November Books Read

 Ooof...it was a slow month, and if it wasnt for audio books, it would have been one lowly book. Mind you i have 2 other books in progress, but clearly that's not working for me.  Here's hoping i can finish the challenge in December

Betsey's bookshelf: read

Betsey Terry's favorite books »

October Books Finished

Not bad...two audio books, two kindle books. The mind wasnt entirely into reading this month.

Betsey's read-oct23 book montage

Betsey Terry's favorite books »

September Books Finished

My reading time was spent visiting my grandmother in the hospital again this month, unless she was asleep, we were usually talking or watching a movie together so not much reading.

Betsey's read-spt23 book montage

Betsey Terry's favorite books »

 

Demanding Husband by Viktor Redreich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Viktor Redreich and Christine Chapel take the classic May-December tale and put an erotic (and at times explicit) twist on it. A rich, hot older man embarks on an illicit affair with a young schoolgirl. It's not just any affair though the suspense keeps you on the edge or your seat and wanting throughout the entire book.

*semi-spoiler* - this is not a case of coercion!
The authors do a fantastic job of telling the story from the angles of all the main characters, and how they see the other through their own eyes. This method has you emotionally invested in each of the characters, hating and cheering them on as you make your way through the book. If i could have read this in one sitting I would have, but life prevailed, it definitely is a "can't put down until I finish the book" and had me thinking about the characters and wanting to get back to it

I also love how the authors weave in characters from his other books, in a completely stand-alone way. It is definitely enough, however, that it teases you into wanting to find and read the other book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

View all my reviews

What do you call Heartburn?

What do you call heartburn? My family is Italian (Sicilian) and we call it "Agida", and man have I had the agida the last few months. So much so that I had a bottle of antacid on my bedside table and would open the bottle and shake out a tab or two in the middle of the night so I could sleep. Now with all gut issues, it really starts within and you shouldn't just treat the symptoms..and I'm aware of what's causing the issue for me, and I'm working on correcting that. But while I do, I needed to figure out a way to not be popping pills in the middle of the night. One night the agida set in rather early (it would usually be around 2-3, that I would wake up) and I was talking with a friend that is also into more natural remedies and he reminded me of my oils. I got out of bed and looked for my go-to stomach blend and couldn't find it. So then we talked about alternatives. Well, as we went through options, I remembered I had my little bag of goodies from the doTerra post-Convention roadshow meeting and in it was a bottle of the new Peppermint Soft Gels. I love peppermint, I use the oil to help open my airways, I use the beadlets to stop a dry cough, love it.  What I don't love about it, is sometimes it repeats on you, which if it does, you know it's doing its job, but sometimes you just don't want it.  I hadn't yet tried these new soft gels, because I was afraid of the repeating factor.  Well, desperate times call for desperate measures, and boy was I happy to try these finally. I popped two and felt relief within a few minutes (as opposed to 20 minutes to an hour from a Pepcid), and i had absolutely none of the repeating. At first, I thought maybe it was just because it was the middle of the night, and I was asleep, but I've now used these during the day and the same thing.  

What do you use to help when you have heartburn?  If you're willing to give these a try, this month (March), the soft gels are 15% off through doTerra! You can buy them directly through my doTerra site, or email me as I have them in my monthly order!

New Year...New Post

Well, hello..it's been some time since I've posted..a lot has happened in life...not all for the great..and I'm not one to share a woe is me...but it's a new year..and things are going to be great! I'm all about manifesting your destiny...and putting it out into the universe so here..in the global webosphere... I'm putting it out there...2020 is going to be great.


We'll start with my One Little Word...My word for the year is

FOCUS

• Focus on Travel
• Focus on Self Care
• Focus on Organization
• Focus on CREATIVITY

so many things to focus on.

One of my top self-care goals for the year is reading. I love to read, I spent a lot of 2018 and 2019 sitting in hospitals, and got a lot of reading done..or I thought. My count via Goodreads only came back at like 14. I know I read more and I just didn't track them online. This year I'm tracking them via a cute bookcase doodle in my planner. But also plan on reviewing a lot more.  I've loved looking through socials and seeing what everyone is reading, and while they may be the hot contemporary read...they might not be a good fit for me (hello, Wrinkle in Time). Reading for me is an escape from life, from the pressure of work, etc, so something that doesn't require a lot of thinking or analyzing is usually the norm for me. Having said that I also joined a book club this year... I've always shirked the idea because of the thinking/analyzing factor but enjoyed the first month. And looking forward to leading the April grouping too!

The other focus is travel. I plan on seeing more of the good ole USA this year, but I also have my first trip to Europe planned. Namely Italy, my aunt's daughter is doing a semester abroad in Rome, so we have plans to go to Milan, Rome and Capri. I.CANNOT.WAIT. 

I'll get into more of my focus throughout the year, as well as updates on where i am. I realize it's been nearly 3 years since I've posted...but I'm back, baby!

Alexa...what...

Do you have an Amazon echo, dot, tap, etc?  I do..both the echo and the dot. I joke that Alexa is my roommate, she tells me the time (especially in the middle of the night when I've woken for the 10th time and don't want to look at a screen), turns the lights on/off for me, tells me the news..plays my Amazon/Pandora/SiriusXM Music..tells me jokes and what deals she has.

If you have prime..and have an Alexa enabled device..you are seriously missing out...and are crazy. The good thing is...I'm telling you, you can save money. Prime Day is only 6 days away (July 11th) and the prime day deals are amazing..and Alexa will probably have her own deals.  Save $20 by signing up for Prime with your Alexa device between now and Tuesday. Just say "Alexa, sign me up for Amazon Prime".  You must sign up via voice on Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, and Echo Show, to earn the savings.


Don't have an Alexa and want your own prime membership...well here's the link for you.
The following services are also launching today:

• Amazon Home Services - From July 5 to 9, 2017, Prime Members can save 20% on select home installation, replacement, or assembly services. Click on the 'Learn More" link to learn about this deal as well as see top-selling products on Amazon that are also tied to a home service. You could earn advertising fees and bounties on both the product and the related service.
• Amazon Baby Registry - Starting July 5, 2017, Prime Baby Registrants who add a participating CYBEX Aton-2 infant car seat to their registry between July 5 and July 19, 2017 and purchase it by March 31, 2018 receive $120 credit back to their Amazon account (equivalent to 40% off). Use this promotion to encourage expecting moms to create an Amazon Baby Registry now and earn a bounty for each registry created.

Affiliate links used where applicable, see our disclosure page for full disclosure.

$10 Amazon Credit Just by watching Amazon Prime Video

Have you used Amazon Prime Video yet? What? Why not? It's Amazon's video streaming service, and they have their own series..my favorite, Just Add Magic! The dad is a hottie...kidding..he's like a brother..seriously..he's my friend's brother..but he is a cutie..and so is his wife & baby (personalities too!) for that matter.  Digressing sorry... 

If you have Amazon Prime..and have not yet watched Amazon Prime Video between now and July 7th..stream for the first time and you can get a $10 credit. I can stream on my iPhone/iPad..as well as my blu-ray DVD player..my parents have a smart TV so can stream from there. Try it..just to get yourself the credit...we can always use a credit..especially with Prime Day coming up next week!!

And from July 7-July 10th..you can save up to 83%  on select video rentals and purchases on popular titles such as Office Christmas Party, The Lord of the Rings, and The Great Gatsby


Check back throughout the week about other days where you can earn a bounty on Prime Reading, and EveryDay Essentials!

**affiliate links may have been used...to learn more about the affiliate programs Check out our super-boring-stellar Disclosure page.

Good Health and Wellness in 2017

A new year, tends to bring new resolutions, new diets, new gym memberships etc. I tend to not make resolutions, because let's face it...they get broken, and as I'm the type who puts enough guilt on myself, in general, I dont need to add broken resolutions to it.  I do however like to continue to make good life choices. Do i fall off the wagon with those life choices, sure, but I always pick them back up after a time...Hello Diet soda in 2016!..or rather good bye. do i occasionally allow myself a diet something on a super hot day when out at a restaurant, sure..but in the meantime, I like a nice carbonated water with a drop of essential oil, or fruit/herb infused still water. So much more refreshing really!

Other choices I'm making are for a more serene home. This of course is staying on top of the vacuuming and dusting. But also for making my home some place i enjoy hanging out in, having friends in etc.  How do I do this? Maybe picking up that bunch of flowers from Trader Joe's or our year round Farmers Market, maybe a cute seasonal update to my burlap wreath on the door, perhaps following in Just A Girl's footsteps and sparking my home with a cute seasonal 'scape', or maybe just coming home from a long day and diffusing some goodness (or coming home to a nice smelling home from diffusing as I left, instead of the smell of the previous nights cooked dinner). I have two diffusers in my 800 sq foot apartment, and could probably get away with one more.  In my bed room, i have one that I find is directional so that I'm targeting my personal needs, whether when i have a cold, or need a full nights sleep, or just some grounding after a long day or week!
The one I like in my bedroom is the Ultrasonic Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser from Amazon.

In my living room, I use a diffuser from doTerra, the company that I purchase my essential oils from. It is called the Petal Diffuser, and is their most economical of their diffusers. It also has a night light, I diffuse this one for about 4 hours. I feel like to get rid of the smells from the night before, or after a big vaccumming, or coming back from a walk after work, this diffuser gets the job done, and my little abode smells quite lovely.

What are you doing for the new year, for you?

**Compensated affiliate links may used, which means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support toward the costs of running this blog! **

I was skeptical..but I caught some ZZZ's

**Disclaimer - I was provided this product free of charge through Influenster, for testing/review purposes, but as always my opinions are my own**

As you've seen from some of my previous posts, I've occasionally received product from Influnester (if you're curious about their program, send me a message and I'm happy to send you an invitation link), for review purposes, it's been about 6 months since my last VOXBox and after a few months of 'pre-qualifying' surveys, I finally received a notice that I was in for another box...and it was the ZZZquil box. Yes..ZzZquil..by the makers of Nyquil.  Evidently a lot of times it gets confused with some of the other sleeping aids on the market like Tylenol PM that contain acetaminophen, but as this is for sleep and not for pain it does not contain any. This was HUGE for me..i used to love both Nyquil and Dayquil whenever I got a cold, but as they contain acetaminophen and my sensitivity and liver reactions have grown from  it, i can no longer take them.

So I've had the product for a couple of weeks, and even though it clearly says that you wake up refreshed, I was worried about taking it on a work night, and kept saying i was going to wait until the weekend, and then the weekend would come, inevitably I'd be out late and come home and forget or fall asleep watching tv and forget again.

Finally this weekend, after getting hit suddenly with a sinus infection and waking up several times during the night, I decided Saturday night was the night. I really wanted to sleep, so I didnt monkey around and took both capsules at 9pm. By midnight I was still wide awake, and as falling asleep has never been an issue, I was a little concerned. If i couldnt even fall asleep, how was I going to stay asleep. Well finally I put myself to bed, turned on some beach waves..and next thing I knew, my 7:30 church alarm was going off..I did it..I fell asleep..and stayed asleep. I did turn off the alarm and try and fall asleep as I didnt need to get up..but I didnt really feel I needed to.  I definitely would try this again. I think during the week, I would maybe just try one capsule just to make sure, as well as to test the issue with not falling asleep right away. I might also try taking a little earlier, if possible, I get up at 530 during the week, so not being able to fall asleep to midnight would only render me five hours of sleep.

Wow! Cricut is 10 years old! And they're having a sale!

 FTC disclaimer **This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. ***

With First Communion, Confirmation, Bar/Bat Mitzvah's, Graduations and Wedding season in full swing there's no busier time than maybe Christmas for your machine to get a full workout.  Save on your cartridges and supplies with these great offers from Cricut!

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here's a quick little banner i made for my CFO's wedding shower (we actually ended up pushing it out to the week after his wedding..so it was a quick change from Racing to the Altar to Just Married..he's a classic Ford Mustang Fanatic, hence the racing theme).

I plan on using my sister's cricut next week to whip up the favors for my nieces First Communion on Saturday,the Table Scapes Spring/Summer cartridge from the Best of Cartridges, will be perfect for the little boxes we'll use for the Candy Bar.

I've had a crazy week this week until the moment i leave on the red-eye next Wednesday, so i wont have time for any personal crafty time other than design obligations, so I dont think I will get any mother's day cards done..Cricut Designs to the rescue...already have my eye on two, that will be perfect for both my Mom and Grandma who will be travelling with me!

Get 10% off at Cricut.com and free Fed-Ex home delivery with code CRICUTSPRING!