Winners!!

Hello all,

Here are my winners from my 10/11 contests:

The Novica E-certificate winner was #3: Congratulations Karen!

The Start Here Book Winner was also #3: Congratulations Cosmopolitan Kids!

There were no Entries for Forget Me Not by Vicki Hinze (too bad this was a GREAT book).  I'll be donating the book to my local library! 

Thanks to all who entered and congrats to the winners!  Look out for an email from me!

Love and Blessings!
Margaret

Working Moms - Kids Turn out OK

Not that I need an article to tell me that as I have two AWESOME children, but it's a breath of fresh air to see an article supporting working moms.  I didn't have a choice to stay home or go back. Even if I did, I'm not completely sure I would have stayed home.  I love that my job is flexible enough to be able to be there for my children, yet contribute to my household. Anyway, here is the article:

http://healthland.time.com/2010/10/18/working-moms-kids-turn-out-fine-50-years-of-research-says/?hpt=T2

What are your thoughts on this article?

Love and Blessings!
Margaret

Book Review: Stolen by Jordan Gray

Stolen by Jordan Gray

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


About the book:
A cozy English seaside town built on secrets and smugglers, Blackpool is a haven for tourists and home to generations of locals who like their privacy. American Molly Graham and her British husband, Michael, are considered outsiders, but feel irresistibly drawn to this town…and its darker curiosities. Because Blackpool harbors dangerous mysteries.

And murder is just the beginning….

A shattering scream outside the old theater leads to the victim, a woman whose past in Blackpool is linked to a seventy-year-old train wreck, a lost child and a cache of valuable paintings smuggled out of London during World War II. After a number of frustrating missteps, can Molly and Michael discover the killer in their midst? In Blackpool they know secrets run deep. And some want them hidden forever—at any cost.


My Review:

Surprisingly, I enjoyed this book!  I say surprisingly because I saw it was a Harlequin and I gave up on romance novels a while ago! But this book made me rethink banning all Harlequin books.  I like this new direction.  It was an interesting twist as it combined a little romance, a little tech speak and a LOT of mystery. I thought it was interesting also, that Harlequin teamed up with Big Fish Games for this novel.  I'd be interested to see how that plays into the other books.

Overall, I thought the story was good.  I kept guessing on whodun'it and in the end I was very wrong! LOL! It kept me interested throughout the book and I loved the ending.  My only caveat is that I thought the character's could have been developed further.  I mean I like when they tell me the color of her hair or the shape of his eyes, you know stuff like that so you get to know the characters like friends.  But overall it was a good read, a great start to the series!


Disclamer: I was provided a copy of this book as a giveaway on Twitter Moms with the promise that I would review it.  All opinions expressed are my own and I received no other compensation!

Love and Blessings!
Margaret



View all my reviews

CLOSED - Winners, Renovations and CSN giveaway!

Hello everyone!

Thanks to all of you who entered my October 11 giveaways!  They have ended now and I will be announcing the winners in the next day or so.  I'm a bit MIA because I'm getting ready for a local vendor show on Friday afternoon (Yaay!).   It's been a while since I've done one so I'm excited!

At the same time, I've been making a "honey do list" for my hubby.  We're doing some renovations in our kitchen and the two bathrooms.  Just mainly painting and stuff.  But I had a really weird idea, tell me what you think.

My kids are not great about cleaning up after themselves when they eat. So I was trying to think of some ideas on what to do, and I think the best thing to do is have them eat in the kitchen. Now I don't have a big enough kitchen for an island, but I was wondering if any of you just keep bar stool or two on hand so they can eat at the kitchen counter.  Does anyone do this? I figured at least they would be right by the sink, LOL!!

So anyway, in my search for bar stools (and purses and beds and bedding) I came across CSN stores.  Man they have some really cool stuff there!  I'm really eyeing this platform bed!

But I digress!  I would like to spruce up my kitchen a bit and cut down on the mess in my dining room, so I was wondering about this bar stool.  They don't have a cushion but they are nice and curved for the bottom.  What do you think?

I really like this stool,  it's small enough to be portable but pretty enough to leave out in the kitchen.  HMM, I'll have to show it to hubby!

How would YOU like the opportunity to spruce up your place? 

CSN has generously offered me a chance to do a giveaway for a $35 gift card to their site.  You don't need furniture? No problem!  They have over 200 stores for you to choose from!  You can find pretty much anything you need from the bar stool like the one I linked above to beautiful purses and even toys!

Here's what you need to do:

Mandatory: Go to the CSN store of your choice and let me know what you would pick if you win the $35?

For extra entries, you can do any/all of the following:

1.  Follow this blog and/or my business blog Dress My Doll (1 entry each)
2. Blog about this giveaway (3 entries)

All entrants must be US or Canadian residents.
All entrants must be 18 or older.

Giveaway will end on 10/31.  Winners will be chosen using random.org

Good luck everyone!

Love and blessings!
Margaret

A Question For My Fellow Bloggers

Short and Sweet Question:

When you read blogs, do you prefer blogs that stick to one subject (niche bloggers) or do you like the ones that are a Mish Mash of different topics?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Love and Blessings!
Margaret

Book Review: Choices by Katrina L. Burchett

Choices by Katrina L. Burchett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I'm so glad I purchased this book, it had so much substance and situations that I could relate to having once been a teen myself (a LONG time ago). Before I get into my review, here is a summary of the book:



Choices is a thought-provoking story about five teenage girls in the city of York, Pennsylvania and how the issue of teen sex affects each of their lives..... Shauntice Johnston has faith in God but the world of domestic abuse she lives in has left her with very little faith in the male gender. And then comes Terry, and her obedience to God's Word (flee fornication) is tested. Angel Nichols doesn't know her earthly father, doesn't care about the heavenly Father and feels neglected by her workaholic mother. She has had numerous sex partners since she was thirteen, trying to fill the void inside of her. LaKeeta Wilson is a Christian, but instead of doing it God's way and waiting for marriage she purposely became pregnant out of wedlock. Bridgette Anderson practices abstinence in obedience to God, and, no matter what, she will not compromise her beliefs. But this saint still has her flaws. Hope Patterson is a plain dressing, soft-spoken timid Christian girl who lives a sheltered life because of her strict mother. The word 'sex' isn't in her vocabulary until she suffers a loss.



My Review:


I love that the author takes the time to develop each character so you get to know them.  I love that this is about Christian teens who are not afraid to share their faith and about those who are frightened about what having faith means.  I love that the author chose to share the characters' flaws and not make them perfect.  The story is well written, easy to follow and as the summary says, very emotional.  I think I read through this a few days but It was so well worth the read.  After I read it, I just wanted to shout from the rooftops to these young women having unprotected sex but moreso I wanted to fall to my knees and pray for these young women.  While this is a Christian book geared toward teens and young adults, anyone reading will not feel like it's preachy.  It has a good rhythm and really keeps you interested until the end.  I can't recommend this book enough! This is definitely a five reading glasses book!


Disclosure:  This is a book from my personal collection and the opinions expressed are my own!


Love and Blessings!

Margaret


View all my reviews

Closed - Emily Rose at Home Giveaway!

OK guys, you are going to love this giveaway. I mentioned on my VERSATILE post that I have my own business that my daughter and I run together. Well we have decided that we want to give YOU a gift from our Emily Rose at Home store!!! Our doll clothes are designed to fit the Madame Alexander 18" dolls (you can see them in our store here), the American Girl dolls (we are not affiliated) and other similar sized dolls.  We also sell high quality furniture and accessories!

We have so many great products that even for us it's hard to choose what to order first. With Halloween coming up, I know our dress up items are going to be a BIG hit.

We have scrubs for the little doctor:

Or how about a Native American Princess?

Or maybe go back a ways have a medieval princess!

Or maybe your dolly just wants to be a Girl Scout just like Mommy!

Whatever your child's (or your) imagination is, we have the outfit for you!  All of these outfits and more are available in our store!  To see these outfits, check out this section.  But take a look around at our other sections too!

Ok, so what are we giving away!  Well we will be giving TWO winners a $10 Gift Certificate to our store!  That is an ENORMOUS discount and we have never given it to anyone!  You don't want to miss this!  Can you say HOLIDAY SHOPPING??? 

Ok so here is how you win!

1) Mandatory: Go to our store at http://www.emilyroseathome.com/margaretrogers and tell me which Fantasy outfit  you like best.  Leave a comment with your email. 1pt

2) Mandatory: Become a PUBLIC follower of this blog 1pt

3) Become a PUBLIC follower of our business blog: www.njemilyroseathome.blogspot.com 3 pts

4) Blog about this giveaway on your blog (Please link your post) 3pts

5) Tweet this giveaway (provide the link below) 3 pts

The main rules are:

Entrants must be 18
We can only ship in the US at this time
Contest will end on 10/18/10 at 11:59 pm EST

Look for another BIG giveaway later this week!!

Disclosure:  These are items from my personal store, I did not receive any compensation for posting this giveaway.

Love and Blessings!
Margaret

CLOSED - Unexpected Break & Today's Giveaway!

Hello everyone! Well,  I was planning to do a giveaway a day last week but life just happened so I fell off the giveaway wagon!!  But I'm back!

My son is feeling 100% better so thank you all for your prayers!!   I was not happy that he had to play a football game in the rain today but I gave him a nice hearty dinner of some Grillin' Beans and hamburgers... YUM!!  Back to the football game, my baby got a sack and a tackle!! Go B Man!!!

On to today's giveaway!  If you've read my blog you will know that I LOVE books.  I mean I could easily sit and read for hours!!  My daughter is the exact same way.  She has been "sneaking" and reading in her room at night for up to an hour after her bed time!!  No wonder she hasn't been able to get up in the morning! LOL!

So today's giveaway is for the tween girls in your life. My goal this school year is to read some of the classics with my daughter and the little book club that we've formed.  The first on the list is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.  While this is a pretty lengthy book, I think the girls will enjoy the antics and stories of the sisters.  We'll see if my advanced preteens can hang!  I haven't read it since I was in about sixth grade so I will enjoy reading it again.

Do  you think your preteen/tween would like to read this?  I hit the Scholastic Book Sale this summer and I picked up a copy.  I'd love for you to win it!  Just leave me a comment letting me know what your favorite classic is!

Here are the rules:

You must be 18 to enter the giveaway
You must be a follower of this blog.
At this time I'm only shipping to U.S. residents.
Giveaway will end on 10/18/2010.

Thanks for stopping by!

Love and Blessings!
Margaret