Monday, June 22, 2015

Book Review: "Be the Best Mom You Can Be: A Practical Guide to Raising Whole Children in a Broken Generation" by Marina & Gregory Winston Slayton

Raising a child is always a daunting task and raising a child the right way to be a productive citizen and a person that you can be proud can at times (see terribly twos and teenage years) seem impossible.
The Slaytons have used their experience and training to write a book that aims at providing a practical guide to mothers on how to raise children and in the process be a mother than can be proud of her role and her achievements.
 

The role of a mother is not just raising kids, it is also focused on supporting her husband and no matter whether a mother has a full-time job or is a stay at home mom, a mother will nevertheless often be the center of the house and the quiet pole kids and husbands turn to for advice and help.
The Slaytons aim at supporting mothers by providing some easy to grasp and to apply principles to being a mother. Applying the examples and lessons from this book, a mother can care for her child(rens) emotional, physical and mental well being; going a long way to being that good mother than raises children to be productive members of society. 
While this book has clear Christian undertones, I find that this book can be helpful for parents or more specifically mothers that seek guidance on raising children. While certainly more suitable and easier to apply to raising children as Christians, even for other religions, the book provides guidance and lessons that prove useful.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed in this post is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party. 

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Crowdtap sampling: Kraft Mac and Cheese and something called Star Wars invaded our kitchen

Thanks to Crowdtap, I was able to sample with my family the new Kraft Mac and Cheese in really cool Star Wars shapes. We made out traditional pasta salad initially because I want to teach my kids that pasta and vegetables can go together well and that salad is one of the few signature dishes we have in our family that comes out for every holiday and family get-together.




copyright Durhamonthecheap  - prepping the ingredients, everything gets finely chopped

copyright Durhamonthecheap - boiling some eggs for the salad - oh my what is happening?

copyright Durhamonthecheap - a little fun and games cannot hurt!

copyright Durhamonthecheap - into the boiling water with the pasta.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - everything gets mixed together for a wonderful pasta salad
copyright Durhamonthecheap - Star Wars is invading the family meal, but the good (health) wins in the end!


copyright Durhamonthecheap - we also made some garlic, chives noodles with butter - cheese optional on these.
Overall, we love Mac and Cheese, but when it is so hot outside as these days (we topped 95oF today), we prefer to eat lighter dishes. The Star Wars shapes were fun, the kids absolutely loved them and will continue to buy Mac and Cheese, but save the real cheese bits for the winter when the temperature outside dip into something that is more appropriate for a ot and thick sticky sauce covering noodles.

Disclaimer: I obtained supplies for a sampling party with Kraft Mac and Cheese in exchange for sampling with family and friends and an honest review. The opinion expressed in this post are solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.

Book Review: The Idea of Love by Patti Callahan Henry

I was provided an advanced copy of Patti Callahan Henry's new book entitled The Idea of Love. The book is available through St. Martin's Press starting June 23, 2015. The price for the Hardcover edition (256 pages) will be $25.99.

When I got offered the chance the review the new book by Ms. Henry I immediately jumped at the opportunity because I have read her books before and like the way she is able to make the story appear effortlessly, as if retelling a story that occurred in real life and does not represent a tale of fiction. The premise of her new book, which takes place in Watersend, South Carolina is the meeting of two people, both recovering from disappointments, and the relationship that forms between them. Sounds like a nice, typical story that ends in a life happily ever after. The only problem is that these two people are also really good at making up stories, one for a living as a writer, the other to hide a devastating disappointment. So can a relationship build on lies thrive and survive when the truth comes out? To uncover the answer to this question, the reader will have to read the book.



In her latest book, Ms. Henry picks two interesting characters as protagonists. There is the screenwriter Blake Hunter, who after several flops, is desperate for a hit, but suffers from writer's block. So he travels to Watersend to find inspiration for a love story. When he meets Ella, he pretends to be a writer for coffee table and history books, hiding the fact that he is looking for a real life love story that he can turn into a successful screenplay. Ella, on the other hands, pretends to be a wedding dress designer and tells Blake about how her husband died trying to save her. Blake thinks he found the hero and heroine for his love story that will yield a screenplay full of sacrifice and true love. What he does not realize is that Ella's lie is hiding the fact that her husband betrayed her with her best friend. Both protagonists realize an immediate attraction to each other, but the lies continue and what in the beginning was just a little white lie to hide the truth that hurt too much, soon becomes a true obstacle to a relationship that could turn both of their lives to the better. Things only get worse for the two when Ella suffers another disappointment and her husbands reappears, full of remorse and wanting to reconcile.

But leave it to Ms. Henry to tell a story that grows naturally despite the many twists and turns. Like real life, Ms. Henry's story is not without its bends and hills to climb. Ms. Henry excels at stories that could happen in real life with characters that are complex with flaws and all. This story is no different. While the reader may root for Ella and Blake to find love in the end, both characters have their flaws, weak moments and doubts. These are no superheroes nor is Ella a damsel in distress that the dashing Blake will find and rescue. No, Ella and Blake are people that had failed, failed more than once, and now are trying to pick up the pieces as best they can. Neither one is ready to trust a total stranger, so a few lies come in handy to hide the sad past that both had to live through. In these characters the reader may find parts of themselves; most of us have wished to just make up a story to give our lives more interest or to hide a sad episode when being introduced to new people. Fans of Ms. Henry will find the characteristic storytelling of the author again in this book, while readers new to Ms. Henry will find characters that draw you in and make you want to be part of this story.

Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy of the book prior to publication for reading and review. The opinion provided in the post is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Crowdtap sampling: Johnsonville Grillers in Cheddar Cheese with Bacon - YUM!

copyright Durhamonthecheap - getting ready for some in-house grilling on a rainy day with Johnsonville Grillers
I was provided with a coupon for a free box of Johnsonville Grillers through Crowdtap. These patties comes 6 in a box in a number of flavors:
  • Original Brat
  •  Cheddar Cheese
  • Cheddar Cheese and Bacon
  • Steakhouse Onion
  • Swiss Cheese and Onion
They are made with only quality ingredients like fresh pork, combined with a unique blend of additional flavors, such as high quality cheese and bacon or mushroons. They come in packages of six 1/3lb Grillers with premium cuts of pork and are all Gluten-Free. Prep time is super fast, in a skillet you can enjoy burgers in less than 20 minutes and you can also broil or of course grill them outside!
We tried two flavors, the Cheddar Cheese with Bacon and the Stakhouse Onion - both excellent and very filling. When you can catch them on sale, Grillers run about $1 a patty and for a high quality, tasty burger that is indeed a good price!

copyright Durhamonthecheap -big patties with real meat - ready for your own grilling experience!

copyright Durhamonthecheap - in case you need them, clear instructions on the box for out- and inside grilling!

copyright Durhamonthecheap - buns ready and prepped, Swiss cheese to go with the burgers

copyright Durhamonthecheap -some condiments for the burgers, we like it spicy!

copyright Durhamonthecheap -yes, they do look that good and in less than 20 minutes prepped from the freezer

copyright Durhamonthecheap -even after cooking, they maintain good size and AWESOME flavor!



Disclaimer: I received a free product coupon in exchange for a sampling and an honest review. The opinion expressed in this blog is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Book Review: Captain Hawk by by S J Garland

The captain in the title role of this book is Nathaniel Hawk and if you like swashbucklers in stories and movies, this book is definitely for you. It immediately saw images of Horatio Hornblower and Richard Sharpe. Men, who know what is important to them and are willing to fight to reach their goal, sometimes against seemingly insurmountable odds.

available at Amazon
But let's start at the beginning. Nathaniel has a famous father, Sebastian Hawk, who works as a captain for the East India Company. And while son and father have differences of opinion more than they seem to agree, in the end, they are very similar in character. This comes out as the story evolves and young Nathaniel is for the first time in the life truly tested in terms of bravery and perseverance.

We are in Singapore in the early 1800's and Sebastian Hawk does not return from one of his frequent oceanic excursions. Rumor has it that Sebastian Hawk was killed in a battle with a ghost ship, myserious ships that seemingly come out of nowhere and destroyed his father's ship. Ghost ships and their tales have haunted sailors for centuries and continue their mystery until modern times. So what was supposed to be a simple holiday spend with his father, Nathanial now finds himself trying to solve the mystery that surrounds his father's death. Nathaniel, although predestined to join his father at sea as a captain, had chosen a career on land. But Nathaniel still can captain a shop and so he sets out to pursue the ghost ship and the question of how his father died.

Set during an exciting time for Singapore because of the burgeoning trade and written in great detail for historical developments, such as the fate of English traders in Singapore, this book will please everyone who loves historical novels. What helps this book is the ability of the author to capture the attention of the reader early on and never, and I mean absolutely never, let go. As an Anglophile, the very English character of the location and the people was extremely pleasing to me and I kept reading longer than I wanted each night just to get ahead and find out whether Nathaniel will be successful in his mission.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed in this post is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third parties.