R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour DVDs

September 11, 2012 By

 

 

My favorite time of the year is fast approaching – Halloween! I love it. There is something fun, magical and of course a bit frightening about Halloween. Shout! Factory and The Hub TV Network have just released R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: The Series Volume 1 and Volume 2 DVDs, which plays perfecting into all of those things that make Halloween special.

Last night I sat down and watched all of volume 1 of R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour. I loved it, and I have to admit I was a little spooked! The first two episodes are part 1 and 2 of Really You, a frightening story about a young girl that gets a doll just like herself, but this doll isn’t satisfied to be like Lily, this doll wants to be Lily. Totally creeped me out, but in that fun/scary way, not a terrifying way. I do think it would be too scary for kids up to second grade, although some children that young may love it depending on what else they have been exposed to in the past. The Dead Body and Nightmare Inn both were really exciting and I thoroughly enjoyed A Creature Was Stirring. And although these stories are scary, one theme seemed to continue to jump out at me, Family Love. In almost every episode there is an underlying current of how the love shared within the family ultimately saves the day. I really like that. It is a subtle theme but one that could easily spark some great discussions between parent and child. Or you can just be scared together!

Each DVD title is priced at $14.97. R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: The Series currently airs on Saturdays at 5 and 5:30 pm (ET) on The Hub TV Network. The Hub is a multi-platform joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro, Inc., and extends its content through an engaging online presence at www.hubworld.com. So if you just can’t get enough of The Hub you can hop online and join in at any time.

I had a frightfully good time watching R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour. It would make a great scary movie marathon while you wait for the goblins to come knocking Halloween night, but I had fun watching it early. Hope you do too!

I was provided the DVD’s free of charge in exchange for a sincere review.

Post to Twitter

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

Healthy Junk Food! UNREAL Candy

August 13, 2012 By

Healthy Junk Food UNREAL

Healthy Junk Food! OK, maybe not healthy, but definitely NOT full of all that bad stuff. Instead it is UNREAL Candy. I’m very excited to tell you about the UNREAL campaign. UNREAL is Candy Unjunked.

The UNREAL Mission: We believe that all junk food can be made differently, with better ingredients, without the junk, with great taste, and at the same price.

UNREAL is an idea that I can fully endorse and I’m so proud to have the chance to tell you about them. I have been reading all about UNREAL candy and I have to say the folks there have actually made me mist up. I LOVE their mission, because I really believe that we need to Unjunk our food if we are to survive. And here is a company doing just that. They are making delicious candy that is free of GMO’s, partially hydrogenated oils, corn syrup, artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. The dairy they use is from pastured cows! I know, this is truly a dream come true.

I received a box of UNREAL candy including UNREAL 77 peanut butter cups, UNREAL 5 Chocolate Caramel Nougat Bar, UNREAL 8 Chocolate Peanut Caramel Nougat Bar, UNREAL 41 Candy Coated Chocolates and UNREAL 54 Candy Coated Chocolates with Peanuts. The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was the fact that t e UNREAL Candy is packaged in rather cool, slightly techno designs. They are eye catching. These will stand out on the shelf, and that is exactly what we want. I hope that any child (or adult for that matter) that was planning on purchasing candy would be attracted to this package and grab an UNREAL candy before they took a more well known national brand.

UNREAL candies are made with real cane sugar, not Corn Syrup! And because they use REAL sugar they don’t need to use as much of it. One of their candies has 48% LESS sugar than it’s national counterpart, and it tastes GREAT. It happens to be one of my favorites from the bunch. UNREAL uses more Cacao than the other leading brands, “because it is all about the chocolate.” They don’t use artificial preservatives and no artificial colors. In fact their colors on their candy coated chocolates comes from natural ingredients like beets, cabbage, turmeric and achiote tree seed. UNREAL Candy even has more protein and fiber because they want more of the good stuff in place of the bad stuff! I LOVE this company and these candies. In two of their bars they have raised the dietary fiber compared to the other leading brands by 400%!

I urge you to join UNREAL connecting with them on Facebook, YouTube,  Twitter @getunreal #getunreal and on their website. You can already purchase UNREAL for the same price as the other leading brands at stores such as Kroger, Rite Aid, CVS, Michael’s, Walgreens and Staples. And look for them coming soon at BJ’s and Target. I would love to see them everywhere. Wouldn’t you?

I was provided with a sampler box of UNREAL Candy for this review, but the ideas are my own. I really did enjoy UNREAL Candy, I really like their Mission and I look forward to buying their products. I hope they have something wonderful in store for Halloween!

Post to Twitter

CLOSED Novica Jewelry Review and Giveaway CLOSED

July 23, 2012 By

I really like unique jewelry. For me, it doesn’t have to be expensive as long as it doesn’t look like something I can find anywhere. I love jewelry that has a classic and timeless look with a modern or funky twist. So when I found NOVICA jewelry I was blown away by the amazing selection. The onyx wristband bracelet is exquisite in deep burgundy red with a silver heart. That would make a wonderful Valentine’s or Mother’s Day gift.

I also loved the Ruffled Olive wool shawl. With Autumn right around the corner, I can just imagine wrapping myself up in that beautiful fall colored shawl for a hay ride through the pumpkin patch.  The shawl would be perfect for a day shopping with friends or a fun night out on the town with my husband. Casual, yet refined – the perfect match.

But what really caught my eye was the White Mum ring. “A dazzling white chrysanthemum crowns this ring. Set on an open band of silver plated copper, the feminine flower is fashioned of pearls.” The ring is a beautiful and elegant cluster ring. It arrives from Thailand in a jewelry box wrapped in a handmade mulberry bark paper. Each year the smallest branches are cut and the outer layer of bark is used to make the paper, but the trees are not cut down. This way new branches will grow making this a sustainable practice, and creates beautiful, gift-worthy boxes. I will cherish and enjoy this ring, for it’s beautiful simplicity and timelessness.

I wanted to leave you with one additional image, the Mother Turtle leather backpack. The workmanship is utterly amazing and the backpack is beautiful. This is truly a statement piece, so don’t buy it unless you are willing to be stopped and asked about your bag everywhere you go!

NOVICA, is associated with National Geographic, works directly with thousands of master artisans in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, helping bring their beautiful creations, and their stories, to collectors worldwide.”

Giveaway

NOVICA has been kind enough to offer one (1) Gift Certificate for $37.50 to one winner at Matthew’s Puzzle. To enter the contest go to NOVICA and leave me a message telling me what item you would spend your Gift Certificate on, please remember to leave me your email address so I can contact you should you win.

For additional entries: Please leave me a comment with a link to each. 

Contest is open to US Residents, 18 yrs and older. The contest will run from July 23, 2012 to 11:59:59 August 5, 21012. One winner will be chosen at random using the WordPress plugin And the Winner Is. The winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours from the notification to claim the prize. If the winner does not claim the prize in 48 hours a new winner will be selected. The gift certificate for $37.50 has an expiration date of 10/15/12 and must be used before that date!

I was given a gift certificate from NOVICA to provide a review of the White Mum ring. All opinions are my own.

Post to Twitter