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Ultimate Blog Party ’10 – The After-Party

Posted on April 18, 2010 6:16 pm by TheAngelForever

On Friday, April 9, I asked my readers if they were going to be joining in on the fun of:

That Aloha Friday question of the week also served as my official UBP10 post for the online festivities. I stayed up the evening it went live to put up my link and waited patiently while 5 Minutes For Mom were working out a few server issues. When the post finally was working properly, I linked up my #UBP10 post, put my Twitter name in and left a comment. My post was well into the 80’s within seconds, but I was the 13th comment on the post. During the week long event, over 2,300 people linked up on the original page. Now Janice and Susan are keeping the fun going. They are asking people to join them with the Ultimate Blog Party 2010 After-Party.

During the week, I spent time visiting many new blogs and meeting people on Twitter. Here are a few of them in no particular order:

Jolly Green Mommy – Another teacher, turned SAHM who also happens to be Jewish and have a love for Disney. Love all of her toddler projects to do with the kids and kosher/vegetarian vegetarian menu ideas.

From the Same Nest – Written by two sisters about their lives as wives, mothers and sharing the items that they create in a humorous fashion. They had a hilarious UBP10 post that really caught my eye.

Kelly’s Lucky You – Another Mom that went to DisneySMMom that I wish I had met. Kelly writes about many topics including winning contests, getting free samples and getting the best value for your money.

There were many others, but these are three that came to my head right now. I must admit, I am a little tired right now. I went to sleep early last night (before 11) because I was not feeling well. At about 12:20, I woke up and heard TechyDad going to check on the boys. At about the same time, my cell phone did a beep or two from text messages. I looked quickly and saw it was a Tweet coming in. Seconds later another. This time I could see it was a mention (@TheAngelForever). Suddenly, I saw person after person congratulating me for being the Grand Prize winner of the Ultimate Blog Party 2010!

I yelled to TechyDad to see if his computer was still on (mine was off – go figure). He said it was, so I told him why. We went to check and see what was going on and sure enough, there I was listed as the Grand Prize winner. What did I win?

The funny part, the post just 24 hours before was a wish list of practical things I would really like. Check it out. . . item #2 (the first really just for me):

New Laptop – My laptop is on borrowed time. It is almost 5 years old and the letters are worn off (stickers have not helped either). Plus, the fan makes a horrid noise from time to time.

TechyDad and I both laughed that I should make a new blog post immediately with a wish for a big winning lotto ticket! Well a girl can dream, no?

Thank you again to everyone for coming by my blog, I hope to see you again soon – remember I love comments. Janice and Susan, thank you for the fabulous party. Seriously, I am not just saying that because I won the Grand Prize. I feel honored to have met you both at DisneySMMoms and enjoyed my chat with Susan that Friday after the conference. Now I will be able to finish my Disney posts on the snazzy new computer when I get it.

Categories:
Blog Hop bloggy friends DisneySMMoms jl looking back me moments TechyDad web fun

My belated birthday dinner – four months later

Posted on April 13, 2010 10:46 am by TheAngelForever

Being a December baby, I am used to the snow altering plans for my birthday celebrations. The white nasty stuff put a damper on things this past year. It is hard to believe that, four months ago, we had almost two feet of snow dumped on us – happy birthday to me!

Of course, the snow was just the start of the fun on that very cold and snowy December day. (Please note the extreme sarcasm here) While outside shoveling with my hubby, six year old NHL was hit near his eye with a shovel. I was inside the house baking my own cake when I heard screams and then saw a lot of red all over my child. A quick trip to the ER, glue and take out Chinese food rounded out the day.

TechyDad and I were supposed to go out for dinner at Hana Japanese restaurant, but it never happened. Things kept popping up and we pushed it off. Fast forward to Saturday when hubby and I left the kids with Nana and Papa and went out to dinner. We went to Hana and had an amazing dinner.

I had hibachi steak, while TechyDad opted for the hibachi salmon. We both started off with a bowl of miso soup. Everything was absolutely delicious. I made sure to save half of my meal for a lunch because I wanted to get something after dinner. Last year, we never made it to the local soft serve ice cream place. We packed up from dinner and went over. Both of us had the following:

That would be a mint and chocolate swirl cone. I swear, it tasted like a Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie on a cone . . . it was amazing! When we were done with this, we went to Toys R Us for a kid free look around. JSL’s birthday is in a month, so we needed ideas without two kids telling what "I want" to everything they see.

All in all, my belated birthday dinner out was delightful. I told JL that I really liked the spring deal and not having to worry about driving to the celebration in snow and ice. Who knew a birthday outing could be so care free?! Thank you again to Mom and Dad for watching the kids, I know they had a blast with both of you.

So, do you go out to dinner for your birthday? What did you have for dinner on your last special day?

Categories:
birthday food glorious food jl looking back me moments photos TechyDad weekend yummy

Daddy and his 2 year old

Posted on April 7, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Categories:
fun jl jsl play time TechyDad weekend Wordless Wednesday

TV interview and rally lessons

Posted on March 27, 2010 9:26 pm by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL,

This week has been filled with a lot of ups and downs. We started the week off trying to get the word out about saving your school. Then we were told that the school was safe. Less than 24 hours later the threat to close things down was back in full force. It has been a very hard time for me to understand as an adult, I can not imagine how it has been as a six year old.

Yesterday afternoon when you got out of school, we were asked to stay around. People had been told that a local new station was coming to interview people about what was happening. Much to your surprise when they came and we were ready to leave, the reporter asked to talk with you. You were not nervous at all. You went right up to the camera, answered the questions and made me so proud. You told her that you liked gym, art, time outside at lunch, computers and math. I will admit, the teacher in me was a little nervous that it took you so long to mention the traditionally academic areas of your school day. You also saw how the news takes a longer interview and chops it to fit within a story that they air.

This morning we got up and went in the freezing cold temperatures to a rally to save your school. Parents, students and neighbors were there to let the media and others know that we are fighting to keep the school open. For two and a half hours you stayed outside and marched by the street, held signs and chanted in front of cameras and cars that went by to save your school.

You had to regroup at one point, but once you sat down and talked with Daddy for a little while you were ready for more of the same. Today, you learned that in our country we are lucky to have the right to demonstrate our beliefs in this type of rally. I hope you know that Daddy, Mommy and the other adults are not going to back down. We are going to make sure that everyone knows that we will fight to the end to save your school.

Love,

Mommy

_______________________________________

If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.

Categories:
decisions Educational jl looking back milestone nhl photos real world news school stupidity

Dove Men + Care (Review/Giveaway)

Posted on March 25, 2010 9:06 pm by TheAngelForever

Let’s face it, there are countless soaps and body washes that are marketed for women. Meanwhile, men are often forced to use generic products or the ones that their wife/girlfriend/significant other purchase. Dove has now put out a product line to help men and their unique skin needs. When I was asked by Family Review Network to see if my husband would try and review the Dove Men + Care products, he agreed. If you watched the Super Bowl you may remember this hilarious commercial for the product:

About Dove Men + Care:

What is Dove® MEN+CARE?

Dove introduces, MEN+CARE, the brand’s first-ever product line created specifically for men. The new products are designed for men who have a reached a point in their lives where they are comfortable with themselves, but not in their skin. Many men put up with cleansing products that are harsh and drying, without realizing these products leave their skin feeling dry, irritated and uncomfortable. Men even blame their socks for their skin irritation when it is really the drying effect of regular cleansers!

Total Skin Comfort

Dove developed MEN+CARE so men can literally be comfortable in their skin. Built on the Dove brand’s heritage in cleansing, moisturizing and care, the new MEN+CARE products offer great cleansing combined with Dove moisturizers to provide total skin comfort. Dove MEN+CARE is dermatologist recommended and clinically proven to fight skin dryness without irritation or tightness.

Products Available:

Body and Face Wash with Micromoisture – 13.5 fl oz/SRP $4.99 – Available in three varieties: Clean Comfort, Extra Fresh, and Deep Clean

Body and Face Bars – 2 bars/SRP $3.19 – Available in Extra Fresh and Deep Clean
Active Clean Shower Tool $3.99

To help and get the word out about the new line of Dove products for men, Dove is having a contest. You could win the man in your life a manly backyard makeover. All you have to do is share your story of that unsung moment when you knew your man was comfortable with his own skin. To learn more about the contest head here for details.

Thoughts from TechyDad:

Body Wash – I’ll admit, I was hesitant with this. As a general rule, I hate body washes. They tend to leave a residue and I feel like they’re not washing off. The Dove Body Wash, however, seemed to wash off nicely without me feeling like I was still soapy after the suds were washed off. I like that it didn’t seem to have an overpowering smell too. Since B is sensitive to perfumes, we buy mostly unscented products.Years of doing this has left me noticing whenever a product has a fragrance. The Dove Body Wash might have a small bit of fragrance to it (tough for me to tell with my nose’s current condition), but it is not overpowering. I would definitely use this again.

Scrubber – I’ve used "poofs" previously and have liked them. This scrubber, however, takes the general shower poof concept and adds to it. On one side is something resembling a "poof" only with more substance to it. Actually, calling it a poof sells it short. This is no lightweight, it can really scrub your skin. The other side is a scrubber that… well, scrubs even more. Dove says it "helps exfoliate for a deeper clean." I can’t attest to whether any exfoliation occurred (I have no clue how to tell), but my skin did feel cleaner when I used this.
Especially my face that tends to get oily. (I thought that was supposed to stop when I stopped being a teen!)

Body & Face Bar – When I opened this package, I was preparing myself for a stench of fragrance. The box smelled of fragrance and so I figured the bar would be heavily scented. I was pleasantly surprised when the bar’s fragrance was subtle, not overpowering. I’m not sure why the box smelled so much, but, since I wasn’t going to be lathering up with the box, I didn’t put much thought into it. This bar did pretty well. It lathered nicely and washed off clean.

Giveaway:

Thanks to Dove, one lucky reader will win their own bottle of Men + Care Body and Face Wash along with a Body and Face Bar.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Answer the following questions: Which product do you think the man in your life would like most and why? If you are a man and this is for you which product are you excited to try and why?
1 Bonus Entry –
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and Dove Men + Care Giveaway in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): Chance to win Dove Men + Care products from @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/b0VlZ0 Head over to enter.
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of March. Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done only twice per person.
1 Bonus Entry – Enter any of my other current giveaways. You may leave one comment for each of the giveaways that you enter on this post.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today March 25th and ends at 10:59 EST on April 15, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only.

Disclosure: This post was written for Family Review Network as part of a program for Dove, who supplied the products for review and giveaway. No other compensations was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my families own feelings about the product.