Do you ever sit back and wonder about decisions you made while younger? Do you often wonder "what if?" I suppose it's probably human nature to always wonder if the decisions you made were the right ones or not. I figured out that many of my decisions were based on my self-worth. I always doubted myself and didn't give myself enough credit.
It's amazing what self-worth can do to a person and how much you lose out over your own self-image. I know I shy away from photos because I'm not happy with how I look and it's really silly because I am me and that won't change. I'm always hiding behind my children or my grandchild til this day. Why deprive my children of memories of myself once I'm long gone?
I think so much is due to society and the prevalence there is on a perfect person. Every where we look, there are exploited images of women looking wonderful but in most cases, looking hungry in my opinion. I think at the end of the day, you have to find the path to agreeing you love you for who you are. My girls have started doing the roll call lists of who they love and I was surprised to hear them include, "I love me" in their lists. I couldn't be more happier to hear them say that. I'm still working on that and realized how long I have not loved me. That simple feeling has prevented me from making the right decisions. A long time ago, I nixed the offers from someone because I felt I was not worthy. Funny how that turns out because I had no idea how that person really felt until a later date. All this due to how I perceived myself.
Interesting that something that should be void is so prevalent among every facet of life. I just hope that I'm pressing upon my children self-worth and self-love.
Do you shop for that very special Christmas gift or any gift for that matter? I do and I spend hours trying to find THE perfect gift. I want a gift that captures a bit about the person I'm giving it to and when I can find the right one, I can tell when they open it. This year, I was at a loss to really find that one gift that my oldest would love. Luckily for me, I was contacted by For All Time Clocks for a review and giveaway and definitely wanted to participate.
What I can say is the pictures on the website do not do the clocks justice as they are just beautiful! You can customize a clock or you can purchase a pre-made clock. They have a nice selection of clocks to fit any decor or age.
For my review, here are the pictures:
I chose this adorable picture of my grand baby and her mom (i.e. my daughter) is holding the clock in this one. I originally told her the clock was mine when I ordered it and then when it arrived, I surprised her with it. She was so delighted and her reaction when she saw it was, 'oh that is so cute! I love it!' I have to admit that I'm surprised at how nice it turned out. I couldn't really envision how it would look but I can definitely say that I love it! They did such a great job with superimposing the photo to the face of the clock to make it blend beautifully. It's a wonderful gift to give at any occasion and will delight whomever you give it too!
Customer service is amazing too and I really cannot say enough as it's the type of gift that I hunt for to offer that personalization that shows love.
Other Features:
You can choose the quote or you can choose from a selection they provide.
There are templates available to help you create the most wonderful gift.
Web link ideas to expand on.
Testimonial page to ensure you are getting the very best and you can check out For All Times Clocks in our Christmas Guide too.
The Giveaway:
One reader will win an e-certificate for a free 12" custom clock.
To Enter:
Complete the Rafflecopter form below.
*Disclaimer: I received a complimentary product for this review and giveaway. The opinions are of my own.
Whether you are looking for prescription lenses, cosplay lenses, or lenses to make your brown eyes blue, Pinky Paradise has the perfect selection of circle lenses for your every need.
They are currently offering a Merry Christmas Discount of 30% off these three new products until December 5:
Pinky Paradise also carries an amazing selection of cosmetics, hair products, contact lens accessories, and eye care products. Visit them at PinkyParadise.com and see for yourself!
Our reviewer had a chance to try out the I.Fairy super Crystal Lenses and she absolutely loved them. Read the full review here.
One winner will receive one pair of circle lenses (to be chosen by the sponsor) and a cutie animal lens case such as the one pictured below.
Le top creates clothing for children who stand out in the crowd! Every season, Le top designs imaginative clothing to complement the individuality of every child. Le top clothing is known for it's quality, durability, and details. Le top clothing is made with excellent quality, soft, natural fabrics that are made to last. Offering high quality and fun baby clothes, toddler and children's playwear clothing that make you wish you were a kid again! Le top baby clothing is characterized by fine fabrics, delicate embroideries and beautiful detailing.
The clothing is beautiful and with Christmas coming, it's not too early to shop now! I love the clothing selections at Adorable Baby Clothing and have been purchasing all my girl's best dresses due to the high quality and wonderful customer service. I'm a huge supporter of women owned businesses especially women who do so much to help others. The owner of Adorable Baby Clothing is a person who cares about her customers and goes that extra length to ensure you are happy. She is the type of person you want to do business with because she is a person and not a huge business. She takes the time to understand your needs and ensures you receive your clothing with a smile!
Here are some of the other cute clothes from Le top:
Here are pictures of my girls in some their previous dresses all which I purchased from Adorable Baby Clothing.
If you are looking for exceptional clothing, high quality and customer service that is unparallel, you have to check out AdorableBabyClothing.com.
*Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post - I am a past and current customer of Adorable Baby Clothing.
Are you a fan of the People's Choice Awards? If so, you won't want to miss this chance to enter to win a trip for two to attend in person on January 11, 2012 in Los Angeles. The winner will also get a year's supply of one of my family favorite's Honey Bunches of Oats cereal. The grand prize is a three day, two night trip for two winners and one guest to attend the show!
Check out the featured polls and cast your vote for the best actress, movie and more.
Honey Bunches of Oats is sponsoring next year's People's Choice Awards and you could experience some Hollywood fun by entering. Just visit www.peopleschoice.com to enter. Once you vote, you receive one sweepstakes entry and you must be a member of the website and be logged on while voting to be entered.
Online entries have to be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (EST) on December 6, 2011 so hurry!
When you vote, you will also be a part of the Honey Bunches of Votes program and will be given exclusive access to the People's Choice Awards via video content posted to Facebook. For official rules, click here.
*Disclaimer: Information was provided to me for the purposes of this post. I received no compensation for it.
Are you a Clark Kent or Superman fan? I suppose they are two of the same but some might like the nerdy side of Superman a bit more than Clark but either way, you have to love the storylines from Smallville. Nearly everyone, if not all, have seen some variation of Superman and grew up watching some aspect of it. It's like America and apple pie. Smallville rekindles our love for the hero we all want to save us. From his love to Lois to his vulnerabilities, each episode is full of intrigue, danger and more. Season 10 had many story lines and many turns but I'd say one of my favorites was Homecoming.
Homecoming was special because it gave Clark a sort of early Christmas time experience of seeing life in the past, present and the future. Although that wasn't why it was my favorite part it was because Clark was finally admitting he loves Lois and went back to make amends to where he failed.
What makes the series great is the introduction to the old villains, new villains and a different approach into the dynamics of Clark and Lois. Watching how Clark evolved from first starting to work at the Daily Planet during Season 8 to accepting his role in society to the introduction of the new villain Zod in Season 9.
What were your favorite moments from Season 10 of Smallville?
MyPublisher has many nice gift ideas for Christmas and all year round. What you may not know is that MyPublisher has greeting cards too. This Christmas or even New Year, you can find the perfect card by taking a moment to look through the many cards they offer. I had an opportunity to order cards for the purposes of this review and giveaway. I noticed that the cards cater to all from Christmas cards to holiday cards and I liked how you could sort by different categories, colors and designers making it easier to send the perfect Christmas greeting to your friends and loved ones.
In honor of Epilepsy Awareness Month, I choose purple dresses for my pictures. Since I chose purple dresses, I had to choose purple cards, right? The ordering process was easy! I found the perfect card and was able to add what I wanted to personalize it. I even added a Christmas prayer to the back of my card. I could have added more photos but I wanted to keep it short and simple.
I had a slight hiccup with my cards but I did receive them and love them. I added a sparkle sticker to jazz them up a bit because I love all things blingy. The paper is of high quality stock and the envelope insertions are the icing on the cake. Beautiful! My scan doesn't do the pictures justice however.
Here are some of my other top picks:
The Giveaway:
One reader will win a $50 Gift Code for MyPublisher! MyPublisher ships internationally, before entering, you might want to check out the policies.
To Enter:
Please use the Rafflecopter form below.
*Disclaimer: I was provided two codes from the sponsor in exchange for this post. The opinions are of my own.
Getting family together is important for yourself and your family. It's nice to see loved ones and it's good for your children to see how important family, even extended, is to the well being of a family unit. Sometimes it's just not that easy to get everyone together and with the holidays coming, memories return that give us that longing feeling to be reunited. Archives.com and WhitePages are running a "Run and Hug" contest where you could win an all-expenses paid trip for two!
What a great way to reach out to those we haven't seen in awhile. From now until December 21st, all you have to do is share your story or memory and the person with the most votes will win the all-expense paid trip for two and $1000! Cash prizes of $500 and $200 will be awarded to the runner up and the second runner up so you have nothing to lose by entering and if nothing else, you are sharing a fond memory of your loved one(s). I love the idea especially at Christmas as can you imagine if you shared a heartfelt story and sent the link to that particular family member how they would react? It's like a gift before the special day.
Both Archives and WhitePages are great resources for catching up with family, looking up long lost loved ones and looking into your family history. Archives has over 1.5 billion documents to build your very own family tree and WhitePages helps to fill in the gaps by finding people, businesses and neighbors. I have used both in the past and love the capabilities. By the way, a family tree makes a great Christmas gift too!
Shew ...Thanksgiving is over! That was a hard one to overcome with a turkey that turned out perfect and all the sweets my oldest and I made. I had to choose from pumpkin streusel pie to cute turkey cake pops to mini apple pies to a four layered chocolate pie and I forgot, tons of cookies. At the end of the day, I did pretty well. I kept my indulgences down to one piece of pumpkin pie, one piece of chocolate pie, a turkey pop and a cookie over two days. I also only had one helping from the turkey dinner and it was back to eating better. To date, I have lost 11 pounds since October 24th and I have kept it off.
I was watching The Biggest Loser's Thanksgiving special and they noted that just because it was the holidays, it didn't mean it was time to indulge. That is a hard habit to overcome especially if you spent your entire life living like that. I have found after reading about that third grader weighing 200 pounds and being taken away from his mom that I am thankful that I have expressed an importance on healthy eating with my children. My eight year old was getting chunky for a bit last year and it was mostly because I was doing something that I thought was good at least from her perspective which was stopping at McDonalds after school nearly ever day. As an epileptic, she requires regular food and by the end of the day, she was famished and feeling it so that was a quick fix. I don't know why I didn't realize at that time what a BAD decision that was but luckily, it didn't take too long.
I had joined Mamavation around that same time and I think that also opened my eyes to hear from the other moms and get the encouragement to turn healthier. I don't focus about being fat or overweight in my house rather I stick to being healthy and making healthy choices. I don't want my girls to focus on how big they perceive themselves or how thin rather if they are making healthy choices, they won't have to worry. My eight year old now chooses apple slices and milk on those rare stops at McDonald's now. She turns down most sweets when offered. I'm still working on my four year old but given how she looks up to her sisters, she will be there in no time.
All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving and even more so after weighing myself and seeing I gained nothing. The rest of my family that are partaking in my get healthy campaign are doing well too.
Every holiday season, you hear of some bad story of a "grinch" breaking in to someone's house and stealing their presents or worse yet, someone getting mugged or robbed while shopping. It's too bad that we can't relish in the moment of the holiday charm, beauty and magic without worrying about bad things that people might do. I've been a stickler for as long as I can remember about safety and definitely ensuring doors are locked at night. I've usually had a storage shed at some offsite location as well. I hear about those breaking in and just pray it doesn't happen to me. This holiday season, Master Lock is sharing tips to help secure our families and our belongings.
The safety tips encompass many areas that we can take simple precautions to help us have a great Christmas and years to come. Simple things from travel to home to shopping to decorating are all it takes to not have to wonder later "if only."
Stay tuned for a review I have on the Master Lock Breast Cancer Awareness lock and the Master Lock Security Bar for your doors.
You can click here to see them all or just keep reading the tips I copied and pasted below:
1. Travel Safely. Whether you're planning a road trip or flight, be sure to take all the proper safety precautions. If driving to your destination, check tire pressure beforehand for optimal handling and traction and consider having your car winterized by your mechanic for added safety. Stock your car with a safety kit in case you were to get stuck. Check weather forecasts and road conditions before heading out for safe driving conditions.
If you're flying to your destination, remember to secure your luggage with TSA-accepted locks, such as the Master Lock 4689T Luggage Lock, so your bags stay safe while in transit -- whether they're checked or carried on. If you're flying with holiday gifts, keep them unwrapped to avoid security checkpoint delays.
2. Secure Your Home. During the holiday season, you're likely to have guests coming and going from your home for a number of get-togethers. Be sure all entry points, including doors, windows and sliding glass doors, are locked before and after guests depart to help keep your family, home and valuables safe.
If you're traveling out of town, enlist a trusted neighbor to keep an eye on your home while you're away. Store a spare key in a key safe, such as the Master Lock 5400D, for easy access by authorized visitors. Stop your mail and newspaper delivery, and consider setting some interior and exterior lights on timers.
3. Shop Smart. To stay safe while enjoying a fun holiday shopping trip to the local mall or shopping center, be aware of your surroundings. Park in well-lit areas, avoiding spaces next to large vehicles that can block the line of sight to your car if possible, make sure you aren't followed when exiting the mall and lock your doors immediately upon re-entering your vehicle. Keep purchased gifts out of sight -- in the trunk of your car or under a blanket -- to prevent theft.
When ordering gifts online, create more secure user names and passwords for all of your on-line accounts using varying combinations of letters and numbers for each to avoid a security breach. Store all your confidential data for convenient access via web browser, smart phone, or tablet app in the Master Lock Vault™. Have your online orders shipped to your office so the delivery driver won't have to leave them out in the open on your front porch.
When storing gifts at home, be sure to think strategically about your hiding spot to keep curious family members from getting a sneak peek at their presents and spoiling their surprises.
4. Decorate Strategically. When decorating the home to reflect your festive mood, check lights for frayed wires and loose or broken plugs. Check manufacturers' instructions for the maximum number of light strands that can be safety strung together, and don't exceed that maximum to minimize risk of a short circuit or electrical fire. Keep any trees or indoor plants away from fireplaces and candles. If you have pets, take time to strategically place any decorations out of their reach, preventing them from trying to eat them or causing damage to the house.
5. Don't Play with Fire. While it's easy to get distracted when you're hosting friends and family, never leave your stove unattended while you have food cooking. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of home fires in the U.S. If you plan to light a fire, remove all greens, boughs, papers and decorations from your fireplace and make sure that the damper is open. Never burn wrapping paper in a fireplace. It ignites suddenly and burns intensely and can cause a flash fire.
For more information about these on-the-go and other security solutions, please visit the Master Lock website at www.masterlock.com or the Master Lock Facebook page atwww.facebook.com/masterlock. Visit www.masterlockvault.com to utilize the free, secure online data storage application and download a smart phone app for easy access on the go -- an ideal place to keep important passwords and other information.
The Giveaway:
Key Safes - 5400D - portable key safe, holds up to five keys, portable over the door knob mount for convenience, set your own four digit code and many other features. An $38.11 value.
Luggage Locks - 4689T - allows TSA to inspect and relock bags without ruining locks, same key opens both locks, bright colors to allow for easy identification, each package contains two locks. A $10 value.
*Disclaimer: I was provided two sample products for a review. This post was written to share information for the holiday season and was provided by Master Lock.
You probably have heard of Xia-Xia Pets by now especially with the commercials and Christmas coming up. They are the cute little interchangeable hermit crabs that kids love or at least my kids do. They have their own habitats so you can expand and have more fun and with their shells, your children can change out the looks.
The irony of Xia-Xia Pets are that my youngest was just telling me how she wanted them for Christmas and then I received my package to host our own Xia-Xia Pets party as part of my participation with BSM Media. It's one of the best things about being a blogger by having the generous support of sponsors who allow us to share in great new toys with our family and friends.
Prior to the party, here are the girls opening the big box of FUN:
As you can see, they had a lot of fun exploring the fun that was contained in the box. They marveled at every part of the habitat and of course with each Xia-Xia. They loved the different colors and how they could change the crab shells along with the cute little Kuppy that comes with each shell.
This is them setting it up to get ready for our party we are going to have next week. They haven't put them down yet and love each one of them. They had fun putting them down and watching them bump into the wall or each other and then take off again. They have little areas they can sit at during rest or just to be part of the imaginary playtime. I like them because they don't leave a mess other than the pieces to be put away. The expandable habitat allows for great fun and although it's not a really hard plastic, it's durable and takes the rough play handed out by kids.
If you want a Xia-Xia Pet for your children, check them out as they would make a great Christmas giftand your kids can even make their own wish list for you here.
We had a nice Thanksgiving this year as we seem to do almost every year. The girls had fun helping to make all of our desert table with my oldest heading up the baking crew. We had a four layer tiered chocolate pie, mini apple pies, cookies and turkey cake pops. I again used the recipe from Alton Brown for brine and my turkey turned out fantastic. It was moist and tender. The girls are crafty so we made our turkey apple menu cards. That was a lot of fun for them as they took foam feathers that I glued to toothpicks and stuck them into the apple along with the head and making the face was also fun for them.
The highlight was listening to the girls tell me why they are thankful. Growing up, we typically had at least one fight a holiday so now that I'm grown up, it's nice to see we can get through holidays without those ceremonious fights. It was a great Thanksgiving in spite of the biggest part missing was my family.
I think so much is due to society and the prevalence there is on a perfect person. Every where we look, there are exploited images of women looking wonderful but in most cases, looking hungry in my opinion. I think at the end of the day, you have to find the path to agreeing you love you for who you are. My girls have started doing the roll call lists of who they love and I was surprised to hear them include, "I love me" in their lists. I couldn't be more happier to hear them say that. I'm still working on that and realized how long I have not loved me. That simple feeling has prevented me from making the right decisions. A long time ago, I nixed the offers from someone because I felt I was not worthy. Funny how that turns out because I had no idea how that person really felt until a later date. All this due to how I perceived myself.
