Iris and The Dragonflies Review & Giveaway

A fellow blogger Algene of I Heart Giveaways was given the chance to review a book entitled : Iris and The Dragonflies. 

Below is her review and your chance to read the same book by joining the giveaway afterwards :

Iris and the Dragonflies is a novel written by Rosemary Danielis. The book is all about an eleven year old child named Iris. Unlike all other children, she prefers staying on the creek instead of playing with her friends. She also do not like going to school, not because of her resistance for learning but because of the fact the she can't relate with her classmates. Her only friends are the dragonflies. It amazes her how she can connect and relate with the said creatures.
Nonetheless, Iris is a special and loving child. She cares for the environment and enjoys doing great things for everyone. Her deep connection with the dragonflies became stronger especially when she learned about her destiny. My most favorite conversation in the book is this:
Iris: "A journey? Where am I going?"
Lea (dragonfly): "It's a journey into the future. Don't worry Iris, you are not alone. We are all in this journey together."
The relationship of Iris with the dragonflies is exceptional. It was only with these creatures that she learned the true meaning of friendship.
This novel is a certified must-read! It's perfect for all ages. You can read it yourself and allow Iris to bring you back to your childhood days. You can also give this book to your kids and teach them about how Iris managed to fulfill her destiny. 

Six lucky winners will receive copies of the book - 5 Kindle versions and 1 Paperback copy (autographed)! Wait, there's more. One winner will be randomly chosen to win $25 gift card to spend on Amazon. The giveaway will run from April 7 to 21, 2012.

If you wish to read Iris and the Dragonflies, enter on the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Coupons and Coupon Sites

I am in awe of how coupons work, especially if you are a mom who always want to get the best deals out of everything. Coupons not only gives the best deals but also make saving easier. Who doesn't want to save?A few cents off from the regular price of items when combined together will make a substantial amount of savings already. That amount can be used for other things in the household, speaking of a practical mom!

photo from queenofsavinggreen.blogspot.com

I read an E-book How to Run a Coupon Site which discusses on the tips of running a coupon site. It discusses the tips how you can start if ever you want a coupon site or be an affiliate marketer. As mentioned there is really no quick way getting around it-building niche, growing traffic and lastly delivering good and honest service (providing expectations from readers). From it, I was able to learn not only running a coupon site but some tips for a consumer mom like me about the things to watch out for when visiting and trying a coupon site's offer-that some codes are not valid and offers that aren't really existing. 

To sum up, there is really no such thing as overnight fame, coupon sites gain their popularity by providing the best deals to readers/consumers thus it takes effort and hardwork to grow the community of readers and advertisers to make the coupon site survive. Now if you want more helpful tips on how you can effectively run a coupon site-gain more traffic and earn at the same time, you can check "How to Run a Coupon Site" by Nightfire Publications and you can also try their other E-books.

Sponsored by Tomoson.com

If you want to get some FREE E-books like this one, all you have to do is leave a comment below until December 5th.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

money matters

We try to work hard to make all ends meet. We are always on the high hopes that what we earn will be enough with our needs, but as we all know, that will not always be the case. Monthly bills pile up, interests accumulate and for our savings-well it will be delayed again for next month's pay check. All these things plus a lot more contribute and give us financial stress.

But you might say : How do I become free of my financial problem? Simple. Focus on the other aspects of your life, the more you dwell with finances and debts, the more it will hit you. To tell you my story, I was on a strict financial situation almost two years ago when I shifted jobs and was not able to augment my earnings with my payable every month. But having the right approach helped me to overcome that nightmare. I shifted my focus on the other things that can help my problem (I looked for additional income generating activities) rather than thinking of the problem itself and fortunately it worked.

Recently, I have come across a very helpful tool in combating financial related problems. Should I have known and seen this before it surely eased up my stress. Actually this is an easy way to relieve the stress and worry that comes with your money problems. All you need to do is just sit back, relax and you can walk away with all your financial stress that kept you awake for so many nights. This Hypnosis MP3 is very good in   managing your stress and emotions for you to be able to let go of the stress and find inner peace. After I have listened to it, I felt rejuvenated and my mind cleared from cobwebs. I was also able to once again affirm that there is more to life than just money. We worry so much about our financial status that we tend to neglect some good parts of our lives-our family, friends and the things we love and enjoy to do. We forget that sometimes the best things in life are those that money can't buy.

If you're interested in getting out of your own financial worries, just click HERE for a chance to experience a worry-free and happy life.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Pirate Themed Party

I mentioned that I am already planning for my daughter's birthday party, and as I check for possible themes, the more I get excited. I love attending birthday parties, specially children's parties aside from the yummy food selection (to cater kid's choosy palate), I like watching and sometimes participating in the games.

Gladly, I found PartyGamesPlus.com, it is a website that offers creative and fun party games. They provide ideas for different party themes and games that compliment a specific theme may it be a party for children, tweens, teens and adults. PartyGamesPlus.com can also cater to D.I.Y. creative games and you can also choose from their thousands of popular games and games supplies, they indeed have tons of ways to add fun to your next celebration!

sample of personalized invites

Thinking of a party theme is quite burdensome sometimes, most specially if you want a "not-your-ordinary" theme. Well here's a non-character theme and at the same time a not so ordinary party theme, PIRATE PARTY THEME.

invites template for boys

invites template for girls

 The good thing about this Pirate Party Theme is that it comes with a FREE Pirate Party Treasure Hunt Riddles Kit, that contains printable invitations (picture above). There is also a printable treasure hunt game that comes with riddles, clues and other materials needed for the game. Along with that, there are also FREE activity sheets for the Pirate Themed Party. This is a good solution to moms and party planners since it will save time from tedious party games planning since the materials are already provided and ready to be printed.

activity sheets sample

Go ahead and check this theme by visiting the website PartyGamesPlus.com plus you can also check out other cool party theme games and ideas!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

excellent vacation ideas

Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Needed a vacation?

Well who wants to have a vacation? I think everyone does. We all want to feel relaxed and de-stressed from our daily routines.

*photo from  psychologytoday.com

Every year when my husband would go on his annual vacation I usually have my plans already laid out.
The minute he was approved with his leave, I would go ahead and check accomodations to wherever we want or planned to go.
The last getaway we had was some kind of a second honeymoon.It was at the summer capital of the Philippines, Baguio City. The city is very special for us.
It is where we "first" met and spent our first entire week together way back 2002, where we had our honeymoon in 2009 and it was quite memorable this time since
from this vacation, our little angel was conceived in 2010. I know that this place will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Planning our vacation is not difficult for me, since my husband likes the laid back type of vacation : no plans, no scheduled activities.

We just want everything to be spontaneous, impromptu. It is easier because we as both adults can manage to adjust to whatever conditions we will encounter during the vacation. I know that it's going to be different now with the baby, future vacations and getaways needed to be more planned and well executed since a third individual is involved.

*photo from aperfectworld.org

To get more out of our vacation planning process, we need some inputs for vacation ideas, thanks to excellent vacation ideas website by providing some great tips. You can actually get a FREE E-Book where you will learn the secrets in choosing a family vacation that everyone will love and enjoy.

*photo from freesurveysonline.com

This awesome site also shares some great tips on things to consider in planning a vacation that everyone in the family will enjoy. It provides some healthy questions a planner needs to answer in order to get the best suitable getaway for the family. From these tips, I learned that the key in determining a perfect vacation for the family is the type of activity that the family wants to do.

Along with that, here are some things to consider as well:

-Are you looking for an active vacation? A relaxing vacation? A mix of

both?

-Is this a budget vacation? Or your Dream vacation you have saved

for?

-What time of year will you travel?

-What types of attractions is the family interested in? History?

Architecture? Theme Parks?

-What destinations will both the adults and the kids enjoy?

*photo from looselippedlassie.com

So, there you go!

I hope that I have shed some light on your planning ideas. For more information, other great tips and fantastic suggestions on yur next vacation you can visit the

website excellent-vacation-ideas.com.

The best thing to rememeber in choosing your vacation is : Whatever you will do; wherever you will go, do have FUN!

*photo from seotrainingsw.com

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

party planning checklist

Sometimes planning a party can be a little bit frustrating and stressful. There are so many things to prepare for and sometimes, with a little time. I can say that one of the few things to have a successful party or event is to be prepared in advance and most of all it pays to be organized to be able to overlook all the things needed in order to plan a perfect party or event.

My daughter's first birthday will be coming in less than 4 months from now. Since I am a stay at home mom, the preparation for this milestone will be added on top of my other mommy duties. As mentioned, proper organization and preparing ahead of time is an advantage.

I have started laying out my plans for my daughter's party. So far, so good. And of course this is with the help of a very efficient Party Planning Checklist. 

This Party Planning Checklist is very effective? Why? First, it is very detailed,starting from the Menu Plan, you can enumerate the types of food and recipe to serve starting with appetizers down to the dessert. 

There's also a portion where you can put the schedule when you will start the preparation. 

Aside from that, a Grocery List is also provided where you can list down all the needed ingredients that you can bring to supermarket trip to do the grocery.

One of the highlights of this Party Planning Checklist is the checklist for the arrangement of tables, chairs, beverage coolers,garbage bags and/or recycle bins. It gives the planner a heads up on how to arrange the layout of the event venue and where to put the necessary but sometimes neglected must-haves of a party or event.

I can give this Party Planning Checklist a thumbs up for providing an organized draft of a party or event. I can say that I will really be using this checklist to plan for my daughter's party in order to keep everything organized and well executed as planned. 

You can check out this Party Planning Checklist by visiting this SITE. Aside from checklists the site also features other additional planning help like choosing different themes, games,recipes, costumes,party favors and a whole lot more in terms of party ideas. Go ahead and check out this LINK for more information.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.