Lin Yi's Lantern Book Review+Craft Project

I won the Barefoot Books Giveaway over at Frugality Is Free awhile back and got to choose a book I wanted. I chose the children book called "Lin Yi's Lantern"



It's and adorable story about a boy who so badly wants a Chinese Rabbit Lantern and hopes to have change leftover from his shopping trip his mother sent him on, so he could by one. He came down to his last little bit of money and was about to purchase the lantern, then realized he had forgotten to by his Uncles items needed. So instead of being selfish, he put his uncle first and bought him those things. In the end he finds that putting others before you will always work out for the better in the end.

My son loved this book. And there was a great little activity instructional in the back of the book, to make your very own Chinese lantern craft. It was a lot of fun and my little boy enjoyed it as well.

Here is the drawing my son did, for his lantern.

 He then folded it in half (hotdog way) and cut the slits..

 Then unfolded it and rolled it, taping the edges and added on a handle!
I then made a small bowl like insert into the bottom of the lantern (using a mini cereal box cut to size) and taped that in. Then we added a battery operated tea candle for it to glow. So much fun!

Glade Expressions Review

   I absolutely love Glade products! So when Bzzagent asked me if I would like to review the new Glade Expressions fragrances, I jumped right in!!


I was sent a booklet of coupons for $2 & $4 off, as well as a coupon to get a free Glade Expressions Fragrance Mist, Starter Kit and a coupon for a free Glade Expressions Oil diffuser, starter kit.This way I could choose my own taste in scents!!

Glade Expressions new fragrances are:

Cotton & Italian Mandarin - a breezy blend of cotton and sparkling citrus, honeydew and sandalwood-(available in Fragrance Mist only.)

Fuji Apple & Cardamom Spice - A ripe, spicy blend of sweet pears and crisp apple with a dash of cinnamon and clove that warms and invigorates

Lavender & Juniper Berry - Lush lavender blends with fresh juniper berry, eucalyptus and rose to relax the senses and open your home

Pineapple & Mangosteen - Evoke a tropical paradise with the blend of freshly cut pineapples and hint of tangy mangosteen, creamy coconut and passionflower

I chose the Cotton & Italian Mandarin scent, for the fragrance mist. I absolutely LOVE this smell. I so wish it was available in the Oil Diffuser also.  It sounds like a weird combination of smells but it is oh so good. The scent is hard to explain, but the mix of cotton and citrus-y smell hits it right on. I spray it in my living room, even on my sofa pillows and the smells lasts for days in a row. It's so relaxing and uplifting at once. I just love it!

For the Oil Diffuser, I chose the Fuji Apple & Cardamom Spice scent.This is a great Fall scent. It's not as strong scented as I hoped for, but when you walk passed it, the smell arrives to your nose and leaves you feeling warm and ready for the Fall! These oil diffusers are non electric and their scents last for 30 days.The diffusing holder comes in white or bamboo, to match your home decor!

I'm looking forward to smelling the Lavender & Juniper Berry but have not found it in stores yet. I'm not much a fan of the Pineapple & Mangosteen though. Seems to be a smell that would give me a headache.

I love the concept of the oil diffusers and hope Glade will continue to make new scents for these. The spray is just as amazing and so easy to have a smell good home in seconds. They are both refillable which makes buying them even nicer!

I'm always looking forward to Glade coming out with new products and I am so happy I got to participate in this!



This post is made possible by Bzzagent, by providing the above in coupons in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Tail Towns Friends Game Review

Tail Towns Friends is a fun new Facebook game where you play with cute little animals. It "combines fun social Facebook gameplay with the timeless charm and unparalleled beauty of the world of Tail Towns."

Tail Towns is brought to you by the same makers who did Webkinz, but this one is for adults! It offers drama and soap opera like, stories to keep you interested. It reminds me of a mix between Sims and other fun Facebook games out there. You get goals you have to follow, planting and growing the crops, meeting with new people, ect. It appears to be a pretty easy game. You use acorns as money, how cute is that?

I like the scenes and cutesie-ness of the game. And them talking about what they will be using the crops or items needed, for. For instance, they all wanted apples to make apple pie. Thinking about about apple pie just makes you feel good inside :)  

source
 I also enjoy that I can build my own landscape. It's like a virtual garden I can tend to, since I can't have a real life garden at the moment, living in an apartment! 

Tail Towns Friends even have their own custom designed, collectable, painted figurines you can purchase, to bring real life into your game. You can then register your figurine and collect rewards and exclusive items, in your game! As most games, it can become addicting I'm sure! I enjoyed playing it, but did find it freezing on me at times because of so many people playing right now.  It is indeed cute though and I'm sure I will find myself playing again in the future :)

Feel free to check it out!! Click HERE



I learned about the game, Tail Towns Friends, through Child's Play Communications
and in exchange for my review, I will receive my very own character figurine! :)




Operation Smile!

Did you know that approximately, every 3 minutes, a child is born with a cleft lip? For the child, I can only imagine how hard it is...to eat, talk, and even feel anti social because of it. A lot of parents can't afford to get their child the surgery it needs.. But thanks to a children's charity called Operation Smile, one child at a time, can be helped! Since 1982, Operation Smile has provided more than 2 million patient evaluations and over 200,000 free surgeries for children and young adults born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.

What an amazing difference they have made in so many lives!!  We too, can make a difference. If you check out Operation Smile's website, there's a whole list of ways to get involved. Volunteer, Donate, Workshops, Fundraisers...A lot of things!! It's just amazing what Operation Smile can do. If you have time, I urge you to take a look at the photo's on Facebook of all the people who have had cleft lip and gotten surgery. It is so fascinating to see the befores and afters. Check it out here. Be sure to like them too on Facebook too!

Watch this video below too, it will touch your heart.


Ultimate Edge-Sessions with Tony Robbins

Have you ever heard of Tony Robbins?
I hadn't, before Smiley360 allowed me to review some of his work.

 Tony Robbins is an American self-help author and motivational speaker who writes about subjects such as health and energy, overcoming fears, persuasive communication, and enhancing relationships.

I found listening to Tony, to be caring and inspirational. He has a lot of great points on how to live your life for the better. He puts things in a different perspective and has you follow through with short exercises so you can fully reach the bottom of it all. Here's an example of the first exercise I did:

" Write What an Extraordinary Life Would Be Like for You Today … 
Write a paragraph or two to answer this question: What would your life be like if it was exactly the way you wanted it to be today? In other words, start with the ultimate
end in mind. If your life were extraordinary—life on your terms—what would that look like? How
would you change? What would you enhance? Who would you spend more time
with? What would you appreciate more? What would you do? "

These questions really make you sit and think about it. If you could change it, how would you really want your life to be? So many people end up wishing and wanting something they do not have, but how different would their life be if they were to get that something? They would most likely end up wanting more.

I like that Tony makes you really step back and look at yourself. To look at your life and make yourself progress through it all, to get to where you want to be. And as Tony puts it:    Progress=Happiness Isn't that so true? If we see ourselves progress through what we want done, we are so much happier because we see our strength pushing through!


A great listen so if you're feeling down in the dumps...check him out




This post is made possible by Smiley360 by providing me with a free digital audio session download from Tony Robbins’ Ultimate Edge + a digital workbook. All opinions are my own.

Cleaning with Soft Scrub Total


 As a Purex Insider, I received two bottles of Soft Scrub Cleaner: Soft Scrub total Bath+Bowl and Soft Scrub Total All Purpose with Bleach. As well as some coupons and information on these products.



Soft Scrub Total With Bleach appears to clean well! I had grey spots on my porcelain white sink, that would not come up with a soapy sponge, but once I sprayed the bleach on and let it sit for a few minutes, the grey spots wiped right off! It works on some rust spots too. Not sure if you can tell much from the photos below, but I'll post them anyway :) Click on photos to enlarge and maybe you can see it better :P



 I also used it to spray on my stove top drip pans and let it sit for a few, it didn't wipe right off, but it did scrub off a lot easier-with a copper scrub-then using just soap and water! I don't like the strong bleach smell, but that is to be expected with using bleach lol.


As you can see, it works pretty good after sitting for just a few minutes!

Soft Scrub Total: Bath and Bowl, for the bathroom is great! You can use it on the sink & faucets, in & around the bathtub, on tiles, doors, and around & inside the whole toilet. You can even use it on glass and chrome too! It works great for soap scum, calcium build up and lime scale. It cleans and deodorizes as you go, with a nice Fresh scent.

I love how the spray tips have a closed screen flap for foam-which works on heavier cleaning and then the normal spray-open screen, that works for lighter spots and larger areas. this gives you the choice to decide how you want to clean the problem area. Both sprays even work upside down!!

One special reader can enter to win to get their very own FREE Soft Scrub Cleaning products too!! To begin, make sure you're following me on my blog! :) (Make sure you leave your email address so I can contact the winner!)

Then complete the Rafflecopter entries below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway


ALSO You can enter a fun Sweepstakes HERE for Soft Scrub's Tough & Gentle, for a chance to win a grand prize of $1,000!! Or a chance to come in 2nd place, where fifty people will win $40, in gift cards.


*This post is made possible by Purex, for allowing me to be an Insider and providing me with the supplies to test and review. 

Packaway Storage Box Review



Packaway Storage Boxes are great for saving space! And they are reusable! These boxes are made of heavy duty corrugated plastic and protect your items from water and humidity. They can be folded down, when not in use, and then pop back up, lock in place, and form a box! They are very light weight and can hold a good amount of stuff, depending on the size you get. They come in all kinds of sizes and colors, which makes them great for organizing and even color coding your items! Great for separating Holiday decor, packing away your Winter/Summer clothing for the appropriate seasons to come, moving, storing toys, and so much more! They even have wipe away panels so that you can label your boxes, and relabel each time something else is in them. But you must use China Dry erase markers for them to work well. I used ordinary dry erase, and they didn't show up as well.

The two storage boxes I received for this review were pink and green.





 I used the green box to store my son's dress up costumes, and I was surprised by the amount it held! 
It was approximately the same size as the previous cardboard box I was using-that didn't hold all the costumes-So it was a shock to find this one holds so well; 
And it fits perfectly on his closet shelf so I'm loving it.


I used the pink box to store all of our board games. It gave a nice organized look to our coat closet and will make pulling the games out, much easier! Plus it will be one less thing to pack up, in our future move ;)
My favorite part of these boxes is that they fold flat for easy storage, and can be reused over and over again. They are sturdier then cardboard boxes, and do not require taping shut, as you do for a cardboard box. And I love that they are also very lightweight. My only worry is that, in the bends, where the box is being folded, it looks as though it isn't made to last. (see photo posted below) So we will see, as the time passes, how durable they truly are! :)


You can find Packaway Storage boxes on Facebook or at packaways.com.



I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

UNREAL 5 Candy Review #5

Last of the Unreal Candies, is UNREAL 5: Chocolate Caramel Nougat Bar.

 Similar to Milky Way. With the nature candy being Apples.

 This one was my favorite!! Well, a good tie with M&M wannabes ;) I loved the texture, the smoothness, the overall deliciousness of this candy was wonderful. I wished it was a little bit bigger because the taste was amazing and went too fast. I feel this tasted WAY better then the original Milky Ways, and to top it off, it was 16 grams less in Sugar!! Yay! :)

Unreal candies are so good. I can find myself replacing the junky candies with the unjunked ones in no time :)



This post is made possible by Bzzagent, by providing a free coupon and buy 1 get one free  coupons in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

UNREAL 8 Candy Review #4

For the fourth Unreal candy, I tried UNREAL 8: Chocolate Caramel Peanut Nougat Bar.

 This is similar to Snickers, with the natures candy being Pears!

 Compared to Snickers, they have 13 grams less of sugar! I loved the chewiness of it all, and the fact that they use real caramel makes it even better.  Tasty and easily replaces Snickers.



This post is made possible by Bzzagent, by providing a free coupon and buy 1 get one free  coupons in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

UNREAL 54 Candy Review #3

For the 3rd candy I tried UNREAL 54: Candy Coated Chocolates with Peanuts, similar to Peanut M&M's.

 I didn't care for these as much because some of them had an interesting flavor that led me to think the natures candy in them were beets lol. Turns out it's actually Oranges!


So despite the beet flavor I so happen to taste, candy is candy to me and I would still eat them :) I love mixing chocolate and nuts and these work great as a pick me up snack!


  This post is made possible by Bzzagent, by providing a free coupon and buy 1 get one free  coupons in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

UNREAL 41 Candy Review #2

The next Unreal candies I tried was UNREAL 41: Candy Coated Chocolates.

Very similar to M&M's and were fantastic!! I actually prefer these ones over the original M&M's. I like their texture better and they're so much softer and easier on the teeth. The flavor is great too! You can check out their comparison below, and see their nature fruit is Peaches!!

I was pleased with the amount of chocolate pieces that were in the bag! In original M&M's there's not as many as I feel should be in, but in these, there were plenty! That or they were just more satisfying... or both.. ;) Great candy to snack on. For sure.



  This post is made possible by Bzzagent, by providing a free coupon and buy 1 get one free  coupons in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

UNREAL 77 Candy Review #1

The first Unreal Candy I tried was UNREAL 77: Chocolate peanut butter cups.

You can see below, the comparison of the Unreal cups to Reese's cups and the natures fruit in these are, believe it or not, Grapefruit!! Amazing! I didn't even taste grapefruit in them.

They taste so similar to Reese's, although a slightly different texture. And a little more salt in some bites. You can taste the difference in chocolate, which lead me-in all honesty- to prefer Reese's over these ones, but for being healthy, they were still delicious! Which makes them that much better. As you can see above, they have put 2 extra grams of fiber in, and 10 grams LESS of sugar! That is one thing I didn't taste a difference in. This candy is not gross or unsweetened like a lot of healthier candy versions out there.I loved the unreal logo designs they imprinted on the backs of these candies too :) So fun.

I definitely recommend Unreal candies to everyone out there.


 This post is made possible by Bzzagent, by providing a free coupon and buy 1 get one free  coupons in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. 

UNREAL Candies Review Campaign+

Have you ever tried UNREAL Candy??

   I tried forever, searching all over town in all the stores to find this "unheard of" candy in my area. Thanks to Michael's and Staples for having it!!! I was finally able to try it :)

Unreal Candy is made completely unjunked. It does not contain any Artificial Flavors, Preservatives, Corn Syrup, GMO's, or Hydrogenated oils. And each one of the candies is filled with a nature's candy; a fruit!

 Thanks to BzzAgent, I was able to try all five flavors of the UNREAL candies and am so pleased I did. It was well worth the search! (Here's a list of stores unreal candies should be found at.)

Now to my reviews. Since I wrote a review on each candy, It overflowed this post, and I didn't want to bore you with so much reading at one time. So I decided to do individual posts for each separate candy review. Just click the links below and enjoy!!!!

P.S. Be prepared for mouth salivation, as your mouth will be watering for candy when you're finished! ;)

UNREAL 77
UNREAL 41
UNREAL 54
UNREAL 8
UNREAL 5




I need to pick me up some more! 

You can find them on Facebook, twitter and at http://getunreal.com

  This post is made possible by Bzzagent, by providing a free coupon and buy 1 get one free  coupons in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. 

The Penny - Book Review

The Penny is a co-authored Novel, written by Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford.


Such an emotional read; a story of a family's hardship of an abusive father and husband. A man who has such tight reigns on his family, he belittles all he can, as his cover for his own past pains. He feels he "owns" his daughters and thinks he has every right to ruining their lives. They live in a home where they walk on egg shells and have so much fear...a house of tension and scarceness. The Penny is filled with several characters, with the focus for the main one being Jenny: the younger of the two daughters. Growing up being beaten and abused. Believing she will never amount to anything or be wanted by anyone. Until one day, she comes across a penny. The penny that changes her entire life. Throughout the book, Jenny learns to seek God for her pains and reaches for Him to comfort her. She finds that God provides her the strength to overcome things she never thought she could.

I found this book hard to put down which is why I started and finished all in one day!! lol. It kept me intrigued for what was next to come. It had some gut wrenching emotions tied in, and made me feel for the characters situations. But I loved the domino effect the penny had on life situations, and if you're curious what those situations were, you'll just have to read the book!! :)

You can purchase it for only $5.50 on Amazon right now!

So thankful to my public library for having the available books for me to check out!



Beautiful Beasties Pet Photography - Book Review


Beautiful Beasties: A Creative Guide to Modern Pet Photography is a 352 page book, written by Jamie Pflughoeft: a popular pet photographer that runs the online community "Beautiful Beasties" for all the pet photographers out there.

The book, Beautiful Beasties all about getting the best photo's of your beloved pets! It's filled with tips to help you capture your pets personality in photos and learn how to work with animals to get the right portrait wanted. It explains how to capture the animals expressions, while avoiding the red eye look, and edit images to make it even better. It teaches how to work with multiple animals and create that special look you're going for. A great book for beginner photographers and for people really interested in capturing your loving pet's photos

One lovely reader has a chance to win their very own copy of Beautiful Beasties! 


**Just leave me a comment below, telling me, What is the biggest challenge you face when trying to photograph your animal? 


Giveaway open to U.S. & Canada residents only.  


HERE IS A PHOTO I TOOK OF MY CUTE KITTY :)


This post is made possible by Global Influence Network in exchange for my review. 

Unstoppable by Nick Vujicic..A Must Read!

Have you ever heard of Nick Vujicic?? He is an amazing man, who lives his life, without limbs!!

He has become a motivational speaker and is a huge inspiration to people around the world.  He speaks about overcoming obstacles in your life, and achieving all the dreams you wish you could. A very amazing person, who takes his life and uses it to encourage others to live the best they can.  Nick is the President and CEO of a non-profit organization called "Life Without Limbs". Watch this short clip on Nick Vujicic:

He has written a book called "Unstoppable" which comes out on October 2nd, 2012. But you can Pre-Order it now HERE. It is about being unstoppable to the many negative things in your life, and covers these points:

·   Personal crises
·   Relationship issues
·   Career and job challenges
·    Health and disability concerns
·    Self-destructive thoughts,
.    emotions, & addictions
·    Bullying, persecution, cruelty, & intolerance
·    Balance in body, mind, heart, & spirit
·    Service to others

You can find Nick Vujici on Facebook, Twitter, and his Website

Also, if you're interested, you can read the 1st Chapter of the book!! Click here.

“If God can use a man without arms and legs to be His hands and feet, then He will certainly use any willing heart!”



This post is made possible by Waterbrook Multnomah. In exchange,they will provide me a free copy of  Unstoppable, as well as being entered for a possible prize.

Dailybreak. A fun new game site!!

I get to try out a new game site called Dailybreak, through Smiley360.

 It has been so much fun so far! By playing, you have a chance to win prizes through sweepstakes, contests, and sharing. And every time you complete new challenges, you earn coins that you can redeem prizes with! You use the coins in auctions and raffles, as a virtual currency, in which you can win prizes worth thousands of dollars!!

I've plaid some fun games so far, such as optical illusions and Alphabet Riddles and it's been a lot of fun. Great mind games to keep your brain fresh and can also help prevent Alzheimer's!

You can join in the fun, sign up and play HERE


Homemade Tropical Soft Serve


This post is overdue...Awhile back it was 87 degrees out and me and my lil man got back from a walk to the Library. I wanted something cool and ice creamy, so I decided to attempt a new way of homemade ice cream. And it's healthy too!

For the Ingredients:

2 Bananas (frozen)
A cup of Mango slices (frozen)
Tropical Juice (maybe 1/4 of a cup)
A small amount of Strawberry Yogurt
About a Tsp of Vanilla
And a Dash of Salt (only added because it was too sweet before)

I blended all of this up in my Ninja blender (the texture should come out much like soft serve ice cream) and poured it into a Tupperware container-with lid, to freeze for about 20 minutes. Don't overdue the freezer time though, because it will become too hard to scoop!


Came out tasting delicious and tropical :)

I topped it with a dash of cinnamon and some silvery sprinkles for added fun!