In Review: Spring Cleaning

Those of you who know me, know that I love to read.  So when I found about Cherry's Blog Tours and the opportunity to read and review books, I jumped on it.  This is my first one and hopefully, there will be many more to come.  The book is called "Spring Cleaning" and is written by Brandi Salazar.

 Synopsis:

Sometimes, relationships can be deadly.

Terri thought she was marrying a strong, loving man, only to find that beneath that
handsome face lies something cold, brutal, and dangerous. After years of abuse,
Randy takes things a little too far, and Terri finally summons the courage to take
matters into her own hands and make her escape. But freedom comes at a price.

Forging a new life, Terri tries to forget her past, but she can't help looking over her shoulder at every turn. When prison bars can no longer hold Randy, and her past comes knocking, Terri finds that the strength to trust again may be her only salvation.

About the Author:

Brandi Salazar started writing poetry, short stories, and novels at a very young age, weaving tales to share with her friends that were geared toward making them laugh. Today her writing habits reflect that, ranging from mystery/suspense/thriller to paranormal and YA romance, and no matter how different her works may be, you can always find a healthy dose of action, romance, and humor. Under the pen name J.C. Valentine, she also writes erotic romance fiction.

A longtime resident of Ohio, Brandi lives with her husband, three children, a dog and five cats that keep her very busy. She holds a degree in Business and has plans to continue her education so she can one day become an editor to authors everywhere. When she isn’t crafting her next novel, toiling away at schoolwork, or hanging out with family, you can find her curled up in her favorite chair with her nose buried in a book.

My Thoughts...

As you know, I have a toddler at home.  I don't get a lot of time to read.  Usually just while I'm eating breakfast in the morning or occasionally while I'm on lunch at work.  I finished "Spring Cleaning" the same day I downloaded it to my Nook.  It was really, really good.  The book is written to alternate the story from the point of view of each of the main characters.  I loved how you can watch Terri grow stronger as the book progresses to it's finale, where she finally takes a stand and faces her fear.

Brandi Salazar does a great job of leaving you wanting more.  It was hard to put down this book and I would highly recommend reading it!  The only thing that made me sad was that it was over so quickly.  It is not a very long book.  But while short, Brandi does an excellent job of filling in all the necessary detail and giving you the stories that made the characters who they are.  "Spring Cleaning" is definitely a book I will be reading again and I suggest you read it as well.

You can get your copy of "Spring Cleaning" on Amazon or at Barnes & Noble.  Or you can enter a giveaway to win your own copy using the form below.

Entry-Form

Check out more reviews!  Listed below is the schedule for the "Spring Cleaning" tour.  Please note that these are links to the blog, not necessarily to the review itself.

Schedule:
May 28^th- Cherry’s Blog Tours Review
May 29^th- Our Wolves Den Review
May 30^th- Cherry Lemonade Review
May 31^st – Fluffy Bum-Green Home Review
June 1^st- Secret Life of a SAHM Author Interview
June 4^th- Cherry’s Blog Tours Author Interview
June 5^th-Cherry Lemonade Author Interview
June 6^th-Cherry Lemonade’s Book Obsession Review

Disclosure: I received a copy of "Spring Cleaning" for review purposes.  No compensation was received by writing this post.  All opinions are my own.  Each person has a different taste in books, so yours may differ.  Fluffy Bum - Green Home is not responsible for fulfillment of prizes.

Flats & Handwashing Challenge Day 1: Why Take the Challenge?

 

You may or may not have seen me announce on my Facebook page, but this week is the Third Annual Flats & Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry.  I participated in the challenge last and actually found it to be fun.  I did not expect that at all.  Everyone I told about it thought I was crazy.  In fact, last year I didn't tell my husband or my mom (who watched my daughter at the time) about the challenge until the day I started it!

I'll be honest, I don't use my flats that often.  But I do enjoy using them from time to time, when I'm

First flat today!

in the mood.  So why did I decide to do the challenge again?  Because I wanted to.  And yes, my husband still thinks I'm crazy for doing it.

Lately it seems there have been a lot of newspaper articles floating around online and on Facebook about how people can't afford to buy diapers.  It's true that in many communities, there are no diaper banks.  There is no government support to purchase diapers for your little one if you are out of a job or just tight on money.  The thing is, a lot of people don't even realize cloth diapers are an option.  An affordable option.

The purpose of the challenge is to show people that cloth diapering can be easy and inexpensive.  You don't need fancy diapers or a washer and dryer.  Is it more convenient that way?  Sure.  Is my stash mostly "fancy" diapers?  Yes.  I admit that I started cloth diapering to save money.  By five months, we had spent over $300 on disposable diapers.  Yup, that's a lot of money.  I haven't totaled up what I've spent recently on my stash of pockets and fitteds lately, but I know I'm saving money.  I can reuse these diapers on our next baby and sell them when I'm done.  You sure can't do that with disposables.  If I had to, though, I would most definitely choose flats and handwashing over disposables.  And that would definitely be a huge savings.  It wouldn't cost anything near that $300 I spent.

So here I am, once again using flats and handwashing them to show the world that it's doable.  And it's inexpensive.  Is anyone else taking the Flats & Handwashing Challenge?  Why are you doing it?

Wordless Wednesday: Roses

Okay so not really relevant to what I normally write about, but they're so pretty, I had to share.  My hubby is in the Army Reserves and is away for three weeks for training.  He won't be back for Mother's Day, so he sent me these, from my daughter.


It was pretty cute to see A pointing at the flowers and wanting to sniff them.  I can't wait until they fully bloom.  They'll be gorgeous.