That Booker Girl.

2012-02-01T15:21:00.001-08:00

Bad Mommy, Bad week.

2012-01-08T14:50:00.000-08:00

It all started with a trip to Walmart.

Normally I take my pocket book inside with me but for whatever reason on Wednesday I decided not too. I had reserved two red box movies earlier that morning. (Cowboys vs Aliens and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark) I really really REALLY wanted to see the scary one. I've seriously been stalking redbox waiting to see it on the now available list.

We dedcided to pick the movies up first before we went inside to buy a few groceries. Being that I didn't have my pocket book I laid the movies down inside of the buggy so I could hurry up and get the things we needed.

Fast forward to check out time. Bella was starting to get fussy so I reached down into the buggy and grabbed the two dvds. I handed them to her because any other day she would want to hold on to them and point to the letters on the Red case. Again, for whatever reason she was not having that and I picked up her up then set the dvds back into the buggy.

We made it through the check out relatively fast and in no time I was buckling the kids into their seats while Mr. G put the groceries in the trunk...

We make it home, unload the car and then it dawns on me.

"Em where's the movies?"

To which he replies:

"oh shit!"

He left them in the buggy.

Le sigh.

I hoped and prayed that they would still be in the buggy. Cursed at every light we were stopped at until we got back to Wally World. From the time they were left in the buggy and the time we got back to Walmart maybe ten minutes had passed.

Someone had already taken them.

Oh I was so pissed.

I know for a fact if I ever found something someone left in a buggy I would immediately turn it into the Lost and Found. I also know for a fact if I found two RedBox movies in a buggy I would immediately turn them in. It's just how I am.

A. DECENT.HUMAN.BEING.

So by this point we're both pissed and both taking the blame. Five days have passed and the movies still haven't been returned (I get a conformation email when we turn them back in) so I guess it's safe to say their gone for good. Which means I have to call RedBox tomorrow and pay the $50+ fee to replace the movies.

Ugh, I'm so angry at myself for not reminding him to get the movies. I was totally distracted with getting the kids in the car and then on the drive home Em and I were talking politics lol so it didn't even register with me to ask him about the movies until it was too late.

I prayed and prayed that whoever took them would just watch them and turn them back in but of course with the people that live in this town...I was just wishing for one of them to be some what decent.

As if the week couldn't get any worse my son went to the dentist for the very first time. I had no idea that you were supposed to take your kid to the dentist for the first time at 1! Which is probably why he ended up having

7 CAVITIES!

I'm mean really what 4 yo has 7 cavities. Again I'm very pissed at myself over this. Lil Man brushes his teeth/flosses/uses mouth wash everyday twice a day and he still ends up getting cavities. In my mind they look something like this:

So after a good teeth cleaning he's scheduled for his first round of fillings this coming Tuesday. Should be interesting to see how well that goes over because he hates needles. I still can't over the fact that my baby has cavities.

I'm crossing my fingers and my toes that this week is a good week.

Til next time!

DIY: Mustache Mug!

2012-01-04T14:09:00.000-08:00

I think everyone can agree that Pinterest is pretty amazing!

There are so many things on there that I want to do but lack the creativity or skill for it!

But this ladies and gentleman is EASY PEASY!

Le Mustache Mug:

Materials:

-1 Ceramic Mug (Dollar Tree for $1!!!)

-Mustache Stencil (I got mine from HERE)

-Tape

-Scissors

-A Black Ceramic Marker. (I actually used ceramic paint because the markers were sold out at Micheals!)

This is the tutorial that I followed and probably explains this better than I ever could haha

Basically all you do is cut your stencil out very carefully by bending it and snipping a bit from the middle. The first time I did it I hacked that baby up lol again I'm not the craftiest person in the world so it took me about five minutes total to do that part! Ha!

After that all you need to do is tape the stencil on to the cup

And you're ready to color it in or in my case paint it in!

After you finish coloring it in just peel the tape off and voila it's a STACHE!

Again I used paint so mine were a little rough looking and I had to go back and fix them up a bit but they're still super cute! I plan on making a full set as soon as Michaels restock their pens.

I first saw these on Pinterest and then stumble across Miss Kandee's tutorial! She gives great tips and even shows you how to draw the mustache on free hand if you'd rather not use the stencil.

well I spose that's it for now!

Til next time!

Belated New Years!

2012-01-02T11:59:00.000-08:00

Well it's that time of year again!

2011 went by fast for me but if you ask me again tomorrow I'll probably say it was the slowest year ever!

We did a mini celebration with the kids. They partied it up with sweet tea out of Dollar Tree flutes and had a blast! We also played a few rounds of Hide/Seek in the dark.

Anytime hide and seek in the dark is played in this house you know we're having the time of our lives! We watched the ball drop in Australia and then put them to bed...I think it was around 9pm. After that the hubster and I just spent sometime together. We watched South Park and the Twilight Zone right up until 11.

This was the first New Years that we didn't go home. I think the both of us are sick of travelling and the drama that seems to be never ending in our home town. So we decided we were going to ring in the New Year with Champagne.

Ugh, that stuff taste SO bad!

It was a nice idea but next year we're going for something more to our liking...haha. I'm not a big drinker to begin with so you could only imagine how hesitant I was in the first place to even take a sip.

Never again!

Like most people I made a resolution aka goal for the year list.

I picked five short terms goals and 5 long term goals.

I'm hoping that I have enough determination to follow through with the majoritiy of them but then again I'm going to spend this month working on Goal 1 because it just happens to be:

1. Start DRIVING more!

If you haven't already noticed from my previous blogs being in control of a motor vehicle scares the ever loving **** out of me. I absolutely detest it BUT it's apart of life and I need to get back on track with it. I did actually drive from walmart to our house yesterday and didn't have any issues so hopefully this time next year I'll be comfortable with it again.

2. Eat Healthier & Focus on Health.

Most people say "This year I'm going to loose X amount of pounds." I just want start making wiser choices of what I'm putting into my body. I.E. eat more fruits and veggies instead of snack cakes lol If I loose weight, awesome. If not, oh well. As long as I don't balloon up I think I'm totally comfortable with just switching up my food game and learning how to exercise properly.

3. Spend more time teaching my kids things.

Now this is something that I already do BUT I think I want to start doing more. Here lately we've slacked off on it because the holidays are a crazy time for us but being that it's a new year I want to start taking our kids to museums and exposing them to different cultures. Yes they're still a little on the young side but here lately I've realized...who cares! We can start now and revisit everything later on and see how much they remember. Education is SO important and you can never learn too much.

4. Learn Different Recipes.

I have about 15 different recipes that I switch in and out every week and we are so sick of eating the same thing over and over again. Every now and then I try to switch it up and make something new but it never goes over well lol I'm just really not that great of a cook. The simpler things are the easier it is for me to be confident in making it. Unfortunately that's taking the easy and most likely unhealthy road so I'm going to try to do two new recipes a month and go from there!

5. Volunteer.

As of right now I'm not sure how I'm going to work this out but it will happen because it is SO important. I'm thinking about starting off at the Humane Society just to get my feet wet and then add another organization in later on. Either way I want to help someone or something.

Now on to my long term goals:

1. Buy a House

This is something that we're currently working on! It's really exciting and rather scary BUT I'm crossing my fingers and toes that 2012 will be the year we find "our home"!

2. Find a Career

I need to find something that I want to do outside of my family life. I LOVE being a stay at home mom but I still haven't decided what career that I want to pursue. My son starts school this year so now is the time to make a plan and put it in motion.

3. Date Night

I put this in long term because I'm not sure how long it's going to take for me to be comfortable leaving my kids with a sitter. From the time that they've been born I've been taking care of them. Never once have they been to daycare and I can count on my hand how many times my son has been away from me. They're getting older though and Em/I need to start having more "us" time. I honestly can't remember the last time we did anything alone. I'm hoping to find some sort of Church or Organization that promotes safe babysitting lol I want back ground checks, references, and someone who knows how to do CPR lol sounds crazy I know but ugh I'm terrified of leaving them in someone else's care. I can't even begin to tell you how I'm feeling about my lil man starting school this year...ugh!

4. Make Friends

I NEED FRIENDS! Em as my bff can get a little weird sometimes. Especially when it involves girl gossip haha I have one good friend that I talk to and see in real life and another few that are on a mommy board that I participate in. Other than that I'm extremely friendless and lonely. Part of the reason is because as of right now I'm home all of the time. When I was younger I could talk to anyone. Now I'm more reserved about speaking out because I've honestly forgotten what it takes to befriend someone. Pretty Pathetic huh!

5. Let go of Drama

Curse you Drama Llama! My life is full of every type of drama you could ever imagine. 90% of it coming from our families. I'm not sure why I always end up getting involved in it but this year I'm going to adopt the motto of "Let it Be." My life is fine and it's not my responsibility to try to save the rest of the world. If you put yourself in a shitty situation and refuse to do anything about it...ok then. I'm no longer going to voice my opinions and offer help to those who refuse to take the first step to making their life better. Sounds totally harsh, I know but I'm done with it. I'm honestly surprised I haven't started getting gray hair with all of the craziness that has happened in the past year!

Well folks those are my goals! Again I know I probably won't be able to achieve all of them BUT I'm going to try my hardest to do things right this year and for once enjoy the present instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.

Here's to 2012!

Christmas Recap!

2011-12-30T16:48:00.000-08:00

This year Christmas was rather fun!

Bella no likey Santa!

We ended up going home for three days and honestly it's probably the best Christmas we've had in a while. Meaning there wasn't any drama lol My mom didn't really see us much because she was with the douche's family so I guess that was the only down side.

My family is crazier than ever of course but this year I just ignored all of it and focused on making the kidlets happy!

And were they EVER!

Please excuse my rough looks lol it was 6am

We celebrated our Christmas at our house on the 22nd and the kids LOVED all of their gifts. I'm glad that I had put everything together before hand because as soon as they opened their gifts they wanted to play, play, and play!

We spent the 24th with my in-laws. I only stayed for a few hours because they wait until midnight before they really start to celebrate and with a 4 yo and a 1 yo that just didn't seem like a great idea! The babies love their sleep and any change in their schedule can upset them pretty badly.

We didn't do much of anything on the actual day of Christmas. We just kind of hung out around the house and let the kids play with their cousins. Although I did give the kids one more present each and Noah about had a heart attack. He's been asking for Star Wars legos for months and I waiting until Xmas to give them to him. He's still talking about how cool of a Mom I am <3

On the 26th my side of the family had a pizza party. I'm so sick of Pizza Hut now I don't think I'll ever want to eat there again lol and we left the following morning.

It felt so good to come home! First I was thankful that no one had broken into our house while we were gone. (Crime has started to get out of control in our town here recently). And sleeping in my own bed...there are no words how good that felt! I honestly don't think I could ever live in my home town. Every single time we visit I just feel like a dark cloud comes over me and I literally feel ill. I'm good now though! I have a lot of things that I'm not very happy with in my life at the moment and about 70% of that is family issues. I'm really going to work on sorting those out in 2012 because I'm beyond done carrying around this baggage that I don't need.

On a brighter note I've read three books in the past two weeks! There for a while I thought I lost my reading mojo but after starting The Hunger Games series it came back full force! I'm beating myself in the head on why I didn't read these books sooner. They. Are.AMAZING!

Tomorrow will be my husband and I's 6th wedding anniversary! My,oh, my how time flies! I'm going to try to write up a post about what I wish for this coming year and I really want to start to get serious with my blogging. I like going back and looking at things that have happened over the past few years! I'm seriously considering making a mandatory ME time so I can post more and talk about whatever my minds on that day.

Til next time!

Art (NBC 2)

2011-12-20T18:00:00.001-08:00

Ok so I mentioned the two art pieces that I already have for my NBC themed room in my last post but I actually got the one that I purchased from Etsy in the mail a few weeks ago and it's AWESOME! lol. Really it is! My husband giggled when he saw it but so far he's letting me go about this how I want too.

This is the one that my friend painted:

And this is the one I ordered from Etsy!:

Definitely not the greatest pic of it but in person it is SO pretty! I want to try a piece of Jack by himself to go along with this one but we'll see.

I also found this really really cool decanter!

Love it!

So that's all that I have as far as "art" goes. I think I'm going to hold off on buying anything else just because we still haven't found "our" house. Right now I'm just hanging everything up in our computer room because it's too pretty to box up haha.

Til next time!

My Opinion about Lowes

2011-12-17T14:38:00.000-08:00

Recently there has been some drama surrounding Lowes Hardware for pulling their ads from a show on TLC.

The show is All-American Muslim.

Yes, I have seen the show and honestly I do not understand why anyone would have anything overly negative to say about it. The show is more of an educational type of reality show (if that's possible!) and I'm guessing that as Americans, we would want to be represented in a dignified light instead of this...

Pure trash, right? WRONG. There are people in this country who have no issues with these half clothed fools raking in cash and spreading their filth all over tv but how dare you show the view point of an American Muslim.

That's just down right UN-American.

Lowes, of course, can choose where they want to advertise and spend their money. However, I find it EXTREMELY distasteful and predijust that they wait to until they were pressured by a small church organization in FL (whom I will not mention because honestly they don't deserve the recognition) to pull their ads from an Un-American and Non-Christian show.

Last time I checked these people ARE Americans and being that this is the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave there's this beautiful thing called FREEDOM of RELIGION.

Shame on you Lowes for siding with these bigots. I'll be taking my business elsewhere even though it means I'll be driving 30 mins out of my way. It's worth it though because I do not believe in caving into to the racist right wing terrorist that are in this country. Yes, terrorist. They attack innocent people and get away with it! It's disgusting.

Lowes' facebook page is full of gems. It's really sad seeing people with profile pictures of tiny babies and spewing so much hate over the internet and pledging their ever dying love to Lowes for sticking up for "America's values".

Bitch.Please.

Lowes could care less about "American Values". They're raking in millions from you idiots who are going there and intentionally spending money to support a "Christian" store. I hope they lose more business than they gain but so far I've seen our local Lowes busier than ever. (I live in the south by the way so go figure!)

So at the end of 2011 I've managed to boycott Chik-Fil-Hate (mostly because I like my sammich without a side of Right Wing Christian Propaganda)

and now Lowes

Who's next! lol

I don't expect anyone to follow my lead but I do encourage people to stand up for equality and acceptance. There's already enough hate in this world. Take a step back and look at how much easier things would be if you could just over look someones differences and love them for it. It's something I struggle with everyday but I strive for it anyways because I want my kids to live in a better world than what I grew up in.

Til next time!

Have a Holly Jolly...Chizzmas!

2011-12-17T13:50:00.000-08:00

Well here we are...the last weekend before Christmas.

Is it just me or has this year flown by!

We had originally decided to stay home but as always my husband decides the last minute to book it back to our hometown and spend Christmas with our families.

Oh, joy.

haha This year, with the help of Zoloft, I'm going to try to not be so Grinchy.

Going home stresses me out because there is so much drama involved. Don't believe me go back a few post and read about my last stay! Ha! So each year I actually end up snarling at people who have nothing but Christmas spirit. Obviously I'm in the wrong and I've tried to be more receptive to "jolly" people. They like Christmas as much as I like Halloween. I can understand where the excitement comes from. So Tis the season!

On Wednesday we're going to grub out on junk food and watch cheesy Christmas flicks. We'll probably also do "our Christmas" then because as of right now the hubster works the 23rd so we'll be travelling on the 24th.

After the kiddies go to be Mr. G and I have a big night of AMERICAN HORROR STORY to cuddle up to and watch.

I seriously adore this show! It's twisted, surprisingly emotional, and makes you think wtf about every five or so minutes.

I'm thinking that's all we really have going on this week. I plan on taking the kidlets to see Santa on Monday and hopefully we can find Em's parents a gift at some point. Other than that I think we're done!

I am a little bummed though because the radio station still hasn't called up to come pick up the Ipads I won. I'm starting to wonder if it was all a big scam. I hope not but in this day and time you can never be sure.

Well I'm going to stop here because I need to go watch The Help. I've heard nothing but good things about it.

Til next time!

Dream Home (NBC 1)

2011-12-12T16:14:00.000-08:00

It's official.

We're buying a house!

No not anytime soon but it will be before June 2012!!!

The neighborhood we live in now is starting to go down hill and honestly paying $700 a month for a house that we'll never own is starting to become unsettling.

There's a lot of factors that go into buying a home so we're getting all of our ducks in a row now so come June we'll be set to actively start searching for our very first home!

It's exciting and nerve racking at the same time haha. Especially since I have absolutely no credit what so ever. That's something I need to start working on asap. I've always heard that no credit is worse than bad credit and so far that seems to be ringing true lol

Anyways, since we're in house mode I've been obsessing over what I want our house to look like! The furniture we have now has seen better days but I've insisted that we keep it until we move that way we can find new furniture that goes with our house. Plus we have two toddlers and if you have kids you know how quickly pretty new furniture gets destroyed! lol I love my kids but they can be wild sometimes.

Right now we're looking for a 3 bedroom house but part of me wants a fourth bedroom.

I want a room that I can go all funky and crazy in! Em is pretty traditional so only the kids rooms have that fun carefree touch to them while the rest of our house is pretty plain/dull. For example I love colors! If a rainbow puked all over my living room I'd be in heaven! Em would probably have a heart attack and haunt me for the rest of my life. He's a brown, black, and white man. We are seriously complete and total opposites!

So I want a fourth room to use as an office/guest room and I want to decorate it with in the theme of one of my all time favorite movies:

That's right!

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

Sing a long with me now

I know it's a childish theme but I LOVE Sally and Jack! My goal is to keep it classy but add some funk to it haha if that's even possible! My friend Angella recently painted me a portrait of Jack and Sally and that's when the idea started to form that I'd love to have some artwork hanging on the walls of our future home with a NBC theme.

She did a kick ass job huh!!!

And then the other day I was cursing around Etsy (which is nearly as addictive as Pinterest!) and found this

Of course I had to have it!!! It's a Sally Pin Up. Every home in America should have it!

So that makes TWO art pieces that I have for my room that I've yet to acquire =P

I saw this one on Esty and giggled.

I might try to sneak it into my living room and see how long it takes Em to notice that it isn't just some random scenic painting!

I've tried to consort the google for some NBC room themes but so far all I've found is this

Not really what I'm going for but I do kind of like the color scheme on the walls in the last picture.

I also found these two videos on YouTube:

Coolest mom ever right here:

I think this room creeps me out but it still has some cool stuff in it lol

I definitely don't plan on doing a full on mural on the wall btw! I want to have some original pieces of art work and maybe some mirrors...something along the lines of this:

Pretty nifty huh!

I also have big plains for the ceiling...yes ceiling but I'll get into that in more depth later on. Hopefully blogging all of my ideas/plans on here will help me out later on when we actually buy our home and start the whole "making it ours" process!

Til next time!

Body Image

2011-12-12T13:55:00.000-08:00

Like most people I struggle with my body image. I'm not nearly as hard on myself as I was before kids but some days I get really down thinking about where I want to be and where I'm actually at...

Right now I'm 153 lbs and 5'4".

Through out the year I'll fluctuate between 147-155. Especially during the holidays because lets face it November and December are the get your grub on months!

In 2005-2006 I stayed between 125-130 lbs.

Then I ended up pregnant with my son and gained up to 172 lbs the day I delivered him.

About a week after having him I was back down to 142 and a year after I had him I was 128 lbs. I like having a little chunk on me because of the shape of my body. I just look really really weird when I'm slender haha

When my son was 3 I started gaining weight and got up to 166 lbs. I felt horrible about it and felt like my body pretty much hated me. I battled with unbalanced hormones for a whole year and finally they leveled out and I started dropping weight.

But...

The reason that leveled out was partly because I was PREGNANT! lol

With my daughters pregnancy I made it up to 182 lbs and a week after having her I was down to 153.

I've pretty much stayed there since then. My target weight atm is getting down to 145 lbs. Eventually I'd like to hit 135 and maintain my weight at that. My biggest problem in regards to loosing weight is the fact that I'm currently not exercising.

My diet is that great either but since I'm breastfeeding I do better with my eating then when I'm not nursing.

Exercise has always been a challenge for me because honestly it terrifies me! I always think if my heart pumps to hard its going to skip a beat and I'll drop dead. lol Obviously that's just my negative thinking getting the best of me but I will admit I do feel nervous even thinking about going for a jog! Also, since I've never had an exercise routine I really don't "know how to work out". When I walked into a gym I only know how to use a treadmill and the weight balls. That's about it! You should see me trying to figure out how to use the other equipment! I almost always end up harming myself or looking like a fool lol. It's pretty pathetic!

There's also the small part of not having anyone to go with...my husband works out at a different pace than I do and I don't have any friends that live anywhere near me. So going to the gym is a pretty lonely feeling for me at the moment. I'd love to have someone to hang out with and work out with during the week but right now I'm just finding it difficult to make any friends in this town.

So, yeah.

I really want to be healthy more than I want to be skinny these days. Especially for my kids. I want to be around as long as I can be for them so it's time to get in shape and really put an effort into my health and well being. Plus I've always heard the better you eat the better you feel and with my anxiety levels it can't hurt to give it a shot!

I'm going to look into a few different weight loss plans and see what fits me best. I'll probably make another post about my choices/decision when I get all of my information together.

Til next time!

Finally won a contest!

2011-12-06T14:18:00.000-08:00

For a Tuesday, today has been pretty good. Nothing overly special happened...unless you count winning two IPad 2s!

I know right...INSANE!

I still can't believe it.

Well I won't truly believe it until I have them in my hands haha. I stalked out local radio station all day waiting for the chance to be the 12th caller. Today just happened to be my lucky day! The whole deal was you had to listen for one artist to have their songs played back to back. I tried earlier in the morning when I heard two of Niki Minaj's songs playing but after 15 minutes of talking to a busy signal I finally was able to get through to find out that they had already chosen a winner.

Bah Humbug, but wait there's another chance to win between 2-3 pm. So I watching the hours pass until 1:58 pm. I turned off all of the electronics besides the radio and sat in our green chair patiently waiting for the game to begin.

I waited a good 30 mins before the DJ gave a warning that the songs were going to play within the next 30 mins. So I waited until this song came on...

I was thinking to myself THIS IS IT! I just knew that the next song they were going to start playing was:

Sure enough it was! I already had the number on my phone from the first 32 times I called that morning so all I had to do was start clicking/calling like a mad woman!

Attempt #1: Busy Signal

Attempt #2: Busy Signal

Attempts 3-6: Busy Signals

but on Attempt 7: "Hey thanks for calling Pulse 102!"

*crickets*

Me: "Oh Hai! I was just calling to see if you had found caller number 12 for the Ipads?"

*waiting...waiting...waiting*

DJ: "What's your name?"

Me: "Brandi....*giggle*" Times like these I wish my mother would have giving me a plain/sophisticated name. Brandi just sounds overly hookerish in my mind bwha

DJ: "Well Brandi you're caller number 12! Congratulations you just won two Ipads! One to keep and one to give to someone. So who are you going to give it too?"

Me: "My mom! Mostly because she's been harassing me for one all year" (and I'm way too poor to afford one!)

I didn't realize it but this convo was recorded and then while I was giving the rest of my information to the DJ I heard it all being played back over the station. So embarrassing but funny! I sounded stoned (though I wasn't) until I found out that I won. After that I took on the persona of a gerbil who had way too much helium. I'm still over the moon though! The past two months I've entered in hundreds of contest/giveaways and never one a single thing! I don't personally have any use for an Ipad but my hubster wanted one for school and now we have that! He was a little bummed that I decided to give the extra one to my mom (long story short she's not permitted to have things of her own b/c of the controlling step monster) but I honestly didn't know of anyone else that really needed one.

Em always has my best interest at heart and he knows how rocky my relationship is with my mom. My hope is that this will give her a push in the right direction to live the garbage that she's currently residing with...fingers crossed. I just see so much potential in her and to watch this asshole of a thing hold her back really eats me up from the inside. She can do so much better than that.

In retrospect I wish I would have just given her the tablet that I already purchased for Em for xmas and donate the IPad to a school/organization that could really use it. I might end up doing that any ways with the one we're getting. I'm not really into the whole "tablet" thing AND I already have the Nook Tablet so it's kind of like...do we really need another electronic thingy in our house. Nah. So I'm going to look around and see what I can find and "Pay it Forward" so to speak.

Speaking of donating, I'm planning on potty training our girl soon. I have about 17 cloth diapers that I need to donate/give to someone. We cloth diapered a little over a year and it was way easier than I ever imagined it to be.

The only reason I've decided to stop now is because even though I purchased one size some of them are getting a little bit to snug on her. So instead of spending another $200 on bigger sizes I'm just going to switch to disposables. I never even thought about potty training my son at 16 months but B is showing way more interest in it that he was at this age. She pretty much gets the whole process I just need to buy her a small potty because the big one is intimidating to her atm. I'm definitely not going to push it on her though. We just plan on going with the flow and see what happens!

I s'pose that's all for now...Em's at class so I'm going to read for a bit and finish up dinner!

Til next time!

My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking- Ebook Review

2011-12-05T15:46:00.000-08:00

Ok ladies and gents.

For the longest time I've thrown the Nook, Ereader, kindle etc etc into the

ROOT OF ALL EVIL

category.

Then people started becoming obsessed with them and telling me how great they are for traveling and what not. Normally when I go anywhere I always have a ten minute debate about how many books I'm going to take. Sometimes I read more than others and I always worry about loosing them or damaging them so this Nook Business was started to make some sense.

In July I really started doing my research and the conclusion I came to was that it just wasn't worth it. Why you may ask? All of the books that I prefer to read were $9-$11! It just seemed ridiculous to buy a ebook for that price when I could go to The Walmart and spend $15 for the hardback version. Yeah, Yeah if I was truly dedicated to books I'd buy them from an actual book store but there's no way I'd ever pay over $20 for a book. Sorry ain't happening. I have a hard enough time justifying the $15! Money truly is the root of all things evil bwha! And with this day and time you really have to be smart on the money front.

Anyways. fast forward to last week. My husband is going back and forth from the living room to the computer room. He did this for about 30 mins before I just broke down and asked wth was he doing. He was looking up the Nook Tablet because he wanted to get me one for my birthday/Chizzmas present. We decided to drive to the nearest Barnes and Noble to check it out and ask some questions. I think we were in there a total of 15 minutes before we bought the damn thing. I'm about 99% sure my hubster wanted it more than I did lol so as of right we're "sharing" it. I plan on using it to buy cheapo books to help pass the time between my one year wait for the series I love. Plus I figured out that you can "borrow" or "lend" books to people on Nook Friends and I have to admit that is rather awesome!

The Nook tablet came with about four or five books already on it. The only two I can remember off of the top of my head were Pride and Prejudice and my husband's personal kryptonite...

Little Women.

I've read bits and pieces of those books but I was particularly in the mood to revisit that era so off to the nook store I went. I remember my friend, Angie, suggesting the My Blood Approves series by Amanda Hocking to me a few months back. So it was already on my TBR list and I noticed that the first book was only 99 cents.

Which brings me to my very first EVER nook purchase!

My Blood Approves by Amanda Hawking.

Seventeen-year-old Alice Bonham's life feels out of control after she meets Jack. With his fondness for pink Chuck Taylors and New Wave hits aside, Jack's unlike anyone she's ever met.

Then she meets his brother, Peter. His eyes pierce through her, and she can barely breathe when he's around. Even though he can't stand the sight of her, she's drawn to him.

But falling for two very different guys isn't even the worst of her problems. Jack and Peter are vampires, and Alice finds herself caught between love and her own blood...

As far as ratings go I would give this book a solid 3.5 out of 5. There was enough interest in the story line to grab my attention and make me curious to how this "bond" was going to work out in the end. I'll admit there were times where the book was slow for me but overall I'm glad that I chose it as my first nook book.

Alice is a like-able character but some what annoying. haha! That could just because I'm an almost 24 year old "woman" reading from the POV of a 17 y/o though! I've noticed the older I'm getting the more judgmental I am towards the younger generations bwha! Anyways, Milo is hands down my favorite character in the book. He's like everything that I ever wanted for a little brother. I was a little surprised that Hocking decided to out his character the way she did via Alice but in the end I was pleased to see that Milo has an awesome support system and that Alice truly does love her brother unconditionally.

Now for the boys. I tried and tried and tried to put a face with Jacks character but I'm still drawing blanks. I'm assuming Alice will end up with him so I'd love to have an idea of what he would "look like" but its just not coming to me. Maybe Evan Peters?

Peter on the other hand instantly reminded me of Ben Barnes. Oh how I love me some Ben Barnes!

Nom nom nom!

I was instantly Team Peter. Don't ask me why but I am...ha! I always like the troubled characters (Mimi Force anyone?) so it's a given that I'd be rooting for him!

This book left off with a mini cliffhanger and I decided that I had enough interest in the series to purchase the rest of the books in the series.

That's when I found out who Amanda Hocking really was:

Self published!!! How insanely cool is that! So not only did I buy a really good book for 99 cents I'm also helped out someone who really does deserve all of the royalties that comes her way through the book business. I know exactly how it feels to live from paycheck to paycheck and I find it incredibly inspiring that after a few rejections she decided to go out on a limb and self publish! You can definitely tell that she's extremely humble about it all and very appreciative to her fans.

To learn more about her and the books that she has published you can visit her blog:

http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/

After I finish up the MBA series I definitely plan on purchasing/reading her other works.

I sense the beginning of a nook addiction! lol

Craftiness?!

2011-12-05T14:45:00.000-08:00

I had a friend share a link of a really cool DIY Batman themed Car Mat.

I looked at it for two days and decided to give it a go.

Mind you I'm not good at doing crats. Like at all haha.

So this was the original idea by Kimbo @ A girl and a glue gun!

Ah-mazing right! It looks really really complex but I learned that in reality it's not that bad! I tweaked ours a little bit just to make it more to Noah's liking...and let me tell you...he loves it!

Price: About $15 (I bought all of my felt at Michaels)

Time: 3 days ( I have a 4 year old and 16 month old mind you so it takes me longer to do things!)

Difficulty: Moderate

Materials: Felt, Hot Glue, ruler, pen, googly eyes and patience!

For the base I used one pack of 36 inch white felt (it was the only color they had at the time) and added a 3 inch border of black felt around the edge. Kimbo gives you really simple steps on how to do this HERE.

After that the very first thing I made was the Joker's hang out! It's seriously my favorite piece on the entire mat lol.

So this was the end of Day 1.

Day 2. (My roads are funny looking because quiet honestly I couldn't figure out how to make them "pretty" lol)

Day 3: Tada!

Like I said before it really is easier to do than it looks! I had a lot of fun making the villain's hang outs!

We have Penguin:

Mr. Freeze:

The Joker and Harley Quinns House:

Poison Ivy:

Two Face:

The Riddler:

Clayface:

And Catwoman/The Grave Yard

(Noah says that's where Dracula lives!)

There's also Bruce Waynes/Batmans Mansion:

Robin's House:

The Police Station and the Bank:

And last but not least Gotham City:

I can not tell you how much fun my son and I had making this!

Even though I did burn my fingers with the hot glue a few times (I'm still a noob using that thing!) it was well worth it!

Now I'm going to go stalk Pinterest to find something else to get into!

Til next time!

Unhealthy!

2011-12-03T16:39:00.000-08:00

I am so unbelievably unhealthy right now.

Mentally and Physically!

In 2007 I started having really bad anxiety attacks. My hubster was getting ready to leave for his first deployment and let's just say I was scared out of my mind! Em is a VERY big part of my life. He's pretty much my bestfriend/soulmate/family/you name it all wrapped up into one person. So just the thought of him being gone for 7 months was overwhelming and scary. Which leads me to this...

Five things I'll most likely always hate:

1. Driving.

2. Night time driving.

3. Being Alone.

4. WALMART

5. This God forsaken song:

I decided at 8 o'clock at night that I wanted to invest in really good plunger because one of the bathrooms always stayed stopped up. It was a truly evil toilet. So off I go...ALONE. At this point in time I was a normal functioning person and I had the ability to move along life with a some what positive outlook. Death wasn't even on my radar. Seriously, I never gave it a second thought.

I arrived at Wally World, purchased the plunger, and high tailed it out of there as fast as possible. So there I am driving in the dark on a some what busy road and the song I posted above comes on. Out of freaking no where my heart starts pounding like it's about to fly out of my throat and splatter on the dashboard. I thought I was going to die right then and there from a heart attack. I couldn't breathe or think straight....all while I'm DRIVING! Scared the living shit out of me. So I pulled over, started crying, and power called people (which no one answered their phones!) trying to figure out wtf was wrong with me and why my heart decided to quit on me.

As you can tell I didn't die but I did have the worst panic attack to date and it forever changed my life. I can't drive without feeling faint. I HATE being alone. The night scares me horribly and I've pretty much became a recluse in the past five years.

Obviously, it sucks ass. There are times where I feel good but most of the time I'm thinking extremely negative thoughts. Oh, and I'm a hypochondriac! It's a beautiful thing I tell ya! (not really but you kwim).

For the past five years I said NO to drugs! Anti-anxiety meds that is...and no I don't use or have ever used any other type of drug besides advil. Lame I know but I was a believer in the D.A.R.E program!

Anyways, last month I reached my breaking point and decided to give an anti-depressant a try. Now I don't really consider myself overly depressed BUT with as much anxiety/fear of death that I have I know it has to play a part in there somewhere. So on Zoloft I go and so far it's MEH. Today I'm not having such a hot day because it's just one of those "life is catching up to me" days but most days I feel functional.

Oh and I clean like a mofo. Not that I didn't before, being that I'm a housewife/stay at home mom, but now I power clean. From 8 til 11am I get all of my house chores done and spend the rest of my day hanging out with the kids or reading. Before the meds it would take me all day to get my chores done and by the time my husband came home I was beat. So that's something that's still taking some getting used to because I have so much free time now!

The biggest reason I decided to give the meds a try is because I don't want my kids to see me afraid anymore. At four years old my son already knows that driving scares me really really bad. He talks to me while I do it and tries to tell me it'll be ok but it still terrifies me to operate any type of vehicle. It's like I lost all of my confidence in my driving skills. Even driving a mile down the rode gets me worked up to the point where I think I'm going to pass out behind the wheel. It just over all sucks some serious ass and a lot of people think it's a ridiculous fear. Sometimes I agree but then again I'd never wish this mess on my worst enemy so it's kind of like a "walk in another person's shoes for a mile and see how you feel" scenario. I'm going to actively start looking for a therapist to try out "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy" at the beginning of the new year. I've heard a lot of positive things about it and I'm hoping I can learn some coping mechanisms to over come my fear of driving.

As of right now my "official" diagnosis is General Anxiety Disorder aka G.A.D. I also have Mild Mitral Valve Prolapse so it's not uncommon for me to have heart palpitations which kick start said anxiety and I end up thinking I'm going to die that very minute. Most of the time all of this mess is going on inside me but I won't say a word about it out loud. Quite frankly it embarrasses me. My husband has been around from the start of it so he can tell when I'm having "issues" and will try to help/support me any way he can but I've learned that for the most part this a battle of me vs. my mind. I'm the only one who can truly "fix" myself. I just need the motivation to get it done.

That's where I'm at now!

Like I said before I can tell a difference and some days are better the others. The biggest thing I have to remind myself is that this is not a miracle drug. I'm not "cured" I'm just getting some help to chill the hell out for once. Right now I'm taking Zoloft by itself, no benzos. Hopefully it'll stay that way. I have to go on the 7th for a check up to see if everything is going how it should and then after that I go back every three months. It's a little bit surreal thinking that I'll be on these meds for a good amount of time but at this point it's looking like it's the right choice for me. Especially since Em is pretty much doing 90% of the driving these days. lol poor guy. Most days he doesn't mind but there are times when we've had to sit down and really talk about why I feel the way I do and what I'm going to do about it.

Nap time's almost over so I'll have to talk about the physical side some other time. That one will be tons of fun...NOT haha

til next time!

Christmas presents!

2011-11-30T11:54:00.000-08:00

Every year I get a limit on how many presents to give each of our kiddos. I came from a "fill the entire room with presents" type of tradition and my husband came from "you get one present at midnight and that's it" type of thing. I was an only child and he was one out of nine. So as you can imagine there's a big difference in our childhoods lol This year he tried to say 2 gifts with unlimited price tag but I prefer five gifts at this age because my four year doesn't quiet understand the whole concept of "You can have one gift no matter what the cost." He just sees a bag of Army man at the dollar store and will say "Yes this is what I want" lol which is fine but while they're little and we have the means I want them to have the five gifts. As they get older things will most likely change but I truly think 5 decently priced gifts is a reasonable solution. Hubby doesn't really agree but goes along with it anyways =P

Last year most of Noah's gifts were Ironman themed because that was his superhero of choice...this year he's turning into a BATMAN kinda guy so we bought him the Imaginext Batman Cave and a few of the bad guys:

I'm about 90% sure he's going to love it but there's also the chance that he'll be like "Mom this is cool but what do I do with it?" He mostly dresses up and acts out his favorite super heroes and has never really seen a "play set".

I also bought him this costume chest that has a Captain America, IronMan, and Spiderman costume in it. I know for a fact that will get some squeals of delight out of him! His "big" gift is The LeapFrog LeapPad Learning Explorer Tablet.

That thing was the biggest PIA to find! All of our local stores were sold out. It was sold out online as well but finally I found a PINK one in stock on the leap frog site so I went ahead and just snatched it up for him...not only is it pink but it comes with a $20 game card and a fairy game >.< my husband will most definitely give me a look for that but hey it's better than him jacking my IPhone every time I'm not looking and attempting to play games on it. (He deleted my Angry Birds Seasons the other day and I had to redownload it/start all over!)

For the baby girl I kind of went all over the place! She's a Hello Kitty fan, so I've been stalking ebay like crazy trying to win her a Tropical/Brown Hello Kitty by BuildaBear. Those suckers are selling for $50!!! I just can't bring myself to pay that much for one! Right now I have a winning bid on one (a whole $7) but it still has 21 hours left...I'll loose it around 5 or 6 seconds to the ebay snipers...I'm sure of it lol. I did manage to buy the Orange Hello Kitty from the BuildaBear site. It's cute as a button and I'm sure that's going to be her favorite out of all of her gifts.

See those two funny looking dolls at the top? Those are Monster High rag dolls. Spectra (left) and Ghoulia (right) to be exact! I think they're adorable. Hubster says no way but I'm thinking our girl might just like them too! Just to be on the safe side we also got her the Baby Stella doll. It is freaking ADORABLE in person! And so soft! I literally pet it for a whole five minutes after I took it out of the box. It.is.AWESOME. Ha! Her final gift is a baby stroller. (which I couldn't find a picture of) She has a habit of taking one of my son's chairs out of his bedroom and pushing it up/down the hall. This hopefully will prevent that and be easier for her to travel with =P

I think that's about it...I'm forgoing stockings this year because honestly they're a PIA! I can't really say what I got for the hubster but I will tell you that I received a Nook Tablet for my bday/xmas present! It's pretty nifty but so far the hubster has used it way more than I have so I spose I'm going to cut this off here so I can go read for a bit.

Til next time!

oh and I forgot to mention that I'm TOTALLY wrapping all of my gifts in newspaper this year LOL it's really fun!

Go green!

Crazy Holidays!

2011-11-29T14:44:00.002-08:00

First off I went to go see:

Gasp!

Breaking Dawn Part Numero Uno.

It was alright. The last 15 minutes had me sitting in the theater with my mouth hung open lol Defintely the best out of the movie series but the super fans just kind of ruined the whole love that I used to have for this series.

I hate it when that happens but meh whatevers.

Turkey Day ended up being a blast! The hubster was originally supposed to work but they ended up letting him off Thurs and Friday so we decided to "surprise" everyone and show up for Turkey Day. That of course was ruined by my mom's big mouth! Never fails. She always has to rain on my parade in some form or another. I'm slowly but surely starting to limit my contact with her because honestly I can't deal with the drama anymore. No matter how wrong my step figure treats her she always ends up forgiving him until the next fight. It's the lamest most predictable cycle ever and you would think after 18 some odd years of this shiz she would finally get some sense and gtfo, but nope. She stays. Like always and I'm over that part of my life. Now when she starts to bitch about him I either ignore her or tell her its her problem. I'm not going to stand up for her anymore and make myself look like an ass when she's going to turn around and kiss his ass as soon as I'm gone. Nuh Huh. I'm done.

Anyways!

Turkey Day went smoothly! We didn't do any of the Black Friday shopping but I did buy four Old Navy vouchers from Groupon! I love that site =)

We ended up going to the store yesterday because I was wanting this dress:I loved it online but as I was trying it on...meh not so much! I'm short and chubby around my middle. So this means clothes fit me weird and if I can't jack models outfit online or rob a mannequin in the store I'm screwed. I have no "fashion sense" what so ever. It's tragic really! So I'm standing there thinking to myself "Just say no Brandi. Satin is a no no. The cut is a no no. You are not going to buy this dress. With or without your Groupon. Just Wait."

So I spent another 30 minutes walking around the store until I found this dress.

Now when I buy clothes I'm always thinking "How am I going to nurse Bella in this?". Yes she's 16 months old and yes she's still being breastfed. That's just how I roll. =) And no I don't plan on doing it until she's 8. I'm a BIG advocate of breastfeeding and we'll just leave it at that lol Anyways this dress has a button/contraptions thing right at the boobs so it's basically a nursing mothers best friend! You can look cute and still feed a hungry baby at the same time. Awesomeness!

So, back into the dressing room we go. Yes, we. My four year old and 16 month old who's wearing "Squeakers". Google it lol.

Turns out I rocked that dress. I felt like sexual napalm...well not really but I was secretly thinking to myself "Hell Yes this is my party dress!" Noah approved as well so it was mommy appropriate. Double win! Now how much does this baby cost??? I looked at the tag and it was blank. I knew for a fact it was the only dress left so I decided to bug the lady in charge of the dressing rooms and ask how much it cost.

She looks at me and says wait a second I think you might love this and takes off. She comes back and tells me the dress comes up on the register as

ONE PENNY.

I seriously thought she was messing with me but nope they range it up 20 different times and every time it came up as a penny. Something about the line being discontinued or something but they still have it on sale on the website for $44!!! Dressing room lady and cashier lady are arguing about the dress ringing up as a penny. DL lady says give it to me for one cent because it's only fair and Cashier Lady says no way am I letting her walk out of this store with a dress that rang up ONE FREAKING CENT! In the end I was charged $8.99 for it =) which is still better than the $44 price but man I would have went nuts if I would have gotten it for a penny!

Oh and I also bought this ensemble! Totally jacked the mannequins clothes on that one too! Haha I'm telling ya I depend on them!

My bday is coming up in a few weeks and I think I'm going to make that my bday outfit! I've been trapped in yoga pants and tank tops for the past few years because let's face it no one cleans house in their good clothes! Now that I'm on the track to finding myself again I've started to want to dress up more and present myself in a better fashion instead of slumming it up 24/7 lol. Don't get me wrong there are still going to be plenty of tshirt/hoodie/flip flops days but I'm going to make an honest effort to "grow" up a bit in my style. I've been battling a panic disorder for the past five years and I need this change to prove to myself that it can and will get better. I just have to have a positive mind set for my body to start healing itself. With the help of Zoloft things are starting to not seem so bad! I think I may write a whole other post dedicated to that because I just started taking it in Oct. 2011 and it really has helped me to just relax and not panic 24/7. This time last year I would have sworn that I would never take a pill to "make me feel better" but after Sept. 2011 I had to do something because my panic hit its breaking point. Especially with DRIVING. I hate it with a passion! I'm having to do drivers ed all over again! Well with my husband haha. It seriously terrifies me to the point where I feel faint and that's not something you want to feel like when you're operating a vehicle!

It'll get easier though the more I do it. Hopefully! I'm a pessimist but I'm trying to turn things around and become an optimist because I refuse to let things consume me with fear anymore. Yes, Walmart that includes you! (I always get jittery in that God forsaken store!)

Til' next time!

Home!

2011-11-15T15:24:00.001-08:00

Ugh! I spent the past week back in my home town. Hubster had to work a 7 dayer. It's been a while since our family has seen us, so we worked out a plan to wear my mom and the hubs would meet halfway, pass us over, and the kids and I would stay up there for the entire 7 days.

Worst.Idea.EVER!

Haha.

Mom, You are a total Trouble Maker!

Really, in retrospect I knew better. I love being on my own and not having to deal with parental drama. My parents were divorced by the time I was six and I ended up with a step "figure" from hell. Granted he had his good moments but the bad definitely out weighed any good that he's ever done. He doesn't even deserve to be called a step father because I honestly don't think the man has ever loved anything in his life. Yes, he's that bad! Dude has a MAJOR control issue. Always has and always will. Why my mother stays with him I'll never understand but so far in life he's kicked me out of "his house" a total of THREE times! lol The third time being this past Friday...oh and that includes my 2 kids as well.

I know right?

W...t...F!?

And what makes this even more awesome is the fact that our big argument that lead to my removal from his household was over FACEBOOK! Yes people, The Facebook. My mom isn't allowed to have anything. No friends, no bank account, no life, and sure as hell NO FACEBOOK! So, being the awesome daughter that I am I created one for her over a year ago. She pretty much only talked to me and other people in our family. It was mostly used as a means to send her pictures and videos of my kids. Fast forward to August, I shut it down. She asked me too because again she's not ALLOWED to have one.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it's 2011 right?

Yeah, thought so.

Anyways, everything's going hunky dory on our little trip until Friday night. Around 8:30 pm I decided that I was calling it a night. My son decided he wanted to sleep with his nana. So of course I say sure, go ahead. Not even five minutes after he goes back into the living room where my mom and step figure are at I hear her being questioned.

"Well, why do you have a facebook account. You know you're not supposed to have this?"

Just on and on and on about it...mind you in FRONT OF MY 4 YEAR OLD. Voices are getting higher and questions are getting into the no no territory. So, I get up to go help my mom out and remove my child from the situation. (My husband and I NEVER EVER fight like this mind you so this is the first time in his life that he's seen a woman being verbally accosted.)

I approached him in a calm manner and told him that I created it and that it was never used for any wrong doing just sharing pictures of my kids. Before I can even finish explaining myself he starts yelling at me about how she's not ALLOWED to have anything like this and that she's probably charging up his credit card and cheating on him on it. Dude, has the guiltiest conscience EVER!

At this point I'm thinking to myself, "This man has mentally abused my mom for years and he seriously thinks that I'm going to let him to it to me? Umm. Hell to the No"

That's when I said "Ok, Mother Fucker let's do this" again in retrospect not a good idea but hey this has been a long time coming!

I basically told him to get the fuck over himself and leave my mom alone. She's 40 years old and not a child. He's not her daddy just a crazy old man. Oh such a wrong thing to say haha So yeah I ended up getting kicked out and he's never going to be apart of my life ever again.

Fine by me.

I have horrible anxiety. He's apart of the reason that I do. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to run away when I was younger. I hated him the first day that I met him and through the years it just got worse and worse. He's so mean spirited that it infects everyone around him and I'm so glad that I do not have to put up with that mess anymore.

So off we went to my grandparents house. Where I stayed with my babies until Monday. Safe to say I'm not doing that ever again! lol It was fun for the most part but ugh with family comes family drama. Especially in my family!

So consider that chapter closed and now we're all moving on to the next.

Funny how life can change in the blink of an eye! Especially when facebook is involved lol

It's over and done with now though. I haven't missed the Hubster like this since his last deployment so we're pretty much attached at the hip at the moment =) While I was away I did manage to finish Two for the Dough. I'm thinking about doing a mini book review on it tomorrow because for once I have no house work to do! Tomorrow will be a strange day indeed!

Noah was excited to get back to his costumes! lol

Till next time!

Our Halloweenie was rained out!

2011-11-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

Much to my four year old's displeasure it was a chilly 50 degrees Halloween day/night complete with a torrential down pour. Poor kid can't win for losing! I tried to take him to a few houses on our block but most people weren't participating in the festivities. So, after 20 mins of walking around in the freezing rain we decided to call it a night. Both of my kids stayed in costume though haha they love dressing up! This year they went as Alice and the Mad Hatter:

We had our own little party with all of the candy we had in our house. Hopefully next year will be better.

As of right now I'm reading the second novel in the Stephanie Plum series: "Two for the Dough". I needed to take a break from the paranormal side of things and these books are pretty funny! I had to go to the doctors office this morning and spent a whole hour in the waiting room knocking out a hundred pages and giggling like a fool in the corner. lol. People were giving me all kinds of weird looks but it feels good to let go and laugh every now and then! Especially when your appointment was for 10:40am and you weren't seen until 12:15pm! Happens every time!

Next week, the kids and I are going to go back to my home town for a few days. My family hasn't seen them in about 4 or 5 months so we're going to head over there while my husband works a 7 day work week. Fun stuff! haha I'm hoping that it'll be pretty uneventful because my family tends to lean towards the crazy side lol.

Also, Nicole @ The Reader's Antidote is celebrating the achievement of 100 followers by having an AWESOME giveaway! Up for grabs is a SIGNED copy of Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick AND a SIGNED copy of Nightshade by Andrea Cremer....that's right there will be TWO winners! I'm having a hard time deciding which book I would like to win the most because they're both excellent reads. Decisions, decisions!

Well I s'pose that's all for now! Hope everyone has a good week =)

The World We Live in...

2011-10-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

Books are my escape.

I love my life, don't get me wrong, but I'm about as Plain Jane as you can get! So reading is something I do quiet a lot...or at least when I have a moment to myself while my kids are busy terrorizing each other. ;) I love being transported to another world and living/seeing life through someone else's eyes for 400 some odd pages.

Days like today help me realize the book world is so much better than the real world. Right now in the real world there is too much craziness going on.

Like today, somewhere in Ohio, 48 exotic animals were MURDERED because some genius decided to keep them on a farm. I'm a firm believer than wild animals belong in the WILD. They're not here for our amusement or for us to keep as pets. I feel extremely guilty about them even being in zoos hence the reason my kids nor I have ever stepped foot in one. Don't even get me started on Circuses. I don't judge people for going to those places but you bet you're ass if I ever came across someone with an exotic animal or two hanging around their house. Phone calls would be made. I have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to this situation.

It hurts my heart that these innocent animals were put to death because of a HUMAN'S stupidity. I understand the law enforcement wanting to protect people but damn "Shoot to Kill" is the only answer? I don't think so! There was even staff from Columbus Zoo there to help catch and TRANQUILIZE the loose animals. Why wasn't that even considered? From what I've read only 6 animals were kept alive and taken to the zoo. 48 had to die. I just can't accept that. Even if Jack Hanna says it was necessary

Ohio needs to make the laws stricter five minutes ago. So shit like this doesn't happen again.

Can you tell that I'm really upset over this! lol Which is why I'm going to end my rant here and go get our night time routine started. I've been on a book break for the past three days because I've been stuck on how "The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer" ended! Such a good book! Up next is the first book in the Stephanie Plum series "One for the Money".

Til next time!

Blog neglect

2011-10-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

There are days where I think about this blog and wish that I would have taken better care of it! lol. Life just somehow almost always gets in the way. My plan is to post once a week and maybe just maybe that'll get me back into the groove of things. They say it takes 21 days to make something a habit so maybe just maybe this will work! Oh and I definitely need to change my about me section. I'm 23 now! ugh lol Actually fixing to be 24 in December...my oh my how time flies! I remember thinking that time was so slow when I was little but now I can't seem to keep a grasp on it. I guess it's just a part of getting older!

So my dearest blog, I will try my best to not neglect you anymore. Really I will (pink promise!).

Til next time!

In My Mailbox Dec 12th, 2010

2010-12-12T07:50:00.000-08:00

You can play along here

*Sorry it's so dark! I didn't realize it until after I had already uploaded it to youtube!*

Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead (GoodReads l Amazon)

Shame on You Wednesday!

2010-11-10T10:50:00.000-08:00

Today has not been good at all!

My lil man is sick with some kind of stomach bug...poor guy has been sick three times already and it's almost 2pm. I hate it when my babies are sick =( there was one point where he just gave up and laid his little body around our toilet...broke our hearts. He's actually managed to go five hours without being sick so hopefully it's working its way out of his system...wait he's laughing now so that's definitely a good sign haha.

Hubs is being a grump butt today. That's all I have to say about that! =P

Baby girl is being an angel of course haha out of the three she's definitely the happiest at the moment! Nothing like being a baby!

I did actually win a copy of 'Misguided Angels' by Melissa De La Cruz from Paranormal Haven.

I'm beyond stoked about that b/c I had planned on buying it a few weeks (as a bday present to myself!) but now I'll hopefully get to read it sometime next week!

That's about all I have to say for today...I'm counting on tomorrow to be better...it's Damon Salvatore Thursdays after all!

Queen's Meme #59

2010-11-09T06:38:00.002-08:00

The Fire Meme

1. You are stranded on a desert island. There is only one match left in the matchbox.
What would you use it for?

To start a bonfire made out of my clothes...of course! What else are you going to do lol

2. Do you burn bridges in relationships?
In high school yes. Now not so much...growing older/wiser is a beautiful thing...well maybe lol

3. Name one thing you'd like to set on fire today.

Barnes and Noble...they never have the books I want in the store and then when I order books offline they ship them in weird intervals!

4. Have you ever burned a cupcake?
Sure haven't!

5. If you had your choice and could change nature's ways, instead of smoke and lava, what should spew out of volcanoes?

Marshmallow cream puff....yum!

6. When is the last time you used a Fire Extinguisher?

So far, in my 22 years of being on this planet, I've never used one....

7. Have you ever known anyone with a fiery uncontrollable temper? How did you handle it?

My dad. We always just ignored him. Some people are never happy no matter what you try to say or do.

8. You are with your significant other. What song are you singing around the campfire?
Not sure of the song but I'm about 99% positive it would be something from REO Speedwagon lol my husband is in love with them.

9. What is the one thing you'd gladly leave IN your house in case of fire.

Ugh. This horrible 100 y/o cradle my mom bought me 3 years ago. It seriously freaks me out and every time I go to get rid of it she gives me the "I paid over $200 for that thing. It's an antique" speech. I might need to go back and change my answer to #3 now that I'm thinking about it =P

10. When is the last time you got fiery fighting mad?

Sunday! Dear Husband still hasn't figured out when I'm ready to go home that means let's go...not wait around another 5 hours. lol

11. Do you believe in hell?

Yes and it scares the crap out of me even thinking about it haha. I can't watch Constantine b/c of the depiction of hell in it.

12. Do you or have you ever smoked?

Nope. IMO it's icky but to each their own!

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

2010-11-08T06:15:00.000-08:00

Title: Hush, Hush
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Length: 391 pgs

Reading Level: YA

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Fallen Angels/with a dose of Teen Angst
Stars: ★★★★☆

As I've stated before I love me some paranormal romances! Vampires are my "thang" but thanks to Becca Fitzpatrick I can add bad boy fallen angels to the list!

Never in my life have I read a book about fallen angels...well there is the Blue Blood series but those fallen angels are actually vampires... so that doesn't count right! lol I'll just say the whole theme is (well was) totally new to me and my little brain.

In the end I decided that I LOVED IT!

The cover art was what first peaked my interest and by chapter 2 I was hooked! Patch, said fallen angel, is the biggest butthead but Becca is such a good writer that eventually you can't get enough of him (Not quite Damon Salvatore obsession for me yet, BUT way beyond Edward Cullen/Twihard obsession...seriously you'll be like Edward who?? Sparkle what?) Especially because in my mind Patch is Steven Strait *insert drool*

Thank you God for blessing the earth with this man candy of hotness aka Steven Strait. Jk Jk...maybe...anyways Nora is your typical 16 year old high school student. Well almost, you find out at the beginning that she's still healing from the sudden death of her father. You also learn about some of the struggles that she and her mother are having trying to cope and start a new life after something so tragic happens.

Nora is definitely the brainy/quiet type with the bestest best friend of them all, Vee. I was so jealous reading this book because even though Vee is more of a back ground character you figure out really quick that she is the best friend a girl could ever ask for...I've always wanted to have a friend like that but unfortunately in real life those types of relationships are few and far between. Is this a pity party?? I think not! On with the review!

Nora, by divine intervention *wink wink*, ends up getting Patch as her biology partner. He's horrible. Just horrible to her haha. Their very first assignment is to find out a few facts about each other and of course he can read Nora like an open book. Nora on the other hand can not figure anything out about Mr. Patch. Other than he's a PIA and dead sexy...of course! Nora being the smart gal that she is comes up with a variety of ways to get Patch to open up...this girl is serious about her A's...and much to her displeasure Patch is more confusing and shrouded in secrecy than the seven wonders of the world.

Probably has to do with the fact that he's a fallen angel...hellllooo...which Nora soon discovers after almost getting killed two or three times during the course of the book. Here's the kicker...is it Patch that's trying to kill Nora? Maybe...maybe not! You'll have to read it to find out!

Personal Thoughts: Simply put...I loved this book. It was an easy read because it kept me interested from the first few pages all the way to the end. Definitely left me wanting more and I really could not get enough of the characters. Nora is a little naive but good at heart. While Vee is down right hilarious (she had some fantastic one liners!). Patch, of course, is a mystery to everyone. I personally hated him in the beginning but by then end I loved his character. He's very complex that one! Crescendo is the next book in the series and let me tell you...Becca Fitzpatrick knows how to take a girl on a million different twist and turns while still have you begging for more! Loved the book. Love love love Becca Fitzpatrick (HookBookers attended a twitter party and we got to ask her a few questions...she is sooo nice and down to earth!) And I can't wait to see how everything turns out in the final book Tempest which comes out fall of next year! (Hopefully!!!)

Now it's time for the cover/description which I can't get over! Seeing it online is one thing but seeing it in person...it's gorgeous!

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those who have fallen -- and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

What a Weekend!

2010-11-08T05:40:00.000-08:00

I love living three hours away from my family! Call me weird but that's just how I roll. So when Mr. Hubs decided he wanted to go back to our hometown this weekend...I wasn't to thrilled about it. Mostly because my family is about as dysfunctional as they come...really they are! Plus the Little Miss and I have a fabulous schedule going on. So of course I stood my ground and told him no way I wanted to stay home and have a nice relaxing weekend to ourselves....okay okay of course I gave in and packed the darn bags, loaded the babes up, and put on my "happpppy facccee" (love Tommy Lee Jones by the way ;)) and prepared for the 3 hours drive back to my personal hell on earth.

I would love to say I was wrong to think that we wouldn't enjoy our weekend...but of course I was right. (I'm always right!) My family is still bat shiz crazy and his family is starting to scatter themselves across the world! Turns out some of them are moving to California on FRIDAY and his mom/sister are still in MEXICO. It's going on what...two months now!?

Oh where, oh where have my inlaws have gone. Oh where, oh where could they be!?

Everywhere.

They are everywhere except where my husband wants them to be so of course he's a little down and out about all of it. I don't blame him. I would be the same way if my family was half the way his is...but atlas he's coping with it. Swears we won't be going home again anytime soon, but I already know coming Turkey Day we'll be back there....oh joy =P

I did manage to do some thrift shopping though! I ended up getting the complete dvd set of P90x for $50 AND the babes some winter clothes. Aeropostle had a great sale as well...I purchased Mr. Hubs two pairs of jeans for $42...gotta love buy one get one free!

Hopefully this week will be 10x better than the weekend...but with this time change I'm not holding my breath!

Guest post and Giveaway with author Melissa De La Cruz

2010-10-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a vampire addict lol I love reading about paranormal romances but vampires are by far my favorite supernatural creature...*cough* Damon Salvatore *cough cough*... but not so long ago I found yet another hottie vamp to fictionally lust over...and that vamp just happens to be Jack Force (in my head he looks like Chace Crawford bwhaha). Like most writers Melissa De La Cruz has her on take on how her vamps became..well vamps! And I have to say her theory is probably one of the most unique ideas out there!

Long story short Jack Force is a fallen angel (I'm sure you've heard of Abbadon...you know ...Angel of Destruction...no? lol) along with his twin Mimi Force and various other angels. These angels are actually vampires aka Blue Bloods (because their blood runs blue haha go figure!). They were not made by other vamps and they do not create any other vamps. They actually reincarnate every so many years.

Nifty huh!? The first book introduces you to Schuyler Van Allen...who is not apart of the original line up...her mother Allegra broke protocol and had a baby outside of the Blue Bloods. So Schuyler is half Blue Blood and half human with a world of problems!

I started reading the series in Nov. of 2008 while the hubs was on his first deployment and I could not put them down. I read the first two books in one day...can you say fiction addict ...more like Jack/Schuyler addict! I won't say anything else about that though b/c I'll end up spilling the beans on everything. So do yourself a favor head over to Amazon or your local library and check the series out. Yes, they are THAT good!

Lucky for us Paranormal Haven had Melissa as a guest poster on their site along with a chance to win one of five copies of the new book in the series: Misguided Angel. Can I get a "Wooo" from the Woo Girls! (I'll explain that in another post someday haha I love How I Met Your Mother)

So go here and read Mel's post about her Halloween Memories and enter yourself in for a chance to win a copy of Misguided Angel!

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

After inheriting the dark Van Alen Legacy, Schuyler fled to Florence with her forbidden love, Jack. Now the two of them must embark on the mission Schuyler was destined to complete: to find and protect the five remaining gates that guard the earth from Lucifer, lord of the Silver Bloods.

Back in New York, Mimi has been elected Regent of a crumbling coven. Struggling with her heartache over the loss of Kingsley and with her overwhelming desire to destroy Jack, she must focus all of her energy on a perilous new threat. Vampires are being abducted and their captors are planning to burn them alive online…for all the world to see. Help arrives in the form of Deming Chen, a Venator from Shanghai, who must untangle the web of deceptions before the killers strike again.

As the young vampires struggle for the survival of the coven, they uncover a deadly secret, a truth first discovered by Schuyler’s mother during the Renaissance but kept buried for centuries. And as the Blue Blood enclave weakens yet further, fate leads Schuyler to a terrible choice that will ultimately map the destiny of her heart.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

-Brandi

Recap

2010-10-25T10:07:00.001-07:00

My goodness I haven't been on here in AGES! I totally laughed my little butt off reading some of my past blogs...I.am.one.strange.creature! lol

Anyways, lots has happened since my last post...the main one being I now have a beautiful 2 month old baby girl! Her name is Bella and she is a total ham!!! I always think its funny how when you have a baby it's like they've always been there...I really can't remember what life was like without her and I finally have that "feeling" that our little family is complete! Tis a beautiful thing!

Lil man is growing like a weed. He has the biggest obsession with superheroes...Ironman being he ultimate fav...so I spend my days watching him run around fighting of f imaginary villains and saving his baby sis from the unseen terrors that lurk within our house! I love my kids! Seriously. Don't get me wrong I have my "mommy needs a break days" but in all honestly I love being their mother. They are my hope for the future...yada yada I know you don't wanna read sappy stuff so back to the high light reel.

Hubster finally decided to get out of the Marines...I know I know I was shocked too...esp since I was 6.5 months pregnant when his enlistment ended (I do not even want to go there lol). Lucky for us he managed to get a job before he got out and our lifestyle hasn't had to change too much so life is pretty peachy at the moment. It's nice having him home more often and I never have to worry about a deployment raining on my parade so now I'm left with all kinds of plans for our future...it's exciting and scary. We loved the military. Loved it but toward the end Hubs wasn't enjoying it as much as he used too and honestly I don't think I could have had Miss B alone so civilians we are!

Last but not least my friend (Hi Angie *waves* =D) and I have started a book club...Hook Bookers is our name and hooking those books is our game...oh that sounded so lame but yup we're the Hook Bookers thanks to my input of Book Hookers and Angie's awesome dyslexia we ended up with Hook Bookers....catchy eh?? not so much? Well poo on you we love it! We just finished Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick the other day and it was AMAZIN...Patch is yummy..nom nom nom yummy...yes he's THAT good so good read it...seriously ..right now... GO!!!

Jk jk well I guess that all my blurbs for the moment but if you happen to come across this and you enjoy reading with groups then you should check us out. We have a FB (Hook Bookers) and the link to the blog is in my side bar!

Happy Monday Peeps!

Need a Laugh?

2009-07-20T05:21:00.001-07:00

I can watch this a hundred times and still bust out laughing lol

To be a Star..

2009-07-20T05:19:00.001-07:00

"To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don't worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest"

*Squeeee***

2009-07-18T16:45:00.000-07:00

lol I'm soooo excited for "The Vampire Diaries" series to premier on the CW this Fall!

Here's a sneak peak!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince-Review

2009-07-17T15:50:00.000-07:00

Title: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Rating: PG
Length: 2hr 33min
Genre: Scifi/Fantasy/Action/Adventure
Stars: ★★★★☆

So the hubster, lil man, and myself went to our local drive in theater last night and watched the 6th installment of Harry Potter . Over all it was a pretty good movie but I still feel that none of the movies have anything on the books. So much is left out in the transfer from book to film it kind of makes me not even want to bother spending 8 bucks to see it in the theaters. I'm pretty sure I would be just as satisfied to watch it at home when it finally came out on dvd. Anyways, the things I liked about the film out numbered the bad things so that's always a plus lol. I don't want to go into to much detail but the two major problems I had were first the way the directors/writers/whatever chose to reveal the "Half-Blood Prince" and secondly the entire ending of the movie. As for the Half-Blood Prince reveal it was so dull and uneventful and almost felt like they just rushed to add that little detail in b/c the film had already went off on so many different tangents. I mean it could just be one of my pet peeves but I do feel that they didn't pay enough attention/detail to the "Half-Blood Prince" portion of the book. Again it's probably just me that feels that way lol. And like I said the ending didn't do a thing for me. I remember reading the book I was almost crying because I was so upset over "what happens" and for the movie it was like a 3 minute scene that really had no emotional element to it. For me that is. I just felt cheated of a really important moment that has a profound effect on Harry and the viewers/readers. It's ********** for crying out loud! Ahh anyways, over all I would give "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" a 4 out of 5 stars. It's a good story on top of the best special effects that I have personally ever seen and if you didn't love the main characters before... well you'll adore them now lol Especially Ron! I really feel like this was his best movie so far!

The Evil Scale

2009-07-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

I swear, I'm addicted to weighing myself. It's so pathetic and I have no idea why I have to obsess over my weight but I'm soooo unhappy with it at the moment that the least little remark about it and I'm in tears. I'm 30 lbs. heavier today than I was a year ago and can you guess why??? The Deployment. I gained 20 lbs. right before his last deployment and then ended up losing over 30 after he left. This go round I've gained 30 whole pounds going from 133 to 163. I can tell, my family can tell, and most importantly my husband can tell but here's the kicker. He loves me at the weight. Mostly because I'm more curvy and "softer". Of course I hate it and I also hate to admit that sometimes I actually feel comfortable being this curvy. I think if people would ask me about it or mention the fact that my butt has taken on a life of its own then I wouldn't stress over it as much as I am now. I hope that one day if I am ever blessed with a daughter, she will know that she's perfect no matter how she looks. I never had the benefit of having anyone in my family give me positive feedback and even today when I told my own mother how much I weighed her first reaction was "YOU WEIGH WHAT". Talk about a tear fest. Now I'm in a total downer mode. Feeling sorry for myself and lord knows that nothing good ever comes out of that! But what can I can do. Eat right and Exercise. Two things that I will live by to help me get through this 10 month deployment and the evil ass stress/anxiety it brings along with it.

Poor Blog!

2009-07-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

Ahh I've neglected my little blog so bad here lately but the hubbs is getting ready to leave and we're moving on top of that so its being really crazy around her the past few weeks. Hopefully I can get on here soon and show this blog some TLC!

New Moon book cover

2009-06-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

So today I was looking at a Cullen friendly website called cullenboysanonymous.com and they had a post informing everyone that the cover for the movie tie in book of New Moon was out. If you haven't seen it yet then here ya go. Anyways I like it. Really I do but after I looked at it for a minute I scrolled down to read some of the comments and sure enough most of them are down right disgusting. It boggles my mind how obsessed people are with the series. I mean don't get me wrong I had my mini-obsession with the whole series for a few weeks after I read them but I've never even thought twice about bashing a fictional character lol I don't understand why people have so much hate for Jacob Black?? It makes nooo sense to me what-so-ever.

Oh and what really really bothers me is when people try to compare The Twilight Saga with other Vampire series. I'm sorry but there are some really good books out there that are 100 times better than Twilight and came out waaaaay waaayy waaaay before S. Meyer had her dream. I read this blog once that was trying to say that some of L.J. Smith's characters were ripping off Twilight. No honey L.J. Smith wrote "those" books way before 2005 so I'm fairly certain that she didn't rip anyone off. In my opinion all vampire romance novels have some things that are common. You can only write about the one subject so many different ways so yes sometimes you can find similarities but just because one persons story has a vampire that broods and a girl who ends up falling in love with said vampire doesn't mean that the author intentionally ripped off Twilight lol if that's how it works then I'm guessing Mrs. Meyer took Edward's green eyes, brooding attitude, over protectiveness, and dazzling looks from a character named James in the very first Night World book 'Secret Vampire'. Don't believe me then go buy it and read it for yourself. Before you finish the first chapter you will have a full on Edward Cullen description and the word dazzle will have already described James twice! lol I'm serious!

Back to my point though I'm starting to think that while I enjoy reading and getting lost in the characters some people actually bring the characters into their reality. That's just abnormal to me lol don't get me wrong though I love Twilight and I love all of my other books but I like living my life even more. I use my books as a mini escape when I need to think about something other than reality lol if that makes any sense! I don't want to obsess over a fictional character and terrorize the male actor that plays his role in the movie. It just creeps me out. So when I was looking at those comments for the book cover I just wanted to ask these people why they are acting like Edward Cullen is real and Jacob Black is the lowest scum you could ever find on the planet? Correct me if I'm wrong but Edward did leave Bella in New Moon and Jacob did help bring her out of her depression right? So why hate on someone that pretty much saved Bella from herself? I would be thankful for someone that helped me like that if I was ever in that situation but then again if my husband left me like Edward did Bella I sure as hell wouldn't take him back with no qualms lol but again it's a work of fiction of two fictional characters.

Easy Peasy people stop hating on Jacob Black and any other character that is NOT Edward Cullen! lol

Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

2009-06-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

Club Dead: Southern Vampire Mystery #3

By: Charlaine Harris

Sookie's boyfriend has been very distant. Now she's off to Mississippi to mingle with the underworld at Club Dead--a little haunt where the vampire elite go to chill out. But when she finally finds Bill--caught in an act of betrayal--she's not sure whether to save him or sharpen some stakes.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Oh Bill. Once I thought you were the perfect match for Sookie but now... not so much.

Club Dead starts off with our favorite telepathic bar maid's boyfriend, Vampire Bill aka Bill Compton, being mysteriously kidnapped. Even though Sookie and Bill have being having some minor issues with their relationship. Due to the fact that Bill has been working over time on top secret project for the Queen of Lousiana. *Again this is Vampire Politics lol something you learn along the way. Anyways back to my review lol* Sookie is still shocked and worried over his disapperance. Eric Northman, the Area Five Sheriff, sends her on a quest to find out who kidnapped Bill and what their motives were. Sookie's protection is entrusted to a Were (yes as in werewolf lol) named Alicide Herveaux, who just happens to be having some relationship issues of his own. Together Sookie and Alicide attend a private supes club (supes is short for supernatural creatures in Mrs. Harris stories) where Sookie learns there are more creatures out there than she could have ever imagined.

The first night at Club Dead is pretty uneventful except for a nasty run in with a Motorcyle Werewolf Gang. To which Sookie has the pleasure of meeting the King of Mississippi, Russell Edgington. Sookie is weary of Russell but knows that in order to get some information about Bill's disappearance she needs to get inside of Russell's ultra exclusive mansion. Of course our Heroine charms her way into the likes of Mr. Edgington and in no time finds Bill in a very compromising position.

I'm not going to go into details but I wanted to kick some Vampire Bill ass in this book lol and I'm sure after you sit down and read it you will too!

Knitting

2009-05-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

Once again I have neglected my little blog lol

I kept telling myself I need to get on here and post a few things but I have a new addiction: Knitting.

I knitted a scarf a few weeks back and ever since then I've been trying to knit all sorts of things!
So far I've successfully knitted one scarf, two pairs of baby bootees, and one summer dress for a baby girl that I have yet to conceive lol yes I'm that crazy.

Here's the first pair of bootees that I knitted. I think they're probably one of the ugliest pairs I've laid my eyes on but I'm still proud of them!

I still have a few buttons to add to them. So hopefully that will make them a wee bit cuter!

Now this dress took me a good 5 days. I can't tell you how many times I would knit 20 something rows and then turn around and have to unwind everything and start all over. It was a lesson in patience that's for sure!

Hopefully this is something I will get better with in time because I've found some really nifty patterns online that I've been dying to try lol but I'm thinking I'm going to stick to the basics for now.

Also, I just wanted to put it out there that if you've always wanted to knit but you keep telling yourself you have no idea where to start. I suggest going to walmart or a craft store and buying a beginners pack. It comes with a little booklet and usually two knitting needles and it really will teach you how to do basic knitting. I started with the booklet and knitted my scarf and then I taught myself the rest of the stitches by looking them up on Google or Youtube :o)

Beautiful!

2009-05-29T18:50:00.000-07:00

I love Lady Gaga! Especially the song "Paparazzi" off of her debut album The Fame. I have an OCD thing about when I get bored I surf youtube and I came across this video today and loved it!

Manic Monday 05/18

2009-05-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

You can play along here

★★★★★★★★★★★★

If you could completely redecorate any room in your house at no expense to you, what room would you choose?
hmm probably my living room. that's usually the first place that everyone walks into and it's where we spend about 90% of our time when we are in our house.

Which hour of the day do you feel goes the slowest?
For some reason 10 to 11 drags on for me lol or 1 to 2. Some days it feel like every time I look at the clock it says 2: something.

If your birthday could be in a different month of the year, when would you have it?
I actually like having my birthday in December. It's always a something to look forward to at the end of the year. Dec-Jan is the busiest month for my little family because I have my birthday, two weeks later its Christmas, two weeks after that it's New Years, two week weeks after that it's my son's birthday and finally two weeks after that its my husband's birthday. lol we have a neat little pattern going on there!

Friday Fill In 05/15

2009-05-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

1. If we had no winter __then the world would probably be almost over___.

2. __Life is___ a perpetual astonishment.

3. If I had my life to live over __I would not change a thing__.

4. _I can have a range of emotions_ inside of four and twenty hours.

5. If you've never been thrilled _then welcome to my world_. lol jk jk

6. To be interested in the changing seasons _probably means you respect our planet_.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _eating cookies in my pjs_, tomorrow my plans include _going to the Tanger Outlets with my boys_ and Sunday, I want to _do absolutely nothing_!

Wordless Wednesday 05/13

2009-05-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

Lileigh Grace
Born May 11th
10 lbs. 12 oz.
23.5 inches long
Biggest baby I've ever seen lol

Manic Monday 05/11

2009-05-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

You can play along here

How old were you when you learned to tie your shoes?
I think I was around 5 or 6. I remember using the tying boards in kindergarten!

Have you ever snooped in somebody else's medicine cabinet?
Actually no lol I've never really understood the lure of looking through someone's things. I wouldn't want people looking through my things!

Who do you think you are?
hmm... I think I'm a 21 year old woman who has a pretty darn good life in front of her. I mean I have everything that I need. So I'm not in wanting. I guess I think that I'm Brandi Mom/Wife extraordinaire lol and no I'm not full of myself! haha

Ok that's it!

2009-05-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

I am tired of being out of shape! I'm tired of having love handles that decided to start hanging out of the sides of my pants! And I refuse to look at my scale and be disappointed by the number I see.

Granted I'm not in the "obese" catagory yet for my small 5'4" frame but I'm slowly but surely creeping up on it!

I'm not sure why but when I went on birth control last year I gained like 12 lbs the first 3 months of me taking it. Then we decided to start ttc baby #2, so I stopped the birth control but guess what... I'm still gaining the weight! I'm on my feet now more than I was last year when I was at my comfortable 125 lbs. And my diet has only gotten better but for some reason beyond me I'm still seeing the scale go up one or two pounds every 2-3 weeks.

It's just down right depressing!

Of course the husband says I'm crazy and that if I really want to start working out with him on base then I need to get up at a ridiculous hour every morning and scuttle poot over to the base gym. One problem though. What am I going to do with my sleeping toddler? haha see!

Don't get me wrong I love being a stay at home mom but Noah's two now and I'm thinking that as soon as we get this potty training down pat then daycare might be in order. So mommy can get a part time job before my classes start this fall. I'm on the brink of being stir crazy these days lol.

Anyways, my main point is I'm getting rid of this extra baggage so I can fit into my clothes nicely lol I have so many new nice clothes and I really really don't want to have to go shopping all over again. So please send me some motivation haha! Thanks!

Today just might be...

2009-05-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

The Day!

What day might you ask?

Oh why the day that my cousin and his wife welcome their first baby girl into the world! I'm soooooo excited/happy for them and I can NOT wait to see this little girl! Her mommmy is supposed to be induced today which means she should be here either sometime today or tomorrow. I swear it feels like it was just yesterday that I was getting ready to eat the most delicious smelling fries that I have ever smelt in my entire life and before I could even eat one my water broke lol. I'm not really sure how an induction works but a few of my friends says that its pretty painful after they break you water so I'm hoping she'll be ok.

Anyways this beautiful little girls name is going to be Lileigh Grace and she is going to be one of the moved loved/spoiled little girls on the planet!

Early Idea

2009-05-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

haha Even though I still have about.... oh 7 months until I really need to start thinking about Christmas decorations. I had a really nifty thought this afternoon. Since this Christmas I'll be husbandless I think I'm going to do a patriotic/military themed tree. I want it to be simple not overly dramatic but I'm thinking I should scope out some of the fourth of July decorations after the 4th. lol you know the day after when walmart puts everything holiday related on sale. lol. Just to see if there would be anything to use. Besides having red/white/blue beads as garland. I'm kind of clueless to how I would go about decorating a "patriotic" tree! I guess I could just have a plain tree with tons of yellow ribbons on it haha but I'm a color freak and I'm pretty sure it would bother me if my poor tree was just yellow and green. I guess its a good thing that I have a few months to think on this lol

Dear Kid Saturdays 05/09

2009-05-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Boog,

You know that I love you more than life itself and I'm sorry that sometimes you don't get your way. It's tough being a toddler, I know but I would really love it if you would stop screaming at me when I tell you "no". It's not very nice and I never scream at you. Please for the sake of mommy's hearing just listen to me for more than five seconds before you start the shrilling lol.

Love you always,

Mommy

Living Dead in Dallas By Charlaine Harris

2009-05-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

Living Dead in Dallas: Southern Vampire Mystery #2

By: Charlaine Harris

Cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse isn't happy. Her co-worker has been murdered and no one seems to care. If that wasn't enough she's got blood-poisoning and a raging fever. Luckily, some friendly vampires graciously suck the poison from her veins (like they didn't enjoy it). But, seeing as they did save her life, when they come asking for a favour she can hardly refuse. She quickly finds herself using her telepathic skills in the search for a missing vampire, but when they break their good behaviour condition over a tasty blond, things go rapidly and horribly wrong ...

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Living Dead in Dallas was a really fun easy read! Once again our beloved Sookie Stackhouse is back for another mystery. Unlike Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas opens up on a down note. Poor Lafayette (the short order cook at Merlottes) has been murdered. Everyone in the small town of Bon Temps knew Lafayette lived an "extreme" lifestyle (being the only very proud openly, gay, African American resident of Bon Temps). But no one would ever have wished him dead... or maybe they did? Poor Sookie is upset that no one seems to be concerned about who killed Lafayette so she makes it one of her personal priorities to bring some peace to her deceased friend.

As always things never run as smoothly as she hopes and before she knows it she has a run in with a "creature" in the woods who informs her that she has a message for the Area 5 Sheriff. The message is none to pretty and almost kills Sookie.

Before Sookie even has time to fully heal she's summoned to Fangtasia (the local vampire bar in Shreveport) to do the bidding of the Area 5 Sheriff, Eric Northman. Who in the book is described as a tall viking sex god lol and of course this isn't the first time Sookie has had to "help" Mr. Northman and the vampires out. Especially now that she's dating Vampire Bill. She pretty much has to do as Eric bids because Eric is above Bill and Sookie "belongs" to Bill so she's viewed as a possession of the vampire community. Sounds pretty shady huh? Well it's vampire politics! lol Something humans would never fully understand and neither will the reader but you learn to over look it haha. Eventually Sookie ends up in Dallas looking for a missing vampire and has a run in with an anti-vampire cult aptly named The Fellowship of the Sun.

After a few bang ups and one vampire burning to a crisp Miss Stackhouse finally makes it back home to Bon Temps only to find that she's been invited to an exclusive party that just happened to be one of the last places Lafayette had visited. Will Sookie find out what happened to Lafayette? Or even have a hot make out scene with the Viking God himself? I'm not telling!!! haha

3x Thursday 05/07

2009-05-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

1. How do you define happiness?

ohh that's a good question! I guess I would define happiness by how much you value your life? haha this is such a hard question to answer! For example you would never catch me saying I hate my life or I wish I would have done things differently. Things that happened in that past made you what you are today you know? Again my answer stinks at this question lol I'm sure a hundred people could answer this question a million different ways!

2. Do you consider yourself to be a fairly happy person most of the time? Why/why not?

I think I'm a happy person most of the time because of the people I am surrounded by. My husband and my son make my days worth while and honestly even though I hardly go out these days I'm still a pretty darn happy person lol Although I do get stir crazy from time to time!

3. Are you happy today (as of this entry)? Why/why not?

I'm pretty happy. The only thing that is bringing me down today is our situation with our pup. She has an extreme case of seperation anxiety and it's to the point now she's starting to physically hurt herself if we're gone for more than 5 minutes. Our neighbors are now complaining and with my school starting in August and the hubs getting deployed its looking like we need to find her another home. It isn't fair to her or us but we've been trying to deal with it for almost 6 months now and the problem just seems to be snowballing.

Yay for Hump Day!

2009-05-06T16:56:00.000-07:00

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Today was over all a good day! I had to wake up earllly this morning to make sure I had everything ready to go to the hospital today. To make a long story short my should hurts. Alot. It'll ache for a few days and then go away and let me tell you I'm tired of it! So my lovely doctor suggest I have an MRI done, which I was none to happy about. I hate being in tight spaces so you could only imagine how nervous I was this morning.

Anyways, I get to the hospital around 9:30 (my apt. was at 10) and the nurse at the check in desk asks me if I've already had an xray done. Well no, no one ever mentioned it lol so she sends me up a few floors to the Radiology Department. I get there around 9:40ish and I didn't get out until 10:42! I didn't even realize how long I had been back there. So by the time I get back down to the Orthopedic Clinic it's almost 11 (which put me about an hour past my MRI time). So I was a ball of nerves lol I could not sit still for anything! Finally about 11:15 they took me back to one of the little rooms and I finally see a doctor. He tells me that I don't have to have an MRI right away b/c after he did his little exam on my shoulder. He thinks its bursitis. Ok I can deal with that and bless his little heart he made my day by not having me get inside of that machine lol

So after that whole mini ordeal I ended up back home with the little man and we laid down for the rest of the afternoon and watched cartoons. It's been storming like crazy here for the past two days so we've been more lazy than usual. Although, I did have a chance to finish knitting my very first scarf! haha I'm so proud of it! It took me a whole month to finish it lol since the little man destroyed my camera here's a myspace-esque type pic haha

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Wordless Wednesday 05/06

2009-05-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

Baby Love

Ten on Tuesday 05/05

2009-05-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

10 Awesome Bands

Oh how I love my music! Most of these bands are bands that have been with me since I was a baby! I'm so thankful for my dad and his awesome taste in music lol something I hope to pass on to my little one!

1. Sonic Youth

2. STP

3. Aerosmith

4. Led Zeppelin

5. Green Day

6. The Doors

7. Boston

8. Fall Out Boy

9. Smashing Pumpkins

10. The Beatles

Manic Monday

2009-05-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

Which household chore do you dislike the most?
Umm. I would have to say cleaning the bathtub lol for some reason I always hate doing that!

What's the best museum you've ever visited?
Definitely the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. It was ahhhmazing!

It's Star Wars Day today. I've never seen any of the Star Wars movies. What "common" movies haven't you seen?
I've actually seen all of the Star Wars movies.
Return of the Jedi is my favorite out of the bunch!
One movie that I think everyone and their mother has seen except for myself is Fast Times at Ridgemont High

True Blood Season 2

2009-05-04T14:20:00.000-07:00

Ahhh so I just saw this today and now I really can't wait for season two to start!!!

Wow. What a Sunday!

2009-05-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

Usually my Sundays are very relaxed and peaceful. Which results in a happy mommy lol but for some reason this Sunday decided to give me a run for my money! The first thing that went wrong is I slept in until almost 11 a.m.! I never do that! Well I won't say never but I try my hardest to avoid it b/c I always wake up in a bad mood if I sleep to long. Yes I'm weird lol Seriously I could sleep a whole day away and still manage to wake up in the worst mood. So for some reason beyond me my internal clock didn't kick in until 10:47 instead of the usual 8:30. And of course I was grumpy which made my trip to wally world less fun than refreshing lol I usually love going there and doing our weekly shopping but today I could not wait to get out of there. Oh and to make things worse the hubster forgot his "parmesan cheese" so we had to stop at the Publix that's close to our house to get that. Now here is where my day reached it's boiling point. While we were in Publix I kind of got the feeling that we were being watched! lol I just blamed it on my paranoia and we eventually ended up in the check out line. Where again I felt like someone was staring at me! So I went to turn to my husband to ask him if I'm losing my mind when I catch this middle aged woman staring right at me. At first I was like ok that's strange but then I started to get annoyed b/c she looked right at me and rolled her eyes! Then proceed to scoff and say something to her husband! I was so embarrassed! No idea why but I'm guessing that she did that because one of three things.

(a) I have bi-racial marriage. I'm Caucasian and my husband is Hispanic decent. So naturally he's about 10 shades darker than me b/c God blessed me with some pale white skin lol

(b)My clothes. I was wearing what my husband calls "underground clothes" lol which consist of jeans, flip flops, and my black/gray checkered shirt. Compared to all of the polo shirts and khakis that where in that store I could see that I was sticking out from the norm lol

(c) She saw my nose ring or the tattoo on my wrist. Granted my nose ring looks like a speck of dust on my nose and my tattoo is about the size of a quarter. It's happened before!

I'm leaning more towards my marriage b/c we've had people in our past that have done that and worst b/c they still thinks its unacceptable. I think it's mostly b/c we're both from/live in the south. So what can ya do! Absolutely nothing!

Right after she did that I just looked straight at her and gave her the biggest smile possible and went on my way! I kept telling myself that it's just apart of life. Even though I would really love to go and give her a piece of my mind lol I just wasn't in a good mood today and she brought it to a whole other level!

Buuut now I'm good and after I talked to my husband about it he told me how proud he was that I only smiled and went on b/c he knows that I can have a temper sometimes and that lady wouldn't have know what had hit her!

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

Music I Love!

2009-05-03T16:04:00.001-07:00

Something

Jim Sturgess

Across the Universe Soundtrack

Pale Blue Dot

2009-05-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

Dead Until Dark By Charlaine Harris

2009-05-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much. Not because she's not pretty. She is. It's just that, well, Sookie has this sort of "disability." She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill. He's tall, dark, handsome -- and Sookie can't hear a word he's thinking. He's exactly the kind of guy she's been waiting for all her life.

But Bill has a disability of his own: he's a vampire with a bad reputation. He hangs out with a seriously creepy crowd, all suspected of -- big surprise -- murder. And when one of Sookie's co-workers is killed, she fears she's next.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Ok. Simply put: I love this book! Really I do! lol Charlaine Harris is an amazing writer and she knows exactly how to keep your attention from the start of the book until the finish! I've been reading vampire love stories for a while now and I will admit that I was hooked on Twilight almost as much as everyone else out there but as soon as the movie came out and it blew up for some reason I felt like I needed to move on and find another series of books to attach myself too! So one night while I'm channel surfing I stumble across a show on HBO called "True Blood". And at first the accents drove me nuts but by the fourth episode I was hooked! After the season ended I decided that I really need to check out the actual book *Dead Until Dark* by Charliane Harris. Which leads me to this new blog post!

In the Southern Vampire Mysteries Sookie Stackhouse is the main character/heroine in the series and it's her point of view that you're reading the books through. Sookie is a strong, young, and unique southern belle. I say unique b/c Sookie has been blessed *or in her words cursed* with the ability to hear others thoughts. You know Telepathy!? The poor girl has lived her whole life struggling with trying to control her ability and be as normal as possible.

Dead Until Dark opens up with a 25 year old Sookie working a the local bar in her hometown of Bon Temps. When in walks the first vampire that has ever stepped foot inside of her tiny hole in the wall town in Northern Louisiana. Now in Sookie's world everyone knows that Vampires exist because two years before there was this thing called the "Great Revelation". That was when vampires willingly came out into the open to humans to let them know that they existed and didn't want to live in the shadows anymore. This was all possible b/c the vampires claimed that they no longer needed to feed off of everyday ordinary humans b/c of the newly invented Japanese Synthetic Blood.

So Sookie is of course ecstatic to meet her very first vampire and little does she know that this vampire is going to become apart of her every day life very soon. Oh, and of course there's some people who are none to happy about a vampire being in Bon Temps. But being the girl that she is Sookie doesn't pay any attention and goes out of her way to help the mysterious vampire in every way that she can.

This book has so much more that I could write about for hours and hours but I would never do it justice! If you like mysteries. Then this book is for you. If you like to read a good love story. Again this story is for you! And if you love a good laugh then what are you waiting for! I don't know how she does it but Charlaine Harris will have you angry one minute, "oohing" and "awing" the next and before you have time to think about it you'll be laughing your butt off at some of the most awesome one liners you have ever heard!

Oh and for a fun fact: The HBO show was named "True Blood" because that was one of the name brands of synthetic blood for the vamps in the book! Also the book cover with the book summery on my blog is the shows ad. This is the actual book cover:

Life!

2009-05-02T17:56:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love how you're life can go from being calm/steady one minute to busy/fast the next! lol I swear two weeks out of the month I'm relaxing and just going with the flow. While the other 2+ weeks I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off! There's so much coming up in these next few months that I'm starting to think I need an assistant lol

It's official that the hubster is leaving in August for what should be his last deployment. I personally think that he's going to re-enlist but he swears up and down that he's ready to get out of the corps. Either way I'm moving back up to NC in July so I can go ahead and start school and hopefully get a job before this year is over with. That way when he comes home he can focus on what he wants to do instead of having to get another job right off the bat.

My wonderful child has been keeping me on my toes here lately. Some days I swear he thinks that he's a monkey lol Which is actually kind of ironic b/c a few weeks back I bought him a blue/green sock monkey *to which he named Jack* and he's had it attached to his little hip since I took it out of it's box. I can't even go to Walmart without having to strap Jack into the buggy with Noah lol. I love that kidlet!

We're still TTC baby number two and honestly I'm still in high spirits about the whole situation. Everything will happen when it's meant to happen and even though we both want our little girl we accept the fact that right now might not be our time for the next chapter of our lives. But we do talk about it every other day lol we even have our names *boy and girl* narrowed down and from the looks of it this kiddo is going to have a really unique name!

oh speaking of babies my cousin's wife is about this {...} close to having Baby Lileigh! I'm so excited for her and I can not wait to meet that precious little girl! I just know that she's going to be beautiful!

Hunted (House of Night Series #5) by P. C. Cast & Kristin Cast

2009-04-17T07:48:00.001-07:00

What if the hottest guy in the world was hiding a nameless evil, and all he wanted was you? At the start of this heart-pounding new installment of the bestselling House of Night series, Zoey’s friends have her back again and Stevie Rae and the red fledglings aren’t Neferet’s secrets any longer. But an unexpected danger has emerged. Neferet guards her powerful new consort, Kalona, and no one at the House of Night seems to understand the threat he poses. Kalona looks gorgeous, and he has the House of Night under his spell. A past life holds the key to breaking his rapidly spreading influence, but what if this past life shows Zoey secrets she doesn’t want to hear and truths she can’t face? On the run and holed up in Tulsa’s Prohibition-era tunnels, Zoey and her gang must discover a way to deal with something that might bring them all down. Meanwhile, Zoey has a few other little problems. The red fledglings have cleaned up well – they’ve even managed to make the dark, creepy tunnels feel more like home – but are they really as friendly as they seem? On the boyfriend front, Zoey has a chance to make things right with super-hot ex-, Eric, but she can’t stop thinking about Stark, the archer who died in her arms after one unforgettable night, and she is driven to try to save him from Neferet’s sinister influence at all costs. Will anyone believe the power evil has to hide among us?

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Ok first off I thought the love triangles were over with! Ah it kills me really it does lol I'm a big fan of these books but I had to stop and ask myself a few times while I was reading why on earth does Zoey think she needs more than one guy at once! First it was Heath, Erik, and Loren and everyone knows how that ended... if you don't I suggest you go pick up these books and read them or google it lol because I'm still pissed about that! And now she's got Erik back, Imprinted with Heath AGAIN, added a little mix of Stark in *who I'm actually starting to think she's going to end up with* and a freaky immortal who thinks she belongs to him aka Kalona. Who by the way I picture as Ben Barnes lmao weird yes but lets just say I'd probably be memorized by him to if he looked like Ben Barnes so I definitely would be no help to Zoey and Co.

Over all this book was Ok. I do still believe that each book is making the series better especially after Chosen. For some reason that was my least favorite of the series? Anyways I don't want to give away to much because some people are still in the process of reading it but it is what it is a simple book with a little bit of action and a lot of love triangles lol

Untamed (House of Night, Book 4) by P. C. & Kristin Cast

2009-04-17T07:47:00.001-07:00

Ahhh so this is major major majorly late haha I was writing my mini rant about the fifth book and I was like oh crap I never did the fourth haha whoops! Better late than never right!

Life sucks when your friends are pissed at you. Just ask Zoey Redbird – she’s become an expert on suckiness. In one week she has gone from having three boyfriends to having none, and from having a close group of friends who trusted and supported her, to being an outcast. Speaking of friends, the only two Zoey has left are undead and unMarked. And Neferet has declared war on humans, which Zoey knows in her heart is wrong. But will anyone listen to her? Zoey's adventures at vampyre finishing school take a wild and dangerous turn as loyalties are tested, shocking true intentions come to light, and an ancient evil is awakened in PC and Kristin Cast's spellbinding fourth House of Night novel.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

This was hands down my favorite book of the HoN series so far! I mean I could not put it down! Zoey is finally starting to get back on track and what happens... Neferet happens lol Oh man is that woman evil! Something big is definitely about to happen especially since the Immortal Kalona has be freed. One thing that I really liked about this story is the friendship between Zoey and Aphrodite keeps evolving. I mean granted I detested the girl in the first book but now she's really starting to grow on me lol and what is up with the red fledglings?? I love Stevie Ray but something tells me she still isn't the "old" Stevie Ray but I'm hoping the next book will go into more detail on it. And I can't make a post about this book without mentioning Erik Night. Helloooo News Flash Zoey Redbird you messed up big time with this guy lol I love that he comes back to the HoN as a professor and I loved it even more when he kept messing with her in class haha but I'm evil like that. I don't see Erik and Zoey working out though because she is way to boy crazy for her own good. So yeah this book reignited my excitement about the series and has me coming up with all kinds of scenarios in my head about what's going to happen to Zoey and Co.!

Chosen (House of Night, Book 3) By P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

2009-04-17T07:46:00.002-07:00

Dark forces are at work at the House of Night and fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird's adventures at the school take a mysterious turn. Those who appear to be friends are turning out to be enemies. And oddly enough, sworn enemies are also turning into friends. So begins the gripping third installment of this “highly addictive series” (Romantic Times), in which Zoey's mettle will be tested like never before. Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead and struggling to maintain a grip on her humanity. Zoey doesn't have a clue how to help her, but she does know that anything she and Stevie Rae discover must be kept secret from everyone else at the House of Night, where trust has become a rare commodity. Speaking of rare: Zoey finds herself in the very unexpected and rare position of having three boyfriends. Mix a little bloodlust into the equation and the situation has the potential to spell social disaster. Just when it seems things couldn't get any tougher, vampyres start turning up dead. Really dead. It looks like the People of Faith, and Zoey's horrid step-father in particular, are tired of living side-by-side with vampyres. But, as Zoey and her friends so often find out, how things appear rarely reflects the truth…

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Ahhhhhh.. first things first I knew Loren was a bad guy lol I can't believe Zoey though! She really did end up having a heck of a love triangle! But more importantly Stevie Rae is alive again!!! It broke my heart when she died... I couldn't believe that one of the main characters would be killed off but she was and now she's back! And doesn't stink :o) oh and as bad as it sounds I'm actually kind of happy that Zoey is "boyless" now because now she doesn't have any imprints with anyone and she can focus on doing what Nyx wants instead of getting caught up in some really bad situations... well boy situations that is! I think this book had more "action" and emotions than the other two... but the series in a whole is fantastic! Untamed comes out in Sept. and I really am looking forward to snatching it up and reading it! I just wonder how many books are supposed to be in the series though... hmm guess we'll find out!

Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2) by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast

2009-04-17T07:46:00.001-07:00

Fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird has managed to settle in at the House of Night. She’s come to terms with the vast powers the vampyre goddess, Nyx, has given her, and is getting a handle on being the new Leader of the Dark Daughters. Best of all, Zoey finally feels like she belongs--like she really fits in. She actually has a boyfriend…or two. Then the unthinkable happens: Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey’s old life, she begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night, and Zoey must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

I think this book was ok for the most part but I definitely didn't like the whole 3 way romance thing that Miss Zoey has going on! But with that being said I think it'll catch up to her in a negative way which will put her through a trial and I think thats what Cast is going for.... I'm actually pleased that she's starting to befriend Aphrodite. I think that she's going to be more of a positive influence than negative from now on ... and obviously Neferet is turning out to be up to more evil than good... it'll be interesting to see how it all turns out especially since Zoey has imprinted with Heath even more... I actually hope she forgets about Loren because he's seems like trouble... big trouble... and of course I think she should stay with Erik Night lol but I guess we will find out huh!

Marked (House of Night, Book 1) by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast

2009-04-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

Enter the Dark, Magical World of the House of Night, a world very much like our own, except here vampyres have always existed. Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird has just been Marked as a fledgling vampyre and joins the House of Night, aMarked (house of Night, Book 1) school where she will train to become an adult vampyre. That is, if she makes it through the Change-and not all of those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx. Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint her human ex-boyfriend. To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers: When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny-with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Over all this book was a great read! I truly did enjoy the plot and the main character, Zoey Redbird. I totally related to her on some of her issues in the story. One being the problem she has between her mom/step father lol but the thing I liked the most about her is that she's also "realistic"... P.C. Cast did a fantastic job of explaining the reason for Zoey not feeling accepted into the human world and then becoming something that people sought after in the vampire world... Zoey knew that she was special but she kept a level head about it and still put others before herself... I have a feeling this whole book series is going to be great! I just finished up reading the second installment and lemme tell ya... it sucked me in even more lol but I also want to stress that this is definitely a chick book! But a great one! I don't want to go into to much detail about the plot though because then it'll ruin the whole story but if your bored and in need of a quick/easy read I highly recommend this book!

Bookworm

2009-04-17T07:41:00.001-07:00

Sooo once upon a time ago I used to read... a lot! and just the other day I decided that instead of just staring at the computer screen every time I get a spare moment that I'll just start reading again! Well I didn't have any books and I had to go with my grandmother to walmart anyways so I made a mental note just to pick up a simple read while I was there... ya know start out slow and what not... sooo for one reason or another I ended up in the "teen fiction" area at walmart's itty bitty book section and let me tell you the pickings were very very slim! but hey its was either the kiddie books or the harlequin romance books and I refuse to read those silly things!! *Tried to once and it went into waaay more detail about things that I didn't wanna know about!*

Anyways,

seeing how I only had about 5 mins to scan the books and pick out one I glanced over the back of a book called "Marked (House of Night, Book 1)" and right beside was the book "Twilight" which I secretly had wanted to read anyways because the movie comes out the day after my birthday and I would really like to go and see it! I couldn't decide on which one to get first because "Twilight" is a very thick paper back book and I knew it would take a hot minute to read it! And with Noah getting crankier by the minute I just threw both of the books into the buggy and took off! By the time we got back home Noah was in a deep slumber from the car ride. So off to bed he went and I was left with trying to decide which book to read first! "Marked" lucked out because it was maybe 1/3 the size of "Twilight" and I knew I could read it in 2 days or so easy... well I read it in one day! That book got me sooo bad! It was like being sucked into a totally different reality and I loved it!

I actually read almost half the book while Noah took his 2.5 hour nap and then I finished it off after I put him to bed... but wow! there are two books after "Marked" and neat less to say they will be purchased this afternoon when we go back to wally world! *they didn't have all of the gmaw's medicine in stock yesterday and she has to go back to pick them up* So yeah! I'm excited! I really did forget how much I loved reading! Even though I do get to read with Noah everyday about 5 or 6 times! But its sooo much different when there's more than 10 pages to the story! Soo my plan is to do a mini review on my blog every time I finish a book because they are so many good books out there they get overlooked or don't get enough credit! but yeah! I just realized that I practically used the word "so" in almost every sentence :O) please just over look that lol but Tom and Jerry's almost over which means I need to go get noahs lunch ready and if it doesn't rain I think we'll go outside for a bit! Take care!

Posted by Gil's Wifey at 12:01 0 com

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