Bloggy Award

I haven't done a bloggy award for quite some time. It's not like I didn't get one, I just got away from them. I have to announce though, that Sara from 8 a Plenty gave me one. Sara has become a new bloggy friend and she has a great blog as well!

Thanks for the Lovely Blog Award-and thanks for making me not have to answer questions about myself!

Here's how it works:
Grab the award. Post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
Pay it forward to 15 other bloggers that you have newly discovered.
Contact those blog owners and let them know they’ve been chosen.

Here are 15 Lovely Blogs that you should visit:

http://babymakinmachine.com/

http://beforethebabywakes.blogspot.com/

http://www.bigteethandclouds.com/

http://boardingthemothership.blogspot.com/

http://boardingthemothership.blogspot.com/

http://ifevolutionworks.com/

http://www.imasleeperbaker.blogspot.com/

http://justjennifer.me/

http://livingsmartgirl.blogspot.com/

http://livingsmartgirl.blogspot.com/

Ok, that's just 10-does that count? Sorry!

Please go visit them-they are great!

Ecosmart-Organic Pesticide Review and Give-a-way

Ever since I did a review for EcoSmart, I've changed over to just using their products for bug removal. We have lots of bugs where I live. I swear that there must be something in the water, because the spiders are getting bigger and scary looking. We spend alot of time in our rec room which seems to be the place for bugs. I really hate bug sprays and I don't like spraying chemicals that are harmful to us. That's when EcoSmart steps in. Their organic bug repellent is perfect to use.

This time around, I've been dealing with mosquitos and they have been bad! When they contacted me to do another review, I wanted to try out their natural mosquito killer for mosquitos for sure.

As usual, it worked to help keep those nasty bugs off of us!

Ecosmart not only is made from organic plant oils, it leaves no residue. What more could you want from pest control at home?

Their products do not have the odors that other pesticides have and it kills and repels over 100 home invading pests: Ants (including Carpenter, Red Harvester, Pavement and Argentine), Beetles, Centipedes, Cockroaches, Crickets, Earwigs, Fleas, Millipedes, Pantry Pests, Pillbugs, Silverfish, Spiders, Sowbugs, Ticks and other crawling insect pests.

Now I think you should try this as well!

Do you have pests that YOU want to get rid of?
Would you like a chance to try this for free?

Of course you would!
Win it:
EcoSmart is giving away a bottle of Home Pest Control for one lucky reader to win!
Rules:
1. You must go visit EcoSmart and then come back and tell me what other organic product you would consider trying.
2. Leave a way to get a hold you in the comments section.
Extra entries (one comment per extra entry)
3. Twitter about it and then comment with twitter link.
.
5. Follow me on Facebook.

Two comment entries:
6. Blog about it and send me the link.

Contest ends:
October 20th.
Winner will be chosen by random and notified October 21st.
If winner does not reply to my email within 48 hours, a new winner will be picked.

Hex Bug Party-and a giveaway!

Yes, I'm still around!

My daughter has been dropping the kids off alot lately and they demand ALL of my free time. I finally told her that I needed a break to get my life back in order-one being my poor blog. Sorry about all the posts at once, but I need to catch up!

The first thing I wanted to let you know was about the great opportunity I had. We got to throw a HexBug party this week and the kids had a blast!

Hexbug Nanos are tiny robotic bugs. They creep around by a vibrating motion. They come in their own little tube with a paper with a code to use online. You can play games and learn about science which is AWESOME!

Habitat sets can also be purchased separately for them to play in but are not necessary. Hexbug Nanos can go on most surfaces but not carpet. You can also purchase a Habitat Set which include two Nano bugs to play on the set.

These critters are freaky but fun to play with and the kids can't get enough of their "creeping" around the tracks.

We were given plenty of Hex Bugs and tracks for everyone to have room to play with their own Hex Bug.

Orange tabs are on each Habitat Cell so they can be closed to keep the Nanos from escaping which comes in handy when 10 are walking around. You can connect them to tracks as well.

These Hexbug Nanos can flip themselves back over if they get turned over. They went through the tracks fairly easy and only a couple of times did the kids have to "help" them.

Special batteries can be purchased separately so they can be used for a long time. The Hexbugs still are going strong, so I think the batteries last awhile.

I have a couple of Hexbugs left over, so I decided to hold a giveaway!

Win It!

One person will win the two Hexbug Nanos shown above.

Mandatory Entries:

Leave a comment telling me what bug you would like to be if you could.

Extra Entries:

Follow me.

Follow Hexbug on Twitter, HEXBUG.

Follow me on Twitter

Tweet about this giveaway, leave a link to the tweet (can be done once daily).

Follow my blog.

Blog about this giveaway, leave a link to the post.

Leave a separate comment for each entry and include your email address in the comments.

Giveaway is open to residents of the USA. Giveaway ends 10/10/10 . Winner will be randomly drawn and will have 48 hrs. to respond to email notification or a new winner will be drawn.

I received products for review from Hexbug on behalf of MomSelect. The opinions within this post are of my own and I was not influenced in any way. Please do your own research before purchasing products. Your opinions and results may differ.

Murad winner

The winner of my Murad Skin Kit was Out of the Notebook and onto the Blog -sorry so late!

Giving into peer pressure already?

Before Emily started school, she protested against anything to do with Justin Bieber. I was surprised that she didn't like him, since every little girl seems to be totally in love with him. Emily, on the other hand, hated him and turned away in disgust every time he appeared on the Disney Channel.

I was like, Okay. Not a big deal.

Then, after the first week of kindergarten, she came home and announced that she liked Justin Bieber and wanted a tshirt with his face on it.

"What? Now you like Justin?" I questioned her.

"Yes," she answered flatly.

"Can I ask why you like him now after wanting to throw up every time you saw a poster or magazine with his face on it?" I asked with one brow raised.

"Because Carly and Kayla love him and have Justin Bieber shirts!" she exclaimed.


Great. I've convinced her that drinking and smoking is bad for you. I can only hope that when she hits high school, Carly and Kayla don't come to school with a Budweiser shirt on and a pack of Marlboro lights tucked in their sleeve.

Urban background look

Yesterday, I decided to see what kind of backgrounds our downtown area had for photo shoots. I really have stayed away from the urban look, but I was curious to see what I could find to offer a different look and feel to my photos.

Of course, Emily was willing to be my model. We drove around and finally found a cool strip that was also safe to walk around as well. It was full of color and texture and the perfect setting for our shoot!

I loved all the concrete steps around town.

This garage would be a perfect background for a senior shoot!

The city has done alot of updates to the downtown, making it very pretty.

Love this mural on the side of the building.

I love red brick buildings.

These poles really make an urban look.

We found this photographer's dream alley full of texture, color and greenery.

I have my first "guy" senior photo shoot (oddly, I've only done girl seniors) and I think I'll bring him down here-it should be fun!

Next, insuring the business

With all the remodeling and business changes in my life right now, I've been putting off going to talk to my insurance agent about getting local business insurance rate. With all that new equipment going in the house, I really want to make sure that it is going to be insured.

I've been thinking about checking into considering my car as a business car to get a break on business car insurance . There is really alot of things to think about to protect your business.

I am thinking about hiring help deliver finished products to clients and I did not know that sites like IIX can get you driving records within 24 hours. I heard that your car insurance could be lower if your employees that are permitted to drive your car have clean records. Something for me to think about.

Next, I'm looking for new camera equipment. I'm a Pentax user and am seriously leaning towards Canon-I DEFINITELY would need to insure that puppy!

A nice lady and an exciting book review!

Last night, I got an email from Inez, from CowPatty Surprise, a very nice lady who had won a signed copy of my book, Annonymous. She had been so kind to write a review just to be nice because that's just the type of person she is.

When I read it, I was floored. This was the BEST review I've ever read about my book. She describe the story so well and the way she left you hanging at the end, she had me wanting to buy my book. lol.

I cannot thank her enough for this thoughtful and awesome review! Oh, and I just had to post the picture she took for the review so I hope she doesn't mind.

And if this doesn't make you want to go over to her blog here and read it, then you better check yourself for a pulse!

Have you ever considered a tutor?

Now that school is in full force, teachers are getting to know the children in their classes and where their strength and weaknesses are. My children are bright, but they seem to have problems when it comes to math- I think it might be because they don't like it. Especially Algebra 2 and adding fractions. Heck, I still don't get Adding fractions!

Some big problems most children have are Graphing linear equations and figuring the formula for volume. My son started high school this year. I've been waiting for him to come to me for math help. Imagine NOT having to explain math to your child and letting a pro do it instead?

These days with the Internet full of solutions to everything, thank goodness that now you can get online tutoring help. TutorVista is such a site that you can find excellent tutors online. They have help for all subjects like Social Studies or 4th grade math. TutorVista offers unlimited monthly tutoring package for only $99.99 a month. Let's say your child needs help with 5th grade math. They can access their service as much as they want, whenever they need it. Tutoring is available 24X7. We provide free demo for first time user where they can try the service for free.

Try it out for free-this site provides a free demo for first time user where they can try the service for free.

You know you are having a bad day when...

A squirrel throws a nut at you while you are walking up the pathway to your daughter's school.

A thirty old woman tells you that technically, you could be old enough to be her mother. Whaat? I'm only barely in my forties.

Out of all the cars parked waiting for the kids to get out of school, your car is the only one that picked up that one nail left on the ground.

That same damn squirrel yells at you very loudly as you walk back under his tree.

You pick up your camera bag, not realizing that it wasn't zipped up and your cameras fall out onto the rocky ground below.

You don't realize that your sweats are inside out until AFTER you get to your daughter's school.

Those are the times that you wished you had just stayed in bed.

Finding great deals for the studio

One issue that I've come across while building my photo studio is the COST. Wow, I didn't realize just how much this is going to cost. Equipment, furniture, decorations, etc. I'm considering updating our computer equipment and purchasing a new printer for photo printing.

I would love to find some savings on these items if possible. I've been looking around and I was thinking about seeing what Dell or HP had to offer. I found this Dell promo page and they even have deals on cameras-yeah! I really would love to try a Canon. I just don't know which one to go with or if I want to invest in all new lens. Ouch.

I used to just buy HP products, but lately I haven't bought any HP electronics. I found this HP coupon code that has some interesting deals. I think that I'll probably get my printer through HP.

I just found a great deal on some seamless paper rolls for backgrounds and they are on their way-yeah! I think I'm on a roll on saving money on this project, thus making it happen faster. I'll be checking out http://www.savings.com for my other needs and then maybe I'll have the money to get the white loveseat I want so bad!

New studio

I have been busy with my photography business and as I mentioned in my other post, I'm excited that we are redoing the recroom to also serve as my studio since I don't have anywhere to shoot when the weather starts getting too cold to shoot outdoors.

I've been checking out the lighting situation and practising on the kids. Poor Avrie and Zach have been my latest victims.

I'll post the before and after shots of the new studio when it's done-I'm so excited!

The new way of framing your photos

I was given the opportunity to review a product from Fracture.com. I was anxious to try this out since being a photographer, I am always open to new ideas when it comes to photography products.

Fracture is the fastest, easiest, best way to get your pictures from your camera to your wall.

From Fracture explaining their product:

Fracture's introductory product lets you print your digital pictures right onto glass! There's no paper, film or anything involved. Simply ink and glass. We have effectively combined printing, framing, and mounting into one simple process. You upload your photo to FractureMe.com, we print it on glass, and send it on it's way with everything you need to mount and display. It's a one-stop, complete photo decor solution.

When I started my order, I found the website to be easy to use and my photo came quickly and safely to my doorstep. I am redoing my recroom to a studio, so I don't have this up yet-sorry!

It is light and thin. Mine was only a 8x10 but, I would love to see what a larger size would look like!

Their prices are very reasonable and I am definately recommending this to my clients.

Try this out for yourself and see what you think!

Check out Fracture online:
Website - http://www.fractureme.com/
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/fractureme
Blog - http://www.fractureme.com/blog/
Posterous - http://fracture.posterous.com/

I received a free Fracture frame for review. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

The 411 on MS

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic disease of the central nervous system. Maybe you know someone who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis? Finding a cure might be something that happens in the future, but right now, there is no cure.

What are Ms Symptoms ?
The symptoms are surprisingly mild. Tingling sensations, mild numbness, feeling weak or occasional urge to urinate. Your doctor may not even think to do a test for MS. Pretty scary to know that something that simple could mean that your central brain system could have been attacked by this horrible disease.

Did you know that there is a Multiple Sclerosis diet that one can follow to maintain a healthy life. It's pretty simple, just include vegetables, grains, fruits, low-fat diary foods and legumes, with minimal amounts of fish, lean meats and skinless poultry.

If you are curious about learning more about Multiple Sclerosis, you can visit allaboutms.com. This site has information on what to eat, pregnancy and MS, family life and a whole lot more informational articles on this disease.

Labor weekend

I think my Labor Day weekend was literally a labor weekend. Friday, I was told at the last minute that we were going to meet some of my husband's friends for a late dinner.

Hello? Wedding to shoot next day and I have a massive stress headache? Fortunately, my husband likes to ignore me and went ahead and let them know that we'd be there.

The next day, I dragged myself to the wedding and right away my day was going to be heck. The videographer (who turned out to be an awesome gal) and I were handed a photo list that we were told must be followed to the tee or they would hang us from our toes and stick porcupine needles up our noses. No pressure there-we only missed two on the list. She shouldn't be too mad.

Wait. Who is that knocking on my front door?

Just kidding.

This couple was sweet-even with the list.

I survived the wedding only to have to wake up mega early on Sunday to clean the house and prepare for the grandbaby's birthday party. I made fifty cupcakes, iced them in Spongebob colors, and blew up lots of balloons.

Please don't laugh at my terrible frosting job-the icing really sucked.

After the party, I was told by the hubby that we had to go to a cookout out of town.

Really? I'm not twenty anymore, buddy.

The cookout wasn't so bad. I didn't have to take pictures. I didn't have to blow up balloons. Not even one cupcake to frost. But, I did take credit for the fruit pizza we bought from the store.

Oh yeah.

That's right.

I did that.

Moving doesn't have to be hard

Ever since our family has grown by three, we have outgrown our house. We have been planning on finding a bigger house for the last year. There are many decisions to make when you decide to move.

First, you have to make is deciding what real estate company to go with. Choosing the right company doesn't have to be hard. Think about what you want out of your real estate agent and do your research and ask other people that recently moved for their opinion. Picking someone who is right for you is important since some Realtors have you sign contracts, binding you with them. Some bigger real estate companies that might be a good choice are Mel Foster and Ruhl & Ruhl.

Another decision to make is whether to hire movers or not. There are lots of moving companies out there. This could be overwhelming without help. The Internet can be a great help in finding good deals on moving. One such site is Billy's Money Saving Club. They can negotiate deals with moving companies and let you compare different moving companies prices and services. For example, if you are looking for Phoenix moving companies, you can find out the best deal you can get from local moving companies in Phoenix.

The best way to make moving easy is to make a checklist of important things you need to do. Go through your checklist so you don't forget anything. Keeping organized is the key step in making moving go smoothly. Soon, you will be all moved in and enjoying your new home!

How about a night at the theater?

It's getting around the time for holidays and that means time to visit the theater. It's always fun to get dressed up and take your spouse out for a fun night. Tickets to these events can get expensive, so finding a good deal online would be great.

We were looking into getting Radio City Christmas Spectacular Tickets and found a great deal through ACheapSeat.com. They get access to tickets specials before other ticket holders do. This would come in handy if we decide to go see a football game this year. I know that tickets to see the Steelers can be high.

I know a friend of mine wanted to find out about Boston Celtics Tickets . All he would need to do is check on this site to find out how much cheaper seats would be through them. The same if you needed Jersey Boys Tickets as well.

So easy and the best deals, how could you go wrong? Tickets would make a great present as well and if your relatives are as hard to buy for as mine, this would make their day!