ESCUCHA MEANS LISTEN BLOG TOUR AND GIVEAWAY

Escucha Means Listen
From the mowing of the lawn to the splish-splashing of rain puddles, Talia Aikens-Nuñez’s bilingual picture book Escucha Means Listen introduces toddlers and babies to the sweet sounds around them.
Take a journey through the world—just listening. Escucha Means Listen helps children discover sounds around them in English and Spanish.



 




My Thoughts: 

 This is a wonderful, cute, entertaining and educational book that will keep every child engaged. The book is a great way to introduce a child to the Spanish language that includes great illustrations that correlates to the text so the child can understand what the Spanish word means. I recommend the book to all parents and teachers who want to introduce their children to the Spanish language in a fun and interesting way. 
 
Excerpt
Buzz. Buzz. Qué oyes? (What do you hear?)
Las abejas (The bees) circling the flowers.
Woosh. Woosh. What do you hear?
El viento (The wind) is whistling by.
Shh. Shh. Qué oyes? (What do you hear?)
Las hojas (The leaves) are dancing on the trees.
 

Purchase

Publisher * Amazon

 


Author Talia Aikens-Nuñez  

Talia Aikens-Nuñez wanted to be a meteorologist, a politician and a lawyer. She never thought she would be a writer. It was the birth of her daughter that caused her to start writing. Raising a bilingual child inspired Talia to write lyrical children’s books. These ‘first experience’ books introduce Spanish to children and parents too! Talia’s family loves nature so much that she and her husband vowed that they will always try to live close to water. She, her husband and daughter live on a river in Connecticut with their daughter Isabella.

Facebook * Website 

Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 1/21/12

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.



a Rafflecopter giveaway




Disclaimer:
I was given a free copy of the book for my honest review and I was not compensated for the review.

ENTER TO WIN A $30 AMAZON GC OR PAYPAL CASH IN THE JUST JANUARY GIVEWAYA HOP (WW)

Welcome to the Just January Giveaway Hop hosted by GoingCrazy!! WannaGo??!! and Planet Weidknecht. We just couldn't think of a better reason to gather up our blogger friends for another hop, so this time we are JUMPIN' for January…Just January!! 

Check out all the blogs on the link and enter to win some great prizes!! Each blog is sponsoring a giveaway of at least $20 value. So, join the jump and Have Fun!! 

---

ENTER TO WIN A $30 AMAZON GIFT CARD OR PAYPAL CASH TO ONE LUCKY READER!

---

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now JUMP over to the other blogs and enter their giveaways!!

Disclosure: GoingCrazy!! WannaGo??!!, Planet Weidknecht, and the Just January Giveaway Hop bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prizes or for prize distribution unless it is noted that they are self-sponsoring the prize(s).

GUEST POST BY DR. S. SPENCER AUTHOR OF THE DIET DROPOUT'S GUIDE TO NATURAL WEIGHT LOSS

This New Year Make Your Weight Loss Resolution a Success

by Stan Spencer (@DrStanSpencer)

Most of us have dieted to lose weight, only to gain it back again within a few weeks or months. It isn’t that diets don’t work. It’s that they don’t last. Most diets are so unpleasant, inconvenient, boring, complex, or expensive that they are difficult to stick with for very long. When you quite the diet, the weight returns.
Think of excess fat as a collection of bad habits. Lose the habits and you will lose the fat. Each time you give up one of these bad habits (all other things being equal), you will lose fat until your body naturally settles at a lower weight. The key to making these habits stick and successfully keeping the weight off is to create your own weight loss plan—one custom made to fit your particular needs, abilities, and preferences. When designed correctly, this custom plan is your easiest path to a naturally thin lifestyle and body. While each person’s optimal plan is unique, every plan for permanent weight loss should have the following elements:

Personal Preferences:

There is no single formula for natural, permanent weight loss. You don’t need to make yourself miserable. Eating yogurt can help you lose weight, but if you really don’t like yogurt, don’t include it in your plan. There are plenty of other things you can do to lose weight naturally.

Changes You Can Live With:

Include in your plan only those things you are willing to make lifelong habits. Giving up desserts for a month to lose weight may accomplish that goal, but the lost weight will return just as soon as you start eating desserts again. A better approach might be to limit yourself to one dessert a day, with more allowed on a few special days, and to make it a lifelong habit. You’ll lose less weight, but the weight you lose won’t be coming back. Permanent weight loss requires permanent changes in habits.

Easy Ways to Control Emotional Eating:

We often eat for emotional comfort, not because we are hungry. This is called emotional eating. The best way to prevent emotional eating is to learn how to regulate your emotions in other ways. These may include getting more social interaction or using techniques such as meditation or mindfulness to calm your emotions.
 
Quick Ways to Calm Cravings:

Cravings for junk food can crush even the strongest resolve and wreck your attempts to lose weight. The key is not to have more willpower, but to know how to make the cravings weaker so the willpower you already have does the job. For example, taking a brisk, short walk has been shown in scientific studies to reduce chocolate cravings.

Smarter Exercise:

Trying to lose weight by doing exercises you hate is a recipe for failure. Find ways to get exercise that you enjoy. Even better, exercise with someone else. You’ll stick with it longer. Do exercises that build muscle, not just burn calories directly. The new muscle will boost your metabolism so you burn more calories even while you’re sleeping.

Removing the Temptations at Home:

It’s usually easier to remove temptations than to resist them. Get rid of the junk food in your house. Try to avoid places that tempt you to overeat. Stock your refrigerator with weight loss foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, yogurt, nuts, and whole grains.
 
Making the Easiest Changes in Habits First:

Your weight loss plan might include forming new habits such as meditating daily, eating more whole grains for breakfast, eating sweets only once a day, and exercising five days a week. Don’t try to develop all of your weight loss habits at once. Start with the ones that are easiest. After you have reaped the weight loss rewards of the easier habits you will have extra motivation to tackle habits that require more effort.

Not Expecting Quick or Immediate Results:

It’s better to lose twenty pounds over the course of a year than to lose twenty pounds in a month then gain it all back. Changing habits takes time. You probably gained your extra weight slowly, one habit at a time. Let yourself lose it the same way. After two or three weeks with each new habit, it will begin to feel natural, and you will be a naturally thinner person.
So make a new plan for the new year—one that gives you the best chance of long term success.
Find more help for making your New Year’s weight-loss resolution a success in The Diet Dropout’s Guide to Natural Weight Loss.

                      

Stan Spencer, PhD, is a biological consultant, former research scientist, and author of The Diet Dropout’s Guide to Natural Weight Loss: Find Your Easiest Path to Naturally Thin (Fine Life Books, 2013). He lives in southern California and blogs on natural weight loss techniques at fatlossscience.org.


 

JOIN THE FAITHFUL, FIT & FABULOUS 8 WEEK CHALLENGE AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

Faithful, Fit & Fabulous





Filled with humor and “I can relate” life experiences, Faithful, Fit, and Fabulous is the ideal 8-week life boost that will refresh any woman's life. Create a personal and effective life plan, and learn how to readily apply it in your busy daily life. Establish holy habits, feel fit and fabulous, and get organized. Just one goal a week for eight weeks—it's simple and fun.

Amazon * Barnes &Noble

Message from Connie

Hi Ladies,

This is the moment. This is the year. You can be your best self, your most beautiful self, your most faithful, fit, and fabulous self. Ever. Twelve months are before you-what will you do with them?

Years ago, after bearing several children and feeling overwhelmed, I created and lived my “Year of the Change.” During twelve months of taking life by the horns, I lost weight, got organized, and discovered more joy. Since then I’ve tweaked and taught the principles I have learned and now share them with you.

So make this your year of fabulous change by joining us on the “8-week Challenge” starting on January 8th! The 8-week Challenge is an online success program of “8 goals in 8 weeks in 8 areas of your life,” including fit and fabulous, get organized, balance womanhood and motherhood, and more. Using the Faithful, Fit and Fabulous book, each week you set and achieve a goal, with help from my podcasts, video segments, blog posts, and motivational emails!

Simple, fun, and productive. This program works (see testimonials below). And this year, we’re giving our new 2013 Fit &Fabulous podcast series FREE to those who sign up with a friend! Both of you receive weekly podcasts and posts on weight loss/energy gain tips and strategies. Jill Holmes, our online marketing director, has lost and kept off 50 POUNDS! She'll share her personal tips and secrets to make weight loss work for you, even eating chocolate daily.

Here's what women have said about the 8-week Challenge:

“I have learned so many things about who I am and what I want to do in my life. I have also gained a new sense of happiness. My husband and girls have noticed just in the last week the change in my attitude and they have told me that it is nice to hear me laugh again.” C.Adams

“Thank you so much for giving me the needed push to do something I've wanted to do for months & never completed. That has never happened for me with goal setting. THANK YOU!” B.Bird

“If I wouldn't have been doing the challenge I never would have thought to [accomplish this goal]. I am so glad I did this 8 week challenge! I want to continue these small goals for the rest of my life.” C. Rose

So join us now and jumpstart your ideal life. Get that closet organized, start that exercise program going, find that joy in daily living!

Join now and, because you’re reading this blog post, receive your 8-week Challenge for only $29, thru Jan. 8th only!

http://8basics.com/store/books/start-the-8-week-challenge-refer-a-friend-discount.

Sign up a friend and BOTH receive the 8 podcast series of “Fit &Fabulous”.

Email us for more information at connie@8basics.com.

Learn more here: http://8basics.com/b2b-life-coaching-support

So what are you waiting for? Join us for a fun and fabulous life-changing experience!




Author Connie Sokol

Connie Sokol is a mother of seven, a national and local presenter, and a regular speaker at Education Week. She is a monthly contributor on KSL TV “Studio 5,” and regular blogger for KSL "Motherhood Matters." She is a former TV and radio host for Bonneville Communications, and columnist for Deseret News and Utah Valley Magazine. Mrs. Sokol is the author of several books including the award-nominated romance Caribbean Crossroads, the 8-week Challenge program of Faithful, Fit & Fabulous, Life is Too Short for One Hair Color Series, as well as talk CDs and podcasts. Mrs. Sokol marinates in time spent with her family and eating decadent treats.

Website * Facebook

WIN $200 IN THE NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN CASH GIVEAWAY

Welcome to the New Year’s Rockin’ Cash Giveaway! I’ve teamed up Oh My Gosh Beck!, Shopaholicmommy, GeminiRed Creations and other awesome blogs to give our readers the chance to win $200 Cash this month! 

You’ll have the month to complete your entries and don’t forget that there are daily entries as well! The more you enter, the better your chances of winning.

Giveaway is open worldwide and ends January  31st at 11:59 PM EST. Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway