Rachael Ray WINNER!

I used the random.org and it produced #11 out of 90.

Terri said: If I win the Bubble & Brown bakeware, I'll take yellow:) I'm following your blog Lisa!

March 25, 2010 6:52 PM
CONGRATS TERRI !!!!

Again, thanks to all that entered to win! If you didn't win, please head over to CSN for more deals! They have tons of items at free shipping! I know I have gone back and plan to continue to use CSN. They have excellent customer service and are committed to their customers happiness!

ALSO: stay tuned, because I have three more giveaways lined up (one starting Friday!), and more have been emailed to me~ so you still have a chance to win something!!!

Terri: I will be contacting you for your address, and then CSN will be sending out your new bakeware. I believe Ashley with CSN will be in contact with you!

Blessings

Misikko Flat Iron REVIEW~

Let me introduce you to my NEW amazing favorite tool (don't you just love the pink!)! Misikko gave me the wonderful opportunity to review the Hanna Professional Flat Iron 1". I am absolutly in love with this hair straightener. I was not blessed with the wash and go hair~I have very thick hair with a natural wave depending on the humidity and then it is curly/frizzy! Anytime that I get my hair done, they will thin it out and it seems like it takes no time for them to straighten it, of course she has a Chi professional flat iron, but I thought mine was good enough at home, also I use Aveda's hang straight (a straightening lotion) and it still isn't completely straight when I do it.


You may be thinking, what is Misikko? Misikko is a company that specializes in salon-quality styling products, hair dryers, curling irons, and flat irons (Hana, Chi, and FHI flat irons). The Hana Professional Flat Iron 1" has a two year warranty, it has ceramic and tourmaline plates-which offers the highest protection against ionic damage and smoothest plates. The Hana flat iron has a 450 degree max temperature, so you can adjust the heat for fine or extremely coarse hair! There is a curved design perfect for straightening, flipping, and curling. Overall Best Flat Iron- thermal protection, performance and durability make this the best overall iron for both professional and home use! Right now you can purchase your own Hana Professional Flat Iron with free heat proof mat, on sale for $119.99! I have to admit this is well worth the price, especially if you visit the salon just to have your hair straightened! Imagine, you can do it yourself anytime you want with one in your own home!!!

Misikko has great customer service. I received my package and I was very eager to open it and give it a try! I was amazed at the presentation of the packaging, look at this:

Not only was I excited about trying out this new flat iron, but I was blessed by some extras as well! They included three scented roses, a bag of goodies (hand sanitizer, nail files, Colgate wisp's), the silicone mat and heatproof pouch. I also had a bottle of the Hana Shine Shield.

Seriously I was SHOCKED when I used the Hana Professional Flat Iron! There is a reason why this flat iron is ranked one of the best flat irons on the Misikko website! I didn't use my hang straight, because I thought I would see how it worked first and then evaluate what products I would need. I will let the pictures speak for themselves! It took me a total of 8-10 min to straighten my hair! I allowed my hair to airdry, and brushed it out before the pictures were taken. The flat iron smoothed my hair and made the look complete with being able to flip my ends, all with one tool! This flat iron left my hair feeling soft and looking great!

Here are the before and after pictures: (ACK!)

I have to tell you, after receiving this product, my hair will not be pulled back as much! With the little amount of time that I actually have to put into making my hair look outstanding, I will have no excuse!
Thank you so much Misikko for giving me the Hana Professional Flat Iron 1" to review!

Creations By Angi WINNERS!!

Congrats to those that won! I used Random.org to generate the winners! Please send me your information (addresses) so that I can send out your items! Thanks so much for participating in this giveaway! Also a special thank you to Angi for allowing me to feature her on my blog!

And now to the winners!!

Julie said...Tooth Fairy Pillows, I am a fan, I also follow your blog..
http://julie-forthecure-auction.blogspot.com/
March 18, 2010 6:14 PM

You WON the TILE Necklace!

Kristen said... I LOVE Angi's bags! The diaper bags and purses are sooo cute!
March 18, 2010 6:34 PM

You WON the Bow!

Karen said... I follow you and I would like the boys themed bottle cap necklace, is it the scooby or can we pick from what she has on her site?
March 19, 2010 8:25 PM

You WON the Bottle Cap Necklace!

Again, thanks, enjoy your items! If you didn't win, take this time to go on over to Angi's page and pick out exactly what you would like!

Have you heard of Spokeo????

Okay, today I went over to Melissa's blog, good thing! I read her post regarding a website that contains more information than my phone number and my address....it had pictures of my family, and recent pictures of my house, how recent you may ask.....about two weeks! SCARY! I was very disturbed not only by the pictures but all the personal information it had on there, including our income, etc.

Thankfully I was able to go to their privacy button at the bottom of the page and delete both my husbands and my information. Hopefully it will be a successful deletion!

To see yourself, go to www.spokeo.com and put your name in the search bar.....follow the directions to delete your information~

Hope this helps you~ Blessings!

Menu Planning Monday

I am really excited about this weeks meals. I am only spending $25, yep that is right, and that $25 includes paper towels, and fun itmes too! So I am excited! I have mentioned that I need to re-organize my pantry, which I have not had the time to do (or made the time), but I have scheduled a block of time to do it tomorrow! So next weeks meals will be focused around the pantry! It is amazing, I will post pictures of the pantry before and after. I have a lot of room in there and I think I am addicted to buying pasta when it is on sale and I have coupons! Oh well, I will have a better functioning pantry when it is all said and done!

So here are this weeks meals! Also don't forget about the two giveaways I have going on, Angi's bow's, etc ends Monday tonight at 10pm and the Rachael Ray stoneware ends Wednesday!

Breakfast:

-Breakfast Casserole

-Eggs and Toast

-Pancakes

-Granola Bars (Homemade again this week)

-Cereal

-Oatmeal

-Grits

Lunches:

-PB&J, Homemade Pizza's, Grilled Cheese, Tuna Melts, Salad, Leftovers!

Dinners:

-Crockpot Swiss Roast and Homemade Mac&Cheese
-Baked Chicken, Corn Casserole, Green Beans
-Meatloaf with carrots, potatoes, celery
-Honey Baked Chicken, broccoli casserole
-Simple Turkey Chili
-Tilapia with lemon juice, green beans, salad, rice

Ingredients- tilapia fillets, 3 T lemon juice, 3T butter, 2 garlic cloves, dash of parsley, pepper

Directions: Preheat to 400, saute butter garlic and parsley, drizzle over fillets, bake for about 10 min. until the fish is flakey

-Southwest Chicken Salad

Ingredients-Black Beans, Head of lettuce, chopped green bell peper, 1 can of corn, shredded cheddar cheese, 2 cooked skinless boneless chicken breasts (cut in strips) tortilla chips (crushed), ranch dressing, salsa. (whatever you like you can top this salad!)

Directions: Heat the beans, toss together everything and top with beans chicken chips and dressing!

Have a wonderful week! Be blessed, and if you are interested in seeing more menu ideas check out Laura's blog!

Creations By Angi!

I just got my things in the mail from Angi! Here is a picture of Brooklynn in her new hat I bought! She is so girly, this is perfect!

I also bought a few other bows, but here are the pictures of the giveaway items I know you are dying to see!

There is still plenty of time to enter the giveaway! Make sure you check it out!!! You have all day today and then tomorrow until 10pm! Enter here!
Blessings~

Busy Life?!

When life gets busy, how do you slow down? I love to go for walks with the family, take a nice hot shower. In the summer I remember as a child helping out in the garden, and loving that time of unwinding/relaxation. Believe me that sounds weird, but I remember being out there with my dad and getting vegetables, and snapping beans/peas with my mom watching Golden Girls. I treasure those memories, I wish I could have "that" garden with my kids. You know my parents house is comfortable and quiet, it is a place where people gather and want to linger. I think we all want a place like that~ one that is a quiet haven from a busy world. My home, I feel, isn't "like" my parents. I strive for my house to be a home of worship and of rest and comfort, just like the example that I grew up with. My parents made it appear so easy, and now as a grown adult, I sometimes feel incapable. I know what I need to do, I know that I need to focus on certain areas to make it glimmer. But I allow the business and everyday life enter into our life and home. Sometimes wandering if the concept of rest and peace is but a figment of my imagination. :) When I start to doubt myself and how I am leading my children I have to look for encouragement from the scriptures. Because I have a tendency to worry and doubt and become overwhelmed by life, HE can comfort me. As I yearn for my life to be like my parents' example before me I am seeking God, knowing that HE hears my cries and comforts me! Especially when I am feeling too busy and when it feels like it is too much to handle, HE can help me to see what is important to HIM in my days. If I seek HIM to guide me in my organizing my time and my home, HE will lead and inspire me! One day my home will be that haven that I grew up in!

May we linger in prayer, listening for HIS voice~

How is God leading you? How has he inspired you lately?

Blessings to you!

Remember the giveaways, Angi's bows ends on the 29th, and Rachael Ray's ends on the 31st!

Giveaway and Review!

I have been so excited to get a package in the mail! Today I got my Rachael Ray 2 Piece Set of Stoneware Bubble & Brown Oven Ovals! I have been excited to get this set as I have been wanting to try out her line!

These are perfectly sized baking dishes! I received the set in blue, but CSN has them in green, yellow, orange and blue. They are contemporary but vibrant in their color! I was happy that I can take this straight from the oven to the table, they look amazing. They have extra wide handles that make it very easy to take from the oven with pot holders! Both of the ovals will nestle together to save space in your cupboard, which is key for me with limited kitchen cupboard space! The nice thing about this stoneware is that it is dishwasher, microwave, freezer, and oven safe. Extremely versatile, which all busy moms need pieces like these!

So tonight I made a Rachael Ray recipe, Kristen commented on the product review that she would love to see the Cheesy Hash brown Chili done in one of the dishes so I decided to do that first! Here is the link to the recipe, I did change a few things: we like things a little spicier, so I added cayenne pepper, and I added garlic when I was adding the onions. I also added in a little Velveeta cheese, which of course made it delicious! Here is the finished product! (Note: this says that it feeds four, but I think it would feed 6 easily!)

Cooking in the Stoneware, was amazing, and it was deep enough for this casserole. Clean up was super easy, nothing stuck to the side and the glaze didn't fade~I would rate this a 10!

While Chip and I were eating I thought of all the things I can use these dishes for, not only casseroles and roasts, but anything really that I would love to serve dinner in! I am going to try a breakfast bake in it this weekend too! We also talked about how this would be a great gift for a wedding or a recent college graduate, CSN has these on sale for $34.95 (half off as their list price is $69.95) they also offer free shipping on a lot of their items!

Go check out CSN, there are over 200 stores to look through finding housewares, outdoor items, not to mention the ultimate gift finder page!

I want to thank CSN for allowing me the opportunity to do a review on their item and a giveaway on this amazing product!

So now, how to enter this GREAT giveaway! CSN is giving one of my readers a set of the Rachael Ray Stoneware, and you get to pick your color!

1. To enter, go to CSN and leave a comment on this post telling me what item interests you! (1 entry) (Please include your email so that I can email you if you win)

2. Follow me on my blog (2 extra entries)

3. Blog about this giveaway and send me the link (3 extra entries)

The giveaway ends March 31st at 10PM. Please leave 1 comment for each entry you earn! The winner will be randomly picked and announced that evening! Thanks for participating and GOOD LUCK!!!!

Granola Bars

So I love to do crafts with the kids and any time that I can incorporate them in cooking they jump for joy! I believe that's because they see me having fun creating things in the kitchen and they see that it can be fun to cook and not a chore! Chip's mom made them aprons to do Easter eggs in this year, and the kids love now they get to wear an apron while cooking in the kitchen! So today we made granola bars! I decided not to put nuts or raisins/craisins this time, because the kids asked for peanut butter and some chocolate chips! So here is how I made them today! Let me know if you use this recipe and how you like it! It is so much fun to have the kids help and have them measure out what is needed (great teaching time!) Let me know how it works in your house, or if you have a spin off on the recipe!

So I basically start with oats (4 1/2 cups), flour (1 cup), baking soda (1 tsp.), vanilla (1 tsp.), butter (softened 2/3 C), honey (1/2 C), brown sugar (1/3 C),

and then anything you want to add in.

I usually will put in crushed almonds, craisins, sometimes chocolate chips. I have found that if you do the choc. chips that you can get by with a heaping cup (more if you like), the rest you can add as you desire. Sometimes my kids are into a real nut/berries kick and I will overload it!

So after you get everything mixed together, put in a greased pan (depending on how thick you want them 9x13 or smaller) and bake at 325 for 15-18 min. Let them cool about 10 min. and cut them into bars, and then let rest until completely cooled! Store in an airtight container, although they go fast here!

So it's an easy recipe, tons of fun with the kids! And you most likely have everything in your house to make them! So go have fun!!!

Blessings

Menu Planning Monday

This last week went well with meals~ the kids liked having the black beans with rice and the quesadillas, which was the one meal I thought they would not touch~ I have had a great week with the kids, we have walked, played outside (yes it is spring!) and even went to the Children's Museum. This week we have even more fun activities planned. Brooklynn is actually going to get her hair done and go on a "date" with her daddy! They will be going to a He and Me dance too! I will be sure to post pictures of her AMAZING dress and date night! Be sure to remember to sign up for my giveaway by leaving a comment!

Breakfasts:

Eggs and Toast, Cereal, Oatmeal, Smoothies

Lunch:

Grilled Cheese, PB&J, Ham and Cheese, Salads, Egg Salad

Dinners:

(There are only 6 meals planned, due to dinner out with each child)

Baked Cheesy Chicken and Biscuits

Hamburgers (on the grill!)

Spaghetti with garlic bread

Baked Potato Bar with Salads

Lentil Soup with Sausage

Tilapia with Basmati Rice

I will also be making granola bars with the kids Monday! We have planned on making some O.PB balls too! (I really don't have a name for these, they are oatmeal, peanut butter, flax, honey, etc!) I will post pictures of us making our fun treats! Check out other menu's on Laura's page.

Blessings!

Creations By Angi~ Giveaway!

I have been buying bows for Brooklynn since she was little, you can understand my excitement when I came across Angi, she has amazing talent and wonderful product! Angi not only makes bows but does amazing things with bottle caps, has totes, tutus, and flip flops to name a few! The wonderful thing about Angi to me, she isn't out to break your bank and her product is awesome!

What an exciting opportunity I have to announce a giveaway! I am pleased to introduce to you Angi~

(Michael and Angi, along with children Hannah, Connor, and Brayden)

Lisa: Angi, how long have you been making bows?

Angi: With the birth of my sister's 6th child Lillian Elizabeth she was going to be the princess of our family. My sister has 6 children and I have three, the youngest now a baby girl! Misty, my sister wanted Lily to have all of the adorable hair flair that you see in today's fashion. I have always been crafty and decided instead of spending a fortune on hair bows I would make them for her. I bought some ribbon and got started. After playing around with ribbon I became obsessed! Bows~N~Bottlecaps was found in May of 2009.

I began by selling to friends and family and eventually made a Facebook page and my website is still under construction. I attend local craft shows and festivals around central Indiana all throughout the year. I have simply been overwhelmed with the response to my items. My stock started with only 5 bows styles and now averages over 86 items.

I have recently been blessed to be given the opportunity to make the bows for the Denver Bronco Junior Cheerleaders. Kim Wilt with Two Crafty Chicks has been an awesome business partner and recruited the work for the Denver Broncos for both her and I. I am proud to say the Bows~N~Bottlecaps has become a huge success within less than a year!

Lisa: What sparks your ideas?

Angi: When I am in my bow studio working away ideas just seem to pop in my head. Many times I will have an idea in my head and can not figure out how to make it a reality. These are the nights that I will lay in bed and all of the sudden a light bulb goes off and the next day turned into an amazing new product! My children and new fashions also add to the latest and greatest ideas. I also have to give kudos to my network of fellow loopies who encourage and advise continually.

Lisa: What's the best thing you've made, the biggest, your favorite?

Angi: I don't know if I can pick just one item to be my favorite. I truly enjoy making tutus, flip flops, and all style hair bows. My most unique items are still in the works, one has already been announced. My ABC Flattened Bottlecap Magnets are so fun for little fingers!

Thank you Angi for your time and for your items to host this give away!

Now onto the great giveaway!

Angi has given me one bottlecaps necklace themed for a boy and one boutique bow!

Both of these are amazing! Good luck to those that enter~

To enter leave a comment, mention one of your favorite item she has on her site. (1 entry)
Become a fan of Angi's on Facebook. (1 entry)
Follow my blog. (2 entries)
(Leave separate comments for each entry!)

Please be sure to mention which item you would like to enter for.

The winners will be announced March 29th~ I will email the winners to get your addresses and send out the items!

Pumpkin Cheese Cake Muffins!

Okay so last night I decided to get creative with some pumpkin that was in my pantry. I started the recipe like I would normally make pumpkin bread, but then I thought I would do a cheese cake rendition. I filled the muffin tins with the pumpkin mixture. I then decided to mix up some cream cheese, egg, and sugar. I made wells in the pumpkin mixture and put a dollop of the cream cheese, and then sprinkled on some cinnamon, sugar and butter crumble on top. These were such a hit this morning. Andrew had two and asked for more....I cut him off! :) I will do these again sometime soon!

Blessings~

Menu Planning~

This week I am planning on being a fairly easy week with meals. Again I am planning on not going out to eat this week! I am going to be making a list of items I have in the freezer to make out meal plans for the next two weeks~ I am excited to be getting on top of the pantry and the freezer!

Breakfasts:

Cereal, Eggs and Toast, Smoothies, Pancakes/Waffles, Breakfast Cookies

Lunches:

Ham and Cheese Melts, PB&J, Mac & Cheese, Left Overs!

Dinners:

M: Black Beans and Rice with Cheesy Roll-Ups for the kids!

T: Roasted Chicken, Green Beans, and Potatoes

W: Baked Pasta, Salad

Th: Pork Chops, Rice, Peas

Fri: Biscuits and Gravy

Sat: Hamburgers, Red Potato Salad

Sun: Roast, Carrots, Potatoes

Laura Hosts Menu Planning Monday....head on over to her site to see what everyone else is planning for their meals this week to get some great ideas!

Attitude of Appreciation

“IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE, YOU WILL NOT BE HAPPY WITH MORE!”

I found myself saying this to my kids today. I took them to a store and both of them started in on how it wasn't "fair" that they didn't get something. I talked to them about how there are a lot of children that didn't have as many toys as them and how they would feel if they knew that they had toys sitting at our house not being used or played with. Well...I am sure you can see how it started to backfire on me right there. Brooklynn decided maybe we should give away all the food in our pantry, or all our socks, the list went on. I explained that we "will" eat our food, and yes maybe we do have too many socks, but we will wear them until they have holes. Then she said but I "will" play with all of my toys someday.
We live in a society where it is not thought of twice to have a closet filled with clothes, and then still go shopping for more outfits. Or a toy box overflowing and getting a cart full of more toys for a birthday/Christmas. So I am thinking we need to re-evaluate I want my kids to still be kids and have a great childhood, but I want them to have a heart of compassion and a heart that is eager to give!
Please don't get me wrong, my kids are great, and they care about people. But I want them to realize that there is a bigger picture to everything. No I don't want them to be so grown up that they don't enjoy the time they have as kids. I want them to feel blessed by what they have and bless others by what they can do and give!

Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you. Deuteronomy 16: 17

Product Review!

To my excitement, this morning I got an email from Ashley with CSN letting me know about an opportunity to do a product review! If I would have been sitting on a bar stool I would have fallen over! :) With the help of Ashley I have picked out the item that I am going to review! Rachael Ray's Bubble and Brown, I have been wanting to purchase these for a while now! I love Rachael Ray, and can't wait to try out a recipe in this new item! Stay tuned for that post, because you too could win your own set of these!
So, go check out CSN. They have amazing things to offer and great deals! Have fun looking!
And a special thanks to CSN for allowing me to host this review and giveaway!

Blessings!

Key Lime Cove

We left for Key Lime Cove on Sunday after church.....long drive, but great for the kids when we got here. They were able to get right into the water. This place is huge! They have a lot of things for the kids, the downside was this morning the water park didn't open until 10am, which is 11 our time. Not to mention the kids woke up early as usual, so keeping them quiet and entertained was "fun"~ I brought things for our meals, the evening before we left I made some dinners that could be easily warmed up in the microwave. This morning it was bagels and yogurt! Chip laughed while carrying in our cooler~"how long are we here?"!! (Note: we didn't eat out the whole three days!) I am glad I saw other people doing the same thing. Hey you have to save somewhere right! The kids love it, and it provides extra money to do other things~ They are used to eating at home anyway so it really isn't that much different, and they love their little kitchen table in the room, it is novelty that you can move the flat screen towards the table so they can watch cartoons and eat or color!

Brooklynn is the typical adventure/thrill seeker! The second morning I walked up these stairs 16 times back to back, and then suggested that we/I needed a break! Okay I must mention that for three of the slides you have to carry up your own tube, only two can you go down without a tube! But still those steps were exhausting! Brooklynn loved that there was an area that she could navigate herself and go through the maze to do some more slides herself! She also has a radiant personality where she makes friends easily!

Andrew is not as much as a dare devil with heights as Brooklynn is. He is laid back, and loves to play! Andrew does love slides, but is cautious at first! Although he did go down a "huge" slide alone! I was very proud of how brave he was, it was a slide that they wouldn't let two people go down together...he loved it, but we didn't do it again! :) In the kiddie area he was able to do the slides himself, but loved that mom would sit at the end of the slide waiting and cheering him on! Andrew also loved the lazy river!

They both had a blast! I love that we can see PURE JOY in our kids! They love the water, they enjoy life, and I am reminded daily to let them live life fully and to try not to hold them back!

I do have to mention that Key Lime Cove has a larger kids area, they have the locked infant/kiddie area, and a great area for Brooklynn's thrill seeking heart! We were able to enjoy some gaming time the day we left, we saved it until the end, and this is what the kids won!

Bounce Dryer Bar~

Okay, so I signed up to try out a sample of the new Bounce Dryer Bar. The idea was that they give you a sample and then you review it. Well, great thing they had enough people before my name was picked..... I decided to go out and buy one for our dryer. The lady on the commercial was so convincing, but the results were less than convincing for me. I bought the smaller bar as I didn't want to commit to 4 months of having something in my dryer. I am not a huge fan of having something stuck on the dryer itself, but I gave it a try anyway. The first load I did was whites, and the clothes came out smelling really strong, good/fresh. I thought hey this will be great! Ummm, yeah next load was some of my pants and shirts......spots on my clothes. I thought maybe I left something in my pocket, you never know with kids :), but, nope....sprayed and washed again, and guess what.....spots were in different places. I was frustrated, and took out the dryer bar immediately. When I took out the dryer bar I noticed that in some areas it had lint stuck to it. Because it was warm it smelled wonderful, but it is not worth ruining my laundry. So for me and my house, we will not go that route again. Hope if you are trying it you have better luck!