1-800-flowers is having a contest “Celebrate Mom For Who She Is Contest”. I've entered my mom and you should too. =)
You can enter your mom in one of 5 categories. Prizes vary by category:
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Over $30,000 in prizes!
Green Thumb Mom:
• Trip for two (2) to New York. Trip includes 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® miles.
• One night accommodation at W Times Square Hotel awarded in the form of a $500 gift card.
• (2) Tickets to Martha Stewart Show in New York City
• (2) Tickets to New York Botanical Garden Event
• Patio set & garden tools from Plow & Hearth, awarded in the form of a $1,500 gift certificate to Plow & Hearth.
• A $1,000 Papyrus gift certificate for fabulous selection of personalized gifts and stationery.
• $500 Gift Card to Lowe’s
Gourmet Mom:
• Trip for two (2) to Philadelphia, PA. Trip includes 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® miles.
• One night accommodation at the Rittenhouse Hotel, a 4 course dinner for two at the acclaimed LaCroix Restaurant and opportunity to meet Chef Levine and breakfast for two.
• Keurig B60 Coffee Maker (Single-Cup Brewer) from Green Mountain includes a variety pack of 24 K-Cups of coffee
• (10) $50 Gift Certificates to Greatfood.com
• $500 Gift Certificate to Cheryl & Co
Planet Friendly Mom:
• A Luxury Included™ Family Vacation for four (4) to any of the four (4) Beaches Resorts located in Turks & Caicos and Jamaica, with three nights luxurious accommodations, unlimited gourmet dining and premium beverages, unlimited land and water sports, daily and nightly entertainment, and daily activities with the Beaches Resorts Caribbean Adventure with Sesame Street, Kids Camps, Crayola® Art Camps, and more for two adults and two children ages 15 years and under.
• Trip includes 140,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® miles that can be redeemed for travel.
• $1,000 1-800-FLOWERS.COM® credit for a Year of Planet Friendly products.
• A $1,000 Papyrus gift certificate for fabulous selection of personalized gifts and stationery
• Green Mountain Coffee – 2lbs of coffee per month for 6 months
Mr. Mom:
• Trip and accommodations for two to Rancho Las Palmas Resort, 4-night / 5 days golf/spa package in Rancho Mirage, California. Package consists of (2) two rounds of golf, (2) two 50-minute spa treatments and (1) one dinner for (2) two.
• Trip includes 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® miles
• $200 Gift Card to Morton’s The Steakhouse
• 12 month snack of the month from The Popcorn Factory
• $500 Fannie May Gift Certificate
Red Carpet Mom:
• Trip and accommodations for two to Rancho Las Palmas Resort , 2-night / 3 day stay at Rancho Las Palmas Resort - in Rancho Mirage, California. Package consists of (2) two rounds of golf or (2) two 50-minute spa treatments.
• Trip includes 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® miles
• $1,000 Bluefly.com gift certificate
• A $1,000 Papyrus gift certificate for fabulous selection of personalized gifts and stationery.
• A basket of Philosophy products:
o Basket includes: hope in a jar facial moisturizer (4 oz.), purity made simple facial cleanser (16 oz.), hope in a tube eye & lip firming cream (.5 oz.), microdelivery peel anti-aging treatment (2-piece set), help me retinol treatment (1 oz.), shelter spf 30 sunscreen(4 oz.), kiss me lip gloss in pink (.5 oz.), begin again shower gelee (24 oz.), Amazing Grace perfumed shower gel (16 oz.), Amazing Grace perfumed body emulsion (16 oz.), Amazing Grace eau de parfum (2 oz.), Amazing Grace perfumed salt scrub (23 oz.)
• $500 SpaFinder.com Gift Certificate
• A $600 1-800-FLOWERS.COM® Gift Certificate for three months of Preston Bailey bouquets - “Florist to the Stars.”
PLUS various other prizes for non-grand prize winners.
This has nothing to do with books...
Raffle of "Pale Immortal"
Go to Amateur de Livre to enter to win a copy of this book. Just leave a comment on the post about this book; that's your entry.
"Little Altars Everywhere" Rebecca Wells
"Little Altars Everywhere" is the first book in a series. The second is "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" which I also have and will read and review at a later date.
The book is broken down into two parts each with there own chapters. The first part takes place in 1960's Louisiana. The second part is 1990's Louisiana and New York. Each of the chapters is from the point of view of a different person. This made the book as a whole feel somewhat disjointed. I enjoyed each story, the book is well written, but I felt somewhat disconnected. The stories are sad, funny, disturbing. It feels more like a book of related short stories than anything else.
Synopsis
The companion to the beloved bestseller Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, here is the funny, heartbreaking, and powerfully insightful tale that first introduced Siddalee, Vivi, their spirited Walker clan, and the indomitable Ya-Yas.
Reading now: "Regency Society Revisited" Susanne Marie Knight (ARC e-book, for Enchanting Reviews) & "Eat, Shoots & Leaves" Lynne Truss (you can find this on my "Possible Short-List" link)
Now here is something interesting
I came across a blog where, to promote his upcoming book tour, an author is making a contest out of giving away ARCs of his book. His name is J. Scott Savage, you can find the specific post here. I read an excerpt of the book and it intrigues me. I love the basic message that he has, "Every one of you has magic inside. All you have to do is start looking for it and eventually you’ll find it."
I have written an e-mail to him to enter to win an ARC of his book. By reading it and reviewing it I will be able to have one sent to a reader of my blog. So, what do you think? Sounds like a fun time!
"The Prometheus Project: Trapped" Douglas E. Richards
Reviewed for Amateur de Livre
“The Prometheus Project: Trapped” by Douglas E. Richards is geared toward middle graders. Obviously, at 32, I’m a little outside that age group, but as a mom of two I think that I can ‘read like a child’ (if that makes sense).
In “Trapped” Ryan and Regan Resnick are forced by their parents to move to
Mr. Richards has a master’s degree in genetic engineering (and business). He is the father of two and wrote Trapped, as well as its sequel Captured, for his children after being unable to find an engaging sci-fi series for this age group.
I highly recommend this book for all middle school libraries. If you have a middle schooler that is into science or sci-fi, buy this book. If you have a reluctant reader who has an interest in science or adventure stories, buy this book.
Mr. Richards is currently working on an adult thriller and another kid’s thriller not set in the Prometheus Project universe. He hopes to write additional Prometheus Project books in the future as well.
Synopsis
This fast-paced science fiction adventure about an underground city built by an advanced alien civilization teaches children about science and technology while engaging their imaginations. Determined to learn why their scientist parents forced them to suddenly move to a boring town in Pennsylvania, Ryan and Regan follow them to work and discover that their parents are really working on a top secret investigation of an underground city. After cracking passwords, dodging barbed wire, and defeating laser beam alarms, they find themselves trapped in the abandoned city and under attack by a swarm of insect-like creatures. While trying to determine the nature of the creatures and how to escape them, scientific concepts such as the immune system, nanotechnology, and black holes are explained and explored.
"The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B." Sandra Gulland
"The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B." by Sandra Gulland is an historical fiction novel with (for me) a bit of a twist. It is written in diary form. At first I wasn't sure about reading a 'journal'. I thought it would feel disjointed, I was wrong. The journal hits all of the highs and lows. The feel is even more 'real' given that Ms. Gulland uses not just the dates and places where the entries were written, but also times of day in some cases and partial/entire letters written to Rose. She was known as Rose before she met, then married, Napoleon; he gave her the name 'Josephine'.
Finding out that she had a different name for her first 32 years was just one of many things that I learned from reading this book. "The Many Lives..." is the first of a series. I will definitely be reading the other two in this series.
Synopsis
In the first volume of a new trilogy that combines meticulously researched history and superb storytelling, Gulland recounts the story of a young Josephine Bonaparte, who is destined to become one of the most sophisticated and powerful women in history.
Another review can be found at:Reading Adventures
Up Next was: "The Prometheus Project: Trapped" by Douglas E. Richards {review coming soon}
"Heart-Shaped Box" Joe Hill
For the first two-thirds of this book, I could only read it during the day. I got creeped out the first night that I was reading "Heart-Shaped Box". Every little noise that I heard was “something coming to get me”. Only one thing kept me from giving this book 5 stars; I don’t feel comfortable recommending “Heart-Shaped Box” to anyone who doesn’t like horror. There is gore.
In the beginning of “Heart-Shaped Box” by Joe Hill heavy-metal rock star Judas Coyne (formerly Justin Cowzynski) is told by his assistant, Danny, of a woman selling a suit online. A suit with the ghost of her dead step-father attached to it. Jude has quite a collection of occult and macabre items, not the least of which is a genuine snuff film given to him by a cop.
I am honestly trying to NOT compare this to any Stephen King book, but I can’t help it. The only other time I was this creeped out by a book was near the end of “Heart in Atlantis” (I kept feeling like someone was sitting on the other side of the bed and then getting up, sitting down, getting up…). I know that Joe Hill is Stephen King’s son, but seriously, comparisons would be made to the “King” of Horror even if that wasn’t the case. If you enjoy horror, you need to check out “Heart-Shaped Box”. I already have “20th Century Ghosts” (book of short stories by Joe Hill) on my WishList on PaperBackSwap.
Synopsis
Sooner or later, the dead catch up . . .
Judas Coyne was a collector. The bizarre, the uncanny, the grotesque. A cookbook for cannibals. A used hangman’s noose. A snuff film. Many of these objects were gifts from the black-clad fans who made his metal band a legend and made him rich.
But not all. When his personal assistant told him there was a ghost for sale on the Internet, Jude knew he had to have it for his private collection, didn’t think twice. He should have. Jude has spent a lifetime evading ghosts -- of an abusive father, of the bandmates he betrayed, of Anna, the suicidal girl he loved and abandoned. But this spirit is different. This one means to chase him to the edge of sanity.
His new acquisition -- delivered to his doorstep in a black heart-shaped box -- is the restless soul of Anna’s vengeful stepdaddy. Craddock McDermott swore he would settle with Jude for ruining his daughter’s life. Soon, everywhere Jude turns, Craddock is there: behind the bedroom door; in Jude’s restored vintage Mustang; outside his window; on his widescreen TV. Waiting -- with a gleaming razor blade on a chain dangling from one bony hand.
If ever there was a case of caveat emptor, this is it . . .
