Chaos Chronicles

I am taking a course called Adcanced Woman’s Herbal and Aromatherapy Course with dual certification from Birth Arts International and Heart of Herbs Schools.  I’m very excited to be taking this course and can’t wait to start brewing concoctions lol.  Not only will I be able to create remedies for clients, but I can bring the knowledge home and create healing applications for my family as well!

I completed 2 assignments already; a 500-700 word essay on “What Herbalism Means To Me” and an assignment on “The Various Methods of Application for Herbalism”  I got 100% on both.  I also have to submit 4 applications and their recipes.  I will be going Monday to pick up some herbs.  Anyone know any good herbal recipes? Only one of my applications can be a tea.

If you are interested in taking the Advanced Women’s Herbal and Aromatherapy course, check it out at the Birth Arts International website.   I think they are still running the special where you pay $50. instead of $250.  Here is the link to sign up.  AWH

It’s a certification of knowledge course and you have 2 years to finish it.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has decided that February was a great month to be Baldacious!  I agree.  My mother’s birthday was Feb 13th, so I have decided to do this for a birthday present.   I wish she could be here to see it, but through fundraising, the future will bring more hope to cancer patients, and that makes it worth it.

If I can raise $1000.00 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, I will crop my hair and use permanent dye to change it to my mom’s favorite color!  PURPLE!

If I can raise $5000.00 I will buzz it all off!  Yes, BALD. BALD I SAY!

Go and DONATE!!! It’s tax deductable!  http://totallybaldacious.llsevent.org/teamveloza

Here are a couple photos to show what I plan to do.  Color First, then Cut.

My daughter goes to one of their clinics…or I should say, she WENT to one of their clinics. After seeing this news story, I want nothing to do with this chain.

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/dental-chain-reaches-settlement-medical-fraud-performing-unnecessary/story?id=9615119

http://www.thedailyitemoflynn.com/articles/2010/01/30/its_your_business/business01.txt

Helping Mom’s Connect is giving away a pink Cozy!

Leena has been wanting a pink one for the past few Christmases, but we never found one in child size.  Imagine my surprise when I find one that is not only pink, but is being modeled by a cute little 6 yr old that looks almost just like Leena in that picture!

If you want a chance to win that cozy (or just compare the picture to Leena) go check out the giveaway!

I have just started reading my free, advanced copy, of One Day Way by Chantel Hobbs, thanks to the WaterBrook Multnomah Blogging for Books Program. Here is some information about the book and it’s author.

I will be posting a review and giveaway for it, so check back soon for an update!

One Day Way by Chantel Hobbs

Summary for One Day Way

The One-Day Way produces lasting results by taking you back to basics. No more complicated weight-loss strategies. No more expensive diet plans that achieve only temporary results. Instead, you will lose weight and get fit with Chantel Hobbs’s simple, high-energy meal plans and her at-home program for cardio exercise and strength training. She will teach you how to change the way you think, which leads to new actions. Before you know it you will be strong, fit, and healthy. All it takes is doing things differently for twenty-four hours—and then repeating it.

The One-Day Way gives you everything you need to lose weight and get fit in body, mind, and spirit:

• Break free from past dieting defeats
• Learn a realistic, life-changing way to measure success
• Change the way you think so you can change your life
• Translate your dreams into goals, and your goals into lasting achievements
• Get strong with thirty-one simple exercises, no fancy equipment required
• Take advantage of ten ways to eat better while you lose weight

By focusing on food, faith, and fitness, Chantel shows you not only how to lose weight, but how to build the new life you were designed to live. You don’t have to wait any longer. The One-Day Way gives you all the tools for success, starting right now.

Author Bio:
The author of Never Say Diet and The Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Trainer, Chantel Hobbs, is a motivational speaker, life coach, personal trainer, marathon runner, wife, and mother of four whose story has been featured on Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, the 700 Club, and the covers of People and First magazines. She appears weekly on two fitness-themed radio programs and promotes her One-Day Way Learning System on television. Visit Chantel at ChantelHobbs.com for fitness updates and coaching tips.

The wonderful people at WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing (A Division of Random House) supplied me with this book to review, and then gift to my readers, as part of their Blogging for Books Program.  The rules for the giveaway can be found below my review.  Thanks for reading!   If you haven’t read my previous post about this book, you can check it out here.

——————————REVIEW——————————

Thirsty by Tracey Bateman

Thirsty by Tracey Bateman
Chaos Chronicles Rating: Rating:

Thirsty is a really good read, but I had a hard time believing it was vampire fiction.  It’s a great story, and I couldn’t put it down, though that was due to a combination of really good story lines and wondering when it will start reading like vampire fiction.

The main character, Nina Parker, does not have a lot going for her.  Alcohol destroyed her reputation and veterinary practice as well as her family.  Hard times follow this woman where ever she goes, as far back as her childhood.  She is a great character, and you get a good glimpse into her life.

This book is very well written as a regular work of fiction, but doesn’t really cut it as vampire fiction.  The vampire characters were more background characters and were not fleshed out enough to deem this vampire fiction. Instead, the author focused mostly on Nina Parker’s life.

The ending was a little disappointing as well.  While it was a good ending leaving the reading wanting more, it was wrapped up all too quickly and ended in a way I didn’t expect from a book that is supposed to be vampire fiction.

If you read Thirsty knowing it’s not really vampire fiction, it’s a much better read.  If you are expecting a good christian vampire novel, you will most likely be disappointed.

——————————GIVEAWAY——————————

How Can I Enter To Win Thirsty by Tracey Bateman?

Here is the deal! To enter the giveaway all you have to do is leave me a comment telling me about a good vampire fiction novel you’ve come across recently.  You get two entries for the price of one if the novel is Christian. If you do not include this in your comment, it doesn’t count.

For additional entries you can do any or all of the following, but you must let me know how you entered by leaving individual comments for each entry.

1. Join/Follow my blog using the Google Friend Connect Box to the right. – One Entry

2. Follow me on Twitter @nytshade and then Tweet about this Giveaway. – One Entry.

3. Subscribe to my blog (click the big orange square at the top right corner of my page). – One Entry

4. Blog about this Giveaway and link back to me. Put the link to your blog post in your comment. (comment twice please) – Two Entries

5. If you are an Etsy Seller or just an all around crafty person, you can donate an item to my 1000th Post Month-Long Giveaway Extravaganza! – Five Entries

This giveaway is open to everyone. This giveway will end January 15th, 2010 at midnight EST. Winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced the following day. Make sure to fill in your email address so I can contact you if you win. You will have 72 hours to claim your prize.

I have just started reading my free, advanced copy, of Thirsty by Tracey Bateman, thanks to the WaterBrook Multnomah Blogging for Books Program.  Here is some information about the book and it’s author.

Click here for my review and giveaway!

Thirsty by Tracey Bateman

Summary for Thirsty

There’s no place like home, they say.
“Hello, I’m Nina Parker…and I’m an alcoholic.”
For Nina, it’s not the weighty admission but the first steps toward recovery that prove most difficult. She must face her ex-husband, Hunt, with little hope of making amends, and try to rebuild a relationship with her angry teenage daughter, Meagan. Hardest of all, she is forced to return to Abbey Hills, Missouri, the hometown she abruptly abandoned nearly two decades earlier–and her unexpected arrival in the sleepy Ozark town catches the attention of someone–or something–igniting a two-hundred-fifty-year-old desire that rages like a wildfire.

Unaware of the darkness stalking her, Nina is confronted with a series of events that threaten to unhinge her sobriety. Her daughter wants to spend time with the parents Nina left behind. A terrifying event that has haunted Nina for almost twenty years begins to surface. And an alluring neighbor initiates an unusual friendship with Nina, but is Markus truly a kindred spirit or a man guarding dangerous secrets?

As everything she loves hangs in the balance, will Nina’s feeble grasp on her demons be broken, leaving her powerless against the thirst? The battle between redemption and obsession unfold to its startling, unforgettable end.

I’m sitting here in the dark at my computer at 11:45pm and what do I hear for the very first time EVER?  A Great Horned Owl right outside my window!  I’ve never heard ANY owls outside here in the 4-5 years I’ve lived here (off and on).

I wish I could have seen him flying through the night.  I’m not a bird watcher, but to me, seeing birds like owls, in the wild just strikes me as cool.

Check out this site for pics and audio!  Great Horned Owls

Then check out this awesome giveaway for IzzyBelle’s over at ParentingPink.com!  I can tell you that if win, I am sooooo getting that Preschool Rocks Tee!

So.. after viewing the umpteenth year in review video, I’ve decided that my resolution for 2010 will be to take one picture a day for 365 days and then create a year in review video of my own!  I will also throw in some video clips from events throughout the year.

One such event is my girls’ dance recital!  Hopefully I’ll also be including my son’s first baseball game in the spring, and the purchase of our first home!!!  I really am excited to see what this coming year has to bring.

My only question is.. do I start with midnight on New Years???

Hope everyone’s holidays were merry and bright!