I’m giving away a $25 Kroger Gift Card! - sign up to win by August 8. Click on the link for details.

Have you tried Breyer’s Smooth and Dreamy Ice Cream Bars and Sandwiches? It’s hard to believe they are lower in fat and calories than regular ice cream. Read what we thought about them and how they were devoured in no time.

And now that we’ve taken care of our body’s hunger, let’s take care of the mind. If you like poetry, you’ve probably already heard of Alexander Pushkin. I recently had a chance to review My Talisman: The Poetry and Life of Alexander Pushkin and found myself intrigued not only by the poems but also by the story of the poet himself.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teasers:

“Doesn’t know what happened to the love she lives for. She keeps going as though to pause would mean collapse. I am a dying seed inside of a fruit.”

~ p.180, “Becoming Madame Mao” by Anchee Minn

I just found this meme today, just now actually, so it’s a little late. But if you want to play along, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your 2 ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

I have three book giveaways going right now. Click on the links below to enter!
 
 
 

Book: Blue Like Play Dough
Author: Tricia Goyer

I extended the giveaway deadline for the book, Blue Like Play Dough by Tricia Goyer. You have a couple more days left to enter so get on over there and leave me a comment or click the reTweet button. It’s that easy! It is really a great and inspirational book for every mom or mom to be.

 
 
Book: The Hope of Refuge
Author: Cindy Woodsmall

This book is an Amish themed romance novel. It’s about a girl who grew up in New York foster care. She is now grown and has a child of her own but they are on the run from a man who has been stalking her. Desperate, out of job, penniless and homeless, she relies on a vague, residual memory that leads her to the Amish country of Pennsylvania. Little did she know that this is the road to home. Read more about this novel on my review and giveaway for The Hope of Refuge.

 
 
Book: Off Season!
Author: Anne Rivers Siddons

I am reading this book right now and so far I am enjoying it. Since I’m a slow reader, I thought I would give you a chance to catch up by posting this giveaway right away. Hachette Books has allowed me to giveaway 5 copies of this book to my readers.
 
 

I opened the door to find a small box on the front porch. I opened it and was very pleased to find it was full of books!

For posting about the 2009 Summer Activities Challenge by education.com, they sent a sampling of books from their collection. I am thrilled because everyone of the titles in the selection was something I would read and look forward to reading. A couple of the books, my daughters were really happy to find among the loot. They weren’t expecting something they would be interested in, but hey, this was from education.com so you’ve got to figure they know what kids like; even teens.

Here are the titles in the box:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mother’s Need Time Outs Too by Susan Callahan, Anne Nolen, Katrin Schumann.

Great Peacemakers - True Stories from Around the World by Ken Beller and Heather Chase. A great book highlighting some of the great peacemakers of modern times. I look forward to reading through this one.

Partly Cloudy - Poems of Love and Longing by Gary Soto. A collection of poems from the point of view of teens.

The Compound - by S.A. Bodeen. A young adult novel about a family who retreats to an underground compound after a nuclear attack, told from the point of view of a 15-year old boy.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Manga Edition by William Shakespeare, Adam Sexton, Tintin Pantoja. This is a graphic novel and elicited a squeal from my manga loving daughters.

We’ll let you know how this book and the others mentioned are on our review blog, Found Not Lost.

We have a lot of books lined up for reading and reviewing so make sure you visit our review site, Found Not Lost once in a while to see if there’s anything you may want to read too.

Our latest reviewed book is Blue Like Play Dough by Tricia Goyer about a mom who found peace amidst the chaos of motherhood by the grace of God. If you’d like to read this book, I also happen to be giving away a copy to one lucky reader. So go on over there and sign up!

Do you find yourself screaming a little too often and too loud? Do you hear a lot of slammed doors and whining? Then maybe you’d want to take a look at Our Family Constitution by Scott Gale. Learn how Scott and his family turned the dynamics of their house around and maybe you can pick up some tips to use in yours.

A big thanks to Education.com for the books in the box!