May 2015 Updates :)

Good evening my wonderful blog readers!  I have so many projects that are all coming to life before my eyes.  Working on a new and finally finishing a college degree are also time consuming with my blogging moments.  My son has been amazing in life before my eyes with Tae Kwon Do, and we do have DIY projects that just need to get posted.  They are coming I promise!  You may be wondering why you haven't seen many recipes lately, this is largely in part due to my selection process for the cookbook and wanting to figure ot a few exclusives that can only be found in the cookbook itself and not just taken from my blog.  

Now on to this evening business:  I had to write a short story for a class and I felt such connection and inspiration to it and all of the possibilities of crazy twists and turns that it could take that I am in a serious mode of working to turn it into a full-length novel.  This would be my first and I am humbly asking for advice.

If anyone is interested in knowing more to give me any suggestions, advice, opinions, etc.  Please let me know.  Thank you very much for your time and just comment here or message me on any socal networking medium to connect further on this. 

My facebook blog page is a great way to get a message to me, if you don't know of any other:
https://www.facebook.com/BrittanyLMcCann.author.chef

I am now also a BeachBody Coach (because you know I had all of this free time to use, so if anyone is interested in knowing more you can comment here or send me a message at: https://www.facebook.com/Coach.Brittany.McCann, you can also go to the main site on Beach Body (You know those crazy coaches that give you workouts like P90X, Insanity, PiYo, Hip Hop Abs, Brazilian Butt Lift, etc.)  http://www.teambeachbody.com/member/sn/KiriBear

I provide basic coaching 100% free of charge, and am here to help you.  I am a sucky salesman and just joined for the discount, I don't expect to get rich off of coaching, but I do believe in the workouts and am a new user of Shakeology, so I will be showcasing progress blogs in the near future.  Keep your eyes peeled.

A preview of a delicious cheesecake recipe coming your way

Preview of some delicious ribs

I am loving the new PIYO!

Shakeology rocks

You may have missed my kick ass 31st birthday last month

My dork cat says hi

Can't leave out my KiriBear, and namesake for many of my internet dealings

DIY projects coming soon

My little martial artist is getting awarded a green belt on Monday night! 

Ohio 2029

Ohio 2029: Utopia Has Never Been So Wrong is written by D.A. Winstead and is about the state of affairs of the country after a huge stock market crash that has caused America to split apart amongst its political parties, and this is the fallout.

In a sense it can definitely be classified as a dystopian novel, but it is scarier than most. While reading this book I could feel this as being a VERY real possibility for our country. I would like to think that things would never go this far, but it is hard to define a VERY real divide in America between the two major political parties.

Starting with an intro from 2015 that features an economic implosion that makes the last major crash look tame in comparison. The timeline then moves on with short snippets and news headlines, the reader is caught up to the future. The public has completely rejected the Democratic Party with the crash happening during Obama’s time in office. The Republican Party has now been lifted up as saviors, disbanding big government and sectioning it out to different states. However, there is still a lot of anger and rebuilding that must take place.

Rioting occurring in many states leads to those locations being partitioned off as zones, and as things get worse, marshal law is brought into the zones for order. To teach the country a lesson and to move forward, any openly affiliated Democrat is then moved to within reach or even put inside of the zones for punishment. The theory is that if they want to live in a state of being supported by the government and in a state of sharing all that they have, then they can do so within those zone. In the meantime the rest of the country will move on with life and rebuild in a stronger and smarter way, albeit more carefully and strictly with many freedoms American’s have known unable to be given back at this time.

In the middle of all of the chaos the story follows the lives of two families. One is a red state senator’s daughter named Mary Catherine Marshall and the other the boy who used to live next door Maddie Garner. Maddie’s family was relocated to the dirtiest and most violent reform zone in Cincinnati, Ohio. In a way this is a modern political party Romeo and Juliet, but it is so much deeper than that.

Winstead has created a world that is scary to think about and one I hope we never come close to. With so much hate and fear in this world today, it is easy to see how a novel of this caliber could take hold within our hearts. The scenes came alive before my eyes in a desperate manner of living for many. The people were real and easy to connect, root for, and abhor.

I give this book 5/5 stars. Definitely something I probably wouldn’t have picked up on my own, but I would have missed out on some wondrous storytelling, strewn from the heart of our country’s security fears. Winstead translated these fears and bleak outcomes in brilliance. If you are into futuristic novels, sci-fi, political thrillers, romance, dystopian, fiction, suspense, etc., you should definitely pick this one up.

*I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Flip

The Flip is written by Michael Phillip Cash and is about a married couple that flips houses.

Julie is the wife and works full time, devoting her additional time to flipping houses in hopes of gaining enough capital to one day quit her job.  Brad is the husband who is very handy at fixing things around the house, which led him to meet Julie.  He does most of the dirty work with the house flipping.

When discovering a house with a price that is just “too good to be true”, Julie can’t pass up the opportunity to fix up an old house on Bedlam street in Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island.  There are so many quirky and antique features that she can’t help but fall in love with, even dreaming on fixing it up enough to turn it into a Bed & Breakfast.  Brad does not feel the love for the house the Julie does and views the project as more than it is worth.  He finds himself hating the house more with each moment he spends gutting it out and fixing it up.  Not long before the project is begun, there are a series of strange occurrences that seem to only be logical if explained by paranormal behavior. 

Cash has written a book that delivers believable humans, and also paints a picture of paranormal duo with a rich history between them.  It is very interesting to read this book from the living and the paranormal aspects equally.

The Flip is a fast paced read and easy to get into, it is easy to picture many of the features and events that take place.  Unfortunately I was also left with a lot of unanswered questions in relation to things such as the sentinels.  I couldn’t find the rapid pace of the romance between certain characters as being plausible to suddenly speed up and show acceptance with such a small event.  It made no sense that this power would not have been exerted over the annoying paranormal duo before now. 

Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars.  The beginning and the middle of the book were spectacular, but the end and the wrap up were enough to bring a lesser book down to a mere 3 stars.  The quality of Cash’s overall writing and the way that a reader can get into the book make it hard to award less than the 4 stars.  I wish the ending was completely scrapped and rewritten, or perhaps the books had more events to lead up the final outcome.  I would definitely read another of his books, and hopefully there will be better closure.  I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys reading fiction, historical fiction, romance, paranormal, ghost, military, civil war era, etc.

*I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Creation Theory and Parenting

I am currently taking a Mythological English class, and last week we explored our beliefs and the beliefs around the world in creationism.  As a response I had to talk about how I was raised and how I would raise my son.   I spent a lot of time with this, and realized that although I have had many thoughts about it in the past, that I have never actually written down any of those thoughts.  I wanted to share them now in the this public forum:

I have always been fascinated with much in this story of creationism due to all that surrounds it in numerology given the number seven as well as the many similarities that can be traced back to religions of many different eras.  The contradictory beliefs that I have personally experienced within the rigid followers of Christianity have both confused and intrigued me.  I do claim Christianity as a base belief with an open mind to other beliefs and science.

To speak openly and truthfully, my son is now four and I approach small issues as they arrive.  Living in the state of Texas is an extremely religious state, at times to the point of zealotry.  I have no issues with my son learning positive values from any religion such as how to treat people and be a kind and compassionate individual.  As far as it pertains to creation, I have always treaded a line between religion and science.  I do believe that evolution exists as it happens every day, but I also do not think that Darwin was entirely correct in our origin.  I believe that in Science one can also deduce an evolution from a much more man-like species, which is still created at some point.  Given the newness of Christianity within our history as mankind, I have a hard time trusting that it is the “end all, be all” theory in regards to life. 

I choose to let me son explore what feels right and true within his own soul and heart and not force-feed him beliefs in the way that they were thrust upon me.  I feel that my role as a parent is instead to guide him to sources of knowledge and be there to answer his questions as best I can; free from judgment and bias if he comes to a different conclusion that is right for him, than that which is right for me.  I think that this is an issue that will continue to be a debatable enigma for as long as mankind exists.  For me I do not need to know the answers to everything, as I am constantly in search of information to quench my thirst for knowledge and I am open to concepts that are knew and feel more correct than what I know at this point and time.  I know that is not a complete or popular answer on this question, but that is best I can provide at this time.

Battle of the Grandmas

Battle of the Grandmas is written by Anthonette Klinkerman and is in appearance a children’s book. Klinkerman writes from a school teacher and mother’s perspective.

Klinkerman’s Grandmas are easily relatable for many adult readers of the story. It revolves around 3 grandparents and a young girl named Madelyn. In order to win her affections each of them tried to earn the title of “best grandma” by giving the greatest and most extravagant gifts to their granddaughter.

Through the telling of this story one can assume that the little girl must be the only grandchild based on the gifts that she receives. This story holds a definite moral for all of us. Physical presence and attention is more important that any gift that we can give to our child.

The younger the child, the happier they are with anything to share with you, whether it is a box, a craft you have made, a store bought toy, etc. Many times in a younger child’s life they will be just as happy, if not more so with the box the toy came in.

This story shows that all that the girls wanted was to be able to spend time with her grandmas, not the plethora of gifts she was receiving. She reached the point of gift reception that she began to dread getting a package in the mail. Their love seemed to be more for a façade than actual love to her because instead of being there with her, they were sending store bought “love”. Upon accidentally all sending their granddaughter the same book, this started an all-out gift giving trench warfare. The grandmothers started worrying more about competing with one another to send the best gift rather than what it was that their granddaughter really wanted/needed from them.

Battle of the Grandmas consists of 34 pages of full-length color cartoon-like illustrations. The story is told in a rhyming format. The lettering is easy to read and perfect for children with a slightly longer attention span in the age range of about 3-8 years old.

Overall I give this book 4/5 stars. I love that the moral is one of quantity over quality of relationships. It was a quick read, but it did seem more directed at an adult, and my 4 year old rated it low on re-readability. It is a great book to read if you are into teaching lasting values with your children, children’s book, illustrated books, sharing, grandmothers, gift-giving, etc.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.