Operation Beautiful: Review & Giveaway

 *Giveaway is now closed. I'll be announcing the winner shortly.*

There has been a bit of a theme around here lately. Touching people with the written word. I know I've been stressing it lately, but it's so true! A hand-written note can change a person's whole day. This is what Caitlyn Boyle's Operation Beautiful campaign is all about!

Operation Beautiful: Transforming the Way You See Yourself One Post-It Note at a Time is about changing the way we think about ourselves and validating the beauty in every woman one post-it note at a time! One day, author Caitlyn Boyle was in a public bathroom. Feeling critical of herself and wanting to do something positive, she wrote "You are beautiful" on a piece of notebook paper and stuck it in the frame of the bathroom mirror. She left it there, hoping it would make someone feel good about themselves, but she had no idea how the campaign would take flight. She posted a picture on her blog that night and soon she had an inbox full of emails from readers talking about the notes they had left and how great they felt after leaving them!

This book is a collection of the most-inspiring stories collected from all over the world about the notes people have seen and left! It's such a simple concept. Leaving a positive note for a random stranger to find will make you both feel good!

I loved this book. It was so inspiring to read the notes and stories and I couldn't resist getting in on the campaign. While I was out shopping one day, I left a note on a public bathroom mirror. I waited till the bathroom was empty, and then stuck it to the mirror and slipped out of the bathroom. I couldn't help but feel good about what I'd done. I thought about who might find it. Would it be a mom who was feeling frazzled that day? Would it be a teenager who was having an "ugly" day?  Either way, I hope I made someone feel better. I know I felt good about posting it!

Thanks to Gotham Books, one of my readers will win a copy of the book, Operation Beautiful: Transforming the Way You See Yourself One Post-It Note at a Time, and a post-it pad so you can go out and participate in the campaign yourself!

For your first and mandatory entry, tell me where you'd post a note and what it would say, if you win!

**Also, please leave a valid email address, so I can contact you if you win!**

Extra Entries: (After you've posted your mandatory entry, you can leave a comment for each one of these extra entries you do!)

- Follow my blog on Google Friend Connect - 1 entry

- Follow me on twitter (@JodibeeDesigns) - 1 entry (Leave twitter name)

- Tweet about the giveaway - 1 entry (Include @JodibeeDesigns & a link in tweet. Leave link to tweet in comment)

- Join the Operation Beautiful Facebook Group and leave a positive message on the wall there! - 1 entry (Leave your Facebook name in your comment!)

- Tell me something you love about yourself! - 1 entry

Giveaway is open to U.S. residents and will end on Tuesday Sept 7 at 12noon est. I will choose one winner with Random.org and contact the winner via email. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email or I'll have to choose a new winner. Good luck everyone!!

Disclaimer: Thanks to Gotham Books and Twittermoms, I was given a free copy of the book to facilitate the review but was given no other compensation for my review. Gotham Books is also supplying the prize for the giveaway. The opinions here are strictly my own and have not been influenced by Twittermoms or Gotham Books.

Follow Me Back Tuesday!

It's Follow Me Back Tuesday!! Welcome! Follow Me Back Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at Little Yaya's, Survey Junkie, Review Retreat and Boobies, Babies and a Blog! This week's guest host is Lydia from Still On The Verge... Be sure to visit her blog as well! FMBT is a great way to discover some great blogs and to gain some new followers!  If you want to add your blog to the mix and get in on all the fun, start at one of these blogs, check out the Linky and get to following!

Thanks for visiting!! I hope you're all having a great week! We're going camping for the weekend on Friday, so we're busy getting ready for our trip. I set up the tent in the backyard today to make sure all the poles and everything were there since it's been a few years since we used the tent. But everything looks good and ready to go. I bought a new air mattress today from Amazon that should be here Wednesday. I took a look at the forecast and they're calling for major temperature drops in the mountains, so I'm also washing sweatshirts and heavier socks. It's going as low as 47℉ on Saturday night, so we're going to need some bundle up clothes. I also have to do some research about how to make coffee on a fire. I've never done it and I'm definitely going to need hot coffee after a night of sleeping in the 40's!

Have a wonderful week everyone. If you're new to my blog, please take a look around and follow me if you'd like! If you do, leave me a comment and I'll follow you back! Thanks again for visiting!!

Digital Scavenger Hunt- Summer 2010

This cold is kind of kicking my butt, so I'm a little behind with my posting, but I participated in a Digital Scavenger Hunt with Janae from Pink Dandy Chatter and I wanted to share my finds! Our challenge was to take a picture of our interpretations of 8 words: tall, colorful, heat, love, broken, crime, organic and nature. Some of these were pretty challenging, but here are my shots.

Tall:

I think the angle of this shot is fun. Don't I look like a giant?! (My boyfriend says I look mean here, though I don't mean to!)

Love:

This is one of my favorites of all of the pictures I've taken. These hydrangea's were so beautiful and I loved how these blooms formed a heart.

Colorful:

I love bright colors and thought these were great.


Broken:

 This is the birdbath in our backyard. Needless to say, the birds aren't using it like this.


Organic:

With this cold, I'm trying to drink a lot of water and tea is the only thing that soothes my throat. This organic tea is one of the ones I've been drinking.


Heat:

This is the thermometer on the dash of my boyfriend's car. Yep, yesterday at 7:34pm it was 88℉ here. I won't complain though because next weekend we're going camping and the forecasts are showing lows of 47℉! What happened to summer?!


Crime:

I found this while walking along the road behind my house. Graffiti and littering in one shot. Sad.

Nature:

This beautiful butterfly was snacking on the bush near our side door.

Blog Links That Are Participating In The Digital Scavenger Hunt:

http://www.creativeapples.wordpress.com

http://caseymcardle.blogspot.com
http://mynameismichael-wrangler.blogspot.com
http://holly-beck.blogspot.com
http://opheliaclairemaxwell.blogspot.com
http://soulenergyjewelry.blogspot.com
http://jodibee.blogspot.com
http://liftingmeup.com
http://pinkdandychatter.blogspot.com

I had a great time participating in this hunt! Please go check out the other participants' blogs too. As a group, we got some fantastic shots!

Pen To Paper Challenge

This is my post about sending my first handwritten note in the Pearista Pen to Paper Challenge. (You can read more about the details of the challenge here.) I, sadly, missed the official first week of the challenge, so I'm a week behind, but I'm trying to get back on track here! :)

Email has definitely made correspondence easier. It's a quick, instant way to let your friends and family  know you're thinking of them. But do we get the same gleeful reaction? I'm always happy to see an email from a friend in my box, but a letter or card is much more exciting! To me, it means they took extra time to send you a hello. They had to make the effort to get out the card or paper, write out the message, address an envelope, buy a stamp, affix it AND drop it in the mail. Plus, it just feels more personal. I love seeing people's handwriting. It's so interesting and individually theirs. No one writes exactly like anyone else.

I still have a letter from my grandfather and I love re-reading it from time to time. I love the sentiment, but I always love looking at it because it's in my grandfather's handwriting. There are a few ink smears and it's really special to know that his hands smeared that ink. It's such a powerful & tangible memory for me. I remember how special I felt to get a letter from my grandfather. I think I was maybe 12 years old and when my mom told me I had mail from him, I was so excited. Getting mail is still just as exciting for me. And it's even more special, when it's a letter from someone you love.

So a couple of months ago, I received a card from an old friend, Amber. We met online, in a deals & contests forum and became good friends. We even started a yahoo group with another friend to organize secret santa-like swaps with other friends from the contest forum. We talked over email multiple times a week, but we eventually lost touch as our lives got busy. So when I received a card in the mail from Amber earlier this summer, it was very nice to hear from her. Just that quick note to say hello really made my day. And the adorable dog on the front of the card didn't hurt! But of course, time got away from me and it took til August for me to get back to her.

So this week, I decided to send a note to Amber. I started to write the note and next thing I knew, I had run out of room on the regular message page and went up to the top part to finish my note. I even used the little arrow pointing up to tell the reader where to go. Drawing the little arrow made me laugh. It reminded me of notes I used to write in school. I had a tendency to write long notes growing up. Letters to friends, notes passed in class, birthday cards...I always wrote a novel. So running out of room happened frequently. And I drew a lot of those arrows.

It felt really nice to write Amber back. I felt good about sending her mail and showing my appreciation for the card she sent a couple of months ago. But I also loved the actual act of writing the note. The actual act of pen to paper felt good and a bit nostalgic. It took me right back to all of those notes I wrote in school. Maybe I was paying more attention to how I felt writing it because of the challenge, but it felt special. Like something I should definitely be doing more often.

Have any of you decided to try the challenge yourselves? Remember if you do take the challenge and post about it on your blog, send me the link and I'll choose one person randomly to send my last card to. This means you'll get a note from me, a really pretty blank card and envelope to send to one of your loved ones AND a shout-out on my blog. If you have a blog, I'll link to your blog also. So you'll get a little free advertising. (I haven't had anyone accept the challenge yet, so your odds of being chosen are pretty good!)

Amber should be receiving her note soon. I hope receiving it makes her feel as good as writing it did!

For the Birds!

I've always been drawn to birds when it comes to decor, jewelry or stationary. I love the whimsy their images bring to the things around me! I've picked out a few of my latest favorites to share. I think they're all beautiful, interesting and functional. (Yes, even the ring! Decorating your finger definitely counts as a function!!) I hope you enjoy them!

1. Ceramic Owl Planter in Lemon Yellow - Fruit Fly Pie ($34 + sh)

2. Set of 10 Letterpress Notecards with Bird - Lark Press ($10 + sh)

3. Wingspan Bottle Opener - Anthropologie ($18 + sh)

4. Sleepin' Safari Throw Pillow - The Land of Nod ($19 + sh)

5. Nesting Birds - Uncommon Goods ($35 + sh)

6. Little Bird Sterling Silver Ring - Little Green Room ($15 + sh)

Friendly Friday

Friendly Friday is a great way to find new readers and followers for your blog! It's hosted by three lovely ladies: Christi at The Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier & Charla at Healthy Home Blog! Be sure to follow their blogs and say hello! And if you want to join in, add your blog to the linky on one of the above named blogs and start following.

Happy Friday! I seem to have developed the sore throat that most of my family had last week, so I am headed to bed to see if getting good rest helps me feel better. My ankle is also still achy after my scuffle with the hole in the backyard Wednesday. So I haven't had a great week, but I'm looking forward to the weekend's sunshine to cheer my mood. It's supposed to be sunny and mid to upper 80's on Saturday! Woo Hoo! I'm not usually one who really craves crazy heat, but after a rainy, gray week, I'm ready for some warm sunshine again! 

Today I received a set of beautiful Christmas Cards from Storkie.com to review, so look forward to that review (and giveaway) next week. You're going to like this giveaway, I'm positive!

Ok I'm off to bed. G'night everyone! If you're stopping by for the first time, I would love if you'd follow me and come back to visit soon! Leave me a comment and I'll follow you back too! Have a great Friday, Saturday, Sunday!!

Keeping Smiles Bright With Trident

Tooth decay has become the most chronic childhood disease in America. Many parents struggle with ways to help their children take care of their teeth.  Not only do children see brushing their teeth as a chore, they also dread the dentist. Any of you with children will know the dreaded scream that goes along with telling your kids about a dental appointment. Have you ever tried to avoid telling your kids about an upcoming appointment, or more often, bribing them with a treat afterwards to get them to go?! What's worse is that if your children brushed and flossed regularly, the dentist might not be such a scary place. We've all tried the fun flavored toothpastes, the character toothbrushes or the tablets that make the plaque bright blue. Here's another trick you might not know about!

Chewing Trident Sugar-free Gum has been shown to help fight cavities when chewed after meals!! Trident contains a sugar-free sweetener called Xylitol that has been know to loosen plaque from teeth! How cool is that?! Trident comes in 11 great flavors too, so your kids are bound to find at least one they love!  The flavors are Original Flavor, Bubble Gum, Spearmint, Tropical Twist, Watermelon Twist, Wild Blueberry Twist, Minty Sweet Twist, Passionberry Twist, Wintergreen, Strawberry Twist and Cinnamon. (My favorite is the Original. It's a very mild mint that tastes great and freshens breath without that harsh, super-cold mint sensation that turns some kids off.) Most kids I know love chewing gum, so if you get them a flavor they love, I bet they won't argue. You don't even have to tell them that it's to help their teeth! Let it be your little secret!

Trident understands how important dental health. With tooth decay affecting half of the 2nd graders in the U.S. and 80% of 17-year-olds, it has truly become an epidemic. Trident has even paired up with Smiles Across America to bring dental care to underprivileged youth in the U.S. There are so many kids without dental coverage in the nation today and they are suffering because of it. Trident is doing a huge part to help and  I'm really impressed with their commitment to the cause.

Here are five simple things you can do for your child to help keep their smiles healthy and bright.

-  Make brushing teeth an important part of your routine, both morning and night! Do it together with your kids and you'll both benefit from the time together and the oral health!! By brushing and flossing with your kids, you'll be able to show them the right way to do it. Many kids do not spend enough time brushing and don't realize they aren't doing the best for their teeth. (And if your kids are going to bed much earlier than you are, you'll get another brushing in and brushing three times a day has to be better than two!!)

- Floss!! I'm really bad about this one too. But by making certain you floss daily, you'll be showing a good example to your kids. (I keep a container of floss on my counter to remind me, but I still forget atleast once a week.) Try the mint or cinnamon flavored floss for a treat. Flossing with mint floss really helps to freshen my breath and give me that super-clean feeling I love. (If your kids find it awkward using plain floss, try the flossers. They are a little easier to manage and work great. These also come mint-flavored!)

- Compliment your child's smile after they brush. Tell them how sparkly white it looks! Or how fresh their breath smells! This positive reinforcement can't hurt and it might persuade them to be more cooperative about it! Plus who doesn't love to see their children smile?!

- Schedule regular dental check-ups (twice a year). Sometimes mentioning the word "Dentist" makes children cringe, but remind them that keeping up with their brushing and flossing everyday helps make going to the dentist much easier! (And the dentists I know let kids choose a prize whether they have cavities or not!!) I'm also not opposed to a little treat after an appointment, but try not to make it a sugary treat. Don't undo all of what the dentist has done with ice cream or candy! Maybe offer to take your child to the book store to pick out a new book, or to take them to that new park they've been dying to check out.

- Remember, healthy diets also help keep teeth strong. Iron and calcium rich foods will help with dental hygiene as well. Drinking milk or eating yogurt is a wonderful way to help strengthen teeth. Whole grains have Vitamin B and Iron which are good for your gums. I've read that sugar partners with plaque to eat at your teeth. So make sure that when indulging in sweet or sugary foods, you remember to brush afterwards! Don't let those sugars hang out in there too long! (And if you can't get to a toothbrush, chew a piece of Trident!!)

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Trident blogging program, making me eligible to get a $25 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Lovelies For Less Than $20 Shipped

New Size Wristlet in Dandy Damask Black and White by Kara Mia Sofia

(Isn't this adorable?! So cute and perfect for every occasion!)

$15 plus $2.50 shipping in US!!

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

So today, I was making lunch and noticed that the crusty end of the loaf of bread from dinner last night was left, so I thought I'd put it out back for the birds and squirrels. As I was walking around back and stepped in a hole and turned my ankle! Now, this was a camouflaged hole. There is grass growing over it, out of it, so the hole is in no way obvious. Ugh. I thought I was doing something nice and then bam, twisted ankle. It's not swollen (yes, I iced it and elevated it) but it is sore. Thank goodness I can move it and walk on it, but yes it's sore. It's like an all-over ache, so I must have hit a nerve there. It actually feels better to walk on it than it does to sit still, which is weird, but I'd much rather this to the alternative. I'm going camping next weekend, and it would not be fun with a broken/twisted ankle. I'm gonna take some advil and call it a night. Hopefully it won't feel worse in the morning...

The Wishing Elephant Winner!

The winner of The Wishing Elephant Giveaway is...

Elizabeth from Endlessly Lucky!!!

Congrats Elizabeth!!

Thanks to everyone who entered! If you didn't win, please check out The Wishing Elephant's Facebook page. They are having a giveaway 'til September 4th.

Fracture

I just learned about a cool new product from Twittermoms and I wanted to share! Do you love decorating with family photos but struggle with finding the time to get prints made, find the right frame and mounting it neatly? I know I would definitely display more photographs in my house if I had an easier way to do it.

Fracture is just that! Fracture prints your uploaded images directly onto glass AND sends it to you with everything you need to mount and hang it! Fracture prints are durable (shatterproof!) and safe (no sharp edges!). Doesn't that sound cool?! The result is a modern mounting system that is super easy!

Twittermoms and Fracture are giving 100 bloggers a chance to review their product. If I am chosen, I will get to review the product for myself and I promise to share my findings! I'm excited to try it and see if it really is as easy as they say!

I wrote this blog post in response to a TwitterMoms RAMBO alert, making me eligible to get a Fracture picture frame for review. You can learn more about Fracture at http://fractureme.com.

Favorite "Family Time" Ideas!

I love spending quality time with my family, but sometimes I find myself struggling to find time for us to spend together. I also think it's important to keep activity ideas fresh. Even we may always have fun as a family, sometimes the same activities get old and tiresome. I'm always looking for interesting & fun alternatives to the typical night at home with the family.  Here are 5 fun ways you can spend "Family Time" together!

1. Game Night -- We love all kinds of games! Whether it's Board Games, Trivia Games, Card Games or Video Games, this is a great way to spend fun time together! We each choose a game we want to play and then we have fun playing each family member's picks! There are a ton of fun games out there to choose from too. And they're also making more and more games that don't take hours and hours to play, leaving lots of room for variety during the night. Taking the fam out to pick a new one to add to the collection every so often will also help keep things fresh and fun!

2. Let's Do Dinner Night -- Not only will you be eating together, you'll be cooking together too! Getting the kids in the kitchen to help can be really fun! You may be surprised how much they'll love it. Younger kids especially will get a big kick out of helping in the kitchen and older kids will be a huge help! Choose a meal you all love, or be adventurous and try something brand new. If it doesn't work out, atleast you all failed together. And there's always pizza!

3. Camping Out Back Night -- Camping doesn't have to be a long weekend away. You can spend great, fun quality time with the family in your own backyard! If you have the space, or a back yard firepit, roast hot dogs and marshmallows. Tell ghost stories under the stars. Camping in your own yard can bring all of the fun of camping, with all the amenities close by! You won't have to run too far for the bathroom, but you'll still get to snuggle in the tent together.

4. Movie Night -- We love movies! So spending an evening in the family room with popcorn and a great family movie is a wonderful way to spend time together! Our family likes all different kinds of movies, so we post movie suggestions on a marker board in our kitchen. It's sort of like our Netflix queue and a day or two before each movie night we choose one to rent. Make Redbox your friend. There are kiosks in grocery stores all over now. You can even find codes online for free rentals!

5. DJ Night -- This may work better with older kids (maybe 8 or 9 and up) but give each family member a half hour to share their own favorite music with the family.  You might be surprised how much you like each other's taste in music. Keep it clean of course when there are children involved, but go in with an open mind. Your kids will love choosing the playlist and sharing their favorite bands with you.


I hope I've given you a few new ideas about spending time together as a family. Keeping ideas for family activities fresh and inventive will lead to more nights together. No one will be bored! I'm always looking for new ideas myself, so if you have any, please share! I would love to hear what you all think. I hope your next Family Night is a blast!!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Lego Blogging program, making me eligible to get a prize pack. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Follow Me Back Tuesday!

It's Follow Me Back Tuesday!! Welcome! Follow Me Back Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at Little Yaya's, Survey Junkie, Review Retreat and Boobies, Babies and a Blog! FMBT is a great way to discover some great blogs and to gain some new followers!  If you want to add your blog to the mix and get in on all the fun, start at one of these blogs, check out the Linky and get to following!

 Hi everyone! I hope you're having a great Tuesday! It seems that my week is getting away from me. I feel very behind this week. I'm having my coffee now, so that's helping, but I really need to get going with my work today. The weather over the last couple of days has been kind of cool and rainy, so maybe that's it. I need sunshine.

Thanks for stopping by! If you'd like to, please follow me. Leave me a comment if you do, and I'll be sure to follow you back!

Monday Update

Hi everyone! I had a fairly busy weekend, so I'm getting a late start getting my blog posts up today. So I thought I'd send a quick update to let you know I'm still alive and to let you know what you can expect to see at Jodibee Designs this week.

This week I'll be featuring a review of Caitlyn Boyle's new book, Operation Beautiful: Transforming the Way You See Yourself One Post-it Note at a Time. It's a wonderful feel good book about empowering women to look at themselves positively. Caitlyn's Operation Beautiful campaign spread like wildfire across the country, and this book documents it from the very beginning. You will also get a chance to enter to win a copy of the book!!

I really enjoyed writing my Ruffles post last week, so I'm going to continue to post these themed features. Let me know if there's a category you'd love to see!

My first installment of the Pen to Paper Challenge will be posted this week too!

This Thursday is Movie Club night, and this week we'll be watching Mean Girls. I'm sure I'll have a commentary for it Friday morning. I knew my fair share of "Mean Girls" in school, so I'm sure I'll have a reaction. I also think Tina Fey is a fantastic talent and she wrote this film, so I'm interested in seeing this one.

I'll also be peppering the week with other conversation and chatter, and I'm sure I'll have something to say about Big Brother at least once this week. You know me by now...you can't avoid a BB post here! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Friendly Friday (and some Big Brother talk too!)

Friendly Friday is a great way to find new readers and followers for your blog! It's hosted by three lovely ladies: Christi at The Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier & Charla at Healthy Home Blog! Be sure to follow their blogs and say hello! And if you want to join in, add your blog to the linky on one of the above named blogs and start following.

Hi everyone! It's super late and I'm just getting to writing today's Friendly Friday post. I went out to eat with a friend of mine and we ended up chatting much later than I expected to be out. Then when I got home, I had to watch my DVR'd Big Brother. I felt kind of bad for Kathy, but at least she wasn't too bitter about it. It's sad cuz she didn't even get goodbye messages. And now Britney's HOH and I can't tell who she'll put up opposite Brendon, but it should be interesting. Especially with the double eviction! I think BB's outdone themselves this season! Lots of craziness. How funny was it when Matt pulled out the Diamond Veto too and it fell apart?! Too much!

Then, since it was after midnight when I got done watching the episode, I turned on Showtime 2 and watched an hour of BB After Dark. Lots of interesting game talk tonight. And a few shots of their messes! They leave things a wreck! Like tonight, Hayden made burgers for everyone, and then there was one left and they just left it on the counter! I guess I only watched for an hour, so that's not too too long to leave it out, but it just added to the mess...lol. They've also made some kind of structure on the table...looked like a castle built entirely of Hershey Miniatures! I know they have a lot of time on their hands, so it's to be expected right?

Ok sorry about my BB sidetrack! I promise I won't post about it again until after the new episode on Sunday. I know you're probably thinking, "Jodi, seriously? Again? Talk about something else please!" I just get a little caught up in the madness of the BB House. It's my favorite guilty pleasure. Well that and Caramel Bugles. Have you tried them yet? They're amazing!

I think I need to get to bed. I'm starting to get a little punchy over here. If you're new to my blog, I don't really ramble on this badly most of the time. I'm extra chatty tonight. It must have been the ice cream sandwich I had earlier. Sugar before bed makes Jodi a chatterbox!

I would be thrilled if you would follow me and leave me a comment so I can follow you back. I'm, I think, just one follower away from 400, so that'd be a very cool milestone to cross today! Thanks either way for stopping by though. It was very nice to see you!

Oh!! Don't forget to enter my Onesie or Baby/Toddler Tee giveaway from The Wishing Elephant while you're here! You will fall in love for these designs, I'm sure of it!

Ok I'm off now! Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!

Pearista Pen To Paper Challenge

This month, as a Pearista, I've accepted the Pen To Paper Challenge from Pear Tree Greetings. Pearistas are a group of bloggers that work with Pear Tree Greetings to bring their products and promotions to readers. Pear Tree is a stationary company that makes beautiful cards from personalized notecards to Christmas cards and Birth Announcements.

This month, in addition to the 15% discount on all baby items (use code PEARAUG10), Pear Tree challenged us to write a hand-written note once a week for a month. They asked us to blog about each letter we write and to include a blank card and envelope with it so that our recipient might send a hand-written note of their own!

Pear Tree Greetings sent us 8 really pretty cards to use in the challenge. Wait til you see them! They also said they're going to choose one blogger's post each week to feature on their own blog and that writer will receive a $50 credit to their store!! (I'm pretty psyched about this part!!)

So I have to decide who to send my first note to! My Great Aunt is in the hospital, so I'm sure she would love a letter. (She's doing much better and should be coming home tomorrow!) And my cousin just moved out on her own, so I bet she'd love some mail too. I also have some friends that I only chat with over the phone or email these days, so I could put them on the list too. (Hey Pear Tree, What happens if I go a little overboard with this?! I'm gonna need that $50 credit!!)

How long has it been since you sent someone a hand-written letter? I bet you have someone in your life that would love to get some snail mail from you! Wanna play along? How about this? If you send a hand-written note to someone between now and August 31, write a blog post about it (with a picture of your note!) Leave me a comment here with a link to your post and I'll choose 1 blogger randomly to receive the last letter of my challenge. That means you'll get the adorable blank card that I received from Pear Tree Greetings to send along with my letter and I'll feature your blog in my post for the last letter of the challenge!

Sound fun? I might even tuck a small gift into the winner's letter to make it even more fun! I hope you'll play along!!

Ruffles!

1. Ruffled Laundry Bag - Urban Outfitters
2. Badgley Mischka "Randee" High Heel Ruffle Flower Sandals
3. Felted Vase - Caroline "Carrie" Kelley of Henwhistling
4. Falling Petals Tank in Pink Lady - DownEast Basics
5. I Love Green Ruffle Wristlet - HandmadeFun
6. Sea Green Sea Blue Ruffle Bracelet - Urban Farm Designs

*I'm not sure why, if I was just feeling flirty or feminine, but I wanted to share some lovely ruffles with you. Even if you don't consider yourself a girly-girl, sometimes you just love a ruffle!*

I Could Have Used This A Few Weeks Ago!

A few weeks ago I told you all about my 2nd Row Tom Petty tickets! The show was awesome, but I had an almost traumatic experience that totally could have been avoided!! I ended up going to the show with only dead batteries in my camera!! Luckily, our local Classic Rock radio station (thank you WMGK!!) saved me and had double A's for me, but I almost had no pictures to show for my once in a lifetime 2nd row Tom Petty show!

Today I read about a new Energizer product that could have saved me all of that worry and aggravation! I love the idea of rechargeable batteries. They're eco-friendly AND they save you money. This new Energizer Smart Charger is a fantastic way to keep track of the juice left in your rechargeable AA's & AAA's. With this, you'll always know which batteries are charged and ready to go and which ones aren't!

We go through a ton of batteries in our house. Between toys, remote controls & cameras, we're constantly switching out batteries. I've always wanted to make the switch to only using rechargeables, but always thought it would be too much of a hassle.

The Energizer Smart Charger seems to be just that...Smart! It comes with some great features that would make the switch for us really simple. It has a countdown timer to tell you when your batteries will be fully-charged. There's also a battery fuel gauge to tell you the current charge of batteries you might not be sure of. (I'm always mixing up batteries and then I can't tell which ones are dead and which ones are charged.) The front display is also large enough to be seen from across the room, so you can glance at it and know how much time you have left. That's very convenient.

I think having one of the Smart Chargers would definitely allow me to make a smooth transition into using only rechargeable batteries, saving me money and helping the earth! Have you seen these or do you have one?! What do you think of it?

Five Lessons Every Kid Should Learn

 Do you have specific lessons you want to teach your children to help them be happy, safe or successful people?

There are lessons I think every child should learn. To me, shaping by these 5 lessons will be really important and helpful to a child's experience.

1. "You are fantastic!" I want my children (and all children) to know how fabulous they are. I think it's so important for their sense of self-worth!

2. "Treat others as you'd like to be treated." This simple statement, as old-fashioned as it is, reminds us to feel for others.

3. "You can do anything in life if you're willing to work for it." Dreams can be a reality with hard work and I think that's a really important lesson for children to learn.

4. "You are loved." Tell them every day. Show them even more. Just make sure they always know! :)

5. "Be open." Every moment is a chance to learn. Keep your mind and heart open to new perspectives and experiences.

"I wrote this blog post while participating in the Twittermoms and Nanny McPhee Returns blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here."

Lovelies For Less Than $20 Shipped

Felted Wool Bosc Pear Jar with Removable Lid from My Market Stall

My favorite fruit adding cuteness to the room! Love it!

 ($15 + $3.50 shipping)

Follow Me Back Tuesday!

It's Follow Me Back Tuesday!! Welcome! Follow Me Back Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at Little Yaya's, Survey Junkie, Review Retreat and Boobies, Babies and a Blog! FMBT is a great way to discover some great blogs and to gain some new followers!  If you want to add your blog to the mix and get in on all the fun, start at one of these blogs, check out the Linky and get to following!

This week's guest host is Stephanie from A Day In The Life Of A Grad Student’s Wife. Stop by and follow Stephanie too!

 Hi everyone! Good to see you!! I hope you're having a good week so far. Over the weekend, we celebrated my boyfriend's birthday by visiting the new Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA. We had lunch in the Carnegie Deli there and the pastrami was just as good as it is in New York! It was quite a treat. Then we decided to play some of the slots. I ended up winning $15 on a 2 cent slot machine! :) It was a fun day. It ended up being pretty rainy, so checking out the casino was a great idea. It's a little strange only having to drive 20 minutes to gamble though. We're used to having to drive 2 1/2 hours to Atlantic City. The only thing I wasn't happy about was the smoking. Yep, you can smoke in there and it's a little gross for a non-smoker. But we were only on the casino floor for an hour or so, so it wasn't too bad. I couldn't spend the whole day in there though.

Anyways...(sorry I was rambling)...be sure to enter my giveaway from The Wishing Elephant while you're here. They have adorable onesies and toddler tee's for sale and they're offering one reader any single item in their shop!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you again soon!!