December 1, 2014
DIY Christmas Advent Calendar
December 1st is just around the corner and every year we like to count down to Christmas Eve in a special way.
This year we made our own Advent calendar (along with their Kinder chocolate calendars – we can’t not have those ones!). We put together a list of all the activities we wanted to do together as a family before Christmas and began our new craft.
You will need:
- Christmas bowl, basket or bucket
- 24 candy canes
- white paper (or a colour of your own choosing)
- ribbon
- hole puncher
- scissors
Directions
Print out your choice of daily activities for the month. Some of them we repeated (like the crafts, cookie baking and colouring).
Cut out each item into a rectangular shape. Fold the paper in half. Using a hole punch put a hole in the top left corner.
Cut out twenty four equal lengths of ribbon.
Thread the ribbon through each rectangular note and tie each one onto one candy cane for a total of twenty four times.
Number each note making sure you are being realistic with what you will be able to accomplish for each day of the month – we knew we wouldn’t be able to build a gingerbread house during the week so these activities were saved for the weekend.
After they are numbered place them decoratively in your bin or basket and display in a prominent place in your home.
Ideas for your family activities (we repeated a couple of these because they are so much fun!):
- write a Santa letter and mail
- make homemade tree ornaments
- bake cupcakes
- colour in a Christmas colouring book
- watch a Christmas movie with popcorn
- read Christmas books together
- bake Christmas cookies
- put together a Christmas gift for our teacher
- build a gingerbread house together
- visit Santa Claus
- have a Christmas-sing-a-long
- bake cookies for Santa
- hot chocolate and movie night
- wrap family gifts
- put on a Christmas play at home
- crafts together
Most importantly – have fun with your ideas! How do you like to count down to Christmas?
November 29, 2014
The Chrysalis by Bindu Adai Mathew #review
Love, loss and finding oneself amongst different cultures – The Chrysalis by Bindu Adai Mathew has it all!
About The Chrysalis
Our main character, Sarai must walk the fine line between honouring her Indian heritage and being true to her own Western mindset. Her story unveils the kaleidoscope of human emotion from ecstasy to heartbreak to triumph, along with every nuance in between.
What begins with a story of a young Indian girl who faces the pressures of an arranged marriage quickly crescendos into a complex story of family, love, friendship. What Sarai learns is that life is truly a journey.
My Thoughts
I fell in love with The Chrysalis within the first chapter. Bindu has an intimate way of writing where you feel like you are having a conversation with your best friend, Sarai. She makes you laugh out loud, cry and even challenge your own beliefs.
In this novel, we find Sarai having to recover from a significant loss in her life. A loss so great that it changes the path she had drawn out for herself. Suddenly Sarai is left lost, afraid and so unsure of what she should do. She questions her own beliefs, her actions as well as the beliefs of her family.
Sarai is a first generation American whose family holds strict beliefs on how a young Indian woman should behave, when she should be married, who she should marry and the list goes on! I am sure many individuals can relate to her story as she tries to adjust to life in America, her own values and beliefs while honouring her culture and family. She is a young woman on a road to self discovery and it was a pleasure to be able to share this journey with Sarai. A definite must read – I can not wait to see what other novels Bindu has in store!
You can find The Chrysalis on Bindu’s website as well as on Amazon.
Rating: 4.5/5
About Bindu Adai
Bindu started college as a pre-med student but diverted from the traditional path to pursue her love of books and writing. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and double majors in English and Mass Media. She has completed her first novel, The Chrysalis along with 38 Candles, a personal memoir about the rediscovery of her dream to write a novel and her journey to publication. She is currently working on her next novel, Almost Paradise: Book 1 of the Garden of Eden, a young adult novel.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
November 29, 2014
Swept Away by Laura V. Hilton and Cindy Loven #review
The past and present collide in Swept Away – will our two main characters be able to come to peace with their past in order to love in the present?
About Swept Away
Sara doesn’t think she wants to have to love in her life. Her Grandmother has different plans for her.
Sara Morgan is trying to balance teaching with caring for her stubborn and unwell Grandmother. When school lets out for the summer, the plans are for Grandma to teach Sara to quilt. But as many of us know, things do not always go as planned.
Andrew is hiding from his past and his future. He works as a handyman to pay the bills but his heart loves his art – designing homemade brooms. When Sara’s Grandmother hires him to renovate her home, sparks fly between Drew and Sara.
Still it doesn’t take Sara long to see Drew isn’t what he seems. Questions arise and she starts to research him online! What she discovers could change her life and her heart forever.
My Thoughts
A lovely story of two individuals who given any other chance meeting would never have looked twice at each other. Instead they are tied together by Sara’s Grandmother, their need to look after her and their own sense of loss. Both of our main characters, Sara and Drew, have been dealt blows in their life through a loved one passing away and are still fragile from these losses. They are learning to trust and put themselves out there again. Sara’s Grandmother sees how well they would suit and adds that comic relief in the novel with her matchmaking skills!
A very unique story of accepting their past in order to live in the present, Swept Away is a true treasure to enjoy.
You can find more reviews on Swept Away on the Litfuse blog tour here.
Rating: 4/5
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
November 24, 2014
Love Without End by Robin Lee Hatcher #review
Learning to love and trust again after loss and pain can be a long road. Love Without End by Robin Lee Hatcher covers this and so much more.
About the Book
Chet and Kimberly have both failed in their relationships and both are scared to risk giving their heart again.
Chet’s life was forever changed when his seventeen year old son died and soon after this his wife walked out on their family. Over two years later, all he wants to do is hold on his horse ranch and raise his sons to be good men.
Kimberly is the widowed mother of Tara – a rebellious fifteen year old. She has reached the end of her finances and nearly the end of her rope. The two come to King’s Meadow in hopes to piece together their lives again. Kimberly has no intention of becoming involved with the residents of this community and certainly not in another relationship.
When Anna McKenna returns to King’s Meadow and to the Leonard ranch, she becomes an agent of change and healing for the families. With her help, Kimberly and Chet discover that true love has no end.
My Thoughts
Chet and Kimberly have been affected by loss in their lives – losses that many of us can relate to; death and being left after the passing of a child. They feel lost themselves and very much alone. Both want to be loved and to love but trusting someone with their heart is difficult. Complicating their current situations is the children in their lives that they need to put first.
I fell in love with their story of love and trust as well as watching them learn to trust each other. They are so very fragile in their trust and it was lovely to watch them to open up and learn to love again. A fantastic and well written novel from start to finish.
You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page.
Rating: 4.5/5
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
November 21, 2014
RealPad: The Tablet for All Ages #review
How many people do you know that have struggled to learn how to use a tablet? Your parents perhaps? Or maybe even yourself – I know my children can navigate a tablet much better than I ever will be able to!
A tablet is the perfect alternative to a traditional desk top computer – you can take it outside with you in the backyard or even out on the porch with your morning coffee or tea. Tablets allow us to keep in contact with our loved ones as well as follow major world events. But what happens when you can’t figure out the technology? The screen and icons are too small? Perhaps it is just too difficult to set up.
While this may not seem possible in our technologically advanced times unfortunately for many people it is. My Mom is included in this group – she has let her own tablet sit and go unused because it is just too difficult for her to figure out how to use. It is awful for her not to be able to use it but also a missed opportunity for her to be in contact with her grandchildren from home via video calls, emails and social media sites.
The RealPad from AARP has been designed to be user friendly for the 70 million Americans who are 50+ who have yet to embrace tablet technology (yup – 70 million!).
RealPad comes pre-loaded with useful apps and educational videos on how to use the tablet (no need to fumble through a user guide that is difficult to follow – just watch the video!). An extremely helpful toolbar at the bottom helps you locate the information you need quickly – especially when something goes wrong. I literally opened the box the tablet came in, charged the tablet, pressed the on button and I was ready to go. I could easily connect my email, facebook and twitter accounts. Navigation is simple with only one button to exit the screen. The icons were large, easy to recognize and navigate my way through.
Easy to read labels on the back identified USB source, power source and headphone connections. Connecting to our home Wifi network took under five minutes – most of my trouble with that was trying to remember my password!
Curious to know more about the specifications of RealPad?
- Intel 2.1 GHz Duel Core Processor
- 16 GB of storage
- 7.85″ HD display (1024×768 resolution)
- 5 mega pixel rear camera to take stunning HD photos and videos as well as a 2.0 mega pixel front camera
- 24/7 live help (yes you heard that right – LIVE help!)
- RealPad comes pre-loaded with 20 step by step videos
- Android 4.4 operating system
- RealPad has a total weight of 14 ounces
The real bonus came when I let my children test it out as well. Both of my boys are pretty advanced with technology (they definitely did not get it from me!) and they fell in love with RealPad. It was easy for them to use, they loved the entertainment section as well as the ability to pair it with their blue tooth headphones to listen to videos, music and their games. This allowed them to be the perfect helpers with their Grandma when it came for her to use it! As I am letting my children use it I wanted to buy a tablet holder so they could lie on the couch or in bed watching their favourite program or movie, I found a great little tablet holder at ibeani.co.uk, it’s like a mini bean bag and it allows you to rest your tablet anywhere you want without the worry of it falling over.
One of RealPad’s best features? It’s price! At $189 US, it will be hard to find a better deal. A RealPad can be purchased on the AARP site or through Walmart.
Whether you are looking at purchasing a tablet to stay connected with your parents RealPad is an excellent as well as affordable choice in the tablet market.
Disclosure: I received a RealPad in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
