Giveaway – All I’ve Wanted All I’ve Needed by A E Valdez @aevaldez_author @Xpressotours

All I’ve Wanted All I’ve Needed
A.E. Valdez
Publication date: July 23rd 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Harlow Shaw feels naïve for believing in happily ever afters but she craves a love that lights her up.

She thought she had it all with her boyfriend. Until his promising baseball career overshadows their relationship and he asks her a life changing question. It causes her to wonder if what they have is all she ever truly wanted.

Harlow is yearning for more than the curated life she is living.

A trip to Bali, a move to Seattle, and a “burned” cup of coffee lead her to a friendship she didn’t know she needed and a love so deep she can feel it in her bones.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

Harlow

I should’ve known something was up when a race red Ferrari pulled up to my house. Hendrix has always been flashy, from his material items to his personality. He commands the spaces he occupies. Hendrix is a man used to going after, and getting, anything and anyone he wants.

Except me. I’m the girl to tell him, “No.”

My response stuns him, and he asks, “It’s a no then?”

Slowly, he rises from the kneeling position he adopted mere seconds ago to ask me this life changing question.

“You deserve better than me,” I say as tears sting my eyes. I’m aware people are staring now. I thought we were in for an intimate night, sitting at a candle-lit table scattered with rose petals, tucked away at the back of the restaurant. But there’s nothing intimate about prying eyes focused on us, watching me refuse my boyfriend’s proposal.

He sits back down in his seat and reaches across the table for my hand. “You’re my beginning and end, Harlow. All I want is you.”

I can’t bring myself to meet his gaze. Staring into his honey brown eyes will only make this harder.

He watches me in silence, probably trying to figure out why I would say no to his proposal. We’ve been together for two years and things were going great. We’re often the couple people describe as “relationship goals.” But despite seeming picture perfect, I can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t lasting love.

“Don’t you ever feel like we’re just settling, Hendrix? As though we’re together because we’re comfortable, not because we’re in love with one another?” My eyes still haven’t met his. I didn’t want to have to sift through this with him tonight. I hadn’t expected him to propose to me. I for damn sure didn’t expect him to do it in a public place.

Still not letting go of my hand, he asks, “Are you saying you’re no longer in love with me?”


Author Bio:

A.E. Valdez discovered her passion for writing when she was given a journal by her 5th grade teacher and has been creating poetry, works of fiction, and gaming narratives ever since. As a child, she wanted to read more stories with people that looked like her.

She loves all things romance, from heartbreak to happily ever afters. She pours her own heart and soul into the stories she brings to life. Causing readers to fall in, and sometimes out, of love alongside her characters.

Amanda currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their two sons. Most days you can find her sipping on an iced latte while she writes or enjoying time with her family.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest


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My Adventures -The Citrus Bowl #CitrusBowl #Gatorland #Orlando

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Hope the new year has started out with a bang for you too. We could see the fireworks show happening at the parks from our hotel, the Rosen Inn in Orlando, Florida.

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The Rosen Inn was a great place to stay. Close to all kinds of good things, including the parks.
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The view from our room
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If there is a Hooters around, you will find us there. LOL
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MMMMM…chicken tenders. My favorite Hooters treat.
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Mr Wonderful lots his wings smokin’ hot.
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We started out December with a couple quickie road trips and a family visit to Birmingham, Alabama. BUT the highlight was Orlando and the Citrus Bowl. It’s not very often Michigan plays Alabama and it has been since 1997, the Outback Bowl in Tampa, that we have battled. Alabama edged us out, 17 -14. We never made it to the Orange Bowl in 2000, where Michigan beat Alabama, 35 – 34, in an overtime showdown or their first meeting was in 1987, where we won 28 – 24. So, 2 out of 4 games ain’t bad. 🙂

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BUT…before the game, we had some things to do.

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This is a fabulous shot by Mr Wonderful, in the mini golf parking lot.
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What color is your ball?
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Blue for me and Michigan, Red for Mr Wonderful and Alabama
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Enter…if you dare.
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Mr Wonderful is always such a happy guy and lives life 110%.
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THEN, it’s off to see some birds and gators…at Gatorland.

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I was looking for photo ops and never saw it.
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There were lots of other birds, but we only saw one of theses, a Roseate Spoonbill.
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This is the bit guy…and because he doesn’t play well with others he has his own place.
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Tourists….not my favorite part of Gatorland, but was fun.
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MMMMMMMM…yummy
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A jump and a miss
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The nursery
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Dinner time and if it’s good enough for Elvish, it’s good enough for us. LOL
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A Bloody Mary for him…
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A margarita for me….

Mr Wonderful hunted down the pic from the Outback Bowl in Tampa in 1997. Nice comparisons. We haven’t aged a bit, have we? LOL

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Partying in Tampa in 199!!!!!!!!!!!
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And here we are at the Citrus Bowl in 2020.

We stayed at the Rosen Inn and were in walking distance to the pep rally’s and all kinds of eateries and entertainment. Jim Harbaugh was supposed to show….but we all know how that goes. 🙁

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Mr Wonderful is a babe magnet. LOL

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Even the dogs came out for Michigan.

We did a little tailgating before the game. A guy was going through the parking lot selling these baby yoda T shirts and I had to have one.

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You can see the flyover HERE.

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It has become hard to carry my SLR cameras around, so we shot with our phones. Not too shabby. We left for home right after the game. We had a great time and I’LL BE BACK WITH MORE ADVENTURES, SO STAY TUNED. Until then, happy journeys to you.

Sherry’s Shelves #202 – Homestead Here We Come @KyleBusch

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Sherry’s Shelves #202 is my blog update from 11.10.19 – 11.16.19.

LATEST HAPPENINGS

Hello fellow bloggers. How are you today? I am doing this post while watching college football, my normal during the football season. I don’t watch a lot of Nascar since Jeff Gordon retired. We thought about it long and hard and chose Kyle Busch to be our champion. I loved his snarky, confident attitude. He has settled down since getting married and having kids. I thought it was funny that Mr Wonderful spends about five minutes on I10 going to work in the morning and what did he see the other day? The M&M truck that holds all Kyle Busch’s goodies, heading for Homestead. He is in the running for the championship and I wish him all the luck. We will be flipping back and forth on TV, watching the race and pro football.

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It’s been chilly here with some rain and sunshine both. It has warmed up a little today and I need to clean the pool, but hey, who are we fooling. I won’t be getting in it, so no big deal. I’ll get to it…eventually. LOL How about you? I have gotten pretty good at taking care of business, especially knocking out the things I want to do the least, Otherwise it hangs in the back of my head, driving me nuts. Are you a procrastinator, putting off til tomorrow what you could do today? Would you rather binge watch TV? Catch a good movie? Read a good book? Do some blogging? Or just hang out with the family?

Well, that’s about it for this week. Leave a link and I’ll stop by and check you out.

LAST WEEK ON fundinmental

COMING UP ON fundinmental

  • Sherry’s Shelves
  • Music Monday – Running Up the Hill by Kate Bush
  • Giveaway – Two Thousand Lines by Michelle Jester
  • Giveaway – Death & Consiracy by Seeley James
  • Review – Gideon by Alex Gordon
  • Giveaway & Review – The Last Thing She Said by Lauren Carr
  • Books From the Backlog – The Force of Patriots by Cameron Reddy
  • Review – A Time for Murder by Jon Land
  • Turkey Basted to Death by Jodi Rath
  • It Starts With A Blizzard – Extinct by Ike Hamill

What are you up to this week? Reading any good books? Watching any good movies?

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  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
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  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
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Sherry’s Shelves #181- Golf & Senior Bowl #Senior Bowl

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Sherry’s Shelves #181 is my weekly update from 1.24.19 – 1.30.19.

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Hi Everyone. Hope you had a great week and managed to stay warm at this cold weather hits. The sun may be out here in Florida, but, man oh man, it is chilly. I get goose bumps if there is a slight breeze and it’s under 70. I forgot to look at the grass this morning, but the temp was under 40. Yesterday we had frost, YUK! That’s just wrong

I don’t know if I am having allergy attacks or getting a cold, OH NO. I started last year with a horrible case of the flu, so I am leery of being out and about this time of year. Looks like maybe I wasn’t careful enough, you know, WASH YOUR HANDS, DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE, type of stuff.

Oh well, such is life…and there is lots of blogging to do. Let me know what your week has been like and I hope you have a good one.

We played golf on Tuesday and this is how I felt.

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This is how Mr Wonderful felt.

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And I gave up…

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What you can’t see…I had a car blanket wrapped around my legs too. LOL

And…the Reese’s Senior Bowl is in town so we made a quick stop in Mobile, Alabama. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate and the rain finally moved in. Didn’t bother me. I was so cold, I was over it anyway. LOL Damn this getting older. When I was even 5 years younger, this wouldn’t have stopped me. Now it’ been there, done that, have the T-shirt…and I do have the T-shirt. LOL

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How about you? Are you a cold weather lover, or is the steamy tropics for you?

LAST WEEK ON fundinmental

THIS WEEK ON fundinmental

I will be adding more as the week goes on.

  • Sherry’s Shelves
  • Monday Mini Review – Mermaid’s Carol by Abigail Keam
  • Review – Gypsy Bride by Lawna Mackie
  • Review – The More Things Change by Perry Prete
  • Friday 56
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  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
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Sherry’s Shelves #121 – The Masters Week

Sherry’s Shelves #113 is my weekly update from April 2 – April 8, 2017.

Sunday Post #201 Countdown to Spring..

Stacking The Shelves {200}

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Hello fellow bloggers.

I don’t know about you, but my week has been about The Masters Golf Tournament and working outside in this gorgeous weather we are now having.

Mr Wonderful and I play golf whenever we get the chance and we always play The Masters lottery. We were fortunate to win tickets to the 2006 Masters for Sunday, but we sold them for tickets to the Par 3 contest and the balance payed for our trip from Rochester, New York to Augusta, Georgia. Ya can’t beat that.

I want to start off with my favorite player…Freddie Couples. He is making an appearance and in the running at 57 years old…and he still looks fabulous to me.

I am sad to say one of the players I followed for years made an appearance, but did not play. I believe Tiger Woods could have been the best player of all time, but golf takes its toll on the human body and the players can play a heavy price.

After The Master’s Tournament, there will be a three part series about one of the most famous players in the game of golf, Jack Nicklaus. It was great to see him and Gary Player tee up to open the tournament this year and Arnold Palmer will be sadly missed.

There is one hole…I can’t remember what number it is, where the players line up and try to skim their balls across the pond.

I love the Par 3 Tournament, because the players are relaxed and happy to play to the crowd.

Unfortunately, the weather did not help the azaleas this year, but in 2006  they were out in all their glory.

Hope you have a wonderful week!

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LAST WEEK ON fundinmental

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THIS WEEK ON fundinmental

  • Sherry’s Shelves
  • Giveaway – Grimm by D Melhoff
  • Review – The Rising by Jon Land & Heather Graham
  • Teaser Tuesday
  • Review – Shade by Marilyn Peake
  • Giveaway – Dial P For Poison by Zara Keane
  • Friday 56 #126 – The Collector’s Book of Science Fiction by H G Wells
  • Giveaway & Review – The Fixer by Jill Amy Rosenblatt

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What are you doing for fun this weekend?

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Wolverines, Elephants, Lions and Jets, Oh My!

GO BLUE

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and

ROLL TIDE

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Meet Big Al

I am so excited! Football season has arrived and I know where I will be spending a lot of time. Oops, I already do…in my recliner. 😀

We have divided allegiances here at the Fundin household, but most of the time we don’t play each other, so it’s a moot point.

I am able to root for my Wolverines and Mr Wonderful’s Tide and enjoy every minute of it. We do have more Tide paraphernalia around the house, probably because we live next door to Alabama and Mr Wonderful graduated from the university.

We start off our college football Saturday with…

UM helmet #7 Michigan vs Hawaii Image result for generic hawaii football helmet

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The same goes for my Lions and Mr Wonderful’s Jets. Unfortunately, we both have a lot of disappointing Sundays, but you never know what the new season or the next week might bring and I am looking forward to finding out.

Season opening games begin on Thursday, September 8, 2016, but both our teams begin on September 11, 2016

Image result for detroit lions generic helmet Detroit Lions vs Indianapolis Colts Image result for indianapolis colts generic helmet

New York Jets vs Cincinnati Bengals  Image result for cincinnati bengals generic helmet

A lot of football fans watch one or the other, college or professional. I love them both, but there IS something special about college football.

Do you watch football? Do you have a preference?

If you don’t watch football, what is your sport of choice?

Have a great weekend, no matter what your plans are!

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Gentlemen… Start Your Engines #Daytona500 #Nascar

As I sit here, writing this post, I am listening to Florida Georgia Line singing Cruise and I am ready for…gentlemen start your engines!!!

I have been watching all the hype this past week, anticipating today…the kickoff for the Nascar racing season. When I first started watching, it was because of Jeff Gordon. Don’t ask me why, put something about him lured me into the racing game and I have been here every since. I love sports of all kinds and was happy to add this one to my repertoire.

Nascar is now bitter sweet for me. I have lost my Champion, Jeff Gordon…but even though he is no longer racing, he will be a fixture in the broadcast booth.

Now…the big guestion is, who am I going to root for?

 

Well..it’s really hard not to follow the 24 car, Chase Elliot. I wonder how Jeff Gordon is feeling right now. Is he thinking he could be on the Pole, if only…

Or…how about the man with a personality I used to love to hate. He may not be the prettiest, but he has won me over. I love a rebel with a cause and Kyle Bush has his eye on the prize.

Unfortunately Kyle was not the winner today.

I was yelling at him to jump out there in front of Denny Hamlin, but he couldn’t hear me. For all you Denny Hamlin fans, congratulations.

Here are some of my Daytona moments with Mr Wonderful and the gang.

daytona50thUntil next time…