Female friendships. Aren’t they the most complicated, wonderful, confusing things around? Most women have a collection of friends that vary from being supportive and fabulous to vindictive and negative. So how do you get true friends who will lift you up and treat you well?

In her book Toxic Friends, Susan Shapiro Barash seeks to answer that question. She starts by identifying ten different types of female friends. In addition, she provides some detail on her website as to how she did research, why she decided to write the book, and even offers a quiz that …read more

I’m all for something that can lift us up. If a book or action can have us behave and think more positively, hey, why not? So that’s why I was particularly happy to read Think Confident, Be Confident by Leslie Sokol and Marci Fox.

For those that have read “self help” books before, you’ll find more of the same motivating speech in this book. Where the book differs, however, is in a 4-step approach to conquering doubt. They take you through a series of steps (Label It, Question It, Rethink It, and Take Action.) While we …read more

The Safe Dog Handbook for dog owners outlines a lot of safety points, both basic and some lesser known on the care and keeping of your four-legged friends.

Last week I ran a giveaway for the book, and today I pick the lucky winner! Entrants were asked to give a tip or advice on how they keep their dogs safe or to talk about a close-call incident they may have had in the past.
The lucky winner of “The Safe Dog Handbook,” chosen at random, is: Laurie! Priscilla!
Priscilla says: “When I leave my little Cujo alone in the house,I walk though the …read more

I wrote last week about the new book “The Safe Dog Handbook” by Melanie Monteiro. Melanie was inspired to write the book after her own puppy was nearly poisoned.
The spiral-bound book covers pretty much everything you can imagine when it comes to the safety of your pup, including foods and plants that are not okay for dogs, and tips on keeping your home dog-proofed and safe.

I’ve got one copy of The Safe Dog Handbook give away to one lucky winner!
To Enter:
~ To enter, leave a comment here telling me what you’ve done to keep your own dog safe — whether …read more

Many blog readers search for free drawings or giveaways for items they can use.  I haven’t run any on my blogs lately but have found nice ones on other blogs and web sites. 
I discovered a  school days drawing, offering some neat school (or office) supplies at Little Fun, Little Learning with Karen’s Avery School & Office Supply Giveaway.
Karen also has a great blog for parents of young children, where she researches topics of interest and gives you information about them.
This giveaway of Avery school and office supplies runs through October 11. (Don’t leave your comments here for the drawing, but go over …read more

My recent giveaway for an awesome prize pack featuring the Next Iron Chef goodies and Alton Brown’s newest cookbook, “Good Eats: The Early Years,” was a great success! I had a lot of fun seeing who everyone’s favorite Food Network personalities were as well!

It seems a lot of entrants share favorites as far as the celebrity chefs and cooks go, with Alton Brown, Paula Deen, Guy Fieri and Bobby Flay leading the pack! There was no right or wrong answer, of course, and the winner has been chosen from random draw.
The winner of the Next Iron Chef prize pack and …read more

No, I’m not offering up an Iron Chef or Alton Brown himself for a giveaway (though I think either would be a big hit)! I’ve actually got a The Next Iron Chef prize pack and a copy of Alton Brown’s upcoming cookbook, “Good Eats: The Early Years” to give away instead!

~ The first item of the giveaway is a The Next Iron Chef prize pack containing a The Next Iron Chef t-shirt, a poster and a postcard — any of which would be great to hang onto or give as a gift to the Food Network and/or Iron Chef fan …read more

Congratulations to the five winners of the Bamboo Pet Supply giveaway!

Entrants were asked what their dog(s) favorite treats are, and the winners (chosen at random, there was no right or wrong treat!) answered:
~ Priscilla Pursell: “My little Cujo and Poes favorite treat is beef jerky sticks.”
~ Rick R.: “My dogs favorite food is “See Food”. Whatever they see, they eat!”
~ Marie: “Our dog Lady eats pretty much anything she can hold of (unfortunately) but we try to restrain her to jerky treats and medium sized chew bones!”
~ Christine Reid: “My dogs LOVE unsalted meat patties from In-n-Out as a …read more

Boy, if we could only learn how to communicate so that people would listen (and buy) what we have to say. Let’s face it, we’re always trying to “sell” people something, whether it’s an idea, product, or just ourselves. That’s why I loved the book So What? by Mark Magnacca. It’s a short but informative read that tells you how to get people to listen by telling you exactly how you should talk to them.

Think about how many times in a day we need to get someone’s attention. We often start off talking about the wrong …read more

As a dating writer, I know all too well that woman try and find one special person in their life, a soul mate, so they will finally feel “complete.” The problem is, when a woman isn’t complete in herself, she can’t ever really be happy with anyone. A woman that doesn’t understand this will not only have troubles in romantic relationships, but also in other types of relationships as well.

For any woman that has felt a little empty (regardless if its dating related or simply in everyday life), I encourage you to read this wonderful book by Lauren …read more