BURTS BEES HOLIDAY GRAB BAGS! $25 ($50 value)

Burts Bees has their Holiday Grab Bags up for sale. I might mention that they're "still" for sale. I have been a loyal customer of Burts Bees & always stock up on these bags. They're great to give to friends & teachers or can easily be split up into gift bags & given to anyone (mix & match the items to customize for your recipient). I ordered 6 bags last year, in 3 different shipments & received 3 different bags. This year, I thought I'd sample out what they were giving away and I immediately bought 2 of these as soon as they came up for sale. I was so excited to get these, as I was just starting to run low on my inventory from last Christmas. I'm still using the lotions & lip sticks. I was disappointed this year (hence the comment: still for sale). Their website state:
"Get tons of holiday goodness for half the price.
How it Works
This year’s holiday grab bag is all new and our best ever. It features 12 of our favorite, natural products – a $50 value – for just $25. It’s the perfect gift for anyone on your list."

I received 2 full size products, one was toothpaste (which is yucky) and the other was one of their older lotions that is too lightweight for my winterized skin. My bags were identical and had mostly small sized products/soaps/washes/tins. I got one lip stick. I got a pair of yellow cotton gloves. The bag was a definate step down from what I've received in the past. The toothpaste is very watery & leaks if the cap isn't completely shut closed. Anyways, I hope they realize that they have a lot of left over inventory, and they need to bring some of their better products back for people to really enjoy these. These weren't even "giftable" this year. BUMMER!

Oxy Clinical Solutions

I'm a sucker for cosmetic items & a sucker of free tries! So when I saw the free sample of a new OXY product, I immediately signed myself up! It didn't take long, but my 3 sample packs came. I learned a long time ago to use a pin to poke the packets, therefore they last longer & you don't lose half the pack in your first squirt, using the "tear here" option at the top of each pack. So, this Oxy products says: Clinical results without a prescription 25 times more acne medicine remains on the skin after rinsing to fight acne Clinically proven to eliminate 99% of acne bacteria in just 8 hours 3-in-1 formula - exfoliates - hydrates - and controls oil Contains: Advanced Wash Wash 2.0 fl oz Clearing Treatment 0.7 oz Hydrating Therapy 0.7 oz.

I had a facial awhile back & the esthetician said I had oily & dehydrated skin. Kind of a bad situation since when you're skin is dry, it feels tight. So you slater on some hydrating lotion & it feels great. Until you break out! That is exactly the problem I had been having. Especially living in the Midwest, the dry winter air can do horrible things to your skin + hair!! So, this OXY product claims it has clinical/prescription power but you don't need a prescription. I started using this Monday in the morning & at bedtime. My skin felt a tad bit dryer on Wednesday, so I cut back and starting just using this at bedtime and cut back on the amount of the lotions I was using. My skin seemed to like that a little better. I am on day 5, and my skin is doing great so far! The important thing I learned is that using Salicylic Acid helps unclog your pores & the Benzoyl Peroxide kills the bacterial stuff. You can buy the entire 3 pc kit of the OXY Clinical Acne Treatment, OXY Clinical Acne Treatment, & OXY Clinical Acne Treatment (wash) for about $7.99 each or buy a 3 piece kit for about $10.99 (smaller sizes of course). I'm loving this so far!! So, go get your own free sample & let me know how you like it!

Cell Phone PostCards BZZAGENT

I was invited to join a unique campaign as part of being a BzzAgent. Cell Phone PostCards. Basically, you join for free (big per: no Credit Card required to sign up!) and use your cell phone or digital camera to take a photo, upload it to the website & the company then sends it to anyone you would like. How cool! In such a digital age of technology, there is a definite need for a service like this. I find it hard enough to sit down & hand write a letter and this solution utilizes today's technology and old fashioned snail mail! The unfortunate thing is that I signed up (that took less than 30 seconds) and THEN found out that the service doesn't work with TMOBILE, my awesome cell phone service provider. So, I'll still take advantage of my 10 free postcards, but I'll need to use my dingy old camera (bummer because my cell phone takes photo's better than my digital camera).

Is there anything better than opening your mailbox to discover a postcard from a loved one? We think not. That's why we're big fans of Cellphone Postcards, a new service that turns the pictures you take with your cell phone or digital camera into real, high-quality glossy postcards and mails them to friends and family worldwide. Just text a picture, message and recipient name to Cellphone Postcards (no smartphone or app needed) or use the simple postcard creator on cellphonepostcards.com to make, print and ship your postcards in seconds - either way, we're sure your loved ones will cherish the thoughtful gift!

Visit cellphonepostcards.com to sign up (for free) and see just how easy it is to start sending custom postcards to your loved ones, worldwide. Your first 10 postcards are FREE! It won't last forever, so you should take advantage of this one SOON!

Making a skating rink in our backyard pond

Winter & (lots) of snow has arrived and we're trying to find out the best way to make our backyard a skating rink. We have a large pond, man made, and the city "maintains" it as it is a runoff pond. It is approximately 8 feet deep and was recently dredged by our city. Living in the heart of the midwest, we don't have to worry about cold temps. It's cold. And we have received A LOT of snow this year. The problem we are having is we are getting SO much snow, the ice gets insulated underneath the snow & it starts to melt & it's getting smooshy. Then when we go shovel the pond, the ice is mushy and we leave footprints in the ice. Now it is becoming bumpy and as we prepare to flood it with some hot water, we are wondering if this is the best thing to do. Should we wait for the next snow, when the entire pond is covered with a flat layer of snow, and flood it then? Would we get better results? Agh, I've google'd my questions and found some good insight, but no one seems to be blogging about how they maintain their pond in the winter. So, if anyone is out there with some great insight, please let me know. We plan on living here a long time & need to get the rink ready for skating for all the neighborhood kids!! By the way, I've got a slew of questions about ponds in the summer. Gardening is my new hobby but I don't know exactly what I am doing!!

HTC Windows 7 Phone! Here's another review of my BZZAGENT phone I'm checking out for HTC HD7!

 Here's a pic of the BZZAGENT phone I'm checking out for HTC HD7!


I'm psyched! I was offered another BzzCampaign campaign and this time it's for an HTC Windows 7 Phone HD7! Here is what the company says: Your games, your movies, your music all on one enormous 4.3" touch screen! One of the world's first smartphones using the game-changing Windows Phone 7 operating system, the new HTC HD7™ was crafted specifically for the entertainment guru inside you. Featuring an enormously enormous 4.3 inch touch screen, Xbox Live and Zune integration to help you game on and rock out, a 5MP autofocus camera and pre-installed entertainment apps including Netflix, Slacker Radio and T-Mobile TV, the HTC HD7™ is loaded with everything you need to be you, on the go."

The HTC HD7™ is the first device to offer T-Mobile Family Room, a new app exclusively from T-Mobile that helps families keep in touch and manage their busy lives through shared virtual chalkboards, calendar events, photos and real-time notifications that everyone can see.

I ran over to T-Mobile's website to check out the phone & bells went off. Oh yeah, I said to myself, I saw this phone on a commercial and it looked awesome! It has a 16 gig memory & 1Ghz processor, apps Windows Marketplace, takes amazing photo's with a FLASH, 3G capable, can handle my personal & work emails, I can edit Microsoft Word & Excel on my phone (horray), has the uuber cool "find my phone" capability with Windows LIve, has a Windows Phone 7 OS, a built-in proximity sensor (meaning no more accidentally hanging up on people with the touch screen, 720p resolution camcorder, FM Radio (which is fabulous because I can listen to music on my IPod at work), and the Social Networking is always on! SUHWEET!

Awesome! One kiddo just got a phone and my son is next in line. We're T-Mobile (extremely happy) customers by the way, and this may be in their stockings if this phone rocks as it says it does. I know my one kiddo is a technology nut and will probably be sneaking this phone away from me as much as possible!


Wow, this is an amazing opportunity! I'm excited for this opportunity as I love technology & phones! I have a few kiddo's that will LOVE having this on our upcoming road trip over the holidays. I was using a Nokia Nuron & I didn't like it. The screen was small & it was hard to see anything on the internet. The photo's were not crisp, and This has a large screen, will still fit in my clutch for a night out on the town, and yet be large enough for my kids to use to play video games & to watch movies. Look for exciting reviews coming up!

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Check out the phone here