Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb

Click here to pre-order from Amazon, if you'd like.

I asked NetGalley for a copy of the "Fool's Assassin" advanced reader's copy by Robin Hobb with little hope of receiving it. I was new to the site, had given no feedback on anything, and had received no approvals up to that point. I just didn't believe there was any way I would get approved.

The moment I got the approval and downloaded the book onto my Kindle, I stopped reading any other book on my reading list and started reading this every moment I could spare. Before bed, I was back in the world I love, created by Ms. Hobb.

And it was everything I wanted it to be. The characters I've grown to love and understand were back. They were still the people I loved; time away from the world has not changed them more than time would change anybody.

I know; I talk about them like they're real. I do that because Robin Hobb is such an amazing author that I feel like I know these people, not just like I've read about them. I cry when they hurt, I laugh with joy when the world does the right things for them and everything falls their way.

If you've read the previous books in this series and loved them, you will love Fool's Assassin. If you've read them then you'll also understand when I say that you will also hate Fool's Assassin. You will curse Robin Hobb while loving her, and you will cry. Or if you're too manly for that then you'll at least grunt in pain for those that I cried for.

If you haven't read the previous book, you love fantasy and characters who are not just caricatures but real people with real flaws and real emotions, worlds that are full of legends and lore all to its own, start here.

I promise you won't be disappointed.

Influenster Vox Box: Speed Stick Gear

Recently I received my first free Vox Box from Influenster! I guess they think I could use a little help with my body odor because the box was Speed Stick Gear that came with two sticks of Speed Stick Gear, one scented "Clean Peak" and one "Fresh Force."

Each stick claims to offer 48 hours of total protection and I decided to really test that claim.

I'm a big guy and I sweat a lot with even the slightest physical activity so the test was going to be pretty thorough:

Since the deodorant claimed 48 hour protection I decided that I'd put it on for two days without refreshing it, and that the first day I'd just go about my normal day, which is fairly inactive. At the end of the first day I still smelled fine with no hint of that stale sweat smell that is so gross.

The next day, I played racquetball with my friend Dan.

It was the first time I've played racquetball in years. I definitely didn't have the reflexes or stamina I had four or five years ago. My friend Dan absolutely destroyed me on the court, without really breaking a sweat of his own.

I was sweating enough for both of us.

When I got home I decided that I'd take the plunge, so I sniffed. I sniffed hard.

It...wasn't bad.

There was a sweat smell but I wasn't expecting miracles from the Speed Stick Gear. It kept me fresh enough that I wasn't embarrassed by my smell when my friend Dan drove me home that night. I still needed a shower at the end of the night but anyone would have; it's not like putting on deodorant protects the REST of your body from sweat and smelliness.

Overall I'd say that Speed Stick Gear does its job just fine. I don't know that I'll be switching over to them, I like my Old Spice brand, but if I see Speed Stick Gear on sale at the store I'll gladly buy a few sticks.

Crest Spinbrush

 I feel kind of silly reviewing a toothbrush, but what a toothbrush!

I bought the Crest Spinbrush on a whim the other day; it was on sale and so were some replacement heads, plus I had heard from a few dentists lately that rotating brushes are definitely the best way to make sure your teeth are clean and healthy as long as you use soft bristles*. I thought "Sure, why not?"

It feels a little strange at first, putting a vibrating piece of plastic in your mouth and swishing it around. That feeling goes away after a day or two, even if it still elicits a few giggles from me. I'm ridiculous like that.

But the feeling of the brushing? That's kind of awesome.

I feel as though I'm polishing my teeth all over, like it's actually getting my mouth cleaner and healthier than regular brushing. My teeth simply feel cleaner, and it's a good feeling.

Yes, the Crest Spinbrush is more expensive than regular toothbrushes. My healthier, cleaner, and whiter teeth would argue that the expense is well worth it.

*This does not constitute advice; it's just something I've heard.

HabitRPG.com

Let me tell you something about myself, even though this isn't my personal blog: I'm not the most productive person in the world. Some people in my past life would have even gone so far as to say that I'm flat out lazy.

It's difficult for me to find the drive to finish projects. Oh, I start them a lot and get really excited about them, right up until I need to take the next step, at which point I lose my interest and just stop.

Or when it comes to the day-to-day things that I need to get done I just seem to forget that they need to get done and they linger in a zone of undoneness. It's a word.

Until recently.

About three weeks ago I discovered HabitRPG. For three weeks I've been more productive than any other productivity product has ever helped me be. The house is cleaner than it normally is, I've gained a few good habits (practicing poi/juggling every day, for example) and lessened a few bad ones (like overeating).

The thing I love most about HabitRPG, aside from it making productivity into a game, is how the "Dailies" work: I make a list of things I do at least once a week up to once a day, arrange the list how it works best for me, and then go through my day, step-by-step, with the list in front of me of what I need to get done that day. I've arranged it so that my daily to do list is in the order of the general flow of my day so I can just go down the list and check things off as they happen, then almost before I know it I'm done with everything I need to do and the day is done.

Meanwhile I'm leveling my character, destroying evil, buying new equipment, and talking/questing with the people in my party. It's social, fun, silly, and presses all the right buttons to get me to want to keep playing.

Yes, it still seems to be in an open beta phase; it's open-source and new things are being added all the time, which sometimes means a few bugs prop up. It's a little frustrating to find the tags (another way of ordering your to do lists) I've painstakingly set up on my tasks have been erased but that small frustration is well worth it.

I highly suggest giving the game a try. It may just change your life like it did mine. It sounds cliche but three weeks into it I have to say that it's shown me that I can be so much more than I have been up until now, and that's a life-changing realization if there ever is one.

Crayola Washable Window Crayons

$5.95 on Amazon

Today I decided while I was at the store to pick up some Crayola Washable Window Crayons just for a bit of fun. I didn't know how well they'd work but I wanted to give them a try.

With a price tag of around $5 I hesitated since I'd never heard of them before, would only get five colors ($1 a color seems high, doesn't it?), and then didn't know if I'd really enjoy them that much.

As for the last bit, I apparently had forgotten that I'm actually a child in a large man's body.

Because I had an absolute blast.

"Ho, Ho, Whoa!"

Now, I'm not one to brag but when it comes to drawing I absolutely suck at drawing. Like, stick-figures come out looking wrong, somehow. I still had to try: I had purchased these large crayons and I was going to see how well they worked.

I logged onto DragoArt, my go-to tutorial site for art, and found some children's drawing exercises that were appropriate for the holidays. I spent way too much time drawing Santa, then a penguin, and then a misshapen candy cane.

Throughout the process I was easily able to erase mistakes and guidelines with a dry tissue. Just one dry tissue could clean up a pretty fair amount of window crayon and the one time I had to un-create (read "erase") a horribly drawn candy cane that took up an entire window I wiped it down with a tiny bit of water on a sponge and it came up almost immediately.

I also wasn't sure how long they would last and if you look at the Santa picture I can tell you that I was genuinely surprised to find out that there's still probably enough red left over to do this drawing at least two more times without running out. Plenty of color for your dollar!

Hi!

The only way I feel these window crayons are lacking is that there aren't enough colors. A white crayon would have been nice for Santa's beard, hair, and fuzzy bits on his hat/boots or maybe for some snow. I'd have liked an opportunity to put a little more pizzaz into my pictures.

I could have purchased the Washable Window Markers or the other ones that have "Crystal Effects" (and may still) but since I know the crayons work I wish I could find them in more colors.

I really enjoyed these crayons and will continue to do so for at least a few more days. I have at least 3 windows to draw on and one more large sliding glass door!

Kroger Skillet Meals - A BzzCampaign

10 Minute Meals With Quick and Easy Sides!

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of Kroger stores and most of their Kroger-brand items. Sure, it's no Wegmans but since the two stores aren't in the same areas it doesn't have to be. Kroger stores are clean, well-stocked, and always have what I'm looking for.

When BzzAgent sent me an invite to the Kroger Skillet Meals BzzCampaign I was super excited to give it a try and looked forward to giving them a positive review. It never once entered my mind that the campaign items would be anything but great.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

Let's start with the positives. There are a few:

The Kroger skillet meal is supposed to be a quick-and-easy 10 minute meal fit for a small family and I have to hand it to them that this entire meal from beginning to end (garlic bread, chicken fajitas, and a Caesar salad) were all done in about 12 minutes.

I didn't actually think it would be done that quickly and was very pleased to find out I was wrong. The frozen meal cooked down quickly, heated up nicely, and was seasoned evenly by the time I was done. Frying up the included tortillas (as per the directions) took a little longer than I thought it would and if I were going to do this again I'd probably throw them in the oven for a few minutes instead of frying them for the sake of convenience but it's not like that added a bunch of difficulty or anything.

Bright colors, happy plate.

And that's where the points stop. One point in its favor. Then we move over to the other side of things.

The disappointment.

I'm sad to say that out of all the components of the meal the only thing that was enjoyable was cooking it.

The skillet meal itself was over-powered with the taste of peppers. I like peppers but it shouldn't be the only flavor coming through while I'm eating a piece of chicken or an onion.

It's pretty. Another plus, I suppose.

The Kroger garlic bread was bland dough without even a hint of garlic to it. I actually ended up adding my own extra butter and sprinkle of garlic powder but even the dough was just too thick and cloying. It was unfortunate that I broke my low-carb diet to eat these things.

I don't really even want to get into the Caesar salad at this point. It was a kit bag with everything included all in one package; a great idea with horrible execution. Absolutely nothing worked as it should have; the dressing was thin, the lettuce was limp, and the cheese was tasteless.

The leftovers.

In the end, here's my wrap-up for you all:

If you're looking for an extremely quick and very easy meal to feed your small family who aren't particularly fussy (or you're willing to add some flavors of your own, upping the difficulty slightly but possibly making this better while still being easy) then Kroger Skillet Meals and a few Kroger sides can be right for you and your family (except for the Caesar salad mix kit).

If you're looking for a delicious dinner that's quick and easy? Remember this little saying:

You can have it quick, easy, or delicious. Pick two.

Unfortunately, Kroger went with quick and easy, leaving out any trace of delicious.

Book Review: Iron Druid Chronicles - Hounded

Atticus O'Sullivan, as he's known now, is the last of the Druids. He and his Irish Wolfhound, named Oberon, live in a small town in the middle of nowhere, trying to remain hidden from the powers that be and some trouble that he may have run into in the past.

Turns out that some of that trouble has returned to find him. Otherwise it would probably be a dull book.

Hounded is a fun book filled with intrigue, comedy, action, magic, and good writing. I'm a fan of the fantasy genre, and especially urban fantasy. Kevin Hearne, the author of this series, does a good job of drawing the reader in to the story by having many of his characters have to balance the modern day versus what they have grown used to over the years. When you're 2000 years old but look 21 that can get a little confusing!

The last of the Druids is in trouble as an old enemy seeks him out, marking him for death. The folklore is rich, as are the magical traditions. One of the great things about the way Kevin Hearne is how he blends multiple magical traditions and doesn't just try to shoehorn them into one neat box; all different kinds exist and they interact with each other in odd ways since not all magics were made to work with other magics.

It's a quick read, which to me is its only flaw but to other people may be a plus.

If you liked Harry Potter, enjoy the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher , and generally just love fantasy novels that you can devour in a few sittings, I would definitely pick up this book. Then the next couple. It's a great series with something for everyone.