30 day blog hiatus

Hi all,

I've decided to unplug from social media for the next 30 days. I won't be on FB, Twitter or my blog for the next 30 days. My depression always gets really bad this time of year and that compounded with my anxiety has gotten the better of me right now. I'm fine but I just need time away right now. I'll be back next month. Take care and I'll catch up with you when I return.

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Review: Target Beauty Box- November

Target has a beauty box that you can sign up for each month but supplies are limited and they run out really fast. Last month's box was just $10 each. I usually try to get the Target box each month but sometimes I miss it and by the time I see they are available, the boxes are all sold out. Thankfully, that was not the case with the latest box. 

The way I find out that there is a new Target Beauty Box available is by checking the hash tag #TargetBeautyBox on Twitter. Some people are really good about letting others know that there is a new box available and that's how I find out. Some bloggers on FB also let others know when a new box is available and I always pass along the info as well.

So this month's box contained: 

Loreal Advanced HairCare Volume Filler Thickening Shampoo

Andalou Naturals Day Cream

Hask Keratin Soothing Deep Conditioner

Laneige Water Bank Soothing Mask

W3LL People Bio Brightener Cream

L'Oreal Voluminous Primer

Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner

If you're a woman, you know that make up is expensive. So it's nice to get a box of beauty products I haven't tried before to see if I like them and just pay $10. Some of the products that I won't use I give to my daughter and she loves that. 

Have you tried the Target Beauty Boxes yet?

Favorite Video Of The Week

This is an old one and many of you may have already seen it, but I laugh every time I see it.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples, gift cards 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 a lot of great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.


This week I received:

A $5 Amazon gift card from Crowdtap.

And I cashed out $12.50 from American Consumer Opinion and had that money sent to my paypal.

A $10 Amazon gift card from MyPoints.

Did you get any freebies this week?

Just Some Pictures of Where I live

Recently a lot of you have been posting pictures of what it looks like around where you live so I thought I might do the same since I keep saying I see dirt, shrubs and cactus where I live. I'm not joking when I say that. lol 

*You can click on any of the pictures I post to enlarge them a little.*

The one above is right next door to my apartment complex. There is where I usually walk my dog. That tall wall on the right is the wall that separates us from the freeway. It's very noisy. 

Not many tree's around where I live and some of them are made of metal. Don't mind my dog, he's watering the rocks. lol

This picture was taken quite some time ago because my daughter is now 25 years old. But this does show you what Red Rock looks like. Red Rock is about a 30 minute drive from where I live in Las Vegas. Dirt, rocks, shrubs and cactus...you get the idea.

This is my daughter now. She still likes going to Red Rock and hiking the trails. 

When she was little we would go to Red Rock and bury the hamsters when they passed away. That's what Ken and our daughter were doing here. Her hamster passed away and she picked this spot for her. You don't see many tree's in Red Rock but we managed to find a couple here.

Ken and our daughter quite a few years ago but as you can see unless you like hiking some of the trails or trying to hike to the top of some of the mountains here, there's not a lot to see. Rocks, shrubs, dirt. lol 

Sometimes on the road to Red Rock there will be wild burros that will stand there and let you get a picture with them. They do expect some food after the pictures though. People stop and feed them all the time and take pictures with them and the burros are really tame. That's me about 20 years ago. That's a Joshua Tree in the background.

Ken and our daughter standing next to a Joshua Tree. There are a lot of them in the Mojave Desert and in Red Rock. 

While walking a longer hike in the winter at Red Rock we came across this really cool spot. This was facing out but behind me where I was taking the picture were two really tall rocks about 10 feet apart and more of those desert shrubs you see next to Ken and Elizabeth were back in there. It was shaded and dark because the two tall rocks made it almost cave like. It was a neat find. We stopped there and ate lunch. 

Favorite Picture of the Week and I'm a Guest Reviewer

My daughter and grandson made Halloween cookies a couple of weeks ago. Here's 2 cookies my grandson, Logan decorated. He's so happy. lol 

Guest Reviewer and Giveaway!

Yesterday I was also a guest reviewer at I Smell Sheep. I reviewed Leopard's Fury by Christine Feehan and there's a giveaway as well. Go check out my review and enter the giveaway. 

Review: The Darkest Torment by Gena Showalter

Book Description

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter returns with her most explosive Lords of the Underworld tale to date, about a fierce warrior on the brink of sanity who will stop at nothing to claim the exquisite human with the power to soothe the beast inside him… 

Driven to his death by the demon of Distrust, Baden spent centuries in purgatory. Now he's back, but at what cost? Bound to the king of the underworld, an even darker force, he's unable to withstand the touch of another…and he's quickly devolving into a heartless assassin with an uncontrollable temper. Things only get worse when a mission goes awry and he finds himself saddled with a bride—just not his own.  

Famed dog trainer Katarina Joelle is forced to marry a monster to protect her loved ones. When she's taken hostage by the ruthless, beautiful Baden immediately after the ceremony, she's plunged into a war between two evils—with a protector more dangerous than the monsters he hunts. They are meant to be enemies, but neither can resist the passion burning between them…and all too soon the biggest threat is to her heart. 

But as Baden slips deeper into the abyss, she'll have to teach him to love…or lose him forever. 

My Review

I was really happy with this installment in the Lords of the Underworld series. It seems like the whole gang made an appearance in this one and I was glad to be able to see some of the characters from the other books pop up in this one as well. 

The Lords of the Underworld opened Pandora's Box and they were cursed with keeping the demons inside them. Baden used to be the keeper of Distrust but he was killed and is now back with something even more evil inside him. 

Katarina was stuck between loving the only family she had left, her brother and marrying someone she didn't love so that one of her brother's debts were paid off. Katarina rescued abused dogs, helped them learn to love and trust again. But all that is taken from her by her brother and her new husband, my heart broke for her. Right after she is married, Baden kidnaps her not knowing that her dogs are in danger. 

There's a war going on between Hades and Lucifer and even though they are both bad guys, Lucifer is the worst of them. So Hades uses Baden to get things that he can use to win the war against Lucifer and Katarina ends up getting caught up in the craziness. There's a twist that I didn't see coming but it was great! Like, omg that is awesome, great. There's lots of action in this book, lots of fighting as you can imagine because of all the demons involved and a few spots of tenderness that I wasn't expecting. 

Because there are so many paranormal creatures in this series, including Hades, Lucifer, Demons, The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Zeus and hellhounds...if you like books with a paranormal element to it, this is the series to get that from. 

I liked seeing a little of Legion, she's one of the characters that I most want to have her own book. She deserves to have her story told and I look forward to reading it. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of Poppy's Mischief*

"I'd share my cake with you but you didn't share your pie with me, so it's just not happening."

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of Rat Logic*

Review: Guardian's Mate by Jennifer Ashley

Book Description

Chosen as the Guardian of her Montana Shiftertown, wolf Shifter Rae Lyall is facing opposition—for no woman has ever been selected for this powerful position. Still adjusting to the new authority thrust upon her, Rae travels to train with Zander Moncrieff, a Shifter healer, tasked with teaching her about her new role and its responsibilities. 

He wasn’t ready to love...

A polar bear Shifter, Zander wears no Collar and follows no rules but his own. Rae finds him arrogant and demanding, yet compelling and intriguing. Zander has no wish to mate but the sassy Guardian is drawing him out of his shell, stirring feelings long suppressed. And when a new threat looms over Rae’s home, she and Zander must race to the rescue, forced closer to danger...and to each other.

My Review

I've been reading this series since the very first book. The shifters in this series have been through a lot and they seriously deserve a break or some good news. That's why I was so happy to see Zander get his own book. I've loved this huge polar bear shifter since he first showed up. Zander is a polar bear shifter and a healer. He heals shifters from serious wounds but when he does, he takes those wounds, pain and sickness into himself. It takes a lot out of him when he does this and heals shifters so he decided to live apart from most shifter communities. Far away in Alaska, he can be found if he is really needed as a last resort. 

Rae was just a cub *small child* when her parents died and she was left all alone. She didn't know who her pack was or if she had any other family. The shifters who found her, took her in and one adopted her into his family as his own daughter. Years later the Guardian of their pack is killed and the Guardian's Sword won't let anyone hold it with the exception of Rae. So when the shifters go out to hold a ceremony in the hopes that the Goddess picks a new Guardian, Rae holds the sword and she is picked as the new Guardian. Only problem is a woman has never been Guardian before and some of the pack don't accept that she was chosen. 

Rae is sent away to Alaska to Zander in the hopes that he can teach her how to fight, how to wield the sword and how to be the Guardian. When a shifter died, a Guardian is called to plunge the sword through their heart so the evil fae can't snatch up their spirits and keep them slaves in the afterlife. 

While Zander and Rae get off to a somewhat rocky start, they end up understanding one another since they both feel like outcasts. They face some threats, some challenges and in an unexpected twist we find out that the fae might be up to something new and that's not a good thing. We get a glimpse into what might be coming up the next few books and as always we get a look at some of the characters we've come to love. This book is the 9th book in the series and a great addition. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Favorite Video of the Week

Steve Harvey is funny, even if he's scared of all the animals.

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 great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

Starbucks coffee samples.

A book I won in a blog giveaway.

A $25 Starbucks gift card from eRewards.

A $5 Amazon gift card from Crowdtap.


Did you receive any freebies this week?

Cheese Stick?

Ken came home with something I've never seen before. It's a mozzarella cheese stick wrapped in prosciutto. 

Frankly, it looks less than appetizing to me. I've had mozzarella cheese sticks but usually there's nothing wrapped around it. Also, I've never had prosciutto. I know, I know. *gasp* but how could you not have, right? It just never came up. 

Now is it me or does this look something like a severed finger? Or maybe some other body part? I'm not saying but I'm sure you can guess. *wink wink*

So I took a bite and started chewing...and chewing. Is prosciutto supposed to be cooked? Should I be eating what tastes like raw bacon? Should this crap be chewy and kinda gross? No wonder it's thinly sliced, if it hadn't been, it would be more like beef jerky, that how chewy this stuff is. Plus it really does taste like and have the consistency of raw bacon. *Don't ask me how I know that. I was a weird child.*

So my rating would be 1 out of 5 but only because the cheese was good. 

Do you like prosciutto? Does it always taste like raw meat and have a chewy texture?

Favorite Picture of the Week

My 3 year old grandson was going to be Spiderman for Halloween. But when my daughter got home and had him try it on, it was too small for him. 

So she took it back and got a Pirate costume and it fit much better. He's 3 years old but had to get a size 5 for him because he's tall. lol 

Review: Roar by Kallypso Masters

Book Description

Haunted by a tragic accident that yanked his beloved wife from his side, Kristoffer Roar Larson has been going through the motions in life. But when he meets the dedicated surgeon and humanitarian, Pamela Jeffrey, he feels an undeniable connection to her, stirring feelings he’d buried long ago. After encountering her in a compromising position on a tour of a BDSM academy, he realizes there’s more to her than meets the eye. Fascinated by her assertive alpha personality, coupled with her desire to submit and serve, Pamela intrigues him. 

As Pamela shines light once more into the dark corners of his life, Kristoffer finds himself struggling between remaining in his safe and lonely world or emotionally opening himself up to a vibrant woman, who asks for nothing more than he’s able to give. Guiding her in mind-training exercises to prepare her for some future Dom, Kristoffer finds his body awakening as well. Will Kristoffer be able to close the door to his past and open his heart to the ginger-haired sprite who makes him question everything he once believed?

ROAR is a standalone novel that has some familiar secondary characters from Rescue Me Saga, but the main characters are new. You don’t have to read the series to fully enjoy this book.

My Review

I've been a fan of Kallypso Master's books for a while now and have been reading The Rescue Me Saga, so I knew I wanted to read this stand alone book as well. So if you're a fan of the Rescue Me Saga then you'll like this new book. 

Kristoffer suffered a loss when his wife is left in a permanent vegetative state but when he meets Pamela something inside him comes to life again. He's trying to find a way to deal with his inner battles, the struggling of keeping himself emotionally locked away so he doesn't get hurt again and trying to live his life.

Pamela is looking for something different. That something she finds in a BDSM academy and with Kristoffer. I found her character to be a bit strange at first because while she's a doctor, she doesn't always act like it especially when it comes to taking care of herself. 

I found this book to be quite a bit different than most of the other books I've read by this author and while it's not a bad thing, it was not what I was expecting. Most of this book deals with the struggle of dealing with life and getting on with one's life when the love of your life is breathing but will never wake up. It's an emotional read and most definitely will bring on the tears and the joy when Kristoffer finally opens up and realizes that a person can have more than one love of a lifetime. 

While this book is more about Pamela's health, Kristoffer's emotional baggage and what it's like to take care of his wife who's in a permanent vegetative state and how he deals with that. It's also about Pamela and Kristoffer becoming friends and more towards the end of the book. So while I was expecting a romance throughout the book, I got something else but it turned out to be a good story. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.