is her first attempt at a fiction novel, Gruen has nailed it perfectly.

The characters, imagery, and plot of the book keep you hooked from beginning to end. Whether it is old man Camel, “Rosie”, Marlena, or let us never forget Barbara and Walter; you want to know them inside out. What makes these people travel with the circus and what makes a place that sells happiness such a dark world?

If you’d like to find out, then get the book, but be ready for an all night read-a-thon and be sure not to get “redlighted”

If you are living in Denver and need to buy fresh flowers, or you want to send flowers to Denver. You can check various online florists’ websites or you can go to local florists in Denver, CO and buy your fresh flowers. Denver local florists include Leetsdale Florist, Our Flower Shop, K L Design, More Flowers, Blue Moon Floral & Gifts, Side Effects Unique Flowers & Gifts, Tagawa Florist & Garden Center, flowersbydebbie, Beautiful Blooms, Crestmoor Floral, Safeway Food & Drug - Stores- Aurora- Grocery, Bouquets, Country Club Flowers, Delilah’s of Denver, City Floral Greenhouse, King Soopers - Stores- Thornton- Floral, Sterling Rose Florist, Basket World Inc, D’CleMent Custom Florist, Lehrer’s Flowers Inc, Denver Wholesale Florists, King Soopers - Colorado Blvd & Yale- Commerce City- University Hills- Fl, Central Flowers, Flowerama, City Flower Market, Brentwood Flower Shop, Safeway Food & Drug - Stores- Lakewood- Grocery, King Soopers - Commerce City- Mayfair Center- Floral, King Soopers - Commerce City- Floral- Stores- Denver, Native Floral, King Soopers - Castle Rock- Floral, Le Grues, Flower Patch, Busch Greenhouses Inc, Safeway Food & Drug - Stores- Arvada- Grocery, Greenery at Porter Adventist Hospital, R & O of Denver, DENVER FLORAL EXCHANGE, The Perfect Petal, Petals On Pearl Street, Jensen’s Flowers, Flowers-N-Roses, King Soopers - Edgewater- Floral, King Soopers - Commerce City- Speer & 14- Floral, Brown Palace Flowers, Inca Roses-Inc, Lady Sue’s Flowers, Mr K’S Flowers, Diz’s Daisys Flower Shop, Petal Shop, Apricot Halves Flower Shop, Male-A-Basket, Inca Roses, Floral Supply Syndicate, Ortega Nicholas Landscapng Jr, Sweet Pea Flowers, Ovations On Larimer, DWF Growers Supply, Flower Box Gallery, Ryburn Davis Custom Floral Inc, Beck’s Silk Plant Company, Abc Bouquet West LLC, HMK Designs, Colorado Flower Shippers Inc, Forever Yours Floral Design, Floral Expressions & Gourmet Goodies, Simply Beautiful, King Soopers - Commerce City- Hampden & Monaco- Floral, Associated Wholesale Florist, Safeway Food & Drug - Stores- Safeway Pharmacy- Grocery, Amato’s Wholesaleflorists, Ardinger H T & Son Direct Import CO, Bromfield Flower Market, Safeway Food & Drug - Stores- Grocery, Jultak Michael Florists Inc.

If you are living in Omaha and need to buy fresh flowers, or you want to send flowers to Omaha. You can check various online florists’ websites or you can go to local florists in Omaha, NE and buy your fresh flowers. Omaha local florists include Voila! Blooms in Dundee, Craft-Ware Pottery Company, Petals by Janet Floral Shop, Blooms in Rockbrook Village, David M Mangelsen’s Party Supplies, Hy-Vee Foods Inc - Floral Shops, Ferguson Florist & Greenhouses, Janousek Florist, Bill Doran Company, Northwest Florist Nursery & Greenhouse, Grasso Florist & Greenhouses Inc, A Bloom Above Floral Design, Ken’s Flower Shop & Greenhouse Inc, Terryl’s Flower Garden, AKI Oriental Foods & Gifts, Creaciones Y Floreria Fabi.

If you are living in New York and need to buy fresh flowers, or you want to send flowers to New York. You can check various online florists websites or you can go to local florists in New York, NY and buy your fresh flowers. New York local florists include Flowers by Vicky, Fresh Flowers, Simpon & CO Florists Inc, Studio Artiflora, Lily Florist Inc, Bluebell Flower Shop, Mitchellcraft’s, Color of Magic, LAI YUN LING, Robert Pesany Inc, Caiba Design, Exotica Del Caribe Flower Shop, Floral Impressions Inc, Bosquet Isabelle, Celebrations @home, J & D Grocery Inc, Artscope, Green - The Orchid Company, Violets Florist, Big Apple Florist, Matthew David Events, Flowers Of The World, De Juan Stroud, Giovany Diaz Beautiful Flowers Inc, Twin Hearts Gift Company, Tonys Greenery, Flora Tech Inc, Modern Artificial Flowers & Displays Inc, World Financial Center Florist Inc, 1 2 5 Flower Shop, Center of Floral Design & Supply, A Academy Floral CO, Public Floral Decorators Inc, Jungle II Flowers Inc, Ellie’s Gardens Incorporated, Felt Etc, Sweetface, Offspring Group Inc, Flowers To Deliver Acacia, A Bills Flower Market Inc, Yoshiko Miyake CO, Quality Florist, Florea, Marlo Flower’s Limited, Grand Central Florists, MIHO Kosuda Limited, Flowers On the Avenue, The Grotto Floral Design, Blue Meadow Flowers, By Special Arrangement, Posies, Mozb Grocery Inc, The Flower Emporium, Lenox Hill Florist, Primrose Florist Inc, Macres 57th St Corporation, New York Florist, Flowers by Konstantinos, Town & Country Florist, Americas Florist, Perriwater Limited, Fiori Ltd, Flower City & Porcelain Town Inc, Judy’s Plant World, 14th St Florist, Flowers by Reuven Limited, Peoples Alexis Flowers, Dutch Flower Line Inc, Portafiori Florist, Manhattan Florist, Rainforest, The Flower Depot, Blanchfield- James Inc., Imperial Flower & Feather Corporation, Denis Flowers.

If you are living in Augusta and need to buy fresh flowers, or you want to send flowers to Augusta. You can check various online florists’ websites or you can go to local florists in Augusta, ME and buy your fresh flowers. Augusta local florists include.

If you are living in Jacksonville and need to buy fresh flowers, or you want to send flowers to Jacksonville. You can check various online florists websites or you can go to local florists in Jacksonville, FL and buy your fresh flowers. Jacksonville local florists include St Johns Flower Market, Flower Power, Multi Colors, Carlstedt Oscar G CO, Flowers & More Inc, Floral Designs by Marti Delaney, LA MEE the Florist, Loop’s Nursery and Greenhouses Inc, Turners Ace Hardware, Ackashia Florist, Far East Trader, La Mee By Sylvia, I Do Weddings- Inc., Michael Haley Limited, Turner Ace Hardware, Catanese Florist Inc, N A P C O Marketing Corporation, Deerwood Florist, Jacksonville Florist, LA Bella Floral Designs, Hazel’s Florist, Kelley’s Bloom Room, Rick’s Florist, Honey B’S Florist & Gifts, Gardners Ortega, Design Elements of Jacksonville, Flowerama of America, Ace Florist, Cox Main St Florist, Progressive Florist, Floral Supply Syndicate, Belden WM C, Napco Express-A DIV of Napco Marketing Corporation, Ace Hardware Garden Center & Florist Superstore-Turner, Bend Wholesale Outlet, Flowers by Pat, Earth-Pro Corporation, White Orchid Florists, James Burns Florist, The Design Company-A DIV of Napco Marketing Corporation, Carousel Flowers Inc, Center Stage, Flowers of Blessings, Dinsmore Florist, Expressions by Pam, Kuhn Florist, Pennock CO, A Day To Remember Weddings, Skinner’s Florist, Kuhn Flowers, J P’s Florist Shop, M J McCall CO Inc, Flower Express, Freeze Dried Florals Inc, Blume’s Nursery, Flowers by Elaine, Drury’s Florist, Anita’s Garden Shop & Design, Purple Petunia Flower Shop, Bad Alice’s.

You can check online florist, it has loads of florists’ business listings that you can visit to order your online flowers. Or you check one of the online yellow pages websites.

]]> http://ark2u.com/best-on-line-florist/feed/ http://ark2u.com/happy-4th-of-july-a-kindness-kind-of-day/ http://ark2u.com/happy-4th-of-july-a-kindness-kind-of-day/#comments Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:13:05 +0000 Karen http://ark2u.com/?p=27 First of all, Happy 4th of July. If you are reading this than I want you to know that I appreciate you and your comments. For me today was one of those days where “Kindness” seemed all around and for no apparent reason. It seemed to just be Random !!

First, I was in the ATM drive thru line getting some money and a man approached. Okay, I am the first to admit that it wasn’t his smartest timing, but alas, he meant well. He had gotten out of his car and wanted us to know that we had a brake light out. I already knew this, but yet began to think about the hundreds of people who have probably noticed it and not said a word. People that were in much better positions to approach me and did not. For whatever reason, this man did and for that I felt fortunate.
After leaving the bank, we stopped at the Farmer’s Market with my mom and dad. As I have said before, my father is sick with Alzheimer’s Disease. Most people that know our family are aware of this and the reactions vary from overly friendly to obviously trying to avoid us. I can respect both approaches as it is not an easy thing to deal with even when you are around it every day. However, I am always grateful as I was today when someone seems genuinely glad to see him and shake his hand. He doesn’t know who they are, but for that moment, he is appreciated for the man that he has always been.

Finally, I want to close with a website that I found today. It is something that I think everyone should take a look at whether you are in need or are in a position to help someone else. Wish Upon a Hero is a website that allows just those types of connections to be made. You can go there and send school supplies to a needy child or you can go and ask someone to help with your needs. It is all based on just good old human decency. Will people take advantage? Sure, maybe some will, but I bet the majority will pay it forward and as I always say, it is easy to make the world a better place with one Act of Random Kindness at a time.

So, instead of focusing on those people I call “blockers”, I will focus on those that go out of the way to make work a better place. There are a couple of people that are genuinely positve no matter the situation. They aren’t fake about it, rather they can see the good in everything. It makes work a much better place.

One of these people retired last year and I still miss her smiling face. She had been a teacher for 35 years and yet smiled at the kids and her coworkers and always had a kind word. My first week at the job, I remember having a terrible day and this lady invited me to her classroom for “tea”. It struck me as odd at the time, but looking back, it is one of the kindest things anyone could have done. After all, I wanted to be a part of this new job.

Another thing that makes an impression on me is people who not only remember my name, but take a minute to call me by name. It makes me feel like I am important enough to them and I try to do the same with others.

So, with every new year at work will come change and that is o-kay with me. What do you do to help you embrace changes?

By: Michael F. Roizen, MD

Mehemet C. Oz, MD

If you literally want to learn how to make your body both healthier and younger, then this is the book for you to read. Both my mind and my body will benefit from my recent reading of the book, You The Owner’s Manual. This book is so full of good information that it is hard to know where to begin when telling people about it. At times, the information made me cringe as I just knew the authors were talking about my bad habits and at times the book made me smile because I knew that was an area I was strong in when it came to my health and body. I guess we all have strengths and weaknesses, right?

Regardless of the feelings I had while reading this book, one thing that really impressed me was that it held my interest and was completely easy to understand. The authors went out of their way to make this a book for every person. In this, they were successful. I am not usually one for a straight nonfiction, medical type book, but this one was different.

Chapters in the book ranged from the way your home impacts your health to that dreaded “C” word, cancer, to a great diet and workout plan. It stopped at every part of your body in between as well. You The Owner’s Manual did not just tell you what you were doing wrong, but it also gave you advice on how to fix those habits immediately and what impact that would have on your “Real Age”.

I learned quickly while reading this book that age actually has little to do with the number of birthdays that you have had and rather, it has to do with how old your body is feeling and responding to the ways you are treating it.

When you look at the book, you may think it is way too much to read and absorb on such a topic, but this book is really all about the most important person in your life, YOU. For that reason alone, you can’t afford to miss it. If you have not read it, I would highly reccomend it to you and every family member that you care about. From the brutal honest truth about what is going on in your veins to the sometimes corny jokes made by the authors, this is a must read for anyone that wants to get healthier, but needs that little extra push. Get your copy of You The Owner’s Manual and start getting younger today.

There is nothing in the world like a good book and it seems that sharing them with people is a way to not only help the authors of the books, but to also give back to those of you that have taken the time to come here. So, watch for the reviews in the coming weeks as I highlight some of the books I have read.

The first thing to notice is that I put “Aunt” in quotations in referring to Aunt Catherine. Aunt Catherine was actually a cousin of my mother’s who lost her parents at a young age and grew up like a sister to my mother. Aunt Catherine died a year ago February right before Valentine’s Day.

She had fought the long and hard battle of mesothelioma including having a lung removed that allowed her to live an additional 3 years. I knew I would miss her, but lately it has been an intense feeling of something being missing from my life. She was simply an amazing woman.

Aunt Catherine had little and gave lots. You never went to her home and didn’t get an ice cream cone and more importantly, lots of love and attention. She would have given her last dollar to see her kids get what they wanted. She fought some hard roads including a bitter divorce, mental illness, and then cancer, but she stayed so positive. She was always worried about others. Even in those last weeks, concerned about my mother and father or  her daughter being able to have children.

I sat with Aunt Catherine shortly before Christmas that last year and it was one of the best spent afternoons I can remember. We talked a lot and sometimes when she was catching her breath, we just sat. I was so glad I had taken the time because sometimes I would get too busy and drive by her house thinking there would always be tomorrow.

Her daughter recently told me that the day before she died, Aunt Catherine talked about me and she wished I would reconsider having children. She wished this only because she would not want me to ever be alone in a time of illness or need. Still thinking of others even then, it didn’t surprise me, but it did touch me.

I miss Aunt Catherine, her kindness and compassion that is found in so few these days. If there is an Aunt Catherine in your life, spend time with her or him because it will be over and there you will be “missing” them terribly at the strangest times.

Sometimes, life’s journey takes us away from that one place we consider home. I know for me, the one thing that was able to take me away was meeting Tom. I loaded up my stuff, quit a good job, and waved goodbye to everything I knew. However, three years later almost to the date, I was back home again.

For me, home isn’t a building, it is a community that is filled with familiar people, places, events, and yes at times even some really strange occurrences.  It is seeing the place I first went to school and getting ice cream from the same ice cream stand that I did years ago. Home is the place I fought with my brothers and then kept their secrets from my parents. Home is where I rode my first horse, drove my first car, and danced at my first prom.

I am fortunate in that circumstances allowed me to return home and in that I have a husband that was willing to move to this tiny town where he knew nobody if that was what made me happy. Sometimes, I wish I had more money and then I look around me and see how very rich I already am. I would love to hear what home is to you even if for some reason you have to be away from it for awhile.

If you are of a particular faith, Easter can mean much more than even those things I mentioned above.  There are even some faiths that don’t celebrate Easter at all. Many people that I keep in touch with on some of my other sites have been kind enough to share with me about their faiths and views. I think it is important that we understand where other people are coming from and I think it makes a more tolerant world in general.

So, whatever Easter has in store for you, take a minute and think about a situation where you could be or even could have been more tolerant of someone that was different than you. Do your part to make this sometimes chaotic world a better place to be. Happy Easter to each of my friends and for those that don’t celebrate Easter, Happy Spring !!

I said to Tom, “Let that car in, Honey.” At which point, he reminded me that the traffic was horrendous. I simply said, “It is the nice thing to do, we aren’t in a hurry.” Of course, he let the car in because that is the type of person he tends to be. However, it got us talking about all the little chances we overlook to be nice in life. Life being life, he might not have even noticed that car if I hadn’t pointed it out.

So, don’t think globally or big, instead think of the little things you can do. If the wind blows the neighbors garbage can into the road and you have some time, pick it up and put it back on their curb. Maybe you notice someone struggling with their grocery cart in the wind or bad weather. Got a minute? Stop and help them if you are able. These little things will all add up to making the world a kinder and nice place. It will only happen with one act of random kindness at a time.