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:

A Sample of Tetley Green Tea Immunity
I ordered a few things for my daughter's birthday and was sent the other two samples along with what I ordered. A sample of lotion and a sample of Acne Solution.
I also won the Keychain and fridge magnet in a fb contest

Did you receive any freebies or samples this week?

Review: Target Beauty Box

So this month there were two Target Beauty Boxes available to get and I got both of them. Each month Target releases a new Target Beauty Box but supplies are limited and it's first come first serve until they run out. I posted a link to it on my blog when this one went live, I hope a few of you were able to get it. 

In the first one was...

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser – 0.5 oz

Sally Hansen Double-Duty Base & Top Coat – 0.45 oz

HASK Argan Oil Repairing Deep Conditioner – 1.57 oz

Dr Teals Lavender Foaming Bath – 3 oz

eb5 Facial Cleanser – 0.35 oz S

Rimmel Colour Precise White Eyeliner Colored liquid liner

Banana Boat Dry Balance SPF 30 – 1 oz

And in the second one was...

SheaMoisture Kukui Nut Facial Cream Cleanser + Face & Neck Cream – 5ml

Juice Organics Deluxe-Size Volumizing Shampoo & Conditioner – 1.2 oz each

Burt’s Bees White Tea Extract Facial Cleansing Towelettes – 10ct

Hello Extra Whitening Pure Mint Flouride Toothpaste – .85 oz

Yes To Tomatoes Detoxifying Charcoal Mud Mask – 1ct

ACURE Pore Clarifying Red Clay Scrub – 1 oz

Raw Sugar Lemon Sugar Body Wash – 2 oz

This month each box was only $7 which made the decision to get both of them much easier. It's worth it in my opinion to get a box of samples to try out for just $7 and these were great samples.

Have you tried this beauty box yet?

Favorite Picture of the Week

I know what you're thinking. Mary, it's a pan of vegetables. And you're right but look at those colors. Aren't they pretty? I was making stir fry vegetables and steamed rice for dinner and when I had all the vegetables in the pan, I stopped and thought, "Damn, that's a beautiful pan of vegetables." lol In case you're wondering it's, baby carrots, broccoli and purple cauliflower. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"Yes I had a baff. No, I'm not happy about it."

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Recipe: Roasted Chickpea Tacos

You will need: 

1 Can Chickpeas

2 Avocados

Juice of 1 Lemon

1/2 Cup Diced Cilantro

1TBSP Mayonnaise

4 Tomatoes, diced

1 Cup Shredded Lettuce

1/2 Cup Diced Yellow Onion

1/2 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

2 Corn Tortillas

2 tsp. Sliced Black Olives

2 Sliced Mushrooms

I used only a handful of the Chickpeas for this recipe. Rinse them and pop them out of their skins. One of my blogger friends said to do this and she was right. Toss the chickpeas in a little olive oil and season them. I used a little Cumin, Chili Powder, Salt and Pepper but you can use whatever spice you like. Roast them in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until crunchy. Set aside. 

Make your guacamole. Smash 2 avocados, add 2 tsp. lemon juice, dash of salt and 1 TBSP. Mayonnaise. Mix well and set aside in refrigerator until ready to make the tacos. 

Make homemade Salsa. Dice the tomatoes, add the diced onion and diced cilantro. Mix well, add in a dash of salt and 2 TBSP. Lemon juice. Set aside in fridge until ready to use. 

Dice the black olives and set aside. Shred the cheese and lettuce and set aside. 

Add a little of all the ingredients to warm corn tortillas and enjoy. I just pop my corn tortillas in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them. 

These were very good and as you can see they were meatless, and I didn't even miss the meat. Ken on the other hand wouldn't even try them. 

I actually made large bowls of salsa, guacamole, and shredded cheese that way I can just pull out everything to make a couple of tacos for lunch this week. 

Does this sound like something you'd like?

Favorite Video of the Week

One of my friends posted this video on FB and even though this isn't my type of music, I used to be in the School choir from 6th grade through 12th grade so I can appreciate when a song is done beautifully and this one really was. These women are talented.

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:

2 free cans of Bella dog food and 3 coupons that were Buy 2 get 2 Free- From BzzAgent.
A $5 Amazon gift card from Crowdtap.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Roasted Chickpeas

My friend Anna over at Herding Cats & Burning Soup, recently posted a recipe using roasted chickpeas. It sounded good so I thought I'd try them as well. I only did a handful of them the first time to see if I liked them, which I did and then added them to my salad for lunch. 

What to do:

Rinse the chickpeas and then pop them out of their skins. Toss them in a little olive oil, and whatever seasoning you like. I tossed these in a little Cumin, Chili Powder, Salt and Pepper. Roast them in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until crunchy. 

They add a nice crunch to a lot of different dishes. So far I've added them to salad and tacos. I put the leftovers in the refrigerator to see if they would lose their crunch and they aren't as good as leftovers so I would recommend roasting a little at a time and use them freshly roasted.

Have you tried this? Will you?

Favorite Picture of the Week

*Photo Credit: FamilySearch.org*

Last month I was bored and started Googling some of my older family members names. One name I searched for was my dad's aunt. Imagine my surprise when a picture of her appeared on a website with 2 of her sisters. So on the site I was able to find my paternal grandmother's picture and this was one of the family pictures of her on that site. This picture is from 1864 and the little girl standing up in the back is my grandma Mary Evans. She's with her siblings and her parents (My dad's grandparents). My dad had never seen this picture of his mother as a little girl so he was really excited. I imagine that one of my relatives posted all the pictures on the site that I found of my grandma and her family but I have no idea who. 

Pranks, Jokes, Revenge

Have you ever wanted to pull a funny prank on someone but just couldn't think of anything? I'm here to help you. Since the 1st of this month was April Fool's Day, I thought this would come in handy for next year. But really, these can be done any time of year. This past Thanksgiving I put all three of those candies in the picture above into a bowl and thought it was funny to watch everyone's reaction. 

Now if you're mad at someone there are websites that will send things to the address that you give them. Would you ever send any of these next things to someone you're mad at?

Prank Candles- These candles start out smelling great and then then turn into smelly farts. There are also other things on that site. You can send your friend an empty box. A big box of nothing. 

Glitter Bomb Mail- How about sending an anonymous spring loaded glitter bomb? They open it and glitter gets thrown all over the place. 

Dicks By Mail- Send a bag of Gummi dicks anonymously to someone you hate. 

Ship A Dick- Ship a giant cardboard dick to anyone you want. 

Shit Express- Ship someone a box of poop. They have different animals to choose from. 

Poop Senders- Yep, another box of poop. Send a quart or a gallon of animal poo. That's a smelly surprise. 

Ship Your Enemies Tryhophobia- Know someone who is afraid of weird clusters of holes? This site will send the person you pick a set of 5 weird photos. Just click the link to take a look at an example of the photos, they're strange. 

Bird By Mail- Send someone the bird. No, not that bird...the middle finger. 

Confetti Mail Bomb- Send a confetti bomb or a confetti cannon. Now that sounds like fun. Boom! Confetti everywhere. 

The Card That Never Ends- Once you open this greeting card the music doesn't stop until you destroy it. This might be my favorite. 

Box of Annoying Sand- You can send a box of sand to someone who annoys you. There's no bottom to the box so when they slide it out...all the sand pours out the bottom of the box. 

Mail A Spud- No box or anything, just a potato with stamps on it sent to your choice of person. 

Mail Bricks- Yes, you can actually mail a brick to someone. Or if you like, you can send a box of bricks to someone and you can add a handful of glitter to the box as well. 

Annoying Teddy- The singing teddy bear that never stops singing. 

The Payback.com- The send you envelopes with crazy sayings on them that you can send a letter or a friend, neighbor or family member. Some of the envelopes say things like, Anal Leakage Research Center- thank you for your participation, Consumer Rsearch Center- Cobra Penis Pump Product Recall Notification. There are so many to choose from. But this is a great website because they have all sorts of other things as well. Fake parking tickets, Rude lottery tickets, fake bullet holes...the list goes on. 

Would you ever send someone any of these pranks?

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of MrRat395*

"This is my happy face."

Review: Deep Kiss of Winter (Immortals After Dark Book 8) by Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter

Book Description

KRESLEY COLE 

delivers a breathtaking tale of a brutal vampire soldier about to know love for the first time...and a Valkyrie aching to be touched. 

Murdoch Wroth will stop at nothing to claim Daniela the Ice Maiden -- the delicate Valkyrie who makes his heart beat for the first time in three hundred years. Yet the exquisite Danii is part ice fey, and her freezing skin can't be touched by anyone but her own kind without inflicting pain beyond measure. Soon desperate for closeness, in an agony of frustration, Murdoch and Danii will do anything to have each other. Together, can they find the key that will finally allow them to slake the overwhelming desire burning between them? 

NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR 

GENA SHOWALTER 

puts a daring spin on a tale of huntress and hunted...and concocts a sensual chemistry that is positively explosive. 

Aleaha Love can be anyone -- literally. With only skin-to-skin contact, she can change her appearance, assume any identity. Her newest identity switch has made her an AIR (alien investigation and removal) agent and sends her on a mission to capture a group of otherworldly warriors. Only she becomes the captured. Breean, a golden-skinned commander known for his iron will who is at once dangerous and soul-shatteringly seductive, threatens her new life. Because for the first time, Aleaha only wants to be herself....

My Review

There were two stories in this book, 444 pages. The first story by Kresley Cole which is the entire reason I bought this book in the first place was the best of the two stories in this book. I'm totally reading The Immortals After Dark series out of order but I already had this book on my Kindle so I don't even care. lol 

Murdoch Wroth is a vampire and a soldier but when he finds Daniela, who turns out to be the only one who can make his heart beat for the first time in three hundred years, he knows he must get to know more about her. 

When they first meet, he's not entirely sure what she is, only that she's in trouble and being chased by something. He helps her because he knows right away that she's his and she's hurt. But he's not entirely sure what she is and that made for a fun time at first. She's part Valkyrie and part ice fey, and she needs to be kept cool and no one can touch her without giving her burns. Of course there are so problems that arise because they can't have skin to skin contact and they want to. I thought it was fun to watch how they get around that problem. 

While she is his fated mate, how are they supposed to get past the fact that they can't touch without hurting her? There's also a secondary story line going on because she's a real like Ice Queen but the guy who took over her land wants her dead. That turned out to be a really interesting story as well and I hope we hear more about that. I've now read several books in this series and I'm really liking that the vampires are finding their mates in the Valkyries. 

I gave this story 5 stars

The second story in this book is by Gena Showalter. Aleaha can take on the body of anyone she touches and she finds herself as Macy who works for Air to capture aliens that are here to do harm. But on her very first mission she gets captured by Breean, an alien here with some of his people to start over in a new home. 

At first I really liked this story but it soon turned into a story with two characters that I just hated. Breean thinks that just because he wants Aleaha that she should bend to his will. She's being held captive along with the people in her group and she wants to make sure her people are alright. Breean just wants what he wants and when he doesn't get his way, he takes what he wants. I didn't like him at all. He's able to soul jump which is exactly what it sounds like, his soul can leave his body, enter someone else's and make them do what he wants. 

I didn't find him likable, relatable or sexy. Aleaha tries to reason with him, he's just not having it and she does the only thing she can think of to make sure her people get away. But it's at this point that she feels guilty and realizes that she loves him. WTH? He's held her captive, held her people captive, made her do things against her will but she loves him. Must be the pheromones that he gives off that makes her want him and I really don't like that when he's not a guy that I can even like. His only redeeming quality that I saw was that he didn't torture any of the people he held captive. It's only when he loses the upper hand does he even see things differently. 

While this story had a lot of potential, it ended up being a story I just didn't care for with characters I didn't like.

I give this story 2 out of 5 stars. 

As a whole, the book gets 3 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Daily Goodie Box

I've now been given several of these Daily Goodie Boxes to review and for the most part I really like the items that are in each box. These boxes are completely free, you don't even pay for shipping. All you have to do in order to maybe get one is sign up for an account on Daily Goodie Box, and log in each day to see if you've won a box. 

They also give away boxes on their FB page to people who comment on their posts.

In this month's box was the following...

#MPWR Skincare - Zip, Zap, Gone! Spot Treatment Sticks - This is a zit cream that says it will remove zits so you have a clear skin. I don't get zits anymore so I'll be giving this to my daughter. 

Goddess Garden - Everyday Natural Sunscreen Lotion -Living in the desert I can always use anther sunscreen. During our summers here it can get 117F during the hottest part of the summer so I'm always on the look out for more sunscreen. 

Detox Water - Lychee & White Grape - I wasn't sure how this was going to taste but it actually wasn't bad. It had a subtle sweet taste that wasn't over powering. 

Slurpee - Slurpee Cotton Candy  - Cotton Candy Ya'll! This was by far my favorite thing in this months box. 

EBOOST - Strawberry Kiwi Energy Powder - Just add this powder to a bottle of water and it's supposed to give you added energy. While I didn't feel more energized it was an interesting drink. I liked the flavor and flavored water is good. 

Adāmia - Therapeutic Repair Lotion - I have tried all kinds of lotions. I have dry skin living in the desert so I go through a lot of bottles of lotion and it doesn't help that I'm diabetic. So I'm always willing to try a new lotion. This one was nice and had a very light subtle scent and not greasy. So win win. 

Bakery On Main - Bunches of Crunches - Do you like granola? Trail Mix? Sweet oat clusters? Because if you do then this is something you may also like. This was really tasty. 

Peanut Butter & Co - Mighty Nut Powdered Peanut Butter - So peanut butter powder is a thing. I actually had to Google what to do with this stuff but adding it to a smoothie or making a sauce with it were a couple of the things you can do with it. I added a tablespoon of it to my oatmeal and it gave it a peanut butter flavor. 

DudeProducts - Quick DUDE Shower Wipes - These are manly wipes for men. For those times that you just can't get to a shower and you want to freshen up. Here's the description from their website. 

"As DUDES we are dirty, sweaty and disgusting humans. Access to a shower is not always a realistic option after every awesome, stanky, or highly questionable situation. So now it’s time to embrace those moments. The DUDE Shower gives you a fast and effective way to remove DUDE stank and stay fresh on-the-go."

LOL I couldn't have said it better. 

So all in all I really loved this month's box and it was fun to try all of these products that I've never tried before. There were quite a few things in this box and when the entire box is free, it's a real deal. Have you won a box from them yet? Would you try any of the products in this box?

Disclosure: I was given this box free of charge in exchange for a blog 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 great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

Several samples of Shampoo and conditioner.

I also cashed in my points on Degustabox so that my next box from them was free. When you get a friend to sign up and use your code, you get 50 points. Each month they send you a questionnaire and you get 5 points for that. When you reach 100 points, you can cash it n to get your next box with them for free.

Did you get any freebies this week?

Review: Degustabox- April

DegustaBox is a monthly subscription box filled with food and drink products. The price for the box is $19.99 a month.  

You do not get to pick any of the products you get, it's a surprise each month. But they say each box contains 10-15 items and each box is worth at least $30. I like trying boxes like this because they usually contain products that I've never tried or haven't seen before. 

In this box was....

Wilton Candy Melts

Nando's Peri Peri Sauce Garlic flavor

Lovely Candy Caramels

PR Bar Protein Bar Yogurt Berry flavor

Mutti Tomato Concentrate Paste

Better Oats Maple flavor

Zenify Stress Relieving drink

Bush's Chickpeas

Steady Energy, energy shots X 2

Chiridoes Puffed Snack Chips X 3

Cafe Bustelo Instant Espresso

Wild Planet canned chicken

Bush's Hummus Made Easy Packet

Felix Wild Natural Lingonberries (Jam)

That's quite a lot in a box for $19.99 and most of this stuff I hadn't tried before. I keep finding things in these boxes that I wasn't sure I would like but end up being so darn good, like the Chickpeas. I've been wanting to try them because my friend posted a recipe where she roasted them and they sounded so good. So I did too and they really were good. There will definitely be a recipe post for that one.

Now here's a treat for you. If this box looks like something you'd like, you can use code MARYK-ACB and get your first box half off. That's a big box of food for only $10! and you can cancel anytime. So if you're interested, go to the DegustaBox site and sign up and don't forget to use my code to get your first box for just $10. I know one of you did and I then had enough points to get my next box free! 

My friend Anna from Herding Cats & Burning Soup also got this box and she said something about chips made with cricket flour. And of course I got them too! At first I was like, oh hell no. I draw the line at bugs and I usually do. But I'm also very curious so I opened the jalapeno and lime chips and tried one. The chip itself is just bland as can be and they put way too much powdered flavoring on these things. So it really wasn't good. 

Ya know, if Anna hadn't said something on fb I probably wouldn't have even seen that it was made with cricket flour before tasting these. As it was, they weren't good anyway. But the name of my blog is Dark Thoughts...so you have to expect a few deeply weird if not dark and creepy things to pop up here once in a while. 

I did however like the oatmeal, chickpeas, caramels and canned chicken. 

Have you tried anything new this week?

Favorite Picture of the Week

My daughter and grandson came over this past weekend. Logan and Falcor like to play and chase each other around. So when I asked them both to sit on the couch so I could get a picture of them together...neither one of them were happy. lol 

Review: Dark Desires After Dusk by Kresley Cole

Book Description

A seductive beauty he can

never have, yet can't resist... 

Cadeon Woede will stop at nothing to atone for the one wrong that will haunt him forever. But once he secures the key to his redemption, the halfling Holly Ashwin, Cade finds that the woman he thought he could use for his own ends and then forget haunts him as much as his past. 

A tormented warrior she

should fear, but can't deny... 

Raised as a human, Holly never knew that some frightening legends are real until she encounters a brutal demon who inexplicably guards her like a treasure. Thrust into a sensual new world of myth and power, with him as her protector, she begins to crave the demon's wicked touch. 

Surrender to dark desires... 

Yet just when he earns Holly's trust, will Cade be forced to betray the only woman who can sate his wildest needs -- and claim his heart?

My Review

Holly is smart and on the verge of writing a code that could do away with computer viruses and more. She thinks she's a human that just has some quirks but she soon finds out that she's much more when demons kidnap her and because she's "The Vessel" and they want to use her to create an evil child. I loved how she finds out what she really is and how she uses her new power to do what needs to be done at the time.

That's where Cade comes in and saves her from more bad guys that are on the way and then they are off on the road together. It's his job to keep her safe until she can be handed over to someone in exchange for something he needs. But as I've said before, the best laid plans and all that. Things don't always go the way you think they will and that happens quite a bit in this book. 

Cade has some faults but he does things for the right reasons for the most part. Plus, he's hot with a capital "H". Yes, he's a demon complete with horns and when he gets really upset...or excited he changes form to look even more like a demon...complete with fangs and a large physique but did I mention he's hot?

These two don't start off great but she has a lot to deal with but they start getting along the longer they are together. The sex scenes as well as the adventure and fights scenes just add to the story. This book kept me completely enthralled. I started reading it after dinner and ended up staying up longer than I had wanted because I just couldn't this one down until the end. *Note to self: Don't start reading at night if you want to get any sleep*

I really enjoyed seeing Holly find herself and give as good as she got. She really took it much better than some might and it showed how strong she was and I do love a kick ass heroine who can take care of herself when everything is looking bleak. 

I might be reading this series out of order but I don't even care because I know as time goes on and the books get read, everything will make more sense. And make no mistake, I will read this series even though there are currently 19 books in this series and I've only read a few of them. I can't recommend this series hard enough. If you like Paranormal Romance, just read it.

Hands down this gets 5 out of 5 stars. 

Target Beauty Boxes Available Right Now

*Photo Credit: Target Beauty Box*

Hey guys, I thought I would let you know that the Target Beauty Box is available right now. But hurry because these things go fast. This months box is just $7. 

Target Beauty Box

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of MrRat395*

"I see you have foods, I too like foods"

*Picture courtesy of Martymousehouse.com*

"I'd like to thank the makers of Yogies, my human and the sunflower seed pickers. Because without you, I wouldn't have this award."

*Picture courtesy of Rat Logic*

Favorite Video of the Week

Since it's April Fool's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to share this living statue prank. Because scaring the hell out of people is funny. lol