With the hot summer months well in force, it’s the perfect time to crack open a puzzle book. Whether you’re traveling on the road, relaxing on the beach or just staying inside in the air conditioning out of the heat, puzzle books can be a fun and relaxing way to wile away the hours. Not to mention that it’s a great activity for your brain! I have always love playing games and puzzles. Long before the internet, I was always playing board games and had an endless stock of puzzle books on hand. We spent a lot of time traveling when I was a kid and the puzzle books were the perfect thing to pass the time away when we were on the road. Even with the internet era, I still love to have the actual books on hand. While playing games online is fun too, to me there’s nothing like having a pencil or pen in hand and working through a puzzle out of a book. I almost always have a puzzle book in my purse or in the car, so I’m never without entertainment. I especially like to have them on hand when I’m sitting, waiting around for an appointment, especially at the doctor’s office. As you probably well know, sometimes you never know just how long a wait at the doctor’s office may take. 😉 I had the chance to look over the following three puzzle books:

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Picture Puzzles, Vol. 2 contains:

• Full-color picture puzzles for all levels and ranges of ability
• Pictures appropriate for all ages
• Whacky, funny, silly, whimsical, and oddball pictures
• An easy-to-use answer key

Follow all the great Complete Idiot Guides.

Puzzle Baron’s Logic Puzzles, Vol. 2 provides 200 more grid- based logic puzzles from the popular online puzzle site. For each puzzle, readers are given a background story and a list of text-based clues and then use logic to sift through the clues to arrive at the correct answer to a question. Unlike other logic puzzle books, every puzzle in Puzzle Baron’s Logic Puzzles, Vol. 2 includes statistics-such as the average completion time, the record completion time, and the percentage of puzzlers who successfully complete the puzzle-to bring out the competitor in puzzlers and better inform them on how easy or difficult each puzzle is.

• Features 200 grid-based logic puzzles
• Includes puzzle statistics for added excitement
• Ideal for kids and adults

AND lastly,

Puzzle Baron’s Sudoku: With a total of 400 Sudoku puzzles-25 easy, 100 medium, 175 hard, and 100 super hard Sudoku puzzles-this smart, symmetrical, elegant, and thoroughly addicting book will challenge and satisfy your mind.

My favorite of the three books was the The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Picture Puzzles, Vol. 2. I found it highly entertaining and I was really impressed by the quality of the pictures and the glossy pages. This book out of all three, I thought would make an awesome gift because just about everyone I know loves picture puzzles and this one was a very pretty book. I also liked the different play levels within the book, everything from Easy to Advanced. And let me tell you, even the “Easy” levels are plenty of a challenge and the Advanced levels will entertain a looooong time, because it takes quite awhile to figure out each on of those puzzles. Now, for the 2nd book, Puzzle Baron’s Sudoku, I didn’t really think it was fair to give that one a try, because I absolutely hate sudoku puzzles ans always have. I don’t know why, but I have just never gotten them. I think I’m missing the brain cells required to tackle those particular kinds of puzzles. Ha! So I handed that one over to John who generally has never liked to play games of any kind, but loves sudokus and he dug right into the book and I didn’t hear from him again for hours, so I take that he really enjoyed it and boy, the house sure was nice & quiet for a change too. LOL The really enjoyed the third book, the Puzzle Baron’s Logic Puzzles, Vol. 2. I’ve always been a big fan of logic puzzles, so this one was a lot of fun for me and plenty of a challenge to really work those brain cells! I enjoyed the Grid-layout of the puzzles, it made it much easier to tackle the puzzle in a more organized way. Fun times for the brain for sure! 🙂

And now for the fun part! Let’s start off the week right with a Giveaway! Enter the Rafflecopter below (super easy entries!), one winner will receive all three puzzle books, fun!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And don’t forget to enter my fun Dentyne Ice #Split2Fit Gum Giveaway!

Note: I was given a set of the books in order to facilitate this review, I received no compensation. As always, my opinions are 100% my own.

UPDATE: Expired!

Join us in a giveaway, there will be four prizes, 1 winner for each prize. The giveaway is live NOW and runs through 11:59pm EST 5/29/12. Good luck!

• Ultimate Grilling Package from Vienna Beef
• Omaha Steaks Gourmet Sensation Package
• Newman’s Own Organics Gift Pack
• An iPod Shuffle

Here is what you need to do to enter:

1. Like all the below sponsors on Facebook
2. Leave a comment on this blog post, required for verification purposes
3. Fill out the Google Doc form below
4. Share on Facebook (if you do, fill out the form again)
5. Share on Twitter (if you do, fill out the form a 3rd time)
6. Hop around on each blog and enter again. You can do all of these things on EACH blog giving you even more chances to win!

The winners will be notified by 5/31. If you see your name on a winner’s list and haven’t received an email by 5/31, please send me an email so that I can get your prize info to you. Any prize left unclaimed after 6/2/12 may be forfeited, or another winner will be chosen

Coming Soon! We love our readers. We love the USA! , we have joined together to bring our readers a great giveaway to show you how much we appreciate you!

We have some really amazing prizes to offer for this special giveaway!

• Ultimate Grilling Package from Vienna Beef
• Omaha Steaks Gourmet Sensation Package
• Newman’s Own Organics Gift Pack
• An iPod Shuffle

There will be 1 winner for each prize…so 4 winners in total.

The giveaway will start tomorrow night (5/24) at 9pm PST or 5/25 at Midnight and will end at 11:59pm EST on 5/29. To get started, go ahead and like all the sponsors below and then come back during the giveaway to enter. Good Luck!

UPDATE: Congratulations, I have a winner for the Eclos Skin Care Pack, Comment #14, Cara S. Enjoy!

This post brought to you by éclos Skin Care. All opinions are 100% mine.

éclos Skin Care products are a different kind of skin care product line because they feature Apple stem cells from a rare swiss apple which have shown an ability to stimulate skin stem cells, encouraging aging skin to act like youger skin. Plant extracts, vitamins and anti-oxidants combine with the apple stem cell technology to help minimize the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines and tired skin. Eclos products contain natural products like chamomile and cucumber, they do NOT contain sulfates, parabens, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes or petro-chemicals. Simliar products were previously available on more high end stores along with a price tag to match, ouch! But the good news is eclos products are available in a variety of mainstream stores including Walgreens, Ulta Beauty, Rite Aid and GNC.

Eclos sent me a sampling kit to try out their line and the kit includes:

• Facial Cleanser Skin Prep
• Cellular Activator Face Serum
• Moisture Therapy Regenerative Cream
• Restorative Eye Cream
• Instant Radiance Facial Scrub
• Skin Renewal Clay Mask
• Eclos Terry Cloth Headband
• $3.00/1 coupon to use for a future purchase

While I haven’t seen any huge changes in my skin yet, I don’t think I’ve been trying it long enough for the results to really show. I would say that the appearance of my skin does look brighter & less tired. I tried taking pictures, but they didn’t really show up too well, so I took a picture of the awesome kit I tried out instead. The one thing I noticed right away about all the products was how little of each product that was needed to get the job  done. The first day I tried out everything, I used way too much of each product, I quickly discovered that a little goes a long way, which is great because that means they’ll last longer! I liked all the products, the face serum was nice and light, it absorbed into my skin very easily so that the moisture face cream could be applied right away. My favorite product was by far the facial cleanser skin prep. I loved the fact that it took very little cleanser to do a great job (about a dime-sized amount) and the thing I loved most about it was the effect it had on my skin. After using it a few days, I realized my skin didn’t need near the exfoliation (if any) that I had needed in the past. I’ll definitely be picking up a full-size bottle once this one runs out. I have tried a ton of different brands, you name it, I’ve tried it and this cleanser so far has been my favorite.

Anyway, onto the fun part! One lucky reader will win an Eclos sample kit too (as listed above)! The Kit is valued at $19.99, open to US residents only. And we’re going to make this a fun & easy giveaway, your only requirement to enter the giveaway is: Leave a Comment stating which product you are most excited to try. Good luck! No purchase necessary, open to US only. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook. The winner will be selected using Random.org, giveaway ends 5/30/12 11:59pm. Cst.

If you’re thinking about delving into couponing, then you may want to check out “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Couponing” by Rachel Singer Gordon. The book includes:

• Understanding couponing basics
• Tips on finding and cashing in on coupons
• Advice on multiple savings offers, money-back coupons, and rewards programs
• The latest info on deal-of-the-day sites, rebates, and other online coupon options
• How to best plan and organize coupons

You can get this book on Amazon in paperback for $11.29 or on Kindle for $9.99 currently (prices subject to change at any time). And don’t forget to check out all the books available from the Complete Idiot’s Guides. I got a chance to read this book and thought that it was not only an entertaining & easy to read book, but a great resource for someone beginning to tackle the big wide world of couponing.

And now for the fun part! Enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win your very own copy of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Couponing! This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada (no P.O Boxes). Good luck! 🙂

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: I received a copy of the book to facilitate the review. And as always, all opinions are 100% my own.