Shutterfly Makes Creating Memories Easy

With my brother being away at boot camp and constantly asking for photos, I’ve been trying to think of creative and fun ways to share our everyday moments with him in a way that he’d love. That’s where Shutterfly comes into the equation. I’ve been drooling over their photo books for some time now. I’ve seen so many of my scrapbooking friends have beautiful books printed out with their layouts. I’ve been scrapping photos of not only the last couple weeks before my brother left and doing some layouts of things we’ve done since he’s been gone just to make him feel like he’s not missed out on anything.

Also it’s obvious that since he’s been gone we’ve written a lot more letters back and forth. I can’t tell you how freeing it feels to send stuff snail mail. I have seen some of the address labels that Shutterfly offers and they are so cute! Just receiving one of the photo address labels is sure to put anyone in a good mood and I know my brother would love it. I was thinking of using a photo of him, my son, and myself that we took at his going away/graduation party. It adds such a personal touch to things don’t you think? Though thinking of address labels brings up the fact that O’s birthday is in a couple months and that means one thing!

We need invitations! Why not get them at Shutterfly? Wouldn’t it be fun to receive a personal invitation and not one of those run of the mill factory packs? I know O would love it because he’d get to help pick out what style and photos go in. He loves looking at the photos. That’s why I love shutterfly, you can get all of these things plus so many more in one stop shopping and that’s something I love. Also Shutterfly offers things at such great prices. I can visit just about any time and find some really good sale or coupon code right on their site. Who doesn’t love saving money and getting high quality products? I know I do.

So the next time you need a creative spin on what to do with your photos, don’t forget to visit Shutterfly!

*I was given a free free product and/or was paid for this review. Any opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way.

Construction On Wordful Wednesday

This is the view outside of my living room window. It’s been going on for a WEEK. All we have is a set of concrete stairs, which is more than my neighbor friend has. I’m sure you can imagine how this has been a bit difficult with my sprained ankle and all … so not fun. I thought that they tore it up to lay pipping under it so it drained in the parking lot and not where it was now. I did hear the guy say he needed to build a box for that so I was right on that but the rest of it I really don’t know what they are doing but I’m over it and would love to have my sidewalk back so O can play outside.

Everyday Meals Made Gluten-Free

I don’t know if I mentioned it before but Jeff’s sister was diagnosed about 2 years ago with Celiac Disease and thus needs to be on a Gluten-Free lifestyle. I on the other hand have a lactose intolerance problem ever since becoming pregnant with O. Yes it’s been almost 7 years and I still can’t drink a glass of milk and have been weaning myself off of things that use milk in them. So when I was asked to review the CookingLight Gluten-Free Cookbook I was really excited because not only can we now have everyone over for dinner, but I’ve been wondering if I was suffering from Celiac Disease as well since I’ve noticed some small problems. I figure this would be a great way to test it out until I can get to my doctor for the proper testing. It’s also great that many restaurants are starting to cook more gluten-free options on their menus. I have seen a lot more cereal from General Mills being gluten-free and even the ever awesome Rachael Ray is cooking more gluten-free as well. This is amazing to hear because just 2 years ago we could rarely find things available for my Sister-In-Law and of course that means things we do find are so much more expensive. Thankfully that’s changed drastically around here. Some are pricey but the options are better than they were.

Now my very favorite part of this cookbook is that it starts right away with breaking down what Celiac Disease and Lactose Intolerance are. This is great not only for the person browsing this book in the stores, but those that may have family members suffering from such diseases. This allows them to connect with the family member a bit better because they’ll have a better knowledge of what it is they are suffering from. Also this cookbook gives you tips on how to turn your kitchen into the optimal Gluten-Free kitchen. For example it suggests buying 2 of things such as butter and peanut butter if you must buy them in jars so the people that eat wheat don’t contaminate your product and causing it unusable to. It also suggests that while that is a costly method, it might be better to buy things in squeezable bottles to avoid cross contamination. Those are things that you probably would over look if you weren’t on a gluten-free diet OR due to the stress of having to change your entire lifestyle depending on when you find out.

There are so many amazing recipes in this cookbook. Classics like Onion Rings, Beef Roast, and Meatloaf, and new fun flavors like Banh Mi-Style Roast Beef Sandwich or Portobello and black been Quesadillas. They even point out what products MAY contain gluten and you should double check the labels of that brand. With 150 recipes there is bound to be many things everyone will love. So if you know a loved one/friend who suffers from Celiac Disease or Lactose Intolerance, you yourself deal with these problems, or just want to change your lifestyle, well this is a cookbook you will love having at home!

*I was given a free free product and/or was paid for this review. Any opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way.

Leslie’s Walk For Suicide Prevention

One thing you may not know about me is that my high school years I battled depression to the point of just not wanting to be here anymore. I had a good life going I suppose. I mean I had friends that loved me and helped me more than my own mother did. Maybe that was the problem. We lived in a stressful home, my mother and father were always fighting and never home at night usually. My mother was working nights mostly and my father battles an alcohol problem and spent most nights either out in the garage unattached from what was going on in the house or away at a friends house until around the time my mother’d get home. It was hard being the oldest child trying to corral two kids who knew they didn’t have to listen to me and not only make sure they didn’t get hurt, but do their homework and chores at the same time. Of course they knew their word was golden against mine so no matter if I got my stuff done, I was still in trouble instead of them. That made for things between us to be strained and honestly we just started getting along and enjoying each other in the last 3 years. My mother found out Sophomore year I was cutting myself. Her only loose ended threat was “Do it again and I’m tell your Grandparents and they’ll make you talk to someone!” My paternal grandparents and maternal grandmother have always been my weakness and she proved right there in that moment who my parents were …. and she wasn’t it. Sadly all I wanted was something that was never going to happen … her to be my mother. I’m still struggling daily with my depression but I had some amazing friends pull me from my darkest part of my life and I am forever grateful to have them. I know not everyone is lucky to be able to be pulled out of this and succeed in taking their own lives. This is where my amazing  friend Leslie comes into the conversation.

Leslie is a wonderful mother of 2 beautiful children and in September she is walking in AFSP’S Central Iowa Walk to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in honor of her grandfather. When I asked Leslie about her Grandfather and why she’s doing this her answer was beautiful and you can just tell how much her grandfather meant to her:

Grandpa was a very kind and loving person. His friends and family meant the world to him. Even after losing my grandma to cancer, he always had his handsome smile on his face, never showing inside he was in pain. No one will ever know what he was thinking the night he took his life, but my theory is, with him getting older, he didn’t want to burden anyone more than he felt already had. I wish he would have just talked to someone.

Please help me raise awareness about suicide so no one has to feel the pain my family has felt. Bring it out of the darkness, make it something we talk loudly about, not something that is hush hush

So if you can make any donation please visit Leslie’s team page and make a donation. As you know any amount will help to make sure no one feels they need to hide talking about such a disease. We need to shout it   from the top of our lungs, because otherwise how can someone suffering feel like talking to someone when it’s always been in the dark?

Save with CampusBookRentals.com & Operation Smile!

While we’re in our 2nd week of school, there are still so many just starting this week and many college classes as well. Now I know how tough and expensive it can be to get text books. So when I heard about CampusBookRentals.com and thought what a neat idea it is! I know when I was taking some classes the books were included in my tuition and I liked that but hated it too because that meant I was forced to pay the high prices with books. Now CampusBookRentals.com is a company that offers many perks to help ease up the pain of textbooks. They offer perks such as 40-90% on the price, free shipping both ways which is great with the way stamps are going lately. My personal favorite is that it’s okay to highlight in the books, along with flexible renting periods. On top of all that, they off the largest selection of books in the nation. Now if that wasn’t pretty awesome for those going back to school, here is something better! With every textbook that is rented, CampusBookRentals.com donates to Operation Smile! How amazing is that? If you haven’t heard of it, below you’ll find more information on Operation Smile.

Operation Smile is a charity that helps heal children’s smiles. What this means is that they help children all over the world that are born with a cleft. Sadly every three minutes there is a child born with a cleft which often leaves them unable to speak, eat, socialize, or even smile. What’s even worse in some places these children are shunned and rejected and many times their families can’t afford the costly surgeries required. Operation Smile helps provide as much surgical needs for these children to allow them to live a healthy and happy live. Since 1982, and have provided more than 2 million patient evaluations and over 200,000 free surgeries to children and young adults born with a cleft lip, cleft palates, and other facial deformities. Operation Smile is one of the most prominent children’s charities in the world and has a presence in over 60 countries. I think it’s great that they are able to help heal children’s beautiful smiles and give them more hope and self-confidence to aim for a bright future!

How amazing is that? So the next time you need textbooks, why not choose CampusBookRentals.com and help Operation Smile at the same time?

*I was compensated in some form for this post but 110% of opinions in this post are mine and 110% true.

Mommy & Me Monday

It’s Monday and that means one thing …. Mommy & Me Monday!! I love this because well I get to share more photos of myself and O. After my grandma passed away I had a big regret of hiding from photos ops with her and I didn’t want to have that happen with O. Plus I love this back-to-school photo since he’s getting to the age where he doesn’t want to do any photo ops with mama anymore. That makes me a littl sad but I guess I’ll take them while I can right? With that said don’t forget to visit Krystyn’s Mommy & Me Monday. I’m going to make my rounds with comments later today after O gets on the school bus & I’d love to visit you!

Sunday Citar & A Missed Call

It’s Sunday Citar time and if you haven’t seen what this is about just visit Tabitha at Freshmommyblog to find out more. I wasn’t sure what to put up today. I mean there was O’s first day of school, or my sprained ankle but than at 8:30 Saturday night the moment I’d been waiting about a month and a half for finally happened … my baby brother called me and I couldn’t answer it because our cell service stinks in the apartment and he apparently didn’t save the house number in his cell. I cried not only because I missed the call but because I ran outside to try to get the call to pick up …. forgetting my aircast & after the emotions calmed down I was in a ton of pain. Anyhow here is my favorite photo of Bug & I from before he left …. along with my favorite quote in regards to this photo:

After a girl is grown, her little brother -now her protector- seems like a big brother. Terri Guillemets

Carbonite Saves The Day With A Discount Code

This post brought to you by Carbonite. All opinions are 100% mine.

We all know that we’re a digital world, and if you’re like me, everything important to you that isn’t family is stored on that little ‘box’ that you call a computer. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had the blue screen of death scare with my computer. It’s heartbreaking and like something happened someone in your family, or maybe Ella and I just share a bloodline … yes my laptop is named Ella lets just deal with it and more on okay? Don’t you wish there was a way to have a little ‘superhero you could call to make sure your computer backup goes smoothly?

This is where Carbonite swoops in to save the day! Carbonite helps take the worry out of online backup by securely and automatically backing up your files anytime your computer is connected to the internet. I know this is pretty wicked because my computer is hooked up to the internet just about all day. What I like about Carbonite is that it is very easy to use and can be accessed from virtually any internet connect. Yes this includes the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android, and Blackberry smart phones as well. This would be pretty awesome to do if you were out and needed to share a photo from a few months back that was at home on your laptop. Since 2005, Carbonite has been able to safely recover over 7 billion files that easily could’ve been lost. For me I’d love this because you can’t get back the photos of your children right after they were born, or those family members that were lost. The last time my computer had a close call with the blue screen of death I was terrified I’d lose all the photos of my Grandma before she got sick and passed away forever. I didn’t have a backup at the time and was thankfully able to save poor Ella, but let me tell you it’s the first thing I’m getting once life settles down bills wise.

I believe that Carbonite is well worth the price of $59 for an entire year. As if that wasn’t a good deal right now you get 15 days free just for signing up, then using the code BLOGAD will give you an extra TWO months free. Now that’s a good deal! So what are you waiting for? Head to  Carbonite and sign up for their services today! You will not be disappointed.

The Story of #ExTv’s Butt Bible & A Klutzy Girl

I know you’ve been keeping up with my Butt Bible posts, you’ll know I’m kicking butt and taking names when it comes to loosing this chub I have going on. Well I sadly admit I haven’t done it in about 2 weeks. The first week was my period and I tried to give Plasma so I was full of water for 3 days before I realized I had baby veins and can’t give plasma. Then this week was the insane mess of back to school and well the lovely new accessory of having a sprained ankle. How did that happen you ask? Well because I’m a klutz and gravity hates me.

Actually what happened was CreativelyDad and myself were out walking. We’ve been doing this since for 2 days. I figured it’d help him with his back after he had a shot on Monday for his back. Wednesday was going great. Thursday we walked for quite awhile. Well on the way back home my knee gave out and next thing I know I’m on the ground hearing a crack sound. I just had to hobble along the 100 yards or so home because well he just had a shot a couple days ago and couldn’t carry me. I iced it and decided I needed a nap. About 2:00pm I get up and it’s still swollen so I have my grandma take me to immediate care (which is actually really slow lol). After sitting for about 2 hours I find out it’s just sprained (though close to being fractured) and well I’m left with this lovely ‘accessory’ for the next week:

Let’s say it sucks because well they are working on the front of our apartment so it’s pretty much walking along side the building in the dirt/mulch …. not fun with a sprained ankle … also even though it’s 4 stairs, before the air cast it felt like a 100. I was actually happy the air cast helped getting back down them easier as I had to crawl up them when I left. Sometimes it seems to be a little bit better but then it stiffens up and we’re back to square one. I don’t expect to walk on it now but the swelling is down a little and I have only had to take a tension headache pill when I got home (after today I had a killer tension headache). So until this heals I’ll be on a break from my beloved Butt Bible workouts are on hold.

Back To School With Kleenex

Now that the pencils are sharpened, back packs stuffed full of way too many supplies, and the perfect first day outfits placed on those little angels of ours … it’s time to shove them on the bus and soak up those 8 hours a day of complete quiet! Remembering just how long summer actually was, what with the arguing, screaming, and attitudes. Oh wait that wasn’t just my house was it? Now don’t relax too much because while the sound of the big yellow school bus pulling away may make you feel on cloud 9, the sound sneezing, coughing ,whiny voices will bring you crashing back down to reality. But have no fear Kleenex is here to save you from having to worry about your kid being the one to bring home a cold and infect the whole house with 3 brand-new products to make sure the school year starts off great! These new products include a wallet pack, an auto pack, and finally the new and improved pocket pack.

The wallet pack is a sleek, thin pack of tissues that make it easier to keep them on hand. Not only are they super easy to carry with you, they come in a trendy design that is perfect for your way to hip tweens and teens. Or if you’re like me, an ultra-hip and funky hot mama herself! The auto pack is you guessed it, perfect for placing in your car door or even your glove compartment. Since all us mamas know there is nothing worse than needing to give your snot nosed kid a tissue and not being able to find any in the car … or is that just me? Finally in the pack is the long-time favorite the pocket pack. I’m sure you’re thinking “But Brandy just how can this handy dandy little pack of tissues that I remember carrying in school be new and improved?” Well now they are THREE ply tissues and that is just rad because I hate when my tissues tear and I get snot everywhere … it’s not attractive at all. These little packs also would work great stuffed in your purse or even child’s backpack.

O couldn’t wait to get his in his backpack. He’s been itching to put something in the “cup holder” of his bag (ahem in O talk that is the water bottle spots on the side of the backpack) and rushed to try them out. I liked these because they are even easier for him to use and they don’t tear as easy on him when he blows his nose. Now if these fun new products were not getting you in the back-to-school mood, Kleenex is having a Back-To-School Initiative where they are giving $500,000 to schools around the country for field trips. How fun would that be for your child’s school to win? Voting is simple too. Just visit Kleenex’ Facebook page and click on the field trip tab up top. After that look for your favorite school and click vote. Now if your school isn’t listed you can fill out a digital registration paper and get your school in on the fun. I am loving that the top 100 school will win $5,000 each. Voting ends on Sept 14th so make sure you visit their facebook page to read the rules and start voting for your school and don’t forget the Kleenex this year!

*I was given a free free product and/or was paid for this review. Any opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way.