November Blessing #1

On November 1st, the saying on my calendar was
November is the time to count our many blessings - name them one by one.

So, I am going to do just that.  I am going to take one blessing from each day.  Something that really blessed me that day, not just a blessing in general, and write it out here.  Sometimes we ignore the little blessings and that is what I am going to look for each day.


Blessing #1 - That our son's broken finger is healing properly.

Check Out Shutterfly for Your Christmas Cards

Do you shutterfly?  I do!  They are my favorite photo website.  I love the quality of their photos, their fast shipping, their photo cards, and all the other neat gift options they offer from calendars to mugs to notepads to puzzles and more!  One of my favorite Shutterfly items is their photo books.  They have so many options and are so fun to make!
Every year at this time, I am trying to decide how I want our Christmas cards to look.  I love using photos of our children in our Christmas cards.  Shutterfly has so many options for me to choose from.  I can spend an entire day looking at all the different card options.  You can use just one photo, or numerous photos on one card.  You can also send a card in many different size and color options. 

For many years I sent the photo card sheet, but now that Shutterfly offers these beautiful card stock items, I am going to have to check them out.  They look so professional and have so many styles to choose from.  To see all the different styles of cards, click HOLIDAY CARDS.  You can send a card with a photo showing your loved ones how beautiful your children are, or even tell a story of your whole year, or maybe about your summer vacation.  Click HOLIDAY CARDS to see some options. 

I have never had a single problem with Shutterfly and have always been pleased with their quality products.  I better get started on creating my Christmas card since Christmas is just 55 days away!  Shutterfly is offering 20% off all their holiday cards to all of you by clicking HOLIDAY CARDS.  This is a great savings if you have over 100 cards to order like I do!

To find out more about shutterfly check out http://www.shutterfly.com/.  Also to be in the loop on great offers from shutterfly, check out and "like" their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/shutterfly. 

Thanks to Shutterfly for giving me 50 free holiday cards.  This post is my honest opinion and I am a true fan of Shutterfly.  I wouldn't review anything that wouldn't benefit me or my family.  I was not compensated in any other way for this post.

Review: CSN Stores Hamilton Beach Blender/Food Chopper

CSN Stores has allowed me to receive this fabulous Hamilton Beach Blender/Food Chopper.  The current blender I was using was one we had purchased with our wedding money.  The blades weren't as sharp anymore and I was frequently left with chunks in my smoothies and drinks.

This blender is exactly what I needed and the fabulous thing is that is also came with a food chopper attachment.  The pitcher and food chopper are plastic, but solid.  It is a break resistant DuraBlend plastic.  There are plenty of different settings for anything you might be blending or chopping.  The revolutionary wave-action system continuously forces mixture down into the blades for smooth results every time.  The blender/chopper is also easy to clean.

I made a smoothie with large frozen pieces of fruit and everything came out very smooth.  I also made a pitcher of blended margaritas and it blended up perfectly without a single ice chunk. 

If you are looking for a new blender or food chopper, this one is worth it.  It retails for $47.99 on CSN Stores.  The shipping was also super fast.  I ordered it on a Friday and on my doorstep on Tuesday! .  I give this blender 5 stars!

CSN Stores provided me with a gift code to order the blender.  This review is my honest opinion and am receiving no other compensation for this review.  I am a CSN Stores preferred blogger.  I wouldn't review any item that wouldn't benefit myself or my family.

Things I Love - My Husband

Things I love....................

This is my feature where I get to share something that I just love. Since you are my friends, I like sharing things I love with others. It could be anything from a new product, food, recipe, song, image, to a person and everything in between. This will be something I am completely doing on my own, without pressure or compensation from a company, author, PR/Marketing firm, friend, business owner, etc. This will just be something that makes me happy and I want to share it with you. Enjoy some love!

Today's love is..................................
 

My husband, Pat. 
 
This week he turned 40 and it was so fun to celebrate that with him.  He was 27 when we met.  We were so young and so full of dreams for our future.  We couldn't wait to get married and have children and start a life together.  When he turned 30, I threw a huge surprise party with his best friend's wife.  Her husband was also turning 30 and so we decided it would be easiest to have their surprise parties together.  Boy was it a blast, but also a lot of work.  This time, I decided to make it more manageable and more personal.  His birthday was on Monday, so we started celebrating on the weekend by going out to dinner with another couple friend of ours to one of his favorite restaurants.  Then Saturday night I invited his sister and family over.  This was when I revealed a slide show/DVD of his last 40 years.  I had scanned pictures from his childhood, pictures from our early life together and added in some of our family photos.  I sent them off to my cousin who then put it into DVD form with music and captions.  It was fun to see the finished piece and every one's reaction to the photos.  On Sunday, we celebrated here at home since Monday night was going to be hectic with basketball practice.  On Monday, I had told him I would take him out to lunch, knowing that I really wasn't going to do that.  I had arranged for people in his office to stick around for lunch on Monday.  I had also sent posters of some of the cutest photos of him to be placed around the office that morning announcing that he was 40 today.  I brought lunch in for everyone at the office.  Pat was truly surprised and it was fun to have all of us sitting around the conference table.  His sister even came in for lunch and brought a cake which was a nice touch. 
 
So, as you can see, I am truly in love with my husband.  I wouldn't know how to survive without him.  He is truly a "hands on" dad and husband.  No, he may not always put his clothes away in a timely manner or pick up after himself, but he is always willing to help out a neighbor, to get down and play with the kids, to help me with a craft project or a baking project, or to watch a girlie movie with me. 
 
I knew from the first night we met, that he was THE ONE for me.  We have made it through some tough times, and came through even stronger.  I can't wait to see what our future holds.  I look forward to celebrating and finding ways to surprise him for his 100th birthday!
 
So, today's love is a love only for me.  But I am so full of love for him that I had to share it with all of you, especially in honor of his birthday.  Happy Birthday and may there be many, many more!

Change Your Clock Change Your Battery Giveaway

The end of daylight savings time is just around the corner on November 7, 2010.  For 23 years the ENERGIZER Company and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (I-A-F-C) have teamed up to remind everyone to adopt their life saving CHANGE YOUR CLOCK CHANGE YOUR BATTERY habit.  When you change your clocks back one hour, you also need to check and change your batteries in all your smoke alarms.  This is a great way to also get your children involved as I am sure they are learning about fire safety just like my kids are.  Just as important as "Stop, Drop and Roll" is having working smoke alarms throughout your home/apartment.  Having a working smoke alarm can cut the risk of dying in home structure fires in half because the alarm can provide the critical extra seconds needed to escape the home.  Even though 96% of American homes have smoke alarms, many do not have ones that work because of missing or worn-out batteries.

Each year, ENERGIZER donates 200,000 batteries to fire departments nationwide.  Every year, our small town, volunteer fire department makes the rounds around town, testing alarms and changing batteries for those who leave their lights on.  What a great service to those in our community who are elderly or maybe can't afford batteries, or for those of us who just need a reminder.

This year you can help ENERGIZER double their battery donation by going to www.facebook.com/energizerbunny and click the CYCCYB tab on the ENERGIZER BUNNY FACEBOOK PAGE.  Just pledge to change your batteries, share the message with others, and create your family's home escape plan.  Each action triggers a donation of batteries.

In order to help get the word out, ENERGIZER is offering a giveaway on my blog for one lucky reader.  The lucky reader will receive a FIRST ALERT Smoke Alarm and a 2-pack of 9-VOLT ENERGIZER MAX Batteries.

All you have to do is visit www.facebook.com/energizerbunny and "like" them.  Then click on the CYCCYB tab and help donate extra batteries.  Leave me a comment with your email address saying which of the ways you donated batteries.  This contest will run through Sunday, November 14, 2010 at 11:59 PM.  I will chose a winner using random.org on Monday, November 15, 2010.  This contest is open to US residents only.


This post is made possible by ENERGIZER.  I will receive one smoke alarm and battery set for personal use and one set to give away. 

Thought for the Day

The only courage in life that matters is the kind that gets you from one minute to the next. 
Mignon McLaughlin

Sometimes whatever we are going through is so tough, that we can take it only minute by minute:  waiting for the doctor's office to call with test results, waiting for your child to arrive home safely from a night out with friends, waiting for a phone call about the job you just interviewed for, or maybe dealing with the death of a spouse, parent, or child.  Just getting through each moment can be unbearable.

If any of these examples fit your life right now, or if you are in a crisis, take a deep breath and remind yourself that you just made it through this moment reading my blog and you will make it through the next moment.  Just take it one at a time.  You do have the courage and strength to make it.

Things I Love - Scrabble

Things I love....................

This is my feature where I get to share something that I just love. Since you are my friends, I like sharing things I love with others. It could be anything from a new product, food, recipe, song, image, to a person and everything in between. This will be something I am completely doing on my own, without pressure or compensation from a company, author, PR/Marketing firm, friend, business owner, etc. This will just be something that makes me happy and I want to share it with you. Enjoy some love!

Today's love is..................................SCRABBLE!

 

If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE to play Scrabble!  I play scrabble nearly everyday. I love to play Scrabble as a board game.  Whenever my mom's side of the family gets together, you know there is going to be some Scrabble being played.  My mom and her sisters can play Scrabble for hours and now my cousins and I like to get in on the action.  We love to try and beat our moms/aunts because they were our teachers!
 

Once I joined Facebook and realized I could play Scrabble with my friends and family on Facebook, I was super excited.  I usually have anywhere from 7-10 games going on at once with different people on Facebook.  Now that I have an iTouch it has even become easier to log on and play my Scrabble word in my Facebook games. 
 
Scrabble is a great way for me to use my brain and is something that I can play fairly quickly.  Depending on who I am playing with, I may only play one word a day or with someone else, we may play our words all day long. 
 

I can also visit http://www.pogo.com/ and log in and play Scrabble with the computer if I am really needing some Scrabble in my day.

 

I feel very fortunate that my mom taught me how to play this game and gave me a love for word games.  There are plenty of other word games out there, including Bananagrams, Scrabble Apple, Scrabble Slam, Chicktionary, Bookworm, etc.  I am grateful that my children enjoy playing these word games as much as I do.  I can often find our 5 year old daughter, playing Bookworm or Chicktionary on my iTouch and this is something I can definately be proud of.