Laughing Lindsay

Now that it’s summer, I have more free time to relax and just hang out. However, that also means I am more likely to get bored. Haha! One of the things I have discovered I enjoy doing in my free time is playing brain teaser games. I think they are fun because they require me to think a little while having fun (versus just clicking buttons).

One of my new favorites games is the Mosaic Tomb of Mystery. It is a game where you try to match up different shapes to fit a particular pattern. When you complete one, you receive another clue about the death of King Tut! So, you have to try to figure out which way to place the shapes while attempting to figure out the mystery!

I love the added aspect of history to the game. As you know, one of my teaching endorsements is in middle school social studies. So, I was pleased to see even a little mention of history in a game. I feel that this game is fun enough to get people interested in ancient Egypt and perhaps curious enough to do their own research. I wouldn’t mind using the game in my future classroom as a reward for students since it does make them think and it could peak their interest in history. Plus, it’s actually a fairly inexpensive game. So, it’s a good deal I think.

Now, two lucky readers will have the opportunity to try out a game from the same site I downloaded this game from. This would be great for those with children home from school during the summer, bored college students, or adults who want to do something new that doesn’t require you to be online the whole time.

WIN!

2 Laughing Lindsay readers will win a code for a free Big Fish Games downloadable computer game of their choosing (these codes only work on Mac or PC games, not iphone or ipad games).

To enter: Post the link to a game from Big Fish Games you would like to download in a comment.

This entry is mandatory, if you do not do #1, you cannot do the “extra” entries. Comments like “enter me” will not be eligible!

Extra Entries
For each extra entry please post an additional comment!

1. Follow me on Twitter (let me know your handle in a comment).

2. Tell others about this giveaway (Tweet, Digg, Stumble, email, forum, meme, blog it, Google Buzz, etc). You get one extra entry for each thing done. One Tweet allowed per person.

3. Follow my blog and tell me (or tell me if you already are).

4. Subscribe to my blog’s feed and tell me (or tell me if you already do).

5. Add my blog button to your blog (leave blog link).

6. Comment on a non-giveaway post. (Come back and tell me which one.).

Giveaway ends on May 30th at 11:59 pm EST.

The winner will be chosen via random number generator the next day and notified by email. If I don’t hear back from the winner within 48 hours of sending the winning email, I’ll pick another.
GOOD LUCK!

*Open to US residents only.

Disclosure: I received a free code to download a game from Big Fish Games and will be receiving a small monetary thank you gift. The opinions expressed are my own.

Since Mother’s Day was on Sunday, I’d love to share a book with you that is perfect for moms! Obviously, I am not a mom. However, I have friends who are moms or pregnant and I do hope to be one someday in the far future. Haha! So, I thought it would be nice to read this book to see if I could get any tips from it for the future. Plus, I thought it would be nice to have on hand when I do finally spawn. It’s called Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Moms.

I love that this book has so many short sections. I considered saying chapters, but they are so short they are more like sections to me. There are 100 of them spanning 326 pages. So, as you can see, each one goes over only a few pages. Each one features a neat story from either the author (Kristine Carlson who is also the author of the book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Women) or her friends. So, you know that each topic is inspired by real life moments and you can actually use the hints provided. Some of my favorite sections include: When All Else Fails, Laugh, Go Ahead and Have a Good Cry, Emotional Intelligence is Important, and It’s Not Your Essay to Write. I also appreciated the list of helpful websites, organizations, and books in the back of this book.

I feel that this book should be read when appropriate. Meaning, I wouldn’t sit down and try to read it all at once. I believe it would be best to read a little (perhaps just a section or two) at a time to really think about things and let stuff sink in fully. I also would think that it would be perfect to read a section when something happens to you or your child and you aren’t sure how to handle it best. There is so much information in the book that I wouldn’t want anyone to miss something helpful. This is definitely a great book, and not just for new or young mothers since it covers so many topics.

WIN!

One Laughing Lindsay reader will win a copy of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Moms book.

To enter: Tell me why you would like to win this book.

This entry is mandatory, if you do not do #1, you cannot do the “extra” entries. Comments like “enter me” will not be eligible!

Extra Entries
For each extra entry please post an additional comment!

1. Follow me on Twitter (let me know your handle in a comment).

2. Tell others about this giveaway (Tweet, Digg, Stumble, email, forum, meme, blog it, Google Buzz, etc). You get one extra entry for each thing done. One Tweet allowed per person.

3. Follow my blog and tell me (or tell me if you already are).

4. Subscribe to my blog’s feed and tell me (or tell me if you already do).

5. Add my blog button to your blog (leave blog link).

6. Comment on a non-giveaway post. (Come back and tell me which one.).

Giveaway ends on May 29th at 11:59 pm EST.

The winner will be chosen via random number generator the next day and notified by email. If I don’t hear back from the winner within 48 hours of sending the winning email, I’ll pick another.
GOOD LUCK!

*Open to US residents only.

Disclosure: I received a free book. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday and if you are like me, than you have no idea what to get your mom for it. However, I do have an idea for you. Let me introduce you to Guylian Belgian Chocolates. They have been around since the 1950′s with their indulgent chocolates and they even have an adorable story about their beginnings.

The Guylian brand dates back to the late 1950’s when Guy Foubert, a passionate Belgian Chocolataire married his love, Liliane who then joined names creating Chocolaterie Guylian. Today, Guylian crafts the finest authentic Belgian Chocolate Truffles, utilizing the original handmade recipe of Guy and Liliane. The original signature truffle recipe is still made in small-batch copper kettles exclusively by Guylian’s Master Chocolatiers in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium.

I received a wonderful selection of their chocolates to try and I am pretty impressed. Their chocolate truffles are pictured above. They are 100% dark and white Belgian Chocolate! They are also filled with rich, decadent creamy chocolate praline truffle. This creates a unique tasting experience! I think it is definitely a treat to eat one of these things. I mean they look beautiful to begin with. Plus, the tropical images get me feeling like I’m on a vacation or something. Then, add the delicious chocolate and it’s a brilliant treat.

I think the combination of chocolates is really interesting. I had never had chocolate like this. I think it tastes pretty good. My dad thought it had a weird aftertaste. Either way, you can’t deny that it makes you feel like you are dining on the best. It would be a great gift for mom this Sunday. In fact, I may even let my mom have some.

You can keep up with the brand on the Guylian Facebook page. Additionally, one of my lucky readers will win a generous selection of chocolate from them!

WIN!

1 Laughing Lindsay reader will win a selection of Gulyian Belgian Chocolates, including:
* One – 22 piece box of Guylian Artisanal Belgian Original Chocolate Truffles
* Two – 6 piece Original Chocolate Truffle Box and
* Four – 2 piece Original Chocolate Truffle Box.

To enter: Tell me why you would like to win Guylian Belgian Chocolate.

This entry is mandatory, if you do not do #1, you cannot do the “extra” entries. Comments like “enter me” will not be eligible!

Extra Entries
For each extra entry please post an additional comment!

1. Follow me on Twitter (let me know your handle in a comment).

2. Tell others about this giveaway (Tweet, Digg, Stumble, email, forum, meme, blog it, etc). You get one extra entry for each thing done. One Tweet allowed per person.

3. Follow my blog and tell me (or tell me if you already are).

4. Subscribe to my blog’s feed and tell me (or tell me if you already do).

5. Add my blog button to your blog (leave blog link).

6. Comment on a non-giveaway post. (Come back and tell me which one.)

7. Sign up for the Guylian Belgian Chocolates newsletter and let me know you did so in a comment.

Giveaway ends on May 23rd at 11:59 pm EST.

The winner will be chosen via random number generator the next day and notified by email. If I don’t hear back from the winner within 48 hours of sending the winning email, I’ll pick another.

GOOD LUCK!

*Open to US residents only.

Disclosure: I received free Guylian Belgian Chocolate. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.

I have been wanting to work with Musselman’s for some time now. I had seen their products in stores and online for a year or so and I thought they looked good. However, I had never tried them. So, I was very excited to be offered the opportunity to try some of their apple sauces. Now, this may seem like an odd time to try Musselman’s since we usually think of apples in the fall. However, it is now officially spring. That means that the Peach Glen orchard growers for Musselman’s are finished with winter pruning and are preparing for apple blossoms. Yay! Doesn’t that sound like an exciting time for growers and Musselman’s?

This is also the perfect time to go outside again with family and friends. Winter had most of indoors to avoid the cold. Now that it’s warmer, we can go on those hikes or just relax. What makes a good outing a great one is food. Haha! Using Musselman’s, you can make some perfectly portable snacks for your spring outing. Think things like Chewy Fruit Bars, Easy Low Fat Granola, and Grandma’s Spice Cookies. I made some of the cookies with my boyfriend using their original apple sauce. We also opted to add some raisins. They didn’t look overly flashy or anything. However, they tasted delicious!

We made them on Friday night and they were gone Sunday morning. The two of us and his parents snacked on them all weekend. They were great for dessert, a snack, and breakfast (in my opinion). They were a bit cakier in texture than I was thinking they would be. Also, I made the mistake of making them too big in the first batch. Haha! These cookies definitely spread out while baking. Nonetheless, we ate them all and they tasted great!

I also tried some of their cinnamon apple sauce. I love cinnamon in my apple sauce. I think they go perfectly together. This apple sauce was a little chunkier than some of the other apple sauces I’ve tried. However, I think that’s great because you can literally see the proof that they use apples in the apple sauce. It has a more earthy feel to it that way. Plus, it tastes really good. Now, one lucky reader will get to try some apple sauce from Musselman’s.

WIN!

1 Laughing Lindsay reader will win Musselman’s apple sauce and copies of recipes for the products mentioned above.

To enter: Tell me why you would like to win some Musselman’s apple sauce.

This entry is mandatory, if you do not do #1, you cannot do the “extra” entries. Comments like “enter me” will not be eligible!

Extra Entries
For each extra entry please post an additional comment!

1. Follow me on Twitter (let me know your handle in a comment).

2. Tell others about this giveaway (Tweet, Digg, Stumble, email, forum, meme, blog it, etc). You get one extra entry for each thing done. One Tweet allowed per person.

3. Follow my blog and tell me (or tell me if you already are).

4. Subscribe to my blog’s feed and tell me (or tell me if you already do).

5. Add my blog button to your blog (leave blog link).

6. Comment on a non-giveaway post. (Come back and tell me which one.)

Giveaway ends on May 21st at 11:59 pm EST.

The winner will be chosen via random number generator the next day and notified by email. If I don’t hear back from the winner within 48 hours of sending the winning email, I’ll pick another.

GOOD LUCK!

*Open to US residents only.

Disclosure: I received free Musselman’s apple sauce. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.

Welcome to May Buffet coordinated by ShePromotes! This event will take place from May 1st at 12:01am EST through May 15th at 11:59pm EST.

It’s May! And for many of us that means the start of grilling and cookout season. Good food is great all year round, but there is just something about the warm weather that says bring on the steaks! I am sure you like to check out recipes shared by your favorite bloggers, so we thought we’d share some yummy prizes with you! Each blog listed below on the linky has a prize valued at $25+ for each winner – ALL FOOD RELATED! This means goodies to eat and items to help you fix, mix, cook, and serve delicious dishes. So let the May Buffet begin!

For my giveaway in the hop, I wanted to allow readers to do some Mediterranean Entertaining with Peloponnese Foods. I received an assortment of their products to try and one of my readers will win the same awesome prize package of products. This includes:

* Peloponnese® Artichoke Spread
* Peloponnese® Hummus Spread
* Peloponnese® Halved Kalamata Gourmet Black Olives
* Peloponnese® Florina Whole Sweet Peppers
* Peloponnese® Baba Ganoush
* Peloponnese® Antipasto Party Olives
* Specialty Olive Bowl

You can view a picture of the prize package in the Rafflecopter below (isn’t the bowl adorable?). I wasn’t sure what to expect from these foods. However, my boyfriend loves to eat Mediterranean foods. So, I knew he would be excited to try them. We discussed various ways to try them and ended up coming up with this…

We started with some ground turkey. Then, we formed patties and my boyfriend added some of the olives to his patty. We put hummus spread on the crown of the bun. We also seared the peppers and placed them on the burger. We added some lettuce and red onions. Also, he opted for some antipasto party olives on top of that.

The burgers ended up being really good. The hummus is delicious! I will even eat it with a pretzel. I left the ingredients at my boyfriend’s and he plans to use them to make more turkey burgers with it this week. Overall, it was a wonderful way to spice up dinner and to try something new.

WIN!

1 Laughing Lindsay reader will win a Peloponnese Mediterranean Foods Prize Package!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: Please note that Laughing Lindsay, “May Buffet Giveaway Event” or the “May Buffet” bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. We will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. We will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor, please notify the blog you won a prize from within 4-6 weeks for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you.

Disclosure: I received the Peloponnese foods for free. The opinions expressed are my own.