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  This week's question is submitted by Elizabeth!

Do you feel comfortable enough approaching a stranger when you see he/she is reading a book to ask what they are reading?

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: 

Yeah, I would be a little uncomfortable asking a complete stranger what they are reading. I don't see very many people reading printed books as normally they are reading from their smart phone or Kindle. It is none of my business what they are reading.

 
I can hardly believe that it is already Thursday or the tiny fact that it has been over four years since my last Thursday Ramblings post! I guess the week just flew by quickly because I have been busy with writing reviews and making sure I keep my New Year's Resolution, which is to exercise at least 30 minutes a day. Well, tonight I definitely went over my minimum requirements by finishing a 90 minute workout. I guarantee that I'm going to be a bit sore in the morning.

My desk area is a complete mess right now with books, audiobooks and products stacked up that I need to review. Plus, there are a few other review stuff on the floor. It probably doesn't help much that I have other things coming in the mail to review. The mail carrier must think I'm either rich or nuts because of all the packages I get every week. The truth is that I very seldom ever actually order anything anymore as most of the packages I receive are for review purposes on this blog or on Amazon.com.

Speaking of mail, I found a FedEx slip on my door a few hours ago. It says that they stopped by at 4:15 and nobody was home to sign for a package. Well, here is the thing, I was home! I was in the kitchen popping popcorn to snack on over the weekend. I can easily hear the doorbell from the kitchen, but I never heard it go off. I got a feeling that the the FedEx guy lightly knocked on the screen door and expected me to hear it. Anyway, now I have to wait around to sign for a mysterious package tomorrow.

With the start of a new year, I'm sure many of you have started a new workout routine in the attempt to try and drop those extra holiday pounds. While losing weight is easy for people, others have a difficult time dropping one single pound.

For the past few weeks, I have been trying out the workout program called Jumpstart 180! The  program was created by Dr. Siobhan France, a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Wellness coach, who wrote "How To Live A Life Of Fitness: The Ultimate Start-Up guide For Older Adults." The program is designed as a low impact workout system for men and woman age 50 and up.

Now you might be wondering why a 33-year-old would be wanting to test out a workout program that is aimed for a much older person. Well, for starters I have a problem with my right knee, so any insane high impact workouts that involving a lot of jumping is out of the question for me. Plus, I was looking for a workout to help jump start me into a daily exercise routine for 2015.

Normally, when I review something I will wait a few days or even up two weeks to write my actual review as it gives me time to try out the product before coming up with my final thoughts, but after drinking one cup of the Crazy Cups: Sumatran Tiger Bold Roast Coffee, I decided it was enough to write this review.

I've been a coffee drinker since I was a teenager, but I only started using K-Cups last year. To tell you the truth, I don't own a Keurig K, instead I use the Joe Pod Coffee Pot Converter with a regular coffee pot.

Crazy Cups, an Organic and Fair Trade Coffee, is the first single-cup coffees compatible with Keurig coffee makers that are recyclable. Each cup is free of sugar, gluten and lactose. It is Pareve and OU Kosher certified.

Each Crazy Cup has 13g of premium Arabica coffee, which is 30% more than other single serve cups offers on the market. There are 14 flavored coffees: Banana Foster Flambe, Italian Chocolate Cheesecake, Jamaican Me Crazy, Spiced Gingerbread, Peppermint Chocolate Mocha, Pumpkin Vanilla Creme, Chocolate Chipotle Mole, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich, Frosted Oatmeal Cookie, Caramel Truffle Sundae, Salted Caramel, Death By Chocolate and Cinnamon Churro. Seasonal Coffee Flavors are: White Christmas, Spiced Gingerbread and Pumpkin Vanilla Creme. Premium Hot Chocolates Available are: Irish Creme Cheesecake, Maple French Toast and Salted Caramel.

Jake and the Never Land Pirates: The Battle For The Book
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: January 6, 2015
Retail: $19.99
ASIN: B00OCUYC0I
Running Time: 141 minutes
Rated: TV-Y
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Now available on DVD from Walt Disney Home Entertainment is Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Battle For The Book, featuring 8 exciting adventures along with 10 "Jake's Neverland Pirate School" Cartoon Shorts. Each DVD come with a a "free" Checkerboard Bandana Game.

Jake and the Never Land Pirates first premiered on Disney Junior in 2011 and has won the hearts of critics and young fans. The series is set in the world of Disney's Peter Pan and centers on three pirate children Jake, Izzy and Cubby. They spend their days with their parrot Skully aboard their live ship named Bucky as they set off a new adventure. Of course Captain Hook and his crew are never too far behind them.

The episodes on this single-disc DVD are:

Battle For The Book - Parts 1 & 2 - After Captain Hook and his crew goes to London and steals Wendy's magical book, Wendy and her brothers begin to lose their memories, so she sends a message to Peter Pan for help. Peter Pan is sort of tied up at the moment, so he sends Jake and the Never Land Pirates to save the day!

Treasure Of The Pirate Mummy's Tomb/Mystery Of The Missing Treasure! - Jake his pals must find the Never Land ankh that is located inside the Mummy's Tomb. Then Jake and his crew are on the hunt to find the thief that stole their Team Treasure Chest.

Learn To Dance: Merengue - Beginning and Intermediate
Studio: DanceCrazy.com
Release Date: April 24, 2007
Retail: $39.95
ASIN: B000P28UFU
Running Time: 102 minutes
Rating: NR
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

With all the dancing reality series on television, it is a no-brainer why learning to dance and other dancing workout DVDs are so popular today. These types of DVDs are an easy way for an individual or couple to learn how to dance in the comfort of their own home.

Recently, I have been trying out several of these types of programs from DancyCrazy and the latest one I have been experimenting with is called Learn To Dance: Merengue - Beginning and Intermediate.

Merengue is a blend of dance and music from the Dominican Republic. Of course eventually this style of music reached the United States and continued to be popular with dancers.

This DVD has a male and a female instructor who gives you a step-by-step guide on how to learn the basic moves for the Merengue. You'll learn the Basics, Beginning Patterns and Intermediate Patterns.

At Death's Door: 13 Fright-Filled Films
Starring: Vincent Price, John Carradine, Barbara Steele, Jack Nicholson
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
Release Date: January 13, 2015
Retail: $9.98
ASIN: B00OU4MT6U
Running Time: 18 hours 8 minutes
Rating: Not Rated / R
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on a 3-disc DVD set tomorrow from Mill Creek Entertainment is At Death's Door: 13 Fright-Filled Films starring Leslie Den Doven, Alan Scarfe, Kay Hawtrey, Christine Moore, Rosie Holotik, Barbara Steele, John Caradine, Evelyn Stewart, Richard Carlson, John Hudson, Vincent Price, Jack Nicholson and Walter Brandi.

Yes, this type of horror collection will find it's way into the $5 bin at Walmart and if you already own a few of them, then you've probably have seen most of the films in this set. Most of these movies are in the public domain, except for a few that are from Crown International Pictures, Inc., so the picture quality of the films aren't exactly the best.

A major highlight in this set is the underrated 1980 horror flick Funeral Home (93 mins; Rated R) about a young woman spending the summer at her grandmother's to help turn the farmhouse into a bed & breakfast, but then a few of the guests turn up dead. The young woman starts to investigate the strange sounds coming from the basement and discovers a family secret. Despite an R rating, the film's violence isn't very bloody compared to other horror movies from that era.

The weird Luckers (1988; 94 mins; Rated R) is about a woman who has been tormented ever since her mother killed her father when she was a just a young girl. She starts having strange dreams and starts to believe that something from the supernatural world is coming to get her. This has some of the worst acting I have ever seen and despite the slow pacing, I actually liked it.