Recommended Products

4/5 Stars: Post Dunkin Carmel Macchiato Cereal

Julie Gilbert Recommended Products ,

Summary:

A cereal made with coffee lovers in mind. 

Additional Comments:

– The marshmallows have the same consistency as Lucky Charms marshmallows. It’s a tad strange to have that consistency but coffee flavor.

– The puffs are also coffee flavored but they’re like Cocoa Puffs in terms of size and shape.

– Best part is the milk afterwards. It takes like very light and sweet coffee, which happens to be how I like my coffee.

– I grabbed a box for $0.99 when they were trying to push this cereal. Not sure I would pay $3.99 for a box, but then again, I usually just wait for any cereal to go on sale. I like a wide enough variety of cereal to cycle. They are probably on the sweeter side for my cereal preferences.

– I do not like soggy cereal, so I am happy to report that this cereal stays crisp throughout the eating process. I think the marshmallows might be hydrophobic.

– ratio of marshmallows to puffs is decent.

– I had it two days in a row, but I am not sure I would have it for a week straight. It’s very sweet. 

– I am sure if I looked at the sugar content and cared about that sorta thing, I would cringe.

Conclusion:

A worthwhile addition to cereal creations. Would buy again.

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Audiobook Promotions …

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Many of my 42 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Awakening – Redeemer Chronicles Book 1, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
The Holy War – Redeemer Chronicles Book 2, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
Reclaim the Darklands – Redeemer Chronicles Book 3, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
River’s Edge Ransom – Prequel to Redeemer Chronicles (Amazon) (email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)

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Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian. (Amazon) (free codes)
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Amazon) (Please email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift. (Amazon) (free codes)
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma. (Amazon) (free codes)
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother. (Amazon) (free codes)
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble. (Amazon) (free codes)
More Scifi:
Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there. (Amazon) (free codes)

Guardian Angel Files:

Spirit’s Bane – Allister and Mina are training to be Guardians. Satan’s out to get them. (Amazon) (free codes)
Kindred Spirits – Mina’s exiled to Earth. Allister’s stuck in the Heavens. (Amazon) (free codes)

4/5 Stars Kitchen Scissors – Multi-Purpose

Julie Gilbert Recommended Products , , ,

Introduction:

Typically, I like to start with a picture of the item, but this time, you’re gonna have to scroll down to see what I’m talking about because this site does not want me publishing new pictures this second. I’m sure wordpress will come to its senses eventually, but for now, pic’s at the bottom. Today, I’m going to talk about a neat set of kitchen scissors.

Multi-Purpose:

I’m probably going to take a much wider interpretation of “multipupose” than they intended as I will most likely use them to attack a variety of cardboard boxes. It’s actually perfect for that task. One of the complaints I read on Amazon was how slippery these can get. That won’t be an issue if I stick to dismantling cardboard boxes with these.

Why do you need kitchen shears?

Mostly, I don’t, because I don’t do that much cooking, but if you did a lot of cooking, then there are times when you want a tad more control than a knife can give you.

What’s cool about these?

Aesthetics: High marks for pretty packaging on the company’s part. The scissors also look very nice.

Functionality: There’s a nice little hook at the end to allow you to keep the scissors together. This is very important because otherwise they’ll always be in the open position, which could get dangerous.

The handles are a tad big for my hands when opened all the way. I have to be conscious of how wide I let them swing open. The handles are very smooth. They’re easy to clean, but you still have to be very careful with them. The blades are indeed pretty sharp.

Conclusion:

4/5 Solid product. I like that there are multiple functions for these. They’re essentially very heavy duty scissors. I wouldn’t give them to a kid, so I’m not going to bring them to school. Still, I think they’ll get plenty of use around my house.

Bonus:

The manufacturer has offered readers a  20% off coupon code good for use on amazon.com. Code: XI44DRJ2; Expires: May 31, 2018.

Associate links to follow…


Amazon Prime

 

 

Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.


Recap 2017 Movies

Julie Gilbert Fantasy, Movie Reviews, Recommended Products, scifi, Star Wars, Young Adult , , , , , , , , ,

Introduction:

I didn’t do as well as I usually do keeping all the movie stubs this year, but I’ll look at a list of 2017 movies and let you know what I got to see. These mini-reviews are as spoiler-free as I can get them, but no absolute promises something won’t slip by.

 

Rogue One

Dates Seen: 1/2/17, 1/3/17, 1/4/17, 1/10/17 (and another 4 times in 2016)
Rating: 5/5 stars
Comments: Okay, so anybody looking at those dates would see that I really enjoyed Rogue One. Hadn’t planned to see it 3 consecutive days, but I remember the one on the 2nd was because I wanted it to be the first movie I saw in 2017, the Tuesday one happened because the theater had $5 tickets on Tuesday, and the Wednesday one happened because I had AMC credit and wanted to see what the hype was about the Dolby digital sound.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story satisfied most of the fan base. It brought to light the grittier side of the Rebellion against the evil Empire. War is messy. I also think it did a nice job with fleshing out some of the political maneuvering going on as moffs tried to please the emperor. The rather large cast of new characters integrated well with the old favorites.

 

Lego Batman

Date Seen: 2/20/17

Rating: 4/5 stars

Comments: A decent Lego movie that didn’t hesitate to poke fun at the long and varied history of Batman movies. Surprisingly, it also showed some character growth for our dark knight. I did end up seeing it again as a dvd, but it’s not the sort of movie I could take on loop.

Logan

Date Seen: 4/10/17

Rating: 4/5 stars

Comments: I had some time to kill in New York City, so I caught this movie I’d intended to see but hadn’t gotten to before. It’s enjoyable. There’s decent action. I liked the new kid and her story. They integrated the program thing well. I’m sort of a sucker for this type of secret government experiments scifi.

 

Born in China

Date Seen: 4/22/17

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Comments: Beautiful music. Nice for a nature oriented documentary. Not sure it’s one that needs to be seen on a big screen, but it’s worth watching.

 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

Date Seen: 5/6/17

Rating: 4/5 stars

Comments: One of those rare sequels that comes off just as enjoyable as the first. The first may still be slightly better, but this one had all the same hallmarks: snarky humor, cool fights, weird scifi.

 

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Date Seen: 5/27/17

Rating: 4/5 stars

Comments: A worthy successor to the Pirates saga. Like any 4th or 5th (this is the 5th right?) movie, it’s not quite as good as the first. The first movie was downright awesome, but the sequels have always fallen short of it. This particular one takes place a long time after the first few, so it’s sort of a reboot of the series. Disney’s trying to breathe new life into the franchise, and they mostly succeed.

Wonder Woman:

Dates Seen: June-ish 2017 (pretty sure I saw this one twice)

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Comments: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It’s one I’d consider adding to a personal dvd/bluray collection. I haven’t yet, but maybe someday I’ll remember that at an opportune time. The movie has quite a bit of setup, but I enjoyed all that because I’m not familiar with the Wonder Woman lore. They even managed to throw in some character development, some humor, and a heck of a lot of action.

 

Spider-Man Homecoming:

Date Seen: June-ish 2017

Rating: 4/5 stars

Comments: Think I missed one of the reboot series for Spiderman. I don’t think I saw the ones with Andrew Garfield in the red tights. Anyway, this reboot works. I pity the poor props person who had to rebuild the Death Star they had to drop in the movie. The movie focused on Peter Parker trying to muddle his way through high school and being a superhero. Mr. Stark treats him like a kid, which has him terribly frustrated.

 

Dunkirk

Date Seen: July-ish 2017

Rating: 4/5 stars

Comments: This is definitely a movie enhanced by seeing on a big screen. There are very few lines of dialogue throughout this whole movie. It does a decent job showing the struggle to survive, and the desperation of the moment. War is messy.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Dates Seen: 12/15/17, 12/17/17, 12/28/17

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Comments: As the middle of a trilogy, it’s probably going to have the least closure of the new Star Wars movies. When people asked how many times I will see it, I’ve been answering that it’s likely to fall in between Rogue One (8) and The Force Awakens (14). The Last Jedi will likely stay in theaters longer than Rogue One, but I doubt I’ll be inclined to see this one 14 times in theaters.

I’ll definitely buy the dvd and watch it a few more times, but it doesn’t have quite as much closure as I like in stories. Note, this is the same reason Empire was never my favorite. That shocks a lot of hard core Star Wars fans. The porgs are useless but amazingly cute. The story development is intriguing. It’s definitely a Disneyfied version of Star Wars, but it’s still very good.

 

Conclusion:

I feel like the year’s movie selection held a good number of gems. Did you see any of these? What did you think?


One-Stop Shop For Many Food Prep and Storage Needs

Julie Gilbert Recommended Products ,

Introduction:

There are tons of companies out there waiting to sell you food prep gadgets and storage containers. I never considered myself much of a kitchen person. Still don’t for that matter, but most of the products here are very easy to use and necessary no matter how kitchen handy you consider yourself. In fact, the less “kitchen handy” you are, the more likely it is you need this company.

Mandoline Slicer:

I believe they have a variety of colors. In general, vegetable slicers are dangerous, so do get in the habit of using the cap that comes with the slicer. Dangers aside, a good mandoline slicer can make even apple prep kind of fun.

Bag for storing food:

I love this! It’s got a great handle, can hold a lot, and still fits in a compact space. It’s made to go with the plastic tray containers that are stackable, so it holds tons of food. Might not be as pretty as a picnic basket, but if you want everything to make it out to the field in one piece, this is the bag for you.

3 glass containers:

This is one of my favorite products yet. It seems glass containers are all the rage these days. You do have to be cautious that you snap the lid on correctly. I enjoy the fact that these are clear yet easy to clean. I haven’t had mine that long to see how it holds up again stains, but I put broccoli cheddar soup in it and my lunch box survived the day without an incident.

Plastic Food Storage Containers:

These are sort of like the containers you get with Chinese food. They’re easy to use, easy to clean, and cheap enough that you won’t feel bad if you have to throw them away after a few uses. Don’t get me wrong, they’re definitely reusable, but depending on how “harsh” you are with them, it’s likely they’ll break after a few uses. The round ones are great for salad. The tray ones are a little thicker and can be used for more complicated meals.

Conclusion:

Whether you’re trying to pack lunches for work or school or just need to store leftovers from dinner, they’ve got you covered.

If you’d like to learn more, look them up. Please note that Home Native is now becoming Prep Naturals. You can visit their full website here.