Beneath the Night Tree - book review

Beneath the Night Tree
by Nicole Baart

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is the third and final book in a series. I did not realize this was a series since there was nothing to indicate this on the actual book. Obviously, now that I know how the whole thing ends I will not be going to back to read the other two.

This book is about a young women struggling to make decisions for her and her family.  She has a family mostly put together through circumstances.  Julie, the main character struggles through what she wants versus what is best for her family.

I had a hard time relating to the main character and a lot of the book is her thoughts on a little bit of everything going on around her. The whole book is from her perspective. Maybe if I had read the previous books I would have understood her constant mind rambling thoughts that went on for pages. Overall it is an interesting story, but I found myself skipping through paragraphs of her thoughts. I enjoyed the references to the bible and that the characters had faith. I liked the ending, but could see it coming.



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I received a complimentary copy of the book for review purposes from Tyndale House.

Best Irish food in NYC - Tir Na Nog

Best Irish Food in NYC

I had the best Irish food I've ever had at Tir Na Nog in New York City. We just happened by it on our way back to our hotel at the end of our weekend getaway and decided to eat there. It was a Saturday and we ordered off their brunch menu which includes a drink. A mimosa for me and a bloody Mary for my sister. I had the open face steak sandwich. This was the best meal I've had all year. It was a really nice steak in top of a thick slice of toast with some sort cheese and caramelized onion spread.

My mom got the Shepperd's pie which said was good. My sister got the salad off the brunch menu and hated it. I almost shared my steak with her, but it was just too good.

Enjoy a 10% discount on a City Sights NY Uptown, Downtown, Night or Brooklyn Tour! Use code: 10OFFCS

Inside the Pantheon - Rome, Italy

On our European Vacation we went to Rome, Italy.  While we were in Rome we went to see the Pantheon.  It is a must see while in Rome. 

The Pantheon is free to get into.  You can only walk around the main room.  We had downloaded Rick Steves audio tour of the Pantheon before we went and then listened to it while we were there.  I highly recommend downloading his free podcasts.  Instead of paying for an audio tour. 

I wish I had taken a picture of the small holes in the floor that the rain drains into.  Check out the outside of the Roman Pantheon.

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Outside the Pantheon - Rome, Italy

Are you going on vacation to Rome, Italy any time soon.   If you are make sure to go see the Pantheon. 

The Pantheon is is a building in Rome, Italy.  Commissioned by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD.  It is not for from Piazza Navona.  For more interesting facts on the Pantheon check out wikipedia.  They have a ton of interesting info on it.   

There are restaurants all around the outside in the plaza.  We went to a college hang out behind it where the food was delicious and cheap.  If you are standing out in front of the Pantheon looking at it, the bar/restaurant is to the right hand side.  This is a great area to hang out in.   

Baytown Wharf - Destin, Florida

Baytown Wharf is located in Sandestin, just east of Destin, Florida.  I had heard vague things about it and was pleasantly surprised to see how awesome this place was.  I wish we had found it sooner.  It made the perfect family day outing.  It seems like a brand new area and has that New Orleans feel to it.  I'm betting this is an awesome place for a night out.  Sadly we never made it over with out the kids! It is north of highway 98 on the bay. It is full of shops, bars, restaurants, and activities including a fabulous playground. There is a hotel here too, so you could make it into a family weekend getaway.  Here are some pictures!



From this picture you can see about a third of the village. You can zipline from that tower and then go through a ropes course. There were also multiple places with water features. I'm sure that on a hot day these turn into splash areas for the kids.  There were several fun family games spread out through out the area., like hitting a golf ball out into a hole in the water and putting your kids inside those huge balls and watching them fall over in the water.


There are multiple wooden walkways around to see the bay and boats. There were tree houses that our kids had a lot of fun climbing in.









There is a large wooden park with tons for the kids to do. There is a good size area for smaller kids to play in near the back area.



There was also a bar right across from the playground where parents could get a drink and watch their kids play.

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Potato Skins - Perfect super bowl party appetizer

I serve these potato skins every year at our annual Super Bowl party.  They are always the first thing to go, no matter how many I make!

Potato Skins

Potatoes - how ever many you want to make
Olive oil
Cheese
Bacon - cooked and crumbled
Green onions - chopped
BBQ sauce

Slice the potatoes into a quarter of an inch thick round slices and coated each side with oil.  Bake them for about 20 minutes.  Layer them with bbq sauce, bacon, green onions, and the top with cheese.  Put back into the oven and bake until the cheese is melted.

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Kids eat free - Las Vegas

Kids eat free all over Las Vegas

Zaba's Mexican grill - Sunday and Saturday
Baja fresh - Sunday
Frediani's - Sunday
Honey Baked Ham - Sunday
Dickey's pit BBQ- Saturday and Sunday

Jason's deli- Monday
Lindo Michoacan - Monday
Cadillac ranch - Monday
Tc's rib crib- Monday
Camachos cantina - Monday and Wednesday

TGIF - monday, Tuesday
Lucille's BBQ - Tuesday
Black bear diner - Tuesday
Chevy's - Tuesday
Memphis BBQ -
Lonestar steakhouse - Tuesday
Tony roma - Tuesday

Cheeseburger cheeseburger - Wednesday
MacShack - Thursday

Restaurants with Reduced kid meals in Las Vegas

Sonic - kids meals wednesday 5-8 $1.49

Buffalo wild wings .99 kids meal Wednesday

Souper salad 2.49 kids meals on Sunday

Fazoli's -.99 kid meals in Tuesday

Other Ways to save
Use Restaurant.com
Get other fabulous deals at my Vegas daily deal website Vegas Deal Moms
8 Ways to Save Money in Vegas

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Utila Island, Honduras

Tour Honduras

As I have mention, my husband is deployed.  I hadn't mentioned where he was because I wasn't sure if it was okay to talk about.  Turns out I can talk about it, so I thought I would share a few of the picture he sent me from his visit to Utila Island which is one of Honduras's Bay islands.  He is not deployed to this island, but was lucky enough to take a little weekend trip there. 

He and 4 other guys flew on this tiny little plane over to the island.  I don't think I personally would have been able to work up the courage to fly on a plane this small, but I hate flying.

He stayed at a dive center while he got his scuba certification.  The stay was included in the price of the lessons.  Apparently they had quite the chef here preparing delicious meals for them everyday too.  I will have to get the name of the dive school from my husband since I can't remember it!
The dive school



Here he is a hammock. As you can see he is really suffering on his deployment.  Mean while I am stuck with three kids back home dealing with all the fun that comes along with that! NOT RIGHT!