AnySharp Knife Sharpener

disclaimer:  We received the product below for free in exchange for our honest opinions.  All opinions remain our own.

AnySharp+ Knife Sharpener

Product Manufacturer:  AnySharp

Product Use:  Sharpening knives and scissors

Product Features:  Suction cup feature allows you to keep both hands free for handling the knives, only requires easy light strokes, sharpens some serrated blades too, two separate sharpeners (one for knives and one for scissors), 10 year guarantee, uses tungsten carbide sharpening technology,

Price: $28

Misc:  Save 20% off during September using code SEP20

Find out More:  anysharp.com, facebook, or twitter

Y'all have to check out this video!!!!

Mommy in GA says:  I would like to start by saying I am a very accident prone person!!!  (Boy could mommy in PA tell y'all some stories, I hope she decides against this LOL!!)  If you can be hurt doing something (even in un normal circumstances where you shouldn't be able to harm yourself) I find a way!!

On to the good news, I still have ALL 10 fingers!!!!  The suction cup on the bottom of the sharpener gets kudos for that :)

On the other hand I have trouble with directions as well, (y'all I am not dumb, just blond and very ungraceful!!!) So when I was able to figure out how to suction the sharpener to my counter AND able to sharpen my knives by myself, I patted myself on the back (no knives were used for this!) when nobody was looking!

I used to spend about 15 minutes cutting fruits or veggies or my poultries and stuff for dinner now, I spend about 5 minutes doing this with sharper knives!!!

Definitely a must have for your kitchen :)

Mommy in PA says:  I love this knife sharpener.  It really works as easy as they say.  Typically I had to ask hubby to sharpen knives because personally I'm a little terrified of the whole process, but with the anysharp+ I was brave enough to attempt it myself...and it worked!  The suction cup works great too.  I even tested it out by affixing it to the side of my refrigerator and it stuck there with me pulling on it too.  Needless to say I don't think it will be going anywhere while I am trying to sharpen my knives (not on my fridge of course).  I also love the small size.  When I'm done I just toss it in the drawer with all of my other kitchen gadgets. 

Free Fabric Samples & Tape Measure from CottonWork!

 

 

Click here to get yours!

Free National Geographic Brochures & DVD's!

 

This looks like a great freebie.  Lots of educational materials here to choose from.  If the DVD you are interested in is out of stock you can opt to view it online.  Just click here to select the ones you would like to receive.

Fun New Instant Win Game

 

  Head over here to enter the Ranaissance Hotels Discovery Doors Instant Win Game.  This is a very fun one with lots of chances to earn extra entries for referring your friends.  The game itself is really cool because after you earn your keys you are directed to a hall where you select which door you want to open.  Good Luck everyone and be sure to let us know if you win : )

Free Shipping at Avon.com Today!

disclaimer:  Mommy in PA recently signed up to be an independent Avon rep.  The link in the post is her personal Avon page link, which would earn her rewards.  We truly believe this is a good deal and would not post it otherwise.

 

 

 

  Today only Avon.com is offering up free shipping on any size order.  This is an awesome deal because typically they only do free shipping on orders of $30 or more.  They have a lot of cute stocking stuffer items for under a dollar!  Just enter code TODAYONLY during checkout to receive your free shipping.

Michael Todd

disclaimer:  We received the products below for free in exchange for our honest opinions.  All opinions remain our own.

 

 

Product Manufacturer:  Michael Todd True Organics

Product Use:  Skincare Products

Product Features:  Organically based, for all skin types, does to your skin what healthy eating does to your body, and products are certified vegan.

Price:  varies by product

Misc:  The founder was actually a co-founder of Scunci International.

Find out More:  michaeltoddtrueorganics.com

Mommy in Ga and Mommy in Pa each received some products from the line to review and here are our thoughts:

Charcoal Detox Deep Pore Gel Cleanser

Mommy in GA:

 This is a great product!!!  At first I thought it looked weird and it felt more like gel (duh being a gel cleanser will do that lol )and is a brownish color but don't let that deter you because It left my face feeling good, it was not to dry and less oily when I woke up in the morning.  This was one of my favorite products that i have tried so far!!

Cleanse and Tone (One Step Cleanser/Toner)

Mommy in PA:  I have been an avid user of Clinique products for the past 5 years or so and always end up going back to them.  But after using the Cleanse and Tone I think I may be hooked.  No more worries about an oily face half way through the day as this stuff really works to keep my face oil free.  It also has a nice light scent that makes application that much nicer.  I always hate strong chemical smelling products and this is totally the opposite.  I also love that it is a 2-in-1 product.  Who doesn't like simplifying their beauty routine    : )

Kaolin Clay Detoxifying Facial Mask

Mommy in GA: 

 Oh my gosh y'all this was fantastic!!!  It is a light brownish color and smells kind of minty (making it smell better!) You leave it on for about 10 minutes (my test is usually if it hurts when I smile because the mask got hard it was time to wash it off lol)  This might be tmi but, the other night I showered and I put the mask on and left it on while I was shaving my legs etc... and I just rinsed the mask off before getting out. 

Clay mask leaves your face feeling fresh and I saw a difference for the better in my complexion after using the products together for a bit.  I am prone to slightly oily skin and breakouts but, this cleansing system seems to be helping me out with both!!

Hydration Boost Facial Serum

Mommy in PA:  This product is to help your skin control its moisture balance.  I like the fact that they tell you that you can add it to your favorite moisturizer to save another step...gotta love saving more time : )  All it takes is 2-3 drops of the serum and it will cover your whole face and then some.  A little truly does go a long way.  I'm not a big fan of how it feels when first applied but it absorbs quickly and my skin does seem to hold moisture a lot better.

Eye-O-Sonic Ultrasonic Ionic Serum Infuser System

Mommy in GA:
The infuser system was actually fun to use!!!  Unlike Mommy in pa i will not brag about not having crows feet (LOL LOVE you Mommy in PA!!!) I do have crows feet (mostly defined when I smile (hahaha)  I used this a little bit and saw a small difference so if I keep using it i might be able to say they are gone :)

Mommy in Pa explained pretty well about the product below so we will leave you by saying you should really check out the links we stuck in here because the products are awesome!!

As a side note famous people like Tiffany Amber Theisen use the product and we thought it was really cool to be using the same products as one of out childhood idols!!

Mommy in PA:  This is the coolest facial care product I've ever used.  This comes with two items in the kit (the anti-aging eye cream and the serum infuser).  The eye cream comes in a really cool looking metal container.  You just apply a small amount of the serum to your finger and then you get to use the awesome infuser to massage it in to the area around your eyes to help eliminate crows feet and other fine lines.  The infuser itself is very cool.  It actually vibrates when it comes in contact with your skin.  I tried showing my daughter how it worked and thought I had totally lost my mind when she said she didn't feel anything but the person has to be holding the infuser to actually get it to work (completes the circuit).  I don't really have crows feet but I do have some fine lines under my eyes (OMG I decided to look in the mirror while smiling for a change and I'm pretty sure I saw a foot or two...LOL, Thanks for telling me that Mommy in GA).  I didn't notice a huge difference but I haven't used it everyday either.  I will continue to use the product and let you all know if it helps : )

"Forever Friday"

 

disclaimer: "I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review."
 

"Forever Friday"

A novel written by: Timothy Lewis

This was a really great read and I found myself unable to put it down!  I read "Forever Friday" and it starts out with Adam Colby in the year 2006.  Adam is an estate seller and was just doing his job, going through the belongings to sort and get them where they need to go.  He came across photo albums that were postcards from a husband to his wife and they came every Friday for 60 years.

The photo albums dumbfound Adam because he himself went through a bitter divorce and was not a believer that a marriage could be long and happy.  So Adam is your present day main character and Pearl Garnet Huckabee (who makes everyone call her Huck from the time she was 7 years old, till the end!)  and Gabe Alexander are the main characters for the story that dates back to 1926.

The book goes back and forth between present day and back in the day all the way through the book, which I love because you get  to see the take from the love story itself and the way Adam looked at it.  Adam starts digging into the story after finding the post cards and looking for people that might have known the Alexanders, He doesn't come across many and most didn't have much to say.  

He finally met Yvette (the Alexanders' housekeeper's daughter), who the Alexanders' practically raised and after she found him trustworthy they began to talk about the love story that was Huck and Gabe!  They talked about the postcards and how they came about, they talked about the crazy things that should have stood in the way of Huck and Gabe's love but didn't and they talked about the present day love and you will have to read the story yourself to decide where the two of them go from there!

As for Huck and Gabe it was a very loving relationship but, they too had their ups and downs and had to rely on faith to get them through the rough patches but, Gabe only ever missed one Friday out of 60 years of Fridays' and all of those Fridays he wrote a unique poem just for Huck to express his love to her.Every Friday she ran to get the mail so she could read the postcard, It is a very sentimental book and as I said before I had a very hard time putting it down!!!

To close I would like to share a part of the Authors Note from the back of the book.  Timothy Lewis says the story was LOOSELY based on his great aunt and uncle.  At their estate sale he literally pulled photo albums from the trash that contained 60 years worth of post cards and loosely based on that he came up with the story "Forever Friday".  Now his note was more detailed on how the events came about to write the book so I suggest you get reading!!! You won't put it down once you get started!!!

We Have a Winner...

Here's our newest winner.....

 

Crayon Rocks

 

Heather G.

 

Congrats!!!!  Winners have 48 hours to reply to the email we send or forfeit their prize. 

Master Davey and the Magic Tea House

disclaimer:  We received the products below for free in exchange for our honest opinions.  All opinions remain our own.

"Master Davey and the Magic Tea House:  Legend of the Blue Tiger"

Product Manufacturer:  International Coffee & Tea LLC, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and Booksicals

Product Use:  This is a children's book and Tea that are to be used together for teaching children about using all of their senses.  

Product Features:  book is hardcover, tea is caffeine free and naturally flavored.

Price:  $24.95

Misc:  

Find out More:  coffeebean.com

Mommy in GA: This is a really great story and teaching method all in one fun package!  The kids' learned about new things in the book and the tea helped them because as we read we got to use (obviously) our sense of sound(listen while others read aloud), our sense of sight (pictures people! lol and the words in the book!) our sense of taste (with this many most of us liked the tea but, others not so much!) Our sense of smell (we all LOVED the smell of the tea!!) and sense of touch (holding the book and the tea bag!)

We got to really enjoy the story and I got to remind all of the kids how often they use all of their senses!This was a fantastic project to be part of and we look forward to hearing your thoughts when you read your copy!!

Mommy in PA:  This was a really interesting concept.  I love the idea of having your child use more senses when learning about things.  The story about Hopper and his mission to save the Blue Tiger Tea was very entertaining, it kept my son's attention the whole time (and he also liked looking for the words in the book that you need to go and enter on the site).

The tea was really delicious.  I went to make my mother a cup of it the other day and my daughter said "Don't use all of my tea!"... LOL!   

I wish I could have gotten a better picture of the tea bag.  The tea mixture itself is just beautiful.  I love being able to see all the different colors, you can tell it is great quality tea just by the way they show it off.  I also love how the tea comes in cans instead of the plain boring boxes I usually purchase.  

Rayito De Sol

Disclaimer:  We received the product below for free in exchange for our honest opinions.  All opinions remain our own. 

Rayito De Sol 2 in 1 Sport Bronzing Sunscreen Gel SPF 15 in Natural Color

Product Use:  Tanning product

Product Features:  SPF 15, instant bronzer, gel form, get the tan look you want in half the time, absorbs quickly

Price:  $14.99

Misc:  Latin America's number one sun care line

Find out More:  Ulta Beauty or Rayito De Sol

Mommy in GA:Received the instant cooling, instant medium color from Rayito De Sol.  I received this right before going to a birthday party for my niece (a pool party!!) and I actually put the product on while we were at the pool.
I put it on and as my product was a brown color there was a difference in my skin tone, and it also seemed that I did tan but I only kept the product on for about 30 minutes before i jumped in the pool.
The product did give result and the only thing I didn't like was it left me feeling a little sticky until I washed it off, I don't use a lot of tanning products so maybe this is normal??!!
I did enjoy the results and I think I may try again next summer :)

Mommy in PA:  You know how you end up with the tan lines from shorts that are really noticeable when you sit down cause your shorts slide up farther than they normally are?  Well that's an issue I have so I decided that I'd try to fix it a bit by applying the product before going out to mow our lawn on the riding mower.  I'd be sitting in the sun for at least two hours so I should see some results, right?

  Well application was a little messier than I expected.  The product is pretty thick and leaves your skin feeling very tacky.  My shorts were sticking to my legs terribly for hours.  I cannot stand wearing skin care products that I can feel past the initial application and a few minutes drying time but I figured if I got some good results it might be worth it.  Unfortunately even after the two hours of mowing the grass the upper part of my legs still look as pale white as before I applied the product.

  This product just wasn't for me : (

Fun Bites

disclaimer:  We received the product below for free in exchange for our honest reviews.  All opinions remain our own.

Fun Bites

Product Manufacturer:  Fun Bites

Product Use:  Cutting food into shapes.

Product Features:  Heavy Duty, works on all types of foods, easy to use, easy to clean, also works great for adults with tender hands who have trouble cutting things up, 100% USA made,  and BPA-free

Price:  One for $12.99, Two for $22, or all three for $29

Misc:  May help with picky eaters. 

Find out More:  Funbites.com, facebook, twitter, and Pinterest

Mommy in GA:We got this in the mail and the first thing the kids' asked was "What is that?" and after I told them it was to make fun shapes out of sandwiches and the second question was "Can we PLEASE use the funbites??!!" (EVERY single time I made something for them to eat!!!!)

These come in really cool colors and they are easy and fun to use literally from age 4 to 10 (in my house anyway!!) We got the heart shape (3 girls, what else was i supposed to choose??!!) and it came in pink (but, the color and shape made no difference to my 4 year old boy, he wanted me to use it on all of his food too!)

Look at all the cute triangles!

the end result...fun finger sandwiches!

Mommy in PA:  This is really cool!  I love how easy it is to make cute little bite sized sandwiches, which you can see in my photo.  I wish I would have had this when my kids were younger because this would have made meal times so much more exciting : )  I do want to mention one thing I did that wasn't very smart though.  I made up my son's peanut butter toast for breakfast the one morning and thought that it would look awesome as the little triangles.  Well it looked awesome but I ended up having quite a time getting all of the peanut butter out of the cutter.  Note to self...make two slices of peanut butter toast and put them facing each other next time to keep the peanut butter from ending up all over the cutter.  Other than the peanut butter incident the cleanup is normally a breeze too.  If you do decide to wash yours in the dishwasher just be sure to keep the pieces together in there. 

"Every Waking Moment"

Disclaimer:  I received this book for free from Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. in exchange for my honest opinions.  All opinions remain my own.

"Every Waking Moment"

 

by Chris Fabry

  Treah isn't just another kind soul working with the elderly at Desert Gardens end-of-life facility.  She is special, she has the ability to reach people, she has a "gift".  She's even gotten dementia patients that haven't spoken in ages to speak again.  So why isn't Treah happy?  Why can't she remember her own past?  Well you will just have to read the book to find out : )

 

  Chris Fabry does an excellent job of transporting you into the story and making you feel like you really are with Treah at Desert Gardens.  The characters are very likeable, each with their own little quirks ( the "lovebirds", the "opera singer", Dr.Crenshaw, Ardeth, Miriam, Buck Davis, Jillian Millstone, etc.).  Every character is important to the storyline in their own special ways.

 

  Along with Treah's story of helping the folks at Desert Gardens there is another story of Devin Hillis and Jonah Verwer who are working on a film project there.  They make videos of older people that preserve their memories before they pass away.  They interview folks at Desert Gardens until Jillian Millstone comes to take Miriam's position and tells them not to return.  This ends up helping the story though because they end up focusing on Treah's "gift" and helping her find out about her past in the process. 

 

  This is a great book.  I hardly put it down once I opened it.  It's a great story that reminds us that just because folks are put in an end-of-life facility it doesn't mean they are already gone and don't underestimate people in numbers.  I love the mystery to this story and couldn't wait to find out about Treah's past...what a unique name she has : )