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The Skinny Cow Ice Cream
When you're asked to review ice cream, it's really a no-brainer. When you're asked to review low fat ice cream? I mean, how can you refuse?
I was given two coupons for free Skinny Cow products and I chose the Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches and the French Vanilla Truffles. When I devoured all of those, I went back and bought the Mint Ice Cream Sandwiches, and people, I'm about to make your day because here is the actual info from the mint ice cream sandwiches from The Skinny Cow website:
"Low Fat Ice Cream. 97% Fat Free. 140 Calories. 3 grams Fiber. 0 Trans Fat." There are only 30 grams of carbohydrates in this happy little bundle of a sandwich and don't even get me started on how it tastes.
Ok, you asked for it.
The mint ice cream is light and wonderful. It lacks fat, but doesn't lack flavor. The ice cream sandwich chocolate wafers are to die for, so much so that I will happily admit that I licked my fingers-all of them.
The peanut butter ice cream sandwiches are delicious as well, but I must say that the mint ones totally rocked my world. To be able to eat THAT, and not feel guilt? Now that is something special.
The French Vanilla Truffles are amazing. So amazing in fact that I not only licked my fingers, but my daughter's as well. The ice cream is light and creamy and then it's drizzled with this hard chocolate on the outside that is just enough to make you completely satisfied and without having to shove an entire chocolate bar down your throat.
I shared my good fortune with my neighbor and her son and we all agree that The Skinny Cow is pretty much our new best friend. If you are watching your weight, or just trying to eat healthier, you'll want to add The Skinny Cow to your shopping list. I've been to a couple different grocery stores and each one had different products. I suggest visiting all your local grocery stores to pick these up.
My only criticism is that I haven't found a jumbo pack yet. These ice cream treats are a big hit in this house and I can barely keep them in stock.
BBM gives The Skinny Cow. . .
And a special thanks to Mom Central for the opportunity to review it!
An Obese White Gentleman in No Apparent Distress by Riki Moss
Typically, when I'm asked to review books related to the martial arts, I'm asked to review manuals or historic overviews. It's rare that a martial arts novel comes up, but An Obese White Gentleman in No Apparent Distress is just that. The thing about this book, is that although it's a "novel," it's based on actual recordings of deceased Terry Dobson, a beloved Aikido master.
One would think that the book would be almost exclusively about Aikido, and although there are some chapters that talk about the dojo, this isn't what you get. The best way to describe the book would be that it's about an unhealthy Aikido master who loses his mojo and then finds it again through love.
I have to be honest about it. Although Moss is an descriptive writer and she paints a vivid pictures of scenes as she writes them, I'm a bit of a prude when it comes to things related to sex and I wasn't sure how I felt about the main character "Max" (based on Terry Dobson) and his sexual encounters. I can read chick-lit all day long and it doesn't much bother me, but when it's based on an actual person, a person of stature in the martial arts community? I guess I just like to think of highly ranked martial artists with their clothes on.
If you're looking for a glorified portrayal of a martial arts master though, you won't find it here. This book is a very honest look at "Max," his insecurities, his struggles, his mistakes and his demise as he suffers from serious health issues that eventually take his life before his family is really ready to let him go.
There are some accounts, based on recordings of Terry Dobson, about his time training in Japan as the low man on the dojo totem pole, and how he stuck it out regardless of how inhumanely he was treated at times, because he thought eventually he would learn something, really seesomething and come away being a better person and having a deeper understanding of Aikido techniques and something more meaningful as well.
One thing you do get from this book is what seems to be a very honest portrayal of a real person, not some glorified martial artist who does no wrong. Some of the things that "Max" experiences in the novel make you cringe with embarrassment for him, like how his real life master in Japan, uses him as nothing more than a big oaf to attack him and awe an attentive audience with how a small man can take down a much larger American.
I guess when I started reading this book, I expected to be in awe of "Max" and his overall character. But when all is said and done, despite his worst flaws, he still dies being a much-admired Aikido master who has touched the lives of many. This much is true-you can read this about him in many places on the internet.
As you can clearly find on the home page of Terry Dobson's web-page:
"I consider myself a technician. I'm not a guru. I'm not a leader. I have no followers. I want none. I'm a technician. I'm like a mechanic.
I wish you would see me as not a spiritual leader, but rather as a transmission specialist of a sort. I'm working on the transmission of ki, of intention. I'm heir to a legacy that comes down from many generations of Japanese warriors regarding point, or presence, about being centered under fire. I'm not the repository for the entire sum of knowledge on the subject, but I have been close to some good teachers and I do know something about it."
If you are interested in purchasing the book, you can do so through The BBM Review store.
BBM gives An Obese White Gentleman in No Apparent Distress. . .
Memorial Day Giveaway
It's that time of year, when families pack up their kids for vacation and endure hours of the seemingly endless question "Are we there yet?"
The BBM Review is here to rescue you from that question with a giveaway opportunity for a Trip Flix DVD. To read the review of Trip Flix, click here.
One lucky winner will actually get some peace and quiet while traveling this summer. The winner will be chosen on Monday, May 25th. All you have to do to enter? Leave a comment below. Write about the giveaway and link back on your blog and get an additional two entries. The winner will be chosen in a random drawing.
Good luck!
Winners Announced
Choosing winners for the Romano Macaroni Grill's gift set was difficult. So I enlisted some help from TKDaughter and we just made our choices.
The winners are as follows:
Katharine
and Porsche Nut.
When we hear stories about teachers, we completely get how exhausting it is to come home after a day of teaching and get a decent meal on the table. And Amanda, sippy cups on the table/drying rack. We've been there.
Please send me an email at black-belt-mama at hotmail dot com with your mailing address and we'll get your meal rescue gift sets on the way!
Congratuations!!!
We have more giveaways coming soon! Stay tuned!!!
Smail Honda Village-Honda Accord
Buying a new car is usually one big pain in the you-know-what. Our local dealer should stop being called a "dealer" because they offer no deals to speak of. We ended up searching out quotes on the internet and it was amazing, the disparity of service and treatment that we found.
Some "internet managers" sent us messages that looked like this:
"i would like to hep u in yer serch to find a car. lemme know what i can du for u."
Some in charge of internet sales responded like this:
"I WOULD BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU IN YOUR SEARCH FOR A HONDA ACCORD SO PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU ARE COMING IN THANK YOU"
For being in charge of internet sales, one would think that people would know how to spell and that typing entire messages with caps lock on means you're screaming at me.
Then we began dealing with Smail Honda Village and a young sales man by the name of Mike. Professional and courteous doesn't even begin to describe how wonderful this guy treated us. Not only that, but he beat every other quote we had when it came to purchasing our new car. When one dealer beat him on price, he bent over backwards and knocked even more money off our car price.
We were headed out to visit my husband's family in western PA anyway, so it only seemed to make sense to buy our Honda Accord from Mike at Smail Honda. When we arrived at the dealership with our trade in, there were no surprises. We got what we were promised on our trade in, were given no funny business on the price of the new car, and had a very pleasant purchasing experience.
If you are looking for a new Honda, and are in the Greensburg PA area, or if you don't mind traveling to the area, I strongly recommend you contact Mike Pomaibo, Internet Director at Smail Honda Village, located on Route 30 East. There was no haggling, no broken promises, and we actually had a pleasant experience with someone who seemed like anything but your stereo-typical car sales man. Because Mike is the internet director, you can reach him, as we did, via email at mikep at smailhondacars dot com. If you mention "Black Belt Mama" or this blog, he's promised to give you extra VIP consideration in the form of a great deal on your new Honda.
I don't often write up service oriented reviews, but I couldn't not write up this experience. BBM gives Smail Honda Village and their internet director, for the high level of service, for no hidden agenda's. . .
Getting Rave Reviews
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