Rainy Days With Amanda

No, it's not raining this time while I write this. Though, it did rain pretty bad a couple of weeks ago south from where I live. Hurricane Harvey struck down the southern region of Texas, from Rockport to Houston, Texas. It's a pretty bad incident, one we weren't too prepared for. Luckily, Texas is known for it's hospitality. Photo Courtesy of Time Magazine When danger strikes us cold, it's a very tragic, yet realizational moment. During and post days of the hurricane, neighbors were and are still helping each other. There were strangers helping other strangers. People sharing their boats, their coats, directions and anything else they could. The cities that weren't affect have been collecting donations, starting fundraisers, volunteering at shelter and doing what they can. Photo Courtesy of CNN It's really times like these, unfortunately, that bring people together. Here in Texas, people and businesses have been supporting the victims of H...

Hi everyone! Hope all is going well! I mean to do this book review earlier, but as all things in life goes, nothing went according to plan. I just graduated and I've been crazy busy with work! I actually just got back from a small get-away (will be writing about it next week...at least that's what I'm planning!), so I have a day to actually relax and write some this book review. Now, this book is co-written by one of my favorite author's, Janet Evanovich, so when my fiance spotted it at the Dollar Tree, I knew it was a gem. Now onto the review! (SPOILER ALERT!) A little Bit of Background As for the authors, I've talked a little bit about Janet Evanovich from my last reviews on her Stephanie Plum series. If you would like to look at those, here is the link to one and two . A little bit about Janet, she has been publishing books since the early 90's. Her most famous series, and my favorite, is the Stephanie Plum series that is still in continuation. She ...

Let me start by saying, it's not raining today, but I feel it in my bones that it will soon.. hopefully because it's crazy hot here in Texas! So, this is my first time reading this book. I know a lot of people have read it by now, but it's my first time. In school, we read Animal Farm , an equally eye opening book. I was so happy to finally read this book and I immersed myself in it. So now, let me tell you a little about it (SPOILER ALERT!) A Little Bit of Background George Orwell is a very renowned writer for a number of his books, including 1984 . Now 1984 was actually written in 1949. Orwell wrote this book because of what was going on with the world at that time (WWII, communism, etc). He wrote this book as a warning to all that man can easily become manipulated if the right people know how to do it. It's a scary thought, and after reading it, it's something that could and has happened before.  The main story follows a man named Winston who knows...

Hey everyone! It's been sunshine and rainbows in Texas during the day, but at night, thunder storms have been going off like crazy! Anyways, I'm half way done with school and I couldn't be more excited and terrrified (job wise) at the same time. Also, found my wedding dress (squeal). I have been in college for four years now and never have I once felt like a typical college kid in regards to food. I love to cook and frozen dinners just don't cut it for me (except pizza, mmm Totinos!).  For lunch, it's a different story, I eat what is there. So I decided to make ramen, stove top. When I was younger, my mom use to cook ramen for me when I was sick or just as a lunch. When she would make it for me, she would break up the ramen into little pieces before putting it into the hot water on the stove. I use to think everyone ate ramen like this, until I went to my bestfriend's house. Her name is Shelby and when she made ramen noodles, I was surprised to see she did...

Another book review is here! Can you believe it? It's about the middle of summer already! Kind of crazy. Seems like the older I get, the more time just likes to fly by. Hopefully it slows down, just for a while. Anyways, if I'm not working three job, or at school/doing school work, I'm at the book store picking out a new read. Here in Dallas, we have a huge flagship Half Price Books! If you ever visit Dallas, and you love reading books, you need to visit this place! I originally found this book at Target as a Target Club Pick, but wanted to save money, so headed over to Half Price. As usual, (especially at this Half Price), I found what I wanted. Onto the review! (SPOILER ALERT)! A Little Bit of Background   The Ice Cream Cream of Orchard Street was written by New York Times bestselling author, Susan Jane Gilman . This book was Gilman's debut novel in 2014 and has been praised by various publications, including Publishers Weekly and USA Today . Her book contain...

I happen to write these blogs when it rains or when it looks like it's going to rain. It's nice and kind of suspicious. Anyways, if you're into basketball, then you know that the Spurs lost last night to the Golden State Warriors. At the end of the game, everyone cheered and shouted for Manu Ginobli. He has played with the Spurs since he was drafted in 1999. Even though the Golden State was ahead, everyone appreciated Manu for all the years he contributed to his team. It's being speculated that this will be his last season, but it's still not been confirmed. Either way, those people in the arena, and those people posting about Manu and how they're still spurs fans, those are real fans. If you don't know Spurs fans, then you don't know real dedication, as you can see in the pictures below. Spurs wedding. Courtesy of Spurs Twitter account. Spurs quinceanera. Photo from My San Antonio Express News. Photo from Instagram account @c_always_wright...

My second review on the Stephanie Plum series by author Janet Evanovich . I know it's a week past my usual monthly deadline, but I had so much stuff to do this month school wise! I was nominated for top 5 best capstone (senior project) so I had to do a whole presentation in front of a bunch of people! It was scary, but I made it through. I'm actually turning my senior project into a book (stay tuned for that!). Anyways, enough with my update! Let's get on to the review! (SPOILER ALERT) A Little Bit of Background Janet Evanovich is a New York Times Best Selling author for plenty of her works. Her Stephanie Plum series started back in 1994. This book is her eighth installment out of 24 (I know, I'm a little behind). This book came out in 2002 and follows directly after the 7th book. As for Stephanie, she is on another round about chase to find a missing mother and child. She ends up finding out that the person she is after and the mother and daughter she is t...