Happy Halloween

I hope all my readers had a great and safe Halloween. My girls had so much fun today and we are loaded down with candy to last us a while. Whatever part of the world you are in, I hope you are being safe and having fun.

Review: Saffire by Sigmund Brouwer

In my last few posts, I have mentioned that I started something new with reviewing books. One day I was watching YouTube and a video titles How To Get ARC's was recommended to me. I watched it, and one of the sites mentioned was Blogging For Books. I checked it out and immediately signed up for it. Having a blog got me approved and I looked through the fiction novels that were available to review first. It took me a good while to figure out if I only wanted to review e-books, or get physical copies which would take a week or two to get to me, or do both. I decided to go with a physical book first and this is it.

About the Book:
For President Teddy Roosevelt, controlling the east-west passage between two oceans mattered so much that he orchestrated a revolution to control it. His command was to ‘let the dirt fly’ and for years, the American Zone of the Panama Canal mesmerized the world, working in uneasy co-existence with the Panamanian aristocrats. 

A love story set within a historical mystery, Saffire brings to life the most impressive-and embattled- engineering achievement of the twentieth-century.

My Thoughts: The cover is a pretty and vibrant yellow and I love the palm fronds. I know very little about the Panama Canal. I don't think I learned that much about it in my history classes at school. I know it's part of American History, but my school district seemed hellbent on shoving the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and WW2 down our throats every year. I enjoyed learning that most of the story is true about the Panama Canal and that most of the main characters were real people. I wouldn't exactly call this a love story as Mr. Holt and Raquel have few interactions, and are smitten with each other at first sight. It was slow at the beginning, but 100 pages to the end, I was flying through the pages. It made me question if Germany did get their hands on the Canal, would that have made a difference to WW1 and WW2?

About the Author: Sigmund Brouwer is the author of eighteen novels with nearly three million copies in print. His recent novel The Last Disciple was featured in Time magazine and on ABC's Good Morning America.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Freebie Haul 10/24- 10/29

It was a small freebie week, and I didn't have any complaints. I was only eager for one of the freebies to hurry up and grace my mailbox.

Monday: Immediately gave this to Cayce because he is always whining about his achy muscles. So hopefully this will help him.

LivRelief Ultra Strength Pain Relief Cream

Tuesday: The girls got some samples today.

Renew Life Kids vitamins

Wednesday: Today was the day that I was waiting for. Of course, it decided to go by super slow, but it was well worth the waiting. The freebie I was waiting on is the book. I will have a review up about the book tomorrow and the new thing I am working with.

Advil Menstrual Pain crowdkit from CrowdTap

November 2016 issue of allure magazine

Blogging for Books review copy: Saffire by Sigmund Brouwer

Thursday: Magazine was the only thing in my mailbox.

November 30, 2016 issue of Wine Spectator

Friday: I got another anticipated freebie. I didn't think I would get these as fast or if the sample listing would be real and not a fake listing just to get page views or subscribers.I am eager to try this and I think I will be posting a review of these little satchets.

eb5 skincare

Saturday: The shampoo and conditioner samples that I got today made me happy. I was ranting about my current shampoo and conditioner to Cayce last night and how I hate it and how it tangles my hair so easily. I can't wait to use the shea moisture tonight.

Winter 2016 issue of BandH.com catalog.

Shea Moisture African Black Soap Shampoo and Conditioner

I can't wait to use these products that I have left. The kids already had the vitamins and the shampoo and conditioner will be used tonight. I am excited to try that.

If ya'll liked my freebie haul, come talk to me. Leave me a comment, get in touch with me on bloglovin or twitter or google+.

School Week 11 Photo Diary

Eleven weeks down and how ever many more to go. It was a productive week and we ended off on a fun note. I didn't take many pictures this week and maybe that contributed to how productive we were.

Monday: We spent a good hour on our morning routine doing chores. We also started reading a new book called Runaway Ralph. They loved the first chapter and they drew their favorite parts.

After we got through reading, we started learning about nature studies and nature detectives. Our trail hasn't been cleaned off and we have neglected it since Cayce started his new job, so we couldn't go walk our trail. So, we watched an Australia nature walk, and it was neat.

We ended the day with watching Bill Nye and Forests.

Tuesday: Today we had a late start to the day. There is only one picture. We did our morning routine and then we watched The Jungle Book, and we discussed it.
Then they had their reading time and then I read out loud. I read another animal fairy book and Chapter 2 of Runaway Ralph.

Wednesday: Samantha got her coloring book done first today and while she was doing that, Ariana worked on her Easy Peasy copywork. Then Samantha worked on copywork, while Ariana did some computer work from Easy Peasy.

Samantha did workbook pages. It was a busy morning. then reading time where they read to each other and it was so cute. I read them chapter 3 of Runaway Ralph and to end the day, we watched more Bill Nye talk about the seasons.

Thursday: Spent the beginning of the morning doing spelling words.

After they worked on spelling words for a while, they wanted to watch Sid the Science Kid. They watched 3 episodes of that and then they wanted to read together again.

President Snow wanted to be involved. He loves being around them when they read.

We watched more nature detective videos on YouTube and we finished the day with Runaway Ralph.

Friday: I had them do separate reading times this morning. Samantha went first while Ariana worked on reading eggs.

After an hour, they switched. Ariana did some reading on her own and Samantha worked on her math seeds and did an amazing job. She got through 3 lessons of math.

Then I had them do copy work and more spelling worksheets. They had to alphabetize their spelling words.

And then we finished our day with my favorite part of our school year and that is carving pumpkins. All three got their own pumpkins this year and they had so much fun and got messy.

It was a good week and I am happy to have this done, so I can spend the weekend with Cayce and have a relaxing time.

Review: The Navy SEAL's E-mail Order Bride: Cora Seton

I got through another kindle read.....YAY!!! This is genre I usually go to for fan fiction...military romance. I know some of the free books in this genre are all the same and corny and not very long, but it was a great filler book to read while I was waiting on my first review copy of a book to come in. More details on that on Sunday when I post the review for the book.

(Source: The Navy SEAL's E-mail Order Bride Goodreads Page)

The cover for this book is the generic like all other books like this one. I don't really like the font of the author's name and title. If you are going to put a hot guy on the cover, at least show his abs and not cover them.

This is the first book of the series and the series is called The Heroes if Chance Creek. This series follows a group of brothers who are in different branches of the military and they all have been ordered by their aunt to get married within a year and one has to produce an heir if they want their family's ranch back.

This book is about Mason. He is a Navy Seal and I think the oldest out of the brothers. He gets the letter from his aunt saying that since his uncle died, she is going to give them back the ranch that they grew up on, but they have to meet her conditions first.

Condition #1 is to find a wife in a year.
Condition #2 is that one of the brothers must have a child.
Condition #3 is to have the cattle operation up and running.

If the brothers don't meet those requirements, then the ranch will be handed down the their cousin. Mason then puts out a Wife Wanted ad for him and his brothers. Here enters Regan, a woman who has quit her job to start her own business, swearing off men, and to get pregnant by artificial insemination. She jokingly applies to the wife wanted ad and she starts a conversation with Mason. They of course have the connection, and she fights it because she doesn't want to ruin her plans.

This is a very fast paced read, and the chapters are short. There are some parts in this story that are not believable and don't quite make sense. I don't know if I am going to read the rest of this series because I know it will follow the same plot and it's not worth the little bit of chunk change for the Kindle download.

Review: Sons & Lovers by D.H. Lawrence

If ya'll know anything about me is that I love book to movie or TV adaptations. I watched and read The Man in the High Castle. My favorite character is Frank Frink. The actor who plays Frank in the show is Rupert Evans and I had to watch more of his work. He is British and has done a lot of television work. I found some of his other works and watched them and read about him and he is a great actor. I found that he was in a TV movie called Sons & Lovers and then realized it was based off a book.

This cover is the movie tie in edition for the novel. This book has so many covers like so many other classics. I like this cover because Rupert Evans is on it. *swoon*

I loved this book. It is the only classic so far that I have loved. It is about the Morel family and their life. It starts with Gertrude, a sophisticated woman meeting Walter, a miner at a dance and getting together and marrying. They have 4 children.. William, Annie, Paul, and Arthur. The father Walter is an abusive alcoholic. He spends his money on booze and doesn't pay his debts. That's when Gertrude no longer loves him and instead gives all her love to her boys.

The rest of the book focuses on Paul Morel. It shows him getting a job as a clerk in a factory and swearing off marriage because his mother needs him and no one can hold a candle to her. He soon spends most of his time with a young lady named Miriam and her family. He teaches Miriam french and algebra. He is in a constant bi polar attitude towards Miriam. One minute he is cordial and civil towards her, but the next he is a rage and hates her with every fiber of his being. They don't want marriage but they know it will be expected of them if they keep spending so much alone time together.

Paul also has an affair with another woman named Clara. She is a married woman and he yet again, has that bi polar attitude towards her and still doesn't want marriage.

I liked this book because it made me feel the anger and the joy from Paul's attitude. It made me feel how Miriam was feeling towards Paul. She wanted him and he wanted her, but he wouldn't let himself have her that way. The fact that Paul's and Miriam's relationship was based off a real one of the authors is fascinating. Paul's mother was my favorite because the women in her son's lives were "brazen hussies". It was hilarious. The fact that this book is just a simple look into the lives of the Morel family is one of the many reasons it is now a favorite of mine.

Review: The One You Love by Paul Pilkington

I got through another kindle read, and I was not impressed. It is the first of a mystery-thriller- suspense series set in London. That's the main reason I got it for free because of the setting and the cover art.

(Source: The One You Love Goodreads Page)

I was excited to read this book because I have been gaining a fascination with London and the culture and accents and all that, and wanted to read more about locations. This book I kind of enjoyed. It did not meet my expectations but it was a good little thrill. I did give it 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

It starts off with the main character Emma celebrating her hen party. A hen party is a bachelorette party. During the party, Emma gets a phone call saying that her fiance hasn't shown up for his stag party and that he isn't answering the door or answering his phone. She immediately starts thinking of the past and that it's going to happen again.

This book was a constant slow burn. You don't find out that this is her second engagement where her first ran off before the wedding. We also learn why after pointless little chapters of thoughts from the other characters. It really felt like a teenager in late middle school or early high school wrote this and couldn't keep a consistent POV or direction.

It was confusing to meet the characters and who was who in the story. We are introduced to Emma's dad in one chapter and then a couple chapters later, it goes back to that chapter story and tells his story. It was a constant back and forth between story lines and it didn't mesh well for me.

I would give the sequel a chance, but I have other things that I would rather read and I am not going to pay a little bit of money for a kindle read that I might not like after the first was a middle rate for me.

Freebie Haul 10/7- 10/22

I finally did my freebie purge. I got rid of a bunch of magazines after I went through and pulled out freebies, and perfume pages and read interesting articles. Most went into the girl's magazine box that they have to use during school and then the rest went into the garbage. Then I got bombarded wit more throughout the week. This was a great freebie week. I loved everything I got.

Monday: It was a seriously heavy magazine day!!

November 2016 issue of Women's Health

November 2016 issue of Men's Health

November 2016 issue of Marie Claire

November 2016 issue of Redbook

October 25, 2016 issue of Forbes

October 24, 2016 issue of Us Weekly

Tuesday: The start of my favorite from the week. Got some awesome freebies

November 2016 issue of Better Homes and Gardens

Rufus Teague Meat Rub from Copenhagen

Aveeno crowdkit from Crowdtap

Wednesday: No Freebies

Thursday: The hunk of book has to be my favorite for the week. I was not expecting it and I thought it would be another book that I was waiting for.

Goodreads Giveaway Win: The Mountain Shadow

November 3, 2016 issue of Rolling Stone

Friday: another magazine and some much needed coffee!!

October 31, 2016 issue of ESPN

New Starbucks Cafe Latte K-Cup pods in Caramel and Peppermint Mocha

Saturday: Some more seasoning to make more delicious food. I made pork chops last night for dinner and I used the Rufus Teague meat rub that I got on Tuesday and it was DELICIOUS!!! I can't wait to try this seasoning.

October 31, 2016 issue of Us Weekly

Bone Suckin Sauce steak seasoning from Copenhagen

I can't wait for next week because I have some stuff coming and I know I will have a good mail week regardless if I get a lot of freebies or not.

School Week 10 Photo Diary

Another week has come and gone and it was boring. We were all sick of doing the same thing all week and we are so screwed up from Cayce's work schedule, that we are wanting to start school later and later and then when we get into the late hours of the afternoon, we are mad and cranky. But it was a productive week. We ended this week with a field trip because the girls needed to get out of the house.

Monday: It was a reading and writing day. I read them chapter books and they worked on Easy Peasy copywork, and they did reading eggs and their own reading time where they read aloud to me. It was a good, but exhausting day. My voice was gone by the end of the day from all the reading aloud I did.

Samantha drew a picture of The Bailey School Kids: Werewolves Don't Go To Summer Camp

reading eggs

Reading out loud to me.

Tuesday: I forgot to take pictures today, and when I remembered to take them, it was already the end of our day, or close to it. So I took a picture of their planner that I have to fill out.

We finished reading Werewolves Don't Go To Summer Camp and they did more Easy Peasy copywork. Then they did math problems out of their workbooks and they ended the day with reading time.

Wednesday: Started the day off with playing games. it was one of those mornings where Cayce got home way to late from work and it messed with my sleeping and I overslept and we had a late breakfast and late start to the day.

After the games, they did separate things. Sammy did more of her coloring book and Cayce helped her alot today with that. Ariana did more Reading Eggs. Then they did more pages for their All About Me books and they finished the day with watching Sid the Science Kid. They love that little show. It is so cute.

Thursday: Started the day with more Sid the Science Kid, and then more copywork. I am trying to get the copywork out of the way, so we can do the other parts of the Easy Peasy lessons. We are so far behind on those. I think next week we will be doing a majority of the Easy Peasy lessons.

Samantha working on her reading Eggs: Mathseeds

To end the day we watched more Bill Nye the Science Guy. They absolutely love Bill Nye and they laugh at the funny things he does and they love learning about what that episode is about.

Friday: The day was another late start and we did more reading. They read out loud to me and we watched more Bill Nye.

After Bill Nye, they did more math pages in their workbooks.

Then they took a field trip to a little pumpkin patch stand to get our pumpkins for next week.