All posts by Anne Younger

Anne is a 30-something full-time SAHM mom of 5 ranging from 3 to 17 and grandma of 1 who resides in Ashwaubenon (Green Bay) Wisconsin. She started blogging in 2008 as a way to regain her sanity. She enjoys coffee, chocolate, cheeseburgers and vodka along with spending time with her husband and kids.

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Bestselling author Julie Kagawa is back with the highly anticipated fourth book of The Iron Fey series, THE IRON KNIGHT.

Synopsis:
Unable to survive in the kingdom of his beloved due to his supernatural nature, a warrior prince sets out to turn himself human. But first he must cross deadly lands and overcome nightmarish obstacles before reaching the fabled testing grounds, where he will endure a series of challenges. He is joined on his quest by a team of fantastical creatures, each with an agenda of their own—one, a faery prankster whom the prince has vowed to kill for past misdeeds; another, a wise-speaking cat who claims to be a truthful guide; the third, a legendary and villainous beast pulled right from the fairy tales; and finally, the last, a seer who appears to be the resurrection of the prince’s former love, long thought dead but now restored to life and as beautiful and tempting as ever. With these dubious allies by his side, the prince sets off to achieve his ultimate prize, but to do so will require overcoming the greatest challenge of all in his quest for a human soul—himself.

When exiled faery prince Ash swears an oath to his love, Meghan Chase—the half-human ruler of the Iron Fey realm—to return and be with her forever, he knows what that promise entails. Her Iron Kingdom is anathema to a fey creature such as himself, and in order to survive in it he must renounce his powerful supernatural nature and acquire a mortal soul. Only then will he be able to return and be with his love. But even as a prince of the fabled Winter Court, Ash knows only rumors of how an immortal can become human. Ash needs help, even if that help comes from the last set of creatures in the entire Nevernever realm that he would ever want to join him.

Our 11 year old Libby read this book as it seemed like it would be right up her alley and of course, it was. She said it reminded her a lot of the Twilight series and she is looking forward to reading more in the series.

Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my complete and honest review.

Crazy #CyberMonday Deal on ALL Hosting Services with #HostGator!!!

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The Megalomaniac Mommy’s Baked Mac & Cheese

Since we prepared our own Thanksgiving Dinner at home this year, I knew it was mandatory that I have a dish to serve the kids that would make them all happy! With 3 kids, we go through a lot of macaroni and cheese, usually out of a box because let’s be honest, it’s easy to make and less time consuming. As a side dish to our Thanksgiving dinner, I made a batch of baked mac & cheese and it was a hit! We devoured the ENTIRE pan!!!
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:2]

Thanksgiving Recap – The Turkey

As I mentioned a few days ago, this year, the Alex and I set out to create our first Thanksgiving dinner at home.  I put the Alex in charge of the shopping and selection of the bird.

He returned with a massive 22 pound bird!

For our first time cooking a turkey, we thought we would play it safe so we decided to season the bird with salt and pepper inside and out, stuff with aromatics ( we used 2 large sliced Braeburn apples, 5 small yellow onions quartered, 1/2 lb. carrots, and threw in some sage, tarragon and rosemary) and tied it up. Once the turkey was all tied and situated, we brushed it with lots and lots of butter! From there we covered it with tin foil and baked it in the oven at 350* for 4.5 hours.

Salt and peppered inside and out.
Covered in salt, pepper, stuffed and buttered!

And then off to the oven for 4.5 hours.

After 4.5 hours baking at 350*

After baking for 4.5 hours at 350* we basted the turkey with more butter and pan drippings and then put it back in the oven for 45 minutes at 425*

And then we pulled out the most beautiful and juiciest bird EVER!

The final product

We let the turkey rest for about 30 minutes after pulling it from the oven and finished off the other dishes for our dinner and then the Alex carved his first turkey!

We had MORE than enough turkey!
This is what came from one breast of our massive bird and we didn’t even devour half of it!

One breast of turkey!

So yes, we have a TON of leftover turkey and I will be busy the rest of the weekend creating meals from it, including soup!  Wish me luck!

Be sure to watch for the recipes for all of our side dishes as well!

Hope you had a great turkey day!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:1]

Amazing #BlackFriday Deal on ALL Hosting Services with #HostGator!!!

Since I began blogging in April of 2009, I have been with one host service and that is HostGator. I can honestly say that I have zero complaints about the service I have received and have nothing but good things to say about HostGator.

The great news is that HostGator is offering an AMAZING deal on ALL hosting services for Black Friday!

From Midnight until 11:59 PM CST on Friday, November 25th, Black Friday, HostGator is offering 50% OFF on ALL hosting services. This includes shared hosting, reseller hosting, VPS hosting, Dedicated servers and Windows hosting! This does not include domain names.

You do NOT need to insert a coupon code to receive the special. The correct coupon code will automatically be inserted on all orders placed on Black Friday.

The discount applies to your first invoice. HostGator’s VPS and dedicated server hosting services are only available on a monthly basis, therefore the promotion will apply to only the first month.

This promotion will bring HostGator’s already competitive hosting packages as low as:

Shared hosting: As low as $4.95 Now only: $2.48/month (pre-paid)

Reseller Hosting: As low as $24.95 Now Only: $12.48/month (pre-paid)

VPS Hosting: As low as $19.95 Now Only: $9.98/month (First Month)

Dedicated Servers: As low as $174 Now Only $87/month (First Month)

*Please note that current clients are eligible to take advantage of this offer on additional hosting accounts only. In order to receive the discount on an additional account, current clients must keep their original, existing account open and in good standing in order to continue receiving the discounted rate on their new account.

If you would like to take advantage of this awesome deal,

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