Review: Birchbox- July

I decided to sign up for a Birchbox subscription box. It's only $10 a month and this month's box came with 5 products. 

In this box was...

Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle Spray

Derma e Anti Wrinkle Scrub

Klorane Dry Shampoo

Marcelle Hydra-C 24H Energizing Hydrating Gel

The Beauty Crop Blush Due

All of these products are new to me so I was excited to start using them. I love the detangle spray. Not only does it actually work on long, wet hair but it smells great too. My hair just long enough for me to sit on, so I like trying new to me hair products. 

I've tried Derma e products before and most of them are just ok to me but this scrub actually is quite nice. The particles in the scrub are small and the scrub itself is silky and didn't break my face out. 

I love trying new dry shampoo's. Unfortunately this one doesn't work for me because it leaves a white residue in my brown hair. Some dry shampoo's have a very light powder effect to them and some others like this one have a heavy powder look to the spray and I just didn't like it. 

The blush duo is nice and seems to be the right color for my face, so that's a win. The only thing I didn't like was there are two colors and one is a cream while the other is a powder. I've used cream blush before and I'm not really a fan and even though I tried using this cream blush I had the same problems with it. It feels a bit sticky and thick which as you can imagine, doesn't feel great on your face. The powder side though is quite nice.

The Marcelle hydrating gel is nice and didn't feel sticky, greasy or heavy. 

So overall, I really like my first Birchbox. Have any of you signed up for this yet? I'll probably get a few more of these before I make up my mind whether or not to keep getting it but so far I like it.

Review: How To Date A Dragon by Ashlyn Chase

Book Description

Let the Sparks Fly

Bliss Russo thought nothing exciting ever happened in her life. Until her building caught on fire and she had to be carried out of the flames in the arms of a gorgeous fireman. Sure, her apartment is now in shambles and she'll have to start her huge work project completely from scratch. But at least her love life is finally looking up...if only she can find her red-hot rescuer again.

Dragon shapeshifter Drake Cameron is the last of his clan, and the loneliness is starting to claw at him. He's met only one woman who might be able to stand the shock of his true nature. After all, she barely batted an eyelash when her home burned down. And feeling her curves against him was just as hot as the inferno. Just when he thinks he'll never track her down, she walks into his firehouse—with no idea what she's about to get herself into.

My Review

Bliss wakes up to her apartment on fire and runs right into a firefighter on his way in to save her. But she forgot to get her laptop and she needs it as it has her work on it. She talks the firefighter into going back in for it and she feels bad when he gets suspended for going back in. 

Drake is a dragon shifter so when he went back into the fire to get the laptop for Bliss, he was in no danger of getting burned but no one else knew that. He wants to find a nice female dragon to settle down with and have dragon babies because his species is almost extinct but when he meets Bliss he knows he might just settle for the right human.

Drake wanted to meet a female dragon shifter but the one he does meet ends up being someone he can't see himself with even if she can't take a clue or ten. Drake and Bliss meet back up after the fire and go out and the sparks are flying between them right away. They had great chemistry together and Bliss is really great under pressure. Things are thrown at her and she never really breaks down or lets it get to her. 

There's a lot going on in this book, the other paranormals, the Greek mythology that gets wrapped around this story and some of the crazy characters that show up in this book are just a few of the things going on. But there's also a lot of fire drama and everything that comes with that. Who is starting the fires? Why? How and why does it seem like Bliss is being attacked again and again. 

I liked the story but I wasn't too thrilled with the ending. I just didn't buy her reaction to the new job offer, it didn't make a lot of sense to me and I didn't really care for that entire 'job offer' part of the story or how it ended. But it was well worth the read. 

I give this story 3 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Photo courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"Today's lesson will be how to use sticky tape without getting it in your whiskers."

*Photo courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"I do not spend all my time playing with paper clips. Ok, maybe a little time."

*Photo courtesy of @MrRat395*

"I did not need a bath. I do not stink!"

Recipe: Vegetable Sauce and Chicken

I was watching one of those cooking shows the other day and saw one of the cooks cook up some vegetables then throw them in a blender and boom! sauce. lol So since I've been trying to do more with vegetables I roasted some vegetables and Boom! made a sauce to have with chicken, hamburger, and even as a topping on vegetable stirfry. 

What you'll need:

2 zucchini, chopped

1 onion, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 TBSP olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. ground sage

1/4 cup vegetable broth

1 chicken thigh cooked to your preference

What to do: 

Add all of the vegetables to a baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and roast on 400 degrees for about 40 minutes or until cooked through. Add the tomato sauce to a sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are blended. Canned tomato sauce tastes best after it's cooked for a while, at least to me.

In the meantime, cook your chicken thigh the way you like it. I just fried mine in a non-stick skillet and cut it into cubes. 

When your vegetables are done, take them out and let them cool for 10 minutes and then put them in a blender with the spices and chicken broth and blend until smooth. Pour into the pan that has the hot tomato sauce and continue cooking until your chicken is done. Add the sauce to the chicken. I added a little shredded cheddar to mine. 

That vegetable sauce was the real star of this dish and even though it has a funky orange color to it, it has an amazing taste. 

Have you ever made a vegetable sauce?

What's Been Happening Here?

Today I thought I'd share with you a few interesting things that have happened to me lately.

Last month my neighbor's son broke my mail box. It took days for me to get a confirmation from the post office and finally from my postal carrier that there was a work order put in and it would be fixed at some point. My # is the 11 box. The bottom of the box has been pried out and it's really hard to open and close. Even though I've called so many times I've lost count to find out when it will be fixed and they tell me soon, I won't hold my breath. It's still not fixed but they assure me that it will be soon. 

My neighbor across the street is friends with a man that works at a grocery store. This man didn't like seeing all the food that was no longer fresh enough to sell or close to the expiration date, being thrown in the trash. So he took it upon himself to pack his truck (The one on the street with the door open) with some of the food that was still good but no longer sell-able and give it away. He brings some of the non perishable foods to the food bank and then the perishable stuff he lets his friend across the street know he's coming (about once a week) and she will come across the street to my side and let everyone in this apartment complex know he'll be here in 10 minutes. Most days when he gets here, you can hear him yelling, "Free food! Free Food!" and people will come out to see what he has that day. Ken went out this day and you can see him standing by the car, in the green shirt. The guy had ice cream and snacks that day. 

This is what we got that day. The people around here really appreciate this guy who takes the time to do this because there are a lot of poor people who live in this neighborhood. Sometimes upwards of 30 people show up outside when they know he's coming and sometimes only a handful of people come out. We aren't the only street he goes to, he also brings food to other streets around here. That's not something you see very much and thought it was really nice of him to do. 

Last month we had a big blow out with my next door neighbor (The same one who's son broke my mail box) because people who are looking for her or the guy she lives with are banging on my bedroom window at 3am. We told her 2 times that we don't want her business to spill over into our lives and if it doesn't stop, we would escalate the situation. We believe her boyfriend is dealing drugs out of their apartment. I mean, why else would people be banging on bedroom windows at 3am unless they are looking for something like that. So Ken got mad and made up this sign and put it in our bedroom window. Later that day she came to my door and said because of our sign people keep banging on her bedroom window asking for money and drugs. She lied but Ken took this sign down and put up a new one that reads, "Do not knock on this window!"

We told the police when they were here for another fight in my courtyard that there are 6 problem apartments that are always fighting, breaking things and have a lot of traffic. So they said they would patrol more often here and we've seen more cops in the neighborhood over the part 3 weeks. And no one else has knocked on my bedroom window.

So that's what's been going on in my neck of the woods. What's been going on with you?

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 book for a review and a scarf I won in a giveaway.
I also traded in my points on MyPoints for a $25 Amazon gift card.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Bittersweet Magic by Nina Croft

Book Description

Roz has been indebted to the demon Asmodai for five hundred years, and her freedom is just around the corner. All she has to do is complete one last task for him—obtain a key that had been hidden in a church centuries ago.

Piers, the Head of the Order and an ancient vampire, is intrigued by the woman who comes to him for help. She’s beautiful and seemingly kind, but she’s hiding something. And he’ll find out who she is and what she really wants once he uses his power to get inside her head. But Piers has no idea that Roz is immune to his mind-control...or that he is simply a pawn in her dangerous mission for freedom.

My Review

Roz has been in debt to Asmodai for 500 years but she only has one more thing to do for him and her debt will be fulfilled and she'll be free. All she has to do is find a key, give it to him and she'll be done. No small task once she starts looking for it since things are far from safe where she is searching. 

Roz is undercover at a convent when she witnesses something horrible. She's able to save one nun who an evil vampire has carved a message into her back and was told to find Piers Lamont. So Roz helps get the nun to Piers and shows him the message. 

Piers is an old vampire, like 2000 years old. He's the head of the order and used to getting his way. Roz asks him for help with her task and she'll do anything she has to in order to 

complete her task. 

This story is filled with action from the very beginning and after meeting Piers the action just gets even better. Magic seems to be round every corner, paranormal creatures are swarming in from all sides and twists abound in this story. There's also one heck of a hot romance going on and more than a few laughs. 

After reading the first book in this series, I really didn't care for Piers all that much but underneath his cold exterior, I knew there was a little good in him, but hoped for more. I guess after living for 2000 years you're going to have some hang-ups and personality problems with all that you've seen and experienced. But this guy goes and does something so selfless that really changed my attitude towards him. But the ending to this book had me shocked with one twist after another and they weren't small ones. More like big, shocking twisting truth's that have been kept away from people that are about to change their lives. 

Once again a book in this series has me wanting to read more. I cannot believe my luck in finding a series that I'm absolutely loving more with each book and putting things off just so I can get through the next book. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Note: I went looking to see if there were more than 3 books in this series and indeed there is a 4th...a novella Called Bittersweet Freedom. But this exclusive novella was only released in the box set, so you already know what I did, I bought the ebook box set because I wanted to read Carl's story. It was only $5.99 and since I hadn't read Bittersweet Magic yet, I figured I would be getting 1 full length book and a novella, neither of which I had read yet for that price and I had an Amazon gift card balance I could use to buy it so, free! lol So here's my review of Bittersweet Freedom as well. 

Bittersweet Freedom

My Review

Shera was a cat shifter but she could also shift into a hellhound. Her family had been bonded to Asmodai for generations and when she turned 21 she became his housekeeper. Some people thought she was a cold bitch but really, she was just unhappy. She wanted more than to be a housekeeper to a demon, she wanted a life. Now if she could only get her demon master to stop sucking face with his wife and talk to her instead of dismissing her. 

Carl was a werewolf and worked as security for the order. Asmodai asked Carl to find Shera after she ran away but he was having a hard time keeping track of her since the full moon was only two days away and his wolf was restless. It didn't help his nerves or his focus but he did find her and before he could bring her back, she got away from him. 

And the chase was on...

Shera had a bucket list and she planned on doing everything on her bucket list before she died. She wasn't sure until Carl confirmed it but because of the sigil Asmodai had put on her, if she didn't come back to the abyss (hell) she would die in 30 days. Carl decides to stay with her and try to persuade her to go back but she would rather die than be a slave. 

This author loves to throw some shocking twists into a story but I love not knowing what's right around the corner and there's one twist after another in this story. I won't say much but there's a lot about Shera that even she doesn't know.

I loved this story and loved the ending. I thought it was perfect for these two. I am hoping that there will be more books in this series in the future because it would be a real tragedy to create such a wonderful world and not do more with it. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.  

Favorite Picture of the Week!

A while back my dad gave me some ancestry papers that he got from his parents. I started looking through some of them and came across info pertaining to my grandmother, great grandparents, great great grandparents and great great great grandparents.

I found out that my great great and great great great grandparents were from different parts of England. 

A few of the places in England they came from was Pewsey, Redlynch Wiltshire and Wales. I enlarged one of the entries in case you couldn't see the other picture. 

I never know what my dad is going to find and give to me. It's always a surprise. So I called him and told him what I found. He says to me, "You know what that means, right?" I said No, what? He says, "We need to drink more tea!" LOL I told him I'm was drinking a cup of tea right then and he thought it was so darn funny. Then he told me that his dad's great great grandparents were from Scotland but he doesn't have their ancestry written down anywhere. So I learned an interesting bit of information today.

Review: Alien Mate by Cara Bristol

Book Description

I'm Starr Elizabeth Connor. Earth's government falsely convicted me of a crime, packed me on a ship with other female felons, and sent us to Dakon, a primitive, frozen wasteland of a planet. Why? Earth needs minerals, and Dakon is desperate for females.

But I'm no barbarian’s 'mail order bride,' even if he is super tall, muscular, and the chief of his tribe. He doesn’t want a BBW blonde, either--it's written all over his chiseled face. He'll be truly angry if he ever learns what my 'crime' was.

I am Torg. I have waited 34 rotations for a mate of my own. With this shipment, I was sure to get a fine, sturdy mate who'll bear me many daughters. Instead, I receive a small, curvy, pale-haired female who looks at me with anger and fear.

It is only when we 'kiss' that I believe things may work out between us. But I'm hearing rumors that Starr and her shipmates are law-breakers. To survive, Dakonians must obey all laws … or be exiled into the frozen wasteland. Just when I have found her, will I have to send my mate to die?

My Review

I'm a huge fan of alien's and alien planets in books so when I read a couple of reviews for this one, I knew I had to read it and I'm so glad I did because it was really good. 

Starr was falsely convicted of murder and put on a space ship with other convicted criminal females and sent off to an alien planet to be mates for their males in exchange for the alien planets minerals that Earth wants. But the Dakonians don't realize they are being sent criminals or that all the women with the exception of Starr were given a choice to come and be mates or serve out their prison sentences. 

I loved Torg and his brother. He's such a great character and even though he had in his mind what he thought he'd like for a female, he made things work right from the beginning and I really liked that about him. 

Torg's planet is a frozen mess after an asteroid destroyed so much of it and killed off most of their females but I really liked how they fought back and were making things work. I also liked how the Dakonians were so compatible with humans but there were small differences between the two races. While they were able to communicate because of a translator, the different phrases or words that they weren't able to understand completely made communication quite funny at times and I love it when a story can make me laugh. 

There are some problems that arise because some Dakonians don't think they should be polluting their gene pool with other races and there's also other complications because of jealousy but I liked how things were worked out and the conclusion was quite good. There's also a bit of a mystery of who is trying to hurt whom and why and there's a great twist that comes with that story line.  

While things didn't work out as either of them had expected, this story made for a really good read and I am really glad that I went with my gut and tried this new to me author. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy Raturday!

Instead of a bunch of pictures today, I decided to share a link to a page with you. One of my FB friends shared the page and even if you only look at the pictures on the 1st page (there are 4 pages) I'm sure you'll love the pictures. They are so darn cute. Click here to see the great pictures. Oh and you're welcome.

Review: Bittersweet Blood by Nina Croft

Book Description

Tara Collins just wants to be normal. Everyone else wants her dead.

Tara's eccentric aunt raised her to be fearful of the world and follow the rules. But after her aunt's death, Tara is ready to take control and experience life for the first time. But she quickly discovers that everything she's been told is a web of lies. Determined to solve the mystery of who she is truly, she hires a private investigator to help her uncover the truth.

Christian Roth is more than your average PI. A vampire and ex-demon hunter, Christian lives among the humans, trying to be "normal." But recently, things seem to be falling apart. There's a crazed demon hell-bent on revenge hunting him down, and a fae assassin on the loose with an unknown target. And the Order he abandoned desperately needs his help.

As the secrets of Tara's past collide with the problems in Christian's present, she finds herself fighting her attraction to the dark and mysterious investigator. Falling in love does not fit into her plans at all, but Tara soon learns that some rules are meant to be broken.

My Review

Tara was raised by her very eccentric aunt and when her aunt dies she does exactly what her aunt always told her not to do...she starts looking into the past and breaking her aunt's strange rules. Tara hires Christian Roth to find out who she really is but Christian is more than just a PI, he's also a vampire and now he has his sights set on Tara. 

Christian Roth is old and he has a lot of enemies, one enemy is going to bring the fight to him and anyone he cares about is in danger. Christian doesn't realize that by caring for Tara he's put her in danger, not until the threat hits really close to Tara and turns her world upside down. 

This book has one twist after another along with just about every paranormal creature you can imagine. Demons, fae, werewolves and vampires are just a few of the paranormal creatures that seem to be in all of the books in this series. This is the first book in the series but I read them out of order so I already know that there are more supernatural creatures to come. 

Tara was unique in that she was sweet, innocent and likable but she was also no pushover and when she knew something had to be done, she did it. Christian and Tara made a great couple, they just fit together. The romance was hot, like lava hot. The action was bloody and even though some of it happened and we didn't get an up close look while it was happening we did get to see the aftermath and it was gruesome. But then when you're dealing with demons you have to expect a little gore. 

I was quite happy the way this book ended and never saw some of the outcomes and twists coming. There were a few surprises along the way and I really liked that. This series has been one of my favorites so far this year. I can't recommend it highly enough. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

I'm Not On FB Right Now

I was on Facebook yesterday and all of the sudden this page pops up and I'm locked out of my account. So I went searching on Google to see if this was legit and it indeed is. Only problem is some people think the 'virus detected' bit is a lie so that you'll download their anti-malware software. I ran Malwarebytes and no malicious malware or viruses were detected on my laptop. I can't even log into Ken's fb account and post a message for my friends on my account because I have the settings on my account so tight. I have it set that only I can see posts that get posted to my wall, so no one else would see it if I did post something from Ken's account. LOL 

I logged into my husband's account and it didn't stop me. So did it really detect malicious whatever on my device? I seriously doubt it. I contacted FB but I don't expect they'll remove the freeze on my account and I deleted cookies like some other forums said to do but that didn't fix the problem either. Some other people in forums and on Twitter said to wait it out and sometimes the error message will disappear on its own. But it can take 3, 5, or even 30 days for that to happen. I don't want to download their anti-malware software but I might not have a choice if I want to get back into my account. 

So if we're friends on fb and you don't see me on there for a while...this is why. 

Have any of you ever had this happen? What did you do?

UPDATE!! I'm back on! It took almost 4 days but I tried logging on just now and the page I took a screen shot of is gone!

So all those people who told me to wait it out were right! Don't download their crap!

Another Update! I tried posting something but fb said I'm blocked from making any posts for another 14 hours. I guess the malware they detected will magically disappear in 14 hours. 

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 box from Healthy Essential Program that contained:

Listerine Total Care Mouth Wash

Clean & Clear Deep Cleaning Face Wash

Compeed Foot Bandage

I also received:

Vaseline Mature Skin Rejuvenation Lotion

Schick Disposable Razor Refills

20 free prints from Snapfish

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Make sure you check Hey It's Free and Freebieshark everyday to find freebies like these to sign up for. 

Review: Bittersweet Darkness by Nina Croft

Book Description

There are no monsters, only good guys and bad guys. That’s the creed by which Detective Inspector Faith Connolly has always lived.

When Faith discovers she has a time bomb counting down in her head, she has one goal: to solve the murder case she’s working on and gain closure. Her investigation brings her in contact with Ash Delacourt, who is definitely one of the bad guys, albeit a stunningly gorgeous one.

As payment for a debt, Asmodai, AKA Ash Delacourt, finds himself working with the Order of the Shadow Accords. He’s the demon representative on the newly formed committee for the integration of mankind and well…everything else. It’s a chance to be near his daughter, make a new start, and—once he’s met the delectable Detective Connolly—maybe have a little fun.

But as Faith’s investigation deepens, her beliefs are eroded and for the first time, she is falling in love—with one of the bad guys. How can she ever let Ash close when her time is running out…?

My Review

Detective Faith Connolly was tracking a killer when she fell ill and while in the hospital she finds out she had a stroke and doesn't have much time left...terminal brain aneurysm that could go off at any time. She thinks the killer is some weirdo, a vampire wannabe but the truth is harder to accept. Real vampires don't exist, do they?

Asmodai or Ash as he likes to be called is a demon that works with the order of Shadow Accords and his life is about to get a lot more interesting. Not only is he trying to spend more time with and get to know his daughter better but now he's also trying to get to know Faith better. 

There's quite a lot going on in this book and right from the start it seemed like everyone involved was somehow connected to everyone else and some of the players either wanted revenge or weren't the good guys they first appeared to be. But then again some of the supposed bad guys weren't as bad as I would have thought either. 

There's a lot of fighting, kidnapping, bullets flying and Faith finds herself in the middle of something she doesn't realize could be dangerous until it's too late. 

I started with the 3rd book because I read the blurb and a review and it hooked me. After I read this one, I knew I was gonna need to read the rest of the series and bought the others as well. And I just have to say that I hated the cover. Anyone who knows me knows that I really hate these headless torso covers that bring to mind images of the Highlander movies...Off with your head! But this book was so darn good. I love stories with vampires, werewolves and other supernatural creatures and this book has them and more. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Walmart Beauty Box- June

The Walmart Beauty box is a subscription box that comes out 4 times a year. You sign up for it and it comes automatically every 3 months. These boxes are jut $5 each and shipping is free. 

There were quite a few samples in this box. 

Here's what was in this month's Walmart Beauty Box. 

Roc Multi Correxion 5 in 1 Chest, Neck and Face Cream

2 samples of Dove Cool Essentials Deodorant

Ponds Make Up Remover Towelettes

Dove Dry Shampoo

Pantene Shampoo

Pantene Conditioner

That's quite a few samples for just $5. I'm very happy with this box and so far I've liked everything that I've tried. I think this box was well worth the $5 I spent on it. I love getting all these sample size bottles of products that I can try before I buy a full size bottle. If you haven't signed up for the Walmart Beauty Box yet and you like what you see in this box, sign up.

And if you have or are expecting a baby, Walmart now has a Baby Box that you can sign up for.

I was happy to see the Dove dry shampoo because I had received another bottle of it in another beauty box and I just used the last of it. I like it because it works without leave a weird white residue in my hair and it smells good.

Do you have a favorite subscription box?

Recipe: Chicken and Vegetable Frittata with Avocado Corn Salsa

You will need:

1 chicken thigh

1 green onion, chopped

7 eggs

6 mushrooms, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

2/3 cup of corn, divided

3 brussel sprouts, shredded

1/4 cup shredded cheese

2 TBSP butter

1 TBSP oil

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1 avocado

1 tomato

2 TSBP cilantro, chopped

2 TBSP lemon juice

1/4 tsp. salt

What to do:

Cut chicken from bone, cut into 1 inch pieces and fry in the oil until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. Add butter, mushrooms, zucchini, 1/2 of the corn, brussel sprouts and spices to pan and saute until tender, add chicken back to pan and stir. Add mixture to baking dish. Beat eggs in a bowl and pour over mixture. 

Bake in a 370F oven for 30-40 minutes or until eggs are set. Remove from over and let sit for 5 minutes before cutting. 

Salsa Recipe

Chop the tomato and avocado into bite size pieces, add to bowl. Add the other half of the corn, cilantro, lemon juice and salt. Mix well. Let sit in fridge until frittata is done. Serve salsa with frittata. 

So now that I'm the frittata queen, or princess...whatever. Now that I can make a good frittata, *giggle* I've been experimenting by putting all kinds of things in them as you can clearly see and they have been coming out so good. You can pretty much put anything you want into these things and they come out good. This is definitely my favorite lunch and even Ken has been liking them. 

Happy Raturday!

*Photo courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"I was going to show you the proper way to make freshly squeezed orange juice..."

*Photo courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"But my wittle paws aren't strong enough to squeeze this orange. Don't worry, I know what to do....Moooom!"

*Picture courtesy of Jenni File Snyder*

"I just received my Crazy Rat Lady starter kit and I love it!" 

Review: Ice Moon by Lisa Kessler

Book Description

One touch and she is his...

Jared Ayers works outdoors, embracing a solitary life, hiding from his inner demons. But after so many of his Pack brothers have found their mates, he starts wondering if there might be a mate in his future too. His world turns upside down after he's hired by the "Ice Queen of Lake Tahoe". One touch is all it takes. One touch to send the wolf howling within...

A gifted psychic with pyrokinesis, Taryn Goldstone wields fire beyond her control- sometimes with dire consequences. With Jared, she discovers that some flames are meant for passion and healing. She has enemies who covet her powerful gift, but they are about to learn just how far a wolf will go to protect his mate.

My Review

Jared gets a call from Taryn, also known as The Ice Queen because of how she keeps people at arms length. She wanted an estimate on a new deck for her house but things don't go the way she expects them to but she ends up hiring him in the end. 

Taryn has a reason she keeps people away and never touches anyone. She has a lot of emotional baggage and a bad past she's been running from without really knowing that she's running. If the people she unknowingly escaped from ever find her, she'll be kept in a cage and experimented on. 

Right from the start the sparks begin flying when these two meet and even when they speak on the phone. At first Taryn doesn't like the fact that Jared keeps calling her by her first name. But when Jared starts spending time with her young son and she sees how happy her son, Charlie is about helping with the new deck, she lowers her guard just a little. When Jared can see that Taryn is warming up to him a little, he kisses her and that's when he knows for certain that she's his mate. 

Things would be perfect if someone from a big corporation wasn't trying to get to Taryn and her son as well as Jared's pack. Jared knows he has to tell her he's a werewolf and thinks he has the best plan to do it. But it doesn't turn out to be the big magic moment he was hoping for. Things go very bad after that very quickly. 

There are secrets, twists and heartbreak in this story but it also has a very hot *pun intended* romance. 

I'm reading this series completely out of order and because of that it makes it a little confusing when some characters show up that I haven't seen before. But other than that I had a lot of fun with this one. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Degusta Box- July

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 months box was...

Karma Wellness Water

Vermont Smoke & Cure Cracked Pepper Beef and Pork Stick - 2

Kala Roasted Fava Beans

Essential Goodness Chocolate Chip Cookie Baking Mix

Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Mutti Tomato Sauce

Wise Popcorn-4

Mrs. Thinsters Brownie Batter Cookie Thins

Waffle Waffle Vanilla Flavored Waffle

And a coupon for a free RXBAR protein bar

The only things I didn't care for were the roasted fava beans but I've had them before and I just don't care for them and the Cinnabon flavored popcorn. That popcorn was one of the worst things I've ever put in my mouth. Ken and I both were spitting that out because it was awful. The cookie thins were really good and so was the waffle. I use extra virgin olive oil for my roasted vegetables so that was nice.

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. 

This is what the cookies came out looking like when I made them from the mix they sent. While they tasted really good, they looked nothing like the picture on the box. They had a great flavor though. 

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.

Advant EDGE Carb Control Shake

A box of OB Tampons

Hello Toothpaste

And I won this gift basket full of snacks. I enter about 100 giveaways a month and I remember a snack basket being on one of them but since the box arrived without a note telling who it was from, I don't remember who I won it from but woohoo I won. lol 

Did you receive any free samples this week?