Heaven for Your Feet (a Nature's Sleep Giveaway)

Not too long ago, I got the opportunity to receive a pair of Memory Foam Slippers from Nature's Sleep in return for doing a review and a giveaway. I jumped at the opportunity. I decided to be a really nice mom and get the slippers for Marty since (at the time) he had been dealing with a horrible migraine.

Since the slippers were going to be for Marty, I let him select which ones he wanted. Marty picked the Open Toe Terry Slippers with Memory Foam in mocha. The ones he picked are just like that white one to the right but in a fabulous chocolatey brown. I tried to get a picture of his slippers but the only time he's had them off his feet since he got them was when he was in bed and, frankly, I didn't think you wanted a picture of his hairy legs sticking out of the slippers.

The Nature's Sleep web site describes the slippers as having "visco-elastic memory foam in the bottom of the footbed [that] contours and cradles your foot for luxurious comfort and support". All I know is Marty has said they are incredibly comfortable and I know they don't have any noticeable wear and tear on them even after he's worn them day in and day out.

As a mom, I like that the slippers have a nice sturdy sole that will stand up to a trip down the driveway with the garbage can or a run down to the mail box. Also, the Memory Foam in these slippers withstands a lot of wear without getting permanently compressed which means they will provide better support for Marty's feet on the days he refuses to wear regular shoes.

The fabulous people at Nature's Sleep have offered me the opportunity to give one of my readers a pair of these fabulous slippers. The lucky winner will get to chose between the Open Toe Terry Slippers with Memory Foam up above or the Closed To Terry Slippers with Memory Foam in the color of their choice. All you have to do is use the rafflecopter form below to enter. And, while you are waiting to find out if you won these fab slippers, go check out the super memory foam mattresses and pillows at the Nature's Sleep website. If you find something you have to have, use the code BEARS50 to get 50% off your purchase.

Unexpected

Y'all know I am a huge fan of romance novels. I definitely don't hide my love for these books and I just love the warm fuzzies I get from reading a happily ever after (hea) story. Sometimes, in addition to the hea warm fuzzies, I find a book that makes me think and that's always an unexpected treat. I got this experience just about a week ago when I picked up Twice a Rake by Catherine Gayle.

At first, Twice a Rake comes across as a well written but rather typical romance novel...a young society lady ends up getting pushed into a marriage with a young, good looking, but disreputable lord. They face challenges thrown at them by their own misadventures and they overcome them to achieve their happily ever after. But, Catherine Gayle takes this book so much farther than just a pleasant read by tackling two topics most people run from - abuse and infertility.

Quin, the hero of Twice a Rake, isn't just a rake because of being a spoiled young lord. Quin has been running from marriage because he's afraid of becoming his father. He's almost paralyzed by the memories of the abuse he and his mother suffered through.

Aurora, the heroine, is running from marriage because of her parents too. However, Aurora is terrified of ending up in a loveless marriage like her parents were. She remembers her mother's depression and sadness and the completely separate lives they led. Then, Aurora discovers that is wasn't a loveless marriage that caused her mother's suffering. Instead, she found out it was the agony of infertility, repeat pregnancy loss, and infant loss that paralyzed her mother and led to her parents' misery. At this point, Aurora is no longer running from a potentially loveless marriage but she's running because she's scared she won't be able to fill the role every young society lady is expected to fill - the role of mother to the heir.

While I was gratified to see a romance author tackle the effects abuse can have on someone, it was Ms. Gayle's handling of infertility that really made me think. Infertility is so hard to deal with in the modern era but the thought of having to deal with it in the 1800s when there were no answers, there were no treatments, an the woman was almost always blamed is daunting and terrifying. I simply can't imagine dealing with the losses and problems I went through without the support I found and that's what women in that era faced. I can easily imagine getting stuck in a cycle of depression like Aurora's mother did if I had gone through infertility in that era. It makes me very thankful that all the modern treatments and the online ALI (adoption, loss, and infertility) community were available to me when I was dealing with infertility.

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed Twice a Rake. Ms. Gayle created strong, appealing, and realistically flawed characters who many of us can identify with despite them living in such a different world and, she did so while dealing with two difficult topics with style and grace. If you're a romance fan, pick up a copy of Catherine Gayle's book. I think you'll love it. If you've never read a romance, this book would be a great way to start.


Do y'all have any books you would like to recommend to me?

* I received nothing to write this review. I simply wrote it because I loved the book.

Popping In For The Holidays

Thanks to the folks at 20th Century Fox and ThinkJam, there was a Mr.Popper's Penguins viewing party at my house this weekend. The movie follows Jim Carrey's Mr. Popper as he inherits 6 penguins. As Mr. Popper gets to know the penguins, chaos that ensues, his life seems to fall apart, and Mr. Popper ultimately learns some important life lessons.. Oh hell, I don't know why I'm summarizing it, I'm sure y'all have seen the trailers for this movie and have a clue as to the basic story.

If you haven't seen the movie, what y'all may not know is that Jim Carrey is pure comedic gold in this movie and that the adults will enjoy the movie as much as the kids do.  Sure, the kiddos will laugh at a whole different series of jokes than the adults do but there are jokes for EVERYONE. Thanks to Jim Carrey's comedic abilities, the story and it's lessons never get too heavy handed.  Mr. Popper's Penguins is definitely worth the watch.

BTW, 20th Century Fox has also put out some penguin themed activity sheets that your kids might like. Hell, who am I kidding? I had fun with the activity sheets. Yeah, I have to confess. I drew a penguin and conquered the maze. My kids have been swamped with school work and, while Joey did have me print out copies of the activity sheets for him, I don't think they'll get a chance to do them until Thanksgiving break. If you need a break from the holiday hubbub, click on each of the activity sheets below and it will take you to a large, printable copy.

PS...once you click on the pic of the activity sheet and your computer opens the larger pic in a new window, click on the pic in the new window to enlarge it to it's maximum sise.

PPS...tune in later this week for a Mr. Popper giveaway.

Movie Night With The Munchkins

Movie night with all three boys can sometimes be challenging. The age spread of my boys - 5, 10, and 14 - can make it difficult to find a movie that they all will enjoy. I can usually find a movie Joey and Gabe enjoy or a movie Joey and Marty enjoy but rarely one that all 3 enjoy equally.

Earlier this week, we sat down to watch Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules together. I came into the movie with no direct exposure to either the books or the Wimpy Kid movies. I knew Marty had enjoyed the books when he was younger and I knew both of the older boys had enjoyed the first movie so I figured it was worth a shot.

I have to say that we all thoroughly enjoyed the movie. There were numerous laugh out loud moments and even Gabe can name his favorite moment of the movie. And, for those of you concerned about how appropriate this movie is for the younger set, be assured it stays amazingly family friendly without losing the entertainment factor. Sure, there's a lot of the kids trying to pull things over on the parents and there's Hollywood's stereotypical clueless dad but it's basically all good, clean fun.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is a great kid to watch with the kids in your lives and I'm really glad we have it in our movie library.


*20th Century Fox provided a dvd copy of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules in exchange for a written review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Let Me Share My Fantasys With You

Hey y'all, The fabulous folks at Eden Fantasys gave me a chance to review one of their products. You can find that review on my brand new review page. Take a moment to read it and, if you have any comments or questions, leave them here.

I chose to put the review on another page because it is definitely adult content and the topic is not safe for work. Any and all adult products that are reviewed will be handled this way. Thanks for understanding.