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The Family Storybook Treasury – 8 Great Books In One! (Giveaway)

January 5, 2012 By

The Family Storybook Treasury
The Family Storybook Treasury with CD: Tales of Laughter, Curiosity, and Fun is a wonderful collection of beautifully illustrated, classic childrens’ stories for ages 4-8. Following each story is a short poem, riddle, or haiku. As a bonus, an audio CD is included.

The 8 books in The Family Storybook Treasury are:

  • Curious George and the Firefighters by Margret and H. A. Rey
  • Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh
  • Lyle Walks the Dogs by Bernard Waber, illustrated by Paulis Waber
  • Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw, illustrated by Margo Apple
  • Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
  • Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
  • The Great Doughnut Parade by Rebecca Bond
  • Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

There were only two books in this collection I wasn’t familiar with, Tacky the Penguin and The Great Doughnut Parade. The other six are books that I have read multiple times to my three kids. Our copies came from my Mom’s second grade classroom and are well-worn, so it was a treat to have them bound in a beautiful hardcover book that will last.

Like the publisher (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) says on the back of the book, these are characters you love in the stories you remember, and this is a book you will reach for again and again. Thanks to Dina at Big Honcho Media, I have a copy of The Family Storybook Treasury to give away to one lucky reader!

WIN IT: Leave a comment on this post telling me which of the 8 stories in this collection is your favorite. Open to U.S mailing addresses only. Enter by January 13th, 2012 at 12:01 a.m.

BONUS ENTRIES:  Once you’ve left your main comment entry, you may earn bonus entries for doing any or all of the following. Leave a comment for each bonus entry you earn.

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    • Share this giveaway using any of the buttons at the bottom of the post. You can quickly share it on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Google+, and if you click the orange “share” button, you’ll see even more options. Leave a separate comment for each method you use. (one entry per method used)
    • Tweet the link to the giveaway, you can do this ONCE PER DAY. You’ll need to come back here and leave a comment with the URL of each tweet. Here’s a sample tweet you can use:

      I want to win the Family Storybook Treasury from @MomReviews! Enter by 1/13/12 at 12:01 am EST http://bit.ly/tv0sw5

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This really is a wonderful book of stories you’ll read over and over again, so thanks for entering and good luck everybody!

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The Crabby Cook Cookbook

May 30, 2011 By

Photobucket Cooking meals for her two daughters and her husband made actress Jessica Harper crabby. She found herself cooking an early dinner for her girls, who would only eat six things, and then cooking again later for her husband, who would only eat eight things, but not any of the six the girls would eat. It wasn’t until she had friends over for dinner and one by one, began hearing how much they all hated cooking dinner that Harper realized that she wasn’t alone. She decided to write The Crabby Cook Cookbook: Recipes and Rants, a cookbook that would contain only everyday, family-friendly, home-chef friendly recipes that had been tested by her picky family. She even named recipes that everyone would eat “Miracle Foods”.

What makes The Crabby Cook Cookbook really fun to read is that in between the recipes, Harper tells hilarious stories. Just wait until you read about how she made homemade pot pie for the first time and ended up with a crust that tasted like rosemary-scented Play-Doh—to serve to Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford. Or how a “very famous wife” made her so nervous she forgot the husband’s name. Every recipe tells how it came to be, along with stories of Harper’s childhood – her mother had six kids and never had a problem getting a meal on the table, the pancake, um, incident. It’s not like any cookbook I’ve ever read!

The recipes vary, some are extremely simple (cheese crisps made by sprinkling grated cheese in a skillet and frying until crisp) and some are extremely complicated – her burrito recipe has 17 ingredients and her turkey chili has a whopping 21 – but mostly, you’ll find recipes for food every home cook should know how to make, like roast chicken, bean and cheese quesadillas, and chocolatey brownies. Look for recipes marked with a red star for the “Miracle Foods” recipes that Harper says anyone will eat!

And then, as if she isn’t funny enough as a writer, Harper has a blog with more recipes and stories, a Twitter account where she shows her wit in 140 characters or less,  a Facebook page, and a YouTube channel where you can watch her in her kitchen making butter, Christmas cookies, and butternut squash soup among others.  I like this video where Harper crabbily contemplates going next door to borrow sugar from her glamorous TV star neighbor and whether she would have to whiten her teeth first. Ha!

The Crabby Cook Cookbook: Recipes and Rants is available from Amazon.com for $10.49. I received a complimentary copy for this review. No other compensation was received. The links in this post are Amazon Associates.

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Money Minded Moms Giveaway – Win A Suze Orman Book

March 25, 2011 By

This giveaway is closed. Congratulations to the winner, comment #4 Debbie!

MoneyMindedMoms.com is an online community created by financial guru Suze Orman, devoted to helping moms make smarter money choices. Suze has revamped the site and partnered with a team of MoneyMindedMoms bloggers – including my longtime blog friend Julie Vazquez, who’s a community manager on the site -  to bring you articles, discussions, and advice on money-related topics. First I’m going to share some info about the site with you, then I’ll tell you about the giveaway for the book Suze Orman’s Action Plan: New Rules for New Times!

Money Minded Moms community members have free access to valuable, easy to follow advice about topics such as erasing and managing debt, raising money minded kids and coupons and discounts. Providing moms with sound advice is Suze’s top priority and she takes the time to personally respond to questions from members and has even been known to post a video response in some cases.

Plus, every month through May, one lucky member will win 1-on-1 time with Suze through the “Ask Suze” Sweepstakes. The site offers useful tools like a debt eliminator and expense tracker, a coupon savings center, as well as forums for sharing stories and insights with like-minded moms.

To help get started with taking control of finances and getting back on track this year, Suze has also created a list of the 11 things moms can do to increase their financial savvy in 2011:

1. Stand in your truth

2. Make finances a family affair

3. Live below your means but within your needs

4. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst

5. Get rid of credit card debt

6. Save an 8-month emergency fund

7. Fund your 401k to the match

8. Fund your Roth IRA to the max

9. Start a 529 plan for your kids’ college education

10. Be “happy you did” vs. “wishing you hadn’t”

11. Never forget people first, then money, then things

To find out more details about how to accomplish these 11 goals, visit www.MoneyMindedMoms.com. You can also connect with Suze and the MoneyMindedMoms community on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

ENTRY DATES AND RULES: Thanks to Suze Orman and MyBlogSpark, I’m giving away a copy of the book Suze Orman’s Action Plan: New Rules for New Times. The giveaway runs from 03/25/11 to 04/01/11. Open to U.S. mailing addresses only. One winner will be chosen and emailed for their mailing address. This information will be forwarded to the PR rep handling the giveaway, who will also be handling the shipment of the prize. MomReviews is not responsible for lost or stolen prizes.

MAIN ENTRY: For your main entry, leave a comment on this post telling me one financial goal you have for 2011. You must complete this entry before any bonus entries will count.

BONUS ENTRIES: Earn a bonus entry for each of the following that you do or have done. Leave a separate comment for each-

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    • *******************
    I’ll choose the winner using the “And the Winner Is” plugin on 04/01, announce it by editing the post, and email the winner for their mailing address. Shipping will be handled by the sponsor. Thanks for entering and good luck everybody!

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