SHANDLEous

Dear Shandle People,

Thank you for sending me a free "shandle". Unfortunately, I wont be able to review your product at this time.

I DID recieve your Shandle and it DOES seem like a good idea: a little antimicrobial handle that you stick to the toilet seat so "you'll never have to touch the seat again."

I WAS really hoping it would encourage my oldest to put the seat back DOWN after peeing and the middle child to put the seat UP before peeing.

I also appreciated that mine came with a pro-hand-washing message.

UNFORTUNATELY, when I went to install it on the bottom of the toilet seat, I found that all the toilet seats in the house have a half inch thick lip running around the edge. To give the appearance that the seat is thick and not cheap and thin like it is.

So I thought, "well, I'll just stick it to the lid. At the very least, maybe it will remind the boys to wash their hands." I stuck it to the lid and washed my own hands. So far, so good.

10 minutes later, Sam went into the bathroom, ripped the Shandle off the lid, and then came to ask me, "What's this Momma?"

The thick foam adhesive was ripped to shreds half on/half off the toilet.

And that was the end of our Shandle.

And this review.

Thanks anyway,

Emily

And the Winner is...

#18 (total stranger to me) Becky!!!

CONGRATULATIONS, Becky!!!  You're gonna love it!  Please send me your mailing address to emilydeon(at)gmail(dot)com.

  

The rest of you, SORRY CHARLIES!!!  You'll have to beg, borrow, or steal your copy.  (I suppose you could also buy it.)

But whatever the case, make sure you READ IT!  You wont regret it!!!!!

Dear Kris, 

Now that I've made your book an international sensation with my blog, please use the money that is surely pouring in to visit me in Japan.  Post haste!

Thank you for your immediate cooperation!!!

xoxoxo

Em

Hard Times and Holy Places - Book Review and Giveaway

"Trials and difficulties can, if we let them, become holy places — places where we can feel the power of the Atonement in our lives. Our struggles can be consecrated to our good and growth, and you and I can become more like Christ." — Kris Belcher

A few months ago, I received an autographed copy of "Hard Times and Holy Places" written by none other than Kristen Belcher.  MY sister-in-law.  I was extremely excited to read it and devoured it in an afternoon. 

 
My immediate next thought was "I need to do a blog review of this book!"  But then I thought "...but Doug hasn't read it yet.  I should let him read it first.  Cause I want to be able to talk to him about it n' stuff."  So I gave it to Doug and commanded him to read it.  And he did.  Over a period of about two months.   And again I thought "I need to do a review of this book."

THEN I thought, "...but hey, I'm going to Utah in another two months.  I'll wait until I'm there, get a few copies autographed by Kris and do a giveaway!"

Then I went to Utah.  

And saw Kris.  

But I didn't have any copies for her to sign.  

Then I DID go to the bookstore and bought three copies of her book...

but didn't see her again!  

SO, I have a book to give away, but it is NOT signed by the author.  
(sigh)

Now, about the book.  This book...is incredible!!!  It is life changing and thought provoking and funny and spiritual.  I like it even though she left out the chapter all about me.  (I'm sure her editor made her leave it out.)

In case you think I'm biased because I'm related to Kris and I'm just hoping to get another free copy of her next book, here are a few unbiased reviews:

Fabulous Photographer Jen:  "i meant to tell u that i just read ur sis in laws book... kris belcher's hard times and holy places. i LOVED it. since my mom got diagnosed with ALS i have been reading a lot of church books and this was my favorite. i went and bought 2 more and gave one to my mom and one to my friend who just had to give her adopted baby back to total loser parents after having her for almost a year, and then her house burned down a couple weeks ago. she said the title even made her cry. ur sis in law is amazing and i would luv to meet her one day." 

Sister Dahl:  "Kris's book was such an inspiration to me that I read it twice in one weekend!  And it really put into perspective the health issues I've been worrying about.  Kris is my hero!  She must be one of Heavenly Father's very elect to have weathered all her storms with such grace and dignity.  I highly recommend her wonderful book of faith and acceptance and love."

Kim:  (I found this one on the Deseret Book website.)  "This book was so amazing! It gave me the strength to look back at my life and find my own personal Holy places that I didn't realize existed. The author beautifully weaved adversity and testimony into an inspiring and entertaining book. She shows you the way to see your life for what it truly is. A difficult and trying test, yet a rewarding journey. I laughed, I cried and I will certainly read it again."

For more info about the book or Kris, here's her website: 

hardtimesandholyplaces.blogspot.com

WANT A FREE COPY???

LEAVE A COMMENT!!!!!

I'll pick a winner on Sunday August 9th.

The rest of you, BUY A COPY!  

You can thank me later!!!

Bella Sara Trading Cards

Remember how I told you I was a member of Team Mom and sometimes I get free stuff to review? (The sole compensation being the free stuff.)  Which is super cool because... 

it's free stuff?  

Well, recently I got an envelope from Team Mom containing...

*drumroll*

2 Bella Sara Royalty Card Packs

translation:  Really girlie trading cards with horses on them.

ie:

They're trading cards that work concurrently with an on-line interactive website.  A "magical new world with majestic realms, noble traditions, and regal families" no less.  

Only one problem.  I have three boys.  Three really boyish boys.  (I bought Max a baby doll when I was pregnant with Sam and he used it to sword fight.  Yes.  He held the doll by its legs and whacked things with it.)

Oh, and one other problem:  I'm not a horse girl.  Never have been.  Never once asked for a pony, never had a toy horse for my Barbie (never had Barbies), and never owned a single piece of unicorn paraphernalia.  

Never.  

Ever.  

In fact, this picture makes me want to throw-up in my mouth a little bit.  Sorry Bella Sara.  Just being honest.

ANYHOO!  Ever since I got the cards, they've sat, un-opened on my desk staring at me reproachfully saying "Review Me!  Review Me!"

Last night, I finally decided to do it.   I couldn't stand looking at the girlie-ness any longer.  So...

I OPENED THE CARDS!!!

I opened them, logged into the website, and called Max over.  

"Hey Max, wanna come play this computer game with me?"

Max comes running over having never before heard those words from my lips.

--Sees pastel colored horses.

Max:  "Uh, no thanks!  It's princess!!!"

Runs away.

I thought that was the end of it.  

But a little while later he came back (having run out of better things to do) and said

"Okay.  Show me the game."

So, we set him up and account and picked him a horse.  The next hour was highly amusing from my standpoint.  After showing Max around the site a bit, I left him alone at the computer to see what he'd do.  He found his way to what is, I believe, called the "beauty salon" where you can dress and accessorize your horse.   (!!!$&%#!!!)

 Max started going to town.

"Hey, Mom!  Look at this!  (adds black tale which looks like a whip.)  And THIS!  (adds pointy black armour.)  And THIS!"  (adds black horse shoes and evil looking shin guards.)  

What the...?  Max is sifting through the multitude of pastel and frou-frou offerings to find the most goth/emo/boyish/black stuff available.

 

Would it be wrong to say it made me a tiny bit happy?  

Well, after a little while Sammy comes over to see what the fuss is about.  And he wants to make his own horse.  (You can print them out when you're finished)

Doug sits down to help and he ends up with a decidedly sillier horse:  green running shoes, gray knee socks, Native American style feathered accessories, and little red devil horns.  

And then Doug wanted to decorate a horse...

and I mocked him inwardly and took a picture for blackmail purposes.

It just goes to show that you cant judge trading cards (or websites) by their pink/sparkly/horse-covered wrappers!!! 

Lesson learned.

And I have pictures to prove it.

Log-in to www.bellasara.com to create your own free account and play on-line  (user name Maxer_Boy is already taken) and/or buy your own trading cards where-ever trading cards are sold!  (Where are trading cards sold?)

Perfect for your horse/fantasy/computer game/pony/unicorn loving girlie-girl 

and/or 

your energetic/violence prone/computer game loving little boy!!!

Don't say I didn't warn you!

***

Post Script:

Max brought over one of the 9-year-old neighbor boys.  HE wanted to make a horse and print it out too!

***

And the Winners Are...

...I looked out my window and what did I see?  

Five boys jumping on the traaaam-poooo-leeeen!...

To pick our winners today, I went to an outside panel for help.  And by that I mean, I wrote 1-9 on a piece of paper, went outside and asked all the boys bouncing on our trampoline to pick a number between one and nine.  Then I circled their number and wrote their name by it.

Here are the results

Sammy-Boy picked #1.  #1 = Cami.  Appropriate since Cami is the mother of his best buddy Payden.  (I didn't tell him that though!  There was no undue influence!)

Ryan-1 picked #2 = Christina.  Also appropriate since they're both from Canada.  Just kidding.  I don't know where Ryan-1 is from.  I don't even know where he lives.  I just wanted more coincidences...

Strange-Boy-I've-Never-Met-Before picked #4 = Linz.  I don't know Strange-Boy.  I've seen him around but he's never played with Max before.  Before the trampoline was assembled that is. 

Pause for random tangent...

(Reminds me of the "swimming pool friends" I had as a kid.  The ones that only wanted to play with me during the summer.  At my house.  In my pool.  I could be there or not--whatever.  Good times, good times...sigh.

Well guess what, Stange-Boy?!  If I hear you yell "OH MY G**!" one more time, you're getting the boot.  From my trampoline and from my life.  But Lindsay still gets to keep her Frame-Name.)

Max picked #6 = Emily.  Another happy coincidence.  Emily is the mom of Camden, Max's friend from San Fran.   Her pleading must have penetrated Max's psyche.  He has The Force with him at all times, ya know.

Ryan-2 picked #7 = Annie who is actually my cousin of a different name but keeps her identity protected with an alias.  Congrats, Annie!  And thank you Ryan-2.  Yet another newly acquired Trampoline Friend!

Well, those are our winners!  Congrats ladies!  Those were some pretty great odds, no?!

For the rest of you who didn't enter/win, don't forget, you can still place an order at www.frame-name.com and get 20% off!  (Only $20.  A steal!  Just mention "favorite daughter" and/or "Emily")

Winners, please email me your email address (at emilydeon(at)gmail(dot)com) so I can forward them to my dad so HE can deal with all y'all!  THANKS FOR PLAYING everyone!  

Another great give-away coming up for Mother's Day so STAY TUNED!!!

Frame-Name Give-Away!!!!!!!!

You may recall that for his New Year's Resolution this year, Max has forsaken candy in favor of earning $10/month. 

He's actually doing a great job and staying quite strong in the face of temptation. The only problem I see is in the future when he's faced with more Candy-centric holidays. Valentine's Day was bad enough and now we're swiftly approaching Easter when Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs and Cadbury Mini Eggs can un-do even the most steely health resolve. (I'm thinking of myself here.)

Therefore, I'm trying to come up with non-candy solutions for the boy's Easter Baskets.  Maybe you're facing the same dilemma?

Enter, this month's GIVE-AWAY;

My dad is generously offering to give "Frame-Names" to FIVE yes FIVE lucky winners!!!  

Frame-Names are wall hangings perfect for kid's rooms, nurseries, play rooms, offices, and hobby rooms. 

Any kid (big or small) would be thrilled to find one in their Easter Basket.  You get to customize them with any name and your choice and a myriad of different patterns and designs.

The frames are 6" x 12" made of solid wood with a safe, non-breakable plexiglas front.

Here's what you do:

Select a background  (plentiful choices on www.Frame-Name.com and www.zoobeedoos.com)
Select a frame color (white, black, oak, pink, blue and lavender)
Enter your name or word(s)

Enjoy your Framed Name valued at $25.00!

Those of you (let's avoid using the term "losers") who don't win the give-away can still be winners!  Order from www.Frame-Name.com and get 20% off if you mention "Emily" or "Acte Gratuit" or "Favorite Daughter"!

Contest Rules:

Just leave a comment on this post in the next 48 hours!  

(That's Friday morning at 10 a.m. my time.  We have to wrap this up soon so you can get them in time for Easter!)

I'll select 5 winners at random!

Good luck!

Dear Barnes and Noble,

I searched the Internet far and wide and eventually found exactly what I wanted on your site:

A 2009 Japanese Woodblock Prints Mini Wall Calendar.  Although it wasn't on-sale (like every other calendar on every other site in the entire world) I was desperate and purchased it anyway.  I really need a new calendar and this one fit the bill perfectly.

And then I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And even tracked the shipment to it's last known location in California where it arrived 3 weeks ago.

And after waiting MORE than a sufficient amount of time...

I contacted customer service.

Who apologized and offered to resend my shipment.

So I prepared to wait (PATIENTLY) again.

And then I got this:

Due to an unexpected delay, we are unable to ship the merchandise listed below in the time frame indicated in our previous email. We anticipate that your merchandise will be shipped within the next 1-5 business days. (Please note: business days are Monday through Friday, excluding holidays observed by the Post Office.)
As always, you will not be charged until this merchandise ships from our warehouse.

We assume that you still want to purchase this merchandise. However, if you would like to cancel this portion of your order, you may do so online at: http://www.bn.com/orderstatus.

Please accept our sincere apologies for the delay.

-- Barnes & Noble

NO!  I DON'T want to cancel my order!  I want to RECEIVE my order!!  Evidently you don't realize how much I NEED MY FREAKING CALENDAR!!!

Therefore, I label you LAME!

I'll stick to Target and Amazon from now on.  (Where my items are generally shipped within 24 hours of purchase and arrive, IN JAPAN, in as little as 9 days sometimes!)

Get it together, B&N!  

Sincerely,

A FIRST-TIME and LAST-TIME customer!

And the Winner is...

Alright, I did it. I resorted to using Random.Org to pick a winner. I tried asking Gabey to pick a number between 1-13, but he can't actually talk so it wasn't a productive conversation.

So congrats to ***BEESWAX*** who was placed at the top of my random order list. (I didn't know how to use it to just pick one number so I used the list randomizer.)

Beeswax, by-the-way, is a complete stranger (to me) who's blog I love to read because she's so stinkin' funny. So check her out sometime.  (But not in the creepy way a construction worker would...)

Now, for the rest of you who are interested in the book but also scared of the book, here's what I have to say: If you know me, you know that I am a big fan of all things sweet. Some may even use phrases like "sugar-addict" or "chocolate junkie", but I'D just say I'm slightly "health challenged". 

So, has this book completely changed my diet and personality and lifestyle?  Yes and No. Here's the thing. The diet Dr. Furman recommends is actually pretty extreme for most of us. He doesn't say go vegetarian or go off sugar, but pretty close. That's where moderation comes in. I read the book, and I'm trying to implement his ideas with moderation. 

For example. We still eat meat, just less of it. We still eat treats, but I've stopped buying stuff with High Fructose Corn Syrup in it. (It's in bread, applesauce, peanut butter, Wheat Thins, EVERYTHING!)  Mostly though, we're just trying to eat a lot more veggies and nuts. We make fruit smoothies in the blender and add spinach and carrots, (don't knock it 'til you've tried it!) I offer the kids veggies as snacks more, and fruit for dessert more.   We add ground nuts to pancake batter (with the chocolate chips) and I make my favorite Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole with Brown Rice and less chicken.  (I just chop the chicken into smaller pieces.)  Oh, and I use Soy Milk to cook with.  (Less saturated fat!)  

So there you go.  Don't freak out that he's extreme.  Just read it and take what you want from it.

Oh yeah, here's the list in case you didn't believe me...

List Randomizer

There were 13 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

9. Beeswax said...
13. Mindelicious said...
11. mountainmama said...
3. Heffalump said...
2. Sweetest Of All said...
1. Ginna said...
5. Christina said...
10. Anonymous (Dale) said...
7. Thora said...
8. Emily said...
4. Renel said...
12. The Wifers said...
6. mj said...
Timestamp: 2009-01-26 00:40:25 UTC

Once again, congrats Beeswax!   Drop me an e-mail with your address and I'll get it sent out to you!  (emilydeon(at)gmail(dot)com)

Let us know what you thought of it when you're done reading!  And anyone else who ends up reading it, please let me know what YOU think!  I'm very curious!!!

:)

Here's to good health!!!

Book Review: Disease-Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. (AND a give-away!)

Do you ever read "Self Help" books?  Ever read one that make you want to exclaim out loud after every paragraph?  That makes you want to highlight every other paragraph and buy copies for all of your friends and family because they need to read it also?  A book so life changing that for ONE SOLID WEEK after reading it you completely change your behavior?!?  (Which is 6 days longer than with the other books you've read...?)

Well THIS is THAT kind of book.  My new friend here, Neen*, let me borrow it.  

After her father-in-law died of a heart attack, she and her family resolved to eat better.  And this is one of the books that inspired them to do it.

So I borrowed it from her and in the midst of reading it, my father had a heart attack which could have killed him.  And my mom is not exactly in optimum health either.  And I've known for a long time that my youthful skinny genes would only take me so far before I'd start to gain weight and feel yucky.  (Turns out, those genes took me right up to age 30 and then dumped me on my now-expanding bottom.)  

In other words, the time has come for me to reevaluate my eating habits.  (We're not going to talk about exercise just yet.  One major life change at a time, alright?)  

Currently, I weigh 20 pounds more than when I got married.  Which isn't a huge deal since I was under-weight then.  But still...it's not a trend I want to continue.  

But my main concern is, I just don't feel good.  I don't have a ton of energy and I don't feel healthy.

Enter this book.  I started reading it with my kids in mind (specifically Max who was recently diagnosed with ADHD)...not me...but it turns out, it helps the whole family.  We're already eating better and we're just getting started.

In this book, Dr. Furman talks about the link between the foods we eat and disease:  How poor eating leads to disease and superior nutrition leads to health.

Dr. Furman asserts (and I found that I agreed with him) that superior nutrition can, "For today, reduce asthma, ear infections, and allergies.  For the future, protect against diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer."

He explains why so many more people have allergies, why girls start their period's earlier and earlier, and why many foods we think of as healthy, are actually hurting us.

Here's the thing:  I am not an alarmist, extremist, or conspiracy theorist when it comes to health and nutrition.   But this book did change my outlook on many things and I have resolved to do better.  Much better.  Not just for me, but for my kids and my family.  

And since I want the whole world to read this, but can't afford to buy that many copies, I've decided to start small and just give one away.  Out of my own pocket**.  Just because I'm a Nicey-Sugar-Spicy.

To enter, leave a comment.  (Anonymous comments don't count.)  To get an extra entry, post a link (to this site) on your blog. (and then tell me in the comments).  If you don't feel lucky, get it at your local library!  You'll definitely learn something and it just might change your life!

The contest will go until next Monday.  A week from today.  Which is probably Sunday night for you, but whatever.

Good luck and HAPPY READING!

*Neen and her husband were our sponsors before we moved here and I was determined to win her love an affection with all sorts of baked delights upon meeting her.  Turns out, it wasn't necessary.  And she doesn't eat sugar so it wasn't a very good plan to begin with.)

**This expenditure/random generosity not approved by Doug.