Review: Japan Candy Box

So a couple of months ago I decided to order a 3 month subscription of Japan Candy Box so I could give some of the candy to my son in law and daughter for Christmas. They both really like Anime and candy and I thought that getting some genuine Japanese candy would be interesting for them. Last month's box was a dud for me but they might like some of the candy that was in it. This month I got the box I bought plus the box I won! So I received 2 boxes this month. 

When you open it, there's a card and cute tissue paper. 

This is what was in this month's box. These boxes are $20 a piece so I really don't think they are worth it for that much money. I'm going to share some of the candy that I did like. 

This lollipop tasted like orange or peach. Or maybe something in between. It wasn't bad at all. 

These were grape gumballs and they were pretty good. 

My favorite though were these strawberry chocolate candies. 

So while I think that $20 per box is kinda high priced, this is a unique treat for someone who likes Japan or wants to try genuine Japanese candy. I think my daughter and son in law will appreciate this as an add on gift to their Christmas Baskets this year. 

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to samples like these at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.
Did you know you can sign up at Tomoson and get free products too. You can also sign up at these sites and get products at a great discount. No Kidding Coupons, AMZ Review Trader, and Elite Deal Club.

This week I received a box of goodies from Influenster. 

A Small Bottle of Downy Fabric Softener

A Sampler Bag of Werther's Original Soft Caramels

A Goodness Knows Snack Bar

A Bag of Popchips

A Sketch Scented Marker- Mine smells like Bubble Gum and a $1 off coupon for one. 

A Coupon for a free Ready Made Container of Yucatan Guacamole

A Coupon for a free Alexia Frozen Side

Did you get any freebies this week?

Review: Olay Active Botanicals

I got these two samples of Olay Active Botanicals Lotion and Toner a while back and have been using them every day for about a month. There are three things I want to tell you about these products. The first thing I noticed about them is that they both have the same really nice scent. I can't tell you exactly what the scent is but it makes me think of being in the forest when I smell it. 

The second thing I want to tell you is that the toner hasn't dried my face out at all. it's mild but it does a good job of cleaning my face at the end of the day and in the morning and leaving my skin feeling fresh and clean. The lotion is light and doesn't leave my face feeling sticky, weighed down or shiny. The lotion has actually helped with the dryness problem I was having on my forehead because of the change in weather. I use a moisturizing lotion every day on my face because that's one the the things my mom used to tell me to do and she was right. To keep your face looking young, use moisturizer everyday!

The third thing I want to tell you is that I liked the samples of this product so much that I'll be buying these two products once my samples are gone. 

Have you tried this product? Do you use another Olay product? 

Favorite Picture Of The Week

My 2 year old grandson came over with my daughter on Halloween so we could see his costume. I tried several times to get a good picture but he kept running around because he was excited. This was the only time he sat down and held still for 3 seconds. lol 

What Do You Know About Shingles?

I've never known anyone who had Shingles but the medical professionals say that if you've ever had chicken pox the virus for shingles is inside you and can trigger a shingles outbreak at any time. A couple of weeks ago my husband Ken got an ear ache and then that side of his face swelled up. 3 days later he got a bad rash on that side of his face and I thought for sure that he had a staph infection. He went to the ER because his doctor couldn't get him in for a couple of weeks and the ER doc told him he had Shingles and that it was a bad case because he had them in his ear and he might lose some or all hearing in that ear. Not only were the shingles in his ear, and in his hairline on his scalp but they were in his mouth on the inside of his cheek and at the back of his throat. 

Ken, just 3 days after the symptoms started. The redness actually got worst a few days later even though he was on medication. He was not feeling good and not happy that this was on his face. 

To make matter worst, Ken has a compromised immune system because he has AIDS. He was told they can take anywhere from 2-8 weeks to go away completely and they wanted to keep a close eye on him, especially his ear. So since his doc couldn't get him in for at least 2 weeks the ER doc told him to come back to the ER the next week and get a check up to see if the medicine is helping. 

Thankfully when he went back to the ER they said that it was slowly clearing up but it would be a few weeks before they knew if his hearing would be alright, so we are still waiting on that. 

Did you know that Shingles can be contagious? That's right. So the ER doc told Ken to have my doc come out and give me the shingles vaccine. *I have a visiting doctor that comes to see me every couple of months since I have Agoraphobia and don't leave my apartment*

Did you know that is the blisters aren't properly treated they can lead to bacterial skin infections? It's very important to see a health care professional. They told Ken he was lucky that it was attacking the lower part of his face because when it attacks the top part of the face it can go into the eye and you can have vision loss from this. 

So what did they give him to treat this?

They gave him 6 different prescription medications to treat this. 

Prescription Pain meds

Valacyclovir which is AntiViral meds

A Topical Cream for the Blisters

Prednisone which is a synthetic corticosteroid

A Lidocaine Mouth Rinse 

Azithromycin which is an antibiotic

Thankfully the rash is getting better and he can still hear out of his ear so we are hopeful about that too. Have you ever known anyone who got Shingles? No? Now you do. Get the Shingles vaccine. I did.

Updated to say: I thought I was going to get the vaccine but my doc came back to tell me that my insurance wouldn't pay for it because it isn't recommended until you are 60 years old. Kinda crazy when I'm living with someone who has it. 

Happy Raturday!

Photo Courtesy of Alana Patricia Caldwell.

"Why yes, I do plan on eating it all."

Photo courtesy of Kayleigh Ballands. 

"I'm not touching you." "Yes, yes you are!"

Photo courtesy of Alana Patricia Caldwell.

"I fell asleep in my bowl."

Photo courtesy of Alana Patricia Caldwell.

"I has a nom."

Photo courtesy of Alana Patricia Caldwell.

"Wink, wink."

Photo courtesy of Mary Kirkland *me*

"I shall destroy this nom."

This Is What Happens When It Rains...

So after just 5 minutes of heavy rain my courtyard started to flood. The sidewalk was completely wet and the water was coming off the roof like crazy. It would have been evenly distributed along the entire roof and down the gutter if the gutters were ever, ever cleaned around here, which they aren't. Apartment living...it's wonderful. *insert sarcastic smile here*

Review: SterlingPro French Press

Product Description

- The Best Heat Resistant Borosilicate Glass--Your SterlingPro coffee press will work much longer for you. 

- The unique Double Screens System---No more GROUNDS in your coffee 

- Solid Packing--No broken gifts to your family members and friends.

100% Guaranteed No Grounds coffee From SterlingPro

What is the worst coffee drinking experience? Coffee grounds in mouth! That is why SterlingPro introduces the innovated and unique Double Screens System which is the only one in coffee press market. By adding the second screen, the primary screen will touch the glass wall more tightly and evenly. At the same time, the second screen will filter the tiny grounds which pass through the primary screen. No more grounds in your coffee by using Sterlingpro coffee press. You will love it after using it. Your loved ones will appreciate it and think of you happily every time when they enjoy the coffee from your gifts--SterlingPro coffee press.

2 Pieces BONUS Stainless Steel Screens(Over $25 Value)---FREE!!

My Review

This French Press was very easy to use and I love the double stainless steel screen that makes sure there are no coffee grounds left in my coffee. I've tried other coffee presses and this is the best one so far. The carafe is beautiful and the chrome really makes this coffee press stand out and I like that is has heat resistant glass so I don't have to worry about pouring hot water into this. I made several carafe's full of coffee after getting this French Press and tried three different type's of coffee including a coffee with a smaller ground to it that always leaves ground in my coffee after using my other coffee presses and I didn't find any coffee grounds in my coffee after pouring it into my cup when I used this coffee press, which pleasantly surprised me.

I think this French Press would make an excellent gift for those in your life who love coffee and want something nice to make it in. I boxed up my other two coffee presses and am using this one exclusively now because it works much better than the others that I had.

Ever since seeing these types of French Presses on Star Trek TNG, I've wanted one just like this. The glass and chrome design is so nice looking and it works so well. I can't want to use this during the holidays when I have company come over so I can show it off. And at only $27.95, it's affordable if this is what you've been wanting. If you'd like to buy one for yourself, you can find it here. 

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

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to samples like these at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.
Did you know you can sign up at Tomoson and get free products too. You can also sign up at these sites and get products at a great discount. No Kidding Coupons, AMZ Review Trader, and Elite Deal Club.

This week I received:

All this week's samples were from Pinchme.

Skinny Pop Popcorn
Advil PM sample
Boudreaux's Butt Paste sample
Milk Bone Brushing Chews sample
Milk Bone Good Morning Daily Vitamin sample
coupons

Did you get anything free this week?

Nature Box Subscription Box Review

I'm always up for trying new snacks and I love finding healthy snacks now too so I was interested in trying this Nature Box out when I saw it. I was really happy when I found out that my first box would be free and I could keep getting boxes for jut under $20 a month. The other great thing is you get to pick what you get in your box each month from the large assortment of snacks that they have on their site. 

Nature Box is a monthly subscription box that let's you choose what snacks you want to get each month. I picked these snacks to try for my second box. 

In this box I got...

Praline Pumpkin Seeds

Whole Wheat Raspberry Figgy Bars

Whole Wheat Strawberry Figgy Bars

Guacamole Bites

 Sweet & Simple Berry Nut Mix

I have to say the Praline Pumpkin Seeds were my favorite this time. They are shelled pumpkin seeds with a sweet coating on them and they are so good. I also liked the Berry Nut Mix. 

The one that neither Ken or I liked was the Guacamole bites. It's a guacamole flavored corn chip and it was just not very good. 

Ken likes the Figgy Bars but they are too dry for me but he likes them. 

The idea of the Nature Box subscription snack box is great. If you can find 5 snacks that you really like, it might be worth the $20 price tag each month. I would give this box a 3 out of 5 stars. 

Easily Microwave Corn On The Cob

Last year I saw on FB this meme that showed how to cook corn on the cob in the microwave and be able to slide the husk off along with all those silky hairs that love to cling to the corn and get stuck in your teeth. lol 

Step 1...buy some corn on the cob

Step 2...cut the end off high enough so that the husk isn't attached to the end.

Step 3...microwave each stalk for 2 minutes. If cooking 2 stalks microwave for 4 minutes. Only cook 2 stalks at a time. 

Step 4...let cool for 5 minutes and then squeeze the closed end, pushing the corn out the open end you cut off. 

Keep squeezing until corn is free.

Step 5...eat.

There was only one silky hair attached to this ear of corn and the other one was the same. The clean up is so much easier and the cooking time is so much faster. And it tastes really good, just as if you boiled it for 30 minutes but with out the scalding hold water.

I cooked a small ear for Flower and cut it into 4 small pieces. I let them cool, gave her one and put the others in a zip lock baggie for later. It takes her a day to eat one piece. But I only give her one every couple of days. The pieces can also be frozen and thawed out later.

I took a small piece of corn and held it up to her window. Hey, she worked hard on these windows. lol 

She stuck her head out the window and grabbed the corn...

and away it went...

Review: Target Beauty Box

This months Target Beauty Box was just $5.00 and came with quite a lot of stuff. Here's a list of the things I got in this box. 

L’Oréal Paris Voluminous Mascara

L’Oréal Paris Advanced Haircare Total Repair 5 Shampoo

L’Oréal Paris Elnett Satin Hairspray

L’Oréal Paris Age Perfect Cell Renewal Night Cream

L’Oréal Paris True Match Shade Strips

L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Volume Filler

L’Oréal Paris Advanced Haircare Ultimate Straight

and a $5 off coupon on my next purchase of Loreal products. 

These boxes go fast, this one was gone within minutes of me getting to the site and filling out my order. Thankfully I have several friends on FB that post a reminder when they find out that a box has gone live and I post it on my FB page as well. There are also a lot of people on Twitter that Tweet when a new box has gone live. 

Have you tried one of these boxes yet?

Happy Raturday!

So as you all know the lady who I was getting the rat meme's from passed away. But since so many of you asked that I keep the Happy Raturday posts going, I'll be sharing pictures of mine and my friends rats. 

Happy Raturday

Picture courtesy of Marysa Nicholson.

"Did you bring me a treat?"

Picture courtesy of Marysa Nicholson.

"I'm looking at you, looking at me."

Picture courtesy of Alana Patricia Caldwell.

"Maybe if I didn't sleep with my paw over my nose, I might be able to breathe better."

Picture courtesy of Alana Patricia Caldwell.

"Who knew spaghetti was wearable as well as eatable."

Picture courtesy of Alana Patricia Caldwell.

"Not sure what's in this stuff, but keep it coming."

Picture courtesy of Alana Patricia Caldwell.

"I know I heard someone knocking on my door. Dang kids!"

And this is one of my Twitter friends. His name is Threadbare. He's a double rex patchwork rat and has no eyes. But he sure is happy, just watch him boggle and brux. *brux means he is gnashing his teeth together. Boggle means he is moving his jaw in such a way that if he had eyes they would be looking like they were going to pop out of his face.*

Here's a video of my rat, Marbles doing almost the same thing. He was bruxing and chirping which looks like hiccups. Then he started boggling and you can see his eyes doing the pop in and out thing. When they do this, it means they are happy.

Review: Farmer Wants A Wife by Shelley Munro

Book Blurb

The rules of the game are simple: the man pursues until the woman catches.

Think finding the perfect lover is difficult? Ask Susan Webb—she knows it is. Lonely, tired of dull routine and dud men who only think with their lower brains, she takes a calculated risk to shake up her lackluster life.

Now she’s set to take part in a reality dating show. Her objective: to find a good, honest man who’s up for enjoying lots of sexy fun on the road to love. Failure is not an option.

One look at his older brother’s Farmer Wants a Wife candidate, and Tyler Penrith is intrigued. Prim and proper on the surface, she has a secret smile in her eyes and an exotic dancer sway to her step. And calamity follows her around like a tame dragon.

Susan might be in his brother’s age group, but Tyler’s not about to let Nolan waltz off with the first woman to snare his attention in ages.

As the show’s ratings go through the roof, Susan finds herself falling for the wrong man—and her simple plan for happiness on the brink of falling apart.

Warning: Contains sibling rivalry, lots of sneaking around, sexy times in the great outdoors, a bright blue vibrator, and a reality show that’s giving everyone something to talk about.

My Review

Imagine that your mother wants you married so she turns in your name for a reality tv show but you aren't really looking for a wife right now. So what do you do? You set out to teach your meddling mother a lesson and have some fun at the same time. 

When I first read the blurb for this book, I thought that this sounded like a light sweet read. I thought I knew exactly where this story was going when I started reading it...I was wrong. It headed in the direction I thought it would go and then, Bam! It took a turn I wasn't expecting and things started heating up and getting hilarious! 

First let's talk about the cameraman who gets to follow the contestants around, shall we? He is funny and giggles in all the right places. You can just tell he's loving his job, especially when Susan has a wardrobe malfunction and a bit of her sexy panty clad derriere is flashed when she first meets Nolan. 

Then there's Nolan's parents. While his mother is a real piece of work, I kinda felt bad for his father. At least the man finally finds his backbone. Nolan's mother is more worried what her friends are going to think of the woman her son picks than whether or not he's happy. She's rude, demeaning and gets exactly what she deserves. 

Of course things aren't always what they appear to be and we find that there are family secrets that come out during this story as well as a nice twist because the heart wants, what the heart wants. All in all this was a real fun story to read. 

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. 

If you'd like to read this book, you can find it here. 

Recipe: Chicken and Potato Bake

You Will Need: 

4 Boneless Chicken Tenders- cubed

2 Medium potatoes- cubed

1/4 C. Olive Oil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Poultry Seasoning

1 C. shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 C. Diced Green Onion

1 Sliced Ripe Avocado
1 cup homemade salsa -recipe below

In large baking pan mix together, chicken, potatoes, oil, salt, pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder and poultry seasoning. Bake for 45 minutes at 400 Degree's for 45 minutes or until cooked through and potatoes are tender. 

Remove from oven and top with cheese, green onion. Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with sliced avocado and homemade salsa.

Recipe for homemade Salsa

1 large tomato- diced
1/4 cup diced white onion
2 Tbsp finely diced Cilantro
1 Tbsp Lemon juice
salt to taste

Mix together and chill for 1 hour before serving.

This turned out so good. It's definitely going to be something I make more of.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to samples like these at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.
Did you know you can sign up at Tomoson and get free products too. You can also sign up at these sites and get products at a great discount. No Kidding Coupons, AMZ Review Trader, and Elite Deal Club.

This week I received:

A book for a review- Spider Game by Christine Feehan

Centrum Vitamints sample

Lancome Foundation (make up) sample

I also cashed out my points on a survey site *American Consumer Opinion* for a little over $25.00

Did you get any freebies this week?

Falcor

Some of you may not know that along with rats I also have a dog named Falcor. *Yes named after Falcor in The Never Ending Story* We got him last year when he was 6 months old. We rescued him from a lady who no longer wanted him/couldn't handle him and had kept him in the dog run in the apartment all the time. 

He's finally settled down a bit, he's still a bit hyper and he still cowers if we get loud and I think he used to get yelled at a lot and maybe even hit by the way he acts. But he's so much more at ease with us now than he was when we first got him. And he's definitely daddy's boy. Always wants to be next to Ken. 

He was always trying to lay on the dirty laundry over in the corner and even started pulling out dirty socks to lay on. lol He's a small dog, only about 10 lbs and is a Chihuahua/Jack Russel Terrier mix. 

So Ken gave him a dirty pair of sweat pants and a dirty shirt he could have to lay on in his bed. lol I think he approves. 

He's a silly mutt but I'm glad we've got him.