Strange Daze Indeed

Everyone loves their mom and always wants to find the best gift to make her feel loved and appreciated. These are the gifts I have found and would love to share with you. After you enter my giveaway head over to Makobi Scribe to see her mothers day gift ideas worth over $3000. Then enter the grand prize drawing of a $1000 worth of Karina Dresses.

Some Moms love flowers, some like candy, but why not get Mom something different this Mother’s Day – Wholly Guacamole and Salsas. I know that this is something my whole family craves! All-natural with no preservatives and gluten-free, it’s the closest thing to homemade.

When I made guacamole, I used to have to go shopping, make sure all my ingredients were fresh and stayed fresh and then chop everything in between trying to get everything else done. If you’re like me, perhaps you’re also looking for convenience and healthy options. You can even keep packages in your freezer for up to three months, take them out and they will be just as tasty. I try to always have at least a few on hand.

I love to use them to liven up a meal either as a side, on a salad or as part of the main dish. One of my favorites is to put the guac in breakfast burritos with cheese and salsa.

Guacamole is also a great swap out for Mayo. It’s delicious in chicken salad, spices up egg salad, and rocks a BLT. Each is made with real Haas Avocados (the best!).

For Cinco de Mayo coming up soon, why not try grilled fish tacos with Avocado Verde Salsa (my favorite!). They’re easy to make and really scrumptious.

 The 100 calorie packs are great for convenience for snacks (say with baby carrots or chips), single serve, great if your kids like classic but you like spicy!

Eat Wholly has some awesome recipes that you can consult and make.

My next project is the Chovocado Fire Mousse with cayenne, creamy avocado, bittersweet chocolate and cinnamon.

I have to confess that I  love my chocolate bars with chili so this really appeals to me and prep time is only about 15 minutes. Perfect! There is also a kid-friendly non-spicy version.

And for 3 lucky winners, imagine a coolerful of guacamole, salsas and other goodies arriving fresh at your door!

Just enter via Rafflecopter below and best of luck!

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Makobi Scribe Reviews, LLC or the Mother’s Day Gift Event Bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes.

Helga: Out of the Hedgelands

Twelve-year-old Helga has more danger in her life than most beasts her age—Wrackshee slavers after her, a vicious attack by bandits that nearly kills her, a race against dragons pursuing her, and leading a daring rebellion to save her life and rescue friends and family from the insidious WooZan. And that is just the beginning. But what do you expect when you are a young beast who just can’t see the stupid rules of the world making any sense? Helga can’t accept things as they are and ends up taking on not just one, but two all-powerful, supreme tyrants in two different realms. Helga never intended to lead a revolution. It just sort of happened because she wouldn’t go along with the “rules of normal” that keep tyrants in power and entire societies enslaved.

Beginning on a dangerous quest to solve some mysteries in her own past, Helga leads her quirky comrades on a journey that will not only forever change them, but upset ancient civilizations. As an author, I’m drawn to eccentric, unexpected characters: those who surprise because they hear a distant galaxy, see a different music, create their own fragrance rather than get hooked on a soundtrack; the child who has her own ideas about how the emperor is dressed; the lunatics and rebels who tell stories on the boundaries. Helga’s unusual story will take readers to worlds they never imagined—definitely a whole new ride. Time and again, the unconventional heroine and her eccentric comrades overcome ominous tyrants and black-hearted slavers, not by battling to the last beast standing, but by being the first beast to think differently.

 Helga: Out of Hedgelands is divided into three books which introduce the epic saga of the Wood Cow clan and their role in overturning centuries of slavery and tyranny. This story will continue in additional volumes of the Wood Cow Chronicles now in development. Over the series of current and future volumes, the entire history of the Wood Cow clan, the fall of Maev Astuté, and the coming of Lord Farseeker to the Outer Rings, will be told.

Author Rick Johnson

 I am a native of the Great Plains, having grown up on a farm in the Platte River Valley of western Nebraska. I love the wild beauty of the Plains and nearby Rocky Mountains–the too hot, too cold, too empty, too full of life extremes. Typically, the awesomely diverse and the awesomely stark are much the same, even as they are different. Although I have lived in Michigan, North Carolina, and British Columbia, the western plains, mountains, and desert are in my heart.

As my day job, for over thirty years I have been a faculty member and administrator in higher education. Teaching broadly in the liberal arts, including creative writing, my professional publications include educational materials, poems, and 28 stories for young readers. During my spare hours, I have also collected and carefully studied the records of former times upon which the Wood Cow Chronicles are based.

 It is my privilege to bring this astonishing saga to light. ​ The Wood Cow Chronicles have been researched and written with the irreplaceable assistance of Barbara, my beloved wife of more than thirty-five years, and our children. Indeed, the essential research into the history of the Wood Cows has been conducted during the odd hours of family reading and storytelling “around the campfire” as we say–even when there is no campfire! This research continues and grows richer as our family expands across generations and continents.  

Book Blast Giveaway

 $100 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 5/1/13 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Anya Michaels is having the time of her life. She has the man of her dreams by her side. She has graduated at the top of her class. She has the job others were lining up for. Between late night drinks at her favourite bar and fancy dinners at the most expensive restaurants, she has a string of adoring friends.

 Everything changes when she hears the dreaded words, “You are sick.” Being diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder, her world starts to fall apart, one piece at a time. Now dumped, her four year relationship is nothing but a memory filled with pictures, thoughts and a very broken heart. Her job becomes an even further challenge as she tries to hide her condition. Her friends suddenly have more important things to do, what is a party without a party girl?

Perfect could not crumble any faster. Soon, caught between situations, people and pieces of life that she never dreamed of planning for herself, Anya begins to wonder if her brain condition is all that bad. As she absorbs the changes in her life and realization sets in, she begins to wonder if she is the only one saying: Excuse Me, My Brains Have Stepped Out.

Author Pandora Poikilos Pandora Poikilos has been writing for more than 10 years for various media which include newspapers, radio, television and various websites. A social media enthusiast who is passionate about blogging and finding her way around the virtual world, she wills away time in the real world by reading, writing and people watching.  

 Book Blast Giveaway $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 4/28/13 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you.

The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.    a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Goddess Girls #10 – Pheme the Gossip

Get to know Goddess Girl Pheme…the original “gossip girl”!
As the goddess girl of rumor and gossip, Pheme prides herself on being “in the know” and having the most up-to-date info on anyone and everyone at Mount Olympus Academy. To make sure that people really get her VIP messages, her words tend to linger in cloud letters above her head—just in case people don’t catch what she says!

But not everyone is thrilled with Pheme’s insider knowledge on everything MOA—including the Goddess Girls. Can Pheme ever be trusted? Or will this “gossip girl” find herself on the other end of the rumors?

Author Suzanne Williams

Suzanne Williams is the award-winning author of nearly 40 books for children, from picture books and easy readers to chapter books and middle grade fiction series. A former elementary school librarian, she lives near Seattle. Her picture book Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg) won the New Mexico children’s choice award in 2000 and was on several other state award lists. She is co-author (with Joan Holub) of the popular Goddess Girls series(for ages 8 – 12) and Heroes in Training (ages 6 – 11). Other series include Fairy Blossoms and Princess Power.

Author Joan Holub

I graduated from college in Texas with a fine arts degree, and then freelanced as an art director at a graphic design firm for eight years. I dreamed of working in children’s books, so I moved to New York City and became associate art director in Scholastic trade books, where I designed books for children and worked with editors and illustrators. It was a great job.

I illustrated my first published children’s book in 1992 and soon began illustrating full time. I began completing manuscripts and mailing them out to publishers in the early 1990s. In 1996, I sold my first two manuscripts — Boo Who? A Spooky Lift-the-Flap Book (Scholastic) and Pen Pals (Grosset & Dunlap). Yippee!

Now I write full time and have written and/or illustrated over 130 children’s books. Creating books that entertain, inform, and interest children (and me) is a fabulous job that I truly love.

Book Blast Giveaway
$100 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 4/21/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It’s Spring Cleaning time and I’m getting rid of things I don’t need. With it comes a feeling of freedom. After all, if I haven’t worn/used it in a year, there’s a really good chance I don’t need it!

I hate clutter yet somehow manage to fill spaces pretty easily so I really have to stay on top of things.

I find doing a room at a time and not taking on too much prevents that overwhelming feeling.

Another aspect of Spring cleaning for me is to focus on the air in my home and changing air purification filters.

Air purifiers help with germs, allergens, odors, and humidity.  I found that they really improved the quality of air and improved my family’s health. My Mom used to cough all the time at night until I bought one for her room and then that changed significantly. She slept better at night as well.

Air purifiers work quietly in the background to remove pollutants such as dust, pollen, mold, pet dander or cigarette smoke from the air. They also help remove unpleasant smells.

We have them in various rooms in our home and I am thinking of buying another. I just found out recently that Best Buy, one of my favorite stores, has a great selection of air purifiers. They even have a family and friends coupon right now with which you can save 20% off on air purifiers in store until 4/15.

You can check out the air purifiers at Best Buy right here!

So, why not have clean fresh air for your home and breathe easier? For me, personally, it’s a small investment towards improving myself and my family’s health and well-being.

Disclaimer: The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card. All opinions are strictly my own.

One of the best gifts we can give is the gift of education! Now Grad Save has come up with an Easter Egg surprise.

Simply visit Grad Save’s Easter Page and fill out the easty form. You can then download and print up to 20 $10 GradSave Gift Certificates FREE that you can put into Easter eggs as a prize. They are redeemable for new GradSave customers, one per household. This is a fun way to introduce GradSave to families who may not know about them yet.

GradSave is an online college savings registry that helps parents, friends and family save for a child’s future education. With college costs on the rise and many graduates stuck with huge debts after graduating, GradSave offers a new and better way to give the gift of learning.

You can also find some tips on How To Throw An Easter Egg Hunt here!