Tuesday, December 27, 2011

PRIVATE SELECTION!!

Went to a party prior to Christmas and thought we'd use our Private Selection coupons to purchase our food. We bought Southwest Style chicken trumpets; Pepperoni and roasted garlic pizza; and Vanilla Cream Puffs (30 of them). We supplemented our selection with the Petite Quiche and Fire Roasted Veggie Pizza.

We wanted to see the reaction people had regarding the food we brought for the party. Needless to say, they were impressed with the food selection and the quality. When we told people it was all store bought from the frozen section, they were surprised.

The food didn't last very long, the verdicts ~
  • SW Style Chicken Trumpets ~ were a top choice. They were meaty and cheesy and excellent!!
  • The Pepperoni and Roasted Garlic Pizza ~ was another hit. Although, it was not my favorite, as I really prefer deep dish or stuffed pizza, but to use this pizza as an appetizer would be great. It's too small to feed a family on one of these.
  • The Vanilla Cream Puffs were excellent. We drizzled some chocolate syrup on some and left some without. They were all excellent. They were not totally thawed through, but people quickly ate them and raved about them anyway.
Overall verdict of the test items was very positive. The coupons were all handed out and many said they would purchase Private Selection in the future. Some didn't know what Private Selection was, but said they would look for them at the store next time they were at Kroger.

I told people I was a BzzAgent, which also got some interest.

Thursday, December 08, 2011

The Final Summit by Andy Andrews

The Final Summit, by Andy Andrews, is the second in a series of books, the first being called, The Traveler. I have not read the first book. But you can still jump right into The Final Summit and not feel like you've been left behind.

My attention was captured pretty quickly, as I was not sure what to expect from this book. There were times, though where it was difficult for me to keep my interest, even though I liked the story line.

David Ponder is a Traveler, one who goes through time and meets some of the famous people from the past. In this book they all meet in Heaven where they are given a chance to save humanity. They are given five chances to answer a question from Gabriel. His question is this, and it's a great question ~ “What does humanity need to do, individually and collectively, to restore itself to the pathway toward successful civilization?” We hear from a few people from history, as they attempt to answer this question.

I wondered how some of the people from history were included, but that adds a little to the book and really shouldn't take away from what Andrews is trying to accomplish. There are some great conversations and decisions which are made during the course of the book. It is also a politically correct book. You can appreciate the research into history and the personalities which Andrews put into this book.

http://www.christianbook.com/the-final-summit-andy-andrews/9780785231202/pd/231201?item_code=WW&netp_id=833723&event=ESRCG&view=details

I review for BookSneeze®

The Final Hour

The Final Hour is the fourth and last in a series of Christian fiction called the Homelanders series. The main character, Charlie West, is a teen who has decided to take a stand by agreeing to go undercover in a homegrown terrorist group in order to catch them and stop their plans to terrorize America. The series is action packed and moves us from adventure after adventure as we learn how Charlie deals with this new life. He is alone and has to face his fears and anxieties as he runs from the police and the terrorist group he has joined. Charlie has to believe that most everyone is out to get him, or at the minimum, they are not his friends. There are a few exceptions to this.

In this last book of the series, The Final Hour brings all of the adventures to a close. We finally learn whether or not Charlie will be successful and how he will live his life after this drama has ended. Will he be victorious, or will he become a villain? The Christian aspect comes in as we learn that Charlie and his sensei, Mike, are Christians. Because of his Christian faith we are given a minimal access into the decision making skills used by Charlie and Mike. Sometimes we need to assume we know Christian values. I would have liked it more if their faith in Christ was brought out a little more. Maybe that would hurt sales, but it would have been interesting to have a better blend in the story.

At times it seemed his values came more from karate than his Christian faith. There were a number of great issues brought up which cause the reader to look at, for example, issues of faith, politics, patriotism, personal risk. Overall, it was a fun and engrossing series to read. I would highly recommend the books and will see if my children would read these as well. There are discussion questions in the back of the book which helps if you are trying to do a study or a group study.

You can purchase this book from http://www.christianbook.com/the-final-hour-homelanders/andrew-klavan/9781595547156/pd/547156?item_code=WW&netp_id=872806&event=ESRCG&view=details

or

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1595547150/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.

I review for BookSneeze®

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