So Over It - review

As part of my "research" in my quest to become a novelist, I've been reading a lot of teen novels this summer. I'm not sure I will write for this age group, but I am drawn to it, so I wanted to see what was currently on the market.

So Over It by Stephanie Morrill is the third (and final) book in The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series. It's a story of forgiveness and redemption. It seemed like the issues and storyline were current and relevant. ...and I wanted to like it. However, I really had a hard time relating to the characters and following the story. I think that's partly because it's not really meant to be a stand-alone novel and I haven't read the first two books in this series. If most teens are like my daughter, however, they do love series books, so perhaps it would easier to get into if a person read the whole series. The other two books are Me, Just Different and Out with the In Crowd.

Available July 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

The Seeker - review

The cover of The Seeker by Ann H. Gabhart makes it look like another Amish romance. It's not. It's a historical novel about the Shakers. It is set during the Civil War and it has a very interesting plot. It's kind of a Cinderella story in that Charlotte is a southern belle who is forced by her new stepmother to leave home. The man she had planned to marry had decided instead to join the nearby Shaker colony, so rather than go south to the finishing school her stepmother intended for her to attend, she slips away and goes to live among the Shakers as well. Very interesting and enjoyable book.

Available July 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Crazy Critters - review and giveaway

My assistant for this MamaBuzz review is the lovely and talented Miss Cookie Cook. In this first picture you probably won't be able to make out exactly what it is she is reviewing... but you gotta love those puppy eyes! She loves her new Crazy Critter toy!

"Whaddya mean you gotta take pictures for your blog? I don't want to show your readers my new toy. I just wanna sit here and squeak his tail over and over. I love squeaky toys... and fuzzy toys!"

"Well, if you must! See? Doesn't it look like a fox? I like to pretend I caught this pesky critter and  just shake the life out of it! It doesn't have any stuffing, so it's nice and floppy for shaking purposes. Still, I think it's kinda mean that you won't let me have stuffed toys. I dearly love to pull the stuffing out of them! Yeah... it makes a mess... and yeah, it destroys the toy... but it's fun! What's that you say? This one will last longer since I can't unstuff it? Hmmm..."

"Now, don't bother me any more. I have some serious squeaking to do!"

Another "doggy" product I got to review is BarkOff "...the ingenious, ultrasonic training aid that allows you to take control over your dog's nuisance barking. Just switch on the BarkOff device and an ultrasonic signal, inaudible to human ears, instantly captures your dog's attention and immediately interrupts the barking pattern. This allows your dog to calm down and stop barking painlessly and naturally."

I can't speak from personal experience as to how well it works, as Cookie doesn't usually have a problem with "nuisance barking." However, I can see where it would come in very handy if you have a dog who does like to bark.

Both the Crazy Critter and the BarkOff sell for $10 each plus shipping on their respective websites. And they both include "But that's not all!" offers, as well... so if you have a sweet doggy or two in your family, you'll want to check it out.

These products were provided by Telebrands for this review. They have also offered to provide a Crazy Critter toy and a BarkOff device as a giveaway here on Ramblin' Roads. If you'd like to be entered in the drawing, just leave me a comment telling me the name of your dog(s). Mention that you're a follower of my blog for a second entry. U.S. addresses only, please. I will draw a name on August 4, 2010.

Total Pillow - review

My review for the Total Pillow is due today. I thought I was just going to have to post something like, "I have heard of this product, but I haven't tried it yet..." because, as of this morning, mine hadn't yet come. However, the UPS man stopped by just a few minutes ago with a package for me! So now I can speak more knowledgeably about this unique pillow. Looking at the pictures I thought it would be inflatable... or possibly foam. It's neither. Instead, it's filled with microbeads that allow you to twist or fold the pillow in a way that is most comfortable for you, and then hold that shape. I can tell it's going to be great for traveling! It is much more comfortable than either air or foam. Another thing I like about it is that one side is a cool smooth silky fabric, and the other side is warm and fuzzy. I like having the option depending on my mood. I am definitely sold on the Total Pillow! Once my family has a chance to try it out, I may have to get everyone their own, just for traveling.

Total Pillow is available online with a "buy one, get one free" offer for $19.99 plus shipping.

VERSATILE TRANSFORMING PILLOW Cradles you with Comfort While Asleep and Awake
Most people spend approximately one-third of their lives asleep on their pillow, however the new Total Pillow has uses for the two-thirds of time spent awake.
There are pillows for all types of issues but no one pillow that bridges all conditions, until now. The Total Pillow™ is for use overnight, on the couch, sitting at your desk, driving, while on a plane or train, in college dorms, or just while watching television. This donut-shaped pillow transforms in just seconds to more than five supportive shapes for customized relief. The patent pending locking technology enables the Total Pillow to support the neck, lower back, ankles and knees.
"Consumers own many different pillows for different applications, identifying the need for a multipurpose pillow solution." said Steve Heroux, CEO of Hampton Direct. "The Total Pillow transforms into five different shapes to answer a wide range of conditions."
The Total Pillow's ergonomic design allows your body to be cradled in support whether you're a side sleeper and like support between your knees and/or ankles or are a frequent traveler. It's also great for the businessperson, who needs lumbar support for the long periods of time spent seated.
Hampton Direct, Inc. is a leading international importer and distributor of consumer products. The Vermont-based company's offerings include common household problem solving products that includes the As Seen On TV Wonder Hanger®, Twin Draft Guard® and Total Pillow®.

This is a Mama Buzz review. The product was provided by Total Pillow for this review.

Travel the World unit - review

We have been enjoying a relaxing summer taking a break from our studies. Other years we have continued to do at least a little school throughout the summer. However, almost every summer we do manage to travel some, and I always like to try to incorporate some fun learning activities.

This year, as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I received a free copy of  the Schoolhouse Planner module for June which is a Travel the World theme. It is great for some take-along on-the-road learning... or even a "staycation" while taking a summer break from "real" school. "Packed full of information, hyperlinks, puzzles, quizzes, and more, all to add fun to your investigation of the world!" It could also be used as a world geography supplement along with a study of world history. This particular module contains ideas for all ages.

Even if you aren't using the Schoolhouse Planner you can download just this one module for $7.95. It includes:

• A custom-designed study guide
• Coloring pages
• Activity pages
• Original copywork pages
• Recipes
• Resource pages
• High school expansion ideas
• Lapbook Beginnings
• Answer keys to all components

Courting Morrow Little - review

Courting Morrow Little by Laura Frantz is a very interesting historical romance set on the Kentucky frontier in the 1700s. It is a companion novel to The Frontiersman's Daughter. I am intrigued by stories inspired by family history. Laura Frantz credits her 100-year-old grandmother as being the catalyst for her fascination with Kentucky history. Frantz's family followed Daniel Boone into Kentucky in 1792 and settled in Madison County, where her family still resides. I enjoyed this book.

Purely Products - review

As a member of the MamaBuzz review team, I had the opportunity recently to try out a couple of gadgets from Purely Products. First up is the Pocket Purifier. It is a hand-held device that "sanitizes surfaces and objects with the same UV-C light that sterilizes surgical instruments. Ultraviolet light and nanotechnology eliminate 99.9% of germs that cause colds and flu, plus e-coli, salmonella, mold, fungus and MRSA (staph)." When I received it, I put the batteries in (requires 4 AAs, not included) and tried it out. My question is, how do you know it's actually working? Basically, you just shine the purpley light on a surface for a few minutes and then turn it off. If you are super-concerned about germs and want to make sure that you have every possible means to sterilize your environment, this would probably come in handy. I have no idea how to tell how effective it is... and because of that, I probably won't remember to use it much myself. The Pocket Purifier is $29.95.


The other device I received is the SunMate which "puts information on the intensity of ultraviolet rays right in the palm of your hand, so you can make preventive decisions on sun care protection." When you push the button on top, the little numbers light up depending on the brightness of the sun. Indoor light rates a 1. Anything 2 or higher emits a shrill beep, and I guess that means you need sunscreen. Apparently, the higher the number the higher SPF your sunscreen should have. In our family, we just put on sunscreen if we're going to be outdoors for any length of time, so we probably wouldn't have much practical use for this gadget either. The kids have had fun monitoring the sun with it, though. My younger daughter came in the other day asking for "that thing that screams" to see what the number for the day was. If you have issues where you or a family member is susceptible to sunburn or too much sun for any reason, this might be a practical item to have. The SunMate is $19.95.

Thank you to Purely Products for giving me the opportunity to try these products with my family. As a special offer to my blog readers, they are offering  25% off their entire order (excluding Purely UV germicidal replacement bulbs). Please follow this link for more details. A percentage of every Purely Products sale supports diaperLove, a non-profit providing diapers to children in need.

Motorcycles, Sushi, and One Strange Book - review

Featuring: Nancy Rue and the book, Motorcycles, Sushi, and One Strange Book. Special thanks to Pam Mettler of Zondervan for sending me a review copy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nancy Rue has written over 100 books for girls, is the editor of the Faithgirlz Bible, and is a popular speaker and radio guest with her expertise in tween and teen issues. She and husband Jim have raised a daughter of their own and now live in Tennessee.

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Shades of Morning - review

Shades of Morning by Marlo Schalesky was a page-turner for me... and I enjoyed most of it. However, there was a twist at the end that I didn't care for at all. The main character, Marnie, becomes guardian of her orphaned 15-year-old nephew who has "challenges." I enjoyed reading about the dynamics of the relationship as they got to know one another, but the ending really bothered me. I usually love surprise endings, but this one seemed to come out of nowhere and just didn't fit. With a different ending I probably would have given this book 4 out of 5 stars, but as it is, I'm going to have to give it 2.

Touching the Clouds - review

Touching the Clouds by Bonnie Leon is set in Alaska in the 1930s. The main character, Kate Evans, is a airplane pilot in the days when aviation was still a new thing, and it was a particularly unusual occupation for a woman. As the story opens, Kate is getting ready to leave her home in Yakima, Washington (an area I'm familiar with) to fly alone to Alaska (an area I've always wanted to visit) to become a mail-delivery pilot. I found the story fascinating, especially the details and danger of each of her missions. It's a romance novel with action! Fun read!

Perfectly Dateless - review

As I mentioned in my post about the Summer Reading Challenge, I am reading quite a few YA books this summer. Perfectly Dateless by Kristin Billerbeck is teen chick lit of just the kind my daughter enjoys most. Sure enough, the day it came in the mail she tried to grab it. I told her I wanted to read it first because I read faster than she does. So she agreed to that.

The story is about Daisy, who is just starting her senior year of high school (just as my daughter is) and is determined to have a date for prom in the spring. She makes a list of boys to work on... but one-by-one they get marked off her list for various reasons. It doesn't help matters that she has really weird parents. At the beginning of the story I couldn't believe they were really that weird. I mean, sure, it's just a story... but a story ought to be believable, right? But the author didn't let me (or Daisy) down. As the story progressed both of us came to understand why the parents were so off-beat. It was a sweet growing-up story.

Security Risk

Yesterday I lied about my age. I surely didn't intend to. I honestly forgot how old I am. So when the doctor asked, I just immediately said, "43," and we continued our conversation. On the way home I realized that I am actually 44. I must have been 43 the last time I thought about it. Which would have been sometime before last November. I thought about calling the doctor back to confess, but I decided that my actual birthdate on my chart was probably sufficient in the way of restitution.

Not only am I a liar, though, it seems I'm a shoplifting suspect at Wal-Mart as well. Last Saturday evening Lyle and I made a quick Wal-Mart run. The little slidey-thing on the side of the memory card for the camera had broken off, so we needed to get a new one before our 4th of July adventure, as well as picnic supplies. As we went in the store I said, "Now don't let me forget to pay for ice when we check out." Naturally we both forgot, but I did remember just as we finished paying, so I just paid in a separate transaction. Lyle went ahead and pushed the cart on out of the aisle and waited for me by the ice box. Then we took our 2 bags of ice and other shopping bags and headed out of the store.

We didn't get very far because the security buzzers went off as we went through, and the friendly greeter person asked to see our receipts. That's when I remembered that I hadn't bothered to wait for my receipt on the ice. I asked if ice would set of the buzzers. She said, "It might!" so I went back to the cashier and asked for my receipt. Told her I got stopped at the door. She laughed and gave me the receipt. And so we got the go-ahead to legitimately leave the store. I'm sure the greeter person thought we were trying to get by without paying for the ice, and that I just paid for it when I went back to ask for my receipt.

After I thought about it, I was pretty sure it couldn't have been the ice that set off the security buzzers. You always just grab the ice out of the ice box on your way out the door. There's nothing that deactivates a security device. Then I remembered the memory card. Sure enough, there was one of those tiny little whatchamacallits that the cashier is supposed swipe over the clunker thingy when you check out. That had to be it.

I think.

I'm not really sure.

Because yesterday the same thing happened to me. I ran in Wal-Mart to pick up a DVD set we had ordered through their website. Went to the back counter to pick up my order. Then picked up some other merchandise, and this time I remembered before I paid that we needed ice again. I checked out, picked up my ice, and got stopped by the rude buzzer at the door again! The greeter lady recognized the Site-to-Store wrapper and asked if it was a DVD. Then she just made a note on her clipboard and sent me on my way.

Apparently they don't deactivate the security gizmo at the Site-to-Store counter.

Unless it really was the ice.

Early Summer Wildflowers

I love the wildflowers of early summer... especially the cheerful daisies that flourish in the mountain meadows. I've enjoyed snapping pictures of a wide variety of wildflowers on our hikes recently, and trying to identify them with my wildflower book. It's not as easy as one might think because of the wide range of colors and sizes. What I call purple, the book may identify as blue or pink. Here are some that I captured, along with the names of the ones I could identify:

Happy Birthday!

This is a four-generation portrait taken not long after my sisters were born on July 7, 1967. I was 19 months old when they were born. That's me standing in the middle with my mother. I can usually tell the twins apart in their baby pictures, but this one's a little harder since their faces are turned to the side. I think Grandmother (on the right) is holding Dori, and Mother Shumaker (our great-grandmother, on the left) is holding Naomi. I'm sure Mother will correct me if I'm wrong.

Boyfriends, Burritos, and an Ocean of Trouble - review

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Nancy Rue

and the book:

Boyfriends, Burritos and an Ocean of Trouble

Zondervan (April 20, 2010)

***Special thanks to Pam Mettler of Zondervan for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nancy Rue has written over 100 books for girls, is the editor of the Faithgirlz Bible, and is a popular speaker and radio guest with her expertise in tween and teen issues. She and husband Jim have raised a daughter of their own and now live in Tennessee.


Visit the author's website.





Product Details:
List Price: $9.99
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Zondervan (April 20, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0310714850
ISBN-13: 978-0310714859

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Holiday Excursion

My family celebrated the Fourth of July with a scenic day trip up in the very tip-top of the Idaho panhandle. At one point, we were so close to the Canadian border that the girls worried that we might "get in trouble" for not having passports! For Father's Day we had given Lyle a copy of Backcountry Roads Idaho which maps out detailed "expeditions," complete with GPS coordinates, on some of the very scenic backroads all over the state. For this holiday weekend, Lyle decided on "Expedition 2" to Moyie River, Copper Falls, and Purcell Mountains. He also planned in a few Geocaches along the way.

It was a cool day (temps in the 60s) with clouds threatening rain most of the day. Sunshine would have made better pictures, but memories aren't dependent on weather! Care to go along?

The official starting point of the expedition was at the overlook of the Moyie River Canyon Bridge. This is about an hour-and-a-half from where we live.

We immediately took a little side-trip to get a closer look at the dam spillway further up the river. I mean, what's the point in an "adventure" if you stick to the guidebook all the time, huh?

The next little side-trip was listed in the book as "optional." It was a 4WD-only spur road, leading to a "great view of the river." River view aside, I think the Man enjoyed bucking his big truck up over the rocks more than anything. I can't say for sure, though, as I had my eyes squeezed tightly closed for this portion of the expedition.

We had hopes of exploring a "real live" ghost town at Meadow Creek, but since the last building came down 35 years ago, there really wasn't much to see...

 ...with the exception of a dirt road and grassy meadows filled with wildflowers.

We ate lunch at the Moyie Crossing Picnic Area (and hunted for a Geocache there for awhile that we never did find). Then it was on to Copper Falls, the climax of the day.

We hiked about a mile to get to the falls. That's when we were glad the day was cool. Most of the hike was through a heavy forest, so it probably would have been pleasant enough even on a warmer day. In any case, the spectacular falls was well worth the effort.

We chose another "nearby excursion" from the book as our route home through the Kootenai Valley. Other times we've been in this area we had wondered what the bright yellow fields were. We learned from the book that they are hops fields, and that Kootenai Valley contains the largest contiguous hops fields in the world. We still weren't sure what hops were, but Lyle speculated that he thought hops were used to make beer. When we saw a sign stating that this farm belonged to Anheuser-Busch, we decided that he must be right!

It was a wonderful day for memories!