Recipe- Fried Cube Steaks

If you're like me you just take these cube steaks and fry them in a little oil and if you're like me, they came out tough, tough, tough... So I tried something different and it made all the difference. They are much more tender and taste really good. 

Take your cube steaks and dredge them in a mixture of flour, salt and pepper. be sure to coat them really good. 

Add enough oil to a frying pan so that the oil covers the whole bottom of the cube steak and the sides. Add floured cube steaks to a hot pan and cook on med/high heat just until both sides are browned. They cook really fast, about 4 minutes on each side. 

Serve with whatever side you like, we had mashed potatoes and gravy that night.

Books I'm Looking Forward To

I have several series that I've been reading for years and for me they just keep getting better and better. I have also found some new favorites and a few authors that just produce one great book after another. Since a lot of my favorite authors are having new books released soon I thought I would take this opportunity to list a few of my favorites that are coming out soon or have come out recently. (Maybe not soon enough for those of us waiting for them)

*Click on the link to take you to where you can buy it on Amazon. I'm not an affiliate, I get no compensation when you click on the links. I just thought I would make it easier for you to find these great titles.*

Dark Lycan by Christine Feehan- The next book in Christine Feehan's "Dark" series comes out September 3rd. This is by far the longest and oldest running series that I've been reading. It's actually the very first series I ever started reading. (I know, I'm shocked as well) But it's by far my most favorite series of books. I never get tired of reading the next book in this series. Vampires, Romance, Carpathian men (omg they're hot) and brutal battles. What's not to like?

Affliction by Laurell K. Hamilton- The next book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels. Comes out July 2nd. I have to say this is my 2nd favorite series right after Christine Feehan's Dark series. I always look forward to reading this series and I love the characters in her books. I know that some readers have stopped reading and have said they think there's too much sex in these books, but that's part of the storyline... and part of why I like it so much. I first found this authors book on another blog and won one of her books. It was the first of many that I would read.

Darkness Bred by Stella Cameron- This is the 2nd book in the Chimney Rock series and it comes out on May 28th. After reading the first book in this series, Darkness Bound...I knew I had found a new series to love. I'm so excited to see what will happen next. I won the first book in a blog contest (Aren't those great?) and read it. I'm not sure I would have found this series or that book without that contest. I've found so many great books, authors and series through blogs and giveaways, it's just amazing.

Tall, Dark and Vampire by Sara Humphreys- This book comes out on August 6th. I first found this author when I won one of her books "Unleashed" on a blog. I liked it so much that I started buying the other books in the Amoveo Legend series and she has quickly become a favorite author.

Styxx by Sherrilyn Kenyon- Another long running series that I've been reading for a long time. One of the very best things about series is that we readers get to know the characters even better than we would have in a stand alone book. We may meet some secondary characters in one book and a few books later in the series they get their own story. I really like that. One of the best books in this series was Acheron...This next book is about his twin brother and I have a feeling it's going to be just as good.

Biding His Thyme 4 by Shelley Munro- This is available now and is the 4th book in the "Fancy Free" series. As you can tell I really like reading series and Shelley does an amazing job in this one. I found her books years ago on another blog and after reading just one of them I was hooked. She has many stand alone books as well as a couple of truly hot series.

Dark Wolf by Kate Douglas- This is the first book in the new Spirit Wild series and is available now! I found this author years ago when I won a Wolf Tales book...and let me tell you it was so erotic, so hot..I actually blushed as I was reading some of it. I was just getting into romance reading and had only read some cowboy romance at the time, but let me tell you..that all changed once I finished her book. I've been a PNR junkie ever since.

So there you have it. Some of my favorite authors and series. Did you happen to see that I found these authors when I won a book of theirs on other blogs or through giveaways? I cannot tell authors enough how much that has meant to me. I would not have found half of the great books I've read were it not for the authors and blog owners that give books away as prizes. Because our book habit cost money we readers are usually really picky about what we spend our money on and what books we pick. So when we win a book by an author we might not know or haven't read before and we find we like them, we usually go and buy their other books. I know I do. That's one of the reasons I enter sooooo many book contest, blog contests and giveaways. I love finding new authors and books to read and this is a GREAT way to do that.

I hope some of you reading this post will click on the links, read what the books are about and find a new book that you love.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too.

This week I received: 

La Roche-Posay Sample Kit for acne

They sent a whole weeks worth of samples. Not a bad sample week. 

I found the link for this samples and many more from Freebie Shark. All you have to do to find free samples like this one is click on their link and check out their site for free samples and sign up for them. 

Recipe-Beef Ribs With Mushroom Gravy

I make this gravy with a lot of dishes and it's so easy. I made it with beef ribs for the first time this week and Ken and I really liked it, so here's the recipe. 

1 lb of beef ribs

1 can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup

2 tsp oil

1 can of water

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups steamed white rice

In a pan brown your beef ribs in the oil, salt and pepper as you like. Sear ribs on both sides until almost cooked all the way through. These ribs can be a little tough if not cooked really well so if you like your meat rare, this is not the dish for you. 

Mix one can of Cream of Mushroom Soup with 1 Can of water in a bowl, pour over beef ribs, let simmer on med/low heart for 30 minutes stirring frequently. If it's too hot and starts to burn, lower heat. Sauce will thicken as it cooks. 

Make white rice as you normally would. I use a electric rice steamer and that takes about 30 minutes to steam. 

Pour beef ribs and mushroom gravy over rice and enjoy. 

We Have A Winner!

We have a winner for my Bookmark giveaway.
Congratulations goes to...

Dianec!

I have sent you an email, please respond and send me your complete name and mailing address and I will get your bookmarks out to you. 

How To Test Your Blood Sugar

A few years ago I found out I had Hypoglycemia. Which is low blood sugar. It's the opposite of Diabetes which is high blood sugar. I found out when after eating something with a lot of carbs or sugar I would get dizzy, feel really tired and not be able to wake up and get extremely shaky. My doctor gave me several blood tests and found out I had low blood sugar and gave me this test kit to use at home. It comes with a meter, lancet and a few strips. The strips you have to purchase each month. 

The lancet is easier than the ones I first saw. This one you push the end, put it against your finger and press the little yellow button which makes a tiny needle prick your finger so you can get a small blood sample. 

You put the test strip into the meter and put your blood sample onto the test strip and wait for the number to appear.

Mine was a little high that day. The normal range is between 80-120. 

Have you ever used a blood glucose meter?

Rats and Babies

I bought a new fleece cube and bunker hammock for the big cage since they tore up their last one. Here's Bandit getting comfy in the cube.

Patches eating a yogi. 

Marbles giving me the stink eye and bandit in the back with him. 

Marbles coming to let me know if I'm gonna take pictures I better bring treats too. 

Bandit checking out the bunker hammock. I think he approves.

This is Patches with the old Bunker hammock in the background. As you can see they needed a new one because they tore that one all to heck.

My grandson, Logan. He's 3 months old now and about 15lbs. He is always wanting to stand or try to stand up. He's such a cutie.

Lucky and the Lava Ledge

Lucky is my hyper, three legged rat. I take him out of his cage a minimum of three times a day and let him run around on the couch with us. 

He's always played, running from us and running back and wrestling with our hands. He's so funny. But he has really long, sharp nail on his back paws, so I thought if I put a Lava Ledge in his cage he would do what the other rats do in the other cage...hop on it and sit. When they move around on it, it works like a natural nail file and files down their nails. 

But no, he wants to destroy it!

Eat it!

Anything but sit on it. Well I guess he'll use it for a teeth file instead..lol 

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too.

While the A to Z Blogging Challenge was going on, I won a book from Kim at Sos Aloha and she let me pick 10 books from her convention stash because she is moving and didn't want to have to haul all the books with her during the move. She threw in a couple extra so I ended up getting 14 free books from her. How cool is that? I am a very happy girl.

This week I'm starting back up with my weekly posts on what freebies I've received. This haul is actually from 2 weeks ago but I took a picture of the weeks freebies to share with you. That week I got..

A full size Gillette Fusion Proglide Razor.

a 24ct. bottle of Excedrin. 

A Sample of Fekkai shampoo. 

The Tuscan Tycoon's Pregnant Housekeeper by Christina Hollis. I won this book from Christina Hollis when she visited Tote Bags and Blogs.

I found the links to the other freebies on Freebie Shark.

So did you receive anything for free this week?

Dogs Dying After Eating Medical Marijuana

The next time someone tells you that medical marijuana has never killed anyone...you can tell them that's BS.

I saw on the news not too long ago that at least two dogs have died from ingesting edibles like baked goods and butter made with marijuana, because their human owners were too stoned or stupid to put the drugs up and out of the way.

After hearing about this and reading from veterinarians that the cases of marijuana poisoning has more than tripled each week in vet offices all over the US where medical marijuana is now legal, I knew I had another article to write.

And you can find it here.

The fact is, if you are going to have marijuana in your home and are not wise enough to keep it up out of the reach of your pets...then you shouldn't have pets.

And here is a few news stories for those out there that continue to say that marijuana has never killed anyone. That my friend, is a lie. Don't get caught up in the hype that just because marijuana is a plant and is all natural that it can't hurt you. Oleander is all natural and a plant and people use it to commit suicide all the time. So just because something is all natural and a plant does NOT mean it's good for you.

Police: Driver high on marijuana hits, kills pedestrian in Vancouver

Killed by cannabis: Boy, 17, dies falling down stairs while high on skunk ... and proves Sir Richard Branson is wrong about drugs

Man Convicted Of Causing Deadly Accident By Driving While Stoned

Driver In Crash That Killed Skokie Boy Allegedly High On Pot

Pot-smoking dad guns down college students as 7-year-old daughter hides under table: cops

Stoned Driving Nearly Doubles the Risk of a Fatal Crash

I just want to state that I am not against the use of Medical Marijuana for patients who are going through cancer treatment, are terminally ill, or going through other medical treatments that are causing them pain. I really feel for those people. What I am against are all these people who can now get their 'medical cannabis' card for ailments such as headaches, stress, back pain, anxiety, depression, the shakes, ect...There are medicines out there with little to no side effects that are better equipped in treating these types of ailments. Medical Marijuana should not be allowed to be used to these things. First it's a cop out and second, most people who get them for these ailments are faking the ailments in order to smoke week legally.

Anyone can go to their doctor and say they have back pain, headaches, stress or anxiety and there's really no way to the doctor to prove that you don't have these things.

But the next time that some idiot tries telling you that medical marijuana has never killed anyone...you'll be able to tell them differently.

Facebook Etiquette

I've been on facebook now for a few years and there are always a few people who do things that really annoy me and other people. I see it happening all the time. So here are a few things you should NOT do on Facebook. 

1. Do not tag others in your family pictures if they aren't family.- I had a few friends that had babies and they wanted everyone to see their new babies. So what did they do? They tagged dozens of their friends in the baby pictures which meant the pictures ended up on my wall with my name on them. So them my family and other friends would ask if that was me, or my kid, or a relative and I would have to say no just a friends kid. I'll see your pictures by you just adding them on your page, you don't need to tag me in them. 

2. Don't add other people to groups.- Omg I hate this. I've been added to several different groups and for the most part I just delete myself from the group but some times people don't know how to delete themselves from a group and get mad. 

3. Do Not send game requests.- I can't tell you how many times I get game requests and I see how much it really bothers others on fb. People will even delete you as a friend for doing this too much. 

4. Do Not add pictures of abused and hurt animals to your page. Even if you are trying to get the animal help or want to see the people responsible for the abuse put away.- There is never any reason for sharing a picture of a bloody abused animal on Facebook. People open up their fb pages and look at their newsfeeds in their living rooms, kitchen tables and around their small children and kids see this stuff. It's bad enough if a kid see's it but I don't want to see it either. I have deleted several friends for doing just this thing even after I warned them I would delete them if they did it again. I won't tolerate it and I will report the picture. 

5. Don't share other people's family photos without permission.- I had a friend share a photo of her grandson on her page mostly for her other relatives to see it and I clicked "like" on it. One of my friends saw the picture I clicked "like" on and decided to share said picture on her wall and then posted a comment asking who the hell this baby belonged too. I had to tell her it was a friends and to take it down she shouldn't have shared it. 

6. If you don't understand the 'Share" button, don't use it.- I had a friends post a picture of a half naked man on the cover of a romance book and I made a comment on it and a friend of mine saw the picture because of the comment I made, it came up in her newsfeed. So she 'shared' the picture on her page and then when she saw it on her page she got mad and cussed the person out who originally posted the picture for addding filth to her wall. I had to explain to her what the "share" button did. Don't share things unless you want them to be posted on your wall. 

7. Don't comment on every post and picture.- If I post 75 pictures you don't have to 'like' and comment each and every one. You can let me know you like certain ones by leaving a comment or 'like' and I'll know you've seen the whole folder. But getting 75 notifications that 75 pictures have been liked by the same person is crazy. 

8. Don't be a friend hoarder. - Don't send out friend requests to hundreds of people just so you have hundreds of friends you never talk to. I'm not putting a link to my fb page here because if I want to be your friend, I'll send you a friend request. If I don't know you, I most likely won't accept your friend request. If we don't have at least one friend in common..why are you trying to friend me in the first place if you don't know me? People who have 1200 friends and aren't a celebrity..are most likely friend hoarders. if you don't talk to me at least once a month, make a comment on fb on at least one post a month and we are friends..I will delete you. I see no reason to stay friends if you aren't going to talk to me.

9. Don't Overshare.- Don't tell me how much you vomited, don't take pictures of the biggest turd you've ever shat and then post it on fb, don't pick a big green booger after having a sinus infection and post pictures, don't show pictures of the toe surgery you just had while it's still oozing puss, and for the love of a cheeseburger don't tell us how much poo the baby's diaper had in it today. 

10. Don't Share My Status Posts on Your Wall As Your Own- If I write a status like "today I went out and had a burger, some fries and then we went to the park to feed the ducks." Why would you then share that status using the share button so it posts on your page? Why would a person do that unless they just don't have a full understanding of facebook etiquette. In a case like this, that is my status..do not share it. There's no reason to share it. if you want to comment on it, by all means do so. 

So there you have it. A few facebook Etiquette rules.

My Rat Ate My Homework!

This is Lucky. He looks like he doesn't have a care in the world right now, doesn't he? That's because when I took this picture he'd had a long night of shredding paper! My rat ate hubby's homework Dr. Referrals!

There's a little shelf that sits right next to Lucky's cage, you can see here how close the cage is to the papers. So that night after we went to bed, Lucky decided he wanted to have some fun and shred the paperwork. It must have been just close enough to where he could pull them in. As you can see...he did a good job tearing these up. I pulled all of these out of his cage.

These were the little pieces scattered around his cage.

There are holes in some, almost nothing left of others and just little bites taken out of one or two. 

I don't know how he got holes in the middle of this paper, but he did. So poor Ken had to call his Doctor and explain to the secretary that his rat ate his Dr. Referral and he needed another one. 

She doubted him until he said he would bring pictures of the rats ..then she just laughed. When he arrived down at the doctors office the next day one of the other ladies behind the desk looked at him and said, "Rats? Really?" He laughed and explained that we had rats and one of them got a hold of the referrals and tore them up. 

I thought it was kinda funny. 

Ken, not so much. 

LOL

"I had fun mommy. Can I have some more paper?" 

A to Z Blogging Challenge: Z is For Zeal

I have a zeal for many things like animals, books, music and but I also have a real zeal for cooking and trying new things. My motto is, I'll try anything once...twice if it's kinky. ;)

So when I was given a coupon for a free box of this new Fleischman's Simply Homemade Bread mix, I was pretty excited because all you do is mix and sugar and yeast that comes in the box with a cup of warm water, wait for it to activate (about 3 minutes). Then mix in the pouch of powdered mix, let rise and bake. I mean, how easy is that?

After mixing it all together, I put it in a pan to raise. (Yes, this pan has seen better days and as you can see has been used many, many times over the past 20 years. But it's my favorite pan because it works so well. 

After it is baked for 20 minutes I cut into it and this is what it looked like. It was so good too. 

Do you have a zeal for something?

Have you tried this bread mix?

I really had a lot of fun participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge and met some great people. I hope you'll continue to come back and visit. 

A to Z Blogging Challenge: Y is For Yogies

If you have a pet rat or even if you don't this will make you laugh. This rat got a hold of a canister of Yogies, which are yogurt treats for rats and other small animals. Rats love these things.

Not only do rats like Yogies, but they love yogurt. Here I am sharing my yogurt with my boys. 

Brodie loved yogurt. Yes, before you ask..I do share my food with my rats and no I've never gotten sick from it. lol But you should have seen the look on my mom's face one year when she came over for Christmas and my first rat, Romi came running across the back of the couch, jumped down next to my plate of Christmas dinner, snatched a piece of food and sat there and ate it. 

My Bookmark Obsession and A Giveaway!

I have an obsession with book swag.

I have so much, it won't fit into one picture. lol 

I started collecting bookmarks about 10 years ago and then a few years ago all the authors started sending out bookmarks and postcards with whatever book I won and I accumulated many, many more than I ever thought I would.

My husband doesn't get why I keep all of these but I love bookmarks.

I have piles upon piles of them. I keep them stored in freezer storage bags so they don't get dusty, dirty or folded. 

I do keep out a few to actually use as bookmarks in my books though.

My favorites are my signed bookmarks, bookplates and post cards though. 

I have many, many signed bookmarks, post cards ect and love getting them.

I'm not sure that authors know how much it means to us readers that they take the time to send along a note or a signed bookmark when we win a book from them. I also have many signed books that I really love. 

Some of the signed bookmarks, postcards and notes I have are from Kate Douglas, Tempest Knight, Deanna Jewel, Cora Zane, Cassandra Curtis, Lori Foster, Ashlyn Chase, Sam Cheever, Heidi Betts, Alison Paige, Kate Walker, Cheryl Dragon, Joey W. Hill, Tilly Greene, Lorelei James, Debbie MaComber, Tawny Webber, Stella Cameron, Susanna Car, Jenna Petersen and many more. 

I lost count after 1000 so I know I have more than that now.

Now for the Giveaway!

Would you like to win a signed bookmark or postcard, plus all the swag you see here from my personal stash?

What I have for you is 3 signed pieces of swag...from Cheryl Dragon, Angie Fox, and C.J. Ellisson. Also there will be a refrigerator magnet from Erin McCartney, a door hanger from Heidi Betts, and bookmarks from Tory Richards and Lizzie T. Leaf.  The Lizzie T. Leaf bookmark has the cutest little doggie charm on it. 

If you'd like to win this swag pack, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your email address so I can get in touch with you if you win. Giveaway ends on May 8th.

Sorry, US only. 

Update: Contest is now closed.

A To Z Blogging Challenge: X is For X Factor

I watched this show, the X factor the first season and even the second season but I won't watch it again and this video from the show pretty much shows why.

The judges on the show are not there to help the contestants, they were there to bicker at one another, poke fun at each other, try and one up the other judges. Instead of being a judge and doing the job she was being paid to do and tell one of these contestants which one she thought should go home...Nicole left it up to America's vote- knowing full well that shows like this and American Idol are nothing but popularity contests and the person who has the most friends and most people calling in for them is going to get the votes, not necessarily the person with the most talent.

Nicole Scherzinger didn't do her job and left the vote to America who decided that the guy was the one who was going to stay, Marcus Canty stayed and Rachel Crow was voted off even though she was 1000 times better than he was.

I don't watch this show anymore.

A To Z Blogging Challenge: W is For Welding

When my younger brother and I were kids our grandfather had a welding shop. He made all kinds of things including decorative fences, window coverings and golf clubs. Papaw as we called our grandpa, taught my brother how to weld when he was younger and he never forgot. So a couple of years ago my brother started making these Horse Shoe Tables by welding the Hose Shoes together. 

Billy makes them and sells them now. I think they came out pretty good. 

They are the perfect size for small planters and knick knacks. 

I remember watching the guys in papaws welding shop wearing those big bulky masks that the only thing you can see is the light coming off the welds you are making. His shop always smelled of burning metal and I liked it. 

If you would like to buy one of these Horse Shoe tables you can contact Billy at medmanbill@yahoo.com for pricing.