Who doesn't love free stuff?

Have you ever heard of  Influenster, or BzzAgent?

 

 

 

I recently signed up after seeing a lot of hype about them on YouTube. For both programs you fill out some surveys and reviews and they, in turn, offer you free products to try out and review for them.

 

 

I have already received a BzzAgent campaign for Redbox Instant by Verizon and loved how it worked. Super simple and more affordable than Netflix. You can watch instantly by streaming at home, or you can rent from a redbox with credits you receive monthly. 

 

After filling out my review for Redbox BzzAgent decided I needed another campaign. I am now waiting on my TruMoo bzzkit. I get to review some chocolate milk! The kids are going to love this one.  I know they will be sending extra coupons for friends as well so you guys can get your hopes up for that if you want one. I will share with you guys all I can.

 

I have also been invited to Influenster and have filled out several reviews on their site. I am still waiting on my first Voxbox from them. I am sure it won't be long though I know they send out some good stuff too. 

Puppy Paws

We got a new addition to our family recently and

I have to tell ya she is the feistiest thing in our house!

 

She is a Pit bull puppy we had gotten from a friend. Her name is Chyna. The hardest thing I have ever had to do is housebreak a puppy. Still trying to perfect that! Our other dog is Joker and he stays outside so we didn't have to housebreak him. I didn't realize how much of a trouble maker Chyna  would be until she got settled in and more comfortable with this as her home.

 

 

 

We introduced her to Joker right away because he would have to approve since he is the top dog around here. 

 

 He approves!



 

There is quite a size difference between the 2 of them but we love them both big and small.

Chyna is quite the little playful pup. We have lots of toys for her. It is almost like having a little baby in the house again. Chew toys all over the floor to step on! And, just like a child playing with the box the best toy came in at Christmas, she chose to chew on the phone charger! I guess we have to be trained to pick up our stuff just as she needs to be trained to leave our stuff alone.

 

She has taken over my bed!

 

 

 This is her today!

 

She has grown so much in the 2 weeks we have had her. Chyna is also a very photogenic pup, which is good because she will be getting her picture taken a lot around here. I will post every now and then and update on her growth and any new adventures she is taking part in.

 

Stay Tuned!

Keep in mind: Precious minds worry too

     I want to first express my deepest sympathies to the families of loved ones lost during the Sandy Hook tragedy. I can only imagine the pain.

 

 

 

       When the Sandy Hook tragedy occurred our schools were sent into a whirlwind of fear and thoughts of recurrence. I was struck with thoughts of confusion as a mother of 3 children ages 15, 10, and 7.  I wasn't sure if I should tell the children and risk them being scared or just let it be one of those things you don't tell the kids until they are really old enough to understand. My children were in their final days before Christmas break when it happened so they didn't hear much from school. We do watch the news daily so they became aware as it was released. Being the awesome mom I am, I took the time to explain the situation to my young children with great hope they would not go into fear mode. My girls and I sat and watched a tribute video we had found identifying each victim individually.  I tried to answer all of their questions carefully. Overall, I think that went well. Nobody was scared and I felt they understood the gravity of the situation.

 

       The kids returned to school yesterday, back from Christmas break here in our sleepy little Tennessee town, to find their school has new procedures. They now have a lock down drill they were also calling a code red.  There was a lot of discussion of intruders and shooting. During this drill my 7 yr old was told to hide behind a bookshelf and the 10 yr old was also placed into a corner behind shelving and the adults were to stand in front of the children. I am not, by any means, putting down the schools procedure. 

 

        My oldest child, a 15 year old boy, also came home and said there was a discussion at his high school about it. His instructions were quite different from what the girls were told to do. Keep in mind the stories from a teenager can be changed from the original intention. He says, the students are instructed to charge towards the intruder and take him down. I am hoping there were more instructions to go along with that. Call me old school, but I would prefer them to just run and hide.

 

       At the end of the day, the girls were more scared of an event happening than they were when it first happened. It seems all the preparation at school and discussion was a lot for their little minds to handle. Our bedtime routine was a little more troubled than usual due to worries and wandering minds. I had to reassure my young kids that the adults in their lives, being parents, teachers, principals, police, and other loving adults, would do their best to ensure their safety while at school and for them not to worry. A few extra hugs and kisses later they were calm and ready to sleep.

 

      

Microwave technology for the future!

 

 

Happy New Year!

   

      Have you ever heated up holiday leftovers and got a big clump of cold mashed potatoes right in the middle of steaming hot gravy surrounded by dried out turkey? Yes, I know you have, me too! I hate that more than opening the microwave and checking the food every30 seconds. Thanks to Panasonic's new inverter technology that all is a thing of the past.



       I got the Panasonic Inverter Microwave Model NN-T945. I have been using the same small microwave for years and with a family of 5 reheating by the family size was impossible. I splurged and went with a 2.2 cu. ft unit at a cost of $159.00 from Wal-Mart. I said to myself  I said, "SELF, this thing better be good or it's going back to the store." And Self said," shut up and try it you dummy!"

       The first thing I tried was popcorn. Because who hasn't burned a bag of popcorn and filled your home with that horrible smell for a week? Of course, there was a popcorn button but just how accurate would it be? I ripped open my bag and threw it in the nuker. I found the popcorn button and set off on a wonderful journey to yummy buttery popcorn land. There were 3 settings for popcorn when you pushed the button multiple times it goes through options of 3.5oz, 3.0oz, and 1.5oz bags. I had the larger of the 3. It doesn't show any time on the display with this option of cooking, only power level. I stood nearby listening for the popping and the microwave stopped at just about the same time I would have opened it on my other microwave by judging the time between pops. So test one was complete! Perfectly popped popcorn in approximately 3 minutes. Yay!

       So next on my list to try was that huge bowl of mashed potatoes leftover from last nights dinner. There is a sensor reheat button just for this. Apparently is senses when the food is heated through and turns itself down to 50% power for the last 30 seconds and beeps to let you know it is almost done. Super awesome feature in my book! I used this feature and left the bowl covered so as not to splatter. When it finished heating I opened the bowl and dodged the steam from my terrific tubers.  Sensor reheat = success!

Finally I decided to try the basic omelet recipe from the owners manual with my own added ingredients. Using the Omelet setting, this too, was perfectly cooked. Just like any other microwaved eggs though, a little tough. I don't think that had anything to do with the microwave though.



        

        There are so many settings and option on this unit I haven't been able to try them all yet but I have plenty of time and determination to try them ALL. Overall, I give this product a 5/5 stars. I love it and feel it was well worth the cost.

Have a great day!