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HouseParty.com

Posted by Brande on November 17, 2011
in Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Saving Money, Thrifty Thursday

Do you enjoy hosting parties? How about trying new foods? I’ve got the website for you! HouseParty.com! It’s easy! Here’s what you do!

Go to www.houseparty.comand sign up. You apply for parties, which consists of answering question. Then a few weeks down the road, the will email you and let you know if you been selected to host the party. Then, they send you a “Party Pack”, which has coupons, party supplies, giveaways, and a special thing for the host/hostess! Most parties are held on one day and there could be 500 to over a 1000 parties on that day! I’ve hosted a Philly Creme Party last March and I have a Shutterfly Party coming up!

My Shutterfly Party Pack has – 1 Holiday Card Holder in a mesh bag (for the hostess), 1 pack of Holiday card samples, 1 Shutterfly catalog, 7 Shutterfly Balloons, 14 brochures for the hostess and guests with promo codes for 15 FREE Holiday card and a FREE wall calendar – 15 Plum District Offers and House Party sweepstakes decoders.

Other past parites included Sabra, Twister Mania, and Johnsonville.

It’s a great site! Even if you just looking for recipes, which I’ve done.

So, join House Party and start to have fun!

{9 comments}

Planting Garlic

Posted by html404 on November 16, 2011
in Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Health & Garden Tuesday, Health and Garden Tuesday

Farming has its elements of convenience and inconvenience. I love the convenience we have now with living right on the property that we will be farming. It is convenient to grow our own food. The inconvenience comes with weather, the timing of planting and harvesting. For the purpose of this belated Health & Garden Tuesday, I will be covering the inconvenience of planting garlic.

The inconvenience comes in the form of waiting for the first frost and getting the garlic in the ground at the right time. How do I know what the right time is? My timing in most things is not the greatest. In the case of garlic, which is usually planted in the fall for a spring harvest, it is a mixed bag. My timing for ordering our garlic was actually very good. I had fun picking out a few varieties of garlic and making my purchase, but we are just getting to tilling, planting and mulching our 7 or 8 lbs of garlic. I fear if my timing is off it will ruin the quality and quantity of garlic we harvest next year. My inexperience makes me second guess myself no matter how many times I read over the planting recommendations. I am hoping we can complete this little project this week….but at the rate we finish things….hmmm….but it has to get done soon.

Nevertheless, I am excited! I am still a little shell shocked that we are actually farming our “own” land. It still doesn’t seem real. It has been three and a half months since we moved here and the farming aspect is not being lived out in full capacity. After all, we moved at the end of the growing season here in Illinois. At least the growing season for outside. There are many farmers who have high tunnels which allows them to extend their growing season….but that is a whole other topic!

Here’s to hoping the weather stays in the 50’s so we can get our garlic into the ground!

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Playmates & Brothers

Posted by html404 on November 16, 2011
in Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Wordless Wednesday

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Costco Fruit Box vs. FruitShare

Posted by html404 on November 15, 2011
in Deals, Food and Treats, Gift Ideas

I was looking into a Costco membership and was browsing their site and came across this gift item of 10 pieces of organic fruit for $39.99. It is from Oregon, so that is a good thing.

Compare that to FruitShare’s 24 pieces of fruit delivered to your door for $39!All from the USA too.

No comparison! You get more for a dollar less by shopping at FruitShare! Remember to shop local (as much as you can) and shop USA to support our economy!

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The Berenstain Bears Get Ready for Christmas ~ Children’s Book Review

Posted by Professor on November 15, 2011
in Books, Family Stuff, Holidays, Seasonal Stuff

Click to see a larger image of The Berenstain Bears Get Ready for Christmas by Jan & Mike Berenstain

Mike and Jan Berenstain enlighten and inspire the holiday spirit in children with a fun Lift-the-Flap Cook from the Berenstain Bears Living Lights series that teaches readers the story of Christmas!

In this new book the Berenstain Bears arrive just in time for the holidays! The family finds fun and adventure as the bears attempt to assemble the family nativity scene.

The book is from Zonderkidz; a division of Zondervan…this publishing company inspires young lives through imagination and innovation. They are a leader in Christian children’s communications that awaken the hearts and touch the souls of kids under 16 and the people who love them, from family to educators.

OUR REVIEW:

When I initially opened the package I thought…oh another Berenstain Bears book! We have so many of the beloved Berenstain Bears books that I thought it would be nice to add another to our library. I opened the book and found it was a Christmas book…but to my surprise it was not just any commercial Christmas book but a CHRISTIAN Christmas book…complete with nativity scene bile and the mention of Jesus. This was a treat because so many books have been commercialized to remove the true sprit of Christmas and are only about presents and Santa Clause. I was very happy to share this warm book with my children and inspire the true meaning of the holiday!

My children LOVED this book! My children are 7, 5, and 3 and they ALL were very excited about the book! The Lift-the-Flap feature was a hit with all of them…they all wanted to lift the flap as we read the story! My older daughter was even able to read the book to the younger ones … this was a plus! The children understood the themes in the book, which were important…they especially liked the bears putting out the nativity scene, as this is ne of our family traditions!

To find out more about the Berenstain Bears Christmas or other Zonderkids products please visit:

www.zonderkidz.com

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product 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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Lose Your Bad Habits or Lose a Limb!

Posted by html404 on November 15, 2011
in Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Health, Health & Garden Tuesday, Health and Nutrition

If you were at a cross road in your health and knew you could lose a limb due to poor circulation probably acerbated by your diabetes, would you lose your bad eating habits? I know I would no matter how much of a struggle it would be! We have a family member who recently faced this very thing. Due to stints and skilled doctors though this person kept their leg, but doesn’t appear to be ready to drastically change their eating habits. This person has had several operations in the last couple of years and undoubtedly more to come if old habits do not die fast and hard.

I find it ironic that people do not want to change. This may sound awful but I understand how people can ignore the obvious problem – their eating habits. I would much rather eat healthy than give myself a shot of insulin. I would much rather have both my legs and eat spinach than ignore fruits and veggies only to chance losing my leg. Losing a limb is life changing. More life changing than simply eating more fruits and veggies. It is a known fact that Type 2 diabetes can be reversed/controlled through diet, exercise, and with the help of alternatives. I have heard of people even stopping their insulin shots! Yet people still choose their medicines, operations and ongoing symptoms over simply changing their eating habits. I don’t get it.

It would be a dreadful thing to lose a limb. Any limb. It is a scary thought. Our family tries hard to eat healthy but I admit we struggle at times too. It concerns me for our future health. I would love to eat healthier to be honest, but like most families our budget will only allow for so much. That is the very reason we desire to grow our own food and raise our own meat birds, laying hens etc. Besides the fact that farming also provides a natural means of exercising. Just working on the farm is exercise. No need to schedule a special time for yet another activity away from home because it naturally occurs….now that is my kind of exercise!

Today’s Health and Garden Tuesday post is to simply challenge all of us (myself included!) that the choices we make today determine what our future will be like. So eat lots of fruits and veggies and cut back on those sweets (my downfall)!

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Crowdtap.com

Posted by Brande on November 14, 2011
in Business, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Products for Mom, Saving Money, Thrifty Thursday

I’ve been doing surveys online, hoping for a “reward”, and haven’t come up with anything. UNTIL, I joined Crowdtap in the Spring. I’ve received free Old Navy clothing! Just last week, I got a $99.00 coat for NOTHING, ZERO, ZIP, NADDA and so did my Mom!

“Crowdtap is the network for Brand Influencer Communities. Crowdtap allows marketers to easily collaborate with and mobilize their targeted brand crowd of influential consumers for real-time research, collaboration or powerful word-of-mouth marketing.”

Here’s how it works. You take “Quick Hit” questions to achieve points, by achieve points to gain levels. Once I got to Level 5, I started applying for Old Navy Sample & Share. I’ve received free Active Wear, a pair of shorts, and a coat for me and a FRIEND! Crazy right!?

Get Tapped In! www.crowdtap.com

Start your own Old Navy collection!

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Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon When You Take the North “Poll”

Posted by Brande on November 14, 2011
in Baby Products, Books, Coupons, Education, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Kids Toys, SALES, Saving Money, Shopping

Melissa & Doug want you to tell them which of their educational toys you think is the best! Just click on the image below to place your vote in the North “Poll!” You’ll Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon** to use at MelissaAndDoug.com just for voting!

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The Christmas Shoppe – A Revell Blog Tour

Posted by html404 on November 12, 2011
in Books

Our family loves the Christmas season, which will be upon us in just a couple of weeks. Melody Carlson has written a timely novel, The Christmas Shoppe.

The bookworms on your gift list will enjoy this refreshing, heartwarming story with a sprinkle of romance. It is a light, easy read. Definitely a book to read to “get away from it all” if a vacation is not on the horizon.

If you believe in Christmas angels then this book is for you! Matilda is a character in The Christmas Shoppe. She is an eccentric woman with some very unselfish goals as she sowed seeds of love, healing and happiness out over the people living in the town of Parrish.

I loved the story’s message, which from my perspective seems three-fold:

1. Remember the true meaning of Christmas.
2. Don’t allow old wounds to ruin your present and future life.
3. Allow love to conquer all.

The Christmas Shoppe receives two thumbs up for me! I am even letting my daughters read this one! 🙂 Oh and I did not shed one tear…..amazing, I know!

“Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

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Closed FruitShare Review & Giveaway!

Posted by html404 on November 11, 2011
in Faith and Family Reviews Friday Giveaway, Food and Treats, Gift Ideas, Giveaways, Health and Nutrition, Holidays, Organic

And the winner is………comment #3…..Congrats Domestic Diva!!!

Thanks to all who entered!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last week I wrote a post (read it at this link) about a company providing fresh, organic, in season fruit saying that I was going to try them out. I placed an order over the weekend. Apparently they process orders on Monday with the expectant delivery date being Wednesday or Thursday depending. We received ours today, which is ok. I will update you if our next order is any different in the way it is processed and/or delivered.

We received our box of organic apples, pears and cranberries via FedEx from FruitShare and I have to say I am impressed by the quality and taste. Very flavorful and juicy! The children were very excited and probably would have ate the whole box had I not held them back.

Our box contained a variety of 16 apples, 6 pears (2-3 varieties) and two containers of cranberries….Thanksgiving here we come! We could easily eat the whole box in a day or two with our crew, so I am grateful for the co-op we go to on Thursdays which provides us with some fresh organic produce as well. FruitShare is a treat. They truly choose quality fruit!

In celebration of Thanksgiving coming up, for healthy living and eating we are giving away a box from FruitShare! $39 Value! This would be a great gift idea for any family on your gift list this year. And yes, they do offer gift certificates. Since we are offering this personally, we are going to choose a winner, have the winner tell us their box choice, we will place the order and have it delivered to the winner’s home. The delivery of the FruitShare box will depend upon when we receive the winner’s info.

Giveaway:

One lucky reader will win a organic fruit share from FruitShare.com

Mandatory Entry: What fruit share do you want to try from FruitShare.com
?

Extra Entries;(Please be sure and leave a comment and link for extra entries):

1 Entry: Tweet about this giveaway. Include a separate comment for each and your tweet url with your comment:

Enter to win a organic fruit share! @faithandfamilyrewv #giveaway http://bit.ly/sul4tL #organic #eatinghealthy

1 Entry: Follow Faith and Family Reviews on Twitter

1 Entry: Like/Friend Faith and Family Reviews on Facebook.

10 Entries: Blog about this giveaway and link back this post. Be sure to leave me a link.

1 Entry:For every comment you leave anywhere else on this blog, but please leave a link with your comment!

2 Entries: Follow Faith and Family Reviews on Google Friend Connect (on the our right side bar).

Details:

This giveaway will run from November 11th, to November 20th, 2011 at midnight CST. The winner will be chosen through Random.org. I will send one winner their prize. Winner will be contacted via email on or before November 20th, 2011 and will be asked for their contact and other pertinent info. Winners will have 48 hours to send me their e-mail at [ffr] [giveaways] [at] [gmail] [dot] [com] (without spaces and parenthesis). Please note: This giveaway is offered to USA only.

Thanks and have fun!

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