Sunday, October 31, 2010

Lets Help Pepperidge Farms For a Good Cause

This is a blog post campaign promoting Pepperidge Farm's donation incentive supporting Susan G. Komen for the Cure during the month of October. 
When someone posts a personal Milano Moment on Milano's Facebook Page in October, Pepperidge Farm will donate $.50 per Moment up to $50,000. 


http://on.fb.me/milanomoment




Lets all submit a moment tonight to get some donations to Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Away this week...

So I do apologize, but really haven't been able to post since I left to visit my mom this week.  I will be back at the end of the week but will try to get a post in.  Keep entering those giveaways.  Have a few more lined up...coming soon!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

PartyLite Pink Scents of Illumination Review & Giveaway

When I was given an opportunity to review such a beautiful product which represents such an amazing cause, I was ecstatic.   When I took the product out of the box I immediately was greeted with the delicious scent of PartyLite's Strawberry Rhubarb tealights.  The martini glass has a pink gel in it that beautifully lights up when the candle is lit.  Given that one of my relatives had breast cancer, I really love that they are donating a portion of their proceeds to Breast Cancer Research.

The set came with a dozen pink Strawberry Rhubarb tealights and a dozen unscented tealights.  Since the scented gel keeps its scent for about three months, I recommend saving the scented tealights for use once the gel no longer is scented.  The tealight stayed lit for what felt like almost the entire evening and I love that the wax is held in a clear plastic holder allowing the light to pass through all parts of the tealight rather than just the top.  This is a beautiful set, and anyone who was touched by Breast Cancer should truely enjoy it.

“A world with less breast cancer is a world with more birthdays.”  The American Cancer Society

This product is only available during the month of October, so if you happen to know someone who was touched by the disease, you can still order it for them.  This and any PartyLite product can be ordered though your PartyLite consultant.





PartyLite Pink Scents of Illumination glass holds a tealight and will add grace and charm to any celebration.  Beautifully boxed with a pink ribbon and card for a personal message, this is a lovely gift for that special woman who has been touched by this disease.  The fragrance lasts a minimum of three months.  Celebrate more birthdays with PartyLite candles!  ($32.95)






Would you like to win one of these amazing sets? PartyLite is providing the same set that I was given to review to one of my followers.

**** Please post a separate comment for each entry, otherwise they will only be counted as one.****

Mandatory Entry:


Publicly follow my blog on Google Friend Connect.



Additional Entries
  • Follow me on twitter  
  • Follow me on Networked Blogs
  • "Like" Homemaker in Progress
  • Follow PartyLite on Twitter
  • "Like" PartyLite on Facebook
  • Share this giveaway on your Facebook Page  (attach the link in your comment post)
  • Blog about this giveaway and post the link on your blog  (attach the link in your comment post)
  • Tweet about this giveaway.   (Max 3 entries per day atleast one hour apart.) Feel free to use the twitter button below to tweet about this giveaway.
Disclosure Statement
PartyLite did not compensate me to write this blog or to say particular things in it other than providing me with the product to review. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are purely mine.

One winner  will be randomly selected from all valid entries using random.org, and that winner will have 48 hours to respond to their prize winner email notification.  If winner fails to respond, within that time period, a new winner will be selected.  Contest ends November 1, 2010 at 11:59 pm CT.  Open to US residents , age 18+.


PartyLite is also holding its own sweepstakes as well where you can win some amazing prizes.  

in October and November only 
Lite Up Your Holidays Instant Win Game and Sweepstakes
From PartyLite!

Click here to enter and if you do not already have a consultant's code,  use  DN4FJC



Congrats to Bea Watson who was the 13th post and won this giveway.  Lucky girl!!!

True Random Number Generator  13

A Perfect Day

There are very few days that one can call a perfect day, but today was one of them.  A friend and I decided to take our daughters to the Houston Zoo and then for a picnic.  We arrived at the zoo and the sun was shining, there was a light breeze and it really wasn't that busy at the zoo.   

The girls were almost angels.  As close to angles as a two year old, one year old and three month old could be.  Samantha is notorious for trying to get out of her stroller, but today, she was fine allowing me to push her around to see the different animals.  We saw lions and panthers and prairie dogs and all kinds of fun animals.  The elephants had their babies with them, the orangutan was swinging and playing.  We couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable time. 

After the zoo, we took the children on a train ride through the park and Samantha absolutely loved the train.  She kept saying train? train?  Choo-Choo?  She was just so excited to ride. 

We got off on one of the train stops where we sat at a picnic table and had lunch.  Then the children had an absolute ball on the swings and the playgrounds.  Herman Park was beautiful!  There were a variety of playgrounds all separated by age.  The kids found slides and objects to climb on that were perfectly suited for their ages.

After the children were done playing, we hopped back on the train and rode it back to where the cars were parked.  Samantha was passed out the entire way home.  I truly enjoyed the entire day with her and wouldn't change a thing.  I feel very blessed that we were able to enjoy such a perfect day.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Sammie's First Haircut

So since I am going to visit my mom on Thursday, I decided that I really needed to make sure that Sammie had her hair cut.  It has been falling in her face and just always looking messy.  So about two weeks ago, we were all at the mall and I stopped in to  JC Penney to see if they did toddler cuts.  So I walk in and asked them if they had experience doing toddler hair cuts, and her response was that it depended on the the toddler.  It really wasn't the vote of confidence that I was looking for.  It was her first one and I really wanted it to be special.

So while at a playdate some time ago, one of the mom's mentioned that there was a kids salon called "Little Lords and Ladies".  So the Renaissance geek inside of me already loved the name, so I checked them out online.  It all looked good so I booked Sammie's appointment for today at Noon.  We walk in and well i guess the picture explains it all...


She ends up getting her hair cut sitting on my lap, clenched to me.   But she was done quick and it just looks precious!



We had a girly lunch at La Madeline and then we were on our way home.  Such a tough day for my pumpkin!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Neighborhood Craft Fair

So I am up early, because my daughter doesn't realize it is SUNDAY, and since I was too tired to post last night I wanted to give an update on yesterdays events.  So I didn't really know what to expect for the Fall Festival / Craft Fair but I knew that I really wanted to have a table there and use that time to promote my dog walking business.  I can say that we weren't exactly "organized" but once we got it set up, I was rather impressed.  A friend of ours let us borrow her table last minute which was awesome and it worked out great!  We got our business cards our there and think that we made some connections for the Thanksgiving holiday.  ****Fingers Crossed****  My partner took a picture so once she gets it I will add it to the post.  But I felt that this was truly a success and i feel very fortunate.  Just goes to show that you never know until you try!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Kind of a let down, but still smiling

Today a friend and I are had made plans to get some things accomplished for the craft fair tomorrow.  I have been up to my ears making dog treats to go along with promoting our dog business.  I may not have mentioned it before, but we own a dog walking / pet sitting company and we have been live for a few months now, with a couple of clients.  So we wanted to make some dog collars that we could sell along side of  marketing the pet sitting business for the holidays.  Well we had some collars and needless to say it was a bit of a bust.  We have just come to grips with the fact that the things we are trying just look well...not good enough.  It was a really humbling moment given that my mom is super crafty.  I guess I just haven't found my nitch yet on what exactly I can make and make well.  So I still have two bowls full of dog treat dough that I need to roll out, cut and bake.  Hopefully they will be a hit and people will like them.  My dogs love them...since they have peanut butter in them.  There was one moment today though that I just had to smile.  Right at the point where we both just felt defeated and bummed, Samantha comes up to me, puts her hand on my shoulder and gives me what her version of a kiss was.  It was the sweetest thing at just the best time I could ask for it.  It just made me smile and decide that there has to be something that I am creative at that I can make, I just haven't discovered it yet.  So my search and journey continues.  I really loved making that wreath.  Is there a market out there for those? 

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Hershey wants to know we celebrate Halloween with Hershey's Chocolate

I was so excited when I saw this chance to respond to Hershey's questions.  My family LOVES Hershey's chocolate, but I am more partial to Twizzlers myself. 
 
We definitely will be handing out Hershey's chocolates to the trick-or-treaters this year, so if you want so good chocolate, visit our house kids!  I also plan on taking Samantha trick-or-treating this year and we are going to carve a pumpkin together!  Samantha is dressing up as a butterfly and she will be so charming.  I cannot wait to post the pictures when we are going. 

If you would like to find out more about there goodies that Hershey's has this year.  Take a look at :

http://www.celebratewithhersheys.com/Halloween


This post was made to enter a contest for a Hershey’s Halloween prize pack as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club.

Sears Hometown Stores Guest Blogger Entry & Giveaway

I was given an opportunity with Sears Hometown Stores to be a guest blogger on their website discussing what I thought was most important appliance in my house.  So exciting!  Take a look at my entry which I had posted below:

     When I encountered this opportunity to discuss with Sears which hometown store appliance was the most important in my household, I was thrilled to share my thoughts on the subject.  I had never realized how important my appliances were until majority of them we taken away from me. On September 13, 2008, Houston was hit by Hurricane Ike and we had lost all power for almost two weeks. Soon, the food in my refrigerator was spoiling and all of the frozen products in my freezer were melting. I then realized that one of my appliances did work. I still had my gas range. This turned out to be the biggest blessing one could imagine.
     I had given birth to my daughter on August 8, 2008 and, when the hurricane hit, she was almost five weeks old. Thankfully with the aid of my gas range, I was able to sterilize bottles, cook spaghetti and rice for my family, and really continue to feed my children and husband a variety of foods, which others had been struggling cooking on camping stoves and barbecue grills. The power was out, but I still had access to my gas line. My children were able to have many of the foods that they were used to despite living in conditions without power and some damage. I was also confident that my newborn daughter at the time had clean and safe bottles to drink out of.  I wouldn’t have been able to do any of these things without the aid of my range and for that I am very thankful.
     Now it doesn’t take a natural disaster for me to love my appliances especially my range. I love that I can provide a good hot meal for my family and then follow it up with a delicious baked dessert. I was just blessed that at that particular time I was able to provide for my family when many were unable to do so during a very hard time. For that reason, my range is my most important appliance in my home.


Now for the fun stuff!  Sears Hometown Stores has offered a $75.00 gift card to be given to a follower of my blog! 

**** Please post a separate comment for each entry, otherwise they will only be counted as one.****

Mandatory Entry:

Publicly follow my blog on Google Friend Connect.

Extra Entries

  • Follow me on twitter  
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  • "Like Homemaker in Progress
  • Follow SearsHTS on twitter
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  • Share this giveaway on your Facebook Page  (attach the link in your comment post)
  • Blog about this giveaway and post the link on your blog  (attach the link in your comment post)
  • Tweet about this giveaway.  You can copy and paste the link below.  (Max 3 entries one hour apart per day)  
"Check out Homemaker in Progress and enter to win a 75.00 Sears gift card.  http://tiny.cc/i5z8j   Ends 10/28"


Disclosure Statement
Sears did not compensate me to write this blog or to say particular things in it. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are purely mine and any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified by Sears.

One winner  will be randomly selected from all valid entries using random.org, and will have 48 hours to respond to their prize winner email notification.  If winner fails to respond, within that time period, a new winner will be selected.  Contest ends October 28, 2010 at 11:59 pm CT.  Open to US residents , age 18+.









Looks Like Our Winner is Comment #36!

36 Powered by RANDOM.ORG
 
 

Shannon said...
tweet http://twitter.com/sethandshannon1/status/27584389358 sethandshannon1 at yahoo dot com
 

Monday, October 11, 2010

Two girls home with the flu...

So Saturday night my husband, a friend and I went out for Japanese food.  I was the only one that ate sushi and have never had problems with it.  Well Sammie and I went home and I put her to bed and the next thing you know I am ill.  And I am ill all night.  So I am thinking that I ate a bad piece of sushi.  Well last night Sammie got sick and boy did I feel bad for her while still feeling sorry for myself.  Since she didn't eat the sushi, I only have to assume that we got struck with the flu.  So today has been recoup day and things seem to be going well.  And I know I sound a little funny about saying this, but my little pumpkin was sooooo cuddly today.  I knew she didn't feel well and I just loved being there to comfort her in her time of need.  These are the times when being a stay at home mom are the best.  I just wish that I could get my own energy back.  Hopefully by tomorrow we will both be feeling better and I will continue my journey of becoming homemaker diva.  Divahood will have to wait for now however....

No updates this weekend

Samantha and I were very, very ill this weekend and I wasn't able to do a posting. Thankfully we are both recovering today and should be back in the game by tonight or tomorrow morning.  Have a great day!

Friday, October 8, 2010

No nap today...

For me or the baby!   So I just realized how tough my day is when my daughter doesn't take a nap.  I had so many things that I wanted to get done (my kitchen needs a clean for example), and I just could not do it with her awake.  It ended up being really frustrating.  We did have a fun day this morning, and were very active.  We went with some friends to a nice park in the morning, then to a play date at a children's gym and then out to lunch where Samantha ate really well.  All signs that she would take an excellent nap.  Boy was I wrong.  So I saw plenty of Elmo today, but not a whole lot to report on my journey.  It is 8:31pm and I am ready for bed!  It is time to put down the laptop and pick up the kindle. 

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Feeling a bit crafty

Do you ever just feel like you need to do something artistic just to give your hands something to do and maybe calm your mind a bit?  Well I had alot of that going on today.  I happen to go over to Big Lots to see if they had anything that I might help me fix my kitchen window issue.  (I am currantly in search of a good curtain for the back window and also one of those spring tension rods.)  I though I might be able to find these at Big Lots, so I walked in and did find a rod, which was great!  I also found something that might work for the back window, but I am going to have to do a bit of sewing on it first.  Once I found what I specifically was looking for, I wondered into the Halloween decorations, which I just love.  Next to them of course are Christmas decorations, which I feel is a bit early for, but whatever.  I was looking at their fall wreaths and thought that this would be something nice to hang on the door.  I looked at the ones that they had, and while reasonably priced, they just didn't seem to have a whole lot of creativity.  So I thought that this might be a nice little addition to my journey of becoming a good homemaker.  Good homemakers have pretty holiday decor and can make it themselves right?  Well this was it.  I was going to make a pretty wreath for my front door.  I went to Michaels and found all of the fall silk flowers 50% off!  Must be a crafty calling!  So I picked out some flowers that I liked, as Samantha is beating me with a bunch of glittery fall leaves and brought them home.  I put Samantha up for her nap and got started on my project.  I turned the tv to the 90's music choice station and I was set.  I started arranging the flowers and leaves and little berry type things in different ways and got to a point where I think it came out way better than those ones at Big Lots.  Here is a picture of my creation.  What do you think?


On a side note, while loading the dishwasher, Samantha managed to shatter my smaller crockpot today.  So upsetting.   So no more apple crisp until I find a new one, but we will all live.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Yay! It came out good!

So yesterday's apple crisp was a success!  So exciting.  I was really excited to hear the DH say "Wow it is hot, but really good."  Huh?  Really good?  Wow so my first attempt was a success!  I can bake....well not exactly bake but I can put it all in a crockpot and let it cook.  And it was delicious with the icecream! Ok so since I could make it, I believe any of you can too!  Here is the recipe:

(in a 2 quart crock pot)

 Six small apples or five large ones, peeled, cored and sliced
2/3 cup of sugar (or splenda)
1 1/4 cup of water
3 TBSP Cornstarch
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of all spice

OK, so put all of that in a crockpot and mix it up, turn the pot on low.


then take the following ingredients and mix them in a bowl and then put it on top of the apple mixture.

3/4 cup of quick cooking oats
1/2 cup on brown sugar
1/2 cup of flour
1/4 cup of butter (at room temp)


Let it cook in the crock pot on low for three hours and then you are set!  Super easy and perfect now that it is getting cooler outside.  Give it a shot and then come back and let me know!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Apple Crisp or Bust?

Ok, so in my first attempt, of becoming a domesticated goddess, I decided to try to make an apple crisp.  I had apples in the fridge and picked up some other ingredients.  I found a recipe for Apple Crisp in my 1400 page crock-pot cookbook.  If it slow cooks all day, it has to be good right?  While my husband is off being superdad, (yes, I do believe he has powers) and coaching my son's flag football, I am feeding my daughter yogurt while washing, peeling and slicing the apples.  Added cinnamon, all spice (what is in there anyways), and sugar and got them all in the pot.   Added  the dry ingredients for the crisp part on top, and well...we shall see.  I bought some vanilla ice cream to go with it, so I guess if it ends up being a bust, well we still have ice cream.