Loved this book!

Let me start this review by saying that I do not like vampire books.  If the title or summary of a book has the word vampire in it I will pass it by and pick up almost anything else instead.  I picked this one up anyway and I'm glad that I did.  It is written for a young adult audience and is very clean.  It deals with normal teenage issues rather than anything gory or violent.

Eric is a 14-year-old boy living with his single mother in small town Utah.  He plays the piano, he has a crush on his pretty friend Kacey, he hangs out with his friend Joseph, he can't handle bright sunlight, and has to drink some kind of blood to survive.  He and his mother hide his status as a half-vampire by saying he has porphyria, which makes him unable to be out in the heat of the day.  He takes a few classes at the public school and the rest on-line. 

Of course, adjusting to hormones is difficult for any teenager.  Imagine adding in the desire, not only to kiss the pretty girl, but to bite her as well.  Eric struggles to rein in his strong desires but doesn't know how to do this.  His mom is human and has no experience in this area.  His dad left as soon as he found out about the pregnancy and they haven't heard from him since.  Eric's journey to learn how to cope with his vampire half takes him to Scotland where he meets some good and evil examples of the vampire world.  Some may even try to hunt him down.  Overall, it makes for an interesting story.

Shafer handles the vampire element as a genetic abnormality rather than a different species.  They are not bloodthirsty in the sense that they want to kill or even need to kill others to survive.  They only need a few ounces of blood day to survive.  I like this adaptation.  I enjoyed this book and will be happily passing it along to my teen and pre-teen children.

Did I mention I have a business?

Click the link on the left to check out my website. I started my business with The Pampered Chef in August 2011 for many reasons. I love to cook and I love cooking gadgets and paraphernalia so it's fun for me to have a business that encourages my passion/addiction. :) I also wanted a job where I could supplement the family income and potentially replace my full-time income while only working part-time hours. I have had a lot of fun with it since I started and I am glad I have the opportunity to do something like this.

In April there is a neat special going on. There is a set that isn't normally available for purchase that can be obtained for the month of April only. The Mother's Day special is a Market Tote (a type of reusable grocery bag but way nicer than the normal ones you see around) and an insulated lunch bag. They can be purchased as a set for $28 but can also be purchased individually. Here's what they look like:

I have both of these and I love them. :)

I promise that my blog is not suddenly going to become a constant Pampered Chef commercial. However, if anyone would like to make a purchase or book a show I would be very appreciative. You don't have to live in my area to do this. I have the ability to do on-line shows so my friends from all over can get free stuff. :) Just message me and let me know you are interested.

Time to Catch Up

My sister has recently joined the world of blogging (check out the link on my frequented list for "Just My Thoughts"). Reading her posts made me remember that I had a blog started but sorely neglected. Life is so busy and there are so many things that I want to do that things slip through the cracks. Blogging has been one of the things that found its way to the cracks. I thought I might try to pick things back up again. We'll see how it goes.

We moved in mid-September and came back home. The kids will go to the same high school I did. The boys are extremely weirded out by that and are worried that the teachers will hold the fact that I'm their mother against them. They refuse to accept my insistence that I was one of those kids the teachers either loved or forgot about. Luckily for them most of the teachers I had are no longer there so they don't have much to worry about.

We're living in an apartment right now but are house shopping. We'll finish out our lease in August and the plan is to be in a house by that time. I hope to be able to post pictures of our new house soon. My kids don't like being told not to run or bounce a ball or jump because people live below us. Jaydin (5) cried in frustration one day "Why do we have to live in an e-partment!?" Poor kid. It's rough being a little boy who can't run around inside. :)

Jaydin will start Kindergarten this next school year. That's just so weird to me. He's not going to snuggle too much longer so I snag him as often as I can. Kierstin is in 3rd grade. I was pleasantly surprised to be informed that she is reading on a 5th grade reading level. I promptly broke out all the books I'd been saving and she's in the process of devouring the Little House on the Prairie series. She absolutely loves them! Brydin is on his way to being a 7th grade track star and placed 3rd in his first meet in the 100 yard dash. He just had a bike given to him for helping a neighbor move and he's in love with it. Landin is a typical teenager and spends a lot of time texting on his iPod. It's his lifeline to his friends back where he considers home. I have to admit he has a really good group of friends there. I hope they stay in contact for a long time to come. I honestly like them all.

Billy and I both have good jobs. I'm glad for that. It's been a long time for me. If we plan things properly I may be able to come home and be a housewife after a couple of years. What would that be like?! I can't wait. :)

Okay, that's enough for one day. Hopefully I'll be able to find some interesting things to say every once in a while...or at least something to say. No guarantees on the interesting. :)