The Book Cover

Title: Building Projects for Backyard Farmers and Home Gardeners: A Guide to 21 Handmade Structures for Homegrown Harvests
Author: Chris Gleason
Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing
ISBN: 978-1565235434
Pages: 160
★★★★

Synopsis:

(Taken from Amazon.com) This is a practical and engaging guide to transforming an ordinary backyard into a productive farm. Homesteading is experiencing a revival among both rural and urban residents who want to get back to basics and live closer to the land. With this book, homeowners will obtain both inspiration and instruction for transforming their grassy yard into a lush farm that can produce all the food they need.

The author is an experienced woodworker and homesteader who shows how to plan and design a backyard farm. He offers expert advice for making all of the essential hard-working structures that are needed to sustain small-scale agriculture.

Step-by-step instructions are provided for 10 projects including green houses, beehives, rabbit hutches, raised beds, potting sheds, trellises, fences, and more. Readers learn how to create an irrigation system, harvest rainwater, and keep their farms environmentally sound. Each detailed plan is accompanied by the author’s clear, instructive drawings.

More than just a manual, the book also offers entertaining and enlightening interviews with both experts and “average Joe” farmers. We learn what motivates them to become backyard farmers, the lessons that they have to share, and maybe even a couple of funny stories along the way.

Review

My husband and I have been discussing changing our lifestyle for a while and becoming more self-sufficient.  After all, isn’t that our human right to be able to grow food in order to support our families? While many people are not in a place where they can have their own backyard farm or home garden (i.e. apartments or HOA restricted) we are blessed with a huge backyard and better yet, no HOA.

When I saw that I had the chance to review this book, I was incredibly excited. After all, we needed ideas on how to build things. Plus, we didn’t want to have to spend a ton of money. I know the saying goes — spend some to save some but we’d really like to limit that as much as possible. I felt that it was possible that Building Projects for Backyard Farmers & Home Gardeners would give us the ideas on how to do things ourselves.

One particular feature that I found particularly useful was that it tells you how many vegetable plants you need per person and how much space they will take up. For example, if your family is big tomato family then you’ll need 1-4 plants a person and it takes up about 48 sq inches.  Sweet. (Oh how I miss actually being able to EAT tomatoes.)

There are about 21 projects in this book including:

• Rainwater Harvesting System – This is probably the most wonderful thing we could do for our own garden. In Florida we have two season (wet and dry). During the summer months, it rains almost every day. Then once “winter” hits, we often have a very dry season which puts us onto water restriction from the community. Harvesting our own rainwater would help us through those dry seasons. That is for sure!
• Irrigation Strategies — These include overhead watering, drip irrigation, and soaker hoses.
• Garden Cart – You move a LOT of stuff around while you are gardening and although people usually use wheelbarrows, they aren’t usually big enough for needs. If you have ever dragged around mulch, hay, or stone, you’ll understand what I mean. How many trips do you really feel like doing, anyway?
• Compost Box – Compost provides an amazing fertilizer for gardens (plants, trees, whatever!) Plus it really puts our food scraps (including left over vegetables, fruit peels, etc.) to use. We get a TON of leaves from our Oak trees. I hate those darn trees, but the dead leaves would be a welcome addition to a compost box. I really like the idea that what we take from the Earth, we are also giving back to the Earth as well. It makes me sound like such a hippy, but I don’t care. There is something poetic about giving back to the garden that gives to you.
• Vermiculture Bin – This is a bin created to use worms to speed up and improve the overall quality of your composting.  The worms in a vermiculture bin break down scraps and produce a very powerful and organic fertilizer (i.e. worm castings).
• Easy Plank Raised Beds – Have you seen the raised garden beds for sale? They are often really expensive. I have seen many that are 200+$ for a handmade wooden bed. The good news is, you can make this yourself and it is EASY. You can make this project with scrap wood or the wood from wood pallets, which we get for free!
• Stacked Lumber Raised Bed – Just another version of a raised bed. Personally, I really love the look of these! In this particular plan they give you directions on how to build a beautiful trellis, which is much needed for vine plants like tomatoes or cucumbers!
• Potato Planter – Did you know that you can grow approximately 100lbs of potatos in a compact 2ft by 2ft area?  The directions they give includes wood made from a wood pallet. (Remember how I said you can often find them for FREE??!)
• Tiered Lettuce Rack – ever think to shelve your lettuce? I had no idea that was even possible. I think lettuce is a must in gardens and this seems like a great way to conserve space and add a little variety to your home garden.
• Wall of Tomatoes – I think this looks absolutely awesome! You will have to get the book to build it but it’s definitely a useful AND decorative wall of tomatoes.
• Bean Leaner – I bet this would be great on an apartment patio.
• Squash Ramp – This is a corral for your favorite sprawling squashes and melons. (Cantalope, cucumber, honeydew, pumpkin, etc.)
• Grapevine Ladder – This is AWESOME and I cannot wait to make this. It’s like a pergola for grapes. Doesn’t that sound like the coolest concept? I think I will be doing this against our backyard shed.
• Pea Trellis – Just like it says but the materials it recommends is actually pretty cool.
• Greenhouse – Using a greenhouse will help jumpstart early plant growth before planting.  This project uses recycled windows. There is a window place near us who has a dumpster out back that has hundreds of old windows and guess where they will end up going — the dump. What a good way to recycle old windows!
• Cold Frame – This is kind of the inbetween tool you would use from sprouting in the greenhouse and before planting into the ground. This helps allow the plant to harden off prior to planting.
• Wire Mesh Cloche – This helps protect your plants from frost. Florida doesn’t get really cold, but when it does, it can do so really quickly and really irritate plants. Creating a wire mesh cloche would be a great project to add for the cooler months.
• PVC Cloche – I swear, you can do so much with PVC that it’s a bit crazy.
• Top Bar Bee Hive – We’re not doing bees – ever. But, I’d definitely love some organic honey. Yum!
• Rabbit Hutch – Rabbits smell, big time. They are soft and cuddly and sooooo cute. But, they stink. The hutch in Building Projects for Backyard Farmers & Home Gardeners, though, is spacious and looks like it could be nicely personalized. If I was somehow tricked into getting a rabbit for the girls, though, the hutches in this book are ideal for us.

Besides just given project ideas, we are also given the materials list, which is incredibly important and directions on how to make these projects. It’s not just an idea book, but a guide to create these projects into your own garden. Inspirational gardeners are also profiled and I found their stories rather interesting.

I only had a few issues with the book, one being the fact that such a highly image detailed book was very slow to load using the required Bluefire Reader app on my iPad. So if you are going to purchase this book, I definitely recommend getting the physical copy over the kindle or nook version. In fact, I don’t even think it’s available in e-format for the public so you probably do not even have to worry about that.

The other issue I had was that it only included two backyard projects for animals — the bees and the rabbit hutch. I would have loved if it included plans for a chicken coop and a chicken brooder. I mean, that’s a huge part of backyard farmers. That would have been more important then the rabbit hutch. (I mean, just how is rabbits needed for backyard farming? I don’t know…)

Overall, I found this book really informative and I cannot wait to utilize a lot of these projects in my own backyard garden.

The Book Cover

Title: Lovely Knits for Little Girls: 20 Just-Right Patterns, Just for Little Girls
Author: Vibe Sondergaard
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 978-1600855030
Pages: 144
★★★

Synopsis:

(Taken from Amazon.com) While project books for making baby knits abound, what happens when your little cherub turns two? Lovely Knits for Little Girls solves the problem beautifully, with twenty patterns for pint-sized vests, dresses, sweaters, and skirts—all brimming with pretty, girly details. Forget about baby-weight yarn, tiny needles, and fussy patterns for clothes that are quickly outgrown. For Lovely Knits, knitwear designer Vibe Sondegaard creates a bright, stylish, little-girl wardrobe of fabulous projects that knit up quickly and allow knitters plenty of opportunity for trying a few design tricks (cables, bobbles, lace patterns) on a manageable, kid-sized scale. Best of all, the pattern shapes size up or down easily (with back of book instruction on doing just that), making this collection versatile enough to use again and again.

Review

I guess this will just be a mini review as there isn’t much to talk about in regards to a knitting book. While I loved the overall look of the book and as a photographer I appreciated the pictures, I just don’t think it was awesome. For a knitting book, it is average.

Lovely Knits for Little Girls is supposed to be a book on lovely knits for little girls. Well, honestly, little girls really wouldn’t want to wear anything in this book. There wasn’t a single item of clothing that I could look at and think, “Yes, this would make a lovely gift for a little girl.” I really didn’t like anything. The items looked fine in the photos, but in real life, that may be another story.

Another thing is that this book requires seaming and it seemed rather complicated extra step for such basic looking patterns especially since you can get a lot of patterns that knit seamless on Ravelry.com. The cloths aren’t really stylish, at least in American terms of what style is. This looks more like a book geared towards a grandparent, in which they think their child wants to wear.

If you have found this review because you are looking for adorable knits for little girls, I recommend the following links/designers.

• Elizabeth Daugherity of Sweet Monkey Baby
• Georgie Hallam of TikkiKnits
• Tina Good of SugarBubbie
• Melissa Simpson of DaKine Knits
• Nicole Ratliff of DaKine Knits
• Carina Spencer of CarinaSpencer.com
• Marilyn Porter of Evie Pants
• Claire Gentry of CiaoBellaBaby

These designers mentioned have created, in my opinion, the just-right patterns for little girls. I do not feel the book Lovely Knits for Little Girls comes close.

The Book Cover

Title: Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard
Author: Jessi Bloom
Publisher: Timber Press
ISBN: 978-1604692372
Pages: 224
★★★★

Synopsis:

(Taken from Amazon.com) Many gardeners fear chickens will peck away at their landscape, and chicken lovers often shy away from gardening for the same reason. But you can keep chickens and have a beautiful garden, too! Fresh eggs aren’t the only benefit — chickens can actually help your garden grow and thrive, even as your garden does the same for your chickens.

In this essential handbook, award-winning garden designer Jessi Bloom covers everything a gardener needs to know, including chicken-keeping basics, simple garden plans to get you started, tips on attractive fencing options, the best plants and plants to avoid, and step-by-step instructions for getting your chicken garden up and running.

For anyone who wants a fabulous garden where colorful chickens happily roam, Free-Range Chicken Gardens is the guide that will bring the dream home to roost.

Review

I have been debating having backyard chickens for a while. I was torn between a few ducks, or some chickens. We had ducks in our “backyard” at the apartment and they would often come to our porch to greet us for food. I don’t know why, but I really love birds. I knew that when we moved to the house (where we live in the ‘woods’ pretty much and have a HUGE backyard) that I would want to actually have ducks, or chickens.

It is this book, Free-Range Chicken Gardens, that sealed the deal on having chickens instead of ducks, though. The book is filled with amazingly beautiful pictures of backyard gardens in which the chickens are free-range. To me, these gardens look like heaven! They have a certain oasis feel, that is for sure. Imagine the great eggs that come from a happy and healthy chicken vs commercial caged chickens.

But it’s not just pictures, but incredibly useful information. We, as potential chicken owners (or just readers),  are presented with images with a few popular chicken breeds with some descriptions. Bloom helps us decide which breed is best for us (we decided on the silkie, by the way.) The silkies are docile and friendly and are great for children. But there are many varieties and no two families are exactly the same in specific chicken needs. While some are more for pets (as silkies are), some are more for meat, and some for eggs.

Free-Range Chicken Gardens is not just a book about gardening, but also a really in depth guide to raising chickens AND creating a garden habitat that would be both beautiful and beneficial for free-range chickens. I was incredibly impressed with this book and will definitely look to it often when deciding what to place in our own backyard habitat.

If you are in to sustainable living/homesteading, then I definitely recommend this book. Free-Range Chicken Gardens has dual purpose — information AND pictures. A book that you can keep on your coffee table, fit this selection into your green home as soon as possible.

Book Cover

Title: January First: A Child’s Descent into Madness and Her Father’s Struggle to Save Her
Author: Michael Schofield
Publisher: Crown
Pub Date: August 7th, 2012
ISBN: 978-0307719089
Pages: 288
★★★★

Synopsis:

(Taken from Amazon.com) A brilliant and harrowingly honest memoir, January First is the extraordinary story of a father’s fight to save his child from an extremely severe case of mental illness in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Review

January First is a highly emotional and intimate story of the Schofields and their relentless battle to find a diagnosis for their daughter January’s condition. Affectionately called Jani by those that know and love her, Jani has an incredibly devastating and rare lifelong form of mental illness; childhood onset schizophrenia.

Infact it is so rare to be diagnosed with schizophrenia as a child that if you look up the term “childhood onset schizoprhenia”, you will find Jani’s name everywhere. Diagnosed at only 5, Jani is one of the youngest children ever to be diagnosed with schizophrenia; a condition that does not usually erupt until later on in life.

What is schizophrenia?

Fortunately, schizophrenia is rare in children, affecting only about 1 in 40,000, compared to 1 in 100 in adults. The average age of onset is 18 in men and 25 in women (credit/source.)

Symptoms usually include: (credit/source)

Social withdrawal Hostility or suspiciousness Deterioration of personal hygiene Flat, expressionless gaze Inability to cry or express joy Inappropriate laughter or crying

Depression Oversleeping or insomnia Odd or irrational statements Forgetful; unable to concentrate Extreme reaction to criticism Strange use of words or way of speaking

Other symptoms include delusion, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and disorganized behavior. To learn more about schizophrenia, feel free to visit the following sources: (Link 1) (Link 2) (Link 3)

January First begins prior to the schizophrenia diagnosis so we are really pushed into these incredibly personal and emotional moments in the lives of Michael and Susan while they are searching for the cause of their daughter’s peculiar behaviors.

The first time that I had about Jani, I was searching on youtube. If you are familiar with youtube, you can understand how you can start searching for one thing and end up in a very different place. Somehow I ended up at this video:

Did you watch it? Good. You need to. You need to see this amazing family. Immediately I was completely fascinated by this little girl. The delusions and lack of sleep have taken a toll on her little body, as evident in the circles around her beautiful eyes. But there was something that I found so intriguing about this family.

Incredibly intelligent, Jani wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. Her love for animals and for helping others is apparent even when bits and pieces of the psychosis shows itself and tells her she wants to be a ‘number checker’. Number Checkers, according to Jani, are like doctors or nurses for numbers and keep the numbers healthy. But her delusions aren’t always that easy. In fact, she has physically hurt both her parents with such intensity and force unseen normally in a little girl, that it would resort to very drastic measures to keep her and her family alive.

Michael Scofield paints the picture of what it is like to be involved in the daily life of a family caring for a loved one, a young child, with schizophrenia (who also happens to have a genius IQ.) But even more importantly, he paints a picture of a family experiencing the unknown and the terrifying. Through January First, we walk step by step with the Schofields in search for the answer.

If you would like to learn more about schizophrenia, please pick up the novel January First, and read it as soon as you can. Once I started the very first page, I could not put it down until the last page and I don’t often read a lot of memoirs but this one is absolutely fascinating. Because January First is written by Jani’s father, it is very easy to relate to and I didn’t feel like everything was above my head. Michael does not use difficult terminology but instead fills the pages with raw emotion and explains it to us in such a way where its difficult to differentiate between his feelings and our own.

January First is a captivating and inspirational read. To support Jani, check out the family website Jani’s Journey. You can also find them on Facebook located at The Jani Foundation.

The Book Cover

Title: Wither
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Pages: 384
★★

Synopsis:

(Taken from Amazon.com) By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years–leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.When Rhine is sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Yet her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement; her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next; and Rhine has no way to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive.

Together with one of Linden’s servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

Review:

I received this book a while ago as an ARC directly from the publishing company. I was incredibly excited to add another dystopian to my library and I just loved the cover. (For some reason the girl on the cover kind of reminds me of Mandy Moore — am I the only one that thinks this?)

It took me a while to get to this novel, but I finally decided to make some room and start it. I had been in a reading slump for months and I needed something that would really get me going again; diving back into the pages that I love. Unfortunately, I kind of wish I hadn’t. Looking at the pretty cover is good enough. Really.

Honestly, this book annoys me along the same kind of lines as Twilight. For some reason, it is uber popular. Just look at the reviews on Amazon. Many have read Wither and many like it. But, I find the plot full of holes, boring in many parts, creepy (in a sexually skeevy kind of way), and believe that it does a fabulous job of spreading the wrong message to our youth.

I am going to be really frank — I think this is a horrible novel. In fact, I am surprised that I finished it at all. On one hand you have a story with a lot of potential and on the other, it’s not well-written. Very much like a train wreck, I can’t stop watching/reading.

I am not sure I would completely consider this a dystopian novel. It’s almost kind of a fantasy, wanna-be dystopian. For the most part, the world is going on as normal. Wanting to cure cancer, and doing so, scientists created a bigger problem. Genetically, women were unable to live past 20, and men 25. I really liked the idea that humanity was as ticking time bomb due to overzealous scientists. It even makes sense to me that in order to continue on the human race, babies must be made at an earlier age. But why the kidnapping and rape? Why couldn’t the willing, make the conscious decision to have a baby early and do so through IVF?

This brings me to my first issue. Realistically women live longer then men. But how is this supposed genetic mutation killing women at 20, and men at exactly 25? Why are women the weaker of the sexes? Then, there is this whole society of rich men who kidnap women and force them into polygamous marriages at an incredibly early age — for what purpose? Well to have babies and provide good eye candy, of course!

Duh.

These selected child-brides, who are (suspiciously) only beautiful — are kidnapped against their will and drugged. Then, though it doesn’t exactly say– the fat, ugly, or disabled are killed in the back of the van. Based on how superficial the novel is, I am going to make a wild guess as to why the women were killed rather then returned to their homes. Many girls kidnapped from their loved ones, and only 3 selected to be forced into marriage and baby making. 3!

*Grumbles*

Whatever.

Lindon, a rich young man of approximately 21, is a clueless man-kid who does what his doctor Daddy says. That includes marrying multiple girls at once, having his way with them, spreading his seed — and all this even though he’s in love with a dead girl. Why he doesn’t question the morality of what is going on, I’ll never know. But he is happy to think with his penis consumate his marriages. That’s all that matters; that he is doing his part in extending the human race!

What is entirely gross and skeevy about the entire book (written for teenagers, might I add) is that one of the wives is barely 13 years old when she loses her virginity to her 21 year old husband and gets pregnant. And, you know, that’s acceptable — I guess? Gross.

But I guess we’re not supposed to have an issue with the sex with minors and banishing them to their bedrooms, only to come out and look pretty because — well, the wives are well taken care of. They get whatever they want, whenever they want, because without their wombs — the human race will die off!!! Oh noes! What a great excuse for all skeevy sex offenders. “Sorry, child — but you’re mine now or the world as we know it will end!”

Way to glorify polygamy, child rape, and sex trafficking, and get rich off it, DeStefano. *Claps* Brraaa-vo. (Anyone else grossed out that this type of book was published by popular Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers?) Is this the kind of message we want our young readers to read? Seriously?

On top of yuckies I felt while reading this book, DeStefano showcased her amazing logic and research skills and made Florida have 4 seasons!!! Oh Em Gee! You see, as a native Floridian, I have always wanted 4 seasons. Unlike the rest of the world, we just have two, wet and dry. Or you could just call it hurricane season and drout season. If you want to be technical, we do have four seasons, but they aren’t as eventful as the rest of the world. Florida is hot and humid with a lot of rain and a few days of cold. But, according to DeStefano, our trees had leaves that turned multiple colors before they fell to the ground. Suddenly, I feel really jipped because in MY Florida (the real one), most leaves just turn brown and die. So boring and not at all remotely beautiful.

Our hurricane season is usually during the warmer months — June to November. (Yes, Florida is pretty warm all the way through November.) But in this novel, one minute there is a rainless hurricane and another it is snowing blizzards. Not only does that not even make sense, but Florida does not have snow.

Okay, okay — you just went and researched snow in FL. Sure, we’ve had “snow” — ice that falls from the sky. But no way in heck would anything constitute being called a blizzard, or trekking through inches. It is too humid in Florida, and Florida is physically unable to have that sort of snowfall. Some readers may argue that this is a dystopian novel so anything could happen — but I am going to stop you there. The whole premise of the novel was built around the fact that scientists altered genetics. There wasn’t some huge chemical warfare, bombs, or disease. It was science altering genetics to cure cancer. Last time I checked that doesn’t suddenly cause complete climate changes.

For some reason the whole Florida thing REALLY bugged me. I mean everyone knows Florida to be tropical and I am pretty sure people, for the most part, know that Florida is not known for snow. Who was the fact-checker and how on Earth was this not caught prior to publication? SOMEONE must have a brain, right? I really love Simon & Schuster so I am going to forgive them, this one time, for publishing this.. thing. I really don’t know what you’d call it, but its not literature.

But, anyway — that is just my opinion. For some unknown reason many people like it (or they just don’t know any better..) So give it a try for yourself, if you care.  But, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

You have been warned.

The book cover

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Pages: 336
★★★★★

 That’s the thing about pain. It demands to be felt.

Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads.com) Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs… for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Review:

Well, hello Mr. Green. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve been reading since I was 4, so where have you been all my reading life?

I really don’t know what caused me to pick up The Fault in Our Stars, as any book dealing with kids and cancer, well — no! Please, God, don’t make torture me in tears! I don’t wanna cry today! But, I picked it up anyway because the reviews were just that good.

So, I prepared myself emotionally and I started to read. (Had the tissues handy, just in case.) I am introduced to Hazel, Hazel Grace which she is often called, and she has cancer. What started out as thyroid cancer, from what I understand, ended up spreading to her lungs. At a very young age, she faced death — laughed in its metaphorical face, and kept on keeping on.

It was a miracle.

This miracle came in the form of an experimental drug. This drug stopped the tumor growth and while her cancer was not shrinking, it was not growing either. Her prognosis for living life was good. After all, she was living and living with out an immediate expiration date.

For the most part, Hazel could go about her life. She could drive. She could dress herself. If it wasn’t for the oxygen tank she had to wheel around with her wherever she went, you probably wouldn’t know she was sick. Even so, the battle with cancer has withdrawn her from normal teenager life. All she wants to do is lounge in her room with a good book. Not just any book, though, but The Imperial Affliction. Now, what’s wrong with that?

The thing is, as Hazel is alive, her parents are really insistant that she start living; start being a typical, normal, 16 year old and socialize. Hazel is anything but normal, though, and in fact, she is incredibly brilliant. Much to her dismay, they recommend that she start back up in attending the local cancer survivors meeting/support group.

It is there that she meets Augustus Waters. He is beautiful, intelligent, and becomes instantly captivated with Hazel. Oh, and he is in remission so that’s a wonderful thing.

Hazel and Augustus find themselves immediately drawn together and they bring sides out of each other that they don’t often share. If there are two people in this world that truly get each other, it is Augustus and Hazel. You’ll see.. but you’ll have to pick up The Fault in Our Stars and start reading.

I found The Fault in Our Stars to be absolutely, without a doubt, an amazing read. It forces you to face your fears on life and death and it will raise questions such as, “Is there life after death?” and “What is our life’s purpose?”

While, yes, it’ll make you cry — it’s worth every single tear.

On a final note, it’s a book worth purchasing. Not just borrowing from the library or a friend, but purchasing. I borrowed the book from a friend, but I genuinely want my own copy. While searching for an image to use, I saw that many books are autographed and I am so jealous.

I highly recommend it for a book clubs, as it is impossible to read The Fault in Our Stars, without wanting to talk about it — with everyone.

“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book. And then there are book which you can’t tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

I have a 3.5 year old and a 1.5 year old. Anyone with young children can only imagine the type of mess they can make while they eat. Yogurt will cover the table, the chairs, and the floor. Yogurt finds places that seem absolutely impossible only to be discovered when it has been hardened and caked and virtually impossible to remove.

I would use all sorts of chemicals trying to remove these dried food spills and only feel half satisfied as it would take a lot of grunting and elbow grease and nail picking to remove some stains. Then I happened to turn cleaning products around and look at the ingredients. What the heck does all this mean?

Now, these certain chemicals and products (that shall not be named) are used for all purpose counter tops, but they are not chemicals you can ingest safely. Yet — we are putting them on our eating surface? I started to feel very uncomfortable with this and started researching more natural and green house cleaning methods.

I was growing incredibly frustrated with my research as I was not finding anything TOUGH enough to really help me clean the surfaces the way they should. The glass table that we eat at still was not perfectly spotless. I thought many times of just tossing the table to the front yard and letting someone else deal with the mess.

Then I met Claire, who introduced me to this wonderful new product called Norwex. Immediately she sent me the following products:

Blue Enviro Cloth - This multipurpose microfiber Enviro Cloth removes dust, dirt, and grease from all washable surfaces. Available in four colors allowing you to color-code for different purposes or rooms.Use it dry for dusting, or damp for cleaning walls, tiles, bathtubs, counters, metal surfaces, car interiors, etc. Between laundering, simply rinse, wring out and hang to dry.

Window Cloth - The Window Cloth allows you to clean windows, mirrors, jewelry, and shiny surfaces with water alone. Clean dirty surface first with a moist Enviro Cloth, then polish with the Window Cloth for a streak-free shine. On less dirty surfaces, simply spray water on the surface and polish with the dry Window Cloth.

Hand Towel Antibac - The NEW Norwex Antibacterial Hand Towel, a great companion to our wonderful Bath Towel! Dries fast with incredible absorption.

Ultra Power Plus Laundry Detergent - Ultra Power Plus is a highly concentrated, superior stain removing powder that is biodegradable and contains no fillers. It cuts through grease and grime, leaving clothes soft and fluffy. Whites are whiter and colors are brighter. Safe on all types of fabric. Works in all water temperatures. Washes up to 40 loads. When used with the Norwex Magnet Ball, washes up to 70 loads. Comes in a convenient resealable bag.

REVIEW

When I review a product that comes with performance and longevity claims, I like to really take my time and use and abuse the product — just to make sure. After all, I really need to believe in the products that I recommend.

The first product that I tried was the Enviro Cloth. On the surface, these cloths like ordinary microfiber towels but they are so much more. They are actually infused with silver which helps to suffocate bacteria and viruses leaving a clean surface with OUT the chemicals.

(E) Ecoli swabbed on the counter. (F) was the counter after the ecoli was wiped off with a Norwex cloth.

One of Claire’s neighbors did a scientific experiment in which they swiped their counter with ecoli and then did swab tests to measure the amount of ecoli left after varying cleaning methods including wiping with a plain cotton cloth, spraying with 409 and then wiping with clean cotton cloth, and then simply with the Norwex Enviro Cloth. You can check out Claire’s Norwex Facebook Fanpage to see the entire experiment.

I was deeply disgusted that the 409 looked to make the problem worse. Millions rely on products like 409 to sanitize and clean their counters but yet the ecoli was still there in such an incredible amount? Disgusting.

The Norwex cloth, on the other hand, did the best job of cleaning the counter top from the bacteria and with out any chemicals! Cleaning the Norwex cloths are easy too — just pop in the wash on HOT and voila. You don’t even need to “wash” them. Simple HOT water will do! I LOVE that and am amazed that a product can virtually self clean itself.

The first surface I attempted to clean with my Norwex Enviro Cloth was the dining room glass table that Carli likes to decorate with yogurt every single morning. I wet the cloth with warm water and rung out any excess water. I wiped it over the glass counter and was amazed that all this yogurt mess came up with ease (no grunting involved.) It was seriously easy.

Then, because I was cleaning glass, I used the window cloth to dry and polish the tabletop. I was amazed that it took away any streaks or handprints and the table looked the way it should — and all this without chemicals! I immediately wiped my french doors, as they are leading off from the dining room onto the porch and Carli finds her dirty fingers to the door, too! They wiped clean. So simple.

The next product I tried was the body cloth. I was wondering how it would feel against my skin. The moment it was wet, however, it slid over my skin as if I was washing with silk. For such a “soft” rub, I was amazed at how well of a job the body cloth did at exfoliating my skin without any irritation whatsoever — or soap! Now, I have Florida feet. I wear flip flops or sandals year round so my heels can be a little rough. However with just a minute or two of using the body cloth, my feet were feeling soft again.

The laundry detergent that I was sent required very little to effectively clean your clothing. With just a few tablespoons, the load of laundry was soft and fresh with no lingering laundry detergent smell. For those with sensitive skin, it is important that the detergent be washed away completely and we had absolutely no issues with our laundry detergent from Norwex. If you have an High Efficiency (HE) washer, then you may need as little as a TEASPOON. It lasts such a long time because so little is needed to do its job.

Multiple colors for multiple rooms!

PURCHASE

I am amazed at all the different products that are available from Norwex. You can clean your entire household with Norwex products!

• Microfiber Cloths All your cloth needs can be found here. There are cloths made for windows, a travel pack for on-the-go, dusting, and removing lint.
• Floor Systems If you are like me, hard floors can be a pain in the but to keep clean. I absolutely loathe mopping and the products used to clean floors from well-known companies involve chemicals that cause cancer! Not Norwex though – their floor system products are simple, easy, and green! NO chemicals needed! (Though, personally — I love using tea tree oil just for the wonderful tea tree smell!) But like I said before, nothing but water is needed!
• Kitchen Cleaning – The towels look so unbelievably soft and I love the fact that they they come with Norwex’s Antibac technology. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen cleaning (although it doesn’t look it) and every possible kitchen need I have, Norwex has a product made especially for it!
• Home Essentials — Car wash, laundry, carpet cleaners and more! So many fun products that I can not wait to try.
• Kids – Norwex even offers a kid sized floor cleaning system. Carli hates the vacuum, but she loves to help clean in any way that she can. A kid sized floor cleaning system form Norwex would be sure to continue encouraging good cleaning habits in children. Also offered are antibac bath towels and a natural bubble bath/bath wash.
• Personal Care – I have heard FABULOUS things about the silver-infused toothbrushes. I absolutely LOVE the idea that they self-sanitize. (Do you know any other toothbrush on the market that can claim that? I sure don’t!) I am also interested in the crystal deodorant. As our skin pours soak up what we put on our skin, normal deodorant has begun to worry me. All those man-made chemicals soaking into our skin? However the Norwex Crystal Deodorant is made with mineral salts.
• Bath and Body Care – A scrub for your pets, towels for your hair, and lotions and body washes for your every need.

FORGOT TO MENTION

Every product from Norwex has a 60 day satisfaction guarantee. If the products are not up to your expectations and approval you can simply return the product within 60 days of your purchase date for a refund. (Though I highly doubt you’ll be disappointed!)

I also forgot to mention that the cloths have a TWO year warranty. Norwex products are worth the investment and your household and home will thank you.

A Quinoa Company with a Cause

As you know, Kate’s diet is quite limited. Well over her 1 year of age, she was on breast milk and a handful of fruits. We had introduced corn (in the form of Kix cereal) a few months ago but wanted something full of nutrition.

Researching and using the experiences of other FPIES Moms, I decided that our next venture would be with the use of Quinoa.

The Benefits of Quinoa (as taken from La Yapa Organic website):

Quinoa is a power-packed grain that contains an exceptional balance of amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.

Quinoa is the gluten-free “grain” that once fueled the Inca empire. The Incas recognized that Quinoa improved their health and stamina and regarded it as a sacred food. Today, nutritionists consider it one of the best “superfood” in the world.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is generally referred to as a grain, but is, in fact, the seed of a plant that is a relative of leafy green vegetables such as beets, chard, and spinach. Like its relatives, quinoa is a good source of dietary fiber. It is rich in essential nutrients, such as magnesium, manganese, iron, tryptophan, copper, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and phosphorous. Quinoa is considered a complete-protein food because it contains all nine essential amino acids. Quinoa is also gluten-free.

Quinoa is not only nutritious, it is delicious. Cooked quinoa is mild and buttery, and slightly crunchy. The most common quinoa seed is golden in color, but there are other varieties in colors such as red, black, pink, orange, and purple. The darker-colored seeds have a more crunchy and earthy texture when cooked, as well as more fiber.

Quinoa’s nutritional components

• Quinoa’s nutritional components are known to be good for a variety of ailments:
• Magnesium - Reduction of migraines and heart failure
• Amino acid lysine –  Essential for tissue growth and repair
• Riboflavin (vitamin B2) –  Necessary for proper energy production within cells
• Manganese and Copper –  Provide antioxidant protection
• Whole Grain Fiber Protective against certain cancers, childhood asthma, and gallstones

To learn more about Quinoa, check out the wikipedia article.

The Food Trial for Kate

Food trails can take days and weeks to get an accurate view on what an FPIES child can tolerate.  As with any new trial, I get extremely anxious. I wanted this pass for her so much. Because Quinoa is such a powerhouse of foods, my little girl needed it in her diet and I needed doctors off my back (hah!)

On day one we give her 1 tsp of the La Yapa Quinoa Puffs (which are extremely teeny tiny!)  She enjoyed picking them up with her fingers and it was definitely a good small motor skill practice, as she doesn’t have the same food experiences that other children have, who have been eating finger foods months before Kate.

Then we waited. 1 hour. 2 hours. We hit the usual 2 hour mark for a reaction, and none. She was happy and content and no odd poop issues (but most importantly — NO FPIES reaction!)

Day 2 she was created with 2 tsp of La Yapa Quinoa Puffs. Success. Every day we added another tsp to her previously tolerated amount. Sometimes FPIES kids can have a build up reaction, in which they may not have a reaction the first or second time, or even the third. But sometimes quite a few ingestions later, their body finally has had enough and says NO MORE! *DANGER!* *DANGER!*

I was worried about a possible build up reaction, but we have now been “trailing” Quinoa for about a month or two, now, and she seems to like them just fine. The puffs are fantastic. They are light and airy and taste great as a stand alone snack or for regular eaters, a cereal, a yogurt topping, etc.

We moved on to Quinoa Flakes, which are a bit different then the Quinoa Puffs.  Quinoa flakes, when cooked this way — is like a creamy oatmeal but very earthy in taste so it helps to add some of your favorite flavorings — honey, or brown sugar. I added salt to mine and it definitely helps.  Kate was not a fan of the flakes because of the earthy taste so we had to get really creative in hiding the flakes. (I used my Baby Brezza baby food maker to blend bananas and a tablespoon of quinoa flakes and it created an incredible thick and creamy baby cereal. But, more about the Baby Brezza coming up in another post!)

I loved the idea that I could hide this super nutritious food in with her other foods and give her amazing nutrition. I mean — just how many 18 month olds do YOU know that eat quinoa? Most young toddlers are eating gerber puffs and mum mums. (Believe me, I remember and have been there once upon a time.)

So now, thanks to La Yapa Organic — we get delicious and nutritious finger foods for our special little eater.

Support farming families in Bolivia.

The Company

What I really liked about the company itself is that it is T-I-N-Y. I really feel like if you purchase from La Yapa, you are not only purchasing wholesome organic food for your family, but you are also supporting a family (and many families) in the process and not just some major corporation.

La Yapa only gets their organic quinoa from one source — farming families in Bolvia through fair-trade practices. The families are paid fairly for their work, and La Yapa is helping to support not only the farmers who work, but the families, and that each child receives a well-rounded education in the process.

To learn more about La Yapa’s Cause: [click here]

The customer service was AMAZING. I spoke with Tania, who was very helpful in addressing any possible allergen issues or cross contamination issues that La Yapa may encounter. I felt confidant enough to try their product(s) and Tania had sent me a few samples in the mail just days later. The sandwich bag sized sample of the puffs that we received lasted us a LONG time. In fact, we just ran out yesterday and will need to be ordering more promptly! Kate really likes her teeny morsel snack and I feel very happy giving her this wonderful super food.

Overall

We are thrilled that we could call quinoa a pass, and we are even more thrilled that the company we will choose to get all future quinoa products for in the future, is such a great company. If you want to start your baby right (it’s the perfect FIRST food), then I definitely recommend the puffs. They are so incredibly tiny that you will not (at all) have an ounce of worry of possible choking. (I am SUPER paranoid about that kind of stuff, but the puffs are the PERFECT size for little fingers.)

If you’re an FPIES parent or a parent of a child with allergies, I urge you to check out La Yapa Organic for your quinoa trial needs.

Title: My Monster Burrufu
Author: Alberto Corral
Illustrator: Alessandra Sorrentino
Pages: 102
★★★

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com) Seven-year-old Olivia has just moved to a new house — the same house where a lonely monster named Burrufu lives hidden in a secret attic. One night, unable to resist the smell of delicious cookies, Burrufu sneaks out and is discovered by Olivia. The two soon learn that you can find friendship in the most unexpected places. ‘My Monster Burrufu’ is a story of overcoming fear, a curse, and a most unusual monster who learns from a little girl how to trust his heart.

Review: I found My Monster Burrufu to be a cute short story of a little girl, who in a way, reminds me a bit of my Carli. She is outgoing and friendly and has a ton of energy. But most importantly, she pays no attention to society standards of “normal” and will befriend just about anyone who needs a friend.

Burrufu is a monster that is used to being an outcast and so therefore hides in the attic, writing novels to pass the time. He hates rejection and more than that, he hates the idea that he scares people. So when Olivia finds him, he doesn’t really know how to react. Naturally, defensive. He didn’t want to be hurt!

Although the book was a bit simplistic in writing, it definitely has a great message and would make a good read aloud. The book says that it is good for ages 9 and up, but I think it is more appropriate for ages 6-9. If you’re a teacher or a parent looking for a good read aloud; a book during quiet time, or bed time, then I do recommend My Monster Burrufu. It’ll open the lines of communication and help children learn about the importance of tolerance and acceptance.

WIN THIS: LIMITED Snow Day Warmer

PLEASE tell me you have heard of Scentsy?

No?

Well, Scentsy is all sorts of awesome and I am kicking myself for not jumping on the bandwagon earlier.

After my best friend, Blair, started talking about the product and all the scents she wanted to get, I started to pay more attention. She threw a party and I decided, I’ll walk the plank into the unknown and try out Scentsy.

Scentsy is a plug-in wickless candle. When you plugin a Scentsy warmer, it uses a low wattage lightbulb to illuminate the warmer, and warm the melting dish. Usually in the melting dish you would have 1-2 cubes from a scent bar of your choice. The deliciously scented soy wax melts fairly quickly and fills the room (about 200sq feet) of an amazing, mouth watering, smile-inducing scent.

Mmm… is your nose begging you, yet?

I ended up purchasing the Graphite Mid-Sized Scentsy Warmer, along with 3 scents to try out:

• Pumpkin Marshmellow - Sticky, sweet marshmallow spooned onto fresh-baked pumpkin and wrapped in a graham cracker crust.
• Cinnamon Bear - Crisp, spicy cinnamon, reminiscent of Red Hots candy with a touch of cloves.
• Perfectly Pomegranate - Dark and juicy pomegranate with a sweet berry finish; this is a classic.

I eagerly awaited my package and when it arrived, I was impressed that my soy wax scents came sheltered with dry ice! I immediately smelled them and they smelt soooo good. I was surprised just how heavenly they smelled– and just as described, if not better!

The first one I tried was the Cinnamon Bear, as I am a huge huge fan of the apple-cinnamon type smell. When Scentsy describes it as resembling Red Hots candy, they weren’t kidding. It smells EXACTLY like Red Hots. A few hours later, I turned off my warmer and tried to pour the wax back into the bar holder, as instructed. That sooo was not happening.

I found that placing the warmer in the freezer for about an hour (until dry and cold) and then taking it out, turning it over, and tapping it — quickly releases the melted wax from the melting dish. I place the scent into a plastic bag for later use and move on.

Pumpkin Marshmallow. Oh YUM. Freaking A, it’s so yummy! I could go ON AND ON about how much I loved my Scentsy Warmer and the 3 bars I had purchased, but you get the idea; I love it but let’s move on with the show.

PURCHASE

Scentsy is not sold in stores. Sure, you can get Scentsy wannabes, but you’d be missing out on the high quality products and scents (as well as costumer service) that you get when purchasing through an Official Scentsy Consultant.

I am hosting my VERY OWN Scentsy party and EVERYONE is invited. It’s online, of course!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Make sure you are purchasing under Well-Read Reviews: Allison Vaughn. As your host, it helps me earn more Scentsy products! If you are interested in hosting your own Scentsy Party, feel free to contact the consultant, my friend, Melissa Perez.

TIP FOR ORDERING

Check out the “Combine and Save” page for custom Scentsy packages. You end up saving quite a bit that way.

REMEMBER

Please remember to let Melissa Perez know that you are purchasing through the Well-Read Reviews party. Don’t forget!

Now, the part you are probably REALLY waiting for.. (It’s okay to admit it.. You’re here for the giveaway!)

WIN THE SCENTSY GIVEAWAY

Up for grabs is the 2011 Limited Edition Full-Sized Warmer, titled Snow Day (as seen above). Snag it while it’s hot (and the weather is cold!). It retails for $35. Most limited edition Scentsy warmers go for about $60+ on eBay after they are discontinued. SUCH a deal! Plus, this one is FREE.

To enter:

MANDATORY:

Leave a comment with your contact email. This is needed in case you win. If your entry is selected and we have no way of contacting you, then we have no choice but to draw again. (1 point)

OPTIONAL:

• Comment: If you could choose 3 scents, what would you choose and why? (3 points)
• Subscribe to Melissa’s Newsletter (2 points)
• “Like” Melissa’s Independent Consultant Page on Facebook (2 points)
• “Like” Well-Read Reviews on Facebook (2 points)
• Follow Well-Read Reviews on Google Friend Connect (2 points)
• Subscribe to my RSS Feed (2 points)
• Follow Well-Read Reviews on Twitter (2 points)
• Tweet about this giveaway using the phrase (2points): Win the Limited Edition Snow Day Scentsy Warmer @WellReadReviews # http://tinyurl.com/3mrgnkw *Tweet up to 3x per day!
• Tweet about my Scentsy Party using the phrase (3 points): Need Scentsy? Get your wickless candle through @WellReadReviews now! http://tinyurl.com/3s995px *Tweet up to 3x per day!
• Purchase Scentsy through my party! For every $5 you spend, you will earn .. (4 points) Just make sure to include your order# for verification!