An open letter to my daughter, from her biological mother.

Seventeen years ago on January 30, I gave birth to a little girl who God intended for another family. I was in no position to raise a child, and He knew the best life for her was with adoptive parents.

I am at peace with the choices I made, but it doesn’t mean I stop thinking of you, my darling daughter. You are always in my thoughts and prayers, as are your parents. I thank God that he was able to provide a family for you, and hope that you have brought them great joy.

My thoughts are with you even more at this time of year, at your birthday. I think of all the things you must have done in the last year, and all the things you have to look forward to this year. I wonder if your Mother or your Father taught you to drive, or was it both? Have you started dating yet? Do you have a steady boyfriend? Did you wear your Mother’s pearls for your Homecoming dance? Are you excited about your Senior Prom?

I think about your future more and more as well. Are you planning on attending college? Have you already been accepted somewhere? Do you know what your major will be?

And of course, I wonder if you think of me. I wonder if your parents have shared the knowledge of your adoption with you, making sure you know how much they love you, that they chose you to complete their family. I wonder if you appreciate their love as much as I do.

As you grow closer to adulthood, I wonder even more often if you want to find me, to meet me. I know I cannot and should not take the place of your beloved mother, but perhaps you want to see the woman who birthed you. My mother still lives at the same address and the same phone number that were on your adoption papers, and she knows to give you or your parents my current contact information should you reach out for any reason.

I hope you have a wonderful birthday. I wish you a life full of love and happiness with a family who cherishes you as much as I do. I love you more than you can know and always will.

Jennifer Ray
http://www.jenaray.com/

Tanner’s Scheme Contest – Final Winner!

I put the four names of the winners from the four rounds in a bowl and drew one as the winner of a copy of Lora Leigh’s book Tanner’s Scheme, and Kimberly L is the winner!!!

Kimberly, I need you to email me privately with the address you would like me to ship your book to. You can email me at ‘contest @ jenaray .com’ (without the spaces in the address.)

Thanks for playing, everyone! I’ve got another duplicate book to share with you guys, so I’ll launch a new contest in the next few weeks and post details once I have them worked out.

Jennifer Ray
http://www.jenaray.com/

Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream

I only recently discovered the yumminess of mango, thanks to a couple of friends who served some fresh mango for dessert when I was visiting them a few months ago. I was quickly addicted, being a lover of fruit.

Then I discovered Mango Smoothies at Books-A-Million. Again, addictive.

To my eternal dismay, I am certain, I have now discovered that Haagen-Dazs makes a fantastic ice cream in a Mango flavor. Not only is the ice cream itself flavored with this tropical fruit, but there are whole chunks of mango in the ice cream. I have to say I am very glad that Haagen-Dazs only comes in pint sizes.

My only complaint is that some of the mango chunks are a bit large. I think it could be even better if the mango were more bite-size.
So, while looking at the Haagen-Dazs site after discovering the Mango Ice Cream at my local grocery store, I found something new on their site: Haagen-Dazs Reserve. But guess what? It is only available in certain areas, and Tennessee is not listed as one of those areas. Still, I will definitely be keeping an eye out for these flavors, as I am sure they are fantastic.

The Reserve line currently has six distinct flavors: Brazilian Acai Berry Sorbet, Amazon Valley Chocolate, Pomegranate Chip, Hawaiian Lehua Honey & Sweet Cream, Toasted Coconut Sesame Brittle, and Pomegranate & Dark Chocolate Bar. The only flavor that doesn’t appeal to me is the Toasted Coconut Sesame Brittle, but only because I can’t stand coconut. For those who enjoy it, this flavor sounds fantastic!

Even though it is not available in all states yet, Haagen-Dazs provides a link to an online store that will ship it, along with many other brands of ice cream. Of course, I’m not willing to pay $30 in shipping for a pint of ice cream, so that option is out for me.

The flavors I am most interested in are the Brazilian Acai Berry Sorbet, Pomegranate Chip, and Hawaiian Lehua Honey & Sweet Cream.

If any of you have tried any of the Haagen-Dazs Reserve line, I’d love to hear what you think of the flavors! Maybe I can live vicariously through those of you in states that sell it… LOL Oh, and if you do buy it, be sure to check out their website for the tasting notes – they include wine and cheese pairings! *grin*

Meanwhile, definitely try the Haagen-Dazs Mango Ice Cream, if you enjoy Mango. I’ll definitely be buying that flavor again!

Jennifer Ray
http://www.jenaray.com/

Tanner’s Scheme Contest – Round 4 – Winner

It’s been a hectic week so I didn’t get this posted yesterday. My apologies if I kept anyone in suspense.

Kimberly L. won Round 4 also on Monday with her correct answer to the first clue for Round 4. The answer was ‘Waffle’. I am posting all of the clues below for those who are curious.

1. You slide me in a slit to get me hot.
2. Your gooey liquid fills my holes.
3. You eat me in the morning.

I will be drawing the overall winner from the four rounds this week and posting the winner here on this blog. Thanks to everyone who played!

Jennifer Ray
http://www.jenaray.com/

Did I get lucky or what??? (January Kwips Reviews)

I think I hit the jackpot of review books this month. Or maybe someone was being really good to me in light of the fact that it is my birthday this month… Whatever the case, I totally lucked out in my reading list this month. Not one of the books I read could be described as less than ‘really good’ and most were better than that.

I’ve posted links below for you to each of the books I reviewed for CK2S Kwips & Kritiques in January 2008. I hope you guys enjoy some of these books too – if not all of them!

And don’t forget to take a peek at some of the other reviews while you are at the Kwips site! We have a really great team with some diverse reading interests, and I think you’ll appreciate their reviews as well.

Jennifer Ray
http://www.jenaray.com/

My January 2008 Reviews:

Shifter by Angela Knight, Lora Leigh, Alyssa Day, and Virginia Kantra

Look What Santa Brought by Annmarie McKenna

Elemental Witches, Book 2: Witch Blood by Anya Bast

Pleasure Games, Book 3: Pleasure Exchange by Cathryn Fox

The Hot Line by Cathryn Fox

Spin the Bottle by Elizabeth Scott

The Fortune Hunter by Jasmine Haynes

Home for Christmas by Kate Davies

The Knights of White, Book 2: Beast of Desire by Lisa Renee Jones

Tempting SEALs, Book 5: Killer Secrets by Lora Leigh

The Breeds, Book 4: Dawn’s Awakening by Lora Leigh

Black Widow by Mackenzie McKade

Incognito, Book 8: Conquering Connie by Madison Layle & Anna Leigh Keaton

Love Me, Still by Maya Banks

Psy-Changelings, Book 4: Mine to Possess by Nalini Singh

Miracle at Midnight by Stacia Wolf

Dream Guardians, Book 2: Heat of the Night by Sylvia Day

Vampire Queen, Book 2: Mark of the Vampire Queen by Joey W. Hill

Tanner’s Scheme contest – Round 4, Clue #1

This is the 1st clue for Round 4 of the Tanner’s Scheme contest! You can read the full details of the contest on the Contests page of my website. This is the final round, and after it is over, I will draw a winner from the four names that won each round.

Clue #1, Round 4:

“You slide me in a slit to get me hot.”

Good luck!!!

Jennifer Ray
http://www.jenaray.com/

Review! Neutrogena Healthy Skin Rejuvenator, The Anti Aging Power Treatment Kit

In December 2007, Amazon Vine sent me the
Neutrogena Healthy Skin Rejuvenator, The Anti Aging Power Treatment Kit to review. I had been wanting to try microderma-brasion or something similar for a while, so I was very pleased to review this item.

You can read my review for the
Neutrogena Healthy Skin Rejuvenator, The Anti Aging Power Treatment Kit here.

My past Amazon Vine reviews:

• Beauty Bureau Stick Scents Holiday 3 Pack Of Reed Diffusers, 1 Each Of 8-Ounce Holiday Spice, Winter Forest and Candy Cane
• Corel Painter Essentials 4
• Homedics SBM-300H Therapist Select Shiatsu PLUS Massaging Cushion with Heat
• Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks
• Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse
• Philips Sonicare FlexCare Rechargeable Sonic Toothbrush

Have a fantastic weekend!!!

Jennifer Ray
http://www.jenaray.com/

Tagged! – Seven Random Facts About Me

My friend Denise decided to tag me yesterday… So my mission now is to post 7 random facts about myself and tag 7 other people to do the same… Check Denise’s random facts on her
blog!

1. I was switched at birth. No joke. On January 19, 1971, there were only two babies in the whole Niceville, Florida hospital and somehow they got us switched when they bathed us. Luckily, I had no hair, so when they brought my mother a baby with hair, she refused it, insisting hers was bald!
2. When I was in kindergarten, I curiously stuck a metal barrette into an electrical outlet during naptime. Hey, I was bored and inquisitive! Mom threw out all of my metal barrettes and they never ever put my nap mat next to an electrical outlet again. LOL
3. No one even tried to kiss me until I was 17 years old…
4. My senior year in high school, I entered the talent contest. I beat the boy who would later become Jennifer Lopez’s second husband, Cris Judd. He and his pals did a dance routine (go figure) and me? I did a comedic mime of Little Miss Muffet revisited… I wonder if he tells people that story?
5. My family’s property back in Florida has tons of Azalea bushes, blooming in several colors: red, purple, pink, and white. When I was little, I figured out that I could string them together with a needle and thread to make flower leis out of them. I made them for all of the women in our family, myself, and the one neighbor lady we had. Grandma kept hers in the fridge to make it last as long as possible.
6. I’m a food lesbian. I don’t eat anything with nuts. Except boiled peanuts – for some reason I love those.
7. There isn’t much I won’t do if I want to, but I am not susceptible at all to dares or peer pressure.

As for who I want to know 7 random facts about? Hmmm… I think I shall tag Elizabeth Amber, Natasha, Roni Chadwick, Lisa Renee Jones, Diane, Kelley, and Debbie. I can’t wait to see what they come up with!

Jennifer Ray
http://www.jenaray.com/

Tanner’s Scheme contest – Round 3 – Winner

Normally I would be posting the second clue for Round 3 today, but Kimberly guessed the correct answer from the first clue on Tuesday! Because she won that round, her name will be in the drawing for a copy of Lora Leigh’s book, Tanner’s Scheme at the end of all four rounds. For the curious, the answer to Round 3 was ‘Aunt’, and I am posting all three of the clues for it below:

1. I’m a four letter word.
2. I’m a name for a woman.
3. I end in “U-N-T.”

Jennifer Ray
http://www.jenaray.com/

Perfect Gift for the Divorcee…

Ever need a gift for a newly divorced female friend? Amazon.com has the perfect thing, and in six different colors! The Ex 5-Piece Stainless-Steel Knife Set with Unique Holder can be found in Chrome, Pink, White, Black, Red, and Apple Green. How to describe it? Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I won’t even try to describe it. Just take a gander for yourself…

Come to think of it, I may know a few married women who could use one of these on their kitchen counter… LOL

Of course, as a single gal, I’m thinking it may be a mistake having one of these babies on my kitchen counter. What do you think the chances are of a second date once the fellow in question gets an eyeful of this? LOL

Jennifer Ray
http://www.jenaray.com/