The weather this year has been freaky to say the least. The snow still hasn't completely melted yet, but it is currently thundering! The weathermen are calling for freezing rain in the morning. Honestly, I wish Spring would hurry up and get here.

Yes, products, books, movies to review are piling up on me quickly, with a coffee press, Adventure Time Blu-ray and a yoga towel arriving on my doorsteps today. According to the UPS email I received, I'll be getting another Blu-ray or DVD tomorrow, but I don't know what the title is. I already have several reviews I need to write and get posted in the next few days. Plus, I have three books that I need to start reading.

As you can see, blogging can become a little stressful at times. Sadly, stress got the best of me last year, which lead to my depression resurfacing. I'm glad to say this year has been stress-free so far, mostly thanks for me getting into a daily exercising routine, which includes a couple of yoga workouts. Yoga is suppose to relieve stress.

Distracting yourself from daily worries can help a person relax. I like to search the internet for random things; sometimes my searches leads to new products for me to review here on my blog. Lately, I have discovered finderio.com, a free social people and companies search engine; showing their professional life connections. The search engine indexes public data from social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and other public sites. This is a great way for bloggers to find a specific contact at a company or PR firm.

Another Valentine's Day has come and gone; besides from sending a few cards to family and friends and giving my grandmother a heart-shaped box of chocolates and a teddy bear, I don't actually celebrate the holiday. I'm single, so I don't see the point of it. I spent tonight watching a couple of episodes of Leverage on DVD and The Outlaws Is Coming! with the Three Stooges.

My weekend plans involves me doing a few errands in the morning, which hopefully I'll be back home to watch the new Power Rangers (Yes, I still watch kids' shows). I need to get a few books read this weekend, so hopefully I'll have time to start reading tomorrow. I also have a few reviews I need to write get posted by Monday. Plus, I have the old Batman serial DVD and the Killing Kennedy Blu-ray to watch and review.

I'm trying to stay ahead of the holidays this year by buying presents ahead of time. For example, I already have my mom's Mother's Day present. With the falling economy, I'm well aware my wallet is going to be stretched this year, though I did splurge a little on myself (I'll talk about that in a few minutes). Its easier to buy little bitty things during the year, so when December rolls around most of shopping is already finished.

Of course shopping ahead of time isn't exactly easy, as some people are just hard to buy for. I have no clue what to get my grandmother for Mother's Day this year. I would get her a DVD, but she can never figure out how to use the DVD player. I could buy her a music CD, but she most likely already owns it. Sure, I could get her a new book, but she doesn't care much for reading anymore because of her eyesight.

I do have a few ideas on what to get her.

While people typically want to lose weight or go back to college as their New Year's Resolution, there will be some people wanting to accomplish their dream of owning their own business, like a pizza parlor, quilt shop or a bakery shop. Once you decide what your business is going to be, you either buy, rent or lease a building for your upcoming business. Then you need to look for the best Small Business Insurance. Yes, I'm well aware that you probably want to remodel the building first, but anything can happen at any moment, so you be prepared for anything.


With the insurance debates on the national news on a daily basis, you may be a little hesitant about buying insurance for your business, but a fire, flooding, burglaries and vandalism can become a threat to any minute, so you shouldn't waste any time.

Its hard to believe that 2013 is almost over! I can remember last year's New Year's Eve like it was yesterday, but with many ups and downs during the year, I guess the time flew by faster than I thought. Similar to other blogs, I'll be writing a few posts on New Year's Resolutions and a few of these will be on my own resolutions.

I'm sure many people will me wanting to change their lives in a positive way in 2014, like start living an Eco-friendly lifestyle, which is more than just recycling a few pop cans and plastic bottles. You can simply replace common household appliances (microwave) and electronics (HDTV) with an environment-friendly products that can also save you money yearly.

If you live in the UK you can apply for a government grants for solar panels, which in the long run can help you save money on your electricity and gas bill. Plus, this can help reduce the overall greenhouse gas emissions currently in the UK.

There is barely over two weeks until Christmas Day, so if you haven't been finished your gift shopping, you should probably do so before all the good stuff is taken. Some of the best selling gifts are Blu-rays/DVDs, PS4 games and Furby Bloom, but many people forget that one little book can make the perfect gift.

My Top 5 Books for Christmas are:

1. Inferno by Dan Brown
2. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
3. Joyland by Stephen King
4. Cross My Heart by James Patterson
5. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)

Of course a Kindle or a Nook can make a wonderful gift for anybody, but I prefer to actually hold a book in my hands, as nothing smells better than a freshly printed book. A book can be a wonderful gift for kids too. I recommend Treasure Hunters and I Even Funnier, which are both co-written by James Patterson.

I know people are busy getting ready for Thanksgiving dinners and shopping for Christmas, but this is the perfect time to plan next summer's dream vacation. Prices for plane tickets, cruise tickets and hotel room change in prices on a regular basis, so you can save time and money by booking your trip months ahead of time.

If you're like me, you either don't have the money to spend on any kind of a vacation or something always comes up and you can't go on a vacation at all, but there is nothing wrong with dreaming; therefore I came up with my top 5 dream vacations.

1. Walt Disney Word Resort & Universal Studios Resort - Even though I'm an adult, I would love to go on the rides at Disney World and Universal Studios in Florida. I've never been to the state, not even on a business trip, but besides visiting the resorts, I would like to walk on the beach and visit other attractions. I know a person can book tickets and hotels near the resort, but the attractions I want to visit are scattered about, so it would better for me to stay at a Miami airport motel, which would probably be cheaper.

It seems that almost anybody has self-published some sort of book on Amazon or on some other retail site. I have reviewed several books by independent authors writing in different genres, children books, romance novels, how-to-books, etc… I even have a few books I have bought on my Kindle that are in the how-to genre. One in practically was about freelance writing and how the author wrote best-selling how-to-books. The book was horrible and I consider the author more of a con artist than an actual writer.

There are some how-to and self-help authors (non-self-published) that are truly professional businessman (and women) and  they give great advice in their books. One of these authors is an entrepreneur Michael Masterson, who has written The Pledge, Seven Years to Seven Figures, Ready Fire Aim, Automatic Wealth, Automatic Wealth For Grads, Power and Persuasion and Confessions of a Self-Made Multimillionaire, where he has been giving business advice to many readers. He's not just a how-to-book writer, as he is currently working on a poetry book, a screenplay and a collection of short stories.

Most people are thinking about Thanksgiving dinners, Black Friday shopping and Christmas gatherings. I'm not big on Thanksgiving, mostly due to my dislike of turkey and anything with pumpkin (though I do like pumpkin seeds) and most of my Christmas present shopping is finished.

I've been thinking ahead to after the holidays are wrapped and what my New Year's Resolution will be.

Almost everybody's resolution is to lose those extra holiday pounds, but mine for next year is to brush on my writing skills.

What does this mean?

The department stores are already having Pre-Black Friday sales and I'm sure people will be busy buying presents for their children, parents, grandparents, other family members and friends. It would be nice to take a few minutes and come up with your own Christmas list. Sure, Santa probably won't have time to shop for you, but there is nothing wrong with dreaming.

What would my top five wants for Christmas be?

Here is my list to Santa:


1. HP Black Licorice 15.6" 2000-2c29wm Laptop - My desktop is getting up there in age, though it still works great, my deepest fears is that it will quit working one day. Laptop computers are a lot cheaper than desktop computers. Plus, I can work on a short story or the next great American novel from the comfy of my bed.

With the holidays around the corner, I'm sure there are many people (young and old) dreaming of owning an exotic car for Christmas. I recall riding in an old friend's 1969 Ford Boss, which is my only exotic car driving experience, and it was a heavenly experience, minus a few bumps, as the car was in rough condition, but still drivable.

Giving a family member or friend an exotic car for Christmas would make a perfect gift. Yes, I know cars can expensive, but there are other options than buying a new car.

Though young kids (boys and girls) are a bit to young to drive a car, they also have a fascination with cars, too, as they probably picked it up from their parents. A great present idea is a collectable Hot Wheels or Match Box toy car or even a remote control car.

Plastic car models may be a thing of the past, but they still exist at hobby shops and online stores. You can find a model on about any type of car ever made. This can make a great present for a child, teenager or even an adult.

Many people my age have their own businesses, which a few are closing because of the failing economy. Sadly, I don't own a business, unless you count a little bit of freelancing writing a business, as well as blogging.

For those who don't know what blogging is, a blog is online journal and media outlet, which stretches from mommy/daddy blogs to professional journalist blogs. Basically, you can find a blog on any subject you can come up with.

My blog is primarily a book blog, though I have stretched out into other review terrorizes over the past two years. I consider myself to be an average blogger, as there are die-hard bloggers that can make an actually income from blogging about their favorite authors, mostly this is from advertising. These bloggers travel around the world attending book blog conventions, where bloggers get to meet publishers and authors. I've heard you can make many connections there and receive tons of free books to review or giveaway to your readers. The rare few might actually get a publisher's attention with their writings and get offered a job.

When I say the word "internship" most people probably think of this past summer's critically panned "The Internship" starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. An internship is a non-paying job (though there are some paying ones) or more of work-study to see if a person can handle a job.

You may think internships are only for college students and adults, but there are many companies offering summer internships for high schoolers. Sure, the last think most teenagers are thinking about is working the entire summer with no paycheck, but an internship can be rewarding and will look great on a college application. 

I know it is almost Thanksgiving, but some companies and businesses are already accepting internships for 2014. You should ask your school councilor or your local career/job center (most towns have one) about applying for an internship.

Types of internships you can find are at universities, research facilities, children's hospitals, cancer centers, sciences departments, summer school programs, libraries, city halls, government buildings, news stations, etc… If you can't find the internship job you are wanting, locate the business you’re interested in and ask them if they will take an internship student.

I have been blogging for nearly five years and I've enjoyed every minute of it, though it can be a little stressful at times, but writing about that topic would take a separate post.

Why did I start blogging?

Well, I've been a book lover my entire life. I had a small book community on MSN Groups, but MSN eliminated all the groups, so I turned to blogging to share my love of reading. At first my blog was just an outlet for me to talk about my recent reads, but as I began following other blogs, I learned blogging has many benefits.

I never thought blogging could lead to actually making money, but you can get paid to write on your blog through sponsored posts, pre-written articles, text links, and sidebar ads. And of course there is always Google AdWords.

Will you be able to quit your day job?

If you grew up in the '80s and '90s, then you probably remember seeing record stores popping up everywhere, like the one in the movie Pretty In Pink. I remember going to a small record store, which of course it had records, cassettes, 8-tracks and a small selection of CDs (they were a little pricey at the time).

I was just a little kid back then, but I did own a few records, such as Cavern of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, Smurfs, and Alvin & the Chipmunks. I know they weren't exactly music, but like I said, I was just a kid then.

As a teen I was in a music club, where I would get several CDs free for joining and I had to buy four more over two years. I would by the four very quickly, get out of the club and then I would join again. Sadly, there are no clubs anymore.

Thanks to the internet with its illegal downloads and iMusic, record stores have become a thing of the past, though you can probably find a few in the big cities, probably called "Vintage Records" or something similar.

The Halloween season is nearly over, which means people will begin their holiday gift shopping, grocery shopping for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners or parties. Plus, they'll be decorating their houses with nifty decorations. Yes, everybody is busy during this time, but you should take sometime and give back to our US troops, who are overseas keeping our country safe.

There are many things you can send overseas to our troops. Do you have any left over Halloween candy? You can drop off your extra candy at an organization that will send them overseas.

Books would make a great gift for a solider. If you have any books piled up in your home collecting dust, you could easily dust them off and donate them to an organization that supports our troops. Also, you can keep an eye out for great books at thrift shops or your local library (they occasionally have book sales) to send to our soldiers.

Other great items/gifts to send overseas are movies (DVDs, no VHSs), music CDs, magazines (recently published), shaving razors & shaving cream, tee shirts, Kindles, laptops, hot chocolate packets and ground coffee.

Let’s face the facts; a writer/blogger's life can be extremely stressful during the holiday season. The gift shopping, grocery shopping, decorating and planning can take a toll on anyone, let alone a writer or blogger who have deadlines. Most writers/bloggers also a have a daytime job, so thanks to many cups of coffee, we spend our time writing at night, which is typically when I do most of my writing, though writing late at night or in the early morning hours can lead to unwanted typos.  I use Grammarly for proofreading because the sleeping fairy has been complaining about my coffee intake at night. Plus, it saves me time by not having to go over an article or review minutes before it has to be posted.


For me, the holidays started early in the fall when I was planning the 31 Days of Halloween and the Holiday Gift Guide events. My plan was to have everything written/posted and scheduled ahead of time, that way stress wouldn't be that big of a deal, but I've been basically getting things ready the day before, plus a few guest spots are a no show, forcing me to come up with last minute posts. The Holiday Gift Guide is coming together a little bit better, though I haven't written the reviews/posts yet, but I plan on having them written way before Nov. 29th. 

Holiday meals and Christmas shopping (I already have a little bit done.) starts on Thanksgiving, and yes I'll probably attend the Black Friday sales (or should it be called the Thanksgiving Night Sales), so I can get a few bargains.

Life as a writer or even a blogger isn’t easy as it seems to be. Many people think we have an easy job, or more like an obsession, and all we do is sit at a computer and write all day. It is not as simple as it seems. We have daily life problems just as anybody else does. Many of us have a full-time job and dabble at writing early in the morning, late at night, or on the weekends. Sometimes we only get as little as five minutes to write. We have to worry about deadlines, financial troubles, and the dreadful writer’s block.

Many famous writers, like Edgar Allen Poe, turn to substance abuse to deal with their pain or try to erase their troubles. Writer’s have a tendency to have depression due to being isolated for numerous hours at a time working on a writing project. When this occurs, some recycle into the substance abuse. Sadly, a few have taken their own lives.

All of this can be avoided if you would admit you have a problem and seek help. StepHouse recovery centers help people with addiction problems, like the Outpatient Program - StepHouse Recovery located in Fountain Valley, California, where their certified counselors and licensed therapists offer specific programs to help those with addiction problems. Live-in-recovery or inpatient or residential treatments are available in these programs.

I'll be 32 in the fall and I still find myself watching old and new cartoons and family movies, even though I don't have any children of my own. I guess I'm still a kid at heart. I habit of switching over to the Disney Channel and watching a few of their kids’ shows. I thought I would take the time and write about my favorite recent Disney releases:

1. Brave - I enjoy watching Pixar movies (except for the overrated Cars and the horrible sequel), but I wasn't a bit interested in Brave when I saw the advertisements for it. I had no plans on buying the movie, but I received it as a Christmas gift. The DVD rested on my coffee table for a few weeks and eventually I decided to watch it. To my surprise, I actually liked it. For a cartoon aimed toward kids, it has several dark themes and a few adult jokes. 
2. Tangled - I'm not big fan of princess cartoons, but for some reason I wanted to watch Tangled and I ended up buying it. I'm actually surprised that Disney had never made a Rapunzel movie before now. The dialogue was cleverly written for both children and adults can enjoy together. There was a sequel

I'm not a morning person and I can't function properly without two cups of coffee. Caffeine can make some people become jittery or nervous, but for some strange reason it relaxes me, especially at night when I'm busy blogging, writing an article, or working on a short story. My favorite is Nescafe Clasico Dark Roast instant coffee, which I can go through a 7 oz. container a week.

This week has been busy and stressful as I'm catching up with books reviews and some freelance writing. In less than a week, there have been two snow storms with a total of over twelve inches. Of course, I had forgotten to buy more coffee and the stores were out of Nescafe, therefore I had to settle for Folgers Classic Roast instant coffee. Let's just say that Folgers instant coffee tastes exactly like any cheap instant coffee brand. In other words, it taste like dishwater.

I do own a coffee maker, actually I received it as a Christmas gift a few months ago, but I don't care for the coffee it makes. I don't know if it is the coffee maker or the coffee grounds I bought. I've checked out other machines in the stores and online, but I don't know which one makes the greatest cup of coffee.

Since my early Spring Cleaning has been put on hold because of my flu and cold combination, I started daydreaming about what my perfect bedroom would look like. I'm tired of my cluttered mess consisting of piled up books on the desk and on the floor, the outdated television set that covers three-fourths of the top of my dresser, the piles of clean clothes on the floor and the scattered DVDS (a few horror movies, fitness workouts, and the Twilight Zone Definitive Collection). And of course I need to mention the treadmill in the corner that now serves as a coat hanger.

The first that I would want change would be the bed, because it is too hard for me, even with the foam cushioning I added underneath the fitted sheet. Maybe I should buy a new bed from Mattress Online such as the Athena Leather TV Bed. This would be my dream bed as it has a 26" LG TV that pops out of the footrest by just a touch of a button. There is also an under the bed department where I can store a DVD player, Blu-ray player, game consoles, cable box, or store my DVDs. I would also want matching beside nightstand with lamps on each side of the bed. I could store a few of books in the drawers and use the lamps for my nightly reading.