Product Review: My Monopoly

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I was super excited when BzzAgent emailed me about checking out the new Monopoly version called “My Monopoly” – which allows you to personalize your own Monopoly game using your own photos and your printer!  Monopoly is my absolutely most favorite board game.  When I was younger I had a computer version and you could make your own game boards, so I of course made my board Boyband Monopoly!  Well, I am happy to report that is the theme that I am going with with this board as well.  But in addition to customizing the spots on the board, you can also customize all the cards as well!  That being said – this is going to be a HUGE undertaking so I do not have my game finished yet to show you how it came out. (But have no fear – once it is done I will definitely post about it!)

The best part about this game is – that if you are in the middle of customizing it or can’t decide on a theme you can still play because out of the box it is a fully functional regular monopoly game! You can create graduation and wedding gifts that highlight personal milestones and memories, celebrate special events and vacations, or craft family keepsakes that include funny photos of your loved ones and friends.

There is a mobile app as well as the website MyMonopoly.com that helps you customize the game.  Just click it, stick it, and play it.  Register your game and then access your Shutterfly, Flickr, Picasa, Facebook or Instagram accounts to gather and organize all your photos (this is the most time consuming part!). If you don’t use these sites, you can grab photos straight from your computer as well. Print your photos on the special sticker sheets that come with the game.  There are 30 tiles on the board and 120 stickers so you can print extras to use for Chance and Community Chest cards as well!

The game tiles fit in to wherever you want on the game board, so each time you can play you can reorganize the tiles and place them anywhere you want on the game board!  You can also add a tile to the game pieces so that you can be yourself (literally) in the game!

I received a free MyMonopoly game from BzzAgent in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

Music Monday: Kris Allen Horizons

Kris

Young Love (“Paul Simon”)
Prove it to You
Beautiful & Wild
In Time
Lost
Don’t Set Me Free
Everybody Just Wants to Dance
Parachute
It’s Always You
Girl Across the Room

Kris Allen’s 3rd CD Horizons is one that I’ve been (not so) patiently waiting for.  I’ve heard several of these songs live over the past year or so going to see him perform live – but there’s such a difference in hearing a song live versus polished and on an album.  Horizons does not disappoint – it’s everything you’d expect from Kris Allen – and more.

The CD kicks off with “Young Love”, which for the longest time had no name and was called “Paul Simon” because of the Paul Simon vibe the song has. (Now the question is – do I go back and edit all the setlists that now have an incorrect song title in them? Nah… too much work!)

A lot of the songs are about his life over the past few years – Beautiful & Wild he wrote when he and his wife were expecting their son Oliver (now 1 year old and the cutest baby in the world!).  “In Time” is about recovering after the head on collision that he and his pregnant wife were in just before he was supposed to head out on the Out Alive tour.

My only complaint is that the CD is short – I want more! I give this CD 5 out of 5 stars and know that it will be in heavy rotation!!

Book Review: Blues All Day Long

bluesBlues All Day Long is the Jimmy Rogers Story written by Wayne Everett Goins with a Foreward by Kim Wilson.  The book is split into 3 parts which take a timeline from 1924-1960, 1970-1989 and 1989-1997.  The end of the book also has a selected discography of some of Jimmy Rogers work.  Each chapter begins with a quote from Jimmy and the story starts when his teenage parents find out that they are pregnant. The book is just over 400 pages, but a lot of it at the end is reference materials.

The book is very thorough and very well written and I learned a lot about Jimmy Rogers – someone I knew nothing about before picking up this book.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

A member of Muddy Waters’ legendary late 1940s-1950s band, Jimmy Rogers pioneered a blues guitar style that made him one of the most revered sidemen of all time. Rogers also had a significant if star-crossed career as a singer and solo artist for Chess Records, releasing the classic singles “That’s All Right” and “Walking By Myself.”

In Blues All Day Long, Wayne Everett Goins mines seventy-five hours of interviews with Rogers’ family, collaborators, and peers to follow a life spent in the blues. Goins’ account takes Rogers from recording Chess classics and barnstorming across the South to a late-in-life renaissance that included new music, entry into the Blues Hall of Fame, and high profile tours with Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones. Informed and definitive, Blues All Day Long fills a gap in twentieth century music history with the story of one of the blues’ eminent figures and one of the genre’s seminal bands.

Wayne Everett Goins is a professor of music and director of jazz at Kansas State University. He is the author of Pat Metheny’s Secret Story and co-author ofCharlie Christian: Jazz Guitar’s King of Swing.

Book Review: I Want It That Way

iwantitI have a really bad habit of picking out books by their titles or covers and not always by what they are about. I obviously picked this one because it shares its title with a Backstreet Boys song. When I first started it, I thought perhaps I need to be a little more selective about the books I was choosing. It seemed to get off to a bit of a slow start. However, I stuck it out and am very glad that I did. About half way through things finally started to pick up and I enjoyed it. Until I got to the end of one part… and then got really, really annoyed (And I’m sure the main character felt the same!) But I continued to stick it out to see how everything would end up : )

The book is about Nadia, a college student who is working on becoming a teacher. She is going to school on scholarship and working at a day-care to help get experience (And some spending money!) She is crushing pretty hard on her downstairs neighbor, Ty. She tells him to enroll his son at the day-care that she works at and he does, and Sam ends up in the class Nadia is helping out in.

It’s pretty obvious Nadia and Ty are in to each other right away, but a past relationship has left Ty vulnerable and he isn’t sure he is ready for a relationship at this time. He is a single dad, works all day and takes night classes and tries to spend as much time as he can with his son Sam, as well.

FINALLY! The two realize that they are into each other and have a lot of chemistry and make some ridiculous “friends with benefits” plan that they can opt out of at any time. Ty doesn’t want Nadia to give up her life for him and Sam so after Sam finds her apartment when he and Ty are sick and he doesn’t know what else to do – Ty thinks that Nadia has started giving up her life for him and calls it off!

WHAT?!

Yeah. So then Nadia is all sad and depressed and on top of that her best friend and roommate is moving back home and Sam is acting out at school because he thinks that Nadia is mad at him. It’s obvious that the two are in love with each other but Ty doesn’t think its the “right time” for love. Can Nadia convince him that love has no timing and end up with them getting back together?

At first I thought there were too many characters in this book – but as the book went on you realized that it could be separated out to Nadia and her coworkers, Nadia and her roommates, Nadia and Ty/Sam and then Nadia’s family. Each had their own little importance to Nadia’s story.

Overall a solid book and a bit of a rollercoaster ride!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book
Nadia Conrad has big dreams, and she’s determined to make them come true. But between maintaining her college scholarship and working at the local day care to support herself, dating’s the last thing on her mind. Then she moves into a new apartment and meets the taciturn yet irresistible guy in 1B….

Daniel Tyler has grown up too fast. Becoming a single dad at twenty turned his life upside down—and brought him heartache he can’t risk again. Now, as he raises his four-year-old son while balancing a full-time construction management job and night classes, the last thing he wants is noisy students living in the apartment upstairs. But one night, Nadia’s and Ty’s paths cross, and soon they can’t stay away from each other.

The timing is all wrong—but love happens when it happens. And you can’t know what you truly need until you stand to lose it.

Book Review: Rock Angel

rockangeI will preface this by saying there was a lot of mentions of drug use in this book and I was tempted to stop reading because of it. (I know, I know, sex drugs and rock n roll and all that – but it’s my free time to read so I can do what I want!) I looked up reviews on Good Reads and everyone was raving about the book so I did decide to stick it out.  But if this is a topic that you’d rather not read about then I would advise you to skip this book. If it’s not a problem for you, then I think you’ll enjoy the book.

The book starts in 1990 and heroin addicted Shan gets an audition for a band instead of just doing solo gigs as a folk singer.  She would be replacing the band’s previous guitarist who is currently in rehab and then going to jail for running a meth lab.  Quinn is the leader of the band and the band is named Quinntessence.  They guys in the band are in their mid 20s so a bit older than Shan is. After joining the band Shan gets in a fight with her drug dealer and Quinn comes to her rescue.  He also lets her know that he doesn’t care what she does on her time, but at their gigs it is a huge no.  Of course, Shan agrees but can’t stick to the promise.  The book goes through 1991 and then 1992-1994.  The only way you can kind of tell it isn’t taking place in present day is there is no mention of cell phones and there was a gift of a pager!

Shan ends up hooking up with another guy in the band, Dave (even though it seems like there is some tension between Quinn and Shan) and he tells her that Quinn was in rehab!  Quinn seems to be jealous of this hookup/relationship/whatever you want to call it.

Eventually, Q and Shan end up finally getting together.  We also find out about Quinn’s past with the girlfriend of another guy in the band… and then Quinn & Shan’s relationship turns into even more of a  rollercoaster ride than you thought possible. (I’m being vague on purpose so I don’t give it all away, sorry.)

Overall, minus the drug use, it was a well written book and a great storyline. Though the book was a bit longer than my usual read at over 400 pages!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Shan is young, beautiful, talented, and addicted to heroin in Rock Angel, a novel that follows her meteoric rise to guitar goddess stardom in the ’90s. She is discovered in New York by a handsome, arrogant musical genius named Quinn, and sparks fly between them when he hires her as lead guitarist of his band.

Although Quinn is accustomed to bedding a different groupie every night, he can’t ignore his deepening feelings for his new bandmate. From gritty Greenwich Village clubs to L.A.’s Troubadour; gigging and touring the country to the cover of Rolling StoneRock Angel is infused with the passionate music and intense sexual chemistry of Shan and Quinn. Shan must work out her personal demons and learn to trust Quinn enough to love him, but still remain true to the music that has always been her salvation.

Book Review: Facing the Music

facingFacing the Music is about Ivy Hudon, pop princess who wrote a song about her highschool sweetheart turned cheating ex called “Size Matters”, word got out who it was about and Blake was not happy.  Everything has seemingly been going pretty well for Blake and Ivy since – aside from Blake’s NFL career coming to an end and him becoming the coach at the high school.  Ivy is out in LA living the rockstar dream.

When Ivy’s hometown is hit by a tornado, Blake’s grandmother suggest that Ivy head home for a charity concert.  At first Blake still seems bitter and doesn’t want anything to do with Ivy, but then he seems to be falling for her all over again. Has Ivy moved on or is she still interested too?

The two end up going as dates to the “prom” as part of the charity fundraisers and then it seems like they are back together.  That is, until Ivy catches Blake with another woman – AGAIN!

Can he be forgiven again? Especially after Ivy has just debuted a new song about how much she loves him?

I thought this book was a bit cheesy and predictable. It was an easy read and not the worst book I’ve ever read but if it was something that I had picked up to read just for fun instead of reviewing it I probably would have ditched it after a couple of chapters. If you don’t read nearly as many books as I do then you may enjoy it more because you’re not jaded by the same ol’ same ol’.  There are more books coming about Rosewood, so we’ll see if I decide to give them another chance.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

In this sizzling and hilarious contemporary e-book romance, pop sensation Ivy Hudson returns to her small town to face her ex. Only trouble is, she made her Taylor-Swift-like career with the hit song “Size Matters”—and the football hero has had to live it down ever since.

Five years ago, high school sweethearts Ivy and Blake’s relationship imploded and both their lives were changed forever. Ivy became a rock star and Blake lost not only his dreams of a successful NFL career, but his reputation. Ivy’s angry song about their breakup, called “Size Matters,” hit the top of the charts and Blake became a national laughingstock. He’s salvaged his career and returned to Rosewood to be the high school football coach, regaining his status as town hero and leading the boys to the state championships.

When a tornado whips through town and destroys the high school gymnasium and stadium, a committee is formed to help rebuild and plan some charity fundraisers. Blake’s grandmother requests that Ivy return to Rosewood for the events. Forced back together for the good of their hometown and their careers, Ivy and Blake have no choice but to put aside their differences, stop running from their pasts, and finally face the music.

For fans of Kristen Proby and Colette Auclair, Facing the Music hits a perfect balance between small-town romance and big-time success. Follow Ivy and Blake as they fall back in love and figure out what does matter in the end…

Tiny To Do Lists

A lot of people have asked me how I can stay organized when blogging with what posts are to be posted when, etc.  The truth is, I probably would be better off if I was even more organized, but this is what I do…

On my desk in my bedroom I map out all of my blog posts – Music Monday, Try It Tuesday, Whatever Wednesday, Throwback Thursday, Book Nook Friday, Scrapbook Saturday, Sunday Post on one of those desk sized calendars.  There I can easily see if I have a book review that needs to be posted in December how many days have 4 books already how many don’t, etc so I don’t go over my self imposed quota.  Yes, a lot of times  things are scribbled out and moved around, but once it is finally written I cross a single line through it.  (If it has been moved, then it’s a swirly line so I don’t get them confused.)

Then, I have a notebook where I write, usually in date order, what book reviews I have in column 1.  Column 2 is all other blog related posts to be written (product reviews, book reviews, etc) and then the third column is “everything else” – craft to work on, things in my room to clean, fix, etc.

Now – this list sometimes takes up an entire page of paper and can sometimes be overwhelming.  So I’ve decided to break it down each weekend in to a “tiny to do list”.  This is written on a smaller piece of paper and I break down what I theoretically thing I can get done over the weekend.  (Typically I put 3 books though usually I don’t end up reading that many) and other time sensitive posts that may need to be read.  Then, I am not completely overwhelmed by the huge list in the notebook.

So far, this has been working pretty well with only 1 or 2 items being left.  I do try to get to those during the week to start fresh with a new to do list the next weekend, but that doesn’t always happen and sometimes things get carried over!

But there’s my “trick”. Tiny to do lists!

 

todo

Try It Tuesday: Frames By Mail

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Last year I won a signed photo of David Wright and Jose Reyes.  I knew I wanted to frame it, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it or how to go about it in an affordable way because I know that photo mats can get pretty pricey.  A few years ago I was introduced to the website, FramesByMail.com, you let them know the dimensions of your picture and can mat it if you so choose.  I had never used them for matting before, but for this special autograph I knew that I wanted to mat it in Mets Blue and Orange and do a black frame.  I was able to get the frame, mats cut to the right size, and anti glare plexi glass all for just over $100 with their Christmas in July sale.  I am quite pleased with the result and am looking forward to finishing off the framing (the picture was rolled and has been taking some time to flatten out so we can properly place it in the mats) and hanging it on the wall!

I was not asked to write this review. This is a website that I used and had a great experience with and was something I wanted to share with my readers.

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