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. 

Computer Problems

Just want to let everyone know that I may not be online anymore very soon. I've found that I have a problem with my computer called a DNS server problem that prevents me from connection to some websites. At first it was just one and now I can't connect to 4 different websites. I've Googled the problem and done everything they said to do and nothing has fixed the problem so I don't know how much longer I'll be able to get online. So if I up and disappear one day, it's because of computer problems and I'll be back when I can get a new laptop. Could be a few months.

I'm going to continue to stay online for as long as I can, or as long as this laptop will allow me to access the websites I go to..lol But who knows what will happen the next time I try to get online.

I have almost all of my posts for the A to Z challenge already written and scheduled to post, so I hope that this laptop lasts for a while.

If anyone is tech saavy and knows how to fix a DNS server problem..let me know. I've already Googled it and tried all the things they said to do like flushing the DNS cache, running a virus scan, Renewing my IP address and rebooting the modem and computer.

I'm participating in the A to Z Challenge!

I can't believe I'm going to do it again. I had so much fun last year and met a few new friends, I thought I would give it a shot again this year. So starting April 1st, I'll be participating in the A to Z blogging Challenge. Each day we make a post corresponding to that days letter of the alphabet *except on Sundays*.

So for the next month the weekly posts like, Twitter Wednesday, Freebie Friday and Happy Raturday will not be posted unless I can fit them into that days post *and you know I will at least once lol*

I hope you all enjoy my posts this year as much as you did last year. This should be fun. My posts won't have a theme per say..I'm a bit random as usual.

You can participate by signing up for the A to Z Challenge.

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. 

*click pictures to enlarge*

Yes, I realize this is supposed to be a Monday post but I've been so busy that I accidentally posted this today by accident. lol So I'll just leave it because it's cute.

Review: Kissing With Fangs by Ashlyn Chase

There's Something He's Never Told Her...

When her workplace burned down, Claudia should've taken it as a sign to move on—and not just professionally. She's been secretly lusting after her mysterious boss, Anthony Cross, for years. There's no way she should agree to help him rebuild if she wants to keep her heart intact, and yet it's impossible to stay away...


The flames that destroyed Anthony Cross's beloved bar are nothing compared to the heat he feels every time he lays eyes on Claudia. But he can't have her—it's against paranormal law for a vampire to date a human. Besides, he has some dangerous enemies, and one in particular already has her sights on Claudia. He owes her the truth—both about his feelings and his vampire nature—which means their lives are about to get hotter than ever...

My review:

Anthony plans on rebuilding his bar that burned down so the paranormals in the area have a safe meeting place and he's hoping he can talk Claudia into coming to work for him again because although he's not supposed to, he's got it bad for her.

Claudia isn't sure she can work at the bar again when she finds out that her boss is going to rebuild because she's been keeping a secret. Well, if the truth be told, she's been keeping two secrets and one of them is that she's been lusting after her boss for a long time. 

Vampire's, shifters and wizards, oh my!

I am a sucker for a good vampire romance but when you throw in some other paranormals, it's all that much better. The more the merrier I say. I've slowly been making my way through this series and have been loving every single book I've read. But I've been a fan of Ashlyn's books for a very long time. 

Anthony and Claudia make a great couple and they battled a couple of very hard topics, alcoholism and a crazy ex-girlfriend. Some might not think that the crazy, stalker ex girlfriend would be as big a deal as being an alcoholic but anyone who's had to deal with a stalker will tell you otherwise. I really thought both topics were dealt with in a good way and I like that we see people who have real, everyday problems because that always makes a character easier to relate with. It also makes the book more realistic even when you're reading about vampires. 

Speaking of great characters, let's talk Gaia for a moment. I love her character and love how she pops up in so many books. At first I thought she was kind of a hard ass but I've grown to love her and can see she does care for those she interacts with. 

Along with rebuilding his bar, trying to start a relationship with a human and keeping his crazy ex girlfriend away, he is also trying to find out who is kidnapping paranormals. There's so much going on in this book that it was never boring. Something new and exciting is always happening, which made it a real page turner. 

If you've been reading this series and were hoping to find out more about Anthony, this is the book you've been waiting for. We get to know him a lot more and find out he's been dealing with a lot of secrets, the biggest one is keeping humans from finding out he's a vampire or that other paranormals come to his bar to meet. 

If you're looking for a great vampire romance, a mystery to solve or a great love story then this is the book you want to read because it has all of that and more. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Common Core Math

The "Old fashioned" way.

  32
-12
----
20

The new "Common Core Math"

32-12= ____

12+3=15
15+5+20
20+10+30
30+2+32

 Now you add the second number in each row to get the answer...3+5+10+2= 20

Here's an explanation someone told me on FB...

"Here's what they're doing: Take the second number (12) and add up to the next multiple of 5/10 (+3). Then take that answer and add up to the next multiple of 10. Do that till you get to 30 and then add up to the first number (32). Then add that column of numbers you used to add up to those multiples, and that's your answer. ...

What stuns me is that anyone thinks this is better or easier. The ONLY thing I can think of is that this way involves all adding and no actual subtracting. So, you're never really teaching subtraction at all here -- just using adding to get around it. HOW is that a better skill?

Does this make sense to anyone? They have over complicated what used to be a simple process and kids don't even get it. Oh and if they need help at home, well they are kinda shit outta luck because most parents don't have a clue as to how to figure this out.

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. 

*click on pictures to enlarge*

Fun Rat Items on Amazon

This funny Rat Fink Wobbler Bobblehead can be found on Amazon for just $10.99. Not sure hubby would understand why I bought this strange piece, if I did though. lol 

This cute Rat Mouse Statue Trinket Jewelry Box can be found on Amazon for $21.99. But wait, is it a rat or a mouse? They seem to think it's a rat mouse...Guess they couldn't make up their minds. Cute though.

A Gothic Stonelike Duelling Rat Gargoyle Growling Statue 6.5" Faux Stone for just $20.99 on Amazon. That's a first for me..a rat gargoyle. I think this would make an interesting book shelf addition. 

Sterling Silver Chinese Zodiac Rat Charm Necklace for only $32.00 on Amazon. This reminds me that I've been looking for a rat necklace. This one is cute.

It's funny but for all the rats I've had in my life, I haven't bought a lot statues, pictures ect..of rats. I have a few friends that buy anything rat like that they can find but I guess I'd rather spend my money on things for the real rats that I have. 

Weekly Rat Facts: Using Fleece As Bedding

I use mostly fleece material for everything in my cages. The liner for the bottom is fleece and the covering for the second level is a cotton baby blanket. The hammocks are also fleece. 

I also use fleece beds inside the igloo's so they have something soft to lay in and I put a cotton baby blanket inside the bed so they have something to burrow into and cuddle with. 

This is what one of the fleece beds looks like. 

Lucky's cage also has fleece lining the bottom, a baby blanket clipped onto the shelves so it's softer on his feet and a fleece hammock.

This picture shows what the binder clips are and how they are used to hold the fleece material or baby blankets to the shelf.

Marbles loves to burrow into his baby blankets. 

My boys have always loved the fleece cubes. Of course they chewed the heck out of them, but the love sleeping in them.

You can find fleece cubes, hammocks and 3 tiered hammocks like the green one in this cage.

I like using fleece because it's soft, easy for them to walk on and easy to clean. When it gets too chewed to keep, I just replace it and since it's pretty cheap, it's cheaper than buying the good bedding like Carefresh and less messy.

This red spider hammock has been around for years. I'm surprised that none of the boys who have called it theirs, have chewed it up. This was Brodie. 

Lucky in the same red spider hammock. They just love this thing.

I don't sew so I buy all of my fleece cubes, hammocks and cage sets from The Little Red Ladybug

This cage set pictured above and the one below are just 2 of the many she has made and as you can see you can pick from many different colors and patterns and get all matching if you want. 

I started out with a cage set just like one of these and have just replaced the things that my rats have chewed up, mostly I just buy new hammocks and cubes *cubes not pictured 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.

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

This week I received: 

A free bottle of Nasacort nasal spray, coupons and pamphlets from BzzAgent.

If you'd like to get free products to try at home like this, just visit the BzzAgent website and sign up for an account. 

Review: Lone Wolf by Shelley Munro

When you fall out of step, that’s when everything falls into place.

R.J. Blake begins a new session tutoring young werewolves in the old ways—before the introduction of the shift-suppressing drugs that allow their kind to live secretly among humans. He expects nothing out of the ordinary. Until sexy, smart, aggravating-as-hell Corey Wilson arrives. Older than the others, son of a powerful Los Angeles pack leader, Corey is an instant temptation he cannot afford.

The last thing Corey wants is three months stuck in the Yellowstone wilderness, followed by the stifling life his father has all mapped out for him. One glimpse of R.J., though, sparks a determination to seduce the older man before he leaves. Yet as R.J. guides him through the sometimes terrifying process of rediscovering his heritage, a deepening respect calls to his artistic soul and fuels a burst of creativity.

When their time comes to an end, Corey senses hesitation behind R.J.’s insistence that theirs was simply a summer fling. Inspiring him to take a leap of faith with consequences neither of them saw coming. A dangerous plot that reaches from the heart of their love to the highest office in the land…

Warning: This book contains a young werewolf intent on seduction, an older werewolf determined to resist said seduction, werewolf politics and brutality, a little spilled blood, and hot, naked manlove in the great outdoors.

My Review:

R.J. helps young werewolves understand their wolf side at the camp he works at and things are going great until an older boy joins the camp, turning his emotions upside down.

Corey is rebellious, sarcastic and completely full of himself. So when he sees something he wants, he goes after it and right now he wants R.J. 

A new van load of teenagers has come to the werewolf camp to find out about their werewolf side. For most of them this will be the first shift they've ever experienced. Werewolves are forbidden from shifting and have to take shift-suppressing drugs so they aren't found out but there are some that believe they shouldn't have to take the drugs.

At first Corey comes across as snarky, rude, full of himself and a rebel. But as we get to know him we see that's really just a facade and underneath he's a pretty decent guy. I really enjoyed the banter between R.J. and Corey. The relationship between them really pulls Corey out of himself so by the end of the book he's ready willing and able to stand up for what he believes in and it's nice to see that change in him. 

R.J. And Corey have to hide their feelings because if the wrong people find out, things could get really bad for both of them. Getting to know what werewolf life is like for these characters was very interesting. Shelley Munro brings her characters to life, the descriptions used, created an interesting world that drew me into the story within the first few paragraphs. 

R.J. has his own demons and they get in the way of his happiness for a little while. Sometimes it takes one person taking a chance and pushing just a little bit harder for some to see they really are worth the risk and that's what R.J. has to find out. 

I found the twists in this story to be big ones, the twists and turns coupled with secrets, a conspiracy and more danger than anyone saw coming is what made this story so intriguing. 

This story has action, intrigue, characters you're going to hate and a great love story. So if you like werewolves, romance, action, danger and a great love story then you'll love this book. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

I Have New Babies!

This little girl is Flower and yes she's a hairless rat. Isn't she cute though?

And this is Scribbles and he's a male. 

They are both about 6 months old and so now I have 4 rats in my family. Scribbles looks a little like Lucky in the face and if this little monkey will sit still long enough for me to get a picture of his face I will post one. 

I adopted them from a family friend who no longer had the time to care for them. 

Flower is the first hairless rat I've ever had so expect at least one article about hairless rats coming from me sometimes soon, after I've done some research.

I bought a large box of 24 fleece throw blankets in various colors and made sure there were some pink ones in there for my new girl's cage. Now I know I have enough blankets for the cage cleanings plus I had to replace some of those old holey blankets that Marbles and Lucky love to chew on. lol