Mar 2 2012

Fun, flirty hair: Goody Heat Wave Creator Styling Iron

I was intimidated when I first picked up the Goody Heat Wave Creator Styling Iron to use it. I didn’t think I’d be able to figure it out. I do have to say that my preferred curling iron, though, is a Marcel one. That’s the kind without the clamp on it. The "professional" one. But since my last one broke, I haven’t been able to find a decent replacement so I’ve been using a flat iron.

What I do is flat iron my hair first. Maybe you can skip this step, but since I’m African-American, and I wash, wrap, and air dry my own hair, it needs more straightening first. After I flat iron it, I’ve figured out that the easiest way to use this is to hold the hair I want curled with hard on that side of my head. So if I’m working on the left side of my head, then I hold my parted hair in my left hand, grab the curling iron with my right hand, turn it upside down, and the twirl my hair around the barrel using my left hand. The one thing you’ll want to do is leave about 1/2 to 1 inch of hair NOT curled at the very end of your hair. That avoids burns on your fingers. Ask me how I know this.

IMAG0164What I’ve discovered – this is probably meant for longer hair than mine. My hair is shoulder length, maybe an inch past my shoulders. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to get the waves – but it works. I don’t see in the product description that it’s meant for longer hair, but the model does have longer hair. Smaller parts makes curlier curls. To avoid standing in front of the bathroom sink for hours, I only curled the "top" part, or crown, part with a few other curls surrounding those. Larger (wider) parts make wavier curls. To get this look it takes much less time. The problem for me with shoulder-length is that the wavier curls don’t make much curl at all. They’re there, just not a lot.

I like this curling iron. It works very well. You might burn your finger as you get used to it, but if you’re a quick reactor, it won’t be bad. For the length of my hair, a shorter barrel would be perfect!

Now Coco says I need to work on my gray hair. But I probably won’t. The cycle of relaxer then hair color every 3 weeks is horrible. Plus about a week after I color my hair, the gray is back. I’m too frustrated to continue that.

Mar 1 2012

Question about Prescription Sunglasses

I told you before that I bought my 2 most recent pair of glasses online. I spent about $65 total and had them in my hands within 2 weeks. They’re cute, and the quality is just fine. I’ve had them for almost a year, at this point. I could probably get another few pair, if only to change them up based on what I’m wearing (who am I kidding – this is unlikely to happen, but it’s fun to think that I would do this).

But the weather outside is getting better. It’s getting hotter. And I still – at 40 – don’t have a “good” pair of sunglasses. So here is my question – Are tinted glasses the same as sunglasses? If I get a pair of prescription glasses, tiny them darker brown or gray, does that automatically turn them into sunglasses – or is there a coating on sunglasses separate from the tint, which make them sunglasses? It’s sunny in SC. I have a co-worker who wears sunglasses 365 days/year. I don’t think that will be me, but it would be nice to be able to walk outside and change out my regular glasses for subclasses.

Because, if I can turn regular prescription glasses into sunglasses, then I can get the special being offered at Zenni Optical. They’re offering B2G1F. With prices starting at $4.95, I just might take a look.

Feb 28 2012

#bookreview I Know a Librarian Who Chewed on a Word

Book: I Know a Librarian Who Chewed on a Word

Author: Laurie Knowlton

Illustrator: Herb Leonhard

ISBN: 978-1589808928

Pages/Price: 32/$16.99

Category: Juvenile Fiction

About I Know a Librarian Who Chewed on a Word

It’s been said that librarians take their love of books to the extreme. In this story, Miss Devine, a bun-wearing bibliophile, has a passion for literacy that reaches new heights. She has actually chewed on a word, claims one small witness to this outrageous event. And as the children gossip in a suspenseful build up, dying to know which word set off this smorgasbord, we discover that Miss Devine has munched her way through the whole library. In the manner of “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,” she has downed a book shelf, table, chair, cart, and a copy of Peter Pan trying to chase down this savory assemblage of letters. What is that word?

Our Thoughts on I Know a Librarian Who Chewed on a Word

I thought I would like this book better. My daughters and I are very familiar with "’There was an old lady who swallowed a fly, but I don’t know why she swallowed a fly…” We really enjoy the rhymes. But we weren’t so excited about this book. It’s a cute book, but I just didn’t love it. And neither did my daughters. My 6-year old was turning the pages faster than I could read them, but it wasn’t because she was excited about the book; she was trying to get it over with and move on to the next one.

The illustrations are fun, and a bit exaggerated, which we all liked.

I give this book 3 stars out of 5. I wish I liked it better.

About the Author of I Know a Librarian Who Chewed on a Word, Laurie Knowlton

Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton has authored more than thirty-five books. Her best-selling children’s book Why Cowboys Sleep with Their Boots On won the Premier Print Award from Eastman Kodak. Art from another one of her picture books, Red, White, and Blue, has been displayed by the Robert L. and Posy Huebner Collection and was highlighted on Martha Stewart’s radio station. An international speaker, Knowlton loves kicking back on her ranch, Roots ’n Wings.

About the Illustrator of I Know a Librarian Who Chewed on a Word, Herb Leonhard

Herb Leonhard received a bachelor of fine arts in illustration from the Pacific Northwest College of Art. His award-winning work has appeared in D Magazine, among other publications. He is also the illustrator of Pelican’s Way Out West on My Little Pony, St. Patrick and the Three Brave Mice, A Southern Child’s Garden of Verses, Leonardo’s Monster, and I Know a Librarian Who Chewed on a Word. Leonhard lives in Prosser, Washington.

Disclosure Policy

Feb 28 2012

#bookreview A is for Alliguitar By Nancy Raines Day @PelicanPub

A is for Alliguitar By Nancy Raines Day
Book: A Is for Alliguitar: Musical Alphabeasts

Author: Nancy Raines Day

Illustrator: Herb Leonhard

ISBN: 978-1455615575

Pages/Price: 32/$16.99

Category: Juvenile Fiction, Children’s Picture Book

 About Alliguitar By Nancy Raines Day

From mandolions and rhinoboes to gorillutes and newtubas, twenty-six wacky alphabeasts join a musical safari. Through humorous rhymes, this book presents a cross between an animal and a musical instrument for each letter of the alphabet. A llama and maracas come together to create llamaracas, a lynx and a violin form the violynx, while the saxofox stems from a fox and a saxophone. Young readers will laugh at the zany illustrations.

Our review of Alliguitar By Nancy Raines Day

This book was so fun! My 6 year old was all over this book. She interacted with the names of the animal-instruments, the crazy combinations of the animals and instruments, and what the “real” animal and instruments names are – some of which were new to her. She recited the alpahbet to make sure all the letters were included, she pointed out the really funny ones to her sister, and she totally enjoyed the book from beginning to end. She loved the silliness of the pictures and had a great time explaining to me how the animals matched up with the instruments. I honestly don’t think we’ve had this much fun with a book in awhile.

I, as a parent, loved it myself. It was beyond creative, and it seemed to have a jazzy, Cajun style to it, which I loved. The illustrations were fun, and beautiful.

We will be reading this book over and over again. (And it doesn’t hurt that the author and I attended the same college!)

About the Author of Alliguitar, Nancy Raines Day

Nancy Raines Day is a freelance editor and a picture book consultant for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. After earning her BA in journalism from the University of Michigan, she earned a master’s degree in literacy journalism from Syracuse University. Day is a member of the Authors Guild and lives in St. Simons Island, Georgia.

About the Illustrator, Herb Leonhard

Herb Leonhard received a bachelor of fine arts in illustration from the Pacific Northwest College of Art. His award-winning work has appeared in D Magazine, among other publications. He is also the illustrator of Pelican’s Way Out West on My Little Pony, St. Patrick and the Three Brave Mice, A Southern Child’s Garden of Verses, Leonardo’s Monster, and I Know a Librarian Who Chewed on a Word. Leonhard lives in Prosser, Washington.

Disclosure Policy

Feb 24 2012

DIY Gardening Aids

I don’t know about you, but it’s getting expensive buying containers, plants, and soil for my garden. I’ve been reusing containers from previous years, begging for more at the local nurseries, and buying some new ones. The city I live in offers inexpensive compost, BUT you can only pick it up during small windows on time during the business week AND they’re used to selling it to people with truck beds, not single moms in compact cars. And I’m not used to buying soil where I have to shovel it into the truck of my car myself. Ya dig?

IMAG0077So I get excited when I see Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects on the internet, which provide instructions on building your own gardening containers, “growing” your own soil (using compost and worm composting), and building your own furniture. For me, the challenges are that I’m renting, I only have a deck (although it’s huge), and the majority of my deck is surrounded by tall, tall, trees. So I don’t want to spend a lot of money back there; I’d prefer to save money by building or constructing my own gardening containers and furniture.

When you’re growing fruits, vegetables, and plants in containers, the water evaporates more quickly than when you’re planting in the ground. So a shortened polypropylene pipe with small holes drilled all over the sides, pushed at an angle into the soil in the container, can be used as a watering stick to make sure water gets to the roots of your plants. You can also use it to gauge the amount of water left in the pipe.

Also, when you combine the  4′” pipes with PVC Fitting, you can make a strawberry tower. And that would be my dream plant (next to my 4 lemon trees).

Are you a DIY’er in the gardening area? What do you build yourself vs. buy?

Feb 24 2012

FIRST Wild Card Tour: Creative Slow-cooker Meals by Cheryl Moeller

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:
and the book:
Harvest House Publishers; Spi edition (February 1, 2012)
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cheryl Moeller is a seasoned mother and a standup comic. She is also a syndicated columnist with her own blog (www.momlaughs.blogspot.com) and contributes monthly to several online parent websites. Cheryl has coauthored two books on marriage with her husband and has written for www.mops.org and Marriage Partnership. Cheryl does comedy for parenting classes, MOPS groups, wedding or baby showers, church retreats, women’s conferences, and those in line at the grocery store.

Visit the author’s website.



SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

From the celebrated coauthor of The Marriage Miracle comes a new kind of cookbook and a new attitude toward planning meals. With an eye toward the whole menu, not just part of it, columnist Cheryl Moeller teaches cooks to use two crockpots to easily create healthy, homemade dinners.

Don’t worry about your dinner being reduced to a mushy stew. Each of the more than 200 recipes has been taste-tested at Cheryl’s table. Join the Moeller family as you dig into:

  • Harvest-time Halibut Chowder
  • Salmon and Gingered Carrots
  • Mediterranean Rice Pilaf
  • Indian Chicken Curry
  • Apricot-Pistachio Bread
  • Shrimp Creole
  • Rhubarb Crisp

… and many more! Perfect for the frazzled mom who never has enough time in the day, Creative Slow-Cooker Meals gives readers more time around the table with delicious, healthy, frugal, and easy meals!

 

Product Details:
List Price: $14.99
Spiral-bound: 272 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers; Spi edition (February 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736944915
ISBN-13: 978-0736944915

 

AND NOW…THE FIFTH CHAPTER (click on pages to enlarge):