With Christmas time fast approaching I hope you’re at least starting to think about who you need to buy for and what you’re going to buy for all of those people on your list.  If you have a young scientist on your Christmas list then you’re going to love The Young Scientists Club.

Esther Novis, a mother of five and a former Harvard-trained biologist, started The Young Scientists Club a decade ago as a summer science camp for her then 5-year-old son. Friends from other parts of the country told Novis they felt cheated that their kids couldn’t go, so she naturally packaged the experiments and sent them off. The idea for a science subscription service was born! The subscription kits are now mailed monthly to thousands of children around the world and the company’s retail kits are sold in hundreds of specialty stores.

The young scientist on your Christmas is sure to love the Magic School Bus Diving into Slime, Gel, and Goop, which is what I got to check out. In this kit:

Ms. Frizzle and her students take Young Scientists diving into slime, gel, and goop with fun and fabulous experiments. Young Scientists discover oobleck, produce glue from milk, grow jiggly marbles, make snow from super-absorbent crystals, form a bouncy ball, create slime, expand super-absorbent gel crystals, melt fake snow, learn about polymers, and much, much more! This polymer kit includes extra gels, super-absorbent crystals, and marbles to repeat the fun! Seatbelts everyone! Get ready to dive into slime, gel, and goop!

Sounds fun, right?  Well, one lucky winner will get to pick either the Magic School Bus Diving into Slime, Gel and Goop, the Magic School Bus Going Green or Science on a Gardening Adventure from The Young Scientists Club.  Here’s what you need to do for a chance to win:

• Check out The Young Scientists Club.  Leave me a comment telling me which prize you would pick: Magic School Bus Diving into Slime, Gel and Goop, the Magic School Bus Going Green or Science on a Gardening Adventure.

Want some extra chances to win? Leave an ADDITIONAL COMMENT FOR EACH thing you do- your comment will be your entry.

• Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then leave me a comment with the direct URL.
• Subscribe to my RSS feed and then leave me a comment letting me know you’re a subscriber.
• Tweet or Stumble this post and leave me a comment letting me know what you did.

This giveaway is open to US mailing addresses and will end on November 17th at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be chosen on November 18th 2009 via random.org and notified by email. Please read all of my giveaway rules here.

Last weekend I did a little practice run for making a Thanksgiving turkey.  My mom is trying to convince me that we should have Thanksgiving at my house this year instead of hers.  I’m not convinced yet since her cooking is fantastic, plus it’s just tradition to have Thanksgiving at my parents’ house.

Anyhoo- I thought that since I’ve never made a turkey before that it would be a good idea to practice.  I had no idea what I was doing.  Apparently I didn’t even know how to buy the right kind of turkey.  I ended up buying some expensive, premium turkey that had already had all of its guts removed.  I was really dreading removing the guts, so it wasn’t entirely a bad thing- but I didn’t even realize that I had bought it that way.

So, the night before I was planning to make the turkey I used a special recipe using Kikkoman Soy Sauce and made a delicious Savory Turkey Brine.  I was so worried about it coming out just right that I completely forgot to take any pictures of the process.  What a bad blogger!!

The next morning I just had to dump out the brine that the turkey had been soaking in and cook the turkey.  Easy as can be!  I made some other Thanksgiving related food to go with our meal, but it wasn’t even close to being a full Thanksgiving dinner.  I was nervous about how my first turkey was going to turn out and once again I didn’t take any pictures.  Very bad blogger!!  When we sat down to eat I suddenly realized I hadn’t taken any pictures.  So I took a quick picture of it before we started to eat:

I have to tell you that I am not a huge fan of turkey, in my opinion it’s just okay.  But I did actually like my own cooking.  The turkey was extra moist and yummy!  We had a lot left over too- and fortunately there are lots of recipe ideas from Kikkoman for your left over turkey.

So, how would you like to win a prize package that will be perfect for making your Thanksgiving dinner extra special? One lucky winner will get a Kikkoman recipe book and 2 full sized bottles from Kikkomans new line of special sauces!

Here is what you need to do for a chance to win:

• Leave me a comment telling me your favorite dish at Thanksgiving.

Want some extra chances to win? Leave an ADDITIONAL COMMENT FOR EACH thing you do- your comment will be your entry.

• Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then leave me a comment with the direct URL.
• Subscribe to my RSS feed and then leave me a comment letting me know you’re a subscriber.
• Tweet or Stumble this post and leave me a comment letting me know what you did.
• Become a fan of Kikkoman on Facebook and leave me a comment letting me know you did it.

This giveaway is open to US mailing addresses and will end on November 16th at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be chosen on November 17th 2009 via random.org and notified by email. Please read all of my giveaway rules here.

This giveaway is now closed and the winner has been contacted.  Congrats Selene!

I have a favorite new snack.  Seriously- I’m not just saying this.  I absolutely love the new Granola Nut Clusters from Nature Valley.  There are four different kinds to pick from: Nut Lovers, Roasted Almond, Roasted Cashew and Honey Roasted Peanut.  I loved all four kinds- but my two favorites are the Nut Lovers and the Honey Roasted Peanut.  I could seriously not stop eating them!  They were soooo delicious!  They are the perfect blend of a salty and sweet snack- great for satisfying whichever craving you are having.

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters are a bite size blend of 100% natural ingredients that include select roasted nuts, whole grain oats and a touch of honey – a wholesome and delicious pick-me-up any time of the day. If you love nuts, you´ll enjoy this flavorful little snack featuring the perfect combination of sweet & salty flavors paired with a crunchy texture that you can see and taste. And with the first unique cluster-shaped granola packaged in a handy re-sealable pouch, it´s perfect for sharing on the trails or in your living room!

So how would you like to win this Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters prize package (ARV $25):

You are going to love the yummy clusters!!

So, here is what you need to do for a chance to win:

• Leave me a comment telling me which of the Granola Nut Clusters you think you would like the best (Nut Lovers, Roasted Almond, Roasted Cashew or Honey Roasted Peanut).

Want some extra chances to win? Leave an ADDITIONAL COMMENT FOR EACH thing you do- your comment will be your entry.

• Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then leave me a comment with the direct URL.
• Subscribe to my RSS feed and then leave me a comment letting me know you’re a subscriber.
• Tweet or Stumble this post and leave me a comment letting me know what you did.

This giveaway is open to US mailing addresses and will end on November 9th at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be chosen on November 10th 2009 via random.org and notified by email. Please read all of my giveaway rules here.

This giveaway is now closed and the winner has been contacted.  Congrats Kathy!

Some of Hailey’s favorite things to play with are all of her dolls, little people, princesses, and stuffed animals.  If it’s something she can take care of and love, it’s an instant hit.  If she can take the clothes of it and switch them with another toy- it’s an even bigger hit.

One of her recent favorites is her Calico Costume Critters. She has Simon the Squirrel Brother who is dressed in a chick costume complete with a beak, wings, and a fluffy tail. And Cristy the Cat Sister is dressed in a soft white bunny costume with 2 big ears and a cotton ball tail.  See how cute they are?

Check out this short video for more information on the cute little Calico Critters:

So then- how would you like to have your own set of the adorable Calico Costume Critters (ARV $23)?  Here’s what you need to do for a chance to win:

• Stop by Calico Critters and check out their site.  Come back here and leave me a comment telling me something you saw on their site.

Want some extra chances to win? Leave an ADDITIONAL COMMENT FOR EACH thing you do- your comment will be your entry.

• Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then leave me a comment with the direct URL.
• Subscribe to my RSS feed and then leave me a comment letting me know you’re a subscriber.
• Tweet or Stumble this post and leave me a comment letting me know what you did.

This giveaway is open to US mailing addresses and will end on October 30th at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be chosen on October 31st 2009 via random.org and notified by email. Please read all of my giveaway rules here.