Linda @ Linda’s Lunacy

Tyson’s Run Movie Review & $20 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

March 9, 2022 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I was recently able to watch a screener video of Tyson’s Run. It’s a new movie about persistence and faith. Keep reading for my Tyson’s Run Movie Review and a giveaway!

Tyson’s Run – Movie Review

Tyson’s Run tells the story of 15 year old Tyson, who has autism. He has been homeschooled his whole life by his mother. Now, he has started to attend public school where his father coaches football. Because he wanted to learn algebra. lol He said he would go, learn algebra, and come back to teach it to mom, since she doesn’t know how to do it. lol

While helping his father at football practice, he meets champion marathon runner Aklilu, who is using the track. His life is changed forever.

Tyson becomes determined to run his first marathon, Never letting his autism hold him back. By running, Tyson hopes to win his father’s approval. He runs every chance he gets. Including leaving the house at all hours to go running. As you can imagine, that doesn’t go over well with his parents.

With the help of an unlikely friend and his parents, Tyson learns that with faith in yourself and the courage to take the first step, anything is possible.

Check out the trailer!

Tyson’s Run

Tyson’s father seems rather cold towards him. So it’s understandable that Tyson would like to win his approval.

Tyson has a bit of a rough start at public school, but soon makes friends. Friends that help him, and cheer him on while he is running his first marathon.

After a life threatening accident while running, his father realizes how important it is to Tyson to become a marathon runner. Then he does everything he can to help Tyson get to the marathon.

What a shock to everyone when he won his first marathon! Especially the naysayers!

Tyson’s run is an awesome family movie! There is a scene where some kids pull Tyson’s chair out from under him when he is sitting down. Causing him to fall, and his lunch tray to turn over on him. But the scene ends with a girl coming over, telling the boys to stop, and helping Tyson up. She then invites him to sit at her table, and they become good friends. So it’s a great scene to have a conversation with our kids about how to treat, and help, others.

While not based on a true story, it has the feel that it could be. I loved Tyson’s Run, and plan on buying it when it becomes available in stores.

Tyson’s Run opens in theaters on March 11! Go buy your tickets now!

For more information about Tyson’s Run, visit the website.

Tyson’s Run $20 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

Go to this giveaway form to enter to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card! Giveaway ends 3/20/22.

It’s super easy to fill out. So go enter!!

Disclosure: Many thanks to Collide Distribution for providing a sample of the product for this review. (I watched an online screener of the movie.) Opinions are 100% my own. The giveaway is run by them. Linda’s Lunacy is not responsible for choosing the winner, or the delivery of the prize.

What Are the Main Factors That Affect Life Insurance Rates?

February 21, 2022 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

*What Are the Main Factors That Affect Life Insurance Rates? is a sponsored post.

When you get your first life insurance quote, you’ll likely have a few questions about how contributing factors determine your monthly premium.

Many individuals living in the U.S. do not have life insurance. For a majority of these individuals, it seems that the cost of life insurance is too high to manage along with other expenses. However, for many people, life insurance is actually a lot cheaper than they may have thought. So, before you go searching for the best life insurance quotes, you should do some research to estimate how much you’ll be paying for a life insurance policy based on your age, gender, health, lifestyle, and occupation. Today, we’re going to find out about the different variables that will affect your monthly premium.

1. Your Age

The sooner you secure a life insurance quote, the more options you’ll have and the less you’ll have to pay per month.

Your age is arguably the most important factor insurance companies consider.

Many people in their 20s and 30s who have considered life insurance often say that they haven’t purchased a policy because it is too expensive. In reality, your 20s and 30s are the best time to secure a life insurance quote. In general, the longer you wait to purchase a life insurance policy, the more you will end up paying. Very often rates for younger people can be as low as $25-$30 per month for a term life insurance policy.

2. Your Gender

Due to a life expectancy gap in men and women, women will often be offered lower cost life insurance quotes.

In the U.S., the life expectancy for women is longer than it is for men — about 5 years longer. Insurance companies notice this, and since the death benefits payout for men is likely to happen sooner, men will end up paying higher monthly rates for life insurance. There is one U.S. state, Montana, that only offers gender neutral life insurance, meaning that both genders will pay the same in Montana.

3. Your Health Status and History

Health status is one of the most important determining factors for life insurance quotes.

Health insurance is far cheaper when you are in good health.
When an insurance provider is determining life insurance quotes, health status is the most important factor considered. For those who are not healthy or suffer from chronic illness, the cost of term life insurance will be higher because of the likelihood of a death benefit payout before the term has expired.
For most life insurance providers, you will have to undergo a physical and forward your medical records to their office. When they receive the results of your physical and medical records they will consider:

Your medical history, including past surgeries and treatments
Your height and weight, often including your BMI
Any behaviors that are deemed high risk like drinking, smoking, or drug use
Your family’s medical history, focusing on any hereditary conditions

There is also an option to get life insurance without an exam. However as a general rule, your life insurance quote will be more expensive the less your insurance provider knows about you. Examples of this are instant life insurance, simplified issue life insurance, and guaranteed issue life insurance. All of these options tend to be more expensive than term life insurance, but can be preferable depending on your lifestyle and life insurance need.

4. Your Lifestyle

For most life insurance quotes, you will have to fill out a few questions about your lifestyle that will affect the overall cost.

A dangerous job will increase your monthly life insurance rate.
In addition to pulling your medical information, insurance providers often ask about certain aspects of your lifestyle before you get your life insurance quote. A few of the questions you should expect when getting your life insurance policy are:

Your driving record – Insurance companies will be looking for any kind of reckless driving, history of DUI, other violations
Your criminal record – If you have been convicted of a felony there will be a 10 year waiting period and after a DUI there is a 5 year waiting period before you can qualify for a life insurance policy.
Any potentially dangerous activities – If you have a dangerous job or dangerous hobbies, for example mining or skydiving, it will affect your insurance policy.
Other financial factors – History of bankruptcy can cause your coverage to decline

Once your medical history and lifestyle are examined by the insurance company, they will present you with your life insurance quote.

There are, of course, ways that you can change your lifestyle to secure a lower rate. For example, if you quit smoking or left a dangerous job, you can contact your insurance provider to undergo a secondary physical and get a new quote. It is important to remember that the lowest cost insurance quotes are generally given to younger people. So, the best time to secure a low cost monthly premium is as soon as possible.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I sincerely hope this post helped you sort out some facts about life insurance.

Life with Linda – The Sick Edition

February 7, 2022 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I just sort of disappeared from here a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t disappear on purpose!

3 weeks ago, this past Saturday, I started getting what I thought was a cold. Then everyday after that, someone else in the house got sick. That’s 5 adults.

Life with Linda – The Sick Edition

My son, who doesn’t live here full time, got sick too, and his work required him to go get tested. Well, he tested positive for covid.

Ugh! He got his results on a Sunday, so on Monday, the rest of us loaded in the car and got tested. Yep, all 5 of us tested positive. Ugh!

The first week honestly felt just like a little cold. It didn’t stop anyone from working, or anything else. But when that second week started, it was brutal. I was shocked at the nausea and vomiting, that you don’t hear that much about. Thankfully, the rest of the family didn’t get those as bad as I did.

It’s now been about 3 weeks that every has been sick. After missing 2 weeks of work, my husband started back today for a half day. He was required to go get tested again, and be negative. Thankfully, he is.

Everyone is still weak, and very tired. Some still have a cough. but we are all recovery. I am extremely grateful, and thankful, that my 85 year old mother virtually sailed through this virus. She had no complications, and didn’t get as sick as the rest of us. So thankful!

My heart breaks for those that I know that have lost a loved one, I myself have lost relatives to this virus, and those that I know that are in the hospital now.

Look for a post later this week with what I did ahead of time that made these 3 weeks of sickness easier to get through.

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

December 28, 2021 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

*In the Kitchen with Linda contains affiliate links

Hello! this week I have a ton of pictures to share! So lets get started!

I need an easy dinner one night leading up to Christmas. Freezer Turkey Tetrazzini made from the Thanksgiving turkey to the rescue! And it’s good, too!

Making easy meals leading up to a big holiday should be the law, or something. lol I made Slow Cooker Chicken and Spinach Stroganoff. It was so good!

My anthropologist daughter has a birthday right before Christmas. This year I surprised her with skeleton cupcakes. They came out kind of cute. lol Even if I didn’t get the heads shaped right.

I made lasagna one night. One pan for us, and a pan to take to a friend that needed a meal. I prep lasagna noodles the easy way. lol

My husband and I teamed up to compete in a Gingerbread House building contest at church. I couldn’t decide which kit to buy when I was in the store, so I got the big “estate” house. lol It was basically a mansion. Then I found out after that we only had 1 hour to build and decorate the house. Yikes!

It actually came out kinda cute. And we won the contest! The prize is basically bragging rights. lol We did win a trophy “belt” that we bring back next year. We will be the judges for next years competition, and pass on the belt then.

I’m sorry to say that our gingerbread mansion didn’t make it home. About half way home, this happened. lol Oh well it was fun anyway!!

This year, I made chocolate cupcakes, with chocolate frosting, to pass out to a few people along with their Christmas card.

I used these boxes.

Everyone seemed to like them. So I guess it was a good idea. lol

I haven’t made Cranberry Bread for a couple of years. I forgot how time consuming it is to chop little cranberries. lol The bread is worth it, though!

I made Cranberry Bread, Banana Bread, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Spritz Cookies to send to work with my husband. My husband said everything was basically gone by lunch time, so I guess it was a hit. lol

Oh yes, they got some cupcakes, too!

The breads sliced and ready to go! They didn’t get all the bread! I have one of each in my freezer!

I had tried this once before, and it seemed to work. But it did not work this time! I put a bowl of water right next to the cutting board while I cut a couple of cups of onions for the stuffing/dressing.

The water is supposed to draw the onion “fumes” away from your eyes. It didn’t work this time! I guess these onions were just too potent! lol

Have you ever tried this? Did it work for you??

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls have been a Christmas morning breakfast tradition for years. A couple of years I substituted store bought canned cinnamon rolls. This year I didn’t buy any. And I spent Christmas Eve with the family instead of in the kitchen by myself. So while awake during the night, I realized that I did not want to get up at 5 and make the yeast dough for the cinnamon rolls. So I did a search on my phone, and found this recipe for no yeast, no rise time, cinnamon rolls. I just could not keep the rolls together, the dough was so soft. So they weren’t the prettiest. lol

They were pretty good, though. Here’s the Quick Cinnamon Rolls Recipe I used. And yes, I used paper plates for breakfast! And dinner, too!!

Before we ate our Christmas Dinner, we packed up food for a family, and dropped it off to them. Then we ate. I had a stash of food containers from take out, so I used those to pack up all the food.

Here’s the Pumpkin pie, the Apple Pie, and a container of whipped cream. There was also chocolate pie, but it didn’t make it in the picture.

Mashed potatoes, stuffing/dressing, ham, turkey, corn, green, beans, and sweet potatoes.

Everything boxed up. A cold box, with the pies, whipped cream, and a container with cranberry sauce, and a stick of butter, on the left. The hot box with everything above, and some dinner rolls on the right.

If you have never taken a meal to someone that needs one, sickness, etc., I highly recommend you try it. Whether it’s lasagna, Christmas Dinner, or anything in between. Both of you will benefit from it!

I remembered to take a picture of our food! lol A couple of people had already gone through the line, but I remembered! lol

The silverware, napkins, and butter were already on the table.

We had an awesome Christmas day with family. And food. lol I sincerely hope you did as well!

In The Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?

Monday – chicken or turkey – Fish filets, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, peas

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Turkey Tetrazzini, broccoli

Wednesday – Taco Night- Chicken Fajitas

Thursday – pork or chicken – Sausage Pasta Skillet

Friday – Quick & Easy – New Year’s Eve game night with the family, and snacks! lol

Saturday – Quick & Easy or Husbands Choice – Venison roast in slow cooker, with potatoes, carrots, and onions

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Soup & sandwiches, or leftovers

*This post contains affiliate links. If you click the links, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you

Purify My Heart – Book Review

December 20, 2021 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I recently received the book Purify My Heart to read and review.

Purify My Heart A Dialogue with Jesus is a new devotional written by Isabelle Joye.

Isabelle began writing down her prayers to Jesus, and the chats she had with Him about everything going on with her and her life. At that time she did not realize that she was writing a book. Later, she used these writings as the base of Purify My Heart.

You can read more about Isabelle Joye HERE.

Purify My Heart Review

Purify My Heart is a devotional book and prayer journal with 52 chapters. Each one could be done in one day, or split up over two days if you wanted to take more time with the journaling. So it’s not a daily devotional, it’s basically a weekly devotional.

Watch this trailer for Purify My Heart:

Each devotion in Purify My Heart starts with a Bible verse, or two. Followed by a question or an observation about the verse or verses.

Then the devotion starts with a prayer that the author has. Her prayers alternate with a response that she believes would be Jesus’ response to her prayer. She bases these responses in the Word.

Some devotionals don’t have any response. Some have a back & forth, between her prayer and the response.

I have only had the book a week, so I have not read the whole book. I intend to use it as a devotional for myself, so didn’t want to read through it all at once. But I have read some of them, and skimmed many more.

I have found Purify My Heart to be personal, encouraging, and faith building. I believe that we can all relate to many of her prayers. And there is plenty to find to apply to our lives, as well.

Purify My Heart is available for purchase HERE.

Disclosure: Many thanks to FrontGate Media for providing this product/product information for review. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Revived & Renovated – Book Review with Giveaway

December 19, 2021 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I recently received the book Revived & Renovated by Victoria Duerstock and Paige Rien to review.

The sub-title of the book is Real Life Conversations on the Intersection of Home, Faith, and Everything in Between. And that’s just what this book is. Conversations between the two of them.

Revived & Renovated Review

At first, I found the format a little confusing. Paragraphs written by Victoria are aligned on the left, those written by Paige are aligned on the right. After a page or two of getting used to the format, it was easy to follow the conversation.

It actually makes a fun writing format to read. It’s like being in the room with them while they are talking.

Paige has had a show on HGTV, and she’s an author of a home improvement book. Revived & Renovated uses terms that relate to restoring houses to relate to faith.

There are 11 chapters in this book. Here are the chapter titles.

Revived, Renovated, Restored, Refurbished, Reclaimed, Renewed, Refocused, Remade, Repurposed, Renamed, Recovered.

See the theme?

Each chapter starts with the definition of the chapter title, how it applies to the home, and how it applies to faith. In showing how these terms apply to the home, and to faith, the authors share their own stories.

Revived & Renovated is a great book. If you don’t know anything about home repair & renovation, don’t let that deter you from reading this book. The authors explain everything.

Revived & Renovated is available for purchase HERE.

Revived & Renovated Giveaway

Want to win your own copy of Revived & Renovated?

Go HERE to enter the giveaway!

Look at the Christmas Ornament I made!

December 17, 2021 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I recently went to a women’s brunch and ornament making get together at my church. One of the women taught us how to make these ornaments. They are so pretty!

They do take some time to make. At least an hour, maybe more depending on if you take breaks or not. You only need a styrofoam ball, several different kinds of fabric in 1 1/2 squares, and 200 straight pins.

Yes, you read that right. Each ornament takes 200 straight pins! Don’t let that discourage you, though! They are really fairly easy to make. And so pretty!

Christmas Ornament I Made

Here’s a little video I made of my ornament as I was making it.

I want to make more now! I think a tree with just these ornaments would be gorgeous!

Here’s a video that shows how these ornaments are made. If you make one, share a picture with me! Either here or on social media!

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