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.