And The Winners Are...

Random.org has picked comments 35 and 4 as the winners for the Jodi Picoult House Rules Giveaway!

Outnumbered Mama said: I follow your blog

Traci said: I subscribe to your blog via RSS

Winners have been emailed and have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Congrats ladies! Don't forget to enter the Happy Baby and the Hair Coverings giveaways!

Be More Social!

Anyway...
Wednesday Link-up is a weekly link-up hosted by Smart and Trendy Moms . They created it for socializing and to get new followers, fans, subscribers, readers without feeling overwhelmed. Every week will be a new link-up that will focus on one of the ways you connect with people through your blog!  We will rotate through gaining followers, fans, Networked blogs and more.  Link-up and focus on one thing at a time. Its about fun one follower,fan and reader at a time!

Here's a link to the details http://www.smartandtrendymoms.com/2010/05/link-up-and-get-new-blog-readers-its.html

To participate:
Follow the blog in the first spot. All blogs participating must post about Social Parade and link to that post. Have fun! You need to link to the post about the Social Parade!

Determined to win!

I'm obsessed with winning a Soda Stream. This is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. It lets you make your own sodas! Bonus: Dublin Dr Pepper sells the syrup! I'd make it fresh for all my friends daily!

Here's a giveaway  on Ladybug Mama of 2 to win your own Soda Stream. I will be jealous if you win before me! :)

Cellfire Coupons Released!

The new Cellfire e-coupons are available! Here's some of what I see on there:

$0.55 off Yoplait 32 oz.
$0.50 off Betty Crocker Warm Delights
$0.75 off 2 Betty Crocker Brownie Mixes
$0.55 off Multi Grain Cheerios


Cellfire currently works with: Baker's, City Market, Dillons, Fry's, Gerbes, Hilander, JayC, King Soopers, Kroger, Owen's, Pay Less, QFC, Ralph,s Scott's, Smith's, Carrs, Dominick's, Genuardi's, Pavilions, Randall's, Safeway, Tom Thumb, Vons, and ShopRite

Review and Giveaway: Hair Coverings (CLOSED)

I need a haircut. Badly. It's been since November last year. We don't even want to talk about the grey hair. Then of course, we have "Grabby the Baby" who loves to pull my hair. So, it's up and out of the way every day (except Sunday morning...as soon as we get home though...up it goes!). I was excited when I was contacted by Debbie at HairCoverings.com to do a product review. I received the Scrunch Hard Hair Band to review.

At first, I wasn't sure about it since it is quite large, but I liked the way it looked in my hair and it held it back really well too. (No photos are available, I don't allow pictures of myself. You're just going to have to trust me on this!) The only thing I wasn't sure about was the part that goes behind the ears (post? end? what is that called?). It was a little tight and the fabric which wraps it was a little pointy on the ends. (Could be that my head is just too big.) I was able to trim the points off and I was no longer bothered by the ends.

The site has much more than headbands though. They have pre-tied bandannas, feather headbands, head scarves, hair clips and pony holders.

Now the good news: Debbie has agreed to a giveaway! She will send you $25 of surprise hair accessories! 

Entry Methods:
First, and mandatory, entry: Go to HairCoverings.com and tell me what you would like to try . (1 Entry)


Other entries (leave a separate comment for each):
2 entries - Become a public follower of my blog. The link is on the right hand side of the page. If you're already a follower, leave a comment letting me know.
2 entries - Blog about this giveaway, with a link back to the giveaway (leave a link in your comment so I can verify)
1 entry - Subscribe to my blog through one of the methods listed (link is just under the followers), let me know if you already subscribe.
1 entry - Become a Facebook fan of Faithful Finances (let me know if you're already a fan, you still get an entry!)
2 entries - Follow Hair Coverings on Twitter
2 entries - subscribe to the Hair Coverings blog feed
2 entries - "Like" Hair Coverings on Facebook
1 entry - Bookmark Hair Coverings on Delicious
1 entry - Follow Hair Coverings on Networked Blogs
1 entry - Follow Hair Coverings with Google Friend Connect
1 entry - Stumble Hair Coverings on Stumble Upon
NEW ENTRY: Place my button on your site (5 entries! You must leave a link so I can verify) 

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED 

Giveaway Rules: Please be sure you read these before you start posting comments.

Giveaway open to residents of the US and Canada only. Winner will be chosen, with the True Random Number Generator (Random.org) Wednesday, May 19 at 10 PM CST. Winner will be notified via email and will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. All entries MUST have your email in them. To keep Spam Bots from snagging you, put your address like this: name(at)server(dot)com

I was provided with the mentioned hair accessory to test and review at no charge. No additional compensation was provided. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: Bo's Cafe

Bo's Cafe, by John Lynch, Bill Thrall and Bruce McNicol
Published by Windblown Media, 2009
256 pages, English

Author information from Amazon.com: Bruce McNicol is president of Leadership Catalyst, Inc. and an international speaker and consultant. He holds a master's in theology and a doctorate in organizational and leadership development. Previously he served for ten years as president of the international church planting organization Interest Associates.

Bill Thrall serves as vice-chair of Leadership Catalyst, mentor, and coauthor of the bestselling TrueFaced resources (www.truefaced.com), The Ascent of a Leader, and Beyond Your Best.

John Lynch is a national conference speaker and writer for LCI, holds a master's of theoology from Talbot Seminary, and has twenty years' experience as a teaching pastor of Open Door Fellowship. He's also cofounder and playwright of a theater troupe in Phoenix.

Book Summary:

High-powered executive Steven Kerner is living the dream in southern California. But when his bottled pain ignites in anger one night, his wife kicks him out. Then an eccentric mystery man named Andy Monroe befriends Steven and begins unravelling his tightly wound world. Andy leads Steven through a series of frustrating and revealing encounters to repair his life through genuine friendship and the grace and love of a God who has been waiting for him to accept it. A story to challenge and encourage, BO'S CAFE is a model for all who struggle with unresolved problems and a performance-based life. Those who desire a fuller, more authentic way of living will find this journey of healing a restorative exploration of God's unbridled grace.

 

Review: 

When given the opportunity to read this book I jumped at it. The synopsis sounded like something I really needed to read. I didn't realize how close to home some of the message would actually hit. I was a little skeptical at the start because of the "mysterious-stranger-who-knows-all-about-you" start, but once I got into the book, it was hard to stop. Steven deals with universal issues (anger, guilt, shame) to which it's easy to relate. I found it hard to believe the premise that people would speak into someone's life in the manner which the characters speak to Steven, but that doesn't mean that no one really does that in life. I've just never experienced that kind of all-inclusive, all-encompassing friendship where you can say anything to each other and it's accepted in the spirit in which it is intended. I like that Steven's progress is not immediate and automatic. He has to work at change, which is the way someone would really have to do it. The message of this book is strong and it's not a book you should just pick up and give a half-hearted read. Take time and really dig into what the characters are saying. This book is totally worth your time and effort. You may find yourself changed after reading it.

I was provided an advance reading copy from the publisher. I received no compensation and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

$5 at CVS for free

If you purchase a e-gift card through CVS.com, you will get a $5 bonus card for every $25 you purchase. This is a limited time offer. Go HERE for the details. The cards are sent by email and are printed from your home computer.

Coupons!

Head over to Redplum to print a BOGO Tic Tac coupon. You can print this two times!

Coupons.com has a $2 off Dove deodorant coupon. You can print this two times. 

Don't forget that with the beginning of the new month, you can print from Coupons.com, Smartsource and Redplum. Also check with BettyCrocker.com, Tablespoon.com and check your ecoupons from Shortcuts and Cellfire. (The new ecoupons should go live tomorrow.)

Mailbox Round Up

Here's what came in the mail this past week:

Reading Material:

Surfer

Bloomberg Business Week

Spa

Flying

Forbes

Home School Enrichment

eWeek

Southern Living

Men's Journal

Family Fun

Voice of the Martyrs

I Love You - Now Hush (to review for the publisher)

The Money Answer (to review for BookSneeze)

Samples/Coupons/Checks:

Conagra Booklet (from a mail in rebate)
Dunkin Donuts coffee
Kroger Mother's Day mailer (lots of good coupons!)
Free Country Bob's coupon
$5 from Synovate Global Opinion Panels
Stayfree sample and $1 off coupon
Coupon for 35 Free Downloads (my hubs found this somewhere)
Scott Tissue coupons

Giveaway Win:
Solid Perfume (won from Safe Home Happy Mom)

Products for my Blog:
Pukies burp cloth to review
Headband from The Hair Coverings Store (review and giveaway up tomorrow)
2 bottles Gummy Vites to review
Boogie Wipes (review and giveaway up by this weekend, coupons to give away!)
Children's Claritin (review for BzzAgent, coupons to give away!)

Not Shown:
Large box of Vitamuffins (review and giveaway this week)

Proud to be part of Mailbox Monday at A Frugal Friend! Go over and see what other people are getting for free!

May is for Mom Party has started!

Don't forget to check out Life as a CEO and Life in the BAT Cave today for the first of the giveaways! Chrissy at Life as a CEO has a really cute Custom Charm Bracelet and B at Life in the BAT Cave has a gorgeous handmade apron! I'd love to win either one! As always, let me know if you win something after seeing it here!