Headed to Market.... Take Home a Piece of Guatemala Giveaway

Yay! Today is the day we head to Antigua, Guatemala! I can't wait to see the sights of this colonial town-the architecture is supposed to be gorgeous, and we will be staying Friday through Sunday at one of the local hotels, the Casa Rustica. We've rented out 3 rooms for both nights, so that some of hubby's family could enjoy a mini vacation along with us as well. Most of them have never been in a hotel, so it will be a special treat for them too. If you want to check out Antigua yourself, visit Antigua Daily Photo on the internet, they have some great pics of where I will be heading! (somehow I have visions that hubby will spend most of his time playing pool and drinking beer at the hotel...)

In addition to meeting a couple of friends I've gotten to know over the internet (Genesis over at Expat Mom and Mark at Guateliving) I am hoping to get to the market and shop! Now, I love coupons and getting a bargain, but am just not accustomed to haggling with market vendors quite yet. That is why my mother in law is coming with us :) (see, I knew there was a good reason to take her along. Seriously though, she is very nice and has been great during our visit so far. Plus she cooks good too!)

While I am at the market, I will be picking up a gift or two for my blog readers. I don't know exactly what it will be yet, but it will be some sort of Guatemalan handicraft you can find in the market. So, to be safe I will say it is a surprise! I tend to look for colorful things, so while I'll be stimulating the local economy by buying gifts for family and friends, I will also be looking for a couple of neat things my blog readers might enjoy.

Now I won't be able to bring anything illegal back with me, or stuff that might get confiscated in customs. So no fruit trees lol... and certainly no Guatemalan men (for a couple of single friends who might need a husband lol) but I can bring back a piece of Guatemala to you. Trust me that it will NOT be food. All I need is for someone to get sick and it would be all my fault. Besides, the only food I am bringing back is by request from family...if they get sick, well, they knew the consequences.

To be safe, I will have two winners. Open to US and Canada. Giveaway starts June 25th and ends July 9th at 11:59 PM EST. June 25th would have been my dad's birthday, I can't believe it has been almost 2 years since he has been gone :( Winners will be chosen via Random.org. Winner must respond to my email within 48 hours or I will need to select another winner. No blog needed to enter, but you must leave a way to contact you in your comment or on your profile.

MANDATORY first entry- tell me something you would buy in the market!

You may also earn extra entries as listed below. Keep in mind that you will need to enter each comment separately, so if it says +5 you need to leave 5 SEPARATE comments.

+1 current blog follower via Google Friend connect
+1 current or new twitter follower (micaela6955)
+1 tweet about giveaway, leave a link to your tweet please! Can do this once daily.
+4 Blog about this giveaway, and leave me a link to your post.
+7 Post this on any giveaway linky and let me know where to find it. (no limit)
+5 Add my button to your sidebar
+2 Subscribe to my feed or follow me in a reader

Good luck-I'm off to go shopping now :)

DISCLAIMER: I received no compensation for this post. I am purchasing souvenirs of my trip, and would like to share them with 2 of my blog readers. The photo above shows a few things I have gotten from Guatemalan markets from hubby in the past. Excuse the dirty floor, lol, with hubby being a floor care person you'd think he would have stripped it and cleaned it good this Spring like usual, but for some reason, stripping the bathroom floor has gone to the bottom of his "honey do" list.

Hello from Guatemala!

Well, I have arrived in Guatemala-after a very scary plane ride out of Miami. I had the joy of sitting in the airplane and waiting almost 2 hours for the plane to take off. The heat from a stuffy compartment filled with passengers, screaming fussy kids, and my 8 yr old falling asleep and then startling herself with some random nightmare left for a very migraine-filled experience. Deja woke suddenly, and in the process hit daddy's table with our ginger ales on them-there is nothing like flying 3 hours with wet pants, take it from one who knows. (although hubby got the worst of it, I did manage to get hit with some flying ice cubes in the process.)

Our first night, we were up until 4 am the next day. For those wondering, with our East Coast time kicking in, it was more like 6 am... and it certainly felt like it too! The weather was and has been hot and humid, with very little rain. I am kicking myself for not packing more appropriate clothing, since sweat pants just don't cut it.

The airport was different, your family has to wait for you outside-there is no entering under any circumstances, and there are plenty of men with big guns to ensure you listen to what they have to say. But seeing men with guns is common here, even the simple grocery store or pharmacy happens to have a guard. I know it is for my protection, so just go along with it-the locals don't even bother to give them a second glance.

My daughter has suffered with mosquito bites (and bad ones I might add) but since nothing is screened here, the house abounds with flies and mosquitoes. I have to admit, I got a little freaked out about all the flies on the food here, but if you are hungry...welllll-you gotta do what you gotta do. I kind of liken it to Survivor-they had to eat bugs so if I happen to bite into one well, I will just close my eyes and think it's chicken or something. We've already gotten Montezuma's Revenge-and the toilet has been my best friend for the past 48 hours. My daughter is suffering from the stomach pains now-and she already has had her antibiotics. (yes I came prepared!)

I will be in Antigua this weekend and hoping to write more-stay tuned!

$10 GC Giveaway-Have a Coffee (or two) On Me!

In my town in Maine we have three places to get a good coffee... Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, or Tim Hortons. I can tell you that my hubby has utilized all three of them at one time or another-I really am NOT a coffee person (though it smells SO good brewing!) and am more of a hot cocoa/hot chocolate person. And yes, I have also gotten hot chocolate at all three places myself too... because I definitely don't want to be left out!

Right now, hubby is drinking Central American coffee, whether it be from Antigua or Huehuetenango, he is in coffee heaven drinking the local goodness. My sister in law owns a store, and I'd already told her to buy lots of Pepsi Light or Coca-Cola Light, which is actually what they call Diet Pepsi and Diet Coke down here. I definitely wanted to be stocked up-and told her that I'd better be sure to get the darn bottle too because believe it or not, a friend advised me that a common practice down here is for the store owner to open the bottle, pour the contents of your soft drink into a plastic bag, and hand you a straw. They have glass bottles down here, but because they are returnable and receive credit for them, it's easier to hand the customer a plastic baggie with their soda pop rather than hope that the bottle comes back later when the customer is finished. (although I have now seen ads that feature plastic bottles too... I'm not sure if the practice is the same though. Maybe it only applies to mom and pop type stores with glass bottles in their coolers...) My sister in law seemed to know what I was talking about, and promised me a good inventory of "light" soda pop. My husband chuckled a bit, and threatened to put a small pinhole in the bottom of my baggie if we go someplace and I end up having to drink my "light" cola this way. I won't tell you what my response to him was, but I can tell you that it wasn't nice, lol.

So while hubby is basking in Central American coffee beans down here, and I am taking in the aroma of all that is good-I thought I'd post another giveaway. I know you all are thirsty and are in need of a quick jolt of caffeine to brighten your day. So while my Pepsi Light is kicking in this morning, I thought I'd offer my readers a $10 USD gift card to the place of choice. You can choose one of the three I've listed above: Tim Hortons, Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks. When I come back from Guatemala I will choose a winner and go buy the GC to their coffee house of choice.

Giveaway starts today June 22nd and will end July 8th at 11:59 PM EST. Giveaway is open to US AND Canadian residents (however keep in mind the GC will be in USD not Canadian $) and you will need to respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen. You do not have to have a blog to enter, however you must leave me a way to contact you if you win. Winner will be chosen by Random.org.

Your first MANDATORY entry is easy-just tell me which one of the three places you'd want your $10 GC from: Dunkin Donuts, Tim Hortons or Starbucks!

You can earn extra entries by doing the following:

Keep in mind that you will need to enter each comment separately, so if it says +5 you need to leave 5 SEPARATE comments.

+2 blog follower via Google Friend connect

+1 twitter follower (micaela6955)

+1 tweet about giveaway, leave a link to your tweet please! Can do this once daily.

+5 Blog about this giveaway, and leave me a link to your post.

+5 Post this on any giveaway linky and let me know where to find it. (no limit)

+3 Add my button to your sidebar

+2 Subscribe to my feed or in a reader and let me know!

Disclaimer: I received no compensation for this giveaway. I am purchasing this item myself to give to one of my lucky readers to enjoy their favorite beverage of choice at one of three national establishments. I am not in any way affiliated with any of the above places, and all opinions are my own.

It's Father's Day!

Time to celebrate with your special Dad... or remember him if he's gone :( Hubby and I are planning on celebrating with his Dad by taking him out to eat someplace-but today is crazy nuts with all sorts of family members descending upon my brother in laws house like locusts. I've met every tia, tio, prima, and 3rd cousin twice removed and while I speak Spanish, I'm having a hard time remembering names! (and that will probably get worse after a few drinks of Vodka Slush that hubby forced me to make so that his sisters would have a suitable "women's drink")

So here's three Dads that are special to me: Hubby, my son and of course my own dear Dad... whom I really didn't get to know until later in life, but don't regret the time spent with him-I was fortunate to have him in my life while he was here with us. May he rest in peace, he will be in my thoughts today.

Alright! Don't forget to let Dad know how special he is, and have a great day celebrating with him!

Avon Luminosity Giveaway!

Since I sell Avon in my spare time, I thought I'd give away one of Avon's newest skin care products...Anew Clinical Luminosity Pro Brightening Serum! I received this package as part of my order, however haven't had the time to try it yet since I am off braving the Central American jungles, volcanoes and torrential rains in the middle of the rainy season... I consider it just another way to get a few more gray hairs and extra wrinkles... sigh, as long as the volcanoes remain INactive and I don't end up floating down a river I should be just fine.

Speaking of wrinkles... if you're on a quest to remain well preserved like I am (I learned long ago that a Sex on the Beach is NOT the fountain of youth, though it did cause me to act like a young fool at times, but we won't get into that!) you may want to check out Avon's new breakthrough products for skin, the Anew Luminosity line.

Considering I haven't had the time to try it myself yet, I cannot review the product. However, I CAN offer it to one of my readers to try out. Please note that since I am in Guatemala until July 6th, I will not be able to notify the winner until after that date. Just to make things even easier, I will close this giveaway on July 7th-plenty of time for you all to get your entries in! I can tell you that this is a $54.00 value, and is one of Avon's newest, most talked about products.

My promotional materials say that it is Avon's first topical serum with injectable-grade skin brightener for an at-home option to a dermatologist laser. It also claims to instantly make your skin look brighter and more even toned. In clinical trials 80% of women saw the look of dark spots dramatically diminish. And over time, 100% of women showed more illuminated skin with visible reduction in fine wrinkles. Ahhhh, the fountain of youth in a bottle... I'm liking it already.

Now, you know that you wanna try this out and see for yourself if it makes a difference in YOUR skin. So in order to win it here's what you gotta do:

Giveaway begins today, June 18th and ends at 11:59 PM EST on July 7th. It is open to US AND Canadian readers. You do not have to have a blog to enter, but you must leave me a way to contact you in your profile or in your comment. There will be one winner, selected by Random.org. If it says +3 please leave 3 SEPARATE comments to get all the entries you are eligible for. Winner must respond to my email within 48 hours or I will have to choose another winner.

For your first MANDATORY entry, since I am currently in Guatemala, tell me something about Guatemala-it can be anything, a fact, a bit of history, a place I should visit, whatever.

You can get additional entries by doing the following:

+2 blog follower via Google Friend connect
+2 subscribe to my feed or follow me in a reader
+1 current or new twitter follower (micaela6955)
+1 tweet about giveaway, leave a link to your tweet please! Can do this once daily.
+5 Blog about this giveaway, and leave me a link to your post.
+5 Post this on any giveaway linky and let me know where to find it. (no limit)
+2 Add my button to your sidebar

Good luck!

Disclaimer: I have not tried this product and it was provided to me through Avon. I paid for this product myself and am giving it away on my blog to my readers.

Heading to Guatemala!

Just a note to let you know we'll be heading to Guatemala on Thursday! I will be posting sporadically as time and internet service allows... Wishing you all a great month, and keep checking back for some giveaways I will have during my time away :)

all® Oxi-Active™ detergent winners!

Sorry for the delay in getting these winners selected, but I have been spending the last few days running around like a mad woman to make sure everything is packed and ready to go...

So let's see who the lucky winners are:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

5
16

Timestamp: 2010-06-15 19:35:24 UTC

so it looks like clean clothes will be in the future for Crystal Escobar and Nicole C.!!! Congratulations! I am off to email the both of you now :) Stay tuned for more posts in the future-and a few more giveaways I have up my sleeve while I am gone as well!

Nature Valley/Sam's Club Winner!

Let's see who Random.org selected today...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

279

Timestamp: 2010-06-14 18:15:00 UTC

and that would be---drum roll please--- BrianPiero! Congratulations and thanks to all who entered. Don't forget my other giveaway ending tonight :) I plan on a couple more giveaways while I am in Central America, just to keep things interesting. I will be emailing the winner shortly!

Review: Uplift Press Books Liking Myself and The Mouse, The Monster and Me

My 8 year old daughter loves reading. In fact, that is one of the first things I noticed that was different between her and her teenage brother-as a kid, he hated reading, and even when I read to him as a young child he could never sit still and never seemed to want to pay any attention. Of course, we didn't know then that he had ADHD.

Deja loved it when I read to her as a young child, and she loves to read on her own now. When I was younger, I also loved to read, so I am thinking that she takes after her mom in that respect. ;)

Deja has a problem with expressing her feelings sometimes, and in meetings with her teacher this past year, it was discussed that she has somewhat low self esteem. She seems to think that she "can't" do something, and while we both encourage her to put her best effort forward and TRY, she really hinders her own ability to do so just by thinking that she can't. It's that type of thinking we want to nip in the bud, because to be honest, you never really know until you try-so to give up completely beforehand is really unacceptable. Besides, sometimes you have to give it a try more than once to get it right :)

My daughter is all too quiet sometimes, and tends to have her feelings hurt easily. In this day and age, feelings can get hurt a lot. It can be from friends, siblings, even parents-or anonymously, through cyber bullying via social networks or even a simple text message to your cell phone. Because Deja is so quiet, I tend to worry. I encourage her to express her feelings in a way she feels comfortable. And I let her know it's okay to have feelings as well, since that is part of what makes us human.

Through Parent Reviewers, Deja and I had the chance to review a couple of books from Uplift Press. We received The Mouse, The Monster, and Me and Liking Myself. Deja was pretty excited that she'd gotten a couple of new books and immediately began reading Liking Myself. She seemed impressed by the activities that promoted self esteem in the book, and was happily drawing her responses to them within a few minutes.

The reading went quickly, but combined with the activities in the book she is still entertained, going back to certain sections and doing things at her own pace. She's a perfectionist, and wanted her drawings and words to reflect just what she felt. I think that this book deals very well with feelings, and helps children to express themselves in positive ways. This is a book that would be great to give to a child entering school, since it helps them deal with social issues and lets them know that having emotions is okay, since no one is completely happy 100% of the time. It encourages a positive way to deal with these emotions, rather than hurting others in the process. Kids can sometimes be very cruel, as we've witnessed ourselves in our own lives. Sometimes, the sadness from such cruel words and behaviors can be overwhelming-and our children find a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Teaching your children early on to be open about their feelings through books such as this is definitely a positive step in the right direction.

The next book we reviewed, The Mouse, The Monster and Me was great in the fact that while it was written to help children be more assertive, it also deals with them being TOO assertive, to the point of bullying. This book is designed to help them achieve a nice balance between the two, so that your child will know when to speak up (when it is appropriate) and when to take a deep breath and sit back and listen. It deals with boundaries, respect and having your own personal space as well. My daughter has glanced at this book, and seemed very interested in the contents. There are activities and scenarios as well in this book, where the child is given an example of a situation-and asked to describe the difference about what a mouse (timid child), a monster (bully child) and what an assertive you (child who has taken the time to think the situation through and respond correctly) would do in each situation.

This book also deals with positive and negative choices, and tells the child they need to have a sense of responsibility for the outcome of their actions in life. This is a great book for my 8 year old, because now that she is getting older she is faced with more decision making and needs to learn from her actions. Unlike her brother in the past, I hope the choices she makes will be the right ones. She is bringing this book on the plane with her to work on during our trip next week-it will make a long layover and plane trip all that more enjoyable.

As a parent, I recommmend these books wholeheartedly. In our busy lives, sometimes we don't always get the chance to sit down and talk with our children as much as we'd like to. These books are informative, interesting, and can be a helpful tool in helping our children grow up and define who they are as a person. Thank you to Parent Reviewers and Uplift Press for the books we were sent to review.

DISCLAIMER: I was sent two books to review through Parent Reviewers for Uplift Press. My daughter and I were able to read and review these books and we both enjoyed them. I did not receive any other compensation, and the opinions above are mine and my daughters.

I just know what he's thinking... "No Grandma, I haven't seen the remote!"

Notice the red gleam in his eyes, he's definitely up to some mischief here!

Sunglass Warehouse Winner

And we have a winner....! The winner is Maxfate who was the lucky commenter #15 as selected per Random.org.

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

15

Timestamp: 2010-06-09 13:05:48 UTC

Congratulations and happy shopping! Off to email you now!

Recent Goings-On In My Busy, Busy Life!

I'm back, rested and raring to go after a few days of not posting anything here. I have to tell you all I have been so busy packing- (I'll be flying out of Boston to Miami and then on to Guatemala in just 10 short days!) I've been running around making sure that all of my documents are in order, clothes shopping for a few new outfits and trying hard to get the house cleaned somewhat before leaving. My son and his girlfriend will be holding down the fort while I'm gone, and leaving the house to a couple of teenagers for such a long time has me a bit nervous. My mom will be checking up on them though, and taking their baby for his operation (he needs tubes in his ears) the same day we fly out. I wish I could be here... but the doctors couldn't change the dates.

While in Rhode Island last week, I had the pleasure of having an ice cold Del's Frozen Lemonade. If you've ever been to RI, you probably know that Del's Frozen Lemonade is very popular there... especially on hot, muggy days when a frozen lemonade does the body good. I stuck to the traditional lemon flavor, but they also have cherry, watermelon, blueberry and other flavors that I don't remember them having when I lived there. (well, I do remember the watermelon one, I used to get it once in awhile.) If you are ever in RI, be sure to get one, they are delicious!

Hubby and I went to eat some Pollo Campero again on this trip, but during our visit we were the only ones in the restaurant. Just as we settled down to eat, the fire alarm went off. Unfortunately, our table was right over the damn alarm and I almost peed my pants when the stupid thing went off it was so loud! But since nothing could keep us from eating our chicken, we continued to eat completely unfazed by the pulsing strobe light and piercing noise from the alarm. I looked around, we didn't smell smoke or see flames, so I figured it was just a machine malfunctioning, which indeed it was. Unfortunately, the help had to come over and tell us to leave but promised us more chicken and a free meal if we would leave since it was State Law we had to be out of the restaurant when the fire department came. Hubby, in his quest for more chicken, readily agreed.

I also got to eat some pupusas from the El Salvadoran restaurant close to my sister in law's house and unfortunately suffered through a terrible thunderstorm with BAD lightning and hail, winds, and lots of rain. I hate thunderstorms, and lemme tell ya, this was a good one. I usually curl into a fetal position on my bed, purse in hand, until the darn thing is over. But not this time, I had to be brave, lol. Considering all the mayhem and craziness the weather has been full of lately, I am sure you've probably had some in your neck of the woods too. My thoughts go out to those affected by those tornadoes recently-as if we don't need another weather calamity on our hands. Stay safe!

I also had my hair cut and colored, finally! My stylist and I went to school together and have known each other since, like the 3rd grade. We did have a hair raising experience when a HUGE bumble bee flew into the salon and began dive bombing us repeatedly-but her very gallant co-worker was nice enough to shoo him out the door for us. Lucky for me, she hadn't started yet-so the only thing we had in our hands was our towels... reminder to self, do NOT whack a bumble bee with a towel, it only serves in pissing them off more in the long run.

Don't forget to enter my giveaways! When I'm in Central America, I am hoping to get a prepaid internet service and post some photos and maybe even videos on YouTube. I've jokingly threatened hubby with divorce if I don't get some sort of online time while I'm there, since I am addicted to the internet and need to know what's happening in cyber world. My mom is taking one of my cats, Stubby the KING of the house since he is "the most likely to escape" should a teenager leave a door open a bit too long and I am not home to watch him. I don't think the cat will want to come back home with me though, after being at my moms. She told me today she has purchased hamburger, 2 lbs of bacon, and pork chops. For the cat. And she plans on cooking for him. Sigh... there's no way he will leave that kibble to come back home and eat Meow Mix, I can tell you that for sure.

Have a happy Monday everyone! (and I leave you with a photo of Del's Frozen Lemonade in hand on my 4 hr trip back to Maine last Friday)

Headed to bed... internet break tomorrow!

I'm headed to RI and leaving the laptop at home folks! Have to get some paperwork done before my trip to Central America and I just want to relax and visit with relatives.

I will be checking in sometime during the day on Friday, when I get home. Have a great next couple of days everyone, and don't forget to check the left side bar (scroll down a little bit) for my current giveaways going on.

all® Oxi-Active™ Review & Giveaway 2 winners!

A mother's work is never done. I can't tell you how many times I have heard that, and I have to say that it is definitely true! Cooking, cleaning, laundry... it never ends! And speaking of laundry, with the six of us in the house (soon to be seven when grandson #2 is born in August!) the laundry is one of the things that just seems to pile up around here.

During the past year, hubby was nice enough to buy me some snazzy looking new front loaders from Home Depot, and while I am in love with them I am NOT in love with doing mountains of laundry! My son and his girlfriend do help out and do their own laundry, which I appreciate since it takes a load off me. (forgive the pun, lol.)

Thanks to MomSelect, I was given the opportunity to try out all® Oxi-Active™ detergent to see if it could help me tackle my most challenging laundry problems. Lucky for me, I had no shortage of laundry to do and was free to begin immediately ;) Hubby sometimes gets dirty at work, but gets even dirtier when he is outdoors tinkering on his old Toyota project! The grease and grime on his clothes make me just want to shake my head in disgust and thrown that stuff right in the trash. While he uses old clothing, I can't see just tossing out something that is perfectly good if all it needs is a good wash-since he's just going to turn around and get it dirty all over again anyways. My poor little grandson is having surgery in June as well, he's been on antibiotics constantly to try to clear up his ear infections before he gets his tubes put in. However, those antibiotics tend to make him have diarrhea that comes out of his diaper, goes up his back, you know, just that yucky stuff you get when a kid is sick. My son and his girlfriend have thrown out tons of onesies due to this, and I've told them to try to wash it out, but being kids themselves, they just don't want to take that extra step.

Today my all® Oxi-Active™ arrived and I was eager to try it out. After letting it set for a couple of hours (all that bouncing in the Fedex truck left me with lots of bubbles when I tried to open the cap the first time) I gently removed the cap and inhaled. I love laundry detergent with scent, and always have. One of my favorite things about doing laundry is the smell of a freshly washed and dried towel or shirt, it just smells...clean. The all® Oxi-Active™ I received smelled just great, so I decided to put it to the test. I loaded my washer full of hubby's grimy work clothes, a few baby items, and some stained shirts I had. (I've got a built in shelf which seems to catch condiments nicely, and yesterday I ate hot dogs, so ended up with a mess!)

That photo above my folks is my washer in action-armed with new all® Oxi-Active™ detergent, a unique 2 in 1 formula which combines all® Oxi-Active™ stainlifters right in with the detergent. I'm lazy, and adding things as I go along doesn't always get done. With this all® Oxi-Active™ product, all I have to do is wash it and forget about it. Now that's convenient, AND helpful for a forgetful old broad like myself.

all® Oxi-Active™ is supposed to be the toughest all® product out there, and as you can see, it's safe for whites and colors. (I just threw a little bit of everything in my machine!) And of course can be used in regular or HE, high efficiency machines like mine. With summer almost here, ice cream, juices, blood, grass stains, and BBQ condiments like ketchup and mustard are all things I've seen on my family's clothing. It makes me happy to know that I can rely on all® Oxi-Active™ to help me get those tough stains out.

And, if you are watching pennies like I am, be sure to sign up for additional coupon savings from all® here Right now, you can even get a $1.00 off coupon for all® Oxi-Active™! all® Oxi-Active™ is so confident that you will love their detergent, they are willing to prove to you that they clean better than the leading Oxi detergent on 4 tough stains (grass, chocolate ice cream, wine & blood) that they have a Guarantee you can print off and they will refund your purchase price up to $5.99.

Now thanks to all® Oxi-Active™ Laundry Detergent and Momselect, two of my readers can each win a bottle of All® Oxi-Active™ Laundry Detergent to try it out for themselves!

Giveaway begins today, June 2nd and ends June 14th at 11:59 PM EST. Open to all US Residents 18+. You do not have to be a blogger to win, just leave me a way to contact you, either in a profile or via email address in your comment. Winners will be selected by Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond back to me with their shipping address. Please be sure to follow all the rules to be eligible to win!

Now, for the first MANDATORY entry, tell me what stain is the hardest for you to get out in the laundry. For me, I would have to say blood followed by ketchup.

You can get extra entries too! You know you want them, so here they are:

Keep in mind that you will need to enter each comment separately, so if it says +5 you need to leave 5 SEPARATE comments.

+2 blog follower via Google Friend connect

+1 twitter follower (micaela6955)

+1 tweet about giveaway, leave a link to your tweet please! Can do this once daily.

+5 Blog about this giveaway, and leave me a link to your post.

+5 Post this on any giveaway linky and let me know where to find it. (no limit)

+3 Add my button to your sidebar

+2 Subscribe to my feed or in a reader and let me know!

+1 Tell me another item from the all® product line that you would use

Disclaimer: I was provided a bottle and information regarding all® Oxi-Active™ Laundry Detergent from MomSelect and all® in order to review the product. I was also offered two additional bottles of all® Oxi-Active™ Laundry Detergent to give away to my readers. I received no other compensation for this review and the opinion above is mine based upon my usage of the product.

CSN Store Winner!

Wow! I was thrilled with all the comments you left me, AND all the help my readers provided me with in finding the perfect light in my bathroom from CSN Stores. Be sure to check out and enter my current Sunglass Warehouse $25 GC giveaway and my new Nature Valley $25 Sams Club GC giveaway as well! Now, without further ado, the winner has been chosen and it is:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

347

Timestamp: 2010-06-02 04:05:32 UTC

After counting and recounting to be double sure... the winner is Jennai!

Congratulations! I am emailing you in few minutes before I head to bed, this is a great prize so please be sure to get back to me :) Thanks to the CSN Store as well for sponsoring this great giveaway!

"Sam's Club Sunny Day Snacks" Nature Valley Review & Giveaway

With warmer summer weather right around the corner, the perfect summertime snack solution is quick, easy and convenient. I want something nutritious, satisfying and kid-friendly packaged so I can stick it in a lunchbox for a quick snack at summer camp or take with us on the go for those sometimes long, if not boring, car trips we subject the kids to at times. (No, we are NOT there yet!! I am sure you all have said that at least once before, lol.)

The great folks at General Mills provided me through MyBlogSpark a "Sam's Club Sunny Day Snacks" prize pack consisting of a club sized box of the Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix Fruit & Nut bars and a $25 gift card to Sam's Club so I could purchase additional yummy snacks. Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix bars are now available at Sam's Club in a convenient club sized box, perfect for stocking up those summer snacks now!

When the box first arrived, I have to admit I was pretty happy to see that you can get 25% more of the whole almonds, peanuts, raisins and cranberries in every bar! I just had to check it out, and sure enough, the bar was filled with nutty AND fruity goodness! I have to admit, I was a little hesitant because I am not really a cranberry and raisin fan, but the nuts and fruits complimented each other nicely, so I really did not have to worry about the tangy or tart taste I was expecting them to have at first. And I really did love all the extra nuts these bars have, because sometimes I would buy other snacks and I would feel so ripped off because maybe if I was lucky I would get 1 or 2 nuts in it, even though it was marketed as a "nut bar". These bars certainly had enough nuts in them to satisfy my craving.

They are definitely chewy, and a little on the sticky side-so make sure that you take your time eating them and take some wet wipes along if your little one likes to play with their food. My 12 month old grandson reached into the box, and we debated on whether or not to give a bar to him because we didn't want him choking but we just pulled small pieces off (without the nuts) and he happily ate them and ended up wanting more! He's got about 6 teeth now, and we made sure he took his time eating. My 8 yr old loved them, as did hubby and my son and even his girlfriend who hates raisins. Tiffany was impressed because she could not really taste the raisins that much with all the other ingredients in the bars, and she ended up eating more than one. (I will admit, the box is empty now after just a few days! Yikes-I think it's time to buy more)

I was impressed when I found out that they are only 140 calories and contain 8g of whole grains per serving. In addition, they don't contain any artificial flavors or colors either. To me, that's a great way to get a snack that is 100% natural and combines the flavors that my kids and I love. Thanks to General Mills and MyBlogSpark for providing me with that information and my "Sam's Club Sunny Day Snacks" prize package! My family really enjoyed the Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix Fruit & Nut Bars and I think yours will too!

And the good news is... you also have a chance to try these out AND receive a $25 Sam's Club gift card courtesy of General Mills and MyBlogSpark! They have generously provided the same prize package I have received to one of my blog readers.
Read below for details on how you can win:

Giveaway begins today June 1st, 2010. Giveaway will end June 13, 2010 at 11:59 PM EST. Giveaway is open to US residents. You do not have to be a blogger to win, however you must leave a way to contact you either in your profile or an email address in your comments so that I can email you if you win! Speaking of winning, the lucky winner will be selected randomly, through Random.org and has 48 hours to reply to my winning email with your information before I select a new winner.

For the first MANDATORY entry you will need to tell me some of the healthy snacks you would stock up on at Sam's Club. Fruits, granola bars, etc... I'm curious!

You may also earn extra entries as listed below. Keep in mind that you will need to enter each comment separately, so if it says +5 you need to leave 5 SEPARATE comments.

+3 current blog follower via Google Friend connect
+2 new blog follower via Google Friend connect
+1 current or new twitter follower (micaela6955)
+1 tweet about giveaway, leave a link to your tweet please! Can do this once daily.
+5 Blog about this giveaway, and leave me a link to your post.
+5 Post this on any giveaway linky and let me know where to find it. (no limit)
+2 Add my button to your sidebar


Good luck!

DISCLAIMER: I was provided product information and a prize pack from General Mills through MyBlogSpark which contained a $25 Sam's Club gift card and a 30 count club sized box of Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix Fruit & Nut Bars for my eating enjoyment :) All product opinions in the above post are my own.