A Simply Wonderful Life

Free E-books

2012-01-21T04:30:00.000-08:00

This month, we're offering our readers two free ebooks on Smashwords.

The first offering is a copy of A Simply Wonderful Holiday, a book that will help you navigate through next year's holidays calmly. This tiny booklet is packed with cost-saving and time-saving tips for decorating, shopping and entertaining. It includes gift and greeting card lists that you can customize and refer to year after year. Simply click on this link, A Simply Wonderful Holiday, and download your free copy.

Our second offering can also be found on Smashwords. Lea Ryan's Destined for Darkness, is a story about a young woman who inherits her grandmother's mansion and receives more than just a house. She inherits the family secrets and, interestingly enough, her grandmother’s strange friends. To get your copy, go to the link Destined for Darkness, and place your order. Enter the coupon code GR35C to get it for free. This offer is good until 1/29/2012.

A New Use for My Kindle

2012-01-19T17:35:00.000-08:00

I just discovered a creative new use for my Kindle. It has a feature that allows you to email PDFs to your device. I have emailed a PDF of my speech notes for the appearance I'll be making this week. I'll take my Kindle with me and use it in place of old-fashioned note cards while I'm speaking. I won't have to make note cards or shuffle them while I'm talking. I'll be able to just open the document and subtly thumb through it as needed.

2012-01-15T06:18:00.000-08:00

This coming Saturday, January 21, I will be at the Greenwood, Indiana library, speaking about how to get organized in the coming year. I'll talk about how you can overcome the challenges and develop a plan for simplifying your life in the days to come. The program, which starts at 10:00 a.m., is free and open to the public. Join me for a fun, informative hour. See the Greenwood Public Library site for details.

Beautiful Boston

2012-01-11T06:29:00.000-08:00

Boston is one of my favorite places to visit. Everything you could ever want in a destination city is there. Are you looking for historical sites? You can tread the same streets that Paul Revere and Benjamin Franklin walked in Boston. Do you seek art and antiquities? Boston has some absolutely awe-inspiring museums. Do you want to attend a great sporting event? You can do that in Boston, as well. Do you want to sample great food? You definitely won’t go hungry in this city.

While you can see Boston’s highlights in a single day, a longer stay will provide you with a much richer experience. Below are suggestions for what I considered to be three great days in Boston.

If you only have one day:
Hit the Freedom Trail. The trail winds through the streets of Boston and is marked by either a red brick or red paint line on the city sidewalks. You can download a free map from Cityofboston.gov/freedomtrail. It’s a circular route, so you can start wherever you like. We started our journey at the USS Constitution and then followed the path through some of the most beautiful streets that I have ever seen. Some of the other highlights of Boston’s Freedom Trail include:

o The Boston Common
o The State House
o Historic cemeteries
o The Old Corner Book Store
o Faneuil Hall
o The Paul Revere House
o The Old North Church
o Bunker Hill

You will see so many other wonderful sites as you walk. You truly will experience the best of Boston in one day.

If you have a second day:
Plan on spending your entire day at the Museum of Fine Arts, MFA.org. You will not regret it. It is, without a doubt, the finest museum I have ever visited. I saw Paul Revere silver, jewelry, musical instruments, ancient artifacts and paintings from the Grand Masters. You could actually spend several days at this museum and not see it all.

If you have a third day:
Plan your day around a Red Sox game at Fenway. I don’t even like baseball but I loved going to a Sox game. Get there early and wander the surrounding area, visiting the shops and indulging in a wide variety of good, cheap food from the snack shops and street vendors. There really is nothing as Americana as the energy and excitement surrounding Fenway on game day. For ticket information, go to Redsox.com.

For other travel tips, see my book, Simply Wonderful Travels, which is available only on Amazon.com

Kindle Cover & Travel Tip

2012-01-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, I picked up a Kindle from my local Target store. It didn't come with a cover and Target was out of them, so I ordered this one from Amazon. I love it. It allows me to slip my Kindle into my purse or large pocket and take it everywhere with me.

Here's a travel tip: Kindle allows you to email documents to even the most modest of Kindle models. Before you travel, email copies of your itinerary and confirmations to your Kindle so that you won't be burdened with paper copies while you travel. Even if you misplace your Kindle, those documents will still be available in your email account.

New York City

2012-01-03T17:46:00.000-08:00

New York, New York. It is a fantastic city, but one that is expensive to visit. Many vacationers find the cost of NYC hotel rooms to be prohibitively expensive. However, staying across the river in Jersey can provide a cost-saving alternative to the higher priced hotels in Manhattan. Taking a short, inexpensive subway or ferry ride into the city is well worth the trade-off when you consider the hundreds of dollars that you might be able to save on your vacation.

When you’re ready to start your New York sightseeing adventure, tackle it in much the same way as described in my previous post about London. If you do it right, taking in one section of the city on each day, you can see the highlights of the city on a three-day visit.

Day One
Take a subway to the north side and hop off right in the basement of the American Natural History Museum, (http://www.amnh.org/). Spend your morning there, taking in all of the famous attractions seen in the movie, “Night at the Museum,” then grab a quick lunch in the neighborhood or right in the museum. After lunch, head across Central Park, checking out Belvedere Castle on your way through and then walk over to The Museum of Modern Art (http://moma.org/) to spend the rest of your day there.

Day Two
Head into the center of the city and start your day at the TKTS ticket booth in Times Square. Grab a cup of coffee at one of the shops on the square and then step into the long line to buy half-price tickets to an afternoon performance of one of the latest Broadway shows.

After you’ve snagged your tickets for the matinee, walk to Rockefeller Center, passing Radio City Music Hall along the way. Go to the top of the Rock and take in the view. When you come back down to earth, grab a quick lunch in a genuine New York City deli (there are several in this area) before you go to the matinee. After the show, you’ll be ready for another walk, so take a stroll to the Empire State Building. Watch the sunset go down from the top of the tower and then head back downstairs a hearty dinner in the Heartland Brewery, located right next to the Empire State Building lobby.

Day Three
On day three, you’ll explore the southern tip of the city. You can take a ferry from either the NYC side or the Jersey side of the river. The ferry will take you to Ellis Island and once you’ve finished visiting that site, you can hop back onto the ferry to go to see Lady Liberty. There is a restaurant just yards from the base of the statue, which is an excellent spot to grab a quick lunch. Just remember that if you want to go up into the lovely lady’s crown, you must order tickets well in advance. Go to http://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htmfor details.

In the afternoon, take the ferry back to the mainland and go to Ground Zero. After paying your respects at that site, be sure to take a walk through the historic St. Paul’s Chapel which stands just across the street from the World Trade Center. Both sites are, of course, quite somber, so be prepared to shed a few tears. However, you will not regret making the visit. Combining a visit to Ground Zero with a trip to the Statue of Liberty will leave you with a renewed sense of patriotism that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. I promise you that you will come away with the knowledge that freedom is not just an outdated concept from our nation’s history.

If you haven’t lingered too awfully long at either of those sites, you might have enough time to go back to Times Square and pick up tickets for an evening show. A quick pre-show dinner can be had at any one of dozens of restaurants on Times Square.

Miscellaneous Tips
On the subway: No matter what you read on the website, subway maps are not readily available in the stations. They have plenty map holders, just no maps. Also, unlike other cities such as D.C. and London, you cannot jump on just anywhere and get where you want to go. Pay attention to whether you want the A, B, C, etc. train and look for entrances marked accordingly. Entrances to the subway are plentiful but you may have to look around for the specific entrance you need.

Shopping: The most important thing you need to know about the glamorous, high-price stores in New York is that they offer discount shopping passes to visitors who live outside the State of New York. Just visit the customer service counter in each store, present your out-of-state driver’s license or passport and staff there will present you with a one-day discount shopping pass good for 10% to 20% off of nearly anything you buy, including sale items.

What to wear: People in New York City are fashionable, yet sensible. Wear your walking shoes. You will be walking . . . and walking and walking and walking. While some people dress for the theatre in the evening, casual wear is acceptable nearly everywhere. You’ll see plenty of tourists sporting casual clothes and carrying their shopping bags from the day into the theatre.

For other helpful travel tips, download a copy of my book, Simply Wonderful Travels from Amazon.com.

Next week, I'll post an interesting itinerary for Boston.

London Travel Tips

2011-10-18T03:19:00.000-07:00

When I travel, I don’t want to waste one precious minute of my vacation time. The problem is, how do you make the most of those precious vacation hours when you’re touring a town that you’ve never before set foot in? As always, organization is the key. A little preplanning can make the difference between a so-so vacation and a great vacation.

First, do some research on a travel site such as http://www.tripadvisor.com/to see exactly what unique treasures your destination has to offer. Next, make a list of all of those places that seem to be calling your name, including museums, amusement parks, zoos, restaurants and shopping areas. Group those sites by location within the city, then pick a different area to visit each day.

When planning an upcoming trip to London, I structured our itinerary around Tube (subway) stops, picking one station per day and planning our activities accordingly. For example, Holburn Station is within walking distance of Covent Garden, the Charles Dickens Museum and the British Museum. We will take one short Tube ride on that day and then enjoy all three of those sites. Planning our trip in this way saves us transportation time and money. One Tube ride everyday is obviously less expensive and time-consuming than multiple rides.

The Tube is the most economical and easiest mode of travel. Get an Oyster card on-line before you leave home and you’ll be all set for the ride from the airport to your hotel when you arrive. The Oyster card site is: https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do. In order to master the Tube in advance, visit http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en, and use the Journey Planner to determine your routes. Print out your routes and take them with you so you won’t have to wander around lost in the London underground.

The itinerary below concentrates solely on London. Many Americans who travel to London try to spend just a couple of days there and then spend time running all about the U.K. and other nearby European countries. However, if you want to really get the feel of London, I suggest staying there for several days and soaking up the culture.

SEVEN DAYS IN LONDON

Day 1You’re going to have jetlag when you arrive. Rest and take it easy on your arrival day. Concentrate on staying awake until bedtime in London in order to get acclimated to the time zone. Get your bearings. Talk to the staff at your hotel and ask about nearby restaurants, Tube stations and shopping.

Day 2On this day, you are going to learn the lay of the land. Start your day with a tour of The London Eye and get a bird’s eye view of the city. You can order tickets on-line at http://www.londoneye.com/. Ordering your tickets on-line is not only cheaper than paying at the door but it also allows you to skip the long lines at the ticket counter. When you disembark from The Eye, take a walking tour of the city. You can hire a touring company to give you a guided tour or you can download several free self-guided walking tours from http://www.londontoolkit.com/. This site details several self-guided walks that will lead you to all of the major sites, including some of the royal palaces.

Day 3
Today, go check out the Tower of London. Order your tickets on-line for this attraction by visiting http://www.blogger.com/www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/planyourvisit/default.aspx. While you’re on that website, read up on the Ceremony of the Keys and learn how to order free tickets for that nightly event. Plan on spending your afternoon touring the Tower and seeing the Crown Jewels. Once the Tower closes, head out to a nearby pub for a leisurely dinner and then return later in the evening for the Key Ceremony.

Day 4
You should have fully adjusted to the time zone by now. Hire a coach from http://www.londontoolkit.com/tours/premium_windsor_stonehenge_bath.htmand take a day trip to Windsor, Bath and Stonehenge. They will pick you up from a local hotel, drive you to the sites and feed you lunch at a local pub. You will be deposited back at your hotel later in the evening.

Day 5Start your day at Leicester Square where you can visit the TKTS booth and pick up deeply discounted theatre tickets for a show that evening. Once you’ve secured your tickets, wander over to Harrods and spend the afternoon bumping about that iconic department. Late in the afternoon, enjoy a late tea in the elegant Georgian Restaurant on Harrods fourth floor. The sandwiches and desserts they serve are generous enough to constitute dinner for the evening. Afternoon tea at Harrods is quite popular, so make your reservations on-line well in advance of your visit by applying at http://www.blogger.com/www.harrods.com/content/visiting-the-store/restaurants/georgian-restaurant. It is my understanding that Harrods has several restaurants but that The Georgian on the Fourth Floor is the best. After enjoying your tea, then take a stroll to the theatre for your evening entertainment.

Day 6This is a museum day. The charming Charles Dickens Museum and the impressive British Museum are both within a short walk of the Holburn Tube station. As of this writing, the admission for the Dickens Museum is £8 per person, but the British Museum is free. For a lovely website offering all of the information you need to know regarding London’s Museum Mille, visit http://www.museum-mile.org.uk/. Covent Garden, with its abundance of shops and restaurants, is the perfect place to wrap up your day with shopping and dining.

Day 7
Today’s destination in the Notting Hill Tube station. From there you can visit the area made famous by the movie of the same name. Wander the Portobello Road Market and then explore the Natural History Museum. In the evening, indulge in the fun and surprisingly informative Jack the Ripper tour led by http://www.thejacktherippertour.com, the top rated tour of its kind by http://www.tripadvisor.com/.

If you are fortunate enough to have more than seven days in London, you should be able to fill the rest of your days with visits to the London Zoo, the many palaces and more free museums. You will never run out of fun and interest things to do during your visit to London. As Samuel Johnson said, "When a man is tired of London he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." As a matter of fact, there is a fun little website by the same name that provides information on daily activities on London. You can reach that site at http://www.tiredoflondontiredoflife.com/.
For other helpful travel tips, download a copy my book, Simply Wonderful Travels, at http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Wonderful-Travels-ebook/dp/B003T9UXDS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318847972&sr=8-1.

Nest week on this blog, I’ll post an organized itinerary for short trip to New York City.

Best Manners Book for Kids

2011-05-18T16:15:00.000-07:00

My son's favorite book when he was growing up was "Disney's Elegant Book of Manners." I misplaced my copy years ago and would look for a new copy whenever it came to mind. My daughter-in-law found one on Amazon quite some time ago. I found mine this week. I don't know why this book is so difficult to find and so expensive, but I bought my latest copy used through Amazon. It is a short, sweet book that teaches kids all of the manners they need to carry them through life.

Interview with Author Lea Ryan

2010-09-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

What follows is a brief interview with Ryan Lea, the author of "Babylon Dragon," and the recently released "McDowell Sisters and Annabeth." Both works are currently available through Amazon.com.

When did you start writing?
I decided to try to write fiction about six or seven years ago. I spent two years writing a novel that I didn't think turned out well enough to publish. It is currently gathering dust on a CD-R somewhere.

After that rough first attempt, I spent four years writing Babylon Dragon and studying writing. I finished college during that time, so I was also writing research papers and many other equally boring assignments. I probably would have finished that much sooner if I had more spare time.

Do you have any other projects in the works?I have outlines for a second AnnaBeth novel and a novella, but I've been trying to focus on the MacDowell Sisters & AnnaBeth release tasks.

Have you ventured into any other genres?The two books I have out thus far probably fit into the fantasy genre.

I've dabbled in horror a little and I'd like to do a horror novel some time. My short story, "Amy" (free for download on Smashwords), is a zombie story.

I want to do a children's book too. That is probably an odd goal for me to have, given what I usually write. I want to do a children's book that has a creepy fairytale edge, similar to what Neil Gaiman does.

When do you find time to write, given that you have a family and a full time job?I write whenever, wherever I can. I almost always have either my Ipaq PDA or a spiral bound notebook with me. I write on lunch breaks, while I'm riding in a car or while just waiting. Friday nights are primo, golden writing time. I'm a bit of a workaholic.

What do you consider to be your major influences?Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, James Patterson, and Janet Evanovich. Each of them has their unique strengths. Sometimes I read their books because I want their writing abilities to rub off on me.

How long did it take you to write your first two novels and what was your process?I wrote MacDowell Sisters & AnnaBeth in three months. I had a rough outline. I don't usually write without some idea as to where I'm going. There were some parts I added on subsequent edits/rewrites, connections that weren't made the first time around. The writing went pretty well. My second novel was much easier to write than Babylon Dragon.

What do you like to read and what is the best book you've ever read?
Oh my. There have been so many. I'm not sure I could pick just one. I've loved Alice in Wonderland since childhood. I love books that are easy to escape into. That one definitely qualifies. I also really love "Cell" by Stephen King and "The Taking" by Dean Koontz.

Is your family/husband supportive?My husband wasn't supportive at first. He didn't understand why I was writing and maybe he thought I was being weird. He's a left brainer. He is getting better though. He's adjusting to the idea that this is what I want to do, that the writing isn't just a passing phase for me. The rest of my family is very supportive, especially my mom.

Visit Lea's website at www.LeaRyan.com and check out her witty blog at Lea-Ryan.blogspot.com.