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Saturday, March 29, 2025

Sea Animal Plush Gift Sets for Kids

Gift Review of soft toy sea animals with cute carriers

Sea-themed toys for babies and toddlers come in several varieties, each with a collection of soft plush toys which fit inside a related carrier. The carriers make it easy for tiny tots to carry them from place to place.

If you live near the shore, or have vacationed at the beach, these sea animal gift sets make fun and appealing gifts.

Seaside Gift Sets

Four ocean animals in a large plush whale carrier.

The package contains 4 smaller animals (starfish, dolphin, octopus and a ray) which fit inside a large whale carrier. The carrier is in the design of an Orca whale with a zipper design and measures about 17 inches long. The starfish and the octopus measure close to 4 inches in size, with the dolphin and the ray close to 5 inches in size. Cute soft snuggle buddies in an ocean theme.

Plush Shark Toy and 5 Sea Animals Set

Another ocean-themed plush playset is this Amazon’s Choice plush shark toy carrier with 5 sea animals. The sea animal toys include a turtle, a whale, an octopus, a stingray and a crab which all fit inside this zippered shark carrier.

This sea creature plush toy set helps children explore marine life while they are enjoying a playtime of cuddly fun. An ideal gift for birthdays and holidays.

Plush Seashell Gift Set

This cute seashell carrying bag set comes with 5 cute sea animal plushies, which include a Mermaid, a seahorse, an octopus, a crab and a sea turtle.

The shell-shaped bag has a zippered opening and a sewn-in handle to store the sea animals for easy storing and carrying.

This soft toy Mermaid and her sea animal friends toy set is a darling gift for birthdays, holidays and baby showers.

Six Piece Turtle Stuffed Animal Set

This 6 piece sea turtle set comes with a 12 inch stuffed plush Sea Turtle mom and includes 3 Baby sea turtles and 2 Eggs.

A green mother turtle plush has a zipper belly under the shell which holds, 3 baby plushies and 1 cute baby turtle egg, plus 1 baby turtle that broke out of its shell.

Summary

These seaside-themed plush playsets will give your little ones hours of cuddly fun as they learn about the marine creatures that live in the ocean. Choose from a whale, a shark, a seashell or a sea turtle set. All are cute cuddle buddies for little ones.

Related Reviews:

Barnyard Buddies in Plush - a Cuddly Review

*Plush Gift Sets in a Sea Animal Theme review was written by Wednesday Elf

Plush toy gift sets in a seaside theme:

Syhood 5 Pieces Sea Stuffed Animals Plush Set Include 1 Large Whale Plush Doll with Small Starfish Dolphin Octopus Ray Stuffed Toy for Huggable Sleeping Holiday Birthday Gifts

PREXTEX Plush Toy Shark Stuffed Animal with 5 Sea Animals - Shark Plush Toy with Turtle, Whale, Octopus, Stingray, Crab - Giant Stuffed Animals for Kids Aged 3 and Up - Fun Gift for Sea Animal Lovers

BenBen Ocean Stuffed Animal, 5 Pack Small Sea Creature Plush Toys and Shell Carrying Bag Set, Cute Plushies for Baby Kids, Sea Turtle, Octopus, Mermaid, Seahorse, Crab, Baby Shower, Stocking Stuffers

Aoriher 6 Pieces Turtle Stuffed Animal Set 12 Inch Stuffed Plush Sea Turtle Mom with 3 Babies and 2 Eggs for Kids Birthday Valentine‘s Day(Classic)

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Friday, March 28, 2025

Cordless Daylight Smart Go Portable Lamp Reviewed

My husband gave me the Smart Go Travel Lamp for my birthday this past year so I would have direct light to work on my crafts wherever I wish to sit in our home.

The dining room table or the kitchen counter are both examples of places that only offer overhead lighting. They are areas that give me plenty of room to spread my work out in front of me, but don't have direct light on a specific area. I frequently bring in a desk lamp, but they must be plugged in and that can be distance limiting. At the dining room table, the cord has to stretch across the walk-through path and could easily trip someone walking by or pull the lamp off the table.

The Daylight Smart Go Travel Lamp is cordless. It is powered by a rechargeable battery that lasts over 6 hours on the highest setting. Thus far, that has been longer than I will sit and work constantly on any project. On the lowest lighting setting, it will last for 30 hours without recharging. However, I doubt I would ever use it on that lowest setting. After all, my objective is to add a lot of light to a specific work area.

Features of the Daylight Smart Go Travel Lamp

There are several features of the Smart Go Travel Lamp that would make me recommend it. While it was given to me to use while crafting, it was the lamp I grabbed when I set down this year to work on income taxes. The light it provided for reading and writing was fabulous! It is actually more directed light than a desk lamp offers and was definitely an improvement over standard room lighting.

Daylight Smart Go Travel LampCheck Price Tubular Bulb for Direct Lighting
Raise Top to Open/Fold Down Closure
Cordless
Rechargeable Battery (USB cable included)
3 Light Intensity Levels
Touch Switch
Fold Closure for Easy Storage or Carry
Lightweight & Portable
Sleek Design
Requires Little Desktop Space (base is approx. 3" x 2")

I must tell you, this is probably the best crafting gift I have ever received. Excellent lighting is so important for stitching, bead work, reading a pattern, precision cutting, and so much more. I am not an artist, but I can certainly see how having this directed light on your work would be magnificent.

Good direct lighting for the simple daily tasks of paperwork, paying bills, and accounting is essential. This is the best desk lamp I have ever owned, but you must remember to recharge it since it is cordless.

Thursday, March 27, 2025

Drink Dr Pepper HOT

My Favorite Mug for My Favorite Drink

A Review of my Favorite Drink

I love Dr Pepper and for the past 60 years I have had a cup of "hot Dr Pepper" most every morning. I started when I was a teenager and saw the ads for hot Dr Pepper. Back then I would pour my Dr Pepper in a saucepan, add a slice of lemon and heat it. I would then pour it into a cup and enjoy. In today's microwave world, I pour my Dr Pepper into a mug and heat it for 2 minutes. I then add either a slice of lemon or lime. Delicious!! I don't drink coffee or tea so it is Dr Pepper that helps me to fully wake up each morning.

Fun Facts about Dr Pepper

Created in the 1880's by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco Texas
Name "Dr Pepper first used in 1885 and that preceded Coca-Cola by one year
It was introduced nationally at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair (and no I wasn't there, but my grandfather was 😂)
Early ads claimed medical benefits "aids digestion and restores vim, vigor and vitality"
The formula is a trade secret and is said to be held in two separate Dallas banks -Half of the recipe in each bank safe deposit bank

Advertising for Dr Pepper

Some early ads called for "Dr Pepper Time" at 10, 2, and 4 o'clock.

In the early 1960's Dr Pepper was promoted to be served as a hot drink in the winter months. The ads showed it being heated up and served with a slice of lemon.

In 1977 lyrics were written for a Dr Pepper jingle called "Be a Pepper" by Jake Holmes. The chorus of the song goes as follows.

I'm a Pepper, he's a Pepper

She's a Pepper, we're a Pepper

Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?

Be a Pepper, Drink Dr Pepper

Dr Pepper Museum

There is a Dr Pepper Museum in Waco Texas. It was opened in 1991 in downtown Waco. It has three floors of exhibits and includes a working old-fashioned soda fountain, and a gift store with Dr Pepper memorabilia. That is where I purchased my mug that you see at the beginning of the photo. As you can probably tell from the photo my mug is showing some wear, perhaps I need to get a new one!

You Tube Video on Hot Dr Pepper

In researching information on the history of hot Dr Pepper, I found this interesting and humorous video that not only gives you some history on hot Dr Pepper but also shows several of the ads for it.

Hot Dr Pepper

Amazon has lots of Dr Pepper products for Sale

When you check out Amazon you will find that they have lots of Dr Pepper products. Whether you want socks, shirts, hats, slippers, mugs, BBQ sauce, jellybeans, cotton candy and many more Dr Pepper themed products check out the following link to Amazon

Dr Pepper Products

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Wednesday, March 26, 2025

The Best PTFE-, PFOA-, and Cadmium-free Nonstick Fry Pans

One of the things about nonstick cookware is that, for safety reasons, it needs to be replaced as soon as you see signs of scratches in the nonstick coating, usually every few years. For that reason, I don' like to spend a lot of money on nonstick fry pans. On the other hand, cheap nonstick cookware needs to be replaced even more frequently. So, when our favorite 8-inch nonstick pan was due to be replaced, I did some research to see whether anything better had become available on the market since we purchased that one. Here's my review of the Ninja Neverstick Ceramic Pro 8-inch nonstick fry pan we chose to replace it.

We're trying to move away from PFAS "forever chemicals," so one of the products I looked at was a frying pan from the widely advertised Caraway ceramic nonstick cookware line. However, my research uncovered that reviews were very mixed, especially when it came to durability, longevity, and nonstick performance, and I found the pans to be extremely overpriced. The 8-inch "mini" fry pan cost $90–$125, depending on whether the handle was the standard silver metal or gold-toned. Definitely not in my budget, especially for a pan that didn't have universally glowing product reviews from customers!

So, when I discovered that Ninja, the manufacturer of the fry pan we were replacing, now had its Ninja NeverStick Ceramic Pro cookware line that competes head-to-head with Caraway and had excellent reviews, I decided to try it out.

If you’re in the market for high-quality, nonstick fry pans that are both durable and non-toxic, I encourage you to consider the Ninja NeverStick Ceramic Pro Fry Pans. With Ninja’s reputation for high-performance cookware, these pans promise superior nonstick performance, high heat resistance, and long-lasting durability. And, although we haven't owned our new Ninja NeverStick Ceramic Pro 8-inch Fry Pan long enough to attest to the durability of the nonstick coating, so far we are extremely pleased. Whether you're in the market for a small 8-inch ceramic nonstick fry pan like ours, an everyday workhorse 10.25-inch nonstick fry pan, or a big 12-inch nonstick fry pan, this line of titanium-infused ceramic nonstick cookware is well worth considering.

In this review, I'll break down the key features, performance, and overall value of these fry pans to help you decide if they’re worth the investment.

Key Features

1. NeverStick Ceramic Coating

One of the biggest concerns with ceramic nonstick cookware is longevity—many ceramic coatings wear out quickly. However, Ninja claims that their titanium-infused NeverStick Ceramic Pro coating is built to last, resisting sticking even at high temperatures and offering an easy-release surface for effortless cooking. Plus, it’s PTFE, PFOA, and cadmium-free, making it a safer alternative for health-conscious cooks.

2. Premium Construction & Design

Material: Body is made from 100% recycled forged aluminum, ensuring even heat distribution and preventing hot spots.
Thickness: A heavy-gauge design provides superior heat retention and durability.
Handle: The stainless steel handle stays cool on the stovetop and is securely double-riveted for extra strength.
Compatibility: These pans work on gas, electric, glass, and induction cooktops.
Oven-Safe: Withstand temperatures up to 660°F, making them ideal for stovetop-to-oven cooking.

3. Superior Nonstick Performance

The NeverStick Ceramic Pro coating promises effortless food release—meaning you can cook eggs, pancakes, and delicate fish without worrying about sticking or tearing. Unlike many ceramic pans that require oil to function properly, this pan performs exceptionally well even without oil, making it a great option for low-fat cooking.

Performance Breakdown

1. Cooking Results

Eggs & Pancakes: John loves his breakfast and has been using this 8-inch nonstick ceramic fry pan every morning to cook a couple of eggs or pancakes. (I don't eat until lunchtime.) He says the eggs slide right off the surface with minimal oil, proving its nonstick effectiveness. Pancakes also cook evenly in this pan.

Meat: We often cook a large batch of burgers in advance and then reheat one or two of them. This pan is the perfect size for that and recreates the yummy Maillard reaction on the surface of the burgers while reheating them.

Tomato-based Sauces: We found when reheating individual portions of leftover pasta that acidic, red, tomato-based sauces don't stain the surface.

2. Heat Distribution

The forged aluminum base provides consistent heat across the surface, preventing hot spots and ensuring even cooking.

3. Durability & Scratch Resistance

Unlike many ceramic pans that scratch easily, this one holds up well against wooden and silicone utensils. Even though the manufacturer says you can use metal utensils, we avoid them to prolong the lifespan of the nonstick coating.

The manufacturer claims that Ninja NeverStick Ceramic Pro nonstick cookware is 5x more scratch-resistant and 3x more scrub-resistant than Caraway ceramic coated cookware.

Best of all, this Ninja NeverStick Ceramic Pro cookware comes with a 10-year manufacturer's warranty!

Ease of Use & Maintenance

Cleaning: The pan is incredibly easy to clean—a quick wipe with a sponge and mild soap is usually enough.

Dishwasher-Safe: While it is labeled as dishwasher-safe, handwashing is recommended to preserve the nonstick coating.

Weight: It is lighter than cast iron but has a sturdy feel, making it easy to handle.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

Truly nonstick, requiring very little oil (the manufacturer recommends preheating the pan with a small amount of oil or butter before adding food)
An excellent value — less than half the cost of a comparable Caraway 8-inch nonstick ceramic pan
Non-toxic PTFE-, PFOA-, lead- and cadmium-free ceramic coating
10-year warranty
Induction-compatible
Oven-safe up to 660°F (the comparable Caraway ceramic cookware is oven-safe to only 550°F)
Durable forged aluminum body for even heat distribution
Sturdy stainless steel handle
Easy to clean and resistant to staining
Metal utensil-safe, although wooden or silicone utensils are recommended
Dishwasher-safe in theory, although to prolong the life of the nonstick coating we would never put ours in the dishwasher (and it simply isn't necessary, because it's so easy to clean)

Cons:

I can't yet vouch for the long-term durability because we haven't owned our pan long enough to judge.

Another bonus for us is that the 8-inch tempered glass lid from our original Ninja NeverStick Professional 8-inch fry pan fits perfectly on our new Neverstick Ceramic Pro pan.

Final Verdict: Is It Worth It?

Ninja NeverStick Fry Pans

The Ninja NeverStick Ceramic Pro Fry Pans are an excellent choice for home cooks looking for a high-performance, non-toxic, and long-lasting nonstick pan. They outperform many standard ceramic pans in durability, heat resistance, and food release, making them a great investment for everyday cooking.

Who Should Buy It?

Health-conscious cooks looking for a PTFE-free, PFOA-free, cadmium-free nonstick pan
Home chefs who need a high heat tolerance pan for searing and oven cooking
Anyone who values easy cleanup and long-lasting nonstick performance

The Ninja NeverStick Ceramic Pro Fry Pans deliver exceptional nonstick performance, durability, and ease of use, making them one of the best ceramic fry pans available today. If you’re looking for premium nonstick cookware that lasts, this is definitely a pan worth considering!

Have You Tried It?

Have you used the Ninja NeverStick Ceramic Pro Fry Pan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! If you found this review helpful, share it with your fellow home cooks and kitchen enthusiasts!

The Best-Tasting, High-Quality Protein Powder That Tastes Terrific by Margaret Schindel

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

A Review of Old Fashion Rice Pudding

After my Mom passed, I found a recipe book in her things that was unbelievably old. The pages were not just yellowed, but the edges were downright brown. The print on the pages was a bit hard to read, it looked like someone had typed them on an old manual typewriter. There were uneven spaces between the lines and some of the letters were raised higher than others. It was easy to see that this recipe book was VERY old. Unfortunately, it didn't have a cover or any interior pages other than the pages with recipes. No identifying marks of any kind to show where it had come from, or the date it was made. The only clue I was able to derive from reading through it was the fact that each recipe had a name under it. I think this book may have come from my grandmother's church and each of the church ladies must have contributed recipes.

I was intrigued, but unfortunately there was nothing I could do about it. All of my mother's siblings, aunts and cousins have already passed long ago. There was simply no one left to talk to about this strange little book. It looks like I will never know where it came from.

Anyway! Reading though the recipes, I could tell that these recipes were written long ago, like in the 1900s. There are strange ingredients like "sour milk" and "fat" and "salt pork." It made for some interesting reading! One recipe that I saw I knew I wanted to make right away......rice pudding! I have always loved it and I remember that my grandma made some really delicious rice pudding when I was little. I am pretty sure this is the recipe she used.

Ingredients

1/2 cup uncooked rice

1 quart milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup raisins

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees

Wash the rice, put in a mixing bowl and add milk, salt, brown sugar and nutmeg and mix thoroughly.

Grease a glass baking dish and pour in mixture.

Bake for 2 hours, stirring occasionally with a fork.

Add raisins and mix, then bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Serve hot or cold with heavy whipping cream.

I have made rice pudding before, but it never was exactly right. It seemed too thick and had a custardy taste. This rice pudding did not. It was light, fluffy and tasted like rice and sugar and raisins. It was yummy! I compared the recipe to the one I had used previously and I found out the difference. My recipe, like most recipes for rice pudding had eggs in it. This is what gives it the heavy, custard like texture that i did not care for.

I was elated! I had not only found a great recipe for rice pudding, but I had a whole recipe book full of "lost in time" recipes for me to try out. I will be sharing more of them on Review This Reviews so please come for another visit and more great old recipes!

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Monday, March 24, 2025

Legacy On Ice Memorial Tribute

The Legacy On Ice Memorial Tribute will be televised on Sunday, March 30 at 1 p.m. on NBC. Members and generations of the ice skating community gathered to honor and remember the athletes, families, coaches and mentors of their community who perished on Flight 5342 on January 29, 2025.

Powerful, emotional, impactful viewing. As if the viewer has been invited into the close knit ice skating community to honor those lost and help support the community.

The tribute was originally televised live and streamed on March 5th on Peacock. A Youtube tribute along with information for the family support fund is included below.

Veterans of the skating community participated whether it be through hosting, introducing skaters or skating. Bookmark March 30th to view or record the tribute.

Participants as listed on the US Figure Skating Website

Jeremy Abbott, 2014 Olympic Team Bronze Medalist
Sofia Bezkorovainaya, 2024-25 Team USA
Brian Boitano, 1988 Olympic Champion
Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville, 2024 U.S. Bronze Medalists
Jason Brown, 2014 Olympic Team Bronze Medalist
Ashley Cain, Two-Time U.S. Pairs National Champion
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, Two-Time Four Continents Ice Dance Bronze Medalists
Kitty and Peter Carruthers, 1984 Olympic Pairs Silver Medalists
Molly Cesanek and Yehor Yehorov, 2020 U.S. Junior Pewter Medalists
Nathan Chen, Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist
Madison Chock and Evan Bates, 2022 Olympic Team Gold Medalists
Richard Dwyer, U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famer
Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, 2025 U.S. Pairs Champions
Sarah Everhardt, 2025 Four Continents Bronze Medalist
Peggy Fleming, 1968 Olympic Champion
Amber Glenn, 2024 Grand Prix Final Champion
Gracie Gold, 2014 Olympic Team Bronze Medalist
Scott Hamilton, 1984 Olympic Champion
Nancy Kerrigan, 1994 Olympic Silver Medalist
Ilia Kulik, 1998 Olympic Champion
Isabeau Levito, 2024 World Silver Medalist
Alysa Liu, 2022 World Bronze Medalist
Jimmy Ma, 2025 Four Continents Bronze Medalist
Ilia Malinin, 2024 World Champion
Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman, 2025 U.S. Pairs Silver Medalists
Yebin Mok, 1998-2008 Team USA
Maxim Naumov, 2025 U.S. Pewter Medalist
Camden Pulkinen, Two-Time U.S. Bronze Medalist
Andrew Torgashev, 2025 U.S. Silver Medalist
Michael Weiss, Two-Time World Bronze Medalist
Johnny Weir, Three-Time U.S. Champion
Paul Wylie, 1992 Olympic Silver Medalist

The Youtube tribute

U.S Figure Skating Family Support Fund

A fund has been established for the families of the athletes, coaches and families who perished on January 29, 2025. Online donations accepted here.

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Sunday, March 23, 2025

AirTag Cat Collar: Keep Track of Your Furry Escape Artist

I never really thought about tracking a cat until my friend's indoor cat, a true escape artist, started sneaking out and disappearing.

It was nerve-wracking for my friend to not know if the cat was safe or where it had gone. That's when I discovered a simple and affordable solution—an AirTag cat collar.

Easy Cat Tracking with an AirTag Collar

This collar is designed to hold an AirTag, making it easy to monitor your furry friend. The Airtag is not included; this is only the collar that safely holds the Airtag.

It has a secure, elastic AirTag case that keeps the tracker snug and prevents it from dangling or falling off.

With this collar, you can quickly check your cat's location, giving you peace of mind without the hassle.

Safety First with a Breakaway Buckle

One of the best features is its breakaway buckle.

Cats are naturally curious and love to climb, so there's always a risk of getting caught on something.

The breakaway design ensures that if your cat gets stuck, the collar will safely release, preventing injury.

Plus, the reflective strip makes spotting your cat in low-light conditions easier—perfect for those late-night adventures.

Comfortable and Gentle on Fur

Comfort is key, and this collar is made from soft, reflective nylon rather than silicone, which can sometimes irritate a cat's skin.

It's lightweight and designed to be gentle on your pet's fur, so they won't even notice they're wearing it.

The adjustable fit means you can find the perfect size, ensuring it stays secure without being too tight.

Waterproof and Easy to Clean

Another great thing? It's waterproof and easy to clean.

Cats get into all sorts of messy situations, but this collar is made to handle it.

The AirTag holder protects the tracker from moisture, and dirt can be wiped off quickly—there's no need to worry about your cat's playful antics.

Choose the Right AirTag for Your Device

When selecting an AirTag for your cat’s collar, ensure it’s compatible with your device.
Apple AirTags work with iPhones and iPads, while Android users may need a different tracker that functions with their system.
Choosing the right AirTag ensures seamless tracking and peace of mind.
_________________

This Airtag Cat Collar is available on Amazon.

Again, the Airtag is not included with the collar. Here's an Apple Airtag for Apple users.

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Saturday, March 22, 2025

Book Review of Syndicate by Felix Francis

A Dick Francis Novel

Felix Francis returns with another intriguing mystery set in the world of horseracing, just like his father, Dick Francis did. With Felix growing up in the British racing world due to his dad once being a jockey, followed by a long career of writing horseracing mysteries, race horses and the world they inhabit, makes a natural setting for these stories.

Synopsis of Syndicate

Syndicate (A Dick Francis Novel)

This novel’s main character, Chester Newton, is an organizer and manager of racehorse syndicates. Being a member of a syndicate allows one to co-own a racehorse and experience the enjoyment found in the racing world without the complete expense involved in buying the horse and paying for its training. The joint enterprise of a syndicate makes owning a racehorse financially feasible for many more fans of the sport.

Running racehorse syndicates, such as those Chester has done for the past twenty years or so, involves quite a lot of work and can be a high-stakes way of life. The successes of the horses on the racetracks can be filled with high-reward; losses can be disappointing. But it has never been dangerous, until the evening after a fantastic win at the Epsom Derby when his daughter Amanda disappears from the family party.

After several frantic and terror-filled hours, Amanda is found safe, but with no memory of what happened to her. Then Chester discovers that someone is trying to take over one of his syndicates by force. He begins to receive threatening calls from someone with a squeaky voice telling him how to run his horses by threats of serious harm to him and his family. Not just Amanda’s life, but also those of his son James and his wife Georgina.

For the first time, Chester’s life is not just about horse racing or the money at stake, but the lives of his loved ones.

Summary

As the reader learns about the world of British racehorse syndicates, author Felix Francis leads us on a thrilling race to the end to discover who is behind all the threats.

Related Reviews of books by Dick & Felix Francis:

For More Book Reviews, Check Out
ReviewThisBooks.com

*Book Review of Syndicate written by Wednesday Elf

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Friday, March 21, 2025

Easy Chocolate Fondue Recipe

Few Desserts bring people together like chocolate fondue. This is a family favorite of ours. We like getting together several times a year for some delicious chocolate fondue. Following is a review of our Valentine's Day chocolate fondue.

A Brief History of Chocolate Fondue:

Fondue, originally a Swiss dish featuring melted cheese, inspired the idea of dipping foods into a shared pot. The concept of chocolate fondue emerged in the 1960s, made popular by Swiss restaurateur Konrad Egli in New York.

Fondue is a perfect time to gather and enjoy some great conversation with the family while enjoying some delicious dessert or food.

Many times we use steak and chicken cut into small pieces. Our daughter Jamie coats the chicken with Shake N Bake. We dip into hot oil until the pieces are cooked and serve with various dipping sauces.

Ingredients for Chocolate Fondue:

1 bag of chocolate chips 11.5oz.

1 bag of dark chocolate chips 11.5 oz.

1 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

First, you need a fondue pot. Jamie has two Cuisinart Electric Fondue Pots. For the chocolate fondue, we only use one of them.

Set the pot to medium heat and add the chocolate chips. Add the butter and keep stirring so the chocolate begins to melt.

Add the vanilla, and the heavy whipping cream a little at a time, and keep stirring until all is combined. When it's ready, the chocolate will look like the intro photo.

Here are our prepared goodies for dipping into the chocolate. We cut up strawberries, pineapple, bananas, marshmallows, and pound cake.

Dip and Enjoy: We used the skewers that came with the fondue pot to dip our favorite treat into the rich chocolate.

Click here for more recipes on Review This:

ReviewThisRecipes.com

You will find a large selection of fondue pots on Amazon. The one featured below is the one Jamie has, and she has had it for many years.

Cuisinart Fondue Pot, 3 Quart, For Chocolate, Cheese, Broth, Oil, Stainless Steel, CFO-3SSP1Check the Price

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Thursday, March 20, 2025

My KDP Review

KDP is the book publishing arm of Amazon. KDP stands for Kindle Direct Publishing. This is where authors can publish their books as hardbacks, paperbacks, and or as a Kindle electronic version.

KDP has been evolving over the years. The first book that I wrote and published through KDP was written completely offline. It also wasn't KDP back then. Then I had to figure out what size to make my pages and which font they accepted (I had to change mine.)

Now people can look at charts and guidelines on KDP and find out what they need to get started.

First you need to know what kind of book you want to make; i.e. hardback, paperback, or electronic. You can only make one at a time, but then you can make it in another version afterwards. Sizes and margins can be different. Also with the electronic version, you can make clickable links for each chapter, etc.

At some point, you will have to decide on a title, and also a subtitle if you want one. Once a book is published on Amazon, the title cannot be changed.

With KDP, the minimum number of pages is 24. So if you're looking to write a 10-20 page pamphlet type book, this isn't for you. If you've got a minimum of 20 pages already, you can add other pages, such as book recommendations that are related to what you are writing, other books by you, a title page, this book belongs to, etc.

There are also maximum page number restrictions based on the type of book you're writing, i.e. paperback, hardback, or electronic. Page length can also be affected by paper selection, page size, and trim. You can check out the various requirements and restrictions by searching on your book type and the text, KDP size guidelines.

Once you are ready to start writing, you can be a brave and venturous soul and write it on your computer, like I did with my first venture. However, I recommend a book creation site that gives you the kind of flexibility you might be looking for. Do you know that you just want to create coloring books, for instance? Do you want to write text only books? Search for what works for you.

The site that I went with is Canva. Some love it and some don't. As mentioned, go for what is going to be most helpful to you.

With Canva, I can use a mix of my images along with a mix of images on the Canva site. In some books I have created, I used only my images, some have been a mix, and a couple have been Canva images only. With Canva, you are supposed to change up the images on their site some how, perhaps layer them with other images to make them look different than what is presented initially. However you do this, you want to make this be unique somehow. I use the professional version of Canva which gives me more images to choose from.

Another reason that I like Canva, is that I can easily adjust the page sizes with a couple of clicks, in case I didn't get it quite right in the beginning. Also, from Canva, I can easily download my book creation, and then upload it from my download files to Amazon. The interior of the book is downloaded and uploaded separate from the cover. The cover and the interior are two different creations on Canva, at least with physical paper books. They are also two different uploads on KDP.

With the forms on KDP, you can choose up to three categories for your book to be listed in. They used to give you up to ten options, and could then even add more. Those days have passed.

You can choose up to seven sets of keywords and or keyword phrases to help customers find your books.

You can also choose black and white only books, or ones with premium colored ink. Colored ink is more expensive to print and the price you set should allow for this additional upcharge for the printing of your book.

KDP gives a section to write a description that will get printed on its Amazon product page.

When writing on KDP, you can create a free author page on Amazon. Once your book is published and live on Amazon, you can create your author page. You can find it by searching for the phrase, Amazon Author Central.

When writing on KDP, you can also create and run ads for your book(s) on Amazon. These are paid ads and there are quite a few options to choose from. I recommend doing searches on YouTube for guidance and for how to videos there.

I have done some ads from time to time. For me, I prefer to do some blogs about the books instead. I also prefer shopping on Amazon when there are a lot less ads to maneuver through.

So would I recommend writing on KDP to self publish on Amazon? That depends on your goals. Authors that write on KDP are not suppose to publish those same books elsewhere. Amazon does have an option for certain types of books to be available through book stores. The main thing is that they must have text as part of their makeup. So no coloring books unless they also include words. These books can be included in a book store's web site offerings; but you may need to contact the individual book store if you would like them to carry it as an option on their shelves. Our local Barnes and Noble has a book stand dedicated to local authors.

For me, I am glad that I write through KDP. I went the old school way before the internet became available, and almost had an interested publisher for one of my children's books. It was a very long process. Also for me, although I have some text type books, I now prefer creating more artsy type books, and prefer to spend my time creating more designs, than writing cover letters, etc.

I hope that you have found some helpful information here. If you think of a question that I didn't cover, ask it in a comment below, and I will help you if I can.

Here is link for my author page on Amazon. Author page for Cheryl Paton on Amazon You can find all of my published books here.

Here is a link for my Scrapbook Paper options which is on my blog. Scrapbook Paper by Cheryl Paton. These are sorted by category.

Cheryl Paton

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