The Girl in the Clockwork Collar

Okay, if you read my review of the first book of this series, then you know I could not WAIT for this book to come out. I adored the first book, and this book was no exception. All the main characters are back. Finley Jane, Griffin, Emily, Sam, and even Jasper. As the group travels to America to save Jasper, Finley realizes that she might not quite be over the darkness inside her. 

I enjoy reading about this group of characters so much, and I did not want the story to end (which it doesn't, there will be another book). Finley is such a strong female character and a great role model for girls. She is head strong, tough (literally she can beat up anybody!), loyal to her friends, and even when she thinks the darkness might be taking over, she is more good than she realizes. Emily is still witty, loyal and as always, incredibly smart. My favorite has to be Griffin though. I love what a gentleman he is, but he drives me crazy because he won't tell Finley how he feels (still!). Kady Cross does an excellent job of bringing her world and characters to life. I said it with the first book, and I'll say it again; Steampunk finally makes sense to me!

I liked the new setting. Bringing the group from England over to New York really worked in this book. I loved how New York was set up ala 'Gangs of New York' with fights, the Irish, and swanky get-to-gethers to boot! The romance is still there, and dare I say even some new romance. 

If you loved the first book (or even if you just love Steampunk), go get this book/series today! I cannot recommend it enough. And I will patiently wait for the 3rd book to come out. That's a lie, I will not wait patiently. Thank you Kady Cross, for such an amazing series!

Saving June Review

When her older sister commits suicide and her divorcing parents decide to divide the ashes, Harper Scott takes her sister's urn to the one place June always wanted to go: California. On the road with her best friend, plus an intriguing guy with a mysterious connection to June, Harper discovers truths about her sister, herself and life.




The moment I started this book, I could not put it down. Harper is a sixteen year old girl, who has just lost her older sister, June, to suicide. The raw emotions and vulnerability that come from that are not only real, but relatable as well. I have never personally lost someone to suicide, but I could feel the hurt, anger, guilt, and every other emotion through Harper. Hannah Harrington does an impeccable job of writing this story. 

The characters were real. Not a single one of them was perfect (in a nothing is wrong with them way). Harper feels guilty for not seeing that her "perfect" sister was about to commit suicide. She was the one who found her sister, and is now angry at June for not even leaving a note to explain why. Harper's best friend, Laney, is always there for Harper, no matter what. And after Harper's mother and her judgmental aunt aren't there for her like she needs them to be, she turns to Laney to help her figure out how to get June's ashes to California (June wanted to move there). At the wake, Harper meets Jake, a boy she's never seen before, and she wonders why he is there. When Jake insists that he drive Laney and Harper across the country to California, she agrees.

The road trip was written perfectly. I enjoyed how the road trip wasn't rushed, they three of them took their time, seeing sights, eating local foods, even participating in a protest in Chicago. I certainly enjoyed the stop in St. Louis very much since that is where I'm from! :) As they cross the country, Jake and Harper start to form something more and Harper must decide if she knows him well enough to trust him with her heart. 

I thought the story had a wonderful pace and when it ended, I didn't want it to. Harper's story is a heart felt, gut wrenching coming of age story. By far the best contemporary book I've read! You need to read this book!

Little Visits with Jesus (25th Anniversary Edition)

Just right for children ages four to seven, this best-seller offers relevant, biblical, and engaging devotions to help a new generation develop a strong faith foundation. Each "little visit" includes: a Bible verse, a story, a life-related devotion, ways to involve children in the story, and a prayer starter or suggestion.  (Taken from back cover)

A few weeks ago I had the honor of receiving a few books to read/review from Concordia Publishing House.  I cannot even begin to describe how excited I was, since this is the Lutheran Publishing company and I'm, well, a Lutheran!  I have heard about this book for the past few years and have been wanting to pick it up for devotionals with the boys, but just never got around to it.  When I opened my box and saw this new edition waiting for me, I squealed.  Yep, I squealed.  This book has been wonderful! Having two young children in the house (and 1 on the way), this book is perfect for our family.  The devotions are 1 page each, easy to read/follow, and open the door to great discussion.  Each devotion easily keeps my 4YO and 6YO's attentions (which isn't always easy).  

I cannot recommend this book enough to those of you with small children.  If you've been looking for a devotional for your young family, look no further!  Go out and grab this devotional today, you won't regret it! 

Motion, Magnets & More review!

Informative, Fun and Educational!

My eldest son cannot get enough Science. So, this book is HUGE hit in our household. He loves science experiments, science shows, etc. So, when we started reading this book, he was in seventh Heaven.

This book is divided into 4 sections; Touch It! Build It! Change It! and Move It! Each section has 10+ topics and experiments to do and discuss. From making a mosaic to learning more about gravity, this book has it all. It's great for preschool to young elementary aged children.

I plan to use this book during the summer when my boys are off school. I'm pretty sure there are enough activities and experiments to get us through the whole summer without getting bored. If you are a science lover, or are looking for a simple, yet informative book for a little one, get this book. It's worth it! I highly recommend this book for preschools, and young elementary school classrooms.

A Touch Morbid Review!

Unique twist on the supernatural!

I wanted to read and review this book based on the cover and the title. I guess that says something about me, but it's the truth. The cover is gorgeous and the title had me curious. Imagine my surprise when I started reading the book and realized it was a sequel. At first I was utterly and totally confused. There are so many characters, and they have all these names for the beings that they are and I was lost. However, I did not give up, and I'm so glad I didn't. Here's why:

First, the writing. The writing is so well done. I literally could imagine myself there with the characters, which doesn't happen that often to be honest. Leah Clifford's writing style comes across as effortless and REAL. The whole time I was reading the book I was blown away at how easily the words flowed. Secondly, the characters. There are lots of them, however after reading through the first couple of chapters, I had no trouble keeping track of them all. And each of the characters is important to the story, which I loved. There wasn't just a bunch of secondary characters thrown in the story for good measure, they all needed to be there. And what unique characters they are! Thirdly, the actual story. The story simply blew me away. It's a unique telling of Heaven/Hell that hasn't' been told before. Now, like I mentioned before, I haven't read the first book (A Touch Mortal) yet, but I plan to now! This is a story that has never been told before. It's not just a fallen angel struggling to somehow get back into Heaven, no. It's much, much more than that.

I applaud Leah Clifford for her amazing job on this book, and I plan to hurry on out and buy book 1 so that I can read that, too. It's not very often that I read a sequel and then WANT to read the first book of the series.

Author Appreciation Blog Tour-Myra McEntire

When I heard that there would be an appreciation blog tour going around for Myra McEntire, I said "I'm totally in".  I don't "personally" know Myra, nor have I ever met her in person, but I know she is a kick butt person and author.  I "met" Myra through my best friend, Mandy via twitter.  I knew at that time that Myra had a book coming out in about a year and her tweets were pretty darn funny.  Myra and I have chatted a bit over twitter and then last year when her first book, Hourglass, was released, I rushed out to buy it.  It is FANTASTIC.  Not only is Myra a funny, witty, kind and one of kind gal, she is a SUPERB author.  She is the type of author that grabs you from page 1 and doesn't let go (although she is very humble about it).  If you adore YA (like I do), love a snarky, witty, fun read, then go get Hourglass now...the sequel Timepiece will be out later this year and I cannot wait!  Go give Myra some love people.  She is such an outstanding person.  She even put together an auction for the flood victims in Nashville last year!  I hope to one day actually meet Myra in person.  Not only because I'm a huge fan (both of her book and of her personally), but because I think my life would be greatly enriched just having met this awesome lady face to face.  Go Myra, Go!!!


Here are some other blogs appreciating Myra today!

http://fireandicephoto.blogspot.com/

http://www.mundiemoms.com/

http://www.swoontini.com/

http://jenuinecupcakes.blogspot.com/

http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/

"http://babblingflow.blogspot.com/

http://www.jodimeadows.com/

http://bloggers-heart-books.blogspot.com/

http://yabookscentral.blogspot.com/

http://www.pageturnersblog.com/

http://cjredwine.blogspot.com/

http://www.katehart.net/

/www.BookLove101.com
http://harmonyradiantreads.blogspot.com/

You can purchase Myra's books here:

To pre-order Timepiece: 

From Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Timepiece-Hourglass-Novel-Myra-McEntire/dp/1606841459/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333373693&sr=1-1

From Books A Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Timepiece/Myra-Mcentire/9781606841457?id=5333739246627

From IndieBound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781606841457

From Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/timepiece-myra-mcentire/1105808621?ean=9781606841457&itm=1&usri=timepiece+by+myra+mcentire

To order Hourglass:

From Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hourglass-Myra-McEntire/dp/1606841440/ref=pd_sim_b_3

From Books A Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Hourglass/Myra-Mcentire/9781606841440?id=5333739246627

From IndieBound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781606841440

From Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hourglass-myra-mcentire/1100228671?ean=9781606841440&itm=2&usri=hourglass

Just for fun-my pregnancy belly shots (all 3 of them)

Just for fun I thought I'd compare my belly size from my pregnancies.


 Here I am at 22 weeks with my first pregnancy (Aidan).

Here I am at about 21-22 weeks pregnant with Owen (and my little guy Aidan is beside me).

And finally here I am at 22 1/2 weeks pregnant with our baby girl (I'm a little over 24 weeks now).

So, I'm definitely more round this time around, which I already knew.  I actually have a "soccer ball" type shape instead of being "big" everywhere.  It's funny how differently you carry each pregnancy.  I carried the boys differently, too, but baby girl is carrying totally different-right out in front.  Fun times!

A new addition!

So, for the past few weeks I have been wanting to post, but I couldn't.  I could not post without sharing the AMAZING news I found out 3 weeks ago, so I waited.  Here is what happened;

So, without going into too much detail and grossing you all out, one day I woke up and realized "Um...I might be pregnant!".  So, I waited a few days and then bought a test.  Instantly it turned positive.  And when I saw that positive sign, I just started giggling.  Let me back up a minute here. 

Ever since I was younger I have always wanted 2 boys and then 1 girl.  I am the oldest in my family and always dreamed of having older brothers.  You all know I have been blessed by 2 amazing little boys.  Gah, they are the bestest.  They are sweet, kind, loving, funny, and a complete joy to those around them.  I had preeclampsia with my 2nd son and was put on hospital bedrest at 31 weeks.  It was an incredibly emotional and scary time for my little family, but thankfully Owen was born healthy at 34 weeks.  He was just teeny tiny, as in 4 lbs tiny.  My husband and I decided that we were happy with our boys and probably shouldn't push having another since I have a higher chance of getting preeclampsia again.  However, in the back of my mind the desire to have one more child has been nagging at me.  Fast forward 4 years....

Here I sit, 7.5 weeks pregnant, feeling incredibly blessed and completely freaked out.  For multiple reasons.  1) I am terrified of getting sick again and having a preemie.  2) I feel like we are starting over.  Aidan will be almost 7 and Owen almost 5 when this baby is born.  However, I realize they will be fantastic little helpers!  3) as with most additions to a family I stress about where we will find the room for this baby, how we will afford this baby, etc.  And lastly, I worry about becoming obsessed with my weight and diving back into overeating/purging.  After all, the past times I've gone through that was after my 2 previous pregnancies.  

Yesterday I had the honor of actually getting to see my little raspberry sized baby via ultrasound.  It was just a quick one to make sure there was only 1 baby (there is) and to make sure the heart was beating.  Unfortunately I was unable to get any pics of the baby right now.  The ultrasound made me cry.  Seeing this amazing gift God created growing inside me was just incredible.  When I saw the little heart just a beating away I immediately thanked God.  What a miracle!

We are so excited and thankful!  Only time will tell what is going to happen and when this baby will actually be born, but I know with your support I can get through this.  I will continue to do my best to blog on here and keep you all updated.  Thank you so much for your support!

1 year

Well, I made it. 1 year with no purging.  I did not think I would be able to go that long.  This is not to say that I have no struggled in the past year because I have.  Over eating is still a tough thing for me not to do.  I am an emotional eater and darnit if I'm not very emotional. However, with lots of prayers, encouragement, support, love and guidance I have made it 1 year.  I can hardly believe it.  I have been tempted in the past year to purge, but always thought of how I would feel after and I did not want to disappoint all of you who have been encouraging me this whole way. I  know I'm not out of the clear, but I feel like I am getting there.  And it's a wonderful place to be.  Recently while walking I heard this song, yes I realize it's probably geared towards teenagers, but the words struck home HARD. What an amazing song, what a great message and why can't we just all be our own 'Beautiful Me'?  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzE1mX4Px0I

I am reaching a point in my life where I am ready to accept myself for who I am. I was created by 
God for a reason and who am I to tell him that he did not do a good enough job? Sure I have my imperfections (inside and out) but who doesn't?  I need to embrace those and realize that those imperfections help to make me...well ME.  I could list everything I wish I could change about myself but what good does that do? I can't change how I look ( I mean really), and honestly I don't want to.  The things I CAN change are on the inside and that is what I am working on.  So, I will continue to do so.  I want to thank you all so much for all of your support, honesty, love, acceptance and no judgement.  You all mean so much to me and I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life who care about me.  I'm about to turn 30 here in a couple weeks.  Honestly I'm a bit scared of it, but then part of me is really excited.  I have heard that turning 30 brings along feelings of self acceptance and a boost in self esteem.  I am hoping that is true for me.  I am SO ready for that.  

Here's to another year!

Homemade Cleaners

So, a few years back I was very dissatisfied with cleaners I was buying from the store.  I am talking about expensive brands, cheap brands, store brands, you name it.  I started wondering about making your own cleaners.  I mean come on, way back when you couldn't buy all these cleaners at the store.  So, I started doing some research online.  The first thing I wanted to look into was an All-Purpose Cleaner.  Something that I could use to clean my bathroom, my counters, etc.  I found one that I really liked and started using it.  However, the more I kept looking into homemade cleaners, the more I started trying out other cleaners.  I made a homemade bathroom cleaner that I adore.  I could not believe that way it made my tub shine!  So, I started using those cleaners regularly and stopped buying store bought.  My hubby (being the smart one he is) discovered a homemade window cleaner that is incredible!  I don't care what they saw, Windex, and all the other brands will leave streaks....always.  This homemade cleaner does not and our windows have never been more 'clear'!  I use it on mirrors, our tv, computers, phones (touch phones), CD's and DVD's, too!  I was also very frustrated with my wood floor cleaner.  I have wood laminate, so they're not REAL wood, but I use wood floor cleaner.  Well, I noticed how my floor never "shined" like I wanted it to, or how it rarely looked like I mopped it (which I did!), I became very frustrated.  So, I looked up online homemade wood floor cleaner and found that if you just use warm water and ammonia it works like magic!  My floor shines and it stays that way!  Even after a week and people have trampled on it, it still shines!  I have been so impressed with homemade cleaners of all types and highly recommend them. Plus it is MUCH cheaper to make your own!  I have never tried to make my own laundry or dish detergent, but I know you can.  Maybe this will be the next thing I try...until then, here is a list of my favorite "recipes" for homemade cleaners.  Enjoy and get cleaning!

All-Purpose Cleaner
½ Cup Vinegar
¼ Cup Baking Soda (or 2 t borax)
½ gallon (2 liters) water
Store overnight, shake up the next day and you’re ready to go! Use on water deposit stains, bathroom chrome fixtures, windows, bathroom mirrors, etc!
Homemade Window Cleaner
½ Cup Ammonia
½ Cup vinegar

1 TBSP dish soap
Combine in a spray bottle and fill the rest of the way up with water.
Comet Type Scrubber
Baking Soda
salt (optional)
Sprinkle baking soda onto sinks, counters, and anywhere else. Dampen slightly and scrub with a soft cloth.
Carpet Deodorizer
Baking Soda
Sprinkle baking soda onto carpets. Let sit for 15-60 minutes and then vacuum. I was amazed at how it also softened my carpets!

Bathroom Cleaner

½ Cup dish soap

Fill rest of the bottle up with vinegar
Laminate Floor Cleaner
½ cup Ammonia
1 gallon hot water
Mop with as you would any other floor cleaner.

Counter Cleaner

Bucket full of water (or fill your sink about ½ way full)

Put in 2 caps full of vinegar. Scrub your counters and be amazed at how they shine!
Drain Cleaner
½ cup baking soda
1 cup white vinegar
1 gallon boiling water
Pour baking soda down drain/disposal, followed by vinegar. Allow the mixture to foam for several minutes before flushing the drain with boiling water.