Peek Into My Postbox #6 and Signed Book Giveaway

04 Sep, 2013 by in peek into my Postbox 4 comments

Peek into my Postbox is new meme at Fire and Ice.
It’s a chance for us to share the fun things we get in our post box each week. If you already participate in your own similar meme…no worries.  
Link your post below to share what books you bought, checked out at the library, bought or received. Also, if you have some exciting other mail or swag to share, link below.
Here’s what I got in my box this week…

Thanks so much to the publishers who make this meme possible!

I am giving away my first edition author signed copy of Wait for You by J. Lynn to our readers.

To enter, comment or link up below with the best book buy, borrow, pre-order or gift that you’ve received lately.

Must be 18 or older and have a US mailing address. Winner will be picked via random.org  and announced on the site September 18, 2013.

Link up if you have a Peek Into my Postbox or similar meme post to share!

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YA Ebook Deals From HarperTeen- Epic Deals

03 Sep, 2013 by in YA fiction Leave a comment

Epic Reads has four Young Adult lit ebook deals going on right now as part of their Teen Ebook Deals campaign. 
All four titles are just $2.99 each.
Click on the title or cover image below to learn more, to purchase from Amazon.
Get them before they are gone!

Pretty Darn Funny~ Budget Cuts + Rocky Road by Josi S. Kilpack Giveaway

02 Sep, 2013 by in pretty darn funny 8 comments

This weeks episode of PDF season 2  “Budget Cuts” was hilarious for me as a photographer because I know how crazy expensive some family sittings can be and as a mother of a large family I know what extremes people go through to save money.

You will love it…

About Pretty Darn Funny : A comedy like no other. For your sister and your mother. Pretty Darn Funny is a comedy web series about life as a woman, a mother and…comedian. 

The award winning Pretty Darn Funny web series started in April 2012 and has continued to keep thousands of people laughing. Pretty Darn Funny has won five Telly awards, honored along side other notable recipients such as Time Warner Cable, ABC Family Digital Media,  and AOL Media.  Its parody videos were featured on The 700 Club, the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing in syndication throughout the United States.

Season 1 Followed Gracie Moore, a mom who gets more than she bargains for when she forms an all-female comedy troupe in efforts to clean up the local comedy scene. It features a cast of colorful, loveable characters. It will make you laugh. It might make you cry (from laughing so hard). However you spin it, we know you’ll think it’s Pretty Darn Awesome.

Season 2 is launching August 2013 and continues the craziness of Gracie’s life. From battling crossfit and the pressures of Pinterest envy, to competing with the PTA president for superior fundraising cred, Gracie and the troop show that no matter what life throws at you it’s always worth the laughs.

Each new “bite-sized” 6-8 minute webisode is released weekly and is designed for your busy lifestyle. (Meaning you can watch it in-between picking up your kids from soccer, making a fabulous meal that half of your kids will probably refuse to eat, and composing what is sure to be the best blog post ever written in the history of the world. You know, in all your free time.)
Pretty Darn Funny is your new best friend. Your new, very funny, best friend.

Everything Pretty Darn Funny is Brought to you by Deseret Book and Tinder Transmedia.

Website: http://prettydarnfunny.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/prettydarnfunny
Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/pdfunny/

Giveaway: Deseret Book is offering one copy of Rocky Road by Josi S. Kilpack as this episode’s giveaway.



Book Summary: It was supposed to be a girls’ weekend in scenic St. George, Utah that would include shopping, trying out the local cuisine, and participating in a breast cancer fundraiser. The fact that one of the organizers of the fundraising event, a local doctor, disappeared two months ago was not supposed to be Sadie’s problem. In fact, she refuses to participate in the grassroots investigation her friend Caro, and Caro’s cousin, Tess, have put together prior to her arrival. But then she meets the ex-wife of the missing doctor. How could she not ask a few questions . . . that lead to a few more questions . . . that lead to a small town and yet even more questions. Before she knows it, Sadie is in the middle of yet another murder investigation and trying to piece together a convoluted trail of good intentions, hidden motivations, and philanthropy turned big business.


To enter to win comment below and tell us…

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to save money?

Pretty Darn Funny Season 2 – Pinterest Plot

26 Aug, 2013 by in PDF, pretty darn funny, Tinder Transmedia. Leave a comment

Fire and Ice is proud to present episode 2 of Pretty Darn Funny Season 2…”The Pinterest Plot.” This one resonates with all o us who are members of Pinterest. Some of the things you see on there are just not do able. I mean who has time to make their own sidewalk chalk when you can buy a whole box for a dollar? I admit I have loved pinning on Pinterest (you can find me here) and getting  new ideas, but we do tend to take it too far sometimes 🙂 The color coordinated, vintage, handmade party of your dreams may in fact turn out to be a nightmare.

About PDF: A comedy like no other. For your sister and your mother.

Pretty Darn Funny is a comedy web series about life as a woman, a mother and…comedian.

The award winning Pretty Darn Funny web series started in April 2012 and has continued to keep thousands of people laughing. Pretty Darn Funny has won five Telly awards, honored along side other notable recipients such as Time Warner Cable, ABC Family Digital Media,  and AOL Media.  Its parody videos were featured on The 700 Club, the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing in syndication throughout the United States.

Season 1 Followed Gracie Moore, a mom who gets more than she bargains for when she forms an all-female comedy troupe in efforts to clean up the local comedy scene. It features a cast of colorful, loveable characters. It will make you laugh. It might make you cry (from laughing so hard). However you spin it, we know you’ll think it’s Pretty Darn Awesome.

Season 2 launched August 2013 and continues the craziness of Gracie’s life. From battling crossfit and the pressures of Pinterest envy, to competing with the PTA president for superior fundraising cred, Gracie and the troop show that no matter what life throws at you it’s always worth the laughs.

Each new “bite-sized” 6-8 minute webisode is released weekly and is designed for your busy lifestyle. (Meaning you can watch it in-between picking up your kids from soccer, making a fabulous meal that half of your kids will probably refuse to eat, and composing what is sure to be the best blog post ever written in the history of the world. You know, in all your free time.)

Pretty Darn Funny is your new best friend. Your new, very funny, best friend.
Everything Pretty Darn Funny is Brought to you by Deseret Book and Tinder Transmedia.

Learn more: Youtube/ Facebook/ Website.


What are your thoughts? 

Are you on Pinterest? If so, leave us your link and we will laugh and learn DIY together.

Fabulous Finds at Fire and Ice Weekend Edition- Ebook Deals Under 3.99

25 Aug, 2013 by in Uncategorized Leave a comment

There are lots of Middle Grade, Back to School, and Christmas titles this time around as well as uplifting reads for mothers. 
As always, please check the price before downloading to be sure it has not changed. 
I had one reader email saying they couldn’t get the links to work and couldn’t not comment on the last post I made. If this is the case, email me or send me a DM on twitter @fireicephotos and let’s see if we can figure it out together! You may need to change browsers.
As an Amazon associate I get a tiny profit from each title purchased through the links on this post.
 

Quick Thoughts on Mortal Instruments: City of Bones- Movie Breview

23 Aug, 2013 by in mortal instruments, movie review 8 comments

The Mortal Instruments
City of Bones
Release date: August 21, 21013
Directed by: Harald Zwart
Screenplay by: Jessica Postigo Paquette
Based on the novel by: Cassandra Clare
Executive Producers: Bob Shaye, Michael Lynne, Martin Moszkowicz
Cast: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Kevin Durand, Aidan Turner, Jemima West, Godfrey Gao with CCH Pounder, with Jared Harris and Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Movie Source: Saw in Theatres, bought our tickets
Genre: Action, Fantasy
PG-13

Summary: Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother (Lena Headey), Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures. Based on the worldwide best-selling book series.

I took my husband who has never read Cassie Clare’s series with me on a date night to see City of Bones because I loved the original book in this series. The mythology, deep characters and magical setting drew me to Cassie Clare. However, about three minutes into the movie adaptation I could tell this probably was not for me. I don’t do well with violence and couldn’t stomach the gross alien like demons.

The tone of the movie was too dark for my taste and I was disappointed there wasn’t more story line or back story. There were a few witty one liners that really showed Cassie’s sense of humor and the cat and mouse banter of her characters. I just found myself wishing there were more. It seemed to be a very fast paced jump from one Halloween like scene to the next. The focus rests almost entirely on Clary, Jace and Simon with supporting actors being given just a few lines in the entire movie.

My husband was lost through most of it. After when I asked what he thought,  he responded,  “It was weird. They just jumped right in without explaining anything even up until the end.” He loved the action sequences and fighting skills of the actors, his favorite actor, Simon played by Robert Sheehan. However, he was scratching his head and leaning over to ask me questions through  most of the film, which leads me to believe if you hadn’t read the book you might not get it.

My favorite parts:

Lily Collins. Loved her. She fits Clary well and was beautiful, a great actress. I also liked the chemistry between her and Jamie Bower off screen in their interviews.

The door of the Institute- very cool how it locked automatically on the inside.

Hodge’s library and the portal. There was so much detail and attention to little things.

The one liners that came directly out of the book. They made the mood light where it really needed to be. This movie felt too horror show, not based enough in reality for me. I wanted to see more of the Brooklyn, mundane real life New York of present day woven in to the fabric of the film, instead of mostly the alternate Shadow Hunter world.

Simon. He fit the part exactly. How cool is it that he’s really from Ireland?! Robert is definitely not afraid to be himself.

The greenhouse garden scene was magical, but the kiss…a little over the top.

Did not like:

The first stand off with Luke and Valentine’s men in his shop. I found  it very offensive.

Valentine, Magnus or Alec. Valentine was not how I imagined him at all. Alec and Magnus looked the part but there was not enough character development or focus on their role to grow to like them in two hours.

And, I’m sorry folks, I am still not buying Jaime as Jace. He is a good actor, very like able, genuine, but he’s too thin compared to what I imagined. I’ll admit he grew on me after seeing the movie, but I’m still not there yet.

Consensus: I probably would not go to see it again and would not buy the movie.

Content: Adult. It’s not family friendly due to graphic demon scenes, violence and suggestive content. (I closed my eyes through about 1/3 of the movie)

The wonderful ladies at Mundie Moms have excellent coverage on all things TMI if you would like to learn more.


What did you think?

Movie Review: Christmas For A Dollar ~ Coming November 2013

22 Aug, 2013 by in movie review 2 comments

Christmas For A Dollar
Genre: Drama, family
To be released: November 2013 (USA)
Director: John Lyde
Writer: Sally Meyer
Stars: Brian Krause, Nancy Stafford, Danielle Chuchran 
Movie Source: Publisher
5 stars

Movie Summary from Imdb: America is in the midst of the Depression, and the Kamp family is struggling to get by, especially after Mrs. Kamp’s untimely death. Now little Ruthie, with her mother gone and her father overwhelmed by doctor bills resulting from her brother s polio, expects another Christmas without presents or festivities. But when her father brings home one dollar in change and lets the children use it to buy special gifts for each other, the Kamps come to find that money isn’t what fills Christmas with joy, love, and miracles. Written by Covenant Communications

Christmas For A Dollar is based on the children’s book of the same name, written by Gale Sears, and illustrated by Ben Sowards.

Review: I received a full pre-release copy of Christmas For A Dollar from LDSBA and Covenant Communications and we used it as a family night activity. Little did we know we would all be in tears at the poignant message and heart warming hero with disabilities. Grab a kleenex box before sitting down!

The DVD is set in the time of the depression when times are already hard, but even more than usual for the motherless Kamp family. Their father is proud and determined to make it on his own, without outside help or suggestion. Oldest daughter Verna is left to fill her mother’s role as a teenage girl. Christmas is coming and the family has little to spare, but somehow they find a way to make it magical for each other.

We loved this movie! It was filmed at This is the Place Pioneer Heritage Park and at times there were a few setting slips like concrete sidewalks or modern props that seemed out of place with the era it is supposed to represent, but overall my impression was a good one. We own the original book and illustrated DVD released in 2009, but this one is our favorite of the three. Christmas for a Dollar carries a wonderful moral about being honest, loyal and brave in the midst of adversity. It held the interest of my entire family and I would recommend it to all ages!

Content: some mild violence involving a knife, fist fights and childhood bullying

Learn more on Facebook/ IMDB/ Deseret Book