Soapmaking the Natural Way by Rebecca Ittner

Soapmaking the Natural Way by Rebecca Ittner is a how-to book on making homemade soap. Custom soap that is handmade with natural ingredients can be quite pricey, but now you can learn how to make your own soap!

Book Description
“Here's where simple techniques meet 100% natural soaps that please the eye, the nose, and the environment!

Made with the safe and simple melt-and-pour method, these projects feature a delicious range of eco-friendly and animal-free ingredients-from oatmeal and lavender to honeysuckle and clay. The ins-and-outs of soap bases, colorants, and essential oils all received detailed attention.

Soapmaking the Natural Way is an affordable, informative, and inspiring resource.”
– Soapmaking the Natural Way


My Thoughts
Soapmaking the Natural Way is a very helpful tool to use if you are interested in making your own soap. I’ve wanted to make soap for years, but was always scared to do it. I thought it would be this huge undertaking and really hard and messy to do. Surprisingly, it wasn’t!

The recipes for soap in this book all really sound (and look) amazing. I ended up making the Brown Sugar and Vanilla soap. It didn’t look like the soap in the book, but I used different molds and didn’t scrape them.

Here is what my handmade soap looks like:



I put little amethyst chips in two of them just to try it out, and it actually worked (sort of). I’ll experiment more with this later.

Some of the recipes from the book that I really want to try soon include:
• Lavender Clay
• Vanilla Sundae
• Berry Smoothie
• Himalayan Magic
• Pomegranate Crush
• Tropical Dream
• Carved Quartz (looks like real quartz!)
• Fruity Cupcakes (soap that looks like cupcakes!)


The basic knowledge of making soap and many easy to make recipes are included in Soapmaking the Natural Way. Overall, this is really the perfect book for learning how to make your own natural soap. Trust me, it isn’t that hard! If you’ve ever wanted to do this, go for it. It isn’t expensive and is really quite easy!


* Thank you to the publisher of Soapmaking the Natural Way, Lark, part of Sterling Publishing, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Majesty 2: Monster Kingdom Review

The newest expansion pack for Majesty 2 is Monster Kingdom. In this expansion pack, you will get to play as the king of monsters. This is a really unique (and quite fun) take on the game, so if you are a fan of the series, check out this Majesty 2 Monster Kingdom review!

Game Description
The King would imagine that Ardania belongs to him alone, and his advisor supports him in this ignorance, forgetting that there are two sides to every coin. As mentioned in the ancient scriptures of Murphius:“Try as you might to do something that everybody likes, there is always someone who does not.” Soon, the hard truth of these words will reveal itself to the Great King in full.

And what will he do, and where will he go, should everyone turn against him? Well, not his loyal Advisor, of course, but all those petty nobles and the Conclave. It will be a difficult challenge to maintain the righteous command. Determination will be his greatest weapon, and sacrifices will have to be made. But just how far is the King ready to go in this dire situation?

And the situation is dire indeed. The High Priests have stolen the Crown of Ardania, to summon the Spirit of the Kings and proclaim it the righteous ruler. Your Majesty, you who so bravely defeated Barlog, have lost your throne, and must now fight to reclaim it. The Nobles support the Conclave, and your only hope is to find new allies, those who no one, even you, would ever expect to be join you. Once again you must heed the wisdom of your Advisor, in hopes that with his guidance you may bring peace back to Ardania.

• New “Exiles of Fate” campaign, which features 10 new missions
• New monster race avaible in multiplayer mode
• Monster kingdom with a full set of new buildings, heroes and citizens





My Thoughts
The Monster Kingdom expansion pack brings all of the fun from the previous games in the series but makes it different by letting you control monster heroes. With these new monsters you control, your buildings are also different because you couldn’t use the same ones humans do, right?

The new missions that are in Majesty 2: Monster Kingdom aren’t easy. Sure, the ones that are at the beginning are, but after that – be prepared to have to give a few takes before beating it. For me, the timed ones were really the hardest. I ended up getting stuck on the second to last mission. I’ll probably try again in the near future, but for now… I have yet to beat it (which can be quite infuriating if you are a gamer).

The graphics, voice acting, and other aspects of the game remain he same and of good quality. I didn't really have any issues with the game crashing, until I was almost at the end of the mission I can't seem to get past - just my luck, right?

Overall, I found this expansion pack to be fun and provides endless hours of entertainment. For the price of this series, you really can’t beat it. I highly recommend it to all those who like simulation city building type games.


Thank you to the publisher of Majesty 2: Monster Kingdom, Paradox Interactive and Gamers Gate for providing me with a digital copy of the game for review. All opinions and experiences are my own.

Sarah Palin’s Alaska Show Makes Me Want to Visit Alaska

I’m not really very political, so don’t worry - this post has nothing really to do with that. Instead, it is just about Sarah Palin’s Alaska show that was on TLC. I’m not sure if there will even be a second season or not, though I hope there will be.

If you love reality TV, or perhaps just like Sarah Palin’s political views, or maybe want to voyeur into her Alaskan reality, you probably saw some of Sarah Palin’s Alaska show that aired in Fall 2010.

At first, I really wasn’t all that interested in watching it. My DVR is pretty full already, so why add something else to it, right? Well, my parents actually started watching it and said how much they liked it. So, I figured if they liked it, maybe I would too. For those who are wondering, no my parents aren’t even Republicans, so it wasn’t about that either.

Reality television can be good and educational, which was surprising, because Sarah Palin’s Alaska show was just that. It was entertaining too of course. They went on many adventures each show to show the viewers what Alaska is like – and just how beautiful it is.


Somehow I ended up actually watching all of the episodes that aired and I can honestly say that I enjoyed them all - even the one that Kate Gosslin was on. Sure, I can’t stand that woman but it was quite hilarious how rude and miserable she was outdoors. Sarah was of course politically correct and nice about it all, but I bet they laughed about it after the cameras were off – I would have! I really enjoyed watching where they went, and seeing how her family is without the paparazzi’s point of view on it.

Watching Sarah Palin’s Alaska show really makes me want to visit Alaska someday. I probably can’t manage to go anytime soon, unless I somehow win some kind of a lottery or win a trip to Alaska somehow.

What I can do is request free information about Alaska and perhaps cut out a beautiful image from the travel book to post on my vision board, so maybe the Law of Attraction will let me win that trip.

If you’d like to order your free book too, click on the image below.

Yoplait Original Giveaway

Yoplait yogurt is delicious and also low in calories. Now it is even better for you by providing two times more calcium than the leading yogurt. This equals to 50% of the Daily Value women need in just one 6-ounce cup! It also provides 50% of the Daily Value of vitamin D which will help you to absorb the calcium.

As it is still a “New Year” many of us (myself included) are still motivated to lose weight this year and get healthier. Sometimes snack foods aren’t very good when you are on a “diet” or “lifestyle change” which is really just a fancy word for a diet. So, finding something as yummy as this and also can help with the diet? I mean really, I can’t beat that.

My favorite types of the Yoplait Original yogurt are: Strawberry, and the French Vanilla. It can come in a 4-cup pack or 8-cup pack and is available in 23 different flavors – almost a different one you can use for each day of the month.


Yoplait Original Prize Pack Giveaway
I’m very happy to get to share this gift pack with one lucky reader, thanks to MyBlogSpark and Yoplait. This package includes: VIP Coupon for a free sample of Yoplait Original yogurt, as well as a duffel bag, speed rope, water bottle and sport towel.

To enter please leave a separate comment for each entry, if you do not have a viewable e-mail in your Blogger profile, please include that in your entries:

One Comment (required) – Follow my Blog publicly and tell me which kind of Yoplait Original Yogurt you plan to use to get more calcium.

Two Comments – Blog about my giveaway (linking to this post). Leave URL of the post in your comment.

One Comment – Follow me on Twitter and tweet about my giveaway (linking to this post). Leave URL on here. http://twitter.com/sherinewton


Contest will end on February 1, 2011

Good luck!



Thank you to MyBlogSpark and Yoplait for allowing me to review and giveaway this prize pack. The products, prize pack, information and additional prize pack to give away were all given to me from Yoplait through MyBlogSpark.

Get Energy by Denise Austin

Get Energy by Denise Austin is a book aimed at giving you extra energy in your life by empowering your body, and loving your life. Denise Austin is a serious source for motivation and really knows how to stay fit, healthy, and full of energy. The best part of this is that she actually does care about helping all of us with this too.


Book Description
“With busy schedules, demanding careers, and little time, many of us battle just to stay awake. But energy is something that is in our control, even when time is short. Now 50 years young, fitness guru Denise Austin shows readers how to super-charge their lives, using her innovative lifestyle plan. She eats the right foods at the right time of day. She uses the power of stretching and breathing to feed her body with energy-enhancing oxygen. She uses mini-workouts to get energy even on her busiest days--and now you can too!

Denise shows how simple changes can add up to increased energy levels throughout the day. From the foods they consume to the way they sit in their chairs, readers won't believe how Denise's quick and easy plan will dramatically increase their energy levels. In as little as a week, results will be felt: radiant skin, more restful sleep, and a sharper mind...so follow Denise Austin and prepare for a fitness wake-up call!” – Get Energy


My Thoughts
Get Energy is Denise Austin’s newest book about having more energy. I don’t know many people that aren’t stressed or tired in some form, so this is a very timely book for our overly-caffeinated country.

Denise Austin gives very good advice on the types of energy, and how to have more of it. As she explains, this isn’t a diet book or a workout book. It is instead just a guide to help you achieve a healthier life and have more energy doing so by making time for YOU.

I really enjoyed the different stretches and workout moves that Austin shows in the book. They are simple, yet very effective for boosting energy and they don’t really take that long. If you don’t have one of her workout DVDs, this would be a very helpful guide on some quick moves to do.

Austin writes in a very relatable way that gives the reader the feeling that they are being motivated by Austin herself. Get Energy is an easy read and if you implement the suggestions into your life, you will notice a difference – I did.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading and using Get Energy to bring more positive energy into my life. If you need an energy boost into your life too, this is the perfect book to help you do just that.



* Thank you to the publisher of Get Energy, Center Street, part of the Hachette Book Group, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Flex Diet by James Beckerman, M.D.

The Flex Diet by James Beckerman, M.D. is another book about losing weight and getting healthy. It is different though because it is written by a doctor and also gives many different examples on how to actually pull off losing weight that will work for you.

Book Description
“SMALL CHANGES YIELD BIG RESULTS.

Many diet books present readers with a single, inflex¬ible program which forces them to stay on that diet or risk another dieting failure. Rather than teaching you just one way to lose ten or twenty or even fifty pounds, The Flex Diet shows you how to lose a single pound . . . in 200 different ways. A medically proven approach to weight loss from WebMD's heart expert, The Flex Diet allows you to create your own custom¬ized weight-loss plan—one that fits your lifestyle, is full of tasty and nutritious meals, boosts energy levels, and keeps the weight off for good.

Start TODAY to lose five pounds: The Flex Diet begins with a two-week phase called "Today," when you begin to make small changes to your diet and lifestyle that will help you lose weight right now and create a blueprint to a new you. It's as easy as keeping a food diary, taking a multivitamin, and getting more sleep.

Do it EVERY DAY and lose ten more pounds: Next, three weeks of "Every Day Solutions" introduce meal plans for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with dozens of tasty recipes and complete nutritional information. Heart healthy exercise and lifestyle options let you retool your life. Get yourself started on posi¬tive Every Day habits like storing leftovers before you eat, switching to skim milk, and walking during breaks at work.

Have it YOUR WAY to keep inches off your waist: The "Your Way" phase offers nearly 100 more lifestyle changes and solutions that you can use to take things to the next level and continue a lifetime of slim and healthy living.

The Flex Diet is an exciting new approach to a new you, your way.” – The Flex Diet


My Thoughts
The Flex Diet is not just another cookie-cutter diet that says no to the cookies. He doesn’t list that you have to eat certain things on certain days or do certain workouts on certain days. Instead, he gives valuable tips on ways that will help you to reach your weight loss goals and get moving in the direction to become healthier.


For those who have read many diet books, the ideas may not be that groundbreaking. However, that doesn’t make them any less true or valuable to lose weight with. The 200 ways Beckerman has for us to lose weight can be adjusted, or flexed to suit your needs and lifestyle. Not everyone is the same, and he realizes this from what he saw at his practice. Also, each of those ideas he gives reasons to why they work (and also why some things won’t work) to help you lose weight. I really enjoyed this because someone saying “don’t drink diet soda” isn’t the same as a doctor actually explaining why not to drink diet soda, or regular soda for that matter.

Overall, I think that The Flex Diet is a plan that will work for everyone that is actually motivated to follow it and start living a healthier life. I highly recommend it.


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

Winner of the Yoplait Light Giveaway

Thank you to everyone who entered the Yoplait Light Giveaway. I used randomizer to come up with one lucky winner, and the winner is... Cheryl F! Congratulations, I will e-mail you right now to find out where to send this prize package.


Also, check back again later today for another great giveaway I will be hosting!

Is Life Unexpected Cancelled?

Life Unexpected only has had two seasons so far on the CW. If you don’t know what the show is about, it is about a teenage girl that was given up for adoption because her parents were in high school (and the father didn’t even want to acknowledge the girl was pregnant). Lovely, right?

Well, the girl eventually found out who they were and ended up being adopted by them – even though they weren’t together. Over the seasons that aired, there was tons of drama and I actually liked the show.

Last night’s “Season finale” of Life Unexpected was two hours and did the whole tying up loose ends and finally… the “Two Years Later” portion at the very end that also showed huge changes (that weren’t so unexpected) to show how everyone would end up. Personally, I love that Lux ended up with Jones and that she was somehow Valedictorian. Kate and Baze together, and Ryan with Julie (his ex) and their son was cute, but it kind of made the whole show seem like a big waste of the Kate and Ryan relationship.

This lead me to wondering, is Life Unexpected cancelled?

I am guessing that yes, it is. Generally shows wouldn’t have a two hour season finale on the CW and round up things like this at the end. Sure, One Tree Hill jumped five years into the future, but that is a much more popular show than this. I don’t seem to be the only one guessing this – Tvbythenumbers also stated that there probably won’t be another season to the series.

Did any of you watch this show? What did you think of the finale?

Voices of the Faithful Book 2 - Review

Voices of the Faithful is the second book in the series that is for daily devotions throughout the year. It is all about inspiring stories from missionaries that have been around the world. These stories are meant to give hope and inspire, but do they?

Book Description
A new year's worth of inspiring stories from the front lines of faith.

"A willingness to go is all they have in common," says Beth Moore and Kim P. Davis, speaking of their friends on the front lines who are spreading the gospel around the world and with whom they collaborated to create this book. This second book of 366 daily devotionals features stories of God's faithfulness, written by hundreds of missionaries worldwide.

From stirring miracles to heroic adventures, this second volume highlights those who daily go to the outer limits of spiritual devotion.

A follow-up to the first book which has now sold 300,000 copies.


My Thoughts
The stories that were included in the second book of Voices of the Faithful are really quite interesting and many are also inspiring. What missionaries do all over the world is really amazing. However, as someone who is new to the whole missionary thing makes some of the stories seem just a bit… unrelated towards the people they were there to “help save” from their current religion.

Personally, I think that if someone is open to converting to another religion, or just wants to learn more about it – great! Just some of the stories made it seem like they thought they were better than others because they believed in the Christian religion as opposed to whichever religion the other people believed in.

Aside from that, I enjoyed reading about people finding God, praying, and finding little miracles in life. It is also setup as a very easy to read format of one per day. I think that if you like Christian books, you will enjoy this book very much.


* Thank you to the publisher of Voices of the Faithful, Thomas Nelson, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Yoplait Light Giveaway

Yoplait Light yogurt is one of my favorite snacks that is satisfying and also low in calories. My new favorite is the Red Velvet Cake one. I haven’t found a gluten-free recipe for my favorite cake (yet) so this is the closest option I’ve found – and it is absolutely yummy!

Yoplait Light has a new Two Week Tune Up plan that could help you lose weight (about 5 lbs) in two weeks. It would include eating a Yoplait Light yogurt, a whole grain, and a fruit for breakfast and lunch, and some exercise (walking). For more information, visit www.yoplait.com


Yoplait Light Prize Pack Giveaway
I’m very happy to get to share this gift pack with one lucky reader. This package includes: a VIP coupon for a free sample of the yogurt, a gym bag, a reflective wrist wallet, and a pedometer.

To enter please leave a separate comment for each entry, if you do not have a viewable e-mail in your Blogger profile, please include that in your entries:

One Comment (required) – Follow my Blog publicly and tell me which kind of Yoplait Light Yogurt is your favorite.

Two Comments – Blog about my giveaway (linking to this post). Leave URL of the post in your comment.

One Comment – Follow me on Twitter and tweet about my giveaway (linking to this post). Leave URL on here. http://twitter.com/sherinewton

One Comment – Friend me on Facebook and post about the giveaway. Leave URL to your profile page.



Contest will end on January 20, 2011

Good luck!


Thank you to MyBlogSpark and Yoplait for allowing me to review and giveaway this prize pack. The products, prize pack, information and additional prize pack to give away were all given to me from Yoplait through MyBlogSpark.