Confessions of a Bookworm

Bzz! Kroger's Private Selection Frozen Pizzas!

2012-01-04T22:55:00.000-05:00

My family and I had the opportunity to try Kroger's Private Selection Pizza as part of Kroger's latest BzzCampaign. I took my coupon to the store to pick out the Private Selection pizza of my choice, and bought the Fire Roasted Vegetable flavor. Admittedly, I was disappointed in the selection. It was either the Fire Roasted Vegetable pizza, or a Pepperoni and Garlic. Apparently they also offer BBQ Chicken and Margherita (my favorite kind of pizza!) but not at my store. Total bummer!

The Fire Roasted Vegetable Pizza is described as having "thin and flaky crust topped with delicate italian style tomato sauce, roasted zucchini, red and green peppers, garlic, yellow onion, mozzarella and garnished with basil." Personally I don't understand why everything that tries to be "artisan" needs to contain garlic (which I hate), but I was glad to find that this pizza didn't taste overwhelmingly like garlic as many do.

Overall, the pizza was really well received. My mom, who was a bit leery about a roasted vegetable pizza was surprised by how much she liked it. My dad mentioned how little sauce there was on the pizza, but I love pizza to be light on the sauce, so it didn't bother me. My brother and I both liked the extra crunch that the vegetables gave the pizza- I love a pizza with some consistency!

Aside from the lack of selection in the grocery store, my only complaint is in regards to the cook time. The pizza is supposed to cook at 425F for 8-9 minutes. Most frozen pizzas take about 15-20, so this seemed odd to me. As it turns out, I was right to find it odd, since the center of the pizza was still cold 9 minutes later. We ended up having to stick it back in for longer to get it to an edible temp! Otherwise, I really liked the pizza! They'll have to get some more flavor options before I run off to buy another, but for only $5, it won't set back my wallet much!

Bzz! Kroger's Private Selection Appetizers

2012-01-04T22:39:00.003-05:00

I recently blogged about a BzzCampaign for Kroger's Truly Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies... I was also invited to participate in another BzzCampaign from Kroger to try their artisan-inspired frozen food line, Private Selection. As a BzzAgent, I was sent a set of coupons that allowed me to get one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert.

When I went to the store, I had a few appetizer options- Mediterranean Inspired Hors D'Oeuvres, Southwestern Style Chicken Trumpets, Mushroom Walnut Profiteroles, Petite Quiches, or Spanakopita. Selections vary by region, so you might be able to find some other options near you!

We (my family and I) decided on the petite quiches, primarily because there were nine in the box, and I wanted enough to share with the fam and get some opinions, but also because I'm a picky eater and they sounded yummiest! According to the box, "Private Selection Petite Quiche Collection is an array of appetizers individually handcrafted in the French tradition with unique and classic ingredient combinations in buttery shells." I seriously doubt someone is in a kitchen somewhere cranking out thousands of quiches a day to ship out to all of the Krogers, so I find the use of the word "handcrafted" to be a bit of a stretch, but that's not important... The box had three flavors:

Classic Quiche Lorraine- Velvety smooth custard with Gruyere cheese, cream and bacon in a buttery shell
Spinach Florentine Quiche- Spinach and heavy cream mixed with Gruyere cheese in a buttery shell
Mushroom Quiche- Finely chopped mushrooms and diced onions in a buttery shell.

The Classic Quiche Lorraine was my least favorite, but I dislike bacon cooked into my food. Everyone else enjoyed them, and in my dad's words, "Yep... Tastes like Quiche Lorraine!" So at least you know it tastes right (I wouldn't know, as I've never had it)! The Spinach Florentine Quiche was my mom and my favorite. We both love spinach though. Dad, on the other hand, was just "Eh..." about it. I alo enjoyed the Mushroom Quiche, however the first thing out of my brother's mouth was, "Their idea of 'finely chopped mushrooms' and mine differ significantly." Dad said, "It's good because it doesn't have an overly strong mushroom flavor." Mom, who doesn't like mushrooms in her food even liked them a little. For the most part, my older brother enjoyed all of them (although he's a 26 year old guy, so food is food to him).

Overall, everyone really liked the quiches! They had good texture and flavor, and the buttery shell was delicious! Everyone had their favorites, but we definitely liked all of them! The appetizer options only run $3-$7, so they're a great deal! I could definitely see us getting them again in the future when we entertain guests or something!

Bzz! Are you Smarterer?

2011-12-20T09:00:00.002-05:00

Have you heard of Smarterer? It’s a website full of tests on the most popular digital, social, and technical skills of the day. Think you know Microsoft Word? Or Tumblr? How about Facebook? Smarterer uses the crowd-source method of developing questions, meaning you can submit questions for others to answer. As you answer questions, you can improve your rank overall as well as earn badges.

BzzAgent asked me a while back to have a go with the website and weigh in... We were asked to play the BzzAgent Smarterer Quiz, which drills you on every possible bit of info related to BzzAgent. Some questions were fairly obvious, such as "What level comes after Busy Bee?" while others were incredibly hard such as, "Where did the BzzAgent company outing recently take place?" (How should I know that?!).

I suppose my biggest question about this site is, “What’s the point?”

Crowd-sourced tests are popular around the web- you can answer thousands of questions on GoodReads about books and see where you rank on your book knowledge, or even take silly tests around the net to determine which Disney princess you would be or which Hollywood hottie you’d be best matched with. The thing is, whereas comparing my book knowledge against others seems appealing (Goodreads), I can’t say I care too much about how well I know Twitter in comparison to my peers. Maybe it’s because I know I don’t know jack about it... I use social networks on a basic level, and have no desire to know more. Social networks are not the most important things in my life (gasp!).

I am also not a huge fan of crowd-sourced tests... Any Tom, Dick, or Harry can post a question and the answer they believe to be correct. Unfortunately, you end up with contributions from people who are far from being pros on the subject matter themselves. You can mark a question if you know it to be incorrect, but if someone submits a seriously obscure question like “In what year did blahblahblah establish the blahblah part of the blahblah website?” how would most people even know whether it was them or the question author who was wrong?

I suppose social networking enthusiasts and geeks would love to see how they compare. Maybe there is someone out there who truly cares about how well they know Microsoft Excel compared to their peers. For me, it was interesting to toy with, but I doubt I’ll jump onto that site when I’m bored or procrastinating.

Bzz! Maybelline Baby Lips & Lots of Lashes!

2011-12-19T09:00:00.012-05:00

As a BzzAgent, I often get to try awesome products, as well as share some with friends. On this occasion, I had the opportunity to participate in the Maybelline campaign and try their new Baby Lips Repairing Lip Balm with SPF 20 and Lots of Lashes mascara.

I was actually pleasantly surprised by the amount of stuff that arrived from BzzAgent for this campaign- A whole box full of lippy and mascara! Plenty to share with people as I bzzed about it! I received five sets, so I kept one for myself and shared the other four. And of course, I had first dibs on the flavor!

I liked the “Great Little Grabber” brush for the Lots of Lashes Mascara. It has a good shape that makes applying the mascara easy and quick. It's a washable mascara that they claim builds volume with each coat. It's also labelled as "contact lens safe". The mascara looked really good, although I wish it was waterproof. I had a good laugh the other day and ended up looking like I’d been punched in the eye!

The lippy is awesome! It's clinical strength, and according to the packaging, it'll make your lips 82% visibly less dry, 94% less rough, 77% more supple, and 77% better looking (based on a 4 week clinical study). It also protects from sunburn with the SPF 20! I kept the fruit punch flavor for myself. I love the flavor, although the baby pink color isn’t exactly the best shade for me... My cousin tried the cherry flavor and loved it! She said she loved the color because it was just enough color to look nice but not intense like lipstick. I really like the feel of it- it’s really smooth, so my lips feel silky soft!

There are loads of yummy flavor options! Quenched (clear & flavorless), Peppermint (clear), Cherry Me (red), Grape Vine (purplish), Pink Punch (bubblegum pink), and Peach Kiss (a nude-ish color).

I handed out samples of the lippy and mascara to family and friends and overall they’ve been well received. One positive comment I received on the mascara was “It separated my lashes and there was no clumping.” On the flipside, “Not much volume, but it was nice for a casual look.”

So if you’re looking for a nice, casual daytime look, I’d recommend Maybelline Baby Lips Repairing Lip Balm with SPF 20 and Lots of Lashes mascara! The lippy will provide just a hint of color whilst protecting your lips and making them feel silky soft, and the mascara will give some color to your lashes! If you’re hitting the club, look elsewhere, but if you need a subtle look for everyday wear, these are for you! Plus, they’re perfect stocking stuffers!!!

Bzz! Kroger's The Truly Awesome Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookie

2011-12-18T14:16:00.005-05:00

Have you tried Kroger’s The Truly Awesome Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies? As a BzzAgent, I was sent a box of them to try and review! Unlike most store-bought cookies, they are made with real butter, are twice the size of typical store-bought chocolate chip cookies, and artificial color and preservative free!

I liked the taste of the cookies. They did seem to have that certain taste that only home cooked cookies seem to have. Perhaps it’s the use of real butter? I’m not sure. I don’t have the distinguished palate to tell you what exactly it is that I taste, but there’s that certain flavor... I know you know the one! It’s that hint of something that you never find in a Chips Ahoy or Pepperidge Farm cookie.

The consistency was typical of store-bought cookies... It is a crunchy cookie, not a soft one. In fact, it’s downright crumbly. I opened my first package of cookies to find a tray full of cookie dust. I prefer a softer cookie, which to me is more reminiscent of a home baked cookie, so I found the consistency a bit disappointing. According to the box, you can microwave them for a few seconds so they’re a bit softer and warm like just baked.

Compared to other cookies, these seem to be fairly level in terms of nutrition. For two Chunky Chips Ahoy (a single serving), it's 40 more calories. Same total fat, although the Kroger cookies have 15mg more sodium in a serving. The Kroger cookies have 8 less grams of carbohydrates, and one gram less sugar, but also a gram less protein, no calcium, and less iron. So it's a fairly even trade-off, since one of the Kroger cookies is a close size equivalent to two Chunky Chips Ahoy.

This product grates on one of my biggest pet peeves- poor grammar. What were they thinking, calling their cookies THE Truly Awesome Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies? Why must there be a ‘the’ in front??? I refuse to say, “I enjoyed Kroger’s The Truly Awesome cookies.” It sounds much better to say, “I enjoyed Kroger’s Truly Awesome cookies.” That is a total fail on the part of the individuals who came up with the name.

Overall, the cookies were not amazing enough for me to be willing to drop the coin on a pack of them on a regular day. That said, I’m using one of the coupons I was sent to buy a pack to take to Grandma’s for Christmas. We’re all sugar junkies in my family, so I think they’ll go over well!

Pssst!

2011-11-16T09:48:00.000-05:00

Wanna know a secret? I'm moving!

Blogging has pretty much fallen to the backburner at the moment, and I apologize for that... Life is just a bit too overwhelming at the moment! Between work at the bank, work at the schools, and preparing for the craft show, I'm slammed. And to top it off, I'm getting ready to start PA school (48 days!!!!!!) and I've decided to move out of my parents' house.

It was time. I need my space to study and stuff without being constantly interrupted. I was looking into getting an apartment, but my brother offered up the front bedroom of his house at an unbeatable price- and I'm over there all the time anyway, so why not? He had been talking for months about converting it into his office, but he never did... and frankly, I think he's just so lonely in that house that he's depserate enough to take me on as a lodger :)

So Monday through Friday I'm working my two jobs as well as spending my evenings prepping for the craft show, and on the weekends I'm prepping walls, painting, tearing out carpet, reflooring, etc etc (the room has been seriously neglected up to this point). Things will cool down once the craft show is done and I've moved, but in the meantime, please bear with me!

The Holstee Manifesto

2011-11-08T12:50:00.000-05:00

Sometimes when I'm feeling aimless or stressed, I read this. I want a giant print of this for my room...

Occupy Protests: Weighing In

2011-11-01T08:35:00.002-04:00

I'm a poor excuse for someone who considers themselves part of the 99%... I fully support the Occupy Movement, and if I could, I'd take a trip up to Wall Street and join the protests... Unfortunately some of us 99% do have jobs and can't afford to get away from them... There is an Occupy Norfolk protest, but I think there are only about 10 people out there... perhaps this weekend I'll go sit with them :)

I saw the article shown above on the Huffington Post this morning, and it really ticks me off! The 1% is squelching the 99%'s voice... It really is disgusting! My brother thinks the whole Occupy thing is just a bunch of socialist crap, but I totally support it. Mind you, I'm 24 with a bachelor's degree, I work 2 jobs, 60 hours per week, and barely make $20k per year. He is 26, owns his own house, works one job, 40 hrs per week, and makes $85k per year. He's still part of the 99% though...

Seriously though, why are our educators (the people training our future!!!) making $35k/yr while a jock runs around a field once a week for $10mil per game? You're telling me they really NEED all of that?? These are three of my favorite infographics:

Disgusting, right? A president at a local Uni recently added some "pork" to a local bill that was providing money to the school in exchange for some land so the city could build a transport system around the outskirts of the campus... Apparently the president "over budgeted' and used the extra cash to add a pool and some nice landscaping to the President's house... Mind you, there was an uproar and he was booted out when everyone found out what he'd done. Regardless, these are the greedy people we have in charge right now.

It's time for change.

FIFA 12

2011-10-28T10:38:00.000-04:00

I have been on a mad sprint to make products for an upcoming craft show at one of the schools I work at... I won't have nearly enough made in time. Fortunately, I've decided to make a catalogue and hopefully I can get some custom orders!

On the bright side, soccer season is officially over. Speaking of soccer, have any of you played FIFA 12? I got it for my XBox... it's ADDICTIVE!!! I made my own player. He's a super hot ginger. I'll have to share a pic :) They let you customize a person just like the Sims, so I spent over an hour just customizing my guy. He plays for DC United. I need to figure out how to demand more money. He makes $10k per week, but he's work $5.5mil. How unfair is that?

Sitting at my middle school soccer games, watching the never-ending suckiness that is the ball handling skill of and 11 year old, I couldn't help but keep thinking about FIFA and how my guy can rock the ball :D My only complaint about the game is that I can't sub my guy. He injured his knee at the start of a game, and I spent the whole game limping around, unable to run, and my manager wouldn't sub me! And we were up 10-0!

Worse even, the "knee injury" he'd suffered was a hyperextended knee. That's a mechanisim of injury, not an injury. It can cause torn ACLs, muscle strains, etc. I was very peeved. Did they think people working in sports medicine wouldn't play it? What an annoying oversight!

Nevertheless, it's an awesome game! I haven't been able to play much yet, but I will hopefully have some free time this weekend!

Life goes on...

2011-10-24T08:38:00.000-04:00

You wanna know what bothers me the most about this job at the bank? I don't exist... I'll send out an email instructing someone to do something or to send me something, and they call the other HR Specialist, who is sitting 20 feet away from me, to ask questions/complain or whatever! Apparently I put in a typo on one file that I sent in to someone... so she called V and asked her to relay to me that I need to be more careful! Why not just tell me, instead of make me look like a moron??

And what ever happened to active listening? I especially love when I send an email out to an employee, signed "Lindsay" and they come back, "Hey Linda,". I love knowing that they paid so little attention to my two sentence email that they didn't even read through to the end where my name was written!

Today is what? Hmmm... Oct 24... I have a soccer game tonight. I'll be glad when the season ends. Two more weeks! And only a month and a half until I finish up at the bank!!!! I'm so stoked about school! I finished up all my health requirements. It sucked because they required two TB tests. I know it's totally irrational, since I know it's a shot and I watch them inject it, but TB tests freak me out because they look like a spider bite. I had to cover them with a bandaid because I'd feel a touch of panic every time I looked at my arm. Mental, right?

I really have no exciting updates for all of you... How much do I suck lately? I've just been working like mad, trying to save up my money and get ready for school. Hopefully once the season winds down, I'll have more free time... Unfortunately since I'm covering 4 games per week at the moment, I pretty much get home in time to shower and go to bed and then repeat the following day. It's exhausting!

Eagle Eyes

2011-10-18T22:45:00.000-04:00

I came across this image with my Stumble button and it made me laugh because I feel like this every time I put on a new pair of glasses. I thought some of you might find it funny as well :D

Craftiness :)

2011-10-11T12:46:00.001-04:00

I've been a seriously remiss blogger lately... My sincerist apologies for that! Unfortunately the two jobs are just wearing me out, and by the time I get home in the evenings/mqake it to the weekend, all I want to do is veg.

Fortunately, there are only a few weeks left in the fall season, and then I'll be on a more normal schedule, as right now I'm covering 4 games per week. Madness, right? It's exhausting! Fortunately the broken bones have stopped, although I ended up with 6 (3 arms and 3 legs) within the first two weeks of the season.

So, what have I been up to? Not much... I've been working on various small projects, and I think I might actually be participating in a craft show in December! I'm going to sell my bracelets/painted jars and such.

My Etsy shop has actually been doing really well! I'm honestly a bit surprised... But I'm constantly coming up with new things to make and have a lot of fun keeping my hands busy and taking my mind off life for a bit whenever I'm making something.

I promise I'll get back on the ball with the blogging! For now though, I have to get back to work :(

Two Book Box Winners!!!

2011-10-05T10:16:00.000-04:00

Because I've been painfully remiss, I'm drawing TWO Book Box winners pooled from the July through Sept entries (there were only 5, so it's not like pooling the entries is killing chances)! Each will get to select 2 books from the box!

The winners are...

ArtsyBookishGal and RB's Wildly Original UN!!!

Congrats! You have 48 hours to contact me (email is to the right) with your book selection (up to 2 books) and your mailing address! Otherwise the books remain in the box until the next drawing!

And the MyMemories winner is...

2011-10-04T10:39:00.000-04:00

Sorry- should've posted this yesterday! I've run all of the entries through Random.org, and the winner of the MyMemories Digital Scrapbooking Suite v2.0 is...

Jolee!!!

Congrats!!! I'll be sending you an email!

As with all my giveaways, the winner has 48 hours to respond before I move on down the list. I've added the first 15 that came up on Random.org so that you can see if you made it near the to

Review: Kraft Mac & Cheese Veggie Pasta

2011-09-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

Gone are the days when moms make kids sit at the dinner table until they finish their broccoli- companies are finding all sorts of crazy ways to sneak servings of vegetables into foods that kids love. I'm amazed it took this long for Kraft to jump on the bandwagon!

In one cup of Kraft's Veggie Mac & Cheese, there's a half cup of veggies! How awesome is that?! Thanks to the Amazon Vine Program, I had the opportunity to taste the new Kraft Veggie Mac. I definitely couldn't tell the difference, and I've been eating original Kraft Mac & Cheese for a long time! My only hope is that they'll eventually make the shapes (e.g. Cars and Spongebob) with the veggie mac, because I prefer the shapes over the tube-like pasta (it's a consistency thing- no, I'm not that hung up on cartoons).

Your kid will never know they're eating veggies while they eat their dinner- there's no difference in taste, color, or consistency! Kraft should start cranking this option out for Easy Mac too- then lots of college students would get more vegetables in their diet as well!

Review: Taco Bell's Bold and Creamy Jalapeno Sauce

2011-09-28T09:00:00.002-04:00

I was recently hanging at my brother's house and a friend came over. He had stopped at Taco Bell on his way over and commenced eating his lunch while we played a rousing game of Scrabble. At one point, I had grabbed his Taco Bell bag off the table with the intention of throwing it away to clear space on the table when he snatched the bag and said I almost threw away his green sauce. He explained that Taco Bell has this AMAZING new sauce and that he had snaged lots of packets of the stuff so he could stockpile some at home. When I asked if I could try it, he refused to share.

When I received my monthly Amazon Vine newsletter, I noticed they were offering up some of Taco Bell's AMAZING green sauce, so out of curiosity I requested it. My final opinion? Whoop-de-doo! It's got some mild kick (I emphasize mild, because I'm a wuss when it comes to spicy foods and I had no problem with it), which can add a bit of dimension to some bland food, but the sauce itself is borderline tasteless. I tried it on tacos and found it less than thrilling. It added some creaminess, but I think I still prefer adding some good 'ole fashioned salsa to my taco. I then started adding it to random foods to see where it would fit in... As a dip for chicken strips? Nope. Dip for fries? Definitely not. Chip dip? No. As a substitute for mayo on a sandwich? Yeah, it works there. Seeing as it fit best as a sandwich condiment, I'd be more likely to grab this if I saw it in with the mayo than I would be if I was in the Mexican food section at Walmart.

Nutritionally, it's not exactly healthy (it's a creamy sauce, what can you expect?) but then again, if you're planning on adding condiments to your Taco Bell Cheesy Gordita Crunch, I'm thinking calorie counting isn't your thing. Give it a try- obviously there are those out there who love this stuff! Personallly, I'll stick with my salsa and guacamole.

The Winner of The Body Shop's Dreams Unlimited is...

2011-09-27T10:04:00.002-04:00

Wow, it's amazing how much traffic is generated by posting a giveaway on a couple of giveaway sites! I've run all of the entries for the 50mL bottle of The Body Shop's Dreams Unlimited perfume through Random.org, and the winner is...

carole!!!

Congrats! I'll send you an email, and you have 48 hours to respond before I move on down the list to pick the next winner! I've included the top 10 below, so in the event I don't hear from carole, you all know who is coming next!

Please don't forget that you can still enter to win a digital copy of MyMemories Digital Scrapbooking Suite v2.0 [Ends 10/2]! You can also add your name to the Book Box to have your choice of 2 books [Ends 9/30]!

Busch Gardens Howl-o-Scream!

2011-09-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

Guess where I'm headed? I'm a passholder, so I go to Busch Gardens Howl-o-Scream every year, but my parents attended the passholder event last weekend and were informed that after a lot of negative feedback (it's been getting so family-friendly that it's more funny that scary), the park is reverting back to being downright frightening! They said folks can bring kids during the day, but it's recommended they take them out of the park come nightfall... Here's hoping they live up to our expectations... I'll try and get some photos (weather permitting)!

Review & Giveaway: MyMemories Digital Scrapbooking Suite v2.0!

2011-09-23T09:02:00.001-04:00

I was recently contacted by the people at My Memories regarding a review of their latest Digital Scrapbooking Software, My Memories Suite v 2.0. Being the avid scrapbooker that I am, I was eager to try it out!

You may or may not know this about me- I LOVE scrapbooking! Being the crafty sort, I tend to go a bit crazy in the craft store, buying all of the super fun little embellishments and pretty papers. I have multiple scrapbooks- one for my Postcrossing postcards, one for my movie ticket stubs, one for my European travels, and one for my U.S. travels. Lately, I've been toying with the idea of converting to digital scrapbooks because as much as I love the tangible nature of my scrapbooks, they don't really fit anywhere. I have those big 12" x 12" scrapbooks, and they don't fit on any of my book shelves, so they sit in a pile in the corner of my bedroom. It drives me crazy!

I was super excited to have the opportunity to try digital scrapbooking software! After downloading the program (plus points for not requiring a CD!), I created a random page to get a feel for the software. My first impression was of how incredibly intuitive the program is- You can select a basic photo layout and then you have various tabs such as paper type, embellishments, text, etc to select from. In under 10 minutes, I threw this together (click to see larger):

The program comes with loads of freebie presets, so while I was experimenting with the pages I've shown here, I didn't need to spend any additional cash. That said, embellishment packs and such are very affordable on their website (more-so than paying for various embellishments at the craft store!). They run between $1 and $6 from what I've seen, and there are kits for all manner of events and memories! There are even some freebie kits and sale items!

If you're interested, you also have the option of joining the MyMemories Design Club. The $5.99 per month membership includes 5 new kits every month (exclusive to club members for 30 days), plus an additional 5% discount off all the designs in the store and the discount gets bigger the longer you are a member! The kits come with fun papers and embellishments. It's a fantastic deal (where else can you get 5 kits worth of papers and embellishments for $6?)!

The website also offers tutorials and links to videos on YouTube where you can learn some neat tricks (I'll have to watch them all... as you can see, I'm no pro at scrapbooking).

When you complete your scrapbook, you can view it in a slideshow, video, export it as an image, or print it! So you're eliminating the cost of printing photos and buying tons of paper and embellishments, and saving space! Awesome!

I definitely love this software! It's incredibly easy to use- everything is drag & drop and you can rearrange and rotate to your heart's content. It seems much cheaper than traditional scrapbooking, and because you can add and delete things as much as you want, the sky is the limit as to how you want it to look! When everything is finished, you're not stuck with a huge, cumbersome album, and you can share it with everyone near and far! If you're into scrapbooking, I'd recommend trying it!

If you're already doing the digital scrapbooking thing, you can get $10 off the MyMemories Suite v2.0 and $10 off scrapbooking supplies in the My Memories store by entering the code STMMMS7910 during checkout ($20 value)!

Win it!

One lucky individual is going to win a digital download of the MyMemories Suite v 2.0, compliments of My Memories! Contest ends Oct 2nd at 11:59 PM EST and is open to everyone (hooray for digital downloads!)! The winner will be chosen with Random.org and will be contacted. If I hear nothing back within 48 hours, I'll pick the next winner on the list!

Mandatory Entry: Visit the My Memories Website and leave a comment here stating which scrapbooking kit is your favorite!

Extra entries:
(+1) Follow the My Memories Blog
(+1) Follow My Memories on Facebook
(+1) Follow My Memories on Twitter
(+1) Follow Confessions of a Bookworm (GFC, Networked Blogs, RSS, etc)
(+1) Leave a comment on another post on Confessions of a Bookworm
(+1) Tweet about this giveaway (include @VaBookworm87 so I see it! You can just use the Twitter button below this post to get the link)

Win a 50mL Bottle of The Body Shop's Dreams Unlimited!

2011-09-20T09:00:00.006-04:00

Start believing in your dreams

Whatever your dream, Dreams Unlimited exhilarating scent will inspire you. The exotic combination of citrus, green chili and white flowers will fire you up with energy and optimism.

I won this in a contest but I'm not a perfume wearer, so I've decided to do a giveaway! It's a cute little bottle (would it be wrong to dump the perfume and keep the bottle? lol) but as I said, perfume isn't my thing...

Ok, so here are the giveaway rules:
Open to the US and Canada (sorry rest of the world- I haven't got $20 to drop on international postage)
You must complete the mandatory entry to qualify
Make sure you leave me an email address to contact you!

Mandatory Entry:
Comment on another post on my blog. Post in a comment here which one you commented on

Extra Entries:

Leave me a comment with some feedback about what you'd like to see/change about my blog (I'm trying to improve it and am always looking for opinions)
Follow me (GFC, NetworkedBlogs, Twitter, etc) +1 entry for each (leave a comment)

Contest ends 9/26 at 11:59PM EST. Winner will be drawn with Random.org. I'll email the winner on 9/27, who will then have 48 hours to respond before I'll pick a new winner.

P.S.- I've been remiss in picking a Book Box Winner for the past couple of months. For this reason, I'll pick 2 (maybe 3 if I feel like it) winners on Oct. 1 so get your name in the box!

Quickster to Replace Netflix DVD Service

2011-09-19T08:29:00.000-04:00

If you haven't heard (meaning non-Netflix users because Netflix emailed all of their users), Netflix DVD Service will be no more... No, it's not going anywhere- they're simply refacing it. Now that DVDs and streaming are two separate plans, they're separating the business further, into Netflix Streaming Service and Quickster DVD Service.

The name Qwikster is supposed to be representative of the quick delivery of DVDs. That's fine by me, but I have one comment to make on the name- why, if they were aiming to separate the businesses while maintaining that it's still good 'ole Netflix, did they not name it something like Qwikflix? Netflix... Qwikflix... Is anyone else with me on this? There's more continuity there, I think.

Now, I've been a Netflix user for about 7 years... I was doing the DVDs + streaming up until recently, but between 2 jobs and various other projects, my time to sit down and just watch a movie has been limited. Since I like to watch movies on the go with my phone and laptop, I decided to step down to just streaming. It's been a bit tough actually, since a lot of my programs are only available on DVD. And now I've heard they're adding video games as an upgrade to the DVD service! As an avid gamer and movie lover, what is a girl to do?! If I get more free time when I finish up with my two jobs, I think I might be going back to the DVD service... Or, I might just create an account on my parents' plan, since they do the 3 DVDs + Unlimited streaming plan.

One last comment though- in the email that Netflix sent out, the email opened with this:

"I messed up. I owe you an explanation.
It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. Let me explain what we are doing."

Really people? When are people EVER going to respond happily to a price increase? Sadly, the companies that provide Netflix with their movies increased their prices when it was time to renew their contracts with Netflix, and in turn Netflix had to increase their prices for us users. But what grown person has so little to deal with in their normal lives, that they felt truly offended by how Netflix handled it? I'd have been pissed if they'd done it without saying anything, but they contacted all users and openly explained the situation... and yet, for some folks out there, apparently this was not the right way to go about it. Why do people offend so easily these days?

Really though Netflix, you've done what you had to do to survive in this rubbish economy! As a longtime user, I understand why you did it and although it sucks losing my DVD service, I know it had to happen this way. I don't blame you. I blame the media companies behind the contracts that decided to gouge you for every penny they could, even though they already make ten gazillion dollars every year through TV and film.

A Time and A Place

2011-09-17T09:00:00.002-04:00

I'm a BIG fan of courtesy waves... I give them constantly on the road, even if technically all I did was change lanes and there was plenty of room so it's not like the person behind me had to make room for me to slide in. I'm just a happy driver, what can I say?

Then there's everyone else... I am a super courteous driver (much to the dismay to anyone behind me) and tend to let everyone in (unless it's some jerk who is driving up the shoulder to get ahead of the traffic a bit before they have to cut in- I let them sit). It drives me nuts when there's a TON of rush hour traffic, and I'm nice enough to let some person jump into traffic from a side road, and they give me nothing. I get courtesy waves so rarely that I get truly excited when I get one. Sometimes I'll get one with my brother in the car, and we'll both be like, "Hey! Courtesy wave! Awesome!" How sad is that?

So yesterday I'm driving home from work and traffic is pretty bad. I noticed a guy trying to pull out of the Hardee's parking lot but not finding space in the wall of traffic. So, being me, I let him squeeze in. Now, I can see that in his left hand he's got food (a chicken sandwich or a burger or whatever) and his right hand is on the wheel. As he's pulling into traffic, he gives me a wave with his right hand! I'm always happy to get a courtesy wave, but rather than just give a little tip 'o the burger (so to speak), he opted to remove his hand from the steering wheel while in motion!

I love courtesy waves, but in terms of priorities, I'd rather at least one hand be on the wheel than get that little wave!

A Word to Parents...

2011-09-15T10:20:00.001-04:00

I'm going to rant for a moment, and I'll preface this by saying I know that this won't apply to all parents- quite frankly, I'm appalled that it applies to ANY and that's why I feel the need to bring this up...

As some of you know, I work as an athletic trainer at the middle school level. For those who aren't familiar with it, athletic training is a branch of sports medicine that provides preventitive care, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of sports related injuries. I spend my afternoons on the sideline of practices and games, ensuring that the kids receive immediate care in the event that they are injured.

Since the start of the middle school season last week, I have had three football players with broken bones! Last Monday, a kid broke his wrist doing up-downs. After assessing him and determining his wrist may be broken, I splinted him and spoke to his parents when they arrived to pick him up. Their immediate reaction upon seeing their kid blew my mind- rather than sounding concerned about their kid's arm being in a splint, their tone was one of irritation. I explained the situation, and they seemed totally put out that they'd have to take their kid for an x-ray.

On Friday, another kid was stepped on and upon assessment, I determined he had a fractured fibula (the skinny bone on the outside of your lower leg). I was barely touching the bone during my assessment and the poor kid was crying his eyes out from the pain. I called his parents, and his dad arrived to pick him up. His dad very gruffly and disbelievingly asked why he had been called to the school and asked to see where I thought the bone was broken. His dad kneels down beside him and grabs the kid's leg so hard his knuckles turned white, as if he was checking to see if the kid was actually in pain or just putting it on. The assistant student activities coordinator, coach, principal and myself all looked at each other in disbelief that he would do something so cruel! He then stands up, looks at us and says, "I'll wait until his mom gets home from work and we'll talk about whether or not we'll take him for an x-ray." He then started walking towards the parking lot, his son limping along behind him (fibulas are non-weight bearing bones, so it's possible to walk with a broken one) and when he reached the parking lot he turned to his son and told him to hurry the hell up.

Really??? Seriously parents, if you're not willing to deal with the potential consequences of your child playing a sport, DO NOT send them out there to play! FOOTBALL IS NOT DAYCARE. When you sign off that your kid can play, you're signing off that you are willing to take them to the ER if need-be. You are signing off that you will leave work and come pick up your kid from practice if need-be. If your child is BROKEN, act like you give a damn! That poor boy on Friday sat there and listened to his dad say he "might" take him to the ER. What the hell do you think that does to a 12 year old kid to hear his dad make it blatantly clear that he doesn't care that he's got a broken leg? If you don't want to take care of a kid, don't have one in the first place!!!! For the record- the kid with the jerk of a dad has a history of bad behavior at school- hmm, I wonder why?

And one last note- I had this same conversation with all three of the kids with broken bones:

Me to Kid: How much milk do you drink?
Kid: None! Milk is disgusting!
Me to Parent: Your child says they don't drink milk.
Parent: Oh no, he hates milk.

I'm sorry, but when did kids gain such total control over their parents? Parents, quit being doormats! I hate milk too, but I still drink some on occasion, and - shocker - I've never broken a bone! Do you let your kid eat cake for dinner? Or do you make them eat a bit of vegetables? I hate broccoli, but as a kid my mom made me sit at the table until I ate it. Unless your kid has some medical condition that means they shouldn't consume milk, make them drink it! You're an adult, and they're a child! Be the adult! Take some control! This is almost as bad as the fact that I've got 11 year old athletes with tattoos!

I will say that when I spoke to the parents of the kid who I believed to have a fractured fibula yesterday (2 in a week- what are the chances?), they were totally cool with taking him for an x-ray. They thanked me for making the call to keep him from playing in the scrimmage yesterday, and said they'd take him to get it checked out. So I know it's not all parents... but quite frankly, I'm mad that there are any parents out there who are so flippant about their child's well being, let alone two out of three. Regardless of whether your kid is deliberate or accidental, you've put another human on this Earth and you're responsible for its upbringing.

Rant over.

Hi!

2011-09-14T08:30:00.000-04:00

I know what you're thinking- Lindsay has fallen off the face of the Earth! I swear I'm alive and still blogging... Actually, I've been working hard on something for the blog, and I hope to have it working soon! In the meantime, please bear with me!

Review: Heelys Shoes! [VLOG]

2011-09-12T09:00:00.001-04:00

Heelys and Business2Blogger recently teamed up for a campaign to bring Heelys shoes to a larger audience- Heelys is hoping to prove that their shoes aren't just kids! Out of curiosity, I signed on for the campaign. I was given my choice of shoes and once I'd received them, my brother and I headed outside for some wheeling fun!

Mind you, before putting on the shoes, I read up on the Heelys General Guide to see how to operate the shoes, and the Heelys Safety Playbook to ensure I was not going to crack my head open on the cement. Fortunately, they have an entire site called the Tricktionary which has tutorial videos and such that you can watch to learn how to operate the shoes!

So, here's my vlog of the Heelys experience!

All in all, I actually rather enjoyed them! I had a lot of trouble telling my toes to stay up, but my brothers and I were thoroughly amused watching me struggle to learn to use them! I now understand why kids wheel around in stores in these shoes... the ground needs to be rather smooth to get a good roll going- unfortunately we don't really have any smooth surfaces around unless I were to go into the house (and then my mom would kill me!).

I really like the look of them, and I was really pleased to see that the wheels were removable! I can honestly say I got some exercise out of these... I'm sore today after only an hour in them yesterday!

We already know kids love them, but for all the adults out there- you can totally enjoy these too! If you grew up with roller skates/roller blades, I think you'll have fun in these! It just takes some practice!

Labor Day at Grandma's!

2011-09-07T08:06:00.001-04:00

My brother and I drove up to Grandma's in Maryland this past weekend to meet up with a couple of the girls I met on my trip to Europe! They live in Pennsylvania, so we decided Grandma was sort of the halfway point. I was fantastic! And I had fun taking photos out on Grandma's porch, so I wanted to share a few:

Grandma has quite a few hummingbirds. Sorry I didn't get a better shot... for some reason I didn't think to bring my zoom lens to the place where I knew there would be tons of awesome birds...

Blue-tailed skink! We have them all over in Virginia and Maryland!

We fed the squirrels some peanuts. He saw me and was a bit suspicious of my motives...

But he could not resist the peanuts!

Nom!

Blog Tour Review: The Last Seal by Richard Denning

2011-09-03T10:05:00.003-04:00

The date is September 1, 1666. London is about to be ravaged by the worst fire in its history, but they only think they know the cause...

Benjamin Silver knows all too well about fire- he lost his parents to one not long ago. Since their death, he's been acting out at school and repeatedly getting into trouble. Today is no different- after being told to stay in his room, he decides to sneak away from the school and wander London. He ends up at a bookstore where he sees a symbol of a portcullis that matches a pendant he wears around his neck.

From the moment Ben walks into the bookstore, his life changes forever. He suddenly learns there is more to the world than anyone had ever imagined. Hiding within the city of London is a beast of unspeakable horror and power-hungry men who have decided they want to unleash the beast. In just a few days, Ben discovers many new things about himself and with the help of a few new friends, he hopes to save London from a worse fate than the fire. Can they do it?

I think what I love most about Richard Denning's books is the fact that he manages to integrate true historical events into his stories and successfully integrate elements of fantasy and the supernatural. Today is in fact the 345th anniversary of Day 2 of the Great Fire of London, so I love that I'm reviewing a book about it today! Did you know that 13,000 homes were destroyed, leaving 70,000 of 80,000 London residents homeless? Fortunately, the fire only killed a dozen or so people, but it also killed off the rats that carried the fleas that transmitted the bubonic plague!

The writing in this book is fairly simple- it's youth fiction, so it's easy reading. The character interactions are entertaining, and you learn a bit of background on each character as the story moves along. The characters also grow as individuals as the story develops- Ben confronts the trauma of his parents' death, Gabriel confronts his fears, etc. The story itself was quick paced. Just when things seemed to start slowing down for the characters, something else would go awry and they'd be off and running again! It isn't all death and mayhem though- there is a bit of humor intertwined with the story to lighten the mood a bit!

Richard Denning, the author of The Last Seal

Mr. Denning has obviously done his research- the beast Dantalion isn't merely the the fruit of his imagination, but a powerful demon with various abilities, according to demonology. These abilities are all exhibited in The Last Seal. He also explains various events surrounding the Great Fire of London, such as how the winds spread the fire and suddenly stopped after three days. I love when books are well researched! It makes me feel as though I'm actually learning something new as I'm reading! In fact, I know quite a bit more about the Great Fire of London since reading The Last Seal!

If you enjoy tales of the struggles between good and evil, I highly recommend this book to you! It's a fun, quick paced read that you won't be able to put down! It made for an excellent summer read!

Check out more reviews/info about the book at Richard Denning's Blog Tour page! You can also follow Mr. Denning on Twitter here, and on Facebook here!

You can also check out my review of his previous book, Tomorrow's Guardian!

**I received a copy of The Last Seal from Richard Denning in exchange for an honest review**

Review: Mat Kearney's Young Love

2011-09-02T15:08:00.003-04:00

I recently received a copy of Mat Kearney's latest album, Young Love, from the One2One Network to review. I don't normally listen to music with lyrics (I'm a film score junkie), but I listened to some snippets on iTunes and decided I liked the sound of it. As soon as the CD arrived, I dropped the music onto my iTunes and had a listen. So, what do I think?

I love it! The music has some great beats, and meaningful lyrics. The first single released from the album, "Hey Mama" is a fun, foot tapping/hand clapping tune about when Mat first met his wife. My favorite song is "Ships in the Night"- it's got a great beat, and I like the spoken rap/hip hop sound that Mat has (I really like his voice!). I also enjoyed the more mellow tunes, such as "Rochester" which is a tune he wrote for his dad.

This album is considered rock, but most of the songs are either really mellow or really upbeat, so I love it! I find that I can listen to this album both as I'm falling asleep and as I'm driving in to work in the morning and need something to wake me up.

It's $10 on iTunes, or $5 on Amazon mp3 (and you can get 20gb of free cloud space for downloading the album from Amazon) so if you like the sound of the music in the video above, I highly recommend you check it out!

Not that I'm counting, but...

2011-08-30T12:19:00.001-04:00

125 DAYS!!! (Or 4 months-ish) until I start school again!!!

Not only am I super excited because I will get to buy school supplies, and shove my nose into textbooks and such again (how geeky do I sound?), but because of one other HUGE reason:

Work.

Yes, I still hate my job. But on top of that, the fall season has started again, so I'm back to working the two jobs. Yesterday, my day went like this:

7:00 AM- Wake Up
7:30 AM- Leave for work #1
8:00 AM- Get to work #1
2:00 PM- Leave work #1
2:30 PM- Arrive home, change clothes
2:45 PM- Leave for work #2
3:15 PM- Get to work #2
6:15 PM- Leave work #2
6:45 PM- Arrive at gym
7:45 PM- Leave gym
8:00 PM- Arrive home, shower, eat dinner, try to catch up on scholarship apps and such
11:00 PM- Drop into bed exhausted

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Today is going to be identical to yesterday... and it'll probably go as such for quite a while. At the least, I'll have 3 games per week during the fall season, meaning at best, getting off of work #2 by 7:00 most evenings, and then maybe going to the gym if I'm not starving to death.

I just have to suck it up for 4 months... 4 months of some seriously hard-earned cash, which I intend to stash away for a post-grad school trip around the UK!

Hurricane Irene in Virginia Beach [LIVE VLOG]

2011-08-27T10:03:00.010-04:00

[8:00 PM]
So the worst came over, but nothing too bad! The eye missed us, so it's been pouring continuously. The ground is getting very soft, so trees are falling over (as evidenced by our neighbor) but hopefully trees stay rooted overnight! It's still incredibly gusty right now. This is the last video for the night- it's downright inky outside now, so you can't really see anything. But I got a bit more video just before it got dark! And tomorrow morning I'll go out early and take some pictures!

[5:00 PM]
Photo of the tree that fell in the neighbor's yard! Not the best- had to snap it while holding the front door open, but the wind was fighting to push the door shut!

[4:00 PM]
Nothing too bad yet- I went for a quick walk along the street around my house. The worst is expected around 6:00. That said, the storm is picking up with every passing moment! Our neighbor's tree just went down! I'll have another video up with some more of the damage in a few!

[2:30 PM]
They found the 9 year old boy. He was killed :(

[1:30 PM]
Currently it's picking up... there was a long lull, but wind is starting to whip again. I went out for a few, and by a few I mean 4 minutes. And now I'm soaked. Awesome!!! No bad damage yet- a big branch missed my younger bro's car by inches, but all in all it's not too bad. Apparently a tree fell on an apartment building in Newport News and a 9 year old boy is somewhere inside. They're trying to find him. News is saying Irene is 95mi south of here now, so things should really start picking up!

[11:00 AM]
Some more video for you (please excuse the cat)! Lots of wind and rain :D The tunnels leading out of Virginia Beach are now closed :P Oh, and they managed to rescue the two morons in the sailboat- hopefully they're arrested for reckless endangerment of our Coast Guard members. And poor Sandbridge had a tornado roll through earlier... As if a hurricane wasn't enough?

[9:30 AM]
A bit windy, and pouring, but nothing too bad! Apparently a couple decided to go out to the marina on their sailboat, and now the poor Coast Guard is out there trying to save their lives... Personally I believe we should let them drown! Darwinism!!! In Sandbridge, some houses have already completely lost their roofs, which is rough considering we're not expected to feel the worst of Irene until between 12-6.

Earth Wind and Fire

2011-08-26T09:00:00.006-04:00

I absolutely love this picture! What a melodramatic use of the words "extreme" and "catastrophic"! We're supposedly due for the worst late Sat/early Sunday (I'm right next to the Norfolk dot in the pink, so our threat level is "extreme"). I'm so bummed... this weekend is the East Coast Surfing Championships... I bought a zoom lens and have been waiting months so that I could finally get some epic photos of surfers, and a flippin' hurricane rolls through! Bummer! The rain is expected to start today and carry through the weekend- good thing too! The grass needs watering...

Mom cracked the "Earth Wind and Fire" joke the other day, since we've got the Dismal Swamp burning to the south (yes, it's still burning... they said the peat is burning so deep that they'd have to flood the swamp continually for 6 months to put it out! It's killing my asthma), a hurricane rolling up the coast, and the earthquake a few days ago. 2012. And that's all I'm saying about that...
Yeah, perhaps it's bad that I'm taking this with a grain of salt... but then again, last year we were supposed to be hit by a gnarly hurricane and when it hit the outer banks, it veered off and all we got was a rain shower... But if you don't hear from me, power is probably out... or my house collapsed on me!

Funny Photo!

2011-08-25T08:28:00.000-04:00

This made me laugh out loud, so I wanted to share it- my brother emailed it to me yesterday (It's referring to our disappointing earthquake)

The Virginia Earthquake [LIVE]

2011-08-23T14:30:00.012-04:00

9:46 PM
Not a SINGLE aftershock! How boring!!!

3:18 PM
Where are the aftershocks we were promised? How unexciting!

2:52 PM
Dang... just realized the ramifications of this... Everyone is going mad getting ready for Hurricane Irene, and now we have earthquakes too... and I have to go to the grocery store later. It's going to suck :-/

2:45 PM
Apparently there are concerns about the nuclear plant in Surrey, VA... No worries though! They say power was knocked out but everything was manually shut down and generators are up and running!

2:35 PM
All in all, totally anticlimactic... waiting for some aftershocks to roll through :D Apparently this mess was felt all the way in New York! They're calling it a 6.0 now. Japan's earthquake was a 6.8, yes? I'm not so worried about me, but I'm glad big brother is ok. He works on the 19th floor of his building in Norfolk. He said they were rocked.

2:28 PM
Just checking in! I'm alive! We all are, I suspect... it wasn't a gnarly one.

2:19 PM
The Virginia Marine Science Center says there's no possiblity of tsumamis, so no worries here in Virginia Beach. Did people think there might be? Sure, if it had been an offshore quake, but it was in central Virginia...

2:16 PM
Just increased to a 5.9 on the Richter scale.

2:06 PM
Quake is being called a 5.8 on the Richter scale, epicenter is Mineral, VA

1:55 PM
Earthquake! How exciting!!! Our building started shaking and the folks I work with say, "What's going on?". Seriously, I know we rarely get them, but need you ask? So I head for a doorway, and they walk into the main part of the building and ask other people coming out of offices, "Is it the wind?" As our building shakes harder. Really?! We make it through hurricanes (Irene is on her way, btw), and you think a regular breeze is going to shake the building??? According to Darwinism, I and maybe 5 people in this office would survive a real disaster.

Snagged the cell real quick and immediately hopped on Twitter/Facebook. Always good for quick news!

Happy Birthday Mr. Armitage!

2011-08-22T09:27:00.004-04:00

Today is the 40th birthday of my favorite actor, a gorgeous man with a voice that could make any girl weak in the knees- Richard Armitage!!! Hooray!!! Happy birthday Richard!!!!!!!!!!

As with all of my other fanatical RA fans, I'm going to celebrate by sharing lots of images of him :) I'll try to tone it down, but he's quite nice to look at, so it's tough deciding which photos to share and which to omit!

Richard as Guy of Gisborne on BBC's Robin Hood. Sir Guy may have been the villian, but you couldn't help but love him! The shirtless photo is from a scene that was (in my opinion) the highlight of the entire series...

Richard in his Naboo Fighter Pilot days in Star Wars Episode 1. I believe he's 28 in this photo :)

Richard in a magazine article after they started prepping for The Hobbit, in which he'll be playing Thorin Oakenshield!

Richard playing Heinz Kruger in Captain America!

Richard as John Porter in Strike Back... Richard is so lovely in uniform!

My favorite scene in North & South- Richard as John Thornton on the train station platform. If I was Daniela Denby-Ashe, I wouldn't have been able to get a word out during that scene because I'd have melted into a puddle from the way he was looking at her.

Looking lovely in a couple of promo photos for Spooks, where he played Lucas/John... He's the whole reason I started watching that show! It took 7 seasons to get to him, but it was totally worth it :D

Richard, reading a story on Cbeebies. He can read bedtime stories to me any night!

There are so many more photos I could share... I've stalked him through Netflix and every other means I could manage to see him on screen. He's a great actor, and if you haven't seen him, I strongly suggest you check out his work! Many of my fellow fans have written up posts about him, so rather than go on about him myself, I want to share what everyone else is saying! If you did a post to celebrate his birthday, feel free to add your link in the comments!

Happy Armitage Day! from The Squeee

Armitage XL from Me + Richard

Happy Birthday RA!! from AllThingsRichardArmitage

Postcrossing (16)

2011-08-21T09:00:00.004-04:00

And yet more postcards... rather an unexciting stock in terms of what the senders wrote... nothing interesting enough to share (mostly just stuff like "Happy Postcrossing!" or "I hope you like your postcard!")

Postcard from Wisconsin (a bit obvious, I know)

Postcard from Dordrecht, Netherlands

Postcard from Australia- Photos are a kookaburra and a cockatoo, two of the best know Australian birds. We don't have anything awesome like this in Virginia... unless you include a hawk lol

Postcard from Kansas City, Missouri- images are the Liberty Memorial, the National WWI Museum, JC Nichols fountain in the Country Club Plaza, and the "Sky Stations"

Postcard from Russia

Corel Painter 12

2011-08-19T08:43:00.001-04:00

As you all know, I’m not a graphic designer or illustrator, and I’m not terribly tech savvy. I love art, and I like to paint, but I’ve never attempted it on a computer. The only computer program I use related to my art is Adobe Photoshop when I occasionally need to crop some of my photography. Therefore, this will not be a technical review! This will be a review of how user friendly and visually appealing the program is! The only technical bit that I’ll toss out is if you recently updated to Apple’s OS X Lion, you’ll need to run over to the Corel webpage and download the latest patch.

Compliments of the Amazon Vine Program, I had the awesome opportunity to try Corel Painter 12! I have a Bamboo tablet, so I busted it out of my desk (and dusted it off) and plugged it into my laptop. Initially I just played with brushes and various drawing tools. Considering I completely disregarded the intro manual (A 112p hardcover book, which I do intend to read over at some point), I was extremely impressed by how user friendly this program is! Everything is laid out very simply, and the brushes are all well labeled and categorized. I love how realistic the brush strokes are! The colors blend in an incredibly realistic manner, and depending on the brush you’re using, you can even see the fine bristle lines in the brush strokes! I especially love the watercolor setting! You can actually watch the paint “dry”, and it looks so real! I spent hours playing with the watercolor setting and painting random pictures with it.

I agree with what other users are saying about it running slow- I’m running a Macbook Pro with OS X Lion, so in terms of laptops, mine is on the more powerful end of things. The first time I used the program, I had no trouble- no lag, no crashing. The next time I used it, I works for a few hours and after about two hours it started lagging. I’d tell it to ‘undo’ something and it would have to give me the little spinning beach ball that means the computer is thinking, and it would have to crank for about 30 seconds or so before it would undo the action. Around hour three, the program crashed. I haven’t had it crash on me again since, however it still lags horribly. I find it’s worse with the larger area I’m painting. I was playing with watercolors and painted huge section of my painting, only to have the computer struggle to process the “drying” aspect of the watercolors. I ended up switching screens and surfing the net for a few to let me watercolors dry. I didn’t seem to run into that problem if I only painted small areas at a time.

And just for a laugh, I'll share my crude first attempt with all of you! See how well all of the colors blend? And yes, I know I have no idea how to paint a tree... Bob Ross would be so dissappointed! I used to watch him every single day before school... I had fun playing with the sponge setting though, as well as the palette knifes! [Click the image to see the full detail]

Overlooking the lag and crashing issues (for which I’ve yet to see a patch), this program is awesome! I love to paint, but rarely get the opportunity to do so. Now I can do so on my laptop and it looks so real! I love my Photoshop, but for drawing/illustrating projects, I highly recommend Corel Painter 12!

Anderson Cooper's Giggle Fit

2011-08-18T08:39:00.001-04:00

Ok, I had to share this... Anderson Cooper got a righteous case of the giggles while reporting on the whole Gerard Depardieu airplane incident and it made me laugh! Anderson Cooper has an odd giggle, can I just say that?

I had a very hard time keeping my laughter to a minimum so that they didn't know I was sitting here watching CNN.com reports at work...

Postcrossing (15)

2011-08-17T09:00:00.002-04:00

More postcards for you! As I said, I have quite a few to share!

Ok, this one isn't technically Postcrossing, but it's from elsewhere in the world (Senegal!), so I'm going to count it! This is a card from Jenny, my friend who is in Senegal with the Peace Corps. The handprint is from on of the children in her village :) Check out her blog!

Postcard from the U.S.- (1 of 2) She actually has never been to Paris, but hopes to go someday :) I should send her a message and let her know how gross it is...

This is postcard #2 from the girl above. She inserted both into an envelope. She didn't write anything on this one, she said I could use it. But it's pretty, so I'll keep it :)

This postcard is from Michael, one of my direct swap friends! He lives in San Francisco

Postcard from Tokyo, Japan (in case you couldn't tell)

Postcard from Carpathians, Ukraine- the image is of the tallest mountain in the Carpathians, Gerlackovka.

Postcrossing (14)

2011-08-15T08:45:00.000-04:00

It's been ages since I shared my postcards with all of you, so I'll be sharing some over the next few days! For those who aren't familiar with it, I participate on a site called Postcrossing.com. Essentially, you put in your address and request the address of someone else somewhere else in the world. You then mail them a postcard. When they register their postcard, you are then eligible to receive a postcard from elsewhere in the world! It's a lot of fun, and I've gotten some awesome postcards!

Postcard from Irkutsk, Siberia- These are photos of a museum, library, and children's school of arts in the city.

Postcard from Ohio- The image is from the museum of Amsterdam of a letter from Paul Gauguin to Vincent Van Gogh with his sketches of Be in Love and Christ in the Garden of Olives.

Postcard from The Netherlands- it says "Greeting from Groningen"; from a fellow Jane Austen fan that suggested I visit the Jane Austen museum while on my trip to Bath (gives you an idea of how far behind I am on sharing these, eh?)

Postcard from California- the haunted Hotel Coronado is in the background!

Postcard from Belarus- The sender shared a bunch of info about her hometown, Brest.

Put me in charge...

2011-08-13T12:36:00.000-04:00

My brother forwarded this to me a while back and I wanted to share it- it's awesome! It's from the Waco Tribune Herald in Waco, TX- Nov 18 2010

Put me in charge ...

Put me in charge of food stamps. I’d get rid of Lone Star cards; no cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho’s, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.

Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I’d do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or tubal ligations. Then, we’ll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine and document all tattoos and piercings. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, smoke or get tats and piercings, then get a job.

Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks? You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your “home” will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.

In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a “government” job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the “common good.”

Before you write that I’ve violated someone’s rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary. If you want our money, accept our rules.. Before you say that this would be “demeaning” and ruin their “self esteem,” consider that it wasn’t that long ago that taking someone else’s money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self esteem.

If we are expected to pay for other people’s mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.

Alfred W. Evans, Gatesville, TX

The Great Dismal Swamp

2011-08-12T08:53:00.000-04:00

The news never seems to care about the goings on in Virginia and North Carolina, but for those of us living nearby, some happy news this morning! For the past couple of months, thousands of acres of the Great Dismal Swamp (cheery name, no?) has been burning. Usually only southern Virginia and NC are affected, but apparently the smoke reached Maryland this time. People up around Grandma were calling around trying to find out what was burning. Mind you, burning swamp isn't a normal smokey smell, not like a fireplace. None of the Marylanders could ID the weird smoke odor. Because of the burning peat, it's got a wetter smokey smell than a normal fire.

Apparently in some parts of North Carolina, ash clouds were raining ash like something out of Pompeii. We had some ash drifting about in the air, but nothing too bad. No, unfortunately the worst we got was the smoke... and it was BAD. See the photo to the right? That's how it looked on many mornings, and occasionally in the afternoons if the wind wasn't in our favor. Bad to breathe, yes? It was so thick outside that it seeped into buildings- even my office was smoked out!

Now imagine having severe asthma :) Never in my life have I required my inhaler to DRIVE HOME before, but about halfway home from work the other day I felt like I was going to pass out, so I searched like a madwoman for my inhaler while sitting at a red light. I still made an effort to go to the gym with my brother. Usually on M/W/F we do some lifting and then 30 min of cardio, in which I manage 2.5-3mi on the elliptical. On T/R we just do 45min of cardio in which I manage approx. 4mi of cardio. I, however, only managed 2mi in 34 min on Tuesday... and then I gave out. After having a low-grade attack all day, I just couldn't push any further.

Thankfully, last night it rained. Apparently it was enough to put out the 5000+ acres of swamp that were burning. Hooray! They say lightning struck the swamp and started the fire. Granted, it hasn't rained much, but how exactly does a swamp become so dry that a lightning strike lights it up?

Hartz Nodor Litter Spray

2011-08-10T09:00:00.003-04:00

I recently had the opportunity to test a bottle of Clean Scent Hartz Nodor Litter Spray, compliments of Viewpoints! The spray claims to use a breakthrough technology that completely eliminates cat urine odor on contact, rather than working as a fragrant cover-up. It’s safe to use around people and pets (it’s both non-toxic and non-allergenic!), and best of all, it won’t clump litter!

To be perfectly honest, I think the claim that it COMPLETELY eliminates cat urine odor is a big claim to try and stick to! I used this spray on my litter boxes at home (we have 4 cats) as well as at my brother’s home (he has two). I can’t honestly account for how effective the spray is on litter… at my house, we scoop the litter boxes twice a day (morning and evening) so the litter box never truly smells. On top of that, the litter is a clumping, no odor litter. Hence the reason I took the spray over to my brother’s house- he’s much less on the ball when it comes to scooping the litter box! He lives in a townhouse, so he keeps the litter box in his downstairs bathroom. I will say his bathroom doesn’t seem to smell like litter, although even his bathroom was never truly “smelly”. He does occasionally scoop the litter box, and whenever the litter starts to smell, he dumps the box completely and puts in fresh litter. I guess what I’m trying to say is that unless you’re a complete slob that never cleans out your litter box or changes out the litter (In which case, shame on you! And I pity your poor cat…), this really makes no significant difference to your litter box!

We did, however, opt to try something beyond what the packaging calls for… the directions say you can use it in and around your litter box, so why couldn’t you use it on a spot where the cat has peed outside the litter box? If it completely neutralizes the smell as they claim, this should work, right? One of my brother’s cats has a bit of a behavioral issue and decided to start marking the carpet in the spare room upstairs. It’s been a bit of a battle, trying to correct the behavior and remove the smell from the carpet so that she doesn’t continue to hit the spot. Lots of chemicals and carpet cleaner rentals later, the smell continues to persist! So we sprayed the area with Nodor in hopes that it would have more success! The verdict? “Completely eliminates cat urine odor” isn’t entirely true… It helped a bit, but not significantly. And it didn’t last.

So my overall verdict? At only $6 a bottle, if you want to keep some on hand to spray the litter box if you have company coming over, have at it! The clean scent helps to remove the odor for a bit, and because the spray is a mist, your litter won’t get clumpy. It’s not a solution to having to clean your litter box occasionally though, so if that’s what you’re looking for, this isn’t it!

Conversion

2011-08-08T09:05:00.000-04:00

So my dad walks into my room last night and the following conversation takes place:

Dad: Did you see the British flick your mom is watching? (Note: Mom has been burning through programs about British history- Elizabeth, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, etc)
Me: No...
(dad walks out and then walks back in)
Dad (jokingly): You know, if you just keep at this, you'll eventually convert the whole family into moving to England with you.

Mwahahahahaha! My plan is working!!!! I've even got my older brother, who used to make fun of my anglophilia and love for BBC programming, completely hooked on Doctor Who! He's even turned to watching Torchwood while awaiting the new Doctor Who episodes! He's even stated that he loves UK accents and wouldn't mind dating a chic with one! It's only a matter of time!!!

My progress so far...

2011-08-06T09:00:00.000-04:00

I'm dropping the ball on this checklist... I have been working on it though! Here's everything I've done lately:

2. Go on a journey, long or short. I think I've got this one covered... Which I still owe you all the final photos from my trip! I feel sad whenever I think about the fact that my amazing European adventure is over :(

4. Take in a beautiful view. As an ancient history buff, it doesn't get better than this:

9. Get 8 hours of sleep. I know it seems like an odd time to do it but I have never, in my entire life, slept as well as I did in London (perhaps it was some subconscious sense of serenity as a result of finally being in England)! When I went to bed around 11, I thought to myself that it was bright and loud and there was no way I was going to fall asleep. Within 10 minutes I was out, and although it'll seem like a poor use of my time, I allowed myself to wake on my own (sans alarm clock). I was up by 9 each morning, feeling incredibly well rested and wide awake! Sleep has never come so easily or been so refreshing, before or after my time in London. This is just one of the reasons I'll have to move to England one day!
10. Be active. Ugh... I hate it, but I go to the gym every day! MWF I lift and do 30 minutes of cardio, and TR I do 45 min of cardio!

16. Work out. Same as above... I'm now a member at Anytime Fitness :D

17. Stretch. I do this every day before working out! I'm flexible so it's all good... I usually sit there and laugh at my brother, who struggles :)

26. Face your fears. I went to Europe by myself. I can't bring myself to go to the grocery store solo, so this was BIG for me!

31. Follow your passion. I traveled! And I'll do it again, you just wait!

34. Break outside your comfort zone. This goes back to the going to Europe by myself thing. I'm shy and I was in a tour group of 40 compelte strangers. Just getting on the plane by myself was an asthma-attack inducing experience!

35. No regrets. Sure, I dropped $4k on a 2 week trip to Europe. Best $4k EVER.

46. Make new friends. Made friends for life on my trip to Europe! I miss them much! We'll be meeting up in September though :D

54. Get outside. Spent lots of time outside in Europe... Hyde Park, the gardens of Versailles, Pompeii... all of it = AWESOME.

65. Have a meal somewhere different: try a picnic. Picnic'd under the Eiffel Tower!!! Oh yeah!!! I haven't picnic'd since I was a kid... It was totally awesome though :D

86. Take a walk. I think I walked about 100 miles around London, Paris (Versailles especially) and Rome... Spending a day walking around Hyde Park takes the cake as being the most awesome day of my life!

95. Find a hobby. I've recently gotten back into art... I paint, I make bracelets... I do whatever I feel compelled to do... I love being creative!

99. Go for a walk or jog in the rain. Technically we were touring Pompeii, but I've never experienced rain like that in my life! It POURED! My camera was hiding under my poncho most of the time, but it was the best birthday ever!!! It was torrential rain (streets were flooding) and we were all soaked to the bone (even with ponchos) and it was fantastic :D

Just for Laughs [Video] :)

2011-08-04T09:00:00.003-04:00

**UPDATE** Sorry about the video size! Apparently even though I told it to be the small version, it set up the largest one... stupid YouTube...

After touring Versailles, the four of us in my little group had a run around the gardens. This is one of the 100+ videos we shot while on our trip, but it's one of our favorites. Granted, it's really one of those "You had to be there"-type things, but we think it's funny :D And I don't know if I've ever shared a video of myself with you lot, so you can see a bit of me for once!

Curious... Very curious...

2011-08-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

We'll call them the "Smith" Family. Seemingly normal people... First Mr. Smith worked at the bank, and in due time his brother, son, and daughter all began working there as well. This isn't unusual- I've learned that banking is truly a family business. Everything seemed perfectly normal until just recently.

It began with some incorrect paperwork. Some papers would list one address, others would list another. When asked, Mr. Smith would be vague, never truly clarifying which was his home address. Very weird... who doesn't know their home address? And why, when asked, be vague about it?

This weirdness continued until just a couple of weeks ago when the entire Smith clan suddenly resigned their positions. Not just one, but all of them suddenly quit, on the same day! No issues with their jobs- they seemed perfectly happy... but without explanation they all quit! So, I've developed a theory for their bizarre behavior...

The witness protection program. Perhaps they witnessed a mafia crime and are hiding out? Or maybe they aren't under protection, but they witnessed something (or owe someone something) and are on the run? What other conclusion is there for not knowing/not wanting to share your addess, and suddenly uprooting your entire family from their jobs and disappearing?

There are TWO of them?!?!

2011-08-01T08:22:00.004-04:00

Clark Gable has a hot grandson, also named Clark Gable? How did I not know this?!?! Holy shite!!! YES PLEASE!!!!

Smolder alert! Clark James Gable, up and coming actor, in front of a poster of his grandfather, famous actor William Clark Gable.

A Very Harry (Potter, that is) Birthday Treat!

2011-07-31T00:32:00.001-04:00

Today is Harry Potter and JK Rowling's birthday! Hooray! And what better way to celebrate than a mug of butterbeer?!

Making butterbeer is incredibly easy, and tastes a lot like what you can get at Wizarding World!

You only need 3 ingredients:

-A&W Cream Soda (you can use a different brand, but my research has shown a consensus that this tastes closest to Wizard World's choice of cream soda).

-Heavy whipping cream

-Smuckers® Butterscotch topping

Whip the cream until just starting to firm up (not until peaks form), then mix in a few tablespoons of the butterscotch topping, until it has a distinct butterscotch flavor. This is to taste, so no specific measurement... I like mine less sweet, so I didn't put in a whole lot.

For the liquid butterbeer (pictured above):

Pour the cream soda into a mug (here's an excuse to whip out your butterbeer mug from Wizarding World!)

Put a few dollops of the flavored whipped cream on top (my initial thought was, "If I drop the cream in, won't it just blend with the soda?" But it actually just drops in and then floats to the top!)

And for those of you, who like me, prefer the slushie version (which is way more awesome on a hot day like we've been having!):

Making the slushie mix is a bit of a challenge... Initially, I tried to be lazy and busted out the blender and just blended up some ice into a slush mix and added the cream soda. The result was this:

Notice the distinctively pale color? It was watery and not so awesome. Do-able and easy, yes. If you're not that picky, have at it! However, if you'd like something a bit truer to the Wizarding World beverage:

Pour some of the cream soda into a dish and put it in the freezer. After 30 minutes, take it out and give it a stir. The top and sides will be partially frozen and it will be a bit slushy as you stir it up. Place it back in the freezer and wait 30 more minutes, take it out, and stir. It's up to you whether you put it in for one more 30 minutes. I opted to do so because it was still a bit too liquidy for my taste after only an hour. 1.5 hrs was perfect for me! This was the final result after 1.5 hrs:

During it's final round in the freezer, go ahead and make up the butterscotch cream that makes the "head". Pull the slush out of the freezer. Mix the slush up really good and pour it into your mug and then pour the "head" on top! Voilà! A perfect slushie butterbeer! Notice that unlike its blender-prepped counterpart, this drink is decisively the proper "beer" color?

So drink up! Toast to Mr. Potter and Mrs. Rowling's birthday, and enjoy!

The best birthday EVER!!! Pompeii!!!!

2011-07-30T09:00:00.004-04:00

And last, but certainly not least, was the most amazing birthday in the history of mankind! There really are no words for how much going to Pompeii on my birthday made my life!!! The bus ride was a lengthy one, but everyone slept (except for me). Unfortunately, the closer we got to Pompeii, the harder the rain was falling. By the time we got there, the streets were flooded! I've never seen rain like it in my life! It was torrential, and they were big fat raindrops! We nabbed some ponchos from a vendor, but my poncho was more for my camera than for myself... so needless to say I was drenched. Did I care? Not one bit! I love rain! It was so much fun!!!

We started our tour by going through a temple. I love this photo because you can see Vesuvius looking all smokey in the background!

We then went to an amphorae vendor in the market, where they had a couple of casts... For those who don't know, archaeologists went digging through Pompeii and kept finding voids in the ash they were digging out. They determined that this was where organic material had been covered, decayed, and left a cavity in the shape of whatever had been there. Below is a dog, in the middle of it's death throes as it was suffocating from carbon monoxide poisoning and ash.

Alongside the dog was the cast of a person who was obviously crouching and trying to cover their mouth to keep out the ash.

Another body nearby is of a person lying prone, trying to cover their mouth and eyes.

No, this one isn't dead... Pompeii is overrun with "wild" dogs! I do the "" because they're really quite sweet! We were told ahead of our tour that they tend to see large tour groups as packs and latch on ("joining the pack", if you will). It was rather funny actually, because they develop a "pack" mentality and become rather protective, even though they've just met you! We had to crowd under an awning at one point because it was raining so hard and a bunch of smaller tour groups were squeezing in with us, and our dogs kept barking at them when they came too close!

This was under the awning with us... apparently some of the voids still had bones in them!

The paint is frescoed, meaning they paint it while the plaster is still wet. By doing this, the dyes seeped into the plaster, so unlike paint which can chip off, the color stays (obviously FOREVER)! Cool, right?! Paintings from 2,000 years ago adorn the walls of homes because it'll NEVER chip off!

Lunch was pretty basic, and we looked around at souvenir places a bit, but then we headed off! The drive home was lovely... I took lots of photos of the clouds in the sky! Of course the rain cleared off just as we hit the road, but I loved every minute of Pompeii, rain and all!

When we returned to Rome, we were free to tour around the city some more. We did some souvenir shopping and then we grabbed dinner. We spent the rest of the evening packing.

The following morning, we were up at the crack of dawn to head for the airport. It was a sad day :( I made some amazing friends on that trip! We're all hoping to meet up in Maryland over Labor Day weekend (Grandma is very conveniently situated halfway between all of our homes! Grandma gets company! Hooray!). I had a blast on my travels, and can't wait to head off on another adventure!

And, of course, you can see the rest of my Pompeii photos here!

Il Vaticano

2011-07-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

Our second day in Rome was spent touring the Vatican! We got in a bit of shopping beforehand, and I bought myself a souvenir! We met up in the Piazza Navona (Angels & Demons fans, this is where the cardinal was nearly drowned in the Bernini Fountain). I love the story behind this fountain- Bernini wanted to build the church but his rival, Borromini, beat him for the contract so he built the fountain out front. The statue on the side facing the church is cowering in fear that the church will collapse (because he said Borromini was a rubbish architect). When carving the statue of Mary atop the church, Borromini chose to have her turning her back, rather than holding her arms open to her congregation and gazing upon Bernini's fountain for all eternity. Rivalry through sculpture :D

You know what they say- when in Rome, do as the Romans do! I had read about this trick online prior to leaving on my trip... apparently Romans can often tell the tourists just by how they drink from the water fountains. Tourists try to get under the spigot and drink, but if you plug the spigot with your finger, there's a hole on the top that the water will shoot out of!

On my last trip to Rome, we had a chance to run around the Castel San'Angelo a bit. This time, we just hurried past on our way to the Vatican. Nonetheless, I loved running around in a real castle! I intend to find more to run around in sometime in the future!

The last time I was in Rome, they told us no cameras in the Vatican, so we didn't bring our cameras. When we arrived there, we were told we could take pictures, but no flash! We were so mad!!! But this time I had my camera on hand, and I took lots of photos of the amazing art! There's this one tapestry that is incredible- they say it's some of the first perspective art. Essentially, from one side, you see the stone and Jesus stepping toward you, but if you walk to the other end, it looks as though it's coming towards you on that side! Unfortunately I couldn't get a photo from both ends because a giant tour group came through at that moment, but you can get the idea...

Pretty ceiling, right? Looks 3D, as though it was done with plaster, right? No. It's 2D. It's just incredibly well-shaded. Mind=blown.

Obviously we made our way through the Sistine Chapel, but we couldn't take photos. They feed you a line about disrespecting such a holy place, but we were told once that it's actually a matter of copyright... Some publishing company a while back gained rights to the paintings in the room (God and Adam almost touching fingers and all that) and they exclusively control who snaps photos so they can make $ from it. What a load, right?

We worked our way to St. Peter's Basilica, which is ridiculously large! Did you know that each letter along that top gold band is 6'6"??? It doesn't seem that big from the floor!

I was happy to finally be able to take a photo of Michelangelo's Pietà! It's behind bulletproff glass... apparently some guy attempted to go at it with a hammer in 1972, screaming "I am Jesus Christ!" and effectively chopping off Mary's nose and fingers...

So many people have rubbed the feet of St. Peter that his toes have actually worn off! His feet are completely smooth! They say you rub his feet for good luck. I won't lie, I hopped in that line. I needed some luck in my life... and whaddya know, I got into grad school! Thanks Pete!

The art in St. Peter's is incredible... you can use a flash because none of it is painted- it's mosaic! Does the image below look like tiles to you?!? Folks spend decades learning the craft in a special Vatican school and they make these incredible pieces. You can't see it too well on this, but if I zoom in on the image on my computer, you can see the tiles. It's amazing!

We left the Vatican and headed back to the hotel for a bit with the intention of prepping for dinner. It cost an arm and a leg, but Joel set up a special event for us! Before leaving for dinner, Joel told us to remember "this meal is a marathon, not a sprint".

Joel apparently knows some folks that own a restaurant in Rome. They set up a HUGE, multi-course meal for us, and entertained us with live music and all sorts of awesomeness! We had 2 anti-pasti courses with various types of beans, eggplant, bread, fresh mozarella and ricotta cheese, cabbage, etc etc. We then had a pasta course with three type of fresh made pasta and ravioli. There was a meat course (I didn't really partake much... I'm not much of a meat eater... but I did taste stuff). Then there was a desert course, cappuccino, and lemoncello. Poor Serena was a bit overwhelmed. I ate ALL OF IT. Like hell would I drop that money and not get my money's worth!

We then made a stop at the Spanish Steps. On my last trip, it was so over-populated that we couldn't actually see the steps. This time, we were able to get some photos.

You can see more photos I took of Rome and the art at the Vatican here!

Our Arrival In Rome

2011-07-28T12:32:00.003-04:00

Ok, I never finished sharing my trip photos, so I wanted to finish these out! I'm sorry for the delay... I've sucked at blogging lately! So, I left you at our departure from Paris (happy day!) so today I have photos for you from our first day in Rome!

When we awoke on the night train, we were in Italy! During the night, we passed through Switzerland, so technically I guess I can say I've been there as well, right? I slept like a rock on the sleeper train... Most of my group complained about it, but it reminded me of sleeping on the ship when I'd go on tiger cruises with my dad when he was in the Navy.

Our first stop of the day was the Coliseum! As an ancient history buff, this is one of the highlights of Rome for me! We went along with the tour and then had a bit of time to wander freely and take some photos. The second photo is of Shannon, Lauren and Serena walking up one of the tunnels. Lauren said something daft and Serena is doubled over laughing. Unforunately, our excursion to the loo made us 3 minutes late to meet with our group, and apparently being sticklers for a schedule, they left for the Roman Forum without us and we couldn't find them. So I have no photos of the Roman Forum from this trip... I didn't mind, since I've been before, but I felt bad for the others who didn't make it in time (about 15 of us ended up sitting around our meeting point waiting for them to finish).

Joel took us around to the sights, and we paused for a bit at the Trevi Fountain to toss coins in. I figured I had tossed in one the last time I'd been here and I returned to the Eternal City, so obviously the susperstition is true and tossing in the coins really works. This time I chose to toss in two (the second supposedly means you'll find love or something like that). Here's hoping it works!

Our evening finished out near the Pantheon. We were sent off to find our own food, so I directed our quartet to a cafe a short distance away where I had eaten a couple of years ago and had the most incredible gnocchi dish of my life. Obviously, that's what I ordered again. It was as delicious as I remember it!

After dinner, we tried to find Il Gelato di San Crispino, a place that serves what's considered the best gelato in Italy. Unfortunately I'd forgotten my map, so we couldn't find it. We returned to meet up with our group and the appointed time and Joel was snacking on some gelato so we asked him if he knew where it was. He held up his cup of gelato and pointed at the label and said, "This San Crispino?" and then asked to know how we knew of it. He then told us how to get there and told us to get back ASAP so the group could find transport back to the hotel. Hooray for honey gelato!!!

You can see all the rest of my photos from that day here!

Resume Disasters

2011-07-26T09:00:00.001-04:00

I've learned a lot while working in HR... Of the various jobs they have me do, on of the things I sometimes have to work on is sifting through resumes/cover letters in order to find people who fit the bill for any open positions we have. I took a class in undergrad that focused a bit on proper resume creation, and how to write a professional cover letter. Professionalism was also hammered into us in the athletic training program. No ring-backs on the phone. No visible piercings (except the ears) or tattoos. Use proper grammar/spelling. You get the idea... Apparently most people don't get a class that pays attention to that sort of stuff, because some of the stuff I've seen has been horrendous! I've sifted through a couple hundred resumes today, and a lot of it's positively cringe worthy! Here are some of my favorites:

1. This guy thought it would be brilliant to have an image of a crowd surfer at the bottom of the email he sent containing his resume and cover letter. Is he applying to work at a radio station? No, he is not. What professional institution does he believe will jump at the chance to hire someone who sends such an unprofessional looking email?

2. If you send a resume, don't do what some of these folks are doing, and type it up in fun fonts. Comic Sans is not going to give off a professional vibe. The image below is one I Stumbled across a while back, and I love it!

3. A rule of thumb with resumes is that they should only be 2, possibly 3 if necessary, pages long. You can't seriously expect me to read 14 pages of detailed job descriptions when I have 300 more resumes to read... Resumes should be relative to the job you're applying for... If you're applying to a bank, we don't care if you played on the LSU football team.

4. One guy, in the "objective" section of his resume, felt compelled to profile his currrent place of employment: "_______ is a Japanese-style restaurant that caters sushi & sashimi, teriyaki, udon, and the hibachi (teppanyaki) style grill. The atmosphere is dimmed to aim towards a more romantic ambience, and the entertainment provided by the skilled hibachi chefs accommodate parties, families, and friends to deliver a unique experience of dining and entertainment." Do you really think a bank gives a flying fart in space about this? Your resume is supposed to sell YOU, not make us want dinner!

5. PLEASE DON'T YELL AT THE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER WHEN YOU SEND THE EMAIL. WHO, IN 2011, DOESN'T KNOW THAT ALL CAPS IS THE E-VERSION OF YELLING???

6. "Resume attchd. Lk 4rd 2 hring frm u. Thx 4 ur time." No. Just... No. Not ever.

I'm sure as I sift through these, there will be plenty more cringe-worthy moments, but I just wanted to share a few with all of you... for my 20-something blogger friends, and anyone else out on the job market these days, PLEASE don't commit these job search faux pas! They're more detrimental to your chances of employment than you might think!

Stupid Alarm Clock!

2011-07-25T10:39:00.001-04:00

I can tell that this is going to be "one of those days"... My morning went something like this:

*Wake up*
Sweet, my alarm hasn't gone off yet! Still time to sleep!
*Turn over*
Hmm... my eyes aren't even open and I can tell it's bright... brighter than it should be before my alarm goes off...
*Open eyes and hit clock button*
Clock: 8:06
Crap!!!! I was supposed to be at work 6 min ago!!!
*Spring out of bed and race around getting ready*

So I had to call and tell them I'd be late... I won't lie, I figured I was already late, so I stopped to fill up my gas tank and lollygagged on my way to work lol I worked 4 hours overtime last week, so they can spare 45 min... Those are 4 hours of my life that I'll never get back, and $18 is NOT worth an hour of my life! So now I'm sitting at my desk, gnawing on a tasteless bagel because it was easy to toss into my bag. I need a week off to just recollect myself after the crazy couple of weeks I've had!

BIG News!

2011-07-21T09:04:00.002-04:00

Last year when I went in for my grad school interview, it was a bit of a fiasco... I was terrified! I could barely articulate a sentence, my mouth went dry, my hands were shaking... it was BAD. I knew the moment that I walked out of there that I wasn't going to get in... They tell you it's not about right/wrong answers, it's about whether you can handle the stress and carry on a conversation. Needless to say, I didn't handle it!

Over the past year, I've worked to push myself outside of my comfort zone. My shyness has always been a big obstacle in my life, and I was tired of it! So, I spent the year trying to overcome it (to a degree). All of my efforts culminated in my trip to Europe. I would tell people I was going, and the first reponse I'd get was, "Who are you going with?" and I'd reply, "A travel group called EF College Break", to which they'd reply, "But not any friends?" and I'd say no and they'd be surprised. Not many people opt to travel solo, but I knew I had to do it. I hate even running to the grocery store solo, so to leave the country, travel across the world and hang with 40 strangers for 2 weeks was HUGE!

But, when all was said and done, it was totally worth it! I had a ton of fun, and made awesome new friends! And to top it all off, my interview on Saturday went really well! My brain only locked up on me once, and it only lasted for a second before my response came back to me! And guess what? I got the call yesterday afternoon that I was accepted into the EVMS PA Program! After 2 years of limbo, I'm officially back on track, headed to grad school, and making progress in my life! I start in January!

Winner: The Wayfinder by Darcy Pattinson

2011-07-18T12:13:00.000-04:00

I'm incredibly sorry for not posting this sooner... I've been a bit scattered lately! I'll just pretend I do it to keep you all on your toes!

I felt a bit ridiculous running 2 names through Random, but the winner of The Wayfinder by Darcy Pattinson is...

Linda Kish!!!

You have 48 hours to email me (in the right sidebar) with your address before the book goes into the Book Box!

PA School Interview: Take 2

2011-07-16T07:00:00.003-04:00

At this moment, I'm sitting in my PA school interview...

I did a little review to prep myself for the questions I'll be asked, but all in all I'm really not too worried. If I don't get in, life goes on... I've still got my health and a roof over my head, and a job already lined up as a middle school athletic trainer in the Fall. I'll just have to try again next year. And if I do get in? Well, I don't know yet... I'll see how I'm feeling about the school and all of the people I meet today. If I'm going to invest years of my life and tons of money in it, it's got to be the right fit for me.

Either way, I'm not going to let the stress get to me. I'm awesome, and if they can't see that, they're just not on the same level of awesome!

The end of an era...

2011-07-15T03:31:00.000-04:00

This will sound melodramatic, but I just felt some of the last vestiges of my childhood slip away with the end of the Potter series and all of the hullabaloo that is associated with it... The end of Harry Potter feels a bit how I'd imagine Peter Pan would feel if he was told he could never return to Neverland. With the end of the books and the book release events, there were still the movies and their midnight showings, but now those are done... Thankfully, there is now Pottermore. Hopefully it can continue to carry the mantle!

I, like many Potter fans, appreciate what JK Rowling has done for my life! In a world that seems to be a never ending slew of shit, JK has given us a world of wondrous magic that we can escape into for countless hours of entertainment. My brother's 11 year old neighbor has seen all the Potter movies, but he's never read the books, so I gave him one of my copies of Sorcerer's Stone. I look forward to the day when I can share the magic of JK Rowling's words with my own children!

I will find a reason to wear this again...

My trip to the U.S. Premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt II [NO SPOILERS]

2011-07-13T16:00:00.000-04:00

The past three days have been completely surreal!!! In a 48 hour period, I spent 20 hours in motor vehicles, driving from Virginia to Maryland, and then in a single day from Maryland to NYC and back to Maryland! What a whirlwind trip!!!

The bus ride to NYC wasn't too bad- we watched Potter movies the whole way (although not DH Pt I, because the radio guy didn't bring it- FAIL). "Snacks" turned out to be bottled water and those mini bags of chips you get for kids' lunches. Thankfully, Jim and I had grabbed a thing of mango chicken to share from the food court at the mall where we all met. Otherwise I think we'd have starved to death by the end of the movie (which we nearly did anyways)... Oh, by the way, I ended up bringing my friend Jim to the movie with me! He was an excellent travel companion! And he was a great sport, because the trip involved crashing at Grandma's and hanging with a bunch of family and such- and he took it all in stride! He was awesome to hang with (this is the first time we've really hung out... long story) and it was priceless telling the fam that I was taking a guy! Reactions were generally surprise/shock that I was bringing a guy/had a male friend lol

You don't care about that part though... you care about Mr. Potter! So, we reached NYC, and unfortunately they didn't let us lollygag around the red carpet to see the stars/get autographs :( They said it's a bit of a tradeoff- either you see the movie, or you're among the masses who have been waiting for days outside-

They herded us into the theatre (which actually involved walking on THE red carpet to get into the building!) and we went through security. Once in the theatre, we had a decent view of the red carpet and got a few photos of people stepping out of their vehicles...

Unfortunately again, they told us to get out of the lobby and head into our seats (so unfair! The movie wasn't set to start for an hour and a half!) so we were forced to leave after having only seen Rupert Grint (!!!) and Tom Felton (!!!) arrive. We found our seats, and spent the next couple of hours watching various actors take their seats (Seth Green was there, as well as Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Jessica Parker, etc). Finally, a half hour later than scheduled, they had everyone take their seats and began the show!!!

David Heyman (the producer of all eight Potter films, for those who don't know), was introduced first-

And after speaking for a moment, he began bringing the stars who had attended onstage! First up was Alan Rickman (Alan FLIPPIN' Rickman!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!)

Next up were Matt Lewis and Tom Felton! Who knew Neville Longbottom would grow up to be the hottest of all the characters in the series (in my opinion, at least)?

And then, one by one, Rupert, Emma, and Dan took the stage! It was so weird, after years of hearing and seeing them onscreen, to see and hear them in person!!! But everyone had a turn at talking, and I took a zillion photos!

After everyone said their piece, the actors took their seats and the movie began! And what a movie it was!!! For a two and a half hour movie, it flew by! I highly recommend you bring tissues!!!! There were also a few funny parts (a bit of comic relief in a movie otherwise overrun with death and mayhem) which provided some much needed laughter! We saw the 3D version, which was cool but nothing to write home about... I'm not a fan of 3D films, so I'm still adamant that the extra money spent to see it in 3D is a stupid waste of money. Here's hoping that fad dies a quick death...

It must be such a cool experience for the actors... they played their parts and have seen the movie, but it must be such an interesting experience, hearing the fans react to their work... The audience cried as they saw the deaths of characters they've been following for years and cheered/applauded moments when their favorite characters did something awesome (can we say Neville Longbottom and Molly Weasley???). I can't imagine how Matt felt, hearing the audience when Neville had his moment in the film!

All in all, the movie was excellent! A definite must-see, and a perfect end to the series! I highly recommend you re-watch Pt. I before heading to the theatre, as it can get a bit disorienting, trying to recall what has happened and where you're coming into the story. For the short time they had to fit everything in, they did an excellent job! Even the epilogue made me cry!

Alas, Thursday night brings the last midnight release for many of us fans who have spent the last 10 years showing up in costume and sharing an exciting night with hundreds of other huge fans like ourselves... I'll definitely have a good cry about that when it's all over... it's truly the end of an era, a tale that I've been following since I was 10 years old is finally coming to a close :( At least when the final book was released, there were still the movies to look forward to, and now there will be nothing. What reason will I have to wear my costume now? Perhaps we Potter fans can unite and hold midnight showings like fans of the Rocky Horror Picture Show :D

What are you looking forward to in the film? Will you be going to the midnight release? And will you be going in costume?

Evidence Based Apparel

2011-07-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

I have bad posture. I have had it my entire life, and it's caused me no end of back and shoulder pain. Last year when I attended the National Athletic Trainers' Association Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, I came across Evidence Based Apparel (EBA)'s Posture Shirt display in the exhibition hall. I thought they were cool, albeit a bit pricey for me, so I didn't bother with them at the time. Fast forward a year to this year's NATA Annual Meeting in New Orleans and I came across their display once again. This year, however, I allowed myself to try on one of the shirts.

As soon as I tried it on, I knew I had to buy one! Getting one of these shirts on is a bit of an epic effort the first time around (although I've grown more efficient since). EBA offers two types of shirts- a polyspandex fabric and a cotton/lycra blend. The shirts are snug- a bit like Under Armour if you're familiar with it, so it's like trying to put on a latex glove that is a size too small. They're made to be worn directly against the skin, so you can wear it under your work clothes, and they're meant to be snug so they pull your shoulders back.

So what makes EBA special? EBA calls these shirts "Anatomic Garments" and offers clinical evidence that shows that an anatomical change is triggered when you put on the shirt! The shirts are made of a 4-way stretch material with strategically placed strips of non-stretch material called Neuro-bands. The bands produce both mechanical and neurological triggers- the shoulders are pulled back and the muscles that hold the shoulders back are stimulated. Rather than just supporting the muscles, the muscles are trained and strengthened, thus improving your posture for even when you aren't wearing the shirt!

The shirts also moisture wicking, so you don't need to worry about excessive sweating. They also have Bac-Shield™ Anti-Microbial Protection, a hypo-allergenic anti-microbial technology that kills and repels bacteria before it can embed in the fabric, reducing odors and fabric discoloration caused by the growth of bacteria and other foreign bodies. I wear my black polyspandex top to the gym and I prefer wearing it over my regular cotton gym shirts because the moisture-wicking properties keep me feeling like I'm drowning in sweat! During the rest of the day, I rock my cotton shirt! You can read more of the product details here!

We were told when we bought our shirts (my friend Sara bought a couple as well) to progressively increase how long we wear the shirt each day. If you have poor posture, you'll want to do this as well! Your shoulder muscles will be sore after only an hour or so of wearing the shirt for the first time! I can now comfortably wear the shirt all day, and my back has been feeling much better now that I'm not slouching over my desk at work all day! I find this shirt to be incredibly comfortable- the fabric is soft and I feel a slight tension on my shoulders- when wearing this shirt, I have to make a physical effort to slouch. Generally I use Theraband to do some shoulder exercises to try and improve my posture, but I hadn't been making much progress. Wearing my posture shirts has helped me make significant improvement in my posture!

The only drawback I see to these shirts is the price- one of these shirts will set you back $100 (kids shirts are $80)! That said, no back pain and improving my posture so I'm not a hunchbacked 60 year old seems like a fair trade-off. I'm generally a penny-pincher, but when it comes to my personal health and well being, I'm willing to drop some coin. The shirts are available for men, women, youths, and children- so if you know anyone who suffers from back pain or poor posture, tell them to check these shirts out!

At the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 Premier in NYC!

2011-07-11T09:00:00.004-04:00

Today is the day! I'm so excited!!! I'll probably cry through the entire movie... not just because there are sad parts, but because I know it's the last one... No more midnight releases... At least when the books ended, there were still the movies to look forward to :( How am I going to get my Potter costume fix? 'Tis the end of an era...

I'm an Etsy seller!

2011-07-10T09:00:00.001-04:00

Guess what I did?! I opened an Etsy shop! I call it The LP Emporium! You can check it out here!

I'm just selling some random schtuff I make- at the moment some multi-wrap bracelets and some hand painted mini wine bottle bud vases!

There isn't a ton there yet, although I'll add a bit more soon! Hopefully I sell some stuff :) I enjoy creative pursuits much more than my regular work, so if I don't sell, I don't care. I just like to make things :D

An AWESOMELY Unexpected Trip!

2011-07-09T09:00:00.001-04:00

A family friend in Annapolis recently sent me a link to one of her local radio station's (MIX 107.3) contests, a chance to "Win a trip to NYC for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 U.S. premiere!" Essentially, you answer 5 questions relating to the final film's plot, and they choose winners from the lot that get all the answers correct.

This morning, while at work, I received a call from a random phone number. Usually I ignore odd numbers, but I went ahead and answered. So as I'm sure you've guessed, I WON!!!! I completely wigged- I charged into my boss's office to ask for a couple of days off and called everyone I know to share the news!

On Monday, everyone is to meet the bus (in Maryland) at 11AM, we drive to NYC arriving at 4PM, stars start walking at 5PM, the movie shows at 6:30, and afterwards we head back to MD, arriving at 2AM! A whirlwind trip!

The event is at Avery Fisher Hall on Columbus Avenue at West 65th Street. The confirmed guest list thus far includes: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman, Tom Felton, Matthew Lewis, Helen McCrory, director David Yates, producers David Heyman and David Barron, and screenwriter Steve Kloves!!!

Who will I be taking with me? I have no idea! I really have no idea... I hate having to pick one person! Either way, come Sunday morning, I'll be hitting the road, heading for Grandma's house in Calvert County, MD. I'll crash there so I have a short jaunt to the bus Monday AM! I'm so stoked about this!!! What a way to finish the series!!!

Where have the coffee houses gone?

2011-07-07T12:44:00.000-04:00

There's something that's been nagging me for a while now... We have no proper coffee shops in Virginia Beach! I know, you probably think I'm lying, but I'm serious! Within 4 miles of my house, there are 10 Starbucks (probably more... that's all Google would show on the first bit of the list). Starbucks is not a coffee shop, it’s a chain store that sells coffee. A coffee shop has couches to chill on and you can hang there and sip coffee and surf the net (think The Central Perk on Friends). My cousin had one called Coffee Waves in Corpus Christi, TX. I want one. Someone come to Virginia Beach and open one!

See? Starbucks sells stuff... You can grab a cup of overpriced coffee while simultaneously picking out a new set of mugs, or buying a bag of coffee for the pot at home, or tea presses or whatever else you want. Yes, they have a table or two, but there's no atmosphere in a Starbucks. I don't feel compelled to lounge and hang for a bit in a Starbucks. I do, however, feel a compulsion to grab my coffee and get out.

Then there are what you would call a coffee lounge or a coffee house or whatever... a nice place with some legitmate atmosphere that you feel like you can hang out in. You can get a cup of coffee in a real mug instead of a paper cup because you're going to sit there, in your comfy chair with your headphones in and your laptop in your lap and do something on the computer while you sip on your coffee. A place where the people who work there and the "regulars" learn your name because you're all there so often, hanging out (or maybe not interacting, maybe just sharing the same space).

Maybe that's what I'll do... I'll open a coffee house/book shop! The first floor can be a super cool lounge-y coffee house, and you can see up into the 2nd floor, where there are books for sale (I like the idea of an open 2nd floor). Just a small place... the larger the facility, the quicker it loses "atmosphere". But good coffee + books = awesomeness! In the meantime, since I haven't got the money, someone else needs to come to VB and open up a nice place where we can hang!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-06T09:00:00.002-04:00

May and June Book Box Winners!

2011-07-05T08:29:00.001-04:00

I've been remiss about calling these off (well, last month I was traveling), but I've decided to call a winner for both May and June! So whoever wins May can have first pick of the 2 books they want in the Book Box, and June can pick 2nd! Winners, don't forget that you have 48 hours to email me with the 2 books you choose and your address before you forfeit your prize!

Ok, the only entry in May was Hermione_hero, so she wins! lol And there were no entries in June, so no winner there! That was remarkably easy! :D

Awesome! While I'm on here, I just want to apologize for sucking at posting lately... I think I've been a bit burnt out with technology. I haven't had much drive to do anything online. I haven't even been doing well with keeping up with emails or anything of that nature... I'm working on getting back into it though! I had a ncie 3 day weekend, so I'm feeling a bit refreshed now! I think part of my issue was just burnout from the suckiest job on Earth... It's hard to feel enthusiastic about anything after coming home from this job, which just sort of seems to suck out my soul lol

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

I can't stand when people say "Happy 4th of July!"... We're not celebrating a day! We're celebrating an event! You don't say "Happy Dec. 25th!" now, do you? Of course not!

Today is the day Americans celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, freeing them from the tyranny of England and all that other nonsense... It's sad really... because of some pretentious colonials who thought highly of themselves some 200+ years ago, I'm not British. Instead, I have to find some means of qualifying for a visa so I can get over there and go through the lengthy process of becoming what I should have already been! Selfish jerks...

Nowadays it's really about being patriotic... Remembering that we have thousands of troops out there, fighting the good fight and protecting those who can't protect themselves. So while you enjoy your hot dogs and sodas today, don't forget that someone's father/son/daughter/sister/etc is out there in a hail of bullets so you can enjoy your processed meats and high-fructose corn syrup!

Some quick Independence Day Facts:

Adoption of the Declaration of Independence was far from unanimous... in fact, it was a split decision, and a representative of Congress had to ride 80 mi on horseback to Philadelphia to break the tie.

Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national animal (really Ben?!?) but was outvoted (thank God for that!) when John Adams and Thomas Jefferson chose the bald eagle.

In July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation was 2.5 million. The nation's estimated population on this July Fourth is 311.7 million

Over an estimated 150 million hot dogs will be consumed today. That's roughly one dog for every two people in the US.

More than 74 million Americans will BBQ today.
$98.3 billion in trade value last year between the United States and the United Kingdom, making the British, our adversary in 1776, our sixth-leading trading partner today.

Nearly 5 million tourists from the UK visited the United States recently, more than from any other country except Japan.

Review & Giveaway: The Wayfinder by Darcy Pattison

2011-06-29T10:30:00.003-04:00

There are those in G’il Rim who are born with the ability to find things- anything or anyone you might be looking for. Called Wayfinders, they are an important guild that assists the people of the city, especially during the wet season when a dense fog envelops the city and makes it impossible to navigate. Win is a gifted young apprentice Wayfinder, hoping to soon finish his apprenticeship.

Everything appears to be working in his favor until tragedy strikes and Win blames himself. Win determines to never use his finding ability again, but fate has something else in mind. The plague arrives in G’il Rim, and only one cure exists. A man instructs that a Wayfinder must venture into the Rift, a chasm bordering their land, and selects Win for the task. Win goes on an adventure that will not only heal the land, but hopefully bring some peace to him as well.

The Wayfinder was a good read! The coming of age story is reminiscent of popular young adult works such as Lowry’s The Giver or Spinelli’s Wringer. The book has strong fantasy influences, existing in a pseudo-medieval land governed by a monarchy and full of magic in the form of talking animals and healing waters. Pattinson doesn’t flood the story with descriptive details, building enough of a setting for the reader to visualize the lay of the land but leaving a large amount up to the reader’s imagination. This may work well for younger readers who would grow easily bored with too much detail, but I occasionally found it difficult to visualize the appearance of a location or a character.

The primary characters or Win and his canine companion, Lady Kala, were well developed, although there were some gaps in the story. A bit of background is given on Win’s mother, but Pattison provides little more than a sentence when alluding to Win’s father. Considering the significance of his parentage, I can only hope there will be a sequel which will build on that detail. Otherwise, it seems like a pointless, undeveloped plot device. As with many quests, the tale is built around the hero and his trusted companion, and together they face dangers and trials through which they grow.

I’d recommend this book for anyone looking for a light, quick read (I finished it within a 4 hour flight, so it’s a quick one)! It’s a fun, quick-paced adventure, written for youngsters but suitable for readers of any age! I’d be interested to see if there will be a sequel. The way this book left off, there’s certainly potential for it. If so, I’ll definitely give it a read!

Win a Copy!

Entering is easy! All you have to do is post a comment! The giveaway ends on July 8th at 11:59 PM EST! (U.S. Only please!)

I am not requiring anyone to follow my blog to win! However, I will not be contacting the winner! You have to check back to see if you've won! Therefore, following would probably be to your benefit, but it's not required. Winner will be announced AuJuly 9th and will have 48 hours to contact me before the book goes into the Book Box!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

2011-06-27T11:21:00.000-04:00

Jacob grew up hearing extraordinary tales from his grandfather about his childhood and life at a home in Wales for Jewish refugee children. His grandfather regaled him with tales of endless summer, children with incredible abilities such as invisibility and levitation, and horrific monsters. As Jacob grew older, he realized they were just stories, complete with well faked photographs to entertain his young imagination. But what if they weren’t just stories? Now 16, Jacob is faced with the compelling possibility that his grandfather had been telling the truth and that his life may be in danger!

First and foremost, I have to comment on the photographs! Ransom Riggs began collecting found photography at flea markets, often finding bizarre photographs such as the one on the cover, a little girl that appears to be floating approximately six inches off the ground. He then decided he wanted to build a story around the photos, resulting in the tale of Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar children, a term used in the book to denote individuals with special powers. The book is not only an eerie and enthralling story, but also possesses unique and fascinating photographs which add to the reading experience!

The story takes an interesting perspective on time travel, and the unusual gifts that the kids possess give them a young X-Men vibe. Although this book is written for young adults, I definitely believe adults will also be entertained by the story! The book is well written, and successfully manages a coherent timeline and plausible means of time travel. Riggs paid attention to detail- rather than just running off for a month in Wales (as if anyone could afford to just up and leave for a month), he devotes a bit of time to explaining that Jacob’s uncles own a large chain of businesses and therefore the family has a great deal of money. In books, details such as that are often overlooked, but I feel that it helps create a more realistic scenario. That said, the book isn’t overwhelmingly laden with details, and actually moves at an engaging pace that keeps the reader from becoming bored.

This haunting tale will keep you entertained for hours! It flows well, drawing you into the story in such a way that you lose track of time. I highly recommend this book to anyone! The elements of the supernatural and time travel create a story that is creepy and exciting- I was barely able to put it down! Riggs left the book at a point that makes it clear he intends to write a sequel, which I definitely intend to buy when it comes out!

Declaring Spinsterhood by Jamie Lynn Braziel

2011-06-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

After a crushing heartbreak and some complete dating disasters, Emma Bailey is fed up with the dating scene. Thirty years old and ready to declare herself a spinster, her mother is unwilling to accept her decision and is constantly trying to set her up on blind dates. Emma's only solace from her maddening mother is her best friend and neighbor, Brian. How could Emma possibly get through life without him there to share evenings of Chinese food and Cary Grant movies? Everything in Emma's life is running smoothly until Brian finds himself a serious girlfriend, and Emma finds herself unhappily solo.

I can sum up this book in one word: Predictable. Painfully so. If you couldn't pull together the outcome of the book based on my summary, you're daft! The characters were fairly shallow and cliché- the nagging mom, the teasing brother, the oblivious dad, and the arrogant prick of an ex. That said, Declaring Spinsterhood was cute. It's no epic love story or future Nicholas Sparks-esque movie, but it provides some light entertainment for the few hours it takes to read.

Emma and Brian are funny and cute together, and their dating horror stories are ones which most people can relate to. Many women can relate to having the meddling mother, but the author seems to exaggerate a bit (really though, if you found out what your daughter's ex did to her, would you push her to get back together with him, simply so she'd have a boyfriend???). The characters of Emma and Brian were fairly well developed, although sometimes Emma's personality didn't sync well with her actions. She comes across as timid and easily influenced when she's with her family, but she's simultaneously out getting her concealed carry license so she can better protect herself. What woman with marksman skills at the range is a total push-over?

The writing was very simple, and in many instances quite rushed. Characters would often make a decision to go do something and with no transition, they'd be off doing it in the next line! For a mostly lighthearted book, there is one part towards the end that seems rather out of place and violent. From the beginning of the book, Emma and Brian's feelings for each other were glaringly obvious to the reader, and the author seemed to feel it was necessary for Emma to be nearly killed for the characters to have that "Aha!" moment. A "Speak now or forever hold your pe--" "STOP THE WEDDING!" moment would have been more believable!

All in all, predictable and uninventive. If you like a light-hearted read for a day at the beach or on the plane, this is a good one. It's not going to win any awards, but it will entertain you for a bit.

**I was provided an ARC copy of this book through the Amazon Vine Program

I'm back!

2011-06-23T12:22:00.000-04:00

I know, I disappeared again! Sorry about that! I owe you all the last bit of photos from Rome still... I was in New Orleans for the National Athletic Trainers' Association annual convention. I'll share a few photos from it, but let's just leave it for now that I didn't particularly like NOLA. I did, however, get through two books! Hooray! So I'll have some book reviews in the next couple of days for you!

Our last day in Paris

2011-06-19T09:00:00.044-04:00

We began the day by hopping onto the metro... apparently the Paris Bercy can hold something like 10,000 people, and it's doing a showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows... and it's SOLD OUT. Ten thousand Potter fans in one place!!! I'm so jealous!!!!!!!!

We hopped off the metro and headed to Pere Lachaise Cemetery- one of the "Cities of the Dead". It was amazing! It was so packed!

Among the many people buried in Pere Lachaise, there are a number of notable names, such as Oscar Wilde... apparently it's quite the thing to put on a bunch of lipstick and lay one on his tombstone... the amount of bacteria crawling on that thing must be astronomical! So unsanitary!

Joel was goofing off a bit- he was an excellent tour guide!

We also stopped by the graves of Jean Francois Champollion (Hooray for Egyptologists! Apparently it was surprising that I knew who he was...). We also saw the grave of Jimmy Morrison (I'm not a fan, but at least I knew the name).

Our afternoon was spent souvenir shopping near Notre Dame. We went by the catacombs to check it out, but the line was INSANE and even though it was still hours before our train to Rome, we knew we'd be in line for hours, so we had to pass... Oh well! At least it's only a 2 hr train ride from London, so next time I'm in London, I'll make a day trip to see the catacombs!

Our train to Rome was a night train! Six of us in a tiny car! It was so much fun! Apparently lots of people had trouble sleeping- I slept like a rock! The swaying of the train reminded me of being on the ships with my dad when I was a kid and he'd take us on Tiger Cruises and take-your-daughter-to-work day and such!

I wasn't excited about going to Paris... really though, I saw it as an inconvenient stop-over sandwiched between Heaven (aka London) and Rome, which I'd already been to but loved! None-the-less, I did have fun seeing some of the sights. If it weren't for my desire to see the catacombs though, I'd never go back. That city was disgusting! London baffled us- you could almost never find a trashcan but still the city was spotless. Paris was filthy and reeked of urine. In some places it was so strong we were gagging! Dudes on the metro were lude and assaulted a few of the girls in our tour group (thankfully not me!)... All in all, a gross city which I never feel the need to revisit!

Sightseeing in Paris

2011-06-18T09:00:00.003-04:00

Day 6 was a trip to the Louvre! If you're a Dan Brown fan, you'll appreciate this photo!

The Louvre had some amazing works of art! The sculptures were incredible (so expressive!) and the paintings were beautiful! I saw the Mona Lisa! I've got a ton more photos of the artwork in my Flickr set (link is at the bottom).

We had just about finished up when I sighted a notation saying that Hammurabi's stela was at the Louvre! Being the total history geek that I am, I charged across the Louvre (figures we'd be on the opposite side of that massive building) and got a photo with it!

And of course I had to get a photo of myself in front of the glass pyramid!

After thr Louvre, we decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower... we stopped in a market along the way and got a baguette, some cheese, and a bottle of wine for a picnic. Lesson 1- when hoping to open a bottle of wine, it'd be wise to bring along a bottle opener (luckily a nice guy nearby had one).

Lesson 2- if 2 out of 4 of the folks in the group don't like wine, pass on the wine. I'm not even keen on wine, but Serena and Shannon were adamantly against it, so rather than leaving Lauren on her own, the two of us sat there, below the Eiffel Tower, passing a bottle of wine back and forth. Boy were we feeling it when we got up! But, being the navigator of the group, and being crunched for time to get back to our tour group for our Seine River cruise, I very effectively got us to where we needed to go!

The cruise was fun! We saw lots of cliche Paris sights, as well as one or two oddities (below)...

And after the cruise, we headed up into the Eiffel Tower! Man that thing goes way up there!

We stepped off just in time to see the Tower doing its flashy flashy sparkler thing- very pretty! It wasn't toally dark yet, so I couldn't get a legit night shot of the Eiffel Tower, but it was pretty nonetheless!

After the Eiffel Tower, we headed back towards the hotel, stopping at a place to grab a bite to eat. Unfortunately in Paris, all places seem to stop serving food by 8 PM, and will only serve alcohol. Finding food was tough, but we finally managed and made our way back to the hotel!

Roaming Versailles

2011-06-17T09:00:00.002-04:00

Our first full day in Paris began with a bus tour of the city. Just about everyone fell asleep, and we couldn't understand a word the guide said because he was practically eating the mic. Everyone finally perked up when we arrived at an Eiffel Tower photo stop.

After the tour, those of us who had signed up for the excursion to Versailles hopped onto the train and headed out of the city! Versailles was... interesting... opulent, to say the least! Overkill, to be more precise! They're in the process of regilding the palace so it looks as it originally did- I'm assuming it's not real gold, since unscrupulous folks would probably chip away at it.

When you first walk in, you're lured into a false sense of austere beauty...

Followed immediately by an accost on your eyes- an overwhelming blend of textures and patterns that make your retinas wish they could detach from your optic nerve...

We particularly enjoyed the gardens- they were beautiful! We spent hours wandering through the labrynthine gardens!

After Versailles, we made our way back into Paris and headed to the hotel. Shannon and I had a night in, and Serena and Lauren went out for a bit (and apparently ended up lost... what would they do without me?!).

Leaving London sob

2011-06-16T08:43:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately we couldn't stay in London the entire trip... although I'd have gladly done so! In the AM, we headed to the train station to hop on the EuroStar. There were a few things I didn't have a chance to do in London (Platform 9 3/4, the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London, etc) so I'm just going to have to go back... brutal, right? So onto the EuroStar we went! It was cool, although we headed through the Chunnel so quick that we literally missed it... we didn't realize just how quickly we'd get to the coast, so we didn't realize that the quick tunnel we went through just after leaving the station was in fact the Chunnel. I know, we suck... Oh well!

When we arrived in Paris, we dropped our bags off at the hotel and headed off on a short walking tour with Joel while we waited for check-in time. We walked around near the hotel, checking out the Centre Pompidou (Musée National d'Art Moderne) and the Saint-Eustache Church.

Then Joel told us to go find food... we wandered a bit and then found Joel and all ordered what he was eating because we had no idea what we were doing lol So we all had a falafel sandwich... Prior to this day, I had no idea what a falafel was! But it was good! We also then found ourselves some Nutella crepes... So delicious!

After we were able to move into our hotel and had a little rest, we headed as a group to Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on Montmartre, the one hill in Paris. you can get an excellent view of the city as you head up the hill, so it was really pretty! Joel showed us around a bit, and then gave the order to go find food and meet back later. The four of us located a little side cafe and headed in for some local eats. I ended up eating some sort of pasta dish and french onion soup- nom! Serena took the bullet and ordered escargot for all of us to try. Dad warned me it tends to be drowned in garlic (ick!) but I was brave and tried it anyways... shocker of all shockers, I liked it!!!! I ended up helping Serena eat it all because she didn't! Hooray for trying new foods!

After dinner, we went on a bit more of a walk, down to where the Moulin Rouge is located! Most of the group continued on from there to go see a cabaret, but I wasn't inclined to drop the coin on a show I didn't really care about, so I went with a small group back to the hotel. They all went out to find clubs/bars, and I gladly took a night off to vid chat with the fam.

You can look at the other photos here, but I only took about 12 photos that day, so you've already looked at most of them lol

Seeing Bath & Stonehenge

2011-06-14T11:18:00.004-04:00

The third day of our trip was our excursion to Stonehenge and Bath! The guide was picking on me for taking photos on the way there, but the countryside was so pretty!

When we arrived in Bath, our first stop was for lunch. We went to a Cornish pasty place (did you know that Cornish pasties are like Champagne- they can only be called Cornish pasties if they come from a certain place like the way Champagne only comes from Champagne, France!). I got the traditional pasty- beef, onions, potatoes, and gravy in a flaky crust. It was delicious!

We then headed to the Roman Baths! We each received a token to get in, and we were told we had to meet at the end by a certain time so we had time to go to Stonehenge. The baths were cool, although we were vehemently instructed to not touch the water, and most definitely don't let it touch your mouth... apparently it's pretty bad for you! There were a lot of cool artifacts, such as bodies and sculptures and such for us to look at, as well as a section where you walk through the excavations.

When we exited the Baths, we appeared on the street pictured above. Do you know it? If you love Jane Austen, and have seen some of the movie adaptations, the 1995 version of Persuasion has some scenes here (namely the end, where she acknowledges Captain Wentworth's letter and a parade goes past- photos here and here)! We also stopped by the Royal Crescent, also a Persuasion location (from the 2007 version when she goes running after Captain Wentworth-photo here). Those were just a couple of Persuasion spots, but I was thrilled!

After Bath, we hopped back onto the bus and headed for Stonehenge! Unfortunately we were crunch for time... and whoever took photos of us with my camera didn't know how to operate autofocus (FAIL) so the photo of us is a bit blurry.

When we returned to London, we were on our own time, so the four of us headed to Abbey Road. I'm not a Beatles fan, but I if you're there, why not cross the road? And afterwards, Shannon and I headed out to dinner with another girl from our tour group. We hit up a pub near St. Paul's and shared a pitcher of Pimm's. I had the most beautiful burger I've ever seen in my life! My brother was VERY jealous!

More photos can be seen on my Flickr page here!

Spring cleaning

2011-06-13T10:47:00.000-04:00

Phew! I just cleaned out my blog list quite a bit! I was following something like 100 blogs, and after going through and deleting all of the dead links and blogs that hadn't been updated in over a year, I'm down to 40!

And now that I have it down to a manageable number, this is my solemn vow- I will comment on at least 5 blogs each day! I'm a notorious lurker, and the buck stops here! I can't hope for people to read my blog but never reciprocate!

That said, I'll resume sharing trip photos tomorrow... work is incredibly inconvenient! It gets in the way of my life!

Let the madness begin!

2011-06-10T10:40:00.001-04:00

May 23 was first official day of the tour (the 22nd was technically a travel day)- we had an early breakfast and hit the pavement! We headed towards the Thames- coming up by the Houses of Parliament as we had the evening before. We checked out the Big Ben Clock Tower and walked down to Westminster Abbey, but unfortunately Westminster was closed because Obama was coming to town and was going to get a special tour (so unfair! I wanted to go in!). On the bright side, I stood where Prince Harry had stood only a few weeks prior!

We then headed towards Buckingham Palace, via Regent's Park, to see the Changing of the Guards, only to learn that it too was cancelled because of Obama's visit (curse you Obama!!!). On the bright side, as we walked past St. James's Palace, we were stopped so that a car containing Prince Charles and Camilla could drive past! Cool!

The rest of the day was spent on a hop on/off double decker bus tour. It took us around to all of the major sights!

In the evening, our tour group met at The Albert (a pub) for a traditional dinner of peas, some sort of cabbage(?!), and shepherd's pie. We were hoping to go to the Tower of London and see the crown jewels ahead of time, but didn't have the time. Oh well! More fo rmy next trip! Afterwards, we did an awesome Jack the Ripper walking tour with a guide called Fred Strangebone. He was great because he was totally in character!

You can see a few additional photos from that day on my Flickr page here!

EF in London

2011-06-09T13:00:00.004-04:00

Ok, so May 22 the tour officially began! I met with half the tour group at 11 AM at our hotel (following an epic journey on the Underground across the expanse of London with luggage in tow). Joel (the tour director guy) had us drop off our bags and led us to the tube station around the corner. We headed to Picadilly Circus for a quick mini tour!

From Picadilly Circus he led us to Trafalgar Square, where he told us a bit about the National Gallery and then led us through an awesome really old alleyway (complete with gas lamps and bowed shop windows!) over to Covent Garden Market. There, he left us to fend for ourselves while he went to get the rest of the tour group from the hotel.

Having expressed some knowledge of the area and a desire for fish and chips for lunch, three other girls in the group joined me and we set off for food! Lunch was awesome, and then we wandered the Covent Garden Market for a bit (I bought some cool stuff!) and then we decided we wanted to explore. Shannon, Serena, Lauren, and I (henceforth, referred to as 'the four of us' because we were pretty much inseparable for the rest of the trip) set forth with me as the guide (what were they thinking?!). We roamed through the Queen's Garden and Hyde Park back to the Peter Pan Statue, essentially doing the tour Michael gave me in reverse.

We then made our way to the tube and headed towards the Houses of Parliament! It started out cloudy, but when we went up in the London Eye, the clouds cleared just in time for sunset! It was beautiful!

Like yesterday, this is really just a small sample of the zillion photos I took on my trip. If you'd like to see more of my favorites, you can check them out here!

Solo in London

2011-06-08T09:00:00.002-04:00

For the sake of not wanting to bore anyone, I'm going to summarize my two-day stay ahead into a single post, consisting primarily of pictures! Pictures are nice- much less boring than words! And as they say, a picture is worth 1000 words, right? I took over 1,000 photos in London alone, so I narrowed it way down for internet sharing... I've shared a few here, but to see the approx. 40 photos I'm sharing from my stay ahead, you can see them here (complete with captions!).

So Day 1- Michael let me pick where we started, so I picked the Peter Pan statue! We walked through Hyde Park (which is HUGE!) and made our way to the statue.

After the statue, we went around the Queen's Rose Garden and checked out Buckingham Palace. I got to see some Beefeaters and Household Cavalry members from the Life Guards!

After a bunch of walking, I was fairly wiped (jet lag on 2 hours of sleep is killer!) so we stopped in a pub and I had a Guiness! Hooray! Guiness in a real pub! Just wait until I go to Ireland!!!

We also went by Covent Garden Market and saw a mime perform. I thought it would be totally cheesy, but it was fun! Afterwards, Michael took me for my first Indian food!

By day 2 I was well rested and looking forward to an awesome day of trying to navigate my way via the Underground to the Doctor Who Experience. That expedition ended up being a total fiasco because some of my tube stops were closed for renovations, but I finally found my way! If you ever have the opportunity, you have to go see the Doctor Who Experience! It was so much fun! It begins with a scenario where you're helping the Doctor, and you get to walk through the TARDIS and encounter various creatures from his travels. You then walk through an exhibition of props, sets and costumes. It was great!

In the afternoon, I went to a cookout at Michael's house. Nom!

After dinner, I headed back to the hotel. It gets dark incredibly late in London! My brain was like, "It's getting dark. It must be around 8:30" but by the time I got back to my hotel, it was after 11! The photo below is from sitting at the Overground station.

Up in the Air- Heading to London!

2011-06-07T10:32:00.003-04:00

I know you've all be dying to hear about my amazing European adventure, right?? Of course you have!!! So over the next few days I'll be sharing stories and photos and perhaps a video or two! I will begin by saying I had no luck finding Mr. Right while in London... tragic really... but if there's one thing that I learned while in London, it's that I will most definitely be expatriating to the UK in the future. I'm absolutely meant to be there! So I'll have more opportunities to meet my Englishman in the future!

We'll begin with the flight over. It was a fiasco. The flight from Norfolk to JFK was delayed taking off, further delayed when we got to the runway and realized a luggage hatch was still open (better before then during, I suppose!), and then when we finally made it to JFK, they had no available gates to we were stuck taxiing for an hour!!! Needless to say, I was on the verge of tears thinking I was going to miss my flight to London (believe me, this is a tragedy). Have you ever seen an asthmatic sprint through an airport? No, of course you haven't. We generally plan ahead in such a way that we never need to endanger our health in such a way... And yet, with all of the delays, my 3 hour layover dwindled until I was literally sprinting through JFK, arriving as one of the last people to get on the plane.

So obviously one who has just gone through this sort of stress is hoping that they have been through the worst of it, right? But of course not! So much for my prayers that I'd be seated next to a gorgeous (single) Englishman who was returning home... I ended up next to that cliche, non-English speaking couple that is completely oblivious to other passengers. The wife sat in the middle of our row of 3 seats, and as soon as we'd taken off, she rotated so her legs were across her husband's lap and her head was in my space! Who does that?!?! Fortunately, by pulling down my tray, she had to move a bit, but my personal space was still a bit violated.

I didn't sleep much. Maybe 2 hours? Nothing like hopping off an 8 hour flight feeling awake and refreshed, right? I did a 2 day stay-ahead of my tour, so we'd arranged for me to be picked up by some family friends who live near London. I hadn't seen them since I was 10ish, but it was cool seeing them again! They drove me to my hotel, which wasn't ready for me yet, so we went to Starbucks around the corner (such an authentic British experience to kick off my travels!) for some coffee.

A bit about the hotel- I stayed at the Griffin House Hotel, which was AWESOME- the hotel is a townhouse, and the room was just big enough for a single bed and small wardrobe! I loved it!!! When we first arrived, we noticed some guards on the corner, holding ARs. I know enough about England to know they don't rock handguns, let alone assualt rifles, so this was very odd. Nosiness won out, and we asked about it... My hotel was across the street from a street of rather nice looking town houses, and apparently one of them was Tony Blair's townhouse! So I had a 24/7 security detail out front! Hooray!

After moving my luggage into my hotel room, Michael (whom I hadn't seen since he was like, 8) offered to give me the grand tour of London. I'll share more about that tomorrow... no one likes wordiness, right? Lots more photos to come as well!

Tomorrow's Guardian Giveaway Winner!

2011-06-05T13:21:00.001-04:00

Hello!!! I'm back from my trip!!!! I'll share stories and photos in the coming days, but for now, I owe you all a winner of a copy of Tomorrow's Guardian!

Congrats to Traxy! I'll send you an email... if I don't hear from the winner within 48 hrs, I move on to the next person in the list, so I've listed the top 3 winners above! Thanks to all of the entries!!!

Bye!!!!

2011-05-20T19:00:00.000-04:00

As you read this, I'm sitting on a plane headed for LONDON!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Tap! Tap! Playtex Sport Body Wipes!

2011-05-19T08:41:00.000-04:00

I recently became a member of Crowdtap, a site where you provide feedback on products and brands to the companies. Usually they just survey you (recent topics include summer blockbusters and summer barbeque fare. However, on occasion, you get to actually sample some products! Lately I've been involved in a campaign from Playtex Sport which included sampling their latest product, Sport Body Wipes.

The wipes come in a handy little packet, so you can toss it into your gym bag (or, as I intend to do for my 8 hour flight, my carry on!). I got home from a jog one evening and my dad asked if I wanted to go out for sushi. It was already rather late, so I didn't want to delay by taking a shower, so I busted out one of these wipes and did a quick clean up. No one wants to smell a sweaty person at a restaurant! I was impressed! The wipe is really soft, and has a light cucumber scent. They don't contain alcohol, so it didn't dry out my skin, and it didn't leave me feeling sticky.

The feedback I've received from people I've given samples to has been really good! The general concensus is that they feel much less grimy after using the wipe, which makes them feel good about going out and about longer without feeling the need to run home to the shower. One comment I received was, "I wouldn't use it as a shower replacement, but if I ever needed to swing by a store after going to the gym, I wouldn't be worried about running home and taking a shower first." All in all, the wipes have been a hit!

Feeling grimy after hitting the gym? Or maybe just after a day on the go? One of these little wipes will fit into your purse, gym bag, or backpack and be there when you don't have time for a shower but need a quick freshening up! You can find these at your local Walmart, so you should check them out!

Want to participate in some brand sample programs too? Join Crowdtap here!

Review & Giveaway: Tomorrow's Guardian by Richard Denning

2011-05-17T09:11:00.004-04:00

Initially they seemed like really vivid nightmares- suddenly Tom would be fighting in the Battle of Isandlwana in 1879, watching his men get massacred or drowning on a U-boat or burning in a fire. Then things got even weirder as Tom kept experiencing these weird déjà-vu type moments, reliving moments that he swore had already passed just minutes before. Each episode was followed by a fainting spell, and while Tom’s parents thought he suffered from some form of epilepsy, Tom simply believed he was going mad. That is, until the night Seamus appeared in Tom’s room and tells Tom that he’s a Walker, a person capable of traveling through time.

Seamus takes Tom to the Institute, where they fight to preserve the flow of time, preventing evil-doers from using time to their advantage. Tom is given the option of keeping his powers to help fight the good fight or have them removed and return to being a normal kid. But before he makes his decision, they need his help saving the lives of three other Walkers. It turns out Tom’s “nightmares” are more than just nightmares, and only he has the power to do something about them!

I had the awesome opportunity to read this book, compliments of the author, Richard Denning! One of the things that immediately caught my attention when reading this book is how quickly the storyline progressed beyond the initial plot. As I began reading, I had assumed the book would focus entirely on the rescue missions, drawing them out into lengthy adventures that would fill the book. That, however, was not the case and the storyline progressed into an even larger plot before I was even halfway through the book. I love when books manage to keep me on my toes! Overall, the end of the story was a bit predictable (how often does the evildoer actually win?) but the story itself was a unique and entertaining read that kept me guessing as to what they would do next!

My background on British history is rather weak, so after reading this book, I did a little research on the events that occurred in Tomorrow’s Guardian (e.g. the Great Fire of London) and I was impressed by the accuracy of Mr. Denning’s work! He didn’t simply select a historical event and create a fictional situation based upon it, but he even developed his story around actual events that occurred, such as the fire beginning at the baker’s house and everyone escaping out of the upstairs window except for the maid. So not only is this book a time-travel adventure tale, but it’s also somewhat educational (Well, for the first half)! The second half of the book breaks into the concept of alternate realities based on different outcomes in past historical events. It’s interesting to think of the major impact that changing one event could have on the world!

All in all, the book is very well written. The book was written for teens, so it’s an easy read. The content is G-rated, and there was a pleasant lack of an adolescent love theme, which many authors seem to be using as a crutch to hold up weak and worn out plots these days! The characters are well developed, and their reactions when they arrived in 21st century London were funny. Seeing as Tom is only 13, there’s plenty of room for sequels! The plot is refreshing (Finally! A teen book without vampires!) and keeps the reader engaged. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a light, entertaining adventure!

WIN IT!

Entering is easy! All you have to do is post a comment telling me where/when you would go if you could travel anywhere on Earth! The giveaway ends on June 2nd (lengthy one, I know, but I don't know if I'll be able to pull a winner while on my trip) at 11:59 PM EST and the winner will be announced June 3rd and will have 48 hours to contact me before I pick a new winner!

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*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. The author is also providing a copy for a giveaway.

The Big Bang- It's back!

2011-05-16T08:30:00.005-04:00

Do any of you recall my post in March of '09 about the big boom that everyone in Hampton Roads felt/heard but no one could explain (Read: The Big Bang... Theories?)? Theories were flying, from military exercises (occasionally the jets like to break the sound barrier, resulting in sonic booms) to meteors to aliens. We never determined the cause, and eventually the hubbub died down… That is, until this past Tuesday when it happened again.

Weird, right??? Again, the theories were flying. Most reasonable people tried pinning it on the military again, although many people tried to justify it as seismological activity. We’re not prone to earthquakes (in the 24 years of my life here, I’ve felt one tremor… I think I was about 7 years old). The local geological survey said they registered nothing unusual, so that was an unlikely cause. How ironic is it that military head honchos and scientists could come up with no reasonable explanation, only for the most likely name for it to come from a class of local 8th graders? Let’s hear it for the next generation!!!

Granted, it’s the local magnet school (the school for brainiacs), but none the less it was a bunch of 12 and 13 year old earth science students! They had researched the event and came up with this-

Seneca Guns

Ever heard of it? Of course not! So I stole a bit of info from Wikipedia-

Unexplained reports that sound like a cannon or a sonic boom. They have been heard in many waterfront communities around the world such as the banks of the river Ganges in India, the East Coast and inland Finger Lakes of the United States, as well as areas of the North Sea, Japan and Italy; and sometimes away from water. They have been reported for centuries
.
Their sound has been described as being like distant but inordinately loud thunder while no clouds are in the sky large enough to generate lightning. Those familiar with the sound of cannon fire say the sound is nearly identical. The booms occasionally cause shock waves that rattle plates. Early white settlers in North America were told by the native Iroquois that the booms were the sound of the Great Spirit continuing his work of shaping the earth.
One explanation for why they are usually heard near water is that inland communities are often too noisy to hear these booms. Their origin has not been positively identified. They have been explained as:

• Meteors entering the atmosphere.
• Gas:
o Gas escaping from vents in the Earth's surface.
o With lakes, natural gas from decaying vegetation trapped beneath the lake bottoms suddenly bursting forth. This is plausible, since Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake are two large and deep lakes.
o Explosive release of less volatile gases generated as limestone decays in underwater caves.
• Military aircraft (though it cannot explain occurrences of the phenomenon which predate supersonic flight).
• In some cases, they have been associated with earthquakes.
• In North Carolina, that they are the sound of pieces of the continental shelf falling off into the Atlantic abyss (but there is no geological evidence to support this- and it wouldn’t explain inland lakes like Lake Sececa in New York)
• A recent explanation is that the noise is very distant thunder which has been focused anomalously as it travelled through the upper atmosphere
• Underwater caves collapsing and the air rapidly rising to the surface.
Either way, it’s still unexplained, although we’ve managed to give it a name now. And I think it’s odd that this has now happened twice in as many years, when I (and my older brother) don’t recall them ever happening before.

What I've learned in middle school...

2011-05-11T08:41:00.003-04:00

As most of you know, I've spent this year working as an athletic trainer at the middle school level. This has been an educational experience both professionally and personally.

Professionally I've learned how to handle injuries in a whole new age group... most kids at the middle school level have never been injured before aside from the scrapes that every kid obtains in childhood. That being the case, there are many (not all, but I'll lean twoards most), who significantly overreact to injuries. A kid strains his hamstring (a muscle in the back of the leg) and suddenly he loses all ability to move his leg or even flex the muscles (a fascinating conundrum, considering the numerous other muscles in the leg that should be able to compensate to some degree). I've also discovered that I'm a miracle healer! Sometimes a kid will be in "excruciating pain" and I'll hand them a bag of ice and tell them ice for 15 min and I'll continue my assessmentand I get this conversation:

"But I'll miss the end of the game."
"You just told me your pain is an 8/10 on the pain scale. Depending on the severity of your injury, you may not play again this week." (this is an exaggeration, but the healing power of these words is amazing!)
They take on a considering expression for a moment and then sort of hop around a bit...
"Actually, I think I'm ok."
"Are you sure"
Jumping around some more.
"Yeah! I'm totally good!"
They head back out onto the field a few minutes later and run around as though nothing ever happened.

Amazing, right?!?! Kids are resilient... the momentary pain tends to scare them into thinking it's worse, so I've learned to just wait a couple of minutes before truly assessing the situation.

The personal lesson I've learned has to do with the middle school age group as people... and their parents. First of all, are kids growing taller earlier these days? We've got a 6th grader (mind you, this mean's he's 11 years old!!!) who is over 6 feet tall!!!! I feel small working at a middle school! Who knew?!

As far as parenting is concerned, is it me, or has it become much more... lax? I have multiple athletes (remember, 11-13 years old) with tattoos!!! I've got some who are literally covered in them!!! Why does a 12 year old have tats?! I know a parent had to sign off on those things! Kids are also total potty-mouths... I was out at practice lately, and some boys were having a conversation that relied heavily on the use of the f*bomb every other word. I didn't cuss until I was in high school, and even then, I didn't cuss around my mom until I was in college because I respected adults too much to be foul-mouthed around them! Seriously parents, I know it's considered passé to spank a child or whatever, but you are the adult. Step up and make it clear to your kid that they aren't adults yet. This is why kids are off having sex at 10 flippin' years old!!!

Bzz! CoverGirl NatureLuxe Collection

2011-05-09T13:07:00.002-04:00

Can you tell I've been involved in a lot of BzzCampaigns lately?? As a BzzAgent, I was sent a box containing products from CoverGirl's new NatureLuxe Collection. The new NatureLuxe Collection is aiming for the "fresh yet flawless" look, what world-renowned make-up artist Pat McGrath calls "naturally polished".

The new NatureLuxe Collection has done away with the heavy synthetics in exchange for natural ingredients. Rather than heavy emollients, the foundation is made with a touch of cucumber water jojoba and rosehip extracts. It's available in 14 shades, so everyone should be able to find a shade to match! It's oil-free, dermatologically tested, and SPF 10! The NatureLuxe Gloss Balm is a blend of mango, shea, and other natural butters that leaves a non-sticky, lightweight feel. The balm comes in 16 shades and is SPF 15!

So, what do I think? I'll start by saying I'm not a makeup wearer... I think I put on makeup once a year or less (I actually had to use YouTube tutorials on makeup application to do my makeup for my college graduation- Please don't judge me!). Personally I think makeup is a total pain in the butt, and since I have naturally oily skin, I end up looking like a shiny mess so quickly that it seems pointless to try. That said, I really liked this stuff!

This stuff is so light and cool when you apply it that it feels like water! My first thought was, "How in the world is this going to cover any blemishes if it's so light?" but I was pleasantly surprised at the results! It went on smoothly, and didn't cause my skin to get all oily. Apparently the stuff is water proof, and I'm always happy to have a bit of SPF on my face since I spend a lot of time outside!

The lippy was surprisingly awesome too! I was concerned when I first looked at it that it would be too dark for me, but it went on a bit lighter than anticipated. The color I got was Pinot, and it has an awesome fruity/berry (perhaps grape, based on the name?) flavor (no, I'm not sitting around chewing on my stick of lippy)! It has a nice subtle shimmer to it, and isn't heavy like lipstick, but lighter like chapstick.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by the lightweight feel and great look that this makeup has! I'm not a stellar makeup artist, but I took the photo above after applying the makeup (and on a side note, don't my new glasses look amazing?). I didn't feel as though I was wearing makeup, which is what normally puts me off the stuff. I don't like feeling like I've got a ton of cream and powder all over my face. Since I like this stuff so much, I think I'm inclined to wear makeup more often!

April Book Box Winner!

2011-05-06T21:31:00.000-04:00

I know you think I've died... I swear I haven't! This week was finals week, so I had exams to study for... Fortunately they're over!!! Hmmm... I wonder if grades have posted yet. Lemme check real quick...

No such luck! Oh well! I tend to be really impatient with final grades :) In the meantime, I realize it's the 6th already, but I never announced last month's Book Box winner! Consider this a test to see if readers actually keep up with the blog lol

Congrats to jbafaith!!! Send me an email with your mailing address and choice of 2 books from the box within the next 48 hrs (let's say... 9:30 on Sunday night) to receive your prize!

Bzz! Glade® scented oil refill

2011-05-03T09:00:00.001-04:00

The final product I got to toy with in my BzzAgent SC Johnson Smart & Easy Spring Cleaning BzzKit was a Glade® scented oil refill. We generally use these around my house because there’s no danger of the cat getting into it. My mom loves the apple/cinnamon type scents, but I love the fruitier smells like Hawaiian Breeze®, so I was eager to check out their new Spring fragrances!

Glade® Scented Oil PlugIns can be used in a wall warmer or a Lasting Impressions warmer (Little tip- if you have AirWick® wamers at home, Glade® scented oil refills will fit! You don’t have to own a warmer for each brand!). Glade® scented oils can provide fragrance for up to 60 days, and the Lasting Impressions warmer is able to hold two scents, alternating every 45 minutes to keep the smells fresh and new!

The scent I received was Crisp Waters®. Admittedly, it’s not my favorite scent. I can’t quite identify what I don’t like about it, but I suppose it’s just too “crisp” for my taste. The only complaint I ever have about Glade® PlugIns is how incredibly strong they are when first plugged in. Even when turned to the lowest output setting, my entire upstairs smelled like Crisp Waters® within an hour! It was so strong that I had to unplug it before bed because my bedroom was just too overpowering.

Overall though, I generally prefer Glade® PlugIns to candles because they take up less space, smell good, last a long time, and don’t pose a fire hazard to my house. For college students, these are awesome because most universities won’t allow candles or tart warmers (they’re considered a hotplate) in school properties like dorms and apartments. Fresh smells and hazard free- awesome!

Bzz! Lemon Clean Pledge® furniture spray

2011-05-02T09:00:00.002-04:00

Next up in my BzzAgent SC Johnson Smart & Easy Spring Cleaning BzzKit was a canister of Lemon Clean Pledge® furniture spray. Mom stole this from me as soon as I pulled it out of the box- apparently she’d heard a trick that if you have a stubborn shower/window curtain that isn’t sliding easily, you can wipe the rod with a cloth with a little Pledge® furniture spray on it and it will slide easily. Our shower curtain was making a noise a bit like nails on a chalkboard (seriously- whose bright idea was metal shower hooks on a metal shower rod?) so we were hoping to make it stop. It worked like a charm! The curtain now slides noiselessly! We were very impressed!

I’m sure we all know what dust is… a blend of human skin/hair, pet dander, pollen, fungi, wood, paint, fabric fibers, plant/vegetable matter, pollution, and insect parts. Gross, right??? Do you really want to be sleeping, eating, and relaxing in all of that? Definitely not! And if you’re asthmatic like me, high amounts of dust can trigger asthma attacks. Pledge® helps you clean up the dust in your home- just spray a little on a cloth or surface and wipe! It removes up to 90% of allergens and leaves surfaces noticeably cleaner! You can use Pledge® furniture spray on all sorts of surfaces, from granite countertops to stainless steel appliances, leather couches and wood furniture.

So aside from our awesome shower-rod moment, I have to say I love Pledge®. I’ve used it in the past, mostly when helping my brother clean his house (I know, I'm an awesome sister). He loves dark furniture, but unfortunately doesn’t love cleaning it! There’s no better way to see how effective pledge is than to wipe across a piece of dark wood- and it shines and protects it as well!

I generally use the pledge wipes because I find grabbing one of those out of the pack to be more convenient than running around with a cloth and canister. I suppose it all really depends on the size of the job you’re doing though- you’d go through a lot of cloths cleaning your entire house, whereas a single dust cloth and spray would last you. I love the lemon clean smell- it’s mild but refreshing!

If you’d like to brighten up your furniture, remove allergens, protect your furniture, and leave your house smelling spring fresh, you should definitely try Pledge® Lemon Clean furniture spray!

Review: Scrubbing Bubbles® Mega Shower Foamer

2011-05-01T09:00:00.004-04:00

The next product I played with in my BzzAgent SC Johnson Smart & Easy Spring Cleaning BzzKit was Scrubbing Bubbles® Mega Shower Foamer. I’ll admit, I don’t scrub the shower very often… ok, I never scrub the shower. I did a lot when I was in college, but at home I have one of those Scrubbing Bubbles® Automatic Shower Cleaners (and even then, we rarely remember to turn it on). I saw a golden opportunity to test this product, because instead of a shower door, we have a shower curtain and shower liner. The liner is clear, and begins showing soap scum rather quickly. Typically we just replace it when it gets too gross looking, but I looked forward to seeing how effective the spray was at removing the soap scum!

As soon as the foam is sprayed, it goes to work! It immediately starts penetrating, dissolving, and removing soap scum, as well as reducing mildew stains. Not only does it have immediate effects- Scrubbing Bubbles® Mega Shower Foamer continues to work or four days after you spray it.- they call it Extend-a-Clean^TM Technology. Essentially, it coats your shower with an invisible “grime barrier” (henceforth to be referred to as the forcefield) and whenever the forcefield gets wet, it activates and keeps soap scum from collecting!

First of all I’ll comment on the smell- I love it! It’s super fresh! My only comment is that it’s strong- If you’re not keen on strong cleaner smells, you may not be a fan. Personally, I love the smell of bathroom cleaners, so I wasn’t put off by the strong scent- it is simply the smell of clean! I also like the wide angle of the spray, it covered large areas at a time so I didn’t feel as though I was spending ages trying to ensure I’d covered every inch. A few quick passes and the whole shower was covered! So, how did the Scrubbing Bubbles® Mega Shower Foamer do against the soap scummy shower liner? See for yourself!

Before spraying (gross, right? And mom has scrubbed at this mess with intense cleaners like Bam!)

And after 3 minutes! You can actually see through the curtain!

The Mega Shower Foam left the walls of the shower looking shiny and fresh, and my bathroom smelled awesome! It even cut through the grime on the shower liner with an impressive amount of success! I’d recommend this to anyone who doesn’t want to spend time scrubbing their shower- it does the work for you! Just spray and rinse!

Speculative Saturday #6

2011-04-30T09:00:00.001-04:00

Time. I'd happily go through life completely broke if I had time to do what I want. If I had more free time, instead of having every moment of my day packed with work and chores, there are dozens of thing I could get done that I want to do but have been putting off for ages!

A Fairytale Wedding!

2011-04-29T06:00:00.005-04:00

"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire." — St. Catherine of Siena; A poignant line from the Royal Wedding!

I've been up since 3:30AM watching the Royal Wedding :D Absolutely brilliant! William and Kate look amazing!!!! And Harry looks gorgeous!!!!