March Happiness Challenge Day 8!!!

Google is pretty awesome. You can find all sorts of crazy/funny/awkward images on there by searching random words.

Here's what I got for "happiness":

Hey, there's a movie called Happiness lol. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0147612/

oh and this gem: The Happiness Project

and some of my favorite images:

March Happiness Challenge Day 4

As a mom and wife, I have lots of pictures that make me smile. My kids, my pets, my husband. LOLCatz also make me smile!

Here's some of my favorite pictures!

March Happiness Challenge Day 2 :D

I love quotes. I read a lot and have like a collection of them. My top two, that make me smile, are from Jack Kerouac and Dr. Seuss, haha!

Kerouac:

Dr. Seuss:

Frosting Bath and Body facebook giveaway!

This giveaway is pretty freaking fantastic. Go check out Frosting Bath and Body and look in their wall photo album... I mean, the prize is like a smorgasbord of awesomeness!

Here's a list of the prizes, with a total value of over $145 dollars, it's insane! I've also been browsing their page and they have some nice stuff, check them out :)

☆ The Prize:

♥ Elf Brush Set
♥ Elf Mascara
♥ Elf Eye Primer
♥ False Eyelashes
♥ NYC Nail Polish
♥ Pedicure Set
♥ Valentine's Day Themed Notepad and Pen
♥ Chocolate Bar Mirror
♥ Plastic Heart Ring
♥ Plastic Jar with Felt LOVE topper

☆ Frosting Bath & Body Stuff:

♥ 4 HoneyBunz Tealights
♥ 1 Candy Corn votive
♥ 1 Chocolate Cupcake Bath Soap
♥ 2 Random Scented 35ml. Perfumes (1 men's and 1 women's scent)
♥ 1 Peppermint Scented Heart Shaped Bath Soap
♥ 1 4oz. Random Scented Lotion
♥ 1 4oz. Random Scented Liquid Hand Soap
♥ 1 Random Scented Bubble Bath Salt
♥ 1 Random Scented Fizzy Bath Salt
♥ 1 Random Scented Body Butter
♥ 1 Caramel Apple Bath Bomb
♥ 4 5g Random Pigmented Eye Shadows
♥ 1 Frosting Bath & Body Cosmetic Bag
♥ Lots of Samples & More plus Free Priority Shipping!!!

Vox Box goodies review :D

So I am finally getting around to writing my review, go me! LOL. I wanted to try a good portion of the products before actually sitting down to write this! I have tried everything, but the ImPress press-on nails, as I'm saving them for a special occasion :) Also, the NYC lip gloss will be in a review all on it's own.

My Holiday vox box was filled with quite a few goodies. You can see the picture post HERE if you want to view it!

I want to review the SoftSoap Coconut Scrub Bar, Montagne Jeunesse Flavored Mask, Mentos Pure Fresh Gum, Larabar Healthy Snack, and Garden Botanika lash primer!

Here's a pic of the products: the Mentos are missing since my husband stole them LOL :D

First, let's discuss the SoftSoap Coconut Scrub Bar. It was typical bar soap, nothing special about it. I used it in the shower and it smelled ok, but left such a weird residue on my skin that I had to rewash with my regular soap and rinse for a few minutes longer than normal. I honestly would never buy it!

The Mentos Gum tasted really fresh and yummy! My husband and I both really like it! It's a little strong at first (which I like) but it does go away relatively quickly, the strong-ness that is!

Larabar fruit and nut bars are actually pretty good. I liked it, and so did my kids (2 and 4). It tastes refreshing, and has good flavor, nothing too grainy.

The next thing I tried was the Montagne Jeunesse Flavored Mask. I wouldn't actually eat it, LOL. But mine smelled so yummy! It was the strawberry souffle one and it smelled like fresh strawberries. I followed package instructions and put it on my face, and let it sit for 20 minutes. It dried, felt a little tingly, and once washed off my face felt smoother. It was nice and relaxing. It's also fun when the mask dries and you can barely talk. (My sister called me while it was on, *that* was funny! haha! I may not have put enough of it on my face, but it still worked. I would definitely buy this product!

The last item I tried was the Garden Botanika lash primer, I was a little skeptical that it would work since I have never used a lash primer before. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it works. It boasts that it will make lashes longer, and it really helped make them longer and more defined. I hope the pictures show it well enough!

tubing:

No primer:

Primer:

and while I haven't tried the press-on nails I LOVE the packaging! It's too adorable :) I hope they work as well as the commercial say they do!

Aull about you's 100 follower giveaway :D

there are some amazing prizes!!!! this is a fantastic giveaway, everyone should check it out! :D

http://mrsaull923.blogspot.com/2011/11/100-follower-giveaway.html

- Madd Style Cosmetics Sugar Lips Bomb - Taboo

- Madd Style Cosmetics Sugar Lips Bomb - Skittlez

- Madd Style Cosmetics Pigment: Star Gazer

- Madd Style Cosmetics Pigment: Dr. Rockso

- Madd Style Cosmetics Pigment: Snuffy

- Madd Style Cosmetics Pigment: Trashed

- Madd Style Cosmetics Pigment: Spooky Girl

- Madd Style Cosmetics Pigment: Final Fantasy

- Madd Style Cosmetics Pigment: Tiny Dancer

- Madd Style Cosmetics Pigment: Mr. Roboto

- Madd Style Cosmetics Pigment: Pixie

- Cherry manicure set

- Hello Kitty snap hair clips

- Ardell Fairy Wings false eyelashes

- Nail stickers

- Broadway Nails - Tiger Print

- Bare Minerals Pigment - Bamboo

- Alima Eyeshadow - Platinum

& plenty more!

Kids can bake too!

My daughter, Becka, turned four January 15, 2011. It was an amazing birthday party with good people and she was spoiled, in a good way of course. My friend Brittney gave her this cute cook book, Kids Can Bake by Nicola Graimes (2009). It's a seriously cute cookbook with some amazing recipes.

We've tried some different ones but baking is so tough with a 22 month old awake and around since she wants to "help" which always involve a giant mess, and as fun as it is it really slows down the baking process.

Yesterday was perfect. The youngest went to sleep. Becka and I had been trying to find time to make the Caterpillar Rolls recipe for a couple weeks now and this seemed perfect, since we had no other obligations and we both just wanted to bake. The recipes and ingredients are relatively simple and Becka has fun pouring the ingredients in and helping mix. It's such a fun time for both of us really.

Baking with your child is so rewarding. You can teach them numbers and measurements and math. You can even teach them about science (yeast reactions, rising dough, etc). You can also teach them about textures and the senses. It's such a big learning opportunity for kids, and parents, because you're learning about your child. The quality time is amazing, even if it's a little frustrating because they do things their way. Patience is definitely a virtue, and remembering that they are kids, they will make mistakes and play with flour, causing a huge mess all over your kitchen! haha.

My youngest woke up before we were finished. We had to let the dough rise. The mess that the two of them made with the flour on the table was pretty big. The laughter that ensued as they played in the flour, was priceless and worth cleaning up a giant flour mess. (Hey it could have been worse, it could have been syrup or honey).

The end result of our Caterpillar Rolls tasted fantastic. Everyone, including my 22 month old who doesn't really eat bread, loved them..

So here's our baking escapade, from start to finish! It was rewarding, fun, and a moment I will cherish. There may come a day where she no longer wants to bake with me, but I'll still have these memories .

(I also recommend you finding this book, I'm sure it's on Amazon.com or even in a book store!)

The Book:

The recipe:

My Little Baker:

Mixing!

:)

The rolls:

Her Sister woke up! :)

Oh what fun!

They have risen, and are decorated:

The finished caterpillar, she wanted chocolate chip eyes. She loved it!

Homemade fruit "roll ups"

I love to make things homemade, infact I prefer to figure out how to make things than go out to eat or buy them from the store!

I came across a homemade fruit "roll ups" recipe that seemed to go to be true. It was way to simple. I always imagined that making them, without machinery, would be pretty tough. I mean, they look so "perfect"!

Anyways, I was browsing the recipe portion of the Disney Family website (click here) when I came across the recipe. I was thrilled. I wanted to try to make fruit snacks for the girls because even the "100 percent fruit" had junk in them that I didn't like.

The recipe (here) called for dry fruit and water. Simple right? It totally was super simple!

Here's the recipe and directions. We actually used a tropical fruit medley!

By Anne Coleman

Ingredients

8 ounces dried apricots or other dried fruit

1 1/2 cups water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
2. Line a 12x15 inch baking sheet with aluminum foil; coat foil with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Combine apricots or other dried fruit with water in a heavy saucepan and simmer for 30 minutes or until fruit is very soft.
4. Drain excess liquid and pour fruit into a blender. Puree until very smooth.
5. Pour fruit onto prepared foil and spread evenly, making sure there are no holes.
6. Place sheet into oven for 25 minutes. Without opening oven, turn heat off and leave oven door shut for 8 hours.
7. Remove baking sheet from oven and gently peel fruit from foil. Set on waxed paper, right-side down, and press down.
8. Cut into 12 even strips, lengthwise. Roll each strip with the paper side out and store in plastic bags until ready to eat.

Oh, I also used parchment paper. The picture on the website looks like a type of cellophane was used to back the rolls, I had parchment paper and it worked just fine. :)

Anyways, it was a lot of fun! It was tricky to spread on the tinfoil and getting it as even as possible without any holes was a bit of a process, at least for me, but it was a lot of fun. They aren't as pretty as their processed counterparts but they sure do taste better and looks aren't everything! My children were very pleased with them!

My 4 year old, Becka, was nice enough to let me get pictures of her during her tasting process. She LOVED them, gave them a thumbs up and then ran off to let her younger sister try it. It was a huge success with Taegen too, who refused all photo ops though.

I will be making these again, maybe one day I'll be able to dry my own fruit!

Spread onto the foil:

Cutting into strips (I can not cut a strait line, apparently):

The finished rolls:

Storage :)

Becka's wonderful candid moments lol :) She loved them!

The Great Cloth Diaper giveaway!!!

Here's an awesome giveaway by Cute Caboose in conjunction with the Great Cloth Diaper hunt! Check out her site, and awesome products while you are at it!

You can find out all the information here! Have fun!