"The Black Shard" Review and Giveaway

Last fall I did a review and giveaway for the book, "The Magic Warble". I really enjoyed that book and was very excited when I was contacted by the author Victoria Simcox to review the sequel, "The Black Shard".

Although The Black Shard stands well as a book on its own, it's even more fun to read them both. The Black Shard picks up a few years after the first book ends. The main character missed the magical land that she once visited and all her dear friends she made when she was there. While off at horse camp, she finds herself, once again, being transported back to Bernovem. She is thrilled to be reunited with her old friends! But she soon notices things aren't quite right as she embarks on another fantastic and dangerous adventure where she learns strength in weakness.

This was a great sequel and I was happily surprised at the end because it took a turn that I wasn't expecting and it left me wanting more. I love it when that happens. It took me awhile to actually finish this book because my 11 year old daughter kept sneaking it away from me (she wanted to read it as much as I did).

If you are looking for the perfect gift for that middle-school aged child in your life, these books certainly have my seal of approval.

You can find more about these books and purchase them here.

Giveaway!!

The author has once again generously offered to give one of you a copy of The Black Shard! There are plenty ways to win:

Mandatory Entry:

Leave me a comment about one of your favorite books from childhood.

Extra Entries:

(Please leave a comment for each entry)

Follow the author's blog.

"Like" The Black Shard on Facebook.

Follow the author (Victoria Simcox) on Twitter.

"Like" Household Cents on Facebook.

Follow Household Cents on Twitter.

Follow my Household Cents blog.


That's seven different ways to enter! I will be picking a winner using random.org on April 23.  Giveaway for US residents only.  Good luck!

Burt's Bees Review

Have you heard of Burt's Bees products?  They are definitely one of my favorite skin care brands.  After I discovered their diaper rash ointment, I never went back to the other name brands.  Partly because of all the wonderful natural ingredients, but mostly because it worked so much better.  The only bummer?  The price tag!  Ack.....why does Burt's Bees have to be so expensive!

When I was contacted to do a review on their Natural Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin line, I jumped at the chance.  Here is what I received:

One container of facial cleanser and one container of daily moisturizing cream.  I started using them right away.  I have VERY sensitive skin.  Most products I have tried end up making me break out and turning my face blotchy and red.  Even the products that promise to be so clean and pure.....those mess up my face.  So, I was very curious to see how Burt's Bees would perform.  At first the cleanser did what all other cleansers have done - made me break out.  But my skin is stupid and finicky - it does that whenever I try ANYTHING new.  *sigh*  I stuck with it and it's now working great.  The cleanser itself is very thick, white and creamy.  It had very little scent whatsoever.  I like that in a product.  I can't stand nasty chemical fragrance.  Yuck.  The daily moisturizing cream is great, too.  It made my face feel smooth without feeling like I had a heavy cream on my face.  I don't normally need facial lotion during the summer months (because of the humidity), but I definitely need it in the winter (it gets really dry here).  This stuff is working great for me.  Yay!

I am a Bzzagent and received these products for free in return for an honest opinion.

Poke-A-Dot Review

As some of you know, I am a part of a homeschool Blogger Review Team for Timberdoodle.  We recently received the book "Poke-A-Dot Old McDonald's Farm" to review.

As soon as I received this book, my kids were surrounding me and jumping up and down anxiously waiting for me to open the package.  They always do that when we get something from Timberdoodle.  When they saw it was a book for my 18 month old son, they started arguing about who gets to read it to him first.  *Sigh*  The baby of our family definitely knows he is loved.

Anyway, the kids took turns reading the book to him and letting him "pop" the dots.  Then they all took turns popping dots.  Then I wondered when it was my turn...that dot-poking seemed to be addicting.

My toddler loves this book.  He enjoys pretending to read it and singing the Old McDonald Had a Farm song.  He loves to pop the dots and attempt to count as he pops them.  If he is in a particularly aggressive mood, he will turn the pages and poke all the dots as fast as he can.

The book itself is a really chunky board book, making it quite sturdy - even for my rough little guy.  The dots are pretty cool - they remind me of bubble wrap, only much stronger and not as annoying ( and you can pop them over and over again).  They are fantastic for practicing fine-motor skills and hand-eye coordination.  I have yet to be annoyed by the sound and all my kids love them. 

This is available on it's own or in Timberdoodle's Toodler Core Curriculum Package.

Legal Disclosure:
As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.

Grilling Out

Have you ever tried Lawry's marinades?  I didn't even know they existed....I'm a make-it-yourself-marinade kinda girl.  But I recently received some Lawry's products and was able to try them.  Here is what I received:

Now I prefer to use Real Salt or Sea Salt when adding saltiness to my food.  My hubby is a Lawry's Seasoned Salt freak.  But he didn't know they made marinades, either, so I think he was more excited than I was to try them!

I soaked some chicken legs in their Original Seasoned Salt 30-minute marinade and threw them on the grill.  They were really good!  I was curious to see how my kiddos would react to them since they are used to eating grilled chicken legs with only salt, pepper and olive oil on them.  They gobbled them up with no complaints!

 (This picture is a little dark because my husband stepped in front of the light in order to grab some chicken as I was taking the picture.  He didn't want to wait.....)

I like that there are no MSG's in the seasoned salt and marinades.  That is a definite plus.  I don't think I'll use a marinade every time we have meat, but I will use these on occasion.



I am a Bzzagent and received these products for free in return for an honest opinion.

PromotionCode.org Review

I don't know about you, but I really enjoy shopping online.  One of the best feelings is filling up my online cart and then finding coupon codes to input and watch the total price go down, down, down.  In the past I have talked about different websites that list coupons and promotion codes that are available for use online.  Well, I recently found a new one, and I think it just might be one of my faves.

It's called PromotionCode.org.  There is no cost to use this site, and for us frugal folks, that is a must.  PromotionCode.org features coupons and codes from over 4000 retailers, so chances are, some of your favorite and most frequently shopped stores are listed.  PromotionCode.org claims to publish the most up to date promotion codes and coupons available online.  From looking at their site and comparing to other websites like this one, I'd say their claim is true.

One of the features I like best about PromotionCode.org is that they have a separate category for free shipping codes.  Nothing makes me more happy than a free shipping code!  (Ok, chocolate ranks right up there with a free shipping code....but that's just a given.)

You can find another great aspect of PromotionCode.org in their online store directory.  Besides the promo codes link next to the retail store, some of the more popular (and not so popular) stores have an additional link listing their current sale items.  That certainly makes shopping easy and convenient!

There is also a tab where you can sign up to have free emails sent to you letting you know when your favorite store(s) adds a new promo code.  For forgetful busy mom's like me, that's a great feature!  And don't worry about being bombarded with emails, you can choose how many you would like to receive and how often you would like to receive them.

Feel free to check out PromotionCode.org and start saving some money!

Homemade Laundry Detergent - Revisited

Over a year ago, I posted a recipe for homemade laundry detergent.  It's the recipe that I have been using on a regular basis for years.  It's extremely frugal, works great and is quick and easy to make. 

A good friend of mine, Kat, has taken this laundry detergent one step further.  Her and her daughter did a science experiment which compared the homemade stuff to Tide.  What a fun experiment!  I just wanted to share the results with all of you because I thought it was interesting.  So, head on over to Kat's blog and see the experiment.   :)

The Money Book - Review and Giveaway!

I recently had the opportunity to read "The Money Book" by Rosally Saltsman.  Before I started reading this, I assumed it was going to be another one of those "10 Ways to Make Money" or "Get Rich Quick" kind of books.

Boy was I wrong, and it was nice to be pleasantly surprised.

This ebook concentrated more on our attitudes toward money and what money truly is - a tool.  As I read through the book, I continued to evaluate and re-evaluate the way I looked at money and my feelings toward it.  The author discusses preparedness, thankfulness and living within one's means.  And even though I said this isn't another one of those "Ways to Get Rich" type of books, there are tips to stay out of debt, ways to save money and even ways to make money included.  But the bulk of this book cuts right to the heart of the matter, our attitudes.

I plan on reading and re-reading "The Money Book" every few years or so - that's how much I liked it.

Now if only we could get our government to read this book....... (and that is as political as you will ever see me get here at HC).


The Giveaway:

The author has generously agreed to give a copy of her ebook to one of my lucky readers!  Woohoo!

Mandatory Entry:

To enter, just leave a comment telling us why you would like a copy of "The Money Book".  That's it!

Additional Entries:

(Please leave a separate comment for each additional entry.)

-Follow me on Google Friend Connect (1 entry).

-Follow me on Twitter (1 entry).

-'Like' me on Facebook (1 entry).

-Grab my button (2 entries).

-Blog about this giveaway (2 entries).


Good luck!  I'll choose a winner using random.org on February 11.

Now, if you just can't wait for the giveaway, you can purchase "The Money Book" for yourself at Rosally Saltman's site.  When you do, thank you for using the promo/referral code hcents which lets them know that I sent ya.

Critical Thinking Press Review

If you visit Household Cents frequently, you probably know that I do an occasional homeschool review for Timberdoodle. We were recently contacted by them to review three different workbooks from Critical Thinking Press, one for each of my school-aged kiddos.


We received Beginning Word Roots for my 10 year old, Building Thinking Skills for my 7 year old and Mathematical Reasoning for my 4 year old.

Here is my oldest working in Word Roots.  I have been pleasantly surprised by this book and my daughter loves it.  It teaches the Latin and Greek meanings of prefixes, root words and suffixes on a 3rd - 4th grade level.  My daughter has been having a lot of "light bulb" moments as she works through Word Roots.  One such moment was when she learned that "astro" means "star, heavens" and "naut" means "sailor, ship".  She thought about it for a few seconds, looked up at me with a huge grin and said, "Wow Mom!  That means that the word 'astronaut' means 'star sailor'!  Cool!"

This one I will definitely use for my other children when they get this age.

Moving right along, here is my 2nd grader working on his Building Thinking Skills book.  So far, I have enjoyed this book because it points out (to me) some of my son's strong points and weak points.  He likes it because it covers lots of different subjects all in one workbook (logical thinking, classifications, spatial awareness, vocabulary, geometry concepts, writing.....on and on it goes).

I will certainly use parts of this one for younger kiddos when they get older.

And here is my 4 year old who is just happy to be like the big kids and have her own school work.  Her book, Mathematical Reasoning Beginning 2 is a great starting point for math for preschoolers.  It covers a lot of beginning basics such as counting, colors, shapes and then moves on to patterns, left and right, number lines, etc.

I'm not sure if I would buy this one for my younger son when he gets this age.  Now that I've been homeschooling for over six years, I can do a lot of this stuff with my preschoolers without the help of a workbook.  I would have loved having it for my oldest when she was in preschool and I was a newbie homeschooler, though.

One thing that I really like about the Critical Thinking Press books is their copyright.  The individual purchaser has the license to reproduce any of the pages for use within their home or classroom.  So, I could purchase one workbook and make copies as I need them for each child.  That can cut the cost significantly!


Legal Disclosure:
As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of these books in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.

Creationary Review

Does your family like to play games? Do your kids like Legos? Do you like the game Pictionary? Well, this game might be something you would be interested in. Creationary is it's name......and we have been having a blast playing it!

As some of you know, I am a part of a homeschool Blogger Review Team for Timberdoodle. We recently received Creationary to review.



My two older kids could barely wait for my two younger kiddos to go to bed so that we could play this game. The way you play and the basic rules are very similar to Pictionary, but instead of drawing the pictures, you use Legos. The three of us were having a lot of fun playing and it didn't take long for my husband to wander in and join us. We have only had this game for a couple of weeks, but I can already tell that it is going to be an all-time favorite around here.

Here is a pic of one of my son's creations.  He said it's a radio.  I'm not sure why the little Lego guy is hanging on to the antenna.....maybe he gets better reception that way.   :)

And this would be a swimming pool.

A skateboard!


This game was a lot of fun and some of the creations that we had to come up with were hilarious. It was a lot more challenging than I thought it would be, but yet my 7 year old son was easily able to play.


Legal Disclosure:
As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of Lego Creationary in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.

Skoy Cloths Review and Giveaway!

Have you ever heard of Skoy Cloths? I recently had the chance to give them a try and boy, do I like 'em!

I like to save money by not purchasing disposable paper products. I rarely buy paper towels and am happy using my washcloths in the kitchen. But I don't like that nasty smell that shows up on the kitchen rags after I've used them for a few days. You know what I'm talking about, right? Gross. I was even more grossed out when I found out that smell is from bacteria. Blech.

Enter: Skoy Cloths.

They are a great multi-use cloth. You can use them in place of your paper towels or kitchen rags. They are SO absorbant! My kids loved playing with them because of that reason alone. :) You just keep re-using them and throw them in the washing machine or dishwasher when they get nasty. Yes. You heard me correctly......the dishwasher! How cool is that?! Well, I think it's cool anyway. And if you want to zap that nasty bacteria, get it wet and microwave it for a minute. Love it.

When I received these, I really put them to the test. I washed dishes, scrubbed my countertop, scrubbed gross, dried, stuck-on food from the baby's high chair, cleaned messes off of the floor, etc. I was curious to see how they would hold up. Here is a picture of one after 4 weeks of use:

It's a bit worn as it's done some serious scrubbing and been through a few washes, but it's holding up great! Definitely worth the small price tag.

WANNA TRY THEM?

Skoy Enterprises has agreed to give two lucky readers a set of four Skoy Cloths! Woohoo!

Mandatory Entry:

Head on over to Skoy Cloths website. Then come back here and tell me one thing you think you would like about these cloths.

Extra Entries:

*Follow me with Google Friend Connect. (Current followers count, too.) Leave a comment letting me know that you follow.

*"Like"  Household Cents on Facebook. Leave a comment telling me that you did.

*"Like" Skoy on Facebook.  Leave a comment telling me that you did.

*Blog about this giveaway. Leave a comment telling us where to find your blog post so that we can all go look at it.

*Grab my button. Leave a comment telling us where to find it.

I will use random.org to choose TWO winners on the evening of September 27, 2010.

Good luck!

This review is my opinion only. Others may feel differently about this product. Skoy provided the cloths in return for an honest review.

Simply Draw Review

I'm not sure if I have mentioned this here at Household Cents or not, but our children are home educated. I recently joined a Blogger Review Team for a company called Timberdoodle. They are a company that sells a wide variety of homeschool supplies at discounted prices and we have been buying products from them since we first started homeschooling over 6 years ago. Needless to say, I was pretty excited when I was accepted onto their review team.

A couple of weeks ago we received "Simply Draw with Bob Parsons" to review.


I was a little bummed when I first opened it and saw that it wasn't even in book form.....it was just the pages and they were 3-hole punched. But, once I put it in a big 3-ring notebook, I found it to be really convenient to have it that way.

This drawing book teaches some basic concepts of drawing and the importance of tricks such as foreshortening, overlapping, size and shading, just to name a few. It is set up in a systematic format and each lesson tends to build on the next.

Simply Draw also comes with a DVD which includes videos of the author/artist actually drawing some of the sketches taught throughout the book. We found this quite helpful. The DVD also includes printables.

All in all, Simply Draw is a pretty good book for teaching basic drawing concepts. We did find it to be very "cartoonish," which we thoroughly enjoyed, but if you are wanting a course that teaches drawing in a more "still life" form, this probably isn't for you.

My two oldest, happily drawing away.


Legal Disclosure:
As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of Simply Draw in exchange for a frank and unbiased review. 

Surf Sweets Review

Have you ever heard of organic candy? Sounds like an oxymoron or probably tastes nasty. That was my first thought anyway. I recently had the chance to review Surf Sweets and I was surprised at how yummy the candy was and how "not unhealthy" it was.

Here is a pic of my son, anxiously anticipating ripping this package open and tasting the candy. I try my best to have only healthy snacks around the house, so he thought this was pretty cool........

"Wow mom, you actually want me to eat this?"


After he took the first bite, his eyes rolled in the back of his head and he got a very goofy but satisified grin on his face. I was so busy laughing at him that I didn't get a very good picture of it.

Surf Sweets has several different kinds of candy:

Gummi Bears
Gummi Worms
Jelly Beans
Sour Worms
Fruity Bears
Gummy Swirls
Sour Berry Bears

How could candy be "organic" or even "all-natural"?  Well, it has something to do with the sweetener.  “Where most candy is sweetened with corn syrup, Surf Sweets is not,” says Bert Cohen, President and Founder of TruSweets, LLC. “They’re naturally sweet because they’re made with real organic fruit juice instead of corn syrup, and provide 100% of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of antioxidant Vitamin C.”

No corn syrup?  Ah ya, I hear the hallelujah chorus singing in the background.

They also have:

No synthetic flavors and artificial colors
No trans fats
No GMOs
No gluten


I have to say that I actually liked this better than any other gummy candy I have tried.  I won't even eat gummy candies because they just taste like colored glue and corn syrup to me.  This stuff actually had flavor and didn't give me gut-rot after eating a handful.

Now, I won't be loading up and feeding this to my family for supper every night, but for an occasional treat, I think I just might turn to Surf Sweets.  Now.......if I could just get my mom and mother-in-law on board........

Candy from Surf Sweets is available at many food stores that sell natural and organic foods.  It is also available online at Alice.com.

I was provided Surf Sweets product for review purposes only and was not compensated for this review.  I was not obligated to give a positive review.....just an honest one.  The above review is my opinion. 

Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Review

Do you use coconut oil? I do and I love it. I recently got a chance to review some coconut oil from the company Tropical Traditions. Let's just say I was impressed. The quality, texture and overall yumminess of the oil is really excellent.

But isn't coconut oil expensive? Yes, it is. But I don't really have a choice when it comes to oils. When I was a teenager, I ended up with gastritis (my stomach lining was eating itself). The main thing that caused it in me was my terrible eating habits, mostly having to do with consuming food made with hydrongenated oils. I had to give up all of those oils. For years, the only oil I could consume was olive oil. Now my stomach is fully healed, but I still don't cook with hydrongenated oils.....they are so toxic. I only cook with olive oil, butter and coconut oil.

Like I said, I got the chance to review some "Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil" made by Tropical Traditions. I was very impressed with the company and the product. I made bread and cookies with the oil and they were SO yummy! I used the coconut oil as a spread on my toast.....yummmm....
 And I made a Strawberry Cream Pie from their recipe website. Wow.....delicious! Here's a pic:



And some of these recipes just look sooooo good!!!

Feel free to check out their website. If you would like to try their products, you can use my referral code: 5970550. This code will get you a free copy of Tropical Tradition's Virgin Coconut Oil book with your first order.

Always trying to be as frugal as possible, I also signed up to receive the email newsletter from Tropical Traditions.  This newsletter alerts me to sales and specials.  Every once in awhile they will have a "buy one get one free" sale and occasionally offer free shipping.  Then I am able to get double the oil for less than what I would have to pay in the health food section of the grocery store.  Woohoo!

How about you? Have you ever used coconut oil?

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review in return for the free product.

eShakti Review

Recently, a company called eShakti contacted me about doing a review of their product. I had never heard of them, so I went to their online store to check them out. Being the cheapskate frugalista that I am, I was a little taken aback by the some of the prices. They weren't expensive, but they weren't super cheap, either. Remember, I'm the one that won't buy any clothes for myself unless it's on the clearance rack.

But as I read through their policies and looked a little closer at how they operate, I noticed something. You can find the dress/shirt/outfit that you like and eShakti will custom size it for you at no extra charge. Wow. I never had anything custom made just for me. So, I thought I'd give it a try.


(Here's me, doing my best depatment-store-catalog-model pose)

I chose a peasant-style dress to review. I've always wanted a dress like this, but could never find one that fit right. My upper arms are on the bigger side compared to the rest of my body. I am forever having issues with them when it comes to my clothes. I'll find the perfect dress or top and it will fit just right except it's way too tight around my arms. So, I'll try on a bigger size and then I just look frumpy. Ugh.

I was surprised by how comfortable this dress was - I could have easily worn it all day (and I'm the type that can't wait to get back home, get my dress clothes off and change into something more comfy). The fabric was very comfortable and attractive. And the best part was that it fit! It fit me just right.....everywhere.....even my arms! Woohoo!

Don't worry, I'm still a clearance rack girl....but whenever I need a nice dress or outfit for a special occasion, eShakti will definitely be one of the first places I check. Having that custom fit made all the difference for me.

Oh, and eShakti has a clearance section, too! ;)