Saturday, February 6, 2010

New Holey Donuts contest for 4 free boxes of low fat treats & $250!

I must have mentioned Holey Donuts a few months back because the idea of low fat and low calorie donuts and cinnamon buns definitely caught my attention.

I've since tried quite a few of their treats, and they certainly don't taste like under 150 calories a piece!

Holey Donuts is having a special contest for February and they're giving away 4 free boxes of donuts and $250 store credit!

Interested? Head over to the Holey Donuts website to sign up. Here's how to enter the contest:
1. Go to the "Contact Us" link at the bottom right side of their webpage. It's a small link near the legal disclosure section.
2. In the subject line write in Contest and my blog's name Starting Fresh
3. Then in the message area, write out your name, address and phone number.

OR

4. Join their mailing list. They send out weekly specials and discount codes through their mailing list!

If you win, they'll send you an email asking which donuts, donut holes or cinnamon bun selections you'd like.




NBC News 4 KRNV: Indulging Without Bulging!
"They're making these delicious gourmet donuts, like cinnamon apple and toasted coconut....and they also sell humongous delicious cinnamon rolls!"

CNBC: The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch: Finding Hidden Millions
"This is a good donut, a really good donut." - Donny Deutsch

Skinny Scoopers: Dreaming of Smaller Buns? New 100 Calories Low-Fat Cinnamon Bun Middles!
"HD's Low Fat Cinnamon Bun Middles are coated with a CRAZY good glaze, then drizzled with yummy white frosting. No phony fillers here either, just sumptuous cinnamon that smells & tastes like Heaven!"

QVC: New Year, Whole You: Eating Smart New Year's Day Special

See our record breaking appearance on QVC (you can also order a special assortment at a greatly discounted price as well as saving on shipping!).

"mmmmm, I'm telling you, that's amazing!!" - Mary Beth Roe

Men's Health: A Low Fat Donut?
" Holey Donuts! Not a bad way to fix up your sweet tooth!"

Glamour: Afternoon Snack: Low-Fat, Low-Cal Donuts
"After all--could a low-fat, low-cal donut really be any good?
I'm here to tell you yes--yes, yes, yes! I recently tried Holey Donuts and I can tell you they're beyond delicious."

Family Circle: Holey Delicious Donuts

"One morning last week, I announced to the other editors that I had low-cal donuts at my desk. It was practically a stampede! They were an instant hit. Holey Donuts!"

Daily Candy!: Holey Roller

"Boston cream, coconut cream pie, apple caramel, and strawberry shortcake or traditional donuts in varieties such as classic vanilla, marble frosted, or dolce latte. And the gourmet cinnamon buns will answer your stomach’s prayers."

Daily Candy Winner! "Best taste of 2007"

The readers of Daily Candy from every city voted Holey Donuts! The Best taste of 2007!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Review of Searching for Tina Turner by Jacqueline E. Luckett

Searching for Tina TurnerThe blurb:
In this inspiring and empowering debut novel reminiscent of the early works of Terry McMillan, a woman in crisis book to singer Tina Turner for strength. On their first date more than thirty years ago, Randall Spencer took Lena to an Ike and Tina Turner concert. From the minute they sat down in the fifth row, Lena knew that Randall wanted to impress her even though he didn't need to-she would have gone anywhere just to be close to him. Yet now, after twenty-three years of marriage, Lena is missing one important thing...happiness.

On the surface it looks like she has everything a woman could wish for: a rich husband, two wonderful children, and a life of luxury. The reality is that her husband is emotionally distant, her son has developed a drug habit, and her daughter is disgusted by her mother's "overbearing behavior."

Determined to save her failing marriage Lena suggests going to a marriage counselor to get to the root of her unhappiness and to find the gem that they once called love. But in the sessions Randall doesn't understand Lena's frustration and makes it clear that she is the one with the problem. When the counseling seems futile, he offers his wife an ultimatum: Be grateful for all I've done for you or leave. Embracing her fear of wasting her life, Lena chooses the latter and leaves behind everything that she's known.

Drawing on the strength of Tina Turner's life story, Searching for Tina Turner is Lena's struggle to find herself after twenty-three years of being Randall's wife.

Review:
Even though it moves quickly, Searching for Tina Turner isn't a book that you read in one sitting. It's worth following the characters and savoring the changes and realizations that Lena goes through.

The book opens with Lena watching Tina Turner dancing on TV. She's brought back to the memory of her courtship with Randall and since she misses him badly, she calls to tell him how she's thinking of him. He's in Hong Kong and it's 4 am and he's in the middle of a deal. At that moment, I'm fully behind Randall when he rebukes her. But Jacqueline Luckett is great at creating full bodied and authentic characters, so that we understand their motivations, strengths and flaws.

As Searching For Tina Turner progresses and Luckett reveals more about Lena, her life of luxury, and the accommodations that she's made for her husband, her children, and her friends, the story blossoms, Lena comes very much alive and I couldn't help cheer her on. Searching for Tina Turner is a story of a woman who was willing to give up everything that she had and to start over - it's a story of facing fears, gaining courage and being true to yourself.

Searching for Tina Turner made me think about making changes even when you think that you're too old to do so. I've felt too old to make changes at different stages of my life, in my 20s, mid-30s, and now that I've turned 40. It made me think of my mother, who in her mid-60s has just agreed to take a job halfway across the world to head a woman's college. She'd retired five years ago, moved to Boston and created a life for herself here. She works through ABCD Elder Services and handles fall prevention education. She is a docent at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She's often at the gym, exploring Boston or visiting New York. It took a lot of energy and effort to build a life in a new country, new city. But in December, her old school called to ask her to return to the Philippines to head the woman's college and though she doesn't want to leave her life here, she's excited by the challenge and will start over again. Searching for Tina Turner celebrates Lena and her courage and triumphs and as I read it, I couldn't help think of my mother and other women who have rebuilt their lives even as they felt too old to do so.

ISBN-10: 0446542962 - Hardcover $24.99
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (January 27, 2010), 320 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

About the Author, courtesy of the publisher:
Jacqueline E. Luckett is a former sales representative from Xerox who after leaving the corporate world, dared herself to take a creative writing class. She began writing short stories and poetry and has never looked back. The San Fransisco Bay area native loves living in Oakland, but she travels frequently to nurture her passion for photography and cooking exotic foods. She is currently hard at work at her next novel.

Learn more at Jacqueline E. Luckett's website at http://jacquelineluckett.com/index.html. Listen to an interview with Jacqueline E. Luckett at Blog Talk Radio at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/grandcentralpub/2010/02/02/live-interview-with-jacqueline-luckett-author-of-s

Thank you so much to Jacqueline Luckett, Miriam, and Hatchette Book Group for this review opportunity!

Friday 56: Week 31 - Tracy Kiely's Murder at Longbourn










Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions
on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*
Post a link along with your post back to this blog and to Storytime with Tonya and Friends at http://storytimewithtonya.blogspot.com/
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.


Here's mine:

"Randy owns the best bookstore in town," she said. "That's where I met him."

"Well, to be perfectly accurate," said Randy, "we met in my back office after you burst in demanding to know why I was anti-Austen."

Aunt Winnie turned to me, her face alight with indignation. "Not one of her books was on the shelves. Can you believe it? Not one. Shocking oversight."

- Murder at Longbourn by Tracy Kiely

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Book Blog Tour of Searching for Tina Turner by Jacqueline Luckett

Searching for Tina TurnerThe blurb:
In this inspiring and empowering debut novel reminiscent of the early works of Terry McMillan, a woman in crisis book to singer Tina Turner for strength. On their first date more than thirty years ago, Randall Spencer took Lena to an Ike and Tina Turner concert. From the minute they sat down in the fifth row, Lena knew that Randall wanted to impress her even though he didn't need to-she would have gone anywhere just to be close to him. Yet now, after twenty-three years of marriage, Lena is missing one important thing...happiness.

On the surface it looks like she has everything a woman could wish for: a rich husband, two wonderful children, and a life of luxury. The reality is that her husband is emotionally distant, her son has developed a drug habit, and her daughter is disgusted by her mother's "overbearing behavior."

Determined to save her failing marriage Lena suggests going to a marriage counselor to get to the root of her unhappiness and to find the gem that they once called love. But in the sessions Randall doesn't understand Lena's frustration and makes it clear that she is the one with the problem. When the counseling seems futile, he offers his wife an ultimatum: Be grateful for all I've done for you or leave. Embracing her fear of wasting her life, Lena chooses the latter and leaves behind everything that she's known.

Drawing on the strength of Tina Turner's life story, Searching for Tina Turner is Lena's struggle to find herself after twenty-three years of being Randall's wife.

ISBN-10: 0446542962 - Hardcover $24.99
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (January 27, 2010), 320 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

About the Author, courtesy of the publisher:
Jacqueline E. Luckett is a former sales representative from Xerox who after leaving the corporate world, dared herself to take a creative writing class. She began writing short stories and poetry and has never looked back. The San Fransisco Bay area native loves living in Oakland, but she travels frequently to nurture her passion for photography and cooking exotic foods. She is currently hard at work at her next novel.

Learn more at Jacqueline E. Luckett's website at http://jacquelineluckett.com/index.html. Listen to an interview with Jacqueline E. Luckett at Blog Talk Radio at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/grandcentralpub/2010/02/02/live-interview-with-jacqueline-luckett-author-of-s

Participating Sites:

February 1
http://my-book-views.blogspot.com
http://aseaofbooks.blogspot.com/
http://luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com/
http://justanothernewblog.blogspot.com/
http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/
http://booksoulmates.blogspot.com
http://ilratb.blogspot.com
http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/

February 2
http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com
http://myfoolishwisdom.blogspot.com
http://www.frommipov.blogspot.com
http://jensbooktalk.blogspot.com/
http://www.thedivinemissmommy.com
http://booksiesblog.blogspot.com
http://www.mybookaddictionandmore.wordpress.com
http://ojoyofmylife.blogspot.com

February 3
http://maryinhb.blogspot.com/
http://brokenteepee.blogspot.com
http://www.crazy-for-books.com
http://www.buuklvr81.blogspot.com
http://www.jeannesramblings.com
http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com
http://thecajunbooklady.blogspot.com/

February 4
http://www.rundpinne.com
http://www.madeleineatbooksandphotos.com/
http://myreadingroom-crystal.blogspot.com
http://www.geekgirlreviews.com
http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/
http://sumanam.wordpress.com/
http://dixie-afewofmyfavoritethings.blogspot.com/
http://reviewfromhere.com
http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com

February 5
http://www.libslibrary.blogspot.com
http://thebooktree.blogspot.com
http://booknerdextraordinaire.blogspot.com
http://www.psychoticstate.blogspot.com/
http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/
http://www.kballard87.blogspot.com
http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com
http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com

I apologize but I'm running late with this review and will post my thoughts on the book shortly!

Thank you so much to Jacqueline Luckett, Miriam, and Hatchette Book Group for this review opportunity!

Book Blog Tour of Living Well With Bad Credit by Chris Balish and Geoff Williams

Welcome to the TLC Book Blog Tour of Living Well with Bad Credit: Buy a House, Start a Business, and Even Take a Vacation No Matter How Low Your Credit Score by Chris Balish and Geoff Williams.

Living Well with Bad Credit: Buy a House, Start a Business, and Even Take a Vacation-No Matter How Low Your Credit Score

The blurb:
If bad credit has happened to you, there is something you can do about it.

Feeling broke and battered? We know the feeling - heck, everyone knows it. According to the Wall Street Journal, 110 million Americans have had credit - almost 50% of the adult population. But we don't have to be depressed or discouraged about it. There is life after bad credit. In fact, there's even life during bad credit.

Living Well with Bad Credit is the right help at the right time. If you're bravely soldiering on despite your finances going south, this informative book is for you. It puts the emphasis on living well with bad credit - and living well. Veteran journalist Geoff Williams (AOL's personal finance blog WalletPop.com, CNN-Money.com, Bankrate.com) and media powerhouse Chris Balish, an Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist and author (How to Live Well Without Owning a Car), have teamed up to bring you:
  • Usable tips on how to embrace, and even benefit from, a low credit score
  • Invaluable advice for dealing with "lifestyle events such as how to buy a car or qualify for a credit card with bad credit
  • Interviews with dozens of experts and successful professionals who share ideas on how to live with the negative effects of bad credit
  • Practical discussion on topics that go beyond finance, such as healing self-esteem and building relationships in spite of bad credit.
While bad credit can be a setback, it doesn't have to be a roadblock. This expert guide is just the ticket to a better life once again.

Review:
Chris Balish and Geoff Williams have come up with a sympathetic, clear, and helpful guide to navigating everyday and large financial decisions. The book is geared towards people with low credit scores, but it also offers information helpful to all of us. The main causes of the disruption/destruction of solid credit history are "divorce, disaster, a serious medical condition, or getting laid off from a job."

We know that the cost of bad credit is expensive, so Living Well With Bad Credit is especially helpful with its solid suggestions of ways to both save money and to be able to get hired, find decent housing, rent a car, start a business, go on a vacation (not a posh one!), and repair credit history.

The book is divided into these ten parts:
  • Welcome to the Land of Bad Credit
  • Banking with Bad Credit
  • Getting a Good Job with Bad Credit
  • Good Housing with Bad Credit
  • Driving: Bad Credit in the Passenger Seat
  • Starting a Business with Bad Credit
  • Living with Bad Credit
  • Avoiding Bad Credit Scams
  • Bad Credit: Psychology 101
Each of the chapters are straightforward and helpful. Balish and Williams flag what to look out for in each of the categories and offer specific ways to manage with a low credit score.

In Banking with Bad Credit, the book briefly explains ChexSystems which computes and tracks everyone's credit scores. Since 80% of banks in the country subscribe to ChexSystem and a low credit score or disastrous credit history can make it difficult to open a checking account with a major bank, Balish and Williams suggest looking into the bank's Second Chance program which may be a way to open a bank account again. Balish and Williams describe the "unbanked" and the costs that are incurred through payday lenders, pawnshops, and check-cashing outlets. Balish and Williams also evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using Probity Financial Services, TheMoneyBox.com, and credit unions for their financial services.

In Housing with Bad Credit, Balish and Williams offer ways to find decent housing through unusual housing arrangements, selecting the landlords that might be more open to a tenant with bad credit, and different ways that someone with bad credit can negotiate a lease with a landlord. Balish and Williams also cover different ways to obtain a mortgage or purchase a home from finding lenders and credit unions that are sympathetic to lenders with a bad credit history to seller financing to "rent-to-own", lease-purchase and lease-option ways to acquire a home.

Beyond the specific tips offered in the book, Balish and Williams share their own experiences to good effect. Williams explains how he found himself having to declare bankruptcy. As Williams describes the steps that he took as he drew deeper into debt, the mistakes that he made, and what he went through and how he started over, Living Well with Bad Credit becomes more than the usual personal finance book.

ISBN-10: 0757313582 - Paperback $12.95
Publisher: Publisher: HCI (January 4, 2010), 192 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher and TLC Book Tours.

About the Authors, courtesy of the publisher:
Chris Balish is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist with more than ten years of experience on live television and radio. He is also the author of How to Live Well Without Owning a Car. Balish has appeared on Today, MSNBC, and CNN. Learn more about Chris at www.chrisbalish.com

Geoff Williams has worked as a newspaper and magazine journalist for more than fifteen years, writing for publications as diverse as Consumer Reports, Entertainment Weekly, and Entrepreneur. He also writes for AOL's personal finance blog, WalletPop.com, as well as HGTV's real estate website FrontDoor.com, where he is a columnist.

Thank you so much to Chris Balish, Geoff Williams, Lisa and TLC Book Tours for this review opportunity!
CymLowell

Monday, February 1, 2010

20at20 - Off-Broadway plays for $20

Off-Broadway shows available for $20 each 20 minutes before the show. Check out http://www.20at20.com The promotion started on Jan 25 and ends this Sunday, Feb 7.

Here's a quick list of shows that are participating in 20at20:

  • Ages of the Moon
  • Alice in Wonderland Through the Looking Glass
  • Awesome 80s Prom
  • Black Angels over Tuskegee
  • Cinderella
  • Dear Edwina
  • Ernest in Love
  • Fuerza Bruta
  • Happy Now?
  • Love, Loss, and What I Wore
  • MazelTov Cocktail
  • Naked Boys Singing
  • NEWSical the Musical
  • Perfect Criime
  • Smudge
  • The Barber of Seville
  • The Common Air
  • The Emperor Jones
  • The Fantasticks
  • The Quantum Eye
  • Venus in Fur
  • Zero Hour
The ear of tickets vary, but if you're interested head over to 20at20 to find out more.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Book Giveaway: The Last Surgeon by Michael Palmer

The Last Surgeon
Michael Palmer has generously offered a copy of his latest novel, The Last Surgeon, to one lucky winner!

CONTEST DETAILS:

To enter please share why you'd like to win this book.

Rules:
1. Please include your email address, so that I can contact you if you win. No email address, no entry.
2. You must be a follower to join the contest.

The contest is limited to US only. No P.O. boxes. The contest ends at noon on February 14, 2010.