Mom On Timeout

Karnival of Krafts {Giveaway}

2012-02-11T09:08:00.000-08:00

I want to introduce you to a wonderful Etsy shop - Karnival of Krafts. I am a big fan of Etsy and have enjoyed the personal touch that is added to each purchase I've made. I love being able to support people that have passion and talent. I also love the amazing quality, the ability to customize, and the reasonable prices on products you can't find anywhere else!

Karnival of Krafts focuses on crocheted items and I can tell you that they are amazing! I was sent a facial cloth and makeup pads and have found them to be durable and lovely at the same time. Made out of 100% cotton, these items are machine washable and wonderfully soft. Kim, the owner of Karnival of Krafts, offers a variety of items in her shop such as dish cloths, coasters, baby hats, and lots more!

Living Healthier Lives

2012-02-11T01:01:00.001-08:00

This post brought to you by Walmart. All opinions are 100% mine.

As part of our family's goal to eat healthier in 2012, we are incorporating more fruits and vegetables into our diet as well as more organic and locally grown produce. We definitely have a food budget and it can be challenging to work within our budget parameters and still eat healthy. In an an effort to help those interested in healthier lifestyles, Walmart recently announced more than $9.5 million in grants to national organizations that are dedicated to helping families have healthy and nutritional eating habits. This funding will support nutrition education programs, provide classes focused on learning to cook and shop for healthier foods on a budget and provide a live cooking demonstrations in communities nationwide.

The grants for Walmart's healthy living initiative are going to wonderful organizations such as Action for Healthy Kids, Share Our Strength, and the National 4H Council. You can check out all of the organizations and grant information here. Share Our Strength is receiving $4 million to provide grocery store tours to 7,500 participants through Shopping Matters and 31,000 participants through Cooking Matters. I think this is incredibly helpful and will help Share Our Strength reach their goal of ending childhood hunger in America by 2015. You can check out this video to see how this works. It contains a lot of great information!

Walmart has partnered with Dr. Ro who will be sharing healthy steps we can take to learn how to eat healthy on a budget. Dr. Ro has appeared on The View, Dr. Oz, and more. I am looking forward to her expertise in this area! What steps have you taken (or want to take) to live a healthier lifestyle?

Valentine's Day Fingerprint Frames {Craft}

2012-02-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

This craft project is lots of fun for little and big people. There is something quite soothing in using just your finger to paint a frame. I purchased several wood frames from Michaels for $1 each. (You can find these at any craft store.) I consider $1 an excellent investment considering it yields at least 20 minutes in craft time and a special gift!

You can apply a base coat to start if you would like. We started with red and white paints. I put them right in the middle of the frame so Reece would not be dripping paint on the table.

He started with just red and white finger prints and then eventually mixed the colors to get pink.

Keep on fingerprinting until the frame is covered. Paint the edges of the frame with your finger to finish the frame off.

Valentine’s Day Pillsbury® Ready to Bake!™ Shape® Cookies {Giveaway} #MyBlogSpark

2012-02-09T12:29:00.000-08:00

Can you believe Valentine's Day is almost here? We love making cookies at our house and think it's a terrific way to show how much we care. We also happen to be HUGE Disney fans! New Valentine’s Day Pillsbury® Ready to Bake!™ Shape® Cookies will fill your home with love and now the magic of Disney®!

These cookies are the perfect treat to share with friends and to show just how much you care. These yummy and adorable cookies are super convenient and bake up in a jiffy. You can find these cookies at your local grocer. Reece and Bryce love helping in the kitchen and were so excited when they saw these Disney cookies. How fun to celebrate Valentine's Day with all of our favorite Disney characters, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Disney Princesses Belle, Cinderella and Tiana! We made up a batch of these to share with some friends of ours and Reece and Bryce are super excited that they have Mickey on them!
Read more>>

Taking A Timeout Thursday {No. 16}

2012-02-08T16:16:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for stopping by to link up and to visit some of the amazing links that are posted here every week. Please remember to visit at least a couple other links after you link up - everyone appreciates it!
It was brought to my attention last week that the code for my buttons was not working properly. My sincerest apologies for that! I went ahead and sent a strongly worded letter to my assistant (whose name also happens to be Trish). The issue has been resolved on this end and if you would be so kind as to check to see if your buttons (both the featured button and the party button) are working, I would greatly appreciate it. If not, please grab the new code at the end of the post. Thanks!

This is Giveaway Week here at Mom On Timeout and I would love for you to enter to win! So far I've got a $25 Sam's Club Gift Card, a Dermagist Complete Rejuvenation System ($236 Value!), and a Dinosaur Train Mural (up to $1000 Value) up for grabs with more to come!

Alrighty! Enough business talk - let's party!

Here are this week's features...

The Top Three:

King Bars by Deana at Country Momma Cooks

Banana, Peanut Butter, & Nutella are combined in this mouth-watering recipe - delectable!

Easiest Pulled Pork Ever! by Lindsay at Artsy Fartsy Mama

Doesn't this just look delicious! I am all over an easy slow cooker recipe like this - thanks Lindsay!

Conversation Heart Cheesecakes by Beth at Hungry Happenings

Now who wouldn't want to be served this beauty on Valentine's Day? GORGEOUS!

and my personal favorite is...

Valentine's Day Popcorn Balls {Recipe}

2012-02-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

Looking for an inexpensive and sweet way to show someone you care? Why not make up some festive Valentine's Day Popcorn Balls to share! I love sprinkling M&Ms in with my popcorn and adding them to a popcorn ball is even better! I added some red food color and Valentine's M&Ms to make these popcorn balls really POP!
(Was that too corny? hehe)

Ingredients:
1 bag of marshmallows (approx. 10 oz)
1/2 c butter (1 stick)
1 tsp vanilla
popped popcorn
food coloring (optional)
1 c M&Ms or other candy
non stick baking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray or coat with butter.
Read more>>

PBS Kid's Dinosaur Train Nature Trackers & Mural Giveaway {Up to $1000 Value!}

2012-02-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

PBS is one of the few stations that I can turn on and feel comfortable and confident that my children are going to be watching both an educational and entertaining show. We are huge fans of so many of their wonderful programs including Super Why, Curious George, Word World, and Dinosaur Train.

Both of my boys are really into trains and dinosaurs. When Dinosaur Train premiered it was like two perfect worlds colliding and creating something even more amazing. Last November, PBS Kid’s EMMY NOMINATED Dinosaur Train encouraged its tiny viewers to get outside, get into nature and make their own discoveries by introducing new Nature Trackers Club episodes.

The Nature Trackers fun continues with the launch of the Nature Trackers Club online! Parents can download monthly nature-related activities to complete with their children, and even win prizes along the way! Check out the Nature Trackers Club and encourage your kid to get into nature and make new discoveries.
Read more>>

Walgreens Prescription Savings Club

2012-02-08T02:01:00.001-08:00

This post brought to you by Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.
Have you been noticing the cost of your prescriptions increasing or maybe your insurance coverage decreasing over the years? It can be such a frustrating situation to find yourself in - I know! I've been filling prescriptions at Walgreens for at least a decade. I started getting prescriptions filled there because of their drive-thru and 24-hour service. I don't have time to wait in line and pharmacies that are only open for certain hours of the day can be inconvenient. You might want to check out Walgreens Prescription Savings Club.
Right now, Walgreens is offering a special discount on their annual membership for the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. A family membership covers everyone in your immediate family, including a spouse, dependents 22 and younger, and even pets! The family membership is only $35 a year - a fantastic price for receiving discount prices on your prescriptions, savings on more than 8,000 brand-name and all generic medication, discounts on flu shots, pet prescriptions, nebulizers and diabetic supplies, and bonuses when you purchase Walgreens brand products and photofinishing services. Individual membership is only $20 a year and includes the same benefits.
Do some quick math and figure out how much you spend annually on prescriptions - you might find that paying $35 now is going to save you A LOT over the course of the year and get you some bonuses as well!
You can support Walgreens and stay updated by liking Walgreens on Facebook and following Walgreens on Twitter.

Dermagist Complete Rejuvenation System {Giveaway- $236 Value!}

2012-02-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

I noticed a big change in my skin when I moved from my twenties to my thirties. I remember thinking at age 26 that my skin was invincible. Now at 32, I can see small wrinkles forming on my forehead and that isn't the greatest thing to see in the mirror. My little sister is in her mid-20s. For her birthday a few months back I got her a gift card to Sephora. She was telling me a few weeks later how offended she was when one of the Sephora employees recommended anti-aging products to her. She said, "I'm only in my twenties!" I laughed (on the inside) and told her it was never too early to start caring for her skin.

Back in December Dermagist contacted me to see if I would be interested in doing a product review and giveaway. I hesitated for awhile because I wasn't sure it was a good fit for Mom On Timeout. I eventually decided to give it a try because I believe beautiful skin is a common goal for all of us.

I have been using their products for almost a month now and am so pleased with the results. I was sent the Complete Rejuvenation System shown here on the right. It's a three step treatment system that is incredibly easy to follow. The products did not irritate my super sensitive skin and that was a big relief for me. My skin is so sensitive that if I apply moisturizer or sunscreen within an hour of washing my face, I feel intense burning. I've tried lots of different moisturizers and 9 out of 10 irritate my skin. These products didn't and that made a huge difference to me. All of their products are 100% paraben free. You can check out the list of ingredients in each product here.

Read more>>

Valentine's Day Critters {Craft}

2012-02-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

Do you remember those pom poms I showed you how to make back in December? Well I'm bringing them back to make these absolutely adorable Valentine's Day Critters. Three pom poms, some googly eyes, pipe cleaner, and another pom pom for the nose is all it takes to make these little critters!

You're going to need three yarn pom poms for each critter. I made two-finger pom poms and trimmed to size. You can make these any size you want.

Brush the pom poms to get them more fuzzy.

Glue on the googly eyes and a small pom pom for the nose.

Cut two small pieces of pipe cleaner to connect the pom poms.

$25 Sam's Club Giveaway & February Gift Card Offer

2012-02-06T12:16:00.000-08:00

We've been Sam's Club members for YEARS. I can't tell you how many items we have bought from there and just love. My living room sofa set was purchased there and just a few months ago we bought our "fireplace" and my new craft storage unit. It's not just the big ticket items that we buy from Sam's Club. We buy groceries, clothing (they have a fantastic selection of kids clothes and unbelieveble prices!), holiday items, tires - you name it!

Discover an Easy Way to Save on Baby Essentials at Sam’s Club®!

During the month of February, Sam's Club is having a special promotion where you can get a $10 Sam's Club Gift Card when you buy any two of the following baby items at Sam's Club:

Pampers® Swaddlers® or Pampers Cruisers® Diapers
Pampers SoftCare™ Scented Baby Wipes
Similac® Advance® Powder or Similac Sensitive® Powder
Dreft® Liquid Laundry Detergent

New Glade® Expressions™ Review & Coupon

2012-02-06T12:00:00.001-08:00

This post brought to you by Triad Retail Media. All opinions are 100% mine.

Glade® sent me one new Glade® Expressions™ fragrance mist in Cotton & Italian Mandarin and one new Glade® Expressions™ oil diffuser in the Pineapple & Mangosteen scent. I was so excited when I received the new Glade® Expressions™ fragrance in the mail. I have to admit, I am a bit of a home fragrance junkie. I have air fresheners in almost every room in my house and several times a week, I walk through the house spraying away. I feel that a home that smells good is more inviting and lifts spirits. I keep about a half a dozen different fragrances on hand to suit my various moods and to get me in a better mood :)

I first tried the Glade® Expressions™ fragrance mist and truly enjoyed the refreshing blend of cotton, citrus, sandalwood and honeydew. Most definitely a captivating fragrance that would be welcome in any home! Makes me want to book a trip to Italy :) The new Glade® Expressions™ fragrance mist are refillable with any Glade® Expressions™ scent.

As much as I enjoyed the Cotton & Italian Mandarin fragrance it was the Pineapple & Mangosteen new Glade® Expressions™ oil diffuser that took my breath away. My favorite type of fragrances are citrus and fruit based and this one exceeded my expectations. The downright exhilarating fragrance has hints of tangy magnosteen, ripe coconut, and blossoming passion flower mixed in with the sweet fragrance of juicy pineapple. The new Glade® Expressions™ oil diffuser last for 30 days and doesn't require any electricity.

I was very impressed with how long-lasting the fragrances were - this is particularly impressive considering my household has two little boys in it! I love that the designs fit in with my home decor and can be left in plain view. My husband noticed the fragrance several hours after I set up the new Glade® Expressions™ oil diffuser. He finally asked me, "Where is that smell coming from?" hehe! If you don't know what to look for the design just blends right in!

But wait, before you go jump in your car to go buy these lovely new fragrances, print out a coupon for $1.50 off new Glade® Expressions™ fragrance mist starter kit that can be used at Walmart to take advantage of their everyday low prices! You have nothing to lose because Glade® is offering a fragrance satisfaction 30 day money back guarantee. If you are not happy with the fragrance simply fill out the form here.

Available fragrances include:

Pinapple & Mangosteen * Cotton & Italian Mandarin * Fuji Apple & Cardamom Spice * Lavendar & Juniper Berry

Which fragrance do you think you would enjoy most??

My Weekend View: Two Accidents & Pictures

2012-02-06T08:01:00.000-08:00

So our weekend started off with a bang on Friday. I always have to wake Bryce up from his nap to go pick up Reece from kindergarten. I usually put him in the double stroller for the walk so he can just lay back and wake up slowly on the way. We picked up Reece and he was all excited because they were going to be showing Cars 2 at his school that evening and we had made plans to go. Unfortunately he had two major accidents that prevented it. This is what happened...

First Incident:
We got home and Reece wanted to push the stroller up the driveway. He usually does this and I didn't think twice about letting him. I went to punch in the code to open the garage and heard a yelp. Turned around and saw Reece flat on the ground with the double stroller and Bryce on top of him. Not good. He had a HUGE bump on the back of his head from the concrete and a stroller imprint, a scrape, and another bump on his forehead. It took awhile for me to get him to calm down from that and he looked awful!

Read more>>

Giveaway Week Announcement

2012-02-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I wanted to take a quick minute to tell each and every one of you how much I appreciate your support of Mom On Timeout. I have been enjoying every second of the last six months (well, almost every second!) and can't believe the amazing support that I have been shown. It has been a true pleasure!

Last week I was sitting down to make a list of my upcoming blog posts and I realized that I had a number of giveaways that needed to be taken care of. Sooooo....I decided to change things up a bit and do a week of giveaways! (I will still be posting my regular crafts and recipes so if you're not into giveaways - no worries!) There is going to be something for everyone this week from kids to adults and I sure hope that you'll enter to win. I love entering giveaways and I especially love winning them which is why I try to offer as many as I can to my readers. I am going to do one a day until I run out of giveaways so you'll just have to wait and see how long this goes on:)

Valentine's Day Bracelets {Craft}

2012-02-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

Well now that we all have our fabulous Valentine's Day Bling Rings on I was thinking we needed a few more accessories. Enter Valentine's Day Bracelets!

We have a few play dates coming up before Valentine's Day and most of the kiddos involved are girls. I want to have a fun, simple craft, that everyone can enjoy. These take just minutes to put together and are cuter than cute! The sky is the limit here and the more embellishments you have available, the more fun they'll have. (If you are working with a younger crowd, have them lay out how they want the bracelet to look and have an adult use the hot glue when necessary.)

Material:
Foam (pink, red, white)
Scissors (use decorative if you have them)
Ribbon (Got mine at the dollar store!)
Hot Glue
Embellishments (glitter glue, beads, candy, stickers, etc.)

Instructions:

Cut a strip of foam that will fit loosely around the wrist. I used decorative edge scissors to give my bracelets some extra pizzazz but they are not required.

Cut a length of ribbon that is three times the length of the foam strip (roughly) and glue to the foam.

Teaching Children Financial Responsibility with DoughMain.com

2012-02-01T18:00:00.001-08:00

This post brought to you by DoughMain.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

The topic of chores has been coming up recently in our household. Reece is 5 years old and Bryce is 3 and it has occurred to me that they are old enough to start shouldering some responsibilities. I don't expect them to be doing the dishes, laundry, and making meals but it would be nice to have them feel some level of responsibility for smaller tasks such as putting away toys, brushing their teeth and so on.

I recently discovered a site that is a great tool for teaching kids about financial responsibility: doughmain.com. Last night I quickly set up a FREE account (less than 5 minutes) and created a chore sheet for the two boys. I made the chores age-appropriate and was assisted by doughmain.com with their quick select feature. You can quickly add chores based off their list or create your own chores. You then select the frequency, time, and dates the chores are to be completed. Each chore is assigned a certain number of dough points that are determined by you. It's a pretty spiffy system if I do say so myself!

The kids are able to log in (obviously I will be helping with this!) and mark off chores as they complete them. (You can also print out the chore list.) Then a parent has to approve the completion of the chore before the dough points are awarded.

The Allowance Tool is a great feature that both parents and kids can use. Parents can select whether the allowance is awarded in dough points or dollars. After earning their dough points (or dollars), children are able to redeem them for a reward from the Privilege Catalog. Below is a look at some of the built-in privilege options. I can tell you right now that Reece will be all over the trips to the park and outings to the zoo! Parents get to assign the dough point value to each reward so it's completely customizable for your family.

DoughMain.com also offers three different sites that host games that help teach your children about financial responsibility. Choose the financial responsibility game that is age appropriate for your child:

TheFunVault.com teaches basic money lessons (ages 5 and up)
SandDollarCity.com is a multiplayer virtual world where children manage their family candy shop (ages 8-12)
IRuleMoney.com is a site that features 30-second videos of teens talking about a variety of financial subjects (13-17)

As if this wasn't enough, DoughMain.com also offers family organizer tools in the way of a family calendar. This shared calendar is completely customizable and can be color coded so even younger children can identify their schedule. It's easy to import calendars from sports teams, school, and more right into your DoughMain calendar. The family calendar helps keep your family organized by receiving reminders via email and managing your family's schedule using the mobile version of DoughMain.com on your smartphone.

Right now when you sign up at doughmain.com and use the reference code "dough" you will be entered for a chance to win a $500 Visa Gift Card. The winner will be displayed on http://www.doughmain.com/wordpress.

I'd love to know how you manage chores in your household. What age do you feel is an appropriate age to start assigning chores to your children?

Taking A Timeout Thursday {No. 15}

2012-02-01T15:58:00.000-08:00

Welcome to February!
Last week was the biggest party on record here at Mom On Timeout and so I want to say a quick Thank YOU! This is the day I look forward to all week because I am so inspired by your creativity.

Here are this week's features...

The Top Three:

Organized Craft Room by Donene at Easy Peasy Grandma

A wonderful transformation and an even more amazing story to go with it! You have to check this out!

Coffee Filter Valentine's Wreath by Mandi at Mandi Being Crafty

Isn't it amazing what a few coffee filters and a creative mind can create? Beautiful!

Fantastic & Flirty, No Pattern Required, Skirt by Jos at Sew, Cook, Laugh, & Live

Check out this amazing tutorial for this adorable skirt - NO PATTERN NEEDED!

and my personal favorite is...

Pecan Crusted, Bleu Cheese & Bacon Stuffed, Chicken Breasts {Recipe}

2012-01-31T08:08:00.000-08:00

I won't try to convince you this recipe is healthy but I can tell you it's delicious! The classic combination of bleu cheese and bacon stuffed inside a chicken breast is out of this world! Add a pecan crust and this chicken is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!

The presentation of this recipe is so elegant, it is the perfect dish to serve to guests and yet easy enough to make on a weeknight. This has been one of my family's favorite recipes for years and if you like bleu cheese and bacon you are definitely going to want to give this one a try!

Ingredients:
4 slices of bacon
1/2 c bleu cheese
1 1/2c crushed cornflakes
2/3 c finely chopped pecans
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 c honey
2 Tbls Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp each of garlic powder, paprika, Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp each of chili powder, cayenne

Directions:

Chop the pecans finely. You want to be able to recognize what they are but make them small enough so they act as a crust.

My Weekend View: Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary

2012-01-29T16:24:00.000-08:00

Hey there everyone! Hope you had a weekend that was both relaxing and fun :) We were lying around the house on Saturday morning when it dawned on me that we had a Living Social deal for the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary that we had purchased back in July that was just waiting to be used. We loaded the kids in the car and took off!

We had never been to this zoo before and it is really something special. They layout is such that you can get really close the animals - it's almost like a park for animals. Bryce was super excited to see chickens right off the bat and then as we walked in further he spotted what he called "special chickens". You can see them below:

I can't remember laughing so hard! I was chuckling every few minutes for the following couple hours just thinking about Bryce's special chickens. Oh my, that kid cracks me up!

Bring On The Bling Valentine Ring {Craft Tutorial}

2012-01-26T13:15:00.000-08:00

I just had to share this adorable little craft project with you! We just got our February issue of Disney Family Fun (LOVE this magazine!), saw these cuties and knew my kids would get a kick out of them. I love a project you can pull together in seconds :) All you need is Hershey's Kisses and pipe cleaners. We used some metallic pipe cleaners too because let's face it, platinum is better! The red kisses are rubies, the pink are pink sapphires and then we've got the silver kisses that are clearly diamonds! Reece told me that he felt like "royalty". Where he picked up that word I'm not sure but I'm glad he is feeling so majestic ;)

Lay out two pipe cleaners perpendicular to each other. Twist them around each other in the center creating an "X".

Place the Hershey's kiss on the center of the "X".

Pull up the pipe cleaners to the tip of the Hershey's Kiss. Twist the pipe cleaners tightly at the top. (You can see that I left the paper in this kiss - we removed it on the other ones because it detracted from the bling effect.)

Taking A Timeout Thursday {No. 14}

2012-01-25T16:46:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching. Love is in the air and was evidenced by all the great Valentines related projects linked up last week! I can also see that organziation is high on our list of priorities right now - mine too! We had so many amazing projects linked up and I can't wait to see what you've all been up to this past week :)

Let's get to this week's features...

The Top Three:

Fridge Organization & Printable by Ginny at Organizing Homelife

Wish my fridge looked like this! Great idea using bins to organize!

Valentine's Day Decor by Kristin at Homespun With Love

Really gorgeous Valentine's Decor by Kristin. You're going to want to check out her Valentine's Day Dessert Table too. Trust me.

Custom Kitchen Cabinets by Living In The Woods

I so need these in my kitchen!

and my personal favorite is...

Love Bug Valentines {Craft}

2012-01-25T07:15:00.000-08:00

I am so excited about celebrating Valentine's Day this year! Reece is in kindergarten and will be able to pass out Valentines to all of his friends. We wanted to make our Valentines a little extra special and this is what we came up with. These are super easy to make and add a little something extra to store-bought Valentines. I love that each of these Love Bug Valentines turns out differently!

Materials:
Foam
Pom poms
fuzzy sticks
hot glue
googly eyes
Valentines candies

Instructions:

Cut out a heart shape from the foam. This will be the body of the bug. Glue on pom poms with hot glue. Make a design or keep it simple - it's up to you!

Cut two fuzzy sticks in half so you have four pieces.
Glue on three fuzzy sticks to the other side of the foam.

Read more>>

I Love Avocados! #iloveavocados

2012-01-23T18:00:00.001-08:00

This post brought to you by Avocados from Mexico. All opinions are 100% mine.

I LOVE Avocados! It's true - I do! I've always loved them. We always have Avocados from Mexico on hand in our home. I use them in variety of ways. Guacamole is of course a family favorite but we also love to eat avocados in our salads, in omelet’s, on top of burgers and in sandwiches.

I love to use avocados as a replacement for mayonnaise in sandwiches. Just mush the avocado up real good – just like you would for guacamole. Use it as your sandwich spread and you’ve just replaced your mayo with nutritious avocado. (My husband likes to add in a teaspoon or so of mayo to the mixture but I like it plain.) My children love avocados and will eat slices of them for a snack. They are so creamy and delicious – we use them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

I love avocados on Facebook too! On Facebook, you can share your love of avocados by downloading a ringtone, sending a virtual gift of avocados, downloading wallpaper & screensavers, or adding an I love Avocados badge to your blog. I sent my friend some fresh guacamole! Just select which gift you want to send and then select your recipient.

Insert a personal message and you're done!

I also downloaded this badge for my blog:

I remember my Mom used to lament the fact that avocados had fat in them. Now, of course, we know that avocados contain good fat and are so healthy and nutritious for you.

Here is some information about avocados:

Avocados are fruits.
Avocados have nearly 20 essential nutrients.
A Hass avocado’s skin darkens and the fruit softens as it ripens.
Avocados are ripe when it yields to gentle pressure.
Have a ripe avocado but aren’t ready to use it? Put the avocado in the fridge and it won’t ripen further for a few days.
To remove the pit of the avocado, cut the avocado in half lengthwise. Twist the halves to separate. Poke the pit with a knife and then twist the knife to remove the pit.
Avocados oxidize the same way apples do. To prevent browning, you need to protect the avocado from air by either covering it tightly with plastic wrap or by covering the exposed part of the avocado with lime or lemon juice (olive oil also works).

You can connect with Avocados from Mexico on Twitter by following @guacgrl or by using the hashtag #iloveavocados.

I know there are so many uses for avocados - I've even heard of avocado smoothies! I'd love to know how you enjoy avocados in your home.

Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookies {Recipe}

2012-01-22T14:25:00.000-08:00

There's nothing quite like the tantalizing aroma of cookies baking in the oven. I find that the entire process of making cookies, from taking out the ingredients to pulling them out of the oven, is just so satisfying. I really enjoy having my kids help me in the kitchen - well, most of the time! For this particular batch of cookies, I had to walk out of the kitchen to go check on Reece and came back to find an extra teaspoon or so of something white scattered on top of the cookie dough.

My little helper, Bryce, loves to add ingredients into the mixing bowl - even when I'm not there! Crossing my fingers and hoping it was sugar or even flour, I tasted it only to find out that it was a little extra baking soda.

Aaaagghhhh!

I removed as much as I could, sacrificing a small portion of this tasty cookie dough, because nothing is worse than a cookie that tastes like baking soda!

This recipe is sure to make your home smell wonderful and make your taste buds happy. Much like a classic oatmeal raisin cookie recipe, the addition of ground cloves adds a satisfying spice that makes you sit up and take notice of this delicious cookie. Soft and chewy, these cookies are downright delectable. I sure hope you'll give this one a try.

Jewelmint - Designer Jewelry You Can Afford

2012-01-22T08:00:00.001-08:00

This post brought to you by Jewelmint. All opinions are 100% mine.

I am in love with this ring! If you love jewelry as much as I do you are going to want to check out Jewelmint. Jewelmint is a member-only jewelry club (it's free to join!). Jewelmint makes it easy to indulge in designer jewelry without breaking your budget. Jewelmint works by determining your style profile by having you answer ten questions. Pieces are recommended to you that match your fashion personality profile and style. Each piece of jewelry is only $29.99 and includes free shipping! This beautiful and exclusive jewelry collection is designed by actress and fashion icon, Kate Bosworth, and her celebrity stylist, Cher Coulter.

Jewelmint offers beautifully crafted jewelry and and provides people like you and me with the experience of having our very own stylist. Membership includes:

Exclusive jewelry designed by Kate Bosworth and stylist extraordinaire Cher Coulter
Special selections matched to your unique style each month
Style secrets, insider tips and trend reports to keep you up to date on what's hot in fashion

New jewelry is added each month so there's always something new to look at! Jewelmint is offering my readers 50% off one item when they make their first purchase by January 31, 2012. Just use promo code JLSS50 when you check out. That's only $15 for a piece of designer jewelry!

I sure hope that you will check out Jewelmint and I am sure you will find something that you love! I'd love to hear what you think of their beautiful, handmade, designer jewelry!