Hey Gin ...

Free Kindle Book for Crafters ~ Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)

2012-01-08T21:02:00.001-05:00

Costume Week

2011-10-27T15:20:00.000-04:00

Hip-Hop

Pointe

More to come ...

Hanes Virtual Comfort Package

2011-10-26T22:27:00.002-04:00

Hanes® launches comfort-sharing Facebook App for Breast Cancer Awareness

Hanes recently launched a new Virtual Comfort application that allows users to share comfort with those who need it most.

Facebook Fans of Hanes can personalize and send free virtual Comfort Packages to friends and family using this application. What is really great though, besides giving comfort to loved ones is ~

For each package sent, Hanes will donate $1 (up to $25,000) to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. to promote early cancer detection and provide mammograms for those in need!

It's easy to send a virtual comfort package. Just go to the Pink Tab on the Hanes facebook page. The Comfort Package is even fully customizable. You can add photos, videos, recipes, t-shirt designs, music and of course messages.

Along with the Comfort Package, the Pink tab on the Hanes Facebook page includes a video of interviews featuring Hanes employees who have been affected by breast cancer. You can also find the

Words of Comfort Wall where fans can leave their thoughts.

Hanes has been a longtime supporter of breast cancer awareness, they have made cash and in-kind donations totaling $1 million since 2009 and is donating up to $125,000 to NBCF this year.

Disclosure: I participated in this campaign as a member of One2One Network and am eligible for a prize drawing. All opinions stated in the post are my own.

Hill's Healthy Mobility Challenge

2011-10-15T02:01:00.001-04:00

This post brought to you by Hills Pet Nutrition. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hill's Pet Nutrition is currently hosting a 30 day challenge to get your dog active and healthy. Simply switch your dogs food to Hill's Science Diet and watch your dogs mobility improve over the course of 30 days. This food is specifically formulated for dogs with age related mobility issues. Did you know that 1 in 5 dogs suffer from these concerns? There are a few ways of telling if your dog has mobility problems. Does your dog have trouble getting up or down or slow at it? What about lagging behind you during walks? You can browse around Hill's Pet Nutrition's website to learn about the symptoms, etc associated with your dog's mobility.

If your beloved dog does have issues, then register for the challenge! The food contains high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids which help improve joint flexibility. Also included in Hill's Science diet is EPA, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate for essential bone and joint cartilage support. Plus a blend of antioxidants that help immune function in dogs.

To take part in the challenge, just register at Hill's Healthy Mobility Coupon. You will receive $30 in coupons plus an entry into the sweepstakes they are hosting. You have a chance of winning a free year of dog food, they are giving the prize away to 30 people! Plus you can track your dogs progress over the 30 days online. This includes sharing stories if you wish with other dog lovers!

Did you know that Hill's is also on facebook. You can check Hill's Pet Nutrition on Facebook by clicking the link.

Ella Publishing's Scrapbooking Boot Camp $2 coupon expires Today, Hurry & use it!

2011-09-19T08:48:00.001-04:00

MyMemories Suite v2 scrapbook software

2011-09-14T13:13:00.000-04:00

My Memories Suite v2 $10 off coupon code!!!

My Memories Suite, the #1-rated scrapbooking software, just got better...
much better.

Create in minutes

Fast, and easy to use. Simple enough for beginners, yet powerful for serious scrapbookers.

Not just looks

Take your scrapbooks beyond traditional photo albums with interactive features.

Speaks for itself

With video and narration features you can experience your memories all over again.

Go ahead, show off!

Countless ways to share your creation with friends & family again and again... and again.

My Memories Suite version 2 software is a complete digital scrapbooking solution that provides a powerful set of creative tools and multiple sharing options that no other software can offer. Its intuitive workspace and enhanced time-saving features are perfect for a beginner to build an entire album in minutes, or to empower the design pro to build a scrapbook album masterpiece.

Share Your Creativity

Once you have made your scrapbook album, you want to share your creation with others, right? My Memories Suite can help you show off your scrapbook in so many different ways-and as many times as you want. Print your pages and share them as a traditional scrapbook-or use the one-click share option to turn your album into professionally-printed and hardbound book. And not just one book either; you can make 3 or 4, or even a hundred published books from your one album. Turn your scrapbooks into treasured keepsakes by giving copies to family and friends.

You're not out of options yet...Take advantage of a full suite of sharing options and turn your scrapbook into a movie to watch on a DVD-or view on an iPod. My Memories Suite allows you to share an interactive album on a disc (DVD or CD) that will automatically play on a computer (PC or Mac). Viewers can interact with your scrapbook by clicking on video, playing narration or navigating through your scrapbook like a website. You can even place in web links for them to visit or embed hidden files like Grandma's secret cookie recipe.

With My Memories Suite you can even create and share professionally printed and bound calendars, make posters or trading cards for your son's soccer team, post a movie of your scrapbook on your Facebook page-all with the click of a button. If you are serious about creating the ultimate scrapbook that preserves and shares your memories with a serious amount of "wow" factor, then My Memories Suite is the one-stop solution for you.

What Can Your Software Do?

My Memories Suite will help you build beautiful pages from scratch or to make a page using one of the many professionally-designed scrapbook templates provided within the scrapbook software. A large collection of papers and embellishments are available at your fingertips to help you make each page uniquely your own. Drop in your in pictures in seconds-then crop, edit, retouch and rotate them right on the page. If this were any other scrapbooking software, you might be finished. But with My Memories Suite, the real power-and fun-of this software is just beginning.

You can make a beautiful scrapbook an interactive memory experience for anyone who sees it. Use simple one-click options to enhance your scrapbooks, with music, narration, video, and even the Internet. Go beyond pictures by showing off video of the birthday party, or record a narration to capture the memories that pictures alone cannot. With My Memories Suite you simply don't look at a scrapbook-you experience it!

Computer System Requirements

Retail $39.97 but take $10 off with this code ~

Your unique coupon code is:
STMMMS76012

This unique code is ONLY good for My Memories Suite v2

Social surge has 'Brother' bigger - Entertainment News, TV News, Media - Variety

2011-08-27T14:09:00.000-04:00

Interesting article. Happy to see Big Brother still growing in ratings, it is my all time favorite show!!! Go Jordan :)

Social surge has 'Brother' bigger - Entertainment News, TV News, Media - Variety

10 Things August - Photos from my Windows 7 Phone

2011-08-10T14:31:00.001-04:00

1. Playing at the Park

2. Aly Summer Dance

3. My car hit 295,500 kilometers (yes we are in the Us, yes my car is Canadian, lol)

4. Cam summer dance

5. Playing Queen of Hearts Croquet at the Fairytale Festival @ Edsel Ford House

6. Paul McCartney warm up, I was lucky enough to volunteer at this concert, it was amazing!

7. Working at Comerica home of the Tigers to raise money for dance

8. Crazy car I saw while driving in Detroit

9. Funny sign in shop window while walking Downtown Mt. Clemens

10. One of my favorite places, the library!

Free Kindle Book ~ The Beatles Fifty Fabulous Years

2011-07-25T00:44:00.000-04:00

I worked the Paul McCartney concert tonight in Detroit. Never really a fan other then Say Say Say with Michael Jackson, he was pretty amazing tonight. Sounded great, played lots of his songs & songs from the Beatles. Totally different croud then I'm used to. People actually at sat in their seats and listened. There weren't mad rushes for beer and alcohol. It was really nice, especially since I got to see most of the concert from my port! In keeping with the Beatles, Amazon currently has the kindle book The Beatles: Fifty Fabulous Years for free. It has great reviews, so go download it!

Day 2 ~ Mammoth Caves Kentucky

2011-06-27T23:59:00.008-04:00

We had planned awhile ago to check out the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky on the way down to Orlando. At the minute last night, I decided to first go to the Diamond Caverns, then do only one cave at the Mammoth Caves. I'm so glad I did this, out of all the caves we checked out, Diamond Caves was by far my favorite. Not only the cave, but the tour guide as well as the respect that that the owner and employees has towards the caves.

Here are the girls at the entrance. We got lucky and were first in the group of people on this tour.

The cave was amazing, truly breathtaking and unbelievable. The air was nice and cool and my allergies didn't bother me. I could live in a cave, lol. The tour guide was great telling lots of stories. The cave wasn't full of signs and lights everywhere. Everything seemed kept as natural as possible. The lights they do use, cause algae to form since this is a living cave that still drips water. The owner actually cleans around the lights to get rid of the green coloring. Something we saw a lot of in other caves.

Then we did the New Cave Entrance tour at Mammoth Caves. After that it was getting late and we headed to Cleveland, Tennessee for our hotel.

Road Trip Day 1 ~ Sunday

2011-06-26T23:59:00.011-04:00

We left for my daughters dance Nationals in Disney World on Sunday June 26th around 1:30 pm. We picked up our rental car, a nice big Ford Focus, lol around 11:45 and took over an hour to cram it full of all our stuff. This was 3 girls packing, my kids could barely move their legs.

Our first thing to do was go check out Jungle Jim's grocery store in Ohio. This grocery store was so cool and totally worth the stop. I even found some of those No Oodles Zero Carb, Zero Calorie Shirataki Noodles that Dr. Oz was talking about!

We drove through Ohio and ended up in Elizabethtown, Kentucky to sleep. We couldn't get over the view driving down the expressway.

Kids goofing around in the hotel with my youngest daughters LaLaLoopsy dolls. Yes, we had to bring all the mini lalaloopsy dolls and 4 of the large ones.

Going to Disney World

2011-06-24T23:41:00.001-04:00

My daughters have their Dance Nationals next week in Orlando, Fl at the Dolphin Resort in Disney World. Money is tight, so we were not going to do Disney. Just a few days ago, I managed a way to get tickets for myself and my two daughters to spend two days at the Magic Kingdom. I've been busy reading blogs, etc on how to get the most out of the trip. It is funny, all of the sites recommend months of planning, one even said to plan at least 180 days, LOL I've got about 4 days of planning. We are leaving on Sunday to Kentucky. Then we will spend a day at Mammoth Caves, then drive down to Tennessee. In TN, we will spend a day at Rock City, Ruby Falls & Incline Railway then head to Georgia. After a night of rest, we will spend 6 nights at the Dolphin Resort. Really excited about that, the hotel looks amazing and we get a convention discount! The girls dance a couple days & we are planning on visiting a Florida Spring one day, Old Amusement Park, Magic Kingdom for 2 days and we have a character practice scheduled with my favorite Alice & the Mad Hatter. I think I'm more excited about that then the kids :)Then we will go up to Savannah, GA to do a Ghost Tour. I've always wanted to do that, but have to somehow convince my just turned 10 year old to not act up. That should be fun :) Then we are going to spend a day at Tybee Island, then head back up to TN to visit all the Ripley's attractions in Gaitlinburg.I'm super excited!

Summer Reading list - K-12

2011-06-14T01:29:00.000-04:00

Here is a great list of books for your child to read. My daughters 3/4 grade split read Holes this year and really enjoyed it. My oldest read it in 5th grade and it was one of the few books my non-reader really liked a lot. She actually read it a couple times.

BALTIMORE, MD - Summer is here and for most kids it means leaving behind classes and homework. But summer should not be the equivalent of a learning-free time for kids. To encourage learning in the summer months, Sylvan Learning is offering a suggested reading list for grades K-12 to help parents find the right book for their child’s summer reading fun.

Elementary School

Kindergarten: Whose Mouse Are You? by Robert Krause
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Grade 1: Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott

Grade 2: Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle
How Much Is a Million by David M. Schwartz, Stephen Kellogg

Grade 3: Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech
Beach for the Birds by Bruce McMillan

Grade 4: Summer Reading is Killing Me! By Jon Scieszka
So You Want To Be President? by Judith St. George and Illustrated by David Small

Grade 5: Holes by Louis Sachar
Science Kitchen by Chris Maynard

Middle School

Grade 6: Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket
My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen

Grade 7: A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom by Walter Dean Myers

Grade 8: Ender's Game (Ender Series #1) Orson Scott Card
Our Town by Thornton Wilder
High School

Grade 9: Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard
Silent Spring by Rachel L. Carson

Grade 10: Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Profiles In Courage by John F. Kennedy

Grade 11: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith and Katherine G. Balderston

Grade 12: Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift and Pat Rogers
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Sylvan Learning offers a free reading incentive program for children in grades K-8 at www.bookadventure.com. With Book Adventure children can create personalized book lists from more than 7,500 recommended titles, take quizzes on the books they’ve read at school or at home, and earn prizes for comprehension of the books they’ve read.

For additional educational resources for children in grades K-12, please visit http://tutoring.sylvanlearning.com/parent_learning_resources.cfm or call 1-800-31-SUCCESS.

· Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SylvanLearning

· Twitter: http://twitter.com/sylvanlearning

· MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/sylvanlearning

· YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/sylvanlearninginc

About Sylvan Learning

Sylvan Learning is the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages, grades and skill levels. With 30 years of experience and more than 900 centers located throughout North America, Sylvan’s proven process and personalized methods have inspired more than 2 million students to discover the joy of learning. Sylvan's trained and Sylvan-certified personal instructors provide individualized instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, study skills and test-prep for college entrance and state exams. Sylvan helps students develop the skills, habits and attitudes needed for lifelong success. Visit www.DrRickBlog.com to share your personal academic experiences and comment on academic trends. For more information, call 1-800-31-SUCCESS or visit www.SylvanLearning.com-

CRAFT: Creating Really Awesome Free Things to do ~ Detroit Metro Area, Michigan

2011-06-01T01:24:00.000-04:00

I love finding free things to do in my area. When one of my favorite blogs starting a series CRAFT: Creating Really Awesome Free Things to do in the USA, I was so excited! I live in a suburb near Detroit, MI so here are some of the things you can do for free (or really cheap) in Southeast Michigan.

#1 The Beach

My favorite place is the beach, and Michigan is home to over 200 beaches! With over 3,200 miles of shoreline and 11,000 inland lakes, you are sure to find a beach in driving distance where ever you stay in Michigan. You can find a listing of beaches, most are free, with nominal parking fees.

#2 Belle Isle

Belle Isle has something for everyone. There is 982 acres of island to enjoy. Belle Isle is always open and free. It is home to the only Detroit City Beach. There are trails, picnic areas, water shows at the Scott Fountain during summer, kids playground, a lighthouse to see and the Dossin Great Lakes Museum to name a few things offered here.

#3 Shopping Malls

Michigan has some amazing shopping malls, but one of the coolest resides in Macomb Township (Clinton Township). Partridge Creek is an open shopping mall. There are tons of things to do with many stores, restaurants, movie theater. They also have sprinklers for the kids to play in and you are encouraged to bring your dog along with you. The two main department stores are Nordstrom and Parisian. The walkways are all brick paved with benches, Michigan native plants and trees. There is even a tv court and 30 foot stone fireplace in the center of the mall. Oh and I can't forget the children's playground, where kids can play on giant fruit :) About.com has a really cool virtual tour of Partridge Creek.

Some other great malls are Somerset Collection in Troy (high end mall), Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills (Outlet Mall) and Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights.

#4 Lansing State Capital Building

Michigan’s State Capitol building, where the Michigan Legislature still convenes, was recently restored after being used continuously for over 100 years. It is a beautiful building, with over nine acres of hand painted surfaces inside. When in the rotunda, be sure to look up and see the spectacular inner dome. Guided tours of the public areas and House and Senate galleries are offered on weekdays every half hour. Following the hour-long tour, if you haven’t had your fill of Michigan’s history, head nearby to the Michigan Historical Museum, which is also free.

Lansing, MI; Hours: 9am-4pm Monday through Friday; Admission: Free.

#5 Art @ The People Mover Stations

Now this will technically cost you .50 a ride, but there is some amazing art in the stations. Features more then 2 million in mixed media that you can photograph and touch, all for free!

#6 Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum

A must see museum of coin operated oddities and antiques. It is free, but you are encouraged to bring change since many of the coin operated machines/games still work!

Marvin's is open 365 days a year! The hours of operation are below (email or call for holiday hours):

Monday to Thursday 10am to 9pm
Fridays and Saturdays 10am to 11pm
Sundays 11am to 9pm.
31005 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334
Phone: 248-626-5020

Marvin's is at the corner of Orchard Lake Road and 14 Mile Road, in Farmington Hills, Michigan. From I-696, take the Orchard Lake Road exit North about 2 miles. Marvin's is on the West side of the road, just South of 14 Mile Road (across the road from Kmart). Look for the big 'Marvin Museum Clock' sign, and drive right underneath it!

#7 Library

Michigan has a wonderful library system. There are always free events going on every month. I highly encourage you to join your local library. Once you have a card, you are able to use most of the libraries in the state. They always offer an excellent summer reading program for kids and adults. Another amazing program the library offers is the Museum Adventure Pass Program. This program offers you free tickets for either 2 or 4 persons to many of the museums in the area. The program includes some of my favorites ~ The Detroit Institute of Art (DIA), Cranbrook, Detroit Children's Museum, Detroit Historical Museum, Anton Art Center, the Port Huron museums and much more!)

#8 GM Renaissance Center

The GM Renaissance Center is like a city within a city. Stores, Restaurants, Movie Theater. There is a ton to explore here! When you are done inside, just step outside to enjoy the Detroit RiverWalk.

#9 Pewabic Pottery Museum

Pewabic is FREE and open to the public 355 days of the year. Come explore Pewabic’s National Historic Landmark building by taking a FREE self-guided tour, and get an exciting glimpse of a rare part of American history. Stroll through our Museum and Contemporary Exhibition Galleries. Watch the artisans during each step of the ceramic process, from pressing a tile to glazing to firing the kilns. Wander through our Gallery of Studio Artists, where you can view and buy works by over 70 of the finest North American ceramic artists. See our latest ceramic exhibition showing the best in contemporary American ceramic artists.

Pewabic Pottery
10125 E Jefferson Ave
Detroit, MI 48214
(313) 626-2000

Hours

Monday thru Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 12-4pm
Self-Guided Tours are available Monday-Friday only.

#10 Morley Candy Factory Tour

Who doesn't love chocolate? I've been on this tour a couple times now between both my daughters, and it is really interesting. This free tour is offered at the Morley Candy in Clinton Township. You start out the tour watching a video on the history of chocolate and how Morley Candy got their start in Detroit. Then you get to walk the tour and watch the workers making the famous candy. Yum! There is also self guided tours available as well.

Detroit is really a wonderful city that I love. If you know of any other great free or really cheap things to do, please comment. You can also check out Serving Pink Lemonade's post about Detroit.

Things to do ~ Michigan Port Huron Museum Carnegie Center

2011-05-22T15:35:00.000-04:00

The Port Huron Museum Carnegie Center is a great place to visit if you will be near Port Huron, Michigan! Best of all, you can visit for free with a library card, thanks to the Detroit Adventure Pass program. I took my daughters to the museum during spring break this year. We spent about two and half hours exploring the two main floors. They also have a basement with local artwork that the girls enjoyed seeing.

Constructed and given to the City of Port Huron in 1904 by Pittsburgh-based steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie for $40,000, what is now the Port Huron Museum's Main Museum was originally the Port Huron Public Library. To the right is a postcard of the Main Museum as it looked soon after its opening as the library. After the City Library merged with the St. Clair County Library, the building was slated for demolition. Through the dedicated efforts of concerned volunteers, the Museum of Arts & History opened its doors on May 3, 1968.

The Port Huron Museum is home to over 15,000 objects and archival items relating to the history, pre-history and culture of the Blue Water Area. While all of our sites have items from the Port Huron Museum's collection, the majority of our object, document, and photograph collections are housed at the Main Museum. Since 1904, a museum, first under the auspices of the Port Huron Public Library, has been housed here.

Preventing foodborne illness

2011-05-18T14:39:00.000-04:00

Did you know that each year 76 million people in the United States get some form of food poisoning? I have never had it, but my husband and my oldest daughter have. We were at a buffet style restaurant and they both got very sick. It must have been the meat because that is the main thing I ate differently then them. Having food poisoning is not fun at all, and if you are one of the 76 million a year, then you know what I'm talking about!

The American Dietetic Association and ConAgra Foods' Home Food Safety have a great program going on right now called Summertime Food Smarts. The mission? To raise awareness of just how serious foodborne illness can be.

The website, Home Food Safety has tons of great tips from lunches to outdoor grilling. With summer fast approaching {yeah}, one of my favorite activities is picnics at the Beach. If you don't live near a beach, I'm sure you still picnic at the park. Here are some great tips to help you prevent getting sick from your picnic.

Don't Let Uninvited Guest Spoil Your Picnic

Tips for Safe Outdoor Eating

The sunny days of summer bring hot temperatures and outdoor gatherings. It's also a time of increased risk of food poisoning. While most Americans realize that May through September poses the biggest threat of foodborne illness, a survey conducted by the American Dietetic Association shows that consumers are not practicing correct outdoor food safety procedures.

So, before you pack the picnic basket, remember these simple tips to ensure that unwanted bacteria won't have a place at your table.

Wash Hands Often

Bring moist towelettes or soap and water to clean your hands and surfaces often.

Keep Raw Meats and Ready-to-Eat Foods Separate

Bring extra plates - one for handling raw foods and another for cooked foods to prevent cross-contamination.
Marinate foods in the refrigerator. Don't reuse marinade used on raw meat or poultry unless boiled.

Cook to Proper Temperatures

Cook your favorite foods to the right temperature by using a meat thermometer; hamburger to at least 160° F and chicken breasts to 165° F.
Never partially grill meat or poultry to finish cooking later.

Refrigerate Promptly below 40° F

Pack food in a well-insulated cooler with plenty of ice or icepacks to keep temperature below 40° F.
Transport the cooler in the back seat of your air-conditioned car instead of in your hot trunk.
Remove from the cooler only the amount of raw meat that will fit on the grill.
Defrost meat, poultry and seafood in the refrigerator before taking them to the grill.
Don't leave food outside in hot weather (90° F or above) for more than one hour.

You can read the full list of tips here. Oh and just for fun for kids, you can download a certificate for restraining from eating cookie dough :)

For helping spread the word about the importance of home food safety, I was entered into a drawing for a $15 Starbucks gift card and an iPad through Summertime Food Smarts, a campaign run by the American Dietetic Association and ConAgra Foods’ Home Food Safety program. Home Food Safety is dedicated to raising consumer awareness about the seriousness of foodborne illness and providing solutions for easily and safely handling foods. Learn more atwww.homefoodsafety.org.

Trip to Lansing, our state capital

2011-05-14T00:53:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my daughters classroom field trip to Lansing. This used to be a fifth grade trip, but they stopped it the year my now 8th grader was in 5th. My 4th grader is in a split class, so they decided to go to Lansing since neither the 3rd or 4th grade field trips this year appealed to them.

It was an interesting day. We got to sit on the Senate votes. The Republicans voted down two proposals that would help middle & low class working citizens. We got to watch the Senate pig out on big plates of food with their laptops, and ipads, cel phones, etc all the while happily voting down any bill that would help out the working class.

My daughter was hoping to see Governor Rick Snyder so she could tell him off. He is trying to take $10 billion in funding away from our school district alone. She has already wrote him a letter, and was anxious to tell him in person how she feels about him. I was hoping we would not run into him because I was worried about what she would say. That is all I need is for my 9 year to get kicked out of the capital during a school field trip, lol. What is really funny though is that her feelings are truly her feelings. She told me how she felt before I told her. I agree with her, but I'm so glad she came up with it on her own. Now I do admit to some Republican bashing over the years, that I'm sure has persuaded her a bit towards Democrat. However, the stuff with the Governor is all her, I'm not even sure she realized at first he was a Republican.

The capital building is truly beautiful though, and it was really interesting sitting in on the House and Senate votings. We also toured the Michigan History Museum, which was very interesting.

On the topic of politics. What do you think about that New York, Jewish newspaper photo-shopping out Hillary Clinton and Audrey Tomason? They never publish women in the newspaper. How horrible. What I find interesting is the White House released the photo under the agreement that there would be no altering the photo. From what I understand, the newspaper will be printing a retraction.

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T15:09:00.000-04:00

Decided to take the girls to the park for Mother's day. We actually had a couple of beautiful days finally this weekend!

My 9 year old and myself hit up the freebie events on Saturday. Next year, watch for these. We went to Lowe's (heart vase above), Home Depot (tulip planter), Joanns (card & turtle plant stake pictured above) and then Michaels for a Scrapbook page. We had a lot of fun & only cost gas money (which isn't cheap, but still, lol)

More Spring Printables

2011-03-30T00:41:00.000-04:00

I am totally addicted to freebie printables from all the great crafty blogs out there. Here are a few I have found recently for spring ...

The Creative Mamma has a great little mini spring kit that comes with a to do list, shopping list and spring cleaning list. Get yours here.

Flamingo Toes has this cute Peeps printable

Gorgeous spring printables over at Blooming Homestead. She shares them in gray, yellow, blue and pink. I'm going to use the yellow this year!

Simple Crafter has a great freebie subway art and Maria-Isabel from Agape Love Designs has made MORE adorable subway art-

Fun Nest Printable

A huge set of Easter Printable from Magnolia Creative, found here

A lot of options for more subway art

Spring Photo Checklist

2011-03-29T12:38:00.000-04:00

I love taking pictures, but find that sometimes I get in a rut and take the same types of photos. With Project 365, I really need inspiration from time to time on what photos I can take.One way of finding that inspiration is by doing Photo Scavenger Hunt types of products. They are easiest to find during Christmas time, but Simple as That, just posted a free printable Spring Photo Checklist.

Filled with 50 photo ideas & photography prompts this list is sure to get you started in capturing your Spring.

Be sure to check out the rest of Rebecca's blog for more inspiration and printables!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T22:28:00.000-04:00

Image by Darwin Bell via FlickrHappy St. Patrick's Day!

Preemie prevention shot price skyrockets 150x more expansive

2011-03-15T09:36:00.000-04:00

Image via WikipediaThe FDA has recently granted exclusive rights to KV Pharmaceuticals to produce the progesterone hormone shot that many women are given to prevent premature birth. The shot is currently only $10, but KV Pharmaceuticals will be selling it for $1500 a shot. That is a 150 times increase.

This infuriates me. My oldest daughter most likely would not have survived if it were not from this shot given to me between 32 - 33 weeks pregnant. I had a terrible pregnancy which the doctors did not think my baby would survive. They were able to stop my labor for over a week, and during that week she had gained over 2lbs in the womb. The ultrasound I had before the shot, showed her only weighing 3lbs. At the time of delivery, she was a whopping 5lbs3oz.

I guarantee, my insurance at the time would not have paid $1500 a shot.

This totally disgusts me. One thought that came to mind almost right after reading this, is the abortion debate. I'm pro-choice, even though I hope that women will choose to give life (I just believe that women have the right to decide). I find it rather crazy, that every one makes such a stink about abortion, yet companies are granted rights to raise a drug to SAVE babies by 150 times the cost. Let's get real, with the way the health insurance is, how many will really pay this cost? What about the uninsured, how will they pay for this?

The hormone used is known to be cheap, with no issues making this shot to save these preemie babies and possibly their mothers. Oh and guess what, it is almost pure profit. KV did not develop the drug or even pay for the trials, taxpayers did!

My favorite Daily Deal Sites

2011-03-06T18:20:00.001-05:00

I'm totally addicted to those daily deal sites. I try to check every day for my area, but I've also been checking out Orlando since we are going there this summer for Nationals Dance Competition. I found a great deal on Old Town Amusement park tickets on Groupon that I plan on using while down there!

Ones I have actually made purchases from ~
GrouponLiving SocialDaily StealsWoot ~ I've ordered from the t-shirts, but they also have a Daily Woot, Kids Woot, Sell out Woot and Wine Woot1SaleADayCityDeals
Kindred Creations ~ scrapbooking
Peachy Cheap ~ scrapbooking and A Side of Peaches ~ jewelry & accessories
Sites I check out on a daily basis ~GroopdealzCrafty Steals
Gaggle of Chicks (New York & Nationwide deals only right now)TipprMuncharoo

Get One Year of Free Gmail Backups to Backupify

2011-03-01T12:03:00.000-05:00

Image via WikipediaI pretty much use google for everything, besides searching on Swagbucks to earn my Amazon gc's (which is actually powered by Google).
I use Gmail, I use Google docs, I use Picassa, I use Blogger, I use Google Reader
So, when I heard about a handful of Google users losing all of their data, I got a bit worried. I'm so glad I got online today because the company Backupify is giving away a 1 year membership that includes 20gbs of storage for Google accounts for free. It ends today! Go to Backupify and enter promo code savegmail.

Backupify automatically performs scheduled backups at one of the 10 online services they support. Supply the login credentials of the sites you want backed up, and Backupify takes care of the rest.

Backupify offers Twitter backups for free and three additional premium plans that range from $3.95 to $14.95 per month, depending on how much storage you need. By using that code though, you get 1 year of 20gbs of storage totally for free.

Right now I have my Gmail and Google docs backing up. If there is still room, then I will probably add facebook and twitter. My flickr is pretty safe because my photos are backed up on my hard drive, my external hard drive and Shutterfly.

This post sponsored by ~ Complete Collection of St. Patrick's Day Printables

High School Orientation

2011-02-23T14:06:00.000-05:00

See that little cutie? Today I have high school orientation for her! It doesn't even seem real that I will be going to the high school tonight to learn all about how to pick her schedule, etc.

She already tried out for the dance program that she is hoping to get into. The schedules were supposed to be turned in a week ago, but we had a snow day on the original orientation.

Preparing myself for the high school journey.

Hey Gin ...

Free Kindle Book for Crafters ~ Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)

Costume Week

Hanes Virtual Comfort Package

Hill's Healthy Mobility Challenge

Ella Publishing's Scrapbooking Boot Camp $2 coupon expires Today, Hurry & use it!

MyMemories Suite v2 scrapbook software

My Memories Suite, the #1-rated scrapbooking software, just got better...much better.

Create in minutes

Not just looks

Speaks for itself

Go ahead, show off!

Share Your Creativity

What Can Your Software Do?

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Going to Disney World

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CRAFT: Creating Really Awesome Free Things to do ~ Detroit Metro Area, Michigan

Hours

Things to do ~ Michigan Port Huron Museum Carnegie Center

Preventing foodborne illness

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Wash Hands Often

Keep Raw Meats and Ready-to-Eat Foods Separate

Cook to Proper Temperatures

Refrigerate Promptly below 40° F

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Mother's Day

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Happy St. Patrick's Day

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High School Orientation

My Memories Suite, the #1-rated scrapbooking software, just got better...
much better.