My life has been a little crazy lately, hence the continued hiatus from blogging. But, it seems I am at least starting to get my energy back after being sick (although my issues continue to be off and on) I at least seem to be back in a routine. Which will hopefully continue to include blogging.

Anyways, enough with the typical "sorry I haven't blogged in while" statements. What I came here to tell you is, it happened, I finished a book on my book club list! The project that was supposed to end a week ago has finally started!




As you know from a previous post, I started with The Septembers of Shiraz. It turns out for once in my life my extreme procrastination skills paid of.  They just so happen to be releasing the film adaptation of this book on September 15th at the Toronto Film Festival. So win for me being actually relevant!
I for one loved this book, historical fiction is my, hands down, favorite genre to read. My grandma and I just had the conversation over this last weekend that I got my love of historical fiction from her. I wouldn't doubt it, I have fond memories sitting at her house after school during 7th and 8th grade devouring any historical fiction book she had on her shelf.  So, it is expected I would be fond of this book, but beyond my predisposition to love anything historical fiction, this book was great.

So let's talk details.
As you know from my debut book club post. The Septembers of Shiraz was written by Dalia Sofer and centers around a wealthy Jewish family living in Iran during the Iranian Revolution. The plot follows the four members of the Amin family during the revolution.  The book immediately starts out with the patriarch of the family Isaac getting taken to prison, the story unfolds as we see how this effects not only Isaac but, the rest of the family. With a captivating subject, it is hard to not get lost in this book. It definitely led to me researching more on the Iranian revolution and learning more about what happened. I highly suggest checking out this link that is pictures of Iran before the revolution.
http://cbw.ge/world/iran-before-the-revolution/

We get to see how the new Iranian laws really effect this family, not only with the Isaac being taken to prison but, the social implications that effect the mother and daughter.

I don't want to go too much into the book, to avoid any spoilers for the book or for the upcoming movie. I do highly suggest you read it for yourself.
Personally, my favorite part was just how the story was told. from the anger and desperation father sitting in prison just because of his heritage, to the innocence of a 9 year old girl trying to make sense of an absent father and oppressive government to the mother/wife who is trying to hold everything together and the son, far off in America at school trying to make it as family funds dry up. You will go on an amazing journey with this family throughout this book!
The only thing I didn't love about this book was the ending, I felt as though it was a little underwhelming. Not to say it was bad, it just felt safe. I think she really could have pushed the story just a bit further with the ending.

I know some of you read this so I want to know what you thought and what your favorite parts were?


Thanks for reading! Love you all! :)

Hello!

Remember how last week (or well 2 weeks ago) I had the grand plan of reading and reviewing 1 book in August?! Obviously those plans are going swell. There are a few factors that have contributed to the failure of this plan. The first book I picked was terrible, I am about halfway through but it's just not that good. Sorry, if you're reading this thinking you really loved.
On top of the book being just  bad, we had company over the weekend, although to be honest that didn't really take too much effort.


He and Andy basically just sat and watched YouTube videos. As per usual, I sniped some pictures to send Jillian so we could make jokes about their man love.



The biggest contributing factor is I have been pretty sick since about last Tuesday....you would think that has meant lots of time for book reading but, with me just about having enough energy to work the last week reading hasn't really happened. Have a picture summarizing how I have managing to work the last week.


 Here is the new plan  I am moving onto the second book, I already started it, it's fabulous, go find it and read it. As a reminder this one is The Septembers of Shiraz.  You can view the whole list for August Book Club here. I will review the first one in September after I have finished the rest. I am determined to finish the book (even though it's awful) because maybe there is some hope it gets better? And I hate not finishing things.

So I guess this was really just a bit of an update. Hopefully I will not be sick soon, partly so I can work and read books but, mostly because VBS is next week and that is typically one of my favorite times of the year! :)

Love you all!

Alright so if you've kept up with this blog at all over the last year you'll already know that I love Borderlands 2 (thanks Jillian). So I was dang excited to pick up The Pre-Sequel a few weeks ago as a part of Steam Summer Sale. Life has been so crazy with moving and work that I haven't even started playing but, I finally got to playing it the other day!
I was really wanting to record my first play through but, do to some technical difficulties that's not happening. So you're going to just have to read my ramblings instead of listen!

Long story short if you love Borderlands 2, you're going to at least really like Borderlands Pre-Sequel, so far I feel like they are pretty much the same game which makes me love and hate it. Now it is a new story, we get new characters with new abilities and such but, for me it feels like a DLC not a brand new game.
Part of me is disappointed because I don't feel like it's very innovative. Gearbox was basically like "Oh you all really like that thing" here's more of it relabeled as a new game, like I said before, it feels like a DLC.
On the other hand this is what I love about it, they didn't go overboard trying to be innovative, they gave us more of exactly what we wanted, repacked with a new story and great new with more of the fantastic writing and humor we loved from Borderlands 2.
Also in the games defense, I have been told you need to get further into the game to really appreciate the differences. So, maybe I will have an update to this post next week once I have played it some more!

So let's get into the story a bit, this time, you're playing alongside, of instead if against, Handsome Jack and Hyperion. Honestly, being only a bit into the game, you almost like him in this story, I am sure that will eventually change. I chose to play with Nisha (a.k.a the Sheriff of Lynchwood in Borderlands 2).

I like her as a Character, her action skill is called Showdown, when activated she automatically locks onto enemies and gains increased gun damage, fire rate, reload speed, accuracy, and bullet speed. You can view her (and anyone else's) full skill tree here,  http://borderlandsthegame.com/skilltrees/nisha.html
Her melee is a whip, making her able to use it from farther away but, it doesn't do as much damage as others. Also it was a bit annoying to get used to.



In this game you're not playing on Pandora (as in Borderlands 2) you are playing on Pandora's moon, Elpis. Here is where the game breaks off from Borderlands 2. This moon doesn't have Oxygen or much gravity so the movement is different (I love the new double jump feature) and you now have to use "Oz Kits" in order to breathe. These do not last forever, you must be diligent in refilling them when out exploring, there are a variety of ways to do this! Enemies now drop "O2 cannisters" and there are cracks along the surface of the moon that let out o2. The "Oz Kit" is also what enables the awesome new double jump feature, which allows you to cross wide caverns or gain access to high buildings unlike anything in Borderlands 2. These "Oz Kits" are upgradable just like your shields and weapons, you can purchase longer lasting ones at Vending Machines.
The low gravity really does change up the combat quite a bit. Enemies also have a double jump function allowing them to lunge at you from far away, making it a whole new level of intense and exciting. You now get to battle enemies while flying through the air!

All in all this is another great installment in the Borderlands saga, it's everything we loved from Borderlands 2 with a few new added perks! I am throughly enjoying my play through and don't think I'll have much to add to these first thoughts once I am done with the game!

If any of you own this or Borderlands 2 I do play online frequently, add me (DaisyJane) on Steam!

Thanks for reading as always :)

Hello!

I really have been in a funk of not reading lately, maybe it's because I'm so crazy busy, but I really just think I haven't been making it a priority. This led to me deciding that for the month of August I am going to read one book a week! A little crazy, yes, but it's not like any of these are going to be really long, we're talking 200-400 pages!

My second thought was I want you all to join me! Even if you just pick one book to read and finish by the time the post comes out! I really would love to have some conversations about these books and make this more of a virtual book club! So here's the deal. I will be writing a review/random thoughts post each Saturday on the books below until 9/5. Your job is to either read each one along with me or pick 1 to read by the date I will post each review so we can talk about it! :)
I tried to pick a variety of books so you can choose what sounds like the most interesting to you! I did end up with 2 crime mysteries because, I'm a sucker for them and they're typically pretty fast reads.
Yeah, this might be a little high school assignment like but, I really think with all the Netflix binge watching that happens, we could all probably squeeze some more book time into our life!


1. Midwinter Blood by Mons Kallentoft- Review/Discussion Post 8/8


"WHEN THE ICE MELTS, WHAT REMAINS? 
Meet Malin Fors. Be careful, though, she’s addictive. Thirty-four years old, blond, single, divorced with a teenaged daughter, Fors is the most driven superintendent who has ever worked at the police force in her small, isolated town. And the most talented. In her job, she is constantly moving through the borderland between life and death. Her path in life is violent and hazardous.
It is the coldest February in recent memory. In the early hours of a particularly frigid night, the body of an obese man is found hanging from lone oak tree in the middle of a withered, windswept plain. Malin Fors is called to the scene.Together with her colleagues of the Violent Crime Squad at Linköping Police Department, they must find out who the man in the tree is, and how he got there. Their manhunt in the frigid wake of a ruthless killer brings Malin Fors to the brink, and into some of the darkest corners of the human heart. The first in a series of four books, Midwinter Blood will keep readers coming back for more, again and again."

Hello There Internet Land!

So the other day while I was racking my brain for some new things to write about, a friend of mine stopped over for a visit and suggested I check out player.me and I am very excited that she did.
There is 2 reasons for this. 1. This site combines 2 of my favorite things, video games and social media! 2. I was just complaining the other day that bloglovin didn't really have a video game category other than "lifestyle" and I was very disappointed by this.


So from what I have gathered over the few days I have been a user is it's basically bloglovin and Twitter combined into a gaming centric social media platform, it is great for both the creators and consumers.

Alright so I am going to break this down into 2 sections for 1, creator and consumer. Since I am little of both (or well a little creator and a lot consumer) I have gotten a pretty decent idea of each perspective.
One thing that fits under both categories, the freaking notification noise! It's the jumping noise from Mario. Andy and I both got really excited when it started going off! You can also change it to a variety of cool noises under settings.

Creator
As a creator I am loving this platform, especially since it gives me the ability to focus my gaming related posts to a very specific audience, This is spectacular for engagement. However, it also give me the ability to share on Facebook and Twitter right from the status box. Now, I haven't tried tweeting from the site yet to let you know how pics and video links translate but I will update this as soon as I have,

Pro's
-Target your gaming specific material, if you're like me and write(or record) about a lot more than just gaming, this is an excellent way to make sure your gaming posts are reaching the audience that wants to see it.
-Connecting YouTube and Twitch allows you to have content automatically added to your activity stream, making it one less account you have to log into to post the content directly.

Con's
YouTube and Twitch content I can have set to auto upload but there is not yet an option to auto upload written content. I hesitate putting this as a con because even though I produce mainly written content (Secretly and hopefully there will at least me a Twitch (and maybe YouTube) account in my future, still working out the kinks on that) it feels like the site may get over crowded with content if they auto fed written too. Although the current Internet space leaves us gaming bloggers out in the cold.

Consumer
I have also been loving this platform as a consumer. I have found new YouTuber's and streamers to watch through Player.me's "Streams" and the "Feed" page. Also it's still smallish so engagement is great, just 1 post lead to 5 favorites, 3 follows, and a conversation with someone. So if you are looking to connect with other online gamers, this is a seriously excellent platform.

Pro's
-The design and layout of the feed. I can easily find new people to follow, current people I am following, and online streamers all right on the homepage. This means I can find people to engage with immediately.
-You can share profiles of creators you like. At the bottom of the page is an option to share a public profile. Meaning you can share the content with your friends!

Con's
-I wish when I searched a game it would pull up who is currently streaming that game, or related videos. This may be something that is coming in the future but, it would be a great addition.
-There is no app....yet. According to the FAQ on the site, there is one coming, once that happens this site will be nearly perfect in my opinion!

Over all I seriously suggest that is you consume or create anything related to gaming, You start head over to player.me and set up a profile! You can use my referral link to follow me and make sure you don't miss any of my game posts!

https://player.me/?invite=daisyjane

Thanks for reading!

So there have been a few extra fun things that have happened over the last few weeks! We got to take some great pics, for our nieces 1st birthday, cake smash and all. Most of you have probably seen these on various social outlets but, if you've missed them, here are a few! Although I am not sure if this type of photography is something we will offer outside of just our family, I am really happy how these came out, I really think Andy and I made a great photog team! We were able to get a really great variety of shots and it's extra fun to see the shots we each get!





(Photo Cred: Andrew Cox)





(Photo Cred: Andrew Cox)
Also we've moved!!
Not very far, in fact only about 1 block up the road! But, it is a really cute apartment that really fit exactly what Andy and I needed! It's been bittersweet, I absolutely love having our whole own space and our apartment is adorable. However, we definitely miss Drew and Sarah, we all lived together about 2 1/2 years, you get really used to having people around the house all the time, there have definitely been a few times I have gone to tell Sarah a story to realize she lives in another house now haha! You should see the 30 page texts she has gotten in the last week when I need to share a story!
Anyways, here's some pics of the new place(I will have more sometime soon! But, I needed to get this up and haven't had time to get some really nice ones yet!).



Love you all,

Anyways...I have finally collected a few popular drugstore blushes and I wanted to do a comparison and review of each of them for you! The 3 I purchased were L'Oreal True Match Blush in Baby Blossom, E.L.F Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder in St. Lucia, and NYX baked blush in Foreplay (worst name ever).

Overall I do use the bronzing powder and the blush is pretty good, just not the right sheen or color for what I would typically use.

My biggest pro of this blush is the texture and blend-ability, it's so smooth and soft, it doesn't feel like you're wearing anything!
Ringing in at $7.99 this is the most expensive of the 3 but, highly worth it, in my opinion.

Well that's it for this Monday everyone!

Love you all!