BlogSpark Review - Betty Crocker Loaded Mashed Potatoes

My family loves mashed potatoes. Until now, I’ve always made them from scratch. The results are delicious, but the process is a bit time-consuming.

MyBlog Spark just sent me a package of the new Betty Crocker Loaded Mashed Potatoes, which can be prepared in just 8 minutes. They also sent me some fun kitchen tools--a mixing bowl, a magnetic hanging pot holder, silicone spoonula, and measuring cup.

Here are my impressions:

1. This side dish was very quick and easy to prepare.

2. Emily loved them. She said, “Mom, these are so creamy!”

3. I really enjoyed the “loaded” variety. The flavors of cheese, bacon, chives, and sour cream were excellent and reminded me of a loaded baked potato.

4. I still prefer the flavor and texture of homemade mashed potatoes, but thought this was a good substitute for when I want to save time.

Would you like a coupon to try Betty Crocker Loaded Mashed potatoes? Just click the above link to save $0.55.

Giveaway:

Would you like to try this product? To win a prize pack that includes a box of new Betty Crocker "Loaded Mashed" potatoes, a mixing bowl, a magnetic hanging pot holder, silicone spoonula, and measuring cup, just leave a comment telling me which of your favorite foods you would eat with loaded mashed potatoes. I’ll choose a winner using random.org on April 18.

For additional entries (leave a comment for each):

1. Follow Debbie’s Homeschool Corner on Google Friend Connect.

2. Follow Super Star Speech on Facebook.

3. Spread the news about this giveaway in any way—Facebook, blog, etc.

4. Follow Betty Crocker on Facebook to keep up with the latest news on Betty Crocker favorites.

This product, prize pack, and giveaway package were all provided by Betty Crocker through MyBlogSpark. I was not required to write a review and all opinions are my own.

Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies

Have you heard about the new “Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies” site? They’ll be offering giveaways of homeschooling items. Upcoming giveaways include a Mystery of History Complete Set and Horizons Math Curriculum! Sign up for their email list to receive notifications of each contest!

   

Getting Ready for Spring

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pier 1 for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

The beautiful spring weather we've been having has given me the urge to get out in the yard and fix things up for summer. I've been clearing out gardens in preparation for planting and scraping the deck, which I hope to get stained in the next month. We're fortunate to have a large deck surrounded by trees, so it's a nice place to relax as the weather warms up. I really want our deck to feel like an extension of our home, another "room."

I've been browsing through Pier 1 's outdoor furniture selection and finding some lovely pieces. If I had a screened in porch, I would LOVE to have a couple these wicker rockers with a side table. I think they'd be really nice in my bedroom, too.

 

 

We have a table and chairs for our deck that I'm happy with, but these reversible Scatter Daisy cushions and throw pillows would really brighten them up--something else for my wish list! Aren't they pretty?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love that so many of the pieces could actually be used indoors or out.

We're all familiar with the papasan chairs that are so common in dorm rooms or first homes. Pier 1 has actually been selling them since 1962!  I think my daughter would love one in her bedroom to snuggle up and read in.

 

 

 

Do you live in the Atlanta or New York City areas? If so, you may want to take part in the  Pier 1 Tweetups  that are happening there next month. I looked at the photos from one they had a few months ago--It looked like quite a fun gathering of bloggers (with lots of door prizes)!

Spring!

I love spring! Although it has been cold and rainy this week, we had an early spring this year, with several weeks of temperatures in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. I took these pictures a few weeks ago when they first started to bloom.

Super Star Speech Facebook Giveaway

Would you like a chance to win a free Super Star Speech e-book? Just leave a comment on the Super Star Speech Facebook page, telling me which of the four books you would choose. These speech therapy materials are described in detail on my website. Contest ends on April 8.

Winning Him Without Words (Winner)

The winner of the Winning Him Without Words giveaway is Julie Marie. Congratulations!

Mine is the Night (Review)

Info  PR: n/a Links: 12|3 Density

I read Liz Curtis Higgs’ Here Burns My Candle several months ago and have been eagerly awaiting the sequel, Mine is the Night. Both books are set in 18th century Scotland and parallel the Biblical book of Ruth.
Mine is the Night begins as Elisabeth Kerr and her mother-in-law, Marjory, arrive in Marjory’s hometown of Selkirk, having recently lost their wealth, home, and husbands. The women have nowhere else to go, but hope to find a new home and a welcome here. Although further hardship and rejection await them, both have come to rely on God for their security rather than earthly treasures, and this helps to sustain them through their struggles.
This book easily met my expectations. In fact, this 450 page book was hard to put down! I kept reading “just one more chapter!” I loved the characters and the multiple twists and turns in the plot that not-so-coincidentally included many elements of the Ruth and Naomi story. I also enjoyed learning about British history against the backdrop of the Jacobite rebellion. The Scottish words scattered throughout the text added to the realism of the setting.
Although Mine is the Night is a sequel, I think it would stand well alone if you haven’t read the first book in the series yet. You can read the first chapter of Mine is the Night here or buy it at christianbook.com or many other distributors.
Don’t miss the Live Video Event with Liz Curtis Higgs on April 5. She’ll tell you about it here…

I received a free review copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah as part of their Blogging for Books program.

Kindle and Homeschooling

As of last week, I am now a Kindle owner. For me, this was a bit of an impulse purchase—normally, I research large purchases for months, but I had  over $100 of Staples Rewards that I needed to use, and nothing that I especially needed. I did some quick research on the Kindle and decided that this was something I would make good use of.

So…I’ve spent the past several days learning the features of this cool gadget and finding sources of free books. I’ve found quite a few classic children’s books already in addition to books for myself and now I’m starting to wonder how I can make good use of the Kindle in our home school in addition to using it for my personal reading.

At Amazon free Kindle books, thus far, I’ve found:

ESV Bible: I think it’s a bit slower to find a passage than in a paper Bible, but I did discover that by using “Go to…Index,”  one can type in the reference, such as Jn 3 16, to hop directly to a particular verse. It’s almost as fast to pick the book from the Table of Contents, then navigate to the desired chapter. A feature I love is the “search.” I typed in “waiting,” and was immediately shown all 144 passages pertaining to waiting—much faster than using a concordance! This isn’t my favorite translation, but the price is right!

I also love the ability to highlight passages, which are then saved in the “notes” for that book.

Bobbsey Twins books

Thornton Burgess books: I grew up enjoying this series of animal books and my children have, too. Unfortunately, the pictures aren’t included.

Other classics, such as Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, The Railway Children, The Secret Garden, Wizard of Oz, etc.

Since the Kindle can read PDF files, I’ve experimented with uploading many of the e-books I have on my computer. Many of these are still unread because I just don’t find it relaxing to read on the computer.  I’ve discovered that many of these books are readable on the Kindle, especially if I change my Kindle screen rotation to “landscape.” The print is just too small to read on some PDF e-books, though. Those that are formatted in two columns are not readable due to the tiny font size. (So if you are publishing pdf books, please make them single column with a larger font for Kindle readers!)

Do you use a Kindle in your schooling? Do you have any great resources to suggest? Any great sources for books? I’d love to hear any tricks and tips that have worked for you!

BigIQKids.com Membership Giveaway/Contest

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of BigIQkids for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Are you looking for a fun way for your child to practice for his or her weekly spelling test?

BigIQKids.com is an online educational game site for grades K-8 that allows children to practice academic skills in four areas. The basic site is free and includes math, vocabulary, US state, and spelling games.  The vocabulary program and spelling program provide lessons for first grade through adult, while the math program focuses on basic math facts.  The site even allows you to input your own words for your child to prepare for a spelling test  for any curriculum.

I've browsed through BigIQKids and it looks like a fun and educational site. I plan to have Emily try out some of the games next week.

Although all the games at BigIQKids.com are free to play, a Premium Membership includes automatic advancement around student’s proficiency, advanced student tracking, automatic progress emails, customized BigIQ Buddy, Full Game Page access, and more… A Premium Membership usually costs $99.99 (Individual) to $299.99 (classroom) per year, but you can enter to win a FREE one year membership!

How to Enter?

Join one or all of our BigIQkids Newsletter, Facebook, Twitter or BigIQkids Blog. Four names will be selected each week. One member will be randomly selected from EACH of our BigIQkids’ Facebook, Twitter, BigIQkids Newsletter and BigIQKids Blog accounts! Join once and you’ll have a chance of winning each week. Join ALL four and quadruple your chances of winning. GOOD LUCK!

Winning Him Without Words (Giveaway and Review)

I’ve been reading a wonderful book, Winning Him Without Words by Lynn Donovan and Dineen Miller. If you are in a spiritually unmatched marriage, you will find this book to be packed with comfort, encouragement and purpose. Actually, I think it’s worthwhile reading for anyone—the authors’ admonition that living one’s faith is more important than speaking it, speaking words that bring about healing, and expecting God to act (while waiting patiently) are valuable lessons in many situations.

I have an extra copy of this book to give away. If you are in a “spiritually mismatched” marriage or know someone who is, please enter the giveaway and/or visit the author’s site to learn more! You will be blessed by this book!

 

Winning Him Without Words
10 Keys to Thriving in Your Spiritually Mismatched Marriage

Week after week, they sit in church . . . alone. They are the spiritually mismatched, those who are committed to a spouse who does not share their faith. Feeling abandoned by their spouse and forgotten by their church, they live out their faith in survival mode, guarding the spiritual flame yet never feeling free to share it. But God wants them to thrive—not just survive.

Winning Him Without Words by Lynn Donovan and Dineen Miller presents 10 Christ-centered keys to thriving in a spiritual mismatch. Readers are encouraged to commit to Christian community, to release their spouse to God’s capable hands, to believe their marriage is blessed, to pick and choose their battles, and to continue their pursuit of a growing faith and to love their spouse with fresh enthusiasm.

“It matters not how we came to be in our crazy, mixed-up and unexpected marriage situations. What matters is that God desires that we honor our marriage commitment and fulfill our marriage vows through His power and His strength,” says Miller. “There were many years of confusion, sadness and unfulfilled expectations, but I discovered it’s possible to love, live and thrive in an unequally yoked marriage.”

Both Lynn and Dineen are Christian women in spiritually unequally yoked marriages, but believe that God wants every marriage to exude peace and love. Chapters include:

• Know You’re Not Alone: (Lynn) Recognizing that we aren’t the only person living in an unequally yoked marriage is a key aspect to restoring hope. Having Christ in our lives enables us to view our husbands as the wonderful man God created, regardless of your different beliefs.
• Don’t Save Your Husband – Save Yourself: (Lynn) The best thing I ever did was to get out of the way so that Jesus could be Jesus. I relinquished control and turned my man completely over to Christ and an unexpected, peaceful freedom emerged in our marriage.
• Trade Perfection for Authenticity: (Dineen) I came to understand that many of my disappointments had come from expectations I’d placed upon him to fulfill needs he wasn’t even aware of. In the end, all I really accomplished was a heart full of resentment.
• Keep Your Armor On-You’re at War! (Dineen) Instead of putting on the label of martyr in a spiritually mismatched marriage, we need to put on the label of missionaries. We need to think of ourselves as soldiers on the front lines of our marriages.

Other chapters include parenting children in an unequally yoked marriage, praying into the life of your spouse and scriptures to encourage and strengthen you. Winning Him Without Words empowers readers to create that environment in their homes and thrive as God works. The official website is www.winninghimwithoutwords.com

About Winning Him Without Words:
Winning Him Without Words: 10 Keys to Thriving in Your Spiritually Mismatched Marriage by Lynn Donovan and Dineen Miller. Published by Regal Books. February 2011. Trade Paper, 224 pages. $14.99. ISBN: 978-08307-5605

LYNN DONOVAN writes for the online ministry she founded in 2006, Spiritually Unequal Marriage. Lynn is a popular Bible study leader and national speaker who dispels the myths women believe about love and marriage and points them to the freedom that is theirs through a living relationship with Christ. She lives in Temecula, California, with her husband, Mike.

DINEEN MILLER has won several prestigious awards for her fiction, and her devotional writing has been featured in Our Journey and Christian Women Online Magazine. In addition to writing for Spiritually Unequal Marriage, Dineen writes for Laced with Grace and various other fiction online magazines and newsletters. Married for more than 23 years, she shares her life with a great guy who adores disc golf and their two daughters, who never stops surprising her with their own creativity.

To read more or to purchase Winning Him Without Words, visit the author’s site.

GIVEAWAY:

The authors have given me an extra copy of this book to give away. To enter, just leave a comment. I’ll pick a winner using random.org on March 26.

For extra entries:

1. Follow the Spiritually Unequal Marriages blog.

2. Follow me on Google Friend Connect.

3. Leave a comment on my Super Star Speech blog.

Epcot Flower and Garden Festival

This is a Destination Disney post. Visit Reviews and Reflections to read more tips about visiting Disney during the Flower and Garden Festival!

Disney World is always a beautiful place, but never more so than at Epcot during the annual Flower and Garden Festival, which is going on right now. We especially love all the extra topiaries. Here are a few pictures from our May, 2005 trip.

Every night, they have Flower Power concerts near the American Adventure attraction. I dragged the whole family with me to hear B.J. Thomas. I enjoyed the concert, but I don’t think my teens could get over his “socks and sandals” attire and “how old he was!”