Review: SterlingPro French Press

Product Description

- The Best Heat Resistant Borosilicate Glass--Your SterlingPro coffee press will work much longer for you. 

- The unique Double Screens System---No more GROUNDS in your coffee 

- Solid Packing--No broken gifts to your family members and friends.

100% Guaranteed No Grounds coffee From SterlingPro

What is the worst coffee drinking experience? Coffee grounds in mouth! That is why SterlingPro introduces the innovated and unique Double Screens System which is the only one in coffee press market. By adding the second screen, the primary screen will touch the glass wall more tightly and evenly. At the same time, the second screen will filter the tiny grounds which pass through the primary screen. No more grounds in your coffee by using Sterlingpro coffee press. You will love it after using it. Your loved ones will appreciate it and think of you happily every time when they enjoy the coffee from your gifts--SterlingPro coffee press.

2 Pieces BONUS Stainless Steel Screens(Over $25 Value)---FREE!!

My Review

This French Press was very easy to use and I love the double stainless steel screen that makes sure there are no coffee grounds left in my coffee. I've tried other coffee presses and this is the best one so far. The carafe is beautiful and the chrome really makes this coffee press stand out and I like that is has heat resistant glass so I don't have to worry about pouring hot water into this. I made several carafe's full of coffee after getting this French Press and tried three different type's of coffee including a coffee with a smaller ground to it that always leaves ground in my coffee after using my other coffee presses and I didn't find any coffee grounds in my coffee after pouring it into my cup when I used this coffee press, which pleasantly surprised me.

I think this French Press would make an excellent gift for those in your life who love coffee and want something nice to make it in. I boxed up my other two coffee presses and am using this one exclusively now because it works much better than the others that I had.

Ever since seeing these types of French Presses on Star Trek TNG, I've wanted one just like this. The glass and chrome design is so nice looking and it works so well. I can't want to use this during the holidays when I have company come over so I can show it off. And at only $27.95, it's affordable if this is what you've been wanting. If you'd like to buy one for yourself, you can find it here. 

Disclaimer: I received this product at a discount in exchange for an honest review.

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.
Did you know you can sign up at Tomoson and get free products too. You can also sign up at these sites and get products at a great discount. No Kidding Coupons, AMZ Review Trader, and Elite Deal Club.

This week I received:

All this week's samples were from Pinchme.

Skinny Pop Popcorn
Advil PM sample
Boudreaux's Butt Paste sample
Milk Bone Brushing Chews sample
Milk Bone Good Morning Daily Vitamin sample
coupons

Did you get anything free this week?

Nature Box Subscription Box Review

I'm always up for trying new snacks and I love finding healthy snacks now too so I was interested in trying this Nature Box out when I saw it. I was really happy when I found out that my first box would be free and I could keep getting boxes for jut under $20 a month. The other great thing is you get to pick what you get in your box each month from the large assortment of snacks that they have on their site. 

Nature Box is a monthly subscription box that let's you choose what snacks you want to get each month. I picked these snacks to try for my second box. 

In this box I got...

Praline Pumpkin Seeds

Whole Wheat Raspberry Figgy Bars

Whole Wheat Strawberry Figgy Bars

Guacamole Bites

 Sweet & Simple Berry Nut Mix

I have to say the Praline Pumpkin Seeds were my favorite this time. They are shelled pumpkin seeds with a sweet coating on them and they are so good. I also liked the Berry Nut Mix. 

The one that neither Ken or I liked was the Guacamole bites. It's a guacamole flavored corn chip and it was just not very good. 

Ken likes the Figgy Bars but they are too dry for me but he likes them. 

The idea of the Nature Box subscription snack box is great. If you can find 5 snacks that you really like, it might be worth the $20 price tag each month. I would give this box a 3 out of 5 stars. 

Easily Microwave Corn On The Cob

Last year I saw on FB this meme that showed how to cook corn on the cob in the microwave and be able to slide the husk off along with all those silky hairs that love to cling to the corn and get stuck in your teeth. lol 

Step 1...buy some corn on the cob

Step 2...cut the end off high enough so that the husk isn't attached to the end.

Step 3...microwave each stalk for 2 minutes. If cooking 2 stalks microwave for 4 minutes. Only cook 2 stalks at a time. 

Step 4...let cool for 5 minutes and then squeeze the closed end, pushing the corn out the open end you cut off. 

Keep squeezing until corn is free.

Step 5...eat.

There was only one silky hair attached to this ear of corn and the other one was the same. The clean up is so much easier and the cooking time is so much faster. And it tastes really good, just as if you boiled it for 30 minutes but with out the scalding hold water.

I cooked a small ear for Flower and cut it into 4 small pieces. I let them cool, gave her one and put the others in a zip lock baggie for later. It takes her a day to eat one piece. But I only give her one every couple of days. The pieces can also be frozen and thawed out later.

I took a small piece of corn and held it up to her window. Hey, she worked hard on these windows. lol 

She stuck her head out the window and grabbed the corn...

and away it went...

Review: Target Beauty Box

This months Target Beauty Box was just $5.00 and came with quite a lot of stuff. Here's a list of the things I got in this box. 

L’Oréal Paris Voluminous Mascara

L’Oréal Paris Advanced Haircare Total Repair 5 Shampoo

L’Oréal Paris Elnett Satin Hairspray

L’Oréal Paris Age Perfect Cell Renewal Night Cream

L’Oréal Paris True Match Shade Strips

L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Volume Filler

L’Oréal Paris Advanced Haircare Ultimate Straight

and a $5 off coupon on my next purchase of Loreal products. 

These boxes go fast, this one was gone within minutes of me getting to the site and filling out my order. Thankfully I have several friends on FB that post a reminder when they find out that a box has gone live and I post it on my FB page as well. There are also a lot of people on Twitter that Tweet when a new box has gone live. 

Have you tried one of these boxes yet?

Happy Raturday!

So as you all know the lady who I was getting the rat meme's from passed away. But since so many of you asked that I keep the Happy Raturday posts going, I'll be sharing pictures of mine and my friends rats. 

Happy Raturday

Picture courtesy of Marysa Nicholson.

"Did you bring me a treat?"

Picture courtesy of Marysa Nicholson.

"I'm looking at you, looking at me."

Picture courtesy of Alana Patricia Caldwell.

"Maybe if I didn't sleep with my paw over my nose, I might be able to breathe better."

Picture courtesy of Alana Patricia Caldwell.

"Who knew spaghetti was wearable as well as eatable."

Picture courtesy of Alana Patricia Caldwell.

"Not sure what's in this stuff, but keep it coming."

Picture courtesy of Alana Patricia Caldwell.

"I know I heard someone knocking on my door. Dang kids!"

And this is one of my Twitter friends. His name is Threadbare. He's a double rex patchwork rat and has no eyes. But he sure is happy, just watch him boggle and brux. *brux means he is gnashing his teeth together. Boggle means he is moving his jaw in such a way that if he had eyes they would be looking like they were going to pop out of his face.*

Here's a video of my rat, Marbles doing almost the same thing. He was bruxing and chirping which looks like hiccups. Then he started boggling and you can see his eyes doing the pop in and out thing. When they do this, it means they are happy.

Review: Farmer Wants A Wife by Shelley Munro

Book Blurb

The rules of the game are simple: the man pursues until the woman catches.

Think finding the perfect lover is difficult? Ask Susan Webb—she knows it is. Lonely, tired of dull routine and dud men who only think with their lower brains, she takes a calculated risk to shake up her lackluster life.

Now she’s set to take part in a reality dating show. Her objective: to find a good, honest man who’s up for enjoying lots of sexy fun on the road to love. Failure is not an option.

One look at his older brother’s Farmer Wants a Wife candidate, and Tyler Penrith is intrigued. Prim and proper on the surface, she has a secret smile in her eyes and an exotic dancer sway to her step. And calamity follows her around like a tame dragon.

Susan might be in his brother’s age group, but Tyler’s not about to let Nolan waltz off with the first woman to snare his attention in ages.

As the show’s ratings go through the roof, Susan finds herself falling for the wrong man—and her simple plan for happiness on the brink of falling apart.

Warning: Contains sibling rivalry, lots of sneaking around, sexy times in the great outdoors, a bright blue vibrator, and a reality show that’s giving everyone something to talk about.

My Review

Imagine that your mother wants you married so she turns in your name for a reality tv show but you aren't really looking for a wife right now. So what do you do? You set out to teach your meddling mother a lesson and have some fun at the same time. 

When I first read the blurb for this book, I thought that this sounded like a light sweet read. I thought I knew exactly where this story was going when I started reading it...I was wrong. It headed in the direction I thought it would go and then, Bam! It took a turn I wasn't expecting and things started heating up and getting hilarious! 

First let's talk about the cameraman who gets to follow the contestants around, shall we? He is funny and giggles in all the right places. You can just tell he's loving his job, especially when Susan has a wardrobe malfunction and a bit of her sexy panty clad derriere is flashed when she first meets Nolan. 

Then there's Nolan's parents. While his mother is a real piece of work, I kinda felt bad for his father. At least the man finally finds his backbone. Nolan's mother is more worried what her friends are going to think of the woman her son picks than whether or not he's happy. She's rude, demeaning and gets exactly what she deserves. 

Of course things aren't always what they appear to be and we find that there are family secrets that come out during this story as well as a nice twist because the heart wants, what the heart wants. All in all this was a real fun story to read. 

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. 

If you'd like to read this book, you can find it here. 

Recipe: Chicken and Potato Bake

You Will Need: 

4 Boneless Chicken Tenders- cubed

2 Medium potatoes- cubed

1/4 C. Olive Oil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Poultry Seasoning

1 C. shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 C. Diced Green Onion

1 Sliced Ripe Avocado
1 cup homemade salsa -recipe below

In large baking pan mix together, chicken, potatoes, oil, salt, pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder and poultry seasoning. Bake for 45 minutes at 400 Degree's for 45 minutes or until cooked through and potatoes are tender. 

Remove from oven and top with cheese, green onion. Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with sliced avocado and homemade salsa.

Recipe for homemade Salsa

1 large tomato- diced
1/4 cup diced white onion
2 Tbsp finely diced Cilantro
1 Tbsp Lemon juice
salt to taste

Mix together and chill for 1 hour before serving.

This turned out so good. It's definitely going to be something I make more of.

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.
Did you know you can sign up at Tomoson and get free products too. You can also sign up at these sites and get products at a great discount. No Kidding Coupons, AMZ Review Trader, and Elite Deal Club.

This week I received:

A book for a review- Spider Game by Christine Feehan

Centrum Vitamints sample

Lancome Foundation (make up) sample

I also cashed out my points on a survey site *American Consumer Opinion* for a little over $25.00

Did you get any freebies this week?

Falcor

Some of you may not know that along with rats I also have a dog named Falcor. *Yes named after Falcor in The Never Ending Story* We got him last year when he was 6 months old. We rescued him from a lady who no longer wanted him/couldn't handle him and had kept him in the dog run in the apartment all the time. 

He's finally settled down a bit, he's still a bit hyper and he still cowers if we get loud and I think he used to get yelled at a lot and maybe even hit by the way he acts. But he's so much more at ease with us now than he was when we first got him. And he's definitely daddy's boy. Always wants to be next to Ken. 

He was always trying to lay on the dirty laundry over in the corner and even started pulling out dirty socks to lay on. lol He's a small dog, only about 10 lbs and is a Chihuahua/Jack Russel Terrier mix. 

So Ken gave him a dirty pair of sweat pants and a dirty shirt he could have to lay on in his bed. lol I think he approves. 

He's a silly mutt but I'm glad we've got him. 

Review: Flight of Dragons

Book Description

Let your fantasies soar with FLIGHT OF DRAGONS, a collection of 10 scorching romances where larger than life heroes are ready to set your world (and your heart) ablaze. Warning: stories include sexy as sin fire-breathing dragons. The authors will not be held accountable for late nights, lack of sleep, or certain urges that may arise. Let’s turn up the heat! 

My Review

Releasing Her Dragon ~ Élianne Adams

Stella is a dragon shifter and she has a little problem. If she doesn't mate soon she would be stuck in her dragon form forever. She found him but he keeps running away and she thinks he wants nothing to do with her. She sang at a pub, hoping that he might walk in and she'd get a glimpse of him.

Brycen does want her but he has to do something important first. That is until she forces his hand and he has to go to her. But the woman who he was charged with keeping tabs on isn't who she appears to be and things get all kinds of bad when she shows her true colors.

I love how this story has a great twist at the end of it and it's not one that I saw coming at all, which was a nice surprise. 

Dragon Reborn ~ LC Alleyne

Balthazar Andal is searching for his dragon scale so he can once again shift into his dragon form. He lost it in a fight with his brother over a century ago.

Eva Haraldsdóttir is an archaeologist who just happens to find an old vase with pictures of dragons on it so of course Balthazar is interested in spending more time with her in order to get it from her.  But before they can spend much time together someone tries to kill her and Balthazar invites her to stay with him. She finds out things about him that should have made her run away screaming but instead she's a fighter and when she's found the right man, she plans to fight for him.

One thing I found fun was the fact that in this story the dragons cannot lie. If they are asked a question, they have to answer it truthfully.

This is a story about three dragon brothers, one brother being greedy and murderous hoping to somehow get their family's dragon hoard of riches. And this brother doesn't care if he has to kill one or both other brothers in order to get it. 

The Dragon’s Stolen Bride ~ Sadie Haller

Graeme Penrith, Lord Greymoor, Marquess of Iron Hill,*wow that's a mouthful* has a ghost that's always trying to set him up with women so he'll get married. But the ghost didn't know that his heart belongs only to the woman who agreed to marry him years ago. Freya disappeared without a trace and his heart never mended.

Freya was kidnapped by a beast who wanted her for her innocence because bedding her and taking her virginity was supposed to bring back his human form. But Freya gave herself to Graeme before the beast got to her so in a fit of rage and revenge, the beast decided to keep her his prisoner for the rest of her life.

The ghost, while nosy is the real hero of this story. This story has a surly dragon shifter and a couple who just want to be reunited, oh and a great twist that teaches you not to take things so literally!

Ice ~ Skye Jones

Ice is a female cage fighter. She's had a rough life and has to keep her emotions in check or she can burn people with her touch. So she's closed herself off and fights in the cage.

Nathan and Dom are bonded dragon shifters. Nathan gets talked into going to a cage fight and that's where he smells Ice and knows she is their mate and a female dragon although she has no idea that's what she is. She has a little too much to drink and things take a turn towards funny. Dom and Nathan take the chance to get to know Ice better and tell her what she is.

Ice travels back to the home of the dragons to get to know them better, she has some awesome thrills rides on the back of a dragon and get to know the guys a bit better. All seems to be going really well and then there's a problem, a big one. But there's almost always a problem that needs to be fixed, right?

I really loved Ice, her character was tough yet underneath she is as vulnerable as anyone else. Nathan was kind of a macho ass but Dominick was fun, loving and fun to read.

Forged In Fire ~ Zara Keane

I liked this story right away because it's set in Ireland and that's one of the places that if I ever travel, I want to visit.

Lia and her daughter Ash live in a run down apartment. Lia is a single mother and she's doing the best she can to keep her daughter safe but that all blows up when someone kidnaps her daughter and won't give her back until she meets his demands. All the kidnapper wants is for Lia to bring him Seth MacNeil, but she hasn't spoken to him in years so this isn't going to be easy.

Seth doesn't know he has a daughter out there or that she's been kidnapped, until Lia tells him. While he's shocked and angry that Lia didn't tell him sooner, all he wants now is to help Lia safely get their daughter back.

Of course, things aren't always what they seem and this story takes a big twist towards the end that makes all kinds of sense.

To Love a Highland Dragon ~ Ann Gimpel

Kheladin is a dragon shifter, he's been sleeping underground for a very long time. When he finally wakes up and decides to go above ground, things are totally different from the time he comes from. He must have been a sleep for many years and it's hard to get used to how things are now. Lachlan is the human form of the dragon and he and the dragon talk to each other in their minds. I found this twist on the dragon shifter tale quite interesting.

Maggie finds poor Lachlan looking around like he hasn't ever seen the world as it is and she's right, everything has changed for him while he's been sleeping. Maggie decides to buy him a meal and get him cleaned up and while doing so she gets to know him better.

Maggie is a witch and so is her grandmother. She enlists the help of her grandmother to find out what happened to Lachlan and find out whether the person who sent him to sleep centuries before is still alive. Kheladin is worried that dragons no longer exist since neither he not Lachlan can sense any dragon magic around them.

The witches really take a front seat in this story which I liked. So there's time travel, witchcraft and dragons as well as a sweet romance in this story.

Demons’ Captive ~ Evanne Lorraine

Zaynah is sent by the emperor to a moon that orbits Zenon to find out what is going on there. Ranin Seven is where she is supposed to go and kill the leaders and wait for back up from the emperor but things take a slight turn for the worst when she crash lands on the moon.

Diablo finds her craft and thinks she is dead but takes her to get medical attention anyway where he finds she is part human, part demon and something else they can't figure out. Diablo's brother, Gun seems like he is the more intellectual of the two especially since Diablo is all wrapped up in the mating heat after tasting Zaynah. But she loses her memory and therefore has no recollection why she is there.

Things heat up between her and the two fire demon brother's and then her dragon side makes an appearance. There are other things going on in this story that make it interesting, including a nice twist. 

If your into aliens and hot alien sex this this is definitely a story you'll like.

Blue Moon Dragon ~ Shelley Munro

Emma wants Jack and she's going to show him that she wants him. But Jack is a dragon shifter and not looking for a relationship, just a woman now and again to satisfy his needs. He and Emma are both private investigators and they have a case they are working on together but for this case they have to pose as a couple. That's not a problem for Emma, she loves the idea but Jack is afraid of the ramifications.

They have to pose as a couple at a kinky couples resort and between Emma winning sex related prizes and Jack's loss of self control and his dragon wanting to come out for some fun with Emma, the banter and story line between these two was all kinds of fun.

They are at the couples resort to check it out and they find things are't what they seem, trouble ensues and Emma meets Jack's dragon. Jack doesn't know whether Emma will run screaming like others have done or if she will accept him.

I liked this one because not only does it have dragons, it has a BBW heroine. Since I am a large girl myself, I love finding stories that have that as well, it's easier to relate to.

A Viking's Need ~ Zoe York

Viking monk Bjorn Önnuson wants to lead a solitary life away from everyone and live at the monastery but his life is upended when a beautiful dragon rider swoops into his life.

Britt Andersdatter came to the mountain where the monastery is to ride one of the dragons. She is impetuous, sarcastic and so much fun. She says what's on her mind, can see when she is making someone uncomfortable and pushes them a little more just for the fun of it. I really liked her.

I loved the banter between these two as they rode dragons, talked and got to know one another. She kept him off balance and I think that was what made me really like him. This was a sweet, quick romance and I really liked it.

Flickering Light ~ Élianne Adams

Barbara has been struggling since her queen died and her dragon went dormant. She turns to Clay for help and because he really wants to be with him.

Without the queen's light, more and more people were giving into the darkness. The pain was just too much to bare without the light to balance things. The elders get a vision that the queen will once again come to them and bring with her the light but until then they tell Barbara that she has to join with her predestined mate. She isn't sure because she loves Clay but fate has a way of working out just the way you need it to.

This was a fun quick read and I really liked it.


It's been a while since I've read a box set and this was a good one. There are all kinds of different stories in this one and I really enjoyed them. I give this box set a 4 out of 5 stars. 

If you'd like to buy this book, you can find it here. 

Disclaimer: I was given a copy for free in exchange for my honest review. 

Recipe: Easy Baked Apples

I made baked apples for Ken and I the other night and they came out so good. 

First thing you do is slice a tiny bit off the top and core it. I didn't core the whole thing just a little. Then take a sharp knife and cut two circle down into the apples. Then turn the apples over and and slice half way down the apple making slice all the way around the apple. When you turn it back over it should be like a bloomin' apple. Pry the slices apart a little so you can get the cinnamon mixture down into it.

For the cinnamon mixture you will need:

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons of melted butter

2 tablespoons sugar

I used white sugar you can use brown if you prefer. 

Pour half of the cinnamon mixture over the apples before baking and leave half for later. 

Bake apples for 15 minutes at 400F. Take apples out and spread the slices apart a little and pour the remaining cinnamon mixture into the apples. Bake for another 15 minutes or until tender. 

It might not look it but these were really good. I cannot believe I grabbed one of my really old chipped plates to take a picture of this apple. lol 

Happy Raturday! *The Last One*

This will be the last Raturday post made from meme's from Rat Logic's fb page because the lady who made the meme's, Melissa "Angel" King, passed away recently. She was a member of the rat community and she had rats of her own. I talked with her several times about the Monday post and her meme's and she loved having the rat meme's shared. She will be greatly missed. Here is a link to her obituary. 

*click pictures to enlarge*

Review: Bunny's Furr and Feathers FunPacks

I've done reviews on all kinds of subscription boxes, I even had one for my dog. So I wondered if there was one out there for rats. So I did what I always do when I have a question...I Googled it! That's where I found Bunny's Furr and Feathers Funpacks. When I saw that they did indeed have one for rats as well as dogs, cats, rabbits, hedgehogs, guinea pigs and other animals, I figured I would get one for Flower and see how it was. 

First off, the packaging was fun and right on the box it said, "Hi Flower, we picked these just for you." How cute is that?

Inside the box was a cuddle/bonding sack, a corn cob raffia toy, strawberry treats and a wheel delights food treat.

These treats are good to keep rats occupied when you are asleep or aren't playing with them. It gives them something fun to do and a treat too.

I always have some kind of treat on hand to give her when she is out or stares at me to give her one and she likes these.

Little enrichment toys are always good to have in their cage. most of the toys I've put in her cage she just ignores. So we'll see with this one.

Cuddle or bonding sacks are a great way to bond with a skittish or shy rat. They love little sacks like this one and Flower is no different. She loves to play in pouches, sacks, pockets..ect. Rats are very curious creatures.

As you can see she rat right in it when she came out to play. Nothing but tail and butt in this picture. lol 

She loves this cuddle sack. It's nice and soft and so cute!

Flower went after the treat right away. She's been taking a bite every time she comes down stairs in her cage.

I think she really likes this. 

All in all I would give this pet subscription box a 4 out of 5 stars. The price is $25 for a single month, which is what I got and that price is a bit steep to me for what was in the box. But I thought the same thing about the dog box that I got Falcor and lots of people buy that. So if this looks like something you want to check out, go here to their website. They have boxes for all types of animals, even rats! Shipping was fast, the website is easy to navigate and they have quality products in their boxes.