{Closed} April Kindle Fire Giveaway

This is big...I mean big. We're giving away a Kindle Fire! All you need to do is complete the easy Rafflecopter entry form below. That's it! Let me know what you'd do with a Kindle Fire if you won in the comments!
This giveaway is coming to you from the super awesome bloggers at An Everyday Family, A Little Dizzy, Day to Day MOMents, Making Time For You and yours truly.
(Don't forget to check out the terms and conditions below-especially the part about comment entries!) 

Memories Of My First Visit To Florida #TropFloridaOJ

I've been to Florida many times, but I remember my first visit well. (And I was only five.) I was just like the little boy in the commercial, too excited to sleep because we were going to Disney World!
Back in those days I had never been on a plane. This was a road trip. All the way to Orlando from North Carolina. It was a long trip. A really long trip. This was before hand held electronics and in car DVD players. I was bored! Since I was only five I wasn't really reading yet. But even looking at books with pictures made me a little car sick in the back seat, so that was out. I'm pretty sure I was a little annoying on the way down. But I was a super bored and over excited 5 year old. I couldn't help it!
The trip was about 10 hours, and that isn't including the frequent stops you need to make when you have two little girls in the car. It's funny...I still remember passing the Florida state line and thinking we were there. I found out the hard way that Florida is a long state. There's still plenty of driving left to get all the way to Orlando. (We even drove to the Keys once on a later trip-I think I blocked that car trip out of my mind!)
But just like any road trip, eventually we got there. And it was SO.MUCH.FUN! I kept the little Winnie The Pooh bean bag toy we bought on that trip for years. (It was eventually lost in a move, which still makes me sad.) My favorite memory of Disney World was riding "It's A Small World". Such a simple ride, but I loved the colors and the song and the fact that there was no line to get on the boats.

Of course the main purpose of the trip was visiting Disney World, but I remember so many other things from my trips to Florida. Like the giant orange of Orange Wold. Xanadu, Home of the Future. (I'm still bummed I never went inside before it closed down.)
I had so much fun on that first trip it expired many more trips down the road. Some with family. Some with friends. But all with great memories and a desire to visit again soon!

I can also enjoy a taste of Florida in my own home with Tropicana. Tropicana Pure Premium is 100% pure Florida orange juice. They are the largest single buyer of Florida fruit. That means when you buy Tropicana Pure Premium you're supporting local farmers. And you're enjoying your own little bit of Florida, right in your home!
Don't forget to enter the Tropicana's Perfect Pick Sweepstakes. You can win great Florida prizes including a year's supply of Tropicana Pure Premium or a trip to Florida to see those orange groves for yourself!


I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Tropicana blogging program, to earn My SocialMoms Rewards Points. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.
 

Join The Team #OdwallaCFK

I've had the honor of participating in several Champions for Kids SIMPLE Service Projects. When I saw that April's project was the Odwalla Game Day Challenge I knew I wanted to be involved. Despite the fact that there's not an athletic bone in my body I come from a family of athletes and sports fans. My grandfather was a frequent volunteer at the Boys & Girls Club in his community. I want to support my local club, too!

This April you can give back by gathering your friends, family and coworkers together for a ball game and encourage them to bring a new or gently used sporting equipment to donate to an organization serving children in your area. 

I contacted my local Boys & Girls club and found out that they were in need of football gear for their team. I emailed their wish list to my coworkers and went shopping at Walmart to kick things off.

I stocked up on Odwalla beverages. They're protein packed and perfect for kids on the field. 

I was happy to find cleats since they were at the top of the wish list. Hopefully my friends and coworkers will come through with additional pairs to add to mine. (Kids outgrow their shoes so quickly so maybe there are a few outgrown pairs sitting around!)

I also picked up whistles and footballs to donate. (They were on the wish list, too!) I'm just getting started on my Game Day Challenge. What about you? What organization in your community could use some new sports gear? Join me in April's SIMPLE Service Project and be One of Millions. 

Keep up with Champions for Kids on Facebook and Twitter. 

You can view my shopping trip in my Google+ Album. 

This shop has compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All photographs and opinions are my own. 

Celebrating International Waffle Day With #TCBYGrocery

I still remember the first time I had frozen yogurt and I still remember my first waffle cone. (Probably because they were one in the same!) In the late 80s my dad took us all to get frozen yogurt at the new TCBY beside the mall. You could smell the waffle cones being made as soon as you walked in. It was love at fist bite.
Years later I was all grown up and working in an office across the street from a TCBY. It became a semi-regular afternoon treat to walk over and pick up fro-yo for the office. Then tragedy struck. We took on some new programs and I got moved to a different office. Far away from that TCBY. (OK, perhaps saying it was a tragedy was a bit over the top...but I missed our trips to pick up yogurt!)
Thankfully TCBY took pity on me and made it easier to satisfy my frozen yogurt craving. You can now find TCBY Frozen Yogurt at your local grocery store.

In addition to pints and quarts of your favorite flavors, frozen novelties like bars and pops are on the shelf, too.

So what's a girl to do when she finds out TCBY frozen yogurt is as close as her local grocery store? Why celebrate, of course. And what better day to celebrate than on International Waffle Day. (Yes, that's a thing.)
Waffle Day started in Sweden and takes place every year on March 25. If you're sad you missed International Waffle Day, never fear. There's also National Waffle Day coming on August 24. (Just don't forget to mark your calendar this time!)
I stocked up my freezer to celebrate last Sundae. (Yes, I went there. Who doesn't like a good pun?) I picked up Strawberry Swirl, Classic Vanilla Bean, Cookies & Cream and English Toffee Crunch. I'm still kind of kicking myself for passing up the Mint Chocolate Chunk. (Oh well...there's always next time...)

Each serving of TCBY Frozen Yogurt containes 150 calories or less and has 7 types of probiotics. How's that for a guilt free treat?
And what's better on a guilt free treat than lots of ooey gooey toppings and whipped cream?

I made homemade hot fudge, caramel and strawberry sauces for my Waffle Day Celebration. I'll be posting tutorials for each soon. 

I think the table is Waffle Day Celebration ready!

Everyone loved the toppings. (And the TCBY, of course!)

I included bananas in my sundae. I'm all about making healthy choices.

Boys are messy sundae makers... But I suppose this really is a case where the messier it is the better it tastes. I think we all had at least two sundaes. At least. 
Ready to have your own TCBY celebration? Just head over to the TCBY Grocery Website to find out where you can purchase your own TCBY Frozen Yogurt. You can also stay in touch with TCBY on Facebook and Twitter.
This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All opinions 
and photographs are my own. You can see my entire shopping trip in my Google+ album. 

Spicy Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Some days require quick and easy comfort food. This recipe is just that. It only takes a few minutes to prepare for the oven. (It's also great the next day, too!)

4 cups cooked macaroni (approximately two cups dry)
2 cups grated sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt to taste

While macaroni is boiling combine all ingredients into a buttered casserole dish.  Reserve a small amount of the cheese to sprinkle on top. Add cooked macaroni and combine well. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes.

I like things spicy but it's easy to adjust the heat by reducing the hot sauce and cayenne.

Easter Inspiration

Source: homemadesimple.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Amy on Pinterest

Source: notmartha.org via Amy on Pinterest

Source: sweetsugarbelle.com via Amy on Pinterest

{Closed} Easter Toys R Us Gift Card Giveaway

It's almost Easter. You didn't think I was going to let that pass without a little celebration, did you? I want to help fill your basket with a $10 Toys R Us Gift Card! (OK, there's no way the card will get there in time for this Easter...just use it for after Easter clearance, ok?)  Let me know what toy tops your Easter wish list in the comments below. Then fill out the easy Rafflecopter entry from. That's all you need to do!

 Hoppy Easter!
Don't forget to enter my Kindle Fire Giveaway!

{Guest Post} Go Grocery Shopping with Pennies at Bi-Lo with #NoFeeCoinstar

Did you know you can use Coinstar to convert your spare change into gift cards fee free? Today Barbara from Barbara's Beat shares her experience shopping with her daughter Patricia at Bi-Lo.


These days every penny counts. Especially when you have three kids like my daughter, Patricia. 

Last weekend when I was going to check out the no-fee Coinstar at Bi-Lo in Rutherfordton, N.C.,  I asked my daughter to take me. I took plenty of change for both of us to try Coinstar.

Since the Coinstar machine is at the front of the store, we asked the manager if we could take photos while we reviewed Coinstar. He was very nice and said no problem. With limited space we had a problem getting in the way of shoppers who were checking out, however. 

Following the directions provided by Coinstar, Patricia inserted the quarters and dimes I gave her into the machine. She waited until all of the coins were counted, then made her gift card selection. She chose a Bi-Lo gift card, so there was no fee. She planned to do some grocery shopping with the card.
"I couldn't believe how easy it was to exchange my coins for a gift card," Patricia said. "The machine offered step-by-step instructions that allowed me to choose what I wanted to exchange, dollars or coins. I was asked if I wanted to have the balance put on a Bi-Lo gift card, or purchase one of several other gift cards.  I even had the opportunity to donate the money I submitted to a charity."

We then went up and down almost every aisle. It was getting late and we had a long trip back home so we selected a register and put our groceries on the belt. The items were scanned, then Patricia handed over her coupons and BiLo gift card. The bottom line was a big surprise, because the balance left to pay was a little over $1. Not bad for a grocery shopping trip. 

Patricia likes to save money where she can, and taking loose change to Coinstar and having the option to exchange it for a gift card for groceries with no fee is a no-brainer. She's sold on the idea.

So, check your couches, your car and the bottom of your purse. Find all your loose change, and take it to a Coinstar near you. Maybe you, too, can buy some groceries for pennies.

Check out the rest of our shop.


Coinstar Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/Coinstar


Coinstar Twitter  https://twitter.com/#!/coinstar


Bi-Lo Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/BILOSuperSaver


Bi-Lo Twitter  https://twitter.com/#!/bilosupersaver


I have been paid (at Coinstar’s request) to try and blog about Coinstar’s products/services as part of a Collective Bias shopper insights study. All opinions are my own.

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Make Your Morning A Little Easier #TysonBreakfast

Who isn't looking for a way to make their life-or at least their mornings-a little easier? I confess to skipping breakfast more often that I should, then finding myself around 10:30 or 11:00am with a pressing need for a an early lunch. (That's also led to more than a few poor choices when selecting what to eat for that early lunch!)

Tyson Breakfast Bread Bowls can be at least one step in a quicker and easier morning routine. (And one that doesn't involve skipping breakfast!) You can find these at select Sam's Clubs in boxes of 12.  Easy to make and handy to eat, you can now have a hand held breakfast for under $1 that doesn't involve sitting in a drive thru.

The bowls come in packages of two, but since they don't require the plastic sleeve for cooking you can prepare and eat one at a time.

The easy heating instructions are printed right on each package. (Very helpful if for the purpose of freezer storage you need to take them out of the box!)

Just place your bread bowl on a microwave safe plate and heat for 50 seconds. (I actually ended up heating mine for about 75 seconds, so times may vary by microwave.)

After a few minutes to cool, the bread bowls are ready for a quick breakfast, even as you're running out the door! (And who doesn't sometimes need to eat as you're running out of the door?)

Want to learn more about how Tyson Breakfast Bread Bowls can make your life a little easier? Join me at the #TysonBreakfast Twitter Party on March 22 at 9pm ET. Just RSVP at The Big Binder and you'll be eligible to win one of four gift cards!

Find out more about Tyson Breakfast Bowls-including where you can find them-here! You can also stay in touch with Tyson on Twitter and Facebook. You can check out my shopping trip via my Google+ story.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All photographs and opinions are my own. 

Artisan Bread Three Ways #EasterMeals

Are you on the hunt for some easy recipes to use this Easter? We have a few picky eaters in my family, but bread is the universal crowd pleaser. I came up with three ideas featuring Ecce Panis Ciabatta bread. They're prefect for an appetizer, brunch, a tapas party or a quick snack.

The bread aisle is a great place to start looking for meal inspiration. I love the variety of artisan breads you can now find without making a special trip to the bakery.

Ecce Panis bake at home bread could not be simpler to use. Just remove from the packaging and place on a baking sheet or stone. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees. It's fresh baked taste without the make from scratch hassle. 

This cream cheese dip is easy to make and works well on a variety of breads including bagels.

8oz package of cream cheese, softened

3-4 scallion stalks, finely chopped

8 pieces of bacon, crispy cooked and crumbled.

Add cream cheese, scallions and bacon to bowl. Mix until everything is blended well. (Can be done by hand or with a mixer.) If you prefer a creamier spread you can add 1/4 cup of mayonnaise to the mix.

Unlike most versions of tapenade this recipe is vegetarian. I also made some easy substitutions to the classic recipe so that it's possible to make with things you might already have on hand.

1 cup of olives (whatever is available)

2 tbs olive oil

1 tsp lemon juice

1-2 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp cracked pepper

Pulse everything together in a food processor. (I used my blender, which worked but was not ideal for the task.) Traditional tapenade typically has anchovies or anchovy paste, which you could add to this recipe. I also skipped out on the capers since their flavor profile is similar to green olives, which I was already using. Kalamata olives are a great choice for this, but the black and green olives I used were less expensive and still quite yummy!

Not only is this recipe the easiest of the three-it's also the tastiest. (Well, at least in my opinion!) Why is it so easy? It's assembly only! I used roasted red peppers and pesto from a jar. Just spread a thin layer of pesto on the ciabatta slices. Add fresh mozzarella and thinly sliced roasted red peppers. That's all there is to it! You could certainly roast your own peppers and make your own pesto-but it's already delicious skipping those steps.

You can see more of my recipes and shopping on my Google+ album. Keep up with Ecce Panis and Pepperidge Farm on Facebook. 

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All photographs and opinions are my own. 

Keeping Up With Good Habits

Things are going great in the land of daily workouts for Lent. With the exception of the three days I was out of town I've gotten in at least 30 minutes of biking every night. (I'm still trying to figure out how to make up those three days since I'm hoping to keep working out every night even after Lent is over.)
I have been afraid that I wasn't working out as hard as I could and should. This Monday things are getting kicked up a notch. I'm joining in the Mamavation Two Week Challenge. I've recruited some friends to join in to help with motivation. Let me know if you're participating. I've been told I'm excellent at tormenting encouraging via social media!
Another good habit that's back-taking my probiotics! I tried probiotics over the summer and loved the results. I even purchased several boxes after my trial was over. But then I ran out. And I just didn't make the time to run to Sam's Club to pick up more. I felt miserable. The funny thing was it took me a few weeks to make the probiotics connection. I was taking my sinus medication every day and was wondering why I wasn't getting any better. When it finally clicked that my sinus issues started a few days after I ran out of probiotics I made it to Sam's Club immediately.

The Member's Mark name has changed to Simply Right-but everything else is the same. I was feeling better literally the next day. I might run out of many things, but from this point forward probiotics won't be one of them.

Do you have any good habits you're trying to keep? Let me know about them. And hey, why not join me in the two week challenge. The more the merrier, right?

You Get To Choose With Gallery Direct

I mentioned last month that I was looking for the perfect piece of art to add to my living room. After much back and forth on the Gallery Direct website I finally picked Gentle Rain II by Sean Jacobs.

This wasn't even in my top two when I first posted. You might recall I was deciding between this:

and this:

What can I say? Choosing your art is the hardest part of ordering from Gallery Direct-there are just that many options! (And you get to choose between canvas, paper, aluminum, wood, acrylic, and mirror.)

You might be a little nervous about ordering art online, wondering if it will really look like it does on  your screen. You could be worried that the colors aren't quite as they appear online. I'm now officially a believer. (And I know that if for some reason I wasn't happy Gallery Direct guarantees their work.) When I was ready to place my order I pulled up the art I wanted on my netbook and actually walked into my living room with the picture zoomed in on the screen. That was the perfect way for me to see how things would appear in the space. I found out Gentle Rain was actually the perfect shade of surf blue for my living room. (When I wasn't  in the room I thought it might be too green.) 

I love my new artwork. Thanks to the sizing options on Gallery Direct I was able to pick the perfect custom size for my space. I choose gallery wrapped canvas, but I could have picked a framed option instead. (Even more choices!) It only took ten days from the date of my order until the package arrived at my door.

You can currently receive 30% off everything on the Gallery Direct Site. And you get free shipping! Hurry, though. This offer ends tonight. Not quite ready to make a decision? Make sure you sign up for email updates. You'll receive notifications for all of Gallery Direct's sales and discounts.

Don't forget to stay in touch with Gallery Direct on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+. 

This post was written as part of the Gallery Direct Blog Ambassadors Program. All opinions are my own.  

Spring Into New Shoes From Earth Footwear

One of the things I love most about Spring is the excuse to get new shoes. I love my boots, but when Spring arrives it's time to show off your feet with strappy shoes and fun colors.

Extreme Makeover:Fish Edition

We had some shifts in office space recently. That meant cleaning out the closets and store rooms to make sure everyone had enough space. While this was going on we found all sorts of things with no known origin. One of the most interesting finds was a collection of not very pretty and badly painted plaster fish. Like this fellow:

All of the sad little fish found homes on the desks of my coworkers. (We're educators...which means we're all hoarders. It's hard to throw things out that might be of use in the classroom one day!) Everyone agreed that the fish were not very cute, but they sat proudly on the desks anyway.

This week I decided it was time to intervene. I pocketed the fish from one of my coworkers and took it home, ready to start my attempt to make the fish cute. (Or at least unattractive ironically...)

Elmer's 3D Glitter Paint Pens are going to give the fish some fabulous lips.

And what fish doesn't need some diva like lashes?

I'm ready to start my extreme fish makeover!

A quick coating of spray paint gives me a nice base for using the Painters. (I always spray paint inside a cardboard box-it makes things so easy!)

I decided to use my Elmer's Painters to highlight the textures on the fish. 

I painted the lips with the red Painters Marker. I think added the red 3D Glitter Pen to the lips. I used a brush to smooth out the glitter. I trimmed the lashes and applied them using the Craft Krazy Glue. A bamboo skewer was handy for touching up small areas on the fish. 

And here's the finished fish! OK, so it's not quite a masterpiece. I think it's hilarious, though. And I have a feeling my other fish adoptive parents might be asking for a little help completing their own makeovers soon!

You can see photos from my shopping trip for supplies at Walmart as well as my full fish transformation here.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All opinions and photographs are my own.