If you missed my post on Friday, my cat, Fred, passed away. He became sick on Tuesday and I took him to the vet on Wednesday, which he was diagnosed with kidney failure. The vet had him for 48 hours, but in the end there was nothing the vet could do to save him.

Insomnia set in last week due to the whole ordeal and I finally crashed on Saturday, falling asleep in late afternoon. I was more or less numb for most of Sunday and my shoulder was hurting from digging Fred's grave Friday afternoon.

Today, I awoke bright and early and exercised, which is something I have been lacking lately. I watched the movie Rage starring Nicolas Cage, which I'll be writing a review for in the next couple of days. I was basically just wasting time until the FedEx guy showed up, so I could sign for a delivery. I went outside for five minutes to pick some tomatoes and jalapenos from the small garden in the back yard. I wasn't gone five minutes, but it was long enough for the FedEx to leave a "You Weren't Home" sign on my front door. The funny thing is when I was walking back from from the garden towards the deck, I saw the FedEx truck drive by. You would think that he would have seen me and turned around, but I guess he didn't.

Summer is nearly over, well at least for the kids that are heading back to school; meaning kids will be having the dreaded homework assignments, including book reports. I know some kids may think reading is boring, as they would probably rather be playing a video game, but reading can be a joyful experience when you find that one perfect title to read. Therefore, I am going to be featuring a few Back to School Reads on here.

Review:

Arriving in bookstores on August 5th is the 3-books-in-1, The Berenstain Bears': God Shows The Way (978-0310742111), which is part of the Zonderkidz I Can Read! series.

The Berenstain Bears' book series was first published in 1962, written by the husband and wife duo, Stan & Jan Berenstain. Since then over 260 million copies have been sold around the world. Sadly, both authors have now passed away, but their son, Mike, has took over their work by writing and illustrating more titles.

The Berenstain Bears': God Shows The Way features three previously released titles that have been rewritten with a Christian theme.

Faith Get Us Through was originally published as Lost in a Cave under the "Cub Club" series in 1994. The story centers on Papa Bear leading the Bear Scouts (Brother, Sister, Lizzy, and Cousin Freddy) into a cave, so they can earn their Cave Adventures Merit Badge, but after a wrong turn they become lost in the cave.

Do Not Fear, God Is Near was originally published as And the Spook Shadows under the "Cub Club" series in 1992. Sister Bear use to be scared of almost anything but Papa Bear taught her that trusting God will take away all of her fears. This works for all of her fears except for one - her own shadow and Brother Bear keeps teasing her about it.

An Average Joe's Pursuit For Financial Freedom
by Michael Warren Munsey
Publisher: Xlibris US
Pub. Date: April 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-1493177691
ASIN: B00JRW4CTM
Pages: 85
Buy Links: Paperback, Kindle, ExLibris

Info from back of book cover: 

An Average Joe’s Pursuit for Financial Freedom offers a different perspective on money than what is traditionally taught by our parents and in our school systems. The reason there is such a discrepancy between the wealthy and the poor is due to the difference in the way money is perceived. We are not born with the ability to maintain wealth: it is something that is learned. The knowledge of knowing how to make money work to generate passive income is something that anyone can learn as long as they are disciplined. An Average Joe’s Pursuit for Financial Freedom is based on practical concepts and discusses the problems that the majority of us face with our personal finance. The concepts in this book are based on theory by an author that practices what he writes about.

Review:

I don't ever read financial themed books, but considering our economy is still rocky, I thought it wouldn't hurt to read this book.The author uses his own personal experiences to give financial advice instead of depending on simple statistics.

Yes, your first solution to making more money is to get a higher paying job, which might not be an easy thing to do if you don't have a college eduction, but then again a college eduction doesn't guarantee financial freedom. If you don't have a full scholarship, then you're going to have to get financial aid, meaning you'll be making payments for at least ten years. Plus, just because you have a college degree doesn't mean you'll find a high paying job.

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.

There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.

There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown... 

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Elizabeth!

Do you like to read books with a theme such as Halloween, Christmas, etc?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

  

My Answer: 

Yes, I read holiday themed books. Actually, I have a wide variety in my reading likes. I'll read a horror book set around Halloween about a crazed killer and then I'll read an Amish fiction anthology set around Christmas. 

The hit Disney XD animated series Slugterra is getting the big screen treatment on August 2nd with the nationwide release of Slugterra: Return of the Elementals. Shout! Factory, Screenvision and Nerd Corps have teamed up to bring the second Slugterra movie to cinemas all across the United States.

Since its premiere in 2012, Slugterra has become a mega hit with children and adults, airing 39 episodes over three seasons. It has been broadcast in over 150 countries.

Earlier this year, the first movie, Slugterra: Gouls From Beyond, went straight-to-DVD; centering on the series slug-slinging hero, Eli Shane (voiced by Sam Vincent), and his pals, Pronto (voiced by Lee Tockar), Trixie (voiced by Shannon Chan-Kent) and Kord (voiced by Andrew Francis), as they battle Dark Slinger and his Goons. Now, the Shane Gang are accompanied by their new ally, Junjie (voiced by Brian Dobson), a master of the mysterious slugslinging art of Slug Fu and the former Dark Slinger, as they go on their biggest mission ever.

After the slugs all across the 99 Caverns start turning into ghouls, the Shadow Clan give Shane a hologram message left by his father instructing him to find the five Legendary Elemental Slugs (Earth, Air, Energy, Fire, Water). If these five slugs fall into the wrong hands, Slugterra will be destroyed.

Eli and his friends travel to different Caverns in the attempt to gather the five Elementals, but they encounter a slight problem - Dr. Blakk (voiced by Mark Oliver) and his Goons are after the Elementals too. Eli must confront his past in order to stop Dr. Blakk once in for all.;

Do you remember back in our middle school days when you would rather skip Thursday and go straight to Fridays, as that afternoon would kickoff your weekend with no school?

That is the way I feel right now. After literally not sleeping a single minute during the night, I decide to get out of bed at 4 A.M. and get a few things done, well to distract my mind for a few hours. My cat, Fred, went to the vet yesterday and things do not look good for my feline friend. I left at the vet for 24 hours, but I was warned to brace for the worst outcome today. Fred was a starving stray cat that showed up on the deck in 2009. He has been a great pet; always purring and very friendly. My other cat, Gaby, has been quite through the whole ordeal. I feel for her.

While I'm writing this, I'm listening to an Evanescence album, again. It seems anytime I'm stressed the only thing that can calm be down is listening to music, which lately Evanescence is the only music that has been taking away my worries. I only wish the band had more albums out.

It looks like I'm going to get three more packages by UPS today. I keep wondering what my neighbors think of me getting so many packages weekly. They must either think I'm addicted to ordering stuff or I have a lot of money, which neither is true. I very seldom actually order something anymore and if I do, it is normally something I'm saving back as Christmas presents.

2015 Quilting Block & Pattern-A-Day Calendar
by Debby Kratovil and Jean Ann Wright
Publisher: Accord Publishing (a division of Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC)
Pub. Date: July 15, 2014
Retail: $14.99
ASIN: 978-1449453626
Pages: 640
Buy Link: Amazon, Accord Publishing

Review:

Believe it or not, but there are just over five months left of 2014, meaning the department stores are going to be having 2015 calendars for sale. If you live in a small town like I do, then your local stores have a limited supply of calendars, so finding the perfect wall or desk calendar can be a bit of a challenge. Luckily this is the digital age and you can order any calendar you want by simply using your smartphone, iPad, tablet or laptop.

Accord Publishing releases many wall and desk calendars every year, covering about any theme your heart can imagine, from Family Guy to the Farmer's Market. They also publish many craft themed calendars, such as crocheting, knitting, water-coloring and quilting.

The 2015 Quilting Block & Pattern-A-Day Calendar was released last week featuring 68 different projects from Debby Kratovil and Jean Ann Wright. Instructions for each project ( overall dimensions & measurements and fabric specifications) are located on the back of the first page of each quilt design. The block patterns and templates for each project follow after the first design page.

The 68 quilt projects featured in this calendar are: