Archive for Blog Stuff

Long Grove Chocolate Festival

Posted by html404 on May 7, 2013
in Blog Stuff, Family Stuff, Things to Do in Chicago, Travel

Long Grove Chocolate Festival Tickets

This past weekend I really flubbed up on a blog opp. I felt horrible, seriously, because in all honesty I was really looking forward to doing participating in the opportunity since it was for Chicago area bloggers. However, since I was already at the Long Grove Chocolate Festival I determined to make the best of a sad situation – I bought chocolate – of course. ;)

Long Grove Chocolate Festival Sign

Long Grove Too Much Chocolate Sign

Blondie and “B” were with me and we spent a little over an hour walking around the festival. Thankfully, we had arrived a little before opening time which enabled us to find parking very easily and we avoided massive crowds and lines during checkout. It definitely pays to be an early bird to popular Chicago events.

Long Grove Stopping to Smell Tulips

It was a beautiful day on Sunday for the Long Grove Chocolate Festival. We enjoyed stopping to smell all the tulips and daffodils in bloom. We rested on park benches and watched people. We visited a Christmas shop called, The Pear Tree Shoppe, the Scandinavian shop, the Irish shop, the Nifty Fifties shop as well as an antique store and others.

Long Grove Confectionary

My girls were very pleased with our outing, especially when it came time to visit the Confectionary and buy chocolate! We treated ourselves to creamy chocolate fudge, a chocolate covered pretzel and a peanut butter cup with M&Ms on top. We treated those at home to a dozen apple cider donuts and chocolate coins.

Long Grove Sisters Forever

All in all the girls thought we should get out more often as we absorbed warm sunshine and pleasant companions.


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Cinco de Swap with Avocados from Mexico and $100 Gift Card Giveaway

Posted by html404 on April 26, 2013
in Blog Stuff, Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Fun Stuff, Giveaways, Health, Health and Nutrition, Recipes

“This sponsored post was made possible by The Motherhood and Avocados from Mexico. I have been compensated for my time and work on this campaign, however all opinions are 100% my own.”

Last Friday night four Chicago area bloggers gathered together to experience Cinco de Swap with Avocados from Mexico. We each made an avocado dish (or two) to pass and share. There was one blogger who had never tried avocados before. The majority of us were trying new recipes from avocado macaroni and cheese, avocado ice cream, guacamole and avocado fries. For some fabulous photos of the dishes served visit Frosted Fingers!

Did you know that avocados from Mexico are available all year round? I didn’t know this. I also didn’t know this when I chose a recipe for BLT sandwiches:

Fresh avocado in sandwiches, on toast or substituted as a spread in place of many other popular foods may help reduce your intake of calories, fat, saturated fat, sodium and cholesterol.

Avocado BLT and Turkey Sandwich

I also did not know that one ounce (3 slices) of an avocado has 50 calories and contributes nearly 20 vitamins and minerals, making it a good choice to help meet nutrient needs! I find that amazing.

However, I did know that avocados are full of good fats our bodies need. One of the reasons I would feed it to my little ones as babies – my older girls to this day love avocados. It makes for a very easy to prepare meal. Just wash it, cut it open, de-pit it and start spooning baby bites into baby’s (or your) mouth! Easy peasy! Our younger crew didn’t even notice the avocados on the avocado BLT turkey sandwiches.

Avocado Fries Cinco de Mayo

Not very many in my family liked the avocado fries. I thought they tasted good, but liked Michelle’s (of Honestly and Truly) idea of serving them with a yummy dip.

Avocado Recipes

Here’s the link to the recipe that inspired our Avocado Fries. However, we did not fry them, we baked them and we used olive oil instead of canola oil. We also used regular bread crumbs seasoned with our own spices.

Our Avocado BLT Turkey Sandwich was inspired by this Turkey Avocado Bacon Sandwich recipe.

You can visit www.theamazingavocado.com for more recipes and nutritional
information.

Cinco de Swap with Avocados from Mexico and $100 Gift Card Giveaway

You all have a chance to win a $100 gift card! Just enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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Melissa & Doug Easter Shop and Giveaway

Posted by Brande on March 8, 2013
in Blog Stuff, Contests, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Girl Stuff, Giveaways, Holidays, Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping, Uncategorized

Easter_win200_8

Click the picture above to be entered into Melissa & Doug’s Easter Basket Giveaway!!  What child or children wouldn’t love $20.00 worth of Melissa & Doug products for Easter!  How cute is Brambles Bunny you can find him and lots of other fantastic Easter toys at Melissa & Doug’s Easter Shop!

Bramble Bunny


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Children’s Mucinex Review for Smiley 360

Posted by html404 on February 24, 2013
in Blog Stuff, Health, Parenting, Reviews

Mucinex 1’tis the season. Oh the joys of noses running and hacking coughs. As much as I appreciated the Smiley 360 Blogger offer to do a Children’s Mucinex review, I didn’t want to have to try it. I’m sure all you Mom’s understand. Well, low and behold my little darling started showing signs of the stuffy nose and cough. Good thing we had our Children’s New Formula of Mucinex in the closet. The multi-symptom cold with expectorant cough suppressant and nasal decongestant was just the thing we needed. It covers the stuffy nose, cough, chest congestion and breaks up mucus in a favorable flavor of Very Berry. After I read all the warnings, uses and directions the first thing I noticed when I opened the box was the dosing cup. It’s a short and wider than other dosing cups included in other brands. Which was much easier for my daughter to drink, it fit her mouth more like a cup she normally drinks out of. She’s not fond of tastes of medicine (but who really is, right?), she said it was good. The Children’s Mucinex helped her cough and stuffy nose, especially throughout the night, which makes this Momma happy. :)

Children’s Mucinex is alcohol free and there are 7 kinds of liquid forms to choose from depending on the ailment. In addition, there are 3 “mini melts”. From what I read about Mini Melts, you open the packet and pour the contents on your child’s tongue and they swallow it.

Complete drug facts, uses, warnings, dosing chart, and active ingredients please click here.

If you are unsure about using Children’s Mucinex® Multi-Symptom Cold liquid for
your child, talk to your pediatrician. With Children’s Mucinex and all medication, please read all the instructions before you dispense it to your child! Please call the toll free number 1-866-MUCINEX (1-866-682-4639) if you have any product related questions.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product and promotional products from Smiley 360 in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

 

 


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Visit from the Fairy Hobmother

Posted by html404 on February 3, 2013
in Appliances, Blog Stuff, Fun Stuff

You know since becoming an adult I’ve never put much stock in fairies and the like…until recently when I received a visit from the Fairy Hobmother. Yes, you read that correctly the Fairy Hobmother. Who or what is the Fairy Hobmother you ask? Let me tell you…

Fairy Hobmother

The Fairy Hobmother is what I consider a blog fairy who flits from blog to blog sprinkling good will, encouraging words and timely gifts to bloggers he (yes the Fairy Hobmother is a HE) deems works hard and deserves a little reward, extra joy and happiness.

All the Fairy Hobmother asks in return is a little mention of him, Appliances Online, which has mega deals, tumble dryers and so much more for your appliance needs. He also says other bloggers may also receive some of his fairy dust if they comment on my post. Hint, hint bloggers!

So now do you believe in fairies? I am officially a believer. Thank you Fairy Hobmother for your generosity and mission of spreading good cheer throughout blogosphere and among bloggers!


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My Word of the Year #InspiringMoms

Posted by html404 on January 23, 2013
in Articles, Blog Stuff, Encouragement for Moms

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to join a group called Inspiring Moms Network. One of the first emails from the network founder challenged me to participate in choosing a word of the year. The more I thought about it the more I wanted it to be a word that really defined my 2013 year.

I’ve been thinking that while I thought life was harder once I became an adult, compared to my teen years, my life since November 29, 2004 has been even harder still. In moments of weakness I pray, “Lord, when will it let up. It seems we have been on a downward spiral since 2004.” The downward spiral started with the loss of our son, Matthew in utero, accompanied by Robert’s long time boss selling the business, new boss, husband unhappy with job for the first time EVER, exhausting sixth pregnancy, loss of job, 19 months of unemployment, rough eighth pregnancy, and the seemingly awful struggle to survive financially.

If I were to go back and choose a word for 2012 it would be TIRED. Yes it’s uninspiring, but it’s the truth. 2012 was tiring. Yet it had pockets of hope filled moments.

Words I considered for my Word of the Year:

BETTER.

CHANGE.

IMPROVEMENT.

RESTORE.

JOY.

CONTENTMENT.

GRATITUDE.

Motivated

Image courtesy of [Stuart Miles] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Then after all those things passed through the endless web of thoughts in my brain, I finally decided that MOTIVATED is my 2013 word of the year. MOTIVATED encompasses being motivated to be BETTER, to be MOTIVATED to CHANGE and IMPROVEMENT, to be MOTIVATED to restore what the locusts have eaten, to be MOTIVATED to be full of JOY, CONTENTMENT and GRATITUDE for what I have now, for what I will have and for what I have experienced in the past.

*MOTIVATED*

 


a motivating force, stimulus, or influence : incentive, drive ~ Merriam Webster Dictionary

How about you, are you MOTIVATED to choose a word of the year for 2013?


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Instagram to Sell Our Photos???

Posted by html404 on December 18, 2012
in Blog Stuff

How many of you use Instagram? I have only used it a little bit so far and after reading this article about Instagram to sell our photos commercially without paying us, I am seriously considering deleting my account. However, for the sake of any upcoming campaigns that may require posting to Instagram, I am only going to delete my photos that mean something to me.

Facebook actually bought Instagram and as the article suggests, is this their way of recouping the cost of buying this business?

What’s your take and what do you intend to do, if anything?


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Twitter Party with MailPix!

Posted by html404 on December 13, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Contests, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff

Do you know what a Twitter party is? It is a chat done on Twitter or a tweet chat. There are a number of ways to participate TweetGrid is popular, as is Hootsuite, which is what I usually use but it does lag in time. We will be using the hashtag #photomemories and that is the hashtag you will search when looking for this particular Twitter party or Twitter chat.

I am co-hosting a Twitter party with Sasha from MailPix, Professor just reviewed their products, and Bobbie from Verbosity. Here are the details for the Twitter party:

When: Wednesday, December 19
Time: Noon-1pm CST, 1pm-2pm EST, 10am-11pm Pacific
Where: Your Twitter account, TweetGrid, Hootsuite
Topic: Photo Memories
Prizes: 5 photo memory related prizes from Mailpix!
Hashtag: #photomemories

Prizes will be chosen using Random.org throughout the hour. Winners will be announced and asked to DM (Direct Message) the host with their contact information.

If you are interested in attending, please sign up using Mr. Linky below with your Twitter ID and link to it:

Please feel free to help spread the word!

P.S. By signing up you are insuring you are entered into the giveaways during the party!

Thanks!


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Top Mom Blogger Review & Giveaway

Posted by html404 on December 7, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Giveaways

Top Mom Blogger Review

Blogging is a part of my life. No matter where I am at whether it’s being super excited to share every little detail about some event in my life, a new product or opportunity or whether I’m tired and heading towards burnout, blogging is a part of me. Maybe you can relate.

If you have ever been interested in blogging or have wondered how to improve your blog, then help is here! Top Mom Bloggers is a website chock full of learning opportunities from free downloads, blogger challenges, blogger interviews (Don’t be surprised to see one from me, I was, because I had forgotten all about responding to the interview questions!) to monetizing your blog and help you master the art of blogging.

Something new I learned

Posts should be at about a 4th grade reading level to be well understood by search engine “bots”.

I did not know that. Interesting that they don’t make search engine “bots” smarter than 4th grade, eh? ;)

I enjoyed scanning through the articles and posts. I had hoped to come across some training calls, but alas, they aren’t any uploaded yet. Boo hoo.

My Thoughts About Top Mom Blogger

In my Top Mom Blogger review of the site I found the site very easy to navigate. I really appreciated the reminders and encouragement the authors gave, but because I have read enough over the years I fear most of the content for a seasoned blogger will be “old” so to speak. And while I think the site is definitely geared towards newbies or those just beginning their blogging career, seasoned bloggers will still benefit from the goal setting, organization tips, tricks, training calls and content inspiration posts. I love ideas to help me create new content!

While I was a tad disappointed there wasn’t more meat (for seasoned bloggers) to the site, I realize the site is still in progress and the authors, Trisha and Lynsey are adding new content every day.

Top Mom Blogger Membership

Top Mom Blogger is a membership site, after all it is offering valuable training, tips and information from seasoned bloggers; who are already earning an income from blogging. Membership is just $9.95/month and I bet you’ll learn how to make that back with the education you receive. I know forum I joined costs me less than $9.95/month and I make that back multiple times over so it’s worth it to me.


Top Mom Blogger 6 Month Membership Access Giveaway!

Top Mom Blogger is giving away a 6 month membership access to their training community…free of charge. Just enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Faith and Family Reviews reviewed the following website in exchange for membership access. While we consider it a privilege to receive compensation for reviews, our thoughts and opinions are our own.


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Melissa & Doug’s Terrific Twenty Giveaway is Back!

Posted by Brande on December 6, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Contests, Fun Stuff, Giveaways, Holidays, Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, Shopping

 

Melissa & Doug’s Terrific Twenty Giveaway is back! Head over to Melissa & Doug’s Facebook page or here’s the direct link for the entry form. Enter to win a new prize everyday!!  Don’t forget to check out the Terrific Twenty on Melissa & Doug’s website!

I receive nothing for doing this post except an entry into the blogger’s sweepstakes.


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