As some of you know, I have a Border Collie named Evee. We picked her up at 10 months for $50 because her temperament was getting to be too much to manage for the family she lived with. She is an extreme herder and so nothing was off-limits for her. She chased cars, ATVs, joggers, other dogs, children, and attempted to herd them by barking at them and running them down. Being their first dog, this was absolutely too much to deal with, so they gave her up for $50. Best purchase we ever made! We've had her now for almost 3 years. She is now an expert frisbee catcher, a wonderful walking companion, an excellent guard dog and a faithful companion. Yes. she is still a bit rambunctious with the herding instinct, but if she gets a walk for 30-60 minutes a day, she is very manageable. I have been known to say that a dog like Evee is the best way to beat depression. Taking her on daily walks is like a dose of Paxil or something akin. It's great! CBS ran a story that was so heartwarming. It was about Ashapoo the family dog, also a border collie, who decided he needed to stay glued to Peyton, the 2-year-old grandson of Ashapoo's owner. I can just see it, the little boy running around and Ashapoo following right after him, guarding him. When Peyton wandered away while his grandfather had his back turned for a minute, he already had a built in protector, in Ashapoo. 4 1/2 hours later, they found Peyton curled up asleep in a barn. How did they find him? Ashapoo approached the search team and ran away barking toward the barn, leading them to the child. He had been with him the whole time, just watching him and making sure he was OK. When I hear stories like this, I give Evee an extra treat and an extra pat. I have to wonder how my life would be without her.
I never got the memo about Pine Brothers before I did this review and had the chance to sample their products. They have been around for awhile now, since 1870. I'm really not sure how this company escaped me, since I pride myself on being rather up on Americana and all. I'd say that a company that has been around that long needs to be a part of Americana! But apparently moms from all over know that Pine Bros. has them covered when it comes to their family's sore throats and coughs.
When I got the Throat Drops, I knew this was something for my class of boys to try out. I call them boys, even though they would never want me to say it in front of them or others. They are too independent (or at least trying to show that they are) to let a woman treat them like boys, because they are men, don't ya know. The first one that tried them was my associate, Shane, who was feeling under the weather that day. I told him, like I was his mom, to try one of these Softish Throat Drops. It happened to be the Honey Flavor. Unfortunately, he didn't enjoy the taste. But he did say that his throat started feeling better later on. I'm not sure if it was the drops or just the illness running its course. Next, I gave the Wild Cherry flavor drops to some of the boys in the class. They were a positive hit with everyone, and they actually started begging me (like little boys) for them. One boy said that it helped him deal with his smoking urges. (Sorry to say he is already a user and smoker at 16) Well, that was an unexpected benefit of the throat drops, a smoking inhibitor. I also prefer the Wild Cherry over the Honey flavor, which tastes a bit too medicinal for me.
About: Ulysses
S. Grant was President, the population of America hovered at 39
million, and the telephone was still a pipe dream, when in 1870 J.
Herman Pine hung out a confectionery shingle on 8th Street above Walnut
in Philadelphia and, along with his brother, sold their first batch of
what they called 'Pine Brothers Glycerine Tablets.' In an attempt to
relieve his own sore throat and those of his family members, Mr. Pine, a
former German confectionery maker, determined that by combining the
soothing natural qualities of glycerin with the healing properties of
gum acacia, he could sooth and mitigate the mild discomfort of a sore
throat. Add in some natural flavoring and a sweetener and voila, Pine Brothers Softish Throat Drops were born.
Another little discovery that I made is that I found the drops in the bags to be a little softer than the drops in the cannisters for some reason, although it is very convenient to have a small container to put in your purse without worrying about spilling. Pine Brothers Softish Throat Drops come in 4 flavors - natural honey, lemon citrus, licorice, and wild cherry!
Disclosure: I was given product in exchange for my honest review and opinion!
I really wish I could have taken a picture before I downed the first green smoothie concoction I ever made a few hours ago, but it was so good and I was so excited to drink it that I didn't even think about it until it was down the hatch. I never imagined I would be a fan of green smoothies. I thought it was some fad for the extremists, the ones who went way overboard in their quest to be healthy. Seriously, who in their right mind would blend raw spinach, and other vegetables together with fruit and other healthy stuff in a drink? Not me!!! I take supplements and I drink V-8 occasionally. But I have a great friend, Diane, who has benefited greatly from her smoothies. I think the main reason green smoothies are good is that you get all that concentrated raw food in an easy-to-take form. (Just plug your nose and down it quick, if nothing else!) Fresh enzymes are so important for health and well-being. You can only get enzymes from raw food, not processed foods, cooked foods, or food supplements. I learned how important good nutrition was from taking some really good nutritional supplements for 20 years. I experience first-hand how getting nutrients your body needs is the key to health, beauty, energy and disease prevention. The problem is that even those great nutritional supplements I take aren't doing the trick like they once did. I have become more and more lethargic and have not been able to keep the weight off despite being extra careful and taking my nutritional supplements religiously and exercising 40 minutes per day on average. No, I haven't been sick in over 3 years, but it's my metabolic functions that are sluggish. I feel like they just got stuck and are in need of repair. Some might say that is what happens when you get to be "a certain age", but I'm not ready to slow down yet. There are so many more things I would like to do. So I borrowed my gal pal Diane's high-powered blender (on her insistence), went to the store and bought some raw stuff and just started blending. My first improvised recipe was:
2 cups water/ice
3 cups mixed greens including spinach
3 leaves red chard
2 apples
frozen banana cubes to equal 1 1/2 bananas
3/4 cup frozen berries
1/3 cup Xagave sweetener
a chunk of melted-together Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate chips from a bag that had been left in the car on a hot day, which I had no use for until today.
Yield: about 8 cups of smoothie I drank it all except for 3/4 cups which I gave to my dad. I felt that my first attempt was quite successful because it tasted great! I felt extremely full and satisfied. I have no idea how many calories I consumed, but I know I consumed a lot of raw nutrition with maybe a tad too much sweet to get it down. About an hour later, though, I had to use the restroom. I won't go into it, but let's just say I must have been clogged up, judging from the experience. Maybe too much raw stuff in one shot? Maybe I over-did it, I don't know. Suffice it to say, I am definitely not constipated this evening. Oh, excuse me I'll be right back.... _____________ This experience has not deterred me. I will forge ahead and maybe try less sweetener tomorrow. After all, I have 3 containers full of various greens that need to be used up and only time will tell if raw food in the form of smoothies is a good option for me.
Not the smoothie I made, but a close likeness
Update: It has been a year and 3 months since I had my first green smoothie. I have been quite consistent and got my own high-powered smoothie maker. I certainly don't follow the recipe that I first made. Basically I try to use at least 3 fruits along with 1 - 2 cups of greens. I flavor it with coconut oil, peach-flavored fiber, and protein. Sometimes I add cinnamon and other flavorings, but I try to stay away from sweeteners in general. I feel much more healthy and my skin, hair and energy have benefited. Unfortunately, I haven't lost the weight I wanted to, but I definitely feel more healthy overall!
Got freckles or age-spots anyone? I have just one on my face, but what caught my eye about the Skin Tone Correcting System from Dermagist is that my skin tone, in general, isn't what it used to be. So I decided to give it a go and see what it did for me. After all, I saw on their website that this system doesn't bleach out the skin in order to eliminate age spots, etc. It is a natural product, free of any harsh chemicals. It comes in two parts - the Skin Brightening Accelerator and the Skin Brightening Agent. They work together to achieve the amazing results that people are raving about. This two-step process is the best way to get results quickly. First apply the Accelerator. This gently exfoliates and gets rid of any dead cells hanging around the surface of the skin, so that when you apply the second step, the Skin Brightening Agent, there won't be anything in the way of all the natural peptides that soak into your skin and start working. In addition to the skin tone corrective ingredients, there are also anti-aging ingredients as well. My experience with Dermagist has been positive! I ordered the Skin Brightening System because I felt like my skin was looking dull and tired, even though I have tried to stay on top of my skin care routine. I don't exactly have any sun spots or too many freckles. Just one on the side of my nose, which I find mildly annoying. But as I stated, it is the overall tone of my skin that I wasn't happy with. After about two weeks of use, I am starting to find that I look better and that people at work are paying compliments to me about how I look. That's great that they are looking at my face right now, since currently I am having a weight issue with the holidays and all. I haven't done anything different except for using this product. Yep, just keep looking at my face! And thank you to Dermagist for helping me look my best! Dermagist also has many other miracle products, including a hand cream that is nothing short of miraculous in terms of removing age spots and smoothing your hands, a neck restoration cream that seems amazing, a dermal filler that could take the place of injectables from the cosmetic surgery office and some amazing products for acne prone skin, even the correction of acne scarring! I'm very excited to try the other products and find my way to a more beautiful new me! To get a 10% off coupon please click here and you will get 10% off their already on-sale prices! And here is a great giveaway for you as well! One lucky reader from the U.S. or Canada will receive any product of their choice. Please complete the Rafflecopter Entry Form Below! Good luck!
I received the product mentioned to review and give my honest opinion. No other compensation was received. The winner of this giveaway will be contacted after 12/16 by e-mail and will be given 48 hours to respond.
I'm somewhat enthralled with choosing your own ending on the interactive type of movies and books.. You can choose option a or b, maybe even more. I would choose a happy ending every time. I'm just that way... I recently finished reading 'My Sister's Keeper' by Jody Picoult, written in 2004. Yes, I have just started reading her books and am still up in the air as to whether or not I am a fan. 'My Sister's Keeper' was a NYT Best Seller, so chances are you might have read it already, plus it's been 8 years since it was published, not to mention the movie, starring Charlize Theron. But just let me tell you, if you haven't read or seen it and intend to do so, this is a spoiler alert.
In the story, the main character is a young teenager who is sick and tired of being her sister's perfect genetic match, practically living in the hospital to donate blood, plasma, marrow and whatever else she is expected to do to keep her older sister alive. It is for that purpose that she was conceived. Her parents wanted a perfect genetic match and went to the lab to create her. But the girl is so tired of it, sues her parents in court and eventually wins. In the middle of all this, her sister's kidneys go out. Of course, then she starts having 2nd thoughts, because after all she loves her sister. Unfortunately, before she can do anything about it, she is killed in a car wreck and she ends up donating her kidney anyway through organ donation. I have what I think would be a great 2nd ending for the book! The thing is, it's actually true! Here is the 2nd ending - The girl decides to go ahead and donate her kidney because she loves her sister. She goes through with the operation, which is a major surgery with risks of its own. The surgery turns out fine, no complications. She is in recovery and her sister is going into surgery to receive the donated kidney. When the surgery team goes to retrieve the kidney, which has been packed on ice, it is nowhere to be found. After looking high and low, it is discovered that a nurse just coming on duty threw it away in the trash! So in the end, no one gets the kidney and it sucks for everyone! This actually happened in Ohio. A nurse just coming off break didn't hear the surgeon announce that the kidney was on protective slush, ready to be donated and threw it away in a dirty utility room. I would be so mad if I had just given one of my kidneys away and found out that it had been essentially thrown away. And the poor organ recipient. Talk about dashed hopes!
OMG, I just did what?
It just goes to show that fiction is hard-pressed these days to be more dramatic than what we live everyday in real life!
A month and a half ago, my friend, D, invited me on a day trip to her current favorite place in the world. It's Great Basin National Park, specifically Lehman Caves! It is in Baker, Nevada and is a very beautiful spot. But the draw for her is not the scenery or the Cave Tour, nor even the souvenirs, all of which are lovely On the grounds of the park is a little grove of apricot trees that were planted by Mr. Lehman over 90 years ago. These apricot trees are still producing fruit and are organic and of heirloom variety. The reason D. was drawn to these trees is not the fruit, but the pits strewn on the ground in abundance. The fruit was left to grow naturally and left unharvested, except for the herds of deer who came to partake of the dropped fruit in the late summer and any tourists who wanted to sample the fruit as they passed through. All the discarded pits were left under the trees. When D. came upon this grove, there were thousands and thousands of apricot pits covering the ground under the trees. When she saw them, she was beside herself with joy. For all these years the pits had been accumulating, meaning nothing to the visitors, park rangers and passers-by. But to her they are like gold and here is why.
D's 20-something son has been diagnosed with leukemia and these apricot pits could mean his ultimate cure. They contain a compound called Laetrile, or Vitamin B17, which synthetically is compounded into cyanide. Now, I know that you're thinking, hello, cyanide is a poisonous substance! But that is the synthetic form. In its natural form, Laetrile attacks rogue cells in the body, especially cancer cells. If the FDA had let the cat out of the bag years ago, millions of people would still be alive, in my opinion. About 15 years ago, I started hearing murmurings of people taking trips out of this country to go get treated in places like South America and Mexico because of these natural cures, illegal in the U.S., that were healing them from all kinds of cancers. I also heard about the benefits of apricot seeds and their healing effect. But then I heard that they had cyanide in them and that they were poison. I didn't think anything else about it and eventually quit hearing about it at all.
Until now: D. is determined to help her son. A healthcare professional and a longtime believer that natural foods and processes are best, she started educating herself through books, doctors, knowledgeable individuals and her own instincts. I think she is definitely onto something, especially after reading 'World Without Cancer' by G. Edward Griffin. The first edition, published in 1974 and the second updated edition, published in 1997, is still a shocking revelation about how conspiring men took over our medical system and the government regulatory agencies to produce products that lined their own pockets with millions of dollars, making them the richest men in the world, but sacrificing the lives of millions of poor, unknowing individuals. They intentionally tampered with experiments and studies of Laetrile, a natural and inexpensive substance, and skewed the results. And to make it even more inaccessible, Laetrile was made illegal and a campaign was waged to make it known as quackery and even harmful.
But here in Baker, NV was a virtual gold mine, in terms of hope and healing and so D. gathered up almost every last pit. She must have visited the park several times. I was fortunate enough to go with her once. The park rangers were somewhat curious at first, but when she told them about her son and that apricot seeds could be beneficial for his leukemia, they let her be. I went with her on one of her trips and got to help her. My reward? A box full of at least 1000 apricot pits. They are totally harmless, if taken in the correct amount. The recommended dosage is 5 per day. They can be bitter-tasting and so you can mix them up with molasses and take them that way or you can eat them straight like I do and chase them down with a favorite drink! I don't think they taste bad at all, especially coming from these wonderful, non-pesticide, heirloom trees!
My hope is that D's son will be cured of his leukemia and that she will be able to help others with her knowledge and resources. She wants to use some of these pure apricot pits to sprout apricot seedlings so that others who want that kind of resource can have them. But what I think we still need is more enlightenment and education on the subject of Cancer and it's cures. I still have a lot to learn on the subject, but I do want to know if Laetrile or Vitamin B17 is being utilized now, after being discovered as being an anti-cancer substance as early as the mid-1920's! Right now Laetrile in any form other than what you may get naturally, from your own garden, is illegal in the US. Why is that? Now, cancer has overtaken heart disease as the No. 1 killer among Hispanics
in the U.S., and the rest of the country may be only a few years behind. And yet, cancer treatment is one of the most profitable businesses in the nation. I'd like to see such a huge profit margin have a better success rate than what has been happening in this country.
Can you tell that I loved my little road trip of apricot pit harvesting? I definitely did!
Here is a video that I found interesting in support of my searching:
This was the first project of the season, done with different mediums.
For instance, water was done by laying paper on a tray with blue food
coloring and soap bubbles! I love the creativity of the students! Sorry about the crazy dates that my camera decided to spit out!
I'm dipping my big toe into the water again. I've re-located to another city, but same state. We did it the hard way, borrowing two different friends' vehicles at two different times and an open trailer to haul away the 12-year accumulation of possessions we had. I'm not quite qualified to audition for 'Hoarders' yet, but there was certainly a healthy accumulation of items. We had some help to move several things but most of it was accomplished by myself and my husband. We hauled so much stuff to the local thrift shop here and another big trailer full of random stuff to the dump or 'Transfer Station' as it is called. I'd never done that before and my gosh, it was gross. For a fee, the trash that is dumped there is loaded onto trucks and taken to the land fill somewhere else. The smell was horrible and my favorite tennis shoes stunk afterwards because we had to off-load the junk ourselves and the ground where we had to step was filthy. But it was quite interesting and those shoes will be fine after a good washing. I think everyone should have the chance to see what it's like at the dump. I feel the same way about Greyhound bus trips. Everyone should do it just once for the experience!
So after 2 weeks, I'm back again. But why is it so hard to get back into something after you've been away for awhile? I seem to have that problem here and I figure I will start writing something, just so I can say I'm doing it. I have had such a great experience blogging about the things I blog about. However, I don't follow some of the rules that are recommended to be a successful blogger. To me, it's the consistency that counts. For instance, I have yet to enter my blog into 'Picket Fence' or 'Top Mommy Blogs.' , therefore you don't see me asking for your vote on those sites. Mistake? Maybe. But I am so happy to not have to look at those sites and monitor yet another influence tracker. Another thing I've sadly neglected to do is register on Alexa. Now I know that is a huge no-no, and even the fact that I'm admitting it here may hurt me. And it took me forever to get myself a page on Facebook. I knew I probably would do a terrible job at updating it, because my love affair with Facebook waned long ago and it turned out to be true, I'm horrible at updating. But I do check in on Twitter more regularly, and some other influence sites, just because I know I should. But it sure eats into my time doing the thing I like and think is the most productive, and that is blogging or writing.
I know that to be a good brand ambassador one needs to do other things regularly that don't include writing. You need to put yourself out there as much as possible so companies will see your blog as one that can be counted on to put out an article when you say you'll do it. And I do apologize to the couple of companies that I flaked out on because of this move. I will get your reviews up as soon as I possibly can, say by the end of next week?
I think a lot of bloggers are so much better than I am, but the trap they fall into is that they feel like they have to do all the things that everyone else seems to be doing so that they will be highly rated. That starts to feel like a lot of pressure! And who needs pressure? Everyone has times when they can't be at their computer much at all. Remember, you're not chained to it!
It's liberating to know that you can choose which social networking sites you particularly like and are interested in and the others can wait until another time. I think that the thing I need to do and love to do is to write and be consistent with it. Now why am I saying this now, after a 2-week hiatus? Because I am actually scared of blogging again. It's like I have lost my edge and don't feel like I can sharpen it again. But I know I want to and it's like getting back on the horse. Once I start up again, it'll come back!
I received the Nature's Sleep Memory Foam Open Toe Slippers in white. My first impressions were that a fleece bathrobe would go really well with them because they look so fleecy! I put them on and they are really warm for being open-toe. For August weather, they seem almost a little too warm! They would be great in the winter. They have a very sturdy sole that would be fine to wear outside to pick up the paper, do some watering, run your kid to school, run the garbage out before the truck gets to your house, etc. They have great support, more than a pair of flip flops, if you can believe that! The only thing about them that may be 1 or 2, but certainly not 50, shades of gray is that they look a bit matronly. But who am I kidding? My oldest son is 24. I'm not trying to be an illusionist here (or am I?).
If you haven't experienced the Nature's Sleep Memory Foam difference yet, try the slippers. You will be impressed at how they retain their shape and are so comfortable. Then you can transition to some of the other great products from Nature's Sleep, like mattresses, mattress toppers, or foundations!
While the exact recipe for memory foam is kept secret, we know that
memory Foam, or visco-elastic polyurethane foam (as scientists like to
call it), is made primarily from polyurethane with some additional ingredients added to increase its density and viscosity. This increased
density and viscosity in turn creates a foam that's more supportive than
other foams and also allows it to mold to our bodies.
Here are some stats about the slippers from the Nature's Sleep website:
·High quality Genuine Nature’s Sleep Next
Generation Memory Foam
·Provides pressure relieving comfort all day
long
·Naturally conforms to your foot in cool
comfort
·Distributes weight to reduce pressure points
and improve circulation
·Ideal for indoor use on multiple surfaces
·Attractive style and loo
. Solid Durable Outer Sole
·Attractive Fabric choices
·Available in assorted of colors
·Material can be spot cleaned or Washed
·Sized
from X-Small to X- Larger
. 90 Day Limited Warranty
. Ships within 1-2 business days
. Manufacturer by Nature's Sleep
. Designed in the USA
. Made in China
. All product sizes shown are approximate
. Product coverings may vary from product photographs
I’ve been a
Novica fan for awhile now because, simply put, they have really cool and
amazing stuff! I especially love their
pottery! I love beautiful pottery vases
and decorative items. I ordered two
beautiful pottery vases from the Castillo Family in Mexico and two beautiful
bird carvings from Peru.
I absolutely love all these items, was totally 100% satisfied and would gladly give my recommendation for any one of them! I would eventually love to get some Garnet Dangle Earrings and some Amber Earrings to add to my earring collection. And to further feed my NOVICA addiction I would love to have one of their Silver Pendant Necklaces and one of their Silver Cocktail Rings
Novica works
with National Geographic Magazine, giving talented artisans around the world a
place to express their artistic talents and have access to the world
market. There are thousands of unique
hand-crafted items on their site to shop for.
The gift ideas are endless.
Novica is
proactive about telling the stories of the artisans who create the beautiful
artwork found at their website. Each
piece of work comes with a personally written note from the artisan who made
it. I love how the work comes wrapped beautifully
enough to give directly to someone as a gift.
Novica doesn’t
charge the artists for listing items on the website. Each artist is fully independent and is free
to raise or lower prizes to his/her own choosing. This process allows the buyer to eliminate
any middleman and it benefits both buyer and seller.
A new ground level program
that Novica has for home business builders is NOVICA Live! Basically, it’s the opportunity to bring the actual
art into people’s homes and tell the story behind it, giving people learning
about NOVICA a hands on experience. I’ve heard it’s really easy to do~ basically you show a dvd of some of the artisans making
their craft and then you get to tell the stories about the artisans and their
lives. It’s a refreshingly different kind of experience because you are not simply
selling products, but you’re making a
difference in the lives of people across the globe. You are lifting people out
of poverty, you’re saving the arts and
traditions in these countries and you’re allowing these talented artisans a
chance to fulfill their purpose. The company makes it easy for you as
consultants because they provide all the tools to be successful.
Commission
on sales is 20-30% depending on your volume. That goes up to as much at 37%
once you make rank. You can find out more about it on the site. You can make A LOT of money if you build your team and help them be
successful. Plus, can you imagine all of
the beautiful NOVICA items you would have at your disposal? Yummy!
Believe me, I’m very tempted myself! Another really great thing is
shipping is FREE! It comes directly from the country to the customer so you
don’t have to deliver
product and neither does your host. Mercy! You just might find me doing this someday really soon! It is only $199 to start up, giving you $400 worth of products
and $150 in training materials to get started immediately. Plus there are
great incentives and price discounts for you to build up your show inventory,
if you so choose!
If you decide to be a Novica Live Consultant, would you let me
know so I can be excited for you? And if
you decide to do it, would you also let them know that A GAL NEEDS…blog (with my link) referred you?
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