My daughter introduced me to this band on our vacation last week and I haven't been able to get enough of them since. The Civil Wars. Their music is haunting and yet lulling at the same time. Their harmonies are tight and melodic. Their songs expand and contract, never sacrificing one single note. Their voices meld together gorgeously and create a fascinating longing that you don't know exactly what you're longing for. They use their voices and acoustic instruments along with natural crescendos and decrescendos to create this amazing mix of wonder.


The duo is made up of Joy Williams and John Paul White who make music like lovers, but are actually married to other people. The familiarity that comes with singing with someone is intimate, and the fact that they create this beautiful magic and aren't lovers, is intense. On their acoustic heartbreaking song "Same Old Same Old," they coo the bitterest, most shivery lines together that makes your heart swell and then plummet. Their sound is absolute purity distilled in brilliance. The duo’s Americana songs, the infamous acoustic guitar tightly braided with their voices, comes to together in a way that really is quite incomparable.

Once you listen, you won't be able to get them out of your system. You will, in fact, as their new hit single claims "Be the one I wish had gotten away."

Provo Beach Resort

Stop numero tres came in the form of the latest greatest amusement spot around—Provo Beach Resort. When it’s snowing—on APRIL 30th – who doesn’t want to go to a place with the name BEACH in it? I love the beach and think I was meant to be a beach bum. Except I was born in the desert. And there’s no beach. Whatev.
Provo Beach Resort is swanky cool. They have an indoor carousel, a super cool ropes course—which would be really fun idea for a first date.  They also have an indoor croquet course as well as bowling lanes. 
If you’re a golfer, you will love the fact that they have an indoor driving range. You can practice your back hand…  Wait. I think that’s tennis. You can practice your golf . . . swing all year long. If you want to be the next Tiger Woods Golf guru then Provo Beach Resort is where you go!
The thing that really got me excited was the FlowRider Indoor Surfing. Seriously. How cool is that? You can pick up your swanky new suit at Called to Surf and then head over to the flow rider and  surf to your hearts content.
Or biff it, as would be the case for me.
I sat and watched all these old-ish dudes (ok. they were my age) surfing and they made it look so easy. But when they biffed it? They made it look oh. so. fun.
If I lived closer to this place, I would totally have MY next birthday party here. Especially since I could send the kids off surfing or croqueting and I could head to the spa for a pedicure and massage. What is better than NOT having to get a babysitter, the kids being happy and the Mom getting pampered? Uh, nothing.
Provo Beach Resort is seriously one of the coolest places I have been in a long time, and I really want to bring my kids back. They have these cards that you load with how much money you want to spend, and you can use them on the video games, bowling or flow rider—and when the cash is gone? It’s gone. No carrying around crappy tickets from the video games—everything is self contained on one card. Ingenious!

Malawi’s Pizza

The last stop on our tour was the newest pizza restaurant in Provo—Malawi’s Pizza. But, don’t let the name of the joint fool you. This place is WAY more than just pizza. The owner and Certified Executive Chef—Kent Anderson—is one of 43 chefs in the world with the highest amount of training you can get.
Which means: He’s the Goods.
He has owned several restaurants and was even the personal Chef for The Prophet—President Hinckley.
The most interesting fact about this restaurant is the that for every meal you purchase,  a child in Malawi Africa gets a nutritious meal. In the 3 months that they have been open they have fed over sixty-three THOUSAND meals. I love that this company gives back in such a powerful way.
The food is TO. DIE. FOR. good. I got really excited when Kyle told me that Malawi’s is coming up north near me. I was ecstatic because I am still craving the salads and pizza’s we had. The artichoke pizza is outstanding.
They made eight different pizzas for us to sample, and Kent told us that the pizza’s were done in 8 minutes and 43 seconds. Seriously fast, people, and the taste was amazing. Never in a million years would I have guessed that a pizza joint would serve such tasty food!
I tasted everything they served up for us except the Apple Berry Salad because it has walnuts in it, and I’m allergic, yo.
Because of the allergies, I did find out that if you don’t want something that is typically in a dish, just ask for it to be left out. They make everything fresh, on the spot!
I feel pretty confident when I say that Malawi’s is probably my new favorite restaurant. I can’t wait to try Chef Kent’s other restaurant at the Riverwoods—LA Jolla Groves. It sounds mouth-watering!
The items with an asterisk were my favorites.
Malawi’s Menu Items that we sampled: Salads: Tomato Capri Salad
Apple Berry Salad
*Chicken Caesar Salad
Sesame Beef Salad
BLT Salad
*Chicken Satay Salad
Pizzas: Malawi Capri Pizza
Pesto Roasted Chicken Pizza
*Spinach Artichoke Pizza
Safari Pizza
*Barbecue Chicken Pizza
Pastas: Pesto Chicken Pasta
*Mac & Cheese
Desserts:
*Mixed Berries & Cream Dessert Pizza
Peanut Butter Cup S’More Dessert Pizza
*Cookies N’ Cream Crumble Dessert Pizza
Cinnamon Apples & Cream Dessert Pizza
Malawi’s Bananas Foster Dessert Pizza

I can’t wait for the next round of shops to have us back on a blogger tour. They said they would, and I’m holding them to their word! I love The Shops at Riverwoods!
Bloggers in attendance were:
Kyle http://liken365.com/
Lori http://allreddesign.net
April http://sweetlifeinthevalley.blogspot.com/
Michelle http://www.alittletipsy.com
Kami http://www.nobiggie.net/
Leslie http://ohlittlemookie.blogspot.com
Nicole http://www.cuteculturechick.com
Brittany http://www.lovestitched.blogspot.com
Amy http://asavvylife.com
Heather http://heidipoppins.com
Veronica http://www.localcommunityhotspots.com
Heather http://familyvolley.blogspot.com
Ashley http://raesinggirls.blogspot.com
Judi http://www.landingonallfours.blogspot.com
Stacy http://www.notjustahousewife.net
Evonne http://www.sellpartyof.com
McKenna http://joshandkenna.blogspot.com
Diana http://Livylove.com
Rachel http://screamandhug.blogspot.com

I recently had the opportunity to attend an event sponsored by Local Community Hot Spots and The Shops at Riverwoods. It was quite the swanky affair!   We toured four of the many shops available and truthfully, I wish I lived closer to this place.

I am going to review two at a time, because I don’t want your eyes to glaze over or you get so overwhelmed with the awesomeness of the Riverwoods that your head starts spinning.

The Shops at Riverwoods is not a shopping mall, it’s a destination. It’s an outdoor mall, and has a music pavilion where they offer free music concerts (hello! They had Sugar Ray and Fictionist performing FOR FREE); fire pits that you can stand around to get warm and the entire walking paths are decked out with overhead white lights. It’s really cool and it creates a totally unique feel. 

The thing that I liked the very most? They have a man driving a golf cart around the parking lot, asking you where you’d like to be taken. AND THEN HE DRIVES YOU THERE.  You’re decked out with all those shopping bags and you are parked in the back 40 you simply flag down the golf cart man and he’ll save those boots that we NOT made for walkin’.

Blickenstaffs

We started out our tour at my favorite Vintage Toy Store in the area, Blickenstaff’s. They are simply the best Vintage Toy & Candy Store in Utah. I totally go crazy when I go to this store! It sends me down memory lane faster than the Delorian in Back to the Future. Which, frankly, I think is a brilliant marketing tactic by this company. Help the parents remember what it was like to be a kid, and they are more apt to spend their money trying to capture those feelings and memories again. Smart. Smart. Smart.

This Utah store specializes in finding those hard to find vintage toys of yesteryear as well as the best up-to-date toys from today. While I was there I actually purchased  the hard to find game Ticket to Ride- European. The sales clerk then told me about all the other games I should try.

I got a little verklempt as I walked through the candy isle remembering all the trips to the candy store with my cousins. They had all the crazy-fun candy that I loved to eat as a child.

Called to Surf

The second stop on our tour was this fantastic shop named Called To Surf, which frankly cracked me up. Their PR Director told us that the locals loved the play on words, and that their national suppliers loved the name—Called To Surf. Win Win, everyone’s happy.

This shop has some of the hippest, modest swim suits I have ever seen. They keep their shop stocked year round so when you get that urge in January to head to Mexico, but your Christmas weight has you busting out your suit you don’t need to worry any more. Called to Surf will always have the latest bathing suits that are also hip and modest.

As the mother of at sixteen year old girl, can I just say HALLELUJAH!?

Finding a bathing suit that she will actually wear that doesn’t make her look like a grandma or a HO is really hard. I even found a suit that I want to buy! I haven’t been this excited about swim suit season since… Forever.

They have a really cool boardwalk at the entrance of their shop that is made from the poles that were in the Great Salt Lake out to Salt Air. I love that they recycled those pieces of Utah History. The top of the boardwalk is made from a local barn that was being demolished. So cool to see these parts of history being re-utilized and by doing so it not only helps the earth, but we are preserving portions of local history.

Check back for part two of this fun event I was able to attend. If you are interested in being invited to similar events, Veronica is collecting emails. I know she has another one coming up, so you should probably go sign up!

 Did you know that Orthodontics can cost anywhere from $1,800 to over $6,500 without insurance?

 It’s true.

I know this because I have two teenagers (and myself) that need braces.

I asked all my neighbors who they went to for their Orthodontic work, and was planning on just using the same, local Orthodontist. I’m a sheep like that.  However, my husband had different ideas.  He insisted that I research Utah Orthodontists, and see what everyone is charging and find out why there were such differences in cost.

Being the obedient wife that I am *cough cough* I did just that. Honestly, I didn’t think there would be that big of difference in price, treatment or even in offices and I planned on still using the neighborhood Orthodontist.

I called over thirteen different Orthodontists in my area and I interviewed them over the phone. Then I made appointments with six different ones and took my children to visit them and go through the initial consults.

I was surprised on the second  consult to see that they were charging WAY more than my first consult.

My first consult quoted me $1,800 for Orthodontic work (after my deductible) and the second Ortho was charging me $5,900 AFTER my deductible.  When I questioned the first Ortho (yes I totally called him back) he said he really wasn’t an Orthodontist—or board certified-- but a Dentist that did Orthodontic work. Also, he didn’t include in the price the cost of the initial X-rays or the price of the follow-up care (retainers etc).

And, he recycled his materials.

Gross.

I had no idea that you could recycle Orthodontic Materials. It’s good to be green, however, some things are not meant to be recycled and braces are one of those things.

I was really surprised, while doing my research, at how every single Orthodontist not only had different fees, but different treatment plans and a different feeling in their office.  Some of them made me feel like I was a burden because I was asking so many questions and some felt it necessary to talk down to me. I quickly crossed those off my list.

During all of the research to find the perfect Orthodontist for my family, I came up with some criteria that the Orthodontists had to meet.

10 THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING AN ORTHODONTIST:

1. Practice—How long has the Orthodontist been in practice? Has he moved a lot? The amount of time an Orthodontist (or any doctor for that matter) has been in one place speaks volumes to the type of practice they have.

 2. Schooling and Education—Where did he go to school? How long ago?  He is board Certified and/or does he sit on any state boards or committees?  What type of continuing Education does the Orthodontist participate in? Does he go to conferences to learn about new technology?

3. Money—What  exactly do all the fee’s cover? Does it cover all the visits? The retainers? After care? Do they take insurance? Are there hidden fee’s? Do the fee’s cover all the x-rays and retainers? Will they give you a discount if you pay the entire balance up front (hello flex spending!)? Will they give you a discount if you have more than one child coming through their office?

4. Time Frame—This one is very important. What is the time frame that he expects to have you in braces? The technology is such now that the Orthodontist should be able to give you a good, solid time frame. I was surprised to see that treatment times varied from office to office—one said 2.5 years and another said 14months. Big Difference.

5. Referrals-- I asked for referrals from each office I interviewed over the phone. I wanted to see what people would say about the type of treatment they received from the Dr. AFTER it was all over. I also wanted to know what these patients didn’t like and then specifically what they loved about the Orthodontist.

6. Equipment—Are they up on the latest technology? What types of appliances and braces does the Orthodontist use? Specifically: IS IT RECYCLED MATERIALS? (because eww! Gross!)

7. Interaction—This one is deal maker or breaker for me. I want to know and see how the Orthodontist interacts with my children.  I am the cash cow—my children are the ones that have to have the gadgets on their teeth. It is very important to me that the Orthodontist speaks WITH my children—not to my children THROUGH me.

8.  Incentives—What kind of incentives did they use? Are there incentives for good grades? Being on time? Wearing their rubber bands? Did they have office contests? The ways the various offices got their office involved in the patients lives was important to me. Braces cost a lot of money, and you spend a lot of time with them… For me, having the experience for my children be pleasant was important. Good incentives means less fighting about wearing their rubber bands.

9. Technology—Not only was I interested in what kind of Orthodontic technology they were using, I was interested in the type of technology they used within their office.  One office had all their new client forms online for me to fill out and then submit. I loved that. Another office was very antiquated and filled everything out with a number 2 pencil. And still another office would send me not only email appointment reminders, but text message reminders as well.  LOVE! THAT!

10. Office Environment—How the staff and the Doctor interacted was important, but even more so, I watched how the staff treated me and my children.  Again, braces cost a lot of money, so I felt like it was important that I never felt like a burden or that I was being talked down to.

Admittedly, I thought my husband was crazy for insisting that I research Orthodontists, the treatments available and the differences in cost; However, I am very glad that I did. I learned a lot about what is available, what to look for and what to avoid. I would strongly encourage you to not just go with whomever your neighbors have chosen, but to actually do some research. You may be surprised with what you find.

*This is a sponsored post 

ADVANTAGES OF POBANZ ORTHODONTICS

HOW TO STOP THUMB SUCKING

SEO TIPS

Janet Thaeler from www.newspapergrl.com shared her vast knowledge on how to make your blog more searchable. I walked away from that presentation having personally learned a lot of new information that I am very excited to put into practice.


*Chris, Amber, Janet, Veronica, Lori, Lesa, Kendra, Jessica, Cassie, Andrea, Judy,  Elisa, Dr. John

A hidden gem in Utah is the all-inclusive Zion's Ponderosa Resort. This Resort is an easy drive from Salt Lake City and is located near the east gate of Zion's National Park in Mount Carmel, Utah. Enjoy the beautiful scenery on the drive down, with the Resort as the perfect destination for families looking for a truly relaxing getaway. Couples looking for relaxation and endless choices of entertainment will not be disappointed either. Zion's Ponderosa Resort is a full service lodge, which leaves its visitors truly feeling relaxed and refreshed.

Upon arrival guests are greeted with a tranquil waterfall-- and a welcoming lobby complete with timber beams and a genuine fireplace. This mod, Soho-meets-the-mountains sanctuary provides just the right mixture of civilization and “roughing it”.

Various levels of accommodations are available. The luxurious mountain homes are just that - luxury at its finest. The Luxury Homes cover every little detail, from the soap for your bubble bath, to lists of the local favorite hangouts. If “roughing it” is more the style you are looking for, the Cowboy Cabins will be perfect. Cowboy Cabins have just the right amount of “roughing it” (no TV's or telephones) combined with just the right amount of civilization (queen size beds and indoor plumbing). They are within walking distance of the various activities that are included in your stay.

For families, the Resort offers a kids camp that is a must! Children are entertained non-stop from 9:00am to 5:00pm, by the Resorts highly trained staff. It is a perfect way to entertain not only the children, but also yourself. The children can try everything the resort has to offer, while Dad takes one of the many guided hikes in Zion's Park and Mom receives a relaxing massage and then lounges by the pool with a novel and a good drink.

Regardless of what it is you are looking for-- whether it be guided hikes through Zion's Park, horseback riding or zip line rides-- one thing is certain. This hidden gem, Zion's Ponderosa Resort, will leave you and your family rested, relaxed and refreshed.

Zion’s Ponderosa

P.O. Box 5547
Mt. Carmel, UT 84755

1-800-293-5444

1-435-648-2700 www.zionponderosa.com

Driving along scenic Hwy 89 in Fruit Heights, Utah passers-by may notice a sign announcing “Rock Loft, next right”. Many may assume that the Rock Loft is a store that sells only rocks, and if rocks fail to pique your interest, would simply not stop. However, they would not only be wrong, but they would miss a hidden local treasure. The Rock Loft is not a rock store, but rather a delightful group of shops, nestled into the side of the mountains in Fruit Heights, Utah.

The Rock Loft is a historical marker for Davis County located on the Old Mountain Road. Before I-15 or HWY 89 existed, the Old Mountain Road connected Weber County to Salt Lake City. The space the Rock Loft occupies was formerly a gas station, a dance hall, a cherry warehouse, and city offices. Currently, it is the home to an art gallery called The Canyon Gallery; a delightful knick-knack shop -- Secret Haven; a designer clothing shop appropriately named The Hidden Closet and a restaurant, The Bun basket, which is the focus of this review.

The Bun Basket is a family owned restaurant. Upon entering, guests feel as though they are visiting Grandma's mountain cabin, complete with Grandmas big, wooden kitchen table! The Bun Basket is a bakery and sandwich shop. This little sandwich shop can compete with much larger sandwich chains in terms of quality and value! The menu includes loaded sandwiches of all types, not skimping on any ingredients and homemade bread.

The Bun basket is perhaps best known for its baked goods, in particular the fresh cooked buns. Standard cinnamon buns are available for your sweet tooth, but don't miss out on the blueberry and raspberry cinnamon buns. Getting seconds (and thirds) of these mouth watering treats is a must!

Comfy architecture definitely sets the pace here at The Bun Basket. Guests will never feel rushed to eat and leave. Rather, the ambiance encourages slowing down a bit, listening a little better and perhaps savoring the experience just a bit more. As a prelude to an afternoon shopping in the adjacent shops, the Rock Loft is a refreshing place to grab a meal that feels like one Grandma would make. It is the perfect location for a girls only adventure!

Rock Loft – The Bun Basket

281 S Mountain Rd
Fruit Heights, UT 84037

(801) 593-9756

Open Monday – Saturday 10-6pm

Grocery shopping is probably my least favorite thing to do. It’s tedious and requires spending money. Why is it tedious? Because I am a total scrooge. I have to look at all the Ad’s for all of the stores in my area to see what is on sale. After doing that I can plan my menus—based on what’s on sale.

When I shop this way, scouring the Ad’s for things that are on sale; then comparing all the stores prices; finally making my actual shopping list-- it can take the better part of the day.

That’s why grocery shopping is tedious.

However, I was contacted recently by Deals to Meals to see if I would give their site a trial run. I am all about trying anything that will save me time and money. I used Deals to Meals for a solid two months. I played around on their website, and I have to tell you that I LOVE this site.

Here’s how it works:

· We compare prices of the major grocery stores to Costco, Sams Club, and Wal-Mart.

· We tell you where the best deals are to stock up your food storage and freezer.

· We provide a meal planning service to help you incorporate your food storage into your weekly meals, saving you money by having your meals planned around sale items.

· We design a weekly grocery list to make meal planning easy.

· We share delicious recipes. We give weekly tips & information on food storage.

· We offer a two week free trial with no obligation, no contracts to sign, cancel at anytime.

I tried all of the things that they listed above. Each store has a clickable screen where you can see the great deals (signified in red color) and good deals (signified in blue color). You click on what you want then hit PRINT. That’s right, it will then print off all the items you were interested in, SORTED by stores. I am not kidding. That little feature makes price matching a breeze! If you’re anything like me, you will then take the best prices and rather than go to ninety-bazillion stores, you will just go to Wal-Mart and have them price match. That is the main reason I shop at Wal-Mart—they price match.Well, that and I can continue to participate in that little site called peopleofwalmart.com.

The other really slick thing on Deals to Meals is that they have menus already planned out for you using the items that are sale that particular week. I’m telling you its sweet! I tried the menu plan from March 15^th, and it made my life SO dang simple. They even go so far as to make a shopping list for all the items you will need for that weeks menu, if you choose to go that route.

They also keep an entire month’s menus up on the site, along with the applicable grocery shopping list. Talk about making your grocery shopping experience pain free!

If you are food storage incompetent (like me) then Deals to Meals has a plan for you! On each stores list, it will list the shelf life of the item, as well as how much of the item you will need for a year’s supply. My husband was thrilled with that idea. Food storage overwhelms me.

Deals to Meals has taken the pressure off the whole food storage campaign and I can actually work on it without having a minor panic attack. There are no additional screens to click to see that valuable little feature either. It’s right there, where you are planning your shopping list.

There are other price comparison sites out there, but they just have the actual lists—you still have to do all the work. Deals to Meals not only has the list, but makes it so that after you clicked on all the items you are interested, you can print out just what you want to see. This company will simplify your grocery shopping by leaps and bounds! I love using their product and I think you will too!

Giveaway time!

Deals to Meals & MMB are giving one lucky a years membership to this awesome website.

Head over to MMB to enter for a chance to win!

*COMMENTS OFF*

disclosure: MMB was given a free membership to Deals to Meals to try and review.

I recently had the opportunity to go hear Matt Townsend speak at the Miller Free Enterprise Center.

Who's that?

Well, let it be known that Matt Townsend is going to be the opening Keynote Speaker at the Casual Blogger Conference on Saturday morning.

Oh. My. Word.

People!

Matt Townsend is freaking hilarious! He had me at hello. Seriously, he did.

I was laughing so hard that at one point there were tears streaming down my face, and I may have snorted. Twice.

Then, in the next breath he had our attention so completely as he taught us HOW to create amazing relationships with people. It mattered not who the relationships were with; the principals that Matt taught can be applied to all relationships.

I can't even begin to explain to you how excited I am that he is available to come and speak at CBC! He held the entire audience in the palm of his hand, and he took us on an incredible journey. I am telling you he is going to knock your socks off! He is going to create an amazing environment of learning for you at the CBC and you will come away from his speech excited to try what you have learned from him! He alone will be well worth the money you will spend to attend CBC!

I can't wait to see and hear what the rest of our presenters have to offer because I know if Matt is as amazing as he is, then the rest of our presenters are going be home runs!

You don't want to miss out on the Casual Blogger Conference, people. You will leave with so much more than just blogging skills—you will leave with relationship skills, and lifelong friendships. Besides, I need someone to be there to help me chant: "Tell the puffy pant story! Tell the puffy pant story!" and believe me when I say to you-- You don't want to miss the puffy pant story.

There are still a few sweet swag tickets available—for the first 100 tickets purchased. Get yours here.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was a little nervous to read this series because I had heard about the True Blood series on HBO and how "skanky" it was. Those kind of shows do not appeal to me, and so I was worried this book would follow suite.

I was very excited when the Barnes and Noble employee told me all about the book, and that HBO had taken a lot of "creative liberties" with the series. I purchased the first book and devoured it in one weekend.

Be warned there are a few sex scenes. I would give this book a solid PG-13. The HBO series portrays the books to be R-rated (with intense, graphic sex scenes) and that is where I would say they take creative liberties. They do follow the story line consistently, according to my neighbor. (I've never seen it)

Most people that know me know that I really did not like the Twilight series all that much. So it came as a huge surprise to me that I liked this book as much as I did. It's a grown up version of Twilight, and edited much better.

No. Scratch that!

It's not a grown up Twilight. Twilight was a sexless book, written for teens, where vampires were just myths. Dead Until Dark is not sexless and is a world where Vampires and humans mix-- knowingly. They have just recently "come out of the coffin" and are recognized in society as a minority race.

Really, according to the vampires, they have been a tortured race by the humans. They aren't really dead, they suffer from serious side affects from a "virus" that leaves them looking dead.

Harris has clearly given a lot of thought to the Vampire society-- right down to the high Archy that governs them. There are the Vampire Drainers-- people who capture vampires and drain their blood to sell on the black market. There are the "fang-bangers" who love to be bitten by the vampires. Then there is the synthetic blood that the vampires drink, and the fact that they now are tax paying, voting citizens of Society. World wide.

The series centers around Sookie Stackhouse, the heroine, who has a "disability"... She can read minds. While the thought of mind reading sounds completely intriguing to me, Sookie swears its debilitating. Frankly, I wouldn't mind a little clairvoyance, but Sookie wishes she could just get rid of this "disability" so she can have a normal relationship with a man. Which is where the vampire, Bill, comes onto the scene. Sookie can't read his mind, and she is completely smitten.

Bill Compton, the vampire in question, has returned to his roots. When he was living and before he died -- DURING THE CIVIL WAR -- he lived in that area of Louisiana. He had spent several years as a loner vampire and has now returned to try and be more mainstream.

How can you argue with a good mystery laced with clairvoyants, vampires and shape shifters? You can't. It's an easy, fun read that will leave you wanting more. Lucky for us there are nine of them, with book ten set to hit the scene in the spring of 2010.

Harris has a straight forward, just between you and me kind of style of writing that is fun and easy to read. One minute she's making you laugh, the next she's sending chills along your spine, and the next she's got you wondering who done it. This book will entertain and keep you guessing until the very end.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I finished reading The Hunger Games, I seriously wondered how on earth Ms. Collins was ever going to maintain the intensity and thrill that The Hunger Games held. I mean,really?! How do you top children fighting children, tributes-turned-mutant-dogs and a love triangle?

Ms. Collins has hit a solid home run with Catching Fire (Hunger Games #2)! It picks up a couple of months after the games have ended. Katniss has inadvertently become the symbol of rebellion against the tyrannical government of Panem. The safety of her family, the ones she loves and even herself hinges on her ability to quell the resisters back into submission.

This book maintains the intensity and thrill that was set by the previous book. The book moves at a much faster pace than The Hunger Games because there is no need for the back story to be laid. Collins does a fantastic job of reminding the readers of important, critical events, without distracting from the moving plot.

There were definite surprises and twists that I did not see coming, which makes reading books like this one absolutely delightful!

Some of the toughest challenges yet are faced in this book: love, conscience, survival, deranged monkeys and a flock of "candy pink" birds equipped with long beaks used to skewer human necks.

The brilliance of Catching Fire is the wonderfully sick idea of the games --Children fighting Children-- being broadcast live on TV for all of Panem to watch, and force into submmission.

Collins does a fantastic job of painting the horror and then letting your imagination take over. She understands that your imagination will paint what is scary to YOU better than she ever could. She supplies just the right amount of details and lets your mind do the rest.

While it sounds "scary" or "horrifying", it is actually in fact a brilliant piece of literature. It has a little bit of everything: solid writing, a compelling storyline, action, adventure, a little romance, and multiple layers of conflict. Reluctant readers like it because it moves along quickly, and seasoned pros appreciate how thoroughly Collins creates Katniss’s world and fills in the gaps about how it got that way in the first place.

Simply put: This book is Brilliant!

Squeeballs are 12 toys that are manufactured on a secret island somewhere in the Pacific. Before they can be sold to children around the world, the Squeeballs must be fully put to the test...to the point of destruction! You can blow up, cook, slice, bat, bowl, shoot and bounce the Squeeballs. The game features a unique collection of 11 party games, each taking place in a different environment from lava-filled canyons, bowling alleys and kitchens to science labs and snow-capped mountains. As the game progresses and more challenges are met - each one more difficult than the last - the game showcases more than 150 unique challenges. The game is available for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS/DS Lite/DSi, Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. The Wii version features 11 party games; other versions vary in content.

Here is the great news: Performance Designed Products (PDP) has graciously donated ONE Wii game and ONE Nintendo DS game for two of my lucky readers! I'm hosting the review over on my other site and Anyone can enter to win! Just in time for Christmas too!