About The Book:

Flaps upon flaps upon flaps—100 of them—are layered on top of each other like gift boxes filled with surprises!  Acclaimed master paper engineer and illustrator David Carter offers children a magical experience as they uncover an array of 100 wonderful things in a treasure trove of landscapes. From bustling city streets; to scenes deep undersea ; to a prehistoric world with dinosaurs , this clever, visually astonishing book will not only amaze kids, but teach them to count up to 100 too!

My Thoughts:

I wanted to review this book for Putters my youngest. I thought she would fall in love with all the flaps and pictures. Little did I know it would become the most fought over book in the house. Everyone wants to read it… even the adults! This book is so much fun, the pictures are colorful and capture the mind and its educational. Not only are the kids learning how to count to 100, they learn about sea life, dinosaurs, cities and more through pictures.

You can purchase David Carters 100 on Amazon, or at your local bookstore.

With warm weather approaching, kick the chips to the curb and indulge in a healthy alternative like nutrient packed pistachios! At Sincerely Nuts we have a wide variety of flavors to satisfy any of your cravings including roasted, salted, jalapeno, garlic, chili lemon, hickory, salt & pepper. Check them out here: Pistachios.  Each delicious flavor comes in a variety of sizes ranging from 1LB bag to 25LB case.

Some great attributes of pistachios include:

·         Spice up dull recipes in need of a flavorful boost!

·         Help keep you full longer with 6gm of protein per serving

·         Provides 3 grams of dietary fiber, or about 12% of the daily value per serving.

·         100mg of omega-3s per ounce which helps reduce bad cholesterol and increase the good cholesterol

·         Rich source of vitamin B6 which is essential to make the protein in your red blood cells

My Thoughts:

I have a serious love affair with pistachios, so this review was right up my alley. The Sincerely Nuts pistachios I was sent for review were some of the freshest tasting I have ever had and I loved the Chili Lemon flavor that I picked. The flavor was bold yet I could still taste the pistachio through the chili and lemon. These are definitely a new favorite snack of mine and will quickly become yours too!

To order your own Sincerely Nuts pistachios, or several other types of nuts and seeds head on over to SincerelyNuts.com and take a look at all they have to offer. It will be  hard to choose just one! I promise…

A Little About Conversational Cooking:

Conversational Cooking is targeted to bringing family and friends together around food and helping families cook together in a healthy way.

There is no doubt that busy schedules and technology have cut into family time.  Not only time on the weekends to enjoy time together, but the family dinner has also suffered.  Conversational Cooking is designed to revamp the dinner hour and bring it back to family conversations.  

Think back to the days of fondue, when family and friends sat around the table, cooked food and talked for hours.  Conversational Cooking is geared to bringing that experience back, but instead of dipping food into cheese, oil or chocolate, you cook the meals with simple tea candles. 

Using a tabletop tool called the Raclette, families and friends can laugh, talk, cook and interact together around the table.  This trend of Conversational Cooking has been around for decades in Europe but is just hitting the States.

My Thoughts:

I was a little worried about my kids using Raclettes, but they really do not get that hot as long as they are supervised and used correctly. The handle stays cool enough to touch at all times. So far, we have used them to make personal fajitas and chocolate covered bananas slices. They are so much fun! I cant wait to have company over and pull these out. I definitely want to get a few more first though as they work much better if you have one per person. They can also be a lot of fun for a stay home date night with the Hubs! Put the kids to bed and make a romantic dinner by candlelight, literally…

To use a Raclette, you simply light the candles, set the tray on top, wait for it to heat then add whatever you wish to cook. The Conversational Cooking Cookbook has a lot of fun easy recipes for using a Raclette.

For more information or to purchase your own copy of Conversation Cooking and a raclette or two, head on over to conversationalcooking.com

Imagine coming home from a long work day to hungry kids and having a pantry filled with meals in jars that require just water and limited time. Dinner has never been so easy.

Introducing “Meals in a Jar,” a new cookbook that takes the stress and guesswork out of cooking.

“Meals in a Jar” is packed with step-by-step instructions for 125 natural breakfasts, lunches, dinners and desserts, including Biscuits and Gravy, Braised Short Ribs, Turkey Pot Pie, Breakfast Burritos, White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies and much more.

Not only are the recipes in this book perfect for carry-along camping fare, weeknight dinners, meals for Dad (or your teenager) to prepare, they can also be lifesavers in times of disasters like fires, blackouts or hurricanes.

Who wouldn’t want to save time and money while eating their favorite flavorful meals?

My Thoughts:

I have to admit, I haven’t used this book in the way its intended. I have been using it mostly to make large amounts of food for things like church potlucks, or huge amounts of cookies to fill a freezer shelf with some pre-made cookies. While I hope to get to the point where I can use it the way it should be, I just haven’t  taken the time to. It works great for the way I have been using it though!  Its nice to be able to pull a bag or two of homemade cookies out of the freezer on hectic days when everyone wants a snack and there are none made, or grab a bag to take to church on Sunday mornings to share.

You can pick up your copy of Meals In A Jar on Amazon  or at your local bookstore.

The Weary Heart

Running beneath a rain of birdseed, my husband opened the passenger door for me to climb inside as we started our life together. I grabbed the hem of my hand crocheted wedding dress that was over twenty years old and nestled myself into the seat. Laughter bounced through the air and love was almost touchable. My new groom climbed in beside me and in a moment a question came from the back seat. I looked back into the faces of five kiddos, who in one moment had all landed me in the new role of bonus-mom.

Forget about yesterday, today is #FreshMade! Each day we have a choice, a choice to do the same old routine or do something unique and different.  What have you wanted to do for a long time? 2013 is almost halfway over and it’s time to do something new. It’s time to grow, it’s time to make your dreams a reality.

Chick-fil-A is helping you make today #FreshMade, by creating new menu options that you can feel good about! They are introducing 3 new premium salads and an improved wrap all under 430 calories made with premium ingredients.

Take your taste buds to greener pastures.

Head to your local Chick-fil-A to try out the new Chick-fil-A #FreshMade Salads or enter below to WIN two coupons!

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A Little About Holistic Honey Body Lotion:

Honey is a natural humectant, which means it attracts and retains moisture. The natural hydrating and antioxidant properties of honey trap and seal moisture, rejuvenate the skin, and cleanse complexion leaving skin soft. Honey in its purest organic form is suitable for all skin types, and has amazing holistic healing properties.

About our Ingredients:
Our honey is produced, processed, and packaged in accordance with national regulations and by independent organic farms. This means that the land is organic and within a radius of 4 miles from the apiary site, and, nectar and pollen sources must consist of organic crops or uncultivated areas.

My Thoughts:

This lotion is amazing! You would think with one of the main ingredients that it would be sticky, but that isn’t the case.  Made From Earths Holistic Honey Body Lotion goes on smoothly with no sticky or greasy residue at all and left my skin feeling wonderfully soft and smooth for a long time. A little bit goes a long way too, so even though this lotion is on the spendy side, it will last quite a while. It also smells really good!

You can purchase Made From Earth Holistic Honey Body Lotion and other great products on their webpage, follow them on Facebook, and G+ and then enter to win a bottle below!

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How would you like to win a new Pantech Flex Smartphone for Mothers Day? Here is your chance! First a little about this great phone…

 Flex is Pantech’s newest Android 4G LTE device for AT&T, which combines the premium smartphone features of its predecessor, Burst, with the intuitive user experience of the popular Simplicity Seeker line. Flex is the first smartphone at AT&T to offer customers the option to choose between both the traditional Android experience and the exclusive Pantech “Easy Experience.”

 The Pantech Easy Experience reveals one simplified home screen with a streamlined menu, with quick access to contacts, features, and apps. Ideal for first time smartphone owners and for those who prioritize an uncomplicated mobile phone, Flex merges familiar functionality with sophisticated features to meet everyone’s work, social and entertainment needs. 

 Flex’s Easy Experience is an intuitive user interface that doesn’t sacrifice the benefits of advanced mobile technology. The sleek and affordable smartphone features a 4.3” qHD Super AMOLED touch display, 8 MP rear and 2 MP front cameras, SwiftKey predictive texting, a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, and is powered by Android Ice Cream Sandwich for an abundance of customization options.

 Product Specifications:

    •          Pantech proprietary software:

•          Easy Experience: Ideal for first-time smartphone users, or consumers wanting a simple, straight-forward view and access to  the features they use the most. Users can easily toggle  between the standard Android experience and Easy Experience

•          SwiftKey: Predictive texting tool that adopts a user’s natural language for faster and more accurate typing

•          Custom UI Overlay: Provides a widened app launcher, new search bar widget, and menu button for quick access to settings and customization options

•          Pre-loaded applications:

•          Pulse:Transforms favorite websites and transforms into a colorful and interactive mosaic

•          KeyRing: Allows users to scan and store existing loyalty cards, join new programs, and receive mobile coupons

•          Network Modes:

•          2G – Quad Band (EDGE/GSM/GPRS)-850MHz (U.S.), 1900 MHz (U.S.), 900 MHz (Europe, Asia), 1800 MHz (Europe, Asia)

•          3G/4G – Tri Band (UMTS/HSPA+)-850 MHz, 1900 MHz, 2100 (International)

•          LTE – Quad Band – 700 MHz, 850 MHz, 1900 MHz, AWS

•          GPS supported Bluetooth – 4.0 WiFi – 802.11 b/g/e

•          Operating System: Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

•          Processor: Qualcomm MSM 8960 – 1.5 GHz dual-core

•          Dimension: 5.1” (H) x 2.6” (W) x 0.32” (D)

•          Display: 4.3” touch screen; Super AMOLED qHD (540 x 960px)

•          Camera: 8 MP with 4X Digital Zoom (Rear), 2 MP (Front)

•          Video Recording and Playback: 1080p HD 

•          Connectivity: Micro USB 2.0; 3.5mm ear jack; Mobile hotspot for up to 9 additional devices

•          Onboard Memory: 8 GB; External Memory Slot: Micro SD (up to 32 GB)

•          Battery: 1,830 mAh Lithium Ion

•          Standby: Up to 430 hours; Talk-time: Up to 10 hours

Sounds great huh? Enter Below to WIN!! Happy Mothers Day!

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You can buy Master Lock bike locks at just about any retail store, or directly from their website here.

Master Lock wants to bless two readers with a new bike lock to help you get out and about this Spring!

Enter To Win Below!

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From tacos to burritos and tostados, we tend to over indulge as we celebrate the Mexican holiday. And let’s not forget the margaritas! Although Mexican food can be a diet disaster, there are some ways you can still enjoy the holiday without totally pigging out.

 The recipe below is party approved and can be enjoyed guilt-free this holiday, while keeping your calorie count down. Even better, it’s gluten free!

More tasty recipes and information about healthy living can be found at www.medifast1.com.

Enjoy! And celebrate responsibly this Cinco De Mayo!