For Anyone Still Reading

I know it has been five and a half months since I published a personal post. Having always wanted to keep my blog cheerful and upbeat, I didn't feel like I could do that during that time. We've had a lot of ups and downs the past few months. Since I have made several good friends through blogging, I did want to give you a heads up on our life.

We've had a cancer scare with one of the kids, illnesses, a radical change in diet because of health problems and more. The girls are finishing their senior year of high school and to the great surprise of my husband and myself, my daughter decided to join the Navy. She will still be pursuing her medical degree, thank goodness!
The spare kid is going away to a college honors program in a different state where she "thinks" she will study marketing.

I can't even find a photo more recent than February since my daughter got her own laptop and began uploading her photos to it instead of mine.

Our lives will also take another turn this fall. My son is going back to school, bringing our homeschooling days to an end. I am planning to go back to school as well, and possibly pursue those dreams of traveling!

I had planned to write this as a farewell post but can't bring myself to do it. I do want to come back to my blog but am unable to devote a lot of time to it presently.
Hopefully when our lives settle down a bit, I will be able to return to full time blogging on Mom's Mutterings. Until then, I miss you, bloggy buddies!

Tron: Evolution Battle Grids

As some of you may remember, my son saved up his hard earned money from mowing lawns and bought his own Wii system. He's always looking for fun games to add to his collection. I surprised him with this review. Talk about a happy camper!

Tron: Evolution Battle Grids is a series of games (we'd call them mini games) based on the Tron Movies. It can be played in several different settings, including Grid Games, Championship Mode , Story Mode , and Character Evolution. Because up to four people could play the game, he can challenge his friends or both girls to a game.

His favorite game was the Light Cycles Arena where he tried to force opponents to crash into a light trail. He had a great time challenging the girls and beating their score. He also enjoyed the story mode where he spent lots of time battling with light discs.
The one complaint he had was involving the graphics which are mostly in dark colors.
A couple of the games might also be easier to play if we had a Wii wheel but are still enjoyable without it.

Because the game is rated 10+, everyone in the family can enjoy it. You can purchase Tron: Evolution Battle Grids online.

The Blackmail Bride by Normanda Whyte

Published: December 2010
ISBN: 978-1-908138-00-2
Full length romance novel in Kindle, B&N and Sony ebook format as well as PDF.

Stalked by her abusive ex-husband, Lucy Grant is desperate for a protector. Lucy aims for the one man who is tough enough for the job, ex-convict Jack Welsh.
Found guilty of a crime he didn’t commit, Jack Welsh is convinced Lucy’s ex set him up. Jack will do anything it takes to clear his name - even if it means marrying Lucy.

Because romance is my favorite genre (with mystery a close second), I was thrilled when Ellen asked me to review her new ebook, Blackmail Bride. Ellen is the author of eleven books and writes a column (Katz Tales) for the Malaysian newspaper, The Star.
I've read her witty, informative columns and wasn't sure what to expect from her first romance novel.
Jack leaves prison a somewhat embittered man. The last thing he expects to do is rescue his enemy's ex-wife. His not so subtle attempt at revenge by marrying Lucy backfires when he begins to fall for her. There is plenty of action and drama as Lucy tries to help Jack prove his innocence. I liked the character development too, as Lucy begins to fight against her abusive background and attempts to conquer her fears. This is a fun read for a cold winter's night.

Ellen is graciously donating 10% of each book sold to Furry Friends Farm, a no kill sanctuary in Malaysia so not only are you getting a good read, you're helping animals in need. It's a win-win situation.

Check out the first chapter for free at
Blackmail Bride.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a copy of The Blackmail Bride for review purposes.

Coupon Binder Review

As a lot of you know, I am a coupon fanatic. While standing in line at Kroger recently, the woman behind me stopped me and asked, "Where do you get your coupons? I want to be like you." After telling her several places to look for coupons, she told me, "I want to coupon but it takes so much time."

I had to agree. People don't realize how much time couponing can take, especially if you're coupons aren't organized. I have been searching for years for the easiest way to organize my coupons. I tried boxes, which worked but was bulky. I couldn't lug a box into the store. I needed something portable which could keep me organized.

Lately I had begun to see lots of people carrying "coupon binders" into the store. I wanted one of these but didn't know how to make one for myself. Thankfully, Elizabeth at The Coupon Binder Store came to my rescue. She sent me her Hand-made Coupon Organizer which includes:
The binder:
-8.5" X 11" X 1.5"
-Made of heavy-duty canvas
-2 zippered pockets on the exterior of the binder
-Accordion-style file pocket on the inside

The guts:-3 general pocketed category dividers
-16 specific category dividers
-5 pocketed dividers for your grocery stores (blank, self-customizable)
-50 coupon holder sheets

Extra:
16 category-coordinated coupon sorter cards



First, I have to say this binder is sturdy. I keep it in my vehicle and the kids have dropped it, sat on it, you name it, and it has held up. I will be honest and say the coupon binder system does take some time to set up at first. However, having all my coupons in one place and being able to have them handy and ready to go at a moments notice has made shopping much easier for me. Plus, I have the added benefit of being able to jump on unadvertised and clearance specials which I couldn't do when I only carried the coupons I knew I would need for my shopping trip.

If you are interested in purchasing a Coupon Binder for yourself, you can purchase them online.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a Coupon Binder for review purposes.

Febreeze Laundry Odor Eliminator

My daughter has become very active in sports lately. It's surprising because she claimed she was athletically challenged. Hmmm. She taken up tennis, racquetball, and spelunking. I can't imagine crawling around in a cave for hours and coming home covered in mud would be fun, but who know?
Maybe she is doing it to shock me. While sitting at the dinner table she announced she was planning to take up sky diving. What??? It made me spew coke across the table.


Now I have loads of filthy, smelly laundry covered with mud which smells like the inside of a dank cave. After one load I opened the washer to find clothes still muddy and stinky. That's where the Febreeze Laundry Odor Eliminator comes in handy.

Febreze Laundry Odor Eliminator is a laundry aid that works in the washer with detergents to eliminate odors such as perspiration, cooking oil, grease, motor oil, pets, garden soil and mildew from virtually any washable fabric. While detergents clean the soils Febreze Laundry Odor Eliminator cleans away odors that get trapped in fabric.

I started using this and found it really does work. Her clothes smell fresh even when they still look a little mud splattered. The one problem I had with Febreeze Laundry Odor Eliminator was finding the product. I went to three grocery stores, Target, and Walmart before finding one bottle. It must be popular because when I did find a store which carried it, they had sold out.

Plus, being frugal, I found a coupon for $2.00 off. I plan on keeping this on hand for any future adventures. (Thank goodness caving season is over for the year!)

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a coupon for a bottle of Febreeze.

More Tricks than Treats

For the past few years I've been loading up the kids and taking them to a friend's house for supper and trick-or treating. This year our area celebrated on Saturday and we did thing a little differently.

The boys dressed up for trick or treating...


and the girls dressed up and walked down the road with us. (They could have walked the boys down the road, but no, we had to tag along too.)

Even though the girls didn't trick or treat, only standing at the side of the road with us, some kid started yelling at them, "Hey, you girls! You're too old to trick or treat! It's against the law!" After that, they went back to the house and gave out candy.

Then, the girls came upon the "brillant" idea to visit the "Forest of Fear" and "The Voodoo Bayou." Since my daughter had nothing to wear, my friend's hubby loaned my daughter his camouflage clothing. She went from princess to redneck in less than one minute!

The transformation is complete...

Obviously, one must blend into the "Forest of Fear." I had always said my daughter could argue with a stop sign, but I had never realized she could argue with a machete wielding zombie. I guess I really don't have anything to worry about when she leaves for college!

We're Sinking....

Lots of big changes have been happening around our home lately. Unfortunately, I can't share them with you yet but we're still making decisions. We did take an epic adventure. We have sailed on the Titantic!


We entered the Titantic and received our passes. At the end we found if we survived.
Bryan, as Captain Smith, was doomed from the start. The rest of us were unsure.

Since I was forbidden by copyright laws to take pictures on the inside, I'll tell you about the best part. The outside deck was recreated exactly as it was the night the Titantic sank. It was dark, with stars shining down and only 31 degrees. We were allowed to feel the iceberg and dip our hands into the 28 degree water.

Because I almost froze, I left everyone else and went back into the warm area. I've discovered I am no Rose and I don't think anyone in my family could be Jack either!