Guinness World Records 2010 Edition Review

I love playing trivia games with DH, and we recently received the Guinness World Records 2010 Edition (ARV $28.95), which is full of so many amazing facts and images that I’m sure will come in handy the next time we play a trivia game.

From the Tallest Man (towering at 8ft 1 in) to the Longest Fingernails (28 ft 4 in), the celebrated annual commemorates the end of the decade with amazing feats, inspirational attainments and fascinating factoids for readers of all ages. The 2010 edition has tons of new features including the Top 100 Records of the Decade; links to free online content - including behind-the-scenes videos, photographs, interviews and more.

Guinness World Records 2010 Edition offers a plethora of information. There are records categorized by country, sports, animals, toys, and so much more. You can even find records set on dates throughout the year!

There are just so many records featured in the 2010 Edition. Many surprised me (Oldest Mother to Conceive Naturally was 59 years old), others amused me (Most Eggs Crushed with the Head in One Minute was 80), and yet others grossed me out (Heaviest Frog Ever was 8.8 pounds--that's heavier than both my sons were at birth!).

My favorite records had to do with pop culture, such as the Most Overpaid Actor, Shortest Screen Time for a Best Actor Oscar Win, Most Downloaded Movie Trailer (24 hours),and the First Reality TV Show, none of which I knew the answers to...do you?

Both DH and I really enjoyed reading Guinness World Records 2010 Edition, and hopefully I’ll remember many of the records so I can beat DH the next time we play a trivia game!

Full of hundreds of photos and facts, Guinness World Records 2010 Edition is the perfect book for any trivia buff, and would also make a great gift for the holidays!

Shop: You can purchase Guinness World Records 2010 Edition at various retailers online and nationwide.

Thank you to Guinness World Records for the review product.

Nature's Path Sunrise Cereals Review

Thanks to Nature’s Path, I had a chance to try two new organic cereals!

At Nature’s Path, we live for healthy, great-tasting organic foods. It’s why we get up in the morning.

I was fortunate to try the following cereals (ARV $4.79 each): Crunchy Maple Sunrise and Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise.

Crunchy Maple Sunrise was nice and crunchy, but the scent and taste of maple was just a bit too strong for me, and DH ended up eating the rest of the box (he enjoyed it more than I did).
Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise was also nice and crunchy, and this happened to be my favorite of the two cereals. The scent and taste of vanilla was just right, and I ended up eating the entire box by myself!

What’s great about the Sunrise cereals is that not only are they organic, but they are gluten-free. These cereals are a healthy, yet delicious option for those with celiac disease or those who choose not to eat gluten for other health reasons.

Whether you need to or choose to avoid gluten, or you simply want a tasty, organic option for breakfast, Nature’s Path new Sunrise cereals are a great choice!

Shop: You can purchase Nature’s Path Sunrise cereals on the Nature’s Path online store, or click here to find a retailer near you.

Thank you to Nature’s Path for providing the review products.

Best-Kid Friendly Hotels in Hawaii

I’m very lucky to live in Hawaii, which is one of the most popular vacation destinations year-round. For families who are planning to travel to Hawaii, Oyster.com has put together a list of the Best Kid-Friendly Hotels in Hawaii to help you decide on which hotel would be ideal for your family.

I have never stayed overnight in any of the hotels listed (I’ve only visited them for parties, dining, seminars, and other functions), but the list of Best Kid-Friendly Hotels in Hawaii will be personally useful when planning our next stay-cation.

Since I live on Oahu, I'd probably consider the following hotels:

Hilton Hawaiian Village, a hotel that’s often seen in TV shows and commercials, is a huge resort full of all sorts of shops and restaurants. They offer many activities for kids, and just walking around the property kids will find so many cool things, such as waterfalls, turtles, and even penguins!

Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club has also made the list. Although not located in Waikiki, this hotel is just a 30-40 minute drive away, and ideal for those who want to vacation in a more relaxed atmosphere. One of the popular things to do while staying at this hotel is to visit one of the several lagoons. We love to take our boys to the lagoons. They’re not as crowded as the beaches in Waikiki, and the water is usually quite calm.
There are hotels on the other islands of Hawaii that have made the list, so whether you’re visiting Oahu, Maui, or Kauai, be sure to visit Best Kid-Friendly Hotels in Hawaii to help plan your next family vacation (or stay-cation) in Hawaii!

This is a dedicated TravelingMom post.

This is a sponsored post.

I Cherish Planet Earth Review and Giveaway

Little Music Man loves playing matching games (he often tells me “let’s play match-match!”), so I was eager to review I Cherish Planet Earth (ARV $16.95, FocusBloom), a combination book and match game that is also a Dr. Toy Green Product of the Year Award winner.

I Cherish Planet Earth is about appreciating and preserving nature and our planet. It is a celebration of Earth’s life and beauty. It is an inspiration to learn about and care for all life, from the tiniest flower to the greatest forest. It is a natural addition to any go-green program, at home, neighborhood, school, or other community. For centuries, pair-matching games have been the perfect tool for sharpening concentration and short-term memory in people of all ages. FocusBloom™ takes a giant leap forward by combining the game with affirmations, a book, and inspiring visuals. Affirmations offer a powerful means for creating a lofty, focused mindset. The picture book, A Love Letter to Our Planet, helps build meaningful understanding. The game extensions are well considered and offer the opportunity for communication, creative self-expression, and action.

I Cherish Planet Earth's match game contains 48 cards, but because of Little Music Man’s age, we’d only play with 5-7 pairs of cards at a time. Also, since he has a hard time stating the entire affirmation on each of the card, he matches the cards simply by the pictures (e.g. Pandas, Animals, Mountains, etc.) for the respective card, and I’d read aloud the corresponding affirmation, which he tries to repeat.

The book itself is very engaging. It’s full of colorful illustrations, and Little Music Man loves to point out the plants, animals, and other objects whenever I read I Cherish Planet Earth.

The book also offers suggestions on ways to incorporate the cards and books in other games and activities.

I Cherish Planet Earth is an innovative way to incorporate a popular game into an activity that is not only fun, but also reinforces the importance of helping to protect the earth.

It’s never too early to get our kids thinking about how precious our earth is and how it’s important that we do everything we can to protect it.

Shop: You can purchase I Cherish Planet Earth on FocusBloom.com, Challenge & Fun, Amazon, Three Sisters, MyToysMart.com, Tree Hollow Toys, and My Little Green Room. Note: FocusBloom™ is part of a global movement of companies that donate 1% of their sales to a network of more than 1,500 environmental organizations worldwide.

Win: One lucky winner will receive a copy of I Cherish Planet Earth!

• To enter, visit I Cherish Planet Earth and comment on which the match card affirmations you feel is most important to teach our children (images are animated and different affirmations appear on the cards).
• You’ll get one extra entry each if you do any of the following (be sure to leave a comment for each “entry”):
  1)Blog about this giveaway and link back to Sage and Savvy and I Cherish Planet Earth
  2)Subscribe to my feed
  3)Add my button to your sidebar
  4)Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name in your comment)
• The deadline for entries is November 13, 11:59pm HST.
• If you submitted an eligible entry and it is chosen by random.org as the winner, you will be notified via email on November 14, 2009 (make sure your email address is in your profile or comment) and will have 3 days to accept.
• Valid for US addresses only.
• By entering in this giveaway, you have read and agreed to Sage and Savvy’s policies regarding giveaways.
  Good luck!

Thank you to FocusBloom for the review product!

Joe Nichols Giveaway

Joe Nichols recently released a new album, Old Things New CD (ARV $13.98 CD, $7.99 Digital Download).

With the aptly titled Old Things New, the award-winning, Grammy-nominated singer once again balances artistry with accessibility, applying his distinctive baritone to new songs that define country music for modern times. It’s the perfect follow-up to his acclaimed 2007 album, Real Things, which landed Nichols on a multitude of best-of-the-year lists, including those published by the New York Times, Miami Herald, Dallas Morning News, Associated Press, CMT.com and many others. Old Things New is the sound of a singer who has come to know exactly who he is—and what he does best. “I feel like I’m in a really cool position,” Nichols says. “I’ve found my place by moving deeper into the kind of music I love, which are songs that draw on the traditional side. A lot of country music at the moment is real aggressive and hard. I love that music, but it’s not what I do. I’ve found my niche by doing something outside of what everyone else is doing.”

I had never heard of Joe Nichols before, but once I started listening to his songs on the Joe Nichols website, I knew I would not be able to forget his resonating baritone voice and his meaningful songs.

Gimme That Girl is an upbeat, romantic song that got me hooked, and Believers is an inspirational song (you can watch the Believers video on YouTube).

If you want to take a listen to tracks from Old Things New, visit the Joe Nichols website or Joe Nichols MySpace page.

Shop: You can purchase a download of Old Things New on iTunes, or the CD at various retailers online and nationwide.

Win: One lucky winner will receive a Joe Nichols prize pack consisting of: a copy of the new album, "Old Things New," an autographed 8x10, a Joe Nichols "koozie" and a Believers bracelet (ARV $35).

• To enter, visit Joe Nichols and comment on your favorite Joe Nichols song (excluding anything mentioned in this post)
• You’ll get one extra entry each if you do any of the following (be sure to leave a comment for each “entry”):
  1)Blog about this giveaway and link back to Sage and Savvy and Joe Nichols
  2)Subscribe to my feed
  3)Add my button to your sidebar
  4)Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name in your comment)
• The deadline for entries is November 12, 2009, 11:59pm HST.
• If you submitted an eligible entry and it is chosen by random.org as the winner, you will be notified via email on November 13, 2009 (make sure your email address is in your profile or comment) and will have 3 days to accept.
• Valid for US addresses only.
• By entering in this giveaway, you have read and agreed to Sage and Savvy’s policies regarding giveaways.
  Good luck!
  

Thank you to Crowd Surf for the giveaway products!

FunnySpoon

Now, this is my kind of recipe site!

I'll be trying the 1-2-3 Cookie Bars. You need only 3 ingredients!

FunnySpoon is the cooking site for real life. It's a recipe and cooking resource to help you create simple, quick meals at home that are healthy, nutritious and taste great (much better than frozen meals or fast food!).

FunnySpoon is for the Wednesday night cook in all of us - when there is no time to cook from scratch but we don't want to drag ourselves and our crew to a restaurant. And we don't want to eat PB&J sandwiches in front of the TV. We enjoy the dinnertime moments (even if they're brief) before we all head back out again. We love our family's noise - the stories, the laughter, the bickering, and even the crying.

So, we started FunnySpoon because we want to put the fun back in dinnertime (and remove the stress from trips to the grocery store!). We're busy parents and professionals who want great-tasting, quick, healthy meals that are reasonably-priced. So we look for shortcuts at the grocery store - a base for a soup, pre-cooked chicken for quick quesadillas, frozen veggies that can easily be dressed up with a simple sauce. We take a little extra time to carefully select the right brands and products to perfectly compliment each other. That's what inspires our recipes.

Trust us - it's not as hard as you may think. Just take a look at our recipes and see for yourself!

SproutBaby.com Debuts New Line of Eco-Friendly Disposable and Cloth Diapers

SproutBaby.com, the leading online destination for environmentally conscious parenting, has added biodegradable-disposable and reusable cloth diaper lines to its robust offering of green parenting products. With diapering being one of the most expensive and environmentally taxing adventures of parenthood, SproutBaby.com’s specialty diaper selection offers parents a much needed alternative to traditional diapers found at the grocery store.

Standard diapers cost approximately $3,000 over the first 30 months of a baby’s life – while a set of Sproutbaby.com’s cloth diapers for the same period costs roughly a third of this amount. Sproutbaby.com’s biodegradable diapers offer an eco-friendly option for parents who need the convenience of disposables.

“Parents are eager for intelligent diapering solutions because they understand the tremendous impact this decision has on the welfare of their babies and the planet,” said Jody Sherman, Founder and CEO of SproutBaby.com. “With our new biodegradable disposables and reusable cloth diapers, parents can rest easy knowing they are having a minimal impact on the environment while providing the best care for their baby at an affordable price point.”

Diapers are a new category for SproutBaby.com, which has become known to web-savvy parents for thoroughly vetted, eco-friendly products such as SproutFoods organic baby food, polycarbonate-free feeding solutions, and safe and gentle mom and baby care products.

Biodegradable, disposable diapers:
Nature Babycare diapers, SproutBaby’s disposable, biodegradable option, offer the most eco-friendly decomposition of any non-reusable diaper available today. Ranging in six sizes to meet babies’ needs until toilet training, the Nature Babycare diapers offer maximum environmental protection with the convenience of a disposable product.

Reusable, cloth diapers:
For 100% environmental sustainability, Sproutbaby also offers three eco-friendly, reusable, cost-saving cloth diaper lines; Play All Day, Baby BeeHinds and Kissaluvs . Cloth diapers create no disposable waste and can cost roughly a third of the price of disposable diapers over a baby’s first two and a half years of growth.

“I recently learned that a baby will go through approximately 8,000 diapers changes from birth to toilet training – that’s a lot of diapers!,” said Wendy Wallace, loyal SproutBaby mom. “Not getting this right would be a big mistake. I owe it to my child to make a smart decision for her and the world she will inherit.”