July's Giveaway Winners

The winner of the Hotel Transylvania 1 & 2 Giveaway is: S Peterson

The winner of The 40 K-Cup Two Rivers Flavored Sampler Pack Giveaway: D  Clauer



The winners have both been notified. If you did not receive an email.

BENJI AND THE GIANT KITE - Letting Go, Isn't Always About Letting Go! #GIVEAWAY

 

Have you ever wanted one thing – just one thing – more than anything else in the world? A toy? A new bike? A computer game? Did you imagine that this one possession would make you incredibly happy – forever? For Benji that one thing is an enormous orange kite.

In BENJI AND THE GIANT KITE (Clavis Publishing; August 2018), bestselling author Alan C. Fox tells the enchanting story of a young boy who learns that possessing something is not quite as meaningful as letting it go.

Benji adores kites. All kinds of kites – big or small, plain or fancy, square or diamond- shaped. He loves flying them at the beach, watching them float high in the sky. One day Benji sees a giant orange kite at the toy store. He wants it more than anything else – ever. But his mom explains that he’ll need to earn the money to buy the kite. So Benji buckles down and weeds the garden for the next two weeks – the vegetables in the morning and the flowers in the afternoon. It seems like he’ll never be done.

Finally the special day arrives, and Benji’s mom hands him the giant orange kite of his dreams. At the beach, Benji lets his kite soar higher and higher with every gust of wind. He watches it rise above the people, the hotdog stand, and even the houses beyond. Soon the kite becomes a distant speck in the sky. Benji is thrilled. But when it’s time to pull the kite down and head back home, Benji can’t bear to do it. He wants to set the kite free to fulfill its destiny among the clouds. Benji lets the twine go and the kite disappears into the sunset sky. The kite may still be up there yet.

Alan Fox explains that like all of his books, “BENJI AND THE GIANT KITE is based on a real-life incident. This one happened when I was a child. I decided to tell the story, because I wanted to share the sense of achievement I felt by working hard to obtain something I really loved. But once I saw the kite flying at the beach, I wanted to let it go. My dream had been accomplished. It was time move on to another, new experience. You must always keep going to fulfill your dreams and aspirations.”

BENJI AND THE GIANT KITE, with illustrations by Eefje Jujil, is the second in Alan Fox’s series of picture books. 

The first, BENJI AND THE 24 POUND BANANA SQUASH, was named a notable children’s book of 2017 by Booklist magazine and has become a much-loved story for youngsters and parents alike.

The 411 by Maria:

I loved this book about an adorable little boy named Benji (FYI this is based on the authors own childhood story) who loves kites. He loves them so much that when he spends his last dollar on them works out a deal with his mom to do extra chores until he has enough for the creme de' la creme of kites which she holds in her closet until he has earned it. 

Benji loves the kite and the way it feels so it was shocking when he decided to let it go. I was surprised by the characters actions but not by the story. When we love something, sometimes we must set it free. It is how I feel about my children. For me the kite was a metaphor for my kids.   I love them so much, my life is completely wrapped up in them; their wants and needs. Everything I do is for them but one day, I too will feel the tug as they need to move on and live their own lives. I hope I am as strong as Benji and rejoice in the fact that "my dream was accomplished" and now they must fulfill theirs. 

I highly recommend this book!

About the author

Alan C. Fox is the bestselling author of three books for adults, PEOPLE TOOLS, PEOPLE TOOLS FOR BUSINESS, and PEOPLE TOOLS FOR LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS. His two children’s books are BENJI AND THE 24 POUND BANANA SQUASH (Clavis 2017) and BENJI AND THE GIANT KITE (Clavis 2018). An entrepreneur, philanthropist, and relationships expert, Alan is also the publisher of the poetry magazine, Rattle. He founded a charity that works to maximize the potentional of youth as well as an organization that encourages young people to become active in helping others. Alan lives in Los Angeles, California. To learn more, visit Alan’s website: alancfox.com

Eefje Juijl, a graduate of the School of the Arts Utrech, creates colorful illustrations for children's books, magazines, postcards and more. She lives in The Netherlands with her partner Philip, her son Guus, daughter Fien, and their dog Jip. 

To  Purchase:

Enter the Giveaway below before Aug 11th

Entry-Form

Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was offered for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own.

Getting Kids To Detox From Electronics Before Summer Ends

I try daily to get my kids off their electronics. It is a conscious effort. Sometimes it means giving them a ton of small chores that keeps them moving and too busy to miss their electronics. It might be a movie they have been asking to re-watch again or even a new movie (DVD, Library Borrows, or Netflix (I will not spend movie if I don't have to). We volunteer as much as we can at an animal shelter cleaning cages, play cards, do puzzles, play board games, read books as a family (this year it is Harry Potter). I also sign them up for every free class given at the school or library AND sometimes we just head to the park. Anything that doesn't cost money because who has a ton of cash laying around to just take them out every day?

I am happy even if they are off line for a few short hours so if you guys have any suggestions for other things we can do that do not cost money but get them off their electronics doing something they will love I am so interested in hearing.

Yesterday we headed to the park with friends and their parents were excited that they were moving "in real life" and not just in a game.   It wasn't a great weather day and drizzled on us a few times on top of being so damn hot but mostly I was just happy to see them all outside.

Things got even more interesting when the Goonies found a dead something under a grate. They couldn't distinguish whether it was a bird or a rat or a mouse but were so upset that it was being eaten by bugs.

I didn't get any great pics because I wanted them to just do their thing without me shoving a camera in their face or making them pose but I am so glad I got some shots of Goddess hanging with her oldest friend and her current BFF.

We LOVE Toadlets #toadlet

There is something about these tiny toadlets. First, they are friggin adorable and perfect. They look like a full size toad or frog but miniature.

Toadlets will eventually be full size but until then they are some of our cutest finds and we never get bored of seeing them.

Get Off Your iPad, iPhone, Tablet or Computer and Spend Some Quality Time Together - This Is Not Your Grandmother's Puzzle

Adult themed puzzles are coming and they are awesome!  You can get yours August 15th but until then let me tell you all about it and show you one of the puzzles.

Guys, it is TIME to make a conscious effort to put down the electronics and get back to real socialization. My husband and I sit in the same room with the TV on in the background on our separate electronics and maybe talk for 20 minutes out of the 4 hours we watch TV before bed at night unless we make a conscious effort to get off our respective devices.  In fact, I spend some of my nightly online time doing puzzles on my iPad. It's crazy. I love puzzles and love how competitive it can get when we do it as a group. What? You don't get competitive? Is it just us?

Anyway...let me mention a puzzle I did the other day with my husband and then my daughter (she loves them too) Yeah, I put a puzzle with shot glasses together with my 13 year old don't judge.

I did this puzzle twice and will be doing it again Friday night!

Buzzed Puzzles is going to flip the adult puzzle world from crappy landscapes, cute animals and homely cottages to graffiti, tattoos, booze, weed, zombies and lots of sexy sexiness. In addition to the holidays and rainy days we want to bring puzzles to cocktail parties, the waiting room at a tattoo parlor or barber shop, even a corner table at a bar, tap room or winery. By adding some sex, drugs, booze and shenanigans to the puzzling world we can finally bring a fun and nostalgic pastime back into the homes and hearts of a badass new adult generation. 

I was craving a shot after this puzzle

AND get ready for this! Two other aspects of Buzzed we are excited about; Buzzed will also be launching the first ever Drinking Game Jigsaw Puzzle! Also, Buzzed will be focusing heavily on an Artist Affiliate program in which we find edgy tattoo, street, graffiti artists as well as any other edgy influencer art such as anime, gaming, music etc. that we can use to make amazingly diverse puzzles with relevant and new art!

Follow Buzzed Puzzles on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on the latest and greatest. 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary product for my honest opinion. No monetary compensation was offered.