Nellis Air Force Base Air Show

My hubby (red head), my brother and his wife all went to the air show yesterday at Nellis Air Force base. Here's a few of the pictures.












My hubby and sister in law at the air show.

My brother standing in front of a plane.





My brother and sister in law at the air show.

My Morning

I thought I would share with you what happened during my morning today...such as it is. I knew as soon as I got up and came into the living room where my rats cage is that they needed a cleaning. They tore up their new bed...little bits of stuffing looked like it exploded all over the cage and they tore the top blanket off and pee'd everywhere up there. ewww stinky.

So I moved the cage over *It's on wheels Wheeee* and that's when I saw it...they had also dumped the food bowl out on the side of the cage and little bits of this and that rat food was spread all over the floor. Good grief they are messy little brats.

So I took out the rats *except for Ares and brodie who choose to cower in their beds on the top shelf* they only like coming out for a few seconds at a time and being able to jump right back in their cage. Jasper and Hades love being out.

I took all the baby blankets an fleece from the cage and put it in bags to wash later and wiped the whole cage down. Now I think my largest rat, Jasper has taken up stalking me when I'm not looking. Because I turn around to make sure they are fine on the couch and he is hanging on to the side of the cage and trying to climb on top on the cage to come over and stare at me while I clean. Being the good rat momma I am and not wanting him to go splat on the floor, I pick him up put him back on the couch and move the cage over so he can't get back on it. But he comes over to the side of the couch and looks anyway. Then gives me the "Well that wasn't nice" look.

Anyway I finally get all the clean fleece in the cage, put the baby blankets on the cage and fill the food bowl up and I see that Ares is inside the new bed and shredding the fluff stuffing. lol Well, I guess it won't be long before that's in the garbage, but for now it's holding together and since they like to sleep in it I'll leave it in there. Good thing I kept the big plastic igloo...I have a feeling I'll be putting that back in there pretty soon.

Chance for a $25.00 gift card

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Old Pictures

My older sister found a picture of our grandparents holding my dad and my aunt when they were really young.


I love finding old pictures of family members that I haven't seen before. But when I showed this to my dad he was completely surprised by it because he'd never seen it either. My sister found it in her things and when my mom passed away this past June, I inherited her photos and have been going through them all.

Ever since I was 12 years old, I have been collecting the family's photo albums. It started with just one...and then there were 2 and 3 and 10. When I had my daughter we took countless pictures of her and us and I ended up with more than 20 full size photo albums full of pictures. Now that my mom passed away and I now have all of her pictures, I had to buy 2 more huge photo albums and I still need at least two more to be able to fit all the pictures into them.

But as I was going through the pictures I noticed I didn't know who some of the people in the pictures were. There are a lot of black and white pictures of people I don't recognize. So because my daughter wants to inherit all these photo albums when I pass on, I started writing the names of every one in the pictures on the back of all the photos who I know they are. That way my daughter will know who they are and how they are related to her.

How I Get Free Stuff...

*I thought I would share this post again for those of you that didn't see it the last time I posted it.*

I tell my friends and family all the time how I get free things coming to me and some of them have tried it and they don't have the same results that I have. So I am going to tell you the websites that I belong to in order to get free stuff and maybe you'll be able to get free stuff too.

Swagbucks Sign up here and search like you would on Google or yahoo to earn swagbucks periodically. Turn in those swagbucks for Amazon.com gift cards or other merchadise.

Inbox dollars sign up with Inbox Dollars and click on the emails they send you and shop with them for points that you can turn into real money. This one takes more time to do but in the past 2 years I have gotten $120.00 from them.

The Tasters This is from Nescafe tasters choice coffee. Sign up and if they pick you to be a taster, you will get free samples of coffee to host Coffee parties with. Take pictures of your party and submit them for points that you can then use to buy gifts cards like Amazon.com. They also have a bunch of other surveys and activities for you to do that will also give you points that you can turn in for Gift cards.

Free Grabber This is where you will find a bunch of free samples to sign up for.

Free Silver Jewelry On this page they show you a few pieces of pretty silver jewelry that you can get for free...All you have to do is pay $6.99 for shipping and handling. I have bought earrings, rings and pendants from them and they are really pretty and good quality for the price. I'm wearing one of the rings right now.

Vocal Point Sign up with them, comment on the message board and other topics on teh site and periodically they will send you free samples and coupons for full size free products as well as coupons that you can share with your friends and family. But you have to comment a few times a week on the boards and topics in order to keep the samples coming, but it is well worth the effort. I get samples and coupons all the time.

Actual free Samples A site full of free samples to sign up for.

Hey Its Free A site for great free samples. The guy that writes about the free samples is totally funny too.

Samples FromTarget Target gives out samples periodically. But they go quickly.

My View This is a survey taking website. You sign up, take the surveys they send you and get points for the ones you qualify for. Then turn them into cash or prizes.

My Survey This is another survey website that you take survey to get points which you can turn into prizes and gift cards.

Harris Poll Another survey website to take survey and earn points that can be cashed in for prizes and gift cards.

Zoompanel Another website that has you take surveys and gives you points for them that you can cash in for prizes or gift cards.

American Consumer Opinion Sign up with them and when they send you surveys that you qualify for, you get money that you can cash out after you have accumulated $5.00

Just Some of the things I have gotten so far this year for free.
Cheryl Dragon T- shirt
1 Pair of EZ Sox
Sample of Purina Smart Blend
4 free business cards from StarBucks
Button- I'm Human
Charisma Carpenter T-shirt
Beneful Dog food sample
Cybdi bands hair tie sample
Crest white strips sample
seattles Best coffee sample
Herbal Essences shampoo sample
Tylenol stress kit
Prilosec OTC sample
Sample of valspar paint and mini roller
Kirkland Brand Antibacterial wipes sample
Tide Stain release 10ct. sample
Sample of Tide Detergent


Coupons for full size freebiesBreve Creme
Nestle Pure life Multi Pack
2 Buitoni Meal packs
2 Hot pocket boxes
2 Boxes of Lean pockets
1 package of Nestle toll house refrigerated cookie dough
2 Bottles of Nestle Juicy juice
1 Stouffer's party size meal
1 Canister of Nestle Tasters Choice coffee

Books I have gotten for free.
I have received over 50 books for free from entering blog contests and giveaways.
Amazon.com gift cards
I have received $90.00 in Amazon.com gift cards from giveaways and contests on blogs and over $500.00 from cashing in the points I had on the different surveys.

Some free samples require you to sign up for them on Facebook and for that reason I have another FB account solely for freebies.

This is not a complete list of the things I have won because I forgot to write some of the things down when they came. But you get the idea. All of these freebies are just in the last 6 months.

Rant: Headless Romance Book Covers

Let me begin this post in saying my rant of these book covers is in no way against the author of any of these books, I know from having talked with some authors that they have very little if anything to do with the design of their book covers. This is just my opinion/rant of a trend I keep seeing that is driving me nuts.

So here we have a sample of the type of covers I am going to be talking/ranting about. Can you see what I am talking about? They are all headless. There is a torso, but the face and or head is gone. I like the faces to be attached to the torso's I am looking at and therefore this new trend is driving me batshit crazy.







I think this new trend is fairly hard to miss...am I right? Do they have a valid reason for not adding the heads and faces to the torso's? I don't think so, not in my opinion they don't. I am an eye person and a lip person not to mention an arm person. lol I like looking at a man's eyes and lips. So not having a head on the torso of a cover makes it hard for me not to think of said torso being a headless corpse.

I believe that we've come a long way from the creamy bosoms, men's long hair blowing in the wind and floral colors on the front of romance books, but this new trend is irritating me to no end. I want to see a face! For an author to say that she wants us to envision what our hero would look like instead of giving us a face, is a cop out. Why make us imagine what he would look like, pick a cover model and tell us what he looks like. it's much better for me than seeing what looks like a headless corpse on the front of my romance book. I really don't want to be reminded of the headless horseman. Headless torso cover's make me think that someone came along and lopped off the heroes head with a sword...people this isn't a Highlander movie!

I blame the publishers so I hope I have gotten their attention.

My Babies

Here are some pictures of my 4 rats. All Males and they are about a year old now. Yes, they are large rats. lol All except for Brodie who is the smallest of the guys.


Here you have Hades, Brodie, Jasper and Ares in the background.


Jasper squinting and Brodie up close.


Ares is sniffing the camera. lol


Hades on his back sleeping. His little feet up in the air. Jasper and Ares are in the bed with him.


Hades sleeping on his bed/pillow.

My Published Articles

Hi to all my new followers. :) I love having new followers and to all of those who are reading my blog and not a follower...thank you for visiting me. :)Hopefully I've made you laugh, think or just shake you head at my strange posting and weird pictures. lol I love finding pictures that are a little out there and posting them.

I also wanted to share something about myself that you might not know. I am a Freelance Writer and write article about small animal care for The Yahoo Contributor Network.

You can find my profile here and just scroll down to see what articles I've written. I have more than 200 articles published right now and am always adding more.

If you read any of my articles, I would love to know what you think about them. :)

Our Pumpkin

Sharing smiley 360 Mission

Sharing Smiley360 Mission: I signed up for Smiley360! http://smiley360.com *Please remember the FTC requires you to mention that you received a free sample courtesy of Smiley360 when sharing.

My brother in law is going home today!

Read the full story here.

Here's a little bit of the article...

After four years in the hospital, Mike Stanzione is going home.

A rare disease left him dependent on a ventilator, barely able to walk and in need of constant medical care. He was told over and over again he had no chance of leaving Bergen Regional Medical Center and getting home to his wife and young son.

Yet the 53-year-old refused to give up.

Armed with his cellphone and laptop, he found a doctor willing to try a groundbreaking surgery. It required a harrowing ride to Florida and back and a painful recovery and rehab.

And today, he'll finally rejoin his family at his Saddle Brook home, where friends and neighbors are expected to be on hand to welcome him back.

"I'm happy I didn't give up," Stanzione said. "I just wasn't going to accept being on a vent and in the hospital for the rest of my life — I heard about the diaphragm pacemaker and went after it."

Stanzione has Pompe disease, an often fatal genetic illness that causes degeneration of muscles, including those that control the diaphragm for breathing. He is the first Pompe patient to get a diaphragm pacemaker, which stimulates the muscles and nerves in his chest so he can breathe periodically — sometimes for hours — without a ventilator.

It was the ventilator that shackled him for years to a hospital room at Bergen Regional in Paramus. The machine requires a medical professional be on hand around the clock in the event it malfunctions or the patient needs assistance.

Stanzione's insurance company, Aetna, and Medicaid and Medicare refused to cover home health care costs. It appeared the former computer programmer would have to spend the rest of his life in a long-term-care facility.

Birthdays, holidays and seasons came and went. His son, Brian, who was 4 when Stanzione was first hospitalized, is now 8. They used Skype daily and tossed a ball on weekend visits at the hospital, but it didn't come close to watching his son grow and change every day.

"The hardest part has been being away from Brian," Stanzione said. "I missed so much. I just want to be home with him — I used to read to him every night, now he can read to me."

His wife, Debbie, admitted she and Brian had resigned themselves to the idea that her husband would spend the rest of his life in a hospital room.

"I never admitted it to him, but after a while we really didn't think he'd ever be able to come home," Debbie Stanzione said. "It was hardest on Brian — he's had his hopes dashed so many times."

But Mike Stanzione refused to accept that this would be his life. He had once been an active husband who played ball on weekends with his friends. He searched for a way home.

Review: Companion Caterers Lixit Space Pod 2 Large

When I first brought my 4 boys home I thought I had all the accessories I would need for them. I bought an igloo that they refused to use for sleeping, they used it for food storage so we dubbed it "The refrigerator". I also bought them a stuffed Alligator which was supposed to be a hidie place to snuggle into the middle of, but they tore it to shreds in less than a day.

Then I bought a Lixit Critter Space Pod 2 Large and they fought over who was going to get to be inside it. I hung it from the top of the cage as it states you can and at first I was really scared it would come crashing down but it didn't, it stayed put. My 4 male rats were always trying to squeeze themselves into the Space Pod so I decided to buy another one for them and I bought it from Companion Caterers on Amazon. They have a wide selection of toys, food, treats and other accessories for your pets and they shipped my box out to me really fast, which I really liked.

Companion Caterers prices are comparable with others who sell some of the same things on amazon but knowing I can get fast shipping and nice customer service if I need it, has made me a customer when I am looking for things for my 4 boys.

I've Got Great News!

My brother in law who has been in the hospital for 4 1/2 years..is getting to go home this month...for good! Last month he had a pacemaker like machine implanted into his chest that shocks his chest muscles and makes him take a breath. He got this so he could be weaned off the ventilator and hopefully go home. It's called a Breathing Pacemaker.

Diaphragm (Breathing) Pacemakers

A breathing pacemaker consists of surgically implanted receivers and electrodes and an external transmitter with antennas worn directly over the implanted receivers.

The external transmitter and antennas send radiofrequency energy to the implanted receivers just under the skin. The receivers then convert the radio waves into stimulating pulses.

These pulses are then sent down the electrodes to the phrenic nerves, causing the diaphragms to contract. This contraction causes inhalation of air. When the pulses stop, the diaphragms relax and exhalation occurs. Repetition of this series of pulses produces a normal breathing pattern.

A breathing pacemaker can provide ventilatory support for patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency whose diaphragm, lungs, and phrenic nerves have residual function. Typically, these patients have high spinal cord injuries, central sleep apnea or other central neurological disorders, or a paralyzed diaphragm.

My brother in law has Pompe Disease and I did an interview with him for Yahoo Contributor Network, last year.

Read article here.

I'm happy for him, my sister in law and their 8 year old son. I know they must be beyond happy right now.

Book Review: Inferno's Kiss by Monica Burns

Title: Inferno’s Kiss
Series: Order of the Sicari #3
Author: Monica Burns
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade; (October 4, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0425243141
ISBN-13: 978-0425243145



The laws of desire...
Dante Condellaire, heir apparent to the Sicari Lords, knows that being a true leader means sacrifice. For Dante it was relinquishing all erotic pleasures. But he never expected his willpower to be tested so fiercely by Cleopatra Vorenus, expert assassin of the Order, and daughter of the man he is positioned to succeed.

The rules of battle...
Cleo prefers working alone--until she meets Dante who shares her goal: to destroy a Praetorian stronghold where Sicari women are imprisoned for devious purposes. Bringing the mission off without a hitch pumps up more than their resolve. It sets off a sexual spark too combustible to ignore.

Are all made to be broken.

As their attraction flares like an inferno, the stakes are raised. So are the risks. Before the mission is over, Dante and Cleo will be plunged into a dangerous conspiracy where a traitor threatens the very foundation of the Order, as well as the fiery bond between Dante and Cleo--warriors and lovers now torn between duty and desire.

My Review:
Inferno's Kiss is the 3rd book in the Order of the Sicari series and brought all the questions left unanswered from the first two books to a close. To see what happens with Atia and Marcus, characters from the first two books was really exciting and something I had really been looking forward to. I loved their characters and their relationship was so heartbreaking because of the things they've had to endure.

Then there's Cleo and Dante, who bring a whole new meaning to the term "Virginal". Cleo meets a man who is one step away from being the newly appointed Sicari Lord and who has taken an oath of abstinence. That's right, he's a powerful, intimidating, intense...and a virgin! How could it get any better? Well, there's also family secrets, long lost family members who meet for the first time, reincarnation, magical scrolls that need to be deciphered and an adventure that spans several life times.

Inferno's Kiss was a thrill ride well worth waiting for. Dante feels things for Cleo he never knew he could feel and Cleo can't help but to fantasize about the things she would love to do with him if she can ever get him to stop running away from her.

Marcus and Atia have a lot to over come because of all the lies and betrayal they each feel, but when they come together and see how good it can be again and the fact that their blood bond has never really been broken, makes you believe in true love.

Cleo is probably my favorite character in this whole series, I used to think it was Lysander but after reading the heartache Cleo went through after losing her unborn child and feeling like an outcast because she doesn't posses powers like other Sicari and that fact is even more pronounced after finding out who her parents are. If anyone should have strong sicari powers it's a child of Atia and Marcus. But Cleo more than makes up for not having powers by being a total bad ass who can kick the bad guys ass all by herself. Cleo is not only strong, but a sympathetic character and a survivor who's had to endure the worst pain imaginable. She is without a doubt my favorite character out of all three books.

If you want action packed scenes that actually make sense and don't just have swords blows and blood spurting scenes that go on forever that leave you lost as to what just happened, then this is the series for you. The action scenes are clean and Monica Burns made the action clear as to what is happening and it happens for a reason, just just action for the sake of action.

I didn't think Monica Burns could write another book as good as Assassin's Heart, but I was wrong, this book the 3rd in the series was just as good as the first two books and a great ending to the series.

I give it 5 stars.

Winner of The Puppy Diaries by Jill abramson

                                                                           Congratulations!

Bill...I'll send you an email please respond with your mailing addy withing 24 hours or I will pick an alternate winner.

Spiders...

I'm not afraid of spider's anymore. Not like I was when I was a teenager, but if I saw this big guy...even I might back away slowly. Some spider's can get seriously big. I had a horrible fear of bugs when I was younger. I knew I had to try and get over my fear so I looked up how to do that and I read the only real way to get rid of a fear was to face it head on...face your fear. Which meant...I had to go find a bug and hold it, look at it..ect..

So, me being the big bad ass that I am, I went out and saw a Black widow spider on the outside of my apartment wall. *Yeah, don't try this at home kids*

I got a glass and a piece of paper and put the glass over the Black Widow and slowly, gently pushed the paper under the spider until I had her safely inside the glass. Then I walked home with her. I also read that if you put a spider in the freezer for just a minute they will slow down and won't be able to move for a few seconds. Just long enough for me to take a look at her and get over my fear.

So I put her, glass and all in the freezer for a minute and sure enough she wasn't moving. I took her out and got out my small microscope and looked at her under the microscope...and then she woke up. You've never seen me move so fast in my life. The thing was, I could have gotten miss spider back into the glass...if it hadn't been for her web. Yes, when she woke up she started spilling her web all over everything she walked across and it was sticky..I mean really sticky and I kept getting stuck in it. Once I touched the web and I saw her climbing on it...right towards me. I got her in the glass and took her back outside real fast. Buh Bye miss spider.

I later found out that a Black Widow spider most times requires a trip to the E.R. for Anti-Venom. I had no idea about that at the time. But I got over my fear of spiders and can now pick any spider I find in my apartment up in my hands and take them outside and put them in the bush outside my door.

Giveaway! Monica Burns Bookmarks and More...

Monica Burns Books Marks and More giveaway! Monica was nice enough to send me some goodies to give to all of you, so if you would like some free bookmarks and some surprises, just send me an email at miztik_rose@yahoo.com and let me know you want the Monica Burns Bookmarks.

If you haven't read any of Monica Burns books. I really do recommend them highly.





You can read my review of Please Me, Here.


You can read my review of Assassin's Honor, Here.

You can read my review of Assassin's Heart, Here.

Inferno's Kiss is due out soon and you can be sure I'll be reading this one as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Giveaway! Heidi Betts Bookmarks

Today's Giveaway is for 2 Booksmarks from Heidi Betts new book Must Love Vampires.

Giveaway Today! Heidi Betts was nice enough to give me some bookmarks to give away to you. If you haven't read her books you really should, they are great reads. I highly recommend them and anything else by this author. You can also come and visit Heidi Betts at her blog here. She is crazy funny and has contests where she gives away books all the time.

Today I am giving away 2 bookmarks and maybe a couple of goodies from my own bookmark stash to 5 people!

All you have to do is send me an email with your name and address to miztik_rose@yahoo.com and let me know you want the Heidi Betts bookmarks. I will give them away until my supply is gone.

One Of My Biggest Pet Peeves

I love entering contests on blogs but there are some that I skip because of all you have to do in order to get an entry. Here's just a bit of the things I've found out there in blog-dom that people make you do in order to win a book/swag/ect...

Complete the form *or at least try to figure out how to complete it.
Follow Me
Leave a comment about this interview, the cover, the author, the authors town, the year the author was born..ok not really but you get my point.

And then there are the "Extra entries"
+1 Follow me on Twitter
+1 Like me on Facebook
+1 Like "So and So" on Facebook
+1 Be my friend on Goodreads
Like my review on Amazon or give me a thumbs up to show I done good.
+1 for social networking this giveaway and leave me a link
+1 Leave a comment
+1 Fan on GoodReads
+1 Follow the blog
+1 Follow on Twitter
+1 Friend on Facebook

BONUS QUESTION: Answer another question that can be found on the site, in the book, on twitter or somewhere out in the nethers...

And my #1 pet peeve is the blog owner not listing that the book we are commenting /entering for is an ebook. You see I don't buy ebooks, I don't usually read ebooks, I don't have an ebook reader, and I don't plan on buying one. I like traditional books. Yes, I am not a fan of ebooks at all. So when I find out that I have just won an ebook and the fact that the give away wasn't specific about it being an ebook up for a giveaway..it makes me a little irritated because I don't usually enter for ebooks. I'll leave them for those of you that like to read them, that have ereaders or like to spend countless hours in front of your computer reading *which I will not do*

As for the why? I've won a few ebooks and I will read a few by authors that I already like and have established that they can write. But I have also won a few or been given a couple to review that read like a 3rd grader wrote them. I will not be specific here sorry. I don't like to write negative reviews, it messes with my good mood. So I usually say thank you, shake my head and say nothing. I mean someone somewhere must have liked it for it to have been published, right? Who am I to say it's really not good, that I think they write ebooks only because they aren't good enough to write traditional books. I may think it, but I won't say it.

Giveaway! Win 2 Bookmarks from Joyce DiPastena

Bookmark Giveaway!

Giveaway Today! Joyce DiPastena was nice enough to give me some bookmarks from these two books to give away to you. If you haven't read these books you really should, they are great reads. I highly recommend them and anything else by this author.

Today I am giving away 2 bookmarks and maybe a couple of goodies from my own bookmark stash to 5 people!

All you have to do is send me an email with your name and address to miztik_rose@yahoo.com and let me know you want the Joyce DiPastena bookmarks. I will give them away until my supply is gone.

Giveaway! Sherrilyn Kenyon's Special Collectors Edition Coffin Box Set (Audio Book)

Giveaway! Sherrilyn Kenyon's Special Collector's Edition Coffin Box Set (Audio Book)



Win Sherrilyn Kenyon's Special Collectors Edition Audio Book!

It’s time for another giveaway! Hurray! Today’s giveaway features my all-time favorite author Sherrilyn Kenyon here at Dark Thoughts and I'll be hooking up one lucky winner with a free copy of the audiobook! See below on how to enter.

This audio book includes:
This Special Collector’s Edition Box Set includes audio CDs for the first three books in the Dark-Hunter Series. The set also includes an AUTOGRAPHED keepsake suitable for framing!

NIGHT PLEASURES
He is solitude. He is darkness. He is the ruler of the night. Yet Kyrian of Thrace has just woken up handcuffed to his worst nightmare: An accountant. Worse, she's being hunted by one of the most lethal vampires out there. And if Amanda Devereaux goes down, then he does too. But it's not just their lives that are hanging in the balance. With the fate of the world in their hands, Kyrian and Amanda are all that stands between humanity and oblivion. Let's hope they win.

NIGHT EMBRACE

Talon was an ancient Celtic warrior who made a big mistake—he killed the son of a Celtic god Camulus. Camulus swore vengeance, claiming that no one Talon loved would be safe—they all would die horrible deaths in front of his eyes. When, after everyone else he loves has dies, Talon’s sister is murdered in front of his eyes, he barters his soul to Artemis for the chance to protect strangers from the vampires that stalk the night. Two thousand years later in modern-day New Orleans, he meets Sunshine—a woman who, against his will, makes him love again. Of course, it’s Mardi Gras, and New Orleans is filled with vampires, Dionysius in the middle of a complex plot, and Camulus as his confederate. Now Talon and Sunshine have to block the gods, and somehow figure out how to break the curse. Or Sunshine will be the next to die…

DANCE WITH THE DEVIL

They say even the most damned man can be forgiven. Zarek, a man who endured a lifetime as a Roman slave, and 900 years as an exiled Dark-Hunter, never believed that until the night Astrid opened her door to him and made that feral beast want to be human again. Made him want to love and be loved. But how can an ex-slave whose soul is owned by a Greek goddess ever dream of touching, let alone holding, a fiery star?

Sherrilyn Kenyon is the brilliant author of this series. The 20th book in this series just came out not too long ago and I reviewed it here.

So it goes without saying that if you haven’t checked out the Dark Hunter series, you totally should.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS
To enter into the giveaway all you have to do is leave a comment here with your email, so I can get in touch with you if you win and you are entered for this giveaway! How easy is that! US residents only. I will pick the winner on September 25th!

Added note: the winner has 48 hours to respond, if they don’t within that time then the book goes to someone else, so make sure to check your email on the 25th of September!

Disclosure: This free audio book is being provided by Macmillan Audio.

How I get Freebies

I wrote a post a while back on how I get freebies and since then have gotten a few new friends here on my blog. So if you haven't read further back...*and you totally should because my blog is awesome* LOL here is my post that tells you how to get some of the free things that I get all the time. Have fun!

You can find the post here.

Review: Retribution By Sherrilyn Kenyon (Audio Book)

Book Review: Retribution Audio Book By Sherrilyn Kenyon
Title: Retribution
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Narrator: Holter Graham
Series: Dark-Hunter
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: August 2, 2011
7 CD Audio Book


I received a free copy of the audio format of the this title for review from Macmillan Audio.

Harm no human...

A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he'd spend eternity protecting the humans he'd once considered prey.

Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief - Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters and training for the day when she meeting the man who killed her family: Jess Brady.

A gun in the hand is worth two in the holster....

Jess has been charged with finding and terminating the creature who's assassinating Dark-Hunters. The last thing he expects to find is a human face behind the killings, but when that face bears a striking resemblance to the one who murdered him centuries ago, he knows something evil is going on. He also knows he's not the one who killed her parents. But Abigail refuses to believe the truth and is determined to see him dead once and for all.

Brought together by an angry god and chased by ancient enemies out to kill them both, they must find a way to overcome their mutual hatred or watch as one of the darkest of powers rises and kills both the races they've sworn to protect.

My Review:
I reviewed a hard cover copy of this book and you can read my review here.
Now before I start I should tell you that this was my first audio book. I would like to thank Macmillan audio for sending me a free copy of this for review. It was an interesting experience not having to actually read but being read to. I can honestly say that while it was an interesting experience I like the feel of holding a book in my hands and reading. If I had a car and was driving it would probably be much more fun to listen to the audio book in that circumstance, but I don't so I was listening to the audio book while on the computer playing games. I like sitting down with a book in my hands and reading the story, having it read to me wasn't as good because while reading I can visualize what each of the characters sounds like when they speak in the book. While I'm sure Holter Graham is a great narrator his voice is not what I would have pictured for the character of Jess Brady. It was hard for me to get into this book just listening to it. While I loved the story I think I've come to the conclusion that audio books are just not for me.

Jess Brady is set to find the person who is hunting Dark Hunters and stop who ever it is, but he never expected to find Abigail was the one who he would need to stop. Jess Brady thought that Abigail had been dead for a very long time and now not only is she killing Dark Hunters she is connected to the Apollites.

Now they must find a way to work together and set their differences aside for a while if they want to stay alive. Jess Brady has endured so much heartache I found it endearing that he could care for someone again. But the fact that Ms. Kenyon wrote their attraction in such a way that even though Abigail hates him and thinks he murdered her parents they are overwhelmed by their attraction for each other and that makes their story a bit much for this reader to swallow.

There was a different feel to this book than many of the other books in this series and that's alright as long as Sherrilyn Kenyon gets back to integrating more of the characters in each of the books like she's done in past books. I would have been really disappointed with this book if we hadn't gotten a glimpse into some of the other characters at the end. I am a huge Sherrilyn Kenyon fan, her books have always been an auto-buy for me and for now will continue to stay that way. But I can only hope she gets back to the characters and Mythology storyline that we as readers have loved and started reading this series for, to begin with.

America's Got Talent

Congrats to Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., Silhouettes, Team iLuminate, and PopLyfe. You all rocked. I do have to state the obvious though..I really was shocked when the winner was announced..I really think Silhouettes should have won. I am surprised at America's choice but it was America's choice.

I seriously doubt that either Silhouettes or iLuminate will have a hard time making it. They will be picked up and we will be seeing them again soo, of that I have no doubt.

Showing off My Babies

I have 4 male rats right now and here are a few pictures of a couple of them that were taken recently.


This is Jasper inside a soda box. They just loved playing inside the soda box. I have another just waiting for them when they tear up the old one.

This is Hades.

Hades again. He's a big boy and so loveable.

Hades laying in the cage waiting for a treat. lol

Rat Busters NYC

If you have been reading my blog you already know that I signed a petition to have Rat Busters NYC removed from Animal Planet. I also sent Animal Planet an email and let them know about the petition and how a bunch of us were boycotting Animal Planet until this show is removed. Here is the email I received the other day in response to the email I sent them about the show. ...

Message body

Dear Viewer:

Thank you for contacting Animal Planet. We appreciate your correspondence and for taking the time to share your thoughts and concerns with us about Rat Busters.

In an effort to ensure the highest quality programming, comments such as these are taken very seriously. Each and every comment is forwarded on to our programming executives for review and consideration. Maintaining the integrity of all of our networks is our primary goal. It is these types of comments that contribute to creating change and improving our programming.

Again, thank you for contacting Animal Planet.

Sincerely,

Viewer Relations
Animal Planet


A reply to this message will not be answered. If you have additional
questions or comments, please go to our webform at
http://extweb.discovery.com/viewerrelations.

I have a feeling that nothing will be done and the show will not be canceled but I did what I could to get it taken off the air.

Dear Spammers

I have several email addresses because I use each one for something different. The first one I ever got, I still have. That was a long time ago and I get so damn much spam on that email address it's not even funny. My hubby and I used to use this one together because we didn't know way back when that we could both get a different one. Crazy...I know.

So each day i go to my email inbox and flush the spam...but have you ever really looked at what they are sending you? No? Well, I did and it scared me...the world is a scary place now a days. There are people that want me to have a penis enlargement, a home mortgage, lip implants, breast implants, facial reconstruction and then they also want me to sue for having the penis enlargement if something went wrong, sue the breast implant doctor for making them too big and then this Prince somewhere in the middle east tells me I've got an inheritance of 10 million dollars if only I would contact him and deposit this check into my account and send him a small portion of it.

Now thankfully I am not an idiot and I have never had a penis so there's no need for an enlargement and I've never had anything injected, implanted or otherwise transformed in my body so there's no need to sue anyone over it. And I am seriously not sending some idiot my name rank and serial number so he can take my identity and never send me the millions he said was coming to me.

But that's me, there are enough gullible people out there that are doing these things that keep these scammers in business and make it worth their time to keep sending out the spam. I wish there was a way to get rid of the spammers.

Happy Birthday, Mom

Peggy Kirkland
Born Sept 2nd, 1947
Died June 24th, 2011

My mom would have been 64 years old today. I grew up in Redondo Beach, California and when I was 17 my Mom brought my brother and I to West Virginia for a year back in 1987 and we stayed there for a year and then she came out here to Las Vegas followed by my brother Billy and then a few months later I followed. We have been here ever since and the one thing my mom really missed about California was the ocean.

So last year when my younger brother, Billy was getting married to his wife Lynnece, they brought my mom out to California and took her to the Redondo Beach Pier where we all used to go as kids with her and the family. She was so happy to see the ocean again. There's something about the ocean that just made her smile. So I am so glad she was able to visit and see the ocean before she died.

Rat Busters NYC

Change.org|Start an Online Petition »

I just heard about a new show that's going to be on Animal Planet, called Rat Busters NYC. Being a rat and animal lover, I am completely appalled by Animal Planet having a show like this where the rats are going to be killed and not even in a humane way.

What were they thinking?
Obviously they were not. It seems money talks though and they must think they can make some money from a show like this one or they wouldn't have it on a channel that is about animals. What does this say to the people who watch Animal Planet?

It says, Animal Planet doesn't really care about animals, they only care about their profit margins. What were they thinking adding to the ever growing animal control shows on an animal related channel like this. I realize that most people consider wild rats in places like NYC to be pests that need to be exterminated, but they are live animals who have as much right to life as anyone else.

I don't know about you but I am going to be contacting Animal Planet and telling them that as long as they have shows like this on, I will be boycotting their channel and telling everyone I know to do the same.

Confession Time...

I thought it would be fun to set up a facebook account for my husband. I was wrong...

His account has been set up for about 3 weeks and he's made maybe 3 comments so far.

He didn't like the picture I put on his profile so he took it down and now there's no picture. lol

So last night he says, "You wanna teach me how to navigate this fb thing?"

So I come over to the computer and he's all logged in and says, Ok, now what?"

So I get him over to the 'newsfeed' and this is our conversation....

Him: So now what do I do?
Me: You comment on your friends status messages.

Him: Ok, and then what?
Me: Look at their pictures, write a status of your own, click on your friends links, fill out your profile, select a profile picture for yourself.

Him: This sucks. this isn't fun. This is boring.
Me: Just read your friends status's and make some comments.

Him: Why do you write so many statuses? Your on my newsfeed more than anyone else.
Me: That's because you only have 10 friends and I write more than the rest of them do.

Him: *reading statuses* What am I supposed to say? Why is everyone 'liking' this it isn't funny.
Me: Just make a comment on some of the statuses.

Him: I made a comment. Are they online, how come they aren't liking my comment? Why are they responding?
Me: it's not like Instant messenger, you have to wait until they are online before they respond.

Him: well this sucks. this is boring. I'm logging off. *grumble grumble*
Me: Give it a chance.

Him: There's nothing to do on the computer.
Me: You're insane.

LOL So that's how it pretty much went, I will not be making him a twitter, LinkedIn, or any other account. He can go play Pogo and be quiet. lol

Giveaway on paranormal and Suspense reviews

http://paranormalromanticsuspensereviews.blogspot.com/2011/08/gena-showalter-dark-taste-of-rapture.html

Great Giveaway! Up for grabs are...5 copies of each of Dark Taste of Rapture by Gena Showalter and Enemy Mine by Karin Harlow.

Click here to find this giveaway.

Shaving- It isn't just about your beard anymore...

I was thinking..I know that's really scary, right? But I was thinking, why do some people shave their pubes? When did this become the thing to do? How many people actually do this? I mean it must be a really big fad to have so many salons willing to let you get naked, lie down on their tables with your feet up to your chin and rip away the hair by waxing you down there. Right?

Why do some people go to a complete stranger and ask them to get up close and personal with their "Down stairs hair". Because they are seeing more of you when they do this than your doctor did at your last check up.

So what are the different types of waxing, cutting, trimming methods? Well there's natural...of course that means you still have to take a shower and wash that stuff..But does anyone make a shampoo for pubic hair? I'd be surprised if someone didn't, now that I think of it.

Then there's the 'strip' where just a landing strips worth of hair is left and it kinda looks like a landing strip...lol

Then there's the Brazilian...ouch! Wax on Wax Off...You better have your big girl panties on for this one, cause that bitch is gonna hurt. Riiiiip!

Then if anyone has ever watched any of those old Porn movies from the 70's and 80's..Oh you know the ones...The ones with the Boom chick a chick mow mow, Bow chicka wow wow porn music. You have seen the afro bush...everyone seemed to have it.

The There's the Hollywood, which leaves you with no hair at all. Nothing, nada..no where.
But wait! There's more! How about a butterfly, a birdie or a starfish carved out with your pubic hair. Yes, and they can even dye it different colors for you.

And lastly you can have a Vajazzle! That's where they glue little gems right about...your gem...lol I kid you not...there's so much more than just washing and drying now a days. Getting a little waxing seems so tame, right? Yeah, I didn't think so...lol

Book Review: Retribution by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Retribution
Book 21 in the Dark Hunter series
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 9780312546595
Hardcover: 432 pages


Description

Harm no human…
A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he’d spend eternity protecting the humans he’d once considered prey.

Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief—Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters and training for the day when she meeting the man who killed her family: Jess Brady.

A gun in the hand is worth two in the holster…
Jess has been charged with finding and terminating the creature who’s assassinating Dark-Hunters. The last thing he expects to find is a human face behind the killings, but when that face bears a striking resemblance to the one who murdered him centuries ago, he knows something evil is going on. He also knows he’s not the one who killed her parents. But Abigail refuses to believe the truth and is determined to see him dead once and for all.

Brought together by an angry god and chased by ancient enemies out to kill them both, they must find a way to overcome their mutual hatred or watch as one of the darkest of powers rises and kills both the races they’ve sworn to protect.

My Thoughts
Sundown was just about to get married to the woman he loved when he was shot in the back by his so called friend. He is so incensed and wanted revenge in the baddest way and when he died he vowed to get it. Artemis heard his cries for revenge and she talked him into selling his soul to get that revenge and becoming a dark hunter.

Abigail has wanted revenge on the man who killed her parents and her adoptive family has lied to her since she met them because they want something from her. She is out to kill and get revenge on the man who she thinks killed her family, Jessup brady and now after killing other dark Hunters she is about to learn the truth, but can she handle it?

I just finished this one 2 days ago and while I really enjoyed reading about Sundown and getting to really know him, this story didn't do for me what some of the others have. I can't quite put my finger on what it was about this story that just didn't have me hanging on for dear life wanting to read each page, not able to put the book down.

There was so much information about how Sundown became the Dark Hunter he is now that is kind of took away from the flow of the story for me. I'm all for information and getting to know the characters but it seemed like the whole book was filled with more info than we really needed to know. Between that and the fact that Abigail was so hell bent on revenge, had grown up with a family who brain washed her into thinking killing the dark hunters was a good thing and getting revenge for her parents killings was the right thing to do and then to have her do a 180 spin in the other direction so easily when she thinks she saw Jessup kill her parents really made it hard for me to like this book as much as I liked th eother ones in this series..

The fact that she so easily jumped his bones and fell in love with him, it seemed so anti-climactic in the end. I will say that I love the native american story line and in my opinion the best part of the book is at the end when Ash comes into the story.

I will continue to read the books but I do hope that the next few books get back to the characters that we know and love.

Why I May Quit Watching The SyFy Channel all Together

I recently found out that SyFy has canceled one of their most popular shows and after doing a little research, I found out why.

It all has to do with money.

That's right, money. They are making enough of a profit to keep making a series that people love. They do not care that this is a very popular show and that people are getting fed up with their favorite shows being canceled because of ridiculous reasons.

According to Screenrant.com, SyFy decided to cancel the series because...“We are the network’s golden child in every way, except profit margins. Fact is, Eureka is an expensive show to make. And we could not maintain the quality of our show with the cuts it would take to make us profitable for Syfy’s new parent company.”

If this is the case, I can only see more bad things happening with SyFy. I mean first they change their name from Sci-Fi to SyFy...then they added friday Night Smackdown to their list of things to watch on their channel. Someone please tell me why we are watching wrestling on what used to be a great Sci-Fi channel?

The new parent company has changed things around so that they can air things like wrestling on what used to be a Sci-Fi genre based channel and they think we don't see what they are doing.

Heh heh, nice try guys.

It's all about the profit margin and how much they think they can make having men tune in to watch wrestling on what used to be a great channel to watch B-monster movies, actual Sci-fi movies, and most things to do with science fiction. So with their name change they have changed what they think is acceptable to air on this channel and think they will keep a large audience who love watching shows like Eureka and Sanctuary. I can only hope that Wearhouse 13 and sanctuary aren't the next shows to get the chopping block the way Stargate Atlantis did.

What are the producer's at SyFy doing with all those profits they are making...looks to me like they would rather take a little of the money and make horrible movies like Mansquito, rather than create shows we actually like to watch.

Why I refuse to shop at Walmart

I know I'm lucky to have so many stores to shop at so close to where I live. I have several malls close to me and there are Kmarts, Target and all sorts of other shops and stores around here. After talking to some of my friends on fb I realized that not everyone has the luxury NOT to use Walmart and I think they know that.

The last time I was in Walmart, the cashiers were so slow I ended up standing in line to check out for more than 40 minutes and there were only 3 cashiers open with an entire store full of people shopping. And this was at a Super Walmart where the place is huge and in each line to check out there were at least 20 people in line. They never opened another checker and even when people complained the cashiers were as slow as snails.

I called Walmart after getting home because I was so mad about the wait time. I talked to a manager who told me the cashiers were slow because they were in training. I told her she was full of it, that I had been in the same Walmart a few months earlier and one of the girls checking out was the same from a few months ago..she was not new.

I asked why they didn't have more checkers and she told me they don't have enough staff and when I asked about hiring more people she actually told me no one was applying for the jobs. Omg this woman was so full of it. So I will never got o Walmart again.

How Do You Read and a Bookmark Giveaway!

Scroll Down to the Bottom of the Post for Giveaway

I got three more books in the mail yesterday that I ordered from Amazon and when I sat down to read the big hard cover I started taking the dust jacket off like I always do. I started wondering if I am the only one who does this when reading a hard back book. I know some people use the dust jacket edges as book marks but for me it's easier just to use a regular book mark and take the cover off until I am done reading.

Another thing, how many people still dog ear pages in books? I have a huge selection of bookmarks that I use, some of them have been autographed by the authors and some are just cute as heck. I do not like to dog ear the pages in my books, heck if I can help it I don't even like to break the spine in the book I am reading. Yes, I realize I am strange. lol But it can be done. lol

Do you read a few books in the same genre before switching to another genre? I do this all the time and for the longest time I have been reading Paranormal Romance because I just can't get enough of the Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, Wizards, Shifters, Demons, Ghosts ect. There is such a huge selection of great Paranormal Romance out there right now and I have several calling my name from my TBR pile.

Giveaway!
This Giveaway is for U.S. Residents only, sorry.

Just leave me a comment on this post with your email address so I can contact you and I will send anyone that posts a comment here 2 Bookmarks from my huge stash of booksmarks. How easy is that! Giveaway will run until august 20th.

Funny Story

Have you ever done something so incredibly stupid but it was funny at the same time and looked around to see if anyone saw what you did? I had one of those days the other day.

I was getting out of my brother's car and didn't realize I had sat on my hair when I got in. Yes, you read that right...my hair is just long enough for me to sit on it now. I seriously need to get it trimmed.

So when we pulled up and parked i went to get out of the car and moved forward only to have my head jerked backwards because I was sitting on my hair. I darn near tore my scalp right off my head. *obvious over dramatization* But it hurt! lol

So when I got out I looked over at my brother to see if he had seen what I had done and since he wasn't rolling on the ground laughing, I'm guessing he didn't. lol

Where do you watch movies

I watched this movie the other day and was really looking forward to it. it turned out to be so slow and really not all that great. I used to have a Netflix account until my mailman started stealing my discs and blaming it on the envelopes not holding the discs so they get lost somewhere along the line. Yeah, right.

I don't like going to the movie theatre so I usually wait until the movies are out on On Demand and buy them. I don't know what movie I will buy next but I hope it's better than this one.

When to call the police

I've got several noisy neighbors as I've told you before and so often they bring their lives outside when talking on their cell phones or when they are talking to their friends. i don't know if they realize that everyone can hear everything they are saying or not, but I'm really getting to know these guys from all the conversations I am overhearing. It's not like I am eaves dropping, they are coming out of their aprtments and being loud...I mean seriously loud.

Last night the neighbor across the courtyard from me was mad at his wife...again for not coming home on time. Whatever that means. He was telling her she was 3 hours late and not to send that text or else he would have to leave and when she said she was calling the police he told her if the police come he was going to tell them to search her so she better get rid of the drugs she had on her.

Now they have two kids in that apartment, one is a toddler and one is about 14 years old. They stood outside arguing for a few minutes and then they went inside. I didn't see anything that would warrant me calling the police but I came every close to it. The only problem is the last few times I called the police on my different neighbors...the police come out, tell the neighbors who called, talk for a minute and then leave. Then the neighbors are mad at me for calling and nothing is done anyway. So unless I see or hear actual fighting going on, I usually don't call anymore.

L.A. Banks Lost Her Battle With Cancer

I read today that L.A. Banks passed away. The article about this is here.

I find this very sad. I know how it feels to lose someone close to you so I really feel for her family right now.

Getting to know me *without* pictures

I thought it would be interesting to post pictures and tell you how they relate to me. *And then I deleted all the pictures on my blog that I didn't own* But left this post because it still works even without the pictures..

This first one is a picture of my old rat who died a few years ago. His name was Dusty, he was the third rat I had and having he and his brother really grew my love of rats. I now have 4 male rats and couldn't be happier with them as pets.


I used to be completely afraid of spiders. Now when I find them in my house, I pick them up and take them back outside.


For some weird reason I love grim reapers. I think it comes from my love of Halloween. I would decorate my whole apartment with them but my hubby won't let me...lol


Chocolate truffles. They are my favorite treat. I usually buy myself one box at christmas time from a place called Figis, because Figis has the best chocolate truffles I've ever had.


I am constantly listening to music. I listen to music when I am reading, writing, playing on the computer. All the time.

Skulls...I think it's the same fascination that I have with grim reapers that has made me a lover of skulls. I have a rose colored glass skull on my shelf that I find fascinating.


Computers...I am on the computer playing, writing and on fb.


Coffee, coffee...coffee...'Nuff said. lol


Dragons. I have started collecting dragons and wizards recently. I used to collect Unicorns abut now my collecting has focused to dragons. They are so cool.

I read like a mad woman. I have to many bookshelves in my little apartment that my hubby said we may need to move just so I have a room for just books. lol

Normal? Me? nope...I'm about as crazy as can be and sarcastic as hell...lol


Bee's....I hate bee's. I have a phobia so bad that I literally can't stand to look at them. lol


More skulls...lol Because they are soo cool.


I like pictures of butterflies. I don't know why, they are so pretty. After we painted the bathroom when we first moved in here, I put rub on butterflies all over my bathroom. When my hubby walked into the bathroom when I was done, he about flipped out. LOL They butterflies stayed for a few years until we painted again.

Things that make me smile

My daughter and our rat, Hades.


Brodie peeking out from the house.


Some how my daughter got Hades to lay here with her toy duck. This is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Slowly getting back to normal

Life changes so quickly and we never see some things coming. I didn't see my mother's death coming, at least not this soon and not this fast with no warning signs at all. I knew things were going to take some time and they are, I'm slowly getting out of my depressed hole that I've been in for too long. My little brother has been there for me every single day since this has happened and I love him to pieces for that. I think we are keeping each other sane by talking each day.

My little brother is coming into town next weekend and I get to see him. he's taking my daughter for a couple of weeks when his son will be with him. The two of them are just a couple of years apart in age and I think it will be good for them to have some time together after losing their grandma. My husband lost his mother just a few months ago so my daughter lost both of her grandmother's in a very short time and I know it's affected her.

I've been going through old pictures a lot lately and buying a few more photo albums to put the hundreds of new pictures I got from my mom's place. My hubby laughs because it seems I am the keeper of the photos for my family. I have over 20 large photo albums and now have about 300 more pictures to label and put in albums. I'm quickly running out of storage space for them. lol

Looking through all the pictures has been helping and I've been making scrapbooks for a few years now. I have three scrapbooks that I made in the past three years and am putting together some old pictures to make another one. Anything that will keep me busy and my mind off of things is good right now. All i can do is get through each day and hope the next one is better than the last.