Daily Vote for Besties Little Girl

I never promote or enter any voting contests.. as most of you know, but one of my besties has her little girl in a voting contest for Liv & Lily and I'm going to use my influence and power with social media to help this little girl win this vote! She is sooooo adorable. So if everyone could lend a click and do a daily vote until January 3rd they would all be much appreciated by both myself, Christine, and her daughter Alyssa! Please post a comment letting Christine know that I sent you!!

You can vote here... Liv & Lily Vote for Alyssa Ann

Soda Stream Jet & Stream How I Adore You - REVIEW

I love my soda, but I am also a type II diabetic so I really need to watch what I eat and drink, not to mention I have wanted to become more environmentally friendly by ridding of all the plastic bottles in my home that I can. I came across an item thanks to twitter that I am absolutely thrilled to feature on my blog for my readers!! This product that has brought nothing but a smile to my face and a quench to my thirst has been the Soda Steam Jet & Stream System! Before I get into showing my love for this functional little goodness that sits on my counter I'd like to give you a history of the Soda Stream Company.

Bryton Pick - REVIEW

I am constantly flossing my teeth. I have a space between two of my back teeth that food particles are constantly getting into. I needed a quick easy solution to flossing that didn't involve carrying around an entire roll of dental floss in my purse like I have been doing for so long. I stumbled upon a product called Bryton Pick. Bryton Picks are reusable up to 30 days and allow you to floss in seconds. They come in a sealed pouch and even has a carry pouch for you to put into your wallet or purse.  Each edge of the pick is flexible stainless steel. These are supposed to be great for braces.. Simple instructions and a few testimonials came with the package.

I admit I was anxious to use these, because of my love for flossing my teeth.. however, the first instant I used them I about hopped out of my chair. These picks are probably awesome for people who do not have silver fillings in their mouth or porcelain crowns, both of which I have. The feel of the stainless steel edge going between my teeth was enough to make me cringe and the second one of those pick edges hit one of my silver feelings it was like chomping on tinfoil. As I stated, these would be great for those with no fillings or crowns, but for someone like me they are not all that great to use. It is an awesome concept, that much I will admit, but this product is just not to my liking.




I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

From Kathy's Calm To Chaos Life to You and Your's !

International Delight Iced Coffee - Klout Perk

Last week I received a box with the big orange and white KloutPerks sticker on it. For the life of me I couldn't imagine what it was; especially seeing it was marked "refrigerated". I couldn't get it into the house quick enough to open it. What could this mystery perk be? It was the new International Delight Iced Coffee. It came in a half gallon carton, a blue International Delight Travel BPA Free Travel Cup, and a card telling about the new Iced Coffee. It also had no label, I am gathering this is a beta test of sorts of this new item that International Delight is now launching! How awesome is that, coffee with creamer and sweetener in a half gallon carton? I am a big coffee drinker, maybe that is why I'm up until 4am or up all night and day for that matter, so this Perk was a welcome one at that! I really thought when signing up for the Perk that it would be coupons, getting a half gallon of this awesome iced coffee to try out was definitely a holiday treat that  was a much welcome reward. I had been out Christmas tree shopping for two hours prior to this, so a nice coffee to help relax the stress of the tree deal was just what I needed.

Hawthorne & Wren Another Grateful Win

Last week I attended a #HWHoliday Twitter party hosted by @AudreyMcClellan of Mom Generations  I had no idea what H&W was until this party and what I learned was quite a treat! H&W stands for Hawthorne & Wren and what they are is a company that sells unique and memorable gifts for you to send to friends and family during difficult or sensitive times. This is a wonderful concept and the gifts offered on their site are absolutely stunning.

I had won the first prize of the night, the Sun Kissed Moments Gift. The description stated

"Trees thick with juicy apricots fill the orchard, their heavy branches bending with ripe fruit that remains untouched until the perfect moment. When the sugar of the apricot kisses the sun, then and only then are they delicately removed to be dried. These apricots are delicious symbols of the beauty found in a little patience--and a reminder that good things come to those who wait for the right moment. May you, too, find the perfect sweetness in every moment as you enjoy this gift of Provence tea and dried apricots ripened to perfection."

Sounds amazing right? Well it was more than amazing and quickly became one of those WOW wins I have had. It hit the ranks of the top 10 for sure. The package arrived yesterday and I waited probably half the day before I got around to opening my packages for the day, I wish I had opened it as soon as it came. Rather than describe the indescribable I'm just going to post the pictures of the gift. It all came wrapped in beautiful Hawthorne & Wren tissue paper, and included a card that told the story of what the gift was.. where it was from and what was within it! As I type this post out, I sit here drinking the tea out of the beautiful tea glass! A HUGE thank you to @AudreyMcClellan for this amazing winning gift! What an amazing company that has a wonderfully comforting mission when it comes to gifts from the heart.... 

 Wrapped up in tissue paper - then unwrapped - beautiful tins & glass

 Dried Apricots were in the red tin & the left photo is the tea

Finally the Glass Tea Mug! It seems so delicate and beautiful!

What's To Come On A Review

Look what's coming up for Review!! Are you getting excited because I am ecstatic!!!!

Zero's Vet Visit & Begging

Zero had to go to the Vet today. Not for just a regular check up - but because she has gotten really congested at night time... congested enough she almost moans and whines while she is laying down at night. I've resorted to putting the vaporizer with Vicks Vapo Steam on at night. She will literally sit next to it and put her nose into the steam stream or she will lay on the bed with her head hanging off so her nose is close to the steam stream. It has seemed to help the both of us at night. The vet thinks she might have some type of respiratory infection, previously she has had kennel cough (almost a year to the date ago) and over the summer had allergies flair up from all the golden rod here where we live now. She looks like she was retaining water and swallowed a balloon, was a little lathargic, but never lost her appetite, but she sure was not herself the past few days. You could talk to her and she'd only open her eyes and look at you... no head up, no jumping up to see you, no happy expressions. So off to the vet we went. I was concerned, but not super concerned because she never lost her appetite. Of course now that I started feeding her the Ideal Balance by Hill's Science Diet (see previous post for review) it has been like crack to her! I tease her saying come on girl I'll fill your crack pipe for you (as I walk with her bowl to the dog food bag) 

EverSave.com $5 Member Appreciation Event Ends 12/8

Starting today December 6th until midnight on December 8th EverSave.com is giving every single saver a $5 credit to use on Saves! This means all of you members will have the $5 credit in your Eversave.com account (which you can use for online, local, or travel Saves) and all of you who have not signed up yet will receive the credit when you create an account. So get down to it and SAVE! With Eversave.com's Member Appreciation Event. You have until Dec 8th to use your $5 Save!

Some current Saves you can purchase right now are:

$35 for $70 worth of premium wine and gifts at Wine.com
Offer expires: 11:59 PM - Dec 06, 2011

Five-night stay + massage, yoga, dining and surfing from $259 in Baja California Sur
Offer expires: 11:59 PM - Dec 07, 2011

$74 for a set of BeatTubes+ wireless speakers, plus free shipping!
Offer expires: 11:59 PM - Dec 15, 2011

If you currently aren't an EverSave member you can join at EverSave.com

Hill's Science Diet Ideal Balance Adult Dog Food - REVIEW

I probably have one of the pickiest dogs around. I've never heard of or know of a dog that is more picky on what she will eat than Zero. If Zero doesn't like something she will spit it onto the ground and it will lay there until it gets picked up to be thrown out or until Dylan or Lucy snatch it off the floor. Zero also doesn't eat all her dog food at one time, she will eat a little then come back and eat some more. Just once I wanted to see her excited to actually get fed, enjoy eating her dry food, and maybe see an empty bowl. I believe that time has finally come. I've always heard the name Science Diet referred to as the highest quality dry dog food out there. I've seen it displayed in the Vet's office and have sat there, while waiting, watching people come in and purchase it also. Yes, you can buy Science Diet at your veterinarian's office, or at least I know you can at mine. I never really gave giving a try much thought, after all our dogs had been on the same brand food for years and years. It seemed to work, or was it really? Considering we have had to deal with putting a few dogs on a diet a few times perhaps the brand we are using isn't really working. I was presented with the opportunity to try the  NEW Hill's Science Diet Ideal Balance Adult Chicken and Brown Rice Dinner dry dog food, I took the opportunity to see if this high quality dry dog food would pass the test of my trio of picky eating dogs!

Just a few little facts about Hill's Science Diet - it is the #1 Choice of Veterinarians to feed their own pets - (ding ding ding! this should have been the bell ringer alone right there, but there is more), also comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back, clinically proven antioxidants for healthy immune systems, and a visible difference in your pet in 30 days! Those factors all coupled together should have been my sign to at least see if my trio of picky eaters would enjoy it, but to be honest I was naive in the fact I had ignored all that I had read. I'm on a dog food mission. I want to know that my dogs are getting the very best dry food that I can possibly afford to feed them - all while finding a dry food that is indeed all natural. Again, all natural meaning the first ingredient isn't a meal or a dry powder of some protein. Along comes Science Diet's NEW Ideal Balance all natural dry dog food! There it was.. all natural from a dog food industry leader. I jumped on the BzzCampaign wagon quicker than a bolt of lightning to try the Chicken and Brown Rice Dinner! Upon receiving the bag the first thing I did was read the ingredients.. I was very impressed to read Chicken as the first ingredient (not chicken meal or chicken bi-products, but REAL chicken) followed by brown rice, whole grain wheat, cracked pearled barley, and soybean meal! The beginning of this introduction to Ideal Balance was already singing the praises of awesome just from reading the bag. It had yet to pass the test of Zero, my 4 yr old solid white purebred Boxer.

Daily Posts of Parties

I'm kind of taking a poll here... see, I, being the admin of the calendar get to set it to email me the daily agenda every morning at 6am! But, I can not add people for it to do that also.. but, what I can do is what would everyone think if before I went to bed at night I did a daily post of what's coming up party wise for the next day? If there are no parties there are no posts. That way if you were interested in a tag, you could view the calendar for more details? This would allow those that are subscribed via a reader or email to see a daily agenda every morning through your reader or email without having to hop on the calendar page every day to check. What does everyone thing? You can post a comment here, tweet me @UnKatchable73 or email if you wish kathyscalmtochaoslife (at)gmail.com  I'd really like to get my subscription stats up (then I could get into more neat stuff to review and giveaway to all of you) and this would also create me having to do a daily post (which could also influence more cool reviews and giveaways) ....  Look forward to hearing everyone's feedback!

Happy Thanksgiving

The forth Thursday in November brings the smells of turkey roasting, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie! It brings more food than most of us could eat in an entire week alone. But that day is not supposed to be about the food we all enjoy so much or about the shopping that we partake in the next day, but it's supposed to be about what we are Thankful for. While you are enjoying your holiday dinner and skimming through the Black Friday ads, stop and think about those less fortunate. Those that do not have a family to celebrate with, a home to entertain in, or even food to eat. We need to be thankful that we have things that some people do not. We take for granted way too much in this world, one of which being our ability to stuff ourselves with food until the button pops off our pants tomorrow... when there are people out there in this country that can't even do that. We take for granted we can go shopping on Black Friday and buy gadgets and gizmos for our loved ones, when there are people out there who can't even afford to have heat in their place of living or even afford to put food on their tables on this ever so thankful day. So while you enjoy your Thanksgiving Day take a moment and say Thank You for allowing me to have all that I do, all that I will, and say a prayer for those that are less fortunate than you are and wish them the best this holiday season. I am THANKFUL for all that I have, for my followers, for my wins, for my family and friends, and most importantly for the fact that each and every morning I wake up and breath and can enjoy another day of this gift we have called life.

Sick N Tired and FED UP

I've been holding off on this post for a while.. but I can't do it anymore. Every day I get on twitter my blood begins to boil. I've come across a few posts that are hidden on message boards regarding people cheating. YES people cheat on sweeps by creating more than one email address and/or using a family member's address. I heard just recently a dog won a huge gift card on a voting contest that was voted on by other dogs? SERIOUSLY?

Hot Pants - Initial Impression - REVIEW

As part of the Mom Bloggers Club I was selected to receive a pair of Hot Pants. Hot Pants seem to be taking the US by storm regarding helping women obtain more weight-loss then with their every day normal workouts. From my understanding you do not have to do anything special other than put on the Hot Pants and do your normal work out, house work, dog walking, or anything else you might do during the day. You can wear them under work out clothing, jogging pants, jeans, or all on their own. Well today I received my pair of Hot Pants in the mail and I'd like to share my initial first impression of them!

Root Candles - The Best Candle In America - REVIEW

I love to burn candles in my home, not because it gives off a lovely lighting effect, but because I like the scents that candles can come in. What I love even more are all-natural candles that are clean burning and use essential oils for scents creating an aromatic atmosphere within my home that I can enjoy. With all that being said there sets the path for my mission, the mission to find an all-natural candle company that has amazing scented candles at a reasonable cost. This mission is a GO! Well I didn't have to launch very far because a candle company fell right into my lap and I wasn't even looking, but I am ever so grateful that they landed where they did. Not only am I going to tell you about the Best Candle In America, but I'm also going to give you a bonus discount code for 50% of an order! YES you read that right 50%!!

Nozin Nasal Sanitizer - REVIEW

I have serious issues with my sinuses, up to an including even a surgery many years back to help cure the congestion I get every fall and spring time. It can be blamed on allergies, germs, or whatever you want to blame it on, but point is I go crazy over the congestion. I'm always looking for an over the counter solution that is non habit forming, eco friendly, and as of late all natural. Upon my quest to find a solution this every day issue I keep seeming to get twice a year, I was introduced to a company that makes a nasal sanitizer.  At first I was a little apprehensive about even trying something that claimed to be a nasal santizer. Because in the past I've tried it all and even it all only seemed to work a few days at most.

My Designs Available For Purchase - National Breast Cancer Foundation

I try to support the Breast Cancer awareness and foundations as much as I can. This year I went a different route for showing my support and couldn't be more pleased with what I did. I learned about a program Hanes was doing this year called Hanes Pink. You could design your own t-shirt to show your support for the cause. Not only could you design a t-shirt but you could upload it to the gallery for others to see and also purchase. YES! I designed a t-shirt that is now available to purchase, actually I did two designs. CafePress is doing all the printing of the Hanes Pink shirt designs. The cost of the shirts are $18 and 10% of the retail price goes directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc I was notified the other day that my shirt designs were now in the gallery and available for purchase.

GIVEAWAY - Win 50 Tiny Prints Holiday Cards

Congrats to the WINNER!

We are beginning the Holiday season and there comes a time when one needs to start thinking of what their 2011 Holiday Card will be. Well I have some help for you, this year Tiny Prints is featuring more new designs for the Holiday and Christmas Card selections. I have already done my order for my Holiday cards and could not have been happier with their selection, chance to customize, order processing and delivery of my cards.

On November 9th until 11:59pm pst Tiny Prints will be offering on their Facebook Page the opportunity to have a card made for FREE for your children from Santa.  More information on this special offer can be seen at Tiny Prints on Facebook.

The Hero Cat Buddy

I moved in July into an apartment complex! This is a new experience to me because I've never lived in one, I have always been lucky enough to live in a single family house. This place was supposed to be the temporary living place until the short sale house paper was processed (which is another story yet again) So living in this complex has its ups and downs. There are a lot of nice people here, yet there are a lot of freaks, and also a lot of people who can't pick up after their dog.. which seems to be causing an issue with management! The cops have been here for calls, ambulances for calls, a fire truck now and then, but nothing like the other morning.

EverSave Teeth Whitening Save

If you haven't heard of Eversave.com maybe you should check them out. They are a site that offers products, items, and services at a deep discounted price. I have had previous experience with Eversave and have loved every single item I have gotten through them.. up to an including an iLuv Pink Bluetooth Headseat (which matches my new iPhone 4 quite well) for $22. If you are not a member you can join here and can receive a $3 Save Credit on your first purchase! Check now to see if the city you live in or near is on the list of local saves!

$32 for a $133 value from Pro White Teeth. This is a saving of 76%!! The save is good until 11:59pm November 13, 2001. If you'd like to check out this save or any other saves that are currently running you can do so through this link!

Eversave $32 for $133 Pro White Teeth

This post is part of Eversave's affiliate program. I will receive a commission from every purchase made through any Eversave.com link and/or save I post

Vitabath Emmy Swag Bag

I'd like to share with my followers my Vitabath Emmy Swag Bag win! I've tweeted about it to Vitabath earlier, literally it has taken me two days to get through the entire box. Tonight I took pictures and wrote down everything that is in the swag bag box! Now I am going to share it with all of you and also with Vitabath's Facebook fans - I was asked to please post pictures of the win once it arrived on their Facebook page, so I'm going to go one step beyond and write this post so everyone knows what is in the  pictures.... Below are the photos I took (Yes I set everything up all nice and pretty for the pictures) and then below I'll list everything that was in the winning bag! (or box in this case)

Mega Foods Kid's Vitamins Pack - GIVEAWAY

Congrats to the WINNER 

This is just a straight giveaway!! Woohoo we all love those right? This giveaway has the following prizes 1 bottle of MegaFoods Kid's One A Day Vitamins, 1 Bottle of MegaFoods Kids N' US Vitamin D-3 tablets, and 1 MegaFood Branded Stainless Steel Water Bottle! You guessed it right folks- no review just something I decided to give away! Good Luck Entering and enjoy my generosity!!!!
Giveaway begins at 12:01am est 11/2/11 and ends at 12:01am est 11/22/11

This giveaway was is no way associated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the MegaFoods brand. I was not compensated in any way, shape or form and the items being given away are solely sponsored by Katherine Kennerly and Kathy's Calm To Chaos blog

Halloween 2011

Halloween 2011 has now come and gone, but there are yet still Halloween events going on here in Western New York. There is a big Halloween Bash at the Central Train Terminal on the 5th to benefit Children's Hospital. This event is on it's 5th year and 103.3 WEDG is the radio station that hosts it. The Central Terminal was on Ghost Hunters Halloween Night Live last year, it is said to be one of the most haunted places in the United States. I can't wait to go!! YES we are going.. for the 3rd year in a row I will be in attendance, not just because it's a huge Halloween Party, but it also benefits a good cause. The owners of the Central Terminal are trying to restore it to it's once glory, so every year it's neat to see how much restoration has been completed! I must admit, you get a sense of eerie just walking up to this building and one three times as much once you are in it! Now that will be the party to take pictures at... sooooo I've decided instead to save my funny, awesome, amazing Halloween costume pictures for the Halloween Bash this weekend. I wasn't out very long on Saturday, because as most of you know I've been ill all week, so I was only out a few hours and will post all pictures at once....

Friday Funny 10/28/11 To Come

I purposely missed posting a Friday Funny today or my version of #FF, because tomorrow I will be attending quite a few Halloween parties and I am for certain there are bound to be some amazingly funny costumes that will be just screaming for me to take their picture and post! So instead on Halloween I will do a Halloween Special post of #FF Costumes from the weekend!!

My Just Ask Bucket List

While browsing Resourceful Mommy I came across a party that also had a contest attached to it that led me over to todaysmama.com. Within that contest it was to create a Bucket List of at least 15 things on your list. I can do this, I have so much running through my head right now that I'm really trying to narrow down the 15 I'd most definitely like to do, that are within reach! So here goes...

My Bucket List
1. Qualify & Show at the AQHA World Show
2. Win a World Championship at the AQHA World Show
3. Visit Ireland, Italy, and England all in one trip to investigate my family tree
4. Go to Vegas and spend $5000 at a casino without thinking twice
5. Go watch the Kentucky Derby Live in Person the first weekend in May
6. Bake the perfect red velvet cake
7. Show Zero and/or Dylan at an AKC Agility Trial
8. Go to a Super Bowl
9. Visit Hawaii either as a vacation or to see the NFL Pro Bowl
10. Make a bottle of wine
11. Win a big jackpot (over $3000) at the casino (Seneca Niagara Casino is five minutes from me)
12. Buy my Mother a Cadillac
13. Have ZERO Bills
14. Own my own home (still no accepted offer or close date on the house..sigh)
15. Grow a gigantic garden in my backyard so I can be self sufficient with produce!

So there you have it! Those are the 15 things I'd most like to do that are definitely within my reach of doing. Maybe sometime soon I will begin crossing them off the list one at a time...

This is my entry in the Just Ask Bucket List Getaway Giveaway. Just Ask offers a breast and ovarian cancer screening and is encouraging people to share 15 things that I want to enjoy in my lifetime as a reminder to be aware of my health. Want to enter? Head over to TodaysMama.com to get the details.

Diamond Candles - REVIEW

Diamond Candles v-blog REVIEW 

More information on Diamond Candles can be seen at

Diamond Candles

on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DiamondCandles

All opinions expressed in this video are of my own thoughts and feelings. I purchased the Harvest Blend Candle from Diamond Candles for the price of $24.95. I was not compensated in any manner for my opinion nor was this review endorsed or asked by Diamond Candles to be done

Wordless Wednesday 10/19

I am speechless to the fact a horsie friend of mine found a picture of Charity's father.. which would be Lily's Grandfather.. the resemblance is absolutely unbelievable

Charity's Sire - Lily's Grandsire

Charity left - Lily right - holy resemblance 

Vote for Zero in PetsMart Contest

Yep I did it again... I entered Zero in another photo contest! I really do not like voting contests because they are more like popularity contests.... but oh well I'll give this a whirl and I'm entering it late so I need ALL the help I can get. I've been searching for a "Pet Agent" to talk to as an attempt to get Zero into commercials, photo shoots, and movies... well this contest came along and the grand prize is a PetsMart commercial for the winning dog...

Instructions on how to vote..

Go to PetsMart on FB and "like" them

Go to the Monster Cute Photo Tab

Click on View and Vote

Search for "Pumpkin Rider" or "Zero" 

Click on Vote

This is a daily vote and it goes until the 24th of Oct.. 

This is the picture you're looking for

Thanks for the votes in advance!! We sure do appreciate them all!!

Rebellious or Doing The Right Thing

Am I doing the right thing or being rebellious is my question. I normally take Zero to agility training on Saturday morning at the dog club we belong to (No name mentioned) This isn't the only dog club in the area, but another club has classes on Tues, Wed, Thurs night also... but back to the one we belong to. The classes on Saturdays are stacked... 9am beginners, 10am advanced beginners, 11am intermediate, 12pm pre-show, 1pm those that do show. Zero started agility way back in April 2010. My Mom actually started taking her because she was getting bored in the obedience and rally classes and with agility she could run around have fun play jump and all that stuff. Well 4 weeks into her training we had a handler switch to me. My Mom was having shoulder surgery so it was my dog and now my duty to take her to classes. At the end of the session dogs were moved up to the next class as they progressed. However, Zero was not. I understood it this time because we did a change of handler half way in so I was more comfortable staying back in the beginner class.

Friday Funny - True Story - 10/14/11

For my Friday Funny I've decided to tell a story. A story that really did happen. Back in 2006 we had a surprise snow storm, it did a lot of damage to the trees and such, but the day before I had just put out all of my Halloween decorations. As it would go the day after the storm a group of kids stole said Halloween decorations and threw a few of them in the pond that was in the park I had lived three houses away from. We had gotten some of the things out of the pond but there was a blow-mold plastic pumpkin that my Mom had for many many years and even with my rubber boots on in the pond I still could not reach it. So here I thought who has a big pole with a hook I could call. Well my swift brainstorming paid off because I thought ohhh the fire department has one of those. You know those big long poles with the hooks on them.  Yep, you guessed it I called down to the fire department down the street and asked them if I could borrow a fireman and that big long stick and explained the situation of kids stole the decorations and I couldn't reach the pumpkin still in the water. The guy on the phone was polite enough and said no problem Mam I'll send down one of my guys and a pole right now. WHEW... I could finally get the last remaining decoration that was stolen out of the water (well out of the ones we did find)

Please Vote For Zero's Video

Hello Followers! I have entered Zero into a funniest pet video contest on YouPet.com. I need everyone to please go and give her two videos a 5 star rating. The grand prize is a $1000 and that could sure buy a lot of dog food. Zero is on Wellness Dog Food and it's like $54 a 20lb bag, I am also still currently laid off but don't want to sacrifice feeding her a lesser quality food.. so the grand could really help.

Please go to youpet.com and create an account (it's free) and then to

http://www.youpet.com/funniestpet/newest/?cvid=367
AND
http://www.youpet.com/funniestpet/newest/?cvid=366

Then once you are logged in click 5 stars and submit votes! I've seen some cute videos but Zero in the tub is just one of the better one (Not to toot my own horn)

All votes are much appreciated by myself and well by Zero as well!!

Wordless Wednesday 10/12

Zero's Sleep Number is 40 also!

Friday Funny - 10/7

Doesn't this just fit the theme of my most embarrassing post??

Wordless Wednesday 10/5

Finally On The Wall

Indeed I Was First To Answer

It appears there was some controversy over my last Time To Play win on Wednesday. Of course the Wednesday twitter parties are always first answer.. and on first answers I always split my screens. Their parties are mostly search for an answer, but this past one was pick a prize. Within the list of pick a prizes was also the answers to all ten questions. So I split my screen half with Tweetdeck and the other half with Time To Play's website that listed the prizes, so I could just simply copy and then past into TweetDeck. If you want to win on first answer.. the last program to use is Tweetgrid. It lags and loads answer tweets before questions or skips tweets all together.. hence that seemed to be the issue. People on Tweetgrid seeing my answer before TTP's question even showed loaded... Hello this is a known issue why would you keep on using it if you know it's not loading tweets right away?? Good old fashion twitter or TweetDeck work wonders for first answer parties..  As proof that YES I answered AFTER the question was tweeted here is my justification to those people bitching, moaning, complaining... and by the way go get a life.. you can't win in every party. (Why is it a certain select group of people are always bitching when I win something? Jealousy is a bitch and karma will nip you in the butt three-fold..)

Disney Movie Rewards & Disc Registration

I am an avid collector of the Disney Movies, mostly the classics, but when a new movie comes out that isn't of the animated series I am likely to buy it, such as the Pirates series or Secretariat. I've always collected Disney movies, I had a huge collection of VHS tapes that I sold to a friend who has a daughter with a disability so she could watch them. She is confined to a wheelchair and heck they were going to her. I sold the whole collection for a quarter of what I could have gotten for it with a major collector, but after all I wasn't out to make money. I honestly just wanted to convert my collection to DVDs. In doing so as one is released from the vault I'll go and buy it. Now with all the hype of them all being released on Blu-Ray I've started buying the newer releases on Blu-Ray. But with buying Disney movies comes Disney Movie Rewards and also disc registration.

Wordless Wednesday 9/28

Picking The Perfect Christmas Card with Tiny Prints

With October 1st literally just a few days away the smell of fall is in the air. Fall smells make me start to think about the upcoming holiday season. I like to be prepared for the holidays. I have also been the one to think a head of time about what this year's Christmas Card will be. Thanks to Tiny Prints I can already start getting some inspiration for Christmas cards with their Holiday Card line, which I might add is already up on their site and can be seen holiday cards! How exciting of a task to go through the pages of different cards trying to decide which style will be this year's card. So far I have spent well over an hour going through different styles, layouts, and colors and still am very much undecided on which one to choose. However, I have narrowed down my choice to just a few and those few choices I am going to share with my readers today.

Coupon Frenzy 9/27

I'm starting yet again another new segment. This one is going to be called "Coupon Frenzy". I am going to post a list of coupons and your job is to post a comment in the comment section of which ones you would like. The first person to post which ones they want gets those specified coupons.. and so on and so on until they are all gone OR until midnight on Thursday (which ever comes first), those will then go back into the batch for next week's "Frenzy" and the ones close to EXPIRING will be sent to the military families groups. You can take none, one, or them all. There is NO mininum or maximum on the amount of coupons you can get. Instead of bunching coupons together into a giveaway, I'm giving you your choice! They are FREE.. I will pay for the stamp to mail them to you, all I ask is that you spread the word about my blog so I can gain more followers! and tweet about the "Coupon Frenzy" too ...You're Welcome and get to commenting

My Most Embarrassing Moments

While reading a fellow bloggers blog - Susan who's blog is We Share With You - I discovered she wrote a post about her most embarrassing moment. So I had to chuckle and say to myself... "oh man if I did this they'd all be rolling laughing for days" . Well guess what.. I guess you could say my Friday Funny is coming to you on Tuesday because here are my most embarrassing moments ever, that literally have me sitting here laughing so hard to myself going "oh boy am I really going to post these". Those top 3 moments that made me want to crawl under a rock, go hide in a closet, and not walk away but run as fast as I could!

Friday Funny - 9/23 DOUBLE DOSE

I couldn't help myself.. I just LOVE the Bud Light commercials.. and because it is the first day of Fall and I'm feeling the fall mood here is a Double Dose of #FF - enjoy

Friday Funny - 9/23

This week's Funny brought to you via YouTube. The music makes the whole video... bad boxer dog bad

Yes I'm Going There - Bullying

The national spotlight is yet again shining down on Buffalo because of an awful tragedy, one that very well could have been prevented a long time ago. A 14 year old boy took his life this past weekend here in Buffalo and it has caused a lot of media to take notice to his cries for help, not just media but celebrities like Ellen and Lady Gaga. A 14 yr old who struggled with his sexuality, but was loved by so many. But it wasn't the love from friends and family he saw, it was the constant name calling and bullying that he saw. Even so now that he is gone, on is memorial pages on Facebook there are people posting inappropriate name calling. When will these kids stop? What are these parents doing that this kids are being allowed to do this? Is there no monitoring of kids computers anymore? This happened in a very well to do school district in the area. Kids from rich parents and very nice neighborhoods where crime is virtually nill.. matter of fact Amherst was ranked in the top ten safest cities in the country for many years in a row, yet this happens in that area? This really doesn't shock me, the kids in that school district were always mean, some of them at least, even when I was growing up and my High School sports teams would play theirs. They felt superior to everyone because their parents were very well off. But to constantly harass a kid that has been on the edge for so many years to finally jump off that edge, well that is totally unacceptable and I want some parents held accountable for the actions of their minor children.

Wordless Wednesday 9/21

Bath Time

Being Appreciative Of Wins

I'm an avid sweeper and I am also pretty sure everyone knows that. I make the point that I am crystal clear to most on my social media pages, to friends, family, and of course my UPS and FedEx guys. I have won so much, so much that I am very appreciative for, but it wasn't until lately that I was just totally blown away by what I've won. There have been two nice wins that I've received within the past week that have really taken my breathe away and made me step back and appreciate all that these companies do for us sweepers/twitter party goers.

Friday Funnies - 9/16/11

Here is today's Friday Funny #FF for 9/16 .. sorry it's a day late. I have to watch this constantly I think it's hysterical, of course and one of the Bud Light commercials that never made it to air.. perhaps next week I'll post the other one that never made it to TV... enjoy

Wellness WellBars Snacks for Dogs - REVIEW

A little bit about Wellnss, they are a pet food company that goes above and beyond to create healthy foods for our pets, both for cats and dogs. Their products include dry foods, wet foods, and of course an assortment of treats for our beloved four legged family members. All of their products are made with all natural ingredients, which can be read on every can, box, and bag! These are ingredients I recognize and love the fact my dog is eating products that are not only good for her, but also contain NO meat by products. Attached to every item is an expiration date and also a Wellness Guarantee. The Guarantee states that for any reason if your pet does not like their items to bring back the unused portion, with receipt back to the place of purchase and there will be no questions asked for a full refund or exchange.

Our Short Sale Adventure

YES, this is "the" house

The American Dream, to own your own house with a white picket fence! Isn't that what everyone in America would love to do, own their own home? When the mortgage crisis kicked in it almost paved the way for lower income families to now buy homes that were more or less "discounted" for sales some up to 50% it also presented another problem, having to deal with these banks that are holding the current mortgages on these homes. A lot of homes went into foreclosure and that is where the deals kicked in, but a lot of homes also went into a pre-foreclosure state, which allowed for an agreement between owner and bank to sell the home at a lesser value than what it's worth or the mortgage is for, a discounted amount per say or a "short sale". That term really is deceiving, short sale, makes one think you are buying a home that the sale is going to move along really fast, hmmm not so much the case... short sale meaning it's being sold short of what is owed on it. Now by allowing sellers to sell homes for short sales it keeps the foreclosure off of the sellers credit, the seller can apply for financial hardship to have the balance of the mortgage(s) forgiven, and the banks get a hefty bonus from the government for letting the house go on a short sale instead of having to deal with a foreclosure and well they in turn pretty much get every penny they are owed after this big government bonus. Sounds like a good plan, right? Like a win win.. no one owes anything, bank gets all their money, and someone now has the American Dream of owning their own home for substantially less than it's true value... Well I hate to break it to you, this is not the case at all.

Wordless Wednesday 9/14

Boots - "Is it my turn yet"

How Do You Sweep

While thinking about my daily sweepstakes entries today I thought about an topic, how do others sweep? Do they do daily entries, weekly, instant win games? I came across a friend today and I had asked her if she entered sweepstakes. She said she followed me onto Sweeties Sweeps because she saw me post something on my wall about winning with Sweetie. Wow did this make me smile, it made me smile knowing that I had yet again had an impact on someone else's life by encouraging them to get into sweeping and to quote Sweetie "Win What You Can't Afford". This particular person needs to win, they are very low income and I try to help her out when I can...  So my gift to her is directing her into the right direction to enter sweeps, so she has the chance to win. People like her make me smile when they win, the winners who need the things and appreciate the things they've won. I've had quite a few friends, along with my Mother, follow me onto Sweeties Sweeps FBand even a few paid the yearly fee to join the Sweeties Secret Site. Let me just add, the Secret Site fee is worth it's weight in gold. The first two weeks of being on the site I won a $1000 NFL Buffalo Bills home game ticket package from Bud Light!

Time To Play New Rules

As a lot of us know, Time To Play has a twitter #live contest on Wednesdays and also a TV show on Fridays. The #timetoplaylive is at 1pm on Wednesday and the object is to be the first answer to the questions they tweet out. There are normally nine prizes and then a grand prize. On the Friday TV show they show you new toys and also do giveaways. Giveaways are sometimes random and also first answer. Well there has been some complaining and controversy(as there always is it seems) so TTP has since changed their rules for winning... Here are the new rules

Friday Funny - 9/9/11

For those of you with a sense of humor and a knack for giving out gag Christmas gifts here is one just for you... and it's featured as my Friday Funny for Sept 9th. These cute little mooning Reindeer And Santa toot a nice little "Deck The Halls" 

Twitter Rules - learn them abide by them

Twitter has finally started to enforce their policies regarding spam and contests. They have a set of rules that are set forth in their TOS that you must click OK to when you sign up for an account. There are also rules that limit the number of accounts one can have.. such as one main account, a jail account, and then a business account if you have a business or blog. Even though these rules are pretty much set in stone people continuously violate them day in and day out. They create multiple accounts in an attempt to win contests, they create new accounts once their's is suspended, and they even pretend to be a whole other person in an attempt to... wait for it.. WIN. Winning is not everything, winning on twitter is about relationships.. creating a relationship with companies, supporting their products, brands, and/or names. Companies are just being kind giving stuff away, but again it all boils down to following the rules.

$10 F.Y.E GC Giveaway - CLOSED

The winner drawn by Rafflecopter is.....

I've decided to just randomly give away a gift card. This one is worth $10 and is for F.Y.E. It can be used either online or in any store. I've made the giveaway simple - Follow my blog, follow me on twitter, like my Facebook page, and/or tweet a message.

Giveaway begins at 9/8/11 12:01AM EST and Ends 9/29/11 12:01AM EST

Wordless Wednesday 9/7

She couldn't see from the back so hopped in the front to wait for my Mom to come out with lunch

The Wedding - Jason & Tracy

This is my cousin Jason, he is my Mother's Youngest sister's oldest son. Him and I grew up together and we were more like brother and sister than like cousins. Yesterday, September 4th, Jason got married. I was conflicted by this wedding on whether or not to even go. I wanted to go, but then didn't want to go. See Jason's now wife, Tracy, and I used to be close also and something that I'm not even too sure on happened and she turned on me. Turned on me by telling everyone who asked why I wasn't at their parties that she wished I was dead and could F off. Yes, she said it numerous times. Hearing a rumor from one person you go hmmm and question it, but hearing the same thing from five different people who each hadn't known I talked to the other well now that is believable. I never knew what this was all about and when I questioned what is all this mess about Tracy ran and told my cousin that I attacked her in front of her family on her Facebook wall... ahhh no I sent her a private email and asked her. This was not an isolated incident, she has done this to others around Jason as well. But this put a wedge between me and my cousin for the last few years, a cousin I was so close to. So the day he told me he got engaged I didn't act happy or surprised, I just didn't know what to say. What do you say?

Caring for Zero

I have been up half the night with a sick dog. I think I've slept all of 1 1/2 hours before being woken up by Zero. She has that nasty hookah of a cough again.  She previously had caught kennel cough from some place (I think the ragg-a-muffin mut at dog school) and had to be rushed to the vet in the early AM on a Saturday morning in January or February, just to be loaded up with meds for a few weeks. Well it's that nasty cough that seems to be back on a smaller level. As I type this I am waiting for the Vet to get into their office at 8 AM. Not only does she have this cough but once she finally gets comfy enough to lay down and fall asleep she starts shaking like she is going into a seizure. This is not a fun night and not exactly how I expected my Friday morning to go, but it is what it is. I would stay up for days straight if it meant having to stay near my animals while they are sick. Matter of fact I don't think I slept a single night from the day Charity got hurt until six weeks after I had put her to sleep.

The look on poor Zero's face is just breaking my heart right now. She is laying behind me and every time I turn around to look at her I get that sad "help me Momma" face looking at me. She is so tired she is laying with her head stretched out into the air and you can see her eyes fighting to close. Then finally she lays her head down and falls asleep just to be followed by the shaking. It is such a struggle for her to get comfy right now and how this kills me to watch her like this.

Being a Responsible Dog Owner

Well I am experiencing first hand what it is like to live in an apartment complex and within this complex dogs are allowed. Most people clean up after their dogs, but there are those select few that refuse to clean up after their dogs.  This problem is making a problem bigger. My neighbors two apartments down are ground level and can not even open their windows because of the smell of dog dodo. The office is well aware of who the culprits that do not pick up the poo are and have sent letters out to them telling them if they are asked one more time to clean up after their dogs they will then be asked to get rid of their dogs or to move. This just makes me sick to my stomach that people do this. Not only is it disgusting, but it's unhealthy. Who wants to smell dog poop all the time or even step in it. Yes, we've had the unfortunate experience of stepping in someone's dog poop because they didn't pick it up. So this whole little experience is the inspiration behind this post. Owning a dog gives you responsibilities, not just to feed the dog, make sure it's healthy, help it when it's hurt, but also cleaning up after it. Why do people NOT feel the need to clean up after their dog(s)? Why do people believe they are exempt from the pooper scooper law in NY? Yes again there is a law in NY for picking up your poop. If you are caught by an officer of the law not picking up your dog's doodoo, guess what you get a nice ticket with a nice hefty fat fine attached to it.

Wordless Wednesday 8/31

Martini Anyone??

Salon Grafix Curl Boosting Spray - REVIEW

As some of you may know I am bonkers over my hair. I have very long strawberry blonde naturally curly hair. Where the curly comes from, well no one seems to know other than speculate it rode down the Italian gene in the family and I got it. There is wavy hair in my family, but not out right curly like mine. I take pride and do get a little bit of an ego boost when people tell me how beautiful my hair is. I try my hardest to make it look good and my biggest problem is getting the curls to keep their curls all day or all night if I am out on town  for a night.  It always seems within a few hours the ends start to frizz out as do some of the back of it. It's not that the curls relax it is just that they start to frizz and as we all know frizzy curls do not look pretty, they look like you shoved your finger into a 220 line on purpose!

Friday Funny - 8/26/11

I've decided that I am going to start a segment called Friday Funnies or yet another version of #FF. Each Friday from now until whenever I decide to stop I will post a funny picture, video, or story to share with my readers. Please enjoy! This will give me the opportunity to show off my humorous side (I am normally the one laughing at myself half the time to the point of almost literally peeing my pants)

Friday August 26, 2011 Friday Funny

This one is to all you whiners out there... 

Wordless Wednesday 8/24

My Zero The Escape Artist

Look at that face starring at itself in the mirror! How could you not just love that cute face. That face is of my dog Zero. Some of you have probably seen me tweet about her previously or even post twitpics in parties. Let me tell you that little angel of a mug is far from innocent! She is a people dog, she gets along better with people than with other dogs. Her and my other female boxer Lucy, do not get along at all. At one point they did, when the big male was still alive, but two days after he passed away Zero decided she wanted nothing to do with Lucy being in the house. After that point in time the girls have lived their lives separated by a baby gate of sorts. I used to live in a one floor home and it was rather easy to put a gate up in the middle of the house and one was in the front and one was in the back of the house, but now... well now I live in a two floor jobber and had to find a solution to the problem of keeping the girls apart. 

CLOSED -Glass Dharma - Glass Straws - REVIEW & GIVEAWAY

UPDATE - Winner of Giveaway is

On my quest to become a more eco-friendly person I stumbled up on a company that makes glass straws. These aren't just any glass straws, but the original glass straws. Once I gave more thought about how many straws I use in a single week it hit me hard realizing that the use of plastic straws was not helping my quest to be more eco-friendly.  After changing over to using stainless steel water bottles and travel coffee mugs I was still finding myself putting plastic straw in my cups. Every day I would grab a new one to put into my cup, trust me day after day the pile of plastic straws would add up. Now comes into play Glass Dharma and their wonderful awesomely amazingly made glass straws. What a terrific idea these straws are and they eliminate my use of more plastic, plastic I have been trying to rid from my life for a while now. Also, their straws are all made in the USA, I love nothing more than to support a US made product and also to help assist me on my main quest of being more eco-friendly!

Secretariat & My Bailey

Time freezes when Secretariat comes on TV. I stop everything I am doing and watch and watch and get goosebumps all over again. The story of a horse that did so much for a woman is extraordinary to say the least. Penney Tweedy fought for what was right, she choose to not live her life with what if's or what could be. She taught so many of us lessons we needed to learn, back in the 70's women in any type of male dominated industry were looked down upon and belittled, but Penney kept her head held high and knew her horse was the one that could get the job done.  I was not even born when Secretariat won the Triple Crown, he won it on June 9, 1973 I was born a month later on July 2nd, but through my life I heard a lot about this big red champion that was called the Super Horse of racing. He was big, red, and beautiful. He did strange things that set him apart from other horses. He also had the heart of a champion that was three times the normal size of a race horse heart. This extra large heart is what allowed him to move as fast as he did, it pumped blood three times faster through his body. This heart gene also passed to his offspring, but genetic testing has shown that it mostly past to the fillies he sired and not the colts, but it is possible? Anything is possible..

My EVERSAVE Experiences

Over the past few months I have been lucky enough to have won credits to use on Eversave . This is a fabulously wonderful site that allows you to buy "saves" that can be used towards the purchase of different items. Saves are coupons or discount codes to buy things at a deep discount. I have been able to purcahse three different saves so far and am extremely happy with the items I have gotten. Items that I normally probably would not buy due to the original cost, but thanks to Eversave I was able to buy these items.

If Eversave is offered in your local market I encourage you to join. For everyone that joins through my link I get a credit, then you can post your own link to your friends and followers and you'll get a credit. This is an amazing program they offer for referrals and there are no limits on the amount of referral credits one can get.

Buying From Lot 18 & Link To Join

Lot 18 is somewhat of a flash sale site that features different brands and makes of wine. Every day they seem to have a vast collection of wines to chose from with pricing being very very reasonable. I've already done one order with them and plan on doing more in the future. My experience was good with them, ordering was a cinch, they provided a link to track my package, and the bottle was packed very well to insure there was no breakage. I recommned Lot 18 when you are in the mood to try new wines. This site has given me the chance to try wines that I normally would not even be aware of or be able to buy locally.

Please use my below link when you sign up. Once you sign up and order your first bottle I will get a $25 credit, you can then create your own link to share with your friends... there is no limit on the amount of credits you can obtain. When I first joined the site I received a $25 credit to spend, I am not sure if this is still the case but if it is then joining is well worth it! With shipping on my first order it was under $25 so my first bottle was free. What a deal there!

https://www.lot18.com/i/Katherine245337

Right Or Wrong

I really have something that is bothering me a great deal. Every day I do tweet or RT contests on twitter. I read the rules to see how many times a day I can tweet or RT for an entry. I also only use on twitter account. I only get on my jail account for parties when my main account is in jail. I don't use my jail account for tweet or RT contests on twitter. Recently it has come to my attention (well back into my focus I should say) that there are a handful of people who are using multiple accounts to participate in these contests. I'm not too fond of this one bit. I want to win things fair and square and do not believe that cheating should be done, yet here we have those handful of people taking advantage of a system and using 3, 4, and even 5 different names in an attempt to win one prize. Does this up your odds of winning? Or does this up your odds of being caught? One thing I had noticed is every set of rules states in it that you can only use one account and anyone caught using multiple accounts in an attempt to gain more than required entries will be disqualified. Well, this brings me to the next issue... one of those multi using twitter folks won the other day. Won something I have been trying for ten months to win! A Flip Cam... every one knows hotels.com is doing a RT to win a Flip contest on twitter and every day I take my chances and RT to win.

Dirt Devil Power Reach PET Upright Vacuum - REVIEW

I was in the market for a new vacuum that had a price that would fit into my budget. After many  nights of researching I settled on the Dirt Devil Power Reach PET Upright Vacuum.  I purchased this vacuum on Amazon.com for $99.95 plus free shipping. I had used $80 in Amazon credits I had, so the out of pocket expense was almost $20. I couldn't pass up this deal when this vacuum had a 4 1/2 star rating on Amazon! I had check on Dirt Devil's website and read about the features and accessories and they are as follows:

Features:


• No Loss of Suction
• Multi-Stage Cyclonic Filtration
• 14-Inch Cleaning Path
• HEPA Media Filter
• Carbon Filter
• 5-Position Height Adjustment
• Bottom-Empty Dirt Cup
• Premium Stretch Hose
• 12-Foot Cleaning Reach
• 24-Foot Power Cord
• 12.0 AMPS
• 3 Year Warranty

Included Accessories:

• Electrostatic Dusting Brush
• Electrostatic Turbo Tool®
• Extra Long 12-Inch Crevice Tool
• 16-Inch Extension Wand

As soon as FedEx dropped off the box I had to open it and give it a try. We had just moved and the vacuum we had was on its last leg, so I was excited to try this new vacuum considering we have a new place that has wall to wall carpet in every room but the kitchen and two bathrooms along with having three dogs, so it was imperative that I bought a new vacuum! Once I got the vacuum out of the box I inspected it to make sure all the parts were there. There are two screws at the top where the handle attached to it and no other assembly was required.

Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip

While attending #CrockpotWed Twitter Party earlier I was asked for the recipe for a favorite dip here in the Home of Chicken Wings!

Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip

Ingredients-
16  oz of cream cheese - softened
8 oz of Franks Hot Sauce or any Hot/Wing Sauce of your choosing (we love Franks)
3/4 cup of chopped celery
2 cups of cooked chicken breast shredded
2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
16 oz of Blue Cheese or Ranch Dressing

Directions-
Poach Chicken in water either on stove or in a crock pot. Remove from water when cooked through and let cool slightly. Meanwhile, pre-heat oven at 350 degrees. Shred chicken - I used two forks and just pull it all apart. Combine cream cheese, celery, and hot sauce and put into microwave at 1 minute increments until cream cheese is soft and easy to stir. Fold in chicken, blue cheese, and cheddar cheese until mixture is well mixed together.  Put into oven at 350 for 30 minutes. You could also put this mixture into a crock pot and let it cook for a few hours. Those mini pots work wonders for making this dip and warming it up.

Tips - I add the hot sauce a little at a time. You can always add more, but can never take away. I add to my liking. Some like their's hot hot some like it medium hot, it all depends on  your heat preference. I also only use half of the blue cheese but have used ranch dressing successfully as well. If you like a lot of chicken you can add more chicken. I've also used the canned chicken breast, it didn't taste as well as with fresh, but I didn't hear any complaints!

Late Night Sweeping

As I was up until 7am this morning I found myself going through all the instant win games and some daily entries into the sweeps I normally do.  It seems as if my late night adventures paid off to an extent. As I was going through the instant win games I have bookmarked in my Google Bookmarks I found myself winning three separate times!

First was a coupon for Dove Ice Cream Bars - valued up to $5.50

Second was a coupon for Sour Patch Kids - valued up to $2.20

Lastly was coupons for Barilla Pasta and Sauce - valued up to $2.00

I haven't won on the instant win games in what seems like forever so these three wins were a welcome site! Even though they were not big wins, they were wins I will get good use out of. I can make dinner with the pasta and sauce and then enjoy a nice ice cream bar after wards! Then maybe later on enjoy a sour snack too!  Sometimes it pays to stay up late and do your entries.

Giveaways To Come

I just wanted to keep my followers in the loop. I have had a handful of you asking when I was going to do giveaways, well that time is just around the corner. I have secured a few items to giveaway and was just waiting on the invitation from Rafflecopter to use their beta software to use for the entry system. That invite came today! I have already set up my account with them. I would like to send a HUGE Thank You to Greg at Rafflecopter for sending me the invite. I am ecstatic to be able to use it.  As most of you know I do not do a lot of blog giveaways, because I absolutely dislike the hoops you need to jump through to do entries just to go back and post comments on the giveaway page. Yes a hassle at times, well with Rafflecopter that is going to be a streamlined process. I am very happy to be able to do my giveaways with their system!!

I have already created the giveaway tab, which is located in the tab toolbar on the main page. You will be able to find all current giveaways, winners, and information about expired giveaways under that tab. There is also a review tab for products reviewed. If there is a giveaway from a review the giveaway will be under the giveaway tab and the review under reviews. Please do check back frequently to see new reviews and new giveaways!

Manna Pro - All Natural Fly Repellent for Horses, Dogs, & Cats - REVIEW

As everyone knows I have horses and my biggest task in the summer time is finding a repellent that keeps those pesky flies away from them while they are outside. This year I was on a mission to find a repellent that was all natural. I had started to have bad feelings about the repellent I was using once I read the bottle and it contained hazardous warnings and keep away from children. Here I had been using this product on my dogs and horses for years. Not anymore - that product that contains toxins that could harm my horses was going to meet it's maker and no longer be supported by myself.

Yesterday I stopped to pick up a few things at a local Country Max store and saw a few bottles of all natural fly repellent. I stood there for a good half an hour reading the labels of the bottles. Some of which where not all natural at all, while others were indeed just that "all natural" ingredients.  I decided on the Manna Pro All Natural Repellent and purchased a bottle to try. The price was reasonable at $11.99 per pint sprayer, while others were $20 and more. Manna Pro is known for its award winning horse products and feed. I have previously, and still do, feed my horses Manna Pro Rice Bran Powder. The Powder helps put weight onto the horses without making them "hot". By saying hot I mean hyper and full of energy. Bailey is such a hard one to keep weight on that the Rice Bran Powder does wonders for him! Seeing I already had a history of knowing Manna Pro's amazing feeds I figured the fly repellent was going to be just as good.

My Grill

During my sweeping I have been on a mission to win a grill, but not just any grill a Weber Grill. I've won a tiny Masterbuilt charcoal grill previously and this thing is great for taking to football tailgating parties, but to cook on it barely fits two big steaks on it.  So the mission was to find every contest I could that a prize was a Weber Grill.  I've cooked on friend's Weber's and loved them! I wanted a Weber Genesis, specifically the red  one because the patio furniture for the new house is red and orange mix.  A Red Weber would complete that look.

On my birthday I received an email from a sweep that I had been chosen as one of the grill winners! YES a grill finally! Keep in mind I had a Charbroil Gas grill that I had given to my cousin when we moved. I had all intentions of replacing this grill and honestly they needed a gas grill. So off my old grill went across the street the day we left.  Just for me to get this email that I won a grill was like karma coming back to me as a good pay it forward. Again, I wasn't sure what type of grill this was going to be other than I looked back at the sweeps and saw it has an ARV of $100. I would have been happy with the two burner Charbroil that sell for $87 right now.  For weeks I sat anxiously awaiting for the next email to tell me my information had been verified and I can come pick up my grill. See, with sweeps that involved Budweiser you have to fax or email a copy of your license to verify you are over the age of 21 and this sweep was no exception.

Yesterday that email finally arrived telling me where to come pick up the grill. I knew it was going to be at the local Bud distributor, because I have previously won from this local sweeps and had to pick up the items at the distributor before.  I raced to get dressed and out the door to go and get my grill all the way thinking "my god I hope it fits in the car". Previously I had been ten minutes from this place, but now that I am moved I am a good 40 minutes away in good traffic and here I was leaving at 4pm when it was close to rush hour. I was anxious to get there and see what grill it was!

Upon getting there I had to show my ID to verify it was indeed me that had won. The receptionist (who I think knows me by first name now) was there to great me Hello (yet again). Once my name was verified as being on the list she went to the grill I had won. Much to my surprise it was a Weber Kettle Grill. I had said I wanted to win a Weber, well here indeed I did.  I was excited yet disappointed all at the same time. I really wanted a gas grill, but this was a Weber Kettle grill and I was happy to take it. I had to take off the lid and grill grate to get it into the car, this grill was already assembled! Whew thankfully that was a time saver having it already put together and of course it is branded Weber and Budweiser right on it.

I just thought I'd share my grill story. Here is a picture of my grill now sitting safely on my patio next to my favorite lawn ornament, the wooden Moose! I can't wait to cook steaks, burgers, and veggies on it. Maybe one day I'll win a Weber Genesis Gas Grill, but for now I'm happy with my Weber Kettle, after all I did say I'd like to win a Weber Grill maybe I just never specified what kind!