Posted by bassgiraffe in book, book-Movie, family, friends, review | Comments Off
“Dewey” Book review
About-
“Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World” by Vicki Myron
“DEWEY is the heartwarming, true story of an abandoned kitten who went on to live an extraordinary life, inspiring a struggling single mother, transforming a sleepy library and the inhabitants of its depressed Iowa farm town, and ultimately capturing the hearts of animal lovers around the world.
Dewey, as the townspeople named the kitten, grew into a strutting, affable library cat whose antics kept patrons in stitches and whose sixth sense about those in need created hundreds of deep and loving friendships. As his fame grew, people drove hundreds of miles to meet Dewey, and he even ended up the subject of a hit documentary in Japan! Through it all, Dewey remained a loyal companion, a beacon of hope not just for Vicki Myron, but for the entire town of Spencer as it slowly pulled itself up from the worst financial crisis in its long history. “
My Thoughts-
I was very excited to have won this book from a blog giveaway(sorry forget which one). My family is a cat family. I grew up with cats all my life, I have many great memories with cats and my heart is sad that they are gone. So to read this book was very personal for me, to top it off it happens in Iowa and in a library. I grew up in Iowa and my mom worked at our town’s library for many years. So when I was reading this story I felt like it was part of my life too.
Dewey is a cat that is found in the town of Spencer, IA’s library book return on a very cold day. Vicki is the one who takes him in, cleans him up and warms him up. In return he warms her heart and then warms the town’s heart and ultimately the world’s heart. but really I would say he was Vicki’s cat. Cats tend to have a special bond with one person and I believe from this story his special bond was with Vicki. Oh, he loved lots no worries about that.
As I read this story I kept saying, yes, that is so a cat thing to do. Vicki really captured Dewey and his personality in this book. Again I think this was easy for her to do because of that bond she had.
As Dewey got older, even I was crying before he started getting sick. I knew what was coming. Growing up in a house with cats I knew that there comes a time for us to give peace to our loved one(pets). I didn’t want to get to that part as I knew my heart would hurt. Even though my heart broke like cray I was glad to read the legacy Dewey left and all the touched hearts he left, even all the way in Japan.
Something special about this book is Vicki takes us into her life, become vulnerable to us, to share her life, struggles, joys. She also takes us on the life of Spencer, IA. The stories and tales make me want to visit Spencer and also to meet Vicki. Both seem wonderful. I just wish I knew about Dewey before he left this world, he seems like my kind of cat.
If you are a cat lover/animal lover this book is so for you. Just a warning that it WILL make you cry if you are a true animal lover. You really get taken in to the story and the death of Dewey will hit hard.
Thank you so much Vicki for sharing your life with us and for being so open. I loved your book a lot and can’t wait to read more Dewey stories, after 18 years I’m sure you have a lot.
Love you, Matt cat, Ty Ty, Mama, Linky, I miss you all so much.
FIND it-
Website
Amazon
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disclaimer- I won this book from a blog giveaway and loved it so much I wanted to share it with you. I was not asked to write a review. I was not compensated for this review. This is my personal opinion and may differ from yours.
Posted by bassgiraffe in book, book-Movie, children, family, friends, giveaway, kids, review | 113 Comments
“Hairietta Hairison The One, The Only Me” book review (CLOSED)
About “Hairietta Hairison The One, The Only Me” by Jo Zumbrunnen-
“Join Hairietta on her hair-oic journey!
Hairietta is a girl with a beautiful head of hair. But when she starts to loose it, she doesn’t let it stop her from being the beautiful girl she truly is.
Remember, seven or forty, one hundred and one, you’re the girl in charge, now go have fun!” This book was written for Jo Zumbrunnen’s granddaughter who has Alopecia. She also have 7 granddaughters who she hopes will embrace Hairietta’s attitude towards life.
My Thoughts-
“Hairietta Hairison The One, The Only Me” is an amazing book. I actually felt empowered to just be me. This book not only is for kids but reaches out to adults too. It’s ok to be different, hair doesn’t matter, there are more important things in life.
Not only is the story great, the illustrations are awesome too. I found out that the illustrations are done by her son and the layout is done by her daughter-in-law. I had the privileged of talking to the author on the phone. I found out she takes this book into cancer wards to help cheer up those who are down from going through chemo and loosing their hair. What a great thing. I love that this book has many special
meanings behind it.
I totally recommend this book to ALL families. it teaches to not worry or take time out of your day to worry about how you look, there are more important things to life. And I would hope too that this book will teach others to be kind to those who may have problems.
FIND it-
website/buy
facebook
twitter
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THE GIVEAWAY
1 reader will win an Autographed copy of “Hairietta Hairison The One, The Only Me” by Jo Zumbrunnen
TO ENTER. REQUIRED before you do any extra entries!! (please leave a valid email so I can contact you if you win)
1. “Like” Jozy Books on facebook
EXTRA ENTRIES (please leave separate comments for each entry)-
-Follow bassgiraffe’s Thoughts via GFC (2 entries)
-Follow me, @bassgiraffe on Twitter (1 entry, please leave me your user name)
-Follow @jozybooks on twitter (2 entries)
-Tweet this giveaway and leave a status link (1x daily)
“”Hairietta Hairison The One, The Only Me” book- http://www.bassgiraffe.com/?p=3765 #giveaway #win @jozybooks Feb 4th @bassgiraffe”
-”Like” bassgiraffe’s Thoughts on Facebook-(1 entry, please leave me your first name and last initial in comment below)
-Subscribe to my daily email (1 entry)
-blog about this giveaway, please leave a link (1 entry)
-grab my button (2 entries, please leave a link)
-Vote for me on Picket Fence (left side-bar)- 1x daily
A HUGE thank you to Jo Zumbrunnen for sponsoring this giveaway. And thank you all for joining.
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* Disclaimer / Disclosure: I received a free sample to facilitate my review. This post reflects my honest, personal opinion and experience with the product which may differ from yours. Product information courtesy of the sponsor. No monetary compensation was provided for this post.
** OPEN TO US and Canada
*** Giveaway ends Friday February 4th at 11:59PM EST
**** Please do not use more then one account to participate. It’s not fair to others who want to join it. Thank you.
*winning disclaimer- The sponsor of this giveaway is responsible for sending this product. bassgiraffe’s Thoughts can not be held liable for lost/damaged items.
Posted by bassgiraffe in family, friends, giveaway, review, women | 184 Comments
JustPaperRoses- review (CLOSED)
ABOUT JustPaperRoses-
“We create “roses” for each of first 20 Wedding Anniversaries, paper, cotton, leather, fruit, wood, candy, wool, bronze, pottery, aluminum, steel, silk, lace, ivory (tagua nut), crystal, wax, shell, feather, chili pepper and china. Plus 25th silver and 50th gold.”
Not only can you buy gifts for the girl in your life you can now shop for the man in your life-
“We recently created JustDeskRoses™ with the Wife in mind as a “flower” she can buy for her Husband without it really being like giving him flowers. Regardless of whether it’s for the Husband or Wife, a JustDeskRose™ is a nice addition to our line. CLICK on the picture for your year and see what else we have for him!”
My THOUGHTS-
I received JustPaperRoses “I Love You From Top To Bottom” toilet paper and an 11th anniversary bear with a JuststeelRoses rose to celebrate our upcoming 11th anniversary (July 29th).
The toilet paper is a HUGE hit and with Valentine’s right around the corner you should order yours today. I’ve been told they can sell out quickly. I wasn’t sure what I was going to think of this printed toilet paper. I’ve never used anything like this before, nor have I seen them anywhere at my friend’s houses. My first thought was “how cute”. I loved the little saying, “I Love You From Top To Bottom”, awww. Then I opened the package, it’s so soft, two-ply and just as nice to use as store bought TP. It’s definitely a great, useful gift to give. I’m sure it will put a smile on your loved ones’ face. Another bonus is they nicely wrap your TP with a small tag wish them a “Happy Valentine’s Day”.
Chris and I will be celebrating our 11th anniversary this year. JustPaperRoses has a rose from years 1-20, 25, 50, along with other special occasions. To help us celebrate they sent us one of their Anniversary Bears with a JustSteelRose. The bear is so soft and cute. It is also wearing a shirt saying “Happy Steel Anniversary”. They bear is holding a rose with a steel center in it. You can detach the rose and place it in a vase or let your bear sit on your table holding the rose for you.
I am very impressed with this company and love all the thought they have put into it. I love all their choices, including something for the man in my life. This is a company you can find something for every occasion. I am so thankful I have found them, I’m making a list right now of my favorite items so my hubby can easily find something for me for Valentines day, Mother’s Day, Birthday…
Jeff Block, the founder/creator of JustpaperRoses also has a book out called “Steel Wool on a Stick- My Hobby on Steroids”. Talking about how he made his dream in to a successful business and how you can too. I plan on reading this sometime in the future and will write a review about it for you later.
BUY it-
Click here to shop at JustPaperRoses.com.
Free shipping to APO/FPO military addresses!
get 15% off your first order if you are a fan of theirs on facebook, visit their info tab to find out more.
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THE GIVEAWAY
1 reader will win $50 gift certificate to JustPaperRoses.com
TO ENTER. REQUIRED before you do any extra entries!! (please leave a valid email so I can contact you if you win)
1. “Like” JustpaperRoses on Facebook
EXTRA ENTRIES (please leave separate comments for each entry)-
- Visit JustPaperRoses.com and tell me your favorite product. (2 entries)
-Follow bassgiraffe’s Thoughts via GFC (2 entries)
-Follow me, @bassgiraffe on Twitter (1 entry, please leave me your user name)
-Tweet this giveaway and leave a status link (1x daily)
“$50 to JustpaperRoses.com- http://www.bassgiraffe.com/?p=3613 #giveaway #win Jan 21st @bassgiraffe”
-”Like” bassgiraffe’s Thoughts on Facebook-(2 entries, please leave me your first name and last initial in comment below)
-Subscribe to my daily email (1 entry)
-blog about this giveaway, please leave a link (1 entry)
-grab my button (2 entries, please leave a link)
-Vote for me on Picket Fence (left side-bar)- 1x daily
A HUGE thank you to JustPaperRoses.com for sponsoring this giveaway. And thank you all for joining.
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* Disclaimer / Disclosure: I received a free sample to facilitate my review. This post reflects my honest, personal opinion and experience with the product which may differ from yours. Product information courtesy of the sponsor. No monetary compensation was provided for this post.
** OPEN TO US & Canada
*** Giveaway ends Friday January 21st at 11:59PM EST
**** Please do not use more then one account to participate. It’s not fair to others who want to join it. Thank you.
*winning disclaimer- The sponsor of this giveaway is responsible for sending this product. bassgiraffe’s Thoughts can not be held liable for lost/damaged items.
***** I was given the opportunity to review this product because of my membership at The Product Review Place.
Read MorePosted by bassgiraffe in children, family, friends, giveaway, kids, review | 441 Comments
Aqua-Leisure Industries- Reveiw (CLOSED)
About-
“Aqua-Leisure Industries is a family owned company that is celebrating 40 years of excellence selling products varying from ‘swimmies’, pool lounges, pool games, baby floats, baby hideaway pool with shade, Simple Set Pools (no longer in production), Uncle Bob and Yeti snow tubes, snorkeling masks and goggles, to learn to swim vests.”
My Thoughts-
We were given an “Uncle Bob’s 68 Inch Double Snow Tube” from Aqua-Leisure Industries to try out and share with you. Today was a very nice day for us to try it out. We have a nice hill a few houses down from us in the school-yard. We had a ton of fun running up the hill and tubing, really fast, down the hill, over and over and over again. This was the first time sledding for Lee and she loved it.
The tube is really good quality and easy to blow up. I like that is had easy to grip handles making it safer for everyone going down. The material is high quality too and didn’t even rip when we accidentally went to far and skidded across the cement. The tube even came with a patch just in case you get a hole in it, but from the looks of it we might not even ever have to use it, it’s that nice.
I look forward to this winter vacation and to many fun weekends tubing down the snow hill. With the tube having two person seating it makes it not only fun for kids but for mommy & daddy as well.
FIND it-
website
**Aqua-Leisure Industries’ website is currently being re-developed – Please Stay Tuned for our new and improved website**
facebook
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THE GIVEAWAY
One reader will win a Uncle Bob’s 68 Inch Double Snow Tube of their own. (there is a lot of winter ahead of us to get some great use out of it.)
TO ENTER. REQUIRED before you do any extra entries!! (please leave a valid email so I can contact you if you win)
1. “Like” Aqua-Leisure Industriesfacebook
EXTRA ENTRIES (please leave separate comments for each entry)-
-Visit Aqua-Leisure photos page on facebook and tell me which item you like(do not post on the photo, please come back here and post) (1 entry)
-Follow bassgiraffe’s Thoughts via GFC (1 entry)
-Follow me, @bassgiraffe on Twitter (1 entry, please leave me your user name)
-Tweet this giveaway and leave a status link (1x daily)
“Uncle Bob’s 68 Inch Double Snow Tube http://www.bassgiraffe.com/?p=3248 #giveaway #win @bassgiraffe”
-”Like” bassgiraffe’s Thoughts on Facebook-(1 entry, please leave me your name in comment below)
-Subscribe to my daily email (1 entry)
-blog about this giveaway, please leave a link (1 entry)
-grab my button (2 entries, please leave a link)
-Vote for me on Picket Fence (left side-bar)- 1x daily
A HUGE thank you to Aqua-Leisure Industries for sponsoring this giveaway. And thank you all for joining.
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* Disclaimer / Disclosure: I received a free sample to facilitate my review. This post reflects my honest, personal opinion and experience with the product which may differ from yours. Product information courtesy of the sponsor. No monetary compensation was provided for this post.
** OPEN TO US & Canada (except Alaska)
*** Giveaway ends Friday January 14th at 11:59PM EST
**** Please do not use more then one account to participate. It’s not fair to others who want to join it. Thank you.
*winning disclaimer- the sponsor of this review/giveaway is responsible for shipping this item. bassgiraffe’s Thoughts can not be held liable for lost/damaged/unsent items.
Posted by bassgiraffe in book-Movie, Christian, family, friends, review | 2 Comments
“A Walk in My Shoes” NBC’s Family Movie Night
I can’t wait to see this movie and I hope you will want to watch it too. You can watch a preview below and read more about it. If you could please share this awesome info with your family and friends to help get the word out about this great new family movie.
Learn more-
Website
Facebook
twitter
Family Movie Night airs on NBC on Friday, Dec 3, 2010 – 7pm CST!
A WALK IN MY SHOES movie SYNOPSIS:
“Ever judge someone just by looking at them? Of course, we’ve all made snap judgments about people. But what if we really got to know them? How would our opinions change? And what if we were forced to become them… how would the shoes fit then? Stressed-out high school teacher Trish Fahey can’t understand her students’ lack of effort and why their parents don’t seem to care. This is especially true of Justin Kremer, a popular, skateboard-loving, basketball star who is underperforming in her class. Trish has him suspended from the team and quickly chalks up the situation as a case of bad parenting. This perspective dramatically changes when Trish meets Molly, a mysterious stranger intent on helping her see things differently. When Trish wrecks her car, Molly is there as Trish wakes to find herself living the life of Cindy Kremer, the woman she has personally judged and criticized. Trish discovers that there is often more to the story and learns a powerful lesson that affects everyone she interacts with. Her husband, her daughter, the ex-Marine next door… No one is left unchanged.”
A Walk In My Shoes – 2:33 TRLR from Moms4FamilyTV.com on Vimeo.
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Disclaimer- I was provided this info to share with my readers. I have not seen the film yet but plan on watching it. I was not paid for this post.
Posted by bassgiraffe in children, family, friends, giveaway, holiday-gift, kids, review, Toys | 3 Comments
25th Anniversary Mega Bloks Party
I had the AMAZING privileged to host a Mega Bloks party because of being part of MomSelect and their new section called MommyParties.
One day a delivery guy pulled up to my house and pulled out two HUGE boxes from his truck. I ran to the door and said, “what in the world is all that?” and he replied “Looks like Toys”. And sure enough the boxes said Mega Bloks on them.
I felt like a kid a Christmas opening the boxes, I kept pulling out toys, toys and more toys. There was a letter enclosed explaining what they were for and how to have a party. There were a list of games we could play, snacks to serve and what I need to do after the party. They even provided an awesome Mega Bloks musical Pirate ship for one of the guests to win. They went ALL out!!!
What was in the box-
So I set out to find 8 kids to come over for a party. I told the parents that I would need to take photos and videotape their kids at the party but no names would be used. If they agreed to that they could come. The days leading up to the party were exciting for me, making a shopping list for food, planing a time-line of how the party will go. Making plans to rearrange the playroom… I couldn’t wait for Saturday to come.
We held the party November 13th at our house. Eight of Lee & Moo’s friends came and we had a blast. Ranging from ages 14 months to 7 years old.
I started out the party explaining the even and drawing names to see who got what vehicle. I decided to do this to prevent any fighting over who got which toy and it seems to work. I also had the parents write their kids name on a piece of tape and put it on the bottom of the toy so they wouldn’t get mixed up.
VERY HAPPY KIDS with their new toy-
Next we did a race. I had my husband make racing lines on the floor and the kids lined up. We had 3 different rounds and I think they all had a fun time. We then played a game where everyone got into teams of two, they stood on one end of the room with a piece of the Mega Bloks Table and we dumped the 80 piece bag of Mega Bloks on the floor. I would call out a color and they would have 10 seconds to run and find it and bring it back to their table piece and start building a tower, in the end whoever had the biggest tower that didn’t fall over won.
Instead of doing the snacks they suggested in the party papers we did lunch. It was build your own pizza with a twist. Each kid got little cups filled with each of the ingredients and got to dump/place onto their pizza they wanted. Below is how our pizzas were made. (when I say “cup” I mean the small cups we used)
* 1- small pita
* some cream cheese
* cup of orange cheese (cheddar)
* cup of white cheese (mozzarella)
* cup of tomatoes
* cup of onions
* cup of chopped mushrooms
* cup of chopped peperoni.
The parents helped spread the cream cheese and the rest was up to the kids to build their pizzas the way they want. It was so much fun and sooo messy and everyone loved it.
This was such an awesome idea and so much fun. I think I had as much fun as the kids did. I was able to use a lot of the party ideas from MommyParties and also able to create my own stuff.
YOU CAN WIN! (from Mega Bloks)
This party was in celebration on Mega Bloks 25th anniversary. You can click the photo below to enter to win 1 or 25 Mega Bloks prize packs valued at $500. Also when you go out to buy some Bloks for your kids (Christmas is coming soon) look for specially marked bags for a chance to win $25,000 towards your child’s future or win one of 25 Mega Bloks prize packs.
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*Disclaimer- I was give all the Mega Bloks toys for free to host a MommyParty. I was not asked to give a positive review and all opinions are my honest views which may differ fro yours. I was asked to share photos with MommyParties and Mega Bloks in return for them sponsoring this event.
HUGE thank you to-
MomSelect
MommyParties
Mega Bloks
BSM Media
