I got a ton of Zebras last week - Giveaway

I got 4 new Zebra Finches (two matched pairs) to add to the little zoo that I have here.  Boy are they cute.  I love their sweet soft singing.  Much un-like my other 3 birds, which tend to be very loud.  My oldest G-son said "they bounce off the walls of the cage like ping pong balls."   Because they are very flighty and always on the move. 

The other Zebras that I received were some awesome new Zebra pens and pencils.  Look at these colorful and fun new Zebra pens and pencils.  I love them!

I received the Z-Grip Daisies Retractable Ball Point Pens in five fun colors in a medium 1.0 mm point.  The rubberized grip tells you the color of the ink.  I love embellishing my envelopes with these very smooth writing ink pens.  They also make writing snail mail letters much more fun as well.

Next, I received the very colorful Cadoozles .7 mm mechanical pencil 6 pack.  The Cadoozles are refillable and I love that they have the shape of a regular pencil.  They roll less and feels like you are writing with a wooden pencil.  Each has a different colorful graphic for both boys and girls.  Some of the graphics themes  include balloons, sports gear, ice cream treats, music, and space.  You will never have to sharpen your pencil again with the Cadoozles.

Then I finally received two four packs of assorted colors of the Regal Roller Ball Pens.  One in a arrow tip that is 0.7 mm and the other is a needle tip that is 0.5 mm.  I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy using the roller ball pens.  They surprised me!  I enjoyed how smooth they were to write with and find that I am using them on a daily basis.  The four colors are black, blue, red and green.  I love that you can actually see how much ink is left in the barrel.  And if you travel, they are airplane safe!  You won't have them taken from you at check-in.

The Zebra Pen Corp has been a leader in the business for more than 110 years.  Zebra is a name associated with quality, and they back their quality with a guarantee.  Zebra has also produced an eco-friendly line of products.  Many of their products are refillable, and so ...are eco-friendly.

“Right now, consumers are most concerned with two things: making sure they’re getting the best product their money can buy and doing what they can to ‘go green,’ said Director of Marketing Chris Farley. “Zebra Pen Corporation is making a way for consumers to do both.”

When you visit the Zebra facebook page you will find that they hold  many contest of their own.  You might want to take a moment while there and see what is happening.  Zebra products can be found in stores such as; Staples, Walmart, K-mart, as well as other office supply stores.  Many food and drug supply stores also carry the Zebra products.  For more information, check out the Zebra website, it's full of information and very easy to navigate.

ENTER TO WIN

WIN:  The same set of pens and pencils that I received.  One pack of Cadoozles, one pack of Z-Grip Daisies, one pack of Regal Roller in 0.7 mm and one in 0.5 mm.
Mandatory entry:  visit Zebra's facebook page, leaving a comment there that I sent you and 'like' the Zebra facebook page too.

**You MUST do the mandatory Entry! All bonus entries will be deleted if it's not done first!**

*BONUS ENTRIES*

{Leave separate comments for each bonus entry - or you will not receive the bonus entries}

1. Follow me on twitter {1 entry}

2.  Follow Zebra on twitter {1 entry}

3. Tweet the following {1 entry - can be done once daily}

GIVEAWAY: win some great Zebra Pen products - GIVEAWAY Ends July 14th - #giveaway #win http://bit.ly/bCVGJV  @prpldy  @ZebraPen

4. Subscribe to my blog {2 entries}

5. Grab my button (on the left) and leave the URL where it's at {2 entries}

6. Blog about this giveaway and leave me a direct link to the post {5 entries}

7. 'like' The Purple Lady on facebook  {1 entry}

8. Comment on any non-giveaway post, telling me which one {2 entries for each comment} 


9. Follow via Google Friend Connect {2 entries}

Rules


Open to the US only

No PO Boxes

Giveaway ends July 14, 2010 at 12(noon) CST

Winners will be chosen via Random.Org., and contacted by email

Winners will have 48 hours to respond to the email, or another winner will be chosen

I check EVERY entry! Please only leave valid comments for valid entries!
I will remove invalid entries.

Please leave your e-mail address in your comment so that I have a way to contact you

( ie: prpldy (at) comcast dot net )

There was no monetary compensation received for this review, though I did receive the samples to conduct my review. All opinions are my own. Receiving the samples did not sway my review. I would like to thank Zebra Pen Corp for providing the items for review and for this giveaway.

A few more hours and .....

and half of 2010 will be over.  Where has the time gone?

For me it has gone in many directions.  From happy to sad, from funny to tense.  What about you?

Latte' when she was about 8 weeks old, she climbed on top of the coffee table and just sat there looking at me

Latte' I believe is finally on the mend.  When I arrived home from my doctors appointment yesterday Latte' for the first time in over 10 days brought me one of her favorite toys and wanted to play fetch.  You know she is sick when she doesn't want to play.  I was to happy to play fetch with her, knowing that she was finally on the mend and that I wouldn't have to figure out a way to pay for a large doctor bill.  Another sign that told me Latte' was on the mend was that Coffee was on her case all evening (Coffee is very healous of Latte') and while Latte' was sick Coffee never once got on her case, but instead would give her little kisses throughout the day.

I didn't quite hear what I wanted to at the doctor's appointment yesterday.  He said I need surgery on my right thumb.  That they would take a tendon out of my arm, roll it up and replace the round bone in my thumb that is deteriorated and that my right hand has severe arthritis,.  My left hand hurts worse, but my right has more arthritis.  Anyhow, they would also do some work on the thumb bone as well.  About 6 weeks ago all of a sudden I lost the strength in my right thumb.  I was no longer able to do things that I took for granted before.  I could not light a lighter with my right hand, I had trouble hooking and unhooking the dogs leashes,  I wasn't able to pull weeds with my right hand (I am right handed, if you didn't guess that already),  I could not use the remote like I always had before.  Something I have learned how to do differently during this time, though I still try to use my right thumb, it just does not want to cooperate with me.  I will have to think long and hard before agreeing to the surgery as the doc said he could not say whether the surgery would give me the strength back in my thumb, and I can cope with the pain at the moment.  During my last surgery I had a stress heart attack while under the knife, because I was very concerned that they would not be able to keep my chronic pain under control.... which they didn't and I ended up having to go for 13 hours with no pain meds at all.  Thankfully I was ICU and it was quiet, or I would have really been out of my mind with the pain.  I currently take pain meds every 4-6 hours, and to go for 13 hours with no meds was not fun at all.

I will soon have some new babies in my house, which is a good thing, I will tell you more about that later.

One Grandson has already had his birthday this year which was a success you can read all about it in this post.

I have begun doing some product reviews which I am loving.  Not only do I get to bring some new and different products to you and tell you what I think of them.  Many are also sponsoring giveaways, which are fun for you and for me.  I am running a bit behind, but promise to get caught up very soon.  I had planned on completing at least one review/giveaway a day until I got caught up, but with Latte' being sick, my A/C going on the fritz, my pain level rising dues to all of the stress.... all I can say I will do my best to get caught up.

Today my e-mail program, Eudora is messing up.  I am getting my mail, but it will not show me the contents.  I will try to re-install it and see if that will help.  It's very difficult to deal with my mail, responding to those that need a response, or handling whatever the mail needs to be done.  So as much as I wanted to get a review/giveaway posted today, I may not be able to.  First my mail has to be working correctly for me to retrieve some information I need from one of the reps.

Let's hope that the next 6 months will be a bit better than the past 6 months for both you and for me.

BrendaLea

I Need To Raise Some Money!

My sweet little Latte' is still sick.  Even though she received a shot to help with the nausea, it didn't help.  She has thrown up at least once a day for the past 7-10 days, if not more often.  I called the vet today, as he wanted to know how she was doing today.  He wants to take x-rays and a full blood work-up.  My problem is, that I don't have the funds.  It was cost $180 for the two sets of test.  I had to post date a check (yes, I know you are not supposed to, but the doctor accepted a posted dated check) until July 3rd for the visit the other day which was $60.  So any extra $$ that I had for July are now gone. And I don't have the $$ for these new test.  And I don't know how to go about getting the funds to pay for them.  Any ideas?

I don't like seeing my little girl sick.  I've had her since she was 6 weeks old.  She is now 6 years 2 months and 13 days old.  She is a part of my family!  She is my little girl!  I want her to feel better!  But I don't know how to pay for it.

I need to raise the money, $190, as soon as possible, sot hat she can get the test she needs to find out what is wrong with her, and why she keeps throwing up.

On top of that, my window a/c is malfunctioning.  The other day it got 89 degrees in here.  I turned it off for a few hours as it was not putting out any cold air.  It was miserable, for me, for Latte', for the Grandsons, Coffee and the 7 birds!  After it got 89 degrees in here it took over 8 hours to cool back down to a temp that was comfortable.  Now I turn it off for 2 hours 2 times a day.  So far it's been working, but during those two hours, it get terrible warm and stuffy in the house, even though I have 3 fans running in one room.

Even though I need to do something about my A/C, Latte' is my first concern at the moment.  It's hard when you live on a fixed income and you are single.  It gets very depressing at times.

Hope you all are having a better day than I am,

BrendaLea

Latte' went to the vet and she's not feeling any better

Latte' was able to see her vet, Dr. Pirtle yesterday.  She wasn't to  excited about it, but she behaved like a little lady.  Dr. Pirtle took a stool sample and examined her, and asked me a lot of questions.  Latte' was not fond of him for taking the stool sample.

look at that sad face, you can see she doesn't feel well

We found out that she has an intestinal virus.  She got a shot to help with her nausea, but evidently it didn't work as she got sick again last night, just after I climbed into bed. So I had to get up and clean it up.  She also received antibiotics to take twice a day for 5 days.

He said this should clear it up and that in about 24 hours we should see a marked difference, and within 48 she should be back to almost normal.  But if she is not better by Monday to call him and we would have to do a full blood work-up.

It's been nearly 24 hours and she doesn't seem to be ant better yet.  Let's just hope that by tomorrow she will be feeling a lot better.  My fingers are crossed.

Dr. Pirtle said that several things can cause the intestinal virus.  One being a germ that she got from another animal, such as:  if she stepped in some other animal's poop and then licked her paw.  He said with the warmer weather, he has seen more of this type of intestinal virus lately.  And if it wasn't something like that, there are health issues that can cause the intestinal virus.  One being kidney failure.  He doesn't really expect it to be something like that as she is only 6 years old.   Let's hope it is not that serious.

I have people coming over at 2pm today for a Febreze House Party, and the sure sign of Latte' feeling better will be when they arrive.  She loves company, she gets very excited and always wants her belly rubbed when they come over.  Plus she dances around a lot when people are here.  So time will tell me for sure if she is feeling better.  They should arrive within the next hour.  Let's hope she is active and exited.  That will let me know that she is on the mend.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend,

BrendaLea

My Baby Is Sick

Latte' with her Summer hair cut

My sweet little Latte' isn't feeling well.  I believe I will have to take her to the vet either today or tomorrow.  It started on Sunday when she threw-up a couple of times.  She just laid around all day, and didn't eat.  Not even some of her favorite treats.  Which is very much un-like her.

Then on Monday she felt feverish and I tried to get her to take a baby aspirin.  That was not happening.  She wanted nothing to do with it.  Not even when I wrapped it in a piece of turkey.  I tried getting it down her throat, but she wasn't having any of that either.  She didn't eat anything at all on Monday.  I was getting very concerned.  And told myself that if she was not better by Wednesday, that I would take her to the vet.

Summer hair cut grown out but not all the way yet

Yesterday she seemed to be feeling an itsy bitsy tiny bit better.  She actually came over to get her chicken treat, which she loves. And when the G-son came in the door, she went to greet him.  Not quite enthusiastically as she normally does, but she was up and moving a little bit.  After days of JUST laying around.  I thought her fever had broken.  But then later in the evening, she got sick again, a few times.  And once again she felt feverish.

Later today I will call the vet and see if he will see her, but with me waiting until next month (no too many days away) to pay the bill.  Latte' has NEVER been sick like this before.  Throughout her 6 years of life, she has thrown up from time to time.  But that was it.  She has never been lethargic, not eating, throwing up, and not wanting her treats.  I am REALLY concerned and hope it is nothing major.

She is my little girl, my baby, my child!  

I love her so very much and hate to see her sick and not able to tell me what is wrong.  Just like a baby.  It kills me to see babies sick.  They can not tell you where they hurt, what is wrong, or how they feel.  And as a parent or adult, I feel helpless.  Just like I do now.

Hoping my baby feels better real soon,

BrendaLea

Rayovac Powers Your Summer Twitter Event

Rayovac Powers Your Summer Twitter Event

Join Rayovac and 5MinutesForMom for a Twitter Event to support the exciting Rayovac Powers Your Summer Promotion. The Twitter Event will feature more than 20 fun giveaways from Rayovac ranging from a summer supply of Rayovac Batteries to $50 Target Gift Cards.

 

Rayovac Powers Your Vacation Summer Promotion Twitter Event
Date:  Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Time:  7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. CST
Location:  #rayovac
Follow:  @Rayovac_Battery, @5minutesformom, @CirclePRMary

The first 99 bloggers to promote the Rayovac Powers Your Summer Twitter Event won a prize package from Rayovac

Rayovac Powers Your Summer Promotion

Rayovac wants to Power Your Summer and they have a wonderful promotion going on right now, and ending July 20, 2010.

Rayovac wants to empower families to have fun this Summer.  You have a chance to win some wonderful prizes (ranging from cameras and bikes to camping supplies and a summer supply of Rayovac batteries) by answering their daily question.  Today's question involves camping.  They want to know how you like to camp. Personally I like to rough it, give me a tent whether it be in the back yard, or a camp ground.
Along with the fun questions to answer daily (where there are no right or wrong answers) they will have daily tips to help you Power Your Summer.

While you are at it, why don't you 'like' Rayovac on facebook so that you can be in the' know' when Rayovac has other promotions that you might want to check out.


The first 99 bloggers to promote the Rayovac Powers Your Summer Promotion won a prize package from Rayovac

Sweeney's Snake Repellent Review & Giveaway

edited/updated:  6/25/2010
 My wording below is just a bit off.  You are to re-apply after a heavy rain.  You originally apply the repellent when it is dry outside.


I recently asked my readers if they ever had a snake in their house.  I received only a few comments.  And I am so thankful for that.  That tells me that most of you have not experienced what I did a few weeks back.

As you know I have two wonderful little fur babies that I adore.  One evening I was in the process of letting Latte' back in the house after she had done her business.  Coffee, for once, had not gone outside at that time.  It was already dark and I am guessing about 9:30 pm or so.  I have my babies leashes set-up where they are attached outside and the loose end that attaches to their collar is brought inside under the door.  When they are let out, I open the main door, attach the leash to their collar, open the screen door and they go out.  When they are ready to come in, I do the reverse.  I open the screen door and they come in.  I un-hook their leash, and then shut the main door, the leash remains inside on the floor.  I have been using this system for over 12 years and it has worked great for me.  I don't have to go out in the cold or rain to get their leashes, and it makes it easy to get them outside fast (which you need when you have an older fur baby like Coffee.)

Anyhow, I sort of got off track for a moment.  I was letting Latte' back into the house and as I opened the screen door a  s-n-a-k-e (shivering with the thought.... yikes!) came into my house.  I immediately slammed the main door and the snake got caught underneath.  Latte' was still outside.  Coffee was inside.  And me .....

I jumped! I screamed!  I ran, grabbed the phone and ran out the other door.  I call the other Grandparents hysterically crying that a snake was in my house, thankfully they live just 4 blocks away.  Both boys were over there for the night.  She said they would be right over.  It seemed like hours before they arrived, but in reality it was less than 4 minutes.

They arrive and ask me where the snake was.  I said  "in the house!"  I did not know if it was still under the door or had crawled elsewhere.

The youngest Grandson is now known as the Snakanator!  He had his sword and chopped him up, tossed the snake outside, then cleaned up the floor and his sword.  There was no way I wanted that snake tossed out my back door - dead or alive!  So they tossed him into a bag and into the dumpster.  I am so proud of my snakanator for protecting me.


Shortly after this happened I was contacted and asked if I wanted to do a review on Sweeney's Snake Repellent.  I jumped at the chance.  With having a snake in my home just days prior...  Yes! Yes I wanted to do this particular review.

I am deathly afraid of snakes!!!  I can't stand to see them on TV or in a book!  I won't run over them while in my car (fear that it would cling onto the wheel and crawl inside), and I won't go to the reptile house at the zoo!  I don't even like worms as they are baby snakes to me!

I received a 2 lb. canister of the Sweeney's Snake Repellent and wanted to use it right away, but needed to wait until it quit raining  We were in the midst of the Spring rainy season. The directions say you should apply after a heavy rain.

The Snake Repellent is very easy to use.  You walk around the area you wish to protect and shake the granules to create a 6-10 inch wide barrier.  As mentioned above you should apply after a heavy rain and for best results, apply every 3 to 4 weeks.

I can not yet say if it works for not, as it has only been a couple of weeks.  But I have not seen any sign of any snakes, thankfully!  I am now able to go back outside and into the yard.  That's a huge plus!  I am comfortable once again about being out in the yard (I am not wearing knee high boots, and tip-toeing around constantly looking for a snake)  knowing the I have my Sweeney's Snake Repellent out there to chase the snakes away.  Prior to using the Sweeney's I would not go out into the yard (unless I had boots, pants, and gloves on and carried a shovel), or tend to the weeds my flower beds.  Thank you Sweeney's for giving me the freedom to enjoy myself outside, again.

My Sister was shocked about the snake being in my home and did not realize (as I never mentioned it before) we have had many snakes outside over the years,  Not little ones either, but don't ask me what kind.  I don't want to know and I don't care to know.  Snakes are snakes in my book!

What I like about Sweeney's is that it will not harm your lawns, vegetable gardens or plants.  It is safe to use around children and pets.  It is also biodegradable and easy to use.  And Sweeney's has been around since 1892, that alone has to say something about the quality of their products.

HOW IT WORKS:  Snakes continuously monitor their surroundings by "sensing" chemicals from the air with their tongues.  This is accomplished with a special organ on the roof of their mouths called the Jacobson's organ. {I didn't know that, did you?}  Sweeney's Snake Repellent emits a sweet, pungent aroma that snakes find distasteful, causing them to  leave the area,  Sweeney's will not harm snakes but will repel them from the area.

The 2-lb bottle retails for $12.99 and the 4-lb shaker bag retails for $17.99.  You can purchase the Sweeney's Snake Repellent directly from their website, along with their other products.  You can find a list of retailers on their site that carry the various Sweeney's products.

Sweeney's also has a contest right now called:  "I Hate Moles", where you have the opportunity to win a $500 Lowe's gift card, by submitting your tale of mole woes.

ENTER TO WIN

WIN:  4-lb  shaker bag of Sweeney's Snake Repellent

Mandatory entry:  visit Sweeney's website and tell me of another product you would like to try.

**You MUST do the mandatory Entry! All bonus entries will be deleted if it's not done first!**

*BONUS ENTRIES*

{Leave separate comments for each bonus entry - or you will not receive the bonus entries}

1. Follow me on twitter {1 entry}

2. Tweet the following {1 entry - can be done once daily}

Have a snake problem, WIN Sweeney's Snake Repellent - RT @prpldy - GIVEAWAY Ends July 5th - #giveaway #win  http://j.mp/9iN1Am

3. Subscribe to my blog {2 entries}

4. Grab my button (on the left) and leave the URL where it's at {1 entry}

5. Blog about this giveaway and leave me a direct link to the post {3 entries}

6. Add my blog to your blog roll {1 entry}

7. Comment on any non-giveaway post, telling me which one {1 entry for each comment} 


8. Follow via Google Friend Connect {2 entries}

Rules


Open to the US only

No PO Boxes

Giveaway ends July 5, 2010 at 12(noon) CST

Winners will be chosen via Random.Org., and contacted by email

Winners will have 48 hours to respond to the email, or another winner will be chosen

I check EVERY entry! Please only leave valid comments for valid entries!

Please leave your e-mail address in your comment so that I have a way to contact you

( ie: prpldy (at) comcast dot net )

There was no monetary compensation received for this review, though I did receive a sample to conduct my review. All opinions are my own. Receiving the sample did not sway my review. I would like to thank Sweeney's for providing the item for review and for this giveaway.

Many Giveaways Ending Soon

Midwest Gone Idahoan has 6 different giveaways that end by July 2, with some ending even sooner.  Most have low entries so your chances are even greater to win.  They are:

Holly Hobby Tin and Fabric

Flirty Apron

Soda Stream

Sewing Machine Cover 

JUPPY

Earrings from Designs by Ellen

And Susan of Amazing Coupons and Discount Deals has a giveaway for a $5 Burger King gift card.  Yummy!  It ends on July 4th.  And who can't use some extra $$ to eat on.  I don't usually eat at places like that as I don't have the $$ to spend there.  But if I won, I sure would, and I would have to get my Bacon Double Cheese Burger. Oh yeah!


Good Luck,
BrendaLea

Home Safety Month Review and Giveaway

June is Home Safety Month.  I didn't know that, did you?  The Home Safety Council is a national non profit organization that is dedicated to preventing home related injuries.  They work to educate families on the many dangers in and around the home and the steps they can take to prevent these injuries.  Home related injuries result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits in an average year. That number is much too large.  While there are numerous causes, according to The Home Safety Council the top 5 things that result in death or injury in and around the home are:

• Falls
• Poisoning
• Fires and Burns
• Choking and Suffocation
• Drowning and Submersions

Children are one of the most vulnerable groups of these kinds of injuries that's why it is so important to safeguard your home and to teach your children about these dangers. Their are many things you can do to prevent these injuries and many lifesaving devices you can use in your home. Some of these include:

• Installing Window Guards on second story windows to prevent little ones from falling.
• Installing Carbon Monoxide Alarms in or around every sleeping area.
• Installing Smoke Alarms in or around every sleeping area and making sure there is a working Fire Extinguisher readily available.
• Keeping all Hazardous Chemicals out of reach from little hands by installing Cabinet Locks.
• Putting up a Pool Fence and installing a Pool Alarm.

You can find a lot more information on homesafetycouncil.org. They have created several resources for you to share with your friends and family. Including Brochures, Newsletters, Lesson Plans and so much more. I recommend that you take the time to visit their site and educate yourself so that you can protect your family all year long.

In honor of Home Safety Month First Alert and The Lehigh Group have teamed up with the Home Safety Council and created a "home safe home" kit which includes the following items:

•  First Alert® Radon Test Kit
•  First Alert® Mold Test Kit
•  First Alert® Lead Test Kit
•  First Alert® Water Test Kit
•  Cordzilla by Secureline from The Lehigh Group
•  First Alert® Tundra Fire Extinguishing Spray™

There will be two winners:  one will receive the first four items in the list above and the second winner will receive the last two items.

ENTER TO WIN

WIN:  first winner will receive the four test kits (items 1-4 above), 2nd winner will receive the Cordzilla and First Alert Tundra Fire Extinguishing Spray (last 2 items)

Mandatory entry:  Must follow via Google Friend Connect (right side) and leave a comment letting me know, and tell me why you would like to be one of the 2 winners.

**You MUST do the mandatory Entry! All bonus entries will be deleted if it's not done first!**

*BONUS ENTRIES*

{Leave separate comments for each bonus entry - or you will not receive the bonus entries}

1. Follow me on twitter {1 entry}

2. Tweet the following {1 entry - can be done once daily}

2 WINNERS -  Home Safety Products - RT @prpldy - GIVEAWAY Ends  July 2nd - #giveaway  http://j.mp/bsDE14

3. Subscribe to my blog {2 entries}

4. Grab my button (on the left) and leave the URL where it's at {1 entry}

5. Blog about this giveaway and leave me a direct link to the post {3 entries - leave 3 separate comments}

6. Add my blog to your blog roll {1 entry}

7. Become a public GFC follower - right side {1 entry}

8. Comment on any non-giveaway post, telling me which one {1 entry for each comment}

Rules


Open to the US only

No PO Boxes

Giveaway ends July 2, 2010 at 12(noon) CST

Winners will be chosen via Random.Org., and contacted by email

Winners will have 48 hours to respond to the email, or another winner will be chosen

I check EVERY entry! Please only leave valid comments for valid entries!

Please leave your e-mail address in your comment so that I have a way to contact you

( ie: prpldy (at) comcast dot net )



I was not compensated for this review, nor did I receive any samples.  All opinions are my own.  I would like to thank The Lehigh Group, the Home Safety Council and First Alert for providing the items for this giveaway.

Shopping Gadgets Review and Giveaway

I love to shop!  

Whether it be for clothing, shoes, household items, or groceries.  I even love to shop at thrift shops, and junk stores.  But the one thing I hate about shopping is trying to keep my coupons organized, and not waste any of my precious time while in the store.  And what to do with everything you need when you shop.  Then what to do with my coupons that I want to cash in and not forgetting about them.  What is a person supposed to do?

Well, I will tell you.

You need to check out Mom Concepts!    They have a Koala Pouch ($14.95 at www.momcepts.com) that is the perfect shopping organizer that you can take with you to the store, and attach it right to your shopping cart.

It has a great design with awesome features:

• a dedicated pocket with index cards to keep coupons and shopping list organized
• a roomy pocket on the front for easy access to your cell phone
• a zipper pocket on the back that includes two re-usable compact shopping bags, so you will never forget them again!
• a pen/pencil holder
• and enough space to carry all the items you need (List Caddy, Koalabiner, keys, money, debit/credit card) so that you can leave your purse at home or in the car

Then, there is a multi-use List Caddy ($1.99 at www.momcepts.com) that really comes in very handy.  It snaps right onto your shopping cart handle and holds your pen/pencil, along with shopping list.  Many times I have forgotten to use my coupons once I pulled them from my organizer because I had no designated place to put them, and they would end up in my pocket.  I would never remember them until it was too late (usually I would find them in the washer after doing laundry.)  Now I place them in the List Caddy clip until I get to the register.  And now I get to save those $$  from the coupons that I spent time clipping.

And if you check out the Momcepts.com website, you will find some fun and unique ways to you the List Caddy.  Hmmm, wonder if any of use can come up with some more unique ways to utilize this cool tool.  Oh, and the List Caddy comes in many fun colors too!  I have to get several of the purple ones.

And if you are like me, and like to have your purse with you when you shop, you need the Koalabiner Purse Hanger ($4.95 at www.momcepts.com).  Not only does my purse take up space in my shopping cart (I use a rather large purse), now my bread doesn't get smashed, and small items don't get lost below my purse.  Boy is that embarrassing when I have paid for all of  my items, grab my purse to leave and there before us are one or two small items sitting there in the cart.  YIKES!  I get the feeling that they think I am trying to steal them.  I am NOT!!!  No longer do I have to worry about that horrible feeling.

Now I can hang my purse from my shopping cart using the great Koalabiner.  My bread is never mashed from the weight of my purse, items don't get hidden below it, and no one can easily steal my purse.  Which has happened to my Niece.  So many of us plop our purses in the child seat area, and don't give it another thought while shopping.  We leave our carts for a second while grabbing something from a shelve.  But doing that makes it very easy for someone to grab our purses and run.  And if you have a diaper bag, because you have your child with you, the Koalabiner will hold it as well.

The Koalabiner is cute with its koala bear shape that I have even wore it as a bracelet until I got inside the store.  Or I store it on one of my purse handles, so that it is handy to use.  It also comes in handy to attach several bags of groceries (or other purchases) together so they don't spill out before you get home.  No longer do I have to tie each plastic bag shut and struggle to un-knot them or end up cutting them open.  The Koalabiner also comes in handy to use with a baby stroller, so you can attach your diaper bag or purse right to the handle.

ENTER TO WIN

WIN:  one Koalabiner and one List Caddy and one Koala Pouch

Mandatory entry:  Head to Momcepts.com and tell me which of the List Caddy colors you like the best.

**You MUST do the mandatory Entry! All bonus entries will be deleted if it's not done first!**

*BONUS ENTRIES*

{Leave separate comments for each bonus entry}

1. Follow me on twitter {1 entry}
2. Tweet the following {1 entry - can be done once daily}

WIN -  3 Shopping Gadgets -   RT @prpldy - GIVEAWAY Ends June 30th - #giveaway
 http://j.mp/9iN1Am

3. Subscribe to my blog {1 entries}

4. Grab my button (on the left) and leave the URL where it's at {1 entry}

5. Blog about this giveaway and leave me a direct link to the post {3 entries - leave 3 separate comments}

6. Add my blog to your blog roll {1 entry}
7.  Become a public GFC follower - right side {1 entry}
8.  Comment on any non-giveaway post, telling me which one {1 entry for each comment}

**RULES**

• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Open to the US and Canada
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Giveaway ends June 30, 2010 at 12(noon) CST
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Winners will be chosen via Random.Org., and contacted by email
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Winners will have 48 hours to respond to the email, or another winner will be chosen

I was not compensated for this review, though  I did receive samples of the products to conduct my review. All opinions are my own.

Happy Birthday Grandson!

June 12th

Today we are having a sleep over party for my Grandson's 13th birthday.  His Golden Birthday!  Even though his actual birthday is not until June 13th, he wanted it tonight so that they could stay up all night and not have to worry about getting up early Sunday morning to go to church.  Originally it was planned for tomorrow.  But he changed it at the last minute.  Not sure how many kids will be here today, last year we had a total of 12.  They slept in the chairs, on the floor, on air mattresses and anywhere else they could find.  But they had a blast.

His other Grandmother is making his cake, and we will be getting Pizza Hut pizza (3, I believe) and we will have chips (3 kinds), dips, ice cream, Powerade, various soda, and anything else he comes up with between now and 6 pm tonight when his friends are supposed to arrive.

June 15th

cake made by other Grandmother

The boys wore me out.  They were up all night long, except for one that went to sleep around midnight.  The rest finally drifted off to sleep way after day break.  Of course the first one to sleep was also the first one up.  And it was up to me to entertain him (I did have better things to do) which took the majority of my day as the rest of the boys slept until 3pm.  The early riser kept asking me when the others would wake.  How was I to know.  They are teenagers, and teenagers can sleep 18 hours straight, at times.

G-son with his new Lazer Tag

Look at that scowl. He actually loved his gift.  Thankfully.  As my money has been super tight the past 4 or 5 months.  I didn't even have money to buy a gift.  I won this awesome Lazer Tag system from Mom Central, during one of their giveaways.  When I checked Amazon.com, it was listed for $399.00.  Boy was I flabbergasted.  There is no way I could afford a gift like that.

Here they are outside playing Lazer Tag.  They played all night long with those lazer guns.  Since there were only 2 guns and a total of 5 teens.... 2 played with the lazer tag, 2 played on the XBox 360, and one was on the computer.  Through out the night they would periodically trade places.

Me and my fur babies hit the hay around midnight, and woke around 2 am. Shortly after getting up, they finally wanted to cut the cake.  They had their pizza, chips, Powerade,  and soda earlier, and now needed something else to munch on.  So we light the candles that re-light after you blow them out and they all had fun trying to get them to stay out. Then we all ate cake and ice cream and then it was back to playing the various games for them.

Earlier in the evening I did have a treasure hunt game for them, with one prize to win.  I had picked up a pack of Yu-GI-Oh cards as they all play and collect them.  I had my friend hide the wrapped pack earlier in the evening while the boys were here.  It was a good time for me.  It was so funny watching them hunt all over trying to find something that I only gave general clues about. I really wished I had a video camera to capture the fun.   You would have had to see how much fun it was.  They had me rolling in laughter trying to find the prize.

All in all it was a good time for them, and a wearing time for me.,  I am glad it is now over, but next year we will have the party once again.  Just like we have had for the past 4 years.

Emma's Water Lilly Review

* This post as well as the review contains links and references to adult products. Please do not view unless you are 18 or older.

Who doesn't like to have a bit of fun in or out of the water?  Or what about adding a bit of pizazz to your sex life?  For either one, you can look to the Emma's Water Lily to do just that.  This multi-speed waterproof clitoral stimulator proved work just as I expected..  With it's low noise level, but intense vibrations, it was a lot of fun to use, and definitely upped the excitement of my sex life.  It's made of very soft silicone that was smooth and silky to the touch, and a wonderful pink color.  It looked and felt to be very high quality. It was easy to operate, with it's on/off button located on the opposite end. And water proof it was!  After using it in the shower, I checked to see if any water had leaked into the battery compartment.  It hadn't!  You can get your own Emma's Water Lily for $35.99.


I was not disappointed in my first choice from Eden Fantasys. The lily arrived quickly and and in packaging that was very discreet. No need to worry about purchasing from Eden Fastasys and being bombarded with pornographic material. They are a shop that stands behind their products, and customer service has the utmost respect for you and your privacy.


If you are looking for an adult toy shop, I would definitely recommend Eden Fantasys. They have a lot of various items to choose from, such as adult sex toys, dvds and books, lingerie to fit most everyone as they have sizes from the xs to 4xx. And the lingerie has it's own assortment from the normal bra and panty, to corsets and costumes along with the various hose and stocking to complete the outfits.And if you need any lotions or accessories, they have those as well.

Want something of your own from Eden Fantasys?  Just head over to their site and start shopping.  You will not be disappointed.  I know I will be back there from time to time to get items to help create more excitement in my bedroom. They have wonderful customer service and products that you can count on.  They also have the Eden community where you can find reviews and interviews, along with their blog and other information.

Oprah’s new network OWN has created a contest and the winner will get their own talk show.  Tania Reuben was inspired by her blog – Pure Natural Diva – to enter the contest.   Pure Natural Diva is an informational site dedicated to Whole Living with Style and Ease.
The show -  Pure Natural Diva Live – will cover the same topic.  Simple Solutions to help people live greener, healthier lives.

This is a hardcore competition with high stakes.  The current leader of the contest is Rener Gracie – he has the entire Ultimate Fighting Community voting for him  – in two weeks he’s gotten over a million votes.  As a blogger I am thrilled to support Tania and leverage the power of social media to make her a contender!  She has a great site and a her show has the potential to create change in our country.

One voter had this to say on the Oprah site:

”We need Pure Natural Diva Live! America needs this  show! I love that Tania is a mom who wants to make a difference in all  our lives. She has passion and really dives into the issues, makes you  feel passionate too about wanting to make changes in your own home and  life. In addition to being a hilarious and genuine person she is  incredibly smart. Tania has invested her heart & soul in Pure  Natural Diva….out of not just her own family & personal needs but  seeing a genuine need in all of our lives & in society today Please  pick Pure Natural Diva Live to be an Oprah show!”

View Tania’s audition here and don’t forget to vote – http://myown.oprah.com/audition/index.html?request=video_details&response_id=5711&promo_id=1

Her website can be found here – www.purenaturaldiva.com

Win $50 Gift Cetificate to Eagle America for Father's Day!

A Concord Carpenter Comments is giving away to one lucky winner a $50 Gift Card to Eagle America.  You only have 2 days to enter as it ends on June 15th.  He gives you several ways of getting extra entries as well.

If your Father or Husband enjoys working with wood, then you need to enter and you might just have a great gift for them, for Father's Day!

Good Luck,

BrendaLea

Have you ever had a snake.....

in your house?  I have!  Stayed tuned for more on that and Sweeney's Snake Repellent. 

Nutrition At Your Fingertips

I recently read a book (most of it for now, more about that in a moment), Nutrition At Your Fingertips, by Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN.  Oh my!  If you want to learn about the food values of various food items (protein, calories, other vitamins or minerals), or learn how to read your food labels and understand what they mean.  Or manage your weight, then this is the book you need in your library.

I was totally amazed at the amount of information that was in this book, and how easy it was to navigate and how organized the book is.  It has a very easy Flip and Find structure which makes it simple to find the information you need right now, and doesn't require you to learn everything there is to know about nutrition right at this moment.  (That's why I didn't read the book from cover to cover .... yet)  You can learn along the way, at your own pace and what you want to learn.  The book allows you to search for the information you want now, and pinpoint it, quickly and efficiently.

If you want to find the dietary sources of something such as vitamin C, the book will tell you what they are.  Or if you want to know how many calories you would burn doing various activities, there is a chart for that as well.   There is an appendix with useful resources such as other books to read, websites to visit and organizations to help you.

I know many people who have a gluten sensitivity and there is a sub-chapter pertaining to just that information.  It recommends ingredients to avoid and talks about Celiac Disease and it's symptoms (which we thought my Niece had, but doesn't... thankfully),

The chapters in the book are as follows:

1. Carbohydrates
2. Fats
3. Protiens
4. Vitamins
5. Minerals
6. Creating A Daily Meal Plan
7. Weight Management
8. Eat To Beat Disease
9. Food Allergies, Intolerances, and Sensitivties
10. Healthy Food Shopping
11. Healthy Eatting Tips
12. Foodborne Illnesses and Food Safety

Each chapter has many subcategories within them.  I am no expert, I can not tell you if this book has all of the information a person needs to know about nutrition.  I can tell you that it has one heck of a lot of information and that I was truly amazed at how much this book of 405 pages actually contains.  I learned many things that I did not already know.  And am thrilled that I now have this book in my library for reference.  Now, with this book at my side, maybe I will be able to take off the weight that I have been wanting to lose for a long time now.

How the book is organized (taken directly from the book):

Nutrition at Your Fingertips is organized like this.  First, the key nutrients your body needs and that are found in the diet, including carbohydrate, fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals, are covered.  Then I show you how to determine your daily calorie needs and create your own daily eating plan no matter your age or stage of life.  Whether you are trying to manage your weight, a diet-related medical condition, or a food allergy or sensitivity, you'll find how-to nutrition strategies throughout the book.  The book also includes information to help you navigate the aisles of your local grocery store in a more informed way, read and understand food labels, and ultimately fill your cart with the most delicious and healthful items from the basic food categories.

Elisa Zied is a registered dietitian and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.  She also co-wrote the books:  Feed Your Family Right! and So What Can I eat?

This book was published by Penguin Group which is part of ALPHA BOOKS.  They also have a series of "At Your Fingertips" books on various subjects because time is the scarcest commodity of all!  Some of the book in that series are:  Wine, eBay Business, Spanish, and The Internet

OMG! My comments are now numbered!

I am so very, very excited!  I finally got my comments to be numbered with the help from the blog:  The Computery , without her help I never would have been able to do this on my own.  I had been searching on the web for several weeks now trying to figure it out.  But I wasn't able to.

I can not express my "Thanks" enough to Miss Susie from the UK for writing the tutorial after spending countless hours figuring out how to make our comments numbered.  Thank You Miss Susie!

BrendaLea

WINNER - Betty Crocker Prize

I just drew the winning number of #154 and that belongs to cstironkat.  Congratulations!  You won the Betty Crocker Mississippi Mud Prize Pack.  I have already sent the e-mail and you have 48 hours to reply with your mailing address.  Otherwise a new winner will be drawn.

Those who did not win, don't despair!  I have more giveaways planned and they will be showing up very soon right here on my blog.  So please come back.  Would love to read more comments.  I enjoy them even if I don't get to respond to them all, I do read every single comment that is left for me.  I love comment love!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day,

BrendaLea

Do you have a geek in your family?

If so, you might want to enter the giveaway over at the Burning Moon Blog. She has a $25 gift certificate to Think Geek up for grabs and you only have until June 23rd to enter.  She has tons of ways to get extra entries also that are really easy too!  I know I entered and I want to get some BuckyBalls for my Grandson. He has to keep his hands busy and the BuckyBalls would be a great item for him.

Good Luck my Readers,

BrendaLea

Winners - Uncle Ben's Whole Grain White Rice

Sorry about the delay in posting.  Between blogger being messed up the other day, then storming weather here. And in general, not feeling the best.  I am just a bit behind.  Well that is not totally true, I am way behind on so many things.  One of them is posting to this here blog.  Shame on me.

There are two winners for the Uncle Ben's Aprons and the winners will have 48 hours to reply to my e-mail or new winners will be chosen.

The winners are: 

#27 ....... Erin

and

#83 ....... PrettyTiffany

I will send you both an e-mail in just a few minutes, looking forward to hearing back from you.

Congrats!

BrendaLea

Black and Decker Cordless Trimmer Giveaway

Black & Decker® Launches 24 Volt Cordless String Trimmer/Edger with PowerCommand™

 

How would you like to win one of your very own? All you have to do is go to the Home Construction and Improvement blog to enter.  You have until June 19th to enter.  So don't waste any time, go enter now.  good Luck!

BrendaLea

Bottles of Hope and other Clay Projects

 four generic bottles for men or women

Have you ever heard of the Bottles of Hope?  I made these a while back and they have been sent out or give to various cancer patients.  Just last week I uploaded them pictures with the intent to show them to my readers.  Today I was over at Lori's blog, My Wooden Spoon, where she has a post regarding Glad To Give.

 Dino bottle made special for a little boy

Because of Lori's post, I have decided to go ahead and get this post written. And if you visit My Wooden Spoon you can enter to win a $500 gift card, that she hopes you will use for giving.

My bottles are not as beautiful as those on the Bottles of Hope site, but I hope those whom have received them have gained a bit of hope from having them.

It has been a while since I have played with my polymer clay and my hands are itching to get back to it.  I have dreams of expanding my polymer clay art, and create much more beautiful items.  But like anything else, you get better with practice.

silver and white mokume gane cane covered empty chicken egg

black and white clay covered chicken egg

My clay work is not even close to other clay artist, but I had fun creating these items.  I love making the chicken eggs,  I put glass beads inside so that when you pick them up then rattle.  I have found that clay items beg to be touched, handled, and picked up.

fire breathing dragon

mother and child monkeys

I learned how to make the monkeys from one of the many Carol Duvall shows that was on HGTV at one time.  Sure miss watching your shows each day, Carol!

I am hoping when I can finally get back to my clay, to play, that I will eventually have some of the beautiful items that I vision in my head and many jotted down on paper, to show you.  But in the mean time I hope you have enjoyed these few items.

Hope you all have a wonderful creative and giving day,

BrendaLea

Betty Crocker Mississippi Mud Supreme Review and Giveaway

I had an opportunity to review the Betty Crocker Mississippi Mud Bars.  I was amazed at how easy they were to make.  This would be great to make with children as it was so easy and they would have fun spreading the base in the bottom of the pan.

Even though I am allergic to chocolate (chocolate doesn't like me, but I still love it), I had to give them a try,  It's really hard for me to make something chocolate and not take at least one bite.  But I had to have more than one bite.  They were really good.  Not overly sweet, just right for me.  And they were easy to eat because they stayed together like a brownie.  They had a rich chocolate cookie crumb type base with a top that was similar to a brownie with mini marshmallows sprinkled though out.

(prior to baking)

Betty Crocker, via MyBlogSpark is letting me give one of you a Mississippi Mud Bar Supreme package of your very own and it comes with the great square baking pan too.

ENTER TO WIN

Mandatory entry:

What upcoming gathering or event could you see yourself making the Betty Crocker Mississippi Mud Supreme?

**You MUST do the mandatory Entry! All bonus entries will be deleted if it's not done first!**

*BONUS ENTRIES*

{Leave separate comments for each bonus entry}

1. Follow me on twitter {1 entry}
2. Tweet the following {1 entry} can be done daily
RT @prpldy - GIVEAWAY -  Mississippi Mud Bars and Baking Pan  -  Ends June 7th -Your chance to win - http://j.mp/9iN1Am

3. Subscribe to my blog {1 entries}

4. Follow me on google friend connect {2 entries}

5. Blog about this giveaway and leave me a direct link to the post {3 entries}

6. Add my blog to your blog roll {1 entry}

**RULES**

• 
  
  
  
  Open to the US
• 
  
  
  
  Giveaway ends June 7, 2010 at 12(noon) CST
  Must be 18 or over
• 
  
  
  
  Winners will be chosen via Random.Org., and contacted by email
• 
  
  
  
  Winners will have 48 hours to respond to the email, or another winner will be chosen
  MyBlogSpark is responsible for prize fulfillment.

This review is based on using the complimentary product that Betty Crocker, through MyBlogSpark, provided me.  I also received information, and the opportunity for this giveaway from Betty Crocker.  I was not compensated and all opinions express are 100% my own.