I have just received a copy of the Ballas Hough Band CD to review and I want to share with you my thoughts and opinions about it.

This is actually the first time I've sat down and listened to more than a couple of their songs. I really loved Do It For You - so I was keen to see what the rest of the album would be like.

Some of you may well be very familiar with the band or at least band members Mark Ballas and Derek Hough from the hit TV show DANCING WITH THE STARS!

In season 6 Ballas WON the competition when partnered with Kristi Yamaguchi and in season 7 Hough WON the competition when partnered with Brooke Burke! If you haven't seen them , you really need to check them out - they are incredibly talented dancers.

"Ballas Hough Band" (BHB), formerly known as "Almost Amy," was formed in 2005 in London, England and in 2008 moved to the US, where they were signed to a record deal with Hollywood Records.

The band is comprised of five members:

    * Mark Ballas (Lead Vocals and Guitar)
    * Derek Hough (Lead Vocals and Guitar)
    * Sam Marder (Bass Guitar)
    * Harry Sullivan (Drums)
    * Emily Grace (Keyboards, Vocals, Flute, and Saxophone)

The album is available on Amazon  for $11.99 with free super saver shipping.

Track Listing

1/ Do You Love Me - hip shaking salsa feel. Great to move to! This will surely be released as a single. Check it out if you haven't heard it yet!

2/ Devastated - very Ricky Martin / boy band catchy You'll be singing the "ah-oo-oo-ah-ah" part long after the song finishes playing.

3/ Closer - Slower start here, contemplative mood to start then it fires up. Despite the mod, still a positive tone.

4/ She Was The One - This one is like a seductive mystery. The lyrics are covered by the music like a glove - so smooth. The music is like a dance. Songs like these make you see the professional dancer in these musicians.

5/ Longing For - I think I prefer the faster songs. This is another mellow tune. It does pick up for the chorus, but not enough to strike me as memorable. Very sweet song though

6/ Birthday - This one immediately reminds me again of sharp, Flamenco style dancing. So beautifully punctuated by the music. This one is a little reminiscent of Michael Jackson to me - which is a good thing!

7/ Fall - A bit too electronica for me this one - it overwhelms the lyrics here.

8/ Do It For You - Love this one from the first second - lovely harmony. It's obvious why this was the first single released. I love the girls voice, wish she featured a little more. Flick on your lighter and sway with me in the moonlight! Co-written by new American Idol judge Kara Dioguardi.

9/ Break Through - Another boy band type song - I prefer the latin feel ones over this tune.

10/ Together Faraway - "Doop-n-da-da!" Love these catchy little parts! Unfortunatley it's not quite enough in this song to maintain my interest.

11/ Underwater - Another slow contemplative song. They have an amazing knack for slow, thoughtful songs that sound like they should be melancholy, but they end up being inspirational. However this one is kinda depressing, which is good. Get ready to go cry in the corner.

Check the band's website out HERE

Thanks to my fave networking ladies at ONE2ONENETWORK.COM I have an AWESOME prize pack to give away!

Fess up - who else is actually dying to see this movie?

The whole dating thing is behind me, but I enjoy being reminded of the trials and tribulations I have left behind (insert evil laugh!)

The soundtrack for the movie is really interesting! There are a few oldies, a few newies, a few covers and a few unexpected surprises!

The soundtrack is available NOW for $11.99 from Amazon - have a sneak listen right HERE

You can WIN your very own copy of the sound track PLUS this way cool hoodie!

RULES:
* Contest begins February 3rd and ends Wednesay, February 25th at 11:59pm EST

* Every correct answer will be considered an entry in the draw. You may only answer each question one time.

* ONE winner will be selected at random from all eligible entries.

* Winner receives one soundtrack CD from the movie He's Just Not That Into You, PLUS a hoodie shirt

* Open to US residents only, over the age of 18.

HOW TO ENTER:
* PM ME YOUR ANSWERS! (Just click on my name up top there, then click Send Sandi a Personal Message. Answer as many of my puzzle questions as you like - each correct answer gets you an entry in the draw up to a maximum of 8 entries per person!

* You must indicate the question number along with each answer.

* HINT! - All of the answers relate to the movie soundtrack - list BOTH the artist and the song title!

QUESTIONS:
1. #1 candy heart!

2. Don't frown!

3. Monday I just fall apart

4. First hello

5. He's not by Kate Hudson's side anymore

6. A song deficient in worldly wisdom

7. Uncle Tupelo

8. Warwickshire, 1984

I started this a while back, sometime last year but I think I have a better source for these "free music downloads." These are mostly discover artists. I suggest getting the free download because maybe you will like the song. I find a lot of good music that way... Anyway, these will probably be bi-monthly or monthly downloads. I'll post the expiration date of the song download and will add "[EXPIRED]" to the post... Here's the first download...

The Script are a three-piece Irish pop rock band from Dublin, Ireland. They are currently based in London after signing to RCA Label Group imprint Phonogenic, and their multi-platinum selling debut album The Script was released in August 2008. The band members are Danny O'Donoghue (lead vocals and keyboard), Mark Sheehan (guitar and vocals) and Glen Power (drums and vocals).

Their debut, self-titled album will release in the US on March 17th! 

The single you get to download right here is "The Man Who Can't Be Moved," a very catchy tune...

If you would like to download this song, shoot me an email to zach@steeplemedia.com and the song will be yours to keep forever, for free. Who can't beat free in this economy?

This download expires Wednesday March 11, 2009 at 12:01 AM ET.

Well the Tombola event is officially over - and I only managed to give away 16/50 prizes!

Here is the full prize list and winners!

I will be mailing prizes out shortly!

 I hope you like this challenge!

All you have to do is open the gift with the  STAR in it to win!

Only one box has a star - the rest are empty.

Let's try and get a few more people in on this one.

You can guess as many times as you like BUT there must be at least TWO ONE other guesses between your guesses. So you must wait for 1 other person to guess before you can guess again.

Tell me which box you want by using co-ordinates A - G and 1 - 6

eg you might pick A1.

Once a box has been chosen it cannot be chosen again.

Well look who stumbled back into the blogging world! I've been busy!! Recently finished with final exams and just needed a week or so to breathe. Don't count on a post on Christmas but I will try. 

Here's what else I've been working on. I started an online radio station! It's very fun because I see a lot of potential with this thing. You can access it at www.z-toc.com/radio.htm And there are NO COMMERCIALS! The only breaks I take on there are for the News and The Dish on the hour. Now, that's only like 5 minutes so I really maximized the amount of music time on that.

Also, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I normally host an hour long radio show, but I'm waiting for my microphone to get here... (See the site for more details). Also! I am working on a "Frequent Listener Program"! So you will be able to earn points to enter in raffles and such. Keep your eyes peeled for that! 

Ok ok, enough about that, if you care to learn any more, a ton more info is available on the site itself. 

What do we got goin on here? 

New segment! Called the "Download of the Week" which will normally be a popular song such as this week's song: Kanye West - Love Lockdown

How do you download the song? Well, I'm glad you asked! If you are interested, send an email to zach@steeplemedia.com  with the subject "Download Of The Week" and you can throw the song title in the body of the email. I will reply with the download attached. 

This song expires on 12/24/08 at 11:59:59 PM ET. I hope you enjoy!

The winner of this challenge will be the person who can first list the greatest number of answers.

So if you think of 10 answers and post first, then no-one thinks of 11, you will win.

Challenge will be open until 9pm EST on Thursday, Dec 18, 2008.

Name as many icons as you can that give gifts of some sort to children on a special day! 

Please identify country of origin also if you can.

Must be legitimate names! Can be from any religion or country!

e.g. Santa Claus could be one, Easter Bunny could be another. 

You CANNOT go back and edit an earlier post by adding extra names. You will need to do a whole new post as you think of new names to add.

Bah! Ok, obviously my previous idea was a flop - so I'm changing it.

I'm thinking of a holiday food. I found a recipe for it on allrecipes.com

First person to guess what it is I want to make (no, not Brandy Snaps!) wins ticket 11!

Rules

1. Each day I will let you know one more ingredient in this recipe. Once all of the ingredients have been listed I will then begin to list the method step by step until someone guesses correctly what it is I want to make.

2. You can guess whenever you like BUT you cannot make two guesses in a row. Someone else must guess in between.

Ready?

Mom's Best Peanut Brittle!

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup peanuts
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

DIRECTIONS

1. Grease a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
2. In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, over medium heat, bring to a boil sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peanuts. Set candy thermometer in place, and continue cooking. Stir frequently until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads.
3. Remove from heat; immediately stir in butter or margarine and baking soda; pour at once onto cookie sheet. With 2 forks, lift and pull peanut mixture into rectangle about 14x12 inches; cool. Snap candy into pieces.

 Holiday Cookie Bake Off!

Thanks to j15bell for this fun idea.

Tombola Ticket #11 is up for grabs if you can predict what everyone's favorite holiday cookie is!

I will moderate answers so they won't post until challenge is over.

You will submit the name of what you believe the MOST people will say is their favorite holiday cookie.

Whoever picks the most popular choice will go in a random draw for ticket #11. If only one person picks the most popular, that person will win.

If there are no potential winners, all submissions will go in random draw for the ticket.

ONE ENTRY PER PERSON If more than one entry is submitted, you last entry will be considered your final entry.

Entries close at 9pm EST on Tuesday, December 16th.

Recipe not required, but welcome!

Ok. I'm going with Brandy Snaps! But that's kinda regional ;)

Brandy Snaps

• PREP TIME: 30 mins
• COOK TIME: 5 mins
• SERVES: 24
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 It's a song-go-round!

I have randomly selected a number between 100 and 200.

That number will be the winning word number! E.g. if my number is 100, then whoever writes the 100th word will win this ticket.

 Rules!

1. You cannot make 2 comments in a row. There must be at least 1 comment in between your comments.

2. Only words with 3 or more letters, and words that can be found iin the dictionary count towards the word count.

(You are welcome to use 1 & 2 letter words and words not in dictionary like woooooooo BUT they will not count in word count for lucky word number)

3. This is a SONG so please make an effort to include a lyrical aspect.

Contest will be over when 200 words are reached or when no one has commented for 48 hours. If that is the case, the ticket will be a random draw amongst all entries. One comment = 1 entry for random draws.

Here is the first line of the song! (yes, these 5 words count in the word count)

Today, things are gonna change

Here is a musical challenge for you - no musical knowledge required but it may help!

Have a look at the BILLBOARD CHARTS

You will see the top 40 Mainstream US singles for the current week.

Your challenge for this ticket is to guess which song will be in the number 1 spot next Monday (currently it is Katy Perry: Hot N Cold)

Whoever is closest wins. If there is a tie, there will be a random draw between ties.

You must be closest to number 1 to win.

Guess whenever you like. Your LAST guess before deadline counts as your entry.

Guess by Friday night, 11:59pm EST 12/5/08). Winner will be determined on Monday, according to Monday (12/8/08) chart.

Congratulations to the winner of lucky ticket #4 in the Tombola!

The winner is........ FLUFFY COW!!

An announcement before the next challenge - I have switched one of the prizes. The Philly coupons expire Dec 31st so I have switched that prize with a coupon for a free bottle of Jack Daniels BBQ sauce worth $2.19.

Ticket #7 is next up for grabs.

Remember, you can purchase tickets anytime for $2 by emailing sandi@steeplemedia.net for details.

Otherwise you will have to work for your tickets!!!

Here's what you will need to do to be the lucky winner of Ticket #7.

Think of a number between 1 and 20.

POST your guess in comments below. I have set blog to not post until I ok the comments. At 9pm EST Dec 3rd, the comments will be posted and whoever guessed the LOWEST number nobody else guessed, will win the ticket!

Have fun and good luck!

I will keep this one simple!

Tell me in the comments below something you are THANKFUL for - or as many things as you like - but this will be ONE ENTRY per person, and will be a RANDOM draw from all entries.

I will leave this open for a couple of days so that the turkey can settle and your brain is working again :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

 First up, the winner of ticket #2 was randomly drawn from all entries in the photo caption challenge and the winner is...

 SOCCER REF!

So far

Ticket #1 - j15bell

Ticket #2 - Soccer Ref

Who will own ticket #3?

I am about to press shuffle on my ipod - the very first song that plays will be the MYSTERY SONG.

Whoever guesses the mystery song first, will win ticket #3!

You can ask me any question but I will only answer YES or NO

You can guess whenever you like, as many times as you like.

All questions must be posted on this blog. Questions on forum or questions emailled will likely be ignored.

Ready? SHUFFLE!

No one won this yesterday so here is your next challenge.

In the comments below, add your own caption for this photo.

A winner will be RANDOMLY chosen from everyone who enters.

This stage will probably be open until Monday evening, so you have time to think up some good ones!

You can enter as many times as you like - each caption will count as one entry.

Have fun! Thanks j15bell for this challenge idea :)