Wordless Wednesday

WINNERS!!

Sorry for the delay! But it's winners time!

Since there was only one person entering on the Lemon Pepper Panko and autographed cookbook giveaway, Congratulations Vanessa! An e-mail will be going out to you in just a few!

Annnd for the Hershey's Moderation nation, random.org picked comment number 2!

Congrats to Cheryl F. The Lucky Ladybug! Email will be going out in just a few minutes!

You ladies have 48 hours to respond! Thanks for reading and entering!

All prizes will be shipped by myblogspark :)

It's The Most Wonderful Timeeee Of The Year! Holiday cards ahoy!

I have a confession. I have never once sent out photo cards for any occasion. I have always loved receiving them, and this year, I'm going to do it! We are taking a family photo and I am going to be sending out actual photo cards, instead of the plain ol' cards you can buy from the store. And I'm excited. We just need our first snow, because I can't have a family holiday picture without snow! And I think there is a better chance of snow coming before us actually getting a christmas tree set up. 

What woke up this need you ask? I discovered through Kate over at Some Dreams Come True that this year, Shutterfly is offering 50 free photo cards to bloggers! This is a great opportunity to see if I will be joining the ranks of the photo cards this year, as I have been impressed with everything I've ordered from them thus far.

The first step for me was to browse the internet and see what was out there! I could just make my own in photoshop, but I'm so busy I forget to sleep half the time. I've ordered from Shutterfly in the past, prints of photos, and a photo book, and the quality has always been superb! And their holiday cards do NOT disappoint! So many designs to choose from! I'm going to have a hard time deciding! I made some test cards on the site, since we don't have our actual photo yet, and I love the way they turned out!

Everyone loves wedding photos!

Or maybe cards with our dear dogger Riley!

 The possibilities are endless. I hope that we are able to take our photo soon, so that I can get to the task of choosing my design! Or designs... since I'm really indecisive sometimes!

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly http://bit.ly/sfly2010  

You can also make tons of fun gifts for friends and family to go with your cards, such as:
Calendars and Personalized Mugs.
Who doesn't love something a little more personal?

I received a promo code in exchange for creating this post, but all the opinions are my own.

Also, if you haven't entered yet, I have 2 giveaways going on right now that end this coming Saturday, and VERY low entires on them = higher odds of winning!

    Lemon Pepper Panko and Chef Chiarello Cookbook Giveaway!

Hershey's Moderation Nation Giveaway!

Progresso Lemon Pepper Panko and Chef Chiarello CookBook Review & Giveaway!

Another giveaway?! Really?!?!

The chef’s secret is out – panko is in! A longtime secret of Japanese cuisine, panko is now a pantry staple for creating perfect crispiness in any dish. This October, Lemon Pepper will join the ranks of Progresso’s line of panko bread crumbs, which includes Original and Italian flavors. 

Whether frying, baking or broiling, this culinary superstar adds a flavorful crunch to create simple, savory recipes. Made from the soft, tender centers of the bread, Progresso Lemon Pepper Panko combines the perfect crunch with effortless flavor to give any dish that extra punch. The large, flaky crumb has a coarser texture than traditional bread crumbs, delivering a lighter, crunchier coating or topping. I have been using panko in place of breadcrumbs in my recipes, and you can most definitely tell the difference, taste and appearance wise!

A chef known for creating delicious dishes with fresh, premium ingredients, Chef Michael Chiarello uses panko as his go-to bread crumb for a crunch that won’t quit. An Emmy-award winning TV chef and cookbook author, Chef Chiarello is the tastemaker behind Bottega Napa Valley Restaurant, NapaStyle and Chiarello Family Vineyards, and appears on The Cooking Channel and Top Chef Masters only on Bravo.

Chef Chiarello is helping cooks everywhere use Progresso’s panko to make flavorful, flawless recipes including Crispy Seafood Salad, Mama Chiarello's Stuffed Eggplant and Turkey Scallopini and Squash Ravioli with Cranberry Brown Butter.  His cookbook Bottega features some drool-worthy recipes that I cannot WAIT to make, such as Potato Gnocchi Ravioli with Egg Yolk and Sage Brown Butter and Roasted Branch of Brussels Sprouts with Fennel Spice. YUM! Don't those sound delicious?!

Visit the Progresso website for additional recipes, tips for cooking with panko, video and a coupon for $1 off any panko flavor.  

Be sure to check out the Progresso's Wine & Dine with Chef Michael Chiarello Sweepstakes. Now through December 31st, participants can enter for the chance to win a trip for two to Napa Valley to attend the Spring Bud Break Party, an annual dinner and wine tasting event taking place on May 7, 2011. In addition to two tickets to the party, the grand prize also includes roundtrip airfare and hotel accommodations. Visit www.progressobroth.com for the sweepstakes rules and entry form.  

The book is not only beautiful, but FULL of delicious gourmet recipes. The Lemon Pepper Panko is delicious, and a welcome addition to Progresso's line of panko! Who doesn't love nice crunchy food?!

The kind people at General Mills and MyBlogSpark provided me with a prize pack containing a package of lemon pepper panko, and an autographed copy of Chef Chiarello's cookbook Bottega to facilitate my review. 

Not only that, but they are also providing another prize pack to one of my lucky readers!

How To Enter:

(mandatory entry, +1) - Become a public follower of my blog (if you're already a follower, just state that in a comment as well)

(2 entries) - Tell me what kind of dish you would create with lemon pepper panko?

(2 entries) - Post my button on your blog, then come back and leave the link where it is posted!

That's 5 chances per person to win this amazing prize pack!

Contest will end on Sunday, November 21st, at 9 PM CST, and is open only to US residents!

Good luck!

DISCLOSURE: The information and giveaway were given to me from General Mills through MyBlogSpark. I was provided with a gift pack for my participation.

MyBlogSpark: Hershey's Moderation Nation Giveaway!

Who is ready for a giveaway?!?!?!

Between your busy schedule and responsibilities with work, friends and family – it may be challenging to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle, especially while on the go. However, what if you had free easy-to-follow advice and resources right at your finger tips?  

I was approached by My Blog Spark & Hershey's to review the site www.TheModerationNation.com , and was provided with a free prize pack including a Moderation Nation T-shirt, a Food Journal w/pen & a bag of Hershey Kisses. 

With Moderation Nation, a new national program created by the Hershey Center for Health & Nutrition, (HCHN) in collaboration with the American Dietetic Association, you can now have access to a variety of tools that will help you achieve moderation – and you don’t even need to give up your favorite foods! 

The Moderation Nation Web site (www.themoderationnation.com) provides a host of new tools for you and everyone you know, including:

• Recipes and Expert Tips. Here you’ll find advice from Cheryl Forberg, registered dietitian (RD) for NBC's The Biggest Loser, award-winning chef and New York Times best-selling cookbook author
• Additional recipes and tips from Regina Ragone, Food Director at Family Circle magazine; Keri Glassman, author of the O2 diet; and Liz Ward, author of Expect the Best Pregnancy.
• Moderation Menus. Seven-day meal plans – with snack ideas – that will help you plan out your week. Each menu is based on an individual lifestyle, such as Single, Adults with Kids and Adults with No Kids.
• Balance the Meal. This cool balancer tool allows you to input your main dish and its preparation method; in return, you’ll receive ideas for complementary side dishes that round out the meal smartly. Trouble making decisions anyone?? I know I have that problem!
• Useful Facts. Here you’ll find everything from a “portion distortion” guide - providing cues on what actual portion sizes should look like – to a grocery shopping fact sheet – to a guide on how to start and maintain a food journal.

Some of these recipes sound to DIE for! Such as Cheryl Forberg's Caponata (Roasted Eggplant Salad) and Keri Glassman's Banana Pops! Will definitely be trying a few of these recipes out!


My favorite thing on the website was definitely the Perfect Portion fact sheet, which give you portions, and a visual aid to help you maintain those, such as a deck of cards for 3 ounces of meat. Great tool to have around!


Would you like to win one of these prize packs?!
The lovely people at MyBlogSpark and Hershey's have offered an additional prize pack up for grabs to one of my readers! (Same prize pack I received!)


Here is how to enter:
(Mandatory - 1 Entry) - Become a follower of my blog (current followers count too! just leave me a comment saying you follow!)
(2 entries) - Go to The Moderation Nation website, look around, come back and tell me what your favorite feature is, or what you think you will benefit most from
(2 entries) - place my button on your blog, and come back and leave a link where I can find it!


Please leave separate comments for each thing completed. That gives everyone 5 chances to win!

* Disclaimer:  I was provided with a complimentary prize pack from Hershey/MyBlogSpark to use for my review, but my opinion is my own.  I received no monetary compensation for this review.  Hershey/MyBlogSpark is providing the  Prize Pack for the giveway *


Contest will end Sunday, November 21st at 8 PM CST, and is only open to US residents!


Good luck! <3

Life... or Something like it!

BUSY. Anyone feel me?! Life has been crazy between trying to maintain a social life, and working full time hours and going to school. It leaves me with ONLY Sunday off during the week.

The new job is going swimmingly. My orientation is officially over at the end of next week, so I'm pretty excited, as well as nervous to be working without direct supervision, but I know I can do it.

I'm planning to have a DVD release party for the Twilight Saga : Eclipse release on December 4th. I have been gathering supplies, and sent out my invitations yesterday. It should be a blast! I will definitely post pictures when it's all done! Red and black and feathers, OH MY! Definitely looking forward to that night!

I've already got the bulk of my christmas shopping done. All that is left is grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. And my work magically gave me Black Friday off! I have not been off on Black Friday in 6 years. I'm looking forward to all the leaks of the ads. I've been eyeballing me the Cricut Expression, and my fingers are crossed that there is a good deal on them that AM! 

I have to run now though! I leave you with a picture of Riley on Halloween! I know it's a bit late, but everyone likes cuteness right?!

He makes such a cute banana split!

Other Halloween photos:

My wolf pumpkin! I'm amazed it came out as decent as it did!

Me and the hubs with our pumpkins :)

Have a great day all! 

XOXO

Have I Mentioned....

Just how much I adore Swagbucks!?!

I joined back in May of this year, and have been stockpiling amazon.com giftcards since then. Originally I was going to save up for a Wii Fit package, but I changed my mind not long ago. Today it happened

I placed my order!

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens

Granted, it's not an expensive lens by any means, but it has had fantastic reviews from everyone I have spoken to. So I ordered it this morning!

Total Price: $99.85

Amazon.com gift cards earned through Swagbucks: $70.00

Leftover balance from old gift card won via blog giveaway : $1.06

Total cost for me: $28.79 

I could not be more excited! 

And Swagbucks has made it even easier to earn! They recently launched Swagbucks TV, where you can watch videos (and they're actually entertaining videos! Not lame advertisements) While you are watching videos, you may be randomly awarded with Swagbucks! My first day watching vids, I earned 15 Swagbucks within 15 minutes. And there are plenty of other ways to earn too!

 

If you havent' already signed up, why  not give it a try? I love getting deals, and with being able to earn all these gift cards, it makes it easier for me to save money :)

Click the link below to sign up if you are interested!

KT Tunstall - Tiger Suit

Do you remember the songs "Suddenly I See" and "Black Horse & The Cherry Tree" from 2004 and 2005? I used to love these songs! I find it hard to believe that it has been so long since they were released and played regulary on the radio! 

KT recently released a new album called "Tiger Suit" The first single off the album is called "Fade Like A Shadow" and it is ALREADY a top 20 radio hit.

I found this album different from her other music! The older songs were more pop/rock ish, whereas the release of Tiger Suit brings a new musical journey with it.

"Tiger Suit heralds the beginning of a new musical adventure for KT. Organic instrumentation is blended with dance-friendly Nature Techno” to encapsulate the album’s collision of raw, upfront rootsiness and sleek electronic textures, the results of which she has dubbed “

I was given the chance to review this album. I listened it in the car on the way to work at 6 AM, and I was blown away by it! It's very different from the older stuff, but in a good way. I found myself bobbing my head and drumming on my steering wheel all the way to work. It's definitely more funky. I especially liked the track "Glamour Puss", which had I been standing, I would have been full on dancing, instead of what I refer to as "car-dancing" Though in my case, I'm sure car dancing looks just as silly as my standing up dancing would have....

KT Tunstall is going on tour this fall from 10/31 - 12/01!

The album is available in stores now! 

This review is through the One 2 One Network, however all opinions are my own. I was sent this CD to facilitate my review, and will be entered into a drawing to win a gift card by participating. 

Update

I swear I am trying to get better about updating this more frequently! 

My new job has been going amazing. Everyone is really nice, and I am learning a ton of things that I would never have learned otherwise. I've been workin on the 7 am to 330 pm schedule. The week of October 18th, my shift switches to 4 AM to 12:30 PM. Eeeep! I'm going to be in bed by 6 pm those nights I'm sure!

School started this past Saturday for the dialysis technician classes. I was AMAZED by the variety of people registered. HUGE range of ages, nationalities, occupations etc. It's really exciting. All of them are nice too, which is good, since I hate doing things like taking classes when I don't know anyone. 

Yesterday was my birthday. The big 2-8. It was just a typical day for me! Up early for work, go home, take Riley to the dog park, watch whatever TV show is on that night, and pass out. It was nice getting birthday wishes from everyone though! I always feel like if I'm not around at any social events, people will forget about me. Haha. At the dog park, a dog ran full force into my knees, while they were both locked. Needless to say, my knee that was already bad, is about the size of a grapefruit today. Thank goodness I got my health insurance through work already, so I can go get it looked at if it doesn't fix itself over the next couple days. For those of you that are friends with me on Facebook, thank you for the birthday wishes :)

 This week is flying by! Friday night after work I have a continuing education class for my massage therapy license, Saturday night is bowling league, and Sunday I am having a small group of people over for a BBQ / get together since it's supposed to be beautiful, and my birthday decided to be on a Tuesday this year, which kills the going out aspect.

So that's what has been up with me! Sorry this post isn't more exciting. I plan to do a lot more picture posts in the nearby future!

How is everyone doing?!

Apples Apples EVERYWHERE!

Fall is rapidly descending upon us here in IL! Hoodie weather has arrived!

 
And fall means apples. LOTS of apples.

Me and my mother took my two nieces up to pick some apples at Homestead Orchard in Woodstock, IL yesterday, and they had a great time! Don and Barb are extremely kind and funny, and they had a delicious variety of jams and salsas in their shop! Homestead Orchard is a quiet place in the country to pick 20 varieties of apples, pie cherries, pears, and red raspberries. I'm looking forward to going back in late October to pick my personal faves : Braeburn apples!

We are making pie filling to freeze and turn into pies and cookies in the upcoming weeks, but even with doing that we have a ton of leftover apples!

This is the part where I'm asking for some help! What are your favorite apple recipes?! Aside from apple pie, and Kolacky cookies, we are fresh out of ideas!

I'm so ready for Fall!

(They had a lot of pumpkins too!)

Pillsbury Sweet Moments Winner!!

Thank you all for your entries! The winner has been chosen and e-mail is going out shortly!

Comment #14 was:

Following Pillsbury on twitter @bethwillis01

bethwillis01@gmail.com 

Congratulations Beth!You have 48 hours to respond, or else a new winner will be chosen! Thanks!

Update

I know this is a lot of updates in one day, but I'm trying to catch up.

I've been very sick with a MISERABLE cold and sinus infection all week, all peaking with a sinus headache last night so bad I was in tears. I'm feeling much better today! Or is that the Vicks humidifier with menthol in it talking? Haha.

I did not let being sick stop me from going to work though! My official first day was on Monday, September 13th! So far I am absolutely loving the job. The people are all very friendly, and I've been wanting to work in healthcare for a long time now, but couldn't buckle down enough to go back to school. I read an entire textbook on the job of a dialysis technician over this past week. It's the same book we will be studying in my class that starts on October 2nd.  And this job does tuition reimbursement, so I will at long last, be able to go to school to get my RN in the not too distant future.

Another perk of this new job is definitely the wearing of scrubs. I have never been required to wear a more comfortable outfit to work in my entire life!

Our fall bowling league also started a couple of weeks ago. It's a money league, which means that there are a lot of reaaaallly good bowlers. We came in 1st place for our summer league out of 8 teams, so far in this league we are 15th out of 22 teams. Not so good, but we're improving every time! This league is every other Saturday and is a couples league, two guys, two girls. It's also the Miller/Bud couples league, which means DISCOUNTED PITCHERS OF BEER. Be still my heart, for I love me some beer and bowling.

That's about all that has been going on with me! Hope you all are doing swell :)

XOXO

-V

Only A Few Hours Left!! My first giveaway!

Wow! I have very few entries! Only a few more hours folks! Check out the post below to enter for a chance to win an awesome prize pack!!

Pillsbury Sweet Moments & My First Giveaway! *CLOSED**

Pillsbury introduces two new ways to enjoy life´s little luxuries with Sweet Moments Bite-Size and Molten Lava Brownies! Pillsbury Sweet Moments, now available in the refrigerated baked goods section of your local grocery store, are perfect for indulging any time of the day. The Bite-Size Brownies, which are layered with either rich caramel or fudge and chocolaty coating, are just the right size to grab and go for a quick pick-me-up. They´re ready to eat, so are ready right when the craving strikes - no preparation necessary! And, at 60 calories per brownie, they´re just enough to satisfy your sweet tooth. 

 Thanks to MyBlogSpark, I was sent an AMAZING "Sweet Moments" prize pack including a VIP coupon for a free Sweet Moments Product, as well as a chocolate themed gift set. The gift set included a loofah, chocolate bath salts, mint chocolate foot scrub, milk chocolate body lotion, and cocoa chocolate shower gel. Not to mention the packaging was seriously adorable! The chocolate lotions and scrubs smelled amazing as well :)

With my VIP coupon I chose the Sweet Moments bite-size Brownies in Chocolate fudge.

I have quite a sweet tooth, but I never have time to bake or anything along those lines. These Sweet Moments bite size brownies were perfect! I could just grab one, pop it in my mouth, and enjoy! It didn't take any time away from my already busy schedule to boot! If you are a chocolate lover, these should be right up your alley! These were delicious, and I loved the ease of them. I could pay bills, do homework, cook dinner etc, and still be able to enjoy chocolaty goodness!

I am happy to tell you that thanks to the people at Pillsbury and MyBlogSpark, one of my readers is going to win the same prize pack I did! A VIP coupon for your choice of Sweet Moments product, as well as a chocolate spa kit.

MANDATORY ENTRY: Leave a comment here telling me what time of the day you could use a quick pick-me-up

EXTRA ENTRIES:

+1 - Follow my blog publicly via Google Friend Connect

+1 - Follow Pillsbury on Twitter (leave your username here please) 

+3 - Add my button to your blog (Leave a link to your blog please)

That's 6 total entries per person!

Contest is open to residents of the US. 

If you already do any of the above, you qualify. Please leave a separate comment for each of the extra entries you complete. However, you must first leave the required comment for the mandatory entry. Giveaway will end on September 16th at 11:59pm (CST).  The winner will be selected using random.org. Winner will be notified via email upon selection, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. If there is no response within the 48 hours, an alternate winner will be chosen using the same method.

Disclaimer: I am participating in a "spark" through MyBlogSpark on behalf of Pillsbury. I was sent the items above in order to help my honest review of the products. I was in no other way compensated for this review, and all opinions in this review are 100% my own. Winner's prize pack will be fulfilled by the sponsor.

A New Adventure

It's official!!!

I was offered a new job yesterday, and I'm starting work on September 13th! The job is at a dialysis clinic, and I will be working as a patient care technician. I'm sad to see the people of my current job go, however, this opportunity is better than anything else they have to offer me.

So that's why there are no updates. I've been doing interviews, phone calls, registering for classes, and finishing out my two weeks! I'm very excited. Tomorrow I'm going to take my drug screening test, change my last name at the local college, and then go shopping for some scrubs.

Those of you that know me in real life, know how much I ADORE pajama time. Scrubs are like pajamas, and it's acceptable to wear them to work, which makes me a happy little beast!

Be on the lookout for my first blog giveaway coming soon! As well as more updates now that I will be working steadier hours!

XOXO

-V

Tagged!

Crystal over at Soup Baby tagged me again! I have to answer her 8 questions, and then come up with 8 questions of my own and pass them on to 8 more people. So here goes!

drienne at All these things tagged me so here goes I have to answer her 8 questions and come up with 8 of my own. Then I have to tag 8 people.

Crystal's Questions:

1. What colors are your living room walls? They are currently a pinkish pale white
2. Hairy or smooth men? I'm indifferent! I used to think smooth men looked better, but my hubby is a little hairier, and I don't mind it at all!
3. What was the best gift you ever gave? Oohhh... thats a tough one! My mother had been talking about wanting a "mothers ring" the one with all the birthstones of her kids in it for 4 years. I finally caved and got her a super nice one, and she still refuses to take it off.
4. What is the farthest place you have traveled? Cancun, Mexico for our honeymoon
5. Day sleeper or night sleeper? I can sleep whenever! I love sleeping.
6. What is the most daring thing you have done? When I was 18 I randomly jumped a train to Ontario Canada to spend 2 weeks with a friend.
7. If you were told you had  to evacuate your house and only take 3 things - what would they be? EASY! My dog, and 2 cats.
8. Kraft or Velveeta? Velveeta! It's just so much creamier.

Now for my 8 questions:

1. How old were you when you had your first kiss?

2. What was your absolute favorite vacation?

3. If you could get a job doing anything at all, what would it be?

4. How many pets do you have, and what are their names?

5. Would you rather make a LOT of money doing a job your hate, or make miniscule amounts of money doing something that you love?

6. What is your favorite book, or author?

7. What is one goal you want to achieve this year? Have you achieved it already?

8. Team Edward or Team Jacob? Or Team " I don't like Twilight"?

Annnd I'm going to tag:

1. The Pursuit Of Happiness

2. In A Yellow House

3. Some Dreams Come True

4. The Life of NesJas

5. Tara's View Of The World

6. Welcome To Our World

7. Bitsy Baby Photography

8. Life At The Zoo

Life

WOW! I had a 3 day weekend, which is a rarity for me, and it was FULL of things to do!

Friday night I took my mom to see Eclipse, since she had been bugging me to go see it with her. It's funny the random things you notice the second time around watching a movie in the theater!

Saturday I woke up early to hit some garage sales with my mom. We didn't have too much luck, but I did score a few books for a STEAL. Saturday afternoon I went to my friends sons 13th birthday party, which wound up being a good time. Left there early to get to my bowling league by 6:45 PM. About halfway through the last game of the series, I get a frantic call from my husband. 

My poor pupper got SKUNKED! Not only that, but hubby had to leave for work 15 minutes after that call. I rushed through the remainder of the last game (we have safely secured our first place victory for the league!), to head home. My friends told me tomato juice was the best way to get rid of the stink, so I stopped and bought some on the way home. Once I got home, I called my bro over to help me bathe the dog in tomato juice, which BTW, is really fricking gross if you hate tomatoes. After we do that the dog seemed happier, so my bro left. This morning I finally get some advice from people who know better, and went and got some skunk odor removing stuff from the pet store, and we used that, and then gave him a good old fashioned bath a couple hours later.

I'm glad to report the dog no longer smells like burning rubber. He has a faint hint of the smell still, but not NEARLY as awful as it was before. He also got a snazzy new collar out of the deal, since his smelled terrible.

Another good remedy for getting rid of the smell after a pet has been skunked is hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. I purchased both of those things today to have on hand, JUST in case this happens again, which I sincerely hope it doesn't.

In better news, I had a second interview for a job I applied for a month or so ago. My friend that works at their sister site called me to tell me that the manager loved me, and that it's looking good, but I won't hear anything until she gets back from vacation. Please cross your fingers for me that I can land this job, because it's more of a career, which is what I'm looking for! I'm almost 30, it's time to find something I want to do for the rest of my life.

Hope all is going well with all of you! More updates to come later in the week, after I make Riley his new bed, since he decided to lay on it all covered in skunk. 

XOXO

Meet & Greet Monday

Today is a complete rarity for me. I have not had a Monday off of work since October 2009. And I'm off today. I am truly baffled by this! Definitely not complaining!

Through Swaptree I have received about 6 books now. 

I started reading Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin first, and I LOVED it! Have any of you read it?? Did you also feel a little dirty rooting for Rachel? Or am I alone there?

The day after I finished Something Borrowed, Something Blue, also by Emily Giffin, showed up. I read the ENTIRE book last night. I couldn't stop!

Aside from that life has been pretty boring! Not a whole lot going on! 

If this is your first visit - HI!! I'm usually not so boring, so feel free to poke around some of my past entries!

Neutrogena UltraSheer Liquid Daily Sunblock

Great Protection!

 

I recently had the pleasure of trying out Neutrogena UltraSheer Liquid Daily Sunblock. I burn really easily in the sun, but I hate how greasy and sticky most sunblock or lotion makes my skin feel. Neutrogena UltraSheer was great! It has an SPF of 70, which is a must if you are fair skinned like I am. I put it on an hour before a day long trip to the zoo, and was pleasantly surprised that it didn't make my clothing or anything else stick to me! It was very lightweight, and after applying it to my body, I decided it was comfortable enough to put on my face as well. 9 hours and one additional application later, I had a great trip to the zoo with my husband, without crawling into the car burnt to a crisp at the end of the day. I have definitely found my go to sunblock in Neutrogena UltraSheer Liquid Daily Sunblock.

Are you a book junkie?

How about a music or movie junkie? I know I am, and on the Swagbucks website I noticed a Special Offer link for a site called Swaptree.

How it works? Users sign up (it's completely free!) and then they add items to their "Have" list on the site. These items are ones you are willing to put up for trade in exchange for other items. You also create a "Want" list, where you search and add titles or items that you want. 

Swaptree then notifies you if an item you want is available for trade for an item that you have. The only cost to you is shipping costs, but Swaptree steps it up with the option to add a credit card to your account, and print postage straight from the website after a trade has been accepted! This postage label can be printed on regular computer paper and packing taped to a bubble mailer (you can gets packs of 2 that pefectly fit books and DVDs at the Dollar Tree for $1), and then all you have to do is drop  it in the mailbox and it's ready to go.

Swagbucks offers a nice amount of swagbucks when you complete your first few trades. I just signed up for Swaptree last week, and have completed 4 trades so far. The first trade I was given 100 Swagbucks. And then 40 each for the following 3 trades. That is 220 swagbucks just for trading out old books and movies, for books and movies I would rather have!

By using Swaptree I have decreased my carbon footprint by 35 pounds and saved $23 just by trading 4 items.

Be sure to sign up for Swagbucks first if you are not already a member:

Then click on Special Offers, and Swaptree should be along the top banner!

I received my first two items yesterday:

I decided to read Something Borrowed first and am about 5 chapters in :)

One Year Wedding Anniversary Weekend - Day 2

Day 2 was spent at....Milwaukee County Zoo!! I love zoos, as mentioned a couple posts down. I'm always fascinated by all of the animals and watching them! It was a perfect day weather-wise. About 85 and sunny. Got realllllly hot towards the afternoon, but it was manageable :)

This was one of the cutest things I had ever seen in my life! Baby came swinging over to Mama, grabbed her face and tipped it upwards. So precious :)

Some cool looking birds! 

Milwaukee County Zoo was a great time! We will definitely be going back there! We have always loved Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, but this is nice for a change of pace :)

One Year Wedding Anniversary Weekend

Neither of us was able to swing much time off work to celebrate our anniversary. We both managed to get a weekend off, and decided to head 2 hours north up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the weekend. 

Saturday we woke up early to take Riley to the dog park for a little bit, before we dropped him off to spend the night at my mother's house. It is always so hard for me to leave Riley. I know it's bad, but I always wind up crying for the first half an hour after we leave him. I just feel bad I guess, and I love him to pieces!

We hit the road to Milwaukee at about 9:30 AM. Our first destination? The Miller Brewery tour! We drove straight there, and managed to arrive with perfect timing, 10 minutes before the  next tour was set to begin, so we looked around the lobby.

Then the tour started!

We watched a 12 minute video and began the walking through the brewery part.

Soooo much beer.

The above are decorations in the caves, and it was so neat down there!

Then it was time for some samples!

Hubby here is drinking Batch 19, which they told us was a pre-prohibition recipe, and it was DELICIOUS.

We enjoyed relaxing in the beer garden for a bit, and then headed back out.

We snagged a Milwaukee map from the brewery, and decided to check out Boerner Botanical Gardens, as we love Chicago's botanic gardens. So I plugged the address into my trusty iphone and off we were!

There was a wedding there that day, so we didn't get to check out a few areas since we didn't want to disturb any of that. Pretty wedding colors though! :)

After the botanical gardens we headed up to the hotel to check in and relax. I wound up falling asleep for about 90 minutes, and then we headed out for the dinner I've been waiting for!

I had read about this place on the internet, and we originally wanted to stay there, but opted to stay at a Hampton Inn, since it was closer to all of our other destinations. We had dinner here though and it was the best dinner I can remember eating! I had Shepherd's Pie and Root soup, and I wish I could have brought some back home with me!

If you love potatoes like I love potatoes, you must eat  here!

After dinner it was back to the hotel, where we busted out the year old wedding cake!

It was surprisingly just as delicious as I remembered it being.

After cake we went swimming, and then went back to the room to hang out and watch movies.

Day 2 will be a separate post, since I know this was painfully long!