Walmart.Com's "Off To College"

"MEET TWO MOMS WITH COLLEGE-BOUND KIDS"


I'm one of those Moms!

Today marks the launch of Walmart.com's "Off To College" campaign, in which I was graciously included by the wonderful folks over at Walmart.com.


The site is full of articles ranging from campus life and supply checklists, to organizing your dorm room. There are Q&A's where questions are submitted by Moms (or Dads!) and you can click and see how others have come to their aid and answered.

My son and I are featured under "Beth's Top Ten Graduation Gift Ideas" where we have commented on our Top Ten Picks for graduation gifts and our feelings of importance for each one. A colleague and friend of mine, through our activities with Walmart and Walmart.com, is featured under "Lindy's Off-to-College Tips" where she lists (from experience-her daughter has already completed her Freshman year in college!) great tips for your new college-bound student.

Do you really want to get in on the spirit of things? Share with us your memorable moments of graduation, heading off to college, or the spirit of campus life, and submit a photo! Or, submit one of your own tips - as the Mom of a new college student, I welcome all the advice I can get!

It is an incredibly interactive site of which I'm very proud to be a part. Visit the site, check out the featured articles, post your question, share your photos, or submit a tip. We'd love to hear from you! Check in often, and watch for Lindy's "Top Ten Picks" for creating the perfect dorm room!

Let me know if you've posted any pictures or tips - I'd love to see them. I look forward to seeing you there!

Free Ice Cream at Walmart Tomorrow!

Don't forget to stop by your participating Walmart tomorrow for free ice cream! Get there early while supplies last and pick up your choice of a Dibbs Snack Bag, Blue Bunny Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Bar, or a Ben & Jerry's Flipped Out Cup.

Have a great weekend!

Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act

I'm just like everyone else when it comes to finding a great freebie. But when that freebie happens to be chocolate? Look out!

If you haven't heard about it already, Mars has created their own 'Chocolate Relief Act', handing out coupons for free chocolate candy every Friday through September. There's a limit of 250,000 coupons each Friday beginning at 9:00 am Eastern time, so get there early! There's even a place to put your email address and they'll happily send you a reminder. If you're one of the lucky ones, they'll send you an e-mail letting you know that your coupon will be arriving in about 6 weeks.

How do I know? I've been getting my share of the Chocolate Relief Act already! I was feeling a little guilty doing it behind your back and not telling you - hey, it's chocolate, and sometimes that makes a girl a little crazy, you know?

Anyway, here's your reminder from me. Tomorrow morning, as soon as you can possibly get there, go to the Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act to get your free chocolate. Hurry, though, you'll be racing me for one of those coupons!

What Would You Do With an Extra Hour? Frigidaire Wants to Know!

Let Frigidaire know what you would do with an extra hour in your day, and you could have a suite of new appliances delivered to your door! Take their Daily Dare and be entered for a chance to win a NEW Frigidaire Affinity front-load washer and dryer! Register at Frigidaire's My MotherLoad, it's fun and it's free. Check out the prizes! Read what other moms would do with their extra hour.

According to the Official Rules, the "5 Things" Sweepstakes ends on June 30, 2009, with the prize drawing for the suite of appliances on or around July 10, 2009 (winner is responsible for taxes and installation!).


There's 8 drawings for the Daily Dare prize as shown on the Official Rules, even more chances to win (winner is responsible for taxes and installation)!

Put Frigidaire in your favorites and visit daily for a chance to win. I'll be there!

Make-at-Home Donuts

I know, sounds kinda weird, a little daunting....but we started a bad habit a few years back of buying donuts on Sunday mornings for the kids that I truly wanted to kick. I'm not a donut eater and I don't even remember how the whole thing got started. And it's not even like donuts are that expensive, right? We only buy four, one for each kid. But 50 - 60 cents per donut does sound a little ridiculous when you think about it, plus the drive to the store. So when the kids started complaining about 'no more donuts', I figured they'd eventually get over it. Several weeks went by, and still the complaining. When I asked them, "What's the big deal about a donut?" I received a truly hearfelt reply: "Mom, it's not just the donuts themselves, it's just about something that we've done every weekend for years, now, like a tradition or something."

So, not wanting to break the family tradition, I began to keep my eyes and ears open for a way to make my own donuts. I came across an episode of Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade on Food Network where she was making breakfast, including donuts. Such a simple idea, I decided to try it at home.

Here's what you'll need:

Refrigerated bisquit dough (in the tube)(do not use buttermilk or butter variety)

Oil (for frying)

Powdered Sugar & Milk (for the glaze)

Cocoa Powder (if you want chocolate glaze)

Vanilla

Heat the oil in a pan on a medium setting. Separate the pieces of bisquit dough on a cutting board and slightly flatten and with your fingers. Using the tip of a knife, or a very small, round, cookie cutter, cut circles in the center of the dough to create your donut shape. The circles will become donut holes. Carefully place the dough pieces in the heated oil and fry to a light brown on each side. Place on a cooling rack with a paper towel placed underneath to catch any oil drippings. For the glaze: In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp. vanilla and 1 tbsp milk or orange juice. Stir in additional milk or juice until icing reaches drizzling consistency. If making a chocolate glaze, add 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder to the powdered sugar and only use milk, no OJ!

The donuts were a big hit at my house. The kids knew I had been busy in the kitchen, an aroma of something really enticing brought them all out of bed and to the table last Sunday morning. The site of freshly glazed, warm donuts sitting on that serving tray made everyone quite happy. They were in total disbelief when they found out that I had made them!

I especially like the fact that I can control some of the ingredients, mainly the oil that's used. What I like even more is the cost! I purchased a 4-pak of Great Value refrigerated biscuit dough for $1.37 at my local Walmart Supercenter. That's $.34 a tube! With 10 biscuits in each tube, that's roughly $.03 per donut (that would make the donut holes free!). Since I already had on hand the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and cocoa powder, the donuts were only 3 cents a piece!

Pick up some refrigerated bisquit dough next time you're out and give it a try. I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with the results!

Summertime Activities on a Dime

The passing of Memorial Day is a perpetual rite of passage for me, signifying the beginning of summer. Although my kids finished last week, many of you still have kids currently wrapping up the school year. Have you planned for their summer activities? Even though my kids are now old enough that they prefer to make their own plans, my husband and I were reminiscing the days when they were elementary age, and younger, and I was the one they looked to for their summer activities. Yes, a family vacation will account for a portion of that time, but what about the rest?

Looking back, we were amazed at how expensive it could have been keeping 4 kids busy throughout the summer break, bewildered at how other parents were able to send all their kids to summer camp. We weren't willing to separate ourselves from our savings account so I found all kinds of alternatives. It entailed planning, creativity, and some willpower, but the kids and I always seemed to have a great time.

I would suggest looking into your city's Parks and Recreation Department. Ours had a magnitude of classes, broken down into 'Arts' and 'Sports' orientated themes. My kids took classes ranging from swimming, to dance, to karate, all at incredibly reasonable and affordable rates. As our kids got older, our recreation center had open hours for the kids to come in, at a small cost, and enjoy not only the amenities such as basketball courts and the climbing wall, but also supervised activity tables to participate in crafts and other events. The open activities were just a 'treat' now and then as it was an extra expense. I planned ahead with other parents so that the kids could enjoy the time with friends, and the moms could take turns just 'being in the building' while the kids 'thought' they had the freedom of being on their own!



Using our Parks and Recreation Department for my kids' scheduled classes, I filled in the gaps with other activities that were either free, or close to free. We made trips to our City Pools at very little cost, and planning in advance to purchase a summer pass saved us the most.

We were always signed up at our local library for their summer reading program, which is free. The kids really enjoyed making the trips to choose their books, get their charts stamped for the books they read, earning prizes along the way, and anticipating the 'big' prize of whatever the libraries were offering that particular summer upon the kids reaching their final reading goal.

In addition to 'story time' at the library, a lot of book stores have followed suit and offer the same types of programs. That sounds like 'mom time' to me! Walk the kids over to the children's area and get them comfortable, walk yourself over to the coffee cafe/bakery and pick up a treat, find a comfortable chair where you can focus in on your little ones, and take a relaxing moment for yourself!

For a nominal fee, some of the craft stores, like Michael's, or the home improvement stores, such as Home Depot, hold regular classes for the kids to come in and make a craft, or maybe even a birdhouse! Don't forget to check with some of your local, non-chain stores as well to see what they've got going for the kids. Click here to find out more about Home Depot's "Kid's Workshop". Click here to join 'The Knack" at Michael's which is not only chock-full of great ideas of fun things to do and create with your kids, but will also keep you up to date on all the in-store events.

What I found the most useful, was putting up a weekly schedule of the things we would be doing throughout the week. Everyone knew which mornings were designated for swimming lessons, or who had what class on which day, when we would go to the library, you get the idea! The anticipation for the week ahead gave the kids a better sense of stability and structure in our schedule, which meant no more listening to whining about 'What are we doing today?" and "I'm bored, there's nothing to do!" for me!

Plan ahead, check into some programs, and keep your kids busy! Unless you're like me, with teenagers, who have opted to keep themselves busy. Oh look, one just walked into the room right now, whining, "Mom, I'm bored...." Go figure.

Free Ice Cream at Walmart!

Yes, you read that correctly! Mark your calendars - on Saturday, May 30, between the hours of 11am and 4 pm, two thousand Walmart Supercenters nationwide, as part of the "Bright Ideas" demo program, will be handing out free ice cream treats. Only 1 per customer, though, so choose your favorite! While supplies last, they'll have available Dibbs Snack Bags, Blue Bunny Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Bars, and Ben & Jerry's Flipped Out Cups. What a 'sweet' way to make that Saturday shopping trip a little less daunting!

A great kick-off to summer! Want to see if there's a Walmart near you participating in this way cool event? Click here to find out!

Mascara Winner!

Congratulations to my one winner! Thanks for your entry! I'll be sending you an email to get your prize sent out to you :)

Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara Review and GiveAway (closed)

So I've been out of commission for awhile, but sometimes, as you know, life happens. And life has been happening at my house! Kids taking turns not feeling well, getting ready for final exams, wrapping up end-of-the-year requirements with my 2 homeschoolers, 4 birthdays in one week, not to mention Mother's Day (hope yours was wonderful!), and all the usual things I'm supposed to keep up with. So, how was your week?



My week definitely improved when I received a new beauty product to try out which would add a little pampering to my crazy routine. It's Maybelline's New Pulse Perfection Mascara. I'm already a "Maybelline girl" as my mascara of choice for many years has been Maybelline's Great Lash mascara, you know, the one in the pink and green tube. So I was more than happy to try any new product put out by Maybelline.

What's so new about this one? And, what else could you possibly do to a mascara to regard it as 'new'? Add a vibrating wand, of course! There is a little button on the handle of the wand, and upon pressing it as you apply your mascara, the vibration technology is activated.

Coming from someone who holds their mascara like a 2-year-old holds an eating utensil, I had to re-learn the technique, err, coordination to apply mascara without poking my eye out! Actually, it wasn't so difficult. The subtle vibrations move through your lashes, separating as they go. For once, I was pretty 'clump-free'. All in all, it's a mascara that I not only really enjoy using, but love the results as well.

This is a product which hasn't even hit the stores yet, but I have a couple to give away to you! Again, I'll make it really simple. Just leave me a comment about what you like or don't like about the mascara you are currently using. I'll announce the 2 winners on May 18 in conjunction with Maybelline's one day preview sale before it officially hits the market in July. The winners will have 48 hrs. to respond and prizes not claimed will be donated. Thanks!

One Last Earth Month Hurrah!

Wow, can you even believe that this month is over? Just wanted to pay homage to some other earth-friendly products that are really worth looking into if you haven't yet tried them.

Here I am demonstrating the Brita Water Pitcher (don't laugh! I hate being in front of the camera!) on a video I was asked by Walmart to submit to their Walmart Earth Day You Tube Channel. Walmart had sent me a handful of products to check out and the Brita was one of them. Take a look:

I can honestly say that by using the Brita, we have totally rid ourselves of our water bottle habit, which not only cost our earth, but cost us dearly as well, $24 - $30 a month to be more exact! Yes, we have to buy filters, but a $7 - $9 filter every 3 months or so is a lot cheaper than what we were spending on water bottles.



Clorox Green Works products are awesome, I've been using them ever since they came out about a year ago. With a kid in the house who has bad allergies and asthmatic tendancies, I like to keep the air in my home as clean as possible, and by using natural cleaners, at least I know that I'm not filling my house with fumes that might further damage my child's lungs. They work really well....I've never felt like I've compromised by purchasing these products. I am looking forward to a future formula that has antibacterial properties!

Love candles but hate the black smoke they emit while burning? Hate the cost of the cleaner burning soy candles? Or, just wonder if they're going to be worth the price? Glade has recently introduced their new line of candles called "The Fragrance Collection" of which the candles are soy based. Three candles out of the collection (shown here) are at least 92% natural and are clearly advertised as such right on the label.
The fragrance is deeeeevine! My girls said they actually smell juicy, if that's at all possible?!


Hope this month was as informative for you as it was for me. I learned a lot and have been able to incorporate some more great ideas into our family's 'green routine'. It will be interesting to know how we will have progressed when Earth Day 2010 comes around!

Thanks for stopping by :)

See How Her Garden Grows...

Slowly but surely, the veggies are starting to come in. Just a little worried, though, that the blazing hot temps will get here before all the plants produce a full yield. In the meantime, I have a zucchini, and the peas are coming in nicely!

Let's Talk Bags, Baby!

Reusable shopping bags, what else? After all the comments left on my Bissell giveaway last week, you guys are really savvy when it comes to 'going green' so I know you have some!

I have some......some from here, some from there, this store, that store, different colors, different store logos. Never enough, though, from just the one store to handle my whole shopping load (Walmart anyone?), so I used to conveniently forget them at home.

Reality check from my husband: "Why are you spending money on those things when you don't even use them?" Hmmm....good question. I feel smart for owning them? Not good enough!

Yes, I have hangups, even with reusable shopping bags! I felt like if I didn't have enough for the whole shopping trip, then what's the point? And, (here's the part of me with the 'hangup') I felt like I should only use each bag at it's coordinating store, i.e., don't use a Walmart bag at a Sprout's store, and vice versa, for example. Hey, I've seen the dirty looks shoppers get from the cashiers when they bring in a competitor's reusable bag! And I didn't want to buy more bags from each of the stores because, overall, I had plenty. I'm just weird about that, OK?!

So here's the solution: When I go to Walmart, of course I proudly sport my Walmart reusable shopping bags for all to see. My competitor's bags are....hidden underneath......no, not really! Well, they are, technically, but I turn them inside out so you can't see the logo. Problem solved. Well, my problem anyway! And when I go to the 'other' stores, I take my Walmart bags there, too, inside out of course, but use the 'other' stores' bags with their logos proudly displayed. The great thing about my 'bag method' besides saving my own sanity? It keeps them cleaned out by regularly flipping them inside out.

And just for the sake of saying so, we always take our plastic bags back to the store for recycling. I usually save some for home, but we always recycle the rest.

It's a new way of shopping for a lot of us. Anyone remember back in the day when only 'brown paper' was the bag of choice? Then plastic became the more convenient way to transport your purchases. What were we thinking, anyway? It usually turns out that convenience doesn't pay off in the end, but persistance does. Persistance to make the changes we need now to ensure a better future for us all. Reusable shopping bags are the way to go!

White Cloud Green Earth

So, Earth Day is in the past and you figure you've done your part, right? Wrong - let's keep this thing going! Here's a few more products that have 'gone green' that were sent to me to try out and let you know what I thought.

Well, just my luck that when the box came to my front door I decided to let my kids open it. "Ewwww, nasty, recycled toilet paper!" followed by all kinds of laughs and wisecracks that I won't repeat here (if you haven't read my profile, I have a house full of teenagers!), "I'm not using toilet paper that's already been used!".

Settle down, everybody! It's not that kind of recycled! It's made from recycled fibers, not recycled toiled paper, duh! Ok, well that brought a prospect of seriousness to the conversation. Which turned out to be a great opportunity to talk to the young'uns (ha!) about how many trees won't be cut down if folks were to purchase these types of products. Oh yeah, White Cloud has Green Earth Paper Towels also.

So, how do they compare? Well, we can ask the kids! Yes, I did the sneaky thing and replaced all the toilet paper rolls in their bathrooms, including my own, with the new White Cloud Green Earth rolls without telling them - they deserved it, don't you think? We already use the regular White Cloud brand, so the appearance of the roll wasn't any different, meaning it had the same design imprinted. So by just looking at it, they never would have freaked out. So, day 1, I waited to hear someone scream at me from the bathroom with a "Mom, you didn't!!", but it never happened. Not one of them even noticed. I knew that I was using something different, but the Green Earth toilet paper is so close in quality to the original, that no wonder nobody noticed what I had done!

Now's a great time to go out and try it for yourself, especially since White Cloud has a great $2 coupon available.

The paper towels rank right up there. I was thinking that they might just fall apart as I was using them, but I came to find out that I was really wrong about that. One thing I've done (it's been almost a year now) to reduce my own carbon footprint is to reduce my usage of paper towels. I use only about a roll every week or two, so to pick up a roll of the White Cloud Green Earth paper towels would be just as economical. I don't really use them in the kitchen any more, so my first chore for these new paper towels was my forever dirty sliding glass door. Thanks to the dog, the bottom of the door is always covered with nose slime, saliva and paw prints, and the kids take care of the middle portion with all their hand prints (why can't anyone just use the handle anyway?). How did they work? Just like you'd expect a paper towel to work. It didn't fall apart, they're quite strong, and they did the job.

So what happened with the kids and the toilet paper? Well, one evening when there were other kids at our house, too, you know, best buds, boyfriends, etc., I decided to tell everybody that my kids had been using recycled toilet paper. There were some surprised looks from the other kids, and some red faces from my own kids, then, a gi-normous eruption of laughter, to which my kids hurriedly responded "It's not really recycled toilet paper, it's recycled fibers, right, Mom?" and "At least we're not killing trees!" - hey, didn't they just laugh at me a week ago when I told them that? Anyway, the info stuck in their teenaged heads, and hopefully that of their friends.

White Cloud Green Earth paper products are products you can really feel good about using!

And The Winner Is......

Congratulations to Rebecca, winner of the Bissell Little Green!


6


Timestamp: 2009-04-23 15:34:51 UTC



(Rebecca left comment #6 which was chosen from all entries by Random.org)





Thanks to all who entered! I enjoyed reading all of the ways you've incorporated 'green' into your daily lives. I'm posting excerpts from all who commented as there are so many great ideas out there !





"I am trying to buy more "green" products such as organic food and green cleaning products."
~ Leland's Mama



"I have been switching to greener cleaners such as Nature's Source (thanks to Bzz Agent for sending me a bzz kit) and now I don't think I ever want to buy anything caustic to clean again." ~ Pinching Abe



"I have vowed to start a garden to grow my own veggies and fruits. Cuts back on trips to the store (saves gas), cost efficient (I save money), and I spend more time outside (not wasting electricity inside). Going green is fun." ~ Keonte'



"The most recent thing I have been doing to go green is using recyclable grocery bags, and a brita water filter instead of bottled water." ~ Plus Size Mommy



"I have recently been trying to do more green things for the environment as well. I use reuseable grocery & produce bags, I cloth diaper my baby most of the time, I am now starting to line dry outside again, and I try to buy cleaning products that won't harm my family or the environment." ~ Lee-Ann



"Right along with Lee-Ann, trying to fine tune what we have been doing for years. Shopping at the farmer's market and buying local as often as possible has become habit."~ Rebecca



"Well, at my house we have been busy with: a veggie garden, fruit trees, reusable grocery bags, composting, recycling glass, cans, and plastics. I take our garbage paper to the church paper retriever, and recycle used batteries. My husband built a fence with reclaimed fence. Thanks" ~ Anonymous



"I try to live green everyday. I've recently posted a list on my blog on how to live greener. The list included many tips I use everyday such as; recycling (we only have 1 bag every 3 weeks!), composting, eating vegetarian, gardening, removing my name from being sent credit card solicitations, bringing a cup to work for tea, reusable bags for shopping, making my own cleaning products, buying less/living simpler(which is also great for the budget)." ~ Mandi



"I have been the recycle queen for many years but I keep finding more and more ways to do my part. The office building I work in put a recycle dumster next to the trash one so the buildings and people in them can have a handy way to recycle at work. I was glad that after a few calls from me telling them how much recycleable materials were being trashed every day they stepped up to help. I am not shy when it comes to asking people to start their baby steps in making their footprint a little smaller." ~ Shelby



"Bugs and leaf mold killed everything in my front flowerbed last year. I'm making a positive out of a negative by redoing the garden 100% organic and tucking in herbs among the new bushes and flowers." ~ Condo Blues



"We recycle paper, cardboard, plastics and aluminum. We have high efficiency appliances and in the summer, try to hang laundry on the line to dry. We use reusable bags at the grocery store. We pass on clothes, toys, etc. to friends/family. We don't use pesticides or anything on our lawns or gardens." ~ Pam



"We have been recycling and I have been purchasing the reusable shopping bags everytime I go to a store. They are so much easier to use also, I love them." ~ LoveMy2Dogs



"I have been bringing cloth bags to the grocery store." ~ Linda



"My husband and i have our own garden. It is mostly just herbs right now, but we recently added peppers and tomatoes. We are excited to be "green"!" ~ Karen P



"we recently switched all our lightbulbs (in every room) to energy saving "green" bulbs. They are a bit more expensive than regular bulbs and don't burn as bright but they seem to last longer and I hope to see a difference on my electric bill soon. I also chose to get all paperless billing statements for our utilities and am canceling junk mail to prevent from having to throw away a ton of paper (junk mail etc) daily. Thanks!!" ~ Michelle



"My latest GREEN EFFORT is to STOP buying bottled water! YUP I am a HUGE water drinker and I feel so ashamed of the plastic I must have contributed to our landfills! I got a really nice camelback refillable water bottle and REFILL that! I drink AT LEAST 2L of water a day, so that is HUGE for me.We recycle and buy products with as little packing material as possible.We bike or walk when we can.Window open instead of AC this summer as much as possible! THAT is my motto!" ~ Leslie



"I've been trying a lot over the past year to make small changes and now I feel like they've added up. We recycle and compost to keep as much out of the trash as possible. We walk or bike to school and work. We've switched out our light bulbs to CFLs. I take my own bags to the grocery store so that I'm not using the store's plastic bags. I don't buy water bottles anymore, we have several refillable water bottles and use those every day."~ Sue



Thanks again to all of you! Stay tuned as we wrap up Earth month, I've got some great product reviews.

Bissell Little Green Review and GIVEAWAY! (closed)

Thanks to the wonderful folks over at Walmart.com and Bissell, not too long ago I received a Bissell Little Green to check out and try out. As far as trying out products goes, this one was not only incredibly functional, but just plain fun as well. And, to top it off, I have one to give away!

I am an obsessive 'box reader', so the first thing that popped out at me was the packaging. It seems the very first thing I do when I look at something is to read everything on the box! What drew my attention to the box in the first place was the fact that it signified 'earth-friendly'. It was partially a cardboard-looking box. And as I got to reading, I learned that the box itself that the product comes in is 75% recycled corrugated and is totally recyclable - no styrofoam or other plastic inserts are in there. OK, now that you know how intrigued I am with boxes, let's get to the really good stuff!

Well, I can recite to you all the specifics, like the Bissell's sustainable design - both tanks and the hose are PVC-free and the float assembly and stain brush are both made from 100% post consumer recycled plastic. Not to mention the cleaning formula which is environmentally friendly as well boasting no heavy metals or brighteners, and is phosphate and dye free. Yes, Bissell really went out of their way when it came to the thought put into this earth-friendly product.

But, you ask, "Does it work?" See me grinning from ear to ear? That's a big YES!

I have 4 kids (teenagers - just as messy as 2 yr. olds!) and a dog, which equals dirty spots on the carpets. And what's most annoying is lugging out a full-sized carpet cleaner to take care of a handful of spots. Too many to scrub by hand, but not enough to totally warrant bringing out the 'big guns' with the full-size cleaner.

The Bissell Little Green fills that niche and works like a charm. It saves me time because it's so easy to pull out and use with it's compact size (not to mention it takes up hardly any space at all in the closet), it saves energy since it uses nowhere near what it takes to run the big cleaner, it's incredibly convenient to use on stairs or to take out into the garage and use in your vehicle. And when it comes to carrying it around - it's not a backbreaker.

"Is it complicated to use?" No way! I pulled it right out of the box, and even though I am a thorough instruction reader, I had it put together in under 5 minutes, sans instructions, and just double-checked myself afterward. The tanks are clearly labeled, easy to pull out to fill with cleaning solution and water, and the other to lift and empty the dirty water when your cleaning job is complete. The hose is of a generous length giving you plenty of leeway to work and the cleaning head fits quite comfortably in your hand with the solution trigger right there at your fingertips. When you're finished using it, the hose wraps conveniently back around the Little Green and the cleaning head is secured back into place. Great for storage!

It has incredible power when it comes to 'lifting' the stains. I call it my little 'spot eraser'. When it comes to suction, it behaves like a full-size cleaner camouflaged in it's compact size. I couldn't be happier with not only the friendly design (it really is cute looking!), the ease in using the product, but also with the results. Bissell has really outdone themselves with this little gem!

Are you as excited about the Bissell Little Green as I am? Here's you're opportunity to win one for yourself!

I'm making this really simple. All you have to do is:

Leave me a comment at the bottom of this post telling me what you've been doing most recently to 'go green' along with your email address so I can contact you in case you've won.

That's it!

Entries will be accepted today, April 17th, through Earth Day, April 22nd. The winner will be randomly chosen and announced the following day, on April 23rd.

If you've won, I will contact you by email (please leave a good email address!), and you'll have 48 hours to respond. If you're the lucky winner, Bissell will send your 'Little Green' right to your doorstep. Good Luck!

Prayer For A Friend

A friend of mine, and quite possibly a friend of yours, too, has been hospitalized. How, in this huge network of bloggers and readers, could we have a mutual friend? With this 'go-getter' of a gal, it's possible! I'm speaking of Beth Davis, 'PlusSizeMommy'. If she's not currently an acquaintance, I can guarantee a warm-hearted response to any comment or message you might leave on her blog, and as you get to know her, a friend for life. Last fall, I traveled as a guest to Bentonville, Arkansas to visit Walmart headquarters with several other moms, including Beth. Even though we had never met in person, Beth had such a warm and caring personality, as though we had been friends for life, and had even prepared in advance "goodie bags" to pass out to us for our return trips home on the plane.

Over the weekend, Beth woke up with chest pains and kind of just swore it off as sleeping a little wonky the previous night. However, Easter morning, upon waking, the pains were even worse. The trooper she is, she went about her day, most likely hanging in there for her 4 kids to make sure they had the Easter experience they had been looking forward to. By Monday, though, she states that the pains had become unbearable and decided it was time to get ahold of her doctor. Unfortunately, there were no available appointments until the next day.

At this point, some of us may be wondering why she didn't go to the ER. I don't have her answer to that question, but feel that it could be suitably answered in a separate blog on another occasion about women, chest pains, and how there is not enough emphasis on the fact that women, too, have equal reason to get themselves to the hospital at the first signs of chest pains. After thinking about Beth's situation, I determined that I most likely would have made a conscious choice to wait it out until I could I could get to my personal physician. In a 'man's world' of chest pains, I probably would have felt intimidated, and that my symptoms might not have been taken seriously enough at the hospital. I'm not speaking for Beth as I don't know the reasons behind her personal decisions, these are just my own thoughts. It does leave to question, though, what would you do? But, that can be left for another time.

Beth got in to see her doctor on Tuesday morning. After a thorough examination, it was found that her oxygen levels were deteriorating. An ambulance was called immediately and Beth was rushed to the hospital. After stabilizing her, and many tests later, it was determined that there was most likely a blockage somewhere, quite possibly in her heart. This morning she is receiving a heart catheritization to be 100% sure of what is happening to her and where it is located. She promised to keep us updated on her condition.

Please take a moment in your day today, to think about Beth, what she must be going through and say a little prayer for her and her family.

Sign of the Times

I went to the library yesterday. It's not so easy to just 'go' to the library, it's pretty far from my house, and as a part of our own family's economic plan, we don't just get up and go somewhere on a whim. We make planned trips to help save on fuel expenses. So, back to yesterday. I made the library part of the plan, and included stopping by there amongst a handful of other errands that had added up. My daughter needed a book as a reference on a research paper she's working on, so I had to make the trip.

So I got on the freeway (sounds crazy to have to get on the freeway to go to the library, doesn't it?), and headed to the other part of town, toward the library. I made a couple of my other stops, dropped off a bill, headed down the road to my final stop, the library, pulled in the parking lot, and......it was empty. I sat there for a minute, dumbfounded. I quickly scanned my brain wondering if I'd missed another holiday (nothing comes the day after Easter, right?), and even entertained a desperate thought that maybe no one was there yet. But it was the middle of the day, there were no cars in sight, it was not a holiday.

Then it hit me. Literally. I had just been 'hit' by one of the cuts our city had made. Right smack between the eyes. And it hurt. A few years back, the city decided that to cut costs, the libraries would be closed on Sundays. OK, that's doable, kind of. The following year, they cut back on the hours the libraries would be open. Well, that required a little more planning but we managed. Then, I show up in the middle of the day, on a weekday, and there is no chance for me to even get in the door - it's closed!

I get it. I know why it has to be this way. I have my own economic plan for pete's sake! But yesterday, I had a head-on collision with a part of the city's economic plan and I really felt the effects. I hear about this kind of thing on TV all the time, but coming face-to-face with it is a different story.

All the little things we've come to expect in life can change in a heartbeat. Appreciation of those little things, such as getting in the car and driving whenever you feel like it or just going to the library, can go a long way.

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

Our very own "Easter Bunny" - Simon. We didn't actually get him for Easter, but adopted him from a bunny rescue center about a year-and-a-half ago! Looks pretty suspicious about the whole thing, doesn't he?

Well, the eggs have been boiled and cooled, so I believe today's the day! Yes, my kids are older, but they still enjoy the creativity involved in our annual Easter egg-coloring event. Most likely, we'll go the easy way out and use the 'dye in the box' coloring kits from the store, but if you're the more adventurous type and have the time, there's plenty of advice out there on the internet on how to dye your eggs the natural way, using what you might already have around your home. All I could think of was the fact that I still have some leftover coffee still sitting in the coffee pot - brown eggs anyone? About.com had a pretty long list of things to use to get several different colors.

I know there's a lot to be said when it comes to coloring the eggs, but how the heck do you dry them without ruining the color? When you buy the dye kits from the store, they usually have circled perforations on the back of the box to sit your eggs when finished. I find them to be quite flimsy, so we just save our egg carton, flip it over, and cut the bottoms off. I leave the lid on as it works pretty well as a built-in 'drip pan'!

However you color your eggs, fill your baskets, or celebrate the day, I hope everyone has a wonderful and enjoyable Easter!

Wordless Wednesday

Our 'diva dog', appropriately named "Sassy". She knows everybody's business, and is a friend to all. Man's best friend? In our house, she's 'kid's best friend'. She loves to go out of her way to toy with my husband!

Recycle! Helping To Save My Little Corner of the World

5 Great Reasons to Recycle

Conserves our natural resources
Saves energy.
Saves clean air and clean water
Saves landfill space.
Can save money and create jobs.

Most folks say that if it were easier to recycle they'd do it in a heartbeat. I guess we've been lucky in that sense. Our city offers a curb-side, blue barrel, recycling program. It's just as easy as putting out your garbage, except that on recycling pick-up day, you put out your blue barrel. There are some restrictions on what goes in the blue barrel, but overall, it's usually more full than our regular garbage.

Don't have a recycling program in your city? Check out the locations of any recycling centers, maybe one is on your way to work or on one of your routes you take when you run errands. You can keep a separate box or container to keep your recyclables in and just put it in your trunk and dump it in the bin on the way. It's a breeze to drop this stuff off! Plus you get that 'feel good' feeling for doing your part.

We end up with a lot of things that won't fit in our recycling barrel, even if we break it down, so we hang on to it and make a trip to our city's recycling center when

we have a full load.

That's the back of my minivan, and that's my husband doing all the unloading!

I'm not going to run off a bunch of recycling facts, we all know how important it is! I'll just leave you with this thought: Be responsible! Do your best to do your part :)

April Is Earth Month!

The whole month of April has been deemed 'Earth Month' in honor of Earth Day on April 22nd.

Maybe you've noticed some changes in advertising on television as many companies are on the bandwagon to promote their earth-friendly ways. Or displays in the stores, or even the promotions on-line. The 'green revolution' has definitely become more mainstream, however, this month, you will most likely see it become even more magnified. I think it's a pretty exciting event!

I'm always on the lookout for ways to save energy, to have a 'green' home, to recycle, to conserve, to shop sustainably, to lead a more efficient lifestyle, you get the idea! So, things this month will be hoppin' on Savvy Saving Mom.

In addition to sharing with you (pictures and all!) what we are currently doing at our house to be more earth responsible, I have several 'green' related reviews on some great products sent to me by Clorox, Tide, Brita, and Bissell as well. Some of these are my own video reviews which can be seen at Walmart.com's YouTube Channel! There's a lot of great tips and ideas to be found there to place in your 'green' arsenal. And, I'll give you the lowdown on each one of them right here as well.

Soon I'll be releasing the details of my Bissell 'Little Green' giveaway sponsored by Bissell - stay tuned!

I hope you'll join me this month in celebrating our earth!

ClipArt Image by Dustie at dustie.com

Speaking of Hoop Jumping...

I've mentioned it before, but in case you didn't know, my 7th grade son and 8th grade daughter complete their school courses on-line, at home (Arizona Virtual Academy). We had become unhappy with not only the Jr. High 'scene', but mostly the curriculum and array of inexperienced teachers.

This week, however, every morning from 8:30 am to about 12:30 pm, I take them to a centralized location to complete the state-mandated AIMS testing(Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards). All students throughout Arizona, regardless of their educational method, are required to participate in AIMS. It's used to track the academic achievement of all students across our grand state. There is no grade for this series of tests which covers the areas of Reading, Writing, and Math, but a 'rating' system is assigned: Below the Standard, Approaches the Standard, Meets the Standard, and Exceeds the Standard. Your last required AIMS testing is administered your sophomore year, and if you don't 'meet' or 'exceed', you may not be graduating. You are given up to 5 more opportunities to retest, but by your senior year, if you haven't reached the required standards set forth by the state, your right to graduate will be revoked. And, yadda, yadda, yadda, your state probably has something like this, too.

OK, so what's the problem? I don't have a problem with the kids testing to make sure that they are where they are supposed to be academically. What I do have a problem with is where the state of Arizona says my kids should be academically, especially after we received such a poor grade in the effectiveness of our school systems as compared to all the other states across the nation.

Want to know what's actually even 'comical' about this? (It's where the hoop-jumping part comes in) My kids were complaining to me in the car on the way over to the testing site the usual "Why do we have to go take this stupid test?", answered by me "Because all the kids have to take it"(i.e. hoop-jumping, so you can be in compliance with the state, so you can graduate). My kids, "Well, who decided we have to take this stupid test anyway?", answered by me, "Uhhh, well, I'm not really sure, but you do have to take it, and, uhhhh, well...", that's where I lost them when I tried to throw in all my fancy facts about the testing and the reasoning behind it, and how it will help all of the students in the state.

And, of course, my smarty pants kids come up with "Well, isn't that why you took us out of the regular school district because it doesn't help us as students?" Touche. Wow, schooled by my own kids. And then, the real kicker. My kids, "Did you have to take AIMS?", me, "No". My kids, "Well, what test did you have to take to make sure you were doing OK?", me "Umm, let me think, it's been so long....we didn't really take tests like that." My kids, "Well, what about graduation?", me, "Well, we just graduated".

And here's the best part of the conversation. My kids, "So what would happen that you couldn't graduate?". And my answer, which took me to back in the day when things were so much simpler, "Well, if you failed a class, you didn't pass". Easy. Do you remember back in the day when by the time you were a senior in high school that you really knew what you should know because you earned your way there? If you failed a grade, you had to repeat it - simple. Your academic success was measured by the end of every school year, you either went on to the next grade, or you didn't. You either learned what you were supposed to know by the end of that year, or you didn't. If you didn't, you had to go back and do it again until you got it. And with that kind of stigma, no one wanted to repeat a grade!

Call me 'old school' 'cause I am. I'm not so 'old school' that I'm not with the times, but I just know about when things work and when they don't. No wonder we have so many more problems with our education systems of today.

Image by 'WebWeavers Free ClipArt'