Month: January 2015

January 19, 2015

Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie the Pooh #giveaway

As a child, I grew up with the stories of Winnie the Pooh and his friendly gang. We had the collection of stuffed animals and the bedtime stories to go along with it. My love of Winnie the Pooh only grew stronger when I had my own children. I wanted them to love Winnie the Pooh just as much as I do!

It wasn’t until I was in my teens that I realized that the story I love so much was actually based on a true story! This true story comes to life in the new book, Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie the Pooh set to release on January 20th, 2015.

Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie the Pooh tells the story of Harry Coleburn, a veterinarian and a solder in training for World War I. On his way to training he finds a baby bear for sale at the train station and he knew within his heart that he had to care for the bear. Harry names the bear Winnie, short for his company’s home town of Winnipeg and brings Winnie with him to the training camp in England. She quickly becomes attached to Harry and follows him everywhere and soon becomes the regiment’s much-loved mascot. All too soon, Harry has to ship off to the battlegrounds in France and must find a loving home for Winnie. He chooses the London Zoo. While Winnie is there a very special little boy named Christopher Robin comes along and plays with Winnie.

This story is an incredibly heart warming tale that is the perfect story to share with your children. A tale of love, compassion and friendship that is timeless. The illustrations are wonderful and beautifully created to showcase the friendship and love that forms.

The book also includes original photographs of Harry, Winnie and Christopher Robin! This was a perfect idea to really connect the story to it’s past. Our kids loved looking at the photographs.

If you can’t wait and want to purchase a copy of the book you can do so now on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

The Giveaway!

Canadian residents, 18 years of age and older can enter to win their own copy using the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

January 16, 2015

The Amish Blacksmith #review

A new novel from bestselling authors, Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner, The Amish Blacksmith is Book Two in The Men of Lancaster County Series.

About the Amish Blacksmith

Apprenticed blacksmith, Jake Miller, is skeptical of Priscilla Kinsinger’s ability to soothe troubled horses, especially when he has his own ideas on how to settle them. Six years earlier, Priscilla’s mother died in an awful accident in their home and Priscilla’s grief over losing her mother was so intense that she was sent to live with relatives in Indiana. She has only just returned to Lancaster County. Her homecoming shouldn’t matter to Jake who is interested in courting lighthearted, Amanda Shetler. But Jake’s boss who is also Priscilla’s uncle asks him to help reconnect Priscilla with community life and he has no choice but to do just that. He finds himself slowly drawn to the beautiful but emotionally wounded Priscilla.

Jake is determined to prove to her that it is not her fault that her mother died but what he discovers will challenge everything they both believe about the depth of love and the breadth of forgiveness.

My Thoughts

The Amish Blacksmith is a wonderfully written story about loss and finding hope again. Priscilla has lost so much in her life with the loss of her Mother. She feels so much guilt over this loss which makes no sense to her family. She has lost all interest in everything that she once loved especially horses. She used to have such a deep connection with horses but her guilt has overwhelmed her and she can not allow herself to feel happiness.

Jake knew her as a young child and at first feels obligated to integrate Priscilla back into their community. He begins to realize that there is so much more behind her pain and wants to help her find peace and forgiveness. They begin to forge a friendship and Priscilla finally opens up to Jake and this was quite the twist in the story for me! I was not expecting the reason that was revealed about her guilt. It was then up to Jake and Priscilla to learn how to apply their beliefs and religion in order to forgive themselves for the past in order to move into the future.

I loved this book and have re-read it again because it was so good.

Rating: 5/5

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

January 13, 2015

The Metabolism Solution Review & Giveaway

A sluggish metabolism can hinder weight loss and fitness goals. After years of research Lisa Lynn has developed an approach to eating and exercising to help maximize your metabolism in order to reach your weight loss goals.

About The Metabolism Solution

You might be thinking – not another weight loss plan! But here is the main difference between The Metabolism Solution and other weight loss solutions: Lisa Lynn focuses on the body and what we are consuming to help with weight loss. Lisa has studied and examined how to increase our own body’s natural metabolism to speed up our weight loss and fitness goals. Lisa also teaches us how to work out (yup there is a science behind exercise!) and how to use this to help you reach your goals. Lisa also includes some delicious recipes at the end of her book to help guide you in meal planning and eventually developing your own recipes. The Metabolism Solution is the perfect road map to transform your whole life.

About Lisa Lynn

Lisa Lynn is a celebrity fitness and nutrition expert who has dedicated three decades of her career to personal training, metabolic weight loss and performance nutrition. Coupled with her experience in fitness and nutrition she has earned four certificates from the International Sports and Sciences Association’s Professional Division.

Her research in metabolic boosting and performance nutrition has resulted in the development of her Leaner Lifestyle DVD series that help promote healthy fat loss by boosting stubborn metabolisms.

My Thoughts

I have been dedicating the last several months to healthier eating and (trying) to stick with my workouts. I have not always been faithful (hang head in shame!) and at times I have felt just like giving up. Mostly because I can not get my food and exercise to work for me. I am having a hard time revving up my metabolism and ensuring that I am reaching maximum results or any results to be very honest. This book was delivered at a perfect time for me.

Lisa devotes several of the chapters examining and explaining the how to and why’s of diet and exercise. Even with my own educational background I found I definitely needed this refresher to help open my eyes. While some of the advice will be hard to follow – cutting out the amount of red meat, fruits and adding in all the extra vegetables (which will definitely explain the weight loss achieved) a lot of it is good healthy advice that we should be incorporating into our daily lives.

Lisa also includes a fantastic set of recipes at the back of the book divided up into categories with some pretty fantastic and delicious sounding names. Each recipe was easy to follow with minimal steps to take to prepare the recipe. Which makes sense as the healthiest meals for us are the simplest ones with minimal ingredients. I found that it may be hard to stick to the increased vegetables with minimal fruits (she suggest one a day) as I love my fruits.

I really like the way Lisa writes. You feel like you are having a conversation with her and she has been there. Any excuses you may have she already knows and has the answer for you. She gets straight to the point and explains the theories she presents in an easy manner.

Overall, The Metabolism Solution, is a very helpful tool to aid in weight loss and if you can stick to Lisa’s suggestion you will be on your way to weight loss in no time! If you are like me and have a harder time you can adapt her concept to better suit your goals and have the benefits of eating healthy and losing weight (just slower than others may).

Rating: 4/5

Giveaway Time!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a copy of the Metabolism Solution in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

January 11, 2015

Say Hello to 2015 with Kinder Surprise #kindermom

The holidays are officially over and as we return to regular routines (and a little bit more of a relaxed pace!) we can reflect on the last year and how we want to grow in 2015. Our holiday season was very special this year as we remembered my Grandfather whom we lost to cancer as well as having a surprise visit by my husband’s cousin whom he has not seen in over fifteen years! Talk about an emotional reunion – I have never seen my husband cry before. We shared tears, laughter, wine and chocolate – lots of chocolate (especially Kinder chocolates…mmm yum!!).

This year has a lot of promise (every new start always does) as well as some changes. Our youngest will be going off to Kindergarten (tearing up at the thought of that!), learning new sports (skiing – hopefully I will not make a repeat show and twist my ankle falling like I did with cross country skiiing) and I am a quarter of my way through my Marketing Diploma. Just thinking about all these changes makes my stomach turn both in anticipation and in fear but the best part of change is the surprises that come with it. While sometimes the surprises can be good other times they are harder to adjust to. Each new turn brings with it a new lesson and a new opportunity for growth.

To help make those bumpier surprises easier for our children we try to sneak in a little Kinder Surprise. The Kinder chocolates are a way for us to say I love you and that you mean the world to me when our children are at school or even as an after school snack. A little hidden surprise in a lunch pail goes a long way and not to mention they are the talk of the class when they get to pop open the chocolate and a toy.

Kinder is releasing brand new toys to celebrate the new year. You can now find more than fifty new toys in the classic Kinder eggs and another fifty in the pink Kinder eggs! The new toys range from parachutes and animals all the way to fashion accessories. Here is our family’s top two personal favourites that we are on the hunt for:

Now how cute are these two toys? We fell in love with them at first sight!

Are you following Kinder on Facebook? You will want to make sure you are because during the week of January 26th to the 30th, Kinder Canada will be celebrating Games and Puzzle Week with daily prizing. Awesome right? So make sure you go give them a ‘like’ so that you can get in on all the fun and giveaways – good luck.

Disclosure: I am a #KinderMom and part of the Kinder Canada influencers team. As part of my affiliation I am provided with special perks and products. All opinions expressed are my own.

January 11, 2015

Bringing Literature to Life with Netflix #StreamTeam

As we begin to get back in the swing of things with school and home life, Netflix has loads of literature inspired movies playing throughout the month of January to help ease this transition. This includes the ever so popular and adorable, Puss in Boots, which premieres on January 16th, 2015.

There are many books that I have first watched on film that inspired me to read the book (or books!) behind it – Divergent, Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games just to name a few. I love how film (when done right!) really brings the characters and setting to life .

Netflix has several fantastic literature inspired movies out this month. One of our personal favourite? The Cat in the Hat. Oh how naughty he is with his adventures! We are always full of giggles watching this movie.

Looking for more family favourites to watch? Why not try Peter Pan or How to Train Your Dragon. I grew up reading The Babysitters Club (how many of you formed your own club because of these books??!!) and can’t wait to sit down with this movie again.

With a few simple supplies (paper bag, construction paper and glue) you can create your own Puss in Boots puppet to accompany the premiere of the movie. Your kids will enjoy acting out sword fights alongside Puss in Boots. You can find all the directions by visiting Sweet Potato Chronicles.

You can’t forget the feast to go along with your sword fighting crafts and movie! Why not try this recipe inspired by the movie. You can find the complete recipe at Sweet Potato Chronicles.

What is your favourite literature inspired movie?

Disclosure: I am a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam and receive perks because of this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.