Cuddles and cameras

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noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 15:40:00 +0000

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It's been 2 years... Really?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 22:08:00 +0000

Hello? Anybody there??
Yikes! Has it really been two years since I last a typed a word on this little blog of mine?! Two years ago, my "baby" was one. ONE! Now he's almost FOUR! Whoever said "Time flies when you're having fun", really knew what they were talking about. I feel like my life has been one tremendous, beautiful, sometimes chaotic span of time since I've been with my Sweetheart. It 's been wild. It's been a period of growth. I'm sure my whole life will be a "period of growth". I hope so anyway. What are we, if we're not moving forward?

I have a child that is serving a 2 year mission right now in California. It's weird, when your "chicks" leave the nest. Weirder still, when you can't talk to them via phone or in person, for two years. TWO. YEARS. I'm afraid my little "chick" will be a full grown Eagle when he returns... This gives me pause. This gives me tears. This gives me joy. We did something right! Yay!

Now, I have this daughter... She's beautiful inside and out. But I'm wondering. When did my sweet little girl grow into this beautiful young woman? I'm sure I was present. I'm Positive. But when I look at this photo, it takes me aback. Time... it slows, nor stops, for NO ONE. She's saving wedding dresses on Pinterest right now. I might have a heart attack!

Image Credit: Rashelle Cuperus Photography

Now my littlest girl... she's losing her cute little baby teeth and her cute little cheekers! I can say cheekers right? She is still Seven after all...Her goal in life right now is to please Mama... She doesn't like to do anything that makes me upset. I'm not gonna lie, that is Niiiiice... It'll be a shame when she outgrows that... for ME anyway.

Image Credit: Rashelle Cuperus Photography

And my "monster", well, not really a "monster" but kind-of. He keeps me on my toes, and pushes me into uncharted (for me) parental waters. I'm constantly trying to come up with ways to parent him that are actually effective What worked for the rest, does NOT work on this guy... He is a force to be reckoned with. He came into this world fighting for his life, and he continues to be a fierce little man. He loves so incredibly deeply and sincerely that he just melts my heart (and others) more often than he gets me worked up. He's amazing, and the most like me out of all my little "chicks."

And lastly, my little heart melter... seriously... Couldn't of asked for a better "baby of the family" He lets me snuggle him always... He'll dance with me, and one of his favorite things, is for me to sing to him... I try so hard to soak up every. little. thing. that these kiddos of mine do, because I know their time with me is short. And, really, it's priceless...

Happy Balentine's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 18:25:00 +0000

All my little Balentines!

Homemade Laundry detergent that works better than....

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 01:56:00 +0000

A friend of mine recently taught a class on how to make laundry soap. This is my second attempt to make the stuff. It's fun, and I LOVE it!

What you'll need

BORAX

SUPER WASHING SODA

FELS-NAPTHA (soap) or ZOTE (soap)

A Crusty pot. This is our "Love Pot"

Scents/oils. I had Lavender on hand. But I'll be ordering THIS from my FAVORITE soap supply store

BRAMBLEBERRY.COM

An immersion blender. I have a Braun somethin' somethin'. It has a removable, um, blendery thingy? I'll be ordering a replacement part so I can still use this handy deal for my cooking though.

You'll also need wooden spoons

1 crusty Cup measure

1 Crusty slotted spoon that's kind of melted and wonky.

Hey!

Pssssssst.. it doesn't have to be melted an wonky (you know,in case you were wondering ;)

Also, if you have a crusty cheese grater go ahead and use that, OR go to your local Dollar tree and get a cheapy one. We're not looking for quality here people, we're looking for functionality.

Now, in my case we still use our crusty trusty ol grater, so I went and bought this little guy for a buckaroo.

A BIG OL' BUCKET 3-4 Gallons. I was able to get this one at our local dairy. They sell them for under a dollar.

Ok, Now that you have your stuff all situated. Lets get started!!

1. Grate your soap. Fels-Naptha, Zote, Ivory whatever your using (the whole bar)

2. Dump it in the pot.

3. Add 1 Cup Borax

1 Cup WASHING soda

4. Add HOT water about half-way

5. THIS step I forgot to grab a picture, OOPS!

Now, you want to stir the ingredients over a medium-high heat. Bringing ALMOST to a boil. Be careful here because the time between ALMOST and full-on boil is REALLY fast! You don't want it to boil or it will go EVERYWHERE! Mmm K? E V E R Y W H E R E.

6. You do want to make sure that you cook the soap thoroughly though. Don't make the same mistake I did (the first time) and rush through in oblivion forgetting that ALL the little soap graties NEED. TO. MELT.

7. Once everything is melted together go ahead and dump it in your clean bucket. It looks kind of weird here, but don't worry it's ok. You can bust out the immersible blender at this point if you like and give it a good whirl.

8. Dump in your scent/essential oil.

9. I forgot a photo for this as well! Darn! Once you have your soap in your bucket fill your pot up with cold water and dump it in to your bucket (It took me 3 to fill my bucket) this is where you want to use your meltywonky slotted spoon and stir. IT WILL LOOK WEIRD, at least mine did BOTH times at this stage. this is where you'll want bust out your blender and buzz away till it's about like this (look below) consistency

10. Dump it into any used clean laundry detergent container you have on hand. You'll want to make sure you shake it before each use though.

And there you have it! I'm completely in LOVE with this soap. It got a stain out that a certain expensive "with bleach" could NOT! I was amazed, and converted. And now I have 6 gallons of the stuff stored in my laundry room, and I have to control myself NOT to make more because I think it's THAT fun! Yes, I'm a weirdo, but I'm okay with that ;) Thanks again to my friend Kelly for showing me how on Tuesday! I've had the stuff to make it for over a year, or TWO! YIKES! Just waiting for me to actually DO. IT.
Total price for 3 Gallons? Um, I'm gonna say UNDER a dollar. Yeah. It's that cheap, and it works THAT GOOD! Try it!

soapily, Jenn

Be my Valentine?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 20:51:00 +0000

Add caption

Download 4x6 Valentine Card HERE
Hey Girls! I just wanted to share a quick valentine for you to use (if you want) for your little Chica's

Font for name is "Pea Noodle Parlor"
Font for Wording is "Pea Missing you"
Fonts from kevinandamanda
Bracket from Delicious Scraps
Color/texture by me

You can download 4x6 Valentine Card HERE

And another for the little men in your life...

Wording font is "Fontmoochers"

Name font is "Pea Noodle Parlor"

Fonts from Kevinandamanda

Monster font "creatures" from dafont.com

Border from Delicious scraps

You will need to know how to use layers in your photo editing program, but, really all you'll have to do is

***FIRST-Delete the "Place your photo here" layer***

1. Open the image (Card) in your photo editing program that can read PSD's

2. Open the picture you want to use for your card

3. Click on the "layer" that you want the picture on. (The one with the colored square) When you click on it, it should highlight that layer. Keep it like that.

4. Go to your image and drag it onto the card, with your "MOVE" tool (kindof looks like an cursor with a weird tail).

5. Once you have it on the card (It won't look right at this point either, but don't fret) Click Ctrl+G and that will place your photo in the appropriate place.

6. Click Ctrl+T to shrink your image down to look right. If your image is too large click Ctrl+0 to see the whole thing.

7. Your card should look right at this point.
8. Flatten image to jpeg and save
9. Send to your printer (COSTCO) (make sure you choose to NOT have auto-correcting turned on)

****FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY****

Monday's Musing...Who am I?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:54:00 +0000

This past year has been one that has caused me a lot of frustration and hurt,

emotionally.

It's also been a year where I've grown by leaps and bounds,

spiritually.

I felt the bitter sting of judgements and assumptions of others...

I participated (Please know I'm not proud at all for these actions) in judging and assuming things about others...

I felt betrayed...

I cried...

I hurt...

I felt the evil dart of gossip, catapult from my lips, and into another's heart...

I felt that dart come right back and pierce my own...

It was awful. Not a pain I'm willing to inflict on anyone,

ever. again.

I was reading this wonderful blog RESOLVED2WORSHIP and her words whispered comfort to my heart, as they so often do...

The professor's story... had me in tears... The story about the tree (below)...filled me with hope...

I don't know how I had lost sight... I know we are all daughters and sons of God.... What we do to others we might as well do to him...

And there's no way I'm throwing darts at my savior anymore...

"…There was a man who had four sons. He wanted them to learn to not judge things too quickly, so he sent them each on a quest to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

He sent his first son in the winter, his second in the spring, his third in summer and his youngest in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.

The second son said no – it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

After hearing all his son’s responses, the wise father replied, “Sons, you are all right — because you have each seen only one season in the tree’s life. But you cannot judge a tree, or a person, or anything else by only one season. Most things can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons have come to pass”."

Thoughtfully, Jenn

If you're...

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 22:54:00 +0000

Just getting into couponing, TARGET's (Dollar section) has a couple of items that are a MUST HAVE. Well, one of them is a "must have" the others are for convenience, really.

The MUST HAVE is a coupon organizer. It's kind-of a "duh" item.   You need one to stay organized with your Q's. Some use binders, but I really, REALLY don't want to attract more attention to my crazy coupon-ness than absolutely necessary ;)

This little organizer can fit a ton of Q's.

A. TON.

WAAAY more than those cheesy looking paper ones, Which I can call cheesy cause I sported one. Ha ha ha!

I love the PLAIN-ness of this one, and the PLASTIC-ness of this one. :) It's a "ness" thing.

I purchased the larger one so I can organize my ads. I like to bring them along to the stores with me just to MAKE SURE I'm getting the right deal.   Rite Aid likes to pull ALL their sale tags on Saturday evening in preparation for the upcoming sale starting the next day, and it's FRUH-STREETING to find your deals if you DON'T have an ad handy :)

I also purchased ANOTHER Q organizer for my envelopes. When I search my ads and match the q's to the stores deals I place them in an envelope marked "Safeway" "Rite Aid" "Walgreen's" etc...this makes it easier for me, rather than sifting through ALL my q's at the store ~~in the middle of the aisle while my kids are screamin' for candy, and then proceeding to dump all my q's on the floor...~~
I think I posted somewhere on here to.... NOT ATTEMPT COUPONING WITH CHILDREN IN TOW!  I want to bang my head on a wall EVERYtime I attempt to do so. :)

So now, instead of envelopes I have marked sections in my organizer by "store," makes my life easier, and less um, crazycouponladyish-ness

Happy couponing,
yourcrazycouponladyishness, JENN

Yet ANOTHER...

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 18:50:00 +0000

Valentine's day CANDY COUNTDOWN

I had some girlies say that they couldn't find the plastic hearts that I put in my tutorial HERE so I checked my local dollar tree AND online, and could not find them anymore or anything really close ANYWHERE either. So, I thought I'd come up with a different type of countdown, and I prefer this new one :)

Things you'll need:

Valentine buckets/pails ($1 section at Target)

dry foam each pkg comes with 4 pieces enough to make 4 buckets ($1 Tree)

Valentine suckers ($1 Tree for 20ct pkg)

Numbers 1-14 printed by you in a pretty font

scissors

tape/glue

The stuffage

The lootage

The bucket-age

Ok, now comes the complicated part....

Place the dry foam into the bucket.

I KNOW it's a tuffy, but, you know, that's how I rollllz :)

Place all your suckers with the numbers in a random fashion, and you got your very own cute countdown for your little or BIG lovies!

Enjoy!

your jennintine

featured at:

Anyone else planning a superbowl party?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:27:00 +0000

Download HERE (if you'd like)

Well, if you didn't already know, we are HUGE PACKERS fans here!

AND

They're going to the superbowl this year!

That's pretty exciting news 'round these parts, let me tell you...

I just wanted to share a quick sign that I made for our front door. Just in case someone else is throwing a superbowl party in favor of the PACKERS of course. ;)

I should make one for the STEELERS but, I just couldn't stomach that... ;) (no offense to any Steelers fans of course ;)

Happily partily plannin', JEnn

What's for dinner?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 22:44:00 +0000

I really don't know what's for dinner quite yet o.0

BUT

I found this AWESOME site today from one of the blogs I follow... I really wish I could remember which one though :/

It's called SUPERCOOK.COM

It's spectacular.

It will help you solve your dinner dilemas.

It will keep you from eating cereal ~~twice~~ once a week!

Did I really just admit that? Ok, yeah. Keepin' it REAL here! ;)

Just input ingredients you DO have and it will pull recipes from various sites... Like some of my favorite

pioneerwomancooks.com and allrecipes.com

NEVER got a bad recipe from either one.

Happy Dinner planning! Jenn-bop (kinda like mmmmBOP but kinda different) :)

Hard things...

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:08:00 +0000

"I CAN DO HARD THINGS!"

THIS is my new mantra.

I always used to giveup if things got too hard.

Not now.

I CAN do hard things!

So CAN you!

We CAN run marathons.

We CAN lose weight.

We CAN develop our talents.

We CAN serve others endlessly.

We CAN forgive.

We CAN choose to end our addictions.

We CAN (step by step) overcome Emotional, physical, mental storms.

We CAN make sacrafices for the greater good.

We CAN get out of our comfort zone once in a while.

We CAN do anything!

It's cliche, to say we can do anything we put our minds to.

BUT, REALLY we can!

I tell myself this a million times a day, especially when I start to feel overwhelmed.

My inspiration comes from THIS talk written and published in our church magazine for kids... Though really, it's applicable to anyone, in any situation.

We can do hard things....

And remember, "Diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their job"

~Malcolm Stevenson Forbes

HUGE HUGS OF ENCOURAGEMENT! Jenn

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:9

Valentine's Day Subway Art

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:14:00 +0000

I'm really in love with Subway art right now, it might have something to do with my love for words and fonts?

LOVE.

IT.

So I made one to share (minus "our ACTUAL songs") Click the HERE to download.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

And if you want to make your little lovies an EASY Valentine Advent calendar click HERE

*I found all these fonts at either Dafont.com or at Kevinandamanda.com

Did you miss me?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:40:00 +0000

What a few crazy weeks these have been! I can't believe that I haven't poste A N Y T H I N G, since before Thanksgiving! YIKES! What gives?! I apologize for the hiatus. One of my resolutions was to blog every weekday. Can you give me a BIG FAT F for FAIL? Geesh. Ok, it's only the 13th. I can redeem myself right?

Moving on. ha ha.

I've since FINALLY. YES! FINALLY!!!! Got my camera back. My beee-love-ED! I was so lost without my little guy! I had to resort to my limited point and shoot, or rather Will's limited point and shoot, and I hated it. HATED. it. The thing gives me the heebs. Seriously.

I've been working on losing this baby weight. I call it my "baby weight" because I never had a weight issue BEFORE babies... so though my "baby" is (cough) 18 mos. (cough) I'm stickin' with it. It makes me feel, better.

So far? Well, I've lost a pound since Monday. Hmm... A pound. A package of butter. Not too bad, but considering I have about 500 more to go, this task is a bit daunting. Ugh!
My favorite photgrapher NicholeV recently posted about her weight-loss journey. And, she wrote about her struggle with losing the "baby weight" about her slloooooooow metabolism (like mine) and that she never ate icky things but STILL couldn't get the weight off. It was a breath of fresh air! I wasn't alone! What worked for her, I'm hoping works for me. She went to a 900-1000 calorie diet. I know that sounds like you'd starve but, you don't. At least I don't and other people with slllllooooooow metabolisms probably won't either. This isn't the norm. I realize, but I just want to GET. THIS. DONE.

Seerisslee.

So far, so good. I don't feel like anything has changed which is good? Bad? I don't know. I'm eating more regularly instead of not eating all day and then eating at 8PM. (I KNOW, I know, NOT good) My body constantly thinks it's "starving" holding on to ANY excess weight that it can because of these bad habits that I've created since becoming a mommy. (After Ocean was born I didn't eat anything. AT ALL. I was too worried that if I put my baby down, she might just, I don't know what I thought. But, I really NEVER put her down, and in turn starved my body of the nutrients it needed to feed her. Hmmm... NO Fleeping wonder I couldn't produce any milk!) Anyways, here I go for the third round of getting this "baby weight" OFF! Third times a charm right? I'll keep up to date on how I'm doing and recipes that are low-calorie, and other healthy stuff, because that really is what's most important right? Health? (Yes, Jenn, that IS the most important, stop being so vain!) I've got to get over my dreams of being a size 3 again. WHAT- E V E R. I just want to feel good again.

Yeah.

Here's to my ~~skinny jeans~~ oops! HEALTH!

Jenn

.99 Cent TANGLED Soundtrack!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 22:35:00 +0000

Right now the whole soundtrack is on sale for $3.99 with the digital booklet at AMAZON.COM! and if you use the promotional code of GET3MP3S (which is good until 11/29) you get $3 off making this whole soundtrack .99cents! I got this and can't wait for the girls to run around singing it! :)

Deals, and steals

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 21:55:00 +0000

Ok, So I haven't done all the math YET, (as I mentioned in my profile that is NOT MY GIG) But I'll give you a run down of what I paid

1 pkgs.(I bought 2) HUGGIES normally 11.99 on sale for 8.99 MINUS $2 coupon makes it 6.99 plus after I bought it $3 printed out on my receipt making it 3.99 I had a money receipt (wellness up reward) of $3 so I paid .99 out of my pocket for each PACKAGE!!! DEAL!

Next is Breathe Right strips (hubbs S N O R E S without these suckers) 10 ct. Reg. 4.99 MINUS $3 Walgreens Coupon, MINUS $1.50 Manufactuars coupon makes these, what? .50cents? Awesome!

Herbal Essence Shampoo/Aussie hairspray Regularly something like $4+ (at rite aid) On sale for $2.99 MINUS .50 coupon equals $2.50 each. So I bought 1 at 2.50 and then a $2 up reward printed making it .50 cents I then got each subsequent bottle for .50cents plus tax O.O.P. (out of pocket) after coupons and up rewards NICE!

Butter. The real stuff, you know the stuff Paula Dean could NOT live without! Did you know that COSTCO usually has the best deal on this stuff? Usually around $7 for 4 lbs/pkgs. (YEAH, that's a GOOD deal) well, recently their prices shot up to 9.99 for 4 pkgs/lbs of butter?! YIKES! I'll make my own. THANKS! Ok, maybe not make my own, but I'll definatley be stocking up when I find it on sale at my local grocers.

9.99 sheesh...

My local Food Pavilion ran an add on their Dairygold butter if you bring in THEIR coupon you get it for $1.49! Limit 2. BUT, I asked my grocer guy "Ken" (first name basis now ha ha) if I could have a few more (10) flyers and he gladly pointed me in the direction of them :D I did have to do each 2 things of butter in seperate transactions, but no biggie. ( I do NOT however, recommend AT ALL, that you attempt this (couponing) with children in tow, YIKES!) Also there was a coupon in the 11/14 red plum or smart source in the sunday paper making 4 of my purchaces ONLY $1.09 for a lb. of BUTTER!! That's a crazy good deal. I bought something like 12, going to get some more tonight, because it freezes perfectly. And I just R E F U S E to use margarine.... EWWWers.

Nyquil gotta have it. Especially this time of year. Walgreens had it on sale for 2/$10 (they call that a sale?!) Well I had 2 q's I call them q's now cuz my fingers don't want to type coupons anymore ;) My q's were for $1.50 off of each making them 2/$7 ok, that's begining to sound like a deal.

Begining.

Well, when you buy this deal. I paid $7 o.o.p. THEN my receipt printed off "money" for $5 to use on my next purchase. Which I did. I bought the rest of my stuff after I made this purchase making it 2/$2 YEAH! AND, these were the bottles that contained 20% more making it an even better deal! ALSO, included in this transaction was a "FREEBATE" on kidsezze cold medicine. On sale for $4.99. I paid 4.99 and then got $4.99 right back on my receipt. TOTALLY FREE! And something I'll definatley use.

Tillamook Cheese was/is on sale I think until tomorrow for 3.99! That's a heckofa deal. Tillamook is the best, In our opinion. Especially their Extra sharp vintage white cheddar (which unfortunately is NOT included in this sale) bummer. Stock up on this as it's good in the fridge until August, or you could just freeze it as well.

The last deal I'm going to type about on this blog is on Langers Cranberry juice On sale with the Food pavillion's q for .99cents GREAT deal as is. BUT, I had 6 q's for save a $1 when you buy 2 making them 2 for .98 cents! I also had 4 q's for a $1 off any langers juice product making 4 of my juices F R E E! We love cranberry juice here, and although it's not 100% juice which we prefer, there is NO high fructose corn syrup! Which is, Nice :)

OOPS! I lied, I forgot about these deals below I got all this for $13 dollars, that's pretty much the cost of 1 pkg. of diapers!!!

The Huggies deal, is the same as the one I wrote about above.

The Sierra Mist was on sale 10/$10 I had 10 q's for $1 off making them each FREE! Same with the Swiss Miss. (Now AMY, I wish I had the luxury of having William be a choclatier like Rob, so we could enjoy some premium Drinking/sipping chocolate instead of the premium "swiss miss"), but, I digress... :)

I got the cereal on sale 2/$4 I had a manufactuer's q for $1/2 making them 2/$3 then when I bought them I had $1 up reward print making them 2/$2 These are Will's favs... I really don't like the kids eating SUGAR for breakfast. But Will is a big boy and can do what he wishes ;)

I got the Glade Motion sense and spray which I L O V E by the way. in the clearance bin. for $5 regularly $10. I happened to have a q for $4 off any startup kit on sense and spray (which it was) so I paid a BUCK! It smells so good, and I highly recommend this product. Lavendar/vanilla...mmmmm

I hope this inspires some of you to give coupons a try. It's certainly worth my effort to clip, with the amount of money we are saving.

P.S. If you go to SAFEWAY get their little coupon booklet (at the customer service counter) and you too, can get free Sierra Mist, and Swiss Miss, and TONS of other awesome deals! The booklet contains Manufacturer's q's mostly so you can use them anywhere.

P.P.S. Kmart has their Sierra Mist and Swiss miss on sale right now 11/24 for 10/$10 so if you want to try your hand at couponing, it's a great way to start! Getting FREE stuff.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING YA'LL!! ( it's the wife of a southern man commin' out in me ;)

Remember, if you want to learn more go visit Sarah at athriftymom.com she's really amazing at couponing, and finding the best deals around...

Dazzle Me

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 18:02:00 +0000

Wow, is all I have to say about this product!
I became a "fan" or rather "liked" Diamond Dazzle Stik on Facebook and signed up to recieve a FULL size sample of this product for FREE! (they are done giving them away now unfortunately, but they may do this again, so "LIKE" them) I just wanted to let all my friends know about this AWESOME product.

For years I've tried to find a GREAT at home ring cleaner. Each time I thought I found one, they'd fail me. They'd clean my ring up a little bit, but often the sides and underneath my diamond would still be- gucky? Yeah, I guess gucky would be the word to describe that nastiness.
Well, I just got my Diamond Dazzle stik yesterday, and I couldn't WAIT to try it out, to see if it did what it promised to do.... AND IT DID! YEAH! No more GUCKS!

Here are the before and after pix. (Please don't mind the fact that I just love to ALWAYS state the OBVIOUS) Ha ha ha!
AGAIN, I apologize for the lack of quality photos coming from my "cuddles and CAMERAS" blog...I REALLY REALLY REALLY miss my camera, and hope that I can get it back soon...

P.S. I may or MAY NOT have cloned out creepy looking hairs that looked like spider legs off of my fingers. JUST keepin' it real ya'll ;)

Monday's Musing On PEACE, and on a Wednesday ;)

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 21:30:00 +0000

Once again it's Tuesday, and another Monday has breezed by me. I really DON'T like how easily time can escape me lately. This weekend Hubbs and the babe were sick, and now you can add 2 more kiddos to that count. FUN! But anyways, on to my random 'musing'

I was watching a PBS special on Sunday about a group of people that did a Peace climb up to Mount Everest. If you want to watch it, the next airing is Dec 4 @ 7PM

EVEREST: A CLIMB FOR PEACE chronicles the journey of nine "peace climbers" from different faiths and cultures as they attempt to summit the tallest mountain in the world. Actor Orlando Bloom, also a United Nations Ambassador for UNICEF, narrates. Filmed on location in Nepal, Tibet, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, U.A.E. and the United States, the documentary focuses on Palestinian Ali Bushnaq and Israelis Dudu Yifrah and Micha Yaniv. Setting aside their differences, they come together to forge a path of teamwork and cooperation. This, however, is easier said than done. Each believes their respective nations, embroiled in a brutal war for years, lie on the right side of the conflict. A socially relevant film about peace, war and the human spirit, EVEREST: A CLIMB FOR PEACE features spectacular Everest footage, including a dramatic rescue near the summit.

It was amazing to watch friendships form out of enemies.
It got me to thinking how very much we all are alike on the human level. If only we could just look past people's religions, politics, social status, and just focus on humanity. How much more peaceful this world really would be. It's almost near impossible I realize, but while watching this documentary, you get a glimpse that it really can happen.
I'm not saying dismiss your religion, or your politics. Not at all. But maybe if we all tried harder to look at others as our savior would.... On a human level. Wouldn't that make for a better world?

This is my goal. (Not that I judge everyone that is NOT like me. I don't. Well, I certainly don't try to anyway.) But, what can it hurt? If I tried a little harder
Anyways I'm just randomly rambling now.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

"Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer."

~ Barbara Kingslover

Thankful thought of the day

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:37:00 +0000

"Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody's heart."
~Anthony J. D'Angelo

Thankful thought of the day

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 20:21:00 +0000

"Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible."

~Marion C. Garretty

Thanksgiving SUBWAY ART?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 19:46:00 +0000

I've recently, (like many others) have become a FAN of "Subway Art" Um, I think that's what it's called. I made one like this for Halloween, the one below for Thanksgiving, and I'll be making one for Christmas shortly. Just thought I'd share. It's super E A S Y to make. All you need is a LOT of different fonts (you can find some like I did, HERE) and an editing program where you can create things :) I personally love Photoshop elements. It's very user friendly and there are TONS of tutorials on the web if you need help 'getting' it :)

*For those that don't have the option, or don't want to make your own, you can click here to download an 8x10 to print.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Thankful thought of the day

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 17:13:00 +0000

What's for dinner POTATO SOUP

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:11:00 +0000

Tonight we're goin' easy style. WAIT! I'm the mama of 5, I ALWAYS do easy style HA! ;) Long since passed are the days where I had time to cook up glorious gourmet meals.... OK, OK not necessarily gourmet per se but NOT cereal at least one night a week o.0
*My excuse is football season, my next excuse is wrestling season, and then graduation... etc... :)

Here is a very BASIC potato soup that I absolutely L O V E. This is my Great Grandma's recipe and she'd make it for me most every time I'd come over to visit.

Great Grandma's Potato soup

Red potatoes (enough to make a soup) I'd say a 3 lb bag or so?

White onion Lg

a little butter (to taste)

Ham chunks Or if you're a veggie like me, BACOS

Evaporated milk

salt and pepper to taste

So obviously, or maybe not so obviously, you scrub the be-geebers outta yer taters. BE-GEEBERS! You don't want any dirt chunks ruining yer soup!

Next cut Potatoes into quarters.

Dice your- I mean, YER onion

Salt and pepper yer water and add the ham/bacos

Throw into a pot and fill with water until JUST covered

Boil until tender and then mash it down a bit and add yer canned milk or cream or sour cream or whatever is yer fancy

Heat till thickened and enjoy!

P.S. I can only eat this with FRANKSREDHOT for some reason. I guess cuz that's how Grandma did. I recommend it if you like hot stuff.

OK, I'm done talking typing like a goober, Hope you try this recipe and build upon it :)

* I add veggie bouillon into my water and more often then not add a little sour cream to thicken it up a bit. Also great with a fresh salad and crusty bread JUST sayin' ;)

Thankful Thought of the day

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 23:40:00 +0000

Greensmoothiegirl.com

TuEsDaZe Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

I have to say that I'm totally getting into this couponing gig. It's been a lot of fun, and this last weekend was our personal best! But still, I'm wondering how Sarah over at ATHRIFTYMOM.COM does it? I mean, she gets over a thousand worth of items in a month for a little over a hundred bucks... I'm learning and getting better at spotting "the deal", "the better deal" (what I was normally doing) and then finally, "THE BEST" deal ;-) Below is what I got for $90 by shopping sales and using my q's :) Normally would've been over $300!

8 boxes Lucky Charms

2 Boxes Honey Nut Cheerios

Toy Story 3 dvd

10 Can Hunts Spaghetti sauce

4 boxes Quaker Granola bars

3 boxes lg. kleenex

1 Pkg. Kraft Homestyle mac-n-cheese

Fresh Step Kitty litter

Capri sun 100% Juice

4 bags of Mission Tortilla chips

2 Renuzit Fragrance cones

5 Boxes of Betty Crocker cake mixes

#6 Birthday candle for next year :)

2 Containers of Peanut butter

2 Laundry Detergent Arm and Hammer with Oxy

2 12oz pkgs of lunch meat

3 pkgs. cream cheese

2 Lg Containers of Activia Yogurt

7 pgks of Ronzoni pasta

I apologize for the crapTASTIC photos, I just grabbed Will's camera, as mine is still in the repair shoppe :(

I'm headed out tonight to get some Pillsbury Grands from Safeway for .50 cents each with my Q's and some more $1 (with my q's) cereal from Food Pavilion.

I know my tip was on this last week, but really, I just have to share when peeps can be savin' money :)

*Also please note, that stores DO NOT lose money when you use your coupons, they actually make .8 cents each time you use one :) Also the manufactuers DO NOT lose money either as they plan in "coupons" into their marketing/advertising budgets so HAPPY SHOPPING! If you've got some killer deals, comment and share your story if you want.

Also, since I already shared about athriftymom.com Another "tip" will be GINGER

Flu season is upon us, and if you're feeling a little queazy BLEH! Nosh on some FRESH gingeroot for pretty much IMMEDIATE relief! You can also peel a little bit and steep it in boiling water and make a tea. This tip works for morning sickness as well, but can cause pre-mature contractions SO, I'd try peppermint instead. :)

Thankful Thought of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn @ Cuddles and Cameras) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 21:15:00 +0000

"A kiss is a lovely trick, designed by nature, to stop words when speech becomes superfluous."

~ Ingrid Bergmen