It's My Mom And Dad's Wedding Anniversary...Kinda..

My mom and dad at Christmas time in the 70's sometime. Picture taken at my grandma's house. 

So today would be my mom and dad's wedding anniversary...if they hadn't gotten divorced in 1982. lol 

But, on this day back in 1968, my mom and dad got married. 

My mom passed away 2 1/2 years ago and my dad has been remarried for a number of years, but this is how I remember my parents from when I was little.

Happy Raturday!

Welcome to a new weekly blog post I'm calling, Raturday! I've seen Caturday and while that's really cute, I think the rats needs some photo time so everyone can see how cute these little animals are. I've gotten permission from Rat Logic's fb page to share their pictures on my blog. So get ready to smile because these are cute. 

"Medical" Marijuana in Jail?

I heard on the local news that incarcerated people are not allowed to take and use their 'medical' marijuana in jail or prison and some of the pot card carriers are mad about this. 

This guy who wants to smoke pot in jail

Each jail or prison is different and have different rules and some do not allow any narcotic medications to be taken by the prisoners. So if you come to jail and your doctor had you on pain pills for whatever reason, you will be in detox because you won't be getting it at some of these jails/prisons as seen in this article. 

So do you really think that if the jails/prisons aren't going to allow you pain pills/narcotic meds that they are going to allow you to smoke weed in the facility just because you have a card and call it, "medicine"? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. 

Maybe you should have thought about that before you committed the crime that put you there. 

Weekly Rat Facts: Rat Crafts

We rat people are cuckoo for just about anything to do with rats. We like rat statues, rat crafts, rat clocks ect. So it's no real surprise that I made a rat out of a pine cone and a few other supplies. 

I found a slender, closed pine cone and painted it grey. Cut a couple of ears out of black felt and painted the inside pink and glued them onto the pine cone. 

Next I used popsicle sticks to make the feet. I cut out what I thought looked like small feet and painted them grey with little back toes and glued them to the bottom of the pine cone. Then I glued a tiny ribbon to her head right by her ear and cut a silver pipe cleaner in half and hot glued it to the back of the pine cone. Then I took three black beads and glued them on as eyes and a nose. 

My husband hates it but I think she's kinda cute.

Missouri Drug Cop Tells Us What He Really Thinks Of Marijuana Users

In one of the funniest rants I've ever read, a Missouri drug cop writes a rant on his own fb page that gets potheads all up in arms...

Full Article Here

*click picture to enlarge*

He has the right to his opinion, not that I don't agree with him, frankly. All you have to do is go to any pro marijuana site and you'll read articles with no real substantiated facts to back them up that marijuana now cures glaucoma, cancer, tumors, alcoholism, seizures, and a whole host of other ailments. Yep, it's a MIRACLE drug that our government is keeping from us! *insert sarcastic sneer here*

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.

This week I received a Smiley360 box with 2 coupons for a free pack of Quilted Northern Bath Tissue, a free sample of Quilted Northern mints and hand sanitizer plus 3 $2 off coupons. 

Two Guest Reviews and A Giveaway!

My guest review For Raphael by D.B. Reynolds is over at I Smell Sheep. 

I really liked this book but I didn't care for the ending. I have never cared for cliff hanger endings but I plan on reading the rest of the books in the series so hopefully it will have been worth it. 

My guest review for McQuade: The Lone Wolf Takes a Mate by Lynn Richards is at I Smell Sheep.

There's also a giveaway with this one, so come on over and take a look. 

Reader Appreciation, $25 Starbucks Gift Card Giveaway!

It's almost Christmas and I want to show my appreciation to my readers for visiting my blog as much as you do, so I am going to give one of you a $25 Starbucks Gift Card. 

All you have to do to be entered is leave a comment on this blog post with a valid email address so I can get in touch with you if you win. 

I will pick a winner on December 27th. U.S. Only.

Update: The winner of the gift card is Amy Purdy! I'll be in touch soon. 

This contest is now closed. 

Kroger Skillet Meals, Garlic Bread and Fresh Selection Salad Kits

BzzAgent sent me coupons for a Free Kroger Skillet Meal, Kroger Garlic Bread and Kroger Fresh Selections Salad Kit.

I was able to try the Shrimp Lo Mein Kroger Skillet meal and it was good. What's even better is that on days when I don't feel like cooking, I can toss the contents of one of these bagged meals in a pan, heat it up in about 10 minutes and have dinner done for my husband and myself, which is what I did. I just mixed the ingredients in the Kroger Fresh Selection Salad Kit together and had it with the Shrimp Lo Mein to complete our meal.

I was pleasantly pleased with the Kroger Skillet meal and have since bought several more that I can keep in my freezer for those days that I need a quick meal or quick snack for my husband and myself.

The salad kits are perfect because they contain everything you need to make a great salad, lettuce, vegies, salad dressing and toppings like croûtons and bacon.

I received a sample of this product from BzzAgent to review. I am a bzzAgent and participate in their program. I was in no other way compensated for my honest review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own

Some People Want To Do Away With Anything *Christmas*

It makes me angry when every year I hear how some band of people be it Atheists, Muslims, or any other group is protesting yet another Christmas related thing going on. Not too long ago I heard on the news that a school had to cancel its toy drive because an Atheist group threatened to sue them on religious grounds. This group to me, was intolerant and being a bully. Just because you can do something or say something, doesn't mean you should.

Yes, this time of year there's a holiday called christmas that christians use to celebrate the birth of christ. But for the vast majority of us it's a cultural holiday that allows us to spend time with family, open presents and spend time talking to one another over a big meal. This is a tradition for I would say, 80% of us...not a faith based religious holiday.

Let's say for a second that all those against being greeted in stores with a "Merry Christmas" or seeing signs that say, "Christmas Tree's" and get mad when schools hold "Christmas Toy Drives"..set aside all the religious angles, and just accept that this is a holiday where kids deserve to get toys, warm clothes and food. Sure those charities that are holding the toy drives might hand out religious pamphlets or say things like "Praise the lord" but all a kid really cares about is that they have something to open come Christmas morning.

I'm not a big holiday person, in fact I'll let you in on a little secret...I'm Agnostic. But I'm not going to let that spoil the fun for my daughter, husband and grandson. I'm not going to sit around all humbug and tell them they can't decorate or celebrate Christmas because Mommy is Agnostic and really doesn't like all this Christmas stuff. That would make me an utterly insufferable intolerable bitch to push my beliefs onto my family or anyone else. But people are doing this everyday and if I were them I would hide my face because I wouldn't want anyone to know what a bully-ish intolerant ass I was. If you don't want to celebrate this holiday, then don't. But don't spoil the fun for those that do.

To all those who have a problem with the religious basis of the holiday or toy drives...why don't you just start your own and raise money, food, toys, or whatever it is that you think would benefit whoever it is that you want to help. This doesn't even have to be around December..do some good the other months of the year. But don't stop others from trying to give toys, clothes, shoes, food and school supplies during this time of year to those who need them. That's just being a big meanie. Get over it. Whether or not you agree with what they are doing, they are helping others so you standing in their way is just not right and it will hurt people.

I Have Another Article Published

My latest article is now published and I'd love for you to take a look at it. 

What Bagged Food Is Best For A Pet Rat

I used this picture of my rat, Lucky with the article. 

Smoking Marijuana Can Give Men, Moobs *Man Boobs*

Recently I was searching the internet for a few things and came across this interesting article that says that smoking marijuana can give men, man boobs *moobs*

According to the article, marijuana lowers the testosterone in males and can increase the chance of them getting moobs. Time to put down the joint...

Review: Aden by D.B. Reynolds and a Giveaway!

Hey guys, my guest review of this book is now up over at I Smell Sheep and there's a great giveaway where you could win Autographed print copes of Hunted and Aden as well as a $30 gift card. So drop on by and enter. 

Car Seat Laws Have Changed in 2014

*you may need to use a little imagination with my stick figure baby in this car seat*

Now that I'm a grandma, I seem to seek out the new laws and updates that pertain to kids. So while surfing the internet recently I read a few articles that said the laws about child safety seat are changing next year.

The new law states: The latch system should no longer be used when the combined weight of the child and the car seat is over 65lbs.

The law needed to be modified because the manufacturers cannot guarantee that the latch system will be enough to hold the car seat in place if you get into an accident. So use the seat belt restraint instead of the latch system in the installation of the car seat if the combined weight of the child and the car seat is over 65lbs.

All children should be buckled up.

Weekly Rat Facts: Games

Having a pet rat means taking them out so they have time to free range play. They are social animals and love to come out and be with their humans. They also need exercise and one of the great ways to get them their exercise is to play games with them. Not all rats will like all of these games, some rats don't like to play at all and just want to sit with you, let your rat guide you to what they like to do. 

Pea Fishing.

Fill a shallow glass or other heavy flat bowl or container with about 2 inches of water and add some frozen peas. Place it near where the rats are playing and wait to see if they will stick their paws into the water to fish the peas out. Some rats will swim around in the water eating peas.

Go For A Walk

I had a pet ferret harness that I put on one of my large hamsters and two of my rats. It's the kind that has a harness that goes around the body so they don't get choked or hurt if they pull on the leash. Get them used to wearing the harness and leash and take them for a walk. I got some really interesting looks when I did this.

Hide The Treat

A toilet paper tube makes a great toy to stuff with raw vegetables and give to the rats. They will run around the cage with it until they can find a spot of tear it open. Just put the vegetables in the middle of the tube and fold in the ends.

Two of my boys are old now and they don't play much but they still like to come out and be held and just sit with us. Lucky, my younger one likes to play attack the hand, where he will chase my hand around until I tickle his back and then he turns around and play bites me, never really biting me. But trying to force my hand into submission.

If you have rats you already know that they have a lot of energy and need to do something during the day to expel that energy. So if you don't have time to spend with your rats during the day when they are awake and needing attention...don't adopt rats.

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.

This week I won a Hawaiian Christmas Ornament from SOS Aloha. 

I also won a blog contest that included the stuffed dog, dog bowl and stickers from I Smell Sheep. 

And I got a sample of Realcups coffee. 

I found the links to the samples at Hey Its Free and Freebie Shark. 

Book Review: Fancy Free by Shelley Munro

*Blurb taken from Amazon*

Warning: Condoms were tested and a few harmed during the writing of this story.It's not every day a girl inherits a condom company, and to say accountant Alice Beasley is astonished and out of her depth is putting it mildly. For an almost virgin, she needs a quick education in all things condom because her inheritance is in danger. Someone is intent on sabotage and trying to destroy her new company.Alice is suddenly getting down and dirty with charismatic James, the factory manager, all in the name of business, testing new condom designs. The sex is hot. Mind-blowing. It's a dark thrill and an erotic journey. Yeah, it's a hard job, but a girl's got to do what a girl's gotta do.Alice wants James. She craves his talented touch and sultry kisses, she desires passion and physical pleasure on a permanent basis but first she must convince bad-boy James to give up his fancy-free ways.

My Review:

Alice goes to the reading of her godmother's will and finds out that she has inherited a condom company. Her boyfriend isn't too happy about that and wants her to let it go and go back to where they came from to a normal job, get married and live happily ever after. Thankfully she drop kicks this bozo to the curb and gives the company a go. 

James will be working closely with Alice to get her accustomed to how they do things so when he leaves in six months she can fully take over with no problems. There's just one problem...James is instantly drawn to the shy, innocent woman who is hiding behind her baggy clothes. 

I knew right from the start that this was going to be funny and it was. I mean a condom factory? Really? When Alice goes to her first board meeting and the older people in the room start talking about the condoms, Alice almost chokes on her own tongue. She's not very sexually experienced and the openness of the board members is not something she is used to or expects. 

Not only do we have great character interaction, funny dialogue and a passionate romance but we also get a mystery because someone is trying to sabotage the company! They aren't sure who is leaking company secrets but the condoms have to be tested...on humans! And the only people they can trust at this point are the people who work at the company, so guess who gets to go home and test the condoms?

I also really liked how Shelley Munro was able to sneak in Ellora's Cave, into the storyline of the book and how she did it. When I read that, I actually laughed out loud at how sneaky she is. 

If you enjoy a little mystery, intrigue, hot sex and sabotage with your erotic romance. Then you'll love Fancy Free by Shelley Munro. 

5 Stars!

More Christmas Decorations

So I put up the rest of my decorations last week and finally took pictures to share with you. These are my glass snowmen in a bowl. 

Little Christmas puppies.

My cabinet is decorated.

Christmas penguins? lol 

I added red ribbons to the cabinet doors.

And hung the stockings. I bought a blue and red Spiderman Stocking for my grandson.

Hamster ornament.

This is one of the very first ornaments I bought 23 years ago when Ken and I first moved in together.

The large paintings I had on the living room walls got wrapped so they look like presents.

Looks like I have large presents on my walls now. But I like it.

Pine Cone Christmas Tree Crafts

My daughter and I made these cute pine cone Christmas tree's a few years ago and they were really easy to make.

Here's what you'll need:

Several pine cones *rinsed off and dried*
Paint in different colors and paint brushes
Tiny bowls, cups, vases, or planters
Glitter
Hot glue gun
Plastic beads in various sizes and colors
Tiny ribbons

Directions:

I was able to find all the supplies I needed at Joannes Crafts but Michaels Crafts store has them too. I used miniature terracotta planters for the base of the tree's and just painted them. You can use whatever small containers you like.

Rinse off all the pine cones because small insects hide inside them sometimes. Set them aside and let them dry.

Get all of your supplies together, so they are handy.

Paint the bases whatever way you like and set aside to dry. Next paint that pine cones whatever colors you want and while they are still wet sprinkle glitter where you'll want the glitter to be. If you are painting some of them green and painting the tips white and adding glitter to the tips, let the green paint dry and then paint the tips white and add glitter to the white paint. Set aside and let dry completely.

Plug in your hot glue gun and wait until it's hot and start adding tiny drops of hot glue to 3-4 places on the tree's and add a plastic bead. Let dry and do 3-4 more at a time. It's easier to add a few drops of hot glue and put the beads on then it is to do it one at a time. The glue dries fast so only gluing 3-4 at a time was best.

Glue on tiny ribbons to the base or any other decorations you want. Add some hot glue to the top rim of the bowls or cups you are using for the base and quickly add the painted pine cones, hold in place for a few seconds to set and set aside to let everything dry.

Some of the plastic beads fall off when they are stored, but it's easy enough to hot glue a few back on each year. This was a really fun project to do with my teenage daughter.

What's In Your Junk Drawer?

We all have them, that drawer that gets all the miscellaneous things we don't know where else to put. Here is my junk drawer and yes, there are about 9 pair of scissors in there. lol

So what's in my junk drawer?

Tape

scissors

bike flash light

wall hooks

batteries

sample tube of glue

Christmas tree fuses and light bulbs

staples

staple remover

phone jack extender thingie

bike reflector

batteries

rubber bands

nails

pencil sharpener

and a few other misc things

So what's in your junk drawer?