Congratulations to the winners of the Chef’n StemGem giveaway and the YooHoo & Friends giveaway!  Thanks to all who entered, tweeted, blogged, etc!

The winner of the Chef’n StemGem is Donna!

The winner of the YooHoo and Friends giveaway is Jaime!

Last chance to enter to win this month’s Ultimate Drugstore Gift Basket giveaway, plus the new Pampers with Dry Max (and Liz Lange clutch) giveaway, the yummy organic Ella’s Kitchen snacks giveaway and a chance to win a fabulous prize pack of Happeez products to decorate your stainless steel appliances (worth over $75!)!

Good luck to all!

Mayfair Lane is the parent company of the Happeez and Pretty Pleez product lines, both of which have become hugely successful quite quickly, which is a testament to how excited people are by their products!  Mayfair Lane recognized a market out there for people who would like to use notepads and decorative items on their refrigerators, but can’t because most products out there don’t work on stainless steel.  Happeez products have a special material on the back that will stick securely to your fridge without damaging or marking it at all.  You can both stick and remove them very easily and, if your Happeez product loses its grip due to dust build-up, you can simply revive it with water or a vinegar-based window cleaner.  Perfect!

When Adam and I first bought this house, it was in dire need of updating.  We had the typical 70’s kitchen – the ugly yellow appliances, dark wood and linoleum floor that almost reduced me to tears.  So, the kitchen was one of the first things to get over hauled.  We both like modern, clean looking homes and one of the fastest ways to improve the kitchen space was to upgrade to stainless steel appliances.  For the first few years we lived here, they were magical – they looked great and they were left exactly as is, no magnets or anything crazy.  But once Anna came along, not only did I have to deal with a whole new world of grubby fingerprints all over my fridge, but I suddenly had the irrepressible urge to put pictures of her on it.  The problem is that you can’t stick magnets on stainless steel.  Sure, you can sometimes find a little panel on the side of the fridge that is magnetic, but that leaves a whole lot of open real estate on your appliances.

Thankfully, Mayfair Lane came along and now I’m totally obsessed with their products!  Not only am I thrilled that I can now decorate my stainless steel appliances with pictures and the like, but they also have a very cool line of notepads and list pads that achieve the holy grail of design where function meets style.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished that I had a notepad handy to write down a shopping list or an erasable whiteboard to write down the week’s schedule.   The best part is that I don’t have to sacrifice and have a plain looking, bland picture frame or notepad just because it’s one of the few products out there that you can use with stainless steel – Happeez and Pretty Pleez mean that you can adorn your appliances with style!

Other than the notepads and whiteboards, Mayfair Lane offers lots of different options for you to decorate your appliances, such as the Happeez Clippers and the Happeez Letter Clippers, both available in a variety of very cool styles.  Plus, they carry an assortment of other products, such as the Mayfair Lane Light Up flashlight and the Pretty Pleez journals.  You can buy Mayfair Lane products at www.mayfairlane.com, Amazon.com or other online retailers (as well as shops near you!).

WIN IT! One lucky winner will win a great gift basket of Mayfair Lane products (ARV $75)!!!   To enter, tell me which Mayfair Lane product you’d love to have AND become a subscriber of this site (if you aren’t already)  You MUST confirm your subscription for it to count!  I check all entries and if you are not a subscriber, your comment will be deleted.  That’s it!

I have received compensation in the form of Mayfair Lane products in exchange for this post, but the views and opinions expressed are solely my own and no other compensation – monetary or otherwise – was received.

Comments will close on March 17, 2010 at 10 PM EST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). Open to US and Canada residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement of the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Extra Credit:

Enter any other giveaway on my site.  Two extra entries.

Follow Mayfair Lane on Twitter.  Leave your username for verification.  One extra entry.

Become a fan of Mayfair Lane on Facebook.  Leave username for verification.  One extra entry.

Comment on any non-giveaway post.  Leave link or name of post that you commented on.  One extra entry.

Grab my button!  Post it on your own blog and leave me the link to find it.  Two extra entries!

Follow me on twitter AND tweet about the contest. – You may do this daily for an extra entry.

Follow me on google friend connect. One extra entry.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.  You may have 3 entries for this.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!  One extra entry each.

For all new Swagbucks users registering through March 4th at 6 AM PST, there is a special code to get you started on the right foot!  Click here to register at Swagbucks.com and enter this special code ARTOFBEINGMOM (be careful, the code is case sensitive!) and you’ll get 60 Swagbucks right away!

Ella’s Kitchen is a organic kids food company started by one dad who was passionate about giving children the opportunity to not only eat healthier foods, but discover that they can be fun and tasty, too!  Armed with his devotion and a dream, he took simple, natural ingredients and created great food that is so much fun your kids will swear it can’t be good for them.

Ella’s Kitchen has two main products for sale in the US right now: Smoothie Fruits and Stage 1 Baby Foods.  The Stage 1 Baby Foods are unique because, unlike a lot of baby foods out there, Ella’s Kitchen baby foods contain nothing, absolutely nothing, but pureed organic fruits and vegetables.  There are some really great flavor combinations, such as Peaches & Bananas and Broccoli, Pears & Peas.  The Smoothie Fruits also contain nothing but organic fruit, and are sold in single or 5-packs (one for every day of the school week!) for your convenience.  The flavors will make even the pickiest toddler happy – you can choose from The Red One (organic strawberries, raspberries, apples & bananas) or The Yellow One (organic bananas, mangoes, apricots & apples).  Heck, you can even use them in some yummy recipes!

But my favorite feature of both the Smoothie Fruits and the Stage 1 Baby Foods is the packaging.  I would have LOVED to have this when Anna was an infant!  Not only are the products in simple and colorful packaging, but you can reseal them with the removable cap if necessary.  How great is that?!  There have been (and still are!) so many times that I’ve been out somewhere with Anna and she’s only eaten half a container, but the container top doesn’t stay on reliably (which I learned the hard way – I have a few ruined purses to prove it!) so I’d end up throwing out and wasting food.   With the Ella’s Kitchen packaging, the sturdy, bright colored cap is easy to find at the bottom of my purse and I feel confident that the contents of the pouch won’t be all over my wallet by the time I get home.

A nice side effect of the fun packaging is that I actually got Anna to eat some of the Stage 1 baby food pouches, too.  Just because she likes squeezing the pouch to eat, she didn’t even ask what was in them – as long as they tasted good, she was happy.  In the future, I may just buy some of the Stage 1 baby foods – such as the Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Apple & Blueberries and the Carrots, Apples & Parsnips – to sneak in some extra veggies!

SAVINGS ALERT!! Ella’s Kitchen is running a great promotion with Babies R Us – buy 8 yummy products for $10!  So, head over to Babies R Us and stock up!

WIN IT! One lucky winner will win a great sample box containing one of each Ella’s Kitchen Smoothie Fruits and Stage 1 Baby Foods (ARV $15)!!!   To enter, tell me which flavor your child would like the best AND become a subscriber of this site (if you aren’t already)  You MUST confirm your subscription for it to count!  I check all entries and if you are not a subscriber, your comment will be deleted.  That’s it!

I have received compensation in the form of Ella’s Kitchen products in exchange for this post, but the views and opinions expressed are solely my own and no other compensation – monetary or otherwise – was received.

Comments will close on March 17, 2010 at 10 PM EST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). Open to US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement of the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Extra Credit:

Enter any other giveaway on my site.  Two extra entries.

Follow Ella’s Kitchen on Twitter.  Leave your username for verification.  One extra entry.

Comment on any non-giveaway post.  Leave link or name of post that you commented on.  One extra entry.

Grab my button!  Post it on your own blog and leave me the link to find it.  Two extra entries!

Follow me on twitter AND tweet about the contest. – You may do this daily for an extra entry.

Follow me on google friend connect. One extra entry.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.  You may have 3 entries for this.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!  One extra entry each.

From the moment Anna was born, we’ve used Pampers.  When you become a parent, you learn quickly which brands work best for your little one and, for us, Pampers has offered the most consistent, reliable and worry-free diapers!  Recently, Pampers has come out with a new and innovative addition to their already impressive line – Pampers Swaddlers and Pampers Cruisers are now offered with exclusive Dry Max technology!

What’s Dry Max technology, you ask?  It not only locks in wetness up to 12 hours, but it also allows the diapers to be 20% thinner!  Just that 20% less diaper can help you reduce your impact on the environment.  If current North American Pampers Swaddlers and Cruisers users switched to the new Pampers with Dry Max diaper, they could together throw away the weight of a billion less diapers every three years.  The new Pampers with Dry Max will be available in stores as of March 15th.

Also, since the new Pampers are 20% thinner, that leaves a little extra room in your bag for some style!  To celebrate kicking off their new Pampers with Dry Max, the folks at Pampers have teamed up with the one and only maternity designer Liz Lange, to offer one fantastic prize package that includes this great diaper clutch which retails for $50.  It’s the perfect way to carry around your diapers and still look cool!

WIN IT! One lucky winner will win a week’s supply of the new Pampers Cruisers with Dry Max AND a Liz Lange Diaper Clutch (ARV $50)!!!   To enter, tell me either why you’d like to win this or why you like Pampers Diapers in particular AND become a subscriber of this site (if you aren’t already)  You MUST confirm your subscription for it to count!  I check all entries and if you are not a subscriber, your comment will be deleted.  That’s it!

Comments will close on March 15, 2010 at 10 PM EST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). Open to US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement of the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Extra Credit:

Enter any other giveaway on my site.  Two extra entries.

Comment on any non-giveaway post.  Leave link or name of post that you commented on.  One extra entry.

Grab my button!  Post it on your own blog and leave me the link to find it.  Two extra entries!

Follow me on twitter AND tweet about the contest. – You may do this daily for an extra entry.

Follow me on google friend connect. One extra entry.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.  You may have 3 entries for this.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!  One extra entry each.

I’ve posted a few times about my love of Swagbucks, the online “currency” that you can win or earn through doing everyday things such as internet searches and online shopping. Swagbucks can be redeemed for lots of different prizes, but I think the most popular prize are the gift cards to retailers such as Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and iTunes, to name a few!  They even have Swagstakes, where your Swagbucks can be redeemed for entries to win such prizes as the new Apple iPad or an XBox 360 bundle.

Okay, okay – why am I talking about Swagbucks again, you ask?  Well, Thursday, February 25th is Swagbucks 2nd anniversary and they’re throwing a huge party!  Even if you’re a seasoned Swagbucks user, you’ll be pleased with the changes being implemented for their birthday.  First, if you haven’t already, you should definitely download their toolbar!  The toolbar helps remind you to use the Swagbucks search engine and lets you easily keep track of the Swagbucks you’ve earned.  Plus, The Swag Guy (the TSG) sends you messages through the Toolbar that give you extra earning opportunities!  Next, the launch of the Swagstakes Portal!  Not only will entering Swagstakes be a much more streamlined process, but now there will be dozens of the contests running simultaneously with prizes such as $100 Amazon Gift Cards, Sony Bravia 32″ TV, Amazon Kindle, Apple iPad – to name a few!

What’s a birthday party without PRESENTS?   Are you ready for yours?  For all new Swagbucks users registering February 25th 9 am pst through March 4th 6 am pst, there is a special code to get you started on the right foot!  Click here to register at Swagbucks.com and enter this special code ARTOFBEINGMOM (be careful, the code is case sensitive!) and you’ll get 6 Swagbucks right away!   Already registered?  No worries!  Keep checking the Swagbucks Twitter, Facebook and blog all day on February 25th to grab as many Swagbucks as you can get because they’re going to be giving them away like crazy!

Internet, I have a confession.

It’s quite embarrassing, really.

But, the time has come for me to unburden myself and my family.

If I don’t change, my husband may have to leave me.  There isn’t enough room in this house for him and my habit.

The gauntlet has been thrown.

So…(deep breath)…here goes.  I am a…

compulsive coupon shopper.

Oh, it started innocently enough.  Saving ten, twenty dollars here and there at the grocery store.  Mentally high-fiving myself over scoring some high-value coupons to bring to the double coupon store.  But, like lots of good things, over time I couldn’t get enough.  Store coupons, manufacturer’s coupons, customer service surveys..anything for that Extra Buck or Register Reward.   I devoured the Sunday paper, ripping apart the meaningless articles and sports pages, searching for my weekly Holy Grail – the circulars and coupons.

Over time I grew to not just enjoy using coupons and saving money, but it became a sport.  How much money could I save at the grocery store?  CVS?  Walgreens?  I saved $115 at the grocery store one week and wasn’t happy until I broke that record recently by saving over $140 in one trip.  All of that is well and good and I’m sure you can’t see where the problem is.  Why in the world would any husband want his wife to stop saving tons of money?

Yeah, that?  That’s the result of 2 shopping trips this week – one to CVS and one to Walgreens (minus the wine).  Every item there I got either completely free or extremely cheap (like, less than $1).  In fact, my shopping trip to CVS – where I earned half of that stuff – only cost me a mere $15.   Which is great, and all, but…we’re running out of room.

No, seriously.  We are running out.of.room.  Even with me boxing up stuff every month or so and donating toiletries, food, etc I can’t get rid of it fast enough.  So, either I quit my coupon addiction – please, no! – or I need to start giving away more stuff.

And so, my dear readers, that brings me to my point.  I’ve decided to do at least one giveaway per month of STUFF.  The typical prize will be the sort of stuff that you’d find at a drugstore – lotions, candles, lip gloss…and lots more.

Here is a photo and below is the list of all the items included in this first prize package:

(In no particular order: 10 oz. Glade Fragrance Collection candle (Currants & Acai), 2 oz. Glade Fragrance Collection candle (Currants & Acai), Airwick compact Freshmatic iMotion (Harvest & Spice scent), Maybelline Shinesensational lip gloss (Treat Me Sweet flavor), Renuzit Renew Pearls (Fresh Lavender), Venus Embrace razor, Reach Total Care dental floss (30 yards, Fresh Mint flavor), Glade Scented Oil candle and extra pack with 4 refills (Dewberry Dreams scent), 4.2 oz Crest Pro-Health Whitening toothpaste, 2 oz. Neutrogena Original Hand Cream, Glade Sense & Spray (Clean Linen scent), 18 oz. St. Ives body wash (Oatmeal & Shea Butter scent), 440 ml Crest Pro-Health mouthwash, 13.5 oz Aussie Volume hair conditioner, 12.5 oz Jergens Original Scent lotion, Pantene Ice Shine shampoo & conditioner, 23.6 oz Olay body wash (Ultra Moisturizing Shea Butter), 13.5 oz. Dove Cream Oil lotion, Chapstick Medicated, John Frieda Root Awakening Nourishing Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner for dry hair.)  All links are taken from CVS.com, Walgreens.com and RiteAid.com – I’m not responsible if a product isn’t as advertised, doesn’t work for you or has side-effects.  Use your common sense and read instructions first.)

That’s a whole lot of stuff!!  Who knows, I may even throw in a few more things on the prize’s way out the door.

What are you waiting for?  Go!  Enter!  But, no worries if you don’t win – there’s always next month!

WIN IT! One lucky winner will win all of the above (ARV approximately $125)!!!   To enter, in honor of the Olympic games, tell me if you could participate in any Olympic sport (regardless of talent or common sense), which would you pick? AND become a subscriber of this site (if you aren’t already)  You MUST confirm your subscription for it to count!  I check all entries and if you are not a subscriber, your comment will be deleted.  That’s it!

Comments will close on March 8, 2010 at 10 PM EST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). Open to US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement of the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Extra Credit:

Comment on any non-giveaway post.  Leave link or name of post that you commented on.  One extra entry.

Grab my button!  Post it on your own blog and leave me the link to find it.  Two extra entries!

Follow me on twitter AND tweet about the contest. – You may do this daily for an extra entry.

Follow me on google friend connect. One extra entry.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.  You may have 3 entries for this.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!  One extra entry each.

While Tommee Tippee may not be a familiar name to you yet, you just wait!  Tommee Tippee is the number one selling brand of infant and toddler feeding products in Great Britain and their wonderfully innovative products are finally making their way to the United States!  Their first product, the Tommee Tippee Cup, featured a rounded, weighted base that made spilling impossible.  Since that success, parents have worked closely with Tommee Tippee to create more products that simulate nature as much as possible and/or fill a particular need.  This creative partnership has resulted in two extraordinary brands: Closer to Nature (baby bottles and accessories) and Explora (toddler feeding cups and mealtime accessories).

I was sent the Explora Truly Spill Proof Trainer cup (Stage 1), which is available either single or in a 2-pack.  This sturdy, colorful cup is BPA-free and phthalate-free, plus it holds 9 oz – which works great for me, because Anna drinks a ton of milk and water and I hate having to fill it up every five minutes!  But, check out how cool this is – the Explora cups feature a special advance-flo valve that was actually invented by an actual physicist so that it requires almost no force to drink from, but remains spill and leak proof!  The spout itself is actually soft and flexible and the sides feature a no-slip grip that helps clumsy little hands keep the cup in their hands instead of on the floor.  But perhaps my favorite feature of the Tommee Tippee Explora cups is the built-in Hygiene Cap!  No more missing caps or fear about throwing the cup into your diaper bag – this cap isn’t removable and is fantastic!!  Tommee Tippee does have a stage system that makes it easier to see what products your child can use at which age – this Explora cup is for 6 months and up.  It retails for $4.99 for a single cup or $7.99 for the double package, and it also comes in a variety of colors.

The Explora Truly Spill Proof Sippy Cup is the next stage in Tommee Tippee cups!  This Sippy Cup is for ages 9 months and up and also comes in the single or double pack ($4.99 and $7.99, respectively) and the same variety of colors.  At 11 oz, this Sippy Cup is slightly larger than the Trainer Cup but it has the same great features – the Advance-Flo technology and the soft flex spout are carried over to this stage along with my all-time favorite, the Hygiene Cap!  Anna loved this cup best of all – the lack of handles made her feel like a big girl, but it was still a solid enough cup that I didn’t have to worry about either the flow being too weak or her breaking it when she inevitably drops it.

Tommee Tippee has an impressive array of products under their Closer to Nature brand for younger babies.  Particularly since I’ve had such a great experience with their Explora series for the older set, I’ll definitely be trying out their feeding bottle products when we have another baby!  They also have a line of sterilizers, pacifiers and tableware (including bibs).  Tommee Tippee products are now being sold in the US at Babies R Us.

I am a member of the Mom Bloggers Club and have received compensation in the form of Tommee Tippee products in exchange for this post, but the views and opinions expressed are solely my own and no other compensation – monetary or otherwise – was received.

Chef’n is an innovative new company dedicated to redesigning and reinventing everyday kitchen products and gadgets with a fun, contemporary twist.  From the Salad Spinner to the Cheese Grater, no kitchen utensil is safe from a Chef’n redesign – and the results will make you disgusted with the bland ice cream scoop you have in your own kitchen and yearn for Chef’ns ergonomic version!

I was sent Chef’ns StemGem for review and was instantly smitten!  Anna eats a ton of fruit and that number will ramp up even more in the next few months before reaching a critical mass during the summer fruit season.  Plus, we have lots of great pick-your-own farms in this area where you can pick incredible strawberries and, now with Anna a year older (and, therefore, less likely to mount an escape attempt in public), I’m sure we’ll hit those places pretty hard once they open.  So, we have Anna’s love of fruit and impending nice weather – both of which make the StemGem an attractive gadget for me – but she has also developed a real interest in cooking.  I can’t even stir my coffee without her screaming “Wait for me!  Wait for me!” as she drags her foot stool over to the kitchen island.   The problem is that most of the kitchen tools are too big and unwieldy for Anna’s little three year old hands to use and she ends up just standing there, frustrated, while I do most of the work.

The StemGem changed all of that!  Not only is it extremely simple and easy to use, but it made us both happy: Anna could use it with ease and I thought it was adorable!  Here are the directions:

-Push button on top of StemGem

-Push “claw” part down through the top (stem) of strawberry about halfway through berry

-Release button, twist and pull StemGem out of strawberry

And there you have it!  One perfectly hulled strawberry!  Plus, because of the StemGem’s unique design and similar look to a strawberry, it’s super easy to find in the drawer.   And it’s even dishwasher safe!  What more can you ask for?

Chef’n carries a variety of unique and innovative kitchen tools and gadgets, which can be found on Amazon.com and Cooking.com as well as retail stores near you!  Plus you can check out Chef’ns blog to keep up with new products and assorted Chef’n news.

WIN IT! One lucky winner will win their very own StemGem from Chef’n (ARV $8)!!!   To enter, please tell me another Chef’n product (other than the StemGem) that you’d love to have AND become a subscriber of this site (if you aren’t already)  You MUST confirm your subscription for it to count!  I check all entries and if you are not a subscriber, your comment will be deleted.  That’s it!

I have received compensation in the form of Chef’n products in exchange for this post, but the views and opinions expressed are solely my own and no other compensation – monetary or otherwise – was received.

Comments will close on March 2, 2010 at 10 PM EST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). Open to US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement of the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Extra Credit:

Become a fan of Chef’n on Facebook!  Leave your username for verification.  One extra entry.

Follow Chef’n on Twitter!  Leave your username for verification.  One extra entry

Comment on any non-giveaway post.  Leave link or name of post that you commented on.  One extra entry.

Grab my button!  Post it on your own blog and leave me the link to find it.  Two extra entries!

Follow me on twitter AND tweet about the contest. – You may do this daily for an extra entry.

Follow me on google friend connect. One extra entry.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.  You may have 3 entries for this.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!  One extra entry each.

-

Holey Donuts is the holy grail of the baked goods world.  They are the impossible, the longed for, the dream.  They are a little slice of heaven brought down here to Earth to give those of us who are slaves to sugar a little reprieve.  You see, Holey Donuts doesn’t just sell donuts.  Nope.  Not just any donuts, anyways.  Are you ready for this?

Holey Donuts makes low-fat donuts that are INCREDIBLY YUMMY.

I don’t just mean they’re “diet food” yummy.   I mean that they are super delicious no matter what standard you use.   They are light and fluffy, sweet and sticky, generously portioned and addictive.

When I tell you that some of their donuts are as low as 3 grams of fat, I think some of the impact of that statement is deflected because we’re so used to having numbers and nutritional information thrown at us that we automatically zone out when we hear it.  So, here’s another way to look at it:

There.  That’s better.  Now you have a handle on how incredible these thing are nutritionally, so let’s move on to the most important part.  Taste.

Now, before tasting Holey Donuts, my honest feeling was that if you were to show me a tasty donut with 3 grams of fat I’d show you a donut that tasted like feet.  But it didn’t take long to change my opinion!

First, Holey Donuts are shipped frozen in a special cooler box with dry ice.  Because of this, shipping is very expensive and Holey Donuts requires a minimum of 3 boxes of donuts per order to offset this cost.  But, trust me, you’ll be more than happy to order boxes and boxes of these!   You can either defrost the donuts in the microwave (which obviously can make the donut hot, unevenly cooked, etc) or in the fridge for awhile before eating.  If you have a family that will be interested in these donuts once they’re ready, you may want to stake out your territory with toothpicks or something beforehand.  Otherwise you’ll have a traffic jam of family members salivating at the fridge all day!

We were sent a couple of samplers to try.  I could go on forever about each one of these, but my favorites were the Reduced Fat Fudge Boston Cream and the Reduced Fat Lemon Graham Cracker.  With 4 grams of fat and 227 calories and 3.7 grams and 217 calories respectively, my discerning donut conneisseurs palate was thrilled with both!  Especially the Boston Cream – this is one of my guiltiest pleasures and I’m very picky about how I like them.  Holey Donuts’ Reduced Fat Boston Cream tastes better than the full fat one that I usually drool over!  And the Reduced Fat Lemon Graham Cracker was an interesting and welcome diversion from the typical lemon donut.  My only complaint was that there weren’t more of both!

My husband’s favorite was the Reduced Fat Strawberry Shortcake donuts!  These light donuts with a strawberry filling and topping of rich vanilla and low fat crumbs were perfect for a sweet end to brunch.   Ordinarily I try to avoid seeing the nutritional info on the side of products I’m bingeing on, but I was practically shrieking with delight and hopping up and down to tell everyone their fat content after they tasted their favorite.

But, perhaps the biggest favorite of all – the Jumbo Reduced Fat Cinnamon Buns.  Yeah, that’s right – I said jumbo.  These delightful, incredibly delicious cinnamon buns are only 5 grams of fat and 340 calories compared to Cinnabon’s 54 grams of fat!!  I actually thought that they tasted remarkably like the Cinnabon buns and knowing that they were a fraction of the daily value made me feel downright giddy.  Anyone care to guess how many calories and grams of fat are in a Cinnabon Caramel Pecanbun?  Ready?  1100 and 56 grams of fat.   Geez, I feel like I need to hop on the treadmill just writing that.

That’s only a fraction of the choices and flavors that Holey Donuts carries, but part of the fun will be exploring their site and the choices yourself!  Head on over to www.holeydonuts.net and check them out!

Here’s a special deal to get you started!  Now you can buy 3, get 2 free!  Just place 5 assortments in your cart, enter the code VDAY2 at checkout, click recalculate and see the cost of 2 full assortments changed to FREE!

YooHoo and Friends is the top-selling line based on endangered species from Aurora Gifts, a leader in the plush toy industry.  Aurora’s products are sold in a wide array of outlets – major zoos, department stores, high-end toy stores, top gift chains, and hospitals – to name a few!  They have everything from Looney Tunes plush characters to Cheeky Charlie monkeys to Lamb Chop herself and many more.

YooHoo and Friends sold over 1 million toys in their first retail year and with the introduction of several new animals, 2010 promises to be another huge year for the adorable creatures!   The Friends come in various sizes – 5″, 8″, 10″, 24″ and keychains – which was one of my favorite things about this line of toys.  One of the toys that I was sent was the Hapee (lesser panda) keychain and it was one of my absolute favorites!  I loved the size – it was still fluffy and soft, but I was able to clip it right onto the zipper on Anna’s jacket and she happily played with it for an entire car ride.   Since it was clipped on, I didn’t have to worry about her losing it! Instead of her asking to bring a stuffed friend into every store, now she has one right on her jacket that is easily reachable  Plus, I don’t have to keep picking it up off the floor when she inevitably drops it!  Perfect!

Then I introduced her to Pookee, who is a meerkat, and YooHoo, a bush baby (small night monkey).  Pookee and YooHoo have the most adorable big eyes and they both make cute noises when you press on their bellies!  But perhaps my favorite thing about them is that since they’re based on actual animals, your child can head over to yoohooandfriends.com and learn more about their little animal friend.  This would be a perfect gift before you take your child to the zoo – for instance, they can bring Pammee (a Fennec fox) or Josee (a Tarsier) – to name a few! – with them to meet the real thing.  YooHoo and Friends make learning about animals and why it’s important to protect them fun, easy and memorable.

YooHoo and Friends also have an online world called www.yoohoofriends.com where kids can learn all about their fuzzy animal friends and play games and interact with them in one cool place.   Plus, they’re available in a variety of sizes and noises (or without noises!) so there are lots of different choices and options!  Not only that, but YooHoo and Friends are available in lots of different holiday and special occasion styles including Easter, springtime, birthday and winter!

WIN IT! One lucky winner will win both a 5″ and a keychain YooHoo and Friends animal (ARV $15)!!!  Please be advised that the actual prize sent is at the discretion of the sponsor – while I can request your favorite, I cannot guarantee that will be the actual prize sent. To enter, please tell me which YooHoo and Friends product you’d love to have AND become a subscriber of this site (if you aren’t already)  You MUST confirm your subscription for it to count!  I check all entries and if you are not a subscriber, your comment will be deleted.  That’s it!

I have received compensation in the form of YooHoo and Friends products in exchange for this post, but the views and opinions expressed are solely my own and no other compensation – monetary or otherwise – was received.

Comments will close on March 2, 2010 at 10 PM EST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). Open to US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement of the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Extra Credit:

Become a fan of YooHoo and Friends on Facebook!  Leave your username for verification.  One extra entry.

Follow YooHoo and Friends on Twitter!  Leave your username for verification.  One extra entry

Comment on any non-giveaway post.  Leave link or name of post that you commented on.  One extra entry.

Grab my button!  Post it on your own blog and leave me the link to find it.  Two extra entries!

Follow me on twitter AND tweet about the contest. – You may do this daily for an extra entry.

Follow me on google friend connect. One extra entry.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.  You may have 3 entries for this.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!  One extra entry each.

Here are the winners of the latest two contests!

First up, the lucky winner of a selection of yummy Late July Organic Snacks!  The winner is…

Congratulations, Kim!  For more information, or to purchase Late July Organic Snacks for yourself or your family, visit www.latejuly.com or your local grocery store.

Next up is the winner of the Select Comfort Classic Plush Blanket giveaway!  This was crazy popular, with over 700 entries!!  The winner is going to absolutely love this Select Comfort blanket – it’s super soft and warm and perfect for this time of year!  Anyways, on to the winner…

Congratulations, Jennifer!  For those of you who didn’t win, check out this post on Select Comfort’s 50% coupon especially for you on i9 Sleep Number beds (sale ends 2/21)!  The Select Comfort Classic Plush Blanket is available at www.selectcomfort.com.

Winners have been emailed and have 48 hours to respond or new winners will be chosen.

If you didn’t win one of these giveaways, have no fear!  New giveaways are coming!  Keep your eyes peeled for giveaways from Ella’s Kitchen and Aurora Gifts – to name a few!

Internet, meet Charlie!

Charlie is a four month old kitten that was our gift to Anna for her third birthday last week.  Of course, he’s only “her” kitten in her head – she has no real responsibility with him and Adam and I are in charge of every aspect of his little life.  But Charlie has a blast playing with Anna and she’s great at playing games with strings and throwing balls for him to chase.  In short, he is ADORABLE.

So, the other day Adam and I were in the living room reading and Anna was running in between rooms playing.  When all of a sudden we heard this high-pitched WAIL..and this is what we found:

Miss Anna had been trying to help and took it upon herself to feed the cats.  Nevermind that they already had plenty of food.  But she was just beside herself because she had made a mess and was just in a puddle of tears over it, the poor thing!  We cleaned it up quickly (and with her help) and she promised not to try to feed the kitties again.

If anyone out there has been considering adopting an animal into your home, please consider all of the animals in shelters that really need a nice home!  All three of our cats are from shelters and they’re all sweet, wonderful pets.  Head to your local shelter and bring home a new friend today!

Pampers Diapers is introducing their new line of Pampers Cruisers and Pampers Swaddlers with Dry Max, which Pampers says is their biggest innovation to their brand in 25 years.  Pampers new Dry Max technology is a “game changer” – it allows the diaper to be even more absorbent and keep your baby dry for even longer, all while making the diaper even thinner than before.  Pampers Cruisers are known for their flexibility and comfort for your active little one and now that they’ve made them more streamlined and dry, these diapers are the Gold Medal in their category.

So, it’s only fitting that Pampers has teamed up with Team USA to make a special, limited-edition Team USA diaper for these world-class babies to keep up with their high-performance family members! Two of these athletes are Olympic gold medal speedskater Chad Hedrick and his family, and skeleton (forward-facing luge) World Champion and Olympic Hopeful Noelle Pikus-Pace and her family.  Both will share their Olympic experiences (through their baby’s point of view!) via photos and videos on Pampers.com.

While you won’t be able to buy Pampers Cruisers or Swaddlers with Dry Max at a store near you until March, Pampers is running a fantastic promotion where you can request a free sample 3-pack starting tomorrow morning (January 29th)!  Even better?  If the sample you are sent includes a diaper stamped Team USA (randomly inserted in select sample packs), your baby will win a year’s supply of Pampers diapers!

So, not only do you get a 3-pack sample of new Pampers Cruisers or Swaddlers diapers with Dry Max technology, but you can even win a years supply of Pampers!  What could be better?

Don’t forget to head over to Pampers.com tomorrow morning for your sample!  These will go fast, so don’t forget!

We’ve all heard those stories about the mythical woman who actually “works from home” and “makes money online”.  You may have even tried to find some of the more reputable companies out there, but likely got completely frustrated with the amount of spam and lack of real money.

Over the past year or so I’ve tried numerous sites and wanted to share again some of my favorites.  This is the time of year when holiday credit card bills are rolling in and you’re trying to figure out how you can afford to take a vacation in the fall.  So, set up a new email address to use exclusively for these survey and shopping sites and get started earning money today!

I was recently introduced to Rue La La, a “exclusive” online boutique that features 2 day sales of premium designer fashion, vacations, home goods, accessories, etc.  You have to be “invited” to get in, but I was pleasantly surprised once I did.  They were featuring a good deal on nights at W Hotels around the country – a night in a Spectacular (their words, not mine) room with breakfast for 2 in Boston was $239 (not including taxes), which is a pretty good deal!  They also have designer fashion and accessories at some really incredible prices!  Click HERE to sign up – it is invitation only, but since I’m a member I can invite all of you!

Designer duds not your thing?  Yeah, I usually find that when I shop it’s for either my daughter, my husband or our house!  So where do you go to find those same really great deals as Rue La La, but for kids?  I give you Totsy!  Totsy is the same kind of setup, with upscale kid and baby clothing, furniture, art, accessories, etc.  I’m always reluctant to buy the more expensive clothes for my daughter because she’ll either ruin them with a ketchup spill five minutes after I put it on her or she’ll grow out of it in a month.  But with prices like this set from Kiwi Industries at 60% off you’ll feel great about buying the designer threads for your messy toddler!  Click HERE to sign up and start saving mega bucks on the cutest and greatest brands out there!

But enough about shopping – what about making money?!

First off, Swagbucks.  If you don’t have the Swagbucks toolbar installed and use it every time you search for something, you are seriously missing out!!  Swagbucks is a website that allows you to earn points (in the form of Swagbucks) that can be used towards prizes and gift cards.  Earning points is easy, but it’s even easier if you download and use their toolbar!  What I usually do is search using their search box first – sometimes you earn Swagbucks, sometimes not – and if that search hasn’t worked, then I use Google.  But I’ve already earned over 100 Swagbucks just in the last month!  Before Christmas I cashed all of mine in and was able to get $40 or so in Amazon gift cards!  There are other ways to earn, too, so go and check them out and sign up to start earning Swagbucks today!  If you start now and don’t cash them in until Christmas you’ll have lots of points to use to buy gifts – it’s free money!  Click HERE to sign up!

The other site that has been my biggest earner over this past year has been Opinion Outpost.  Opinion Outpost is a survey site where you can earn points to be cashed in for either checks or can be instantly deposited in your Amazon account (both check and Amazon redemptions need a minimum of $5 earned).  Do a couple of surveys while you’re watching tv at night and earn a few extra bucks every single week.  You can deposit them directly into Amazon and use them for household things, like diapers, or to save up for gifts or for when you need a new book!  The Amazon redemption is instant and I used this one a few times when I needed a gift for someone!  Click HERE to sign up and start doing those surveys! HINT:  In order to get the most surveys, complete the profile surveys first!!!  This may take a few minutes to do, but once you do it you don’t have to do it again for a long time.  This is how they know what surveys to send you!  If you don’t do this you won’t get anywhere near the same amount of survey opportunities!

Those are a few of my favorite places out there!  I’m sure there are others that you’ve found and I’d love to hear about them!  I wish you all success and lots of extra money!

Don’t forget to enter to win some yummy organic snacks and cookies from Late July Organic Snacks (prize valued over $25)! This giveaway ends on February 2nd (Tuesday).

And the Select Comfort giveaway of a Classic Plush Blanket (valued up to $90) is open until February 6th (Saturday).  Enter now!

If there is one thing that I have learned from being born and bred here in New England, it is the importance of a good blanket.

It sounds rather droll to put so much significance and gravity on something as silly as a blanket, but anyone who has lived through a good ol’ fashioned Noreaster – or, for those of you down South, a 50 degree day – knows that when Mother Nature is throwing everything she has at you, your only recourse is to retreat to the sofa with a good book and a good, warm blanket.

The problem is that while there are blankets that claim to keep you warm – some go as far as to do so electrically – there aren’t many that actually succeed.  I know it would be warm to sleep next to my furnace but I’m not in the habit of doing that either, so no electric blankets for us.  I think all of us have experienced taking a nap under one of those old crocheted blankets that Grandma made and how inexplicably toasty it was, in spite of all of the holes that are inherent in the design.  On the flip side, I’ve purchased lots of blankets because they feel soft and squishy under my hand in the store and I assume that will translate nicely to the couch, only to get it home and be freezing halfway through a movie rental.

So, suffice it to say that I am a pretty tough customer when it comes to blankets.  When Select Comfort offered to send one of their Classic Plush Blankets I was excited to test out the quality of a blanket from such a prestigious brand.  And, I’m thrilled to report, that I wasn’t disappointed!

First, I have to say that I really loved the different colors that are available.  While we went with the Cocoa blanket (pictured above), Select Comfort also offers a nice selection of other rich colors such as Sage and Cranberry (to name a few).  What’s great about that is that this makes a great gift, too!  I love to get friends a housewarming gift when they move somewhere new and a new blanket in a coordinating color for their living room or bedroom is always a very thoughtful and appreciated present!

You can tell from the minute you pick up the Classic Plush Blanket that it is a quality product.  Have you ever picked up a blanket that looked warm and durable, only to be able to separate the stuffing under your fingers as you hold it in your hand?   Thankfully, this Blanket is nothing like that!  It feels sturdy and has a nice medium-weight to it.  It’s the perfect blanket to keep on the back of your couch or at the foot of your bed – it’s heavy enough to certainly keep you warm, but it’s not so substantial that you’d feel smothered in the spring.  The Ultra Plush 100% microfiber fabric is quite soft and smooth and the finishing touch of a 2-inch sateen binding on all four sides adds just enough personality to make it interesting.  Plus, if you have a Sleep Number bed (in which case I am bitterly, hideously jealous.  Seriously.) they have this really cool Logic Label system where all of their blankets, sheet sets, etc all line up easily to make making your bed even easier than it already is.  What more can you ask for?!

Select Comfort’s Classic Plush Blankets retail for $49.99 to $89.99, depending on the size needed.  But from now until January 30th, they’re on sale for $37.49 to $67.49!  Select Comfort also carries a range of sheet sets, pillows, mattress pads – not to mention their incredible, life-changing, splendiferous Sleep Number beds (sigh)!

WIN IT! One lucky winner will win a Classic Plush Blanket from Select Comfort (ARV up to $90)!!!  To enter, please tell me another Select Comfort product you’d love to have AND become a subscriber of this site (if you aren’t already)  You MUST confirm your subscription for it to count!  I check all entries and if you are not a subscriber, your comment will be deleted.  That’s it!

***PLEASE NOTE!!  It is Select Comfort’s policy when sponsoring a giveaway to ask for the names and email addresses of all who enter in order to add them to their marketing database.  It means that you will receive periodic emails with sales, deals and sleep tips from the people who know sleep best!  They promise not to ever sell, rent or otherwise disseminate your information and they won’t clog up your inbox with daily emails or anything crazy.  As they are the sponsor of this giveaway, please do not enter this particular contest if you do not wish your information to be given to them.  Again, all names and email addresses will be given to Select Comfort to be added to their email list.  If you aren’t comfortable with this, don’t enter this particular giveaway!  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

I have received compensation in the form of Select Comfort’s Classic Plush Blanket in exchange for this post, but the views and opinions expressed are solely my own and no other compensation – monetary or otherwise – was received.

Comments will close on February 6, 2010 at 10 PM EST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). Open to US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement of the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Extra Credit:

Become a fan of Select Comfort on Facebook!  Leave your username for verification.  One extra entry.

Comment on any non-giveaway post.  Leave link or name of post that you commented on.  One extra entry.

Grab my button!  Post it on your own blog and leave me the link to find it.  Two extra entries!

Follow me on twitter AND tweet about the contest. – You may do this daily for an extra entry.

Follow me on google friend connect. One extra entry.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.  You may have 3 entries for this.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!  One extra entry each.

When you think of quality children’s toys on the market today, there are a few brands that come to mind.  But when I try to think of the brands that I remember from my own childhood – the ones that have sustained and grown in the past two decades – that list gets even shorter.  So, when PLAYMOBIL contacted me to review a few of the toys from their new Nautical Expedition Line I was thrilled to be able to introduce them to my own child!

The seeds of PLAYMOBIL were planted back in 1876, but it wasn’t until 1958 that they found their footing as a toy manufacturer and never looked back.  From 1974 over 2.2 billion PLAYMOBIL figures have been manufactured!  With a current assortment of over 250 different toys, there is something for everyone.  From the Fire Rescue Starter Set to the My Take Along Farm, you can find a toy for any interest or occasion!

PLAYMOBIL’s Nautical Expedition Line is a selection of toys related to all sorts of water related exploits such as deep sea diving, fishing and underwater exploration.  If your child is into the ocean and exploring, this set of toys will keep them entertained for hours!

We started off on our deep sea diving adventure with the Deep Sea Diving Bell.  This toy is pure bathtime fun!  A watertight explorer cabin and its intrepid captain are ready to submerge and hunt for treasure with this adorable set.  While the set is super easy to assemble, it also offers enough of a challenge and variable pieces to keep your child entertained for years to come.  In fact, this Diving Bell is a partner toy with another PLAYMOBIL Nautical product (sold separately, of course), the Expedition Ship.

We also got to explore with the Divers in Tropical Reef set, which is the perfect set to complete the underwater effect!  This set includes two divers with scuba gear and fins, reef, stingray, lobster, seahorse, manta ray, and other accessories.  Anna had a blast playing with all of this stuff!  She has a lot of bath toys, but the majority of them are sort of baby-ish – you know, the rubber ducky and bath crayon sort of toys.  She still plays with those, but her tastes are maturing.   Now she gets more into her imagination, and so when she is pretending that her bath is the raging sea in desperate need of exploration this set of PLAYMOBIL Nautical toys are perfect.  Plus, I love being able to buy different pieces and coordinating parts from the same line – it makes telling people what to get Anna for gifts so much easier!  It’s great to have a manufacturer that I know and trust to be able to direct friends and family to for gift ideas, knowing that anything PLAYMOBIL makes will be sturdy, well-made and capture her imagination.  Perfect!

PLAYMOBIL’s Nautical Line, along with their entire line of wonderful toys, can be found at www.playmobilusa.com, Amazon.com and other toy retailers near you!

I have received compensation in the form of PLAYMOBIL products in exchange for this post, but the views and opinions expressed are solely my own and no other compensation monetary or otherwise was received.

I don’t know a single mom out there who isn’t on the constant search for great tasting, organic snacks for their kids.

These days, as we learn more and more about the chemicals and artificial ingredients in our environment, we are getting more savvy about our food and are being more careful about what products we bring into our home.  I don’t think it’s any big secret that some of the healthier options out there are some of the worst tasting, too!  As adults, we’re a bit more capable of choking down something that doesn’t necessarily taste good in the name of good health, but once you have kids all bets are off.  I know several women who swore up and down that their child would only consume the freshest, most organic and healthy foods out there – only their kids had other ideas.  When presented with the healthy snacks, no matter how appetizing Mom tries to make it look, the kids pushed their plates away and refused to eat anything other than McDonalds chicken nuggets.

Thankfully, the “health” food industry is rapidly expanding and, with its expansion, come some really incredible new products that are tasty, well priced and guilt-free.  One such marvel of deliciousness is Late July Organic Snacks!  This particular company is close to my heart (well, stomach really) in several ways: the company is on Cape Cod which is right near where I grew up and the company’s owner and creator, Nicole, is the daughter of the genius who created Cape Cod Potato Chips (and a mom herself!).  With a pedigree like that, Late July snacks are guaranteed to be yummy!  And, I’m happy to report, they live up to their hype!

I was thrilled to be able to try a couple of Late July’s Mini Sandwich Cookies.  I simply LOVE cookies, and for that precise reason we don’t often have them at our house.  But since I have such issues with food myself, it’s really important to me to emphasize to Anna that cookies and treats are things that can be a part of her healthy diet – just in moderation.   The same goes for the snack I put out at our weekly playgroup that I host – while the snack is usually something fairly healthy, sometimes I buy something sweet and fun for the kids.  What’s more sweet and fun than mini sandwich cookies?!

The size of these little cookies is perfect for little hands, and the kids didn’t seem to really have a favorite!  Both the Mini Milk Chocolate and the Mini White Chocolate cookies were gobbled up quickly – so quickly, that I had to hold the boxes hostage in order to share the other cool thing about these cookies with them!   Late July’s Mini Sandwich Cookies aren’t just a good source of calcium and whole grain, aren’t just tasty and delicious, but also help to support the efforts of the Jane Goodall Institute to help with endangered animal awareness.  On either side of each cookie is featured one of seven different endangered animals, which actually did the impossible – made the toddlers stop scarfing the cookies for a minute and check out the cool animals on them!  Then were so inspired that they had to identify each, then pretend they were each… so, not only were the cookies super yummy and organic, but they actually inspired the kids to play and use their imaginations.   Does it get any better than that?!

Late July not only makes the mini sandwich cookies but they make regular sized cookies, Classic Rich and Classic Saltine crackers, Cheddar Cheese crackers, and Peanut Butter crackers – all organic!  Late July products are available online at www.shoplatejuly.com, Amazon.com and Drugstore.com (complete list) as well as stores like Whole Foods and others near you (list)!

And Late July has an extra special offer just for my readers!  If you email your mailing address to offers@latejuly.com and ask for the coupons, they will send you over $5 in coupons that you can use at your local store!  How cool is that?!

WIN IT! One lucky winner will win an incredible selection of Late July’s Organic Snacks including single serve packs of snack crackers, full boxes of the new cookies and over $5 in coupons (total value over $25)!!!  To enter, please tell me which variety of Late July’s snack crackers or cookies that you’d love to try AND become a subscriber of this site (if you aren’t already)  You MUST confirm your subscription for it to count!  I check all entries and if you are not a subscriber, your comment will be deleted.  That’s it!

Comments will close on February 2, 2010 at 10 PM EST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). Open to US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement of the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Extra Credit:

Become a fan of Late July on Facebook!  Leave your username for verification.  One extra entry.

Comment on any non-giveaway post.  Leave link or name of post that you commented on.  One extra entry.

Grab my button!  Post it on your own blog and leave me the link to find it.  Two extra entries!

Follow me on twitter AND tweet about the contest. – You may do this daily for an extra entry.

Follow me on google friend connect. One extra entry.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.  You may have 3 entries for this.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!  One extra entry each.

Dear Breast Cancer,

I don’t recall anyone asking me whether or not I wanted to lose my grandmother or have to watch my mother suffer terribly with breast cancer.  It seems that everyone understands your language – doctors talk about stages and margins, nurses are well-versed in discussing peripheral veins and IV pumps.  But there is no language for the family members, the ones who have to bear witness to your terrible strength and ruthlessness.  You get to say and do whatever you want to do and we are at your mercy.  Well, it’s my turn.  This is how I’ll get my say.

You ripped my grandmother from my life when I was four years old – not even old enough to know what a tragedy that truly is.  It wasn’t until I was older and into my teenage years that I looked around my life and realized that I had no one other than my mother.  I didn’t know how much I had missed out on but watching television and movies taught me that my grandmother dying when I was four was the emotional equivalent of losing a limb.  See, I think of life as if you’re climbing a ladder – your parents are the arms that help to pull you up, but it’s your legs – your grandparents – that do the heavy work to give you the solid foundation from which you can push forward.  When you take away a limb, a person can certainly learn to live without it but they always feel the pain of what isn’t there.

When I was little I lived with constant fear, incessant worry and anxiety.  I was worried that I would find my mother dead when I got home, fearful of what kind of mood my father would be in when he walked in the door – always scared, always worried.  Back then my fear was that my mother would be permanently, irrevocably hurt by my father.  But when I think about it, I realize that my old fears have returned – it’s just the villain that has changed.

The passage of time had lulled me into complacency and for awhile, I was able to keep you out of my mind.  But when the phone call came and my mother breathed life into my deepest fear by saying “I have breast cancer”, the words sounded so hollow and small, offensive in their simplicity. When my mother got sick it meant that my odds of getting sick skyrocketed.   And it meant that I could no longer ignore the fact that my own body is a ticking time bomb.

After a long and difficult journey, my mother’s breast cancer is currently in remission and I am thankful every day for that. I believe that in order for a fight to be fair, both sides need to know their opponent.  Consider this letter an introduction.  I will not go quietly and I won’t let you take my family without a fight.  There is nothing I can do to 100% guarantee that you won’t darken my doorstep – even a double mastectomy isn’t a certainty.  But I can promise you that your time of tormenting people is drawing to a close.  The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and together we will defeat you.  I can only hope that when that day comes, I will be able to stand arm in arm with my mother and my daughter and know that the people we lost added fuel to the fire of hope that prevailed in the end.

With hope and determination,

Courtney