I love my spices

I love spices! I put spices in every meal I cook. My favorite spice to use is garlic. It's good for your immune system and other things.

One thing I would love to have is a spice rack. I'm always misplacing my spices in my cupboard, or they fall off of my crowded shelves. I think spice racks can look beautiful a kitchen wall, or on a counter.

This is a beautiful wall spice rack that would look great on my wall-hint, hint.

If you rather have a counter spice rack, then how about this beauty?

So, if you love spices, then you should invest in a rack for them. You won't be sorry!

Is Photography Your Passion?

Being a photographer, I love to find helpful books or products photography related. A great source for learning how to take great photos is DPS. They are always adding new ebooks on lighting, camera equipment, etc.

When I found out that they published another awesome ebook, I was quick to find out about it!

Natural Light- Mastering a Photographer's Greatest Tool

As the title says - this eBook is all about learning to observe and harness natural light to take beautiful images. I was just thinking about natural light the other day and how photographers should use it more. Images just look more beautiful and natural.

I understand that sometimes it's impossible to use natural light, but when you can, wouldn't it be great to know just HOW to take advantage of it?


What's in the book:

-Learn to understand the essential qualities of natural light
-Master the technical components you’ll need to work with natural light, including exposure, metering, and the histogram
-Learn expert methods to control natural light to suit your creative needs
-Grasp the potential of harsh light, diffused light, fog, twilight, and other settings
-Learn to sculpt light, create light interplay, reveal silhouettes, and more
-Practice professional post-processing techniques to enhance natural light
-Harness the countless creative possibilities that natural light affords

Lots of detailed photos and great advice for photographers wanting to bring natural lighting into their world.



Because it’s packed with real-world advice, Mitchell has built a successful photography career by learning to harness natural light in any situation. His hard-won advice will save you years of trial and error, and help you get more from your photography, starting today.

Natural Light- Mastering a Photographer's Greatest Tool covers all aspects of photography using natural light. It gives you the skills you need to conduct your own experiments with natural light—to breathtaking effect. Mitchell’s hands-on advice leads you from the essentials to more advanced aspects of natural-light photography. His field guide to natural light is supported by detailed case studies, tips and tricks, and clear illustrations to help you build up your skills super-fast.

Here is the great part...

You don’t need an expensive camera, high-end equipment, or stunning subjects to get real value from this ebook. Mitchell targets his advice to the photographer who wants to use natural light to maximum effect in every image they make

Wait. There's more!

It's 25% off - normally $19.99 we're launching this for 14.99!!
(for a limited time - 2 weeks)
If you were wanting to learn how to use natural light, now is a great time to purchase this!

Click here to view more details

Looking good

My favorite skincare brand are neutrogena products . Neutrogena has been manufacturing and selling skin care products for many years and is known world wide and has gained quite a following in recent years. I believe that Neutrogena products are affordable and easy to find compared to other skincare brands that are only found in certain stores.

Two products that I love are theNeutrogena Healthy Skin Enhancer Tinted Moisturizer, and the microdermabrasion home kit.

I love the soothing feeling and how great it looks on the skin. It goes on nicely and comes off easily at night and leaves the skin feeling soft and smooth. I especially liked that the The scent is very pleasant too. This one is definitely a winner!

You must use the Neutrogena home kit 5 times to get the same results as you would expect from 2 professional microdermabrasion treatments. This is still cheaper than getting a professional microdermabrasion treatment.
This could take more time than you are willing to give, but the end results are worth it. A professional treatment takes about 3 weeks, so you would have to wait as well.

According to Neutrogena, after a series of control tests by dermatologists, they had some quite remarkable results. Participants started to show improvements in their skin after only one use of the Neutrogena home microdermabrasion kit!

1 Day: Participants showed visibly brighter and smoother skin.
1 Week: After between 5-6 uses of the Neutrogena microdermabrasion system skin was said to be significantly brighter and smoother with an overall improved radiance of the face.
1 Month: After approximately a dozen applications of the Neutrogena home kit results in many cases were comparable to those expected with professional microdermabrasion machines. Fine lines, wrinkles, acne scars and sun damage had all decreased.

Of all participants in the Neutrogena microdermabrasion home kits trials:
100% claimed their skin was smoother.
97% said that fine lines and sun damage had been removed through microdermabrasion.
75% thought that their skin had an overall improved texture and complexion.

Neutrogena microdermabrasion risks:
Part of the appeal of the Neutrogena Microdermabrasion System is that in the majority of cases the Neutrogena home kit is entirely safe with minimal risks. Some microdermabrasion processes do not work well on dark skin; however, the Neutrogena home kit is said to be safe and effective for improving dark skin colours.

Do not use the Neutrogena microdermabrasion home kit if you have:
Inflamed Acne
Rosacea
Broken skin

Hope this helps you to decide if you want to give Neutrogena a try!

Saving for college the easy way

Just recently, we were discussing how my middle child will have it rough trying to go to college. I never had the chance to save for college. It's just so hard to be disciplined to save. When I found out about a program that helps you save without any hassles, I was excited!

Mission Tuition offers a free educational savings program for parents, relatives, and even students. By using the website to shop with major retailers, you can earn valuable money toward cash rebates (as well as earning discounts at the same time)!

How it works

When you sign up, an educational savings account is opened for you. When you shop on-line at Mission Tuition and the advertised rebate from each of our retailers goes directly into this savings account. You can use any of your existing debit or credit cards to make purchases. If your favorite card earns miles or points, you receive them in addition to Mission Tuition's cash rebates to double your benefits with every purchase.

It's free to join Mission Tuition, so bloggers are welcome to sign up, too!

The voyage of Young Doctor Dolittle

The Voyages of Young Doctor Dolittle
Coming to DVD on November 1, 2011
Based on the classic 1920's children's book series and starring the voices of Jane Seymour, Jason Alexander, Tim Curry and Tom Kenny.

This movie is rated G and has a running time of 80 minutes.

We liked the lively of the characters and kept the little ones in the daycare interested. My daughter liked this one as well. Definately one to watch for the whole family!


Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of the DVD for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.

Anyone there?

One thing that always bothers me is missing clients calls. Since I don't have any employees, when the phone rings and I'm with another client in the middle of a shoot and my phone rings, I have to let it ring.

I always wished that I had some kind of telephone system that could handle my call, or put them on hold for a minute while I finish up. Well, I found such a service that would be perfect for a small (or big) business. RingCentral has an awesome system that handles calls for you!

Here how it works:

-You get free unlimited calling.
-You can use your phones, or one of theirs.
-RingCentral answers all calls and faxes for you with an auto-receptionist.
-Your clients can select an extension with your customized hours, greetings and call forwarding to another phone.
-Clients can be put on hold until you are available.

How cool is that?!

With all the photographers out there these days, when I miss a call, a lot of times, I lose the client. I can't afford that!

If you work at home with children, you may just need an extra minute to get to the phone, or if you are closed for the day and want to stay on those business hours, the auto message detailing your working hours would be so convenient.

I really think this is a must-have for any entrepreneur-and I'm sure you could write it off as a business expense as well!

Zhu Zhu Summer Ice Cream Fun

Zhu Zhu Pets have thought of another cute theme- Ice Cream! What a perfect time of the year to do it.

Doesn't the sound of the ice cream truck slowly winding down the street take you back to your childhood days?

It does for me. Now, your children can pretend it's ice cream time all day long with the new Zhu Zhu pets Ice Cream playset.

What are Zhu Zhus, you ask? I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. Zhu Zhu pets are the popular, cute hamsters that make adorable hamster sounds and run around your house.

They come in different colors and different playsets. I've written about them before here.

This theme is a new one and consists of a Zhu Zhu Pets Ice Cream Parlor, a Zhu Zhu Pets Ice Cream Truck, and new Zhu Zhu pets in pastel colors-my favorite is the pink one.

The kids had fun playing with this set. The ice cream truck can be driven by a Zhu Zhu pet, . The ice cream shop has a drive through with ice cream and plates.

This looks like it's geared towards girls with all the pretty colors, but the boys liked it just as much.

If you are looking for something for your kids to do, Zhu Zhu Pets Ice Cream Fun is a great summertime treat for your kids.

I was given a Zhu zhu Ice Cream play set and zhu zhu pets to review by MomSelect.

The First Communion

Emily will be coming to the age of her first communion. I think she is finally getting the concept of religion and everything that comes with it. Her little niece and nephew are going to be baptized soon, so she will get to see a baptismal for the first time. If they get baptized before her first communion, she will have some practice of seeing a church event. Hopefully, this will ease her feelings on what it will be like to stand up in front of everyone. She’s had lots of practice for when she won the Hallmark Card contest and was on tv!

One thing that she is excited about is the celebration afterwards. She knows that she will be getting gifts from family and friends. That means that we will be having to think about what to get her for a gift. Most girls communion gifts are pretty cross necklaces, or a bible.

When my oldest daughter had her first communion, we found some great gifts for her from a little religious store. I think I will look online for Emily.

She has been talking about wanting a cross necklace for sometime now, so I think that's what I'll be getting her. I wish she would let me get her ears pierced, because I would love to get her a matching pair of earrings.

I thought these looked pretty and add a bit of color.



Or, adding pearls would be cool!

She is excited for this day to come and I look forward to it as well!

The hot days of wearing socks

I don't know about you, but I have been having a hard time finding the right girls sandals for Emily. I admit, I've just been trying the cheap stores, but everyone seems to just want to sell the flip flops. Unfortunately, Emily H. A. T. E. S. this type of sandal. I've probably spent $50 on those darn shoes because if she thinks they are cute, she thinks she might suddenly like wearing them.

Nope.



So, the poor girl is stuck wearing tennis shoes all the time. This wouldn’t be a problem, but she’s been wanting to wear her good dresses lately, and well, she looks like a hillbilly-not that there is anything wrong with that. We thought we found some sandals the other day, but they ended up hurting the side of her toes after walking on them for a bit and we had to go back home and get other shoes.



I'm hoping to find an online site that takes you through the steps of getting the right shoe that gives the right fit.



Startriteshoes.com does just that. This site even has videos on how to properly fit your child's shoes and articles on caring for your children's feet and the different stages of walking and the proper shoes.



I think that Emily would like this style of sandals because it doesn't require her to have anything between her toes.

She takes after her mama in that department.



We have pictures coming up here shortly, so it will be nice to not have her look like a tennis-shoe-with-a-dress-wearing-hillbilly.


NOT that there's anything wrong with that... :)

Picking the right clothing for a shoot

We have been hard at work remodeling the new studio and hope to be done by this weekend. I have to shoot a newborn session this weekend, so I hope the client won't mind the semi-done studio.

I'm changing my prices and packages on my photography site as well, so I'm doing double cleaning duty on my photography business.

I think while I'm working on my website, I will add a children's clothing ideas area to help clients decide what to dress their child in for a session. Neutral wear is always classic if you plan on hanging the photos on their wall.

Here are some examples:

These are soft colors that work well together. Children's clothes should not over power a shoot and take away from a child's face.

I think it will be fun to put together different clothing sets that work for the entire family as well.

Stay tuned!

Summer is almost here

Are you starting to plan your summer vacation yet?

We are!

I have been wanting to go to St. Louis, Missouri for two years now. I'm hoping to make it a reality this summer. We want to visit the zoo, go on the arch, and check out some shopping!

Right now Twizzlers® Candy, the perfect on-the-go treat, is helping to sweeten family travel this summer with the Twizzlers Landmark Summer™ promotion. The promotion gives consumers the chance to win a trip to a well-known United States destination plus daily, road trip-themed prizes throughout the summer. Twizzlers is my favorite candy and has been since as long as I can remember. How cool would it be if I won a vacation from the bestest candy makers in the whole wide world??

Then, I might have to go to Disney World instead- I'm just saying...

"I'm entering a contest for a Twizzlers Landmark Summer promotion prize pack as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club."

Pampers Little Miracle Mission

In celebration of its 50th birthday, Pampers wants everyone to know that every baby is a miracle and they want to celebrate it. That's why they started Little Miracle Mission campaign – a program that delivers acts of kindness to families while encouraging parents to support others.

Pampers started their campaign by donating care packages to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) across the country!

Watch Pampers video here.

Pampers gave me a chance to do something good for another parent as well! I was given $50 to donate however I chose. I recently learned that a parent with two small children lost her job and home. I know that $50 can't fix everything, but I decided to give it to her to use for gas to look for a new job while she stays with a close friend until she gets back on her feet.



What you do with $50 to help a fellow parent?



Pampers wants to give one lucky reader a chance to pay it forward and help someone with their own $50 American Express Card.



I know this isn't like my normal giveaways, where you get to keep the prize, but it's the biggest prize of all-helping someone and feeling good about it!



Please help out and enter-it's fun, trust me!



Entry requirements:

Leave a comment and tell me what you would do if you won.



My readers can easily participate in the Miracles Missions programs, and support little miracles across the country, by logging on to Pampers Facebook page (Facebook.com/Pampers).



Pampers will issue different missions throughout the entire year to celebrate all aspects of parenthood, and with the help of parents, family and friends, they hope to touch the lives of every baby born in the next year.




Giveaway ends:

May 20th, 2011

Setting goals for your child-and you.

I'm always making lists.

Lists that contain goals.

Big ones.

Little ones.

I think it's a good idea to set daily goals for yourself, or even long term goals. It helps you to stay organized in your life. What about your children? Yes, they should set goals too. It's something that can help them to help deal with life when they are older and to help clear their mind and know what they want out of life.

When I had the opportunity to try Goalforit.com , I thought it would be a great tool to use! Goalforit.com is an online goal setting data site to help you document and keep track of your goals. For adults and children. One thing I wanted to try right away was the Chore Chart option.

With the Chore Chart, you can build a chart online, picking the header and what chores you want your child to do and even the rewards you want to give your child for doing their chores. I made one for Emily and she's been having fun doing chores (that's right-fun!) and seeing her allowance grow.

So, if you are looking to document your goals or chores and behavior charts for your children, you should give this service a try-it's free!

It's a Zhu Zhu party!

Have you heard of Zhu Zhu Pets? If you have children, then you probably have. Zhu Zhu Pets are Zhu Zhu pets are fuzzy, interactive hamsters that run around like real hamsters. They are about the size of regular hamsters and take two AA batteries.

It took awhile for my youngest to catch on to it. She just wasn't interested until a couple of months ago. A great timing too, because I was picked by MomSelect to host a Zhu Zhu babies party!
I could not believe what our party kit included. We got enough babies for everyone, a big Zhu Zhu pet, a nursery, and extra outfits. Plus, ideas for the party.

I decided to invite some daycare kids and some of Emily's friends from school. We started the party by letting everyone pick out a Zhu Zhu baby.

We already had the nursery set up, so everyone got to try it out. Oh, I also told moms that kids could bring their Zhu Zhu pets from home if they had one.

We passed out treats while they played for awhile. Then, we played hide-the-egg game. Whoever found the egg won one of the outfits for their baby. The kids loved it! Afterwards, they wanted to go back to playing with the nursery. I'm guessing that some moms probably got an idea for next birthday. :)
Would I recommend Zhu Zhu babies and accessories? Yes! I think they offer hours of play and when friends can bring their pets from home, there is a lot of interactive play without the fighting that sometimes comes along with sharing.

We are now looking into getting more accessories!

I was not paid for this post-I received Zhu Zhu items for party review.

Can I get some cheap seats?

Tis the season to go to ball games and concerts. But, with the high rising costs of gas and food, it can put a damper on enjoying some entertainment. I always wished someone would give me a good deal on some Yankee Stadium tickets, or Fenway Park tickets.

I found a great site called, ACheapSeat.com that offers you a good deal on tickets and if you are looking for tickets to an event, you can find it. So, whether you want Jersey Boys Tickets , Harlem Globetrotters Tickets, or even Taylor Swift Tickets ;you can get them here!

What a relief, since I need to find some cheap tickets for the hubby's birthday present-he loves Michael Buble and he's going to be in town for his birthday month-yeah!!

Renting college books

Do you have a child that will be starting college soon? Maybe they won't be starting for a couple of years. Either way, you still need to start thinking about how you can save money for college. Something that you might not of thought about is how you are going to pay for books. Books can be a costly expense that may or may not be covered in grants, or just something that you are struggling to think of a way to pay for. Not to mention the fact that after the class is over, you may not even need them anymore. Then, you are stuck trying to sell them to get rid of them.

Did you know that you could rent textbooks? CampusBookRentals does just that! I really could have used rented books when I went to school. At least I know now, and my oldest is starting college soon and this is something we are going to look into to saving money.

At CampusBookRentals, you just order your books and wait for them to arrive-they even offer free shipping! How cool! They even buy books, so if you have any to get rid of, you can make some cash too.

If you are looking to save money, then I think you should give them a try!

Checking into nursing

With all the unemployment out there these days, I've been curious as to what the best career to go into would be.

One career that I've heard that nursing was on the rise. According to Yahoo, Recent projections from The U.S. Department of Labor show that nearly 600,000 new Registered Nursing jobs will be created by 2018. That's right...nearly 600,000 new jobs!

I've always thought if I was a nurse, it would be neat to wear hospital uniform scrubs. Call me kooky, but it would make me feel cool. When I found out that now you can have custom made scrubs, It really made me want to check into it. Old hospital uniform scrubs used to be blue or green, but custom scrubs are colorful and bright!

So, if you are in the nursing field already, you should check them out!

Get me some ink, Man

I just got a new printer for business and I finally went through my black ink. I've been looking for a replacement cartridge and oh my gosh, ink is expensive! I really wanted to find cheap ink.

I couldn't believe inkjet cartridges can be so frustrating to find also. My brand of printers ink had been discontinued already! So I need to find a compatible ink for the printer ink now. I'm also used to having just two cartridge, now I have six to change-ouch!!

Another option is to refill the ink cartridge. What do you do when you need an ink cartridge changed?

Getting rid of pet fur

I am one that is hard on vacuums. I don't know why, but they break down on me all the time. I'm buying new ones several times a year-yes, I've gone through that many. So, I think that I can say that I've become an expert on vacuums!

When I received a Momentum Cyclonic Upright Vacuum Cleaner, I was surprised at the size. It's big! It seems to be powerful and it's been standing up to my use. We have two dogs and one of them is a shedding machine, so I need to vacuum every day. So far, I haven't seen any wearing down of the vacuum. I would recommend this vacuum over the last one that was made for pet fur but didn't hold up to it.

The price is moderate at $127. I have bought cheaper ones and ones more expensive.

So, if you are looking for a new vacuum that can stand up to carpets that get a lot of use, I would recommend this one.

"I was given this vacuum for review through csnstores. com."

Start (or end) your day with RelaxZen

I've been going through alot of stress lately with my son going through the I'm-a-teen-now-so-I'm-ging-to-make-your-life-hell, among other stressful stuff.

When I was offered the chance to try RelaxZen Day and RelaxZen Night shots, I wondered if they could help me relax.

RelaxZen Day:

Stress affects the body and mind. RelaxZen Day works with your body to de-stress your mind, increase your focus and balance your mood. With natural herbs, vitamins and amino acids, there’s never been a better time to live a RelaxZen Life.

Benefits:

Reduce stress and fatigue

Increase focus and alertness

Balance mood

Enhance productivity

Ingredients:L-TheanineL-Theanine L-Threonine Vitamin B12 Vitamin B6GABA Passion Flower ExtractAcai Extract

RelaxZen Night:

A good night's sleep can help with everything from weight control to improving memory. RelaxZen Night's

Benefits:

Reduce stress and fatigue

Increase focus and alertness

Balance mood

Enhance productivity

Ingredients:L-TheanineL-Threonine Vitamin B12 Vitamin B6GABAG Chamomile Extract Pantothentic Acid

Each bottle contained 2.5 oz and tasted okay. The day shot helped me stay focused and non-drowsy.

The night shot had me going to sleep within 15 mins-wow!

So, if you are looking for a more focused day and restful night, try RelaxZen!

You can find them on Facebook.com/RelaxZenShots if you can't find them in the stores.

This is not a paid post. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. I received a free sample of RelaxZen to review courtesy Smile.ly!