Easter is right around the corner.  Do you decorate your house?  I have one box of Easter decorations – an Easter tablecloth, some stuffed bunnies and a small stained glass cross.  But I would love to have the house all festive for Easter and the beginning of spring, wouldn’t you?

CafePress has so many cute premade Easter decorations!!! Pillows, the perfect coffee mug design for any occasion,  plates, posters, ornaments – you got it!!

Check out this cute Easter pillow:

And here’s a cool Easter-themed plate:

Or you can design your own t-shirt, hat, kitchenware poster or bag with your own creative design or photo or quote.  And through April 11, if you ‘like” CafePress on Facebook  you can get 20% off your first custom order!!

Just in time for Easter and spring, CafePress is offering a $20 gift code to one of my lucky fans.  It would be perfect for picking up one of CafePress’s fun shirts, or anything else you might like. Enter on the Rafflecopter below.  Giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older.  Giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook in anyway.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of CafePress.  All opinions are 100% my own.

If you’re a long-time reader, you know that my son, Bud, has battled with insomnia most of his life (Bud’s Black Days, I Couldn’t Sleep at All Last Night).  Art too, has frequent struggles getting enough sleep.  In fact, in a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly 30% of adults reported an average of ≤6 hours of sleep per day in 2005-2007. In 2009, only 31% of high school students reported getting at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night. (from the CDC website)

But there is hope!!  Bedtime Network, which was founded to help people find a more restful night’s sleep, is sponsoring the Friends Help Friends Sleep Better Giveaway.  Here’s what you could win:

Aren’t those great prizes?  Who couldn’t use some time with a sleep consultant?  And bedphones?  What a fantastic idea!!

Entry is easy using the Rafflecopter below.  After you sign up for the Bedtime Network newsletter, you will see the option of “share this to get bonus entries”.  For every person who enters the giveaway through your link, you will get an additional entry!!  Giveaway rules are below the Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Bedtime Network.  All opinions are 100% my own.

BEDTIME NETWORK’S “FRIENDS HELP FRIENDS SLEEP BETTER” CONTEST OFFICIAL RULES

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

1. Contest: The Friends Help Friends Sleep Better Contest (the “Contest”) will begin on March 6, 2013 and end on March 31, 2013  in accordance with the guidelines below. Bedtime Network LLC (“Sponsor”) is the Sponsor of this Contest.

2. Eligibility: The Contest is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are at least eighteen (18) years old. Employees of Sponsor, its subsidiaries, and affiliate companies as well as immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee (whether or not related) are not eligible. Corporations, partnerships or other entities are not eligible. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited.

3. How to Enter: Participants will log on to http://www.bedtimenetwork.com/friends-dont-let-friends-lose-sleep-contest and sign up for Bedtime Network’s “Snoozeletter.” Participants will also “like” Bedtime Network on Facebook. Signing up for the “Snoozeletter” and “liking” Bedtime Network on Facebook makes participant eligible to win First Prize or Second Prize.

By using a personalized link provided by Sponsor, participant may tell one or more people about the Contest. If participant causes at least one additional person to enter the contest then participant is eligible to win the Grand Prize.

4. Prizes: One (1) Grand Prize Winner, three (3) First Prize Winners and five (5) Second Prize Winners will be determined by a random drawing from all eligible entries and will occur on or about the week of April 15, 2013. Winners are responsible for all taxes and fees associated with receipt and/ or use of the Prizes. All Prize details are at Sponsor’s sole discretion. The Prizes are non-transferable. The Prizes will be fulfilled 6-8 weeks after the Contest and the potential winners have been verified and complied with these Official Rules. Actual odds of winning depend on the number of eligible participants. Following is a brief description of the prizes:

Grand Prize: Personalized consultations with six (6) Bedtime Network experts. These private consultations will take place either in-person in New York City or via telephone or Skype/Face Time at a time and place to be mutually agreed upon by each applicable Bedtime Network expert and the Grand Prize Winner. In the event that these consultations take place in New York City, the Winner is responsible for any and all costs associated with his/her transport/travel into and out of New York City to attend these consultations.

First Prize: One (1) Bedtime Beats iHome and Clock Radio

Second Prize: Bedtime Beats cd collection and one (1) pair of bedphones

5. Release: Acceptance of the Prize shall constitute and signify the Winners’ agreement and consent that Sponsor and its designees may use the Winners’ name, city, state, biographical information, likeness, and/or Prize information in connection with the Contest for promotional, advertising or other purposes, worldwide, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, including the Internet, without limitation and without further payment, notification, permission or other consideration, except where prohibited by law. Potential winners may be required to complete an Affidavit of Eligibility/Release of Liability and related tax forms, including a 1099 form, and, if legally permissible, a publicity release within ten (10) days of attempted notification. Each participant hereby releases and holds harmless, the Sponsor and its subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, distributors, advertising/promotion agencies, and Prize suppliers, and its officers, directors, employees and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any claims, damages, liabilities, cost and expenses (including reasonable counsel fees and legal expenses), losses and judgments arising out of or incurred in connection with (a) any breach of these Official Rules; (b) the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of the Prize; or (c) participation in this Contest or any Contest related activity.

6. Limitations of Liability: Released Parties are not responsible for: (a) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by participant, printing, typographical or other errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized by the Contest; (b) technical failures of any kind, including malfunctions, interruptions, delays or disconnections in phone lines, network communications, hardware or software; (c) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the Contest; (d) computer, network or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest, the uploading, the processing or judging of Designs, the announcement of the Prize or in any Contest-related materials; (e) late, lost, undeliverable, damaged or stolen mail or email; or (f) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from participation in the Contest or receipt or use or misuse of the Prize. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL ANY PARTICIPANT BE PERMITTED TO OBTAIN AWARDS FOR, AND EACH PARTICIPANT HEREBY WAIVES ALL RIGHTS TO CLAIM, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES AND ANY OTHER DAMAGES, OTHER THAN FOR ACTUAL OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSES, AND ANY AND ALL RIGHTS TO HAVE DAMAGES MULTIPLIED OR OTHERWISE INCREASED. EACH RELEASED PARTY’S ENTIRE LIABILITY UNDER IN CONNECTION WITH THIS CONTEST SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($1,000). The parties agree that the limitations specified in this Section will apply even if any limited remedy specified in this Agreement is found to have failed of its essential purpose. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY.

7. General Conditions: Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Contest, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest, as determined by Sponsor at its sole discretion. Sponsor, it its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any participant it finds may be tampering with the process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of the Official Rules of this or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages and other remedies (including attorneys’ fees) from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. When used herein, the words “includes” and “including” and their syntactical variations shall be deemed followed by the words “without limitation.”

8. Disputes: All issues and questions concerning construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the participant and Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of New York or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York. Except where prohibited by law, each participant agrees that all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the United States
District Court for the District of New York or the appropriate New York State Court.

9. Personal Information: Information collected from participants is subject to Sponsor’s Privacy Policy available at http://www.bedtimenetwork.com/about-us/terms-conditions Sponsor may be contacted by email at sleepypeeps@bedtimenetwork.com.

Today is my one year blogaversary!!  I can’t believe how fast the year has gone by, how much I’ve learned and how many new friends I’ve made!!

As a thank you to my fans (and friends) I am holding my biggest giveaway yet!!  Here’s what you could win:

Lion King Platinum Edition on DVD

The Wild Princess by Mary Hart Perry (one of my 5 star reviews!!)

California King Salmon apron & hat plus a $20 Visa gift card

“Just Breathe” coffee mug

“Just Breathe” t-shirt (choice of men’s or women’s and choice of size and color)

 A Snomee Snowglobe gift card holder with a $25 Walgreens gift card

Enter on the Rafflecopter below.  Giveaway is open to residents of the United States, ages 13 and older.  Giveaway begins 12:01 a.m. ET on October 8, 2012 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on October 22nd, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Becoming

Jessica Meigs

ASIN: B006AKAQE4

Genre: Horror

Publication Date: November 2011

236 pages

About the book:

The Michaluk Virus is loose.

In the heart of Atlanta, Georgia, the Michaluk Virus has escaped the CDC, and its effects are widespread and devastating. Most of the population of the southeastern United States has become homicidal cannibals. As society rapidly crumbles under the hordes of infected, three people—Ethan Bennett, a Memphis police officer; Cade Alton, his best friend and former IDF sharpshooter; and Brandt Evans, a lieutenant in the US Marines—band together against the oncoming crush of death and terror sweeping across the world.

As Cade, Brandt, and Ethan hole up in a safe house in Tupelo, others begin to join them in their bid for survival. When the infected attack and they’re forced to flee, one departs to Memphis in search of answers while the others escape south to Biloxi, where they encounter more danger than they bargained for. And in Memphis, the answers that one man finds are the last answers he wanted, answers that herald a horrific possibility that there may be more to this virus than first suspected.

My Review:

I had never read zombie fiction for this book, although I did enjoy the movies Zombieland and I Am Legend and I had to stop watching The Walking Dead: Season One because I was having nightmares.  To be honest, I was afraid to read The Becoming at night for the first week.

Once I got into the book though, I was so enthralled by Cade, one of the strongest female characters I have ever read, and the gripping story line, I often forgot I was reading zombie fiction.  The book read much more like a war story.  I especially enjoyed Cade’s friendship with Ethan, the curmudgeonly police officer, and her camaraderie (maybe burgeoning romance?) with Brandt, the Marine. This book was a fast read because I didn’t want to put it down!!  I can’t wait until the sequel, The Becoming: Ground Zero, which comes out July 2012.

My rating: 4 1/2 IMI Galil SARs (if you read the book you’ll know what this is).

Jessica Meigs has been nice enough to offer an e-book of The Becoming for one of my lucky readers!!  Enter on the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So I went a little overboard this year and made ten New Year’s resolutions.  I stuck them to my wall heater and promptly forgot about most of them.  Well, it’s been more than four months since then, so I decided I’d better review my resolutions and see how I’ve done so far:

1. Run/walk at least 30 minutes 3 days/week. – Had to curtail this one due to a bad cold and the severity of my asthma this time of year.  Hoping to get back to it in late summer/early fall.
2. Complete a 5k (may be virtual) – still planning on doing this one
3. Walk with hubby or do cardio video 3 days/week – got away from this one for a little while, but started up again in April.
4. Strength training 5-6 days/week – had to curtail this for a little while too, but back to doing squats every day and planning to add back in more exercises over the next few weeks.
5. 5 or more servings of freggies (fruits and/or veggies) daily – most days, yes
6. Increase my blog posts to 3 days/week by February 1st, 4 days/week by June 1st and 5 days/week by October 1st.- I am ahead of the game on this one since I had 4 posts last week and will have 5 this week.
7. Yoga/meditation 1 day/week – For some reason I am having a hard time committing to this one – just need to make the time and do it.
8. Commit to 4 online Bible studies throughout the year – I have already participated in two and signed up for one more.
9. Attend church at least once a month – so far so good
10. Night out with friends at least once a month – some months are better than others.

Warner Bros. has released a fun new quiz that will help you decide how well you are doing on your New Year’s resolutions, give you a “do-over” and some tips on how to keep those resolutions going for the rest of the year:

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Warner Bros.’ movie New Year’s Eve, just released on DVD and Blu-Ray May 1, stars Ashton Kutcher, Michelle Pfeiffer, Katherine Heigl, Sofia Vergara, Hilary Swank, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zac Efron, Jon Bon Jovi, and Josh Duhamel!

I received no compensation for this post.

One fond food memory from my childhood is a dinner we had regularly of Gorton’s fish sticks with macaroni and cheese.  As my palate “matured” I came to enjoy their beer battered fish fillets as well.

Once I started eating healthier, I got away from the breaded, battered fish of my past.  But recently, I was pleasantly surprised to discover all the healthy, tasty seafood options Gorton’s now has available. I love their grilled pollock fillets, grilled salmon and grilled tilapia as well as the shrimp scampi – so yummy!!

And now, Gorton’s has come out with their new Skillet Crisp line of fish fillets.  Skillet Crisp fillets are lightly coated with herbs and spices and you cook them up right in your skillet!!  Plus, they are gluten free!!

I was provided two coupons for free Gorton’s seafood products in return for my review.  However, my opinion is my own.

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Mom Blog Society. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

The Quick and Easy Guide to Branding Your Business and Creating Massive Sales with Pinterest

Kim Garst

ASIN:B00792SJ0U

Non-Fiction

36 pages

$4.97

About the Book:

Pinterest, though rhyming with interest, is only loosely related! Basically, it’s a virtual pinboard just like the corkboards we had in our rooms as kids and you may still have in your home or office. Pinterest is a social networking site that allows users to create photo collections online – like online, upscale scrapbooking. It is primarily a photo sharing website where the members are allowed to create albums pertaining to a certain theme or pattern.

Over a very short period of time, Pinterest has become one of the leading social media networks. Fairly recently, given that it launched in early 2010, the site has grown in leaps and bounds and is viewed as a strong competitor to the older social media networking websites. At present, the website attracts over 11 million visits each week, placing it among the top 10 social networks.

Over the past few years, businesses have been using social media websites for promoting and boosting their businesses. The same is the case with Pinterest. You might be wondering how a photo sharing website can help your business become a success.

This book is intended to be a guide for using Pinterest to strengthen your business and brand.

Review:

I have been a Pinterest fan for a few months, but aside from pinning some of the recipes I have blogged about, I hadn’t really thought about using Pinterest to promote my blog.

This book is chock full of great tips.  For beginners, the author explains the best way to set up Pinterest to highlight your business.  For the more experienced, she tells the best ways to optimize Pinterest to promote your blog. One idea I loved was to organize your boards so that the ones that are the most popular or most relevant to your brand are at the top.  I rearranged my boards so the top 9 have direct links to my blog or other interesting blogs and the other 12 are more of personal interest.  Looking at it just now, though, I think I will probably rearrange it again. LOL, a pinners’ work is never done.

The book contains lots of screen shots and ways to promote your product or service-oriented business.  As Kim says in the book, “Don’t assume that because you are NOT in the business of selling products that Pinterest is not for you.”

The last two sections of the book focus on branding your business on Facebook and on why you can’t ignore Pinterest.  Even if you’re not a rabid pinner, you probably have fans who are.  Taking a look at this book and at Pinterest could help you grow your business.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Mom Blog Society. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

You can find out more about this book and the author at http://www.kimgarst.com

Follow Kim Garst on Twitter

Like Kim Garst on Facebook

Kim Garst is offering a free copy of her ebook  The Quick and Easy Guide to Branding Your Business and Creating Massive Sales with Pinterest to one lucky reader!! You can enter on the Rafflecopter below.  Contest begins 12:01 a.m. March 20, 2012 and ends midnight April 3, 2012.

This giveaway is over. Congratulations to the winner: Kim K.!!

(more…)

Did you ever get a personalized book as a child? Remember how much fun you had reading the book over and over since it was about you, your family, friends and maybe even your pets?

Well, Book By You has brought that same fun personalization to adult and teen fiction.  There are 14 original romance titles; 3 original mystery titles; 12 classic titles including Phantom of the Opera, Sense and Sensibility and Peter Pan; and 5 original teen titles.  You can personalize 20 or more characteristics in your book including eye color, hair color, friends, pets, etc.

For my book, I picked a Teen Book By You, Sea Spell, for Bud’s girlfriend.  She is not a big reader, but I think a personalized book will be a great incentive.

I was able to use the names and characteristics of her friends (including Bud) and even her dog and cat!

Here is sample of the text from the book:

Once she’d learned all she needed to, Aspen quickly yanked apart her listening spell. The voices they’d been eavesdropping on faded from clarity to a muted roar through the floorboards.
Rihanna, seated on the floor a few feet away, raised an eyebrow. “Well?”
“Well what?” Aspen teased back, sitting up and brushing some stray blonde hair out of her eyes.
“Did you get any ideas from their conversation?”
Aspen nodded. “I think we should go after the Siren’s Eye.”
     “What, the gem they were talking about?” Visions of gold seemed to war with visions of nooses in her friend’s eyes. “What if we find it?”
“Um, we get a reward, what else?”
Rihanna stared at her. “But how would we explain how we found it? Just pray to the stars we don’t get executed for casting magic without a license?”
Aspen clucked her tongue dismissively. “You only get executed for working dangerous magic without a—”
“Either way. They said only Master Mages were allowed to search for this thing. Last time I checked, neither of us meet that requirement. If we find it—”
“When we find the Eye, we’ll hock it to a Master Mage instead of handing it in to the Crown ourselves,” Aspen said brightly. “Trust me, a Master would never admit that someone else found it first! He’ll get the glory, we’ll get the silver—or gold, more like. Everyone wins, everyone’s happy.”
“All right, all right. You convinced me. So where do we start?” Rihanna leaned forward, curious. “The docks? And why are you grinning?”
Aspen chuckled. “Because I love it when I’m right and you make it sound rational.”

I can’t wait until she sees it!!

You can order a personalized  book for yourself and/or your friends or loved ones at Book By You.  Book By You personalized novels range in price from $24.95 to $39.95 for paperbacks and $44.95 to $59.95 for hardcover.