E-book fun

I'm not sure how many people use e-readers, but I am obsessed with my Kindle. I've always been deemed a speed reader, and go through books really fast. Buying real paperbound books was getting expensive, my bookshelves both at my father's house and my apartment were full, and frequent trips to the library were not always feasible for me. And while I do still purchase real books much to my boyfriend's chagrin (seriously, he gives me some are you kidding me looks quite frequently when I come home with more books) I'm more likely to get books for my kindle than anything else now.


Advantages to e-books:

• I can highlight and add notes without the inner teacher relative voice in my head telling me to stop scribbling in books
• There are frequently free books from some of my favorite authors available on Amazon
• Space for storing books is all on one device
• All of my highlights for my kindle are saved on a website I can access easily and view by book
• Money!

Disadvantages:

• I miss the smell of books
• I miss holding books
• The pretty covers of books are lost

If you don't own an e-reader, but you have a smartphone or a tablet you can download the applications for the readers on there for free! Nook, Kindle, and iBooks are all available. 

Now for some tips on easily getting e-books cheaper! This post has been in the works for a while, but after talking to Annica of Life Modifier on instagram I thought I should put more information out there. I am a deal hunter and a book lover, so I've done some legwork here. 

First up, your local library! It is far more than just a home to physical books. Most of them also use OverDrive, or another setup, for the ability to lend e-books directly to your e-reader or audio device. The time limit is usually 14-21 days, and you can have 5-10 books out at a time with the ability to be on hold like you would a traditional book. You can also borrow audiobooks that you can put on your device, or listen to via a special application. 

There are several sites where you can sign up to receive book deals that are priced cheaper than normal and on most, you can choose the categories you want sent to you. Below I've listed a few I use and have found useful.

Pixel of Ink  is the newest one I've come across but my favorite at the moment. You can receive daily emails with book deals, free and deeply discounted, or search for deals on their site.

Book Bub

eBookSoda 

Also, when you go to Amazon and go to the Kindle Book store, select Bestsellers and you can organize the categories by Top 100 paid, and Top 100 free, and narrow down even further for more results on the categories. I've spent way too much time on it and the deals do change occasionally. Here a couple of links to my favorite categories:

Classics-Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenina, A Tale of Two Cities. If you love classics, this will be your friend.

Religion & Spirituality

Bios & Memoirs


Also, can't forget Project Gutenberg! The original online home for e-books and the first I had ever heard of. I used it before e-readers were even popular and it's great!

Make sure you follow your favorite authors on social media. If their books go on sale anywhere, they are usually the first to announce it! 
Please note: books on these deal sites do not always last at their low or free price for very long. Some will stay for weeks and some jump up in a matter of hours. Any books I have listed are subject to change in price. These are all my own personal opinion on how much I enjoy using these sites.

WIN Detergent review + giveaway

Use code WINGIVE1 for $1 off Win Detergent (just click the links above to go to Amazon!)

This detergent is specifically made for athletic clothes, but I've also used it for my regular clothes with no issue. My son has eczema as well as allergies, so the green formula is PERFECT for his clothing. I'm obsessed! It worked great on socks, and sports bras (let's face it, those need lots of love in the washer!) To enter, follow the steps in the Rafflecopter giveaway below. You'll be winning one bottle each of WIN Detergent, one green, and one regular and here are on some details on this product as well:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chronic pain

Chronic pain isn't one of those things you think you will ever have to deal with. You think, oh something has hurt for a while, I'll go to the doctor, they'll fix it, or give medication, and ta da! All fixed. I wish it was that easy.

Since I was about 18, I've had this weird knee jerk. It was at different times, not every day, but randomly as I'm going to sleep. Over the years, it has gotten progressively worse and there are various triggers that make it worse. Doctors have mostly scoffed at me, made me feel like I was insane because the symptoms I was presenting didn't align with what they knew.

Starting in September of last year, I have visited 4 different specialists, as well as my normal doctor and an acupuncturist (that will be it's own post). A sleep medicine center, an orthopedic center, a cardiologist focusing on veins, and a neurologist. They all seem dumbfounded and completely confused as to what is going on with my knee. It starts to ache at night when I lie down, then jerks violently like it's being electrified. I have a video and every time I show one of my doctors, they sort of jump. That's not comforting. My neurologist as of now is classifying it as a myoclonic jerk. The prescription medication count is to about 22 (not at once) as they try to find various medications that will work longer than a night or a few weeks. So far, no luck. (As evidenced by the fact that this has been edited several times and it seems to only be at 4 am...)

This issue is most of the reason that the blog has been so quiet. It's caused me to do quite a bit of soul searching, as well as research trying to decide what in the world is wrong with me. Most of the medications they have tried are not alleviating the symptoms AND I can't sleep. Talk about a lose/lose situation for me.

So for now, blogging will be intermittent, but I do have some stuff in the works for this blog.

Abs Fitness gifs

These are amazing! 

From this youtube video