Website: http://moodybee.com/

Country: Canada

Blog: No

Newsletter: No

US Shipping: Yes

International Shipping: Yes, outside of US/Canada please inquire about shipping costs

Discounts: 20% off when you mention the Weirdstuffinmydesk.com Blog when you order.

Moody Bee Beeswax Lip Balm gets my lips in the mood! I am a lip balm snob on many levels. It really has become a kind of addiction for me. So, I was fairly skeptical when I saw this bright yellow tube show up in one of my sampler boxes several weeks ago. Yet, I grabbed it first before anything looking at anything else because the packaging was professional and extremely well presented. For a minute I thought it was a store bought Lip Balm (and you can buy these in stores) that was dropped in the box by accident. The label reads Vanilla & Peppermint Beeswax Lip Balm. Folks, I have to tell you in all honesty, this is by far one of the best lip products I have ever tried. And that is saying something, as I have done damage to lip balm supplies around the globe. LOL

It is a perfect blend of peppermint and vanilla which thrills me. Peppermint and I are not friends, so it is great to have something I can enjoy on my lips. There is absolutely NO waxy feeling at all. This balm is all natural and even has a little hemp seed oil thrown in. It leaves my lips smooth, moist and totally kissable (my dogs love this stuff!). I was lucky enough to score a second tube, so now I have one on my keyboard with me as I type and one next to the bed at all times.

Even though this is a Canadian company, don’t let that deter you from getting a stash of your very own. They have a simple contact form where you send your order through and then they contact you for payment. Remember shipping is INCLUDED in the price you see on the website. If you live in Canada, they can be found at many different retailers listed here.

Moody Bee is a family owned and operated bee farm in South Surrey B.C. who not only makes a killer bee balm (ha ha), but honey as well.

Check them out, your lips will be SO glad you did!

This was a non sponsored thread, meaning that I used my own money to buy these products for review, and I have received no monetary gain from this post.

WOW!

Michelle of Allen Designs is having a goody giveaway on her blog through the 12th of May for the items pictured above (valued at $105.00!). Just click here and see how to enter, it is pretty easy. She has some amazing textiles that are completely unique and whimsical. Also be sure to shop her Etsy Store for some great bargains! I REALLY love her clocks especially this Murr-Cat design. Truly adorable!

****Updated 5/10/08: Thank you to everybody who participated! All FIVE GC’s have been sent via email. Enjoy!

Hurray Hurray the 5th of May!

Monday is here, and I have a VERY special limited time offer for you.

When you make a purchase of 10 books or videos at ONE time this week (5/5/08 through 5/9/08) from my half.com store, you will receive a FREE $10.00 Gift Certificate to either Amazon.com OR half.com (your choice).

There are only FIVE gift certificates up for grabs so you HAVE to be one of the first 5 people who order. That means you must HURRY.

What to do:

• Visit my Half.com Store (seller name *racoo*)
• http://shops.half.ebay.com/racoo_W0QQmZbooksQQsellerZQ2aracooQ2a
• Choose and purchase 10 books from MY store
• Email me AFTER you make your purchase and provide me with the list of the 10 books you ordered from MY store, your half.com userID, full name, mailing address and the email to where you would like your GC sent.

Remember only the first 5 people who order 10 books will be eligible. If you don’t email me with ALL of the requested info, you will not receive your Gift Certificate because I will have NO way of confirming you.

RULES: All 10 books must be purchased at ONE time from the link below from my half.com store. Limit one Gift Certificate per household/person. Void where prohibited by law. Valid for US purchases only as half.com does not ship internationally. Please note that ALL 5 Gift Certificates will be sent out via email on Saturday 5/10/08. If you have ANY questions about this Giveaway, email me before you order at: racoo.smith @ gmail.com (no spaces). ONCE the five people have been determined, I will post here in my blog http://weirdstuffinmydesk.com at the top of this post that the gift certificates are gone. Books purchased from other sellers are NOT eligible.

Here is the link to my half.com store with books from my private collection. PLEASE NOTE half.com does NOT ship outside the US at this time.

http://shops.half.ebay.com/racoo_W0QQmZbooksQQsellerZQ2aracooQ2a

Please forward this post and help spread the word!

HUGS, Blessings and a beautiful week to all!

–
Blessings,
Rachel
http://weirdstuffinmydesk.com - Honest E-tailer and Book Reviews!
http://www.fragrantsoul.com
Tap Into Your Fragrant Soul!

I received several orders that I placed for low carb and sugar free snacks last week. YUM, so I thought I would review the ones I have worked my way through. Even if you don’t practice a low carb diet, it never hurts to choose a healthier option. Some of these products I have been using for awhile, some are brand new to me.

Lets start with me new all time favorite condiment.

Smokin’ Joe Jones Low Carb Barbecue. Uh can I get a WITNESS? This stuff is heavenly. Let me tell you, I have tried a TON of different sugar free and low carb condiments in the last 5 years. Nothing is as good as this sauce. It is a little bit pricey at $6.00 for a 18 oz jar, but Amazon has a special on right now where you can pick up a 3 pack for only $14.99. Can’t beat that! Just added two to my shopping cart. Wow, it really is amazingly good, we have had it on hamburger patties and steak. I just can’t get enough of it. I am trying to figure out if there is a way to make barbecue baked beans with Eden Soy black soy beans (more on that later of course). *drool* only 2 net carbs and less than 1 gram of sugar. I know it has some sugar, but really, I don’t care its not like I am drinking the stuff….(hey that is an idea lol)

While I am on the condiment kick, I will give honorable mention to one that you may still be able to find in grocery stores. And that is the Heinz One Carb Ketchup.

I buy mine at Netrition. But actually saw it at a QFC (aka Krogers) the other day. It tastes like the real deal, with only one carb and zero sugars per serving you can’t really go wrong. I love it on my scrambled eggs with cheese sometimes. Again ketchup is something I have missed and have tried several of. Steer WAY clear of the Walden Farms version. NASTY with a capital N. Yuck.

Next is one of my newer favorites from Just the Cheese. They have BUNCH of low carb cheese snacks. Some have been hit and miss as far as the flavors they are supposed to represent. With that being said their Popped Cheese, in both the butter and cheddar flavors are YUM-O. I had never really ordered this type before, though had tried almost every one of their 12 flavors. Both the husband person and I really like them.

One flavor that I hadn’t found until just a few weeks back is their barbeque flavor of crunchy cheese snacks. Really tasty, it actually tastes like barbeque. Netrition doesn’t carry this flavor for some odd reason, so I picked mine up at Low Carb U. But they are WAY over priced there. Which I am noticing a lot with the LC products they offer. If this is a snack that you like after you have tried a few, you can buy them in bulk directly from Specialty Cheese the company that makes them for $1.99 a bag! This is the price for the crunchy versions not the popped cheese, which is actually less expensive at Netrition.

The bacon flavored cheese isn’t to bad either. You can’t beat this low carb snack as it only has 1 carb, be warned they are fairly salty, but they do have lower salt versions available. They are great to toss into your purse for an on the go snack with no sugar. They really are a life saver for me between meals. And it satisfies that craving I sometimes still get for potato chips. I always have had more of a fat tooth than a sweet tooth, so these really do the trick.

Moving right along we have the Eat Right crack bars, I mean crisp bar. LOL

Holy cow, these taste exactly like rice krispie treats we used to make as a kid. This is another drool worthy low carb treat at only 4 net carbs per large bar. And bonus, they are Gluten Free! They do run to the expensive side at $7.99 for a pack of 7 bars. But you could easily cut these in half an still have a perfect amount for your snack. I haven’t had a low carb dessert this good in a LONG time. And even back in the LC heyday there were very few really REALLY good ones. This is a gem to be sure.

On the not so good side we have possibly one of the GROSSEST things I have ever put in my mouth. And it may come as no surprise to some that it is produced by Walden Farms. It is their Creamy Peanut Spread.

RUN, do not walk, do not pass go if you see this spread. I would not steer you in the wrong direction. This earns the gag me with a spoon award. I can say more bad things, but I am holding myself back here.

Lastly for today one of my favorites is Nature’s Hollow Preserves and Syrups. We especially love the Raspberry Preserves, but every one of their preserves are delish. Their Maple and Raspberry syrups are divine as well. I like this product line because it is made with xylitol versus malitol which can cause extreme stomach distress in some people. This place has a pretty good price on a three pack of a single flavor for only $14.99. Versus $5.89 per single jar buying direct. I have NOT ordered from Mana Harvest so I cannot vouch for their customer service etc. I just googled the product name and they were at the top of the pile.

That is it for today as far as snacks go. Please post your reviews and opinions on these and other low carb, sugar free snacks you have tried. I always love to hear from you!

Hey everybody!

I just got the info for the 4th annual on-line 2008 Diabetes Research Auction that Brenda Novak hosts each year. This is an amazing effort that has some truly generous and wonderful participants. The goal this year is to raise at least $300,000.00. With the first $150,000 going to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the remaining balance to the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami. Diabetes affects more than 18.2 MILLION people in the United States alone and is the 6th leading cause of death in our country. Chances are that you or somebody you know has a form of diabetes I, II or gestational (occurring during pregnancy). Juvenile Diabetes is on the rise and with statistics like these it is clearly in epidemic proportions.

Many of my family members and friends have type II diabetes, myself included. I urge you to check out and bid on some of the awesome auctions that are up for grabs today, please don’t wait. The great thing is that the auction lasts ALL month. There are daily auctions and others that last the entire 31 days. Some of the highlights or featured auctions are: Sony BDP Blue Ray Disc Player, Amazon Kindle Book Reader w/$100.00 Amazon Gift Certificate (this is MINE I tell you!), Dell Gaming Laptop, 46″ LCD Samsung TV, 6 day Hawaiian Vacation Package, XBox 360 Gaming System and MUCH much more!

While the big ticket items are really cool, there are some others that are just as neat to me. Many of them I have already bid on today (and have been beaten out of). My favorite is the Sisters of the Otherworld gift basket offered up by local Pacific Northwest author Yasmine Galenorn. I sooooo want this basket. I am watching it to the bitter end, who knows what will happen. he he he

Tons of authors from every genre including Christian to cowboy have put up books, advanced reading copies, jewelry, fine China, gift baskets with entire collections of their books. You name it, these authors have come together and made a fantastic show of support. I am currently in the lead on several books and gift baskets. I was amazed and appreciative of the diverse amount of items for this auction. There really IS something for everybody listed.

The other aspect to this auction is that the person who bids the MOST whether they win or not WINS a free brand new CAMCORDER! So, even if you don’t win the items you are bidding on, remember that every bid counts towards this prize.

What are you waiting for? Get on over and BID! Remember to check back everyday on the daily auctions, new things go up for grabs all the time over the next month. Be SURE to stop back by here and tell us what you bid on or what your favorite items are.

Well maybe no bells. LOL but definitely books and blog!

It is book day again! This is a great time to pick up a few great titles from me.

First, be sure to sign up for my newsletter here: http://www.weirdstuffinmydesk.com. I will be offering up an awesome giveaway in a few weeks for an Amazon.com gift card and other goodies!

I have been adding a ton of reviews, and several of the e-tailers are offering my WSIMD readers SWEET discounts. Be sure to read the reviews and add your input, I would LOVE to hear from you.

Also, please take a look at my half.com store and purchase hard to find/rare
books from my private collection. PLEASE NOTE half.com does NOT ship
outside the US at this time.

http://shops.half.ebay.com/racoo_W0QQmZbooksQQsellerZQ2aracooQ2a

There are a very few unique titles up for purchase on my amazon store
as well. Be sure to check them out!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/shops/index.html?ie=UTF8&sellerID=A10K1JMIPOWD0I

The more books you buy, the cheaper shipping is. You save a lot if you
buy several from me at a time.

For those who prefer to buy new books, please shop at my great store right here!

HUGS, Blessings and a beautiful week to all!

This is a multi product review so I will not be using my usual format. We don’t eat sugar here at our house and live a pretty regulated low carb way of life. But we are human, and I am always looking for some type of delicious chocolate treats for those chocoholic tenancies. Let me tell you sugar free candies and especially chocolates have come a LONG way over the last 5 years, heck even the last 2 years. They used to be nasty. Plain and simple. I am going to review several chocolate bars / candies of varying brands, that I have selflessly tried out for your benefit. LOL

First is a line called Lean-up by Carbothin. Yum! Oh I suppose you want more than a one word review eh? I picked these bars up at lowcarbu.com. These bars are not made with malitol which is well known to cause gastric distress (this my friends is an understatement) when consumed in large quantities. Instead they use erythritol, and have 1 net carb per bar. They offer several varieties, but I stuck with what I like (go figure) which is dark chocolate and peanut butter! The Dark Chocolate Bar was slightly bland, but still a good bar. It didn’t have a weird after taste which many sugar free chocolates have. I don’t know that I would order this one again because I like a slightly bitter taste to my dark chocolate. The Peanut Butter Cup bar however is a different story. I may buy a case of these delicious little beauties! It is milk chocolate which I typically don’t like, but hey, it DID have the word peanut butter in the title. The center has a lovely peanut butter filling. This one is definitely a winner.

Next up is a line of bars I really enjoyed from Maine Cottage Foods. I didn’t get these directly from them, but through another low carb distributor. Next time, I am ordering from their site because they have a much better selection. But you do have to buy in bulk versus singles when you do it that way! Again these bars are made with erythritol. I purchased Raspberry Dark Chocolate, Dark Orange Zest and Mint Dark Chocolate. These were all amazing, perfectly blended so you could taste the flavors but not SO over done they drowned out the chocolate. My favorite of the three was the Mint Dark Chocolate because my friends it tastes JUST like an Andie’s Thin Mint! I couldn’t believe it when I took the first bite. Don’t tell the husband person, but I have hidden what is left of this bar. he he he

You can purchase singles of these bars at Carb Smart. Though they don’t have some of the more exotic sounding bars like Milk Chocolate Cinnamon or Milk Chocolate Butterscotch that the Maine Cottage site offers. They even have sugar free baking chunks for cookies! They are testing out some spiced chocolate recipes as well as herbal / tea flavors. Up on their drawing board are: apple-cinnamon, orange-cinnamon, chili, ginger, oolong tea, green tea, thyme, rosemary, and yuzu just to name a few! I have great hopes for this company and can’t wait to place my next order.

A bar that I have been treating myself to for about a year is the Dark Chocolate Chocoperfection bar. They come in Milk Chocolate AND recently Raspberry Dark Chocolate. The bars are a whopping 1.8 oz of smooth chocolate goodness and the milk/dark varieties are only 2 net carbs for the ENTIRE bar. The raspberry dark is 2 carbs. Again, no malitol madness in this product line, instead they are made with oligofructose and erythritol are 100% natural sweeteners derived from plant fibers. These sweeteners have a glycemic index of zero. Oligofructose is a prebiotic fiber. I have to say I have never tried the Milk Chocolate just because I don’t care for milk. The dark chocolate is smooth, not too bitter and oh so lovely. I recently picked up a Raspberry Dark Chocolate aka The Livin’ La Vida Low Carb-Bar from Jimmy Moore. My verdict is still out on this bar. It almost has a floral taste to it, not overtly, but the raspberry part isn’t what I expected. I will probably stick with plain dark chocolate after I finish this one.

The next chocolate up for review is something kind of cute called The Chocolate Traveler. They are small wedges of chocolate that come in the cutest little travel tin!

These DO have malitol as the sweetener, but I didn’t experience any issues with these. Though I do limit myself to the 4 piece serving. Of course I opted for the Dark Chocolate Mint. These are really good, there is a good mint flavoring, but not too much. I picked these up at Carb Smart. I will probably not get this brand again, not because it isn’t tasty, but I much preferred the Maine Cottage Dark Chocolate Mint to these. They have 4 different varieties in their sugar free line and they also have regular sugar blends as well on their website that look pretty amazing for the sugar freak in your family.

Winding up here I have Ross Sugar Free Chocolate bars. Ross was the first real chocolate I had on my low carb transition more than 3 years ago. You used to be able to find them just about anywhere. Now I can only find them online. I picked up an assortment box the other day. You can also purchase single bars at Carb Smart. So far I have tried the AWESOME Dark Chocolate Orange. This bar really packs an orangey wallop! Yum. I also took a little bit of the no sugar added Milk Chocolate Almond bar as well. This is pretty tasty even for milk chocolate. These bars can have a few more carbs than the other, just be sure to read the net carb information on the website. They are also made with malitol, so don’t eat more than one bar a day.

Last but not least is Chocolate Dreams and Wishes! These are not a bar, but a HUGE chocolate cup (2 oz) and have about 2 net carbs depending on the flavor/type you choose. There are several delicious flavors to choose from. My favorite are their Dark Chocolate Malt, Dark Chocolate Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Coconut. You can also purchase these directly from the company as well. Oh these are also made with erythritol.

So, the bottom line is that if you are diabetic or just want to have healthier options in your chocolate drawer, there are LOTS of great companies and products to choose from.

Website: http://www.demeterfragrance.com/

Country: USA (soaps made in Italy)

Blog: http://www.demeterfragranceblog.com/blog/

Newsletter: Yes

US Shipping: Yes, flat rate, $6.99

International Shipping: Yes, flat rate Canada $12.99 and flat rate air elsewhere $40.00

Discounts: Currently when you place an order of $25.00 or more, you get a free 1oz Cosmopolitan Cocktail perfume spray. I don’t know how long this will last. There is usually some type of special offer on the home page.

I have only ordered from their online store one time, and it will be the last time. I cannot remember when I have been more disappointed with a purchase than the one from Demeter Fragrance. The service was fast, the packaging is professional and minimal. But the product was an utter bomb in my opinion. Several years ago I ran across their fragrances in a small boutique and picked up a couple of sprays in Tomato Leaf and Dirt, more for the novelty of wearing something wacky than actual love of the scents. They actually smelled completely right on. It was because of this I decided to actually give them a go again. I was surprised to see how BIG their fragrance collection had grown and was very excited. They now offer shower gel, candles and soaps as well as an array of the bath and body products. Of course I had to get several of each.

So, I picked up a Cinnamon Bun Candle. It is a good size tin (5.6oz), and has a pretty decent throw, but nothing to write home about. It smelled more like straight cinnamon. The free gift at the time was a shower gel in Angel Food Cake. This had almost NO scent at all. The consistency was nice, but with no scent, what’s the point?

Next are their Olive Oil Soaps made in Italy. I am a HUGE fan of olive oil soaps, so was excited to see these and held high hopes for these bars. These items were the BIGGEST disappointment to me out of everything in this order. There was virtually no scent. The bars are huge (7 oz), but I wanted to smell good after using them. I picked up more than one (what I was thinking I have NO idea) I bought, Angel Food, Apple Pie, Orange Cream Pop and Sex on the Beach. They are extremely hard bars that began to crack along the sides and split apart as I used them. I finally took them out of the shower and have been using one for hand soap and the others for door stops. To its credit the hand soap has lasted a long time.

I saved the best (if it can be called that) for last. They offer 1/2 oz humongous mini splash colognes for only $5.00 a pop, so of course I got several of these. The first ingredient is alcohol, second is fragrance lastly is water. Pretty basic recipe. And you can definitely smell the alcohol. If you have a sensitivity to it (which I do) be forewarned.

Jelly Belly Sugar and Spice - Thankfully this smells right on, and is pretty darn yummy. I would possibly buy this in a spray if it was on sale somewhere.

Jelly Belly Blueberry muffin - Smells right on and really drys down nice.

Creme Brulee - Sucks, basically smells like vanilla with a strange slightly powdery note.

Cotton Candy - No way this smells like cotton candy, not even close kids, really smells chemically. It is hard to dupe this scent anyways. This one fell flat.

Suntan Lotion - This kind of smells like suntan lotion with a chemical kick. Think dollar store scented. ewww

Marshmallow - Another total let down. there may be a FAINT (and I mean very faint) hint of marshmallow. It did get a little tiny bit stronger after about an hour or so.

Seriously, it pains me to have to share this poor review of this company. I was really hoping for better quality and scent accuracy like the first two sprays I purchased long ago. Maybe I should have purchased all the scents in sprays and from their top 30 scent list (of which the Jelly Belly scents were). Maybe I would have had better luck. The good thing is that they have a 100% no questions asked money back gaurantee. Too bad I threw away my receipt and can’t find my online confirmation. Nor is it stored on their site. I will probably pitch all the soaps, let my friends have dibs on the scents I didn’t like and use the rest.

This was a non sponsored thread, meaning that I used my own money to buy these products for review, and I have received no monetary gain from this post.

I am SO excited!!!

I actually one a few items from the Bloggy Carnival Giveaway last week. So far I have won a bag of Laundry Tree Soap Nuts from , a $20.00 Gift Card to Toys R Us from Hullabalooloo AND a reading from Arwen at Tarot by Arwen!!! I am pretty sure most of the participants have drawn their winners. There were a few that ran through May 5th I think. Not too bad of a haul for going through almost 900 blogs in 3 days or so. LOL

Did you win anything from the Bloggy Carnival Giveaway? If so, post it here with a link to the blog you won from so we can see what we are missing out on! This was so fun, I can’t wait to do it again in July!

A HUGE thank you to everybody who participated this time around. There were a lot of really creative and generous prizes.