I am Returning, On you Front Porch! With a Gift, No Less....Let's JUMPSTART Our Relationship Eh?

*Blowing layers of dust of the surface*

*COUGH GAG WHEEEEEEZE...*

Hello!

Miss me?

"Where the heck have you been?" You ask? (Not that many of you actually inquired...) Well...it's been summertime so...I have been:

-Growing out my eyebrows
-Vacationing
-Gutting my house
-Growing out my eyebrows
-Watching Last Comic Standing, among other reality shows which I will not name...
-Eating lots of ice cream
-Splashing in the pool
-Taking pictures of various bugs, butterflies, flowers and hummingbirds
-Growing out my eyebrows

No, no, I didn't lose my eyebrows in some tragic, fire-eating exhibition. I was just over-zealous in the plucking. It happens.

So yeah, we had a great summer, and I'll have a blast sorting through my brain for inspiration to keep you all laughing and happy as you lament the fall schedule approaching, meaning you have to get up before the sun, drive more than a limo driver in Vegas, and stay up all night finishing science projects for your kids...

BUT FIRST!

I have a giveaway.

OK now I know some of you stopped reading right there, or about here...maybe you're still reading...if not SHAME ON YOU! This is a great giveaway and it involves your kids...I have two selfishly awesome giveaways coming up LATER, so stick around and win your kids something awesome OK?

Look I sandwiched that paragraph with OKs. Ahhh...the simple things...

NOW. Onto the giveaway!

Let me suggest that this is will be a great bartering tool for your kids to finish homework so they can play a fantastic on-line computer program...it's called JUMPSTART!

Let me tell you, this is adventure-based learning at its best! JumpStart is a "3D virtual world", which includes math, reading, and critical thinking skills cleverly packaged in exciting and engaging worlds for your kids to explore! It's like hiding broccoli in a hot-fudge sundae! WOOT!

The main page is clear and a breeze to use , the characters are bright, HELPFUL and cheerful, and the quests and games are award-winning! Your kids can design their own avatar and explore underwater worlds, fly above the clouds and even adopt and raise dragons and the newly added Pegasus! Jump Start is ever evolving, so your child will be delighted to sign in and find a new adventure to begin, another creature to adopt, and to see their progress in their games!

This is what my daughter has to say (aged 7) about the program:

"It's fun! You get your own dragon, and it breathes fire! It has science, and the Enchanted Sanctuary! And there's Ghost Town...it gives you money. You can change your character any time! You can watch movies! You can go to Future Land where you do missions, like attacking mini guys, and you can play games at the arcade! Oh and you do missions at Adventure Land, like finding Cappy's sea dog, he's actually an old turtle..." Did you follow all of that?

Then my son chimed in, "it's great for kids my age, mom..."

Thanks Jacob, my mature 9-year-old, that's great. But, I happen to know that Jumpstart is great for kids 3 to 10! That's even greater!

There's so much to explore, I simply can't add it all here (my kids are continuing to rattle off things as I type...and they are checking their dragons...) Watch this!



Navigation is easy enough for young kids to handle, so you can sleep watch Home and Garden pluck your eyebrows allow them to be independent, and the games are exciting enough to hold an older kid's attention for HOURS on end! Parents get information on their kid's progress, and can follow the blog for new information! You can download software, and they even have Wii games! (you can even connect on Facebook!)

So basically my kids fight over the computer to play this program. And really, how can I mind when they are actually learning something? Heh heh...

Now yours can too!

You have a chance to win a 3-month subscription to check out this amazing program! Here we go!

MANDATORY ENTRY, counts as ONE entry:
1. Go to Jumpstart, come back here and comment on what part of the program impresses you the most.

FOR EXTRA ENTRIES:

2. Become a fan on Facebook. Counts as ONE entry.

3. Tweet! Say, "insanitykim is helping your kids JUMPSTART their learning with this giveaway!" and add the url to this post to your tweet. Then come back here to leave the twitter link in the comments. YOU CAN TWEET ONCE PER DAY FOR THE LENGTH OF THIS GIVEAWAY (total of SEVEN entries).

4. Blog! Blog about this giveaway, with a link to this post, come back here and leave me the link in the comments to your post. This counts as FIVE entries.

And there you have it folks!

This giveaway starts today, August 14th 2010, and ends Saturday, August 21st 2010 at 12pm EST. At that time I will use the Random Number Generator (RNG) to choose a winner. The winner will have 3 days to contact me. If they do not, I will use the RNG again to choose another winner.

We love Jumpstart and we know you will too! I sure hope you win this, for your kids! And by you I mean, you...

I provide reviews and giveaways as a packaged deal, I do not provide review only or giveaway only posts. This blog requires compensation, and all shipping costs paid, for review/giveaway packages in the form of receiving the review product for me and/or my family, not to be returned. I give exception to any independent business owners of handmade items, as found on Etsy, and I will host giveaways for such business owners without the need for review and/or compensation.

I am not monetarily compensated to provide my opinion on products I review and/or giveaway. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. If I claim or appear to be well-informed and versed on a certain topic or product or service area, I will do so only endorsing products or services that I believe, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.

I will always be honest and forthcoming with my readers and the businesses I work with, providing the best review/giveaway posts that I can.

And lastly, I reserve the right to change or amend any part of this disclosure as needed on a case-by-case basis.

Art I Glad my Kids Got Talent!

Recently, the latest catalog from Pottery Barn hurled itself into my mailbox. So, like any normal busy mom, I plopped my little assiduous-self down and leisurely flipped through the pages, oooo-ing and ahhh-ing at all the prettiness that Pottery Barn has to tease me with, while sipping my afternoon coffee. Drooling over page after page, my mind began to wander off, and I dreamed of all the creative and enviable projects I could do, and all the Pottery Barn decor I could accumulate, if I had the time and money, just like Trump, except I don't want anything gold-plated, mmmkay? But of course, a kid quarrel managed to body-slam me back to reality, and I did a total pendulum swing, thinking about the dude who lives in a house the size of my kitchen. My kitchen is small. His house has no frills, or even room for a Pottery Barn magazine, I would imagine.

There is of course a happy medium.

So during this season of our life, we are living in an apartment, and forgoing all the frills and all the accouterments Pottery Barn provides, but, staring at white walls is much like eating dirt, or falling down the stairs. I don't like it.

Enter the local artist.

It probably all started during my mind-numbing daily routine of dish cleaning and laundry folding and vacuum wielding, that my daughter, unable to get my full attention, found the tape and began adhering her drawings to our cheaply painted apartment walls. She used copious amounts of tape, enough to cause me to kiss our deposit goodbye, because removing the tape she used means severe drywall exposure. Before I knew it, nearly every inch of my walls (up to about 3 feet high) was covered in her art, and enough tape to patch up the Titanic. The kitchen, living room, even the stairway was covered in art...and tape...mostly tape. Here's one wall:


So once I finally sat down from my endless cleaning to allow my fatigued body to recover, I realized, my house was decorated.

I have to admit, I wasn't thinking (I blame those smelly dryer sheets) when I started removing the pictures from the walls. Audge looked at me, like I was single-handedly destroying the Brazilian Rain Forest, and she said as tears welled in her big, brown eyes, "you don't like my drawings?"

In case you were expecting the "Worst Mommy in the World" trophy in the mail well, sorry, I already won it.

I mean, how could I? Here I was, lamenting the whiteness of my walls everyday, and how boring they were, and how I yearned to be able to afford color, dimension and utter JOY to be displayed on every vertical surface to help get me through the winters and confides of tiny living spaces!

And that is when genius sprung from my mound of guilt.

Admittedly this is a work in progress, but, I painstakingly peeled allllll the tape from the walls and her drawings, matted them on fancy stuff called construction paper, and started hanging them up in my living room. I think it's beautiful. Here is my favorite:

This is of our family on top of a mountain we climbed back in Alaska. It was a hard day, full of steep stairs, falling rocks, intestinal issues and Audge constantly screaming, "we are gonna diiiiiiiiie!" But, this is how she remembers it. Totally warms my heart.

Soon the whole wall will be covered in some of the rarest and most priceless art in the world, made just for me. I am richer than I know.

PS My son managed to draw a picture for me to display, even though he would rather fall down the stairs than draw...

You Reap What you Throw...

I think I am being forced to endure a severe punishment...

I mean...

I do believe that you "reap what you sow" in most instances, and I think the reaping happens most in parenting. At least, for me it does...

My poor mom. I am pretty sure I drove her to temporary insanity. See, there was a time in my teen years where my ability to clean my room was akin to my ability to build a high-tech laser, or pole vault, or something like that. My room was the perfect storm to be tackled by Kim and Aggie...

Now, I know you just read about my bleach fetish and desire to have everything clean and germ-free, but now, I'm coming clean about my dirty, dirrrrrrrrty past...

I was a funky, messy, nasty teen-aged slob. Oh, the horror.

I had a tortoise...it liked to eat rotten bananas, and it pooped. A lot. It never cleaned its cage...I rarely did either...by rarely I mean maybe, MAYBE once a month...

I had newts. They like to shed their skin, and poop. And, they loved to hurl themselves from their bowl and into my shoes. They were desperate to escape their dead skin.

I loved salsa. So I would bring the jars into my room and eat the salsa. The jars would stay. Homework, dead flowers, gym socks, make up, popcorn bags, soda cans, VHS tapes, gum wrappers, clothing tags, magazines and shopping bags...all on top of salsa jars.

My mom is the kind of mom who likes to vacuum the walls; she hated being driven up them by her only child who was a sloppy, sickly mess! My dad told her to just let me be, that I would come around, and eventually clean my room.

Anyone want to hug my mom right now and slap me silly?

So, she learned to live with me by simply keeping my door closed and looking at my baby pictures through her tears, to help her remember how cute and wonderful I once was, compared to the slovenly slob I had become. I managed, though, to not get kicked out of the house by daily vacuuming the living room and dining room floors and taking two hours to empty the dishwasher. Hey, I never broke a dish or cup, they were completely dry by the time they reached the cabinets, and for the most part it kept me out of trouble.

And, to her utter relief, my dad was right, I did eventually come around, and I gave the tortoise and newts away, learned to eat my salsa and soda at the breakfast bar, and do some laundry now and then. And now I am a mom of two, who prefers to have a neat and tidy home, sprayed diligently with bleach. How things have come full circle.

I can barely keep up with my own housework, so, do I have the right to bang my head against a wall when I tell my kids clean their room, only for it to look like this A DAY LATER?? Do I have the right to withhold games, pool time and even treats if this mess isn't cleaned up IMMEDIATELY! I mean, I don't even vacuum my walls! How can I of all people, allow this mess to overwhelm me and make me want to pull my eyelashes out?

Well, it does, and there aren't even any salsa jars...

Sorry mom. I hope my perpetual agony makes you feel better!

Kill Bugs, Not your Brain Cells, With This Natural Bug Killer...Review and Giveaway Courtesy of EcoSMART!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED!

Recently I was contacted by a lovely company called EcoSMART, and they kindly sent me their products to review AND offered a giveaway for all you lovely readers...isn't that...lovely? Why yes, it is, and it is lovely because...

YOU GET TO KILL BUGS!

SAFELY!

So, let's talk about it shall we? Then I will offer you many chances to win these products and try them yourself mmmkay? Yay!

I received the Safe Picnic Value Bundle to review for organic home pest control. This included a 24oz home pest control spray, two 6 oz insect repellents, and a 14 oz can of flying insect spray.

I had read the long list of positive testimonials on their website, and about their commitment to safety and using natural, organic pesticides, so I was eager to try the the sprays out in the summer, and as soon as the mosquitoes started ganging up and mercilessly attacking my son, I knew it was time!

The insect repellent had, to me, a rather strong alcohol smell at first, but that quickly evaporated and what was left was a mild lemongrass scent that beats the smell of DEET any day! It is not greasy or overpowering, which is important, and it is especially nice that I am not spraying my kids with chemicals! You do have to use quite a bit of it; I found that a general spray around the body still allowed those skeeters to do some damage. However, a full spray on all parts of skin exposed seemed to do the trick. I would give this product an 9/10 and would recommend it for days when you're at a picnic or BBQ.

The home pest control did not fare so well for me, and that would mostly be due to the scent. The testimonials on their website were full of positive comments regarding the scent, but, for me, it was way too strong. The oil that I didn't care for is listed as peppermint, but smells more like a wintergreen scent to my nose. Because of this, I couldn't even spray it inside my house and instead used it outside. I sprayed this around some ants that were invading my patio, and while it deterred them for a while, they soon walked right over the barrier. Then I sprayed it right onto the ants. This seemed to irritate them more than anything, and did not kill them. In fact, they seemed to clean themselves off and went on their merry way! I was a little shocked by this, since many testimonials said this product worked great for them. Needless to say I am now scared of the ants on my patio, and I sleep with one eye open. It could very well be I needed to spray more but, again, the scent was too strong for me, and I didn't care for it lingering, even outside. I would give this product a 6/10, based on my aversion to the scent and the ants not being affected by it, as far as I could tell. (They could have wandered off and died, but, I didn't stay outside to verify that.)

The flying insect killer faired better, and I found that it kills flying creatures, of all kinds, on contact; the spray killed the huge nasty houseflies that are nearly impossible to swat or catch or spray, which is nice because then I am not screaming my head off as a huge fly zooms from one end of the house to another, trying to take me down along the way. I also had a strange bug infestation in a plant outside, so I sprayed the snot out of the plant and bugs. While it killed the bugs I saw, they kept coming back the next day, but the daily spraying didn't seem to affect my plant too much, so I at least felt like I was keeping tabs on the crazy critters. I also sprayed it on a wall of gnat-like pests impeding on my kids' play area. This got rid of them, but of course being outside they just showed up again once the spray dissipated. But again, the scent, which is key to it's power, was not my thing. I am more of an autumn, warm, apple-cinnamon type girl, so this scent is pretty much the opposite of what I enjoy, and so I couldn't even bring myself to use it in my house. If you love wintergreen scents you will like this I am sure. I would give this a 7/10, since I am pretty convinced this product will kill smaller, soft-bodied flying insects easily.

Overall: I am impressed that EcoSMART uses natural oils to repel and kill bugs, which is a great alternative to the dangerous chemicals out there, affecting the health and safety of our young children and pets. I like the thorough explanations of the products on their website and the history of the company, and it seems to be that they are on to a very good thing! I would use the insect repellent again, because I feel it did the job, it had a pleasant scent that didn't linger or leave a residue, and it is much safer than the chemical products out on the market. Thank you to EcoSMART for this opportunity and for their concern for our young ones and healthier living for all!

And now, it's your turn!

You get a chance to try these same products from the Safe Picnic Value Bundle yourself! Here's what to do:

1. Visit EcoSMART and then come back here to comment on what you like about the company and which product interests you most.

2. You may tweet this giveaway, ONE PER DAY, through the length of the giveaway (equaling 10 entries) say, "visit @insanitykim and win this giveaway and kill bugs naturally with EcoSMART " with a link to this post. Come back here with the tweet link for each day you tweet it.

3. Blog about this giveaway, with a link to EcoSMART and to this post. Come back here with the link to your post and receive 5 entries. You may blog about this once.

4. Please leave me a safe way to contact you in your comment.

NOTE: This giveaway is open to the continental US only...but hey, I lived in Alaska, so I know there's nothing there to scream about and kill, and Hawaii, sorry y'all...

Otherwise, wooohooo!

This giveaway begins TODAY, Wednesday, July 7, 2010 and ends Saturday, July 17th, 2010 at 12pm EST. At that time I will use the trusty ol' Random Number Generator (RGN) to choose a winner. The winner will have 3 days to contact me, and if they do not, I will use the RGN to choose a new winner.

So get to it y'all! I SO hope you win! Yeah, you, reading this, right now... I hope you win!

I provide reviews and giveaways as a packaged deal, I do not provide review only or giveaway only posts. This blog requires compensation, and all shipping costs paid, for review/giveaway packages in the form of receiving the review product for me and/or my family, not to be returned. I give exception to any independent business owners of handmade items, as found on Etsy, and I will host giveaways for such business owners without the need for review and/or compensation.

I am not monetarily compensated to provide my opinion on products I review and/or giveaway. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. If I claim or appear to be well-informed and versed on a certain topic or product or service area, I will do so only endorsing products or services that I believe, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.

I will always be honest and forthcoming with my readers and the businesses I work with, providing the best review/giveaway posts that I can.

And lastly, I reserve the right to change or amend any part of this disclosure as needed on a case-by-case basis.

Summer Sometimes Feels like a Mosquito Bite you Just Can't Scratch!

We moan and groan, waiting for the glorious summer break to begin, ya know, sunshine, sleeping in, vacations and BBQ's...but...

about a week in, we suddenly start going out of our summer-loving minds, because the kids are already BORED and all they want to do is eat Starburst candies melted on Saltines and play videogames while you bang your head against the wall...

Or, you're the perpetually tired mom, driving your kids from summer camp to summer camp, you know, those week-long camps that pop up every other week? Yeah, you thought you would be relaxing the day away...who knew you would spend your summer in the car, gassing it up and repeatedly filling the tires with air, not to mention drowning in summer camp projects overtaking your passenger seat and dining room table?

Or, you're the family who planned that fantastic vacation, it's already OVER, and you missed all the summer camps, and you forgot to have a plan for the 45 free days you have left, days of either perpetual rain, 90+ degree weather, or angry hornets head-butting your windows...

Well...let's stop writhing on the floor and eating carpet fibers and help each other out!

I have been visiting one of my favorite blogs, Smashed Peas and Carrots, and I love her blog and totally stalk her, and well, she inspired me.

See my FB page over there ---------->?? Well, over to the right. Just look. Look up. Upper. To the right...at the top...right...you'll see it...see it? Good.

What is it you ask? Well, I am trying to put together simple and inexpensive science projects and what-not for my kids to do over the summer. But, I can't do all this alone peeps, I want your HELP! LIKE SERIOUSLY NOW!

OK I'll stop screaming. Maybe.

Go to the FB page, click like and check it out...but then, I want you to add YOUR experiments, or recipes, or links to cool blogs or websites because I DON'T WANT TO GO OUT OF MY SUMMER-LOVING MIND ALL ALONE PEOPLE!!!! ^@*~!&!%&@! <---- means blarging cripes.

Yikes, I'm screaming again...

So far we have made super miracle bubbles, quicksand, and plastic milk...I have already added pix AND video AND links!! So please please PLEASE! go HERE and let's make this page so popular, by ADDING YOUR RECIPES, EXPERIMENTS, IDEAS, LINKS AND PICTURES AND VIDEOS, that FB takes it over so I can do things like spontaneously fall asleep while pretending to play Pokemon Rumble with my kids after cleaning vinegar-laced cheese curds off the floor...

Thanks y'all! I'm depending on you to help me have a fun and creative summer and to somehow STOP SCREAMING! Love and fuzzies!!!

Sometimes Frog Legs Taste like Chicken, Other Times Chicken Tastes like Bleach...

Everyone has some erratic and irrational tendencies, right? (Hint: say yes.)

Everyone has a quirky issue or two, or ten, yes? (At least nod your head!)

I mean, sometimes that is what makes one endearing to others, those little idiosyncrasies... (That's what my friends tell me at least!)

You could be the coolest person on the planet, or at least second to me, and we could get along better than chocolate and strawberries on Valentine's Day...but our friendship could spiral down waaaaaaay quick into a chaotic and dismal abyss if you decide you want to cook for me or invite me to your BBQ. If you don't concede to my irrational tendencies and cleaning practices then we will have a huge problem. And by problem I mean problem. See I am no longer polite and silent about my hang-ups; I scream them from the mountain tops.

Actually, some very responsible and safe-food handling friends recently got a first-hand experience with my haz-mat BLEACH THE CRAP OUT OF EVERYTHING approach to cooking, and we all survived and we are still friends and I am still allowed in their house but...

You see, I have a teensy, itty-bitty issue with the potential slight trace of...

SALMONELLA!

on my chicken and salads and...

E-COLI!

...lurking in my burger or side dishes.

And, I am convinced that if I do not oversee every moment of your cooking I, or my family, will end up in the hospital.

Summers make me wring my hands gnash my teeth seek biofeedback therapy a little uncomfy; everyone and their grandma is having a BBQ and I'm invited, along with my family, as ground beef, chicken and pork are pulled out to be grilled and served next to home made fruit and potato salads...

Here's a head's up, so you won't get offended. I probably won't eat. And I most definitely won't let my kids eat. Unless we bring our own food. Like hot dogs. And bleach water...

Why? Well, unless I can personally verify that the watermelon's rind, or any fruit rind for that matter, was washed with at LEAST soap and water, and unless I can verify that separate tongs are used for raw and cooked meats, and that all gnasty meat juices have been eradicated with bleach, I just won't be able to try your "secret recipe" or "famous dish". Because to me "secret" is evil and "famous" means I might find it highlighted it in the most current Mayo Clinic book. And that's not Mayo the condiment, that's Mayo the HOSPITAL!

OK OK so, this is a bit harsh. I am not THAT bad...I mean, there are some reasonable bones in this body. I realize that MOST BBQ's and meals go without a hitch and living in fear is about as fun as putting Africanized bees in your mouth, but, when it comes to kids and their underdeveloped immune systems, no risk is worth them getting sick, especially since they get much sicker than adults and sometimes sustain permanent injuries from food poisoning.

And for that reason, let's just lay down 10 simple safety tips for your BBQ parties, so you have a safe summer and I don't visit a room with padded walls or IV drips mmmmmkay??

1. If you are the meat prep person, keep raw meat and juices away from all other foods, never preparing them at the same time you make a fruit salad or potato salad or storing them together. Wear gloves and/or wash hands with warm soap and water immediately after handling raw food, don't forget to clean every surface you touch! Keep meats covered and nice and cold until cooked.

2. If you can, prepare all your other foods before your meats and keep them refrigerated until serving, on the TOP shelf and covered so nothing can drip/fall inside. Bleach out your sink and spigot/handles and clean all surfaces before preparing salads of any kind. Your sink and that nasty sponge/rag you keep around is often dirtier than your bathroom!

3. Don't prepare foods in your bathroom. Kramer was whacked.

4. The person handling the grill should have sanitary wipes handy, and a garbage can for meat packs and/or soiled paper towels. Two sets of tongs and plates should be provided, one set for the raw and one set for the cooked. A big bottle of hand sanitizer is a good idea too, since everyone can take advantage of that. Just keep it away from open flames. IT'S FLAMMABLE LIKE SERIOUSLY, BOOOOOOOM!

5. Have a reliable meat thermometer and make sure all meats reach the correct internal temperature. Hamburgers at least 160 and chicken at least 170.

6. Keep your hot foods hot and your cold foods cold! Don't leave food sitting outside for flies to enjoy and for the sun to sour. It's even hotter in the shade than you think and that pistachio Jello salad thing is already green and chunky so...

7. Wash all your fruits and veggies (yes, even those with a rind!) with a 3 parts to 1 solution of water and vinegar. I mean come on, do you lick doorknobs? Of course not! People do not realize that when you cut the rind of a watermelon or cantaloupe, apple or orange, that the bacteria on the surface (usually from the harvesting hands and grocery store workers) is dragged through the flesh by the knife, and LOTS of hands handle your fruit and veggies before they get to you! Imagine leaving unwashed fruit and veggie salads in the sun for a few hours, with a few flies sampling your talents and your day will become cramptastic! Keep a spray bottle of the vinegar solution handy for last-minute jobs!

8. Do NOT eat that burger or chicken breast that looks slightly undone unless you thoroughly love riding the Porcelain Train. In fact, repeatedly slap the BBQ handler for not reading my list, chuck that e-coli-ridden monstrosity out and get a new one.

9. Do everyone a favor and bleach out that cooler before you dump tons of ice into it and load it full of drinks. We know you used that cooler to bring lake fish home last summer and didn't clean it out! DON'T LIE! I'd go one step further and wipe the cans/bottles down before adding them but that's just me. By 4pm you have melted ice, many hands that dove into the cooler to get a soda, and your drinks miserably swimming in a soup of bacteria. GROSS!

10. And lastly, enjoy yourselves. That might best be accomplished by not inviting me. But I am pretty fun, and have a mean volley ball serve so, weigh that decision carefully.

Have a fun and safe 4th of July y'all!

CLOSED! Fantastic Photos Need Fantastic BUTCH & Harold Sticker Frames From CSN Stores. Wanna Win Some?

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

Yep, another chance to win something! It's a good day!

CSN Stores contacted me and offered to provide a giveaway for all you readers, and I got to review the item as well!

CSN, as many of you know, is an on-line site which hosts many stores and products. I have worked with them before and find their prices fair and service fair as well. Each product from each store must be rated on its own of course.

I chose from their Allmodern store the BUTCH & Harold Sticker Frame Collection. Check them out!

It's a very nice set of vinyl frames, ranging in different sizes. They look great together as a group, or on their own above a mantle or in the bathroom, as I have chosen to do.

They came quickly and in good shape. When I opened the box the smell was quite like those old Halloween costumes you got as a kid, but I am happy to say there is no lingering smell when you look closely at the frames on the walls. They stick well and do not damage the walls or your pictures, even if you have to reposition them over and over because you didn't use a ruler because sheesh why would you need one?

What I like best is these frames are great for small areas; not having a chunky frame jut out from the wall to be knocked down by your head or elbow is a plus in tight spaces. The black and white really make the pictures stand out, and the multiple sizes are a plus as well.

So wanna win a set of your own? It's simple! Here are the rules!

Just leave me a comment, telling me how you would use these frames; would you group them all together? Make them a focal point of a decorated space? Give them as a gift? Frame your kids artwork? TELL ME!

Yep that's it. Short and sweet.

This giveaway starts Monday, June 14th and ends Monday, June 21st at 12pm EST. At that time I will use the Random Number Generator (RGN) to choose a winner. The winner will have 3 days to contact me, and in the event the winner does not contact me I will run the RGN again.

So have at it ya'all! I sure hope you win and by you I mean you (don't roll your eyes at me because I say that in every giveaway post).

I provide reviews and giveaways as a packaged deal, I do not provide review only or giveaway only posts. This blog requires compensation, and all shipping costs paid, for review/giveaway packages in the form of receiving the review product for me and/or my family, not to be returned. I give exception to any independent business owners of handmade items, as found on Etsy, and I will host giveaways for such business owners without the need for review and/or compensation.

I am not monetarily compensated to provide my opinion on products I review and/or giveaway. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. If I claim or appear to be well-informed and versed on a certain topic or product or service area, I will do so only endorsing products or services that I believe, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.

I will always be honest and forthcoming with my readers and the businesses I work with, providing the best review/giveaway posts that I can.

And lastly, I reserve the right to change or amend any part of this disclosure as needed on a case-by-case basis.

I'll Take a Padded Room,But Only If It's Color Coordinated...

Have you all seen The Marriage Ref? It's pretty funny. Ya know, summer programming. It's no LOST but hey, I'm not sure I care. Anyway...

So this show, in case you don't know, features 3 different guest celebs each week, who learn about various couples in the midst of martial strife. For example, the husband wants to keep his collection of creepy marionette dolls in the living room, and change their clothes everyday, and the wife wants to burn them. The celebs get to decide who wins (guess who won that one??).

One of the shows in particular was about a formal dining room, and how the husband wanted to use it, and the wife would not even let him enter the area. Eva Longoria spoke up on this issue, stating she too has a formal room, a living room in fact, that is decorated juuuuust so and no one is allowed to go in there. Ever. (She voted for the wife, duh.)

When she said this I was all, huh? Seriously? Who truly has that much money and gall to rope off perfectly good, usable square footage so it can look all pristine and museum-like and never be used? It's not like Eva has kids and needs a place of solace (ya know, like the bathroom, where us normal mothers go to hide and take a nap)! Is her husband inviting all his b-ball teammates over? Are they throwing Gatorade bottles all over the fireplace hearth and couches? Is she constantly falling into their stinky, sweaty, size-18 shoes? Do they carelessly misplace the remote and sit on her dogs? Are jock straps hanging from the chandelier? I mean, what havoc is wreaking in her life that she needs a formal room that no one touches?

Then it hit me...

I want that.

How do I get that?

I waaaaaaaaaaaaaaant it.

Can you imagine? A room, that no matter what time of day you go into it, everything is perfectly in its place. Nary a pillow tassel is tousled, dust is repelled, white fabrics stay white, and it always smells of fresh lavender and vanilla?

Even at 2 am, when you sneak around the corner and jump into the room screaming, "AHA!" there is nothing to pick up, wipe, or move?

I think that would do a lot for my sanity.

It's probably mostly because summer is upon me, but I am losing my ability to accommodate 3 dishwasher loads per day and endless laundry. Legos are breeding like rabbits in every corner of my house, the living room looks like the set of some movie involving ghosts, because the furniture keeps moving around, and I swear my kids' clothes drawers are full of explosives, because their clothes are strewn all over their room, even though they only wear one of two rotating outfits at a time each week. I'll work like a dog only to have the house look just like it did before I cleaned it a mere 24 hours before. AND I AM SO SICK OF CLEANING UP MY HAIR WHY THE WHY DOES IT KEEP FALLING OUT OF MY HEAD AND PILING UP ON MY LINOLEUM ALONG WITH ROGUE COFFEE GROUNDS AND CHERRIOS?!!??!?!?!??!?!?!?!

OK...this is probably the point where this post goes from a blogger sharing a funny anecdote, to a crazy woman venting maniacally and bloodying her fingers while banging out random, nonsensical words on a weary and frightened keyboard.

It's time to go sit in the bathroom, with the lights off...

Crusin' for a Brusin'

I was thinking, bruises are often a lot like ninjas...they come out of no where, they are mysterious, not everyone can see them all of the time, they can show up anywhere, they are dark and painful, and as you know if you see one that means there are probably thousands...wait, wrong analogy...anyway...

Yesterday I noticed a 4 inch-long purple bruise on my upper thigh. I was all, "wha? huh?" because I mean really, this bruise is big enough that I should remember how it got there. I mean, it's not like I was training on the uneven parallel bars for the next summer Olympics, I wasn't in any street fights that I know of, and it isn't a result of some strange waxing accident...

So where did it come from? I am most perplexed. It's not easy to keep an eye on either, even though my mild OCD compels me to check it every few hours, which means I have to run into the bathroom to drop trou to check it out. And sure enough it's still there! All I can really do is sit around and wonder, all day, what I did to get such a mark, because as you can imagine house cleaning or driving is out of the question; I can barely think of anything else or move for that matter...

It must be due to my age, either my capillaries are just that delicate, or my memory is shot, but until it's gone I will be most annoyed by its presence and will probably openly complain about it and think about it non-stop, kind of like I did about the LOST finale.

Winning and Vintage; It NEVER Gets Old!

Man! What a fun giveaway this was! And most importantly, we have a winner!

Yahooo!!! Isn't it great to win something??? Thank you to Vintage Umbrella and their gracious prize! Stop by often to find that perfect nostalgic, eclectic or vintage gift! In fact, I KNOW you will, their shop is just that awesome! It was very fun to read through all the comments and see how many of you oooooh-ed and ahhhhh-ed from remembering items from your youth! Awesome!!!

So without further ado, the winner is....RACHEL!

Rachel said...

I love the Flamingo Candle holder. Thanks for the giveaway!

May 27, 2010 10:07 PM

You won! So awesome! Everyone is jealous and claiming that not only are you their new best friend, it's their birthday tomorrow, and they love vintage milk glass compotes! The collective "they" can be pretty convincing...or threatening. Don't worry Rachel, I'll protect you...

As always, the winner has 3 days to collect her prize.

And if you're like me, in that you don't win every giveaway you enter, and you are sobbing/screaming/shaking your fists/eating carpet fibers because you did not win this one, well chin up! Dry your little eyes, dear one! I have another giveaway coming up soon! And this time you just might win!

Come back June 14th when I review and giveaway a lovely set of wall sticker frames courtesy of CSN stores. CSN sells everything from kitchen items to cribs to pet items to health and fitness items! Ya don't want to miss this one! Take a sneak peek here!

Now to go get these pesky carpet fibers out of my teeth...