Ultimate Blog Party Time

It's time for the Ultimate Blog Party!
Lots of FANTASTIC giveaways.
Lots of FUN.
Be sure to head over to 5MinutesforMom.com to check it all out.
You won't be disappointed!


The prize list is HERE

Party on, everyone....party on!

New Jewelry!

As usual many things have gotten in the way of my making jewelry. Some good, some bad.
On the good I now have a painted hallway and craft room. Posts on that will follow soon.
The bad I don't want to write about...


I did manage to make a few new pieces. One was a special order for a wonderful customer. It has already gone to its new home but it is such a pretty bracelet I wanted to show it off....I called it Night Storm. It was made from gem grade black spinel, labradorite and royal blue kyanite with mystic white topaz to add some mystery. The clasp was one I was holding on to for a special piece; it was sterling and Roman glass.

I was very pleased with how this bracelet came out. The photos don't do the labradorite or the mystic white topaz justice.




I also made another bracelet; this one with perfect kisses of merlot colored garnet matched with glowing grey moonstone and for contrast a touch of Oregon sunstone.

All of the gemstones were handwrapped to a gold fill chain. At the clasp there is a fall containing a grey moonstone leaf with the garnets and sunstone.

The glow within these moonstones is really glorious and again, the photographs don't do them justice. This bracelet is called Vintage and is available in my shop.


A new necklace will be listed soon. This piece is also garnet and grey moonstone and here is a sneak peak....

I haven't decided on a name yet. I am ruminatin'. I will let you know when it's available in the shop.

Review: BuildASign.com Magnetic Signs and Bumper Stickers #Giveaway

The last couple of years I have been taking Happy Goat Soap to our local Farmer's Market and now people know me as "the soap lady." Pricilla's little face is getting pretty well recognized too.  The Farmer's Market is only open in the summer though and that left the whole of the winter without any way to get the word out about Pricilla's rich soap.


I was offered the opportunity to review one of the great magnetic signs from BuildASign.com and knew this would be a fantastic way to keep Pricilla's face out in the community. The sign would be on the hubby's truck as he drove around town!


Working with the delightful Melissa from BuildASign.com was a pleasure! She made the entire process - from ordering, to editing to educating me on how to make my sign "pop" easy and downright fun! My signs - I have two, one for each side of the hubby's truck - are heavy weight and easy to read and Pricilla's little face is present in all of its goaty cuteness.

The signs look great on the truck and can be easily removed and repositioned. My original design was B.O.R.I.N.G. and Melissa showed me how to make it more appealing and easy to read from a distance. I am beyond thrilled with them.

Doesn't it look GREAT?!

BuildASign.com offers so much more than magnetic signs! You will find flags, banners, parking signs, sandwich boards and much, much more.


I also had some very adorable bumper stickers made. You can see what they look like on the left of the blog. There is a tiny little bumper sticker! In fact to celebrate Pricilla's new bumper stickers the first 5 people who comment will receive one!


How cool is that?


So if you would like one of Pricilla's brand new bumper stickers just comment leaving your email address so I can contact you for your mailing info.


And if you need a magnetic sign I know where you can get a fantasic one - BuildASign.com!


Disclosure:  I received magnetic signs gratis. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free product. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Blog Tour and Book Review: Murder Takes the Cake by Gayle Trent

About the Book:


A routine cake delivery becomes a culinary nightmare when a small-town baker discovers her first client's dead body in this irresistible new mystery series.

It'll take more than a little sugar to convince folks Daphne Martin's freshly baked spice cake was not to blame for the mysterious death of town gossip Yodel Watson. Getting her new cake decorating business, Daphne's Delectable Cakes, off the ground is hard enough now that Daphne's moved back to her southern Virginia hometown, but orders have been even slower since she found Yodel's body. She soon realizes, however, that just about everybody in town had a reason to poison the cantankerous busybody, from the philandering pet shop owner, to Yodel's church potluck nemesis, to the Save-A-Buck's cranky produce manager-turned-bagger. Now, to help prove she's no confectionary killer, Daphne recruits her old flame, Ben Jacobs, editor of the local newspaper, and quickly stirs up a long-hidden family scandal that just might hold the secret ingredient she needs to solve the case. All she's got to do is roll up her sleeves and get her hands a little dirty before the real culprit decides that taking sweet revenge on Daphne will be icing on the cake. 


About the Author:


Gayle Trent lives in Southwest Virginia with her husband and two beautiful children, a boy and a girl. She's a full-time writer/editor/mom/wife and chief cook and bottle washer, and she love every minute of it. Okay, not the bottle washing so much, but the rest of it is great.


My Opinion:


This is a "cozy" mystery so while there are dead people there is no gore. There is much to be said for a easy to read murder mystery now and again. This book combines one of my big loves, baking with murder.


Hmmm.


Daphne Martin has just moved back to her home town and opened a cake decorating business. She's left her husband after he tried to shoot her. Her mother feels that she should have stayed with this guy - he didn't actually KILL her after all. Obviously Daphne and her mother have issues.


While settling in and trying to get her business off the ground Daphne is also re-kindling her friendship with an old boyfriend. He helps her as she tries to solve the mystery of who killed Yodel Watson, the town gossip. She also learns some old family secrets that don't help her relationship with her mother.


Overall I enjoyed the book. The only aspect I found jarring was the breaking of the wall between the writer and the reader when Daphne gave out cake decorating tips. This is often done in these cozy mysteries but the expert, be it is cooking, knitting, baking or in this case cake decorating often dispenses their knowledge to another character. In this book the tips are often just written apropos of nothing and it was well, odd.


That mild complaint notwithstanding the book was a fun, light read and I would happily pick up another book in the series.


Murder Takes the Cake is available from Amazon.com













Disclosure:  I received a copy of Murder Takes the Cake gratis from Gallery Publishing. Any opinions are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

What Makes Mother's Day Special

Mother's Day will soon be here and it will cause me, as usual to stop and think of my mother. Not that I don't do that at random times during the day. It's just that when a whole day is devoted to Mothers it focuses one's thoughts and for me, my memories.


My mother has been dead for 17 years now but that doesn't mean she still doesn't impact my life. No. Not at all. At odd times I will think of things she said or things she did or think of how she might have handled something and it brings her back.  She wasn't a perfect mother by any stretch of the imagination but she was MY mother.


I chose not to have children so she didn't pass any advice to me but that doesn't mean that Mother's Day passes unobserved in my household. I am godmother to a beautiful, smart young woman and she surprises me every year with a card and note that brightens my day. The first year that this present came to me. The year she was only a tiny infant and her mother marked Mother's Day for ME and made it important for the two of us was a day I remember clearly. It made me feel special and loved. This beautiful child, the first of all my "kids" still remembers me on Mother's Day and I can't say how much I love to get that card.


Tiny Prints has a lovely selection of Mother's Day Cards that can fit every need you might have; from mothers, aunts, grandmothers to friends. I particularly like this one

but there are so many it is truly hard to choose. Many of them can be personalized with photos.
Wouldn't that make a special card!


Tiny Prints provides simple, modern and unique stationery from Father’s Day Cards to personalized greeting cards to thank you cards, business cards, and even custom wedding invitations or photo birth announcements. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been lauded by numerous television networks, publications and celebrities. With Tiny Prints by your side commemorating every holiday and momentous occasion is a cinch! They offer perfect party invitations for every occasion and memorable personalized photo-gifts like notebooks, photo books and calendars to commemorate the event.


So check them out. I'm sure you will find something just perfect for your Mother's Day needs.


Disclosure:  I will receive a Gift Card from Tiny Prints for writing this post but the emotions and opinions expressed are entirely my own honest feelings.

Wholly Guacamole Teams Up with The Biggest Loser and YOU Can Win

Feel like you need reinforcements in The Battle of the Bulge?

Does The Biggest Loser®  give you inspiration?

 

Wholly Guacamole is celebrating Battle Buddies with an awesome giveaway!

Go to eatwholly.com/thebiggestloser and, in 200 words or less, tell them how you and your Battle Buddy inspire and support each other in your weight loss journey.

They're giving away tons of prizes including a trip for 2 to attend  The Biggest Loser: Couples season finale, a trip for 2 for a week's stay at The Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge Malibu® and airfare allowance!  And don't forget to watch The Biggest Loser: Couples, Tuesdays 8/7c! 

 

Click here to learn more!

Main:  http://eatwholly.com/promotions/biggest-loser-contest.html

Prizes: http://eatwholly.com/biggest-loser-prizes.html

Partners: http://eatwholly.com/biggest-loser-partners.html

Rules:  http://eatwholly.com/biggest-loser-rules.html

Disclosure:  I will receive product coupons and be entered into a drawing for posting this information.

 

Blog Tour and Book Review: The Mountains Bow Down by Sibella Giorello

About the Book:


Everything's going to work out. Time away always makes things better . . .. 
That's what FBI Special Agent Raleigh Harmon believes as she boards a cruise to Alaska. A land of mountains and gems and minerals, The Last Frontier is a dream destination for this forensic geologist who's hoping to leave behind a hectic work schedule and an engagement drained of romance.

But when a passenger goes missing and winds up dead, Raleigh's vacation suddenly gets lost at sea. The ship's security chief tries to rule the death a suicide, but Raleigh's forensics background points to a much darker conclusion: Somewhere onboard, a ruthless murderer walks free.

Engulfed by one of her toughest cases yet, Raleigh requests assistance from the FBI and receives her nemesis-perpetual ladies man Special Agent Jack Stephanson. As the cruise ship sails through the Inside Passage, Raleigh has five days to solve a high-profile murder, provide consultation for a movie filming onboard, and figure out her increasingly complicated feelings for Jack-who might not be such a jerk after all.

And that's only her work life. Family offers even more challenges. Joined on the cruise by her mother and aunt, Raleigh watches helplessly as disturbing rifts splinter her family.

Like the scenery that surrounds the cruise ship, Raleigh discovers a situation so steep and so complex that even the mountains might bow down.


About the Author:


Sibella Giorello grew up in Alaska and majored in geology at Mount Holyoke College. After riding a motorcycle across the country, she worked as a features writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Her stories have won state and national awards, including two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize. She now lives in Washington state with her husband and sons. Find out more about Sibella and her other books at her website.www.sibellagiorello.com


My Opinion:


The first paragraph was painful. But once I got past that the book was very good. A fast paced suspense novel with Alaska as a backdrop. The characters were well drawn and you wanted to stay with them. I really felt for poor Raleigh; a truly difficult mother, a fiance she was only settling for and now a vacation that turns into work. Oh, and that colleague that she hates but is oh so attracted to. We all know where THAT is going!


The killer came out of left field and I didn't see him/her coming. Did you really think I was going to give you that big a clue? The ending sets up the next book in the series very nicely and leaves you wanting to read more.


Here is some good news:


Start the series fresh with this great deal! Pick up a copy of Book 1 for your Kindle or Nook for only $2.99! The Stones Roll Away is the critically acclaimed award winner that kicked off the Raleigh Harmon series. http://www.amazon.com/Stones-Raleigh-Harmon-Novel-ebook/dp/B004QGYURS/ref=sprightly-20


The Mountains Bow Down is available on Amazon.com

Sibella’s celebrating the release of The Mountains Bow Down by giving away a Cruise prize pack worth over $500.00!

One Grand Prize winner will receive:

• A $500 gift certificate toward the cruise of their choice from Vacations To Go.
• The entire set of the Raleigh Harmon series.

To enter go here!

Then tell your friends. And enter soon - the giveaway ends on 4/1! The winner will be announced at Sibella’s Raleigh Harmon Book Club Party on FB April 5th, 2011! Don’t miss the fun – prizes, books and gab!

Join Sibella and fans of the Raleigh Harmon series on April 5th at 5:00 pm PST (6 MST, 7 CST & 8 EST) for a Facebook Book Club Party. Sibella will be giving away some fun prizes, testing your trivia skills and hosting a book chat about the Raleigh Harmon books. Please RSVP  and if you have questions you'd like to chat about - leave them on the Event page.

The Blog Tour Schedule can be found HERE

Disclosure:  I received a copy of The Mountains Bow Down gratis. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Review and #Giveaway: Tropical Traditions Organic Hulled Millet

I love trying new products.
Erm, duh.
When those new products are foodstuffs I can experiment with in the kitchen I really get excited.
So when Tropical Traditions offered me the opportunity to try their Organic Hulled Millet I knew it would be a good time in the Broken Teepee household. 


Millet (hulled) is a common food to many people around the world. It has a high protein content and is excellent grain to add for variety. It cooks rapidly as a whole grain and can be used as a cereal as well as a stuffing, a side dish or blended into other dishes. Its mild flavor also makes it applicable to dessert dishes. Gluten free


I had heard of millet but really didn't know much about it. It was one of those things "I always wanted to try" but had never gotten around to actually trying. So hear was my chance. I went to my fallback cookbook for grains and vegetables:

I learned how to cook the millet. First it needed to be lightly toasted. This gives it a nice, nutty flavor.

Then it goes into a pot of salted, boiling water.

When the water is absorbed - in about half an hour - the millet is cooked. You just fluff it with a fork. The texture is part mushy, part chewy and it is very tasty.

I decided to use it as a base for a salad.
I mixed together green beans, shredded carrots, lettuce, raisins and cashews with an orange/balsamic vinaigrette.  

I put the warm millet in a bowl.

Then topped it with the salad.

And the hubby and I had a delicious and very filling dinner.
I am looking forward to more experiments with this yummy grain.


One lucky reader will get to try Tropical Traditions Organic Hulled Millet.
How do you win? It's easy!
But first some rules:


US and Canada only
No PO Boxes
18 yrs old+


MANDATORY ENTRY:


Sign up for the Tropical Traditions Newsletter. Be sure to leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win.


EXTRA ENTRIES:

1. Follow Tropical Traditions on Facebook

2. Follow @TropTraditions on Twitter

3. Follow @BrokenTeepee on Twitter and tweet the following (once per day)

#win Organic Hulled Millet from@TropTraditions &@BrokenTeepee @http://tinyurl.com/4c5bysv #giveaway

4. Share the giveaway using the share buttons at the end of the post (except StumbleUpon)

5. Like Broken Teepee on Facebook

6. Tell me something else you would like from Tropical Traditions

SEE THE EXTRA ENTRIES PAGE FOR ADDITIONAL WAYS TO ENTER.

All entries need to be in by 9PM MDT on April 13th when I will go to Random.org to choose the winner. He/she will have 48hrs. to respond or I will choose a new winner.

Good luck everyone.

Disclosure:  I received Organic Hulled Millet gratis. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free product. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Book Review and Giveaway: The Revenge of The Radioactive Lady by Elizabeth Stuckey-French

About the Book:


This lively, intricately plotted, laugh-out-loud funny, and surprisingly touching family drama combines the wit of Carl Hiaasen with the southern charm of Jill McCorkle. 

Seventy-seven-year-old Marylou Ahearn is going to kill Dr. Wilson Spriggs come hell or high water. In 1953, he gave her a radioactive cocktail without her consent as part of a secret government study that had horrible consequences. 

Marylou has been plotting her revenge for fifty years. When she accidentally discovers his whereabouts in Florida, her plans finally snap into action. She high tails it to hot and humid Tallahassee, moves in down the block from where a now senile Spriggs lives with his daughter’s family, and begins the tricky work of insinuating herself into their lives. But she has no idea what a nest of yellow jackets she is stum­bling into. 

Before the novel is through, someone will be kidnapped, an unlikely couple will get engaged, someone will nearly die from eating a pineapple upside-down cake laced with anti-freeze, and that’s not all . . . 

Told from the varied perspectives of an incredible cast of endearing oddball characters and written with the flair of a native Floridian, this dark comedy does not disappoint.


About the Author:


Elizabeth Stuckey-French is the author of the short story collection The First Paper Girl in Red Oak, Iowa. Her stories have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Gettysburg Review, Southern Review, Five Points, and other literary journals. She lives in Tallahassee, Florida, where she teaches fiction writing at Florida State University.


My Opinion:


Marylou Ahearn wants revenge.
Badly.
When she finds the target of her hate living peacefully in Florida she sets up housekeeping under a different name and starts to integrate herself into the family. Only there is one problem - her tormentor has Alzheimer's and doesn't remember a thing. 


Or does he?


This book was a total hoot! Despite the dark topics involved in the plot it is written with a wry sense of humor that makes all of the murder/kidnapping/secret government testing seem justifiable. The characters build slowly as they tell their stories in chapters told in their voices. 
The plot was fun - there is no other word for it. There were twists and turns and a hurricane to boot. Marylou is a bit touched but she has reason to be - whether that reason is how her life turned out or the radioactive cocktail she drank I have no idea but it sure made it a blast to follow her story.   If you are looking for a good book that will make you chuckle and think, this is the book for you.


Thanks to the great folks at Doubleday Books two lucky readers will get to win a copy of this fun book.
How do you win? It's easy!
But first some rules:


US only
No PO boxes
One copy per household
18 yrs old+


MANDATORY ENTRY:


Tell me if you have read anything by Ms. Stuckey-French. Be sure to leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win.


EXTRA ENTRIES:

1. Follow me on twitter and tweet about the giveaway(one per day) - #Win The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady from @Doubleday & @BrokenTeepee @http://tinyurl.com/4kzwp8h #giveaway

2. Become a fan of Broken Teepee on Facebook

3. Share the giveaway using the share buttons (except StumbleUpon) at the end of the post - 1 entry for each share. Leave a separate comment for each

4. Follow @Doubleday on Twitter

5. Like the Random House on Facebook

SEE THE EXTRA ENTRIES PAGE FOR ADDITIONAL WAYS TO ENTER.

All entries need to be in by 9PM MST on April 19th when I will go to Random.org to choose the winners. They will have 48hrs to respond or I will choose new winners.

Good luck everyone.

The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady is available at Amazon.com













Disclosure:  I received a gratis copy of The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady from Doubleday Books. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.