Thoughts on my hubby

27 years ago was the summer before my senior year in high school and I went for a walk that would change my life forever.  I just wanted to go for a late-night walk in my little town with a friend and at our county park was a teenage man himself just sitting in his car listening to music while his parents fished.  Well, my friend and I decided to talk to that man about his stereo I did not think anything of it except that another redneck moron from my town.  See I was wearing a black trench coat, all black clothes (probable a metal band shirt), black nails, and possible black lipstick in a little town so I was the oddity.  That man decided right then he wanted to marry me.  Well, a couple weeks later we met up again and hung out then started dating.  That man is my husband our relationship has not always been the easiest as I know I am a strong-willed different kind of woman and he came from a very toxic life but that is his story, not mine.  Any we broke up on and off for years even had a son together during that time but when our son was 3 we got married.  I will say that man is the strongest man I know he never was intimidated by knowledge or at times earning more than him.  He has seen me grow as a human and encouraged me when others around me kept trying to fit me into their mold.  Our relationship is stronger today than it was when we first got married has it always been easy oh no way but has it been worth it yes.  I watch that man daily go to a physically tiring job just to support our family so I don't have to work.  He has supported me even when I worked one of the worst jobs I have had which should have been one of my best.  Sat with me while I did my first security job at a dangerous job (he had permission from my bosses).  When I was working would bring me coffee or food. Even encourages me now that I am a stay-at-home mom. Is my biggest supporter and advocate for my food allergy that most people think is just a fad (spend a day in my body when I have gluten I don't think most would last a day).  Encourages me on my weight loss journey (quick update no longer obese just overweight now and out of the 200's) while helping me keep my head solid. I know some see me as a witch or a quiet mouse but with my man, I am a lion so don't make me mad.   I could not have asked for a better partner in life.  I pray our 4 sons to be as solid of men as their dad is.  I know no one will read this but I just wanted to put it out there.  

New American Awakenings by Tyler Davis

 New American Awakenings (Book one) by Tyler Davis is one the hardest books I have read about the post America world in years.  I started reading this book after the capitol attack in D.C. and this book is so realistic even if others don't believe so.  It is from the viewpoint of Colt a young man who is living in a slum after a supposed christian (I put a little "c" on purpose as the group that took over is not what the Bible calls Christian at all) took over the government and made anyone different from them the enemy/terrorist.  The horrific abuse at the hands of a prideful person who thinks she is the servant of God is horrific but sadly I can even see it in people today.  Without giving anything away I will say that the story is well written as I could picture everything even to point of seeing it actually happening to our America.  This book is a great fiction example of what happens when we let prideful people make enemies out of our neighbors.  I highly recommend this book even with the chaos going on in our world right now and I can't wait for the second book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Net Galley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rant thoughts on racism

Since I know very few people will actually read this especially since my grammar is horrible.  With everything going on I have to get this off my chest so here I go.  I am so sick of people saying racism is something in the past and not that prevalent now.  Wrong I remember in 1988 (hey that was only 32 years ago) how white supremacist murdered a man in Portland Oregon.  We forgot that it was only 6 years ago that a Georgia school finally had an official non-segregated prom.  The same students that in the 1960's that were screaming at African American students trying to integrate schools are now the parents and grandparents of our current generations.  Yes, some may have changed their beliefs but not all did, and they taught that hate to their children.  I know things have gotten better but there is still a hidden and not so hidden groups of what I allow my children to call racists big dummies.  I get mad about racism since I come from a family of mixed-race people and none are adopted all are blood relation.  Between my husband and I, we have Asian, Jewish, African American, Hispanic, and Native American relatives.   What also makes me mad is around the time I publish this will be near my 20th wedding anniversary and had we gotten married in the late 40's or slightly into the 50's would not been allowed to get married because it was illegal for a couples of different races to marry.  As my husband is genetically Native American (yes, we know this for a fact), and it was illegal in our state until 1951 for whites marry non-whites including Native Americans.  Before you think I am only talking about white racists I have met people of different races that are racist also, so it does not matter racists are jerks we are all God's children. I am a people watcher and I have seen white supremacy in my community and since it is not my story to tell I will not give details but I have had friends and family that have experienced horrible treatment and some just snide comments due to their race in our community.  I have seen white pride flaunted and it is sad and horrible.  No race is above another but we as human beings cannot put our heads in the sand when others think they are better than others just because of how little or how much more pigment they have in their skin.  Just because you have not experienced or have seen racism does not mean it does not exist this not like the tooth fairy it is there just some are blessed not have had that happen to them.  If you are a former racist good I am glad you have seen the light and no longer are one of those jerks and I will be your friend but if you are a currently racist jerk I will treat you with God's love but we will not be friends.  I cannot be friends with someone who thinks my family is worth less than others due to the amount of pigment in their skin.  If you read this just remember this is my thoughts and rants.  So just remember your experiences are not someone elses.

Take Back Your Time by Morgan Tyree

"Take Back Your Time" by Morgan Tyree is an organization and scheduling book.  I am not an organized person by nature so I was very interested in this book.  However, it was way more advanced than I am at organizing.  With the three different levels it uses and all the different tasks you need to do to figure out where things should be scheduled in your life, I got overwhelmed.  I just need simple easy lessons on scheduling and this was not for me.  Maybe I am just too simple just give me a plain planner with no stickers or extras and I can plan my day still have issues but that is me. So if you are looking for something more advanced then this book is for you.  So I recommend it for the non-basic easy-going planner type person.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Light From Distant Stars by Shawn Smucker

"Light from Distant Stars" by Shawn Smucker is a novel about Cohen Marah in the present and in his past.  We see Cohen coming to terms with his dad's death which bring up some bad memories from his childhood.  He lived with his dad at a funeral home after his parents divorced. We learn that his dad was a caring father but his mother was a harsh cold woman and he had a very loving sister.  However, that is all I can really say without giving away to much of the story.   I will say that this book at times did seem to jump around some.  I did enjoy the way the author made a clear jump from the past to the present which is nice when they do that.  However I still was getting confused at times by what was happening in the story well mainly the parts in the past.  Even though I was confused by the story at times I still enjoyed and could not put it down once I picked it up.  So I do recommend it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The String by Caleb Breakey

"The String" by Caleb Breakey is a crime thriller novel about the conductor pulling the strings that affect the life of university cop Markus Haas.  This book started out as a possible good psychological thriller if that is your cup of tea which is mine.  However, it did not turn out to be that way for me as with in the first couple chapters I figured out what was going on in the story and who the conductor was.  This type of book should have kept me guessing all throughout it but it did not as it was a very formulaic type of book.  I mean seriously it is like I have read this story before just with different character names and a few other differences it was just badly written.  I do not recommend this book at all.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Protecting Your Child From Predators by Beth Robinson

"Protecting Your Child From Predators" by Beth Robinson and Latayne Scott is about not only identifying how a predator works but also on how to help/teach your children at different ages about predators.  This is such a powerful and informative book in my opinion it is a must read by any church or group that has kids in it.  There are so many points that I really agreed with.  Some of my favorite are for example if you or your child have a bad feeling about someone follow that instinct don't ignore it.  I personally have had bad feeling about not trusting someone and then later find out they are a rapist.  This book teaches us how to teach our children from a young age about predators in an age appropriate way.  Also this book explains that most of the time the predators are people close to us or sometimes the friendlist person you know.   You just have to read this to be able glean all the good information from this book as it is a very powerful book that I could not put down and I highly recommend it to any one.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Net Galley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.