Awesome Contest #PlayLikeAGirl

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

My readers I wanted to bring to your attention this great contest going on right now at the Verizon FiOS Facebook Page. Verizon's Play Like A Girl contest offers proud parents a chance to win a grand prize, which includes a digital camera, $1.500 Amazon gift card, Microsoft Surface Pro2 and more!
Girls who participate in sports have better grades, higher self-esteem and better health.
To enter, share a photo of your daughters athletic achievements at
www.verizon.com/playlikeagirl. 

I am planning to have my daughter-in-law enter this photo of my granddaughter. 

What do you think? I think she is going to be very athletic. 

Book Review: Maestro Stu Saves The Zoo

Disclosure: Grandma Bonnie's Closet has not been compensated for the following book review. I received a copy of the mentioned book for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own.

Book Title: Maestro Stu Saves The Zoo
Written By: Denise Brennan-Nelson
Illustrated By: Tim Bowers
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Suggested Interest Level: Age 0-4- Age 8
Hardcover, 32 pages

When my children were small we carried on a family tradition where we gathered together to read books before bedtime. With four children it was easier to read the stories before tucking them into their bedrooms for the night. The children would sit around my chair and have a snack of milk and cookies. This was the highlight of my day.
I feel its important to develop a love of reading early on in our children. Finding engaging, entertaining and educational books that children will want to be read to them, is an important part of encouraging young children to read. When I cam across the book, "Maestro Stu Saves The Zoo" I asked for a copy to review! First, I want to give you a few of my thoughts about this book. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous! That is one of the reasons I wanted to review this book. The story is not only engaging it is educational with out being boring. Denise Brennan-Nelson's writing style is ingenious. The story is written using idioms on each page. In the back of the book you will find a list of idioms and their meaning. An example is the invitation Lion sent announcing an emergency meeting. 

So, I set out to read this book to my grandson Little Bug then later I read the book to my other grandchildren via Skype. 

First questions my grandson had when he saw the book were: "What is a Maestro?" "Are the giraffes in this story?" My grandsons had to look over the cover and ask all about each animal in the story. Once settled in to read we really enjoyed the story. 

The story starts out telling how Stu had been visiting the zoo since he was knee-high to a grasshopper. It goes on telling how Stu and his mama could hear the animals at night because they lived a block away from the zoo. Mama called the zoo animal sounds a symphony. Stu played maestro while mama swayed to the symphony. 

The story goes on telling how the zoo is in danger of being sold and the animals sent away. 

"Doom and gloom settled over the zoo like a thick blanket of fog as the animals realized they were going to lose their home."

Do you think the lions have a look of doom and gloom?

All the animals and Stu have a late night meeting to save the zoo. 

You will have to read the rest of the story your self if you would like to hear the ending. 

Maestro Stu Saves The Zoo would make a great holiday gift for any young child. 

Like Sleeping Bear Press on Facebook.

What do you think of this book? How important is reading to young children? 

Book Review: Eating On The Run

Disclosure: Grandma Bonnie's Closet has not been compensated for the following book review. I received a copy of the mentioned books for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own.

Book Title: Eating On The Run 
Written by: Fred Demara
Publisher Paladin Press

Being a hiking family we have often wondered what plants might be edible on the trails we hike. When I was a child my mother and aunt would take us camping and hiking every summer. While hiking they would stop and pick different plants and berries to add to our camping meals. I can remember a few of the plants they would have us pick such as dandelions, elderberries, and other greens. It has been a long time since I have been out foraging in the woods. I am not certain I could safely identify many edible plants. I decided I would like to pass this family activity on to my grandchildren so I went searching for a book that would help me to identify edible plants in the wild. The book I found that would fit my needs was Eating On The Run, by Fred Demara.  

Here is a short description of the book.

This book is considered a survival book. Even if you are not into the survival or prepper crowd this book can still be of use to you or someone you know. How many times have you heard about a hike or hunter getting stranded in some woods some where. You may have read how they survived for a week or more on berries, ants or some other edible item they may have found. My son and his wife camp, hunt and hike all over the country. I know this book would be perfect for them. We hope they never have to use it for survival but it would be good to know they have read this book. 

I am sure you want to know what kind of information you can find in Eating On The Run. You will find information on some plants you already know about such as prickly lettuce, wild raspberries, and wild blackberries. Then you will also find information on some plants you may have heard of but not seen, such as purslane or shagbark hickory. Of course you will also read about some plants you have never heard about before. 

For each plant listed in this book you will see a photo of the plant. 

You will read about the plants characteristics, taste, color and a good description of its appearance.

 You will read about the places it is likely to grow such as swamp, desert or woodland.

 Additionally, if there is a plant similar in appearance that is not edible you will read about that also. 

Finally you will also read about the ways to prepare the plant for eating and what parts of the plant are edible. 

One edible plant listed in this book is cattails. I actually had no clue that cattails were edible. This was very interesting to learn. Did you know that every part of the cattail plant is edible at some time? The common cattail is found all over the Northern Hemisphere. It is easy to identify and easy to harvest. The buck-wheat-like pollen at the top of the plant is high in protein. The shoots or stalks and young flowers are starchy and high in carbohydrates. The female part of the flower(Looks like a hot-dog at the end of a stalk.) may be boiled when immature and eaten like corn on the cob. There is a recipe in the book for Cattail Pollen Pancakes of which i am planning to try next time we come across a stand of cattails in our area. The chapter on cattails goes on for eight pages and includes many ways to cook all the parts of the cattail plant. Near the end of the chapter it includes a paragraph about plants that have some resemblance to cattails that are not edible. Positive identification is simple if the plant does not have a cattail on top then it is not a cattail. I my self would prefer if I am unsure of any plant just do not eat it is my motto. 

I found this book to be extremely interesting and hard to put down. I would recommend this book to just about anyone who spends even a little time outdoors. 

Paladin Press also was kind enough to send me the latest book written by Fred Demara titled "Survival Guide To Edible Insects". 

I felt I had to at least try to read this book before giving it away to someone who might want to eat insects. I was very glad I did. I learned a lot about insects that I just might try to cook if my family was hungry. Well, at least maybe I could cook them up for the guys while I munch on some cattails. 

So, you want to know what kind of information you will read about in this book. It is written in about the same way as "Eating On The Run" was. You will see photos of each insect, a description of the insect, where you might find them, and how to prepare them to eat. 

From ants, termites, houseflies and many other insects listed in this book you may just find a little something you might want to cook up and try. The one insect that I thought might be interesting to prepare for my family was the grasshopper. My husband claims when he was a child they would catch grasshoppers and roast them on a stick over the campfire. I would probably still stick to plant life if I had to forage for food but I would be OK making roasted grasshoppers for my family if they were willing to eat them. 

Follow Paladin Press on Facebook and Twitter.

In Honor of My Mother

I am writing this in Honor of my mother today. I have been meaning to write this post for some time now. It is probably the hardest post I have ever written. My mother would have been 74 this week. She passed away thirteen years ago.  She died from an overdose of a chemotherapy drug. We watched her suffer a severely painful death as the drug took a week to slowly tear her away from her family. Some day I may be able to write more about her last days here on earth but for now I just need to say I miss her dearly.

Thank you mom for being a wonderful mother and friend. You gave so much and never asked for anything in return. Thank you for all your sacrifices they have not been forgotten.  I wish you could have been here to see your grandchildren grow up and see their children (your great grandchildren). We miss you dearly. You will remain in our hearts forever. 

Get smart and grab this deal by Verizon! #VZWVoices #Boomer

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

I have a eye on a new phone that I would like to try out. It's the Droid Mini By Motorola. It is exclusive at Verizon Wireless. It requires a new 2-yr activation. 

This is an amazing mini of the Droid phones by Motorola. I love having all the power of a smartphone in my pocket. What I do not like is carrying around all the weight and bulk. The Droid Mini has all the power of a regular size Droid Smart Phone with out all the extra bulk. 

I still have at least a year before I upgrade but it is getting hard to wait with all the great deals Verizon Wireless has going on. Perhaps I should take a leap and join the Verizon Edge Program then I can upgrade on my time schedule. That would mean I could have the Droid Mini today. That sounds good to me! What about you? Would you like to upgrade when you want on your time schedule?

If you want to learn more follow the link and check out these all-new Droids at an all-new price. http://vz.to/16vtLKa 

Bright Star Kids Iron-On & Stick-On Labels

Disclosure: Grandma Bonnie's Closet has not been compensated for the following product review. I received a product sample for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own. 
I can hardly believe that I have three grandchildren of preschool age. When my children were in preschool I marked all their belongings with a permanent marker. There were not many choices on how we could label their belongings. Most labels that could be bought were easy to peel off. If your child's belongings were not labeled they were often lost forever. Now that my children are grown and my grandchildren are headed for school I wanted to help their parents save a little money on replacing lost belongings. I have tried many different Iron-On and Stick-On labels and have to tell you labels now days are so much more fun and easy to use.

When Bright Star Kids asked if I would like to try their Labels for Kids, I just had to say yes! I selected the School Labels Value Kit to try out with my grandson Little Bug. 

this kit comes with 175+ labels. You can stick them on anything and everything from shoes, jackets, water bottles and lunchboxes. If you think your child might loose it then label it. When you purchase a set of Bright Star Kids Labels you are able to select your child's favorite color, icon and font for their name. They really are Personalized Name Labels. I selected the color red and an robot icon for my grandson with the kiddie font for his name.  My grandson's name has been blurred in the following photos to protect his privacy. I assure you the labels are printed clear and easy to read. I left his middle name Hunter in order for you to see the font and how clean and clear the print is. 

The labels are safe in the dishwasher, microwave, freezer and sterilisers. You can label your babies bottle and still sterilise the bottle with out any problems. The iron on labels are safe in washers and driers. 

The set I selected included:  10 large labels, 30 small labels, 80 tiny labels(great for pencils), 16 large round labels (great for shoes), 16 clear covers (good for shoe labels), and 30 iron on labels. 

The labels were easy to stick on. They are bright, bold and stand out making my grandsons school supplies easy to identify.

My grandson and I are very happy with his new Stick on labels. They will be sure to keep all his favorite belongings safe. 

Stop over and check out Bright Star Kids personalized name labels, clothing and wall art. 

Follow on Facebook and Pinterest.

Find them on twitter @brightstarkids

Holiday Gift Guide For The Home

Grandma Bonnie's Suggested Gifts For Bakers, Cake Decorators, Women, Moms, Aunts, Sisters and More

UncommonGoods Iconic Camera Bag And Much More!

Find more information and links to this product here.

Christmas Cup Cake Wreath Made Easy With Signature Brand Products

Find more information and links to this product here.

"Lemons and Lavender" Book

Find more information and links to this product here.

Nordic Ware Castle Bundt Pan

Find more information and links to this product here.

Ateco Decorating Tube Set

Find more information and links to this product here.

Holiday Gift Guide For The Outdoors

Grandma Bonnie's Suggested Gift's For The Camper, Hiker, Hunter, Prepper, Husband, Father and More

Book Review: Eating On The Run &

Survival Guide To Edible Insects

Find more information and links to this product here.

Emergency Water Storage System

Find more information and links to this product here.

Holiday Gift Guide For Children

Grandma Bonnie's Suggested Gifts For Children.

Title: "It's Not About You, Mr. Santa Claus"

Author: Soraya Diase Coffelt

Just in time for Christmas a wonderful book for your children explaining the true meaning of Christmas.  Find more information about this book here.

Grandma Loves You!

Find more information and links to this product here.

Toys And Games For Christmas

Find more information and links to this product here.

Transforming Solar Robot

Find more information and links to this product here.

Book Review: Maestro Stu Saves The Zoo

Find more information and links to this product here.

Bright Star Kids Iron-On & Stick-On Labels

Find more information and links to this product here.

Zangadoo Kangaroo and Book

Find more information and links to this product here.

"The Dirty Socks Come Clean" Music CD

Find more information and links to this product here.

"The Best Day Ever" Music CD

Find more information and links to this product here.

Personalized VISA Prepaid Debit Card

Disclosure: The post below is a sponsored post. I received a prepaid Visa debit card from Card.com through a Sverve campaign.

Have you ever had a purchase to make that made you worry about the safety of your bank card or credit card? When traveling or making purchases online I often worry about the safety of my account information. While traveling a few years ago we had to stop and replace a tire on our car. We used our bank card to make the purchase with out having a second thought. A day later we received a call from our bank questioning a purchase we made in Vegas. They felt it was odd since we just used the card a day before on the East Coast. Needless to say we were very thankful the bank had caught the transaction before it went through.  We suspect our card number was stolen when we purchased the tire for our car. From that point on we have been much more careful  when and where we use our credit or bank cards. That is where this awesome Personalized Prepaid Visa Debit Card comes to the rescue!

I received this card to try from Card.com. First I went to their website and selected my favorite design from their thousands of designs available. I took my time going through page after page. I wanted the perfect design that I would be happy to carry. After many pages I found the support our troops design and did not have a need to look further. Each time I use my card I remember to be thankful for the sacrifice our troops have made. Now with that said let me get to how easy this card is to use. 

Step One

Choose your card design. 

Step Two

Load Money Onto Your Card

Use direct deposit, Green Dot MoneyPak, Western Union or photo-capture a check with a phone app. You select the way the is easiest for you. 

Step Three

Shop without worry! The card works like any other debit card. 

When you receive your card in the mail you will first need to activate it. It is very simple just a quick automated call or activate it online. Again you select the option that is easiest for you. 

Loading the card with money is very simple and can be used right away. Off we went to try our new card. 

Here is a little more information about the card that I hope will answer any questions you may have.

I think this is a safe and easy way to carry money safely while we travel. I am very happy with my new Visa Prepaid Debit card.

Zangadoo Kangaroo

Disclosure: Grandma Bonnie's Closet has not been compensated for the following product review. I received a product sample for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own. 
Zangadoo Kangaroo is a children's character of which Grandma Bonnie's Closet has been given the opportunity to review. Well, actually Little Bug is the one reviewing Zangadoo Kangaroo.

We received a plush, book and t-shirt to try out. Now, I am a fan of children's books. I try to add one book a week to our children's book collection for our grandchildren. This book was a big plus to add to our collection."Zangadoo Kangaroo And The Mysterious Boomerang" is a chapter book written by Karin Lee. This is a story about a Kangaroo named Zangadoo. He takes a mysterious trip with his fathers boomerang to the Australian Outback. Zangadoo and his friends Wally Wombat and Pippa Platypus have a great adventure that will spark your child's imagination. 

Little Bug just loves his Yellow Zangadoo t-shirt. He thought it helped him hop like a kangaroo. 

The lovable plush is huggable and fun for preschoolers. It helped Little Bug relate to the story of Zangadoo. With a little imagination Little Bug and Zangadoo will be going on lots of Australian Outback adventures for weeks to come.  I think any of the Zangadoo products would make great Christmas gifts for children of all ages. 

You can visit Zangadoo.com. to purchase the book, t-shirt and Zangadoo plush. There is also a mobile app/game for your child to download and play. 

You may also want to follow Zangadoo on Facebook and Twitter. 

Everybody Loves A Party!

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

My Verizon Boomer Voices Party Photos!

Saturday was the big day. All morning rain poured and poured. I was a little worried that some of the invited guest would not want to get out in the rain. About an hour before the party the clouds parted and the sun peeked out to shine down on our party! Being a Verizon Boomer Voices Blogger I have been exposed to and learned a lot about a ton of new and amazing connected devices being made available by Verizon Wireless. This party is one of the ways I have been given to share the knowledge I have gained with my friends, family and acquaintances.

I selected Grandpa's Chili for our party meal, with corn chips and a Verizon themed cake decorated by myself. After all the rain there was a chill and dampness that hung in the air making chili the perfect party food. As my guest arrived they were given a pre-party survey to fill out.

Completing the pre and post surveys gave each guest an raffle ticket for our party door prize. I was happy to see the guests took the survey seriously and everyone got entered into that giveaway. 

A ton of information was shared with my party guests. Some of my party guests commented how they did not know Verizon had so many connected devices and how its not just cellphones anymore. 

I shared information on each of the products listed below. I even had a Trivia game and Lets Make a Deal game for the guests to play and win the products listed below. 

You can click on any of the links below for more information about any of the products. 

Verizon Total Mobile Protection/Tech Coach

Home Phone Connect

4G LTE Broadband Router With Voice

Sure Response

Tagg Pet Tracker

Belkin NetCam HD WiFi Camera

FitBit One

As the products were presented the guest were sure to let me know what their favorites were. The guests with children and pets liked the Tagg Pet Tracker. A simple description of what it does, the Tagg Pet Tracker clips on a pets collar and with GPS technology it can message you to tell you your pet has left a pre-selected designated area.  It can also help you track your pet with the help of that same GPS. You can locate it on a map with your smartphone or computer.  

The Belkin NetCam HD WiFi Camera came in second on the favorites list. The NetCam allows you to keep tabs on whats important to you over your smartphone or tablet. The NetCam features a wide view lens, digital audio and night vision. It's an amazing device.

The top favorite among all the guests was the FitBit One. Which I have been privileged to be trying out for the last several months. You can read about my experience here. 

Being a Verizon Boomer Voices Party and the Theme a was promoting Get Connected I had a couple guest join the party by Skype.  It was quite fun for the guest at the party to interact with my Skyping (my new word) guests. 

They started out in the corner on a coffee table. Then made there way to the center of the room. Later on one of the children at the party had them held hostage in the family room playing with toys. Lol, they though it was hilarious. 

More guest Skyping by smart phone. The phone was much easier to keep track of. Although, a tablet or laptop would have gave a bigger picture of my guest,  you can see the child in the front, Dad behind the child and moms cheek to the right. I think skyping by phone is better for one person. (just my opinion)

For the final party photos today I thought I would share the cake I made for the party. The fondant figures are holding smart phones. The woman figure is sitting just chatting on the phone. The man is walking with phone in hand and Bluetooth piece in ear. The Droid Razr Maxx HD smartphone and Verizon Boomer Voices symbol is made with modeling chocolate.

I will be posting more photos on Pinterest and Facebook so stop by and check them out later this week. 

Sometime in November I will be hosting a Second Verizon Boomer Voices Party so keep watching for an update to my next Verizon adventure and stay connected!

All New CD: The Dirty Socks Come Clean

Disclosure: Grandma Bonnie's Closet has not been compensated for the following product review. I received a product sample for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own. 
The Dirty Sock Funtime Band has a new CD, "The Dirty Socks Come Clean". I am very excited to have the opportunity to review this awesome children's music CD. After listening to this music with my grandchildren I would call it a family music CD. The melody and lyrics in this selection of music is perfect for children of all ages. That includes grandma, grandpa, moms, dads, aunts and uncles alike.
I am crazy about this music CD. I just love the fresh clean music that my grandchildren can relate to and enjoy. When I listen I can understand each and every word. As you know that is a big deal to me.

My grandchildren like all the tracks on this CD but, there are three songs on this CD that I really like. Track #2 Garbage Bugs, track #4 National Hiccup Day and track #17 Start of the End are simply fun listening to and dancing along with. 

Track #1 "The Dirty Socks Come Clean was probably my grandchildrens all time favorite. Track #15 Kitty Kat Yeah came in second. 

I would recommend this CD to any parent or grandparent that wants their child exposed to good clean fun music. I think The Dirty Socks Come Clean CD would make a nice stocking stuffer for Christmas. 

Follow Dirty Socks Funtime Band on Facebook and Twitter.