Sweeter than Birdsong

Sweeter than Birdsong is a new novel that combines hope and faith to create a fantastic historical fiction read. Sweeter than Birdsong is the second book in The Saddler's Legacy by Rosslyn Elliot. This is the first book I have read by Rosslyn Elliot but I was so pleased with it I am planning to go back and read Fairer than Morning, the first book in this series.

This book really focuses around two main characters Kate Winter and Ben Hanby. Kate is a very shy yet beautiful college student. She is the first woman to graduate from Otterbein College and she has many dreams to persue. Mainly she wants to be able to escape from her family's secrets and her overbearing mother. Ben Hanby is a musical genius at Otterbein College and the director of the musical. When he hears Kate sing he is mesmerized by her voice, beauty and shyness. Ben is interested in getting to know her but know he must keep some of his secrets to himself as well. Mainly his work with The Underground Railroad no one can know about.

In the book Ben and Kate are brought together by a terrible tragedy. This accident threatens to expose both of their secrets as well as ruin their dreams. Throughout the book they develop a relationship that grows in trust and strength from God.

The was a beautifully written Civil War novel. In the past I have not been one who has really enjoyed Historical Fiction books. Sweeter than Birdsong ws so descriptive and well written that I actually felt like I was a part of the book. If every Historical Fiction book was as well written as this I think I would really enjoy the genre.

I was provided a copy of this book from Book Sneeze and Thomas Nelson Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Dr. Oetker Pizza

As a Bzzagent I have gotten to try some very fun products. I was so excited when I got invited to the Dr. Oetker pizza campaign. My family and I love pizza, both from a restaurant and frozen. I am always looking for new frozen pizzas to try and this one was a hit. Dr. Oetker pizza has been a favorite in Europe since 1985 and it has finally come to the USA. This pizza has a delicious crispy crust topped with very fresh ingredients for a frozen pizza. There are six flavors and my local Shop Rite actually had all six. The flavors are Mozzarella, Spinach, Funghi (mushroom), Quattro Formaggi, Vegetable, and Speciale (Pepperoni and ham). I have not tried all six yet but I did try three of them. We had the Mozzarella, Speciale and Spinach. I loved all of them as did my husband. My boys loved the spcial and mozzarella but left most of the spinach for us. If you are looking for a new fresh tasting frozen pizza Dr. Oetker would be a good one to try.

If you are not yet a member of Bzzagent and love trying new products you should look into signing up at www.bzzagent.com

January Cravebox

This month's Cravebox was titled The 2012 Vitality Box. This was a great theme for me since my New Years Resolution was to finally shed some of my baby weight. This Cravebox had five products in it. The products were
* Switch2Health S2H STEP Pedometer with points

* Emergen-C vitamin drink mix

* Colavita extra virgin olive oil

* Mereadesso Face and Neck tonig gel

* Prevention Magazine plus a one year subscription

I was very impressed and pleased with this month's box. I love that most of the products they send are fullsize and the value of the boxes well surpass the $10 a month I pay for the box. My favorite product by far was the S2H step pedometer. This was a great product to help me with my New Year's Resolution. It is so easy to clip on and then you just go about your day. The STEP tracks all of my activity and then I easily upload it to earn points.
There is currently a wait list to join Cravebox. If spots open up though I strongly suggest you check it out. I am having so much fun and love getting a little something for myself in the mail each month. www.cravebox.com

Bryton Pick

<a style="display: none;" href="http://www.tomoson.com/?code=TOPf752ebbcee8eb4863e53243f281bc4c6"><span></span></a>

The new Bryton Pick is an amazing product! I am someone who for some reason is always getting food stuck in my teeth .I will try anything to get it out. Yes I am that person you see using a piece of paper to fish food out from between my teeth. Well not anymore with the Bryton Pick. This is so easy for people on the go and you can even use it if you have braces. I love that it can be used multiple times and even comes with a puch that you can carry it it. I keep mine in my purse and pull it out whenever I need it. I gave the second one to my husband and he leaves it in his car.

If you go to www.brytonpick.com there are fabulous directions about how to use the Bryton Pick. You keep your mouth in a smile so you avoid contact with the lip and then gently insert either end of the pick between the teeth. You next slide the pick between the teeth inside out. There is a note on the website for beginners to be careful on papercuts on your lip. I had to laugh when I saw this because I was totally one of those beginners who got a papercut on my lip when I did not follow the directions. Now that I follow them though I am a pro and no more papercuts. After each use you clean the pick with either a napkin, tissue or hot water. Then it is ready to be used again. The Bryton pick is 100% made in the USA and is for people age 10 and up. I highly recommend the Bryton Pick. Visit their website to learn more.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free http://www.tomoson.com/ Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Book Review of Heart of Ice (A Triple Threat Novel) by Lis Wiehl with April Henry

I was recently given the opportunity to review the new book Heart of Ice by Lis Wiehl with April Henry. The Triple Threat series are books about three friends who went to high school together. Allison is a Federal Prosecutor, Cassidy is a news reporter, and Nic is an FBI agent. They work together to solve crimes that occur where they live. Elizabeth is the villain in this new crime novel. She is beautiful, manipulative and a lot more dangerous then people think. This book is filled with action,suspense,arson, and murder as the Triple Threat Club try to solve all the crimes occurring in their town of Portland.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good crime novel filled with suspense. Once I picked it up I could not put it down. Each chapter left you with a little cliff hanger that made me have to keep going. I loved that although the book is a crime novel there was also a lot of everyday happenings that I could relate to. This was the first book I read from the Triple Threat Series and I will definitely be going back to read the others.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

ShopRite Can Can Sale

ShopRite is my favorite grocery store. They always have great sales and I never have a problem finding what I need. Their best sale of the year though is their Can Can Sale. I look forward to this because I can really stock up my pantry. Last year for the 40th year of the Can Can Sale ShopRite donated 40,000 cans of food to local food Pantries. This year is the 41st year of the Can Can Sale and Shop Rite has made it extra special this year.They have a new facebook program called "Cans for Fans" which gives all of you an oppoortunity to help in the fight against hunger. For every facebook fan they get up to 50,000 they will donate one can of food to local foodbanks in the area.
Here is the link for ShopRite's facebook page. Just go to it and click like. The more likes they get the more cans of food that will be donated.
http://on.fb.me/SRFbook

This information was provided to me by ShopRite through MyBlogSpark.

Mommy Parties Sponsored by Oral-B Stages I & II

I was so excited when I found out that I was given the opportunity to host a mommy party sponsored by Oral-B. I feel it is so important to introduce children to brushing their teeth as early as possible. I don't think there is a better way to do this then to have some fun at a party focused on brushing teeth.

The party pack was amazing! It contained 11 Oral-B stage 1 toothbrushes and 11 Oral-B stage 2 toothbrushes. The toothbrushes were so cute with the Winie the Pooh design. There was also 11 Oral-B Stages toothpaste, and bottles of Disney's Winnie the Pooh lavendar wash. To help make the party even better there was the Winnie the Pooh DVD, balloons, popcorn and popcorn holders and so much more.

My guests and I loved that there were different designs on the toothpaste tubes. The ones I received were Cars, Toy Story and Disney Princess. This was a great variety to offer my guests. When the party pack arrived my son was in a phase of not liking any toothpaste that was blue. He only wanted to use red or clear. Well this made it difficult since most toothpaste is blue. When the box came though and he saw Toy Story toothpaste he was over not wanting to use blue. He was so excited that there was Toy Story on it he used it right away and has not stopped!

The party was a huge success. We began the party by having some snacks and playing the flashcard game. The kids loved playing and the moms were very impressed by the quality of the cards and pictures and how much fun the kids had playing the game. We then watched the Winnie the Pooh video. The video was so cute and everyone really enjoyed it. Many of the kids said Pooh Bear was their favorite but there were a few, myself included, who really loved Eeyore. After watching the movie and eating popcorn and snacks we decided to break open the gift bags and give the toothbrushes a try. The gift bags included an Oral-B stage I and stage II toothbrush, Oral-B Stages toothpaste and the Disney Lavendar Wash.

Oral-B Stages is dentists #1 recommended toothbrush brand for children. The stages go from 4 months to 7 years old. Oral-B stage I is for 4-24 months. The toothbrush features baby soft bristles for gentle cleaning. Oral-B stage 2 is for children age 2-4. The toothbrush features a narrow head and a power tip to reach all teeth. There is also stage 2 toothpaste. Finally there is Oral-B stage 3 which is for children age 5-7.
For more information on any of these products and more visit

Thank You Mommy Parties and Oral-B for allowing me to host an amazing party.

* I received this party kit free of charge in order to host this party. All opinions are my own and I received no other form of
monetary compensation.