Saturday, August 24, 2013

Yosuke's Review: Shampoo!

Soft and cuddly fur is a must for my little pupsey..  I'm a little crazy obsessive and neurotic about his fur ... I love how soft his fur is naturally but love to keep it that way too.  He's so light and creamy colored that he gets dirty so fast.  It just means a bath every week.  Which of course pupsey just LOVES.  heh.  Not.
Anyways, our current fav shampoo is Nature's Miracle Gently Puppy shampoo.  We have the 32oz bottle right now.

Clean your pooch with this puppy shampoo. The mild formula won't cause tears, and cleans and moisturizes your puppy's skin and coat. The shampoo rinses easily and leaves your puppy smelling fresh and clean.

Wash your pooch with puppy love with this NATURE'S MIRACLE Gentle Puppy Shampoo. Featuring a mild, tearless formula, the shampoo gently cleans and moisturizes your puppy's skin and coat. The Easy Rinse ODOR CLEAN System destroys odors and rinses easily to help reduce bath time. The long-lasting scent will leave your puppy smelling fresh and clean.

Our thoughts...

Love this shampoo!  It's very effective - always cleans super deep getting all of the dirt off, smells so good (like sunflowers!), rinses off super quick but lathers really well.  I know little Yosuke likes it too because bath time is much faster!  We have been using this product for years, on all of our puppies and kitties.  The price hasn't changed over the last 5 years either, which is always good!  Don't be fooled by the "puppy" label - works great on adult dogs too!  We purchase the 32oz bottle at PetSmart for only 11.99!

We give this pet shampoo 5 stars!

Happy Review Day!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Koontz Favs

I've been going through my book shelf and found so many older Dean Koontz books.  Here are my top fav Dean Koontz books.  I highly recommend all of them, especially if you love creepy mystery novels.

It's a fear more paralyzing than falling. More terrifying than absolute darkness. More horrifying than anything you can imagine. It's the one fear you cannot escape, no matter where you run...no matter where you hide. It's the fear of yourself. It's real. It can happen to you. And facing it can be deadly.

Fear for your mind.

One of Koontz's best-loved novels of psychological suspense, The Door to December takes readers into the darkest recesses of the human mind-and into the tempest of a father's obsession.

*DtoDec is one of the creepiest novels I've ever read. But it's incredible!*

The dead don't talk. I don't know why.” But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Odd Thomas thinks of himself as an ordinary guy, if possessed of a certain measure of talent at the Pico Mundo Grill and rapturously in love with the most beautiful girl in the world, Stormy Llewellyn. Maybe he has a gift, maybe it’s a curse, Odd has never been sure, but he tries to do his best by the silent souls who seek him out. Sometimes they want justice, and Odd’s otherworldly tips to Pico Mundo's sympathetic police chief, Wyatt Porter, can solve a crime. Occasionally they can prevent one. But this time it's different.

A mysterious man comes to town with a voracious appetite, a filing cabinet stuffed with information on the world's worst killers, and a pack of hyena-like shades following him wherever he goes. Who the man is and what he wants, not even Odd’s deceased informants can tell him. His most ominous clue is a page ripped from a day-by-day calendar for August 15.

Today is August 14.

In less than twenty-four hours, Pico Mundo will awaken to a day of catastrophe. As evil coils under the searing desert sun, Odd travels through the shifting prisms of his world, struggling to avert a looming cataclysm with the aid of his soul mate and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock 'n' Roll. His account of two shattering days when past and present, fate and destiny converge is the stuff of our worst nightmares—and a testament by which to live: sanely if not safely, with courage, humor, and a full heart that even in the darkness must persevere.

In Portland, he saved a young boy from a drunk driver.  In Boston, he rescued a child from an underground explosion.  In Houston, he disarmed a man who was trying to shoot his own wife.  Reporter Holly Thorne was intrigued by this strange quiet savior named Jim Ironheart.  She was even falling in love with him.  But what power compelled an ordinary man to save twelve lives in three months?  What visions haunted his dreams?  And why did he whisper in his sleep: There is an Enemy. It is coming.  It'll kill us all...?

A year had passed since little Danny's death - a year since his mother began the painful process of acceptance.  But Tina Evans could have sworn she just saw her Danny in a stranger's car... Then she dreamed that Danny was alive.  And when she awoke, she found a message waiting for her in Danny's bedroom - two disturbing words scrawled on his chalkboard: Not Dead.

One year after the heart transplant the saved his life, thirty-five-year-old Ryan Perry has never felt better.  He's getting back everything he nearly lost forever - his business, his life, and, with luck, his beloved girlfriend.  Miracles do happen.  The the unmarked gifts begin to arrive - a box of candy hearts, a heart-shaped pendant.  Most disturbing of all is a graphic heart-surgery video and its chilling message: Your heart belongs to me.  Ryan is being stalked by someone who feels entitled to everything he has.  She's the spitting image of the twenty-six-year-old donor of the heart beating steadily in Ryan's chest.  And she's come to take it back.

Rachael's request for a quick and clean divorce enraged her husband.  She had never seen Eric so angry, so consumed by pure and terrifying hatred.  Then, in the heat of the moment, Eric was struck down in a traffic accident.  His death was instantaneous.  Shocked and relieved, Racheael had nothing left to fear.  Until Eric's body disappeared from the morgue - and Rachael was stalked by someone who looked like her dead husband...

Spencer Grant had no idea what drew him to the bar with the red door.  He thought he would just sit down, have a slow beer or two, and talk to a stranger.  He couldn't know that it would lead to a narrow escape from a bungalow targeted by a SWAT team.  Or that it would leave him a wanted man.  Now he is on the run from mysterious and ruthless men.  He is in love with a woman he knows next to nothing about.  And he is hiding from a past he can't fully remember.  On his trail is a shadowy security agency that answers to no one - including the U.S. Government - and a man who considers himself a compassionate Angel of Death.  But worst of all, Spencer Grant is on a collision course with inner demons he thought he'd buried years ago - inner demons that could destroy him if his enemies don't first.

Michelina Bellsong is on a mission.  She is following a missing family to the edge of America... to a place she never knew existed...a place of terror, wonder, and shattering revelation.  What awaits her there will change her life and the life of everyone she knows--if she can find the key to survival.  At stake are a young girl of extraordinary goodness, a young boy with killers on his trail, and Micky's own wounded soul.

I've begun re-reading all of these this week.  I can't even tell you how many times I've read them and still find something new.  All of my copies look worn, and it's awesome!  What are your favorite Dean Koontz books?  Happy Reading!

Friday, August 16, 2013

BIY: Brownie In A Mug (Review!)

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have read some of my tweets on Tuesday all about this recipe.  I came across a recipe from Food.com called "Brownie in a Mug."  The recipe is super simple and tastes amazing!  Vegan friends and egg allergies, you can make this too - no eggs necessary!

I love to bake, but don't always want to make a full batch.  This recipe makes it soooo easy (and super fast) to fix my craving without making too much.  One mug-brownie took about 5 minutes to prep, mix and "bake."


Serves: 1 (could be two if you feel like sharing)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 pinch salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 tablespoons water
Microwave

Directions:
  •  Add all of dry ingredients to mug.
  •  Mix well with a fork or small whisk until blended.
  •  Add oil and water. 
  • Mix well (add mix-ins if using). 
  • Put in the microwave and cook on high heat for 1 minute 40 seconds - 2 minutes.
  • Add toppings or a scoop of ice cream and enjoy!
I topped mine with hot fudge and rainbow sprinkles (my fav combination!), let it cool for about 3 minutes and gobbled it up.  This was such an easy snack and so filling!  I "baked" it for the full two minutes, because I like my brownies to be more cakey.  If you want it to be super soft or goey, heat for less time.  Top with anything you want or add in something fun like orange, banana, peanut butter, chocolate chips, mint/choco chips, etc. to make it your very own creation.

I give this recipe 4 stars - it's not completely a "brownie" in my mind but super close!  Fudgy, goey, soft and yummy.  Be sure to follow the recipe to a T or else it will not turn out correctly.  Some mix-ins (such as marshmallow or jam) can compromise the integrity of the recipe, so I suggest adding those as a topping.  This recipe is great for college kids - especially those without any other source of cooking except a microwave.

Disclaimer: Food.com did not send this recipe to me for promotional purposes.  I made this recipe simply because I wanted brownies and was super curious to try it out.

Happy Baking!

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

My New Reading Habit - Genre First, Blurb Later

So many times I will look at a book and think... "eh, It doesn't sound great so it's not worth my time" or "The blurb doesn't grab my attention... so not even going to bother."  or worse yet... "The cover art is terrible.  Not worth it."  and just forget all about it.  Terrible right?  BUT what I often times forget is the amount of time and creative thinking it took to start and finish that very book.  The writing process is so much more in-depth than many of us non-authors can even begin to understand.

I've adopted a new reading habit - just pick a book at random based on the genre.  Not the blurb, not the cover art, not the author's name, not the popularity... just the genre.  Some of my favorite books have come out of this new way of thinking.  I've also found that I don't judge books as harshly.  It makes me unsure of what's going to happen, who/what will be in the book, etc.  I really like it!

But, Hily...how do you chose your next book?
When selecting a book, I simply think about what type of genre I'm in the mood for.  Next I go to that section of my Kindle (I have all my ebooks broken down by genre) and select one.  The only thing I allow myself to read before starting the book is the title.  I not only satisfy my want for that genre, but I find books that I never thought I would truly enjoy.  After I finish reading it, I go back and read the blurb and about the author.  It's so amazing how the blurb can vary so much from how the book actually felt to you.  There have been tons of books I would have passed up if I would have read the blurb first.

So... how do I actually purchase books you ask?  I simply select ones from genres I am running "low" on or genres that I like the most.  I also wait for them to be free or discounted down to less than $3.00.  Check out FreeBookDude and Pixel-Of-Ink for daily freebies and discounted gems.  Both of these sites screen their free/discounted ebooks for the best of the best.  So you can (almost) guarantee to find something you will enjoy - and for free!  

Now, I know this won't work for everyone.. but give it a try and see what happens.  Then let me know!  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  How do you select your next book to read?  Happy Reading!