Free Gardening Club Magazine

Spring is here and that means many of us will be outside enjoying our gardens, and most likely working on them, too. We could all use a little help and advice when it comes to yardwork and gardening, so I have a great offer for you: a FREE Gardening Club magazine.

Check out the offer by clicking here:



My Mom is a Lifetime Member to this magazine and she loves it, so I hope that you will take the time to use this offer. Enjoy!

The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women – Book and Journal by Gail McMeekin

The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin is a fabulous coaching tool to help unleash your inner creativity. The book and journal work marvelously together, so to really get the most out of it, get both.

Book Description

“A classic bestseller with a new look! 

Since its first publication in 2001, this book has helped hundreds of thousands of women break through creative blocks and realize their dreams.

Combination guidebook and inspirational treasure, The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women profiles 45 dynamic women who share their secrets for success: Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Christina Pickles, Shakti Gawain, Sigrid Olsen, Barbara Sher, Sarah Ban Breathnach, and many others. Each chapter offers the 12 secrets, keys, and challenges to help women work through the creative process. Together they offer an inspirational roadmap, providing all the tools women need to uncover their own authenticity and realize their creative dreams.” – The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women

Journal Description

“The perfect companion to Gail McMeekin’s popular The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women, this journal offers readers a place to track and record their progress with their creative work. It follows the format of the original book, highlighting the 12 Secrets, Keys, and Challenges of each chapter with prompts and inspirational quotes to motivate women to write about their creative lives.

The journal features this is all original material organized into an advanced creativity program to deepen your creativity and get you into action on your goals with new insights and success strategies.” – The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women Journal

My Thoughts

The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women is an excellent resource for women that need a little help (or push) to bring out their creativity. I think that everyone has a creative spark inside them just waiting to be shown, and this book and journal can definitely help bring it forth.

The book is written with the 12 secrets that you can use one per week or one per month to focus on. Each chapter also has challenges for you to work on that goes with the secrets to get you in motion creating. The chapters also each contain a nice variety of stories from highly creative women to motivate and inspire you to get creative, too. I found it all to be very resourceful, especially when having a writer’s block or creative block on a project I was working on.

The journal is my favorite out of the two resources. It follows the same 12 secrets, but is in a journal format that allows you to write in the book as you go. If you don’t want to write in the book, you can always get a special journal and just put your entries in that.

Overall, I found the book and journal to be an excellent source of creative inspiration. I highly recommend both, and if you are like me, will use them often.

* Thank you to the publisher of The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women, Conari Press, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Fire Burn Doctor

While I was listening to an old episode of Darkness Radio, I was introduced to a group of people that have a website called the Fire Burn Doctor.

They offer their service FREE of charge to anyone who needs help from being burned. If you’ve ever had a burn, you know how painful it is, so having some extra help while on the way to the hospital (for free) won’t hurt any worse, right?

If you or a loved one is burned, call 1-818-332-6445 within 30 minutes of the burn (sooner the better).

You’ll then leave a message with the time of the burn and the victim’s name at birth, date of birth, and place of birth. If you have a picture of the burn victim, you could send that instead. All information is confidential.

They claim that the pain is gone in minutes and the burn is erased in hours. That is amazing! If you go to their website, you can see some of the testimonials and before and after shots of people that they helped that had been burned. There are also some videos to watch, too.

If you are reading this right now, write down the phone number and/or put it into your cell phone. Go to their website, do a little research on them yourself if you’d like. Everything I read about with them makes me definitely want to use them for an extra source of help with burns if me or a loved one is burned.

Deep Truth by Gregg Braden

Deep Truth by Gregg Braden is the book that asks the questions we should all be asking right now. The biggest one of course is: “Who are we?” If you are interested in science, spirituality, or just our world in general, this book will be highly relevant to you.

Book Description

“Deep Truth reveals new discoveries that change the way we think about everything from our personal relationships to civilization itself. When the facts become clear, our choices become obvious.

The Crisis: 
Best-selling author and visionary scientist Gregg Braden suggests that the hottest topics that divide us as families, cultures, and nations-seemingly disparate issues such as war, terrorism, abortion, genocide, poverty, economic collapse, climate change, and nuclear threats-are actually related. They all stem from a worldview based upon the false assumptions of an incomplete science.

The History:
The obsolete beliefs of our modern worldview have brought us to the brink of disaster and the loss of all that we cherish as a civilization. Our reluctance to accept new discoveries about our relationship to the earth, one another, and our ancient past keeps us locked into the thinking that has led to the crises threatening our lives today.

The Facts:
The scientific method allows for, and expects, new information to be revealed and assimilated into our existing beliefs. It's the updating of scientific knowledge with the new facts from new discoveries that is the key to keeping science honest, current, and meaningful.
To continue teaching science that is not supported by the new discoveries-ones based upon accepted scientific methods-is not, in fact, scientific. But this is precisely what we see happening in traditional textbooks, classrooms, and mainstream media today.

The Opportunity:
Explore for yourself the discoveries that change 150 years of scientific beliefs, yet are still not reflected in mainstream thinking, including:
· Evidence of advanced, near-ice age civilizations
· The origin of, and reasons for, war in our ancient past, and why it may become obsolete in our time
· The false assumptions of human evolution and of the Darwinian theory "Let the strongest live and the weakest die" and how this plays out in corporations, societies, warfare, and civilization today

Deep Truth reveals new discoveries that change the way we think about everything from our personal relationships to civilization itself. When the facts become clear, our choices become obvious.” – Deep Truth

My Thoughts

Deep Truth is a remarkable book. It crosses the traditional boundaries between science and spirituality and melds it into something that (at least for me) is so “true.”

Gregg Braden uses strong, easy to understand analogies when explaining science and theories he writes about in the text. If you are new to expanding your thoughts from the “traditional” things taught to you in school, Braden makes the transition easy for you to see and actually question things, too. I really enjoyed his method of approaching the topics and also how he detailed them.

My favorite chapter in the book is “The Hidden History of Our Forgotten Past: Places That Should Not Exist.” I’m a huge Ancient Aliens fan, and I read or watch anything having to do with ancient civilizations, so this chapter was the one that was most interesting to me. Ever since finding out about these civilizations that “shouldn’t” be there, according to our textbooks, I have started questioning just about everything that is told to us as true in ancient history that might not possibly be accurate.

Overall, I extremely enjoyed reading Deep Truth, and I highly recommend it for everyone to read. It is truly a remarkable book that will leave you with a new way to look at things in the world, and also have you asking questions you may not have thought about before.

* Thank you to the publisher of Deep Truth, Hay House, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Ohiya – The Art of Making Friends

I love cute characters that are quirky and not too mainstream. When I found out about ohiya, I was immediately a fan. One of the great things about the company is that the characters are made to get people to talk and say “Hi” which we could all say a little bit more often, don’t you think?

There are quite a few different characters that you will find on the website. Once you have a few favorites, check out the download section and get some freebies. If you really want some cool things, check out the Ohiya Shop which has even cooler items that you can use in real life. At the store, you can find tees, plushies, wall art, and more.

I really like the Mythaken characters, especially the “Gnorman” (gnome) and “Corni” (unicorn). I also quite like the Katinja character because cats are very ninja like. Which are your favorites?

Thank you to ohiyafriends.com for providing me with a few samples of their product for this review. All opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid for this post. 

Simple Secrets to a Happy Life by Luci Swindoll

Simple Secrets to a Happy Life by Luci Swindoll is filled with tips to help you live a happy life. If you need help to be more organized, healthy, creative, and of course happy, this is a great book to help you achieve those attributes.

Book Description

“Is it possible to stay full of life, laughter, love, and the Lord through eight decades in this crazy world? Is that even realistic? Yes! There is hope, and Luci Swindoll is living proof.

With heart and humor, this best-selling author and beloved speaker lays out the truths that can help us all become a little more creative, organized, healthy, and happy. This is not a complex prescription for how to become superwoman. These are simple secrets, the wisdom produced by years of walking with God and living well.

We don’t need more tips for “having it all,” but we could all use insight on “having what matters,” and there is no better guide than Luci Swindoll.

Luci has spent eight decades accumulating the stories, memories, verses, and practical tips that make up Simple Secrets to a Happy Life. Whether traveling the world or building life-long friendships, singing in the opera or working for Mobil Oil, every step has taught her a little more about how to love God, love her neighbor, and love herself.

The result is both personal and universal. Organized into fifty short chapters, her reflections form a simple and profound outline for making the most of the lives God has given us.

We could all use a little more joy in our lives, which means we could all use a little more Luci. Visit her through these snapshots of wisdom. You’ll find yourself drawn back again and again.” – Simple Secrets to a Happy Life

My Thoughts

Simple Secrets to a Happy Life includes fifty chapters. Don’t let that scare you though, they are all rather short chapters meant to be read and absorbed one at a time. If you only have a few minutes to read, these chapters would obviously be best read one at a time. However, if you have more time to read, you can of course read as many of the chapters in a row as you wish.

When I read through the book, I preferred to read them one at a time, and then come back and read more later (even if it was just ten minutes later). It gave me time to think about what I just read and think about ways to apply it in my own life.

Luci Swindoll writes in a very relatable manner, which makes you feel like you are sitting at her kitchen table sipping tea or hot chocolate, while she is giving you the wisdom she has learned through life.

I enjoyed this book and think that it will be extremely helpful for many people who decide to read it. I definitely recommend it to everyone who wants to be even a little bit happier in life.

* Thank you to the publisher of Simple Secrets to a Happy Life, Thomas Nelson, as part of their BookSneeze program, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Snow White by Brothers Grimm and Illustrated by Camille Rose Garcia

Snow White by the Brothers Grimm and illustrated by Camille Rose Garcia is a gorgeous gift-quality edition of the fairy tale you grew up with.

Book Description

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, 
Who’s the fairest one of all?”

Originating in seventeenth-century French folklore, the story of Snow White has long been one of the world’s most memorable childhood tales.

It is the story of an evil queen determined to do away with a girl—with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony—who threatens the queen’s quest to remain the most beautiful in her kingdom. This new gift edition presents the unabridged version of the Grimms’ tale, with an original interpretation by renowned artist Camille Rose Garcia that artfully combines wit and dark romance. – Snow White

My Thoughts

Snow White is a beautifully dark fairy tale if you really think about it, and so the illustrator for this version of Snow White did just that. It is the same story, but is designed and artfully created so marvelously, that it feels like a new story.

The artwork and the text truly brings the story to life. Snow White is beautiful, but also has a punk-goth spin to her. I love all of the detail that the illustrations have, and the contrast of the colors works brilliantly.

If you grew up loving the story of Snow White, this is a must-have version for your library. If you plan on giving this book as a gift to someone (which is a fabulous idea, too), be sure to buy more than one copy because you’ll definitely want a copy for yourself as well. I highly recommend it.

* Thank you to the publisher of Snow White, Harper Design, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Giveaway Winners for March

Thank you to everyone who participated and entered to win the $25 Publix gift card and the book “Just a Minute.” The deadline is over, and I used a randomizer program to determine the winners….

$25 Publix gift card (thanks to MyBlogSpark!)

Winner: Jason

“Just a Minute” by Wess Stafford

Winner: CiCi

I’m e-mailing both of the winners after this post is published, so please get back to me ASAP so I can have your prizes sent out!

Thank you again to everyone who entered. I’ll hopefully have more contests soon!

The Thirteen by Susie Moloney

The Thirteen by Susie Moloney is about suburbia, family, deception, and witches. I usually find all of these topics to be of great interest when reading a novel, so I dove right in. How did I like it? Well, read on to find out…

Book Description

“Haven Woods is suburban heaven, a great place to raise a family. It's close to the city, quiet, with great schools and its own hospital right up the road. Property values are climbing, and the crime rate is practically nonexistent.

Paula Wittmore hasn't been back to Haven Woods since she left as a disgraced teenager. Now she's returning to care for her suddenly ailing mother, and she's bringing her daughter and a pile of emotional baggage. She's also bringing, unknowingly, the last chance for her mother's closest frenemies . . . twelve women bound together by a powerful secret that requires the sacrifice of a thirteenth.” – The Thirteen

My Thoughts

The Thirteen is a creepy novel about suburban America at its finest, but with a very “paranormal” twist. I love everything having to do with the paranormal, so it definitely wasn’t that aspect of the book that turned me off to start with. It was how the author wrote her book. She uses a unique way of typing out her book that annoyed me from the start. For example, the use of italics for certain things like thoughts, not capitalizing things that should be, starting paragraphs in odd ways, etc. Some may like this type of thing, but not me.

I wasn’t going to stop reading the novel just because of that though. I was interested in the story, and I love creepy and semi-realistic scary novels. So, as I progressed through the book, I did come to enjoy the story (the typing still annoyed me).

I liked the single mom Paula Wittmore, but she was also the stereotypically “annoying” main character. What I mean by this is that when you’re reading it, she does stupid things and doesn’t notice seemingly obvious things around her. This is the type of character that also makes you want to scream at or shake. Regardless though, I did like her and her daughter Rowan’s mother-daughter tension and issues.

Moloney also uses her humor throughout the book superbly. In horror novels this isn’t usually the case, but she did an excellent job with it. I also really liked the ending (which I’m not giving you spoilers of).

Overall, I thought that this was a good read, especially for people who like horror novels and can see the “creepiness” that is in the seemingly “perfect” suburban towns.

* Thank you to the publisher of The Thirteen, Harper Collins, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Sims 3: Master Suite Stuff Pack Review

The Sims 3: Master Suite Stuff Pack is the newest stuff pack released for the series that adds in luxurious items for your Sims. If you’ve been looking for luxury goods for your Sim’s house, new sexy clothing for lingerie, and items to just set the mood for romantic interactions, this is the stuff pack to get!

About the Stuff Pack
Luxurious master bedroom and bath décor—plus romantic intimate wear!

Home is where the heart is! Whether your Sims relax in a bubble bath in their luxurious bathroom, enjoy some down time in their exquisitely furnished bedroom, or wear new intimate apparel for their special someone, The Sims 3 Master Suite Stuff adds some sizzle to their home life! From stylish bedroom sets to spa-inspired bathroom furnishings to romantic new lingerie and hairstyles, your Sims will relax in comfort and style.

Features:

• Create the ultimate master suite with a romantic canopied bed, a 40s-inspired chair, and more.
• Give your Sims’ bathroom a makeover with contemporary, spa-worthy furnishings including a well-crafted vanity and a sleek and stylish tub.
• Add the finishing touches. From vases of flowers to candles and rose petals, the little things can help set the mood.
• Dress to impress. Whether your Sim is seeking a romantic rendezvous or an indulgent evening of relaxation, the new intimate wear options are bound to please.
• Complete the look with a casual yet elegant new hairstyle that complements your Sims new commitment to relaxation.
~ The Sims 3: Master Suite Stuff Pack


My Thoughts
The Sims 3 is one of the few games I play often. I love that the developers lets us upgrade our game to new expansions and stuff packs frequently because it adds to our base game. If you don’t like a certain theme that a stuff pack or expansion brings, you don’t have to get it.

I love how the game lets you build relationships and do romantic interactions. Yes, it is just a game that keeps it PG, but honestly, that is all I want to see in this game anyways. As an adult gamer though, I do enjoy being able to dress my Sims up in luxury clothing – including sleepwear and lingerie. Not many additions are that sexy though, so to see some of the new ones added in for this stuff pack it really made me happy. Even the males got some new looks (though not nearly as many). It is more fun to dress up the females though, isn’t it?




I also enjoy decorating my Sim homes and venues with nice objects. Luxury isn’t always an option because of what is available though. Luckily, this stuff pack gives plenty of new items to really help out in this department. More could have been added (though I always think that), but because of the high levels of customization tools that are available, you can really change things up in each house you use the items in. One of my favorite new items in this one is the canopy bed – it is very elegant and a new favorite of mine to add into Sim homes.

Overall, I found this stuff pack to give everything it claimed. I made more use out of the new clothing options than all of the new items, but I plan on using the new décor and furniture items more in the future when I make some new Sim homes. If you have The Sims 3 and want to add in more content to your game in terms of new items and clothing, this is a great buy for your game!

Don’t just take my word for it being awesome though, watch this video for The Sims 3 Master Suite trailer on YouTube:





* Thank you to the publisher of The Sims 3: Master Suite, Electronic Arts, and Gamers Gate for providing me with a digital copy of this game and allowing me to review it. All experiences and opinions expressed are my own.