Kate's Birthday is coming up, and the Sleepover Friends want to make it really special. They decide to throw Kate a surprise party. What a mistake! Lauren, Stephanie, and Patti have to keep all kinds of secrets from the Birthday Girl. Pretty soon they're almost ignoring her. Kate's not suspicious-she's just mad! Maybe a surprise party is more trouble than it's worth!

Practices of Surprise in American Literature After Emerson locates a paradoxical question - how does one prepare to be surprised? - at the heart of several major modernist texts. Arguing that this paradox of perception gives rise to an American literary methodology, this book dramatically reframes how practices of reading and writing evolved among modernist authors after Emerson. Whereas Walter Benjamin defines modernity as a 'series of shocks' inflicted from without, Emerson offers a countervailing optic that regards life as a 'series of surprises' unfolding from within. While Benjaminian shock elicits intimidation and defensiveness, Emersonian surprise fosters states of responsiveness and spontaneity whereby unexpected encounters become generative rather than enervating. As a study of how such states of responsiveness were cultivated by a post-Emerson tradition of writers and thinkers, this project displaces longstanding models of modernist perception defined by shock's passive duress, and proposes alternate models of reception that proceed from the active practice of surprise.

When Mary-Kate and Ashley get to their great-grandmother's detective clubhouse, they discover that someone had broken in. Was it the singing dragon, the giant bunny, or the mysterious stranger that kept calling them?

A surprise party is given for Kate by the other animals.

What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay there… She was a free spirit who wouldn’t be tied down Until he convinced her to say “I do!” Kate Clark’s Las Vegas wedding trip wasn’t for her wedding. But a husband is what she found—and no memory of how it happened! Aidan Quindlin broke her heart in high school. And if she’s not careful, the tempting single dad and his precious little girl could do it again. Once she’s back in Savannah, she knows an annulment is the only way to protect herself. Then she learns she’s pregnant…

Although the significance of '9/11' is subject to debate, it is symbolic of a general sentiment of discontinuity whereby society is vulnerable to undefined and highly disruptive events. Recent catalysts of this sentiment are eye-catching developments such as the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and bird flu outbreaks, the Enron and Parmalat scandals, political assassinations in Sweden and the Netherlands, regime changes in Iraq and Afghanistan, and terrorist attacks in Bali, Istanbul, Madrid, and various parts of the Middle East. However, recent discontinuities should not be seen as evidence that discontinuities occur more frequently now than they did before. Looking back in history we see that disruptive processes are common. For example, 25 years ago few Europeans would have predicted the upcoming upheavals on their own continent: the collapse of communism, Berlin as the capital of a reunited Germany, the wars in the former Yugoslavia, the single European currency, and the near doubling of the number of European Union member states. Changes elsewhere have been no less discontinuous and unforeseen: the fall of the Asian tigers, the emergence of the Internet and mobile telecommunication, and the presidency of Nelson Mandela. Societal discontinuity is a relatively new area of concern in policy development. Since the 1970s the consideration of change and discontinuity has gained some ground over predictive forecasting, which tended to reason from continuous developments and linear processes. Rather than making forecasting the future, it has become popular to use scenarios as a manner to consider several possible futures. Scenarios are coherent descriptions of alternative hypothetical futures that reflect different perspectives on past, present, and future developments, which can serve as a basis for action. Scenario development aims to combine analytical knowledge with creative thinking in an effort to capture a wide range of possible future developments in a limited number of outlooks. Scenario development assumes that the future is uncertain and the directions in which current developments might range from the conventional to the revolutionary. In theory, scenario development is a way to consider future discontinuity. However, there are indications that the theoretical promise is not reflected in scenario practice. Research has shown that scenarios do not consider the idea of discontinuity as a matter of course. In our research, we found that a scenario study would benefit from efforts to create and foster a 'culture of curiosity' for exploring the future and the possible discontinuities rather than simply commissioning a scenario study to provide insights about the future. Only then can one read the writing on the wall of future developments.

Kate Remington is living a seemingly normal life in Maryland with her husband, Jake, and two grown children. But what no one knows is that four years earlier, Kate was beaten, kidnapped, and left for dead by two thugs. While suffering from amnesia, Kate found work—and love—on a Wyoming ranch until Jake found her and brought her home. As her memory loss lingers, Kate and Jake are still facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles. She cannot remember loving him—only the Wyoming ranch owner, Brad Crawford. When Jake is run over and killed by a disgruntled employee who snatches his wallet out of his pocket before leaving the body, Kate has no idea he is about to go after her. As she grieves and relies on her faith for strength, the killer lurks in the shadows and waits for the perfect moment to exact his revenge. When he finally finds the right time to confront Kate, she is left with no other choice than to kill in self-defense. Traumatized, Kate returns to the ranch in Wyoming where she learns the power of gossip and her faith as she attempts to find a new path to happily-ever-after. Kate’s Journey is a story of hope and strength through faith as a Christian woman attempts to move forward after two tragedies rock her world and propel her toward a new beginning.

Garden center manager Kate Rhee is on a mission. No more one-night hookups with women or second-guessing her recent break up with an unavailable man. Too bad the foxy, pink-haired bar owner she keeps running into around Chicago has sworn off girlfriends. Because Kate isn’t doing casual anymore. And she can totally resist that temptation. Totally.

It's almost Christmas and one of Santa's elves was being naughty. Can you help Santa by finding all the messes his elf made in the workshop? If you can, you might just be Santa's most special helper!