BzzCampaign: Kroger Private Selection

I got into the Kroger Private Selection BzzCampaign and got my BzzKit last week.  I was finally able to get to the store yesterday.  This not having a car thing really sucks!  My BzzKit included coupons for three free items as well as several coupons for $2 off those same items.  With the $2 off coupons at my local store, this leaves these items under $2 each.  Great deal!

Anyway, I had never been to this Kroger before, since I've only been here in the house a couple of weeks.  It was a very unfamiliar layout. 

I did manage to find the PS frozen appetizers and the frozen desserts, but this store doesn't carry the PS frozen pizza.  The manager who helped me said that this was a small store and didn't carry everything.  (I thought it was a normal sized store, so I'm afraid to see a regular store by her standards.)  I picked out my few groceries and my Private Selection items - Northern Spy Apple Crisp, ice cream bars (look at lot like Dove bars), and little tiny quiches, plus a couple of other items.  

When I got to the register, the girl had trouble ringing the coupons, and it turns out that I could not use all my PS coupons in one trip.  Talk about annoying.  The same lady manager came to the register to help and she's the one who translated the couponspeak for me, and took back the items I had chosen for which I could not use coupons on this trip.

So, Kroger wants me to try their items and review them, but won't let me buy them all in on trip.  Not very useful, guys.  And grrrr.  We can't all just bop on down to the grocery store three times a week.

I got home with the quiches, the ice cream bars and the apple crisp.  The ice cream bars are wonderful!  The chocolate coating is the right thickness and very crunchy.  I love those, and plan to use another coupon next time I'm able to get to the store, though I might have to find another Kroger.

I have tried the PS ice cream before, the actual ice cream that comes in cartons, and found it tasty.  Not as good as my favorite, but a good alternative and much less expensive, particularly at Kroger.

The Private Selection items are packaged differently, in black, and look more elegant than the traditional Kroger store brand items.  I'd like to see the PS selection include some spices, maybe, the more unique ones, and maybe things like special dips or spreads, maybe even hummus.

I'll report more after I've had a chance to try the other items!

<img src="http://img.bzzagent.com/image/privateSelection.jpg?Type=activity&Activity=3221553847&Campaign=4752798868&Uid=143335&token=932a9633509ed2cd2457c6342aaced01" alt=""/>

Strange Dreams

Lately, I've been having trouble getting to sleep before 4AM, which makes it even more difficult to actually drag my ass out of bed (or technically, recliner) when my alarm goes off at 11AM.  This morning, just before my alarm went off, I was dreaming that I was sleeping on a couch in my room, and I heard some guy talking.  This guy (his name is Andrew) pushes open my bedroom door, thinking it was someone else's bedroom.  He notices that it's not the room he thinks it is and just stands there for a moment, I guess dumbfounded.  I smile at him and tell him he can turn on the overhead light, which he tries to do, but I had turned it off at the fan when I went to bed.    Mind you, in real life, I rarely tell anyone it's OK to turn on the overhead light, and most definitely not when I am still half-asleep.  I really don't much like overhead lights, particularly the ones they put in ceiling fans.  Anyway, he comes into the room and sits on the couch in front of my legs and picks up my hands and starts playing with them absentmindedly.  And then...the alarm went off.   In my dream, I was interested in this guy almost as soon as I saw him standing in the doorway with that goofy look on his face.

I tried to go right back to sleep so I could get back into the dream and see what happens next.  Sometimes that works for me.  Definitely didn't this morning.  Ah, well.

Home-schooling

Something I wrote as part of an application process for some online work.  If you happen to swing by and have thoughts, I'd love to hear them.  I did write this off the top of my head, with what little I know from friends and family on both sides of this fence.

Education is a hot topic for parents, today more than ever.  Public school systems come under fire for poor retention or "adjusting" test scores to garner more state and federal education money.  State and federal governments are at a loss how to fix an ailing system.

Aside from public education and charter schools, schooling at home, or home-schooling, is an option more and more parents are choosing for at least a portion of their children's education.

Home-schooling gives parents the freedom to choose classroom topics, to a great extent.  As long as the basics are covered (with quarterly to annual testing, depending on local requirements) to the state's satisfaction, home-schooling parents have the opportunity to increase the breadth of the student's learning to include religion, astronomy, philosophy, and so much more.  Such simple things as trips to the zoo can now become lessons in science or biology.  Committed parents and students can complete comparable lesson plans in half or a quarter of the time required in attending public school, leaving the remainder of the days free for other family activities.

A great deal of material is available on the internet, about home-schooling in general and including lesson plans for various subjects.  Parents on a budget can find free material, and other parents with larger budgets can buy comprehensive lesson plans for subjects with which they are unfamiliar.  Most school districts choose to offer home-schoolers inclusion in physical education activities or extracurriculars, and many areas have home-school cooperatives, where student may learn a subject or engage in sport activities together.

On the other hand, being a home-schooling parent nearly always requires that the teaching parent remain at home, so as to be available to the students during the day.  Even if the home-schooling parent works from home, rarely is the income as high as if that same parent were working a full-time job.  This lack of income can sometimes adversely affect home life, and to raise a family with only one income requires a great deal of commitment on the part of the entire family.

Public schools offer students a different socialization level, experienced teachers and a strict schedule.  Many parents prefer this for their children, and many children need the regimen to learn effectively.  It's easy to see, on a six-week schedule, how well or poorly the student is progressing, and where he or she needs help.  Students make life-long friends in public schools, and are able to participate in things like school dances and graduation events.  Many parents do not have the option to remain at home, particularly with more and more single parent families in this country.  In this case, public school or a charter school would the parent's most viable choice.

How to educate a child is one of any parent's most important priorities.  Each family must consider the options and make the choice that satisfies that family's needs in the best way possible.

Book: Effected Intent by Alan Ross

The premise of this book is a pretty good one:  bioterrorism coming from a disenfranchised segment of our own population.

Unfortunately, that's as good as it gets.  The books randomly wanders backward in time.  The "hero" of the book is primarily stuck emotionally as a teenager.  He calls the prison office manager mom, and he talks and thinks about girls like a chaste fifteen-year-old (except during the flashbacks).

The point of view changes from person to person, and without notice.  Everyone's thoughts, including a chemist and high-level alphabet agency personnel, are immature and remarkably random.  There's gratuitous sex, and by that I mean that a main character picks up a girl in a strip joint and abuses her, badly.  It's not too graphic, but it has nothing to do with the story, except to make it more obvious that the character's a bad guy.  I like sex in my books, but this was just totally unnecessary to the plot, and the scenes felt like afterthoughts.  Next time, author?  Just leave them out unless they serve a purpose.

The chemist is a Vietnam veteran, and his first experience with The Wall is poignant and touching and probably the best part of the entire book.

The case is solved, singlehandedly, by the "hero," who happens upon boxes full of current network information for a major chemical company.  Yeah, because some major American corporation is going to just print out usernames and passwords, toss the papers into boxes and send them to the recycler.  Said recycler just happens to be a prisoner who mines all that information to snoop on the company's network and outfox everybody, including a CIA agent.  I suspended my disbelief for the duration of the book, because many things were implausible, even to my non-secret-agent knowledge.

Once the case is solved and the bad guys are caught in the act, the book ends.  Fffffft!  No loose ends tied up, no resolution for any of the characters, just done.  Buh-bye.

Bottom line is, I could have enjoyed this book, and have enjoyed others which presented similar theorems.  Instead, I was relieved to get to the end of the book, so I could move on to something else.

This review was based on the Kindle edition of the book, for which I paid $0.00.

Book: Rescue Me by Sydney Allan

This was a really cute book, with rivalry between twin sisters, and animal rescues, and friends who are far more persistent than one finds really welcome.  The kind of persistence that in hindsight makes you know that those are the best friends you ever had.  However, I thought I was going to go into a diabetic coma from the saptastic last few pages.  Good grief!  I made myself slog through it, but sheesh.

I did find that the vast majority of the heroine's issues were resolved very neatly, quite unlike my life has ever been, and in the end, she did not face any challenges that really made her push herself far beyond her previous limits.

Her relationship with her family, the biggest obstacle in her way, was all a result of a complete lack of maturity (at 24, the horrors!) and a seriously bitchy mother who preferred her twin daughters to be at odds with each other.

Lest you get the impression that I did not enjoy the book, I did.  I just had a few minor quibbles.  Until the sappy ending.  lol

This was a very low-priced or free Kindle purchase on Amazon.

Book: Taken By Love by Mindi Winters

Good solid premise, but OMG the typos and grammar errors!!!!

Proofread and edit, people!  At least pay attention to those squiggly lines in MS Word.

Since I got a new phone, I've been reading much more using the Kindle for Android app.  I've noticed a disturbing trend in the Kindle editions - many more typos, more extra words, bad sentence structure.  Does publishing a book into an e-book format automatically release an author or publisher from the due diligence of providing as error-free a book as possible?

I think not, and I'm disappointed that so many of the books I read lately make me want to take a red pencil to my phone screen.

This book was the worst example I've yet to see among the dozen or so books I've managed to read over the last three weeks since I got my new phone.  Oy vey.

NaNoBloMo - Different Homes

blogHer writing prompt:  When was the first time that you realized that your home was not like other people’s homes?


I guess I was about twelve when I had a sleepover with a girl from school and noticed that her parents were so encouraging, not just to her, but to all of us.  No ideas were too stupid to share.  They were actually interested in what us measly ol' twelve-year-olds wanted to discuss.  It was very uncomfortable for me until the parents left us girls to our own devices.  I just didn't know how to deal with adults like that.

PSA: United Health Care's Solutions for Caregivers

It's not just older Americans that sometimes live alone and need help, but certainly we need to pay more attention to our elders.  SolutionsForCaregivers has lots of good information for people with elderly or disabled (or both) friends or family living nearby.

Did you know that:

19% of Americans age 65 and older live alone

• Just because you don´t live with your loved one, doesn´t mean you can't help them prevent household accidents. Take simple precautions such as placing water absorbent, non-skid mats on floors in front of sinks or encouraging your loved one to wear shoes that provide traction.

15% of Americans age 65 and older are unable to lift ten pounds, leading to a lack of mobility

• This can make even simple tasks like cooking dinner difficult for your loved one. Help offset this by placing appliances in easy-to-reach places and purchasing items such as a pasta pot with a built-in strainer that make everyday tasks easier

42% of Medicare enrollees age 65 and over have limitations in activities of daily living

• Activities such as grocery shopping can become more tedious as a loved one gets older so stock up on nutritious foods that won´t spoil to help make trips to the store less frequent.

19% of Americans over the age of 85 experience symptoms of depression

• One way to fight depression is by socialization, so engage family members in group activities such as cooking dinner together. Establish a new family tradition in the kitchen this holiday season and think of ways to include your loved one in the action, such as reading a recipe or sharing stories.

UnitedHealthcare cares for caregivers and these tips are just a few examples of the help available to you through Solutions for Caregivers. This resource can assist you whether your loved one is around the block or across the country. Visit www.WhatIsSolutionsForCaregivers.com for more information.

Harlequin coupon for eBooks!

Never be without a great book this month with our Ebooks Exclusive promotion: save 25% on any titles from the Ebook Store! Whether you're waiting for a flight, a doctor or even a never-ending mall lineup, make sure you're prepared with a good read. Enter the exclusive coupon code* SAVE25NOV11 on the Checkout page to redeem the offer. Start shopping now! 


—The Harlequin.com Team

BzzReport: Burt's Bees Sensitive Skin campaign

Yesterday, I finally got my BzzKit for the Burt's Bees Sensitive Skin BzzCampaign.

I got a full size Sensitive Skin Cleanser and Sensitive Skin Moisturizer, and eight samples/coupons to share with friends.

I tried both the cleanser and the moisturizer this morning.  The cleanser does moisturize - I could feel the difference in my skin, even while I was rinsing my face.   The cleanser is a little more liquid than I'm used to using, and I used a bit too much this first time.   It's not as effective on the oily patches right at the corners of my nose as I'm used to from my usual facial cleanser, but time will tell how the difference will show in my face.

The moisturizer is a little pump and needs a good bit of priming before any product actually emerges from the dispenser. It's actually less liquid than the cleanser, and I'll have to learn how much to use.  I'm not used to using a moisturizer, because I sweat so much it's just pointless.  Luckily, we're heading into cooler weather and I'll be able to give this moisturizer a really good effort.

Hours later, my skin feels good - soft - and I don't have any of the itchiness I frequently have on my face once the dryness sets in.

The campaign ends on Tuesday, so I'm thankful I got this package in before the due date.  :D

Who wants a sample?

<img src="http://img.bzzagent.com/image/burts.jpg?Type=activity&Activity=8693751420&Campaign=6466804197&Uid=143335&token=37fbd0376bf0a8bdf1370108b060b9cf" alt=""/>

To Pen or To Pencil

I think yesterday's BlogHer prompt was about whether one prefers to use a pen or a pencil when writing, you know, on paper, like in the olden days.

Well, I still write on paper like in the olden days, and I definitely prefer a pen.  I am a pen whore.  I have to try out lots of pens, then when I find one I like, I have to use that kind forever and ever, Amen.  It does depend what kind of paper on which I am writing, and why I am writing.  I mean, do I need a smooth, fancy line, or big, bold letters?

I'll use a pencil sometimes, too, but it's got to be a mechanical pencil, and pretty much only when using a pencil is required by some obscure rule.  I even do crosswords with pen.

Hmmmm.  My Amazon search box isn't working.  Brat.

State of Mind

Depression has been a part of my life for so long, I don't remember how to really be happy.  With or without medication, my depression runs in cycles, from just generally depressed to really, really depressed.  Kind of like my own special version of manic/depressive disorder, only without the manic phase.  Without medication, those really, really depressed times are especially debilitating.

This year, in addition to moving into a depressing time of year, I'm having a rough emotional patch with changes in my family situation and changes in my life.  Seems like I cry at the drop of a hat (or the blink of an eye) and have trouble just doing basic things like bathing and feeding myself.

Depression is not going to win this war, but I worry that this will be the year it wins a major battle for a piece of me.

Changes

By some fluke of television programming, I watched the season finale of Criminal Minds where JJ is reassigned to the Pentagon.  So, that was the end of the '09-'10 season?  I had read a few things online and knew that for part of the following season, JJ was not a part of the BAU team.  Seeing it was so much more emotionally gripping than just reading about the changes in the cast.  Anyway, part of her exit interview voiceover resonated with me and I had to write it down.

"This isn't what I want, but I'll take the high road.  Maybe it's because I think of everything as a lesson, or because I don't want to walk around angry.  Or maybe it's because I finally understand.  There are things we don't want to happen but have to accept.  Things we don't want to know but have to learn.  And people we can't live without but have to let go."

My life has been full of those things, and like them or not, they've had a strong influence over who I am today.  I wasn't always so 'zen' about them.  I fought change tooth and nail, railed against injustices to me and generally hated the world. At some point, I chose to see lessons in things and make an effort to be and see positivity around me, regardless of the "reality" bombarding me at every turn.


I'm on the outs with my family.  I don't really know why.  I know what I've been told, but there's something else, unarticulated, at the heart of it.  I didn't want this to happen, but I'm learning I have to just accept it and move on.  My relationship with my core family will never be the same, and it's their loss, but it's mine, too.

I don't want to know anything about child abuse or pedophilia, and I've had to learn them anyway.  Those things in particular have taught me a lot about how strong I am and how much I want to survive regardless of the obstacles.  My experiences have shaped me, and more important to me, have helped other people when I've shared them.


My daughter is married now, with a just-now one-year-old son, and is moving to Italy with her Air Force husband.  I never thought I'd have to lose that relationship until I died, but I have.  As an extension, I've lost my relationship with my only grandchild.   That one is hitting the hardest.  I don't understand it at all.  This change can't all be chalked up to teenage rebellion or new marriage or new baby or adjusting to military life or moving to a new home/city/country, though those are easy excuses readily at hand.  So I'm attempting to let go with love and see what I can learn from this hurtful experience other than "keep your heart closed - no hurt that way."


So, last night, I cried watching those last few minutes of Criminal Minds.  Today, I cry again, thinking about why those words were so powerful.

Who we are

Scars remind us where we've been. They don't have to dictate where we're going.


Scars I've got aplenty.  My life has been full of bad things, good things and things right down the middle of the road.


For some reason, the bad things stick in my memory more readily.  Sometimes, when the bad things revisit, I'm reminded that I believe things happen for a reason.  I'm a survivor.  Without those previous experiences, I'd be handling new challenges differently, less well.


Not that I'm exactly handling all the new changes in my life in an exemplary manner, but I'm adapting more easily than I might otherwise.


I know, a more complete update is in order.  I'm not really ready to write about all of it yet.

SIGH

Much drama and big move.  Back soon as possible.

Directions

I created this blog originally to share my struggles, in the hopes that someone out there could at least know that they are not alone.  It's sort of turned into book review central.  I'm hoping to get back to my original plan, and to blog more.  I haven't been making time to blog a little each day.  Anyway, if you read my blog, just thought you'd like to know.  lol

Little update

So, last week, I had a little health scare and went to the ER.  This was a big deal for me, because I have no health insurance, and I'm still don't want to think about how to pay for it.

Anyway, I have a kidney stone.  Lucky me, it's 7mm, and according to the doctor, too big to pass naturally.  Yay?

I've also decided that I read way too many books to review each and every one here.  So, I might include what else I've read in a review, but I'm only going to actually write reviews where I want to say something about that book, unless it's one where I'm supposed to write a review, such as for bloggingforbooks or one of the other free books in exchange for review sites.

Also, I'm on G+, if you want to find me.

Book Review: Raintree trilogy

Raintree: Inferno / Sanctuary / Haunted




I got this one from my wishlist at paperbackswap.com.

It's an interesting trilogy, with each story about a Raintree family member.  The Raintree and the Ansara are more than human, and each member of each clan has "gifts."  The Raintree believe in using their gifts for good and in helping humankind, though they live as human, with none the wiser.  The Ansara are believed to be more every-man-out-for-himself, and some members of the clan are just plain bad.

The first and second stories come to rather abrupt ends, and the third and final story ties them all together at the end.  If you read and enjoy books with a paranormal twist, you should enjoy these, at least a little.  :)

Inferno is written by Linda Howard. Haunted is by Linda Winstead Jones.  Sanctuary is by Beverly Barton.  All three are fairly big names in the Harlequin world.  Thumbs Up.

Book Review: a trio of freebies

Murder in Georgetown by Margaret Truman.  I've read other of Ms. Truman's books, such as Murder at 1600, and I always enjoy her insider's look at the shenanigans of Washington, D.C.  Thumbs Up.

Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch and Smokin' Six-Shooter by B.J. Daniels.  Both of these are from Harlequin's Intrigue line.  B.J. Daniels writes reliably good romantic suspense.  Thumbs Up.

By Invitation Only - an anthology with Lori Wilde as the top-billed author.  This is from Harlequin's Blaze line.  I got this one as a freebie at my monthly book club meeting, from a friend (Jillian Burns) who's short/novella is included in the anthology.  The stories are based around a high-profile celebrity wedding, and each story has a little adventurous romance built into the storyline.  I enjoyed them all.  Thumbs Up.

Quartet of library books

Dog Tags by David Rosenfelt - pretty cute little murder mystery about a soldier-turned-thief (I know, weird premise) who survives on the streets with his former K-9 partner, until he witnesses a murder.  It's written in an easy, friendly style, and is a great beach read.  Not too deep, fun, and dogs.  Thumbs Up.

The Search by Nora Roberts - survivor of a serial killer moves to an island in the US Northeast and makes a living training dogs, for regular owners and for search and rescue teams.  Then, even though the killer is in prison, girls start getting killed using the same signature.  MUCH of the book is taken up with dog training lessons, and I found it interesting, personally.  Such lessons are applicable to my nine-month-old grandson, as well.  lol  It was a good murder mystery, with not many surprises, with an interesting romantic couple as the main characters.  Thumbs Up.

Indulgence in Death by J.D. Robb - another Eve Dallas book, which starts with Eve and Roark on vacation in Ireland, visiting his family.  Of course, there's a murder, and Eve is involved peripherally.  But wait until she gets home!  I really like the In Death series, and have found only a few that did not live up to my expectations.  This one does.  Thumbs Up.

Beyond 2012: The Omega Point by Whitley Streiber.  An interesting take on "post-apocalypse" life as it relates to predicted events in Revelations, or what I remember of Revelations.  The concepts are good, with an enjoyable writing style, though there were a few bits that dragged a wee bit.  There are thirty pages of author's note, which I did not get to finish because the book was due, but I skimmed it thoughtfully and found some really cool information/theories/hypotheses.  Thumbs Up.

Dog Tags
The Search
Indulgence in Death
The Omega PointThe Omega Point 
The Search