Giveaway - The Great Race from Barefoot Books

Ever wonder about the story behind the animals of the Chinese zodiac? The Great Race from Barefoot Books retells this story with vibrant illustrations. It also provides intriguing notes about the Chinese calendar, annual festivals, and character traits of the animals that rule different years. I am a horse, which are popular, independent and fun. But of course!

My nine year old daughter enjoyed the book as well, although she felt that the cat was cheated by the rat. Hint, have you heard of the Year of the Cat? It doesn't exist! Celebrate the year of the Snake this Chinese New Year on February 10th with your own copy of The Great Race.  Xin nian kuai le!

To learn more about Barefoot Books, check out their history, blog, and podcast.

*** If you'd like to win your own copy of The Great Race or another title from Barefoot Books, head to their site and provide your favorite title (other than The Great Race) in the comments. Please add your entry to Rafflecopter (click read more if necessary) and check out the easy ways to earn more entries. The giveaway ends on February 14th at 12:00am and is open to residents of US and Canada (no PO boxes please). ***

Giveaway - Brookstone Shiatsu Bed Lounger

After my work day is done and the family is fed, I always head to the bedroom for some quality time with my iPad®. OK, this really means that I do a few rounds of Bejeweled Blitz and enter the Cubis Creatures tournament, but nonetheless, it's finally me time! With the Brookstone Shiatsu Bed Lounger, I have the added benefit of Shiatsu massage for my lower back as well as a spot to charge my iPad.

The massage action of the Brookstone Shiatsu Bed Lounger is quite effective with four kneading nodules. If you'd rather just lounge, a padded cover folds over the massage nodes. The best part of the Brookstone Shiatsu Bed Lounger is that the foam is firm and durable, and doesn't loose its shape like the old "husband" pillows of yesteryear.

These days, my kids have abducted my lounger for sitting on the floor in living room. Who needs a couch when you can get a massage watching TV or playing video games?



*** If you'd like to win your own Brookstone Shiatsu Bed Lounger, head to their site, answer an easy peasy questions in Rafflecopter below (click read more if necessary) and check out the easy ways to earn more entries. The giveaway ends on January 25th at 12:00am and is open to residents of US and Canada. ***

Giveaway - Brookstone eComfort Tablet Pillow and Dustin Touchscreen Cleaner

The Brookstone eComfort Tablet Pillow is finally the answer to using an iPad® in bed. I've always enjoyed using laptops and now my iPad in bed, but there's always the problem of cold hands after holding the device too long.  The eComfort Tablet Pillow beats traditional case stands by securely holding an iPad upright on a soft surface completely hands free.  With the rotation lock feature of the iPad, I can even lie sideways in bed and enjoy an iBook.

The eComfort Tablet Pillow can hold 10" tablets as well as 7" tablets including the Kindle® Fire.  I would recommend removing the case while using the eComfort Tablet Pillow, as the X-stand tends to squish most cases.  I've switched to using a thin Smart Cover as they are easy to remove for the eComfort Tablet Pillow.



If you're an avid tablet gamer or have kids that use tablet devices, the Brookstone Dustin 2-in-1 Touchscreen Cleaning Cloth is a must have accessory.  We are constantly cleaning our screens and absolutely love this handy device.  They come two in a package, so we don't even have to fight over them.

*** If you'd like to win your own Brookstone eComfort Tablet Pillow and Dustin Touchscreen Cleaner, head to their site and answer a few easy peasy questions in Rafflecopter below (click read more if necessary) and check out the easy ways to earn more entries. The giveaway ends on December 16th at 12:00am and is open to residents of US and Canada. ***

Giveaway - Acorn Crosslander Mule Shoes

It's autumn and time to put away the flip flops and put on some cozy footwear! These Acorn Crosslander Mule Shoes are the perfect companion to crisp cool days. They are extremely comfortable, well constructed and super stylish.

I bought my first pair of Acorn slippers in 1996 and have always been impressed with their comfort and quality.  Acorn has since branched out to shoes, boots, socks and more.  It's obvious from their selection that they are still committed to quality materials, super sharp casual styles and ultimate comfort.

Acorn is sponsoring a Facebook "Love You" contest with $5000 worth of prizes, plus the chance to become product testers or even "star" in an Acorn footwear ad campaign. Just create an Acorn self portrait describing "what makes you, you?" on their Facebook page application.

*** If you'd like to win your own pair of Acorn Crosslander Mule shoes, head to their site and tell me  your favorite Acorn footwear product and choice of color for the Crosslander Mule in Rafflecopter below (click read more if necessary) and check out the easy ways to earn more entries. The giveaway ends on November 24th at 12:01am and is open to US residents. ***

Giveaway - Brookstone Rover 2.0 Wireless Spy Tank

Brookstone has come back again this year with a faster, cooler Rover 2.0 Wireless Spy Tank.  In sleek black, the Rover 2.0 is faster, and now records video as well as still photos.  As soon as I hooked it up the iPad to its wireless network, my kids once again took the controls intuitively.



Now we can capture the true chaos that is my kids on video.



You don't need to trust super sleek product photo, it is really that cool looking, especially with the controllable headlights.



And there's no escaping the Rover's all knowing eye!



*** If you'd like to win your own Rover 2.0 Wireless Spy Tank, head to their site and tell me what your favorite feature is in Rafflecopter below (click read more if necessary) and check out the easy ways to earn more entries. The giveaway ends on November 16th at 12:01am and is open to residents of US and Canada. ***

Giveaway - Brookstone iConvert Scanner

The Brookstone iConvert Scanner is every digital hoarder's dream!  I purchased my first digital camera in 2000, one month before my first child was born.  So all my son's and then my daughter's photos were digital, but there are so many documents and photos that aren't.  In the past, I used my printer/fax/scanner machine to scan photos but it was a tedious process.  I scanned artwork and portraits from school and other items such as birthday cards to save digitally. Now it is even easier with the iConvert Scanner.

The iConvert scanner works perfectly with my new iPad 3 as well as older iPad models. You simply plug it in and the app will automatically come up in the iTunes app store.  It comes with a power adapter but it also works from a powered USB hub with a standard USB cable (not included - it was just easier to power it this way on my desk). 

One of the really cool features of the iConvert scanner is that it will scan any size paper from a business card to a full 8.5x11" sheet.  The scan will be automatically cropped to the proper size.  Check out my cool new business card, it even has a QR code (the square barcode...  Also I crossed out the phone number - you didn't want that anyway).



Being the resident software test engineer person as well software developer at my job, I like to test things to their fullest. So I threw a variety of things at the scanner. One of them was this note that Dova wrote on a napkin.

Dear Mom, I can't stand another minute with Adam. Please don't let him annoy me! He threw me on the couch and I hit my head on the wood. He has been bothering me so much. Love, Dova.

Yup, it scans napkins. And artwork.  Check out these cozy kittens on a rug.

Last but not least, it scans photos. Here's the artist of these creations.



The scanner is extra handy compared to the old-fashioned kind and we are always thinking of new things to scan.  The quality has been outstanding as you would expect from all Brookstone products.

*** If you'd like to win your own Brookstone iConvert Scanner, tell me what device you'd use the speaker with in Rafflecopter below (click read more if necessary) and check out the easy ways to earn more entries. The giveaway ends on June 24th at 12:01am and is open to residents of US and Canada. ***

Review - Spot It by Blue Orange Games

Looking for a great family game that's hours of fun and super easy to learn?  Spot It from Blue Orange Games has taken a favorite "spot" in our family. The premise is simple. On any two cards, there is always one and only one matching symbol.  Spot it and you win. Sounds easy, but with different size images, it can sometimes take a sharp eye. Sometimes you can get on a roll with the same image, which makes the game fast and exciting.

My engineering mind marvels at the fact that only one image matches between any two cards.  With 22 different images and eight images on each card, you would think it would be impossible, but sure enough, it works every time.

Spot It is for ages 7 to adult and my 8-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son love it.  For younger kids, Blue Orange also offers Spot It Jr. for kids ages 4 and up.  Check out Spot It on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter and buy it on Amazon.

Special thanks to Blue Orange Games for providing the Spot It game for review.  No other compensation was received.