Is this subscription worth it: eMeals

Hey folks!  I may be getting back into the swing of this blogging stuff, I'm here for yet another regular post!  This week's subscription review is for a eMeals.

eMeals is actually a service I've been using for more than a year and I think I talked about it once before.  This service provides a weekly dinner menu with seven meals to choose from.  You can pick from several different types of menus like meals on a budget, kid-friendly meals, Paleo, vegetarian and many more.  You can mix and match each week by switching between the different menu types and and family sizes.  If you use the mobile app, you can add the meals to your plan and the app creates a shopping list for you.  The shopping list is very handy because it breaks everything down by the isle it should be on and it tells you which meal you are purchasing the item for.

I don't know about your family, but in my family the "What do you want for dinner?" debate happens WAY too often.  I make a suggestion, someone shoots it down, most of the time, nobody has any suggestions and we just end up staring at each other.  eMeals has made this much less challenging and has made grocery shopping more streamlined.  With all the changes we've had in the last 6 months, we like anything that makes life easier.

You can sign up for a free 14 day trial with this service to see if you will like it as much as I do.  If you decide you love it, and I think you will, you can sign up for three months at a time for $29.99 or do like I did and sign up for 12 months at $59.99.  Trust me, it's well worth the investment.  As with most subscription services, if you use my referral link, I earn free months, so please check them out using any of the links in this post.  I like free!

Have you thought of any subscriptions I should try?  I'm a sucker for this kind of thing and I'll try almost anything once.  Let me know, I'd love to hear from you.

The Wait

If you read my last review, you know I've started a trilogy.  I have now finished the second book in this series and the wait is on because the third book is already loaned out from my library's Overdrive account.  This is almost as bad a finishing a series completely.  Now I'm just sitting around waiting for the next book and have no idea what to listen to in the mean time.  I'm reading a paper book and a book on my Kindle, so I'm not completely book free at this point, but I can't settle on my next audiobook.  I've started and deleted a few already because I couldn't get into them.  This morning I even listened to the radio on my way to work!  I almost never do that anymore.  The only time I listen to the radio is when someone big enough to have an opinion is in the car with me.  The babies just have to listen to my audiobooks because I think they don't really care or know that they can care about such things yet.

I should probably pick something from the list I made for Book Riot's 2017 Read Harder Challenge, but I can't pick because there are so many great choices on my list!   I printed the list and have filled in almost all of the tasks, but I've only completed three so far.  I ordered paper books for 2 more tasks and I'm almost finished with a Kindle book for one task.  Choices, choices.  There are piles of books in my house and on my Kindle, but it's hard for me to choose an audiobook.  Tell me, how do you choose?  What have you listened to lately that I should hear?  I want to know, folks!

Is this subscription worth it: IdealShape

Okay, this one isn't actually a subscription service, but it's a product I buy fairly regularly.  IdealShape has meal replacement shakes and bars and water mix-ins.  Their special ingredient is supposed to help keep you full for hours, but folks, my favorite part of this company's line is that it tastes good.

I've tried lots of different meal replacement shakes and bars over the years because I like the convenience of them.  Ideal is by far the best.  Melanie asks me to buy the bars all the time because she likes them.  She says that she can eat one for breakfast and not be hungry before lunch.  She even takes one to school for a mid-afternoon snack.  I joke that these are so good that you couldn't possibly lose weight by eating/drinking them, but you really can.  I have before.

I'm not currently eating well or exercising, but I still like to have a shake in the morning because it's convenient and it helps keep me full until lunch.  Someday, when I'm not so tired from babies who don't sleep at night, maybe I'll get back on track and start eating well again, until then, at least I have Ideal for convenience and because it's yummy!  I would recommend you start with one of their variety packs.  They have a variety box of shakes, bars and Boost, their water mix-in product. Some of our favorites are the double chocolate bar, the chocolate shake and the salted caramel shake, but I haven't tried any of them that I didn't enjoy.  Check them out and as always, use the referral links so I can earn free product, too!

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Mare Barrows is a poor Red girl from the Stilts.  Her life is turned upside down when she is busted trying to pick pocket a generous stranger.  Due to a curious event that should have left her dead, she is thrown into the dangerous world of the Silvers and is being trained to be their princess.

I have toyed with this book for a while now.  I even downloaded the audio once on the library's website and never got into it. Now I have finally finished it and had the second book downloaded before I'd even finished the first.  There were twists and turns in this book that I didn't really see coming.  It kept me interested all the way to the very end and left me wanting more, but that is the point as it is the first in a trilogy.  The narrator, Amanda Dolan, may be one of my new favorites, she did such a wonderful job.

Have you read this book?  Did you finish the series?

Is this subscription worth it: Adore Me

Hello blog friends!

I'm so sorry for my extended absence, but babies and work and all the things have had me so busy!  Just when we thought things were getting 'normal', Lily got pneumonia and ended up back in the hospital for a few days.  Everyone has been passing around a head cold and now Mel is sick.  I refuse to get sick because I just don't have time for all that!  Lots of echinacea, vitamin C and multivitamins to combat this mess and I've been diffusing Thieves and R.C. and any other oils I think might fight the crud.  Hopefully we'll get all this kicked soon.

Here are a few pics I've taken of the kiddos lately.

I've been getting suckered into lots of different subscription services lately.  Some have been great, some are just okay and some just weren't worth it.  I decided that it is probably my duty to share what I have found!  For my first subscription service review, I chose Adore Me.

Adore Me is a site where you can get discounted bras, panties, lounge wear, lingerie, etc.  They have something for all shapes and sizes.  I was super skeptical of this service because buying a bra in my size is NEVER inexpensive and usually hard to find.  You don't just go into the local departments store and pick up a size G bra and even if you find one, it's NOT pretty.  I know, it goes under my clothes and almost nobody sees them, but there is a reason that this is a billion dollar per year business.  We like our undies to be pretty.

I caught a special the first month and got my first set for $14.95!  That is super cheap for a bra and panties in any size, but especially in my size.  I was so thrilled with my first order!  Everything fit great and there was even a coupon for $10 off my next order in the box.  This month used my coupon and ordered another set and I was just as pleased as I was with the first and there was another coupon in the box!

It's easy to skip a month if I'm not interested in anything new and I can cancel any time.  If I don't get around to actually clicking the skip button, I'll have store credit available for when I decide to purchase something new.  As with most subscription services, if you refer a friend, you can earn credit toward future purchases so if you are interested, I'd appreciate you clicking the link so they know I sent you.

Now I don't know anyone who needs to order a new bra and panty set every single month, but I think this is a wonderful site to use to stock up the intimates drawer and clean out those old ratty things you should stop wearing.  I definitely say go for it with this service.

Stay tuned and I'll try to make this a regular post.  If you have a subscription service you think I should try, please let me know.  I'm kind of a sucker for this type of thing and I'll try almost any of them once.

Adore Me

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Generally I don't want to read a book that is surrounded by hype.  Remember, it took me YEARS to finally read Harry Potter because I was told that I should.  This month, our book club chose to read The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins which has been turned into a major motion picture.  Since book club chose it, I read it.  

The book was written from the perspective of the three female lead characters.  Each character represents some of the worst qualities or worst fears that I (and I imagine other women) feel.  Rachel Watson is an alcoholic who lost everything seemingly due to her alcoholism.  Her husband cheated and divorced her, she lost her job, she is living in her friend's spare room and even the friend is losing patience.  Rachel rides the train past her old house everyday on her commute and she has discovered another couple in a house nearby that she has imagined a whole life for in her boredom with her own life. Jess and Jason turn out to actually be Megan and Scott Hipwell, a couple with a very different life than Rachel had imagined.  Megan has disappeared and is feared dead and Rachel becomes entangled in the lives of so many involved.

Megan has a heartbreaking past that would make any mother cringe in fear of her own possible shortcomings.  Does this past have something to do with her disappearance or is there something else, something more present or sinister involved?

Anna Watson, Rachel's ex-husband's new wife, is disturbed by the fact that Rachel keeps popping up in their lives.  She can't seem to catch a break from the ex-wife and no matter how much her husband, Tom, assures her that he will take care of it, Rachel keeps showing up.  Anna was the other woman and the woman who could give Tom a child.  It's interesting how this plays into the story, too.

I was surprised by the ending of this story, I'm not really good at predicting this sort of thing, but I definitely didn't see this ending coming.  At one point, I was concerned that this story was going to take a Jodi Picoult Leaving Time or Sixth Sense kind of turn, but thankfully, I was wrong.  I liked this book as a book, but I can't imagine it'll be an amazing movie.  I think I'll either wait until the library gets a copy or maybe check it out in the Redbox, but I won't be in any hurry to get to the theater to watch it. 

Do you read the books with all the hype?

Twinkle Puffs and Reading Stuffs

Hello Blog World!  I know I've been MIA for quite some time lately, but this time I have a really great excuse.  Remember when I told you that I was pregnant?  Well, the last couple months of my pregnancy were terribly uncomfortable for me.  We were remodeling our home and that chaos was exhausting, too.  Then my little twinsies decided to surprise us all and make their appearance seven weeks early!  I didn't realize I was in labor until it was too late and ended up delivering one baby at home all by myself.  Baby two was delivered breach and was stuck for about 30 minutes.  She started her journey into this world at home, but was finally fully delivered in the back of an ambulance on the way to the hospital. Quite an eventful morning!

Hats and Bows

The first responders in my tiny town are mostly family anyway.  First on scene was my sister and shortly behind her was my mother, dad and an uncle and another first responder we are now calling Uncle Bill because of the bond he and the twins will forever have. Breach baby two, Lily, required CPR in the ambulance and a lot of help in the local hospital to get stabilized enough to be transported by helicopter to the Children's hospital in Tulsa.  Baby one, Paige, was such a trooper and didn't really need any help.  She got to ride to the local hospital in the fire truck with her Mema behind the ambulance and was transported via ambulance to the Children's hospital for good measure.  Paige was released after just 3 short weeks in the hospital.  Even the doctors were surprised that she didn't need more attention as she was so early.  Baby Lily is still in the hospital after 5 weeks, but is making a little progress every day.

Paige smiles

Newborn clothes because preemies are to small now

Lily will probably have a longer road ahead of her.  Nobody is exactly sure why, but she isn't using her mouth like we would hope.  She's not swallowing or coughing and has required oxygen.  She ended up with an E. Coli infection that landed her on 3 weeks of antibiotics.  Worst case, she will have to have a feeding port and a trach before she can come home; best case, she will start using her mouth very soon and get to come home without any extra accessories.  She will have to gain a few pounds before she can have any of that done, though, so we still have some time.

Big sister is silly

Since we have been in the hospital, you would think that I'd be doing a lot more reading.  I've done some, but probably not as much as I could have.  There is always stuff going on while sitting in a hospital room.  The first 2 weeks, there wasn't a twin room available and husband and I were taking turns between the girls rooms with guests and visitors.  Once we finally got to be in a twin room, there were still always distractions with visitors and diaper changes and etc.  I did manage to finish a couple audiobooks and reread most of HP and the Deathly Hallows.  I have started HP and the Cursed Child, but I'm not a fan of the format and that makes it hard to read.

Sister snuggles

I want to say a quick thank you to all of the friends and family that has been praying for my babies and coming to visit and bringing gifts and just keeping us in their thoughts.  All of this means so much to the hubs and I.  We are also thankful to be working for generous and understanding employers, this makes life in the NICU a little less stressful.