Trident Layers Gum REVIEW and GIVEAWAY

As a contributor for Pink Lemonade of Life, I was given the opportunity to review the brand new Layers gum by Trident. I have been curious about these new flavors as I have seen them recently when checking out at my local grocery store. The mix of flavors and the way they were layered together intrigued me, so when this package arrived on my doorstep I was excited to try the gum!

We tried the Green Apple/Golden Pineapple flavor first, and it was a hit with my children. The initial flavor is a little tart and a good blend between Apple and Pineapple. The initial tartness fades fairly quickly, but the gum does not become flavorless after just minutes of chewing. You are left with a good, albeit milder flavor for a while.

My personal favorite flavor was the Wild Strawberry/Tangy Citrus. This one truly surprised me with it's perfect blend of Strawberry flavors and citrus. I wasn't sure how these flavors would go together, but I love both flavors so hoped it would be good! The Strawberry is the stronger flavor and the kick of Citrus Tartness really livens up the Strawberry flavor. Just like the Apple/Pineapple variety, the original flavor fades fairly quickly, followed by a pleasant, mild flavor for at least 15 minutes (I can only chew gum this long before I am done...but at the 15 minute mark there was still flavor for me).

You can find out more about these new flavors by heading to tridentgum.com. If you want to give them a try for yourself, you can download a $.75 off coupon here.

Two readers will get a chance to try this gum for themselves! Each winner will receive one pack of each flavor. Here's how to enter:

MANDATORY ENTRY (must be done before you qualify for any additional entries):

1. What two flavors would you like to see put together in a Trident Layers Gum?

Bonus Entries:

2. Head over to Pink Lemonade of Life and comment on a non giveaway post and come back here and let me know which you read!

3. Follow me with Google Friend Connect

4. Subscribe to my feed via Reader

5. Create a unique blog post about this giveaway and link back here. Leave a link with your comment

Open to US residents only. You must leave me a way to contact you either my having your email address in the comments or setting your email as public in your google profile. Contest ends at 11:59 PM on December 19th. Winners will be notified by email and posted here. Winners must respond within 72 hours of email or a new winner will be chose.

For another chance to win and to read reviews by the rest of the wonderful Pink Lemonade contributors, head to this post at Pink Lemonade of Life.

I received samples from Trident in order to participate in this review campaign for Pink Lemonade of Life. No other compensation was received and the opinion expressed is completely my own.

1-2-3 Draw Super Fun Stuff REVIEW

Do you have a budding artist on your Christmas list this year? My oldest son LOVES to draw, and from the moment this book arrived on my doorstep, he has been drawing like crazy. Race cars, birds, elephants and more have been showing up on scraps of paper all around the house.

1-2-3 Draw Super Fun Stuff is a combination of five of the 1-2-3 Draw books by Peel Productions. The books included are:

1-2-3 Draw Knights, Castles, and Dragons
1-2-3 Draw Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals
1-2-3 Draw Wild Animals
1-2-3 Draw Pets and Farm Animals
1-2-3 Draw Cars, Trucks and Other Vehicles

This hard covered, spiral bound book is very well made. The spiral binding makes it perfect for laying open on the table and the step-by-step instructions are easy to follow and perfect for children.

My son loves this book so much that last night when I thought he was going to sleep I caught him up on his bunk bed with this book open, drawing away! He can't seem to get enough.My daughter also loves using the drawing instructions found in this book. Her favorite things to draw are animals, and this book is a wonderful source for animal drawing instructions.

I was also sent a copy of the book entitled DRAW Magical Fantasies. This book is created in the same style as the 1-2-3 Draw books, but is created for an older audience (suggested for ages 9+). I am sure that once my children have mastered the skills in the 1-2-3 book they will be excited to move on to the DRAW book!

You can discover all of the wonderful drawing books and other great books by Peel Productions (including Peel The Extraordinary Elephant) by visiting their website. You can purchase the books directly from Peel or Amazon.com.

If you have a budding artist on your Christmas list, look no farther than the 1-2-3 DRAW books by Peel Productions, you and your little artist will not be disappointed.

I received copies of both the 1-2-3 DRAW Super Fun Stuff and DRAW Magical Fantasies books in order to provide a review. No other compensation was provided. Any purchases through links to Amazon.com will result in compensation. I presented my honest opinion.

Tell Me A Story Tuesday (yes I know it is really Wendesday!) Peel The Extraordinary Elephant

I know, it is Wednesday, but I had a super busy day yesterday and didn't want to wait until next week to share this adorable book with you! So, I hope you will allow me to be a day late with Tell Me A Story Tuesday this week! I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of Peel, the Extraordinary Elephant by Susan Joyce. I love the colored pencil/crayon style illustrations by Doug DuBosque. They give a softness to the story that traditional illustrations would not have given.

This book follows a little Elephant on a journey of discovery. He meets many friends along the way who help him discover who he is and what makes him extraordinary. Peel's story is told in rhyme, which is wonderful for reading aloud (my daughter thought that it was great that the book was a long poem)! Peel remembers a lullaby that helps him through tough times, and at the end of the book you will find the lullaby and basic sheet music so you can learn to sing along with Peel(one line, treble clef only).

The story is broken up into several chapters, making it a bit long for a single reading for very young children. Older children will enjoy it in one sitting, while younger children may need you to read the story over a couple bedtimes. Your children will enjoy following Peel on his journey and learn with Peel that we can learn from both the good times and the bad.

You can find copies Peel's story for sale on Amazon.comor directly from Peel Productions.

Thank you to Kate at KSB Promotions and Peel Productions for providing me with a copy of this book to review! Look for another review of a Peel Productions book coming later this week!

I received a copy of this book in order to provide a review. No further compensation was received. As always, purchases made through amazon.com links will result in compensation. The above review reflects my honest opinion.

Halls Refresh review and GIVEAWAY

As a contributor at Pink Lemonade of Life, I was given the opportunity to review a new product from Halls called Halls Refresh. Halls describes this product as "A new mouth watering hard candy specially formulated to help moisten your mouth." This product is available in three flavors: Juicy Strawberry, Tropical Wave and Refreshing Mint and are available in twenty piece resealable packages and nine count sticks.

Dry mouth is not something that I deal with regularly, so it is hard for me to determine it's effectiveness in this situation, however I did notice an increase of moisture while sucking on one. The feeling did not last beyond the time it was in my mouth, but it was pleasant, and I can see how they would be very nice if you did deal with dry mouth on a constant basis. I plan to carry some in a small pocket next time I go out running (I have been very bad about this lately, and need to kick my rear in gear and hit the trail. I am out of shape again and the holiday sweets are soon to be upon us!) as that is when I do tend to experience dryness.

I was was sent both the Juicy Strawberry and Tropical Wave flavors. While both have a pleasant, slightly medicinal taste (very mild, similar to a medicated cough drop, but much less potent), my preference is for the Tropical Wave. I find the medicinal taste to be a little less noticeable in the Tropical Wave, but mainly this is a personal preference. I wish that I had been able to sample the Refreshing Mint flavor, as this sounds most appealing to me.

I do find these to be a good cough drop or lozenge option while dealing with the cold and flu season. (The product is not designed as a cough drop, it's purpose is as a mouth moisturizer, I just found that these worked well for me in this function)The increased moisture seems to help calm a dry, scratchy throat (as I have been experiencing over the past week) without resorting to using the stronger, medicated drops. (I honestly usually resort to simply buying regular hard candy because I have a hard time with the strong flavor of regular cough drops).

All in all, I have a positive opinion of this product. It is not one that I will purchase often, as it does not fulfill an everyday need in my house, but will buy then on occasion.

Don't want to take my word for it? Read more reviews by contributors at Pink Lemonade of Life.

* HALLS® products may be used by adults and children 5 years and over. For children under 5 years, ask a doctor.


Would you like a chance to sample the all new Halls Refresh hard candies? Halls would like to send three of my readers samples of the product and a T-shirt!

Entry Options:
-Leave a comment on this post with a fun Fall activity (required first entry)
-Become a Fan of Halls on Facebook (leave a comment saying you did with your user name)
-follow my blog (or already following :))
-Head on over to Pink Lemonade of Life and leave a comment on a non-giveaway post. Come back and let me know which one you chose!

That's it this time :) Please remember to leave your email address so I can contact you if you are my winner. If you do not respond within 72 hours of email a new winner will be chosen.

Sorry, US addresses only

Contest closes November 10th at 11:59 PM Mountain Time

I received samples of this product in order to provide this review. No other compensation was provided. I related my honest experience with this product.

Harry Connick Jr. Album REVIEW

Harry Connick Jr. has a voice that reminds me of warm caramel sauce; so rich and heavenly. I have been a fan of this amazingly talented musician for many years (since my husband introduced me early in our marriage) and his newest album, Your Songs (just released this week), definitely lives up to my expectations. Harry performs music from across several eras, from Just The Way You Are (originally recorded by Billy Joel) to Some Enchanted Evening from the classic musical South Pacific. You can't help but melt a little when you hear Harry start to croon All The Way (originally recorded by Frank Sinatra). The Big Band style accompaniment and his velvety voice takes you back to the days of the Rat Pack. When singers could really sing!

I know you want to get your hands on a copy of this album, and if you head here, you can purchase either the CD, a digital copy of the album or a special edition CD/DVD only available from HConnickJr.com!

For a sneak peek at the making of the album, you can check out this short video hosted on Amazon.com.

Can't get enough of Harry Connick Jr. and want to read (ok I know you just want to look at him some more...) some more, here are some links for ya:

Harry's Facebook Fan page
Harry's Website

And look for Harry on Oprah tomorrow!

I received one copy of the CD in order to provide a review. I received no further compensation and the opinion provided above is completely honest and my own.