Wow, did I get behind! But this is the end of the challenge:
Day 26 — A childhood memory Dancing with my mom when I was a little girl to the song Put a Little Love in Your Heart by Jackie Deshannon.
Day 27 — A physical feature you love Ugh, there's not much I love about my body right now, so probably my big brown eyes (love that song Brown-Eyed Girl). My husband of course would list another attribute of mine. ;)
Day 28 — A scar you have and its story, or if no scars- a tattoo & story I don't have any scars (knock on wood) but have 1 tattoo. It's a sun on my lower abdomen- I was a "sun worship-er" back in the day and got it while I was in High School (without my parent's knowing). What's weird is that it looks sorta similar to the Sun of May on the Argentina Flag and my husband, who I hadn't met yet, is part Argentinian. I found this picture online that comes close to what mine looks like.
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days I'm hoping we'll be able to pay off most of our debt, then start putting money away for the girl's college funds. I'd also love to be able to remodel our kitchen sometime next year... it so needs it (there's apple wallpaper and the cabinets are falling apart)!
Day 30 — A motto or philosophy Realistically, my motto is probably 'be realistic'- but I'd love to live as freely as this:
Work like you don't need the money, Dance like no one is watching, Sing like no one is listening, love like you've never been hurt... and live life every day as if it were your last!
I'm not sure how it happened, but I've been feeling like my blog's been controlling me lately instead of the other way around. Even these last few days I took off made me feel extremely guilty! But life goes on... my blog has taken backseat to spending time with family, my kids, hubby, even just vegging out on the couch and watching my favorite show... oh, and also dealing with rodents, in & around the house!
Yes, you read right... we've had not 1 mouse, but 2 in the house that had to be caught!EWW!! We're hoping that's the last of them, and now we need to find where they got in at. Our house is almost 100 years old so I'm sure there's plenty of spots for a tiny mouse to get in!
In addition to the mice, we've had squirrels in our trash! They've chewed through all 3 trash cans to get to the garbage inside. And then they sit there on our back deck and seem to taunt us while they eat the food out of our trash. Even when I step outside they don't run away, just sit there and continue to eat... unless I get loud and stomp (basically make a fool of myself for any of my neighbor's to see if they happen to look out their back door or window). So we're thinking we need to invest in metal trash cans, but I couldn't help but think of this song (just change the word 'pants' to 'trash'). :D
I have been feeling very overwhelmed lately with a lot going on, so once again I'm playing catch up on the Blogging Mom's Challenge. There's not too many more days left in September though, so I'm sticking it out and finishing the best I can.
Day 23 — A way in which you want to be remembered
Well I of course want to be remembered as the best mom & wife EVER! ;) And for always being real and true in all I did. This song sticks out as one I'd love to have played at my funeral (bleh, who even thinks about stuff like this).
Day 24 — A movie no one would expect you to love
I'm not sure on this one... maybe Mamma Mia? Of course people might expect me to like that movie, so instead I'll say any Guy Ritchie films- Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch are a couple of my faves of his. Oh and his new one, Sherlock Holmes, was really good!
Day 25 — A recipe Sweet Potato Casserole- this is one of my favorite holiday recipes that I got from a friend when we lived down south in Texas. I make it every year now for Thanksgiving and usually Christmas too. I won't give the recipe today and I don't have any pictures to put up, but watch for a post sometime around the Holidays... it's de-lish!!
I'm so excited for all the winners... hope you enjoy your giveaways! And to everyone who entered... thank you, I hope you'll visit again soon and check out my current giveaways.
Speaking of CSN Stores- watch for my upcoming review. With so many options to choose from, I had a hard time picking which item I wanted to review! Here's just a few products out of thousands that I might've picked:
EcoSTORE USA makes plant based, non-toxic Household Cleaning, Baby and Personal Care Products that contain No Nasty Chemicals. Located in the suburban Detroit, Michigan area (shipping warehouse is located in Pennsylvania), it's an extension of a 20 year old New Zealand company, which was founded by Melanie and Malcolm Rands from their home in an eco village in New Zealand.
They offer more than 100 products, each one meeting the most stringent environmental and sustainability standards. "The guiding principle of every formulation is and will always be that the end product must not only be good for the user, but good for the planet." That's an awesome business philosophy to live by!!
Not every company that calls itself natural or organic truly is. You can read more about what Green really is on the website. And here's some common harmful chemicals to avoid:
•Parabens (preservatives some studies have connected to breast cancer)
•Glycols (organic solvents that can be passed from mother to fetus, and can affect the nervous system in high doses)
•Sodium lauryl sulfate (a foaming agent known to cause skin and eye irritation, and found in the majority of bubble baths, shampoos and shower gels)
EcoSTORE was also featured on Fox News, check out the segment below:
I received theLaundry Liquid- 3x Ultra Concentrate and theCoconut and Vanilla Body Wash. When I opened the package I was greeted with this great first impression, a paper that read:
All packaging products used for this shipment are environmentally friendly, the packing peanuts are made out of soy; the news print, packing tape and even the boxes are all made out of recycleable paper, as well as the paper this note is printed on.
When I tried the laundry liquid, the smell was the first thing I noticed- it reminded me of Hall's cough drops or Vick's vaporub, I think this is probably due to the Eucalyptus Oil in it. Not entirely unpleasant, I just hoped my clothes didn't come out smelling like it. The pour spout could use some work, while pouring the liquid it not only came out of the spout but from around it as well, making it a tad messy. The water got nice and sudsy as it was filling. After the wash the clothes didn't have any of the odor I didn't like- just smelled fresh and clean!
With the body wash, again the first thing I noticed was the scent. I don't know exactly what it smelled like, but it didn't seem to be the coconut or vanilla scent I was expecting. It smelled slightly better once it was lathered up on the loofah and it was nice and soft and foamy. I've used other organic products (or so they said they were), that didn't foam up well at all and I had to use a ton of body wash every time just to have enough suds to wash my entire body. I was happy the ecoSTORE product wasn't like this and that just a little body wash was enough. My skin felt good afterward, not dried out, and there wasn't any scent left on my skin.
Overall, the only thing holding me back from completely loving these products was the initial scent (and also the pour spout for the laundry liquid). But knowing these are good for me and my family, and for the environment, and the final outcome was pleasant and did work, it helps to outweigh the cons.
EcoSTORE USA offers free shipping on orders over $25 and right now they're having a 25% off back-to-school special- Use Discount Code WQ551 at checkout. You can also find their products at Meijer and Duane Reade stores.
You can read more about ecoSTORE on their blog and also connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.
Disclosure: I received free products for the purpose of this review, but no other form of compensation was given. The opinions and thoughts I’ve shared with these products are 100% my own and yours may differ.
But instead, I'm going to tell you about an up and coming site for listing free ads- The Exclaim. Why you ask? Well, first of all because it was invented and designed by one of my sister's and secondly... well, who doesn't like a free ad site?
I'd best describe it as a cross between Craigslist.org and ebay.com. Like Craigslist because it's free, but like ebay because you can customize your ads with optional upgrades, buy right off the site, and leave feedback. You can read how my sister describes it here. It's super easy and fast to register (and of course free) and there's even an affiliate program built in.
So go check it out, tell all your family and friends, and help the site grow. And remember it's still in beta phase so if you have any problems, questions, or suggestions just click on the 'Email Us' icon at the top of the site to share your thoughts.
This is becoming quite a habit... doubling up on challenge posts. I'm trying, really I am!
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
I love to read, when I have the time.
And run, when I'm motivated. ;p
Day 21 — Something you know you do differently than most people
This is kinda weird, but the only thing I can think of right now is that I know I load the dishwasher different than most people. I've had my hubby, my sister, and the girls' grandma all load our dishwasher the opposite of me, especially the way the plates face.
And they tend to put the silverware in upside down too- I put the handles facing down. I always appreciate when someone else does the dishes other than me of course, so I don't dare say a word... it's just something I've noticed. :p
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