CLOSED Lunch Notes for the Lunchbox and Giveaway

August 31, 2012 By

 

Tara Ferry is our Winner!

Last year I sent a handwritten note in Matthew’s lunchbox every Friday. Unfortunately I didn’t have any nice paper so I put it on a sticky note from The College of Justice & Safety. Yeah, not the prettiest or most personal notepaper I could have chosen. This year I’m lucky enough to have Lunch Notes for Kids from Hallmark. They are small notes to add to your child’s lunch to brighten up their day, to let them know you love them and miss them, and to just show you care. They come in lunch-bag brown with vibrant drawing and cool, inventive sayings. They even have some that allow you to add your own spin so you can customize it for whatever your child is experiencing at the time. I dropped one in Matthew’s lunchbox on the first day and it really made him smile. I also slipped one into Nico’s lunchbox and he liked it so much he put it in his pocket and brought it home. There are 50 notes in a pack and if your child brings them home you can certainly use them again. I did, I just moved the one I gave Matthew over to Nico, the next day.

Sometimes Matthew gets nervous about school, and it can be hard to be away from us for so long. He works so hard, and I like to offer him encouragement even when I’m not there. This is a perfect way to do just that, and to do it a lot nicer than I ever could on my own.

Giveaway

Hallmark has generously offered a pack of Lunch Notes for Kids to one winner from Matthew’s Puzzle. To enter simply leave me a comment (with your email address!) saying why you want to win the Lunch Notes for Kids.

Additional Entries

Please leave a comment with the link to your action if appropriate. You may leave a link for each of the following items you do. Remember to include your email address so I can contact you should you win.

  • Like Hallmark on Facebook
  • Like Matthew’s Puzzle on Facebook
  • Follow Matthew’s Puzzle on Twitter
  • Follow Matthew’s Puzzle on Pinterest

The contest is open to US residents 18 yrs and older. The contest will run from August 31, 2012 to 11:59:59 September 16, 2012. The winner will be chosen at random by the wordpress plug in And The Winner Is… The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the notification email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours a new winner will be selected. Matthew’s Puzzle is not responsible for the fulfillment of the prize. There will be one (1) winner selected.

I was given the Lunch Notes for Kids for free to provide a review and a giveaway. All opinions are my own.

 

 

Post to Twitter

Cook’n Recipe Organizer Software Review and Giveaway

July 12, 2012 By

Cook'n Recipe Organizer

AND THE WINNER IS … Author: Sarah Yurga

 

 

I love food. As a youngster I remember watching Julia Child on PBS, and later Michael Lomonaco’s show. My parents and I would write down the recipes and then we would venture into the kitchen to work a little recipe magic. Cooking is in my blood and now that I have my own family I am always getting a chance to dream up something delicious. But with Matthew’s dietary restrictions I can’t always rely on my favorite cookbooks, and instead I spend a lot of time surfing the web looking for a good gluten free, casein free, soy free, sugar free…yada, yada, yada free recipe.

I have tons of recipes and websites bookmarked, but more often than not I forget to hit the bookmark key and then I have to remember my query term and what website the recipe was on. (yeah, I lose more recipes than I get.) Often I just forget that I used to make this killer flourless chocolate cake, and then the recipe is lost for years until someone reminds me how much they loved it, and then the search for that elusive recipe begins.

While I was at Brandcation I received a copy of Cook’n Recipe Organizer software. This is a super cool recipe organizer that allows you to pull recipes right off the web. It will parse the recipe and then store it in your recipe book you create in Cook’n. You can also enter your own recipes so you don’t have to keep reams and reams of paper recipes on hand. I love it because I want to start sorting through all my recipes and get them in some sort of order. I want to get all my GF recipes in one place, but I don’t want to lose any of my family recipes from my childhood (one day I pray my kids will be able to enjoy my mom’s Christmas cookies.)

Cook’n doesn’t stop there, it will take your recipes and give your the nutritional content based on the ingredients and number of servings! I think that is awesome, since it makes homemade foods easier to use on diets. I often found that when I needed to calorie count or when I was on Weight Watchers I relied on processed foods more since the calories, fiber and fat were already on the package. With Cook’n I can simply click a button and I get all that information from my favorite recipes! Cook’n also has a menu feature where you can set up your menus for the week and then ask it to print you a shopping list, this way you won’t forget the baking soda or the ginger. It will even organize your list by isle/department so that you won’t be walking back and forth throughout the store.

Folks new to gluten free living often ask me for my favorite recipes and Cook’n allows you to email your recipes to friends and family. I love sharing my recipes, but I HATE to have to type them out when emailing them. Cook’n makes it simple to share your recipes. It also allows you to print family recipe books. I think this is a great idea for Christmas or other holidays. It would also make a fantastic bridal shower gift.

Giveaway

Want to win your own copy of Cook’n? One winner will receive their own copy of Cook’n. To enter to win you must Like Cook’n on facebook, and leave them a note on their wall. Please come back and leave me a comment with a link to your Facebook comment. Make sure you leave me your email address so I can get in touch with you should you win.

Additional entries:

For each additional entry please leave me a comment with link if appropriate.

Contest is open to those 18 years and older. And the Winner is plugin will be used to randomly choose the winner. Contest will run from 7/12/12 to 11:59:59 7/26/12. Matthew’s Puzzle is not responsible for the contest and does not accept responsibility should Cook’n not fulfill/deliver product. Winner must claim prize within 48 hours of receipt of the email notification or a new winner will be selected.

I received a free copy of the software for review. All opinions are my own.

Post to Twitter

Angela’s Crafts Giveaway! – Closed

April 13, 2012 By

giveaway soap

 I’m a sucker for a great soap. I think it is because no matter your size, hair color, or skin type, a well scented, luxurious soap can make you feel special. So for me, if I’m not having a great day, and am craving a little pick me up, I can use one of my lovely soaps and feel beautifully scented and pampered.

Speaking of lovely soaps, this past week I received a bar of Woodbury soap from Angela’s Crafts’ new line of Goat Milk soaps. Angela selected the Woodbury scent for me and I think she must have been truly inspired because the base fragrance in it is grapefruit! I adore grapefruit (it happens to also be my favorite flavor of Jelly Beans!). In addition to the grapefruit, Woodbury contains notes of sweet berries and earthy woods, which means it isn’t too sweet, but still has a feminine quality . I was planning on keeping the soap in our powder room where it could gently scent the room, while inspiring the kids to wash their hands, as they LOVE bar soaps, but I realized I tend to wash my hands more often at our kitchen sink. So I’ve placed it on a beautiful silver soap dish for me to use multiple times a day. My little treat to myself.

One of the reasons I love Angela’s Crafts’ soaps are that they are made without parabens, sodium laurel sulfate, unnatural preservatives and petroleum products! I can’t abide petroleum products. And although the Goats Milk line, like the soap I reviewed,   is not Vegan, she does offer many Vegan options too. From the ingredient list it appears as if they are gluten free – mine contains:

  • olive oil
  • coconut oil
  • water
  • sodium hydroxide
  • organic palm oil
  • soy oil
  • fresh goat milk
  • sunflower oil
  • shea butter
  • fragrance
  • may also contain tocopherols (natural vitamin e) and stearic acid (vegetable source)

Angela has kindly offered a lovely giveaway. It includes:

  •  (1) 3.5 oz (approx. wt) bar of handmade all-natural vegan soap – scent of winners choice including unscented.
  • (1) single use packet of Sweet Pea Bath Salt
  • (1) single use packet of Lilac Bath Milk
  • (1) hand-knit 100% Pima Cotton Facecloth
  • (1) reusable canvas mini-tote bag

To enter the giveaway simple head over to Angela’s Crafts and leave me a comment here telling me which scent you would like to try. For additional chances to win you can do any of the following, but for each item you do, remember to leave me a comment with the proper link. Please leave your email address so that I can contact the winner.

  • Like Angela’s Crafts on Facebook
  • Tweet this contest
  • Like Matthew’s Puzzle on Facebook
  • Sign up for Matthew’s Puzzle RSS
  • Follow Matthew’s Puzzle on Twitter

The winner will be chosen at random by a random number generator. The contest will run from Friday April 13, 2012 to 11:59:59 Friday April 27, 2012. Once the winner is selected I will send a notifying email and the winner has 48 hours to claim the prize or a new winner will be selected.

Angela’s Crafts provided me with the Woodbury soap free of charge. All opinions are my own.

Post to Twitter