Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts Review

Once again, Rayne Hall has a compilation of tremendous stories. Having dealt with ghosts myself from a youngin unto today, it was interesting to see the different takes the authors would have on their own ghosts. One thing I did realize though is that, like the other books, some of the stories ended abruptly and left you wondering what happened?

For example, "The Explanation for Ghosts," ended without explaining what happened to the men. I went back and forward looking to make sure that the story had really ended. I was perplexed, and kept wondering "so what happened?"

On the other hand, I loved most of the other stories. Rayne Hall's "Take me to St. Roch's" was one of my favourites as the visuals you develop while reading are both disturbing and even made me chuckle. My husband must thought me crazy when I started chuckling while picturing the graveyard scene and the ghost kicking the main Jean.

Another story I loved was Morris' "A Puddle Of Dead." This story is very realistic and something a lot of people deal with daily. It made it that much easier to empathize with the main character and I was so happy for her when she got her closure.

This is a great read. Pick up a copy on Amazon here and enjoy the spooktacular thrills. Better yet, wait until Halloween ;)

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

My Cloth Diaper Journey

Why did I decide to start cloth diapering?

After having my first baby in disposable diapers, I knew that I wanted to go back to what I knew growing up; I wanted to cloth diaper. When we finally got pregnant with our second babe, we weren't in any condition to use cloth diapers as we were living in a hotel with communal laundry that didn't even clean our clothes properly. So, disappointed, I sucked it up and put our daughter in disposable diapers. I made myself a promise that I would at least attempt to use cloth diapers with our next baby.

When I found out I was pregnant with our 3rd child, my husband was stationed overseas with the Army and I was alone with my other 2 children with the nearest family member an hour away. Not only that, I knew that when my husband came back, we would be moving to another state where we had no family and it was a real possibility he would deploy within 6 months. Despite all that, I made up my mind that I would still cloth diaper our newest baby no matter what and no matter how hard it got.

I started shopping for e-bay cheapies to start a stash that I wouldn't miss if it got too hard if my husband deployed. They quickly became addictive and I couldn't wait for baby to be born so I could use them. Since then, I've developed a pretty decent stash of OS and pockets, with a couple covers and prefolds/fitteds thrown in. I, to this day, have celebrated the choice I made to cloth diaper my baby and won't look back. Just a reminder to show that no matter how hard it may seem, it's a possibility. Our baby is almost 9 months old and still going in his CDs :).

Why did you start cloth diapering and are you still happy you decided to?

Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft Review

Where do I begin with this one? So much to say but without giving away the stories :) I thought when I finished reading Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, that this wouldn't hold a candle to that. Oh how wrong I was. The short stories in this book were just as enticing and fun to read as the first.

I love the different takes on the idea of what a witch is in each story. I appreciate also that it teaches you and forces you to think about the different kinds of practices in this magic(k)al world. For example, in Debra Dunbar's "Love Magick," the author explains the difference and common misconceptions about wiccans and witches, black and white magic and magic and magick. Makes for an interesting read.

The aforementioned story by Dunbar really pulls you into the story and makes you empathize with the characters. It makes me see some of myself in the main character Blossom, (minus the wicca practices) and made me reminisce on my high school days. Certain periods in the story, I wanted to cry for Blossom and I got happy and couldn't help smiling when she was happy. Who knows? Maybe I'm just a sucker for romance lol.

When the last story ended, I was kind of sad because it seems that as the stories went on, the book got better and better and actually progressed in excitement. This is another great collection of stories and kudos to Rayne Hall for selecting such great pieces of literary work! Makes it hard to choose just one favorite.

Pick up a copy on Amazon here: Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft. You won't regret it!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

UGLee Ergonomic Pen Review

I was so excited to receive these as I often have wrist or finger pains if writing for too long. I find that I also tend to have an extra tight grip on pens that send shooting pains up my hands while writing and sore after.

When I saw these were ergonomic pens, I had to try them. Upon receiving the pens, I passed one on to hubby since he writes a lot at his job. I told him it was on the condition that he tells me what he likes or doesn't like about it. The first day he used it, he says he didn't see a difference. I told him to hold a regular pen and then the UGLee pen and tell me if it feels different. This time, he said there was a noticeable difference as the UGLee pen was more comfortable and the grip felt different. As of today, it is the only pen he'll use since he doesn't come home with hand cramps anymore.

When I opened a pen for myself, the first thing I noticed was how light it was and how cushioned the pen felt, yet gripped so I didn't have to squeeze. This aligns with what is stated on the website "http://www.ugleepen.com" which states that "The UGLee Pen only weights 11 grams. That is less than 1/2 ounce! Less mass, means less inertia, more comfort." When I started to write, the pen was like a dream. There was no need to press on the pen as the ink flowed oh so smoothly! There is a visibly noticeable difference just in the physical aspect of the ink. When they stated on the website that the pen is "mated with the smoothest ink system known, smoother than any roller ball, gel ink, or fountain ink pen," they were not lying. This amazingly comfortable pen is a must have for anyone with arthritis, carpel tunnel or just writing discomfort.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

"Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires" Review

I love the stories in this book! The only thing that nagged me a bit was the story "The Dhampir's kiss" and the first story in the collection, "Tangled Dreams". "The Dhampir's kiss" was a bit too sadistic for my liking but it was still well written. The first story in the collection was so good, I was disappointed that it left so many questions unanswered. All in all, a really great read and I would recommend to anyone over 18 years of age!

So many of the stories make you feel that you are watching the events play out in front of you; as if you're in the story yourself. I also love the different takes on what a vampire is and what they are like by each author. I like seeing a different side, a more vulnerable side to vampires to the blood thirsty, soul less killers we see on TV.

I will now go try to find the other books written by these authors and that's not something I do often asI am not easily impressed by authors. Thank you guys (and gals) for an awesome read!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Princess Ruby's Makeup Ballet Class Review

This was an enjoyable read for young girls! My daughter loved it and wanted me to read it again and again, so it's kid approved ;) . I like it because it teaches children not to be afrain of the unknown and to be brave even if something is different from what they are used to.

I love too that Deborah Bradley took the time to pronounce and explain what the unknown terms were used in the book. My daughter had a ball trying to perform them following the explanations in the back of the book :).

To pick up a copy of the book, you can go to here.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Princess Sophia and the Frog Kindle eBook Review

This was taken from the Tomoson's website where I received the book for review with no further compensation.

A wonderful fairy tale about friendship and happiness:

Princess Sophia is a little princess who has everything a little princess could wish for: 
a big castle with many things inside.
However, she is bored and wants to fly to the moon.
One day a little frog comes by and helps her fly high up into the sky.
They come to land on different planets, where Sophia learns about feelings. She also learns that she can choose what mood she surrounds herself with, as this will impact her own.
After her return to the castle she realizes that all she needs to be happy is to be surrounded by good friends.

Join Princess Sophia in her pursuit of happiness.

 

I thought it was a very cute read and would make a great bedtime story book or for any time of day really for children who love fairy tales or princess stories. It is written in rhymes for the most part so I begin to read it in a rhythm and then one word or line throws it off and I found that mildly annoying lol. Otherwise, it's a really happy, character education story about friendship and a great book for kids to read themselves. It's not too long or too short for younger children and I can't wait for my son to read to his little sister tonight!

 

I recommend the book and think little girls will fall in love with it. It is written by Suzy Lieberman and PYP books. 

 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Sheep the eBook by Martin Rothery

I received this eBook for review through Tomoson.com. All information herein is my own and was not influenced by any further compensation.

The name of the book had me curious and eager to find out what it was really about. I thought it would have been about sheep and their history, more of what you would find in a reference book. How wrong was I? It was quite an interesting story and a good read. Aside from some grammatical errors, it was a very captivating story. It wasn't too long so I was able to finish it in 2 days, and that's with having 3 children lol. I believe the target audience for this book though would be an older child to young teen.

There were times in there where it seemed like the author had an agenda (vegan or vegetarian maybe?) but it was a still pretty good read. If you are looking for a feel good book with an innovative twist, this is your book.

I will also go ahead and look for the other volume "Cows" both published by Fishcake Publications (www.fishcakepublications.com).

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Two fabulous ladies are hosting a giveaway for Dei Fratelli tomato soups! They are all natural and a healthy alternative to the common store bought one. Go enter and good luck!!

http://tiannascafe.blogspot.com/2013/06/dei-fratelli-gluten-free-tomato-soup.html

Centrum Flavor Burst Multivitamin Chews

Centrum Flavor Burst Multivitamin Chews

I received a 2 pack sample of Centrum Flavor Burst vitamins for review and was not compensated. This is strictly my opinion of the product.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the size of them since I'm used to vitamins being huge and hard to swallow. These were relatively small and almost like a skittles texture; hard candy shell but chewy inside. The flavor for me was just ok, not the biggest fan of the grape ones I received. While eating, they were ok but they had an aftertaste that made me drink water to try and get rid of it.

Who am I?

Well, that's a hard question to answer. I wear many different hats and they change constantly depending on where God leads our paths. I am however, always a wife, a mom and newly a blogger!! :) I was born in Jamaica (Island girl to the bone) but migrated to the US where I became a citizen. Married to a soldier for almost 4 years and have been blessed with 3 amazing (in their own rights) children. We moved from FL to TN last year and it's been okay.

TN has taught me A LOT! Some of which are too controversial to start a blog with but let's just say I've become even more of a "naturalist" and have a new found appreciation for farmers and my home country. I have been gardening again, which the kids and myself just absolutely love, when it's not horrendously hot out. We've already harvested lettuce from our garden, just waiting on tomatoes and carrots to grow. Our strawberries keep getting eaten though by both bugs and rabbits lol.

I will be making different posts explaining some of these aspects of my life soon and hopefully (with enough followers) be able to host some giveaways!