The Allison Show

Wow this has been a crazy and great year!! In January I turned 28. In February, Blake turned 9!!I love that as he gets older he is scared of things less and more willing to try new things.  He got a new bike and was finally brave enough to jump it and have lots of fun!!  He had a party with 5 of his friends.  Hubby took them to Fun Expedition and then all the boys had a sleep over!!                 In March Hubby went to visit his parents with a snow boarding trip to Tahoe!  And since I was stuck at home with 5 kids for 5 days, I needed something to keep me occupied: I made my blog public!!  I can't believe how far my blog has come in these 9 months!  I have 650+ GFC followers!!! Plus I started a facebook fan page and a twitter page.  I have loved doing product reviews and book reviews. I am so thankful to all the companies and authors I have worked with this year and ca...

Look who I caught under the tree last night!!!  Here is my photo from the iCaughtSanta.com giveaway!!

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Have you heard of  Rascodogs??   They make the super cool leash that has poop bags in the handle so you never have to worry about your pup pooping and you not having a way to clean it up.  And the most awesome thing about these bags is that they are 100% biodegradable and meet ASTM D6400 Standards, which means they decompose in less than 1-year under normal landfill conditions. Here is some info from their website: "An innovative, NON-retractable leash with bags built-in! The ReadyLeash comes in 2 different sizes and 6 different colors! The 5/8″ version is for dogs under 50-lbs, and the 1″ version is for dogs over 50-lbs. We have added super-strong metal hardware to this leash to withstand even the strongest of pullers. The ReadyLeash features a comfort-grip handle with an integrated poop bag dispenser. Poop bags simply pull out like tissues and refill rolls easily pop into the handle. The ReadyLeash comes equipped with an adjustable lead (4-6 ft range) an...

I was going to post this great giveaway last week but my power cord for my laptop broke and Best Buy took forever to mail me the new one {actually they didn't but that's another post!!} so I am doing a quick 24 hour giveaway!!  Along with Santa you can catch the Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny, and Cupid!! 4 awes ome readers will win a free iCaughtSanta.com photo to show to their kids !! How to Enter: Mandatory Entry: Follow me by GFC and leave a comment with your email address. Extra Entries:  *Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Networked Blogs (leave separate comment) * Go to  iCaughtSanta.com and tell me which pose is your favorite Hurry and enter!!!!  Giveaway ends Christmas Eve @ 3 pm I will update this post later tonight with my photo!! And in case you don't win my readers can use the code 5-kids to get 25% their order!!! I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com and sponsored by Favorite Wigs Shop...

Title: The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams Author: Rhonda Hayter Publisher: Dial Published: April 1, 2010 ISBN: 978-0803734685 Summary:  This is a great book for kids 8-12 years old. Kayla is almost 8 but reads at a more advanced reading level and she really enjoyed it.  I think younger kids would still like it but would need help reading it.  I really liked that unlike many children's books (or books written for young readers) this book was exciting and interesting.  While it deals with problems kids may discover, it's not condescending or false sounding.  This story rings true.  Like many people lately, Kayla is really into supernatural things like werewolves and vampires {and of course witches!}.  She loved the adventures of Abbie and she could relate to how her little brother is always bugging her.  About the Author: Rhonda Hayter was born in St. Jean, Quebec. She was an actress for some time, appearing in plays on ...

Since Jacob was 2 1/2 and learned all the letters and how to spell his name {still trying to figure out where he learned them from LOL} he has loved seeing his name spelled out.  And now at 4 1/2 he can write his own name so he he wants to learn how to spell our last name. When I got the opportunity to review these labels I knew that I had to make them for Jacob.  The hard part was choosing which design.  I finally settled on the dinosaurs and I am glad I did!!!  They are so cute.  Jacob loves seeing his name and the different cute dinosaurs.  Now he is even more into dinosaurs wanting to know which one is and their names and what they eat.  Luckily after his 2 older siblings I know quite a bit about dinosaurs and what I don't know there is always the internet. Oliver's Labels makes label that stick on clothes or iron on, shoes labels, regular labels and mini ones, and now they even make photo labels!!  They also make a large {like for lugga...

 Have you heard of Roundabouts Cupcake Sleeves ??  They are a super easy {and super cute} way to decorate cupcakes at home without being a pro cake decorator.  They make a sleeve for any and every occasion.  They have them for birthdays, weddings, all holidays, movie nights, and baby showers.  They have over 70 different varieties. Here is some info about them from their website " • E arth-friendly product which is anti-microbial & water resistant. • Bakery-quality durability made using a bleach-free process. • S olvent-free printing will not bleed or run with food oils & grease. • Grease resistant & easily wipes clean of frosting. • S uper - strength adhesive holds tight in cold, moist environments. • Patent - pending and proudly designed & made in the USA. • W e personalize! Custom sleeves are our specialty .  How cool would it be to order personalized sleeves for a child's birthday or family reunion? That would make any ...

Title: Secrets {You Tell Me Yours and I'll Tell You Mine... Maybe} Author: Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein Publisher: Enchanted Self Press Published: April 2, 2010 ISBN: 978-0979895210 Summary: "Following on the heels of the best-selling book The Truth, SECRETS is the continuing diary of a girl moving into her teen-age years. The Girl has plenty to fill her journal. The pages reveal a new school, a new baby in the family, new friends, a new guy and a new set of issues to face. Share the secret world of an almost-teen as she learns which secrets to share and which to keep to herself." This book was a great follow up to The Truth.  As she gets older, the narrator encounters new problems and new twists in her life.  She moves to a new house in a new city, as to start a new school, her parents have a baby, she has to start babysitting her little sister, she gets a dog, FiFi, and she meets a new boy she likes. I really liked this book.  I like that her parents sta...

Title: The Truth: I'm a Girl, I'm Smart and I know Everthing Author: Dr Barbara Becker Holstein Publisher: Published: ISBN: Summary: "THE TRUTH is a delightful, humorous secret diary, written by a girl who is 11-12 years of age. She is wise and yet innocent. Her words acknowledge those priceless truths that we all knew as kids. She makes us cry and laugh and see ourselves. Everybody loves reading her thoughts, secrets, adventures and solutions to difficult problems. Girls are naturally curious and this book gives them a real opportunity to see how a girl like themselves in so many ways handles her toughest problems and most personal thoughts. Mom can read the book along with her daughter and not only be brought back to herself as a youngster, but find on every page relevant topics for discussion with her daughter. How do you handle a bully? How do you handle a crush on a boy? What about teasing? How do you find time to listen to your daughter? Do we have...

In case you missed my last post the Hand Made with Love Winter Giveaway event is an all HAND MADE giveaway event.  It is running February 2nd through the 6th.  If you would like to sponsor a giveaway please email me (Heart icon in right sidebar). Our first sponsor is.... Here is a little about April from her website. "I started designing blogs almost two years ago, and thanks to lots of demand, I was able to quit my day job (June 2010) and hire some help to beautify the blog world! I graduated with two Bachelor's Degrees in Advertising and Radio/TV/Digital Media Production. Blogging, online media, and of course - design - are my passions, secondly only to my wonderful husband. I love babies, Band Hero, Facebook, running, swimming, and have a serious love for shopping. I hope we can make your blog a functional work of art that inspires you too!"  Where you can find her online: Her Design Blog Her Personal Blog Facebook Twitter She does blog design, busin...

Well, lucky number #101 won two of them!! Congrats Julie, she said, "follow blog."  She has been emailed and has 48 hours to respond or random.org will pick another winner.  Thanks to everyone who entered!!

Title: Talion Author: Mary Maddox Publisher: Cantraip Press Published: March 27, 2010 ISBN: 978-0984428106 Summary: "The dying body has a thousand voices, and all of them speak to Rad Sanders. Now he has found his tenth and youngest victim, a fifteen-year-old girl whose death will sing more purely and beautifully than any other. Lisa Duncan has no idea she has attracted Rad's interest. When she goes to spend the summer with her aunt and uncle at their small mountain resort in Utah, he tracks her there and awaits his chance. He watches as Lisa befriends Lu Jakes, the daughter of employees at the resort. Lu enters his fantasies as well. He learns she is being abused by her stepmother and toys with the notion of freeing her from her sad life and keeping her awhile as his captive. Introverted and strange, Lu seems like an easy conquest who could be persuaded to turn on her new friend. But she possesses a power Rad cannot imagine."  This is a really exciti...

***And don't forget to check out my review of her book Talion tomorrow!!!*** Fathers In the second chapter of Talion , as the serial killer Rad begins stalking Lu and Lisa, the two teens are getting to know each other. Lisa has trouble even starting a conversation with Lu and thinks they have nothing whatsoever in common. Lu regards Lisa with a mixture of jealousy and contempt. But their histories reveal a shared bond. Both have been abandoned by their fathers. For Lisa the abandonment is literal. Since their parents’ divorce, she and her older brother, Randy, have received zero love or attention from their father. His attorney mails out the child support checks; his secretary sends gift cards for their birthdays and Christmas.   It has been four years since they’ve seen him. Lisa wistfully remembers that last visit – shopping and hanging out in a Chicago condo with their father’s girlfriend, who spent far more time with them than he did. Lisa has a loving stepfather, but he’s...

The winner of my Cupcake Cuties giveaway is....#21 Danielle!!!  She said, "I follow/like cupcake cuties on Twitter-DanelleJohns."  She has been emailed and has 48 hours to respond or random.org will choose another winner.  Thanks to everyone who entered!!

Have you heard of the Hand Made with Love event yet??  It is hosted by Simply Stacie, Little Yayas, Survey Junkie, and Kelly's Lucky You. This event will be a themed giveaway hop like their Holiday Gift Giveaway Hop. However instead of cash and gift cards, this time the prizes will be all handmade items ! Think Etsy shops, Artfire Shops, etc. It will run Feb 2nd through 6th. I am pleased to take part in this great event.  If you have a handmade business and would like to sponsor me please email me (Heart icon under stalk me in the right column)

You might remember back in March (Wow!!  Can you believe it has been that long already?) I did a review and giveaway.  They were one of the first giveaways I did and I was so excited when they came in the mail!! When we lived in CA, we would spend the night at my In-Laws' house on Christmas Eve.  Mom-In-Law would always buy socks and chapstick.  Every year Hubby knew that he would get new socks and in his stocking more chapstick.  Well this year I am going to keep up with the tradition and get everyone chapstick.  But then I thought better and remembered  My Lip Stuff . So on Cyber Monday (just so happened that was the day I got the idea) I decided to go to their website and order.  I found some really funny flavors that I had to buy.  Blake got Cat Pee, Kayla got Dog Poop, and Hubby got BACON!!!  Can you believe it??  A lip balm that is Bacon flavored!  He will be so excited. Here is what I ordered: I bought 8 lip balm...

is #49, Trisha!!  She said "I like the whisk and peeler!!"  She has 48 hours to respond or random.org will choose another winner.  Thanks to everyone who entered and stay tuned this weekend for a bunch more!

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Title: Hidden Passages: Tales to Honor the Crones Author: Villa SpiderHawk  Summary: "Brimming with hope and beautifully written, these eight stories of women helping women and girls through the challenges and transitions of life will surprise you with every turn of the page. In Passages, a girl moves through a rites of passage into womanhood, both symbolic and literal, among her tribe of watching women, bonding with the other women as well as with the feminine in nature, bonding with the divine, and erasing boundaries between all.   These are women as women should be: unafraid of living, unafraid of expressing their femininity, unafraid of aging, unafraid of facing up to their own fears and weaknesses and transforming them into strengths, unafraid to confront those who would deny them their place, simply - unafraid. We should all wish to be such terrific crones." This is a great book that girls and women alike should read!!!  There are 8 stories that encompass d...

When did you know that you wanted to become a writer? Did you want to always be an author? I have been a writer since I could hold a crayon.   Even before I could print the standard characters of the English language, I created my own alphabet so I could “write”.   When I finally learned the English letters, I was absolutely thrilled that other people could actually read and understand the words I wrote.   I cannot actually remember a time when I longed to write.   I have simply always written. Publishing, however, is a different thing.   People have told me all my life that I should write for publication.   And for decades I refused.   I wanted no part of the “business of writing”.   Oh, I published poems in periodicals and so forth, but I had no desire to write a book.   Even when I began Hidden Passages, I had no plans to publish the stories.   I simply wrote them for a course I was following.   My teacher, of course, nag...