CSN Stores Review Amazing Duvet Cover!

I was lucky enough to work with CSN Stores again and I got an amazing duvet cover.  The Wildon Home 400 Thread Count Hem Stitch Solid Sateen Duvet Cover Set  has exceeded my expectations in every way!

It's 400 thread count cotton sateen and it feels like heaven!

This is the detail around the duvet cover and the matching pillow shams that are included.  The color I chose was Willow, & it's beautiful.

I'm happy to say that there are buttons on the bottom.  I've had duvet covers with both snaps and velcro and both of those disappointed me.  These buttons arent's huge and are nicely spaced across the bottom to keep your comforter securely in place.

I'm glad to report that it washes up well, which we need with a dog & 2 cats sleeping on our bed with us.

My husband has raved about this duvet cover since it arrived.  I honestly both think we get a better nice sleep with this on our down comforter. 

Oops, I almost forgot to mention the beautiful pillow shams that came with the duvet cover.  An extra added bonus!

See by Mary Beth Chapman, co-authored by Ellen Vaughn

I was contacted by Revell books and sent a copy of the amazing book Chooseing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope by Mary Beth Chapman and Ellen Vaughn.

Here's what Revell has to say about it.

Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope by Mary Beth Chapman, wife of Christian music artist Steven Curtis Chapman, and co-authored by Ellen Vaughn. In this compelling book, Mary Beth shares a clear message of hope, in spite of her struggles with disappointment, tragedy and grief. Mary Beth’s first-hand story will have you alternately laughing and crying and wishing you lived next-door to the Chapmans.

This book is not an easy book to read, yet I didn't set it down until I had finished it in one setting.  We have very close friends who lost their daughter 2 years ago and as a mother myself the sheer honesty about the raw pain they felt is stunning.  I read most of this book through tears, but it is just an amazing book. 

Not only did the Chapmans lose their daugter, but it was in an accident involving their teenage son, who was driving. 

The faith the Chapman family has and the way they have loved each other & been loved by the Christian community is awe inspiring. 

I really don't think I can honestly convey how moving this book is, I'm actually somewhat at a loss for words on how good it was.  How much anyone who lives in God, doubts God or is unsure of God can actually see faith revealed on the pages of this book. There but for the Grace of God go I.

But this is not just a book of tragedy, it is also a book of celebration of life, family & God.  Head out & pick this one up, you will not be sorry.

The Faith Dare Book Review

I am lucky enough to be able to review books for Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. I have to say that due to my recent hospitalization this review is late, but this book is amazing.

Here's a description:

Dare to live out your faith like never before! In The Faith Dare, Debbie Alsdorf encourages women to take her 30-day challenge to cultivate a passionate relationship with God. If you take her on, each day you'll be given a "daily dare" to help you develop a godly habit. The book includes a study guide, daily readings, affirmations, and challenges. Discover what a difference 30 days can make!

Subtitled 30 Days To Live Your Life To The Fullest, this book help those of us who are believers do just that. Debbie Alsdorf had me underlining passages at 3 pages in. I just saw so much of myself in this book and found so many ways to apply it to my life.

The book is designed to be read in 30 days, but I kept going back & going over things that spoke to me that I ended up reading for longer than 30 days. I still refer back to it all the time.

The book starts out by outlining what you should plan to accomplish & then gives you the tools to make real changes.

Each individual day starts out with a prayer/praise for the day, followed by something called Today's Truth. Next is Today's Dare and then room and prompts for journaling about what you've learned and ends with a prayer.

Each day's reading is only a few pages long making easy to fit into a busy schedule. I found this book really moving & it really helped me grow & feel closer to God & closer to who I would like to be as a woman.

This book is available now at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Pick it up, you really won't be sorry.

Perfectly Dateless, Kristin Billerbeck

Publisher's Copy:
Daisy Crispin has 242 days to find the right date for the prom. There’s only one problem–her parents won’t let her date or even talk to a guy on the phone. Oh, and she’s totally invisible at school, has to wear lame homemade clothes, and has no social skills. Okay, so maybe there’s more than one problem.

Can she talk her parents into letting her go to the prom? Or will they succeed at their obvious attempt to completely ruin her life?

Perfectly Dateless is hilarious, shocking, and totally real. You'll fall in love with Daisy’s sharp wit and resourcefulness as she navigates the world of boys, fashion, family, and friendship.

My review:

This book is a great Chrisitan Young Adult read. Not only do you get the crazy family and friends, but Billerbeck also let's us see into the reasons behind why the characters do what they do.

As Daisy's list of potential prom dates grows shorter, her wisdom & confidence grow a little bigger. Any teen girl would love to read this book!

Kristin is a successful "chick-lit" author & her foray into YA books does not dissapoint.

Available July 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

CSNStores.Com Giveaway!

I'm so excited to finally bring you this review & giveaway from CSN stores. If you're unfamiliar with CSN they carry everything from cribs to housewares. Trust me, if it's for sale, you can get it through one of the online CSN stores.

They sent me this super sun-shiney lemon colored Reston Lloyd Calypso Basic 3 qt. colander. I absolutely adore it!

Here's what the CSNStores.Com has to take about this colander.

"This 3 quart colander is made of enamel on steel with stainless steel rim and handles. Great for straining or simply displaying fruit on the table, this fun colored colander will draw attention to your kitchen. Make a statement in your home with this Calypso Colander by Reston Lloyd. Features:

•Enamel on steel
•Stainless steel rim and handles
•Hand wash only"

This colander comes in an astonishing 14 colors so that you can match it to any decor. They also have a complete line of coordinating pieces that you can add as you see fit.

Here's a shot of it with a regular sized coffee can so you can get some perspective on it's size.



This is the perfect size for family style pasta or just draining a pound of ground round. When it's not in use here I fill it with some fresh fruit & leave it out on the counter. The holes in the colander allow air to circulate around your fruit keeping it fresh and it looks great.

I have no pictures of this as everytime I have brought fruit home & put it in here it gets gobbled up, but that's a good thing, right?

CSNStores.com has been generous enough to offer one of my readers their own Reston Lloyd 3 quart colander in the color of their choice.

How to enter:

Required entry: Click here to see all of the great colors, pick the one that you would like to see in your kitchen & then come back here & tell me what color you choose. (No other entries will count if you do not complete this one.)

Extra entries: (leave additional comment for each extra entry)

Be a follower of Screaming Mimi - 1 entry

Show my button on your side bar - 1 entry

Post about this giveaway on your blog - 2 entries

Tweet the giveaway- may be done once daily - 1 entry (leave direct url to tweet) copy and paste the following:

Enter to win an Reston Lloyd 3 qt. colander - 15 colors to choose from @ Screaming Mimi Blog: http://bit.ly/bvK1Zv

This contest is open the residents of the United States & Canada only.

Entries will be closed at midnight on Friday, June 18th at midnight EST.

*If I can't contact you through a blog, make sure I have an e-mail address in the comments where I can reach you.

Winner will be drawn Saturday June 19th and winner will be notified. If I do not hear back from that winner within 48 hours, I will choose another name.

Winners will be picked by random.org.

Happy looking!

Hop over & check out the Round Robin today at Keeping Up With The Schultz Family!

Great Giveaway Coming Up!

I'm excited to announce that I'm going to be hosting a review and giveaway from CSN stores. If you're unfamiliar with CSN they carry everything from cribs to housewares. Trust me, if it's for sale, you can get it through one of the online CSN stores.

I picked this adorable Reston Lloyd lemon yellow colander.

It's so sunny and happy, I can't wait to get it! And even better once I get mine, you'll have a chance to win one for yourselves!

I hope you all had a fun, relaxing & loving Mother's Day!

Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce ~ Review & Giveaway

I've been lucky enough to work with Al Malekovic of Coutry Bob's All Purpose Sauce for the past several months. Screaming Mimi readers know that I have a husband and 2 teenage boys. Added to that mix is John's girlfriend Leighanne. What do all these people have in common? They love sauce on their food. Ranch dressing, BBQ sauce, sweet & sour sauce, if I cook it they put sauce on it.

I can say honestly & without reservation that Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce has just about replaced all other sauces in our house. Above is Chris putting Country Bob's on a freezer pizza. Just so you don't think I always make my family eat freezer food, here's Chris putting Country Bob's on take out pizza.

O.K. we do eat real food around here. Here's some yummy pork.

Country Bob's brochure says:

How does anything really good get its start? Where do great products come from? Usually they are the result of much time being exerted and tremendous amount of love being invested. At that point you can say, "That's mine! I made that." That's the way Country Bob Edson created his All Purpose Sauce.

They also list Christ as their CEO.

At our house it goes on everything from burgers to eggs. A little sauce on the burger isn't quite good enough. You have to keep the bottle with you to put some on every bite!

If you open my fridge at any give time you will see this. A bowl of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce for dipping.

In addition to their All Purpose Sauce, Country Bob's also has a spicy version, seasoning salt, barbeque sauce and a cookbook filled with great recipes.

To find some for yourself go to www.CountryBobs.com or if you're a United States resident leave me a comment here. Two lucky Screaming Mimi readers will win 2 bottles of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce apiece.

If you're a follower of this blog leave 2 additional comments for a total of 3 possible entries.

Giveaway ends Saturday, May 1st. Make sure you have a way for me to reach you if you win and again this giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

Book Review: Swinging On A Star

Swinging On A Star by Janice Thompson

Anyone who knows me knows that I read voraciously, which is why I love having the opportunity to review books for Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Swinging On A Star is the second in the Weddings by Bella series, written by Janice Thompson. Bella Rossi is taking over her familys wedding planning business. I planned and ran weddings for about 5 years at a hotel, so this made it even more fun for me.

The fairy tale wedding that Bella is planning has a requires the building of a castle and it's own Hollywood certified Prince slash hottest available movies star as it's best man. Bella's family is full of characters that are hilarious and loveable, but never too over the top.

The thing that really got me about Swinging On A Star is it's underlying Christian theme. It's part of the core of this book, but not in a way that knocks you over the head. This is a great book that that will take you away and leave you wanting more.

Swinging On A Star is available now at your favoritebookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Check it out & tell 'em Mimi sent ya!

50 Ways to Feel Great Today

I recently had the opportunity to review "50 Ways to Feel Great Today", written by David B. Beibel, James E. Dill & Bobbie Dill.

Any of you who follow my blog know that this has been a hard few months for me. I can't tell you how many times I've picked up this book and found something that worked for me, right then & there.

Subtitled "Keys to Beating Stress, Worry and the Blues" the back cover states:

50 Ways to Feel Great Today offers medically and scientifically sound advice for giving a blah mood the boot. These time-tested ideas are simple and often no cost. While no "happy" pill exists, the activities in the book let you become your own helping hand.

Including everything from "Feed Your Spirit", to "Name That Feeling Before it Becomes a Mood" and even just "Get a Massage" or " Pamper Yourself", "50 Ways To Feel Great Today"
gives real life examples from real people, reasons why these ideas work and tells you how you can incorporate these ideas into your life.

By not professing to be a book that will solve all your problems, "50 Ways To Feel Great Today", provides real life strategies for altering your mood and your mindset.

I'm passing my copy on to my mom who's still recovering from her breast cancer surgery. Pick one up for yourself, I can promise that you won't be sorry you did.

Heart Keychain Giveaway!

I was lucky enough to be contacted by WholesaleKeychain.com to review and give away some of their heart keychains.

After looking over their site I chose the Metal Heart Keychain for myself. I was able to have it engraved & I came up with the oh-so-original "Forever" to have put on my keychain. I have to tell you this is really a quality item.

I took some pictures of it to show you, but disregard the reflection in the pics, it's hard to take photos of something so shiny and nice!







The heart itself is heavy and feels nice in your hand (I'm probably the only one who thinks of weird stuff like that, but hey, that's why I'm me!) The red leather sets it off nicely and it is really something that looks like it costs much more than it does.

Now for the fun part for you! WholesaleKeychain.com is allowing me to give away keychains to three of my readers! And you don't have to get the same keychain I did, they are offering a choice of 5 different styles to choose from. They are:

Broken Heart Keychain

Photo Frame Keychain

Metal Heart Keychain

Crystal Heart Keychain

Heart Keychain Charm

Now for the details. Click on the links above and leave a comment telling me which of the keychains you would like if you're one of my winners.

Entries will close on February 13, 2010 and I'll announce the winners on Valentines day. Please make sure you comment has a way for me to contact you if you are one of the lucky winners.

If you see a different keychain that you like and it doesn't happen to be one of the heart keychains WholesaleKeychain.com is offering a discount to all Screaming Mimi readers! Just enter coupon code vday2010 to receive 10% off of you entire order. That discount code expires February 16th, 2010.

Jumpstart Escape from Adventure Island Review & Contest

I'm so excited to be able to tell you about the newest Wii game for kids, JumpStart Escape from Adventure Island. They're also holding a great contest, details about that are at the bottom of the page. I've had the opportunity to review for JumpStart before and their games are truly fun and educational with adorable characters.

Here's what JumpStart has to say about the game: Escape from Adventure Island is designed for children between the ages of 5-9. It’s an action-packed game that invites players to use their explorer skills and brain power to find a way to escape the mysterious island that they crashed landed on. As players race to collect the pieces needed to repair their blimp, they will navigate 3D worlds both above and below the water. Along the way, players will practice over 150 math, reading, and critical thinking skills all while having fun!

This game starts out cute Punk Punk creature that pops up to look at you from the Wii start menu.

Once you start the game you get to make your own Jumpee person with tons of choices for eyes, smiles, skin tone and all kinds of clothes. My testers loved making their Jumpee as goofee as possible. Next we made a tree house with a polka dotted roof!

We danced a little at the Foot Frenzy shack

and then headed over to my testers favorite part, the Goon Lagoon where we got to squash Punk Punks.

Once we were worn out we headed to the Scuba Hub where the kids has just as much fun practicing math skills at Manta Ray as they did in the Secret Caverns finding missing items.

We practiced reading with Bubble Trouble and then we finished with a Fashion Show before lunchtime.

This game was a blast for my testers, the sound and the graphics are awesome and I really couldn't find one thing that they didn't like.

Here's the information about this huge contest:

The contest will be live from 11/2/09 to 11/16/09.
Each person will be allowed two entries into the contest (details on contest page)

The theme of the contest is “Time to Escape!”

We want to hear how your family uses imagination to escape the everyday and turn life into an adventure! Tell us your story for a chance to win.

Prizes
50 winners will receive a copy of JumpStart Escape From Adventure Island
3 GRAND PRIZE WINNERS will receive a family Escape Pack (over $1000 value)!
1 Nintendo Wii Console
1 copy of JumpStart Escape From Adventure Island
$250 in spa gift certificates
1 JumpStart branded flip camera
3 lifetime JumpStart memberships (1 for winner, 2 to share)
500 virtual coins for JumpStart.com
4 JumpStart pirate hats & 4 JumpStart kids T-shirts

Hop on over to JumpStart to enter to win one of these great prizes!

*Thank you to JumpStart for providing me with a copy of Escape from Adventure Island to review.