A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagears

Back Cover

“Lydia King knows what it's like to be in need, so she joins the Teaville Moral Society hoping to help the town's poor.  But with her father's debts increasing by the day and her mother growing sicker by the week, she wonders how long it will be until she ends up in the poor house herself. Her best chance at a financially secure future is to impress the politician courting her, and it certainly doesn't hurt that his mother is the moral society’s president.  Lydia’s first task as a moral society member--to obtain a donation from Nicholas Lowe, the wealthiest man in town-- seemd easy... until the man flat-out refuses.

Despite appearances, Nicholas wants to help others but prefers to do it his own way, keeping his charity private. When Lydia proves persistent, they agree to a bargain, though Nicholas has a few surprises up his sleeve. Neither foresees the harrowing complications that will arise from working together and when town secrets are brought to light, this unlikely pair must decide where their beliefs--and hearts--truly align.

My THOUGHTS

The author, Melissa Jagears has such a gift for writing.  I think that this is probably my favorite of all of her books I have read. It is so well written and it is definitely a keeper and a reread for me!  I absolutely love the time period that this book takes place which is in the early 1900s.  Although it is a historical romance, there is definitely an undertone of whether or not an individual is really able to change their level in society.   Lydia is a young woman that is close to becoming another one of the poor people in her town and Nicholas is a man that doesn’t give a hoot what society thinks of him.  This is first book in the Teaville Moral Society series and I can’t wait to read the next one!

***I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.***

Master Duo 2/3 Hole Paper Punch

I never knew I needed one of these...  

I have several hole punchers and I use them for all kinds of projects.  But when I received this Master DUO Heavy-Duty Hold Puncher in the mail… I was a bit perplexed!  How on earth could it punch 3 holes and also 2 holes???   Well it didn’t take me long to find out!  Take a good look at it.  Doesn’t it look kinda complicated?  Well it did to me… but thank goodness even I could figure it out.   I must admit I did have a few issues that I had to work out.  I couldn't get the paper under where I needed it to go so that my paper could get punched.  Grrrr... I knew what the problem was...I just didn't know what I needed to do to fix the problem.  

The two-hole punch is in the LOCKED position!

Duh.... I realized that it was in the locked position.  If you look closely at the picture below there is a place where you ALIGN the paper...but there is also a a lock mechanism that needed to be unlocked which then allowed the paper to slide under the hole punch position.  Yip!  I figured it out all by myself.

I have 23 students in my 1st grade classroom, so I wondered if I could hole-punch 23 sheets of paper all at one time.  It was kind of a tight squeeze, but I was able to get 25 sheets in there. I tried it in the 3 hole and also the 2 hole side.  It was relatively easy and they came out perfect!

I also was concerned about how I was going to be able to line up the papers and get the holes in the exact right spot.  There was an easy solution to that problem too.  On the two hole side there are the words "align here" which points at a line.  All you have to do is put your sides of the paper on these two lines.  Easy Peasy!  (Yikes...look at the dust that has accumulated on my hole punch)

I love it and I think you will too.  I'm excited that I now only need one hole puncher in my room now.  

Please go check out this hole puncher at Shoplet.  While you are there go ahead and spend some time looking at their huge assortment of office supplies, cleaning supplies, medical supplies, and office furniture.

  
I received these products at no charge in exchange for my honest review of this hole puncher.  The opinions expressed here are my own and reflect what I thought about the product. 

Life just Got Easier . . . with PaperMate Products

Take a look at those Sharpie Electro Pop Permanent Markers. There are five in a package and the colors are Optic Orange, Techno Blue, Nano Blue, Electric Pink, and Ultra Violet.  I use Sharpies on a daily basis in my classroom and these are going to be a perfect addition!  I love Sharpies and so do my students!  They dry quickly and they are able to survive my first graders dirty fingers.   I hope you can see in the picture below that these Sharpie do have a “POP” to them! 

    Con:  The caps on these markers are difficult to get off! 

Next up are the colorful pens that are in the above picture.  My heart always seems to skip a beat when I find new ones to try. These Paper Mate 300RT Effortless Glide Ballpoint Pens quickly brought a smile to my face.  J  These pens will definitely add some cool colors to my writing. 

I draw a lot of happy faces on papers when I grade papers and so I always look for comfort! These pens have a soft, dimpled grip which is a defininte plus!  These pens come in a package of 8 with a medium point and are retractable. 

  Con:    I had a hard time writing my period on every single sentence!  What’s up with that I wonder?

I have never been very successful using a mechanical pencil.  I have a tendency to write with a heavy hand and break them!  It’s just not a battle I choose to fight.  I wasn’t sure what to except when I tried these PaperMate Mechanical Pencils.  I was pleasantly surprised that I could actually write an entire sentence without breaking the lead.  Yeah!!!!!  These pencils have a lead diameter that is 1.3mm… probably thicker than any mechanical pencil I have ever used before  They come in an assortment of colors too!  I like the pencil’s triangular barrel which allowed me to grasp the pencil with a good grip.

    Cons:  It writes way to thick for me… but I think my first graders will LOVE them!! 

The last thing I want to talk about is the PaperMate Correction Tape.  I don’t know about you, but I hate it when I make a mistake when I’m writing with an ink pen.  Usually I use the correction fluid which takes FOREVER to dry.  And…since I am very impatient I write before it is completely dry…which makes even a messier mess!  Thank goodness for this product! 

This will make my life so much easier and less stressful!  J It goes on smoothly and I was able to put it exactly where I wanted it to go.  Love it already.

     Con:     None

I hope that you will give Shoplet the opportunity to help you meet your needs for Office Supplies, Sanford Products, Cleaning Supplies, Medical Supplies and Office Furniture.  Ordering is easy and they have a wonderful assortment of products to meet your needs!

***Disclosure*** I received these products at no charge in exchange for my honest review of the product.  The opinions expressed here are my own and reflect what I thought about these products.  

Stop Looking!!! Oriental Trading Probably Has It!

Summer is definitely here in the state of Oklahoma!  As a teacher, I truly enjoy my summer break…well… except for the blazing hot days!!  Next month my family will be having our annual family reunion.  We decided to have it at a private lake (really a pond) where there is absolutely no air conditioning. Crazy I know…but that pretty much sums up my family.

As I searched the internet trying to find fun activities for this reunion, I knew that Oriental Trading would be one of my favorite places to check out.  They have so many cute ideas that are very affordable.  Here are just a few of my favorite things I found there.

I decided to type in “Reunion” and see what came up.  Have you ever heard of an inflatable buttet?  This is such a great idea!  

Getting everyone to eat at the same time is always a problem at our reunions. This is exactly what we need.  All you do is fill it with ice…. Put your containers of food in at…and there you go… the food will stay chilled for those that were too busy to eat.  Yes… I am definitely ordering one of these babies!

Throughout the heat of the day we have so many activities planned.  We will definitely need a few Water Toys throughout the day to entertain us and help us survive the heat. I think these Neon Grip Squirt Guns might do the trick… or at least cool us off a bit!!   

The little ones, the old folks and everyone in between will definitely enjoy feeling the squirt of cool water during the heat of the day.  Oh yes... they are are must!

    

For some reason we  have never had BUBBLES at our family reunions.   I think they will be a big hit for everyone!  And of course... if you are going to get bubbles…you might as well go big!!!  Take a look at these Huge Wands! 

 I have such a crazy family… no telling what kind of game we will think of to do with these long tubes filled with bubbles!!!

Outdoor Games are always a huge part of our summer family gatherings! As a matter of fact, several of us are in the process of making oversized outdoor games that will allow us to show our competitive side!!!   I came across these Large Yahtzee Dice and I think they are a definite MUST HAVE!  Now all I have to do is find a cute bucket to put them in. 

Oh my goodness there are so many other summer fun items that you need to check out at Oriental Trading!  What are you waiting for... go check out all the summer fun ideas!

Pentel Mechanical Pencils and EnerGel Pen

It seems like I can never get enough pencils and pens.  However, not any pen or pencil will do… so… when Shoplet asked me to review these Pentel Sharp Mechanical Drafting Pencils and this Pentel EnerGel Alloy Retractable Gel Pen I eagerly jumped at the chance.           

These mechanical pencils are so cool!  I’ve never owned a mechanical pencil that wasn’t black so I was excited to try out these beautiful metallic pencils.  Aren't they beautiful? 

 These mechanical pencils come with six sticks of pre-loaded  0.7mm lead.  This lead is Super-Hi-Polymer which of course never needs sharpened.  This pencil lead would be like using a #2 pencil. It also has a pocket clip which I will use all the time... or I would probably lose my pencil quickly!  

Gel pens are my favorite type of pen and this Pentel EnerGel Alloy Retractable Gel Pen is a beauty!  This pen has a medium-sized point (0.7mm).  I love the way this pen just glides across the page and leaves no skips as you write.  The ink itself dries very quickly!!! No smudges while you are writing.  Yeah!! There are decorative silver ridges where your fingers grip the pen which allowed me to hold the pen easily and with control. 

Shoplet is one of my favorite places to do online shopping.  It is so easy to find the items you are looking for.  They have a wide range of Pentel products that I think you will be pleased with!  That’s not all though… they have a nice selecting of  office supplies, cleaning supplies, and medical supplies.  If you are in need of new  office furniture they might be able to help you out in that area as well. 

Disclosure: The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.  I received no other compensation.

Acme Westcott CarboTitanium Scissors

I am always losing my scissors…so I was definitely excited when Shoplet contacted me about about reviewing a pair of heavy duty Westcott CarboTitanium  8” pair of scissors!  

 I was definitely not disappointed.  Let me tell you everything that I absolutely love about them!

The blades are strong!  I mean really strong!   The package claims they are 8X harder than stainless steel.  

I decided to compare them to my favorite pair of scissors.   I cut through 20 sheets of paper with both of them.  When I used the Westcott CarboTitanium Scissors I had absolutely no problem cutting through them. Using my other scissors (my best ones)  I struggled quite a bit to cut through these 20 sheets.  It was hard to get a picture that showed it...but hopefully you can see what I'm talking about. 

I love how comfortable they are to my fingers while I am cutting.  They have a contoured soft grip handles which also allowed me to get a good grip while I was cutting.  Nice!

They have a lifetime warranty!  Nice!

  

If you haven’t ever shopped online at Shoplet, I hope that you will give them a chance to meet your shopping needs.  They carry an assortment of office supplies, cleaning supplies, medical supplies, office furniture and everything in between.

***Disclosure*** I received this pair of Wescott CarboTitanium Scissors at no charge.  In exchange, I have given my honest review of them.  

Avery Easy Align Self-Laminating ID Labels

These are not the ordinary labels that I have used for years and years.  I had to take a second look when I first saw them.  They are self-laminating.  How cool is that!!!  This packet has a total of 250 labels and there are 10 labels on each page. These Avery labels are definitely worth checking out.  

Whenever something is able to help me get more organized I am all for using it.  These labels did just that. I decided to start my organization with some plastic drawers that I had previously labeled with a black Sharpie.  Wow!  They look so much nicer now.   

I have so many other things that I am going to use these laminated labels for.  Here are just a few that I’ll be working on over spring break in just a few short weeks:

*plastic mini drawers 

*label my personal property at work

*plastic tubs 

*food containers

Here are a couple of reasons why I am going to love using this product:

1.  They are water resistant!  I of course had to check that claim out.  I attached a label to a jar and then placed under water for a short period of time. My label was still perfectly attached...with my smearing of print.  I don’t think I will be putting them in the dishwasher though because it doesn’t claim to be water proof!!!!

2.  They are also quite durable.  These laminated labels are tear resistant.  I goofed up on the spelling of one of my labels, so I decided to test out their claim of being tear resistant.  It passed my test…I wasn’t able to rip it apart not matter how hard I tried!!

Did you also know that Avery has a 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed Policy on their labels?  I didn’t… but they will replace them if you are not completely satisfied.  You can’t beat that!!!

Shoplet is one of my absolute favorite places to shop online.  They are able to meet the majority of my needs for office supplies, cleaning supplies, medical supplies, and office furniture.  They also have a wide range of Avery products!

Please note that I did receive these Avery Self-Laminating Labels for free in exchange for my honest opinion.  The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.  I received no other compensation.