Month: May 2013

Introduction to the book tab

Wow, to think that I have sooooo many books that I love and want to share with you guys!! When I originally thought about doing a post on the books I love to read and why I love to read them I never thought it would end up being this difficult to do it! My Kindle is stuffed full of wonderful books that I can’t wait to reread or read the next book in the series! I plan on this post being an introduction to the book tab.

Each Book post will include the following:
     Title of the book or series (as the title of the post)
     Author’s name and a link to their website
     Genre
     Description of the story line
     Main Characters and brief description
     My opinion of the book/a brief review
     Star rating (1 to 5)
   
I am going to do my best to slowly have a post for each and every book that I have read and loved or hated and all of those in between. I will try to start this tomorrow….but we shall see that all depends on how well my kids behave! If not I will start on it this weekend for sure!! Hope you guys enjoy it! Oh and if you have a book series that you are curious about and would like for me to review please comment on here and let me know! I will gladly read the book if I haven’t already and give my honest opinion of it 🙂

Random

Today has been a semi busy day. I didn’t get as much done around the house as I had planned, but I did do some things. My oldest, Emalee, had a slight upset tummy this morning and decided she wanted to cuddle most of the day. Luckily by the afternoon she was back to her overly active self 🙂 Continue reading “Random”

Motivation

Ever wonder what a good way to motivate yourself to run is? Well, other than having great people around you to keep you motivated to keep going? I happened upon a wonderful motivator during last nights run with my husband! Go to a place like Kalmia Gardens around, oh say, 7:30pm or 8:00pm. Power walk down a few paths until you get deep enough in that the little bit of sun that is left struggles to get through the trees…sooner or later something out there will crunch a leaf or stick and guess what?!? YOU WILL BE RUNNING out of there in no time! Continue reading “Motivation”

Learning to RUN!

OH MY GOD I FEEL LIKE I AM GOING TO PASS OUT OR BE SICK!! Yeah you remember that whole post I did about working out and how I was easing into it? Yeah well…let’s just say that my husband and I went on a run tonight and it was far from easing into it! We ran/power walked 3.6 miles around Kalmia Gardens….I thought I was going to scream and cry and throw up! Some points I couldn’t stop laughing…I honestly wish I would have taken a voice recorder so that you could listen to the hour long run…it was priceless to say the least! I am super proud of me for what I was able to accomplish and hope to do it at least 3 times a week as long as we can find a baby sitter…. Continue reading “Learning to RUN!”

Alternatives to Swiffer

I HATE TO SWEEP AND MOP!

There I said it!

I have admitted my weakness! I absolutely hate it…I feel like I work hard and when I am done you can barely tell I did a thing! The problem with an old fashion broom and dust pan in my house is that with animals and kids..well let’s just say that I am just moving the dirt and dust and hair from place to place. Ugh! Mopping with a sink/bucket of water and what basically amounts to a dirty sponge?!? No thanks..my OCD barely lets me put my hands in dirty dish water lol Continue reading “Alternatives to Swiffer”

Bullies

Just read where my nephew was being bullied/picked on during a t-ball game! This upsets me so much!! The first thought that comes to my mind is that IT IS JUST A GAME!! Why do parents and children take it so dang seriously?!? So what if they miss a few balls, so what if they don’t reach the base, so what if they strike out over and over! Why does it matter? T-ball is supposed to be about learning the basics of the sport, learning about SPORTSMANSHIP, and most of all having fun! Continue reading “Bullies”

Exercise is a lifestyle choice!

WARNING A RANT FOLLOWS:

I am so super, seriously, absolutely, one hundred percent tired of hearing people say that they want to lose weight…and then turning around and eating JUNK or drinking JUNK! No matter what there is no miracle diet pill or anything else that can make you magically wake up and be small and healthy. Losing weight and getting healthy should be a life choice that you make! Even if you do lose weight using a “diet pill” you will most likely gain the weight back as soon as you stop using it if you didn’t change your life style. Continue reading “Exercise is a lifestyle choice!”

Day 1 of blogging! Wish me luck!

Hmm..10 Things You May Want to Know About Me:
(in no particular order, just how they popped into my head)

10. I am a singing addict…I will sing any and everything possible. For example: If I am driving the tractor at the farm I am probably singing “I’m driving a tractor, I’m driving a tractor” as loudly as I can. It’s just who I am lol

9. I am a dork and simply proud of it!

8. I LOVE to read! You can generally find me with a book in my hand (or my kindle) at least once a day everyday!

7. I have two beautiful daughters that I love with all my heart! Emalee is 4 and Annaliese is 2 months old. 

6. I am an animal lover and have a house full of them! (2 dogs, 2 cats, a guinea pig, 2 gerbils, a lot of fish, 4 chickens…and more to come with time :D)

5. I love to take pictures…I hate being in them though!

4. I want to write…but I’m scared to. (I secretly have a book in my bedroom that I have been trying to write for a while now)

3. I am an OCD neat freak on the mend…I have slowly learned that my house doesn’t have to be spotless all the time.

2. I am a HORRIBLE cook…but I am working on it!

1. I love my husband more than anything in this world (next to our girls). We have been together for 10 years now and he quite simply spoils me rotten!

Now that you know more about me than you probably wanted to…

I’m not sure what has made me decide that blogging is a good idea…heck even a GREAT idea for me..however, I have. I think it will be a nice way to get out some of the things I am thinking.

I plan for my blog to be a somewhat random place. Here is a list of just some of the things you can expect to read about here:
     -Parenting
     -Cleaning/Organizing
     -Books, books, and more books ( I love to read lol)
     -Working out and getting ready to run

Well let’s see…where to start. Oh I know! I will start by talking a little about the books I just finished reading and am already thinking of rereading and wanting the next one to come out. 

The Parched Series by Z.L. Arkadie is quite simply an awesome series! I got started reading it because of a website I found through Facebook called ILoveVampireNovels. This is an AMAZING website that not only introduces you to new authors and books but also helps you find FREE (my favorite four letter word) kindle books. I can honestly say that since I joined this site I have gotten about 20 free books!! Not all of them are great…however, several have been awesome and made me want to purchase the remainder in the series. (Which , in my opinion, is the point in an author giving away the first book in their series)

Opps…sorry I got a little distracted…back to the books…

The series is an interesting twist on vampires and fairy like creatures. They are awesome romances with enough comedy and action to keep you coming back for more. So far there are seven book in the series (all available on kindle for pretty cheap prices). Each book focuses on a different sister and her bond while the ones we have already met pop up to help out when needed. The last book (which I just finished reading this morning before climbing out of bed) switches between all 14 of the main characters. You would think that this would take away from the story or make things confusing, however, as long as you have read all of the books leading up to it, it works! By this point in the series I was so enamored by all of the characters that I wanted to know what they were thinking, doing, planning, etc. I can’t imagine this particular book being written in any other manner. However, I do hope that the next book goes back to a normal pace…not sure if I could handle having to keep up with that much that fast. 

I have to say that after reading a ton of free books (some are edited quite horridly) this series was quite refreshing! Although there were a few small edits that were missed it wasn’t enough to bother me. I love, love, love how the author writes! It just seems to flow so well and drag you into the story whether you like it or not. I plan to do some research and see if she has written any other books and possibly read some of them soon! 

Well, I think I have rambled enough for one day! Time to go get started cleaning my house! It sure does look like it exploded over the weekend…that’s what I get for being sick and lazy!

Kid Friendly Ice-Cream In A Bag

icecream in a bag
Kid Friendly
Ice-Cream In A Bag
 
WARNING: I’m an awful cook…but hey this is one I’ve done in the past with Emalee!
I promise…there were no fatalities!

2 tablespoons of sugar
1 cup of half & half
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of salt
Frozen water…better known as ICE

2 gallon-sized Ziploc bag PER KID
2 pint-sized Ziploc bag PER KID
  1. Mix the sugar, half & half and vanilla extract together in a bowl.
  2. Pour into a pint-sized Ziploc baggie. MAKE SURE IT IS SEALED TIGHTLY!! Trust me on this one…you DO NOT want to hand over that bag without checking the seal!
  3. Now take the gallon-sized Ziploc bag and fill it up halfway with ice and pour the salt over the ice.
  4. Put the sugar mixture filled bag into the ice filled bag and seal. Again…be sure that you seal it well! Duct tape may be appropriate here! Explosions happen and messes are made! Make no mistake…you will end up with “ice-cream” everywhere!
  5. Now for the “fun” part! Shake the bags for 5 to 10 minutes (after 5 minutes open the bag and check to see if the ice-cream is hard, if not keep shaking.)! HAHAHAHAHA every mom out there is laughing now! Yeah right how many kids are going to shake that bag for that long?!? Guess who ends up shaking the bag???
  6. IMPORTANT STEP: Once your kid gives up and asks you to shake the bag while they go do..well whatever…quickly take out the extra set of bags that you haven’t used, dump the ice into the big one, take the ice cream out of the freezer, fill the middle bag, holler for the kids to come back! Voila! Now you have Kid Friendly Ice-cream in a bag!

PS: If you kid really does make it the entire time, congratulations! Young kids tend to be AMAZED by this process…so if you can keep them shaking it is well worth it! Plus they are wearing off some of the energy they are about to gain from all that sugar!

This recipe really will make ice-cream! We have done it a few times! It is delicious with some fresh fruit cut up and added to the baggie! I recommend using a towel of some sort to protect your and your little ones hands form the cold.