Review: Leafholic Silicone Tea Infuser

I've never had a tea infuser before but this little monkey face tea infuser is so cute. I just love how cute it is hanging on the side of my cup. The face of the monkey changes color to let you know when your tea is at the right strength to drink. I think this would make a really cute gift for the tea lover's in your life. I didn't have any loose leaf tea so I cut open a tea bag I had and poured the tea leaves into the bottom container and added the silicone monkey to my cup of hot water. It works just like it says it does and the holes in the infuser are small enough to let water in while not letting the tea leaves out.

When you place the little silicone tea holder into your cup, the face of it is brown. As the tea steeps and gets to the right strength...

the face turns red. And as you can see, it really works and the color of the face really changes color as it sits in the hot water.

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

Alternatives to Animal Testing

*Brodie*

New drugs, products and chemicals are often tested on animals before making their way to the market for human consumption and use. No matter what side of the animal testing controversy you're on, finding a new way of testing that doesn't involve cruelty to a living being is a good thing.

What Products Get Tested On Animals
A lot of the products that we use everyday get tested on animals including medical procedures, medicines, shampoo, perfume, cleaning agents, cosmetics and medical devices. They are tested on animals before they ever make their way to us.

Human Skin Equivalent
Scientists have developed a skin equivalent called SkinEthic and EpiDerm that scientists can use instead of animal skin to measure the corrosiveness and irritation of a product. According to the New England Anti-Vivisection Society, "Some alternatives to the use of animals in testing include: in vitro (test tube) test methods and models based on human cell and tissue cultures, computerized patient-drug databases and virtual drug trials, computer models and simulations, stem cell and genetic testing methods, non-invasive imaging techniques such as MRIs and CT Scans microdosing (in which humans are given very low quantities of a drug to test the effects on the body on the cellular level, without affecting the whole body system)."

Using alternative methods are also more cost effective because there are no animals to house, feed, care for, look after or dispose of after they are tested on and the tests are over. Being cruelty free is something more and more companies are looking to be since more and more people are in the market for cruelty free products. Animal testing is not something that most people want to see still happening when there are alternatives to it. Some companies have gone the way of no longer testing on animals so we know it can be done elsewhere.

What are your thoughts on this?

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*

Happy Birthday Flower and Scribbles! They are Two Years Old!

When I rescued Flower and Scribbles from a lady 18 months ago, she told me they were 6 months old. So while I don't know the exact day they were born, I know the month. I decided to celebrate their birthday's today. Flower was very unsure of the cake and stretched out in order to grab a piece and run over in the corner with it.

She decided to take a little piece of cake over to the back and eat it there. Don't worry they only got a few bites of the cake. lol Flower might be 2 years old but she still has the energy of a baby. She still runs, jumps and plays all over and with us while she's out on the couch with us. When she wants attention she will hang upside down from the top of the cage. She is too funny.

She got a little frosting on her nose and was wiping her nose on the blanket. After a couple of bites, she let me know she was done and ran up on my shoulder wanting to go home. 

Scribbles sniffed the cake a few times before finally taking a little bite.

Then he dug right in. Scribbles is starting to show his age. He's slower, sleeps more and really isn't wanting to be picked up and held much these days. But he doesn't mind if I stick my hand in the cage while he lays there getting petted. When he's had enough, he'll run back inside his cube and push me away if I try to pet him. He's a goofy little rat. 

But he sure enjoyed his birthday cake. 

Happy Birthday Flower and Scribbles!

Recipe: Black Bean Zucchini Bake

You will need:

2 chopped zucchini

1 can of black beans

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

4 chopped green onions

1 chopped tomato

1/2 cup chopped cheddar cheese

1 Tsp. Ground Cumin

1 Tsp. Chili powder

2 Tablespoons Olive oil

What to do: 

Saute chopped zucchini in olive oil until tender. Add in black beans, tomato, cilantro, green onions and spices. Cook until heated through. Place all ingredients into baking pan and stir in cheese. Bake in 350 over for 30 minutes. 

I wasn't sure I was going to like this because I've never put these ingredients together in the same dish before. But it was actually really tasty. Even Ken liked it. Definitely a keeper.

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.

This week I received:
A Book- Immortality Ever After by Angie Fox (Blog contest)
TeaMong Tea Infuser (No Kidding Coupons)
Portable Cell Phone Charger (Tomoson)
Zep Microwave Miracle Foam Cleaner (Crowdtap)
A Sample of Advil PM

Did you get any freebies or full size products in the mail this week?

Having A Dog Is Good For Me

Having had Falcor now for about 3 months has been good for me. He's always so energetic and wanting to play and who wouldn't get in a good mood when they have a puppy who always wants to play and cuddle with them. 

But he's also been good for me because after we got him house broken and he learned to potty outside, I now step outside with him. For those that don't know, I have Agoraphobia and spent most of the last 4 years inside my apartment without leaving it but 2-3 times. So I bought him one of those retractable leashes that have a long line on them so he can run to all the tree's when I step outside. 

The leash is long enough for him to 'visit' the three tree's in our courtyard and all the bushes by my door. 

He lets us know when he has to go out and I don't have a problem stepping outside with him as long as it's right outside my door. As you can see there are apartments right across from my side and we all face each other so I sometimes get a little uncomfortable if a lot of people are coming and going but it's usually quiet here during the day.

There are the two tree's on the right side of my apartment and one right in front of my apartment plus there are bushes in front of almost everyone's apartment. Ken takes Falcor for the longer walks a couple of times a day. But I am going outside, even if it's just outside my door.

Silly dog.

Of course there are some days I just want to pull my hair out. LOL Little brat that he is, tore up one of the couch pillows.

And he just sat there looking so pleased with himself.

But he's too goofy to stay mad at for long. lol 

Review: Bound By Night by Larissa Ione

Book Description

The first installment in a sexy new paranormal romance series by Larissa Ione, author of the bestselling Demonica series!

Nicole Martin was only eight years old when she narrowly survived a massacre: her family’s vampire slaves rebelled and killed everyone in her household. Twenty years later, Nicole now dedicates herself to finding a vaccine against vampirism…and eradicating the gruesome memories that give her nightmares.

Riker, a member of the wild vampire Moon Clan, is haunted by his own demons—his wife Lorraine had been captured and enslaved by the Martin family. It was during a botched escape attempt that she was killed, along with their unborn child. Still wracked with grief and anger, Riker is now fueled solely by the desire to rescue vampire slaves…and slaughter their owners. 

When Riker stumbles upon Nicole in a chance meeting, he immediately recognizes her as a member of the Martin family that once enslaved his wife—and she recognizes him as the wild vampire she saw kissing a pregnant slave in the moments before her violent death—an image that has haunted her dreams for years. 

When Riker kidnaps Nicole and they spend a night together in a cave on the way back to his clan, suddenly they begin to realize that they aren’t as different from one another as they may have thought—and they’re finding themselves drawn to one another…

My Review

I'm a huge fan of the Lords of Deliverance series so when I heard that there was a new series from that author I knew I had to read the first book.

When I first started reading this book, I wanted to hate Riker. I felt so bad for little Nicole and how her family just didn't understand that she felt bad that her nanny and the nannies unborn baby had died. To her family the vampires were just slaves but to little Nicole that nanny was her friend. 

Now fast forward 20 years after Nicole's family is killed by the vampire servants and Nicole is working at Daedalus Corp to find a vaccine for vampirism. Riker kidnaps her, she comes to understand that most of what she thought she knew were lies and she finally learns the truth about what happened and what is going on at the place where she works. 

This was an amazing start to what is looking like will be another great series. There's a lot more going on at the Daedalus Corp than Nicole even knows, but she's been kept int he dark about a lot of it as he weirdo half brother was in charge of the company until she came of age and takes over. 

I felt bad for the vampires in this story. They are living in fear, some are slaves and if they are rounded up and taken to Daedalus, they are experimented on and sometimes defanged. But there are factions of vampires fighting back, much like a rebellion of humans would if they were the ones being rounded up, enslaved and experimented on by vampires. 

The only problem I had with this story is how fast Nicole falls for Riker. She's been traumatized and hates/fears vampires but falls for Riker really fast for someone who acts and says she thinks they can't be trusted because they will turn on a human and killed them. After what she has seen and the fact that her family was wiped out by vampires, I found it hard to believe that she would fall for Riker so fast and believe what he and the other vampires were telling her to be the truth. But it wasn't at all one sided because after 20 years of detesting humans for good reason Riker suddenly falls for this human? After 20 years of celibacy he just can't help himself with a human?

Maybe if they'd had more time to get to know each other and they hadn't rushed into each others arms and bed so fast, it would have been more believable. I did really like this story and most of the world building that took place in this story but the love or lust between the main characters felt a bit rushed. 

I'll definitely read the rest of the books in this series but I can only hope that the relationships aren't as rushed as this one was. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Bound By Blood by Cynthia Eden

Book Description:

Vampires and werewolves have been blood enemies for centuries, but now a new threat is rising...demons are escaping from hell and those demons are intent on wiping out both the vamps and the werewolves. 

In order to stop the demons, pureblood vampire princess Morgan LaBeaux agrees to the treaty offered by werewolf alpha Jace Vaughn. She'll mate with him, share her blood with him...and in return, the wolves will aid the vampires in this battle. 

But Morgan doesn’t realize just how dangerous the wolves can truly be. Jace has been waiting years to claim her. He’s set a trap for his princess, and now that he has her, Jace doesn’t plan to let her go. He’ll send the demons back to hell, and he’ll keep his vampiress—forever. 

Author's Note: This story contains one hot alpha werewolf, sexy times, and intense action.

My Review:

I love both vampires and werewolves so when I found this book and it featured both vampires and werewolves, I knew I had to read it. 

Morgan is a pureblood vampire princess and has agreed to mate with an alpha werewolf in order to make both of them stronger to fight the demons who are trying to take over and kill both their factions. 

Jace is an alpha werewolf and has been watching Morgan for years and knew she was his destined mate. He's not about to let her go once she agree's to mate with him so his pack and her clan can join to fight the demons trying to kill them. 

What neither faction knows is that it's no accident that the demons have a door in which to escape from. Someone opened a door a let them out and it was an inside job. They have a traitor in their midst!

While this is a short read, only 89 pages it's also the first book in the series and sets up some of the characters really well. You get a chance to know some of them and find out why a vampire mated with a werewolf. I haven't read the other books in this series but I fully plan to because this book was a lot of fun. I've been reading Cynthia Eden for a while now and am already a big fan so I can honestly tell you that all of the other books of this authors that I've read, I've liked. 

This is an extremely fast paced, action packed lust at first sight book. Which was really good since this is a quick read. The story kept me engaged which I really like and I loved the characters. 

If you are like me and love a good paranormal romance and love both vampires and werewolves then you'll like this book. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

If you'd like to order and read this book for yourself, you can do so here. 

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*

Review: Stranded & Seduced by Shelley Munro

Book Description

House of the Cat #2.75 - Note: this book is a stand alone story.

Resistance is futile.

Cimmaron Zhaan refuses to follow the traditional path of a Dlog woman. Instead she dreams of traveling through space and flying spaceships for the Coalition. Years of hard work bring her goal within grasp, until her superior seeks sexual favors and leaves her stranded on the isolated planet of Marchant.

Enter sexy club manager Tamaki Grierson. Cimmaron's not looking for a mate, but there's no denying that sparks fly between them. Desperate to leave Marchant, all she wants is to keep her head down and work--no romance for her.

But there's something strange about the club and curiosity leads Cimmaron into trouble. Before she knows it, she's naked with Tamaki and his best friend. Kisses. Heated embraces and torrid sex. Their loving is breathtaking. Her resistance is at low ebb, her heart and mind battling her overwhelming attraction for Tamaki. If she isn't careful, her Dlog hormones will tie her to him for life and her struggle to fly spaceships will be for naught.

Warning: This sexy romance contains one ménage a trois scene and was previously published.

My Review: 

Cimmaron is a space ship pilot and that wouldn't be strange except she's a Dlog female and most people don't expect a Dlog female to be doing this type of thing. When she won't accept the sexual advances of someone on the ship she's on, he strands her on a planet where she has to take a job in order to survive. 

All Cimmaron wants to do is get a job and save enough money to clear her name and get on with her life. But when her new boss makes her feel things she'd rather not feel, her life is in for a quick turn. 

Tamaki finds himself hiring a new bartender and while he finds her sexually attractive and alluring, as the club manager he can't risk his job by getting involved in anyway but professionally with her. Control is taken out of their hands when Cimmaron 's curiosity gets the better of her and she finds herself in a part of the club she was told to stay away from. 

The sexual tension between Tamaki and Cimmaron is so thick you could cut it with a knife but I was still shocked when the threesome happened. There's a reason people are acting strange and why Tamaki and his best friend need to be careful about what room they enter together. Some of the dialogue between Rico and Tamaki made me laugh out loud because you could tell it was so out of character for them. When we find out the reason that strange things are happening at the club it all starts to make more sense. 

This is a stand alone book so even if you haven't read the previous books in this series, you can read this one with no problem. 

I really like hot sex scenes as well as a little humor in my romance and this book had both.

I give this book 5 stars. 

You can read an excerpt here and purchase the book here. 

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

Review: Freeman Beauty Feeling Beautiful Facial Masks

It's been a while since I've used a facial mask of any sort. I used to love to get into my mom's cabinet when I was a kid and get into her cucumber peel off mask, put t on my hands and then freak my brother out by pulling it off and saying it was my skin. Yep, I was THAT kid. lol 

So I was interested and excited to get to try a few new to me facial masks. I was sent: 

Avocado & Oatmeal Clay Mask

Charcoal & Black Sugar Polishing Mask

Honeydew & Chamomile Sleeping Mask

Cucumber Peel-Off Mask

I used the Cucumber peel off mask first and the first thing you notice is the scent. It smells so good and when you apply it to your face it's cool, refreshing and just feels good going on. It only takes a few minutes for it to dry so you can peel it off and my face felt smooth and clean. 

I tried the Charcoal & Black Sugar polishing masks next because it jut sounded intriguing. I didn't know what to expect from it at first but it actually had a nice scent and as I rubbed it on my face I could feel the tiny sugar crystals being rubbed on my skin. After I washed it off, my face felt smooth and clean and not dried out at all. 

I haven't tried the sleeping mask yet but I did use the Avocado & Oatmeal Clay mask and I really liked that one as well. All of these asks left my skin feeling clean and smooth and had a nice scent to them. I applied them before entering the shower and washed them off in the shower because I found it less messy that way.  @Freemanbeauty @Influenster  #FeelingBeautifulin5 #contest

Disclaimer: I tested the Freeman Beauty Feeling Beautiful™ facial mask for free from Influenster, but all opinions are your own.

Review: K2R-803 Cell Phone Portable Charger with Flashlight

Product Description
This is the travel charger for your iPhone, iPad, Samsung, smartphones, and tablets. It has two USB ports so you can charge two devices at one. It has a lithium ion battery pack and a flashlight for power outages and camping. It also has 4 LED light indicators to show remaining charge. 

My Review: 

The first thing I noticed is how small and compact it is. It's small enough to fit in a purse, drawer, bag or glove compartment of a car. It comes with two USB cables so if you have two things you need to charge or you and a friend want to charge a phone at the same time you can. This product is also really easy to charge up. You can charge the K2R-803 Portable Charger by plugging the micro-USB tip into the "IN" adapter and connecting the universal USB end to any standard USB port.

I hear people all the time needing to charge one of their devices, especially phones. My husband told me that the last time he went on a plane that people were plugging their phones into the walls and sitting along the walls waiting for their phones to charge. Wouldn't it be better to just be able to take something like this with you and be able to charge your phone or other device when and where you wanted?

With pretty much everyone having some sort of phone, tablet or other type of portable device, I think this would also make an excellent gift. 

If you'd like to purchase this product, you can do so here. 

Disclaimer: I was given this product for free in exchange for my 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.

This week I received:
A bottle of Diatomaceous Earth
A Vegetable Slicer
Heat Bag Sealer

I also received a box from BzzAgent with coupons for a free pack of bacon, pasta and sauce. 

In the box was:

Brownie mix that had broke open but I managed to salvage it. 

Banana chips

Bag of Coffee

Tomatillo Lime Tortillas

Did you get anything free this week?

New Treat For My Rats

I heard in one of my rat groups that rats like live mealworms. Since I didn't think I could feed live worms to my rats I bought freeze dried mealworms and at first they just sniffed them and looked at me like, what am I supposed to do with this?

But Scribbles decided to take one and after a bit of sniffing he munched it down and has been munching a few a day since then. 

Flower just sniffed them at first. 

But soon picked one up and started nomming on it.

She really likes them now.

Scribbles did the same and just sniffed them at first but quickly got the idea that they were a crunchy treat to eat.

And has been eating them when I give them to him ever since. 

Freeze dried mealworms I can handle feeding to them since they like them. Oh the things we do for our pets. lol 

Review: Merry & Seduced by Shelley Munro

Book Description

All roads lead home at Christmas…

Cyborg Amme Vanak is wired to care for children and since her current charge is grown, she’s feeling edgy. She’s hoping a Christmas visit to Earth with her friends will offer distraction and maybe even a fling with a sexy Earthman before she flies on to Viros for a new adventure.

Wealthy entrepreneur Marcus Polo is single with a rockin’ social life until an unexpected Christmas gift throws his existence into chaos. A chance meeting with exotic Amme deepens his turmoil. She might be the solution to his problem, but she’s different from his exes, and she pushes every one of his sexual buttons.

Amme is torn. Marcus Polo is handsome and kind and so, so attractive. Even better, it seems the fascination is mutual. Amme is having a ball on Earth, but as departure day creeps closer, she becomes increasingly conflicted about leaving. Then there’s the whole alien thing. Somehow, she doesn’t think Earth and Marcus are ready to accept aliens are fact and not science fiction.

Warning: Contains a bunch of aliens intent on relaxing and enjoying a New Zealand Christmas, some canoodling under the mistletoe and addictions to chocolate.

My Review:

When Camryn comes back to Earth with her mate and shipmates, she expected there to be some drama with her brother. What she hadn't expected is for Amme the cyborg to get attached to a child and the child's father so fast. But they are having a good time, planning a party and Christmas and everyone plans to get back on the spaceship and go home after their vacation. 

But plans almost never end up the way you plan them and this vacation is no exception. After Camryn visits with her brother and sister in law and fill them in on where she's been, the neighbor comes over with a bombshell of his own and he needs help. Good thing Amme is there and is just the right woman for the job.

Poor Marcus is desperate for some help and thankfully Amme has the exact knowledge that he needs. They hit it off right away and her being an alien cyborg makes for some of their conversations to be really funny. 

Things really start to get interesting when Marcus's sister Olivia shows up at his home and needs a place to stay. Not to mention Marcus having to deal with a crazy ex girlfriend who is completely obsessed with him. 

I loved the first book in this series and knew I wanted to keep reading it, and somehow the books in this series just keep getting better and better. I really like that even though some of the aliens are shifters and Amme is a cyborg, they really aren't all that different from humans. I think that's part of the reasons it's so easy to see how they all got along so well with Marcus and Camryn's brother. 

If you like aliens, shifters, cyborgs and surprises then you need to read this book. 

If you'd like to read an excerpt of this book you can do so on Shelley's website. 

If you'd like to buy this book, you can do so here. 

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.