Product Review and Giveaway: Zippity Doo

"Why treat lice, when you can prevent it?" This is the motto of Zippity Doo's line of children's hair care products. We have been fortunate enough to not have had to treat lice in our home, but know many people who have and I hear it is a difficult and unpleasant experience. Several of them have even had to resort to shaving all the heads on the household, moms and daughters included, and who knows the side effects of those expensive chemical treatments? In comes Zippity Doo with their line of hair care products that use natural ingredients to prevent lice from infesting our children and our homes.

Zippity Doo has 5 products that can used separately or together for a stronger defense. There is a shampoo, a conditioner, a leave-in detangler, a styling gel, and a shield spray for hard-to-wash surfaces such as hats, helmets and backpacks. The products are gentle enough for daily use and work as well as their "regular" counterparts. The ingredients include anise, rosemary, tea tree oil, sage, and rosemary (each product has a different combination).

We enjoyed these products very much. They smell wonderful and while they are not the typical, chemical fruity/candy scents, the kids still enjoyed the blend of natural scents. The bottles state that they also help protect against "other insects" as well, so I am thinking about buying some more to use during the summer to see how it protects against those darn mosquitoes.

Zippity Doo products can be found at CVS.com, Value Drugs and other drug stores and hair salons.

Would you like to win a set of your own Zippity Doo products? One person will win one bottle of each product to use themselves. Even if you are not exposed to lice or other insects, these are wonderful hair care products. To enter:
- Tell me who you use these products on. I am not ashamed to say I will be using these this summer to avoid those bugs. (mandatory entry)
- You can earn bonus entries (one entry for each that you do) subscribing to my blog, following my blog, or sharing this giveaway via your blog or other social networking site. Please leave an extra comment for each bonus entry. The winner will be chosen on May 8th and they will have 48 hours to get back to me or a new winner will be chosen. I am not sure what time I will choose the winner on the 8th, but entries will be accepted up until the drawing. Good luck!

***Disclaimer: I received a set of the Zippity Doo products for this review, but my opinions are my own. No monetary compensation was received.***

No more anonymous comments

I have made the decision to stop allowing anonymous comments in an effort to stop the spam I mentioned the other day. I know some of my readers do comment anonymously with legitimate comments and to you I apologize, but I am getting several spam comments each day from others. I appreciate your understanding and continued support.

Blogging help needed

I am hoping that a seasoned blogger might happen upon this post and be able to help me. I have been receiving comments in Asian writing (I tried an online translator and they are always gibberish/spammy comments), on one particular post, daily for a few months now. All my comments are moderated to avoid spam so this is mostly an annoyance, but I would like to know if there is a way to block this from happening. I prefer not to resort to using captcha and I would rather not block anonymous comments. The only solution I have been able to come up with is to delete the post that keeps generating these comments, but I am trying to avoid that as well. Do any of you have any suggestions? Thank you in advance for your help.

Book Review: The Twilight Gospel by Dave Roberts

***This review is part of a LitFuse Blog Tour. I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher, but the opinions in this post are my own.***

As a Christian, I have often sat back in bewilderment at other Christians and the way that some of them sometimes behave. One area that has often amazed me is some of the literature that is taboo among some Christians. My personal feelings regarding many of these books is that God has given us the gift of discernment and we should use that gift to help us differentiate between what is good and what is bad and that includes within works of literature. I am not one that believes in throwing out the baby with the bathwater so to speak and will often read these books for both the entertainment value as well as the literary lessons that they may hold. They are not presented to us as factual and therefore I do not read them believing the story to be true.

One series of books that has recently taken much criticism from some Christians is the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. I admit, I have not read any of the series, but I have enjoyed the first two movies. When I had the opportunity to review The Twilight Gospel by Dave Roberts, I felt it would be interesting to read a book that was designed to serve as a sort of spiritual guide for those who wanted to read/watch the Twilight series or for parents whose children were reading/watching it.

About the book: The blockbuster Twilight Saga is being read by teenager and adult alike. These powerful novels are gaining even more popularity as the movies hit theaters. But what should a Christian response be? And is there a helpful way to approach a teenager or young adult captivated with the books without alienating her?

Dave Roberts read The Twilight Saga and while he appreciated the literary qualities, there were also parts that troubled him. As he considered the books as a whole and spoke to teenagers who read them, he saw the need for a resource. In The Twilight Gospel Dave brings to bear a Biblical lens showing that while there are important moral and spiritual lessons to be learned, there is also a promotion of a non-Christian worldview. He addresses such topics as the cult of beauty, the appeal of the self-disciplined vampire Edward, life after death, the use of myths and legends, sexuality, personal spiritual power, and the lure of materialism.

Crisply written and with a gracious spirit, The Twilight Gospel will help teens, their parents, and their pastors discern what is good from what is unhealthy in the novels and equip them to be biblically literate readers. Read an excerpt here.

About the author: Dave Roberts is a professional journalist, editor and speaker. For more information please visit his website at www.thinkchristian.co.uk.

My take on the book: The Twilight Gospel is an easy read and can be finished rather quickly. It is definitely a recommended read for any parent who has concerns regarding Christianity and the Twilight series, as well as for those teens who are reading Twilight. It does a great job of helping to separate the wheat from the chaff and ensuring that a reader would recognize the difference. It also allows the reader to see the series, especially the Cullen family, from a new perspective. If you are not a Christian and a Twilight fan, you would probably not get much out of this book.

To read more reviews of The Twilight Gospel, visit the blog tour page on LitFuse.

Want to win a $50 Amazon gift card? (I am not affiliated with this giveaway, just sharing it with you): Tweet this: (and be sure to use the hashtag #thetwilightgospel)

Understand cultural and Biblical insights surrounding the Twilight Saga by reading #TheTwilightGospel. Please RT! http://ow.ly/1vjc6p