Great Giveaways!

Christine over at From Dates to Diapers, and beyond! has some great giveaways going on!

Check them out:

~Click here to enter the "Vick's Cares" giveaway, where you could win a Kiehl's Creme de Corps gift pack. Deadline to enter is 9:00pm (PST) on Monday, January 21st.

~Click here to enter the "Real Women, Real Stories!" giveaway, where you could win a $100 American Express Card! Deadline to enter is 9pm (PST) Sunday, January 20th.

~Click here to enter the "Purse Essentials" giveaway, where you can win a wicker gift basket filled with: 50 oz. Tide Pure Essentials, 44 oz. Downy Pure Essentials, 70 Sheet Bounce Pure Essentials, 27 oz. Febreze Fabric Refresher, and a bath towel! Winner will be picked at random at 9:00pm (PST) on the 18th.

The Middle Place Winner

Congratulations to Jennifer from This, That & Another Thing, who has won a copy of The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan.

Jennifer, I'll be emailing you for your contact information and will get the book in the mail to you ASAP.

Thanks to everyone who entered, and thank you to Kelly Corrigan herself for taking the time to comment here!

Keep an eye out for more fun contests to come this week!

Pretzel Crisps Giveaway

Looking for a yummy, low-fat snack can be a challenge for me, especially when my shelves are laden with so many fattening goodies for my kids (who are all thin and need such snacks).

Enter Pretzel Crisps. These are delicious AND healthy. And perfect for when you are in a hurry and need to grab a quick snack for the road, as I often do. With absolutely ZERO trans fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, you won't have to feel guilty about eating them.

Made by the creators of the New York Style Bagel Chip Co., the pretzels are super-thin and super-crispy. They're perfect for dipping (the dip of my choice is the ultra-low fat and healthy hummus dip). Their flat shape makes it easy to spread the topping of your choice on them, too.

Pretzel Crisps come in five different varieties: Original, Everything, Garlic, Honey Mustard & Onion, and Buffalo Wing.

I LOVE these pretzels. But don't take my word for it. Try a bag out for yourself. You can win one by commenting here and letting me know your favorite variety. Deadline to enter is Friday, January 18, 11:59 p.m. Good luck, and happy munching!

The Middle Place Review and Giveaway

Have you ever sat down with a book and wished that you could be best friends with the main character? Me too.

In the case of "The Middle Place," though, the "character" is real. The book is a memoir by Kelly Corrigan and you will want to be her BFF after the first dozen pages.

Kelly is witty, down-to-earth and just plain real. You know that if you were with her, she would be the kind of person who is so secure that she has no problem revealing all her insecurities to you, if that makes any sense.

There were so many "me too" moments in the book. For example, one of my favorite lines, goes like this: "...pull on yesterday's yoga pants (I don’t actually do yoga)….."

See what I mean? Not only admitting that she wore the same pants the day before, but that she doesn't actually do yoga. It was instant platonic love for me!

Some other weird coincidences: her birthday is my son's birthday...August 16. Her father, her hero, is named George. My uncle, my hero, was named George. Her father had cancer, my uncle did, too.

Unfortunately, my uncle did not survive. But I vowed that, if my husband and I ever had another child, and it was a girl, I was going to name her Georgia after my uncle. The author named her first child Georgia after her father. Cue the Twilight Zone music!

You'll find yourself repeating her anecdotes to anyone who will listen. I retold the "Shifty the Snake" story to my kids (three different times...once for each child) and then to my husband, and I was still wanting to find someone else I could tell it to. It was that funny.

That story was yet another "me too" moment as I sort-of-on-accident killed my baby duck when I was a kid (long story).

Unfortunately, I could also relate to "The Middle Place" on a more serious level. The book details Kelly's battle against breast cancer, and her dealing with her father's prostate cancer as well.

Let me be up front in saying that, while I endured all of the first steps that Kelly did (up until her biopsy came back positive for cancer), my tumors ended up being benign. So I won't even claim to know what it's like to actually have cancer.

But as I read the beginning of Kelly's journey, I remembered that agonizing fear. She does such an amazing job of describing what those first steps are like for a woman.

And she does an even better job explaining what cancer is like. For her and her father. By the time you've finished the book, you'll wonder at the fact that not once did you ever feel truly down, or depressed in reading her story.

Kelly has a way of giving you the harsh reality, without making the book "heavy." She uplifts, encourages, and entertains, all with such a serious topic.

And I love the title of the book. "The Middle Place" is all about being a parent, and still being someones child. The love Kelly has for her father, "Greenie," is so clear that it seeps from the pages of her book into your own heart.

You'll find yourself rooting for both of them. And you won't be disappointed.

Note: "The Middle Place" has been chosen as a Booksense pick for January 2008. Booksense is the largest association of independent booksellers in the US. Also, The Middle Place will be profiled in O, The Oprah Winfrey Magazine's January issue, on newsstands now!

Want to win a copy of "The Middle Place?" Just leave a comment here to be entered. I'm giving away my ARC edition to one lucky winner. Deadline to enter is 11:59 p.m., Monday, January 14. Good luck!

Extended Holiday

Hi Everyone!

I know I promised more giveaways and reviews in the new year, but unfortunately, I have been battling a very nasty virus that refuses to die. I also lost my Internet connection for several days and my laptop is permanently shot (my husband is working on replacing my hard drive).

All of this has kept me off kilter and I haven't been able to start things back up the way I'd planned. I appreciate your ongoing patience!

I promise that as soon as things get rolling, you're going to LOVE what I have to giveaway here! So stay tuned and hang in there. It'll be worth the wait!

My plan is to get the first review/giveaway up by Monday, so be sure to check back. Thanks! :)