"The Biggest Loser"

Well what can I say but that its time to get in shape girl! I've signed up for 2 Biggest Loser Competitions and hopefully all goes well. One is with my company at CUSD and the other is Dr. Ma'os weight loss challenge in Carson, CA.

Last year my team TBAM, was always in last place, but boy were we motivated. I guess you can say that we were donating to the cause. We would lose weight, then gain weight or just stood at a stand still. So of course everyone would laugh at our team, but it helped my team get motivated and get a jump start at trying to eat healthier and add exercise into our busy schedules. Did it work? Of couse it worked! I ended up losing more inches than I did pounds and that is good for me. Out team worked out together, we did ZUMBA together and we had a good time trying to shed those unwanted pounds away as a team..You know what they say for women, "A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" so not fair, but it's reality!

So this time around I decided I was going to do the Biggest Loser with my co-workers and after the first week our team "No Excuses" is number #1. Well one of my co-workers lost 17.5 pounds that is awesome. I lost 4.4 pounds and my other co-worker lost 8 pounds so we all work together, although I lost the least amount of pounds, I say something is better than nothing!
Tonite is the weigh in for the Biggest Loser in Carson, so we shall see how it oges. I'll be happy if all of our team mates lose something that is better than nothing and the goal is to be consistent with our weight loss. Losing 3-5 pounds per week is my goal but if I lose more then more power to me ha! Our team name is PBAm, the T in my last team didn't participate this time around.

So tonight we will see how everyone did and then we can see how much my team has lost. I guess I won't be eating much until I weigh in so I'm gonna weigh in at 5pm so I can eat a good healthy meal and not starve myself all day which is not what I plan to do. A snack here and there will be good. Alrite good luck to all teams and may the Biggest Loser win in the end!

Goals for this year :BE POSITIVE, STAY HEALTHY AND LOSE WEIGHT!

Review: My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent.

She doesn't see dead people, but.

She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next.

Kaylee Cavanaugh – Main character
Aiden (Kaylee’s Father)
Uncle Brendon- (Aiden’s brother)
Aunt Val (Brendon’s wife)
Cousin Sophie
Emma (Friend)
Nash Hudson (Kaylee’s boyfriend)
Tod (Reaper, a good one ha!)
Marg- Reaper of Death

The beginning of this book starts off with some good reading. Kaylee returned to her uncle and aunts house after being admitted to the looney house after having intense Panic Attacks. Her attacks are really premonitions of people’s death. She can see right in front of her face who will be dying. She sees a dark cloud hovering over people, she feels her throat begin to lump up, her fingers start to ball up into fists and she’s ready to SCREAM from the top of her lungs Bloody Mary! She always tries to not scream and not make a scene but once released, its the loudest thing you’ve ever heard to the human ear that is, but to Bean Sidhes, it’s a totally different world and melodious song..Bean Sidhes-from the Irish ancestry, not human, with abilities to see death coming, bring a soul back to life and so on and so on...

Kaylee went out with her bff Emma and in the club they’re dancing having a good time when she gets the premonition that someone is going to die. She looks over and sees a beautiful young girl with a black cloud over her body and she knows instantly that the girl will die. She doesn’t really know the exact time, but she knows for sure she is a victim of DEATH! Indeed, the next day on the news the girl died. The second girl dies in a movie theater, just drops dead and collapses on the floor. Kaylee didn’t see that one coming but she did see the next one. A cheerleader from school. Kaylee knows something is up. She’s already confided in her boyfriend Nash, who is a Bean Sidhe like Kaylee. We find out what she is after Nash explains to her about her gift of knowing who will die and tells her what she is able to do with her gift and what the both of them can do if they unite and work together. (They can bring souls back)

Kaylees bff Emma was on the death list and she did die but they brought her back to life again. But bringing someone back comes with a high price, the life of someone else was taken. A life for a life, a tic for a tac..thats how the world turns ugh! Always a deal to make with death!

She can’t keep quiet and not wonder why all these young, beautiful girls are just dropping dead out of nowhere! She and Nash start to investigate to find out who is taking all of these innocent young women’s souls and having them die before their time.

When a persons soul is being taken away by the reapers of Death, the female Bean Sidhes scream at the top of their lungs alerting others of their kind that someone is leaving the world, but to other Bean Sidhes the scream of Death is a beautiful, melodious tune that is a sweet and peaceful sound! Its music to their ears, while to humans, it’s a hideous loud whaling that needs to be stopped.

I thought it was a different way of looking at whaling or screaming when one dies. I like how the author turned the screaming into a Song, a beautiful tune! I thought it was nice how when a person dies the Bean Sidhes tell the female to Sing for their soul, sing out loud!

Kaylees father hasn’t explained anything to Kaylee and she is now 16 years old and has been living with her uncle Brendon and Aunt Val. Their daughter Sophie is beautiful just like her mother. Kaylee does not like her father much and really has no relationship with him at all. He sends her cards and visits once in awhile but most of her time was spent living with her uncle and aunt. She doesn’t know why her father doesn’t want to see her until he comes back to town to assist with whats going on with the young ladies in town dropping dead! We find that Uncle Brendon and Aiden (Kaylee’s father) are also Bean Sidhes, hence the reason Kaylee is one as well.
Kaylee’s story is a sad one. She wants answers from her father. He tells her the story as tears rush down his face. She reminds him of her mother so much. He begins to tell her that she was dead and her mother sang her back to life with his assistance. Her dad was willing to give up his life for his precious daughter to live again, but the Reaper did the exact opposite and took the life of his wife. She knew the price and like the unconditional love of mothers, she willingly gave up her time on earth so that her little baby girl could live..So touching!

Kaylee sings one more time before the end of the book and this time its one of her own. She is singing for her cousin Sophie. She is young and beautiful and a perfect description of what the reapers are looking for. I t was so sad, even though Kaylee and Sophie don’t really hang out or get along , she loves her, she is family. We find out that one of Kaylee’s family members has done the unthinkable and made a deal with a Reaper (Marg).Not thinking that the Reaper would take one of their own, her family member tries to make other offers and ultimately will sacrifice himself or herself to fulfill the bargain..

A lot of twists and turns in this book and I enjoyed every moment of it. I was reading last nite and had to be somewhere at 9:00pm, but I couldn’t put the book down. I had to know what was going to happen next and I assure you readers that this book will definitely keep you on edge! Highly recommended by HAVEN..Thank you very much and happy reading!

Review: Awakened by P.C. and Kristin Cast.

The must-read eighth installment in the award-winning, New York Times bestselling young adult vampyre series. The House of Night is sure to keep fans hooked.

The “House of Night” series, I really have a good time reading about the teens and their transformation from a regular teen to a vampire teen with special gifts from their Goddess NYX. I think I continue to read the series because of all the other surrounding and supporting characters and not so much the main character Zoey Redbird.

“AWAKENED” really did awaken my reading inquiries regarding the series. My favorite character I must mention is HEATH, Zoey’s long time mortal friend, boyfriend and human familiar whom she has bonded with and drank from his blood. He loves Zoey to the dire end and she devotes her love to him as well, but there are other characters that have swayed her love and she has broken Heaths heart by giving her family jewels to another first. She was manipulated by one of her handsome teachers who was only seducing her for his real lover NEFERET. I can’t stand her! She is the root of all evil and her plot is to gain Power and Rule the House of Night School in Tulsa.(That was in another book, not Awakened)

*The five Elements Earth, Wind, Fire, Water and Spirit
Earth – Stevie Rae Wind – Damine Fire – Shaunee Water – Erin Sprit – Zoey
(hmm the twins elements could be vice versa, can’t remember eh!)

When the circle of friends get together and summon their elements, watch out NOW, they are unstoppable! They use their gifts to fight evil and NEFERET- I hate her! And to think Neferet was Zoeys mentor in the first book UGH!

I don’t think I blogged about the other 7 books so I’ll be mentioning some events and names of characters from the previous books. Zoey Redbird is the favored vampire, Stark- Red Vampire, Zoey’s Guardian and lover, Stevie Rae Zoey’s BFF and is now a Red Vampire, Aphrodite(one of my fave characters)-beautiful once was a vampire and is now mortal with the gift of foreseeing things to happen in dreams, and she’s a smart mouth, but is always on key when it comes to stopping evil, Darius- Aphrodite’s guardian and lover, Kramisha- Red Fledgling- the poet, thru her poems she foretells what will happen to those in her entrusted circle, the twins Erin and Shaunee- fledglings, Damien- gay f ledling, Jack-Damiens partner, Gramma Redbird- a wise, old Cherokee woman and Zoey’s grandmother.

The book was quite interesting, but in the beginning I was having a hard time reading because a lot of the story was about Zoey and yea whatever ha! But as soon as the book started talking about the other characters like Stevie and Rephaim (Raven Mocker) I was all up in the goodness. Stevie Rae is a Red Vampire Leader and Rephaim is half bird, halfman and they are bonded meaning they drank from each others blood so they are connected. One of the House of Night professors soul mate was killed by Rephaim when they were fighting against the school in the other book. Stevie Rae knows this can’t happen; the two of them can’t be together, he’s not a human or a vampire and how on earth would that work..hmm..Rephaims father is Kalona, the evil Raven Mocker who is a follower of Neferet and was once the guardian for Nyx, until he turned to darkness. Rephaim knew nothing but hatred, evil and anger from his father and everything changed when he met Stevie Rae. They both helped each other and thus were connected through the love they felt for each other. Their story is very interesting and we see that LOVE binds these two together. Will love conquer all in the end;we shall see.

A lot of innocent people die in this book. Jack, Damien’s partner, dies innocently due to Neferet’s greed and lust for power! She needed an innocent sacrifice and poor Jack was the victim. His partner Damien did not take it well and mopes around and is heart broken.
Another innocent victim who dies is Zoeys mother. She was at Gramma Redbirds house waiting for her mother to return when Neferet and the White Bull (Evil) showed up at the door. Neferet was riding the bull bare (naked) what the hell, who does that ha! Ne-ways, she knocks on the door and Zoeys mom has no idea what’s going on. Neferet went to Zoeys grammas house to kill her as a sacrifice of an old but wise Cherokee woman for the White Bull, in exchange, he would create a follower for Neferet to control and rule the House of Night and have all the vampires under her power! What a witch! Seeing that the gramma is not there, she offers Zoeys mother as a sacrifice, the White Bull is not happy but accepts the sacrifice.

Kalona is still in the picture and because he breathed a sliver of immortalness into Stark to save him, to repay his debt, a little part of Kalona remains in Stark. Kalona is able to get into Starks thoughts and emotions which is evident when he was making out with Zoey and bit her shoulder and getting a bit rough, it frightened her. She was scared of him for a second, but Stark said he was sorry and didn’t know what had come over him. I do, Kalona is messing with his thoughts, actions and emotions which equals TROUBLE!

Neferet has managed to fool the council at the House of Night, but she doesn’t fool Zoey, Stevie Rae or the others in their circle of friends. The battle will be proving that Neferet is evil and having Zoey and all her friends unveil Neferets wickedness to everyone!

A lot of other events happened in the book, but these were the ones that stood out to me and that I wanted to share. So let’s read it people so we can analyze and converse!