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I have two holiday comforts I love.

First, the Creme Brulee . . . → Read More: Lounge Music and Snotty Coffee – 21st Century Holiday Comfort]]>

This post is sponsored by Tempur-Pedic, the brand millions of owners trust to deliver their best night’s sleep every night. Enjoy our Buy 2, get 1 free pillow offer now and give the gift of custom comfort to someone you love.

I have two holiday comforts I love.

First, the Creme Brulee latte from Starbucks. It comes out on November 15th like clockwork every year and it lets me know that it’s holiday time.  It’s my very own heads-up the temperatures are going to plummet, I’m going to be able to see my breath, and I – yet again – am completely out of wrapping paper.

The second comfort is far more important.

I was on a quest for years to find holiday music I didn’t find pathetic and depressing. I know you classic holiday music lovers will disagree and say that White Christmas doesn’t make you want to drink until you pass out – but to each their own – I can’t stand slow, droning music in a minor key.

When I found the music I loved, I decided to start a new holiday tradition in our home. Fun holiday music. From Rockabilly to Lounge to Tiki to Jazz. Music that makes you grin from ear to ear thinking about the joy of the holiday season.

When I listen to holiday lounge music I sometimes forget who I am. Instead of just being an amazing wife, mother, and employee I’m suddenly Samantha from Bewitched. One of my top pics is Ultra-Lounge – Christmas Cocktails. It’s a two-CD set with lively trumpets and fun vocals. Every song reminds me how much I adore the holiday season.

To switch it up on nights so cold you think there may never be another summer again we put on Tiki music! Luau in December by King Kukulele & The Friki Tikis (best band name ever, right?) is one of the holiday albums that my kids probably love even more than I do. They try to hula every time I put it on, and it makes us all forget about the frost on the windows for a little while.

I make it a point to listen to music that is upbeat and fun, because seriously, around this time of year all I have to do if I want to become insane with deep emotion and start sobbing I can look at my kids and they look all lovingly into my eyes and all of a sudden I look like that crying jag scene in The Blair Witch Project and I’m running for the Kleenex.

My upbeat music helps guide that deep well of emotion into joy as opposed to something more meloncholy and maudlin.

Not Just for Christmas

Hanukkah lovers, don’t think I’m leaving you out, either! Kenny Ellis has an album called Hanukkah Swings! and it’s absolutely lounge-tastic.

Really, I think you should be beyond amazed at my inclusiveness. I’d pat myself on the back but I’d probably dislocate my shoulder. I’m subtle like that.

There is also an album by Lynette Washington called Long, Long Ago and it’s dubbed itself a Jazz celebration of Christmas, Chanukah & Kwanzaa. All your holidays in one fabulous place!

I only found one Yule album, and it even mentions the Yule log on one of the songs so I’m pretty sure I’m barking up the right tree with this one. It’s called A Yuletide Celebration and it’s by Kari Tauring.

Atheists? You can listen to anything because it’s just another day for you. You don’t need suggestions and if you like snarky anti-holiday music I’m sure it’s already loaded up and ready to go in your iPod.

So there you have it. A cup of snotty coffee, wonderful upbeat music, and my family are my holiday comforts. They are what make the holidays my magical, special time.

I think I’m going to go put some on right now. Probably Ultra-Lounge. There will be martinis.

I love the holidays.

Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit http://moms.dailybuzz.com/channel/style.

Summer Lovin’ … happened so fast … Summer Lovin’ … had me a blast …

But now Fall is creeping in and my dry, super-sensitive . . . → Read More: Falling in Love with my Skin (or Oh, My Abrasive, Flaky Love!)]]>

Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit http://moms.dailybuzz.com/channel/style.

Summer Lovin’ … happened so fast …
Summer Lovin’ … had me a blast …

But now Fall is creeping in and my dry, super-sensitive skin is starting to sing less like the Broadway musical version of Greast and more like those low pitched chanting monks.There is a sense of impending doom in the air, and my skin knows it.

But I’ve found a solution for my skin. Hopefully, my skin trick can help you if you’re suffering from wicked-dry skin, too!

I’ve been skeeved out by how slick baby oil is since I was a kid. “On your SKIN?!” I would howl to my grandmother when she told me she used it in the shower. It never dawned on me she never felt as slick and greasy as the oil did on my fingertips, not until later.

One particularly nasty winter I was pregnant and my tummy skin was stretched out and itchy and I couldn’t sleep and I thought I was going to die of sheer annoyance. I sent my husband out to Walgreens to pick up baby oil. I figured it worked for grams, it was worth a shot. I hopped in the shower, did the shower thing, and at the end absolutly doused myself with the stuff from the top of my neck to the tips of my toes. The water started to bead on my skin and I knew it was doing it’s thing.

I kind of stood outside the shower and let myself mostly air-dry at that point. Rubbing a towel on my baby oil soaked skin didn’t seem like a good idea. I threw on my robe and slippers and went to get the hubby’s opinion. I held out an arm and said, “Feel.” He touched my arm and looked surprised. “It’s so soft. What did you do?” Baby oil, I said.

He looked horrified. (He has the opposite of dry skin. I’m pretty sure if baby oil touched his skin he would turn into a puddle of butter on the floor, so I understood his reaction.)

The best part was the softness lasted all day. No lotion touch-ups were necessary. The best part? Baby oil is way inexpensive. You can even get it in gel form if you don’t want to just randomly squirt it all over the place and require a little more control over your shower product.

It’s my bestest beauty secret in the world. It keeps my skin looking beautiful and it keeps me from scratching my itchy, dry skin until it bleeds. Definitely a win-win.

One note of caution: Use a bath mat!! Baby oil will make your bathtub slick and potentially dangerous. Also, make sure anyone who bathes or showers after you uses a bath mat, too.

Other than that, if you try it out, let me know! I’m looking foward to a pain-free-skin Fall, and hope you’ll join me. (Or, if you have your own beauty tips for skin, share them!)

Thank you to Walgreens for sponsoring this blog post. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own.

I was nervous. My girls currently ride Radio Flyer Big Flyers (in pink, of course) and I wasn’t sure how that low, low center of gravity was going to translate . . . → Read More: My Girls Love the Radio Flyer Style n’ Ride Scooter (review)]]> My girls were very excited when they found out they were going to be able to review the Style n’ Ride Scooter from Radio Flyer.

I was nervous. My girls currently ride Radio Flyer Big Flyers (in pink, of course) and I wasn’t sure how that low, low center of gravity was going to translate to a scooter with small little scooter wheels.

I had nothing to worry about! In less than five minutes they were both competent scooter riders! My favorite part of them riding the scooter was when they did fall, they didn’t fall on their faces or their butts. It was more like a stumbly-tripping with the ability to recover without even dropping the scooter. (My girls are 5 and 6 – in case you didn’t know!)

Every time we go outside now the girls take a minute and grab their scooters.

Another great feature of the scooter is the adjustable handle. It has the same technology that my very expensive bike has. An easy but safe way to adjust a handle? You can’t beat that with a stick.

Bottom line – It’s a safe ride and the kids love it. I bought another one so we have two in the house and now there are no more fights over who gets to ride the scooter. That is super-mommy good times.

You can buy one from…

• Radio Flyer
• Toys R US
• Walmart

We bought our second scooter less than two weeks after we unboxed the first one. My kids both wanted to ride the scooter so much and for so long there were multiple sharing infractions every time it was taken out of the house!

Keep up with Radio Flyer news on Facebook or Twitter.

In the meantime, keep on rollin!

In exchange for this post I received one Radio Flyer Style N’ Ride Scoother. The second one I purchased with my very own big-girl money.

If you listen to any of the nanny shows on television or even just your child’s teacher they will tell you that outside of boundaries a . . . → Read More: The Great Piggy Bank Adventure®! (Teaching Your Kids About Finances)]]> I know you know I know you know finances are near and dear to my heart. Controlling your money and investments allows you to sleep better at night.

If you listen to any of the nanny shows on television or even just your child’s teacher they will tell you that outside of boundaries a child needs a sense of control over their environment. Kids love feeling like they know what’s going on (outside of the occasional super-amazing-surprise, of course!) One of the easiest ways, as parents, we can give our children control is to teach them about money and then give them some to control!

Note: This is not a debate over allowance vs. non-allowance or paid chores vs. non-paid chores. However you choose to get money from your piggy bank into your child’s hands is fine with me.

T. Rowe Price and Disney have partnered together to give you an amazing opportunity to help your child learn more about finances while you sit in the backyard with a glass of wine and relax in your finances-under-control glory. Because that’s how it would totally work, right? Oh….not so much? Well then, maybe you could play WITH your kids! Get a better handle on the basics and do it all while telling your friends, “Of course I have this all under control, but I have to do it for the children!”

Go ahead and visit The Great Piggy Bank Adventure® website and choose your own character. Customize them and get ready to have some fun! You pick a goal and get there, much like every other online game, but in this case it is all based on finances and allows you to take control.

• One of the first things you’ll notice is that this can be a multi-player game. Got competitive siblings? Put them to the test and see who can learn the most about finances. The online game supports up to four players.
• The 3-d graphics are great and you hop from square to square after you roll. One of the sides of the die is the ‘Choose or Lose’ option which will give you a chance to win a few “Truffles” (money) to invest in your piggy bank that gives you modest but consistent returns.
• Orange Squares on the board also ask questions that make children think about a want vs. a need, which is important at any age!
• Purple squares ask common sense questions that ask what a child should do in a given situation, the right answer earns more truffles.
• There are also mini games that earn more truffles, so you can get to your goal.

Giveaway!!

1. What do you think is easier to talk about with your kids? Drugs and alcohol…or finances? Why?
2. Was the topic of money off-limits in your family growing up?
3. What advice would you give to parents who want to talk about finances with their kids but don’t know how to start?
4. Do you remember your parents telling you something was “too expensive” when you were a kid and having no idea what they meant?

Disclosure: I was provided with a gift card and a Great Piggy Bank Adventure-branded Flip camera courtesy of T. Rowe Price. T. Rowe Price is not involved in or responsible for the outcome of this giveaway.

The first day of school in our house was prepared for like never before. It started a couple months ago printing out the school supply list and thinking I was a total rock star buying things in advance – no last-minute . . . → Read More: School Shopping with Tampico]]> This post was sponsored by Tampico. Now available in a convenient 20oz bottle!

The first day of school in our house was prepared for like never before. It started a couple months ago printing out the school supply list and thinking I was a total rock star buying things in advance – no last-minute shopping for me! Of course when we were sent the info for the first day of school a different list was sent and I realized there were things for both girls I was going to have to get and, of course, it’s the week before school starts.

Talk about punishing the planner-aheader!

But I went and practically dove into the crowds at the store to pick up the last-minute additions to the list. So many people! One of the big things I’ve noticed is that when back-to-school shopping happens everyone puts away their manners and WOW you better be careful or you’re going to get rammed by a cart, a wayward child, or a binder getting shown to a parent right under your face. It can be a painful experience.

There was one kid running around like he had a motor and wheels. I couldn’t match him to a parent the entire lifetime ten minutes I was in the school section.

Of course, I didn’t take my kids school shopping. I would have left them alone in the house before bringing them with to a crowded, kid-filled, out-of-control atmosphere like the ones I always run into when I’m school shopping.

I picked up some 20oz bottles of Tampico while I was there to send with the kids when they take their lunches to school. Or go to a party. Or get hot before Fall weather in Chicago sets in. There are about a million different reasons to pull a Tampico out of the fridge and enjoy!

After I got home I took a couple valium asprin to reduce my headache and had a glass of wine. I went on the Internet to see if Tampico had a YouTube channel. What I found were a couple of hilarious videos that made me feel a little better about my awful day.

Here’s one video to start you off…

Disclaimer and Stuff: This post was sponsored by Tampico. Tampico Beverages and the representing PR company compensated me for this post. You can find more information at the Tampico Beverages Facebook Page, online at the Tampico website, on YouTube, or on Twitter (also, check out the #Tampico20oz hashtag)!

Bread-baking 101 is not a class I’m getting an A in!

I took the “Your First Loaf” recipe from The Fresh Loaf and gave it a whirl. My yeast did not activate which means the dough never got bigger and it never really turned into bread.

I didn’t . . . → Read More: More Important to Learn than Get it Right (Baking Bread Edition)]]>

I ♥ My Pita

Bread-baking 101 is not a class I’m getting an A in!

I took the “Your First Loaf” recipe from The Fresh Loaf and gave it a whirl. My yeast did not activate which means the dough never got bigger and it never really turned into bread.

I didn’t want to waste the dough so I told my husband in my best, “I know things! Believe me!” voice…

They didn’t have the resources to throw bad dough out in the 1800′s so we better get crackin’ on what we can make happen right here with this bread-tastic failure.

He looked at me warily. At least I think it was warily. His one eye was all scrunched up and he kind of looked like Popeye but without the pipe. That’s warily, right? He looked like he was thinking Not Great Thoughts™ about my cooking skills while sort of half-shrugging his shoulders like, “alright but if this goes bad too I am SO making fun of you.”

I took that as a hugely positive response and got down to it.

First, I rolled some out really flat. Like, super flat. I was hoping it would turn into a cracker or wasa bread or something crispy and delish. About this same time the mini-ball I’d put in the oven to see how it was going to turn out that way was ready and I brought it out and cut it.

It was pretty much the exact opposite of bread. Not light, not fluffy, not crusty. Just…dense and heavy and a little gummy. We couldn’t actually tell if it was done or not. So…if I die from undercooked yeast it wasn’t from that kind of yeast infection. Tell my friends, they deserve to know.

My cracker on the other hand was cooking like gangbusters. I know because it was about the size of a small balloon in the oven. Totally freaked me out when I looked in there because it was really poofy and I was thinking crackers are not poofy and what is going on. I took it out (it was cooked, I was –  mostly – positive) and when I put a knife through the middle it was…hollow.

I’d made a PITA!

I felt like I’d  unlocked some special level on some game where you go to where they make pitas and made a pita and got a whole bunch of bonus experience points for stumbling across a pita recipe. When I told my husband I was going to roll it even thinner and fill it with meat and potatoes he looked at me, again, like I was crazy.

But you know, he looks at me that way a lot so I don’t take it too personally. Maybe I am a little odd. It’s okay.

We threw some beef broth into a pot and put our now-dumplings in.

An hour later we checked them. I’m still not 100% they were cooked all the way through, but really, how do you tell? They seemed ok. Taste was a 6 on a 1-10 scale. Texture was an 8. They were DENSE. If I set them out and let them get all hard and dried out I could brick your CAR with these!

Not that I would. I love you. You know that.

But yeah. Made a pita, made dumpings, made an awful biscuit, and learned a little more about making bread.

I can’t wait until tomorrow – I have another batch of dough that will have been sitting for about 20 hours come morning! (That’s the no-knead super-easy bread recipe I used from Steamy Kitchen) and we shall see.

I’m pretty sure I used the wrong flour in everything, but it’s all learning!

I have to say, though, I’m really happy I figured out I have instant yeast in the fridge. No more mistakes after these two batches – at least not yeast based mistakes. There are so many more mistakes to be made!

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. But you know my opinions are legit, I don’t have the energy to be dishonest.

Today I got the chance to try out Meijer’s new Vitamin finder. It’s very “go to the Meijer site, click pharmacy, . . . → Read More: Meijer Vitamin Finder – Yes, Please!]]>

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. But you know my opinions are legit, I don’t have the energy to be dishonest.

Today I got the chance to try out Meijer’s new Vitamin finder. It’s very “go to the Meijer site, click pharmacy, and then click vitamin finder” easy to find. Then you answer some questions and it tells you what vitamins you should be taking. In the sea of alphabet soup that is the vitamin aisle, this was a welcome change for me. I hate bothering the pharmacist about vitamins when he’s dealing with sick people so this is my very own passive way of finding what I need without having to search all over the place one by one looking up each vitamin on WebMD or some other site.

I like convenience, and I like Meijer’s prices. So it’s a win-win.

I didn’t take coupons or anything – that is why I need to shop at a store with already-low prices … I don’t have the patience for coupons at. all.

Now I’m happy at home with a restocked vitamin shoebox and my pill dispenser is just waiting for me to crack into it this week. Loved it!

Go give the Vitamin Finder a try (click here to go there now!)

One of . . . → Read More: Celebrity Apprentice 4 is Causing Me Emotional Pain]]> I’m a “reality” TV fan. I can’t help myself. People put themselves out there and get heavily edited and I enjoy watching that transform into stories on my television. It’s not a high form of art, but hey, I watch more than enough foreign and independent films to make up for it.

One of the shows I like to watch is Celebrity Apprentice. Celebrities doing stuff for money for charity is a great concept and really, once you mention Gary Busse is going to be on anything, I’m going to watch it. He was talking about things too esoteric to imagine coming out of someone’s mouth way before Tiger Blood and Winning became momentary parts of my vocabulary.

But I have to admit, I’m not sure if I’m going to make it through the season. The interactions are so … uncomfortable to watch … I’m not sure what it is but listening to Dionne Warwick call someone a hussy, well, it’s sad to a level that is no longer enjoyable. Watching Star Jones is – in a nutshell – the opposite of fun to watch. I think she’s going for “strong female rolemodel” but she’s coming off way more like “shady used car salesman who suggests things and then tries to trap people into looking stupid or acting confused” – I’m really hoping they’re just editing her to seem that rude.

There are some bright spots. I was (and am, and will probably always be) a fan of NeNe Leakes on Real Housewives of Atlanta and I certainly won’t stop rooting for her in another city. Really, I’m hoping she wins, even though I don’t know if she has a chance. If she ever has to go head to head with the dynamic duo of Star and Dionne, well, it’s going to be a blowout.

Oh, and Marlee Matlan is hilarious. Her sense of humor is awesome, her business acumen seems really solid, and the facial gestures of her translator just add to the overall experience for me. She had the best idea for the children’s book by far – I’d much rather have my kids learn some sign language while reading a kid’s book than some “free to be me” crap. Too much of that is already out there. For those of you who don’t watch Celebrity Apprentice I just want to remind you I put it in the title, so if you’re not getting the references or are against reality TV in general, well, again, I warned you straight up there in the title.

If you can stomach uncomfortable moments and people being edited to look like jerks, then you might find yourself really enjoying Celebrity Apprentice this season. If you prefer the regular version of The Apprentice, you’re out of luck, because last I heard it’s not coming back ever. Whether it’s because celebrities fight harder for a charity or Trump just doesn’t feel like giving out jobs remains a mystery to me.

Are you watching Celebrity Apprentice? What do you think? Is this the best season ever or is it a train wreck that should be replaced? If you want to talk about it but don’t want to ruin your intellectual street cred, you can always use a fake name and/or email address. LOL

Disclaimer: No reason for this post other than watching the show.

I’m really envious of people who have a server and can pick things from their computers and watch them on TV. Google TV, Apple TV – these are all really confusing to me. Hardware and connections are just not my bag.

When we missed an episode of Survivor last year and wanted to . . . → Read More: Warpia: Watching Your Computer on Your TV]]>

I’m really envious of people who have a server and can pick things from their computers and watch them on TV. Google TV, Apple TV – these are all really confusing to me. Hardware and connections are just not my bag.

When we missed an episode of Survivor last year and wanted to watch it from the CBS website (it is on CBS, isn’t it?) we plugged this really heavy, short HDMI cable from the side of the TV into the side of the laptop. The view was kind of small even when we tried to change the viewing settings and if we had to “click to return to the show” after commercial one of us had to get up from the couch just to click a button.

Add to this I had to clean off the TV table to put the laptop on there and then leave the laptop open under the TV so it wouldn’t go into sleep mode – it made for a less-than-ideal watching experience.

A very, very nice lady from my favorite PR agency sent over a Warpia Wireless USB A/V Adapter – SW100A for me to try out and see if it was really good enough to let me ditch my cable bill forever.

Here is the stock info:

Wirelessly stream media from your laptop/PC to your flat screen TV for the ultimate Internet TV experience

• Watch downloaded movies, presentations, photo slideshows or any internet content (from Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, ESPN3, etc) on your TV or projector
• Achieves 32-bit True Color depth for high quality images, 720P HD resolution, and 16-bit stereo sound
• Range includes same room coverage of up to 30 feet
• Compatible with Windows Vista/XP/7.0 OS and connected via HDMI or VGA (cable not included)

Available: Amazon.com, NCIX.com, Warpia.com, Walmart.com, Buy.com, BestBuy.com

Price:  From $139.99

Website: www.warpia.com

Here’s how setup worked in real life with me and my laptop and my TV.

1. Plug in base unit with this little USB plugy thing into the TV HDMI port and a power source.
2. Plug in other USB plug thingy into the USB port on my laptop.
3. Turn it on.
4. Watch as some stuff happens on the TV and the computer screen.
5. Turn the TV on HDMI Video 3 (your setting may vary)
6. Go to CBS and play a show and watch it pop up and FILL my TV screen.
7. Squeal like a little girl because now I can totally ditch AT&T Uverse and use Warpia and Netflix for a monthly cost of Netflix and have a full-on TV experience for adults and kids alike.

So the unit might cost over a hundred bucks, but that’s one month of cable for us. With this I can watch shows as they come out on Hulu and the networks. As for shows on movie channels, well, let’s just assume you’ll buy those series on iTunes and then play those on your big TV. I can pop a BluRay disc into my laptop and watch it on TV.

Overall this gives your kids less commercials no matter WHAT you watch with them so they’re not asking you for every As Seen on TV toy under the sun. It gives you less commercials during your shows so you’re not wasting your time.

And it allows you to slash your cable bill by not having one. You’re going to be paying for Internet and maybe Netflix or Hulu Plus if that’s how you want to do things, but you could just watch network television and the news or stream radio stations and listen to music on your TV. I don’t know about you but my TV speakers are way better than my laptop speakers.

I will be totally surprised if you don’t fall in love with the Warpia like I have. It’s amazing, and a great financial choice for a family that is looking to add another hundred or so bucks a month to their IRA or kids’ college funds.

It’s a good choice and I’m just thrilled I don’t have to have a server or drill an Apple TV box into my wall. This is just an easier, faster, simpler alternative for my family. It might be cheaper, but I don’t know, because I haven’t done research into Google TV and Apple TV because I didn’t feel smart enough to figure it out so I never got to the pricing portion of the program.

Bottom line: I love this technology! Make your own TV experience? Yes, please!

Installation Tip: Make sure you don’t plug the power into the wrong hole or you’ll think the unit is broken. Yes, my husband did this. It’s okay, I fixed it. *sigh*

Disclaimer: I was provided with a Warpia unit for free from the PR agency in exchange for writing an honest review about the product and how it worked for me. I loved it and really and truly would have bought one with my own monies because I’ve been looking for a way to get rid of the monthly cable bill for months. But yeah, you know I totes Blog with Integrity and wouldn’t steer you wrong.