Say No to Artificial Sweeteners

I've been wondering about artificial sweeteners for some time especially in light of the cancer concerns and I've also read that they induce hunger.  I noticed when I drink Coke Zero or Crystal Light over water, I tend to crave more food and especially sweets.

A new study published in Physiology & Behavior put it to test and found that the two control groups, rats with artificial sweetener and rats on glucose consumed calories differently.  The rats on artificial sweeteners did in fact consume 50 more calories a week in comparison to the control group and gained 10 more grams of fat to their body weight.  Read full article here.

There you have it!  Another study supporting the fact that artificial sweeteners do increase desire to consume more and pack on more pounds.  It's time to just say no!

Oroweat (Arnold Bread) Bread: Enter to Win a Trip to Vail & Other Prizes

Looking to gain some energy and power to workout in order to keep that new year's resolution?  Do you just want to get healthier as I do?  I buy Arnold Bread due it being 100% whole wheat and I also like the multi-grain version.  I'm trying to rid my diet of processed flours and sugars and want to stick with the good, healthy ingredients.  If you know anything about skiing, it takes a lot of energy and stamina to ski.  When I found out that Lindsay Vonn, eats Oroweat Bread (also known as Arnold Bread in the east), I had a reinforced feeling that I chose the right bread.

Lindsey is claimed to be the most successful female American skier in World Cup history and one of her Olympics sponsors, Oroweat Bread, is one product she consumes to prepare for competitions.  Her favorite sandwich is made of ham, Swiss and honey mustard that gives her the energy she needs to be so successful in her skiing career.
To honor the Olympian, the bakers of Oroweat Breads are giving fans a chance to “meet” the legend in-person and online. Fans can enter to win a trip to Vail, CO to meet Vonn at Oroweat.com between now and February 22. Other prizes, including a 46-inch LCD television and fitness gaming console are also available.

A customizable e-card allows fans to upload a picture of themselves to the virtual “Ski and Smile Photo Booth” to create a custom snapshot with Lindsey that can be shared via email, Facebook or Twitter.

Learn more about the contest here and don't forget to make your own card as I did above with my daughter!

*Disclaimer:  I received no compensation for this post.  I buy Arnold Bread and my entire family loves it.

Perennial Toys Giveaway: Polar Bear Pail Ends 2/2/10 CLOSED WINNER

CONGRATULATIONS TO....

LYNN

An e-mail has been send and she has 48 hours to respond.

Thanks to all those who entered!

"Connecting Children to Earth's Habitats" is the first statement seen when you log on to Perennial Toys aside from some really cute River Otter Books, Polar Bears, Ducks and more.  With the endless number of toys stores, it's hard to stand apart from others but when you have a unique product, it's easy.  I gravitate towards those toys that capture the imagination of children and help to teach.  One such toy company, Perennial Toys, is that. 

Perennial Toys is dedicated to creating toys and gifts that enhance a child’s understanding of Earth’s habitats. They focus on aquatic habitats and the endangered animals that depend on these sensitive environments. Each Perennial product also reflects their mission to manufacture and promote eco-friendly toys and gifts.  A portion of Perennial's proceeds goes into supporting wildlife conservation efforts.

Perennial Toys' artist is Daryl Tom who has received numerous awards throughout his career.  To read more about Mr. Tom, go here: http://www.perennialenterprises.com/aboutperennial/meetourartist.html.

Perennial Toys offers numerous products that will teach your child about earth's habitats as well as allow them to have creative playtime:

Children's Books:

1. Your River Otter Coloring & Activity Book is priced at only $4.00.  It has 16 8 1/2"x11" beautiful pages of activities, reading, and illustrations.
2. My Artic 1-2-3 is priced at $7.95.  It is a beautifully illustrated book on the Artctic and its animals by Vladyana Krykorka. Includes descriptions of Native American life and language. Perfect for 3-6 years old children. Each order comes with a FREE Perennial Toys mini coloirng book.

Perennial Pails:

• Duck Pail priced at $12.95. Includes: animal, crayons, badger balm, flexible magnet, and mini coloring book, & a surprise gift!
• Polar Pail priced at $12.95.  Includes: animal, crayons, badger balm, flexible magnet, and mini coloring book, & a surprise gift!
• Whale Pail priced at $12.95.  Includes: animal, crayons, badger balm, flexible magnet, and mini coloring book, & a surprise gift!

There are numerous gift sets to choose from whether it's the King Eider Habitat Gift Set, the Polar Bear Habitat Gift Set or a starter set, your little one will be happy!

Perennial Toys provides free coloring pages HERE and an area to learn more about habitats HERE.

Perennial Toys even has a My Earth Stories contest for children ages 6-12 that ends March 31, 2010.

The Giveaway:

One lucky reader will win the Polar Pail!  This is my favorite and it's what caught my attention when another blogger hosted a giveaway for this Polar Pail.  My girls love polar bears and the water so this is sure to be a winner with most children.
 
To Enter:
 
I'm reverting back to comments at the bottom of the post based on some feedback.  I'll re-evaluate after this giveaway as the forms are easier to track and pick the validated winner.  You must follow my blog, visit Perennial Toys and return with the mandatory ONE comment that tells me you follow my blog and another product you like.
 
Extra Entries (worth four entries each):
 
Sign Perennial Toys Guestbook.
Subscribe to my blog.
Follow me on Twitter.
Blog about this giveaway and return with a link to your post.
Tweet about this giveaway and leave your tweet link (can be done daily).
 
Giveaway ends February 2, 2010 at midnight.  Winner will be selected by random.ord.
 
US only please.
 
Thanks for entering and good luck!

Personal Ponderings Choice of Personal, Scripture or Literary Journal Giveaway 2/2/10: WINNER CLOSED

CONGRATULATIONS TO...

TIMBO!

An e-mail has been sent and he/she has 48 hours to respond.

Thanks to all those who entered!

How many times have you wished you had written down a great idea, kept track of memories or just had a place to store your personal effects?  I'm always grabbing a pad of paper here, a sheet from the printer or whatever is currently available to jot down random thoughts, to-do lists or whatever.  I can be the most unorganized person at times due to not organizing my thoughts.  I was happy to be able to work with Personal Ponderings for this great giveaway.

Personal Ponderings, as their easy to guide website depicts, are innovative journals that enable you to organize your thoughts, feelings, ideas, notes and experiences.  There really is no barrier for what you can utilize these great journals for.

There are three journals to choose from:

The Personal Journal is an all-new unique journaling system designed to enhance and simplify your journaling experience. Don’t have time every day to write? Use the one-line entry page. Want to access your memories quicker? Organize them by year. Want to keep track of specific special events? Use the tabs in the back.  The journal is 8" x 10" and contains 50 sheets, the PJ Organized Journal System, 8 blank tabs and travel companion with 50 lined gummed sheets. 

I really like the idea of not being restricted to record my thoughts based on the book's design.  This is a great feature to allow you to customize it to your own style.  The travel companion is equally impressive especially for those on the go.  This smaller version allows you to keep your random thoughts organized without having to worry about losing pages or forgetting that great idea or what you had to pick up for tomorrow's school snack.

The Scripture Journal is a Spiritual Journal and study tool. With the Scripture Journal you can record personal spiritual writings and notes, create your own spiritual quote book, become intimately acquainted with truths, gain a deeper understanding of Holy books, and come to know both God and yourself. The Scripture Journal is equipped with A to Z tabs so you can journal, organize notes, record personal insights, thoughts, and spiritual impressions by topic as you read and study scriptures and other deeply meaningful material; For example – Love, Faith, Hope, or Grace could all be study topics that you keep in your Journal. A benefit of using the Scripture Journal is it allows you to add to your topics over time, keeping everything organized and easily retrievable.

I have a friend who is really nudging me to devote more time to studying scripture and increase my spirtual knowledge.  This would be the perfect addition to allow an easier way to keep all my thoughts and scriptures in one place to ponder what I'm thinking or learning as well as to go back and refresh my memory.  This would make a great gift as would any of the other two journals.

The Literary Journal - Finally! A tool that provides a safe place for powerful and personal thoughts. The Literary Journal is a depository for personal philosophy that remembers for you the impressive things you read. As a reading, writing, pondering, and study tool, the Literary Journal allows you to alphabetically organize notes from books, lectures, etc. Create your own list of quotable quotes and organize them by topic.

Have you ever wanted to refer to or recall something you read once, but just can’t quite remember it correctly, or find which book it was in? The Literary Journal is an easy to use organizer that will solve that problem, and also become a best friend. Imagine having all the principles and insights from your favorite authors in one place: wisdom and understanding will deepen!

This would be optimal for the book I've been trying to write or my daughter in college.  She's like me and has numerous pads of paper where she is always jotting down notes and information and none of it is secure.  With a journal such as this, she would be able to maintain some organization.

Personal Ponderings also has all the available refills you need at low prices.  Even the journals priced at $24.05 is a great price.

As a small business with a woman president and co-founder, I'm very happy to provide this information to my readers.  Personal Ponderings seems to be a company that understands first hand the importance of organization and capturing those thoughts, notes, information and more.

The Giveaway:

Your choice of the Personal Journal, the Scripture Journal or the Literary Journal.

To Enter:

Follow my blog and go to Personal Ponderings and tell me something you learned about the company or the products.

Bonus Entries (worth five each):

• Subscribe to my blog.
• Follow me on Twitter.
• Blog about this giveaway.
• Tweet about this giveaway (can be done daily)
• Follow Personal Ponderings on Twitter.
• Join Personal Ponderings on Facebook.

Giveaway ends 2/2/10 at midnight.  Winner will be chosen by random.org.

US Only Please.

Flirty Aprons Special: $10 Off

You've seen them on giveaways and even on my own site as I have a giveaway going on right now HERE.  Flirty Aprons has a special right now where you can save $10 off a purchase of $90 so if you didn't win or just want to give the gift of pretty cooking, check them out!

Link Up Your Giveaways & Get Free Tweets!

Link up your giveaways here, anytime you want!  I also will tweet at random daily to add exposure. 

http://youthfultips.blogspot.com/2009/12/link-up-your-giveaways.html

Have a great Tuesday and thanks for linking!

New Binaca FASTblast and Binaca AEROblast Review

Remember the old Binaca brand mouth drops that you only need to shake on your tongue for cool, refreshing breath?  Even though Binaca has been around for 75 years, they have endured because it works.  Now Binaca comes in cool new packaging with jolting names of Binaca AEROblast and Binaca FASTblast.  These sporty new packages offers a glimpse into the flavor you spritz inside your mouth for that refreshing, clean feeling:

• Binaca AEROblast is available in peppermint or spearmint flavors.
• Binaca FASTblast is a non-aerosel pocket sized pum available in peppermint and soon to be released cinnamon.

The Binaca Breath Freshener Aerosol Sprays come in a lipstick size container making it easy to hide in a pocket or a purse.  Thanks to Megan at Light Years Ahead, I was able to review these and I have to say, I really liked the new design since it's easy to carry, looks modern and sleek.  The taste was great and didn't taste like mouthwash or medicine.  For my dieting, it's actually nice since it only takes a quick spray for a sweet, subtle and minty smell that lasts.

Want to learn more?  Visit Binaca.com or Dr. Fresh, Inc. 

You can also click HERE to receive a $1.00 coupon at Walgreens and join Binaca on Facebook.

*Disclaimer:  I received two complimentary packages of Binaca in exchange, I posted my review of the product.  I did not receive any financial compensation.

Valentine's Day Great Gift Idea 1: Chocomize Customized Chocolate Bar Review & $5 Coupon Code

Wonderful News for My Readers!

Chocomize has offered a $5 coupon just for you!

Use Code staying_younger !

Hurry as Valentine's Day is coming and you don't want to miss out!

CONGRATULATIONS

BECCA!

THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO ENTERED AND THANKS TO CHOCOMIZE FOR SPONSORING THIS GIVEAWAY!

Wouldn't it be nice to make your own chocolate with rich, indulging ingredients?  If you don't have the time or just want to try delicious chocolate, you need to visit Chocomize.com to see what they have in store for you!

You choose your base chocolate bar:

• Dark - Their dark chocolate has a robust, well balanced mixture of sweet and bitter flavors. Dark chocolate remains a traditional favorite to European palates. Cocoa content: 56.8%
• Milk - Their milk chocolate has a balanced milk, cocoa and caramel taste. Milk chocolate is the most popular chocolate amongst American palates. Cocoa content: 33.6%
• White - Their white chocolate is characterized by a creamy milk taste. For those looking for a smooth alternative to dark or milk chocolate, this is a great option.  Cocoa content: 28.1%

The starting price is $3.85 for the dark and milk chocolate option and $3.95 for the white chocolate bar.  Each optional added ingredient has its own individual price so pending on what you choose, the cost will be higher than the base bar price.

This is where the fun begins!  After you select the type of chocolate you want, you get to choose from 80 different ingredients to select from with a choice of up to five to personalize your very own chocolate creation at the Creation Station:

• Nuts & Seeds
• Fruits
• Herb & Spices
• Candy
• Decorations
• Other

This chocolate caters to anyone!  If you want to indulge, you can choose from macadamia nuts, butter toasted peanuts to hazelnuts and add in a little coconut.  If you want to stay healthy, flax seed, roasted sunflower seeds and crasisins are good choices.  Seasalt is another option which is becoming a hot topic in the good for you health department.

Each bar is hand made and is delivered to you within days!  They even donate a portion of proceeds to charity.  Chocomize is the creation of three recent college graduates pursuing their passion for chocolate which right there, I'm right there with them!  I also find it nice to see such a desire to succeed with an innovative idea as this.

The children will love the Candy option given the options such as gummi bears, jelly beans, peanut chocolate candy and skittles to just name a few.

Decorations add a nice personalized touch to each bar.  Whether you choose a chocolate butterfly, 23 karat gold flakes or more, you can't go wrong with giving a better personalized gift than a customized chocolate bar!

Sign up for the Chocomize's Chocolate Club and save up to 25%,  The Chocolate of the Month Club can be purchased for three months, six months or one full year. Each month, a new assortment of four chocolate bars will arrive.  Each bar contains four ingredients and no two bars will be the same.  What a great way to try out some tasty creations with an added in surprise!

Follow Chocomize on Twitter, Facebook or check out their RSS feed.  Click HERE for their blog.

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas:

• Give the gift of a Chocolate Club membership and your loved one will be reminded monthly of your love!
• Create a couple of different bars such as the romance bar (shown above) and place in a small basket or nice box with sprinkled red rose petals to compliment the crystalized petals in the chocolate bar.
• Memories of a tropical getaway?  Try creating the Chocomize Tropical Island bar creation, place a couple of your customized bars in a box with a couple of seashells, a bottle of win and you are ready to go.

There are many choices you can create just on the chocolate alone!

The Review:

It was fun creating my bar of whatever ingredients I wanted to choose from and I was amazed at the number of spectucular availabilities!  It took some time to decide as I wanted to check out everything as I think this is really a great idea to select and create your own chocolate masterpiece.  I ended up going with milk chocolate, macadamia nuts and coconut.  I wanted to choose a bar that would not only appeal to my tastes but my oldest as she's the chocolate expert in our house.

As promised on their website, Chocomize delivers quickly to your door!  The bar was well protected and arrived in this elegant packaging that allows the receiver to see the bar and all the amazing ingredients.  I liked the packaging with the nice logo at the bottom which reflects an upscale chocolate product.  The back of the box contains the ingredients, nutrition facts and their quality statement that each bar is handmade to order using only premium ingredients and the finest Belgian chocolate.  I've traveled to many countries for my job and have to say that hands down, I love Belgian chocolate and this bar lives up to the quality, taste and texture expected.

The bar is wrapped in a resealable wrapper which makes it nice to not overindulge.  Whole macadamia nuts were placed throughout the bar and in just about every bite.  There was nothing left out of this delicious tasting bar.  It is truly worth the money and has provides that one of kind, personalized touch to anyone.

I would recommend Chocomize to anyone regardless of the reason.  It's a great treat for yourself, a wonderful way to say you love someone or are thinking of them or just to say thank you.

The Giveaway Package:

• Two personalized bars of your choice made with premium ingredients and the finest Belgian chocolate
• $25 Zazzle Gift Certificate
• Chocolate:  A Love Story Recipe Book (click HERE to see the post)

To Enter (mandatory):


Follow my blog and go to Chocomize and tell me in your entry (via the form), what would be your favorite ingredient to add to your customized chocolate bar.


Extra Entries (worth five entries each):

• Follow Chocomize on Twitter.
• Follow me on Twitter.
• Subscribe to Chocomize's Club Chocomize - worth 10 entries.
• Become a fan of Chocomize on Facebook.
• Subscribe to my blog.
• Tweet this giveaway (can be done daily).
• Blog about this giveaway (can be done daily).

Giveaway ends 1/25/10.


Winner will be selected by random.org.


Please use the form directly below this to enter.  Hit the back button to allow easier entry of multiple entries.  The spreadsheet allows for a quicker identification of the winner.


Valid in the US.


Thanks for entering!

Does Anyone Have Experience ....

with a child that chews on clothes??? 

<-- NOTE Go Colts!

My 2.5 year old constantly chews on her shirts or anything she can get a hold on.  It's disgusting as she's soaks everything and is ruining her clothes with little holes and the fact the clothes get stretched out in an odd way.  I have never experienced this before so I have no idea.  I don't know if she's a nervous child given her two near death medical experiences, her continued medical issues with daily medications or it's just a weird habit. 

She's a very happy child with a HUGE type A personality (i.e. loses temper fast and yells).

Anyone experience this with their children and if so, how did you stop it?

Thanks!

Misikko Professional Styling Tools & Beauty Product Flat Iron Review & Giveaway 2/21 CLOSED

Finding flat irons that work and last is really a hard endeavor.  My daughter and I both have curly hair and have burned through our share of hot irons.  You name it, we've tried it and have learned that you really have to do your research to get a high quality, dependable flat iron if you want longevity and results.  To date, we settled on Chi Flat Iron (Misikko sells) as that was the one iron we could trust to last without burning out fast.  We also are fans of the FHI Flat Irons.

I was very pleased when Misikko offered an opportunity to review a complimentary Hana Professional Flat Iron and provide a giveaway for one of their professional flat irons.

About Misikko:

Misikko is located just outside Philadelphia and has been in business for five years.  Their goal is to provide the newest innovations in the hair and beauty business that delivers high quality results.  They are customer focused enough that if you learn of a new product, they welcome your information.  They even provide assistance if you don't know which product to purchase by either calling or e-mailing them.

The Hana Flat Iron:

This was an amazing hot iron package to recieve.  It comes with a free iron mat and for those of you that have burned counter tops, you will recognize how important this is!   The storage pouch will be a nice feature to travel with and to store it when I'm not using it.  Misikko even provided some cute Valentine's Day freebies and the Hana Shine Shield that protects hair from the heat.   I can definitely say that I was impressed with the product and the delivery of the whole package.  It is obvious that Misikko cares about their customers and goes the extra mile to make each one feel special.

The iron heats up fast and the cool light up blue dial switch is a nice feature that makes you feel it's higher quality if appearance is something you strive for.  My daughter and I both used the Hana Flat Iron and both liked it.  I liked it more than she did as one of the features is it can provide a curl at the ends if you want that.  She thought it was too much curl but I think in time when she gets used to it, she will be able to control the ends better. 

Before and After Pictures

Her hair was brushed in the before picture and it's usually much curlier and it's very thick so it takes her a long time to straighten her hair.  As you can see in the after picture, her hair is smooth and shiny.

For my hair, I usually dry it first to help the straightening process.  I used the Hana Shine Shield first, dried it with a large tooth brush and then used the Hana Flat Iron on it.  I liked how I could easily curl the ends and have not found a flat iron I could do that without having a straight lines through it.  This was very smooth, easy to use and I liked how my hand fit the form fitting handle with ease and how it didn't burn me if I touched the end wrong. 

Recommendation:

Overall, I would highly recommend the Hana Flat Iron for all types of hair since you can control the heat level.  It's high quality, backed by a two year warranty and is easy to use.  The Hana Shine Shield also left my hair soft and shiny.

Additional Information on the Hana Line of Flat Irons:

Hana Salon Professional Flat Irons / Hair Straightener's Goal:

Serious professional flat irons & styling tools without meaningless marketing hype. As the makers of the world's first and only 1 1/2" pure ceramic plate iron, they deliver. The Hana Salon line of Professional flat irons are technologically sublime - the largest and best ceramic ionic heaters (up to 3x standard size), high to pure ceramic content & tourmaline plates, damp to dry versatility & no-compromise manufacturing in Korea. Luxury salon irons at a fraction of the price of similar irons mean high-end styling for everyone! (Plus an impressive 2 Year Warranty.)

More About Misikko:

Misikko offers various specials and break down products by Misikko's Favorites, New Arrivals and Styling on a Budget.  Misikko recognizes that not everyone can afford the high end products so they provided their recommendations where you can still get that great salon look without going broke.

Need a Valentine's Day gift?  Check out a couple of these ideas:

There is a huge variety of ceramic flat irons, hair dryers, curling irons, hair care and makeup and skin care.

Misikko even offers videos and tips on styling, guides and so much more here.



The Giveaway:

A Hana Flat Iron!

To Enter:

Follow my blog and visit Misikko to tell me what other product you would like to try.

Extra Entries (worth five each):

Follow Misikko on Twitter.
Sign up for the Misikko newsletter.
Blog about this giveaway.
Tweet about this giveaway (can be done daily).
Subscribe to my blog.
Follow me on Twitter.
Giveaway ends 2/21 at midnight and winner will be chosen by random.org.

Open to US only please.

Thank you for entering and good luck!

*Disclaimer:  Misikko provided a complimentary Hana Flat Iron in exchange for my review.  Special thanks to Misikko for the opportunity and giveaway.

Dezign with a Z (Wall Decalz) Review

Dezign with a Z offers both home and office wall decals or as they say "decalz."  The first thing that drew me to Dezign with a Z was their website.  It has a cute header of a little girl swinging with hearts and animation.  I thought it was a cute site and I wanted to know more.  They have a huge selection of wall decals to choose from:

• Abstract
• Animals
• Floral
• Characters
• Kids Rooms
• Chalkboards
• Glow in the Dark
• Nature
• Voyage
• Objects
• Bi-colors
• Packs
• Valentines
• Mirrors
• Laptop Skins
• Wall Clocks
• Supersize
• Digital Canvas
• Custom Lettering
• Custom Decals

I had contacted Dezign with a Z to see if I could provide a review of their decals on my blog.  They provided several different decals in exchange for my review.  They arrived perfectly protected in a hard cardboard tube which shows they care about the quality of the decals they send.

If you choose an oversized or larger decal, it would be easier to lay it flat to let the curl up effect go away or lessen.  For the smaller decals, I had no issues with them being rolled up for shipment. 

To apply, you simply place it on a hard surface and use something hard like a credit card.  I ended up using the broken end of a plastic kids hanger that has the little clips to hold clothes.  It worked perfect to rub the side of the decal to ensure the cohesion was present when I removed the paper type side.  After this step, you are ready to apply to the wall.  With the sticky side on the wall, again you use the hard object to rub the decal against the surface of the wall,  This step is very important especially on little lines and shapes.  If you don't get the decal to stick, it could tear when you peel away the sticky paper. 

There is even a video to get you started if you would prefer to see instead of reading the directions here.

The first decals I used were a black tree type print as seen before.  It took just a few minutes to apply but added to the plain boring wall.  This room is an Asian theme so this decal worked perfect.  I probably should have placed the beginning of it better but I like the look and will keep it as is. 

The next set of decals were purple butterflies which fit perfect on my middle one's bedroom walls.  In the picture below, I have the before and after shots again.  The effect adds warmth to the wall without consuming a lot of time nor money.  The best thing about Dezign with a Z decals is they come off!  We will be locating again within a year or less due to the Army so this feature allows us to set up the rooms without spending an arm and a leg.

Dezign with a Z offers room views with the actual decals which is a bonus for me as I like to see the dimensions on a wall as well as get some nice decorating ideas.  The chalkboard decals are appealing and this set up of a train is ideal for bedrooms, classrooms, and more.  You can choose from different sizes and colors and they start at $68 for the set!

This is another one of my favorites and another great component of the Dezign with a Z decaz are you get to choose the color of the decals.  For just $23, you can transform a boring room into an elegant beautiful room without very little effort.

Right now, enter the Zee Winner of the month contest and you could win a $200 gift certificate!  I'd love to get this one.  Just click here to learn more.

With a purchase, you also get a mini surprise decal and currently, there is a Valentine's Day special where ou get a free pack of mini kisses with your order.

I've only had one other experience with wall decals and it was with a set of Hannah Montana one's for my daughter's wall.  The quality does not compare to these and the application process assures me they are of higher quality.  They look great and you can also apply them to other items such as dressers and beds to create a total look as I did above.  I have more decals to put on her room but I wanted to provide an idea on how they look.

Overall, the amazing selection, the inexpensive costs, the actual pictures on the site to get ideas and the quality definitely makes me recommend Dezign with a Z for any project you have. 


*Disclosure:  I received complimentary decals from Dezign with a Z in exchange for my review.  I received no financial compensation and the views written here are of mine.

Bare Escentuals Wants You to Rethink What Matters: Environment

Rethink Your Environment is this week's challenge by BareMinerals with 500 lucky winners instantly winning some BareMineral Blush.

Do you recycle, reuse and look for ways to help the environment or do you believe it's more hype to protect it?  Do you like to surround yourself with others or be alone?  This week's thought provoking questions are geared toward encouraging you to rethink your opinions, thoughts and actions.

Little Black Ant on Park Street by Janet Halfmann Book Review

I had the great pleasure of reading a complimentary copy of one of Janet Halfmann's other books titled Little Skink's Tail and was pleased to be able to review a complimentary copy provided by Janet of her latest book titled Little Black Ant on Park Street. 

Janet is an award winning author of children's books.  With over 30 books to her name, she has an entertaining way of combining educational facts into captivating stories for children.  She pens both fiction and non-fiction to include non-fiction for older children. 

To see a complete collection or to learn more about Janet and her collection of books, visit her home page here.

Product Details:

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
• Hardcover & Softcover 
• Publisher: Soundprints; Har/Com edition (January 31, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1607270056
• ISBN-13: 978-1607270058

Little Black Ant on Park Street is a fact filled story of the life of an ant and how an ant is able to find her way back to the colony.  Janet provides the little reader with a glimpse of what it's like being an ant from searching for food, communicating with one another and how they sense their way around.  The story provides an educational aspect while offering an entertaining story of the main character.

I think it's a wonderful book for those children that like to understand more about biology and especially bugs.  Janet does a superb job in the details of an ant's life while maintaining a fun character for children to get to know.  The back of the book includes more information about ants, a glossary and points of interests.

The illustrations by Kathleen Rietz are beautiful and vibrant and add to the quality of the story.  Simple things such as incorporating the ants retrieval of nectar from aphids is a wonderful way to teach children more about ants.  Little Black Ant on Park Street is part of Soundprints: Smithsonian Institute and was just released this January. 

There are other items you can purchase to enhance the learning value of Little Black Ant on Park Street such as a 6" Little Black Ant toy, hardcover book with CD, a micro book and 6" toy, a micro hardcover book, a paperback book or a paperback book with CD.  For more information, go here: 

I would recommend this book to any child who enjoys nature, bugs or is just curious to learn more.  The book's ability to combine an educational aspect with entertainment is something I look for when reading to my children.  My six year old enjoyed the story of Little Black Ant.

Catch a glimpse at news, press and activities by Janet by clicking here or follow her on Twitter and become a fan of her on Facebook.