Why I need a new mattress (or should I say, why Pepper needs a new mattress!)

My Airedale, Pepper thinks that she is a person!  She likes to sleep in the bed with my husband and I and she would really, really like a more comfortable mattress! Maybe she can win one here! www.workoutmommy.com

What is your idea of fun USA

What is your idea of fun USA

Date Night...stay in and go all out!® with Wanchai Ferry and Macaroni Grill!

 

Date night...What is that?!!  Seriously, once we had our two wonderful children, it seemed like date night was a thing of the past.  When my husband and I first started dating, we enjoyed trying out new and exciting restaurants.  We especially loved Italian food and Chinese food.  Thanks to My Blog Spark, Macaroni Grill, and Wanchai Ferry, my husband and I were able to have a "date" at home.  They sent me a package of Creamy Basil and Parmesan Chicken Mix from Macaroni Grill and a package of Wanchai Ferry Orange Chicken Mix along with a $25 gift certificate to buy any other supplies we might need for our "date"!  We decided to try them both and they were super easy to prepare and delicious!  We had a lovely "date" with great food and conversation!

 You can find  Wanchai Ferry^® and Macaroni Grill^® Dry Dinner Kits at most grocery stores.  Here is a coupon for $1.50 off two packages!  

For more information and dinner tips, visit WanchaiFerryAtHome.com and MacaroniGrillAtHome.com. 



I have a Date Night Package to offer one of you!  It will include a Wanchai Ferry dry dinner kit, one Macaroni Grill dry dinner kit, and a $25 Visa gift card that you can use to create a magical date night at home.

To enter this giveaway,  tell me about your first date in a comment.  Do you remember what kind of food you ate?

For extra chances to win you can do the following:

1. Follow me via Google Friend Connect

2.  Follow Macaroni Grill on twitter 

3.  Follow me on twitter 

4.  Tweet this giveaway, this can be done daily

This giveaway will end on November 5, 2010 at 10:00 pm CST and is open to US residents only.

Thank you to Wanchai Ferry, Macaroni Grill and MyBlogSpark, who provided the products, prize pack, information and additional prize pack to give away.

5 ways to create personalized holiday cards

It is not even Halloween yet, but have you noticed all the Christmas decorations up in the stores?  I am not complaining because, it gets me in the mood for the holidays early and gives me the the opportunity to create personalized holiday cards.  I discovered a wonderful online site to create and purchase creative custom holiday cards, PurpleTrail.com! 

 My tips for creating a memorable personalized holiday card.

1. Find the perfect family photo that shows something fun or unique about your family.  My husband is a pilot and we have posed in front of his airplane for our photo for our holiday cards.  Friends and family members love getting a card that includes a photo, especially people you might not see often.  It is a great way to stay in touch!

2. Use a non-posed photo.  Some of the best photo cards I have received are those that caught the kids doing what ever it is that they do, like playing a sport or on a Boy Scout or Girl Scout outing.  This gives the card recipients a chance to get a glimpse of your everyday life and looks more natural and fun.

3. Have you child draw a picture and use that as your holiday card.  Upload the drawing just as you would a photo for a personalized and unique holiday card.  Allow them to use their imagination!  The more colorful and bright the better.  They can draw a picture of what the holidays mean to them or even something abstract.
The grandparents will love it!

3. Instead of the usual "Happy Holidays" write a personalized message.  I always sit down and and write a personal note in each card.  You do not have to write a book!  Just a few lines makes the card so much more personal than just signing your name.

3.Sit down and type out a family newsletter that you can print and include in your holiday cards.  Everyone enjoys "catching up" with important family events.



I love sending and receiving holiday cards, especially the ones that include a photo.  It is always so good to see a picture of our friends and family members each year during the holiday season.  Purple Trail allows you to add your family photo to many different card templates or if you are feeling extra creative,  you can use  their Design Center to start with blank card and easily create your own design. They also have several different types of cards available including the traditional folded card, flat card and even post cards.

Happy Holidays!


I wrote this post to participate in a giveaway for PurpleTrail.com and it makes you eligible for a PurpleTrail gift code. http://www.purpletrail.com/blogcontests

Halloween fun with Hershey's Candy!

My family loves Halloween!  When my kids were younger, they had such a good time dressing up and trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.  As they have gotten older, they now love to hand out the candy to the little "goblins" that come to our door.  We always have an assortment of Hershey's Candy for all the trick-or-treaters. My sons especially love Kit Kats and the Reese's Pumpkins.   We also have continued a yearly tradition of "Booing" one of our good friends.  My youngest son likes to be the one to sneak up to their house, ring the door bell and run!  Our "Boo" basket would not be complete without Hershey's candy. 

I have already purchased my Hershey's candy and we are ready for the Trick-or-Treaters!  I just hope that my guys don't eat all the candy before Halloween!

I wrote this post as a part of a contest  to win a Hershey's Halloween prize pack as a member of the Moms Bloggers Club.

Cheerios "Do What You Love" Sweepstakes!

Sponsored by

Cheerios® is giving you the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, your ultimate family vacation.  As part of a paid promotion for their “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, Cheerios® is sponsoring my post today about what my ultimate family vacation would be. Read mine, enter the Sweepstakes for a chance to actually win your own fantasy family trip or one of a bunch of other great prizes.

My sons are 17 and 21 and I would love to go on a family trip to Europe!  My ancestors originally came from Germany and my husband's family came from England.  I would love to visit those countries with my sons to explore our roots.  As a family, we have taken some wonderful trips including going to  Hawaii twice.  The one thing that we always try to do when we visit a new place, is to find out something about the history of that location.  We are all quite interested in history and love to visit places of historical significance. 


My sons are also quite interested in music.  They are both very accomplished guitar players and their idols are The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton.  We would love to tour the places made famous by the bands associated with the "British Invasion" during the 1960s.  We would like to go to Liverpool and explore The Beatles Museum, visit The Cavern Club and also see John Lennon and Paul McCartney's boyhood homes.  We would love to recreate the famous Abbey Road album cover by walking across Abbey Road in London.  


A trip to Europe would be a dream come true for my family!  My sons will both be graduating this school year, my oldest from college and my youngest from high school.  I would absolutely love to take them on this trip as a graduation present.




Don't forget to enter the  “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes  for a chance to win your own ultimate family vacation. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Giveaway!! Pillsbury® Grands!® Mini Biscuits Prize Package

I am from the south and if there is one type of food that southerners love, that is biscuits!  Growing up, we had biscuits several times a day.  For breakfast, we would have sausage biscuits , country ham biscuits or my son's favorite sausage gravy biscuits!  Dinner would just not be complete without  biscuits!

While I do not prepare biscuits as often as my mother did, I do enjoy serving Pillsbury Grands Mini Biscuits to my family.   


Each 70-calorie biscuit is a delight when served hot from the oven, with a warm fluffy center and golden, flaky crust. Pillsbury® Grands!® Mini Biscuits are the perfect size for kids, or for mini sandwiches and appetizers. There are countless recipe options, from miniature ham sandwiches come lunchtime, to delicious sliders for nighttime entertaining. There are so many ways to make these biscuits and your family will love trying each one. 

Be sure to click here so you can save $1.00 on the purchase of any Frozen Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits.


I was fortunate enough to receive a Pillsbury® Grands!® Mini Biscuits prize pack which includes a VIP coupon good for a free package of biscuits, a $15 gift card to purchase your recipe creation/experimentation needs, a biscuit basket, a butter dish and spreader!

I have the same Pillsbury® Grands!® Mini Biscuits prize pack to offer one of my lucky readers, which was generously provided by Pillsbury and MyBlogSpark!


Here is how you can win this great prize package!


1. Check out the recipes at Pillsbury.com and let me know which one you would like to try!


2. Follow me via Google Friend Connect.  If you already follow, just let me know in a comment.


3. Follow me on twitter

4. Tweet about this giveaway and include #myblogspark in your tweet, this can be done daily.

5.  Follow Pillsbury Treats  on twitter




This giveaway will end on October 15th at 10:00 pm central time.  This Giveaway is open to U.S. entries only.  The winner will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.  Many thanks go to Pillsbury and MyBlogSpark for providing the prize packages, information and opportunity for this review.


The opinions expressed are my own and  Prize Packages and information were provided from Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark  for Giveaway and Review.