You Can't Sit Wth Us
Mean Girl Makeover Series
by Nancy Rue
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Pub. Date: December 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-1400323715
Pages: 224
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Bullying is definitely an epidemic in our schools around the country. During my JH and HS years during the 90s, I was bullied on a daily basis. I can't imagine what kids go through with the added use of social media.

I don't keep track of all the new middle grade books are being released, so I missed out reading the first entry in the Mean Girl Makeover series from author Nancy Rue. However, I did receive a review copy of the second book, titled You Can't Sit With Us, a few months ago. My first intent was to read this book as soon I received it, but life happened and I just got around to it yesterday.

The book centers on a sixth grader, Ginger Hollingberry, whom just started school at Gold Country Middle School. Due to her hand-me-down clothes and greasy red hair, she is targeted by the school bullies, including Kylie Steppe; despite the fact the GCMS student body all, except for Kylie, signed an anti-bullying pledge.

Everybody wants to have a Hollywood smile, but not everyone can afford or has the time to visit the dentist. There are many so-called whitening kits and strips on the market that are affordable, but finding one that actually works can be a bit of a challenge.

Over the last six months, I have tried several different kits and the latest was the Professional Teeth Whitening Kit from Green-Heart. This kit includes a tray, a storage container, 2 whitening gel syringes, a syringe tip and a LED Light.

Unlike other kits that I have tried, the mouth tray is only one piece, which is a softer, gel-like tray. You don't need an applicator for the product either. It's pretty easy to use. Just push out a small bead of the whitening gel within the tray, slip the tray over your teeth and leave it in your mouth for 15 to 20 minutes. You can also place the LED Light in front of the tray to help the whitening activate faster. It's recommended to wear the tray for 15 minutes twice a day for 4 weeks.

Easter Day is less than a week away and I'm sure many people will be busy this week picking up last minute things for the Easter dinner with your family or for the Easter Parties with your friends. While I'm sure chocolate bunnies and food coloring for the Easter eggs are at the top of your shopping list, you shouldn't forget to buy the essentials for any party - paper plates, napkins and plastic cutlery!

Last week, I was sent the Easter Patchwork Kit to review from Birthday In A Box. My family's Easter gathering is relatively small, so this 8 serving kit is perfect. It features 10 Patchwork Cake Plates, 24 Assorted Plastic Cutlery (8 forks, 8 knives, 8 spoons), 20 Patchwork Luncheon Napkins, 54 in. x 85 in. Patchwork Plastic Tablecover, 12 Birthday Candles and 2 - 81 ft. x 1.75 in Streamer (pink & yellow).

Harlock: Space Pirate
Director: Shinji Aramaki
Voice Cast: Shun Oguri, Haruma Miura, Yu Aoi
Studio: Ketchup Entertainment
Release Date: March 31, 2015
Retail: $20.99
ASIN: B00RDEISAA
Running Time: 111 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on DVD tomorrow from Ketchup Entertainment for the first time in United States is the 2003 Japanese 3D CG anime Harlock: Space Pirate. Directed by Shinji Aramaki (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Halo Legends, Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina), the film features the voices of Shun Oguri, Haruma Miura and Yo Aoi. The movie can be played with the original Japanese voices, an English subtitles version or with English dubbed voices. There are no special features or bonus extras on the disc.

Based on the manga series Space Pirate Captain Harlock by Leiji Matsumoto, the film centers on a young soldier, Yama, of the Gaia Coalition, whom is ordered to volunteer as a new member of Captain Harlock's renegade crew aboard the pirate spaceship Arcadia. Once he is trusted by them, he is to take out the Captain.


While his orders seem to be simple at first, Yama quickly realizes that Captain Harlock might not be the bad guy that the Gaia Coalition claims, especially after the Captain saves his life. He quickly learns that the startling truth of what really happened to Earth and he goes on a quest with the crew of the Arcadia to seek out justice.

While I'm sure by now that all my blog readers know that I'm a big book worm, but some of you may not know that I'm also a big music lover. For me, music is way to forget all my problems and just relax. I went through countless number of AA batteries listening to my Walkman and later a portable CD player throughout my teen years in the 90s. And of course I went through many different headphones.

Now as an adult, I continue to listen to to music daily. Even as I'm writing this, I'm listening to a Halestorm album on my laptop. While I no longer have a Walkman, I do listen to music on a MP3 player, my cell phone and on my stereo.


A weeks ago, I was sent a nifty pair of FSL Xylem headphones to review. These earbuds have a cool wooden look to them. It has a microphone and a small one-button remote, which gives you full control over your music tracks and your phone calls with just one click. It features a 3.5mm socket, so it's compatible with most smartphones, tablets, iPods, MP3 players and laptops, as well as a small storage bag.

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!

Which books have you read in the past month that still have you thinking back to the storyline and the characters?

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: 

 A Heart's Disguise by Colleen Coble as it is a short novella mini-series. Book One ended in a cliffhanger, so I'm eagerly looking forward to reading the second installment. 

The Berenstain Bears' Country Cookbook
by Mike Berenstain
Publisher: ZonderKidz
Pub. Date: February 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0310747208
Pages: 96
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

I'm sure most adults recall reading at least one Berenstain Bear book during their lifetime. While many children's literature characters come and go, The Berenstain Bears has been entertaining young readers since 1962. Sadly, the original authors, Stan & Jan Berenstain, have both passed away, but their son, Mike, has taken over the franchise by writing and illustrating new installments.

Available now in bookstores is The Berenstain Bear' Country Cookbook, which features 40 cub-friendly cooking with an adult. The hardcover book is divided into four sections - Breakfast, Lunch, Main Dishes and Desserts & Snacks. Before each section is a short introduction from The Berenstain Bears.

Breakfast recipes includes: Bear-ry Delicious Scones, Bunny Biscuits, Bear-y God Oatmeal, Crepes with Berries, Tasty Toboggans, Fruit Salad, Monkey Bread, Sausage & Tater Tot Wraps, Scotch Eggs and Toast With Eggs & Cheese.

Lunch recipes includes: Banana & Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup, Crustless Tuna Sandwiches, Lettuce Wraps, Mini Pizzas, Spinach Salads, Shepherd's Pie, Sub Sandwich, Tomato & Bacon Quiche and Turkey Shaped Sandwiches.

In the computer-dominated, mostly automated world we live in each one of us is granted an insane amount of free time; so much of it that our ancestors would hardly be able to conceive of. In this scenario many people are faced with the difficult question of what they should spend their spare time on and if there is something out there, we can call it a hobby or a leisurely activity, that will not only entertain you, but keep you brain as sharp as a slashermovie weapon.

Well, we have a suggestion that may sound unusual at first glance, but those who are more familiar with it would probably give it two thumbs up; we are referring to the game of poker. Are you still us? Good. The best part is that you don't even need to have a deck of playing cards or a set of chips to play with, because in the aforementioned computer-dominated world, playing poker is as easy as reaching for your smartphone, tablet or PC to download an app or just log into your favorite website.
A very good hand of poker


Poker is a game where there’s little room for luck despite what the unitiated tend to infer. Poker is all about the strategy and, while you can indeed try to brute-force it, the most likely outcome of the steamroll strategy is failure. Therefore, your best bet (pun intended) is to learn the ins and outs of the game so that you’ll be able to handle them like second nature and use them to your advantage.

If you have no idea where to start, online poker tutorials offer exactly what you need to get an initial feel for the game. It is highly recommended to begin with a list of the most common poker terms and their meaning. The access to the poker vocabulary will open many doors and put you in the best shape to move on to the next step and learn the much-dreaded poker rules, from which it’ll be progressively clearer that poker is a thinking game as much as chess is.

The thinking nature of poker is proven by the fact that, before you even realize it, the skills developed along the way of the learning process will all of a sudden click. At that point, whether you’re sitting at a high-stakes table in the Monte Carlo or playing a game at your local poker room, you’ll be delighted to reap some great benefits connected with game along with the natural enjoyment that

Digging Up The Marrow
Director: Adam Green
Starring: Adam Green, Ray Wise
Studio: Image Entertainment
Release Date: March 24, 2015
Retail: $27.97
ASIN: B00QHCKHQW
Running Time: 88 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on DVD & Blu-ray today from Image Entertainment is the found-footage horror flick Digging Up The Marrow. The film stars Adam Green (whom also wrote, produced and directed the movie) and Ray Wise (Twin Peaks, Jeepers Creepers 2). Special Features includes: Extended & Deleted Scenes; Monsters of the Marrow; Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Adam Green, Artist Alex Pardee, Cinematographer Will Barratt and Actor Ray Wise; And More!

In this faux documentary, Adam Green plays a fictional-version of himself as he attempts to make documentary about film monsters by interviewing horror fans, actors and directors. After receiving a fan letter from William Dekker (played by Ray Wise), a man who claims to have seen real monsters, Adam contacts him for an interview.

Along with his cameraman, Adam films several interviews with William, whom claims to have found the Marrow, a hole in the ground where monsters live. The monsters are deformed humanoids that only come out a night. While William has never been able to capture one of the creatures on film, he has had illustrations made that resemble each one he has seen.

Into The Woods
Director: Rob Marshall
Starring: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Borden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: March 24, 2015
Retail: $39.99
ASIN: B00Q7WBFTA
Running Time: 125 minutes
Rating: PG
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on Blu-ray and Digital HD this week is the critically-acclaimed all-star musical Into The Woods. Directed by Rob Marshall, the film stars Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Borden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine and Johnny Depp.

Bonus Features include: Never-Before-Seen Sodeheim Orginial: "She'll Be Back" - Meryl Streep preforms a song composed especially for the flim with an introduction by director Rob Marshall; The Cast As Good As Gold - The film's stars share the experience of taking this epic musical journey; Deeper Into The Woods - Four pieces on the making of the film, including "The Magic Of The Woods"; Filmmaker Commentary; Music & Lyrics and more!

Based on the popular Tony Award-winning Broadway Musical by Stephen Sondheim, Into The Woods puts a magical spin on classic fairy tales of Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel. A Baker (played by James Corden) and his Wife (played by Emily Blunt) dream of having a child of their own, but thanks to a nasty curse that was placed upon the Baker's family, they're destined to be childless that is until the Witch (played by Meryl Streep) gives them a chance for a happliy ever after. They're to venture into the forest to collect these items for the Witch: a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure as gold.

What seems like a simple task, turns into a nightmare when Red Riding Hood (played by Lilla Crawford) heads into the forest to visit her Grandmother (played by Annette Crosbie) and encounters the Big Bad Wolf (played by Johnny Depp). Of course Red Riding Hood comes across the Baker and his Wife.