Acting Balanced

Friday Fragments

2012-02-16T21:42:00.000-05:00

It's been a crazy busy week here at Chez Smith - with my parents still visiting and Robyn getting sick... Wayne and I getting our overnight date and more drama from Liam's class...

I'd go into tons of details but I've decided to switch up my frags this week... less personal, more fragmented...

I have to be completely honest - I was never a big Whitney Houston fan and now that the local radio stations are playing her stuff every hour on the hour all week, I'm totally over it. I feel bad that anyone loses their life at such a young age, may she R.I.P. but I am over the music already.

I'm still in love with my old school kindle, but I've also been playing with my sister's new Kindle Fire... and I think I want one... but not until after I've figured out how to get a new laptop, bought a plane ticket to go with Wayne to Europe next fall and paid off some other bills... unless I win one...

But speaking of Kindles.. you know that Amazon.com has a whole pile of free kindle books - it's so easy to find them - just click on Amazon.com then go to kindle books and on the right hand side look for the top 100 books widget - click on it and go to the second tab which says top 100 free - and then you can get even more selective by clicking on the left hand sidebar to narrow your choices by genre!

I've got more than ten guest posters lined up for Autism Awareness month - and some cool giveaways but I can use some more... and I'm also open to having you guest post on any AB related topic if you're interested in guest blogging for me - anytime!

In other blog news - I'm now a Google PR 4! I don't feel any older than a 3, but maybe they've noticed a maturity that I can't find... lol

I've started hosting a new meme - Meet Me On Monday - I used to participate in this when it was hosted elsewhere, but Java hasn't been to her blog in a while so I decided to take it over... if you do't mind answering semi-personal questions and sharing them with your audience then pop back on Sunday afternoon to see what players are arrive!

I want to pass on my sincere condolences to Mrs. 4444 (the host of FF) and her family - they lost a beloved friend this week when they had to make the difficult decision to put their family dog down.

Well, the house is now so quiet that my bed is calling me - and I can actually hear it... so it must be time for me to sign off and send you to check out all the other little frags running amok at:

Five Question Friday from @5crookedhalos #5QF

2012-02-16T21:21:00.001-05:00

It's that time of the week again, where I bare my soul... or at least tell you a little more about myself...

1. What do you do when you are really upset to calm yourself down?

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Celebrate Love all year long with Nickelodeon! W!N We Love Our Friends on DVD

2012-02-16T19:10:00.000-05:00

I love when Nickelodeon puts together compilation DVD's of some of the best preschool episodes because it means that on car trips I can please everyone and not have too much repetition! One of our favorites has been Nickelodeon Favorites: We Love Our Friends

This DVD contains the following episodes:

- Best Friends (Dora the Explorer)
- Sammy's Valentine (Go, Diego, Go)
- Save the Love Bugs! Save the Skunk Rocker (Wonder Pets)
- Love (Yo Gabba Gabba)
- Love Day (Blue's Clues)
- Playtime at Tolee's (Ni Hao Kai-lan)

While Sammy's Valentine is specific to Valentine's Day the others are great for year round watching and it's never a bad thing to be able to remind children about friendship and love!

Nick Jr. is allowing me to give away one copy of Nickelodeon Favorites: We Love Our Friends to one US winner! Just fill out the rafflecopter form before March 3rd, 2012 (and come back to do the daily entries as many times as you like!)
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Publix Italian Days #GIVEAWAY from #MyBlogSpark

2012-02-16T12:02:00.000-05:00

When it comes to cooking traditional Italian dishes the possibilities are endless, and you don’t have to travel all the way to Italy to taste the tradition! With Italian Days, available exclusively at Publix, you can find great prices and coupon savings on some of your favorite brands including Progresso, Green Giant, and Muir Glen and purchase everything you need for great Italian recipes like, Meatballs and Twisters.

While visiting Italian Days at Publix from February 16th through February 29th, you can also enter the Taste the Tradition Italian Days Sweepstakes for a chance to be 1 of 500 shoppers that will win a $100 Publix® gift card, sponsored by General Mills.

To enter to win the Taste the Tradition Italian Days Sweepstakes and download great coupon savings and delicious recipes, look in-store or follow the instructions below:

Book Review & #Giveaway - The Legacy of Eden

2012-02-15T00:06:00.000-05:00

I am pleased to be part of the Legacy of Eden Blog tour as both a reviewer and to offer a giveaway copy to one lucky reader! You can also find a Blog Tour Scavenger Hunt and more fun info by visiting BookTrib

From the Publisher:

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Wordless Wednesday - Branching Out

2012-02-14T20:10:00.000-05:00

Smile and Win With TopDentists.com

2012-02-14T16:31:00.000-05:00

Who makes you smile? Your hubby? Significant Other? Your kids? The dog, cat? a co-worker? A picture of you showing off your fabulous smile with one of them could win you a fabulous trip to New York complete with spending money, pampering and a chance to improve on your already fabulous smile!

Topdentists.com is sponsoring your chance to win a fabulous trip for two including Round trip airfare to New York City 2 night stay in a New York City hotel, teeth whitening treatment from a dentist in New York City, hair and makeup treatment with a stylist in New York City, a photo shoot in New York City and $1000 spending money. ARV of Grand Prize: $4,900.

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Sleep Deprivation... what I'm losing sleep over...

2012-02-14T16:01:00.000-05:00

I am not going to lose sleep over the fact that hubby and I aren't having a romantic date night tonight for Valentine's Day... yep, we've been married nearly fourteen years and have three kids so celebrating Valentine's Day is not always a high priority...

A bonus recipe for Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T09:42:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd share this recipe for love that I discovered through trial and error

Stumble Tumble Tuesday - Link up and grow your blog with StumbleUpon!

2012-02-13T20:28:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Stumble Tumble Tuesday hosted by Acting Balanced, Sunshine and Sippy Cups and Wyoming Girl Turned Coastie Wife! The
goal of this hop is to use Stumble Upon to help you promote your
blog posts and get more traffic.

Even if you think you are stumbling correctly, please read this post on how to check and see if your stumble was successful. Some stumbles aren't showing up, thanks!

To take part is simple.
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Leapin' for Leap Pad G!veaway!

2012-02-13T00:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the Leapin' for Leap Pad Giveaway!

This giveaway event is organized by ShePromotes and sponsored by a group of fabulous ShePromotes bloggers! We've come together to offer you one of the hottest children's products of the year -- the Leap Frog Explorer Tablet! Even better, as part of the event, you will have the chance to enter to win 1 of 2 Leap Frog Explorer Tablet prize packs! Yes, we are giving away 2 to 2 lucky winners!

How to enter:
Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter for your chance to win. The giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents, 18+ and will be open through 11:59pm EST on February, 29th. You have until the end of the day on Leap Day to enter for your chance to win!

Please note that there are two separate Rafflecopter forms. Each prize package has its own form and its own entry requirements. You will earn bonus entries for entering on both Rafflecopter forms! Enter to win the other prize package here!

Good luck and get Leapin' for Leap Pad!

Meet Me on Monday

2012-02-12T22:10:00.000-05:00

It's been several weeks since Java at Never Growing Old posted a set of Meet Me on Monday questions, but I've been missing it - so I've decided to resurrect the idea and starting today I'll be posting 5 questions on Sunday evening along with a linky for you to link up your post answers!

Here are today's Questions:

Guest Posting - Why to invite guest posts to your blog...

2012-02-12T21:42:00.001-05:00

I blogged earlier on SadieLankford.com about the benefits of being a guest blogger, but why would you as a blogger want to encourage guest posts? Are there pitfalls?

Well there are a number of really good reasons to have guest posts on your blog and a few pitfalls...

Benefits:

MMMmonday - Red Velvet Cake for your Valentine

2012-02-12T19:37:00.000-05:00

I asked Wayne what the most romantic thing I could make for him on Valentine's Day would be and he immediately said ~ Red Velvet Cake, something we'd never even heard of til we moved to the South, but that he has adopted as his number one favorite cake and here's my recipe:

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

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I'm guest blogging today at SadieLankford.com

2012-02-12T12:45:00.000-05:00

You met my fellow blogger, Sadie during this week's Saturday 9 at 9 interview and now I've had the opportunity to guest blog at her site!

Check out my guest post about... Guest Posting and spend some time checking out the other fabulous articles about blogging while you're there!

Dollar General Celebrates Black History Month with a G!VEAWAY & C0NTEST announcement

2012-02-12T08:27:00.000-05:00

I love being able to share great contest information with my readers and today I get to share some great news from Coca-Cola® and Dollar General! I have also been given a prize pack to giveaway on Acting Balanced with some neat treats!

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Sundays in My City - My Head in the Clouds

2012-02-11T22:25:00.000-05:00

This week seems to have been about looking up... and this is what I saw:

Something so magical about clouds... I hope you enjoyed them...
Linking up with

@Walgreens takes their weekly flyer interactive! #newWAGcirc #cbias

2012-02-11T09:55:00.058-05:00

You've heard me talk about how much fun I had putting a QR code on my business card, well, Walgreens is stepping it up even further - they've added them to their weekly sales flyer and made the online version much more interactive and easy to use! I got a chance to check out the ad yesterday and love how interactive it is:

Saturday 9 at 9 - An Interview with...

2012-02-11T08:22:00.000-05:00

It's time once again for another fun and fabulous blogger to take the hot seat and answer 9 questions about themselves and their blog and today I'm featuring Sadie from SADIELANKFORD.COM

1. Tell us a little bit about your blog:

Five Question Friday from @5crookedhalos #5QF

2012-02-09T21:37:00.000-05:00

It's that time again... when I get to post five random questions from:

1. How often do you shave your legs in the winter?

Friday Fragments

2012-02-09T20:53:00.000-05:00

Well, if you've been following my trials and tribulations on the Acting Balanced Facebook Page this week, you'll know that my parents are visiting from Toronto - they've learned exactly why my house was still a bit of a disaster area when they arrived Tuesday... Erik the Destroyer!

He goes by a few other pseudonyms - Bam Bam, Dennis the Menace and Mark the II (after my brother), but it all boils down to the fact that my parents are getting the crash course (literally) in just how busy my youngest child is...

I had to do a mystery shop and some errands today so I ducked out when Erik started his afternoon nap (which wasn't his longest nap ever) and he wore them out... and terrorized his older brother too... so it's now almost 8:30 and Erik and I are the only ones not yet in bed...

Speaking of those errands - I had so much fun at Whole Foods today - they were having an "Evening of Elegance" with fabulous samples of yummy foods, drinks and even some body and health products. I got a rose, a lovely chocolate heart (to give to my sweetie) and some other great samples to bring home... The most fun I've had grocery shopping in a long time!

Liam has been doing really well at school again - other than Monday when he fell off the wagon so to speak... but since then he's had a great week - maybe it was the threat of not being able to ride the school bus home if he acted up that worked...

Robyn has been named to the Tabula Digita club because she's doing so well in math... it's a third night of the week to stay at school late but she's having a good time with it...

Wayne has been so busy this week that I have barely seen him... or talk to him ... hoping that will lighten up soon! The good news is that my parents have agreed to let us have an 'overnight' date night next week - so I'll have my hubby all to myself for several hours and we might even get a good night's sleep out of it! Watch for my pictures and thoughts on Wild Dunes Resort in Mount Pleasant, where we'll be staying.

Well I'm all fragged out for now, gotta go down and make Liam's lunch and lay out his clothes for school tomorrow, so I'll leave you to check out the other wonderful fragments at:

Running Out? Run In. Promotion at Publix (with another 25 Dollar GC up for grabs) #MyBlogSpark

2012-02-09T00:05:00.000-05:00

I love that Publix is partnering for so many great events this February! And I'm even more pleased to be able to offer yet another $25 Publix GC to one lucky reader!

Do you hate reaching for something you need only to realize that you’ve run out? If you’re running low on your favorite Yoplait yogurt flavor, Big G breakfast cereal or tube of Crest toothpaste, then head to Publix® during the Running Out? Run In. in-store event so you can purchase the everyday products that you love and need more of!

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Thirsty For Comments - get great comments by linking up here!

2012-02-08T21:32:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Thirsty for Comments Thursdays

Hosted by Acting Balanced, Silver Faeries and Dragonflies, Flyawaybyrdie,
Thoughts 'n Such, From Couch to Marathon and Crazed Mama

Grab our badge for your sidebar or post:

Our Featured Blog for this week is:

If you want to be featured in the near future, visit your fellow participants and give good comment!

There's still time to heat up your Valentines Day with EdenFantasys!

2012-02-08T20:46:00.001-05:00

***This Post Contains Links to an ADULT WEBSITE - 18+ only please***

I've raved about all of the fun and sensual products you can order from EdenFantasys - my favorite bath crystals, the whole range of sensual massage candles and of course the wonderful lingerie in sizes from extra small to plus size!
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Positive Living - Laughing through the Chaos

2012-02-08T08:56:00.003-05:00

I looked back at my two status updates yesterday on Facebook and realized that they are a microcosm of my world:

It's Tuesday morning at 11:08 AM and my parents are only an hour away... the laundry isn't done, there's still dishes in the sink and Erik pooped in the tub during his bath after getting breakfast all over himself... glad my parents don't own white gloves....

and

A good cup of hot tea and a few minutes of quiet makes all the stress go away... what works for you?