What I thought about Doodletopia Fairies by Christopher Hart

I'm not going to say I'm a super awesome artist because I am not the best but I can kind of draw things. I'm one of those types of people that need to look at other things for inspiration though. I can then form my own creations based on it. Landing proportions can be tough if you aren't used to it.

I decided to pick up Doodletopia Fairies to review because it looked genuinely interesting. If someone can teach me how to better my techniques then I am all for it. The book is lush and filled with many different kinds of whimsical fairies. Christopher lays out his drawing and then puts a blank slate on the next page giving you a chance to try it out. He explains the little details that will help make your creation fit the particular style/mood.

You can see his playful little style in each of his drawings. I really do love the fact that he basically puts a mannequin in the way and tells your to add or try what he says. His directions are easy to understand and straight to the point. I'm a 30 year old woman and I enjoyed filling in the details but I would totally give this to my 12 year old to play around with. Not only are you learning but it IS fun. The paper makes it easy to even color in if you want. It took color pencils really well. I only did one so far but here is what I came up with.

Can you tell what I borrowed my design from? It's an acknowledgement to Mercy from Overwatch. I love the way her face came out looking so innocent. Eyebrows are everything as well as eye shape. It will give your character the mood they need.

So I didn't even know who Christopher Hart was so I did look him up. I now recognized who he was because I have always seen his How To Draw Anime/Manga books around at Michael's arts and crafts stores. What a wonderfully talented individual.

Be sure to check out his site here where you can check out all his books: http://christopherhartbooks.com/


A big thumbs up to him and this book. It's wonderful for any age and I would most definitely recommend it.

The Secret Language of Dogs by Victoria Stilwell and Dog Fostering

So I decided to go into dog fostering. Yay! I wanted to do something good in my life and looked into this extensively. I don't think anything will prepare you for that first Foster though. You will learn everything after that first experience.

This book has certainly helped me a bunch with my first Foster, Mimi. She's a Bichon Frise and Poodle mix. She has so much energy and her moods constantly changed. I looked through this book for every little thing she did. I used to have a dog about 10 year ago but his personality was completely different from Mimi. He was an American Eskimo (See photo of fluffy white dog howling below- not my dog but same breed). He would lay down when I sat down and follow me everywhere. He was an outstanding dog. Mimi was obviously a damaged dog. I would put on my shoes and if I lifted my shoe too high she would flinch. I knew she was hit in the past. She barked constantly at anything and everything. I'll go more into this soon.

The Secret Language of Dogs was laid out so thoughtfully. The pictures in the book are gorgeous. You will learn everything you need from this book to help you learn cues. It maps out every single behavior quite clearly along with some depictions. You will learn playing, aggression, depression, fear and anger. There's not much to say but this book is pretty awesome. It's just been such a big help to me. I'd totally recommend it for anyone getting a new dog or thinking about fostering a dog.

A little more on Mimi. I have only had her for a few days but I have learned so much from her. Here's my advice for first time dog Foster parents. Have pee pads on hand. You never know the complete background of a dog sometimes. Even if they have perfect "housebroken" habits they can change completely while with you. Mimi never peed in the house until I noticed at bed time she would pee on a pee pad while everyone slept. It was apparent she couldn't hold it in for 8 hours even though she eliminated outside perfectly.

Then there was the barking. Nothing will prepare you for the constant barking. A big help is having treats and toys on hand. I wouldn't reward the barking. Just wait for it to stop when you say NO barking and THEN reward. I also tried crating her when she would not stop barking. I walked away and when I went back to her I found ripped up pee pads. She had become destructive when I left her alone.

Separation anxiety is probably a big problem in dogs who are moved around constantly. You will have to be prepared for the dog not wanting to leave your side. You are all they know in their lonely little world where they came from. Be gentle but be firm when you need to.

I think I have learned that I will be mostly trying to inquire about older dogs to Foster. Little Mimi is 3 years old and she still exhibits a bunch of puppy behavior. I am more inclined to Foster a dog who just wants to lay around most of the day by my side and go for walks 3-4 times a day.

Also, be mindful of your pets you already have home. My cats have never been around a dog before so it was crazy new to them. They hissed and growled constantly. My grey cat , Theon got used to Mimi pretty quickly soon after and my other cat felt comfortable enough to lay around but still hissed if she got near him. I feel like it was a good experience to have them get comfortable with a dog so they will already know for the future.

Definitely check out the book if you decide on getting a new dog. If you have any Foster tips of your own let me know in the comments section, thanks!!

Pop Manga Coloring Book by Camilla d'Errico

When I saw this beautiful coloring book I knew I just had to have it in my very hands. I have been allured by anime and the Asian culture since I was about 10 years old. (I'm 30 now). I have been coloring through many adult coloring books nowadays but I have never seen anything like this. This book definitely tops all the rest in my opinion.

Each and every photo just tells a wonderful story. My mind kept working as I was coloring my favorite picture in the book. (The golem with the 3 fairies) It took me about 2 hours to complete the picture but in the end it was well worth it. It was just gorgeous to look at and I was happy. Camilla's attention to detail is just spectacular. It has a Korean style to me and it's just adorable. Here's my completed picture.

I highly suggest using color pencils when coloring in any picture as it gives it more depth/detail. I really can't wait to color more pages in. I'd show you more pages but I honestly would hate to ruin the surprise of actually opening the coloring book and going through it for yourself. Enjoy!


You can read more about this coloring book here: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/539469/pop-manga-coloring-book-by-camilla-derrico/9780399578472/

It's available at many popular shops such as Amazon,Walmart and Target.  $15.99

Camilla d’Errico is an Italo-Canadian artist who has been making waves in the fine art and comic industries with her manga-influenced style. Ever the prolific artist, Camilla is comic artist/creator and Pop Surrealist painter, while also contributing to the vinyl art toy movement, and expanding her style into fashion, accessories, toys and other merchandise.

Camilla resides in Vancouver, BC, where she paints and draws comics, and more recently has been working with entertainment companies on feature films and videogames. She has distinguished herself through her ability to seamlessly weave comic art and manga with surrealist elements, wrapping it all together with an extensive emotional palette. Thanks to her relentless energy, dedication, and creativity, she has followed her dream of successfully working creatively for a living.

Buying your prescription glasses online with GreatEyeGlasses.com

Glasses are a thing that will be a big part of my life until the end. I have worn them ever since I was a young girl and will continue to. What's the bad thing about it for me? My vision gets progressively worse every couple of years. I'm 30 years old and my prescription is OD-Right -8.50 and OS-Left -9.00 . Once an eye's Rx is over -6.00, statistically, it is more likely to have future problems than an average one. I guess some people have worse prescriptions at my age but, yeah it is pretty strong and I would say stronger than the average.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about buying prescription glasses online. I have done it already before with another company and it went perfectly fine. I will say that every company DOES make every pair of glasses differently. So don't think you can go just anywhere with your prescription to get the same results because it will always be different. I think especially if you have a strong prescription like mine you have to be more careful as well.

So the company I went with was GreatEyeGlasses.com. They seemed very friendly and the whole process to check out was relatively simple. I think they have a wonderful selection but I would love to see a little more in the future as they grow. The possibilities are endless with what you can customize your glasses with. They have lens color shading if you want but I decided to go normal for mine. The only thing I decided to do was cut down the lenses as thin as possible. Believe me, if I didn't cut them down you would see how bad my vision was. I am so thankful for options like this at my prescription strength. So let me show you how the invoice might look for you when you order your pair of glasses. Also, make sure you have an updated prescription from your eye doctor before you order because you will need it.

The total came out to about $205 which is just a bit cheaper than what I am used to at Sears Optical. I think I paid like $250 for my last pair from them about 3 years ago. You also would have the bigger selection to work with online. The only thing you won't see here are the big name brands for prescription as you would at an in store visit. GreatEyeGlasses.com does carry Ray-Bans though. They have a nice selection to pick through.

The glasses style I went for was the Everson in Teal/Black . They also come in Red/Black and Clear/Black

They look exactly how it looked in the stock photo so that's a big plus. There's nothing worse than ordering something online and then it comes to your door looking completely different.

I also wanted to show you the difference between these glasses and another pair I ordered online not too long ago. I will also compare the black ones I have from my Sears purchase a while back.

I think the red frames seem to hide my thick lens a little better but I do love the wide frames of the Everson compared to the ones I got from Sears. I have received compliments on every pair of glasses I get. I must have good taste.

The big difference I notice from the glasses I got from GreatEyeGlasses.com compared to my other two is that the prescription actually seems crisper. Everything was magnified and beautiful. It actually hurt my eyes a little bit because I wasn't used to it being so amazing looking. I do keep my Sears glasses on full time but I hate having to push up my glasses constantly. The other two larger ones sit on my face better. I suggest finding the right shape of glasses for your face so it sits comfortably.

I loved the glasses GreatEyeGlasses.com has made for me and I can totally recommend them. My closing statement is to just make sure you try to do a little research before buying glasses online. Some companies can do the job right and others maybe not so well. Believe me when I say I have had a bad experience with glasses before locally at a large franchise store. (America's Best Eyewear) To make that long story short..they cut my lens the wrong way making it look like everything I was looking at in one spot of my glasses were swirled. "Your eyes need to adjust blah blah" Nah, I got my refund back real quick from them. What a nightmare!


Please check out this wonderful glasses making store and consider them for your next prescription purchase.

http://www.greateyeglasses.com/

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Making Slow cooker chicken tacos with Frontera mild red chile + cumin

I decided to try out this taco skillet sauce by Frontera. I am actually quite familiar with this brand because I have been buying them from time to time at my local Target. I found out that they are recently starting to be sold at Walmart as well which is wonderful! These sauces are so amazing and packed with so much flavor! It is a little bit on the expensive side but well worth it in my opinion. I'm a frugal shopper and can't pass these pouches of goodness up.

Green Moms Meet gave me the opportunity to share this particular skillet sauce with my family. They also included a ton of coupons so I can pass those out to my group , family and friends. Awesome!! Now, I don't buy ground beef too often as the price is kind of high right now for it. I always have chicken and pork chops though. I decided to make chicken tacos with the sauce to see how it would turn out. I also would be using my slow cooker to do this. So EASY!

So I used some frozen chicken tenderloins for this. I seasoned it with a little garlic powder, onion powder, cumin powder, black pepper and fresh cilantro. I then put the Frontera sauce on top and then added half a can of Rotel diced tomatoes with habanero. I then covered it and let it cook on low for about 5 hours. I then opened it up and broke it up to let it stew with the sauce for about 30 minutes more. I just took tongs and broke it up inside the crockpot. No need to take it out.

Here's the finished product. Delicious slow cooked chicken tacos. I cut up some lettuce, fresh cilantro and corn for a topping. You could opt to add fresh onion if you want. There was definitely enough to have some leftovers as well. My whole family enjoyed this meal very much ( even my 11 and 12 year old). My kids even opted to have this as an after school snack the next day. So it pretty much cleaned up well here.

I totally recommend the mild red chile + cumin Frontera sauce but I also recommend trying some of their other things too. I don't think I have ever come across a bad sauce from them. The flavor is so rich and amazing. Thanks Moms Meet and Frontera for letting me share this sauce with my family.






Learn more about Frontera here: http://www.fronterafiesta.com/about