Category: product reviews/giveaways

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Wendy’s Four New Salads

I love gift cards. Permission to shop or dine on someone else’s dime is always something I enjoy.  When Wendy’s offered to send me a gift card to go to lunch, how could I say no? I love gift cards and I love all the work that Wendy’s does on the adoption front through the Dave Thomas Foundation, AND I love lunch. Win-Win-Win.

The gift card was to purchase one of their new salads, salads made with prepared in-store with fresh, premium ingredients. At the very end of our BlogHer road trip, we stopped about an hour from home with the kids for dinner.

I ordered the Baja salad, which feature pico de gallo, fresh guacamole, assorted greens and chili. I will be honest–I wasn’t expecting the chili (I didn’t read the description, just looked at the pictures, and I didn’t really see chili in the photo), but I have to say that it was tasty. The lettuce was crisp and fresh, and the whole salad (except for the chili, which was added last) was ice cold, which is crucial in a tasty salad.  The guacamole was yummy, and the whole salad had really good flavor, and it was a big enough salad that it felt like a meal.

Of course we finished our meals off with Frostys….can you really go to Wendy’s without getting one?

Disclosure: I was sent a $10 gift card to try one of the four new salads at Wendy’s. I ate the salad and I liked it. So there.

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A True Confession: She’s Gone Country

I don’t know how it happened.

I don’t think it’s ever happened before.

I’m slightly embarassed and rather disappointed in myself.

I didn’t read a single novel this summer. NOT A SINGLE ONE.

This from the person who used to keep book logs “for fun” in elementary school. Such a sad state of affairs.

When I received an offer to review She’s Gone Country, I jumped at the chance. A book would be delivered to my house, and since it was a review, I would have to read it! Phew. Summer reading guilt dissolved!

Except that summer got in the way, I didn’t really start reading it until this week. And since MaM started school Monday, technically, summer is already over. But the State Fair is still happening, which actually, then, in my book makes it still summer. I digress.

On the surface, the premise of She’s Gone Country sounds a lot like the movie Hope Floats (remember Harry Conick, Jr as a cowboy?), but reading a few chapters in, this book is a whole lot meatier.

The plot revolves around Shey Callen Darcy, Texan by birth, supermodel by day, doting mother of three teen boys by night. Separated from her “suddenly” gay husband, Shey returns to her family’s ranch licking her wounds and contemplating her next move.

The story unfolds nicely, as the boys’ rebel against their mother, Shey’s brothers continue to see her as a younger sister who needs protecting, and Shey’s first love enters the scene.

I won’t go into too many details, because the story moves along with surprises and twists. It’s a good read, and it involves kissing cowboys. It also involves an almost 40 yr old woman on the edge of something familiar, yet new. Of welcoming back her past, but with adult eyes. Of seeing her hometown for it’s good points and bad points, and discovering what it is she can do to help.

Much like I enjoyed Easy on the Eyes last year,
I really enjoyed this story because it’s a mature love story. It’s a story that takes time to involve the children, the work/life balance and extended family, just like real life does.

Disclosure: The Hatchette Group sent me a copy She’s Gone Country to review. The opinions are all mine.
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I Love Potty Training

Oh I only wish that were the case!

To be honest, I’ve been avoiding it with Jr. It was such a long, drawn out process with MaM, that turned into such a battle of the wills, that I really don’t want to think about doing it again.

But then I got an intriguing email from Joy Berry’s books (the children’s author who writes very straightforward books on emotional topics for kids)…would I like to review the iPhone App: I Love Potty Training?!?!

I laughed. Of course!! Of course my iPhone would potty train Jr for me! It already reminds me of appointments, keeps track of my groceries, holds my workouts and tracks my calories….of course it would potty train my boy!!

The I Love Potty Training app includes both the girl and boy version of the classic Joy Berry books, The Potty Book for Boys and the Potty Book for Girls. It also has a fun potty-themed games (MaM found those right away), and a reward chart right on the phone.

The app is easy to use, and both of my children liked listening to the “Potty Book for Boys” and the “Potty Book for Girls”. I think they really just like listening to the words  “pee-pee” and “poo-poo”, but I’m hoping that it helps get the concept across to Jr!

In addition to the child-friendly parts of the app, there are also tips and tricks for parents, and a way to email (to print) a success certificate when your child has finished the “training” phase.

All in all, I thought  the app was very easy to use, the information was helpful and my kids enjoyed it–we’re a few months away from actually getting down to business with junior, but I think it will come in handy when it’s time!

Thanks to Joy Berry books for providing me with this app to review It’s available in the iTunes store!