Psychology, Biology, and One Large Headache

Just wanted to update about my school adventures.

The semester is officially over for my Psychology course, and I managed to get a 104 average. Oh yeah! I have to take another course this summer, hopefully I do just as well.

I have one last exam for my Biology course for this semester. I did really well by making an 85 on my last exam. I suspect mostly everyone got in the Cs or Ds that is still left (about half the class already dropped out). Remember, the first exam in this class I made a 91 and the class average was a 53? Yeah. Not easy! I’ll be extremely happy if I make a B overall. Wish me luck!

I signed up for my summer courses, and sparing you the boring financial aid details and stuff, I am glad I have a credit card to pay for it with ahead of time – because their financial aid department is just not all together. If I had waited, I would have been kicked out of the classes I pre-registered for. So not cool.

I’m kind of scared about the Anatomy and Physiology I class. I have a professor at least that ratemyprofessor.com says is hot and the easier one to have. Cramming it all into the summer though is scary, especially when it is a lot to remember.

I also seem to have a headache that isn’t going away. Maybe I should take a migraine pill, but those make me unable to focus well. Then again, migraines do the same. Eh, lose-lose huh?

Have a great weekend everyone and if you are looking for more blog followers, check out my previous post about the Friday Follow thing.

Friday Follow

This is my first blog follow, the twitter one went pretty well yesterday, so why not? It is a fun way to find new and interesting blogs too, so give it a try too if you'd like.

More studying for me today, so I'll be off and on for "breaks" to follow and follow back. Have a great Friday and weekend everyone!

Here's how YOU can join the Friday Follow celebration:
• * Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky below. Only need to add on one blog to be seen on all the blog hops.
• * Grab the Friday Follow button and include on your Friday Follow blog post.
• * Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots.
• * Follow as many other blogs on the linky as you'd like
• * Take a moment to comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday

Follow
• * Follow back when you get a new follower through Friday Follow
The list is new each week. The links do not carry over. Please link up each week for new participants to find your blogs. The list is only open to add your blog links on Fridays. It will be visible all week to visit the blogs listed.

Twitter Hop Thursday!

This is a first "hop" for me, here are the directions if you want to join in too!

Welcome to Twitter Hop Thursday, hosted by Simply Stacie, The King's Court IV, Little Yaya's and Blessed, Review Retreat and Moms Wear Your Tees! Would you like more Twitter followers and be to introduced to more cool moms out there? Come and join us!!

1. Add your Twitter to the MckLinky (you only have to add it to once and it will appear on all).

2. Click on the Twitter ID for the five hostesses and follow each of them on Twitter. We will follow you back.

3. Follow as many people on Twitter as you like, but make sure to leave comments with links so they'll know where to follow you! The more people you follow, the more follow you back!

Would You Buy Bella’s Engagement Ring from Twilight?

Many people (myself included) like buying and wearing replica jewelry from their favorite movies. I actually have Roaslie’s necklace and Carlisle’s ring from Twilight.

I would actually buy Bella’s engagement ring, the $35 version. I wouldn’t want it as a real engagement ring. It is a bit big for my liking and well, I’d want something else, from Tiffany’s or somewhere nice, ya know?

So, would you buy this ring? Would you want to wear it as your real engagement ring? Discuss!

Greater Love by Robert Whitlow

Greater Love is the third book in the Tides of Truth series by Robert Whitlow. “The Tides of Truth series follows one lawyer’s passionate pursuit of truth – in matters of life and the law.”

Book Description
As the storm clouds gather, Tami does her best to weather the growing turbulence in every area of her life.

She's just accepted a job with a law firm but now wonders if she made the right decision. She has two strong men vying for her heart--and is about to lose them both if she can't determine which one is right for her.

And Tami's new case is anything but simple. When she first meets her prospective client, she immediately knows the rough young teen is lying, guilty...and utterly terrified of something beyond the charges she's facing. What she doesn't realize is just how far reaching the effects of the case will go. Or how close to home the deadly results will hit. For by the time the storm breaks, someone close to Tami will have paid the ultimate price.

Through it all, Tami will experience greater sacrifice, greater friendship, and greater love than she's ever known.

My Thoughts
Even though I did not read the previous two books in the Tides of Truth series, I read this book anyways. I usually never read books at the end of a series, but this one I made an exception for because I love a good romance (that isn’t sleazy) with a little bit of mystery in it too.

I have to say that I am glad that I gave this book a fair chance. I really enjoyed reading it and learning about the characters in it. Tami may have a situation we all want – picking between two guys – but the decision is not an easy one to make is it?

I plan on reading the first two books in the series since I enjoyed this one so much, so I do recommend it – but if you’re like me and like reading things in order, I suggest doing that too.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

5 Things to Know for Successful and Lasting Weight Loss

Losing 100 pounds is not an easy feat by any means, and doing so naturally, like the author of this book, Fran DiVecchio did is even more uncommon. 5 Things to Know for Successful and Lasting Weight Loss is a success story of the author’s own tips and stories of how she lost the weight – and kept it off for 12 years!

Fran writes this book in an easy to follow way which really keeps the reader engaged and wanting to know more – not just about her tips for success but also her personal story on how she reached her goal.

The 5 tips used in this book may seem simple, but really doing them isn’t. For instance, DiVecchio makes the reader understand the differences between simply wishing or desiring for something and setting up a goal – and sticking to it, like an Olympian athlete would.

The author also mentions that she didn’t start exercising in extreme measures – she simply started exercising by walking. I really like this tip because not everyone can afford a gym membership right away, and walking is a fantastic exercise – especially for beginners.

At the back of the book, there are also fantastic recipes that the author shares with all of us to help make our weight loss journey taste just a little better. I made “Nancy’s Frittata” and “Choffee” and it was absolutely delicious!

I highly recommend this book to those who are looking for inspiration on their weight loss journey. 5 Things to Know for Successful and Lasting Weight Loss is very easy to read, shares great things to know for lasting weight loss, and gives hope and inspiration to everyone who needs it – whether you want to lose 10 or 100+ pounds.


This book is part of Turner Publishing’s Good Things to Know series which “focuses on simple, pragmatic actions that can have a strong and lasting impact in the lives of readers.” – Turner Publishing.

* Thank you to the publisher of 5 Things to Know for Successful and Lasting Weight Loss, Turner Publishing for providing me with a review copy of this book.

Beauty Review – eos (the evolution of smooth)

I have a secret to confess: I’m not really a 24/7 lipstick wearing kind of girl.

Honestly, I don’t wear it often because most of the lipsticks around irritate my skin/lips. So instead, I opt for natural lip balms and chapsticks.

I’m kind of picky about what I put on my lips (get your mind out of the gutter people) and when I find something I like, I stick with it.

eos (evolution of smooth) has these fun lip balm spheres that I was lucky enough to get to try out. They are USDA-certified organic, all-natural lip balms, packed with antioxidant rich vitamin E, smoothing shea butter and jojoba oil.

They are available in honeysuckle honeydew, summer fruit, and sweet mint. My favorite is the summer fruit. They really do provide long lasting moisture and didn’t irritate me a bit! It is honestly one of the best organic lip balms I’ve used yet.

I started testing these around Easter time and everyone who saw them made comments about Easter eggs. Then, I opened it up and put on the lip balm and they thought it was the coolest thing around. Since I don’t share makeup products (that is really non-hygenic by the way), I directed them to check out our local Walgreens that carries it.

I don’t know anyone who really looks forward to shaving their legs. However, the eos ultra moisturing shave cream can almost get you to that point. If anything, it makes it a little less like a chore.

I tried in the pomegranate raspberry scent and loved it! It says you can shave with it wet or dry, but I prefer to do that in the shower, and it worked great! It left my skin soft and smooth and my favorite part is that it smells great and comes in a soft-touch recyclable bottle that won’t leave a rust ring in the bathtub! What can I say? Small things make me happy!

More about eos:
eos makes innovative and stylish beauty products that meet the needs of modern women at very affordable prices. Their products are available at Walgreens, Duane Reade, Rite Aid, evolutionofsmooth.com, drugstore.com, and amazon.com.


* Thank you to eos for providing me with the items reviewed for the purpose of this review. I was not paid to write positively about them, or in any way.

Happy Earth Day 2010!

Earth Day is a great holiday to go out and do something special for the environment, or perhaps do something new and green you haven’t done before.

This year, I picked strawberries from a local farm near where I live. I can honestly say that I have never picked any kind of fruit or vegetable from a farm before, so definitely a new experience for me!

I usually do Earth Day things with my Mom, so she was with me too. We had fun going through the strawberry fields and picking out the reddest, juiciest, freshest strawberries I’ve ever had. They let us sample some while we picked them too, which really makes for the freshest strawberries around!

Oh, I got a new haircut yesterday too, you like? 14 inches were cut off! Crazy huh?

Here is the same image, but making the strawberry really pop out with the help of photo effects. Which do you like more?



Here is a picture of the strawberry portion of the farm we went to:



What did you do for Earth Day? If you couldn’t do anything today, do you plan to soon? Have a favorite Earth Day memory you’d like to share too? I’d love to hear about it!

The Beauty of Yard Work

Did you know that doing yard work burns a ton of calories? One hour of yard work burns anywhere from 400-600 calories (depending of course on how much you are doing and doesn’t count breaks). Oh yes! If I had known this, I would have been doing more yard work for years! Oh well, live and learn – right?

The past few weeks, I’ve been doing hours of yard work a day. Of course some more than others, and none on some days. We’ve really gotten the front yard looking much better and have been raking, planting, weeding, burning, etc. I’ll post the end result soon (hopefully).

We’ve planted 21 azaleas, 4 rose bushes, 2 crepe myrtles and lots of flowers from seeds. The vegetable garden is on hold, but hopefully will get to that soon!

Here are some pictures I took today, enjoy!

41 Things to Know About Autism

41 Things to Know About Autism by Chantal Sicile-Kira is a great book for those of us who don’t really know very much about autism, but would like to learn. It is setup in a fantastic way that allows readers to find the questions they have (the 41 things) and read about it from there.

This book covers essential questions such as:
• Do vaccines cause autism?
• What causes autism?
• What is a sensory processing disorder, and how is it related to autism?
• My child has just been diagnosed with autism. How do I cope?
• Can autism be cured?
• What hope is there for the future for people on the autism spectrum?

Autism isn’t a disorder that is the same for everyone that has it, that is why it is referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder. While it is different for each person who has it, they do all have challenges in the same three areas including: communication, social interactions, and imaginative play or thought. Recently, it has been found that many with autism also have gastrointestinal and immune medical problems as well.

Autism isn’t something I can honestly say I knew very much about until reading this book. I’d seen children with it on TV (like Jagger’s son on General Hospital’s spinoff). Most recently though, I watched the movie called Temple Gradin. Claire Danes plays Temple, who is autistic and goes on to be a very successful woman (based on a true story). If you haven’t seen this movie yet, watch it, it too is well worth your time!

If you are touched by a family member who is autistic, or a friend who is (or their child has it), are in the medical field, teach a child with autism, or you just want to learn more about autism – this is the book for you! Chantal Sicile-Kira does such a fantastic job explaining about autism and the book sorts it out in a very readable and relatable way.


For more information about autism, check out other books by Chantal Sicile-Kira, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum, and Autism Life Skills.

Websites on Autism:
Autism Society of America (ASA): http://www.autism-society.org
Talk About Curing Autism Now (TACA): http://meetup.tacanow.org
National Autism Association: http://www.nationalautismassociation.org


* Thank you to the publisher of 41 Things to Know About Autism, Turner Publishing for providing me with a review copy of this book.

Seventh Generation Giveaway – Winner!

The giveaway for the Seventh Generation prize pack is now officially over. I used randomizer.org to come up with one winner randomly – and the winner is… Lucy!

Congratulations, I hope you enjoy the book and Seventh Generation products. I will contact you right now to get your contact information to send this great prize back provided by Seventh Generation through MyBlogSpark to you.

Trine - Video Game Review

Trine is a beautifully created video game experience. It is a physics based action game which allows you to play as three different characters – a mage, a thief, and a knight.

Throughout the game you have to cleverly solve many challenges that come your way (often involving all three of the characters). Each character’s special abilities used to get through obstacles and eventually save the kingdom!

Trine is available to play on the PC and the Playstation Network. I’m doing this review based on my experience of the PC game (same game though).

I love my old school games, and this really reminded me of those. Not the graphics of course, because they are much better than those old ones. I’m talking about the gameplay and actually having to think and strategize about how to advance while playing. It isn’t one of those games where you just repetitively attack things and just constantly level up.


The three characters that you can play as was a fun aspect to the game too. Switching between the characters is very simple and if one dies, that is okay because you still have two more ready to go! The other one eventually restores their health and is up for action too.

I enjoyed playing the thief more in the beginning, I liked being able to swing from ropes and jump around (not sure if she jumps higher, but it seems like it to me!). However, as I played the game more, I enjoyed each of the characters pretty much equally.


The music played in Trine is also excellent, and is one game I don’t put on mute and watch/listen to TV while playing. Come on, admit it – you’ve done this many times before too!

If you like this type of action based, problem solving game, this is a game to definitely check out. Even if you aren’t, the graphics alone in this world is worth giving it a shot – it is truly amazing!

I rate this game a well deserved 10/10!






* Thank you to the creator of Trine, FrozenByte for providing me with a review copy and allowing me to review this game.

Skinny Jeans!

I’ve mentioned before (sadly) quite a few times about wanting to lose weight. I already eat pretty well and I’ve been working out quite a bit doing yard work recently. However, it just doesn’t want to come off fast for me and ends up making me feel like a big fat failure. Ugh!

Brittney, one of my new followers (and I follow her too), is also on the quest to lose weight – and started Skinny Jeans for those of us in Blog World who want to lose weight together. What a fantastic idea!



I also signed up for myfitnesspal.com (which the other lovely ladies are also using). Here is my goal tracker thing:

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

I hope that I am able to stick to this plan and lose weight with this fantastic group of ladies. ::crosses fingers::

Oprah’s Major Fail – Continued

As I mentioned in a previous post, Oprah’s 10th Anniversary magazine and the failure it had (with me at least), I was quite excited to see an e-mail sitting in my inbox from an Editorial Intern from Oprah’s magazine.

Here is what it said…

Thank you so much for your readership. We apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced regarding the $10 Deals featured in the May 2010 Anniversary issue. As stated in the magazine, the deals were offered "as supplies last" and due to the steep discounts many of these vendors provided there was a limited stock. Many of the items sold out within a few hours. There are some vendors restocking supply, and others that still have products in stock, so please continue to check out the deals featured. However, some of the vendors are not able to restock the product at all and in other cases they cannot continue to sell the item at the $10 price. Please understand that due to our large readership the vendors could simply not accommodate every reader. We hope you continue to enjoy the fashion and accessories featured in the magazine.

Sincerely,
The Editors

Pretty backwards non-apology if you ask me. I responded letting them know that I don’t accept the apology and quite honestly no longer even want to read my Oprah magazines (I will be checking into getting them canceled actually). I also stated I will be telling others about this experience offline and online – which I am.

I still wonder if Oprah actually knows about any of this going on. IF she does, I lost all respect for her. IF she doesn’t, she needs to seriously see what is actually going on with her “name brand” because it is not leaving a good impression.

99 Things to Save Money in Your Household Budget

Saving money is always a good idea, and I’d like to think most people love getting good deals. Mary Hance, a.k.a. “Ms. Cheap” wrote 99 Things to Save Money in Your Household Budget to help you do just that.

Mary Hance writes a frugal-consumer column for the Tennessean, a daily newspaper in Nashville, TN. She really knows what she is talking about when it comes to saving you money. This book is a great guide for helping cut back costs in your life to help you save more for what you really want.

In this book, you’ll learn how to make a budget, realize that nothing is a bargain if you don’t need it and won’t use it, how to make a credit card work for you and not against you, use garage sales wisely, and even how to go green to save you money.

The beginning of the book lists many great quotes which would be great to print out or write on something you’d see everyday. Among some of the gems:

“Never spend your money before you have earned it.” – Thomas Jefferson

“Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.” – Benjamin Franklin

“The key is to keep short-term wants from taking priority over long-term needs.” – Ginger Applegarth from The Money Diet

“Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.” – Rabbi H. Schachtel

“Those who have little, if they are good at managing, must be accounted among the rich.” - Socrates

Hance explains some of the basics, which are essential for those new at being frugal, such as: having a budget, saying “no”, asking for a discount, saving money (even a little) each month, paying your credit card off, shopping at garage stores or thrift stores, doing it yourself (if possible), not smoking, etc.

One of my favorite new things that Hance mentions is to not waste money on extended warranties. I don’t usually purchase extended warranties anyways, but she shares that someone who wrote to her actually set aside (for himself) the money the companies would have charged for those extended warranties and then just gets what it is that breaks from that fund. Very smart idea!

When I first started out with credit cards, I would pay in full each month. However, “life” happened and it just didn’t end up that way. I am now trying to correct that and get them paid off, even if slowly, it is going down and not up – so that is a good thing. Hance suggest going to www.cardratings.com for comparing credit card perks and rates – something I plan on doing VERY soon.

I found 99 Things to Save Money in Your Household Budget to be quite informative and current for the ways to save money right now for many people. I learned many things and got great ideas on saving money from this book, and I consider myself to be quite thrifty even. If you’re looking to save money – this is a must read!


* Thank you to the publisher of 99 Things to Save Money in Your Household Budget, Turner Publishing for providing me with a review copy of this book.

Oprah’s 10th Anniversary Issue – Major Fail

As a current subscriber to Oprah’s magazine, I was excited to see that the new issue that arrived in my mailbox was for her 10th anniversary (of the magazine). I like the show and the magazine (usually). However, this issue really pissed me off.

Overall, the majority of the issue was pretty good. It featured the “best” from certain topics over the past 10 years the magazine has been issued. I especially liked the articles written by people like Eckhart Tolle, Adam Glassman, Mehmet Oz, Nate Berkus, and Bob Greene. Personally, I’d like to see more that Oprah actually writes. But that is beside the point…

What has me angry is the fact that the special portion called “O’s Anniversary Gift to You!” featuring items under $10 (which normally cost more) were unavailable! I tried to purchase 2 necklaces, a ring and a purse (from 3 different websites) and none were available!

I really wanted these items, so I wrote to the companies. They said that since it was a “limited time offer” and they only had 100 of said item that they no longer could give this deal. 100 of the item featured in Oprah’s magazine which goes out to over 200k subscribers and who knows how many people buy elsewhere. Not acceptable! One of the websites (for the purse) even said next to the purse that they were sold out and not to even contact them about it because it was a “limited time offer.”

I’m willing to bet that these items were “sold out” with the special code way before this issue even hit stands. Workers of the magazine more than likely told family and friends about this amazing deal and snagged up all of these way before any of us regular subscribers could – what an anniversary gift to the people who actually buy your magazine Oprah!

I e-mailed the address listed on the Oprah magazine about this. It is unlikely I’ll hear back, but I can hope!

Has anything like this happened to you? What makes you angry about things like this?

When I Was a Kid…

Here is one of those e-mails most of us wouldn’t read and just mark as SPAM. However, Lucy read it and shared this with everyone on her Blog. I loved it so much, I had to post it too (and re-share some cute pics of me from when I was a kid).

Read it and then check out my comments on these from when I was a kid (and while I am not 30 or older, I am kinda close so I can really relate to a lot of this)…


If you are 30, or older, you might think this is hilarious!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning…. Uphill… Barefoot…or Through Blizzards… BOTH ways. yadda, yadda, yadda.

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they’ve got it!

But now that I’m over the ripe old age of thirty, I can’t help but look around and notice the youth of today. You’ve got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don’t know how good you’ve got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn’t have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the LIBRARY and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter – with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!

Child Protective Services didn’t care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!

There were no MP3’s or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!

Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car.. We’d play our favorite tape and “eject” it when finished, and then the tape would come undone, rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that’s how we rolled, Baby! Dig?

We didn’t have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal; that’s it!

There weren’t any freakin’ cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn’t make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your “friends.” OH MY GOD!!! Think of the horror… not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there’s TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are.

And we didn’t have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent… you just didn’t know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn’t have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! If we had anything, it was the Atari 2600! With games like ‘Space Invaders’ and ‘Asteroids’. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen… Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no, what’s the world coming to?!?!

There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I’m saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-finks!

And we didn’t have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!

And our parents told us to stay outside and play… all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside… you were doing chores!

And car seats – oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on…just a lap belt “held” you in. If you were lucky, you got the “safety arm” across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling “shot gun” in the first place!

See! That’s exactly what I’m talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You’re spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn’t have lasted five minutes back in the 1980’s or any time before!
Regards,
The Over 30 Crowd
(Send this to someone you’d like to make smile)

So, did you enjoy that too?

I remember sitting at the table with adults who were going on and on about how bad they had it when they were a kid – using outhouses, walking to school in the snow, having no tv or no color tv, etc. I just thought “Wow! Snow! I live in Florida, I want to play in SNOW!” Now that I live in Alabama, I complain when it doesn’t snow in the winter – guess some things don’t change huh?

The internet was just going mainstream when I was in Jr. High – but it was the “AOL Days.” If you had AOL in the beginning, you know what I’m talking about that “ehhhrrrrrr rrrrr” noise and then “Sorry the number you’re trying to reach is busy, please try again.” Oh, and we were charged PER MINUTE/HOUR – so getting on there was RARE and we had severe time limits.

I remember going to the library quite often for papers and reading books. Having to use the dewy decimal system and navigate through the library. I don’t think kids today even go visit their local ones do they?

Maybe I’m old school in the fact that I’d MUCH rather receive a REAL letter than an e-mail. Someone who takes the time to write by hand and include something cool in a real letter is 1000 times better than getting a short e-mail (or text). Speaking of texting, I don’t text. OMG! I had that turned off b/c it annoys me. LOL so true!

Cell phones weren’t even very big when I started to drive. People had beepers though. Not just drug dealers had them, everyone did (well pretty much) – think of it as the pre-cell phone. I remember walking in the mall one weekend though and seeing a little girl (maybe 8) with one walking around with her friend in hoochy clothes (with no adult supervision) and I thought the world was going downhill.

We had caller-ID from when it was available – to get away from those pesky telemarketers. I however remember the pre-caller-ID days – boy was that annoying!

I also remember taping (with a cassette) off the radio - and those annoying DJs really would (@*! up the song by talking over it! Oh, and I'd also have to call in to request a song! Shoot, I remember when MTV actually played music videos!

When I was really little we had an Atarai – and I loved Pac Man. Fun stuff. I did get a Nintendo and Super Nintendo though later on – but I never played it until it was after dark. Before dark, I had to go outside and play with the neighborhood kids. It was kinda a rule.

Using a TV Guide was a necessity – there was no special channel even that said what was on when and the guide at the bottom of every screen wasn’t there. We just had to remember what was on when most of the time – or we’d miss it. No precious TiVo or DVR either (oh how I love those now though!)


So, can you relate to this at all? I’d love to hear how bad you had it too!

Seventh Generation Giveaway!

If you know me, you know that I like to keep things clean and organized. I however also get major skin irritations from certain cleaning products and even strange things like cardboard (seriously).

Thanks to MyBlogSpark and Seventh Generation I got to try out some of their cleaners and get to share one of these fantastic gift packs with one lucky winner too!

Seventh Generation is one of my personal favorite eco-friendly cleaning products, and at least for me – it doesn’t irritate my skin when I use it.

The multi-surface cleaner, bathroom cleaner and wipes I tested out in my bathroom. I usually use a mixture of products and sometimes it gives me a headache. However, using just these I not only ended up with a very clean bathroom but also no headache! The products were all very easy to use too.

More About Seventh Generation:
Replacing what’s currently under your sink with products that are non-toxic and safe for the environment is easier than ever with Seventh Generation’s environmentally friendly cleaning products.

Leading the “responsible cleaning” charge for the past twenty years, Seventh Generation has tapped into the disinfecting power of the herb thyme, to introduce an EPA registered line of disinfecting sprays and wipes that kill germs* naturally! The new line of botanical disinfectant cleaners includes a multi-surface cleaning spray, bathroom cleaning spray and wipes.

The disinfectants contain thymol, a component of the herb thyme, and can be used on hard surfaces including counter tops, plastic cutting boards, highchair trays as well as children’s toys. Best of all, they kill over 99.99 percent of germs* naturally and are effective against the Influenza A Virus, including H1N1.

Seventh Generation has partnered with eco-lifestyle consultant and author, Alexandra Zissu, whose new book, The Conscious Kitchen, discusses what’s good for your health, what’s good for the planet and what tastes great. Her book also includes great tips on maintaining a green and healthy kitchen.


Disinfecting Cleaning Kit Prize Pack Giveaway:
Giveaway provided by Seventh Generation through MyBlogSpark includes:

* multi-surface cleaner
* bathroom cleaner
* disinfecting wipes
* 2 rolls of recycled, unbleached paper towels
* copy of The Conscious Kitchen by Alexandra Zissu
* cleaning caddy made from recycled plastic


One lucky winner will be chosen at random on April 17, 2010.


To enter please leave a separate comment for each entry:

One comment – Follow my Blog publicly and tell me of something environmentally friendly you did this year.

One comment – Blog about my giveaway (linking to this post). Leave URL of the post.

One comment – Follow me on Twitter and tweet about my giveaway (linking to this post). Leave username on here.

Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me

I (like many of you) love beauty products. I’m not necessarily one who believes that more expensive and prettier packaging = better quality either (not that I can afford the $500+ creams anyways).

I used to sell Avon and Mark (twice), and I really like some of their products, not all but a good portion – and their price is quite nice (especially when you sell it). Through selling their products and reading about beauty products, application, etc I thought I knew quite a bit about makeup and other beauty products.

I however, know nothing compared to Paula Begoun.

Paula Begoun’s bestselling book, Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me has been revised and updated for 2010 in its 8th edition. Who knew certain products are actually much better for the skin than others? Paual Begoun does – and she shares it with all of us in this book!

“The Cosmetics Cop” as she calls herself, sorts through thousands of products, does ingredient research and has so much information it hardly all fits in this 1192 page book! For more information, you can check out her websites: www.cosmeticscop.com and www.beautypedia.com.

This is one huge resource of information on all types of makeup and beauty products that are currently out. I checked out the ones that I use – and was quite surprised by some that weren’t so good. For instance, my “on the spot” acne treatment from Neutrogena got a neutral (but it really isn’t working for me, so I can see why now!). My L’Oreal foundation got a smiley face though, which is nice. At least that was a good product! I laughed out loud when I read about the Avon “in a wink” eyeshadow sheets – I tried these when I sold Avon, and I thought they were terrible too! Seriously, how does one get this on like it shows it should?

Overall, I think that this book is a great resource of information for all women who use beauty products (which is all of us, isn’t it?). Going by Paula Begoun’s guide (and choosing for yourself of course) which are good buys and which aren’t will save money and probably a lot of time with trying to find the better product you wanted all along.

Where Have I Been?

Sorry for not Blogging very much the past week or so.

I have been extremely busy with studying for a few exams – I have 3 left total this semester and I really have to do well on 2 of them.

Also, family stuff has come up (which I don’t really feel comfortable talking about on here) and money issues. None of that is fun of course and really hasn’t left me in the mood to Blog much.

I have a couple reviews set up to post, but aside from that, I don’t know how much I’ll be posting this week. Sorry, and I promise I’ll try to catch up on your Blogs as much as I can next week!

Majesty 2: Kingmaker Expansion Pack Video Game Review

Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom game for the PC has released a new expansion pack called Kingmaker. I was really excited to hear that they made a new expansion pack because the video game is quite fun. It is sold for the PC for $14.95 on Gamers Gate.

About the Game:
What is the connection between the nightmares of Lord Blackviper and those mysterious eyes, burning in the night? Who are these little green men? The ones stabbing your tax collectors with their spears? Can the shamans of the God of Plague rival the very gods themselves? From whence does his avatars appear, and who is to blame?

The search for answers to these questions is unlikely to improve your sleep , but will surely give you many hours of new and exciting battles when the war with the goblins descends upon the peaceful lands of Ardania. And besides, how better could the nights of the Great King be spent?

In addition to defending against the goblin menace, you may also create your own battles! Become not only the king of Ardania, but its creator as well.

Features:
• Kingmaker editor: Mission creator toolset, which enables players to create their own missions
• “Return of Grum-Gog” campaign with 8 new missions
• New monsters available

My Thoughts:
After I downloaded the game via Gamers Gate, I installed it and then got to playing. Once selecting you want to play, it allows you to select if you want to play the original Majesty 2 or the Kingmaker expansion pack.

The voice acting is still the same, which I actually quite enjoyed. The same guilds and buildings are there too. The old monsters are in this one as well, but new ones are in it too. Those goblins are quite annoying though and come at your village in sometimes rather large groups!

Kingmaker also allows you to buy upgrades via the in-store shop which are quite cool. Some are free, others you do have to purchase separately.

Kingmaker’s missions are more difficult than those in Majesty 2. I had to restart quite a few of the missions after noticing they weren’t going so well. The goblins can poison your heroes which make them die rather quickly if not healed.

Overall, I enjoyed this expansion to the Majesty 2 game. It is fun and allows you to make your own missions which is entertaining and can occupy a lot of time right there! I encourage those who like this type of simulation games to give it a try – it is well worth it!



System requirements
* Requires Majesty 2 The Fantasy Kingdom Sim
* Windows 2000/XP/Vista
* 2 GHz dual core processor
* 1 GB RAM
* 4 GB hard disk space
* PS 2.0 GeForce 6800GTX or better video card
* DirectX-compatible sound card
* DirectX 9.0c
* 3-button Mouse, Keyboard
* MULTI-PLAYER UP TO 4 PLAYERS


* Thank you to the publisher of Majesty 2: Kingmaker, Paradox Interactive and Gamers Gate for providing me a digital copy of this game and allowing me to review it.