June 30, 2010

John Morrell Worry Free Meats


Does anyone in your family suffer from food allergies? It can be very frustrating when buying foods that don't have allergens, but more companies seeking to help people. One such company is John Morrell.

You can get a $1 coupon on the John Morrell Facebook page. I also saw they are having a contest on facebook where you can win free coupons if you "Like" John Morrell on Facebook. They also have more info such as recipes and where to buy.

Now, thanks to John Morrell, people with the more common food allergies can enjoy hot dogs this summer.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of John Morrell and received a free coupon for John Morrell products to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central also sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

June 29, 2010

Fun Summer Activity

My kids frequently complain "I am bored!" I have good news. The AMF bowling centers have a coupon where you can buy 1 game and get 1 free. You can get your Xtra Game Voucher and more from AMF Bowling Click Here . You need to hand type your zip code to find your local participating bowling center.

Winner

The winner of the Yoplait Greek/Nourish contest was Denise S. Congrats!

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27 Timestamp: 2010-06-28 23:59:41 UTC


Denise S. said:
GFC follower

June 26, 2010

Touch'd Review and Giveaway


I was recently given the opportunity to try a new product line called Touch'd. It was founded Rachel Ferrucci, when she couldn't find products to meet all the needs of her family. Her daughter had eczema and the doctors were prescribing medicated creams that seemed to be drying out her skin. She wanted to give her daughter relief without applying medicated creams all over her delicate body. The organic sugar scrub was then created after she researched and read every book she could find about natural oils and how they can benefit our skin.


I was sent the sugar scrub for review. Sugar Scrubs exfoliate the top layer of unwanted dead skin cells and open the pores thus allowing the skin to breathe. I loved the scent. My skin felt smooth and silky. I mainly used it on my feet, and they felt like I had just had a pedicure.

Other signature items in the Touch’d women’s product line include Bath Butter, Moisture Myst, and the Foaming Salt Soak, which is derived from the Dead Sea. The men’s line (inspired by her husband) includes the scents Outlaw and Captain.

You can get 25% off by using the Promo Code
DonnasWorld.
It is valid until July 15th.

Rachel has agreed to send one lucky reader a Moisture Myst. I am sure you will love it!

To enter go to Touch'd and tell me your favorite product and what scent you would like. Please, leave your email address, so I can contact you if you are the lucky winner.

Bonus entries: Leave an extra comment for each one.
1. Follow Touch'd on twitter Leave your twitter name.
2. Like Touch'd on facebook Leave your user name.
3. Follow my blog
4. Subscribe by email or feed
5. Post my button on your blog (Leave link)
6. Post this giveaway on your blog (You get 2 entries for this, so leave 2 comments please.) Leave me the link.
7. Follow me @donnak4 and tweet about the contest. Then leave the link. You can do that daily.
Use your own tweet, or here is one you can use:

Enter to win Touch'd Moisture Myst. Feel sexy, Feel beautiful, Get Touch'd!
http://tinyurl.com/2eg6j6d

Open to US. Expires 7/10 at 11:59 PM CST.
You may enter all the giveaways on the blogs, but you can only win once.

Feel sexy, Feel beautiful, Get Touch'd!

Disclosure: I received the sugar scrub for my review. No payment was received. The opinions are my own.

Great Deals

Amazon is having a Summer Sale with an extra 20% off. It automatically comes off as you start to check out. It is good on swim, shorts, tees, dresses, and clearance.

June 25, 2010

Bing Teacher Appreciation Website Blog Tour

I am sure you have heard the saying "If you can read this, thank a teacher." Well, now there is a easy way to thank a teacher.

Bing’s Teacher Appreciation Website helps teachers help themselves.

Here’s how it works: a teacher can log onto the DonorsChoose.org website to start a “classroom project” or donation request. Parents and students can then visit the Bing Teacher Appreciation site to leave a comment (up to 5 per visitor) about a teacher who has made a difference in their life, enabling them to receive a $5 giving code to donorschoose.org (one per comment). Parents and students can then apply the $5 giving code to the “classroom project” of their choice. Classroom projects are created by teachers, so reach out to your childrens’ teachers and encourage them to submit their own projects!

I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to make a donation, the hardest part was deciding which project to fund. It was easy to leave a comment then use the code for the donation. I left a comment about a great teacher of mine from high school.

With so many teacher cuts taking place around the nation now, it is a great time to help. I hope you'll take a few minutes to recognize the teachers that have made an impact on you or your children.
I noticed that it said the code is set to expire July 10, so please hurry!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Bing and a $100 DonoseChoose.org giving code to facilitate my review. Mom Central also sent me a thank-you gift certificate.

June 23, 2010

Free Items

Go to DiGiorno’s Facebook page and you get a coupon for a free DiGiorno deep dish pizza. You’ll need to “like” them and upload a photo (or use your profile picture) to get the free coupon. It took me less than one minute to get a free pizza!
DiGiorno’s Facebook page Free Pizza

Free sample of Sore No More Pain Relieving Gel.

Rite Aid's Wellness Rewards Program Free!
You get a $5 off $25 coupon as so as you sign up. Save Up To 20% Every Day at Rite Aid. You get an email with more coupons.

June 22, 2010

Rayovac Powers Your Summer Promotion and Twitter Event



From June 21 to July 20 you can enter the Rayovac Powers Your Summer Promotion. You only have to answer the daily question which is about how you will power your fun this summer. You can win cameras, bikes, camping supplies, or a summer supply of Rayovac batteries! It was very easy to enter, and it took less than a minute! You must be a US resident and 18 or older at the time of entry.

There will be a twitter party to support the exciting Rayovac Powers Your Summer Promotion. It will feature more than 20 fun giveaways from Rayovac ranging from a summer supply of Rayovac Batteries to $50 Target Gift Cards.

Rayovac Powers Your Vacation Summer Promotion Twitter Event
Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. CST
Location: #rayovac
Follow: @Rayovac_Battery, @5minutesformom, @CirclePRMary


The first 99 bloggers to promote the Rayovac Powers Your Summer Promotion won a prize package from Rayovac. The first 99 bloggers to promote the Rayovac Powers Your Summer Twitter Event won a prize package from Rayovac.

June 20, 2010

What’s For Dinner? Menu Planning Tips for Busy Moms

Dinner is the last meal of the day and a time when families can get together and discuss their day. It is also a hectic meal for busy moms who are just getting off of work or who have been busy with other activities all day. If you are a busy mom or you know a busy mom, here are some menu planning tips to help make dinner meals easy and even fun.

1. Schedule your meals a week in advance. This is one of the most important planning tips for meals. Knowing what you are going to eat throughout the week means less chance that you will stop off at the closest fast food joint for a convenient, but unhealthy meal. Decide on the last day of the previous week (let’s say Saturday for the sake of argument) what the menu will be for the following week. Create your shopping list from the list of ingredients to avoid buying what you don’t need at the grocery store.

2. Look for bargains. Clip coupons, read advertising circulars and the like to decide where the best grocery to shop is for your menu items. If one ingredient is a common denominator in many meals, consider buying in bulk to save money. Common staples like milk, eggs, bread and sugar can be bought in bulk as well. Some stores will have double or triple coupon days when you can save even more.

3. Search online. After a while your family will get tired of chicken and rice every Thursday. You can get into a menu rut sometimes. Use the Internet to search for new and exciting recipes. Learn to put a twist on old recipes for a new taste.

4. Have a leftover night. After preparing meals for five or six days, there is bound to be some food left over. Designate one night to be leftover night and let everyone mix and match for dinner. It saves mom from having to throw away any food.

5. Cook your meals in advance. After deciding on a menu plan for the week, go ahead and fix as many meals as you can. Choose a day when the entire family can help like Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon. Each person can take one meal and fix it for the following week. Once everything has cooled, store it in sealed containers or casserole dishes to be frozen until the night it is needed.

6. Do prep work in advance. All of the meals can’t be cooked at once. Some foods just taste better freshly prepared. For them, so as much prep work in advance as you can. Enlist your kids to help chop (give them the kitchen shears instead) vegetables, dice cooked meat and mix together dry ingredients. The night of the meal, all that is needed is to add the wet ingredients and bake.

Meal time doesn’t have to be all on mom. The entire family can help with dinner so it is a relaxing meal for everyone.

Want to learn more? You can get a free ebook Menu Planning For Today's Busy Family.

June 12, 2010

5 Savings Tips for Losing Weight

Dieting is big business! Watch only a few moments of late night television and you’ll be barraged with ads for fat burning creams, diet pills and the latest craze in exercise gimmickry. Don’t be fooled! You can successfully slim down this summer without spending money on needless items with our 5 savings tips for weight loss.

1. Skip the gym, hit the pavement.
Gym memberships are expensive and they can be almost impossible to cancel without having to pay a large early cancellation fee. Skip the gym, throw open the front door and get outside! During the warmth of summer, your exercise activities are nearly endless. You can walk, run, bike, play badminton, throw a Frisbee around, swim, play croquet, garden, mow the lawn, or take a hike. All of these activities are free! Playing tag with your kids in the backyard burns up to 200 calories an hour. The only thing you have to lose is a little of you. Get moving!

If you feel you must join a gym, watch for free membership trial periods offered by local gyms and specials on memberships. Also, check out your local YMCA and YWCA.

2. Join an online fitness support group.
Research has shown than some people are more inclined to lose weight using the buddy system. Online fitness support groups will help you log daily food intake, make exercise goals and connect with other people who are also trying to shed pounds. Check out these free online support groups Spark People, Daily Burn, and My Fitness Pal.

3. Buy used fitness equipment.
Exercise machines don’t have to be expensive. Shop Goodwill, yard sales, Craigslist and Freecycle for used weight benches and free weights, bicycles, trampolines, stair climbers, and more. Even better, swap equipment with friends and family members! Do you have an old bike that someone in your family has outgrown? Trade it for an exercise bike.


4. Buy in season.
Buy vegetables and other produce items only when in season. Produce will be cheaper, fresher and more nutrient rich. Visit your local Farmer’s Market for weekly sales, join a food co-op or meet a local farmer who will deliver items right to your door. When you must buy out of season, always purchase frozen fruits and vegetables instead of canned goods. Frozen vegetables retain their nutrients, have no added salt or preservatives and can be kept for long periods of time in the freezer without spoiling.

5. Use your library.
Take a trip to your local library for exercises DVDs and videos, healthy cookbooks and weight loss magazines and books. If you find a DVD or cookbook you like, you can always buy it later. Sample for free!

Now, what are you waiting for? Get moving!




5 Savings Tips for Losing Weight was originally posted on the Savebrite.com blog. It was posted with permission of Francessca De Jesus from Savebrite.com.

June 11, 2010

RaceTrac Freefill Cup

I was asked to pass a good deal on to my readers. Do you have a RaceTrac where you live? We don't have one here. :( According to their site they are currently located in 5 states in the southeast: Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

If you live there you will want to check out the new RaceTrac Freefill Cup. For only $6.99 at your local RaceTrac location, this cool cup entitles you to FREE refills from their impressive fountain for the entire summer until August 1st.

I did not receive any compensation or this post. I was entered in a contest for posting.

June 10, 2010

Yoursphere


We are continuing our test drive of Yoursphere. My kids are really enjoying it. My 6 year-old neice recently joined, and she caught on very quickly! My kids have learned how to "level up". They are interested in earning prizes!

They have a new incentive for my readers tied to my referral code. If you use my code to register on Yoursphere.com, you will be entered into a weekly drawing to win a $50 gift card. My referral code is YSMC-0055 .

I wrote this review while participating in the Yoursphere Test Drive program by Mom Central on behalf of Yoursphere. I received a free lifetime Gold membership on Yoursphere.com,Yoursphere t-shirts, and a $50 American Express gift card to facilitate my review.

June 9, 2010

Mother’s Cookies



I remember that I loved animal cookies as a child. I had the opportunity recently to try Mother’s Cookies Circus Animal cookies. Since I am in the midwest, I had never seen that brand in the stores. Well, good news: they are coming to the midwest.

Although the brand was new to me, the animal cookies date back to 1914 when N.M. (Noah) Wheatley ran a newspaper stand on the corner of San Francisco’s Market and Kearney Streets and decided to purchase the rights to a recipe of some home-baked cookies from one of his customers.

I found a TV commercial from 1980 that featured real company employees singing and dancing while baking Mother’s® Cookies.

1983 – Mother’s® Cookies moved to the big screen and starred opposite Al Pacino in the movie Scarface

Compared to the animal cookies I had when I was a child, these were even better! They had a light coating of icing, so they were sweet and crunchy. My kid's really liked them too. I am excited that they are coming to the Midwest area.

You can see where you can buy them in your area. If they are not in your area, or you just perfer to buy online you can get them at Amazon.com.


I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Mother’s Cookies and received two bags of cookies and a $20 Amazon gift certificate to facilitate my review.

June 8, 2010

Get Dad to the Doctor

National Men's Health Week is June 14 - 20.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Ad Council are launching a new movement on behalf of their national public service advertising campaign designed to encourage middle-age men to learn which preventive medical tests they need to get and when to get them.

New research has found that men are 31 percent less likely than women to have visited a doctor within the past year. Men make fewer routine health care appointments compared with women (56.5 percent vs. 73.8 percent). I know that from my work men frequently won't go to the doctor unless the women in their lives encourage them to do so, and they are very unlikely to get the recommended screening tests.

Check out this new e-card for Father's Day.



Ask your husband, father, brother, etc. to take this health quiz. Encourage the men you know to visit ahrq.gov/healthymen, which provides recommended ages for preventive medical tests, a health care quiz designed to test knowledge of preventive health care, tips for talking with doctors, a glossary of consumer health terms, and links to online resources to find more medical information. Also, keep an eye out for the new PSA's encouraging dad's to take care of their health.

We all want our dad's to be around for many more Father's Days!



This is my Dad holding my nephew. Happy Father's Day!

June 6, 2010

Yoursphere

I am trying to get up to date with my reviews. I stared a little late, so I am posting rather close together. This week we were supposed to check out Yoursphere's contest page. My children thought the contest rules were easy to understand. They love entering contests- like their mom . : )

So far my kids love it. Their only complaint is that I don't let them online enough!

If you (your child) joins please use my unique referral code that is YSMC-0055.

I wrote this review while participating in the Yoursphere Test Drive program by Mom Central on behalf of Yoursphere. I received a free lifetime Gold membership on Yoursphere.com, Yoursphere t-shirts, and a $50 American Express gift card to facilitate my review

June 4, 2010

Yoursphere

We are contining our Yoursphere test drive. This week my kids created avatars. The like being creative. My son particularly likes going to the arcade to play games. They love the idea of being able to earn prizes. So far we have not had any negatives, an my children are really enjoying it.

The good news is that it is Free! If you (your child) joins please use my unique referral code that is YSMC-0055.

I wrote this review while participating in the Yoursphere Test Drive program by Mom Central on behalf of Yoursphere. I received a free lifetime Gold membership on Yoursphere.com, Yoursphere t-shirts, and a $50 American Express gift card to facilitate my review.

Blog Hop Friday - Week 4!

I have joined a blog hop. I didn't find out how to put the linky on my blog yet. Click the link to join in. Have fun.

Blog Hop Friday - Week 4!

June 2, 2010

Winner

The winner of the Blush undershirt was picked on random.com. The winner is theladya . She has been emailed. Thank you to everyone that entered.


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15 Timestamp: 2010-06-03 00:22:42 UTC
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