The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan is a companion book to her first YA novel The Forest of Hands and Teeth.  It is a continuation of the story but not so much a sequel.  It is the story of Gabrielle, Gabry for short, and her life living with her mother in the lighthouse on the ocean where the mudo (unconsecrated from the first book) wash up on to the shore and must be decapitated before they 'wake up' and get into the village they live in.  This is the job of Gabry's mom, Mary... Yes, this is the same Mary from Forest of Hands and Teeth, many years later, I'm guessing at least 25 years... we never actually find out.

Gabry is the opposite of Mary, she is quiet and shy and has no desire to see anything outside of their village.  She believes in the rules that are set and follows them knowing it keeps her safe from the mudo.  One night, after succumbing to peer pressure from her best friend and many others, they climb the wall built to protect the city so they can go to an amusement park just outside that was long since abandoned to the undead.  Things start out mild and chaos quickly breaks out which leads to several teens being bitten and many more being held by the local autorities for breaking very strictly enforced rules. 

The rest of the story leads through a roller coaster of emotions as well as issues of loyalty, love and abandonment.  I found that I enjoyed Dead Tossed Waves much more than Forest of Hands and Teeth, mostly because I loved the protagonist.  Gabry was so much easier to empathize with and want to follow than Mary was.  This book actually allows us to open up and understand Mary a little more and see a different side of her. 

Overall the book is written well and moved along allowing the characters to grow and adapt to different situations.  I would recommend this to people that enjoy post-apocalyptic style YA books, but I would definitely recommend reading Forest of Hands and Teeth first if you haven't already.  There are references to the first book in this second one, nothing that requires that you read it but it would just fill in a few gaps for you in the story telling.

For my Christian friends that read my reviews for either yourself or your daughters here is my opinion on that matter.  Unconsecrated or Mudo, depending on the book you're reading, are Zombies.  They are walking dead that are infected with a virus that takes over their body and keeps it "alive" while the person is actually gone.  Definitely not a Christian theme.  You'll have to use your judgement on your own child reading these books.  There are a couple of instances where Gabry kisses a guy, nothing intense and nothing more sexual than that.  There is a lot of physical altercations and injuries while dealing with the undead.  There is a cult in the book that worships the Mudo because they believe they are the way to everlasting life... definitely not a good thing. 

Project 365...

So I just heard of this whole 365 thing (yeah, I'm kinda slow... I know it), and I was thinking that since I use my camera almost daily anyway, I might as well turn a few of the pics into blog posts.  To start it off I took pictures last night while my boys were playing.  They can always make me smile (and scream, but last night it was mostly smile).  So here's the picture I was feeling last night of my beebee.  My youngest and cutest, mostly because he is the youngest.

Next is today's picture.  In honor of the momentous occasion of making my very first smoothie all by myself without a little frozen kit, I took a picture of the stuff thrown into it.  I have to say that it actually tasted pretty good after I added a little agave nectar to sweeten it up a bit.  It's gonna take some practice to actually make it taste good enough for Kara to drink it, she's a tough one to please lately when it comes to snacks and stuff.

Torment by Lauren Kate

Torment is the second book in a series written by Lauren Kate, the first book being Fallen .  You can read my review of Fallen by clicking the link, do not read this review unless you have already read the first book.

Luce is beginning to accept her role in the supernatural world amongst angels and half-angels.  Nothing much surprises her anymore after what happened at Sword & Cross.  Now the angels have placed her in California at a rich private school that is populated by mostly humans but has a special group that, unknown to the people, are nephilim... half angel.  Her roommate is Shelby, a nephilim teen.  With the help of Shelby and Miles, the good looking nephilim guy because we all know Luce has to have someone to pull her affection from Daniel, Luce goes on an adventure to explore her past lives and try to figure out why, through all of those lives and subsequent deaths, she has stuck with Daniel instead of choosing to lead a normal life with a human that could allow her to actually live.  Along the way she knows that she is hurting Daniel by exploring these thoughts but she also knows she owes it to herself to finally get some answers. 

Torment seemed to be a little better than Fallen for me.  I'm not sure exactly what it was, possibly that it moved along a little more, gave a little more information, wasn't a constant 'Which boy do a choose?' situation.  Luce was really questioning things and wanting to find the right path for herself regardless of what everyone else tells her her fate will be.  Just because the Luce's of the past loved Daniel and died for him doesn't mean this present time Luce must do the same.  Luce learns new things from her angel teachers and her half angel friends and gains new confidence. 

This book was well-written and continues on pretty smoothly from the first book.  If you read Fallen and liked it then Torment is definitely worth the time to read, but be prepared to recieve only a few more puzzle pieces.  As I said in my review of Fallen, it was like an incomplete puzzle... Torment is definitely not a completion of that puzzle and leaves a lot hanging, making us wait for the third book.  As with the first book, I was certainly not pleased with the ending.  Nothing makes me more frustrated than a series of books that each individual novel cannot stand on it's own merit.  These books do not tell a complete story on their own which makes it difficult to truly enjoy each one separate of the others.  If you haven't begun reading these books yet then I recommend you wait until the third comes out to read them all at once.  I'm assuming that since you've read this review that you've already finished Fallen, in which case you should go ahead with Torment because you'll get a few new tidbits of info and have an interesting story to fill some spare time, but don't expect any big revelations.  It will be another waiting game...

Yumm-o Pumpkin cookies!

I just finished baking the yummiest cakiest deliciousiest (yeah, yeah... so it's not a real word) pumpkin cookies.  I found a recipe and tweaked it... here is the revised recipe the way I made it.

Start the frosting first because it needs a long time to cool (learned the hard way, lol):
Melt 6 Tbsp of butter
8 Tbsp of milk
1 cup of packed brown sugar
until the mixture is fully dissolved then completely cool it.

For Cookies...
Cream together:
2 cups of butter (recipe called for shortening and I don't use shortening EVER)
2 cups white sugar
1 can of pumpkin or equiv. of 2 cups

Add 2 eggs and beat until fully mixed... a minute or two

Add mixture of:
4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or use all spice or pumpkin pie spice)
1 tsp salt

Mix for 2 minutes

Drop spoonfuls onto parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes each.  Until the tops are 'dry' looking but not turning brown.

While cookies are baking and once the brown sugar mixture is cooled....
Add 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups confectioners sugar

Spread frosting on cookies and enjoy! 

They have a wonderfully moist cake texture not to mention BUTTER!  ;)  I love butter. 

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok is a wonderfully written, inspiring story about a girl and her mother who immigrate to the United States from Hong Kong with nothing to their names and knowing very little English.  Kimberly Chang is a 10 yr old girl who has lived through a lot in her short life.  Her father has died and her mother has just gotten over having Tuberculosis.  Her aunt and uncle in America have paid their way for them to legally move to the U.S. and attempt to start a new life.  Upon arriving in the new country they find that things aren't as wonderful as they thought.  They are in a shabby apartment with no heat, which is a terrible thing in a New York City winter.  Kim must go to a regular American public school knowing hardly any English and manages to not only pass but to thrive and gain acknowledgement. 

Kim was a top scholar in her school in Hong Kong and now spends all of her free time either working in the sweat shop with her mother to make a few pennies per item while finishing clothing to be shipped out for sale, or working hard on her homework, even reading the dictionary, to learn the language that is going to their ticket out of the slum they live in.  At a young age Kim is torn between the culture her mother knew and is trying to raise her in in Chinatown and the American culture where people say what they think show their true colors without fear. 

Girl in Translation follows Kim and her mother, as well as a few other key characters, through a span of 20 years and kept me captivated from beginning to end.  Kwok writes such a realistic portrayal that even I, as an average white american housewife, can identify and feel a connection with poor Ah-Kim as she goes through her life remaining respectful of her mother's wishes and still attempting to become a part of American teenage life. 

I completely enjoyed reading this story and found it to be a simple, easy read that allowed me to relax and completely immerse myself into the world of these immigrants as they worked to become naturalized citizens and strive for the dream of all Americans... Freedom.  Freedom from fear, Freedom from the grips of poverty, Freedom from the weight of expectations. 

My $14 Walgreens trip....

Here are a few pictures of what I got and then I will explain how I got it and how you can get it too!!  :)



Above you see the little caramels that are 39 cents.  Walgreens (and most stores) have a policy of using no more coupons than you have items being purchased.  This means that when you are using Manf coupons AND have the reward bucks to use you will have to use a 'filler' item to put extra things on your reciept.  This is what I choose to use.  The Oral B Cross Action Toothbrushes were in the sunday paper coupon insert.  There was a Buy one get one free coupon a few weeks ago I've been holding on to, then there was the Save 75 cents on one coupon.  Combining the two together in this transaction with the sale of $3.99 each I got them for $1.62 each.



Above you will see 3 bottles of Vaseline Sheer Infusion lotion which is on sale for 5.99.  It has a $2 sticker coupon on the bottle (don't forget to peel it!) AND there is a $5 reward coupon that prints out after your purchase.  You must purchase each bottle separately as only one coupon will print per transaction!!  After rewards and $2 coupon it's a $1 moneymaker.  The 2 bottles of Tilex and 2 containers of clorox wipes are 2/$5 this week with a $2 reward coupon printing out when you buy 2.  There is a $1 off 1 Tilex coupon and $1 off 1 clorox wipe coupon that I will have links for at the bottom.  Leaving these things at 50 cents per bottle after all coupons and rewards.

There are 2 bottles of Hylands Cold n Cough for children.  They are on sale for $5 and I got a $2 off coupon plus there is a $5 reward that prints.  You must purchase each bottle separately and I will put a link to the coupon on the bottom of the page.  This is a $2 moneymaker.  The Pantene Beautiful Lengths conditioner is on sale $4 plus it's BOGO 1/2 off.  Which means $6 for 2.  I had a $2 coupon from the P&G insert mailing. (I don't know how you'd get one now) Then there was a $2 register reward which made these $1 per bottle for me.

Walgreens brand pain relievers are BOGO free and cost $4 for 100 ct bottles, making them only $2 after discount.  The kraft homestyle mac n cheese is on sale for 1.99 and there are $1 coupons on the kraft website.  I will try to get the link on here if it is still available.  Some of these coupons aren't out anymore.  That makes those bags of super creamy, yummy mac n cheese only 99 cents.  The Charmin is on sale for $2.99 with a limit of 3 and I had a 50 cent coupon from the P&G mailing.

*******************************************************************************

Here are a list of the links for coupons available online.  I highly recommend that any of you interested in couponing and cutting your grocery and supply bill significantly get at least one subscription to your local newspaper.  You can often get good deals by calling them up and talking to a person.  I got an entire year, 7 days a week for only $100.  The Sunday paper alone in Las Vegas costs $3 a week.  So I am getting it delivered to my driveway every day for less than $2 a week!  Can't beat that.  :)  Invest in a printer if you don't already have one.  I have figured that I print out about $300 in coupons for every $40 that I spend in ink.  For those that say it's a waste of ink... it's only a waste if you're not using the coupons.  Buy paper at the office stores when they are cheap and on sale.  I stock up when they are $2-$3 a ream.  I have about 4 packs of paper in my closet right now. 

Here are links to some of the coupons you can use for the items above...

Clorox Wipes:  You will have to "like" clorox on Facebook to get the coupon for the wipes and make sure you hit the back browser 3 times after the first print and it will print you a second one.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/Clorox?v=app_155211227838269&ref=ts

Tilex spray bottles:  You may have to go through a few pages to find it but it's in there.  You can only print 1 per computer so if you have multiple computers just print one from each to make the deal I showed above.

 http://www.coupons.com/

Hyland's Cough n Cold for children:  You will have to register on this site and select the coupon.  It will be emailed to you and you can print as many copies as you want.  I hope it's still listed.  I just printed mine yesterday but sometimes the coupons go fast.
http://www.healthesavers.com/HealthESavers/Coupons.aspx?ViewAll=1

Kraft Homestyle:  I will give you a couple of links to try for the Kraft coupons.  Since I have already printed them I have no way of knowing which one will still have it available.
http://www.kraftfirsttaste.com/default.aspx
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/


Another couple of tips for shopping at walgreens when using the rewards...

• You cannot use reward coupons to pay for the same item that just gave you the reward and still get another reward coupon.  Example.  You can't buy the vaseline lotion, then use the $5 reward to buy the next vaseline lotion, because it will not print out another $5 reward since it knows you just got one. 
• You CAN use the reward immediately following your purchase on a different item.  Example.  Alternate purchasing the Vaseline lotion and the Hyland's Cough n Cold and continually use the $5 rewards on the next purchases.  Stick in a few other purchases (tilex or clorox) with each and when you check out each time your total should only be a dollar or two. 
• Don't forget the little caramels next to the register when the cashier tells you that you have too many coupons for the number of items purchased! 
• Be KIND to the cashiers!  I love my cashiers and they love me.  I am in there at least once a week stocking up and I want them to look forward to helping me... not run the other way!  They are doing their job just like you are doing yours. 
• Have your coupons in order know what you're doing before you approach the register.  Having a game plan for the order of redeeming your coupons/rewards is key to walking out of there spending the least amount possible out of your account! 

Most of all... remember that this is about saving and stocking up on things that you WILL need.  Don't go in there and buy things you will never use just because it's cheap as that completely defeats the purpose of shopping frugally.  Don't get caught up in the sale trap!!  The sale is only useful as the product you're buying!

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay is the third and final book of the Hunger Games series.  If you have not read Hunger Games and Catching Fire do not read this review. 

Katniss has just been lifted out of the arena of the 75th annual Hunger Games by a hovercraft flown by the rebels.  She finds out that not only has she been a player in the capitols sick game but the rebels have used her to begin their rebellion and have gone against her wishes to keep Peeta alive by choosing to save her and leave Peeta to be taken by Capitol officials and possibly tortured or murdered.  In the meantime she is taken to District 13 and healed then persuaded to become the embodiment of the Mockingjay and the visual leader of the rebellion, the catalyst and person that woud remind the districts of what they are fighting for.  Katniss must decide who to trust, in essence, whose lies  hurt the least because she feels they are all lying to her except the one person she wishes was.

This final book is absolutely action packed and kept me reading nonstop... literally.  I read the entire book yesterday, I couldn't put it down.  When I read the last sentence and closed the book I wasn't sure what to think or what to write out in a review.  My brain needed a little time to digest what I just read and figure out how I really felt about it.  My initial reaction was disappointment but I couldn't figure out why because I couldn't stop reading, so rather than write a bad review like others were eager to do I wanted to search myself.  I think I've come down to feeling sad... which is totally fine!  All books do not have to leave you feeling happy and bubbly.  Katniss has been through 2 back to back rounds of the hunger games and wakes up thinking she's a POW and ready to kill not only herself but Peeta and Beetee to save them from endless torture.  She is clearly suffering from PTSD and who wouldn't after all she's been through.  She manages to make it through day to day with little windows into the old Katniss reminding us why we fell in love with her.  I feel like Collins made this 3rd book true to what would happen to a 17 yr old girl that's been in a war for over a year, she's almost cracked and President Snow is pushing hard to see her shatter to the ground. 

This morning I wake up and I feel like I can say I really, really liked this last book as a whole.  Not Loved.  I gave the first two books 5 stars each and would give this one 4.  If you are reading this review then that means you've read the first 2 and I highly recommend this one to you to get the answers you know you're dying to hear about.  As in the first two books, Collins does not linger on the whole Love triangle thing as that is not the center of the book but simply a branch off.  The main story being the Hunger Games and the otrocities of the government and President Snow in particular.  The story of people being controlled and oppressed and made into slaves that are fighting their way out of their situation against all odds. 

*******Small Spoilers, no major plot revelations**********

I want to warn people that this book is far bloodier and intense than the first 2 combined.  The war is on and the Capital is sparing no tricks with this one.  Katniss spends much of this book in a fog or hiding in a closet and trying to hold herself together.  Peeta is mentally altered when he is taken as prisoner and he is a completely different person, he's a weapon in President Snow's arsenal against Katniss.  Gale has taken on the role of soldier full force as he's always wanted to since they were in district 12 back in book one.  He's always had the fire in him to fight the Capital and he finally has the chance to do it.  This book introduces our 3 favorite characters in a very altered state from our previous encounters, but they should be!  They are teenagers that have been put through more than adults would be able to handle.  They are falling apart but still trying to work with the adults around them to reach the best end possible.  The fighting and death may be too much for you and if it is then you could possibly skip the war and go to the last 40ish pages of the book to find out the answers you need.  If the death doesn't bother you I highly recommend reading it all because it really was good.  I couldn't put it down! 

*******end spoilers*******

People that reviewed this poorly had pretty messed up reasons that mostly revolved around things not going the way they wanted them to go.  This whole series was about the Mockingjay which was a symbol of overcoming a government.  The bird itself was not supposed to exist but it defied the Capital's plans and lives anyway.  Katniss embodies this description, completely.  This book is about revolution and freedom and fighting for what should be rightfully yours anyway.  It's about finding what's real and true.  This is not a sugar coated, love fest like other YA series but anyone would know that after reading the first two.  If you are reading this series to find out if it's Peeta or Gale then you are reading it for the wrong reasons and will be just as disappointed as those others.  Give it a chance and remember that freedom isn't free and it greatly alters the minds of those that fought to get it for you.  In the reality of war this is true and in the story of Panem it is equally true and I applaud Collins for making it a believable story and not a fairy tale about a heroic girl that throws herself in harms way only to come out stronger and braver.