My Top 5 Fave Products of 2011

Over the past year, I've reviewed a lot of products! More than I thought, that's for sure. And as fun as it might seem to get free products in the mail (and believe me, sometimes it is!), it's a lot of work to use them, photograph them, and write an honest and thorough review about them.

I do want to personally thank all of the PR reps that I have worked with over the past year because they have all been absolutely awesome. You know, you read these horror stories about PR reps from hell, and I can thankfully say that I have not encountered one as of yet.

I also want to thank you guys, my readers, because without your continued support and opinions, I wouldn't be able to share (and giveaway!) these fab products without you.

Without furthur ado, here are my favorite products of 2011:

1. WordWorld: Get Up and Move DVD

I honestly do feel like the introduction to Word World helped my kiddo substantially with her reading and spelling. And that is something any parent would be grateful for!









2.  Chevy Cruze Month long review and Vlog series

Oh my, the Chevy Cruze. 5 months later, and I still think about that damn car. Nothing I have driven has felt as nice as the Cruze did. If I had the money, I would buy one in a heartbeat - no lie.




3. Stickeryou Make+Print

Are you surprised this made it to my top 5? Stickers, who knew! It's such a unique product, and worked as an excellent marketing tool for my shop, that after we ran out of the ones I was sent to review, I went to Hobby Lobby and bought the Make+Prints out. Go me :)








4. Scrolls from Santa

This is just such an amazing, beautiful keepsake that will stay in my family forever. It's perfect in every way.








5. After Thoughts Aprons

The apron from After Thoughts has to be one of the cutest dam things kiddo owns. I can't be any more blunt than that. It's just adorable!










And oh, the sorrow of this only being a top 5! There are so many more products I would love to mention, but it would just be unfair to those that didn't quite make it on the radar.

Here's to a fantabulous 2012. Thanks everyone!

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6 tips for staying true to your New Year's resolutions

It hits us every year. New Years Day. A new start, a new way of living, a hope for a better you.

Some resolutions are cliche, but rightfully so. Many of us plan to start a diet on January 1st, quit smoking, start running, eat healthier. But how many of us actually stick to that resolution? Here is a list of steps to help you accomplish your goal for 2012:

1. Keep track of your progress
Buy a calendar, print out a day to day progress sheet, use a dry erase board. Find something that will help you keep track of your goals. If your resolution is to work out every day, check off the days that you did. If you want to quit smoking, chart how many cigarettes you had for that day and aim for a lower number the next. If you want to eat healthier, plan your meals out for the month.

2. Don't make excuses
If you keep pushing things off until tomorrow, it will never get done. If you can consistently stick to your resolution for a month, it will start becoming a part of you. If it's working out, it will become a daily habit. If it's dieting, it can be a healthy change for the rest of your life. If you stick to it, it will happen.

3. Don't overdue it
While sometimes pushing yourself to the max might seem beneficial (quitting something cold turkey, or working out until you can't move), in most cases it won't be. Starting slow and gradually will help you integrate your resolution into your lifestyle.

4. Surround yourself with subliminal motivators
Motivation is key, isn't it? Put the calendar mentioned in the first tip somewhere easily seen and unavoidable. If you have pictures of yourself at your goal weight, put them up around the house next to current pictures of yourself. If you need motivation to not light a cigarette, keep a small piece of paper and a pen nearby and keep track of your timing. Once you see how often you smoke, it will be easier to push yourself for that extra 10 minutes to fight the craving.

5. Never, Ever give up
As silly and redundant as it sounds, we all know it's true. If you've been doing crunches for a month, and don't see any results, they are there regardless. Sometimes we can't see our own bodies changing, but others will. Not to mention, muscle does weigh more than fat does. Don't lose hope. As long as you stick to it, you will see a change.

6. Find support
Whether it is your husband or a friend, support makes a huge difference. Have a friend quit smoking with you. It's a great motivator, and will often inflict a guilty feeling if you can't stick up to your end. If you're going on a diet, make the family diet too. Create meals that everyone can enjoy and are healthy too.

My New Year's resolution is to fix my sleeping habits. Early to bed, early to rise, right? I'm a night owl at heart, so staying up until 3:00 AM is me. I have the most energy between 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM. It's the worst thing ever when you have a kiddo to send off to school in the morning.

What is your New Year's resolution?

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What to do During an Electrical Fire

Last week I was facing a dilemma that I didn't know how to handle and scared the crap out of me.

I'm sitting on the computer, going about my daily routine. Updating my blog stats, starting a post, just doing what I do.

The house was particularly quiet. My husband was at work, and kiddo was enjoying her last day of school. It was just me and the cats, who were napping in front of the heater.

So when I started to hear snapping, sizzling, and popping noises to my right (which is just a window), I freaked out. My first instinct was to look at the outlet, and in a panic I yanked the plug to the power adapter, which had the computer, monitor, printer, and paper shredder plugged into it.

Shaking, I called my husband. I was scared. So scared.

I don't know anything about electricity.

What if the inside of the wall is on fire?

What if I just shorted out the computer?

What will happen to all of my important papers, that are sitting not too far from the outlet?

What if it's a fire?!

Like I said, I was freaking out. I decided it was also a good route to take to unplug my wireless router, which was plugged in directly below the outlet that sizzled. And upon inspection of the plug I initially yanked, the metal prongs were burnt to a crisp, and the outlet cover was melted.

I checked for smoke, and saw none. And immediately, on advice from my husband, called an electrician.

As I waited for hours, still nervous that something might be smoldering in my walls, I began using my iPhone as a research tool to ensure myself that there was no fire, and what to do if there was.

So, thankfully, my house did not catch on fire, and my computer is still up and running. What I did find odd was that I wasn't doing anything different than I usually do. I didn't plug anything else in, and nothing extra was running.

So here is some useful knowledge in case you ever do run into an electrical fire:

- If you encounter an electrical fire, NEVER throw water onto it. Water conducts electricity! Immediately turn of your electricity (the whole house!) and call the fire department.

- According to direct.gov.uk, sometimes switching the power off will stop the fire. Still, make sure you call the fire department just in case!

- If the fire is small, you can douse it with a fire extinguisher or baking soda.

Have you ever encountered an electrical fire before? How did you handle it?

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Celebrating the New Year with children

One problem I've run into with being a mom is New Year's Eve. It's a night that should be celebrated as the New Year comes in with friends, family, and cheers all around.
But what do you do when you have children? Do you let your kids stay up past midnight to celebrate with you? Do you drop them off at a sitter?

Photo courtesy buffalo.ynn.com

Growing up, I remember always celebrating New Year's with my mom and dad. They would have a get together at home with a lot of their friends, and we were allowed to stay up and watch the ball drop on TV.

Now that I've got a kiddo of my own, it's time to pick my own tradition. The past 4 years have gone 'un-celebrated', so to speak. We don't have TV (regular channels or otherwise), we watch movies and play games. Netflix, all that jazz. No cable though. So watching the ball drop is out of the question. Unless, of course I want to hover the fam around the computer which, no.

We don't like pawning kiddo off to a sitter. I don't know, I always feel like that's what we're doing. Pawning her off. So, my idea this year was to head out to Buffalo's First Night which is an alcohol and drug free New Year's event.

Photo courtesy firstnightbuffalo.org

Downtown Buffalo has their own ball drop, and it is the 2nd largest in the US. (I think you all know where the first is!) It's funny, living in Buffalo my entire life, I have never been to the downtown ball drop! Anyway, First Night features bounce houses, crafts, performers, and all a whole other crap load of stuff that is perfect for kids, and brings over 5,000 visitors! My husband thinks this is a terrible idea, that she is too young. Quite frankly, I'm sick of staying in for New Year's. :)

Photo courtesy firstnightbuffalo.org

Photo courtesy firstnightbuffalo.org

What do you do to celebrate with your little ones?

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Shop and Compare with Become.com

There are so many things about shopping online that make the task sometimes, tedious.
You have an endless amount of websites to choose from, that all carry the same product, or you're not sure which of the zillion products are right for you.

That's where become.com comes in. It's a one-stop comparison shopping site where you can shop for online discounts and the lowest prices from name brand retailers. They feature a handy product research engine for advice on what you're shopping for, plus they have a coupon section to save you even more. That makes things a lot easier, right?

Whether you're looking for 5x7 area rugs, 65 inch tv stands, or a tall media chest, become.com will find it for you, show you the best price, and with user reviews, you can find the best quality.

Not only does become.com feature everything you need to compare, save, and shop, but they've got a lot of other cool features too. Not sure exactly what you're looking for? Check out their Shopping Guides for great ideas from a bunch of merchants. I'm particularly fond of the Retro Appliances for the Modern Kitchen guide. I mean, how awesome is that?!

What's the hardest part of shopping online for you? Mine is definitely price comparison! I always have to find the best deal :)




This is a sponsored post. Any opinions are my own and not influenced. Please click here to check out my disclosure notice.

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Win a $10 Subway giftcard from the Gift Card Weekend FB page!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Gift Card Weekend for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey sweepsters, want to win a $10 Subway gift card? The Gift Card Weekend facebook page is giving away 100 of those this week in celebration of, well, Gift Card Weekend!

Gift Card Weekend is January 6th - January 8th. It's a once-a-year event where participating retail partners give featured offers for gift cards purchased during the holiday season and redeemed that weekend. Who's participating? So far, I see Adidas, Bucca di Beppo, jcpenney, Marriot, Regal, Sephora, Spafinder, Subway, Giant Eagle, Bass Pro, Applebee's, and Lowe's have signed up as participating retailers!

Here's the details on the Subway giftcard giveaway:

All you have to is "like" Gift Card Giveaway on Facebook, and hit the 'enter here' button. It will take you to a form where you submit your basic info and you're in! That's it - super easy one entry form. And you don't have to come back daily, which is an awesome bonus. Plus, share it with your Facebook friends and you can receive an extra chance to win for every 'like' you influence.

The giveaway last through 12/31, so you might want to get your entry in as soon as possible :)

Also, Gift Card Weekend's Facebook page will be giving away gift cards all month for more places!

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Red Gold Tomatoes Winner!

Extra special congrats to Liz T! Out of 427 entries (wow!) Liz was chosen as the lucky winner. I just sent an email over to you, you have 48 hours to respond, and congrats again!

I want to extend a special thanks to everyone that entered, tweeted, and really went all out for their chance to win. ♥ THANK YOU

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Weekly Blog Hop Directory

This is for all my bloggin' friends out there. I've composed a list of blog hops for the week, and this will be a weekly series. An ongoing 'directory' if you will. Need to boost your facebook fans, new blogs to read, or bloggy friends to find? Check out any of the hops below to get started!

If you host a hop that is not listed below, and want to be added to the list, feel free to email me or drop me a comment below!

I will personally try to enter all of the hops, but you know, time sucks.

I always follow back on all platforms. So if you'd like, follow me anywhere, drop me a line, and I'll follow you back :) Leave a link to your blog and I'll leave you a comment letting you know too.

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy!

Sundays


Mondays

Tuesdays


Wednesdays


Thursdays


Fridays


Saturdays

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Merry Christmas

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10 minute, last minute DIY gift - Picture Frame Craft (For Kids!)

My daughter says to me today, "Can we wrap Grandma's present?"

And, crap, I forgot to get a present for my own mother.

So, I asked kiddo what she wanted to get for grandma, and she said she wanted to give her a picture ~ so here is a quick craft I pulled together for a last minute gift!

What you'll need:
- 2 colors of construction paper
- 8 Popsicle sticks (colors optional)
- a glue stick (this is for the parts I let kiddo glue)
- glue
- glitter
- scissors
- a picture
- newspaper (optional, but holy hell - glitter is messy!)


Directions:
1. Place your picture on one of the sheets of construction paper and draw a rectangle around it. Cut out that rectangle.

2. Glue the picture onto the rectangle you cut out, and then glue that to the middle of the other piece of construction paper.

3. Glue 4 popsicle sticks around the first rectangle (don't glue them onto it), and then glue the other 4 around those.

4. Cut around the popsicle sticks.

5. Fold the popsicle sticks inward, creating a box shape.

6. Fold the extra paper triangles that are sticking out, inward (almost like wrapping a present), and glue a popsicle stick on top of them. This adds support. (I tried to grab a shot, but it came out extremely blurry)

7. Decorate around the picture with the glue. It can be a name, a fancy design, whatever! If you have glitter glue, lucky you!

8. Glitterize the frame and done!

*Tips for crafting with kids.
- Parents might want to cut out the rectangles (at least the bottom). You want the bottom to be straight, so the frame will stand on it's own.

The frame can be used standing up, or laying flat!
Enjoy :)

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