Note: Oyster Books service is being discontinued January 2016. They are no longer accepting new subscribers. And all service will cease come January. Unfortunately this means I will have to find another e-book subscription service. I've absolutely loved the year and a half I've been subscribed to Oyster, I used it more than Netflix. I'm voracious reader. I go through 3+ books a week. I will be trying out Scribd's e-book service soon, and I'll let you all know how that is.


After my disappointing 30 day trial with Kindle Unlimited (I found it too limited). I decided to try Oyster Books. You also get a free 30 day trial, but the difference is Oyster has A LOT of books. And A LOT of popular titles to choose from. It's like the "Netflix" of books, literally. Also, if any of your friends sign up with your link, you both get a $15 credit, which they will deduct from each month, instead of charging your credit card. Normally it's $9.99 a month, which is not bad considering you can read any book, anytime.

Also, what's great is once you've already downloaded a book on Oyster Books, even if you're not connected to the internet, you can still read it. You only have to be connected to the internet to browse for books, and download. You read the books within the Oyster App. It still lets you change the font, font size, and background color. It automatically remembers where in the book you left off.

✯ PR Samples Mentioned ✯

I've listed some things on eBay! My 1 year old Sony Cybershot W690, Kodak Digital Picture Frame, Enchanted Polish, Coach Purses, Ed Hardy Hoodies, Claire's Tote. (USA Only).



I upgraded my Sony Cybershot, so that's part of the reason I'm selling some things (to pay off the $125 on my credit card). I upgraded to the W-830 So I jumped from 16mp to 20mp. :-) The only thing I'm not thrilled about with the new camera is that the body is all plastic now, no metal. So god forbid I drop this new one, it'll break for sure! :-\


Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things with blogging soon... I've been a blogging slump and a bit depressed lately. But... I have these awesome polishes that Rimmel sent me, to share with you next week. I hope to try out some stamping with them too, and I will share my results.

I got a new case for my Samsung Galaxy SIII. Aqua & Chevron's! I ordered it online on Amazon.com from a store called Heartstore. The only thing I didn't realize was that it ships from China, so it took two long weeks to get here. But it was cheap & it's pretty cute. (They have plenty of similar chevron ones for different phones).

Since I also own a Chevron stamp plate from Messy Mansion. I thought I would do matching nails! I used China Glaze For Audrey & white Konad stamp polish, with my MM12 plate, and Seche Vite topcoat. :-)


 

Thought I would share a few of my newest purchases... non polish related, lol. :-p

First up... my gorgeous Guess Trixia Uptown satchel. I saw this People Style Watch magazine and I started stalking the Guess website until they listed it. Luckily I got an email the day they added new spring items. And... the color I wanted was on sale. (Normally it's $128). Plus I got a 15% off + free shipping coupon, since I was a new customer. I saved $47 total off my pretty new bag. I don't normally like spending so much on a purse, but I really love this one. It's nice and roomy too (16 x 11).



The last time I bought Bose headphones was back in 2009. I got a pair of the original Bose ear buds on eBay. I started using them a lot after my job relocated in 2011 and I started taking the train to work. (45min -1 hour commute both ways). I usually ride in the quiet car in the mornings and I can listen to music on my Bose ear buds without disturbing anyone else, like normal ear buds do. But sadly... 5 years later the sound decided to go in the right side... so it was time for a new pair.


I got the Bose IE2 earbuds. They've definitely improved the design since the original ones came out. Now the silicone buds actually STAY ON the headphones itself... the originals it would sometimes slip off and you'd lose one. Now there's a little tab on each one to prevent that from happening. Also I really like the new StayHear tips even though they look like weird little elf ears, lol. They are really comfortable. The original Bose ear buds would slip out of your ears if you exercised, got sweaty or even just tipped your head funny. The StayHear tips actually don't budge. :-) I just hope they last me 5 years like the last pair did because they are not cheap... though you can find them on sale for $60-70.

Last but not least, I got a new pair of Easy Spirit e360 Reinvent sneakers. I have another gray/lavender pair, but I wanted black so I could wear it more without them looking dirty. I got these on sale for $50. I don't know if I can properly explain how comfortable these sneakers are... if you're ever in a shoe store and see them. Try them on, trust me! They are made out of that extremely lightweight rubber/foam that Croc's are made of. You literally feel like there's nothing on your feet when you put them on. The upper is a sock/spandex lining, so it's snug to the foot, like a custom fit. I can't rave about these enough, they are unlike any other sneaker I've ever worn. I just love them.


 

I wanted to blog about an issue I've been having with my Kindle Fire HDX 8.9". My HDX will periodically drop the wifi connection, (but still show it's connected with a perfect signal). Webpages won't load, Apps will say I have a connection problem and to check my wifi. It's completely frustrating because for a few hours it will behave, I can surf the net just fine. But then it will start acting up dropping the signal every few minutes (even though it's still showing it's connected to a perfect signal). I have to manually turn the wifi off/on to reset the antenna. Or switch airplane mode on/off. Which gets old real fast when it does it 5-6 times in a row!

I know it wasn't our home router causing the issue, because the same issue would happen when I used my T-mobile 4G internet through tethering and when I used public wifi hotspots. The HDX would just drop the signal while I was in the middle of looking at webpages. (Just to be sure, a few times I did restart our home router but that didn't resolve the issue).

This has actually been going on for a few months now. It started off as a minor annoyance and I guess I was hoping it would somehow be resolved through a system update. Doing a hard reset, (holding the power button for 20 seconds, then restarting the device) did not help. Restoring the device back to factory settings did not help either, and that was the last resort because it wipes out all your files. I did that last night, and today it was still having the same issue.

I finally got fed up and called Amazon tonight, but the CSR I got had a very hard to understand accent and I don't think either of us was understanding the other. So after I hung up I jumped on the Amazon.com Help page and started a chat session with another CSR. I thought maybe they would understand the problem more if they could see it in writing. After some troubleshooting, they are sending me a replacement device that should be here Monday and I have to send back my defective one.

I think maybe the internal antenna is defective, after doing a search on the Kindle Forums, I've found a few others are having the same exact issue. I really hope the replacement they send resolves the issue or I'm not going to be very happy. I had no issues at all when I owned the Kindle Fire HD, it's only the HDX that I'm now having issues with.

EDITED TO ADD: Replacement Kindle HDX just arrived this afternoon (1/12/14). So hopefully this one doesn't have the same issues. We'll see. Thank goodness for warranties.

Every year since the original Kindle Fire came out in 2011, I've upgraded to the latest version. I've owned three generations of the Kindle Fire now. (Though I always sell the previous model). The latest is the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16GB. It's faster and lighter than last years Kindle Fire HD. There's also a rear camera now besides the front camera and Amazon has made better placement and size of the power & volume buttons on the HDX.




The good features are the power and volume buttons. They are huge on the HDX now. They are located on the back instead of the sides like HD. The rear camera also has a flash. The response time for apps is so much quicker now because of the faster processor and ram. There's literally no lag time switching apps. Typing on the keyboard is more realistic because there's no delay anymore. It's lightning fast. The screen is a little cooler in color than Kindle Fire HD which had a warmer display- that's taking some getting used to for me. But pictures and videos are gorgeous.

As always it takes some getting used to when you upgrade. I really do love the Kindle Fire HDX, there's just minor changes from Kindle Fire HD, some good, some different. But all in all I'm pleased with it.


App wise: You would think the Amazon App store would have added Instagram since Kindle Fire HDX now has a rear camera... but nope. That still takes some fanangling, but you CAN install Instagram and other Android apps that the Amazon App store might not have.

For Kindle Fire HDX models: 

Step 1: Download APK Installer free from the Amazon App store.

Step 2: Go to SETTINGS: APPLICATIONS: Then for 'Allow Apps From Unknown Sources' select: ON.

Step 3: Go to Silk Browser go to website: www.1mobile.com/app/market/ and download 1MobileMarket store app for free.

Step 4: Install 1MobileMarket with an APK installer App.

Step 5: Use the 1MobileMarket App to find and install Instagram & other Android apps to your Kindle Fire HDX.


Other Kindle Fire Blog Posts: 

(1st Generation) Jan 2012: I ♥ ♥ ♥ my Kindle Fire!

(2nd Generation) Nov 2012: My Kindle Fire HD 8.9 arrived a week early! Yay!

 

Before I start: I want to say Amazon.com is not at fault for what happened. They have amazing customer service and I still very much support buying directly from Amazon.com. (Also, this is a very long winded blog!)

PART ONE:

My 3 year old Dell Inspiron died November 1st... the hard drive decided to go. So that night I got on the internet (on my husband's computer), and researched laptops so I could get one fast but with the specs I wanted. I finally settled on a secondary seller on Amazon- called Eagle Direct Tech. They have 408, 4.8 out of 5 star reviews. So I placed an order for the below laptop:


We got up Saturday morning early, so we could get to the Best Buy in Philadelphia when it opened. I don't think I've ever been to a store before it opened. lol. There were other people waiting around outside for it to open. I felt like it was Christmas or something. :-p Thank goodness. THEY DID have 3 of the Sony Vaio flip 15 in stock! Even though it ended up costing me $700 MORE (including $100 just in tax... thanks Philadelphia for your 8% tax). Sigh. But... I wanted a laptop fast.

I was finally emailed a prepaid shipping label to send the incorrect laptop back to Eagle Direct Tech. It will be getting dropped off at Fed Ex on Wednesday. And  when I'm refunded my $668... at least half of the Sony Vaio will be paid off... thank goodness for my Citibank credit card... (6% APR!)

The Sony Vaio Flip 15A is a powerhouse laptop. It has a 1.80 Core i7-4500u processor, 8GB of RAM, 1 Terabyte hard drive. It also has two video cards. An Intel HD 4400 intergrated graphics and a Nividia GeForce 2GB video card. The screen itself is also touch screen and It folds down to convert to a "tablet"... but I'm not messing with that anytime soon. I don't want to break it!

Only weird thing is... there's no CD/DVD drive. Yeah... I know newer laptops are starting to phase them out, because everything is becoming cloud based. It doesn't bother me too much though, none of my programs run from the disc. And the only time I ever used my disc drive on the old laptop was to watch a DVD rarely or burn a CD for the car. We have an external CD/DVD drive so I can use that when I need to.

Also it has Windows 8.1. (I updated the OS last night from 8.) After playing around with Windows 8 this weekend... it isn't too bad or too different. The "start menu" is definitely weird. But you can still view all your programs. You just customize what programs are pinned to the start menu. I will be back to posting nail blogs again soon! I spent yesterday getting all my programs installed.

Oh and the touch screen is so cool! I was playing The Sims 3 last night and my husband asked if the touch screen worked with games... and it does! I could select things in game by touching the screen! And do my games ever run fast now! No more lagging, whoo hoo!


Here are my thoughts on Eagle Direct Tech, on Amazon.com:
  
1. I had to email them far too many times, twice for a tracking number and two more times to get a prepaid return mailing slip. They get back to their customers very slowly.

2. I paid $18 for expedited shipping through Fed Ex. It took 4-5 days to arrive, when it should have only taken 2-3 days because the item was not shipped right away by the store.

3. They either "sent me the wrong model"  like they said in their reply email. Or, they sent me that laptop thinking I would never notice the specs were different from what I ordered.

4. The laptop looked like a display model to me, not brand new as described. It wasn't packed very well in the box, no bubble wrap etc. It had a scratch on the lid.

Conclusion: BUYER BEWARE! I do not reccomend shopping from Eagle Direct Tech on Amazon.com.

So this weekend has been a big bust. Friday morning I woke up sick with a head cold, throbbing headache with a stabbing pain in my eye. Sore throat, stuffed up nose. Then my laptop decides to die. It's a 3 year old Dell Inspiron 1545. It's been giving me a fatal hard drive error for about a year... and I just always thought, "Oh well, if that happens I'll do a PC restore to factory settings."... nope. Didn't work. The part of the hard drive PC restore is on... yeah that's the corrupted spot... blah. so pissed.


I wanted to get a new laptop next year when the car was paid off, ($3,000 left!). Not this year, when my Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" has already been pre-ordered... (I've upgraded every year since the original Kindle Fire came out in 2010, I always resell last years model on eBay). But anyhow... thank God I backed up all my files on my external hard drive last weekend. The only thing I am kicking myself about is that I forgot to back up the countless custom fonts I've downloaded over the years... one of which I was using for my watermark... and I forget the name now... arrgh.

I'm thankful I have my Kindle Fire HD, but a tablet still isn't the same as a full functioning PC. I can't upload any of the nail photos on my Sony Camera and I don't have Paintshop Pro to edit. I can't play Sims 3 and unwind on the weekend. Blah. I did order a new laptop on Saturday. I got another Dell (I am partial to Dell, this is the first one to die on me... my husband's that he inherited from me is 6 years old and still kicking). Dell's website didn't have any to ship until end of November that met my specs... and I can't wait that long!!! So I got one new on Amazon with Windows 7 (None of that Windows 8 mess for me), and that had enough space to store my large resolution photos and that would run the Sims 3. It was still less than what I paid for our previous two laptops... but I did not think I would have to put out $600... I had to take some money from our savings to pay for it. And with expedited shipping it sure better be here mid week! New one is a Dell Inspiron 14R. (No Macs for me... sorry I'm a bit anti Apple).

So... I am blogging from my Kindle Fire HD. I will have better photos of this polish when I'm up & running on a PC again. But for now here is a cell phone video & photo. (Compliments of my Galaxy S3). Black Cat Lacquer had a Halloween sale with 25% off. I grabbed Poison Apple. It's a gorgeous red scattered holo thermal polish. It's bright red when warm, and dark red when cold. My nails are long enough that the tips do stay dark red for a gradient effect. But for the video & photo I used hot/cold water to show it off more.





I also pre-ordered 3 of the new colors from I Love Nail Polish. I got Birefringence with Holo, Sweet Serenade, Washing Ashore. They were $1 off during pre-order and you get a limited edition full size polish, exclusive to the pre-order.

Last but not least... I about fell over the other night when I saw Emily De Molly Cosmic Forces IN STOCK on Llarowe! I have been wanting this elusive polish from the Aussie indie maker for long, I didn't think I'd ever get it. (And I sure wasn't going to pay $30 on eBay!). 



But... I am now going on a no buy. I have bought more polish in October than I did the the whole year! I have enough pretties to play with... so I am going on a no buy until Jan 31st... longer if I can hold out! I have plenty of polish to swatch and blog about and stamp with. So there will still be lot's of blogging. :-)

I mentioned the other day how the keyboard went in my laptop. (I have a Dell Inspiron 1545- it's about 3 years old now). It started Friday evening with just N and M not working. I used a dry toothbrush to clean the keyboard lightly, I even popped the keys off to clean underneath the ones that weren't working. Nope, didn't fix my issue. By Sunday it had spread to H, J, Y, U, 6 and 7. Arrgh. I ordered a new keyboard on ebay for $15 and free shipping Friday evening and it arrived today! Talk about fast shipping! (Seller I bought from is: hiparts).

All I had to do was take the battery out, remove 4 screws, pop the front panel off, remove the old keyboard, then pop in the new ribbon and keyboard. Took less than 10 minutes. Whoo hoo for a working keyboard again!

Each computer company has service manuals available online. (You can also just Google your computers make & model plus the search term 'Service Manual'). The service manuals show you step by step with pictures how to repair anything in/on your laptop. I've replaced (In my own laptop, my husbands & cousin's), LCD screens, touch pads, hinges, casing, keyboards, RAM. Much much cheaper than taking it somewhere to be repaired.
 
Dell Inspiron 1545 Service Manual

 

I love to read. I read every day. Mostly on the way home from work on the train, and before I go to sleep. Reading a book before bed is how I unwind. The majority of the books I read are History, Historical Fiction, Biography or Memoirs. I do read some Fiction and Classics.

Here are some books I've finished lately and purchased for my Kindle Fire HD 8.9". I definitely recommend these! (They are also available in paper or hardback).

1. Waiting to Be Heard- Amanda Knox



Wow... I just finished this. And I am started to read it again. (I like to read books through multiple times). Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This book was so well written and brutally honest. Let me just take a quote from the book that struck me to share with you:

"The prosecution said they were certain the murder had been a group attack. Why, then, was none of my DNA or Raffaele’s DNA in Meredith’s bedroom? Their answer: because Raffaele and I had scrubbed the crime scene clean of our DNA, leaving only Guede’s. That theory gave me super powers. DNA is not something you can cherry-pick; it’s invisible. Even if I could somehow magically see DNA, there is no way I could tell one person’s DNA from another’s just by looking—no one can"

This is well worth a read or buy!

2. Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness- Susannah Cahalan



I bought this for $2.99 for my Kindle Fire HD. I had heard about it on the news before. I really liked this book. I've read it 2 times already.

Here is a brief summary from Amazon:

One day in 2009, twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a strange hospital room, strapped to her bed, under guard, and unable to move or speak. A wristband marked her as a “flight risk,” and her medical records—chronicling a month-long hospital stay of which she had no memory at all—showed hallucinations, violence, and dangerous instability. Only weeks earlier, Susannah had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: a healthy, ambitious college grad a few months into her first serious relationship and a promising career as a cub reporter at a major New York newspaper. Who was the stranger who had taken over her body? What was happening to her mind?

In this swift and breathtaking narrative, Susannah tells the astonishing true story of her inexplicable descent into madness and the brilliant, lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn’t happen. A team of doctors would spend a month—and more than a million dollars—trying desperately to pin down a medical explanation for what had gone wrong. Meanwhile, as the days passed and her family, boyfriend, and friends helplessly stood watch by her bed, she began to move inexorably through psychosis into catatonia and, ultimately, toward death. Yet even as this period nearly tore her family apart, it offered an extraordinary testament to their faith in Susannah and their refusal to let her go.

Then, at the last minute, celebrated neurologist Souhel Najjar joined her team and, with the help of a lucky, ingenious test, saved her life. He recognized the symptoms of a newly discovered autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks the brain, a disease now thought to be tied to both schizophrenia and autism, and perhaps the root of “demonic possessions” throughout history.

3. January First: A Child's Descent into Madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her- Michael Schoefield



I love this book. I have taken it out 3-4 times from my local E-Library. Then this weekend I decided to finally buy it. Michael Schoefield comes off as an asshole to some people, but to me he comes across as a father who is willing to do ANYTHING for his child.

Here is a brief summary from Amazon:

Michael Schofield’s daughter January is at the mercy of her imaginary friends, except they aren’t the imaginary friends that most young children have; they are hallucinations. And January is caught in the conflict between our world and their world, a place she calls Calalini.  Some of these hallucinations, like “24 Hours,” are friendly and some, like “400 the Cat” and “Wednesday the Rat,” bite and scratch her until she does what they want.  They often tell her to scream at strangers, jump out of buildings, and attack her baby brother. 

At six years old, January Schofield, “Janni,” to her family, was diagnosed with schizophrenia, one of the worst mental illnesses known to man.  What’s more, schizophrenia is 20 to 30 times more severe in children than in adults and in January’s case, doctors say, she is hallucinating 95 percent of the time that she is awake. Potent psychiatric drugs that would level most adults barely faze her.

(I do use Amazon Associates, but not because I've made any money- because I haven't! lol! But I like that I can show a picture/link with a product when I'm blogging. Plus I do recommend Amazon.com for their low prices. That or Ebay!)

 

What a surprise I got on Friday morning. An email from Amazon saying my Kindle Fire HD 8.9" (16GB) was shipping that morning! (It was supposed to ship November 21st). Being the techy geek girl I am, I picked one day shipping when I pre-ordered so later that afternoon it was delivered! Whoo hoo!

Being even geekier, I made my husband bring it in the car when he picked me up from the train station after work; (we stopped by my parents house to give my 18 year old brother his belated birthday gift). I just couldn't wait until I got home to open the box and check out my new Kindle! And... wow! Compared to the original Kindle Fire 7", the 8.9" is huge! Even though it weighs just a few ounces more than the original, it somehow feels lighter in my hands. It's also much thinner.



The new HD screen is so much more vibrant in color than the original Kindle Fire. The speakers are also better placed. And... there's now actual volume buttons on the side!

Pro's:

• Bigger Screen
• Vibrant HD Display
• Slimmer design & more comfortable to hold.
• TV & Movie's sound amazing with the dolby audio.
• The keyboard is bigger and more comfortable to use. And now it even underlines your miss spelled words in red so you can correct them! 
• Amazon Silk browser is faster & more compatible with different websites. On the older model some websites wouldn't cooperate and let me scroll so I would have to use Opera Mini browser to get around that.
• Volume controls on the outside now!
• Speakers are spaced out better
• Finally a webcam & mic to Skype or take pictures and videos! (and this program I bought gives you even more options for the camera/video).

 Con's: 

• No more flash. Which means I can't view videos on 6abc or CNN, etc. Because Adobe is no longer making it for Android or mobile devices. Which means on older websites that still use flash instead of HTML5 you cannot view videos. (Original Kindle Fire had flash installed).
• Certain games that you may have purchased for the original are not compatible yet with the Kindle Fire HD 8.9". (Sims Free Play is now compatible!)
• Silk Browser seems to crash more often if you have 'Accelerate Pages' box checked in browser options. (Maybe an update will address this) (Update has addressed this!)
• TV & Movies sound amazing with the dolby audio, but I found playing music through the speakers didn't have the same quality. And there's no equalizer in the newer model.
• Lot's of Ad's. Supposedly you can pay $15 to disable all the ad's permanently. But, I did find in settings/applications you can turn off some of the recommendations. The only thing you can't disable is the ad's that show up on the screen when it's locked. Like I said though, you can pay a fee to disable them. It doesn't bother me too much yet though. 

Another con for some people is the fact that the Amazon App Store doesn't have as vast a selection as the Google Play Store. That doesn't bother me too much either because they have most of the app's I use. (Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, Netflix, Pinterest, Ebay, etc).

But, I did discover a way to get around this. I stumbled upon a mobile site called: 1Mobile.com. You can download so many more free Android app's & games for your Kindle Fire. To install the 1Mobile App to access the store on your Kindle, you have to go to settings/device and select on for 'Allow installation of applications from unknown sources'.

Of course, there is always a chance an app may not work or be compatible. Most of the programs I've downloaded so far have worked though. (I downloaded Instagram! The Amazon App Store doesn't even have that yet! And it works just fine on my new Kindle).

Apps I've downloaded from the 1Mobile.com Market that work on my Kindle Fire HD:

• Instagram
• 6ABC News Philadelphia App
• The Simpsons Tapped Out
• Opera Mini Browser 

I'm still getting used to things that differ from the original, but all in all so far, I'm pretty pleased with my new Kindle Fire HD.

And, because that shiny new Kindle Fire HD is now on my Amazon credit card. I am selling my original Kindle Fire 7" 8GB on eBay. It comes with the original box, original charger, 2 screen protectors, a stylus & a cute vintage sleeve case. It is in pristine condition with no scratches on the screen. (Reserve is $120).