Have A Fun And Safe New Year!

No matter where you are or what you're doing, make sure you have a safe and fun New Year's Eve.

Happy Raturday!

Welcome to a new weekly blog post I'm calling, Raturday! I've seen Caturday and while that's really cute, I think the rats needs some photo time so everyone can see how cute these little animals are. I've gotten permission from Rat Logic's fb page to share their pictures on my blog. So get ready to smile because these are cute. 

When Do You Take Down The Decorations?

So if you put up Christmas decorations this year, when do you take them down?

I usually leave mine up until January 1st, that way they are up for New Years Eve. Some people can't wait to take them down and some people leave the outside lights up all year. I really don't like lugging out all the boxes but it's nice to have it all done and put away after the holidays are over. 

Weekly Rat Facts: Cage Accessories

Rats are pretty easy to care for and easy to please, you just need a few simple things for their cage to make it fun for them to be in. 

First thing is a sturdy food bowl, and a good water bottle. I always make sure I have an extra water bottle in case one of the rats chews a hole in it and I need to replace it. *It's happened*

Rats love hammocks. All of my boys lay in their hammocks and sleep in them. I have several in the big cage and one in Lucky's cage.

Lucky loves his hammock.

Fleece cubes. They love hanging out in these fleece cubes the only problem is, I have chewers...destroyers of cubes. I usually have to buy several of them and hope they last at least a month because my boys love to chew and destroy these things.

Hanging bird toys are another great thing you can put into your rat cage. Just hang the bird toy from the top of the cage and you rat won't be able to stop himself from chewing, playing and tugging on it.

Fluffy beds, plastic igloos and fleece bedding. I use fleece blankets to cover the shelves as bedding and I put baby blankets inside the beds so they have something to fluff up and lay under. Bandit and Marbles checking out the new bed, cube and hammock that I washed.

Plastic Lixit Critter Space Pod, my boys have all loved these things and you can hang them upside down from the top of the cage or have it sit on a cage shelf. Lucky loves his.

Ledges, ramps and ladders. All of my cages came with ladders but you can also buy these Lava Ledges to make extra ledges for them to hop on. Lucky just chewed his all to pieces. lol 

No matter what kind or how many accessories you put in the cage, make sure you take your rats out and play with them each day. They are social animals and need time with you and time out of the cage. 

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. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

This week I received: 

2 samples of coffee

Sample of Zarbee's Naturals

Sample of Clearasil

You can find links to samples like these at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

Review: Hard As It Gets by Laura Kaye

*I won this book in a blog contest*

Tall, dark, and lethal...

Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey's tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome--pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He's left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander's daughter. Loyalty won't let him turn her away. Lust has plenty to do with it too.

With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn't expecting to want him so much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.

Desire is the easy part. Love is as hard as it gets. Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge...

My Review

Becca Merritt is a nurse and has no idea what her brother has gotten himself into this time. When she reaches out for help, she wasn't expecting to find tall, sexy and tattooed there to help her. 

 Ex soldier Nicholas Rixey is sexy, determined and knows how got get things done. He's also got a few ghosts from his past that he really wants to get rid of. Nick has battle scars, both emotional and physical but he doesn't let that slow him down at all. He has something to do and he does it.

When Nick calls in the surviving members of his Special Forces unit who blame Becca's father for their dishonorable discharge, I wasn't sure how they were all going to work together. You get a bunch of ex soldiers in a room together who aren't all that friendly toward each other and the testosterone is bound to explode.

Becca held her own in this book. She's thrown into situations that she's not prepared for and she holds it together really well. Becca is exactly the type of heroine I like in my romance novels, tough but gentle and caring. Nick is all Alpha male yumminess when he needs to be and the stern but gentle soldier when the time is needed. 

I was waiting and waiting for Becca and Nick to finally get together because I just knew it was going to be hot and I was right. If there's one thing I know from reading some of Laura Kaye's other books is that she knows how to write a steaming hot sex scene and I wasn't disappointed, several times. *wink*

I was thoroughly involved in this story, trying to figure out who kidnapped Becca's brother and why. I like a good mystery, it keeps me thinking. 

I loved how the puppy in the book got her name, that was one of the funniest, sweetest parts in the book. I have a soft spot for three legged animals since I have a three legged rat. 

If you like mystery, action, sexy tattooed ex soldiers and passionate sex scenes then this is exactly the book to read. 

I give this book 5 stars

Hope Everyone Has A Good One

It's My Mom And Dad's Wedding Anniversary...Kinda..

My mom and dad at Christmas time in the 70's sometime. Picture taken at my grandma's house. 

So today would be my mom and dad's wedding anniversary...if they hadn't gotten divorced in 1982. lol 

But, on this day back in 1968, my mom and dad got married. 

My mom passed away 2 1/2 years ago and my dad has been remarried for a number of years, but this is how I remember my parents from when I was little.

Happy Raturday!

Welcome to a new weekly blog post I'm calling, Raturday! I've seen Caturday and while that's really cute, I think the rats needs some photo time so everyone can see how cute these little animals are. I've gotten permission from Rat Logic's fb page to share their pictures on my blog. So get ready to smile because these are cute. 

"Medical" Marijuana in Jail?

I heard on the local news that incarcerated people are not allowed to take and use their 'medical' marijuana in jail or prison and some of the pot card carriers are mad about this. 

This guy who wants to smoke pot in jail

Each jail or prison is different and have different rules and some do not allow any narcotic medications to be taken by the prisoners. So if you come to jail and your doctor had you on pain pills for whatever reason, you will be in detox because you won't be getting it at some of these jails/prisons as seen in this article. 

So do you really think that if the jails/prisons aren't going to allow you pain pills/narcotic meds that they are going to allow you to smoke weed in the facility just because you have a card and call it, "medicine"? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. 

Maybe you should have thought about that before you committed the crime that put you there. 

Weekly Rat Facts: Rat Crafts

We rat people are cuckoo for just about anything to do with rats. We like rat statues, rat crafts, rat clocks ect. So it's no real surprise that I made a rat out of a pine cone and a few other supplies. 

I found a slender, closed pine cone and painted it grey. Cut a couple of ears out of black felt and painted the inside pink and glued them onto the pine cone. 

Next I used popsicle sticks to make the feet. I cut out what I thought looked like small feet and painted them grey with little back toes and glued them to the bottom of the pine cone. Then I glued a tiny ribbon to her head right by her ear and cut a silver pipe cleaner in half and hot glued it to the back of the pine cone. Then I took three black beads and glued them on as eyes and a nose. 

My husband hates it but I think she's kinda cute.

Missouri Drug Cop Tells Us What He Really Thinks Of Marijuana Users

In one of the funniest rants I've ever read, a Missouri drug cop writes a rant on his own fb page that gets potheads all up in arms...

Full Article Here

*click picture to enlarge*

He has the right to his opinion, not that I don't agree with him, frankly. All you have to do is go to any pro marijuana site and you'll read articles with no real substantiated facts to back them up that marijuana now cures glaucoma, cancer, tumors, alcoholism, seizures, and a whole host of other ailments. Yep, it's a MIRACLE drug that our government is keeping from us! *insert sarcastic sneer here*

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. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

This week I received a Smiley360 box with 2 coupons for a free pack of Quilted Northern Bath Tissue, a free sample of Quilted Northern mints and hand sanitizer plus 3 $2 off coupons. 

Two Guest Reviews and A Giveaway!

My guest review For Raphael by D.B. Reynolds is over at I Smell Sheep. 

I really liked this book but I didn't care for the ending. I have never cared for cliff hanger endings but I plan on reading the rest of the books in the series so hopefully it will have been worth it. 

My guest review for McQuade: The Lone Wolf Takes a Mate by Lynn Richards is at I Smell Sheep.

There's also a giveaway with this one, so come on over and take a look. 

Reader Appreciation, $25 Starbucks Gift Card Giveaway!

It's almost Christmas and I want to show my appreciation to my readers for visiting my blog as much as you do, so I am going to give one of you a $25 Starbucks Gift Card. 

All you have to do to be entered is leave a comment on this blog post with a valid email address so I can get in touch with you if you win. 

I will pick a winner on December 27th. U.S. Only.

Update: The winner of the gift card is Amy Purdy! I'll be in touch soon. 

This contest is now closed. 

Kroger Skillet Meals, Garlic Bread and Fresh Selection Salad Kits

BzzAgent sent me coupons for a Free Kroger Skillet Meal, Kroger Garlic Bread and Kroger Fresh Selections Salad Kit.

I was able to try the Shrimp Lo Mein Kroger Skillet meal and it was good. What's even better is that on days when I don't feel like cooking, I can toss the contents of one of these bagged meals in a pan, heat it up in about 10 minutes and have dinner done for my husband and myself, which is what I did. I just mixed the ingredients in the Kroger Fresh Selection Salad Kit together and had it with the Shrimp Lo Mein to complete our meal.

I was pleasantly pleased with the Kroger Skillet meal and have since bought several more that I can keep in my freezer for those days that I need a quick meal or quick snack for my husband and myself.

The salad kits are perfect because they contain everything you need to make a great salad, lettuce, vegies, salad dressing and toppings like croûtons and bacon.

I received a sample of this product from BzzAgent to review. I am a bzzAgent and participate in their program. I was in no other way compensated for my honest review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own

Some People Want To Do Away With Anything *Christmas*

It makes me angry when every year I hear how some band of people be it Atheists, Muslims, or any other group is protesting yet another Christmas related thing going on. Not too long ago I heard on the news that a school had to cancel its toy drive because an Atheist group threatened to sue them on religious grounds. This group to me, was intolerant and being a bully. Just because you can do something or say something, doesn't mean you should.

Yes, this time of year there's a holiday called christmas that christians use to celebrate the birth of christ. But for the vast majority of us it's a cultural holiday that allows us to spend time with family, open presents and spend time talking to one another over a big meal. This is a tradition for I would say, 80% of us...not a faith based religious holiday.

Let's say for a second that all those against being greeted in stores with a "Merry Christmas" or seeing signs that say, "Christmas Tree's" and get mad when schools hold "Christmas Toy Drives"..set aside all the religious angles, and just accept that this is a holiday where kids deserve to get toys, warm clothes and food. Sure those charities that are holding the toy drives might hand out religious pamphlets or say things like "Praise the lord" but all a kid really cares about is that they have something to open come Christmas morning.

I'm not a big holiday person, in fact I'll let you in on a little secret...I'm Agnostic. But I'm not going to let that spoil the fun for my daughter, husband and grandson. I'm not going to sit around all humbug and tell them they can't decorate or celebrate Christmas because Mommy is Agnostic and really doesn't like all this Christmas stuff. That would make me an utterly insufferable intolerable bitch to push my beliefs onto my family or anyone else. But people are doing this everyday and if I were them I would hide my face because I wouldn't want anyone to know what a bully-ish intolerant ass I was. If you don't want to celebrate this holiday, then don't. But don't spoil the fun for those that do.

To all those who have a problem with the religious basis of the holiday or toy drives...why don't you just start your own and raise money, food, toys, or whatever it is that you think would benefit whoever it is that you want to help. This doesn't even have to be around December..do some good the other months of the year. But don't stop others from trying to give toys, clothes, shoes, food and school supplies during this time of year to those who need them. That's just being a big meanie. Get over it. Whether or not you agree with what they are doing, they are helping others so you standing in their way is just not right and it will hurt people.

I Have Another Article Published

My latest article is now published and I'd love for you to take a look at it. 

What Bagged Food Is Best For A Pet Rat

I used this picture of my rat, Lucky with the article. 

Smoking Marijuana Can Give Men, Moobs *Man Boobs*

Recently I was searching the internet for a few things and came across this interesting article that says that smoking marijuana can give men, man boobs *moobs*

According to the article, marijuana lowers the testosterone in males and can increase the chance of them getting moobs. Time to put down the joint...

Review: Aden by D.B. Reynolds and a Giveaway!

Hey guys, my guest review of this book is now up over at I Smell Sheep and there's a great giveaway where you could win Autographed print copes of Hunted and Aden as well as a $30 gift card. So drop on by and enter. 

Car Seat Laws Have Changed in 2014

*you may need to use a little imagination with my stick figure baby in this car seat*

Now that I'm a grandma, I seem to seek out the new laws and updates that pertain to kids. So while surfing the internet recently I read a few articles that said the laws about child safety seat are changing next year.

The new law states: The latch system should no longer be used when the combined weight of the child and the car seat is over 65lbs.

The law needed to be modified because the manufacturers cannot guarantee that the latch system will be enough to hold the car seat in place if you get into an accident. So use the seat belt restraint instead of the latch system in the installation of the car seat if the combined weight of the child and the car seat is over 65lbs.

All children should be buckled up.

Weekly Rat Facts: Games

Having a pet rat means taking them out so they have time to free range play. They are social animals and love to come out and be with their humans. They also need exercise and one of the great ways to get them their exercise is to play games with them. Not all rats will like all of these games, some rats don't like to play at all and just want to sit with you, let your rat guide you to what they like to do. 

Pea Fishing.

Fill a shallow glass or other heavy flat bowl or container with about 2 inches of water and add some frozen peas. Place it near where the rats are playing and wait to see if they will stick their paws into the water to fish the peas out. Some rats will swim around in the water eating peas.

Go For A Walk

I had a pet ferret harness that I put on one of my large hamsters and two of my rats. It's the kind that has a harness that goes around the body so they don't get choked or hurt if they pull on the leash. Get them used to wearing the harness and leash and take them for a walk. I got some really interesting looks when I did this.

Hide The Treat

A toilet paper tube makes a great toy to stuff with raw vegetables and give to the rats. They will run around the cage with it until they can find a spot of tear it open. Just put the vegetables in the middle of the tube and fold in the ends.

Two of my boys are old now and they don't play much but they still like to come out and be held and just sit with us. Lucky, my younger one likes to play attack the hand, where he will chase my hand around until I tickle his back and then he turns around and play bites me, never really biting me. But trying to force my hand into submission.

If you have rats you already know that they have a lot of energy and need to do something during the day to expel that energy. So if you don't have time to spend with your rats during the day when they are awake and needing attention...don't adopt rats.

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. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

This week I won a Hawaiian Christmas Ornament from SOS Aloha. 

I also won a blog contest that included the stuffed dog, dog bowl and stickers from I Smell Sheep. 

And I got a sample of Realcups coffee. 

I found the links to the samples at Hey Its Free and Freebie Shark. 

Book Review: Fancy Free by Shelley Munro

*Blurb taken from Amazon*

Warning: Condoms were tested and a few harmed during the writing of this story.It's not every day a girl inherits a condom company, and to say accountant Alice Beasley is astonished and out of her depth is putting it mildly. For an almost virgin, she needs a quick education in all things condom because her inheritance is in danger. Someone is intent on sabotage and trying to destroy her new company.Alice is suddenly getting down and dirty with charismatic James, the factory manager, all in the name of business, testing new condom designs. The sex is hot. Mind-blowing. It's a dark thrill and an erotic journey. Yeah, it's a hard job, but a girl's got to do what a girl's gotta do.Alice wants James. She craves his talented touch and sultry kisses, she desires passion and physical pleasure on a permanent basis but first she must convince bad-boy James to give up his fancy-free ways.

My Review:

Alice goes to the reading of her godmother's will and finds out that she has inherited a condom company. Her boyfriend isn't too happy about that and wants her to let it go and go back to where they came from to a normal job, get married and live happily ever after. Thankfully she drop kicks this bozo to the curb and gives the company a go. 

James will be working closely with Alice to get her accustomed to how they do things so when he leaves in six months she can fully take over with no problems. There's just one problem...James is instantly drawn to the shy, innocent woman who is hiding behind her baggy clothes. 

I knew right from the start that this was going to be funny and it was. I mean a condom factory? Really? When Alice goes to her first board meeting and the older people in the room start talking about the condoms, Alice almost chokes on her own tongue. She's not very sexually experienced and the openness of the board members is not something she is used to or expects. 

Not only do we have great character interaction, funny dialogue and a passionate romance but we also get a mystery because someone is trying to sabotage the company! They aren't sure who is leaking company secrets but the condoms have to be tested...on humans! And the only people they can trust at this point are the people who work at the company, so guess who gets to go home and test the condoms?

I also really liked how Shelley Munro was able to sneak in Ellora's Cave, into the storyline of the book and how she did it. When I read that, I actually laughed out loud at how sneaky she is. 

If you enjoy a little mystery, intrigue, hot sex and sabotage with your erotic romance. Then you'll love Fancy Free by Shelley Munro. 

5 Stars!

More Christmas Decorations

So I put up the rest of my decorations last week and finally took pictures to share with you. These are my glass snowmen in a bowl. 

Little Christmas puppies.

My cabinet is decorated.

Christmas penguins? lol 

I added red ribbons to the cabinet doors.

And hung the stockings. I bought a blue and red Spiderman Stocking for my grandson.

Hamster ornament.

This is one of the very first ornaments I bought 23 years ago when Ken and I first moved in together.

The large paintings I had on the living room walls got wrapped so they look like presents.

Looks like I have large presents on my walls now. But I like it.