Health and food festival in Chicago, free

Join OV in Chicago for Food, Fun, Ideas, and Music!

Cultivate Festival

Join Organic Valley this Saturday, September 15th in Lincoln Park for the Chipotle Cultivate Festival—a free all-day celebration bringing together food, farmers, chefs, artisans, thought leaders, and musicians.

Stop by our booth in the Kids’ Area to play games and get coupons and giveaways, plus free Stringles™ and Single Serve Milks for your kids!

See you there—and thanks for being a friend to organic family farmers!Organically yours,
The Farmers and Staff of Organic Valley

Review and giveaway — Cooper and Me and the Military

Many kids struggle with the separation of a parent or other family member due to active military duty. Monique and Alexa Peters brought Cooper and his friend Trooper to the rescue in wading through this difficult time.
The story helps open up conversation for kids who might be hurting and gives them some ideas to put their worries to work. The story is cute, but my favorite part comes after the story. The authors broaden the application to include dealing with any type of separation. Talking points can give you the springboard you need to encourage your child in this area. The end of the book also includes some questions to recap the story and the lessons taught through it.
Kids will also find a fill in the blank letter they can use to begin their own letter of thanks to service men or women along with a website to look for more information on encouraging our troops.
**Please note this copy for review DOES NOT have the FINAL cover, but the winner giveaway copy will.
Their summary of the book:

Meet Trooper, Cooper’s best friend, and learn how he was adopted by Gracie and Joe and their parents, who both serve in the military. Find out how this family stays close despite being separated.
A must-read during patriotic holidays and for anyone with friends and family in the military, this book helps children know, that even when loved ones aren’t with us, they still love us and think about us. This book, along with all the other books in the Cooper and  Me series, includes these interactive features:
• A Special Memory Creation
• Life Lesson
• Connections
• Learning Together
In addition to a fun adventure, each Cooper and Me story teaches an important Life Lesson and features interactive materials at the back of the book to drive the message home.  Included are activities that help children name and process their own feelings about what they’ve read.
Not just do I get to share a review of this helpful book, I also get to give a copy away to one of my readers. If you would like to enter to win a copy of this book, please leave a comment with this post. Make sure to leave an email that I can reach you at to let you know if you have won! The drawing will go through next Friday night, February 17. You can earn additional entries by sharing about this giveaway on facebook or other online networks and then come back and leave another comment saying you did so.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or
services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it
on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally
and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance
with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the
Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Review and Giveaway — Ginny Owens

Get in I'm Driving
The CD starts with the familiar ding of the key in the ignition. The engine roars to life and we are off.
Get in, I’m driving . . .
Soulful, bluesy, hard to nail down. Ginny Owens.
A beautiful voice, great to pop in when you need to unwind. She has some more upbeat songs, but I loved the soothing sound of her music. Of course, if my kids had to pick, they would say they loved the songs with the drums calling out as they danced around the room. Something for everyone, I suppose. Many of the songs draw on the sound of the keyboard and her voice. Highlighting the words and the music, not the rhythm and background instruments.
Lovely, pure music. Eleven songs, each unique and enjoyable.
A little bit about Ginny:
A three-time Dove Award winner, including the Gospel Music Association’s 2000 New Artist of the Year recipient, and multiple ASCAP Award winner, Ginny Owens has sold nearly one million albums. A top performer on the Christian radio charts with hits like “If You Want Me To,” “Free” and “I Wanna Be Moved,” among others, Owens’ music has impacted mainstream audiences at Lilith Fair, the Sundance Film Festival and the White House. Her music has received widespread film and television placement, including songs on the popular WB series’ “Roswell” and “Felicity.” Owens was featured on national television, including NBC’s “Today” and CNN, for her contribution to help rebuild New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

Born and raised in Jackson, Miss., Owens was discovering melodies on the piano almost before she could complete a sentence. Songs began to emerge from her fingers as the vision began to leave her eyes and by the age of three.  A degenerative eye condition left Owens completely blind.  Despite her physical challenge, Owens pursued a music career.  Songs provide a window into a world Owens can’t see and an outlet for her to express her thoughts and dreams. Owens’ unique musical style and inspirational lyrics continue to appeal to Christian and mainstream audiences alike.

In 2005 Owens launched The Fingerprint Initiative, a hands-on, non-profit organization designed to “bring hope to the world, one project and one touch at a time.” The organization has partnered with  and raised money for groups such as Compassion International, International Justice Mission and Habitat for Humanity.
You can find hes brand-spankin’ new CD in stores and online starting today and it would be a great addition to any CD collection.
Lots of ways to check out Ginny and her new album:
And, a GIVEAWAY!!! If you would like to win a copy of the CD for your very own, please leave a comment with you name and email address so I can get in touch with you if you win.
You can get additional entries by following this site, or sharing about this contest elsewhere (blog, facebook, twitter, etc.) Just come back and comment for each of those items that you do.
Contest will run through this week and close on Saturday in the evening. Can’t wait to get this into your hands.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services
mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I
only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255:
“Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Curriculum giveaway

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Got some curriculum you would like to bless another homeschool family with?

Would you like to win some gently used, new-to-you homeschool books?

Then, I have found the bl0g event for you . . .

Jolanthe, over at Homeschool Creations (a fellow CREW member), is hosting a Curriculum Cleanout Giveaway the beginning of August.

Read her site for all the details, but basically she is asking homeschoolers to look through their shelves and come up with a new or gently used item to give away the first couple weeks of August (the second through fifteenth). You can post about it on your blog or just leave a comment with an email address for people to enter to win your giveaway.

You are responsible for shipping costs on any books you give away.

Any one can enter to win, so be sure to check out her site in a couple weeks and see if someone might be giving away something you have been wanting to own. You just might get it for free!

Head on over and check it out. Get your goodies together to giveaway, and get ready for entering some drawings for homeschool books and curriculum.