Thursday, March 31, 2011

Country Crock Smile.ly Campaign




I received my Smile.ly campaign for Shedd's Spread Country Crock. This is my first choice of butter in our house, so when this campaign came available I sure was definitely applying.


We love this butter since it's so smooth and creamy tasting. We use it on everything that needs butter. Plus I feel good knowing I'm getting a little bit extra added benefit as well while using it


An excellent source of Omega-3 ALA*


A good source of Vitamin D


No Hydrogenated Oils


*regular and Churn Style have 70 calories, contain 7g of fat and 2g of saturated fat. Light has 50 calories, contains 5g of fat and 1.5g of saturated fat. Country Crock is not a low fat food. Country Crock contains 400mg of Omega ALA per serving which is 25% of the daily value for ALA and 300mg of Omega-6 ALA per serving




Are you a member of Smile.ly?


Which butter do you prefer? Would you make the switch to Country Crock?


**I recieved a coupon for a free product from Smile.ly for my honest review along with coupons to share. Opinions are my own, and yours my differ.








My March Blog Wins


Woo-Hoo!! I love being a winner and thank you to all the blogs that host giveaways and give me the opportunity. Think this is my new addiction, entering giveaways.


I recieved the Glade Sense and Spray from Vanessa over at The Queen of Swag!


The pepper spray came from Brixton Street blog. This is an awesome thing to have!My favorite is the Chef Mickey cookbook that I won off Thats It Mommy blog. We absolutely LOVE Disney and having this in the house is a treat. It takes some of the great recipes made at some of the resorts, cruise lines and from the vault. This of course is my favorite section....DESSERTS!I won this from the Marlboro challenge, some earbuds...can always use these!Also won a $50 gift card from Gather.com to Gilt groupe, and natural sunscreen package from Girls Who Surf! at Celebrate Woman Today

Thank you again for the opportunity and absolutely enjoy that winning feeling!!

Lemon Bars


I was over at Gather.com checking out posts and came across this yummy recipe posted by Aunt Shanny. She is awesome for posting pictures and recipes that make you just drool over your keyboard.


The recipe ingredients included everything I had on hand....wow, first time I had EVERYTHING on hand!



I proceeded to make the crust and press into the pan which needed to be baked for 20 minutes before placing the filling....

Now I did have a picture of the filling before placed in the oven again but my camera decided to PMS on me!! Here is the finished product....


Our overall opinion of these was DELISH! Actually, I thought they were better the next day!! If you like to see the recipe and try it for yourself go here. Enjoy!

Twitter Hop Thursday





Welcome to Twitter Hop Thursday, hosted by Simply Stacie, The King’s Court IV, Little Yaya’s, Kelly’s Lucky You and Dear Crissy.


HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN TWITTER HOP THURSDAY


1. Add your Twitter URL to the MckLinky (you only have to add it to one and it will appear on all).


2. Click on the Twitter URL’s for the five hostesses and follow each. We will follow you back. Follow as many people on Twitter as you like, but make sure to leave comments with links so they’ll know where to follow you!


3. Spread the word and add this MckLinky on your blog! Write your own post or copy and paste this one. Below the MckLinky box, you’ll see “Want to be a part of this Blog Hop? Click here for instructions and code”. Have fun Twitter-hopping along!




Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Frito Lay Recipe and Giveaway

Over at The Dirty t Shirt you can enter your chance to win 1 bag each of the new flavors of both Tostitos, and Sun Chips:

Tostitos Hint of Jalapeno
Tostitos Hint of Jalapeno Jack
SunChips Jalapeno Jack



The giveaway runs from March 29th through midnight April 12th. So go over to The Dirty t Shirt and enter, I did!!!


Also check out the delicious recipes too!!

Monday, March 21, 2011

"HOP" Into Theaters April 1st





My family and I had the opportunity to see an advanced screening of the movie "HOP" which comes out in theaters April 1st thanks to Socialmoms.com and Universal Pictures.


From the makers of "Despicable Me", this movie stars James Marsden (Fred O'Hare), Russell Brand (voice of E.B.), Kaley Cuoco (Samantha O'Hare), Hank Azaria (voice of Carlos & Phil) ,


E.B., the teenage son of Mr. and Mrs. Bunny, was suppose to take over the rein of being the Easter Bunny from his father but runs away from his home at Easter Island to chase his dream of being a drummer in Hollywood. When reaching Hollywood and searching he gets hit by Fred, a man without a clue what to do with his life. Together, they both discovered who they were meant to be.



Our overall opinion of the movie was positive. "HOP" is a live action, animated film. The animated parts of the film blended perfectly with the live action. It has lots of laughs and is a pleasure to enjoy with the whole family. I noticed in the theater every child was completely engaged in the movie, along with the adults. E.B. is a bunny to fall in love with, I certainly did!!

So go hop to a theater near you April 1st and see this fun, family friendly movie for all to enjoy. I'm sure it will not disappoint!


To learn more about the movie visit http://www.iwantcandy.com/ . There you can find more about the movie, games, downloads, and images all related to the movie.


Thank you again to Socialmoms.com and Universal Pictures. When we arrived my kids received gifts of a t-shirt and bunny ears. This was completely unexpected and a wonderful surprise!!


** Disclosure: I was given the opportunity to see this free private screening from Socialmoms.com and Univeral Pictures. No monetary compensation was received for my review, or my opinion. Opinion is my own, and yours may differ.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

My First Homemade Beer Bread....AWESOME!




I found this recipe for beer bread in the USA Weekend March 4-6, 2011 issue from the newspaper. The title caught my attention immediately, "Homemade bread in under an hour" , I definitely had to try it. And so since it turned out really yummy I thought I'd share. The recipe is as follows:




Beer Bread




3 1/2 cups all purpose flour




3 TBS sugar




1 TB baking powder




1 1/2 tsps salt




12 ounces beer




1 egg beaten




Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat over to 375 degrees. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add beer and stir with a fork until just combined. Turn dough onto a floured surface;knead quickly to form a ball. Place bread on a baking sheet and slit an X on top with a serrated or very sharp knife. Brush loaf with egg wash. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.




Per Serving 163 calories
32g carbohydrates, 4g protein, 1g fat (0g saturated fat), 16mg cholesterol, 1g dietary fiber, 398 mg sodium



**recipe courtesy of USA Weekend publication

Photos courtesy of ME!



Spring Cleaning Beyond The Dust

With spring arriving shortly (thank goodness!) it's usually a "new beginning", so often we scrub, mop and dust to start fresh. Starting off anew also means reorganization and decluttering of everything even down to the home office. I'm so guilty of this right now, I'm in dire need of some decluttering. Here is a picture of what is going on in my home office right now....




As you can see this is a box FULL of mail and papers that need to be shredded. I am a pretty busy mommy so of course I threw it in the box to get to it later and well, later never came. I worry about my identity being stolen so I prefer to shred rather than just throw it away or recycle.



The Fellowes P-12C paper shredder would definitely do the trick here, plus it's safe for families with children.

photo courtesy of Fellowes site



To ensure high-security against identity thieves, the P-12C features Cross-Cut technology, which destroys a single sheet of paper into nearly 399 particles.


The P-12C also includes Fellowes’ patented SafeSense technology, which disables the shredder when it senses hands or large pets come too close to the paper opening


The P-12C can also shred staples, credit cards and paper clips to help speed up your spring cleaning process


Its slim profile design allows the P-12C to fit in any office environment, including under desks or in kitchens and other rooms

4 gallon bin



Sometimes it can be so overwhelming when starting a spring cleaning project like a home office but if you follow these 5 top tips from the Identity Theft Resource Center it should help make it a smooth process

1. Begin with the Basics: Sort through the piles of paperwork on your desk and in your office drawers. Place them into two categories: ‘save’ and ‘shred.’

2. Proper Storage: Organize the "save" pile into labeled folders and be sure to put anything confidential into a fire-proof lock box. The "shred" pile should be properly disposed of with a Cross-Cut shredder, such as a Fellowes P-12C

3. Get a Digital Makeover: Refresh your home office computer by deleting files you no longer use and backing-up important data onto an external hard drive. Clean out your inbox and change all passwords. Refreshing your computer is a good practice to follow throughout the year as well.

4. Make Life Easier: Plan ahead by purchasing organizational tools for your desk, such as computer risers or file folder holders. This will help clear clutter from your desk top while keeping things within arms reach.

5. Freshen Up: Get rid of dust and germs that easily build up on office equipment such as keyboards, telephones and cabinets. You'll feel instantly more productive with a clean workspace


To get your Fellowes P-12c
Target is selling this product for $84.99. This handy dandy shredder shreds 12 pages per pass so this means less time at the shredder and more time enjoying SPRING!!

**Disclosure: I am working with the One2One Network and Fellowes as part of a campaign project where I'm eligible for prizing. All opinions are my own.