1 Size Doesn't Fit All

Elf on the Shelf Ideas

2011-12-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

Having a hard time trying to find a name for your new elf? Try this website, it gives your new elf a first and last name!

Having a hard time trying to figure out what mischief for your elf to get in? Read more...

I wrote this post with a whole lot of ideas I had found around the web as long as thought of with my husband.

But, I received an email from a woman who runs a blog that has some of the same ideas I wrote here. She claims I stole her ideas. So, I have deleted all the ideas.

I do not need another blogger thinking I stole their posts because I might come up with the same ideas as them.

What you can do, which is what I did, is google Elf on the Shelf ideas.

I hope you have fun with your elf as much as we do!

Elf on the Shelf

2011-12-05T13:00:00.000-05:00

Box the Elf anf Book come in

The Elf On The Shelf - The site is inspired by one family’s tradition of keeping a little toy elf on their shelf who would watch over the children and report back to Santa if the kids were to be put on the Naughty or the Nice list! (Clever idea, huh?!?) While visiting the site you can buy the Elf on the shelf book (including the toy elf!), You can register the name of your child’s toy elf at the north pole as well as do some FREE stuff such as: play games, print holiday coloring pages, find fun recipes for reindeer snacks and so much more!

I have been reading about the Elf on the Shelf for the past year. One of my favorite bloggers, Carlos Whittaker, made me laugh at his story last year and envy him for having the elf.

My husband's aunt surprised us by buying an elf for our family from Barnes and Noble. I was so happy and started thinking about all the fun and mischevious activities our elf would get into this year.

Our "brown" elf

The book

The children were as excited as I was about getting our own elf this year. We named him Zippy Sugar-Socks, or Zip for short.

This is such a great tradition and I recommend it to everyone. Not only is it fun for the children to find the elf in the morning and see what he/she is up to, but it is also fun for the parents to think of ideas on what the elf can do the next night!

Getting Ready For New Christmas Stuff

2011-12-04T13:00:00.000-05:00

I don't know about your house, but at my house we already have way too much stuff and then, Bam! we're hit by dozens of new possessions every December 25th and never a place to put them.

This year I planned ahead. I brutally chose some areas where we have lots of stuff stored, but not used and got rid of the excess. Closets and drawers of clothes, and toys topped my list of places to reduce. I paid particular attention to the toys that my littlest ones continually dump out, but don't actually play with. Those went first. In fact anything that I notice is becoming a continual problem, I spend extra time deciding what to do with. Some of them get put away only to be brought out with permission, like the board games. Others are removed permanently from the house, like the building blocks that get spread, but not built with while some are just rearranged to a more convenient (i.e. out of reach of people under four feet) spots in the house.

I had to be very honest with myself about whether it was something I actually used or if I was holding onto it in case I might need it someday. Then I had to sneakily remove it from our house and donate it. My husband gets heartburn over giving anything away, so he couldn't be involved and certainly not the children so this was a one woman job from conception through execution. . . a sort of cradle to grave plan for slimming down the household.

I feel like I've got things under control going into Christmas and now hopefully it won't be so tough to find homes for all the new clothes, toys and other stuff we give one another for Christmas.

Strawllers Giveaway

2011-12-04T12:13:00.001-05:00

WINNER drawn by www.random.org is ...... #3.

Congratulations! Please contact me with your mailing address.

We are giving away three, yes, THREE packs of 8" Pink Strawllers (3/8" diameter). That's 72 Strawllers total!

How to enter:

"Like" 1 Size Doesn't Fit All on Facebook (1 entry)
Follow the blog via Google Friend Connect (1 entry)
Share this giveaway on Facebook; @1 size doesnt fit all is giving away @Strawllers products! (can be done daily for 1 entry a day)

Please go visit my favorite hair blog, Beads Braids and Beyond, to see her great review on Strawllers.

That's it! Pretty simple, right? Please leave *ONE* comment below to let me know when you do each one of the above. You will need to purchase bobbypins to use Strawllers. You can buy them at the dollar store for around $1.50.

This Giveaway runs from December 4 - December 20. The last day to enter is December 20th by midnight! A will draw the winners name out of a hat on camera.

Budget Date Nights

2011-12-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

We all know to say "I love you" often. And we know we should spend time together. But when you've got a house full of kids, little money, and less time what do you do?

You keep a few easy, little planning required dates up your sleeve to pull out once a week.
Here are some ideas:

Get a movie from the library or video store and watch it after the kids are in bed. Make a tasty dinner or dessert (or both) to have during your movie. Cook something the kids won't eat (or don't deserve, like steak).
Go do something athletic, like swimming at the pool, running, playing tennis, the driving range, or whatever you enjoy.
Go window shopping at the mall.
Take a walk in a beautiful place, like a park or a pretty neighborhood.
Take a picnic to a beach or a state park.
Go see the tourist sites near you. Usually we take our kids these places, but wouldn't it be so nice to go without kids for once?
Go to a play or musical production put on by a university or college near you. Often these performances are free or very inexpensive.
Cook something together then eat it.
Go lay out in the backyard wrapped up in blankets and look at the stars.
Go out just to get dessert. A whole meal can be expensive, but dessert is more doable. Linger for as long as you like.
Play card games or board games together or with another couple. Don't forget the snacks.
Go sledding together. Bring hot drinks or visit a restaurant for hot cocoa afterward.

These are just a few ideas to get your brain thinking of nurturing the most important relationship you can ever have.

Life Application Study Bible Devotional Review

2011-12-03T11:22:00.001-05:00

I have to admit that I was very excited to be receiving acopy of the Life Application Study Bible Devotional to review. I have always heard great things about the Life Application Bibles, Books, and more. The Life Application Study BibleDevotional completely lived up the the high expectations I had.

The Life Application Study Bible Devotional is organizedinto 52 weeks with a central theme for each week. Each theme is based on anevent from Jesus' life, beginning with the announcement of his birth and endingwith his final instructions. As you read each week, you'll find five dailydevotionals and one weekend devotional. The page layout is well organized- witha scripture verse to read, an instructional note about talking to God, andquestions for journal entry.

My personal opinion of this devotional was that it is agreat daily resource for those of us who desire a closer, more intimate look at Jesus. It offers up thought provoking questions that helped meunderstand the bigger picture, and how what I am reading and learning about Jesus's life can be used to improve my own life. I really loved everything about thisdevotional, from the format to the easy to read Bible passages, to the lengthof the devotionals. This would make a great gift for a loved one, or a greattool for personal spiritual growth. I would recommend it to anyone wanting toknow Jesus better.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this bookfree from Tyndale Books as part of their blogger review program . I was notrequired to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR,Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials inAdvertising."

Record Keeping

2011-12-02T13:00:00.000-05:00

There are some essential records you should have organized and ready to go. A copy of them should be in your file, or even better in a specific notebook dedicated to your most important papers. A second copy of these papers should be kept in a trusted friend or family members home or in a safe deposit box or on file at your attorney's office. Your spouse should know the location of these documents and also at least one other trusted friend or family member, probably the person you would choose to be the executor of your estate.

Items to keep in a safe deposit box or your lawyers office:

A general power of attorney for your spouse, which will allow your spouse to make financial transactions in your name, the specifics of which will be spelled out in the power of attorney, should you become incapacitated. (both spouses would prepare one for the other). To be legal it must be notarized and signed by witnesses. Be very careful who you entrust with this power, the transactions they make in your name will be legally binding upon you.
A will signed by you in the presence of witnesses, include the name of the person you designate as the guardian of your children and the person you would have to be your executor.
A living will

Information to keep in duplicate notebooks, one in your home and one in the home of a very trusted friend:

Vital statistics sheet with information about names, birth dates, birthplaces, social security numbers, parents names, and birthplaces for all the members of your family.
Emergency Contact Sheet
Personal Medical history of each family member. Pay special attention to listing any medications or allergies, include where shot records can be found
Sheet explaining the location of your legal documents, should they be needed. Don't forget marriage and birth certificates, social security cards and military papers as well as your power of attorney, will and living will.
A sheet explaining your will concerning your surviving minor children should you die or be incapacitated. Who will be their guardians. (this is also part of your will)
A sheet describing your household financial obligations, to whom do you owe money every month and in what amounts. How are the payments made? When are they due? In case you are incapacitated and someone else must take over your household business they will need to know these things or you could face serious consequences including the loss of your home, large fines, and so on.
The locations of utilities in your home and how to shut them off, the utility companies information, a recommended real estate agent should someone else need to sell your home, upon your death for example, the location of spare keys (one set should be kept with the duplicate notebook), important computer passwords so your financial information and so forth can be accessed by a spouse or executor in case of your incapacity or death.
Information on your pets and how to care for them.
Important information on any of your children that a person unfamiliar would need to know should they suddenly become the guardian of your child.
Your desires for your funeral, if any.

None of this stuff is much fun, but it's not expensive to arrange and not really too difficult. For most people's estate a computer program that generates these legal documents is adequate. It's really tempting to put off, but especially if you have kids, don't.

Minor Emergency

2011-12-01T18:43:00.000-05:00

My two-year-old daughter had a minor emergency a couple of days ago. She was playing with her brother on their sister's bed (she was at her nana's house), the top bunk bed, and what happened next is anyone's guess. If you ask my son he says "she fell or jumped off the bed". If you her, she says "Elliott pushed me off the bed".
I was downstairs talking to my husband. We both heard a "thud" and then crying. We ran up the stairs to see my daughter crying, laying on the floor, and blood coming out of both of her nostrils.

I began to scold my son, thinking he pushed her off the bed. Then, I stopped myself and apologized to him. I asked him what had ahppened, and I got his reply. I asked my daughter, and she told me her reply.

We took Frankie (the two-year-old) downstairs where she vomited. We think she vomited because she was crying and had herself worked up. We got her cleaned off and calmed down and looked at her face again. I have never seen blood coming out of both the nostrils at once that would not stop, not that I have vast experience, but it was bad.

I took her to the emergency room, nowhere else being open after hours and the doctor told us she did not break anything. (Thank God) She has a couple of bruises on her face and she would complain of her nose hurting, but she refused any medicine for it. We had to take her to the doctor the next day, and they confirmed that she did not break her nose, had no swelling, and no bruising, and that she would be fine. She's okay now though and no permanent damage done.

You know how you say, I would take the pain over my children anyday? Well, I did! On my way up the stairs to find out what the screaming and crying was all about I broke my pinkie toe.

Organizing Your Family

2011-12-01T13:00:00.000-05:00

A mom or dad or both, have a busy schedule with meetings, appointments, work, school, play groups, and to-do lists galore. Life will be more peaceful and more stress free if you can organize all these appointments.

To organize your families life you need some basic tools. First a calendar. This can be kept on a computer, a wall, or in a planner. I keep mine on the computer, which I can use on my iphone and share with my husband and my mother. I also write the current weeks major items on a wall calendar on my kitchen cabinet. Write down what everyone is doing and at what time. Jot down items needed for the appointment or other details. Color coding can be helpful if you have lots of kids or lots of appointments or both. Include things like time for exercise and dates with your spouse as well. Those things should be considered not optional and should not be canceled, barring a major mishap.

The second thing you need is a place to write down needed groceries or household items. I keep mine in an app on my iphone so I can read my list more easily at the store, which I have copied from my running list I keep all month, stuck to the fridge. The list keeps me from worrying that I've forgotten something and keeps me from having to spend a great deal of time riffling through my fridge and cupboards to see what we're low on.

It may seem at first as though all this organizing takes too much work, but the piece of mind it brings is worth it. You no longer have try to keep all those dates and items in your head. You forget appointments and responsibilities less often and you know right away if you are available for further duties. It's wonderful to say to someone with confidence, "I can't, I've got an appointment at that time, but perhaps we can do it . . . "

Treat your schedule like it's as important as the CEO's and people will respect you more for it.

Parenting Experts

2011-11-30T13:00:00.000-05:00

I recently have been researching potty-training boys, getting children off the bottle and sippy cup, as well as other "tasks" I need to have my family accomplish and ran into many authors claiming to be "experts"...and now I need to vent. Be warned...

The glut of parenting "experts" irritate me to no end. At the beginning of my parenting journey I paid some attention to them, but it didn't take me long to reject their "advice" which often reaches a fever pitch of social pressure to conform.

I hate parenting magazines, those spreaders of dubious conventional wisdom, those would-be trend setters, those holier-than-thou receptacles of parental perfection.

I don't believe in parenting experts. Experts in any field are incredibly rare, but experts in social science fields, those that study human behavior, are non-existent. This is so because humans are such complex and unpredictable creatures. If people always behaved logically it would be possible to study, analyze and come to conclusions. People are far more emotional than logical, however. Even people who cultivate their powers of logic and pride themselves on being unemotional decision makers are still creatures of emotion.

As for parenting experts, their case is laughable. First parents are told to lay their children on their stomachs to sleep, then it's the back only, then the side is best . . . the penalty for non-compliance is the death of the child.

At one time parents were encouraged to be strict and to use corporal punishments when necessary, then any parent who would think of hitting a child, even a swat on the backside, is considered horrible and lawmakers contemplate legislation making spanking a crime.

Parents are told that kids must not watch TV, then told that without the aid of computers a child cannot learn. The proper way to teach a child to read has flip flopped dramatically over the years. The case for affection toward children has evolved more rapidly than the proverbial common moth. We're supposed to shelter them , then it's, no teach them to be tough in a tough world. First, kids must listen to classical music to be intelligent, then we're told that all that doesn't really matter. First it's indecent to allow a little girl to experiment with make-up, then we're told it's an important part of growing up. What's a harassed parent supposed to think?

How about a little common sense. It'll help a lot if parents just stop listening to the experts and start using their own powers of deduction. Every parent is different, unique in personality and approach. Every kid is different as well. There is no universally correct method to raising a child.

That's not to say that one should never listen to others advice about parenting. My mother has given me valuable advice, I have bounced ideas off of friends, and I have read parenting books and gleaned valuable knowledge. However, I never consider any earthly source a perfect infallible receptacle of wisdom. I take it all with a grain of salt and implement the things that work for me in my own home, while rejecting the rest.

Six Ways To Help Your Blogging Friends

2011-11-29T17:24:00.001-05:00

As a blogger, I have joined several blogging communities to get the word out there about my blog, to show that I like other's blogs, to meet other bloggers, and to discover new blogs. If you are a blogger, you might have done the same. Some of these communities are; Google Friend Connect, Facebook Pages, Twitter, Myspace, Networked Blogs, and Blog Frog. I am sure there are more out there, but these are all I have had the time to find. If you know of any more, please leave a comment, I would love to join them, and I am sure I have readers who would love to join them as well.

As a community of bloggers, we want other bloggers in our communities to succeed, but what can we do to help our sister bloggers? Here are six tips to make our communities stronger.

1. Visit their blogs regularly. I keep a list of about twenty blogs I visit each day, and a similar number that I visit on a weekly basis. I also keep more than a hundred blogs in a site reader tool so that I can follow their posts as well, but I view them as more of an “extended family;” I only visit their site (and give them ad views) if their post really interests me.

2. Be aware of new blogs in the community, and give them a shot. I’m regularly introduced to new sites on these and sometimes find neat posts from people I haven’t read in a while.

3. Comment on posts. If you see an interesting post, don’t hesitate to add a comment to that post. Not only are you starting a potentially interesting conversation, you’re saving a good blog from the dreaded “0 comments on every post? No one must read this awful site” syndrome.

4.. Link to posts you really like there in your own blog. If you see a writing in a blog that you really like, don’t hesitate to link to it, particularly if you can contribute a good deal of additional thought to it. Not only are you coming up with a solid post for your own blog, you’re driving some attention to a neighbor who will appreciate it. The key, though, is quality – don’t just link to someone because you can, link because what they did was good and you can add something to it.

5. Add a permanent link to their blog on your own blog. If a blog consistently posts things you find valuable, add them to your site as a permanent link. But don’t add too many – a list of twenty links might be investigated, but a list of hundreds might not. Also, don’t sweat it if they don’t reciprocate with a permanent link; although it’s a nice touch, it might be the case that they’re trying to advertise blogs they like and they’re not as familiar with your blog as with others.

6. Be stingy. Don’t link to everything that a single blogger writes, just link to the posts that really make you think or inspire you. This way, you are simply showing your readers the good stuff (which you are, of course). I used to read a blog quite regularly that turned into a “suck-up fest” for another blog… eventually, I just started reading the other blog and didn't bother with the first.

Take the initiative and visit some blogs in your community today!

Eden Fantasys Holiday Shopping

2011-11-20T15:51:00.001-05:00

I had so much fun blogging about this last time, I'm doing it again!

When I reviewed Eden Fantasys last time, I got some great sex toys for my husband and I to share.

Eden Fantasys has such great selections and customer service, that I am going to shop their for my husband and myself for the upcoming holiday.

I know my husband and I both enjoyed what we received last time and know we will both enjoy the products we order this time.

I am so excited to share with you the new products Eden Fantasys has to offer. I received an email the other week and was so happy to hear they are now selling Bath and Body Products, Makeup, Holiday Outfits, and Club Wear!

I love a lot of the items I see on Eden Fantasys, but here are a few I am looking into buying for my husband and myself for Christmas.

I like Fantasy body finger paints. Just because we are older, does not mean we do not like to finger paint. What other way to explore your significant other's body and have fun while doing it. The flavors are even edible! You get four flavors; apple, blueberry, cherry, and strawberry.

Why I would like to buy it;

I would love to be able to run my fingers all over my husband's body while having fun finger painting. When I am done, I can then run my tongue all over his body to enjoy a sweet taste in my mouth of my favorite flavor! I also can not wait to have him enjoy the finger paints on my body.

I am also interested in the Red Maid Corset. Who doesn't like to play dress up for their man once in awhile? The available sizes are; small, medium, and large.

Why I would like to buy it;

I would love to be able to show my husband how sexy I am and how much fun we can have role-playing. Once you have kids, the fun in your sex life sometimes goes down hill. Wearing this costume and showing him I can clean anything he would like me to clean for me, would make our sex life have a spark back in it again!

As you can see, EdenFantasys has a variety of new items to choose from for couples. If you are looking for a great place online to buy items for your husband and you, this is the place. I am not saying you and your husband should do this, it is up to you whether you and your husband like to shop at websites like EdenFantasys.

Disclosure:
EdenFantasys, an online retailer of sex toys, provided me with a gift card in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.

My Monster Burrufu

2011-11-08T09:19:00.001-05:00

My Monster Burrufu is a storybook about a young girl who finds more than just dust in the attic of her new home. By the way, did you know that monsters are good luck? Well, now you know.

This is an enchanting story about an outgoing, unique and friendly little girl who tries with all of her might to befriend a very reclusive monster, who just wants to be left alone in his lonely attic to write his stories and eat stolen chocolate chip cookies. The book is peppered with beautifully drawn black and white illustrations, and the dialogue is enhanced by increases and decreases in font size to indicate yelling and whispering tones. It's a sweet story that is fun to read, especially out loud in different voices!

This story has a very important central moral: don't judge someone by how they look; it's what's inside that counts. It's a kind of "don't judge a monster by his fur" type of moral, which is applicable to children and adults alike.

My Monster Burrufu was created by Alberto Corral, a character animator at Dreamworks Animation. He, like Burrufu, also loves dessert. Alberto told me, "I love movies and stories in any form. That passion took me to write a children's book."

My 7 year old daughter appreciated the moral of the story (it is geared toward the 8-12 age range), my 7 year old daughter and my 2 year old daughter loved hearing the story and looking at the pictures.... This is truly a tale that children and parents can all enjoy.

Farm Rich Cheese sticks

2011-11-07T09:31:00.000-05:00

My children and I love cheese sticks! When we are at a restaurant, if they offer cheese sticks as appetizers, we will most likely get them.

We have searched high and low looking for cheese sticks that can be made to taste like the cheese sticks we buy in the store.

Now...we finally found them with Farm Rich.

Description: You may remember tasting your first cheese stick when you were a kid, probably while sitting around a table with your parents at one of your favorite restaurants. Now, you can introduce the wonders of cheese sticks to your own kids at home. In the process, you might even develop some sort of a cheese stick bond with them.
- Made with 100% real mozzarella cheese 
- Breaded and seasoned to perfection
- Good source of calcium and protein 
- 0g trans fat per serving
- Comes in 10 oz snack pack & 52 oz value pack

I am so glad we found these, thanks to the nice people at Farm Rich for giving me a coupon for a free product. I have bought plenty more since, and plan on buying a ton more in the future.

Not only do these cheese sticks taste better than the restaurant ones, they are cheaper and offer more!

Hormel® Compleats® Kids microwave meals

2011-11-06T09:38:00.000-05:00

Between not having enough time to cook, tons of afterschool activities and pleasing picky eaters, sometimes getting kids the proper nutrition they need can be challenging. With back-to-school season upon us, it’s important to figure out ways to keep children full and energized with nutritious meals and physical activity!

Designed for children ages 3-8, Hormel® Compleats® Kids microwave meals heat up in 45 seconds and are available in four flavorful varieties. These meals offer great-tasting options that will please the pickiest eaters and provide nourishment you can feel good about. Hormel® Compleats® Kids microwave meals have no preservatives, artificial colors, high fructose corn syrup or trans-fat, contain three grams of fiber per serving and are a good source of protein, meeting the healthy food regulations established by the U.S.D.A.

The Hormel® Compleats® Kids website, www.compleatskids.com features a variety of physical activity ideas, a board game style chart to track daily physical activity and a certificate for kids who have committed to eating healthy and being active every day.

These are great for a family like mine. My husband and I have been so busy with school. To be able to pop one of these in the microwave for each of my children for dinner and to know they will get the best nutrients available, is wonderful!

Visit Hormel's website for coupons!

Bryton Pick

2011-10-02T11:51:00.002-04:00

I was given the opportunity to review a 3 pack of these reusable picks. I have gave myself enough time to see if these are really "reusable up to 30 days" as stated on the package.

I do not have braces, but I have tight teeth that I find hard to floss in between. These picks work wanders! They also can be used after the 30 days, even after using them twice a day, can you believe that?!

I am so thankful to have found picks that actually work for me.

Please go check out Bryton Pick's website where you can get more information on their product and see a cool video on how to use their product and how you can purchase them.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

What...When...

2011-10-01T13:00:00.000-04:00

Fall is here! Each time October hits I know it's time to go over my "Every 6 Months Checklist." Here are some things I do for my family every 6 months:

Change the batteries in our smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
Have my family practice our basic drills--What do we do if there's a fire? Who do you call in an emergency? Do we answer the door or ever tell people that parents aren't home? etc
Update our 72 hour kits with fresh food and water, bigger diapers (for growing baby!), and bigger changes of clothes for my kids.
Replace used items in our first aid kit and check medicine expiration dates.
Check and re-stock our emergency car kits.
Double check my food storage inventory to make sure it's updated and on track.
Flip evaporated milk cans, check expiration dates on food storage items, organize as needed.

At the same time, I usually do a really thorough fall cleaning of my house and shed (I have a whole cleaning checklist...I'm a little insane, but it works for me!) and take unnecessary clutter to the dump or donation center. It always seems like a lot of work, but the house feels so complete when I'm done. Everything is clean, organized, and orderly. The sense of accomplishment is worth all the work!

Rumble Zap Pow

2011-08-06T15:40:00.000-04:00

Rumble Zap Pow

Rumble! Zap! Pow! by Diane Short and Illustrated by Luke Daab is a sweet and fun little Bible that packs a quick punch in a short space. All the stories focus on ways that God proved himself mighty throughout the Bible and each story features a Mighty Thought (kind of like the theme), Power words (or key verse), and and activity to drive everything home.

I think this children's Bible is an ideal pick for little boys for a whole host of reasons! My son loved the comic book style. I think it keeps him actively involved, following all the different pictures around the page. All the comic book style action words really take the stories into "boy language" and speak straight to their little sound-effect sensibilities! And there is just the cutest little sheep super hero who introduces all the stories- so that appeals to both mom and boys!

I will say that it is pretty surface, as Children's Bibles tend to be, but if you are just looking for a good overview of Bible Stories that present them in such a way that your kids are sure to listen, then you will most definitely enjoy Rumble! Zap! Pow!

I received this book free from the publisher through the Tyndale Blog Network book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Where Will You Go from Here?

2011-08-06T15:30:00.000-04:00

Where will you go from here? By Valorie Burton

I do not feel this book is meant for Christians. I mean, it should not be categorized as Christian. This book does not seem to be Christian to me.

In the modern world where the term "Christian" has almost come to simply mean people who hang paintings on their walls with the word "faith" written in the sky, I have become very leery of just accepting the statement that something is "Christian". The reason why I find the book very NOT Christian is because with in the pages the reader can feel better about themselves and hopeful about God's future for them without any mention of Christ! This is a HUGE problem. There are a few problems which I will address in this review which sprout off of that, and maybe only one positive thing I see in the book, which is why I only rate it 2 out of 5 (and that very graciously).

One of the first problems I noticed with the book is the verses which she takes out of context. She takes verses which cannot be fully understood without a knowledge of Jesus, and continues to apply them throughout the text without any reference to Him.

With all of this said, if you pick this book up and are expecting great exhortations from the Word by someone who has been there, put it back down and pick up another one. If you are mature in your faith and want to read it out of curiosity, be careful, you may be able to glean a few accidental Biblical principles (which is the only positive), but don't expect a truly Christian worldview.

I received this book free from the publisher through the Waterbrook Multnomah book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

We Are Family Sofabed by Claus Molgaard

2011-08-04T14:01:00.000-04:00

My husband, like most dads, would love for our children to sleep with us until we all die. I, on the other hand, can not wait for the day I have my husband and my bed back to myself.

Since we had our first child in January 2004 we have had a child in bed with us. Our oldest daughter, Asha, slept in our bed until she was 3 1/2 years old, when her brother was born. Our son, Elliott, who came along in August 2007, slept in our bed until he was about 2 years old, when we moved to a new house in August 2009.

Elliott and Asha now share a room, where they have brand new bunk beds. Sometimes Asha and Elliott will sleep in their own bed, but most of the time they sleep in the same bed. Our youngest, Frankie was born in March 2009, she still sleeps in our bed. And I honestly have no idea when I will be able to get her out of my bed.

I have tried on occasion to get Frankie to sleep with her brother for nap time, which she will, but only once in awhile. I have yet to get her to sleep in the bunk beds with her brother and sister.

I came across this sofa-bed when I was looking around on the internet for new furniture last year. I have five people in my family; my husband, my three children and myself. This would be good for us, from my husband's perspective. We could have one bedroom, and everyone could sleep together.

This sofa-bed gives everyone their own bed, but lets everyone sleep together in the same room, giving the children and husband the illusion that everyone is sleeping in the same bed.

Of course, we did not get this sofa-bed. I did not show this to my husband last year, mainly because I did not want this sofa-bed, but also because I can not find where to buy it online or offline.

What are your thoughts on this sofa-bed? Is your husband like mine, would he love this idea or would he be totally against this? Are you like me, totally against this or would you be totally for this sofa-bed?

Should parents lose custody of super-obese kids?

2011-07-15T14:33:00.001-04:00

On Yahoo there was an article published with the exact same words. Take a look at the article and then come back here.

I am dealing with this issue as I type this. My oldest daughter, Asha, is seven years old and has been labeled as "obese". She does not look obese, she is not made up of one race either. My husband is half African-American, which leads her to have a "bigger" behind than most children her age.

I am not making excuses for her. She rarely exercised, ate whenever and whatever she wanted, never drank water, always drank milk, ate sweets, sat at the television for endless hours.

According to the Kids Health website I found online, it states my daughter is obese for her age and height and that she should weigh between 41 and 54 pounds.

I took action, I did not tell her she was fat or obese, I told her we needed to lose our "snack bellies" and started watching what she ate and having her do exercises right along with my husband when we started the #sexyback11 challenge. I am not being a drill sergeant or making her eat a certain amount of calories. I am having her go for bike rides and swimming. Occasionally, she will go running, walking, and do sit-ups, as well as play games on the Wii Active.

When we started she weighed 68 pounds. She now weighs 64.5 pounds, she has 11.5 more pounds to lose. She loves that she is getting rid of her "snack belly".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back to the article from Yahoo. Should parents lose custody of their obese children? I think, in my position, I am doing something about my daughter's weight. I am not sitting around watching and helping her become super-obese and then one day asking "what could I have done?".

I think the parents that let their children become obese, know their children are obese and do nothing about it, think their children will "grow out" of it, think it it "just a phase" should get their children taken from them and not given back once the children are healthy and have adopted healthy habits.

Example; My daughter has a friend that is in her grade. She is a little taller than my daughter, but she weighs over 100 pounds and wears junior size clothing. Her mother, who is a nurse, has been told her daughter is obese. What does this mother do? She shrugged it off, saying the doctor doesn't know what he is talking about.

What are your opinions?

Blair Candy

2011-07-12T10:56:00.002-04:00

Blair Candy approached me on Twitter offering me a chance to review their products.

I was happy to accept their offer. I have visited their store in the past, they are located in the same town as I am. Plus, they are so generous that at the Altoona Curve Baseball Games, Blair Candy gives the mascots free candy bars to throw out to the crowd! The children and adults love it!

I decided to review the Marshmallow Cones and Caramel Creams. I have always loved the cones, and they did not disappoint me. The cones had just the right amount of sugar on top and were so tasty, just like I remember as a child! The creams were for my husband and my oldest daughter. They loved them. The creams were just what my husband and daughter wanted.

I want to give a big thank you to Blair Candy and suggest that you visit them in person or online.

About Blair Candy (taken from their website);
Nobody knows candy like we do!!!
Blair Candy Company has been a family owned and operated business for over 71 years! Today the 3rd generation of the Dandrea family Pat- Terry- Pam- and Ron; own and operate the business. Blair Candy Company is located in Altoona Pennsylvania.
Blair Candy not only sells candy online; but is a full service wholesale and retail business selling Candy- Tobacco Products and Accessories- Paper Products- Party Supplies- Bar and Restaurant Supplies- Bingo- Games of Chance- and Fund raising Candy through out Pennsylvania.
Blair Candy serves both wholesale and retail customers. The candy products you see on our website are only a small portion of our thousands of items. If your favorite isn't here- call us or send an email because we'd be glad to help!

Let's get intimate

2011-07-11T19:38:00.004-04:00

This is something I do not usually talk about on this blog,but I have decided to open up and talk about it anyway!

My husband and I used to enjoy having sex with each otherbefore we had children. Then, the children came along, my husband startedworking full-time, and our sex life went downhill.

Now, if you are a married woman, you know that your husbandthinks and wants to have sex with you all the time. No matter what time of dayit is, how tired you both are, what you look like, etc.

But with women, we want to be beautiful, sexy, not tired,and enjoy ourselves when we have sex.

For some couples, like my husband and me, we like to bringtoys and such into our bedroom. I believe this is normal, as long as you bothwant to participate and you are married and enjoy it. We do not do it all thetime, just once in a while to spice things up.

I am not suggesting you and your husband or wife do this, it is not for every couple. I would just like to share my experiences.

I came across a really great site that I cannot wait toorder from called EdenFantasys.

I like The Housewives guide to: The Practical Striptease which has great reviews from six members, has five stars (voted for 18 times).

Why I would like to buy it;
I would love to learn how to do a striptease for my husband. I think my husband would like this too. Of course, I am not looking for anything like the women who work in strip clubs, just something sensual for my husband and I to enjoy on special occasions.

I like the 52 weeks of romance - adult game which has been voted in the Top 50 of Love Games, has four stars (voted for 32 times).

Why I would like to buy it;

I would love to be able to have great ideas for my husband and I that are romantic and keeps us "on our toes" or "on a schedule". That way we have no excuse for not being intimate with each other.

As you can see, EdenFantasys has a variety of intimate items to choose from for couples. If you are looking for a great place online to buy items for your husband and you, this is the place. Again, I am not saying you and your husband should do this, it is up to you whether you and your husband like to shop at websites like EdenFantasys.

Disclosure: I was provided with a gift card in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed here are 100% my own and were not edited in any way.

Couponing 101: Complete beginners start here!

2011-06-22T17:28:00.000-04:00

If you have absolutely no idea how to do this ‘coupon thing’, this is the place to start! You’ve already taken the first step: you’ve found 1sizedoesntfitall! There will be a LOT of constantly updated information here. Even experienced couponers can learn a thing or two!

This post is intended to give you the basic and not-so-basic tips to save a lot of money on groceries, cleaning supplies, and health&beauty products using coupons. So let’s get started!

What stores do you have in your area?

Make a list. It may be bigger than you think! Once you learn how to work the system, you may find yourself shopping at stores that you thought were “too expensive”, because they actually have better deals in the long run!

Familiarize yourself with their coupon policies. Ask at the customer service desk. Policies vary by store, chain and area of the country. Some stores that you thought do not take coupons actually do! Did you know that Dollar General takes coupons?

Double Coupons: The stores will double the face value of the coupon, meaning that your coupon is worth twice the face value. The best kind of grocery stores double coupons up to $1.00 (commonly known as Super Doubles). Many other stores double coupons up to $.50 or $.60. Some stores also have a limit as to how many of the same coupon they will double.
No Doubles: Your coupons will be accepted at face value only.
Triple Coupons: This is rare and only comes as a promotion in certain areas. The store will triple the value of your coupon up to a certain value. In this instance, a $.50 coupon would be worth $1.50!
Some stores will allow you to ‘stack’ their store coupons with your manufacturer coupons for even greater savings! Some of them are: CVS, Walgreen’s, Rite-Aid, Toys-R-Us, Target and some grocery stores. These store coupons can come from home mailers (get on the mailing lists!), store ads, flyers and the stores’ monthly magazines.
If the store has a loyalty card, get one. Or two. This is often the only way that you will get the sale prices.
Certain stores will accept competitor's coupons for everything from FREE gift cards with a prescription to the Catalinas that print after the order.

Questions to ask:

Does your store double coupons?
What is the maximum value that you will double?
How many ‘like’ coupons will double?
Do you ever have triple coupon promotions?
Do you take Internet printed coupons? (This is a big one. Many stores no longer take them.)
Can I combine store coupons with manufacturer coupons?
Does this store take expired coupon?
Do you accept competitor coupons?

Get the weekly ads for all of your stores!

These are usually delivered in your home newspaper. If they are not, you can view them online at the store’s website.

Your goal is to match the weekly sales with the coupons in your possession. You will spend less if you have a plan. Don't buy everything you need at one store just because it is convenient for you. The store across the street might have other things from your list on sale.

NOTE: Brand loyalty goes out the window for serious couponers! Buy what is on sale!

NOTE: If a store has something on sale for lets say 10 for $10.00 or 2 for $5.00, you are not obligated to buy the full number (10 or 2, etc.) to get the sale price… unless the ad says so! Something that is 10/$10.00 is actually “each item is $1”.

Also, these types of sales are not always the best deal. Sometimes they even increase the price for this type of sale.

Example: a can of tomatoes is on sale for 5 for $5.00. But since you are now so price-savvy, you know that the regular, everyday price of the item is only 89¢! You know to pass on this 'sale'!

Example: Finesse shampoo or conditioner is on sale for 2 for $5.00 which is really $2.50 each. You have a $1.00 off 1 coupon, and your store doubles coupons up to a dollar! The math looks like: $2.50 - $2.00 = 50¢ each. That is a good deal for something that usually costs $3.49!

Or

Hamburger Helper is on sale for 10 for $10.00. You have a 50¢ off 1 coupon. You store doubles that coupon, making the item FREE!

Where do I get all of these coupons?

Your first source should be the Sunday newspaper. The coupons are usually with the magazine section inside the funnies! There are three kinds of coupon inserts to look for: the SmartSource (SS), the Redplum (RP), and once a month, the Procter & Gamble Brand Saver (P&G). There are no inserts on major holidays, so you might want to save your money on those days. Check out the Sunday Coupon Insert Schedule to see what Sundays will have coupons in them or not.

The first key to saving money is to obtain multiple copies of the inserts-- lots of them. You want to do this as inexpensively as possible.

You probably already get a paper, either home delivered or at the news stand, so you have one set of inserts there. If you buy it at the store, make sure the coupons are actually in there before you pay for the paper!
Some stores discount the price of the Sunday paper, or offer a special deal on two.
Then you can ask everyone you know. Most people don’t use coupons, or if they do, they cut one or two and toss the rest. Get those. Ask your mother, your neighbors, your church friends, coworkers-- anyone that you can think of!
If you live in or close to an apartment or condo complex, check out the recycling bins. You’d be surprised how many people just toss the whole center section! These are usually pretty clean, since recycling companies require you to separate newspaper from other recyclables.
Join the “Dumpster Divers”! This is what people call it when they go to the local recycling center to poke around for extra inserts. Make friends with the people who run them if you are confronted—they can become your best friends! They might be able to tell you when the carriers come to dump their extras. More information on Dumpster Diving.
Ask at the local store on Sunday night or Monday morning. Many papers require that only the front page of unsold papers be returned for credit, or if they need the whole paper, they don’t want the inserts. It never hurts to ask!
Look at hotels, nursing homes, McDonald's on a Sunday morning... anywhere that people sit to read the paper and leave the inserts.
There are reputable coupon clipping services that will send coupons for a handling fee. Free from the sources above is always best, but sometimes you have to spend money to make money!
Another source of coupons is online printable coupons.

Organize your coupons

Some people keep the inserts intact and file them by date (SS 12/4, V 12/11, P&G 1/6, etc.) This system saves a great deal of time initially, but getting ready for shopping is more of a chore. You have to cut the coupons that you need at that time.
Others clip all of the coupons from the beginning, and file them in various ways. The most popular is the "binder method": some form of 3 ring, zippable binder with baseball card and other inserts.
Find the system that works best for you.
Make sure that you go through your coupons and weed out your expired coupons at least once a month! This prevents the task from becoming overwhelming, and prevents embarrassment at the store if you try to use an expired coupon.

Stockpile!!!

The second key to saving money is the stockpile! Once you have found that great deal, you need to buy a lot of it. Not just 1 for now and 1 to have on hand for later, but 10 or 20 or more. This is the logic behind all of those coupons that you obtained from everyone you know!

This is only a sensible idea if you have room to store it, and the item is non-perishable. You know what your family needs, but everyone needs toilet paper, toothpaste and deodorant!I haven't had to purchase toilet paper, toothpaste, razors, laundry soap, paper towels, and much more for opver six months!

Hard-core couponers have on hand a one or two year supply of things like toothpaste, toothbrushes, body wash or soap, and cleaning supplies. When you use one of them, you can just go to wherever you store your stockpile for another. You have purchased these items at the price you wanted to pay, not the price the store wanted you to pay! Free or nearly free is better than full price any day! Once you get better at this, you will see the maximum amount that you are willing to pay drop like a rock!

Other Tips and Tricks of the trade:

Ask for rainchecks!
Sometimes you have prepared yourself, gone to the store, and they are out of what you want. Rainchecks are the solution: they give you the sale price on the item when it is back on the shelf, even when the sale is over. You may have anywhere from 2 weeks to a year to get that price, depending on the expiration date of the raincheck. (Some stores' rainchecks never expire!) By that time, you may have newer and better coupons!

Look for unadvertised sales!
One store may have too much of a certain item in stock, and will put it on sale. Others will have items on clearance. This is why you need to have all of your coupons with you as you shop!

Look for in-store coupons!

There are lots of coupons to be found in stores, if you know what to look for! They may be better coupons than the ones in you binder, or may be combined with the coupons that you have for even more savings!

NOTE: If you find a great coupon in the store and decide to take some for yourself, couponing etiquette says that it's polite to leave some for others!

Peelies: these are the coupons that are stuck to the product. If you don't need the product now, you might later.
Blinkies: those coupons in the SmartSource machines that may or may not have the little blinking light.
Catalinas: these print from the machine next to the register, and are usually red, green or blue. People frequently leave them in their shopping carts-- grab them!
Tearpads: usually these pads are on the shelf or display.
Try Me Free or Rebate forms: these are a great way to try a new product and/or make money on a deal! Buy an item on sale, use the coupon, and send away for the rebate!
Winetags: these are coupons that hang around the neck of wine bottles. They can require a wine purchase or not, depending on the state.

Many of the store flyers will have coupons or they will print Catalina coupons for an amount off your next order!

Keep your eyes on the cashier!

Occasionally, you will run into a cashier who is a master of the sleight-of-hand. This results in some of your coupons not being scanned. Stand up for yourself and don't let it happen. If you had 10 coupons and she only scanned 9, speak up. It's your money we're talking about here.

Also, many stores have a "scan right guarantee": it scans correctly or it is free, or you get double the difference back. Make sure that you get the price that you were expecting!

Buy the smallest size possible!

Stores like Sam's Club and Costco may have you convinced that the bigger sizes are the better value. You're a couponer now, and you know better!

A large product may be much less expensive with coupons, but the smallest size may be free! This is part of the logic behind multiple coupons.

Don't let the cashier pull the "one coupon per purchase" line on you!

One coupon per purchase does NOT mean one coupon per transaction. Each item is considered a purchase-- many coupons actually say "one coupon per item purchased, which is a much better way to phrase it.

Item 1= this is a purchase; Item 2= this is a purchase; Item 3= this is a purchase; etc... Have them ring them up in individual transactions if they don't get it.

To further drive your point home, you can show them a receipt that has total items purchased= xx, followed by a transaction number.

Be on the lookout for those FREE coupons!

You've seen others using them. Where do coupons for FREE stuff come from?

The newspaper: companies will put coupons for free items into the regular inserts to get you to try the product.
The mail: get on as many mailing lists as you can. Go to the company web sites and sign up for the newsletter.
You can contact the companies with a compliment or complaint, and will sometimes receive coupons for a free product.

Don't get discouraged. You will get better as you learn, and a penny saved is a penny that you didn't give to the store.

Also, there is no reason to start stockpiling flat out, no-holds-barred. Start out slowly if you're on a budget. You can allot $20 each month for the first few months to building your stockpile and slowly increase the amount as you become more coupon-proficient.

If you miss a sale, don't worry! The deals almost always come around again-- sometimes better the next time!

Remember, everyone has to start somewhere.

Been gone for awhile

2011-06-14T16:20:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone out there in blog land.

I have been gone for some time and have some great posts and reviews coming your way in the near future.

I want to let you all know I am still alive, but I am still suffering from kidney stones. I had my sixth surgery for my kidneys stones which was my fourth lithotripsy in a year on Monday.

I had three kidney stones in my left kidney, each measuring over 8mm. The urologist told my grandfather, after the surgery, that the surgery went well and he broke up the stones as much as he could.

Right now, I am in severe pain. The pain medication the urologist gave me is not working, my only option is to go to the emergency room and get an IV of morphine. I have been trying to relax, as I type this I am sitting with a heating pad on my side.

I honestly do not want to go back to the hospital unless I feel something is wrong; I stop urinating, I start urinating less, I think particles are stuck, etc.

I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers. If you have been through lithotripsy, need lithotripsy, or just want to talk, please feel free to leave me a comment here or talk to me on the Facebook page for the blog.

I hope to be back to my healthy self soon and get the blog posts flowing again!

Ties.com Tie Rack Review

2011-05-05T13:10:00.000-04:00

I had a chance to choose a tie rack to review from Ties.com.

Product description:
Rummaging through a mess of tangled ties is no one's idea of a good time. So why not make it simple with this great new tie rack? Crafted in solid wood this mountable executive tie rack would make for an excellent addition to any man's closet. With the ability to hold up to 21 neckties compactly across its handsome wooden rods, it will help keep your ties looking their best while saving you time as well as closet space. An excellent accessory for any man with a growing necktie collection.

Wooden
Brown
Contemporary
Dimensions: 2.25'' X 16.0''

My review:
The smell of the wood as soon you open the box hits your nose and you just want to hug the product to your nose and smell all the scent out of the wood!
The finish is smooth and looks great, unlike other wood tie racks I had that would snag my husband's ties, this one looks like it will not. The tie rack has no rough edges, so smooth.
I have yet to use this rack, as I plan on giving it to my husband for Father's Day this year. I have took it out of the box to see if it would fit nicely behind his closet door, and it will!
I can't wait to see my husband's face when he opens this on Father's Day, I am sure he will love this.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas a Minneapolis SEO and Web Design firm. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Neoteric Diabetic Skin Care Advanced Healing Cream Review

2011-05-04T13:11:00.023-04:00

Product description:

Have you recently been diagnosed with Diabetes? Or have you been living with this disease for quite some time? Either way, you’ve probably experienced dry and slow healing skin. Neoteric Cosmetics, a subsidiary of Scott’s Liquid Gold, has created a Diabetic Advanced Healing Cream to improve the quality of life for those living with Diabetes. This cream is an exceptional intensive treatment for chronic dry, cracked, damaged, slow healing skin. Containing TriOxygenC®, Neoteric Diabetic Oxygenated Advanced Healing Cream is clinically proven to increase circulation and speed skin's healing by strengthening its own natural defenses.

My review:

I chose to review this product to see if it would help my grandfather who has diabetes. My grandfather will be 70 years old on the 14th of this month, he takes insulin on a daily basis, and never really has his blood sugar under control.

His hands and feet are always dry, cracked, and his skin peels off so easily is he scratches it too hard against a surface.

He has tried every lotion possible to see if it would work. He has tried lotion designed for diabetics and lotion designed for extra dry skin, none of them worked.

Then, we received this lotion in the mail and it worked! He is so happy with the results!

His hands are now smooth, creamy, not dry anymore or ashy. His skin feels and looks healthier.

The only problem is, we couldn't find this product in any store around here, so we bought more online. He swears by this product now, and if you love someone with diabetes, get them this lotion ASAP!!

Visit Neoteric's website to learn more about their products. You can also "like" them on Facebook.

My hometown is getting a new name today

2011-04-27T11:44:00.000-04:00

About 31,000 central Pennsylvanians will soon be living in a joke.

Beginning at 1 p.m. Wednesday, the city of Altoona will change its name to "POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold," after the latest film by sarcastic documentarian Morgan Spurlock.

The city is changing its name for 60 days to make some money — and to help Spurlock make a point about the proliferation of advertising in American life.

He'll be in the city 85 miles east of Pittsburgh Wednesday for the East Coast premiere of the film, which opened far more conventionally in Los Angeles last week.

Spurlock, who gained more than 20 pounds by eating nothing but McDonald's food for a month in his 2004 film "Super Size Me," paid the city $25,000 to rename itself after his movie to underscore its message.

"We live in a place and a time when it seems like everything is brought to you by some sponsor," Spurlock told The Associated Press. "It starts to become this question of, 'Where does it end?'"

"Even when I'm standing at a urinal, chances are there's an ad or a video screen staring back at me," Spurlock said. "That used to be a little 'me' time that I had, a little private 'me' time that I'd like to have back."

But the thing about Spurlock's newest movie is that it's sponsored by companies who've put their name and product images into the film, which argues against such behavior, humorously but strenuously.

Still, the premise didn't stop 15 businesses — including POM Wonderful, a Los Angeles-based juice company that paid $1 million to be title sponsor — from bankrolling the movie with product placements, plus seven other companies that signed on to promote the film after the fact.

A key sponsor is Altoona-based Sheetz, Inc., a family-owned convenience store chain with about 400 locations in Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Stan Sheetz, president and son of founder Bob Sheetz, said he was skeptical when Spurlock first pitched the concept to him, his uncle Louie Sheetz, who handles the chain's marketing, and cousin Joe Sheetz.

That two-hour meeting has been boiled into about six minutes for Sheetz' "role" in the movie, for which the company paid Spurlock $100,000 with escalator clauses that will likely rise to $250,000 if the film and its subsequent DVD sales perform as projected.

"The money itself was not that big of a risk," Stan Sheetz said. "The risk is, 'What does it do to our brand?'"
"I'm hoping people will be saying, 'Well, that looks like a fun place, those look like cool people, and a brand I want to associate with,'" he said.

Sheetz said it was Spurlock's idea to have a secondary premiere, hopefully in a town that would name itself after the movie. Sheetz helped sell the idea in Altoona, and the locals seem enthused by the concept.

"He's gonna be here in Altoona?" Shirley Benner, 19, said of Spurlock, between bites of her chicken wrap at a Sheetz store last week. She's a fan of "Super Size Me" and said, "That dude's awesome."

Another customer, Jeff Tauber, 53, said he had read about the city's name change in the paper.

"I remember when I first read about it thinking, 'I'm not wild about that name' — but the more I thought about it, I kind of like it."

The locals needn't worry too much. The name change is ceremonial — meaning people won't have to address mail using the movie's title. The film was in the can before the naming rights deal was approved earlier this month by city council, on which Bruce Kelley serves as vice mayor. The money is going to the police department.

Kelley said he'll leave it to marketing experts to debate how much advertising is too much, but said the city is solvent and doesn't sell the naming rights to anything other than trees people can pay to have planted in someone's honor.

"So we're all going along with the gag. We've become part of the shtick," Kelley said.

"But you're not going to see 'POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold' on the side of our fire trucks."

I found the above article on yahoo news.

Departures: Two Rediscovered Stories of Christy Miller and Sierra Jensen (The Christy Miller Collection)

2011-04-26T11:46:00.003-04:00

Departures by Robin Jones Gunn

Departures, by Robin Jones Gunn, has 2 separate short stories of Christy Miller and Sierra Jensen. Both are young women with strong beliefs in Christ that are trying to figure out where exactly they are in life. Christy returns to the town she grew up in for her Grandparents anniversary and how much things, including herself, have changed hits her. Sierra tries to figure out if she is ready to be a woman, or if she wants to keep her childlike view of life (especially of boys) and gets confused when her best friend is emphatically ready to grow up. Both use their faith to guide them and come to terms with themselves.

I really liked these two stories, they were cute. They had a little romance, a little faith, and some innocence about them. They can stand alone, but I found out that both characters are actually main characters in two series that Gunn writes, and the short stories made me want to read the series to see how things continue to develop. I would recommend these stories to women, especially young Christian women. Those are the people that would probably be able to relate best to the characters.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

How to Be God's Little Princess

2011-04-17T09:23:00.001-04:00

How to Be God's Little Princess by Sheila Walsh

A book review from my 7-year old daughter, Asha:

How To Be God's Little Princess by Sheila Walsh is a very silly and fun book. It is based on how God wants you to act, and what sort you should do to follow Him. So it gives you tips, not how to have style beauty, but true beauty -- beauty from the heart.

The book talks about things from how to wear a royal tiara to Internet do's and don'ts. A royal banquet to a slumber party, this book's got it all. A royal way to understand God and His wonderful world around us.

Some topics included in the book are:

Telephone Etiquette: How to answer the phone

1. "What do you want?"
2. "Adams' residence."
3. "She's in the bathroom right now and it's not pretty."

Which answer would you give? The correct answer is 2, "Adams' residence". You might want to say, "HEY! I want to talk with Nichole, NOW!" but God really doesn't like when we do. So you might say instead, "May I talk with Nichole, please?" And then whoever you're calling might say, "Yes, wait one moment," and go get her.

Napkin No-No's:

Suddenly you realize more spaghetti sauce went on your mouth then in it. What do you do? Not the tablecloth, not the curtain, not a passing dog-- but yes! Your napkin (which should already be lying neatly on your lap) is your best accessory for wiping your messy face.

I think this is a good God-based book that encourages you to know Him and do the right thing to please Him. God is all-powerful, and we all need to try to do what He says!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

For Women Only

2011-04-16T09:09:00.002-04:00

For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn

Okay. I've already read the Mars & Venus Books and other books that are supposed to give women insight into men. I also have a husband who has been more frankly honest with me about men's struggles then most men are. But this book still opened my eyes in ways that are just oh-so-special. But I want to warn you... don't read this book unless you truly love your husband and want to be the wife that he needs.

See... this isn't a "how to get what you want" book, or even a "this is what you're doing wrong" book. Instead, it is a "your husband DOES love you, he is simply different from you" book! It's not full of to-do's but rather full of explanations... it explains WHY some of the things we say make our husbands smile and grin like they've been given the world, and WHY other things result in an angry back rapidly moving away.

This book goes over the familiar territory of explaining how men need respect... but it goes one step farther and showed me why my husband thinks I don't respect him... something that's confused me for years!

It talks about what we all know about how men usually want more sex, but it goes so much farther and shows why in a way that touches your heart and makes you feel so loved and special.

It shows how men really ARE romantics... and if you don't think so, I dare you to read the chapter and not change your mind! Their romance is just different then ours, that's all! And when your eyes are opened to how often your husband wants to do romantic (to him) things with you, you'll be so touched... and grieved at how often you've unknowingly shoved him away at those times. But you'll also begin to see what you can do to encourage him to work on the romance that YOU like!

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Keep in mind that this book is not a guide-book... it is an EXPLANATION book. It doesn't really get too much into right and wrong behaviors or what is sin and what isn't, etc... most of us already know that, and don't need to be told again. What it DOES do is explain where men are coming from. For example... we know and they know that lust is a sin... but fighting it as a man is COMPLETELY different then fighting it as a woman! When you undersand how it is for a man, you understand how even his desire to fight it shows strong character AND love for you!

One reviewer said that the author was excusing pride, and things like that. But that's now how I saw this book. Okay women... we know that to be like Jesus is to be a servant... but does that mean that it doesn't hurt when we feel like we're nothing more than everyone's slave around the house? Of course it doesn't! We are still "wired" in such a way that it is easy for us to feel this way. This book explains these sorts of things about men... how THEY are "wired". And once you understand this and begin to recognize these explanations in your own husband, then you can help and support him sooooo much better! Because then you see how little innocent comments hurt him... comments that are so easily refrained from, or re-worded. You see how little things you did when you were dating (and have since forgotten about) meant so much to him. You'll learn how to get that "you make me feel like a million bucks" grin on his face!

READ THIS BOOK!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Regret Free Parenting

2011-04-07T17:18:00.000-04:00

Regret Free Parenting by Catherine Hickem

I was so excited to get this book. I am always thinking that what I am doing parenting wise I will regret later. While the book is easy to read and fairly well written, I was overall disappointed.

Overall, I like the main ideas: work toward a goal for your children and consider the goal with each step. The book advocates considering which character traits and strengths you want your child to demonstrate and then keeping those in mind as you teach and discipline. The word "intention" and its variations are over-used, and treated as a cure-all; if you are intentional about parenting, you will do it "right, with no regrets."

However, one of my major dislikes about this book is the lack of application. The book gives an example for many of the points, but it glosses over how a parent can actually apply anything the author is saying. A lot of the points are just discussion, so hard to apply in real life. With some work, perhaps you could come up with an application, but it is not clear and it is certainly not covered in the book.

My other major dislike is the unbelievable amount of Christian-centered advice and points. I have no problem with faith-based books, but they should be identified as faith-based. This one doesn't have much written, if anything, about the Christian orientation, and it is a really a centerpiece of the book. There are "faithpoints" throughout the book, Bible verses, and a LOT of discussion about how God does this or Christ does that. It feels sneaky and for those who are not Christian, I would guess that literally a third of the book will be skipped over.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Awakening

2011-04-06T17:22:00.000-04:00

Awakening by Stovall Weems

This is a powerful devotional book at a crucial time in the history of the church.

Weems brings a challenge to "revolutionize your relationship with God" for believers whose relationship with God has become stale. There is no doubt that much of the church has been lulled to sleep, so-to-speak, by the abundance and ease in which we live.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and this book is a call for Christians to implement the basic disciplines of our faith out of a desire to draw closer to God. Weems does a great job of challenging without condemning, incorporating scripture without preaching, balancing doctrinal and practical principles, while weaving several real-life testimonies throughout the book.

Not only are the principles practical, but the author has also included some helpful tools for implementation of these principles such as; several sample types of fasts, devotional materials for a 21 day fast, and a small group study guide to share these principles with others.

This is an excellent resource that can "reset" a believers relationship with God, and bring back the passion and excitement it is meant to have.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Belvedere Custom Vinyl Family Stickers

2011-03-28T09:47:00.000-04:00

I was fortunate to be able to review an awesome product by a great company called Belvedere Designs.

A representative for Belvedere designs contacted me letting me know I was chosen to review one of their products, Custom Vinyl Family Stickers.

I was so excited! I have been to my two local craft stores to look for the family window decals, but never found any that really stood out to me. I wanted decals that looked like my family, is that too much to ask?

It isn’t too much to ask for of Belvedere Designs!

I went to their website and started to create my family. It was a really simple process. They have over 11,000 combinations to match your unique family, and if you don't see exactly what you are looking for, all you have to do is please contact them, and they will make it for you!

I ordered my whole family of five, our family name, and five names underneath each family member. I received an order confirmation email shortly after the order was placed, an email with my shipping information when the order was shipped, and the order was received within a week of placing the order!

I am going to be honest and say I did have a problem with the order, but I think I made the mistake. But, as soon as I contacted the company, I got a replacement order within three days of contacting them.

Oh, you can submit photos of your wall quotes each month for a chance to win a $50.00 gift certificate for their monthly photo contest.

Belvedere Designs also has a Facebook page (they post discount codes and other special offers every so often so being their 'friend' is always a benefit!) and a blog (where they post photos and inspirations and new ideas).

Check out what they offer, I will be ordering more!

Wall Quotes

Family Stickers

Vinyl Letters

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Happy Birthday Frankie!

2011-03-20T15:51:00.000-04:00

Today my Spring baby turns two years old. Enjoy the pictures of her life so far...

Frankie in my belly (Please excuse the dirty mirror)

Newborn

Frankie's 1st birthday

Frankie's 2nd birthday cake

Frankie, 2 years old

Secure Daughters, Confident Sons

2011-03-19T19:21:00.000-04:00

Secure Daughters, Confident Sons; How Parents Guide Their Children into Authentic Masculinity and Femininity by Glenn T. Stanton, is a straight-to-the-point book about the inherent differences that make us either female or male. Stanton strongly believes that there are differences between the genders and that these differences need to be cultivated and nourished.

Stanton makes a case for both genders and is careful to point out examples of both throughout history and current times. The author points out the need and importance for recognizing, claiming and cultivating a child's femininity or masculinity. He points out that there are gender differences between moms and dads and that both are important in the overall understanding of our children and ultimately humanity.

This book is a great book to read even if you don't have children as it would help to understand and define the differences between the sexes.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group as part of their Blogging for Books Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Scholastic Book Order Saturday

2011-03-05T11:08:00.000-05:00

The books below are the books we order for the month of February.

Winner of the Pick another check out lane, honey Book

2011-03-02T11:18:00.000-05:00

Congratulations Ellen Levickis. Please email me your address 1sizedoesntfitall@gmail.com by tomorrow.

Expired Coupons

2011-02-26T11:56:00.000-05:00

I have a lot of expired coupons.

What am I going to do with these?

Put them in the trash?

Save them in a scrapbook, I just can't seem to let them go!

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

I am going to send them to a military base overseas to help out military families stationed at the base. The military families can use expired coupons for up to six months past their expiration date!!!

Frankie testing the testers at Ulta

2011-02-26T11:55:00.000-05:00

If you have been to Ulta, you know they have testers of products, so you can try on the product before you buy.

Well, while we were at Ulta yesterday, my husband and Frankie decided to try almost all of the testers.

Superstar glasses

In this photo Frankie has on; blush, cream blush, lipstick, and blue eyeliner on her eyelids!

The Budget Section

2011-02-24T09:51:00.000-05:00

Who should handle the bills? Should you do it, or should your husband? If you are a wife who handles the budget, then you should set up a Budget section in your Home Management Binder. I also
recommend that you share your budget plan with your husband, so that he understands where his hard-earned money is going.

In your budget section, have a clear zip pocket, or take a large Ziploc baggie and put that into the binder, with holes punched in it, so that it’ll sit in your binder’s rings. Inside this pocket, keep your monthly bills as they come in the mail.

Keep those bills in order… The first bill in the pile should be the bill that needs to be paid first. The next bill in the pile should be the next one you’ll need to pay, etc.

After your bill pocket, keep several budget pages. You can print out some good calendar pages from http://www.donnayoung.org that make great budget calendar pages.

On your budget pages, list which bills need to be paid by when, and how much they are. Every week, before you sit down to make your weekly menu plan and grocery list, go through your bills, and write them in on your budget pages. Then, you’ll see how much money you’ll have for grocery shopping, which will help you know what meals to plan, and what to put on your grocery list, to make sure you stay within (and hopefully under) your budget.

If you are blessed enough to be able to pay all bills, get groceries, and still have money left over, then set up different saving plans for the left over money. Have a long-term savings, a short-term savings, and an emergency savings. If you choose to use a bank savings account, then consider just having one savings account, and use it to house your long-term savings.

Interview with WJAC news

2011-02-23T21:57:00.001-05:00

Today my interview with a local news station, WJAC, was aired. I was followed around while I shopped and used coupons, and was interviewed about using coupons. The video of the interview is featured on the news stations website. You can also view my recording from my television below.

What do you think?

The Cleaning Section

2011-02-22T14:25:00.001-05:00

Don’t waste your time with inefficient cleaning. You can have a clean house without spending all day cleaning.

The next section in the Home Management Binder is the cleaning section. There are many different cleaning plans, but here are the most common:
• Once a week clean-a-thon
• Cleaning one room per day
• Dividing the house into zones, and cleaning a specified zone for
the day or week
• Doing certain tasks per day so that by the end of the week the
whole house is clean (task-by-task cleaning)

I personally go back and forth between the last two.

For the cleaning section of your binder, decide what type of cleaning plan you’d like to do, then type or write it out. If you can’t decide, perform a google search to look for ideas from others.

After you have your cleaning routines in your binder, you may also want to add a routine to do when you get behind on your cleaning. I have one, and I call it the Emergency Quick Clean. The Emergency Quick Clean comes in very handy if you have to clean up a disastrous house in a short amount of time:

The Emergency Quick Clean in Nine Simple Steps
1. First things first - Go to each toilet in your house, lift the seat, and put in toilet bowl cleaner. Let it sit in your toilets, as you go through the next few steps. We'll come back to the toilets later.
2. Go into your kitchen, and wash your dishes. If you have a dishwasher, then use it. It's one of your many "servants".
3. Go to every sink in your house, and spray them all down with spray cleaner and let it sit. We'll get back to the sinks later.
4. Depending on the amount of mess in your house, this step may be the longest one for you. Go through every room in your house, and throw away any trash, and put away things that have wandered away from their homes.
5. The hard part is over. Grab a washcloth and a spray cleaner, and wipe down your kitchen/dining room table(s), kitchen counters, and bathroom counters.
6. Get back to those toilets and sinks! Time to wipe them down; the cleaner has been sitting in them long enough.
7. Almost done! Grab your broom, and do a quick sweep of your kitchen and bathrooms. This is a quick sweep - this means you just sweep the middles of the floors. Don't worry about moving chairs, etc., just sweep around them.
8. Time to spot mop. Turn on the hot water in your kitchen sink, get your mop wet, then look at the floor for messy spots, mop over each messy spot. Remember, this is an Emergency Quick Clean, so we're not mopping the whole floor, just the visible dirty spots. Now do this in your bathrooms as well.
9. Quick Vacuum time... Vacuum your living room and dining room. Focus on the middles. Don't worry about the edges, or under furniture, etc.

The Menus Section

2011-02-20T13:05:00.000-05:00

NOTE: After you write down your menus for this section of your Home Management Binder, don’t forget to slip the papers into the clear page protectors in your binder. Then write “Menus” on one of your stick on index tabs, and stick that tab to the first page of your menus section. Do this for each new section in your binder.
Have you ever been in the situation where it was time for dinner, but you didn’t have anything cooked, nor did you know what to cook? Maybe you looked through your cupboards and fridge, but couldn’t find enough ingredients to make a meal.

This section will help you know what’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for each day of the week. You will also learn how to use this section of your binder to help you save a lot of money on your grocery bills, yet eat delicious, healthy foods. You can really do this.

First off, sit down with some paper and a cookbook. Write out what foods you’d like for each meal. If you are not sure what to cook, then consider some of the simple and delicious recipes by searching the internet.

Cook delicious and nutritious meals. On the following page begins a sample menu of healthy meals that are easy to make:

Breakfast:
MONDAYS – Scrambled eggs, toast, fresh fruit, milk
TUESDAYS – Baked oatmeal, fresh fruit, milk
WEDNESDAYS – Baked French toast, fresh fruit, milk
THURSDAYS – Boiled rice eaten as a cereal, fresh fruit, milk
FRIDAYS – Butter and peanut butter toast, fresh fruit, milk
SATURDAYS – Omelet, toast, fresh fruit, milk
SUNDAYS – Breakfast casserole, fresh fruit, milk

Lunch:
MONDAYS – Peanut butter honey sandwiches, fresh vegetables, fruit juice
TUESDAYS – Cheesy rice, fresh vegetables, fruit juice
WEDNESDAYS – Tuna sandwiches, fresh vegetables, fruit juice
THURSDAYS – Hard-boiled egg sandwiches, fresh vegetables, fruit juice
FRIDAYS – Homemade macaroni and cheese, fresh vegetables, fruit juice
SATURDAYS – Baked cheese sandwiches, fresh vegetables, fruit juice
SUNDAYS – Tuna sandwiches, fresh vegetables, fruit juice

I like to use the same breakfast and lunch menus each week. I only change our breakfast and lunch menus when we get tired of them, or when I just want to change them around. However, I make a new dinner menu each week. I suggest you do the same… Have a regular breakfast and lunch menu that pretty much stays the same week to week, but make a new dinner menu for each week.

Choose which day each week would be good for you to do this on. I currently get my groceries on Thursdays, so I plan out my week’s menu every Wednesday, while I’m making my grocery list. Below is a sample one-week dinner menu:

Dinner:
MONDAY – Spaghetti, mashed sweet potatoes, salad
TUESDAY – Lentil stew, steamed veggies,
WEDNESDAY – Roasted chicken, roasted veggies
THURSDAY – Homemade chicken soup, salad
FRIDAY – Salmon on rice, salad
SATURDAY – Pot roast (or roasted lamb), roasted veggies
SUNDAY – Split pea soup, baked potatoes

After you have your menu plan on paper, think upon all of the ingredients you’ll need in order to make all of those meals, and write them down. Add to that list the daily hygiene products you and your family use, and you have yourself a Master Grocery List. Organize your Master Grocery List into sections. For example, have a frozen section, dry good section, hygiene section, and a produce section, etc. Put your Master Grocery List in your binder after your menu plans.

Each week, when you’re making your grocery list, first write down what you already know you need. Then, look at your breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus, and write down what you know you’ll need to follow those menus for the week. After that, glance through your Master Grocery List, and write down anything from that list that you know you need more of.

You now have a rough grocery list. Now you need to organize and order your list, so that you won’t spend extra time in the store, when you could be home getting more things accomplished. I like to use a four-colored ink pen to organize my grocery list. I move to the other side of the paper, from the rough list I made, and start by writing down all of the non-food items I’ll need in black ink. Then I write down all of the dry goods in blue, all of the produce in green, and the meat, dairy, and frozen foods in red.

I also make my list fit the order of isles in the store I shop at, so that I can just go isle to isle, and my list is in the order of those isles.

Later in your binder, you’ll have a ‘recipes’ section. This is where you’ll keep your main recipes.

Meanwhile, you may want to put in several different weekly dinner menus into the Menu section of your binder. This way, if you don’t have time to make a dinner menu, you can just use one of the prewritten
menus.

Having and using the Menu section in your Home Management Binder will help you cook healthy meals for your family, and help you to save money, because you’ll be just buying what you need – right?

HINT: Bypass the junk foods and snacks. You don’t need them, and your body will thank you for it later. Did you know that artificial flavorings are often derivatives of anti-freeze, oil paint solvents, and/or formaldehyde? Most junk foods are not really real food! …At least - not anymore… How many things do you put into your grocery cart, which you intend to eat, but nature never did intend for human consumption?

Kick the junk food habit.

More schedules

2011-02-19T11:36:00.000-05:00

Commitment Is the Key
Unless you commit to following your schedule, it will never work. When you feel like it’s a struggle, give the burden to God, then put on a big smile and look at your schedule. When you don’t feel like it – do it anyways.

Don’t feel bad if you don’t always follow your schedule. It’s not there to be your burden. It’s there to be your helper. Things will happen. Let the spontaneity in, and cheerfully work with it.

When you need extra time for projects, or to catch up on things, then use your scheduled hobby time, or schedule in an extra half hour or more in each day for catch up/free time.

Remember, YOU are the master of your Master Schedule.

Your Master Schedule’s Back Up Plan

There will be times in your life when you can’t follow your Master Schedule, but still need routines to keep you and your household on task. For occasions like these, create a “routines” page. This routines page should be the next page in your “schedules” section, right after your Master Schedule.

To use your routines page, you shouldn’t look at the clock. You simply go through all of the routines, and mentally or literally check off each item on the page, until you have completed everything on your routines page.

Your routines page should be divided into three sections:

Morning
After Morning – After noon
Evening – Night

Each of these three sections should contain the things that you need to get done during that time of day. An example routines page is below:
MORNING ROUTINE:

Get up and get dressed
Get the kids ready
Fix beds
Breakfast
Brush teeth

AFTER MORNING – AFTER NOON ROUTINE:

Family Bible study
Exercise
Clean
Lunch
Homeschool

EVENING – NIGHT ROUTINE:

Dinner
Kid’s baths
Family read aloud time
Tuck in kids
Tidy up the house
Shower
Personal Bible study

Exercise
Don’t forget to put your exercise routine into your ‘schedules’ section as well. If you don’t exercise, but would like to, I personally suggest you do a half hour to an hour per day, each weekday. If you don’t exercise, I suggest you start. It will increase your energy, and you’ll be able to get so much more done each day.

Take weekends off. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, do sculpting and toning exercises. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, do cardio.If you are looking for great workouts at home, buy yourself a Wii, Nintendo has many games for the Wii to help your work out, tone up, and lose weight.

Personalize Your Master Schedule
Personalize it. I can’t emphasize this enough. Also, expect that there are times in your life where you’ll be changing or re-doing your schedule – a lot. That is okay. Just as life changes, your Master Schedule will (and should) change as well.

Unrefined Shea Butter

2011-02-18T12:18:00.000-05:00

I bought Unrefined Shea Butter from Amazon. The picture along with the description is misleading. The picture shows a very big box, but the box I received was very small, nothing compared to the box shown in the picture.
I bought 5lbs of the shea butter for $29.00, not bad if you look at shea butter prices on the internet.

When I received the shea butter it was in a big plastic bag inside of a cardboard box. I took the shea butter out and divided it up into ziploc bags. I then bought four glass jars with lids, used for canning, to store the shea butter in.

I started by putting chunks of the shea butter in a pot over medium heat.

I used a fork and kept stirring the shea butter over the heat until it melted.

After the shea butter melted into a nice liquid, I poured it into the glass jars and let it dry. After it dried, I put the lids on the jars. The shea butter is now creamy, not too hard, like when I first received it.

Pick another checkout lane honey Book Giveaway

2011-02-18T09:24:00.001-05:00

1. Contest ends February 28th at midnight EST. Winners will be announced back here on this post, and notified via email with further instructions. The book will be mailed as soon as I receive the winner’s mailing address.

2. You must be a follower of this blog.

3. Leave a comment sharing why you need this book.

4. Follow 1 Size Doesn’t Fit All on Twitter and Facebook. Leave a comment below letting me know when you do each one, please leave separate comment for each.

5. Subscribe to this blog. Leave a comment below letting me know when you do.

6. Winner will be selected by Random.org.

If you leave a comment, follow on twitter, like us on facebook, and subscribe you will have 4 chances to win!!

Good luck and happy entering!

How good is good enough?

2011-02-15T10:35:00.000-05:00

How good is good enough? by Andy Stanley

We all ask ourselves this question at one time or another, “Surely there is more than one way to get to heaven, right?”

Stanley addresses this exact question in his book, How good is good enough?

I am still in my journey, as most people are. We never know who is really going to heaven and what can we do to get there.

This book helps you answer the question if good people go to heaven, because this is what everyone thinks, good people are supposed to go to heaven, while sinners aren’t so lucky.

Stanley helps lead believers and skeptics alike to a grateful awareness of God’s enormous grace and mercy.

Actually, it doesn’t really make any sense at all. Smart, educated, accomplished men and women everywhere are banking their eternities on a theory that doesn’t hold water. Chances are, you’ve never really thought it through. But you owe it to yourself to do so.

Find out now what’s wrong with the most popular theory about heaven—and what it really takes to get there.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Jwoww bronzer

2011-02-14T21:04:00.000-05:00

Today I got Jwoww bronzer for Valentine's Day along with a tanning package.

I can't wait to use this bronzer and see if it works and how dark it makes me. The bronzer smells really good.

I will keep you all up to date with pictures to show my progress and how this bronzer works.

My Valentine Gifts

2011-02-14T21:01:00.000-05:00

This year has been the best Valentine's day so far!

I had such a great day. Everyone behaved and could sense that this was a day of love. The kids got an item of clothes, a movies, a toy(Elliott), and earrings(girls).

Here is what I got today.

Nook Color Cover

Nook Color (with my reflection)


Jwoww bronzer & a tanning package

Bouquet of roses and lilies

What did you get?

Valentine Styles

2011-02-14T11:28:00.000-05:00

Asha

Frankie

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T11:22:00.001-05:00

Today is Elliott's Valentine Party at school. I had to bring in something for the party, so I chose this...

Cupcake Cake

Do you think the parents will be mad at me? ... It smells like sugar!

Here is his Valentine box we put together, as you can tell, I am not too creative!

My stockpile, in pictures

2011-02-12T11:54:00.000-05:00

I have only been stocking up on items since the beginning of the year and this is what my stockpile looks like so far, not too bad for a little over a month.

OPI Shatter Nail Polish

2011-02-10T09:15:00.000-05:00