All the products/giveaways featured on this blog have been received and reviewed by myself, my husband and/or both of my girls. We have only received free products and have not received any monetary compensation and have not been paid in any way for my posting a review of their products as well. My opinions on this blog are not reflected in any way by any of the companies that have provided me with these products. I only receive products that I personally use and then write a review based on my usage. If you are a company that would love to have your products featured and reviewed on my blog or if you would like to sponsor a giveaway, please feel free to contact me at furygirl3132@comcast.net. I will give my readers fair and honest opinions and would love to help you promote your businesses and products. Thanks so much!
Merry Christmas Eve! Hope all of your plans and preparations are going good! I spent four hours last night wrapping presents (with a couple of breaks of course) and still didn't finish. As a matter of fact, I ran out of wrapping paper and have to go get more this morning so I can finish! Having my family over tonight for Christmas Eve and need to finish cleaning the house and making food. Hope whatever you are doing today, you have fun! Here is another Christmas poem that I would like to share and then take a little break to do some Friday blog hopping!
Recipe for Christmas All Year Long
Take a heap of child-like wonder
That opens up our eyes
To the unexpected gifts in life—
Each day a sweet surprise.
Mix in fond appreciation
For the people whom we know;
Like festive Christmas candles,
Each one has a special glow.
Add some giggles and some laughter,
A dash of Christmas food,
(Amazing how a piece of pie
Improves our attitude!)
Stir it all with human kindness;
Wrap it up in love and peace,
Decorate with optimism, and
Our joy will never cease.
If we use this healthy recipe,
We know we will remember
To be in the Christmas spirit,
Even when it's not December.
Merry Christmas eve eve! Hope you are all enjoying your time off and getting prepared for the holidays. I am getting ready to head out to the store to pick up my last minute food items. We are having around 15 family and friends over tomorrow for Christmas Eve and we never seem to do anything small. We always have a ton of food and drink for sure. Then Christmas Day we are spending the whole day home just hubby, the girls and I. This is the first time that we have ever done this and I am hoping it will be a family tradition every year from now on. We always spend the day with hubby's family over here, but realized last year with both girls how hard it is to open presents and stockings, have our traditional Christmas breakfast, clean up the house and ourselves and get ready to have family over. We just decided to try this out this year..to the dismay of my mother in law who is quite perturbed with the whole idea. I am looking forward to a day without having to rush and worry about things being out of place. If I want to spend the day in my pajamas, drinking hot chocolate and watching the girls play with their new toys, that's what I get to do! Let me share this great Christmas poem that I just found with you in hopes it will make your holidays bright! Then take a break from the hustle and bustle of the season to do a little blog hopping!
Christmas Joys
Evergreen boughs that fill our homes
With fragrant Christmas scents,
Hearts filled with the loving glow
That Christmas represents;
Christmas cookies, turkeys stuffed,
Festive holly berry,
Little faces bright with joy,
Loved ones being merry;
Parties, songs, beribboned gifts,
Silver bells that tinkle,
Christmas trees and ornaments,
Colorful lights that twinkle;
Relatives waiting with open arms
To smile and hug and kiss us;
These are some of the special joys
That come along with Christmas.
Good Tuesday morning and Happy Holidays! It has been crazy busy around my house as we all get ready for Christmas on Saturday. Thankfully, I have the week off from work so I can get some of these preparations done including housework and maybe a little computer work too. Hope everyone is getting ready for your special celebrations! Here's a little blog hopping for you to take a break and check out some great blogs!
It's everyone's favorite day of the week again, Tuesday..
This week joining us as our Guest Host is: Angela from Mommy Time Out
How F.M.B.T Works
Follow all 3 Hosts & Guest Host - Spots 1-4 leave a comment w/ link so we can follow back( only leave a comment that you follow if you actually follow )
Snag our button & make a F.M.B.T. post.
After you post use that link to add your blog to the hop along with blog name
( NO BLOG HOPs & GIVEAWAYS PLEASE ) These entries will be deleted.
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Each week, simply stop by at any of these three blogs for a chance to link up and m eet new and exciting bloggers out on the interwebz!
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If you want to put the blog hop code or the Chickadee button on your Tuesday post on your blog, we welcome it!
*~In The Spotlight This Week~*
About With Just a Bit of Magic:
I’m a mom, a wife, a product manager, a sister, a daughter, and a friend. So let me try to elaborate on that!
I’m married to a great man and we’ve been married for 3 years now. 3 years you ask… with 4 kids? Yes, this is my second marriage and his first. I have 3 daughters that he has fully accepted as his own and he loves unconditionally. I also have a 9-month-old son! Talk about starting over! Whew.
My oldest is Caitlin who’s almost 15. She incredibly intelligent loves sports, community theater, playing her sax and the piano. She has goals for her future, knows what she wants, and probably won’t let anything stop her!
Next is Natalie who’s 11. She my blond haired, blue-eyed baby! She’s always been the child that would sit and entertain her self for hours. She’d sit at the table and draw, color, or play with Play-Doe and really she still does to this day. She’s very outgoing, loves talking with her friends, and has her own unique fashion sense and doesn’t care what others think about it.
Lauren is next and she’s 8. She’s just Lauren! Always concerned about people and doesn’t like it when people are upset with her. She’s pretty easy going and is the one who’s always excited to go to school.
Andrew is the baby. He’s a mama’s boy right now, but I’m sure that will change, as he gets older. He doesn’t really do a whole lot right now. But he’s cute, cuddly, and adored by his sisters! Poor kid doesn’t stand a chance.
They’re my life and I love them more than anything. I would love to be able to stay home with them, participate in school events more, take part in the school PTO, and all the things that I feel I miss out on by working. Maybe someday.
Work. Ahh…. yes. I work full time. It makes things more challenging, but who doesn’t like a good challenge? I work for a small software development company as a product manager. It’s similar to a project manager, but it follows an Agile methodology as opposed to the traditional project management style. On occasion I do some UX (usability/user experience) and QA (quality assurance) work to help out the team get things done on time. I could help the developers, but that’d be really bad. My programming skills are slightly lacking! Well, that’s me in a nutshell I guess.
Stop by and say hi to this Chickadee and her family!
Good evening! It's that all important time of the week again. With the holidays coming up, there are a lot of spectacular giveaways and Holiday Gift Guides going on right now. I have spent A LOT of time today entering some giveaways for some great prizes! Do you have giveaways going on right now on your blog? How about sharing some of those giveaways that you have come across? Link them up here tonight, tomorrow and all week here on the Saturday Spectacular giveaway linky! Have a great weekend!
Good Friday morning, hope this weekend is starting out good for you all so far! It has been a crazy, busy and trying week for me for sure. The weather here has been up and down all week. One day it is cold and 23 degrees and like today it is drizzling and almost 40, typical Michigan weather. My oldest daughter was diagnosed with ADHD this past week and we will be starting her on medication this weekend to help monitor it. I have really been struggling with this and have had a hard time accepting even though I know a lot of other kids that have gone through this too, yet it doesn't make it any easier for me as a mom. She has been going through so much with this and I am hoping things change around here for the better for all of us. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and now onto the blog hoppin!
One of my favorite go to meals around my house is definitely Hamburger Helper. My favorite flavor has always been Cheeseburger Macaroni, there's nothing better for us than to cook up a box (sometimes two) along with a fresh tossed salad for a quick, easy and satisfying week day meal. With so many flavors available and new ones always being added, there's definitely a variety for everyone. I know that my oldest daughter is always excited when I make Hamburger Helper for dinner, as a matter of fact she asks for it on quite a few occasions. She loves to eat the Cheeseburger Macaroni and scoop it on top of a piece of buttered bread (her dad taught her how to do that).
Hunger is such a national and worldwide issue today. According to Feeding America, approximately 5.7 million different people receive emergency food assistance from the organization in any given week. I know that around my part of town, we have a lot of homeless men and women as well as organizations and shelters that help out people in desperate need of food. The week of Thanksgiving, we had a local organization that helped hundreds of people with free turkeys and fixings so that they may have food for their families and themselves to enjoy the holiday. It's so hard to believe that we have so many people that are going hungry and don't get the benefits and luxuries that a lot of us do on a daily basis. To me, it is absolutely heartbreaking and I love to do my part to help out as much as I can.
To raise awareness about this national issue of hunger, Hamburger Helper is partnering with one of my favorite country and GRAMMY award winning singer, songwriting and actor; Tim McGraw to help Feeding America deliver millions of meals to local food banks through the Show Your Helping Hand campaign. Tim McGraw will lend his voice to the campaign through a Public Service Announcement which will be distributed nationwide. Want to hear this announcement? Please click HERE or click play below.
You can support the campaign yourself by submitting codes from specially marked boxes of Hamburger Helper at www.showyourhelpinghand.com or by logging on to make a donation. This holiday season, every penny helps and you could make a difference. Hamburger Helper has already donated more than half a million dollars and will contribute up to an additional $100,000 to Feeding America through this program. Don't think that just one code will make a difference? The 17 cents that Hamburger Helper donates for just one code is enough for Feeding America to deliver one meal to a local food bank.
Share your voice and lend a helping hand in the fight against hunger! You can also win an autographed copy of Tim McGraw's Southern Voice CD by visiting www.showyourhelpinghand.com.
I received a wonderful prize package from Hamburger Helper and My Blog Spark consisting of a box of Cheeseburger Macaroni Hamburger Helper, a Hamburger Helper foam "Helping Hand" (which is so cute and the little one loves to play with it and wave at me!) and a copy of Tim McGraw's Souther Voice CD. In addition to all of this, Hamburger Helper also made a $10 donation to the Show Your Helping Hand campaign on my behalf. Would you love to win this prize pack for yourself? Here's what you gotta do!
MAIN ENTRY-Mandatory and must be done before any extra entries. Please make sure that your email address is either visible in your comments or Blogger profile so that I have a way to contact you if you win.
Comment on how you will encourage others to participate to submit codes and join the Hamburger Helper/Feeding America fight against hunger. Also tell me your favorite flavor of Hamburger Helper.
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Giveaway will end on Sunday December 19, 2010 at 7pm EST. Winner will be chosen via random.org and notified by email as well as posted here on my blog. Winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. Open to US residents ONLY! GOOD LUCK!
Disclosure- The above prize pack, information and all images were provided to me via My Blog Spark and Hamburger Helper. I comply by all FTC rules and regulations. The words expressed in this review and giveaway opportunity are not influenced in any way. No purchase necessary to enter and void where prohibited by law.
Saturday Spectacular is back after the holiday! Have some great giveaways or a Holiday Gift Guide going on right now that you would like to tell everyone about? ind a giveaway or two on another blog that you would like to share? Link them up her today and all week on my Saturday Spectacular giveaway linky! Have a wonderful weekend!
*It's not about getting thru it...it's about getting something out of it. Bob Harper *I can't save you, you have to save yourself. Jillian Michaels *Stand up and finish what you started. Bob Harper *This isn't about winning a game, it's about fixing what's broken. Bob Harper *Can't is just a reason to quit. Jillian Michaels Hard Work, Dedication...-Dolvett Quince
