I have met some awesome friends on Twitter- friends that help out out of the goodness of their hearts, friends to laugh with and have fun with and talk about things that matter. I appreciate each and every one of them.

I am doing this giveaway. It’s not sponsored by anyone and it’s not to promote anyone.

Note: If you do not have your email on your blogger acct. please leave it in your comment so I may contact you if you are a winner.

* CONTEST ENDS: 11:59 PM EST – Wednesday – 12/23/09.
Winners will have extra time to respond due to the holidays.

ALSO: For any prizes with shipping, it must be US only. Thanks! *

So far there are 5 prizes. The first is a brand-new unopened Logitech QuickCam Connect webcam. Perfect for those who don’t have one or have someone in their family or a friend who they want to talk with.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/435/4266&hub=1&cl=us,en

• New Logitech Vid software dramatically simplifies video calling (free download)
• True VGA resolution for sharp, vibrant video and photos
• Built-in microphone with RightSound Technology for crystal-clear conversations without annoying background noise
• One-click software for effortless video and photo capture, emailing and uploads
• Universal clip attaches easily to your desktop monitor or mobile laptop

Second prize is a $50  Restaurant.com gift code  so you can enjoy some good meals at a great discount.

Third prize is a $25 Restaurant.com gift code.

Fourth prize is a $25 gift card to use on anything in the eDiets Store. Just go to http://store.ediets.com. There is no minimum purchase and it expires 1/31/10.

Fifth prize is a $5 Walmart card :).

As far as the tweeting goes you may do that as much as you want but only 2 of them/day will count here so only enter that twice/day and please do them at least an hour apart.

Ok, that’s it (whew!) Just know I love y’all and appreciate all my friends probably more than they know.

Also, everyone is welcome here even people I haven’t met yet. 🙂

Be sure to check out the newest release from award-winning author Zoe Archer.  Half  Past Dead will be out December 29, 2009 and is available for presale at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Border’s and Book-A-Million.  Half Past Dead will also be available for Sony and Kindle

*Disclosure: I was offered a copy of the book from the author in exchange for posting the book release date

The wonderful One2One network gave me the opportunity to review Brandi Carlile’s new album, “Give Up the Ghost”. This was quite awesome as I’ve been a fan, lucky enough to see her in concert, and loved her last album, “The Story”.

Brandi was born in Washington State and was inspired to pick up the guitar and learn to play after seeing the Indigo Girls in concert at Lilith Fair. In the opening song of her new album, “Looking Out”, she is backed with the gorgeous harmonies of Amy Ray from the Indigo Girls. Another of her childhood idols was Elton John, and he provides smooth piano and backup vocals on Caroline, which is rollicking, fun and playful, reminding me of Elton’s own ’70’s rock.

Brandi is an extremely gifted singer/songwriter with a powerful passionate voice that is raw and soulful. She is genuine, authentic, and sings straight from her heart.

Her band includes the amazing twins Tim and Phil Hanseroth on guitar and bass (respectively), and cellist John Neumann. Together they rock.

This album includes a beautiful song about life on the road “Dying Day” which is one of my favorites. Carlile is never one to hide feelings as on “Looking Out” which is about feeling disappointed and alone. “That Year”, she said she wrote for a close friend who committed suicide when they were both 16. Really moving, almost fragile.

I also really love “Oh Dear” which has a sound reminiscent of both the Beatles and Queen.

If I had to compare Brandi to anyone, I would say that she reminds me of Patsy Cline and The Indigo Girls, with a touch of K.T. Tunstall.

I would say her songs are alternative folk rock.

Brandi has incredible phrasing and an amazing range to her voice. It drops into a growl, then it lifts and it soars – unique, strong and soulful.

The highest compliment I can give her is that she’s totally here, present, with a voice that is authentic, gritty, and hauntingly beautiful.

I highly recommend “Give Up The Ghost”, and, also, if you ever get the opportunity to catch her live, she’s just amazing.

Check out her new album on Amazon and ITunes!

Links:

To visit Brandi’s website

Brandi’s Facebook

I was very happy when invited to review Five for Fighting’s new album “Slice” by the One2One Network. I’ve been a fan since “Superman” and also loved “100 Years”.

John Ondrasik has done it again with this new album, co-written with Academy Award-winning composer, Steven Schwartz. It is truly a slice of life, telling stories with lyrical melodies and thought-provoking lyrics.

It is rare to be able to combine catchy smooth melodies with lyrics that actually have something to say, but, “Slice” has both.

I actually like all of the songs on the album, but there are some I love. My favorite is “Augie Nieto” (see video above). This song was written about Augie Nieto, a prominent leader in the fitness industry for nearly 30 years who received a diagnosis of ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease in March 2005. He is now co-chairperson of MDA’s ALS division and very inspirational.

This song really touched me. Not only is the melody beautiful, but John’s beautiful lyrics of Augie, “two wheels closer to God” are just simple, poignant, yet totally uplifting.

I also love “Tuesday” with its beautiful melodic string arrangements which references 9/11 and about not forgetting what we learned that day.

“Chances”, which is the album’s first single, is also very upbeat, ending with “Chances are only what we make them… and all I need.” It speaks of how if you don’t take that chance, you may always wonder what might have been.

Other songs to check out include, “This Dance, “Nowhere Bar”, “Above the Timberline”, and “Story of Your Life.”

This album reminds me a bit of Elton John, Billy Joel, Snow Patrol, and The Fray. Yet, it is not really like any of them due to Ondrasik’s unique take on life.

It’s rare to me to find quiet in the upbeat, to find depth and meaning in the bright tempo. But, it’s there in “Slices” – and perhaps that’s what I love most about it.

Check it out on Amazon and iTunes.

Links:

To visit Five For Fighting’s website
Twitter
Facebook
John’s website for charity

This is definitely a challenge. Especially with school and friends. You can’t keep your family in a bubble – but there are ways to help protect them.

This season promises to be one of the worst cold and flu seasons, so we’re planning ahead.

We plan to keep up with the hand-washing, vitamin C, zinc lozenges, and to keep Boiron homeopathics onhand. I find them to be natural and without side-effects, unlike some of the traditional cold and flu meds.

I also firmly believe in homemade chicken soup. It’s light, nutritious, keeps you hydrated, and its warmth will soothe and comfort.

We also try to get lots of sleep to boost immune fuction and to drink lots of fluids, especially water and fruit juices. Herbal teas taste great and can help support your immune system as well.

I am a big believer in holistic health and in homeopathic products.

For years, we have been using Oscillococcinum by Boiron. Taken at the first sign of flu, we’ve had success at either stopping the illness or reducing its symptoms. I always have Oscillo on hand and recommend it to friends.

Homeopathics use natural substances in micro-doses to help the body heal and rebalance.

Boiron has Children’s Oscillococcinum especially for kids, Children’s Coldcalm Pellets, which help relieve cold symptoms, and Children’s
Chestal for coughs. They work safely and don’t interact with other medications. They are sweet tasting and do not have that “medicine taste”.

What’s great is that you can find these products in your local CVS or Walgreen’s as well as in your supermarket or natural food store.

Here you can get $1 off any of Boiron’s new children’s products.

Stay healthy!

“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
– Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

I was given the opportunity by the One2One network to review “Once In a Blue Moon”, a novel by Eileen Goudge.

Often I can tell a good novel by its first line, and this one from the book drew me in immediately:

“The first time Kerrie Ann disappeared was only the warning shot, as it turned out.”

Right away, I was hooked.

Once In A Blue Moon is a story of love, loss and redemption, of being torn apart only to join again stronger.

It is about finding your family, finding what is most important to you, finding yourself.

It is primarily the story of two sisters, Lindsay, and Kerrie Ann, nine years younger. When Kerrie Ann was just three, she and Lindsay were split up as their mother was imprisoned for selling drugs.

Their neighbor, an eccentric but fiercely loving retired exotic dancer, Miss Honi Love, tried to keep them, but, to no avail.

And, just that easily, they became lost to one another, and also, to parts of themselves.

Thirty years later, Lindsay owns a bookstore by the sea in Blue Moon Bay, CA while Kerrie Ann who has had a much rougher childhood is trying to stay sober and get her own young daughter Bella back. Bella was taken from her, much as Lindsay and Kerrie Ann were taken from their own mother. The difference is that Kerrie Ann would do anything to get her back.

And so the journey continues, with the sisters finally re-uniting, hesitantly at first and then slowly opening up once again to each other. The bond they forge while trying to help get Bella back takes them to an even deeper place of love and trust than either has known.

I really love Eileen Goudge’s style. Her voice is honest and authentic and full of originality. The prose is beautiful and so descriptive I could see Kerrie Ann’s “dirty pink Keds” and Miss Honi’s “marigold curls”.

I very much admire her ability to write a novel with an engaging plot and still keep the poetry of the language.

People in the novel are like people in real life – helpful, hurtful, imperfect, mistrustful, sorrowful, joyful, and loving. I appreciate this glimpse into humanity as it is, not some sanitized romanticized version.

Ultimately it is love and forgiveness that provide a path home – to one another, and to ourselves.

It is not surprising that Eileen Goudge is a New York Times Bestselling Author, nor that there are four million copies of her books in print including “Woman in Red” and “The Diary”. I loved this novel and am looking forward to reading many more of them.

I highly recommend Once In A Blue Moon.

Look for it in bookstores now and on Amazon.com.

To visit Eileen’s website

And to check out her Facebook page

To find Eileen on Twitter

I was given the opportunity to review Joshua Bell’s new cd “At Home With Friends” by the One2One Network and fell in love.

This cd is not merely a compilation, but rather an experience that simply washes over you and draws you in. I felt like I was invited into an intimate and somewhat magical world where only the music mattered.

It is rare and inspiring to me to find an artist as passionate about their music as Joshua Bell, so talented, so brilliant.

As I write this review, Joshua Bell’s cd is in the Billboard 200, #6 in Heatseekers Albums and #1 in their Classical Albums.

Produced by Sony Classical, this 16 song set features such talents as Sting, Regina Spektor, Kristen Chenowith, Josh Groban, jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, Anoushka Shankar and many others.

Together with Joshua Bell, each creates a beautiful synergy of virtuosity and love of music.

This set evolved from the informal jam sessions that Bell holds frequently at his home and I feel that this cd reflects that mood perfectly.

There is a very diverse range of styles here: Jazz, Opera, Classical, Pop and Latin among others.

I love just about every song on this cd and find myself playing it at the oddest times. I really love it that much.

“Come Again” with Sting seems to have a Celtic feel as it leaps and soars.

“Cinema Paradiso” with Josh Groban is richly beautiful and evocative.

“Para Ti” with its Latin beat had me ready to go dancing.

“Il Postino” is thoroughly charming.

In fact, all of these songs feel classic, yet completely new and fresh.

I usually don’t like my Beatles songs changed, but, I loved Josh’s interpretation of “Eleanor Rigby”. Frankie Moreno’s wonderful voice and phrasing accompanied by Josh’s poignant violin explore the mysterious soulful beauty of humanity.

In “Left Hand Song”, Regina Spektor was off the wall in a very good way.

“Variant Moods”, performed with Anoushka Shankar on sitar, and written by his father, Ravi Shankar, took me to a mystical dreamlike world.

This cd felt to me like Joshua Bell and friends were inviting us in to take a seat and simply experience music in its purest transformative state.

Simply magical.

Joshua’s website
Joshua’s Facebook page

Check out “At Home With Friends” on Amazon and iTunes!