Turn Up the Heat Book Review

Title: Turn Up the Heat.

Author: Dr. Kevin Leman.

Genre: Christian, Nonfiction, Marriage, Self-Help, Psychology, Communication.

Plots:  Since the success of his book, Sheet Music, Leman has turned his amusing sense of humor and down-to-earth advice to another book, this time about how couples can turn up the heat in their sex life. Whether you’re stuck in a rut, newlywed or just looking for a refresher, this fun easy to read book is a wonderful addition to your library. Covering all the milestones in life – the honeymoon to the rest home – and everything in between, from children to boring daily life to midlife crisis’s, this book has a little something for everyone. There are also special chapters for abuse victims and affairs. The overall theme of the book is communication and loving each other outside the bedroom. If you have a strong marriage in other areas of life, the bedroom will heat up accordingly.

Likes/Dislikes: This book was very fast and easy to read, though it felt more like a refresher to me. There wasn’t a whole lot of new information, and based on what was written, my husband and I are doing pretty well. I did enjoy the little blurbs scattered throughout the book and loved the author’s sense of humor. The one thing I just really didn’t like was in one of the chapters Leman answers a woman’s concerned question regarding how to get her husband interested when he isn’t, mainly due to the fact that they use NFP {Natural Family Planning} and he doesn’t want anymore children. Leman’s curt answer failed to actually answer the question and he could’ve given a lot more advice on the subject. My husband and I use NFP and one of the reasons why it’s so successful for us is because we communicate frequently. NFP relies very heavily on communication. Aside from that bit, it was a pretty good book.

Rating: PG-18 and up, due to content. Recommended only for married couples.

Date Review Written: February 23^rd, 2015.

The Big Bang Theory 8.16

Amy shares with the group an interesting tidbit of information about an experiment she read about where the participants read questions to each other, stare into their eyes for four minutes and fall in love. While everyone thinks its silly, Penny and Sheldon try it, and deepen their friendship. Meanwhile, Leonard and Amy tag along with Raj and Emily, and go to an escape room. But due to their advanced degrees, they solve the puzzles very quickly. Howard and Bernadette get a little tied up at the airport when the bag containing his mother's ashes goes missing.

Forever 1.16

A young college student is found murdered and traced back to an apartment room decorated like the 70s. Raising their suspicions, the team tracks down the girl's recent activities and become reunited with Iona - the dominatrix from a previous episode - who is now a professor. With her help, they find the real killer but at a great risk to one of them. I didn't much like this episode.

The Smile

There is a Smile of Love
And there is a Smile of Deceit
And there is a Smile of Smiles
In which these two Smiles meet

And there is a Frown of Hate
And there is a Frown of Disdain
And there is a Frown of Frowns
Which you strive to forget in vain

For it sticks in the Hearts deep Core
And it sticks in the deep Back bone
And no Smile that ever was smild
But only one Smile alone

That betwixt the Cradle & Grave
It only once Smild can be
But when it once is Smild
There's an end to all Misery

~ William Blake.

Downton Abbey 5.8

Fast-forward two months from the last episode and the wedding preparations for Rose and Atticus’ wedding are in the final stages. Their parents are set to meet just days before the wedding is to take place. They’ve had some difficulties with the difference in their religions and get another blast of meanness when someone frames Atticus, supposedly caught sneaking around with another girl after his bachelor party. Tom, meanwhile, seems to have made up his mind to leave Downton and move to America, much to Mary’s vocal dismay. There’s a lovely scene with her and Carson, reminding us of how close they are despite the different circles they live in. And Robert, the thoughtful lord that he is, has a special surprise for Mrs. Patmore at the ceremony for the memorial. But with all the happy turns taking place, poor Anna and Bates are extremely unhappy. When the inspector starts interviewing them again, having dug up new evidence of Green’s nasty character, they worry that their hopes of putting it all behind them were in vain. And that is exactly what happens when Anna is wrongly arrested for the death of Green. Oh, the drama and heartache! Poor Mr. Bates. Mrs. Hughes put it well when she said, “Sorrow seems to follow them around.”

The Big Bang Theory 8.15

With the comic book store at long last reopening, the tension between Stuart and Howard hits an all-time high. While Bernadette is busy playing referee, Raj and Leonard meet Nathan Fillion or, at least, someone who looks like him, and Penny tries to teach Sheldon how to let things go, only to find out that he and Amy have been secretly using her in an experiment. And then the tables turn when Howard gets some shocking news.

The Torch of Love Dispels the Gloom

The torch of Love dispels the gloom
Of life, and animates the tomb;
But never let it idly flare
On gazers in the open air,
Nor turn it quite away from one
To whom it serves for moon and sun,
And who alike in night or day
Without it could not find his way.

~ Walter Savage Landor.

Downton Abbey 5.7

When Mrs. Drewe goes all tattle-tale on Edith, Cora puts Violet and Rosamund in their places and resolves to find Edith and learn what she wants for Marigold. Edith is then tracked down in London by her Aunt Rosamund and her mother. Together the three women think up a plan for Edith to retain Marigold and convince her to return to Downton. Meanwhile, Bates and Anna are hopefully putting the nasty business with Green behind them and making plans for the future. Bates is hostile toward poor Miss Baxter when she offers to swear she saw the intact train ticket, should the need ever arise. And Daisy, down in the dumps again, gets buoyed up by Moseley and Mr. Mason. Isobel announces her engagement to Lord Merton, feeling rather happy with her final decision, but when his sons are rude to her at dinner {causing Tom, Robert and Lord Merton to all angrily order Larry out of the house}, she wonders if she's made the right decision and asks for time to consider. And poor Robert learns the heartbreaking news that his dog Isis has cancer and is dying. He and Cora take her into bed with them to comfort her in her last hours. And Atticus proposes to Rose!

Tiny Bear's Bible Book Review

Title: Tiny Bear's Bible.

Author: Sally Lloyd-Jones.

Illustrator: Igor Oleynikov.

Genre: Christian, Nonfiction, Children's, Bible, Colorful.

Plot: Having greatly enjoyed the Little Bunny's Bible previously, I decided to get the Tiny Bear's Bible and save it for my future son. I love the extremely soft fur of the cute brown bear, though one of his ears has a hole in it. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that there are different Bible stories in this one, compared to the Bunny Bible. Included are the Story of Creation, the rainbow after the flood, the story of Moses being rescued by Pharaoh's daughter, David and Goliath, Daniel in the Lions' Den, the Birth of Christ, Jesus saving the disciples from the storm at sea {the chapter title for that one is pretty cute: Jesus Stops a Scary Storm}, the Lord's prayer, Zacchaeus, the original Easter story, and God's promise that He is with us always. Each story has a lovely set of verses telling the story to a child, followed by a special little message just for the baby. The baby is called Tiny Bear throughout the book.

The artwork is breathtaking! The beautiful pictures sprawl across the pages, with a wonderful blend of detail and simplicity that keeps you coming back for more. There are also a lot of unusual animals in the pictures; there's a walrus, an ant-eater, a leopard and flamingos all on the first page! I really like having the option of teaching my children about other animals besides the standard puppies, kittens and bunnies.

Likes/Dislikes: After opening the package, I presented my thirteen month old daughter with the book to get her opinion on it. She spent a good several minutes staring happily at the cover and stroking the bear's face before opening the book all by herself and squealing in excitement over the beautiful pink first page that contained the creation story. It took two attempts to read her the whole book, but she had fun pointing out the lions {"Look, there's Leo, your lion, What's he doing there?"}, and she pointed out Baby Jesus, squealed and then shut the book on my fingers. Apparently her favorite page is the last one with all the flowers and children standing around Jesus. I recommend this for slightly older children with longer attention spans than mine since it takes a bit longer to read the whole story on each page when they just want to turn the next page or go crawl around some more.

Rating: G - all ages, but mainly nine months and up. Highly recommended!

Date Review Written: February 12th, 2015.

I received a free copy from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

Forever 1.15

On a bright morning, Dr. Morgan leaves Abe to his genealogy research to investigate a supposed suicide of an exiled king. From his past experiences, Dr. Morgan has a personal connection to the case; he once saved the king's life when he was just a boy. They met on the Orient Express when Dr. Morgan was on his honeymoon with Abigail. When modern-day Dr. Morgan learns of the king's death, he visits the king;s widow to return a ring he was given and discovers that the king was assassinated and that someone is bent on wiping out the royal bloodline. Now an innocent young woman and her adorably cute baby are in danger.

I really enjoyed this episode, even though the honeymooners got a little too cuddly for some viewers. Luckily the baby was sound asleep by then. *winks*

How Do I Love Thee?

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seem to lose
With my lost saints, ---I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! ---and if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Downton Abbey 5.6

We have a lot of action and drama going on in Downton this week. First off, poor Edith learns that her beloved Michael is indeed dead. She goes into mourning and inherits his publishing company, making her a suddenly successful woman of independent means {though that is just assumed on my part since they didn't exactly say that much}, and she makes the drastic decision to leave Downton secretly, forcibly taking her sweet little daughter Marigold with her. If they had just told Mrs. Drewe the truth, it would've been so much easier. Though, as my sister pointed out, it also would've been less dramatic.

Meanwhile, Mary gets a daring new hair do and goes all out to impress her poor slighted would-be lovers Gillingham {who seems to be getting back together with his ex} and Blake {who has sudden new hopes} at a horse race. It would be a very difficult feat for me to ride side-saddle in a fast race like Mary does. Very impressive. Mrs. Patmore takes on her new cottage, inspiring Carson to tentatively ask Mrs. Hughs if she would be interested in jointly investing in a property of their own. So cute. And Molesley kindly offers to help Daisy in her studies in anyway he can. I liked how Miss Baxter is being friendly to snarky Thomas and gives him a genuine compliment after taking him to the doctor. They could become good friends if he lets it happen. I can't wait for the next episode!

A Michelle Moran Giveaway.

Elena is running her first book giveaway at her lovely blog and I'm proud to share it with you. If you're a fan of Michelle Moran's historical fictions or of stories set in India, then you must enter to win Rebel Queen. The runner-up will receive a set of bangles the author brought back from India, so have fun and good luck!

 http://elenatintil.blogspot.com/2015/02/win-copy-of-rebel-queen-by-michelle.html

The Big Bang Theory 8.14

In this latest episode, we have Penny and Leonard enjoying a lovely dinner together when Leonard gets a brilliant idea and rushes off to share it with Sheldon. The two then write a paper on their idea and post it, only to have someone reply with mean comments. Meanwhile, the girls are having an evening of embarrassment and revenge when Bernadette insists on watching Penny's ape movie and Penny gets back at her by sharing a beauty pageant clip Bernadette sing in, and both get pulled into Amy's well-written fan fiction about her and Sheldon living in the 1800s.

This was a hilarious episode!!

Forever 1.14

At their current crime scene, Dr. Morgan and Detective Jo find priceless artwork stolen by the Germans during World War 2. One painting is missing while seven canvasses were cut from their frames, leading the team to believe that whoever killed the victim was after the paintings. The investigation leads them to an art dealer at an auction house, who suspiciously turns up brutally murdered as well when he tries to flee with the stolen paintings. Meanwhile, Abe has never known who his birth parents were, so when Adam comes into the store with an old ledger containing secrets of the past, Abe can finally solve his own personal mystery.

This episode was a lot bloodier than it should've been, considering it was mainly about stolen artwork. Other than that, it was pretty interesting. They should've made it more clear that the flashbacks took place before Dr. Morgan became immortal.

A Red, Red Rose

O, my luve is like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June.
O, my luve is like the melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As far art throu, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I,
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun!
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o'life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only luve,
And fare thee weel a while!
And I will come again, my luve,
Tho' it were ten thousand mile!

~ Robert Burns.

Downton Abbey 5.5

We have a lot going on at Downton this week. The police inspector interviews Mary and Anna, but appears suspicious of their answers and warns Anna not to go away. All the interviews focusing on the Bates has sickly Thomas very curious. Miss Baxter figures out what he's up to, or at least, what she suspects he's up to and why he looks so ill, but he continues to brush aside her attempts to help. Miss Bunting gets a new job and moves away, leaving poor Bronson to make a painful but good decision to stay at Downton and let her go away. Mary renews her friendship with Blake, who has a stupid plan to reunite Gillingham with his former sweetheart.

Meanwhile, poor Edith is suffering a slow heartbreak over being warned away from visiting Marigold. When Rosamund comes to visit, she gets the story from Edith and they visit the little girl, only to have Mrs. Drewe tell her husband to forbid Edith from visiting ever again. This puts Edith in an even more uncomfortable position. She rejects the advice of her aunt Rosamund and Grandmother Violet to take Marigold and put her in a boarding school. Instead, she makes a secretive call to London. And that sly Mr. Bricker is back, making more trouble. He goes uninvited to Cora's bedchamber and gets into quite a tussle with Robert when he throws out Bricker. Cora tries to make up with Robert, but he remains very frosty toward her, even during their cocktail party.

So lots going on and the plot thickens considerably!