Time has been just flying by lately!

• Spinach, Roasted Pepper & Cheese
  Sautéed fresh spinach in a fluffy egg omelet topped with roasted red peppers and onions, melted Provolone, Parmesan and Pepper Jack cheeses on grilled artisan sourdough bread. Served with your choice of hash browns, French fries or seasonal fruit.
• Western
  Smoked ham and sautéed peppers and onions in a classic omelet, topped with sliced ham, melted American cheese and served on grilled artisan sourdough bread. Served with your choice of hash browns, French fries or seasonal fruit.
• Ham & Egg Melt
  Sliced ham and melted Swiss and American cheeses over a fluffy egg omelet served on grilled artisan sourdough bread. Served with your choice of hash browns, French fries or seasonal fruit.

 

Disclosure: I was given the chance to review a complimentary product from ProFlowers.com to facilitate a review, however all opinions are expressly my own.

We’ve had blizzard conditions in the Northeast recently with crazy winds and snow, but I’ve been lucky to have my Warm Tradition Pink Minky Swirls covered hot water bottle.

You can choose different shapes, including hearts for the bottle and a large variety of different covers including animal prints like the blue cheetah and sports prints like the football fleece. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received a sample to facilitate my review however all opinions are strictly my own.

Did you know that you can recycle your old electronics at Best Buy? I didn’t until now. That’s really going to help me in an upcoming move, especially to clean out the garage. I have had an old tv sitting there for way too long. We also have an old non-working PC that needs to be transformed into something useful. In the video below, I learned how Best Buy recycles PC’s and also how special care is taken to ensure data privacy. Very cool!

What’s more, their industry-leading recycling efforts are available for free  in every Best Buy in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. No matter how old it is, no matter where you bought it, Best Buy will recycle it. They recycle 387 pounds of electronics each minute their stores are open and they do it safely and responsibly.

Technology is the fastest growing waste stream on the planet, which is not surprising to me, considering how quickly new tech evolves.

You can learn more about Best Buy’s Recycling Program here.

Also, Best Buy carries a whole line of Energy Star certified products so you can recycle your old electronics and upgrade to more energy efficient ones. To learn more about this, just visit here.

I love companies that help keep our planet healthier and can’t wait to clear out my old “junk” that is just taking up space when it could be re-purposed.

Disclaimer: The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

Showers are great when you’re in a hurry or want to feel super clean, but sometimes you just want to relax in a comfortable bath. Whether it’s for aching muscles or joints, stress, or “me time”, I really love taking a nice hot bath after a long day.

I love to enhance a bath with candles. There is something so relaxing about them and so many to choose from. They make me feel like I’m away from my regular routine. If you can find ones with a scent you love, the aromatherapy can help you relax or rejuvenate depending on your choice. Eucalyptus is great for waking up; lavender is great for winding down.

Sometimes I love total quiet (hard to find around here!), but you can also create a “relaxation” playlist. I have certain tunes I love to listen to when I want to tune out the world. I’ve also found that I carry tension in my neck and shoulders, so a nice bath pillow helps me rest my head while my neck and back muscles relax.

I also love bath oils and bath bombs! I recently found an interesting article that actually tells you how to make them here, http://wikitalks.com/2013/02/how-to-make-geysers-bath-bombs-out-of-cornstarch. I love making baskets for friends for birthdays or to thank them, so I was excited that I’d be able to add some homemade bath bombs as well.

Aromatherapy, baths, candles, reed diffusers: When life is stressful, they give me a welcome break so I can rest before I have to get back to work.

I also like using epsom salts when I’m especially achy, though make sure to drink a lot of water if you use them.

Handwriting is important. I say this, because, my dad being a pharmacist and having gone to medical school, tended to write like a doctor; that is to say, illegibly. I got pretty adept at reading his scrawled birthday cards and notes, but, I still think good handwriting is a great skill to have.

Handwriting is something that kids usually learn at school, however, I’ve found that children seem to learn better when they are not just taught something, but are actually engaged and having fun.

If you add electronics to the mix, you’ve really hit a home run.

Elately recently released iTrace, an innovative app that works with your iPad and teaches your children how to write numbers, letters and also to form words.

Guided with visual hints and easy narration, children can use their fingers to trace shapes of numbers, letters and words and also play the app’s fun picture matching game.

iTrace was developed under the guidance of educational pros and tested by students. It’s easy to pick up, and children will learn to write their names, words, letters and get visual awards like gold stars and stickers when they get things right.

I feel that iTrace is a wonderful app because it is an interesting, fun and interactive way for children of ages 3 and up to learn and also to perfect their writing skills through many different levels. It can be used if you are left-handed, right-handed or ambidextrous.

If you go to History, you can see which words and letters your child has learned well and which need some work and practice. It also tells you what needs to be improved as in the example below:

iTrace has some awesome features:

– 600+ different rewards
– 50 animated objects
– Supports multiple players
– Saves the entire history of each child’s progress
– Supports multiple methods of writing the same letters
– A simple switch adjusts the entire system for left-handed kids

iTrace for the iPad is available for $3.99 on the iTunes App Store right here, so why not check it out.

I highly recommend it! 4 stars for fun, educational value and price!

Disclosure: I was provided with an app  download  to facilitate my review and a gift for trying  it out, however all opinions herein are completely my own.

It’s time for some FEBRUARY SHENANIGANS

from February 15 through February 28!


When I think of shenanigans, I think of mischief and fun! In fact, I think I could use some more of that these days! For our Strange Daze Indeed Shenanigans, I’m bringing you,
first of all, some delicious treats from Sweet Andy’s Cookies.

In 2009, Andy of Andy’s Cookies found himself in a position some of us also have, disenchanted with his work, which happened to be in the Financial Industry. He decided it just was not right for him. During the period of transition for Andy, his wife Lissa, and their family, Andy decided he wanted to give back to those who had helped them. Being a bit of a cookie monster, he began baking his homemade cookies and sharing them with friends and family.

Everyone was surprised that a) Andy himself had made them and b) that they were so delicious. Andy kept perfecting his cookies and one day, his friend Brian, a deli owner, put them in his store. They sold out and were a huge hit and the business took off!

This past year, they opened up a small retail bakery in Westhampton Beach, NY with 11 different flavors of Sweet Andy’s Cookies and other freshly baked items. These special “thank-you cookies” have a delicious homemade taste and gratitude and kindness baked into each one.

When I was going to review the cookies, Andy was wonderful to correspond with. He immediately sent me a huge box with six bags of really LARGE thick cookies – White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate, Sugar, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Triple Chocolate Chip. 

It was a cookie lover’s dream come true. And, not just because there were so many cookies and flavors, but because each one was soft and delicious. I am finicky about cookies. I don’t like many of them and won’t bother eating them if they are ordinary, but, these decidedly are not! 

They are like home-baked cookies in the best way, soft, but not too soft. They have a wonderful fresh taste and texture, seriously unlike any packaged cookies I’ve ever tasted. 

My favorite was the Triple Chip which has Semi-sweet chocolate, Peanut Butter and White Chocolate Chips but I also love the Classic Chocolate Chip. I also was a big fan of the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut. The Chocolate Peanut Butter is great for those who love both tastes together. I loved sharing these and hearing the oohs and ahhhs. 

They’ll stay fresh for about two weeks, but you can also keep them in the fridge or put them in the freezer. If you freeze them, you can just pop them in the microwave for about 15 seconds or let them sit at room temperature.

There are other flavors too: Lemon, Pumpkin, Oatmeal Raisin, Mint Chip and more.  The cookies are really affordable for such high quality and make great gifts.

Andy has generously offered one of my readers, a huge gift box of their own with six bags of cookies – and you can choose your flavors!

Sweet Shenanigans!

To add to the fun, the winner will also receive a $10 gift card to Chili’s (if they can find room after eating all those cookies!)  

Spicy Shenanigans!

So jump right in and join us. To enter my giveaway, just follow the Rafflecopter below. 

And, for more fun, hop around and check out the other blogs’ giveaways!

Best of luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I was provided samples to facilitate my review, however all opinions are expressly my own.

The Piano Man is back with a romantic collection of love songs that show why he is one of our greatest singer-songwriters.

Some of them are more familiar like Honesty and An Innocent Man, but there are also lesser-known great tunes like Joel’s version of Shameless which was a #1 hit for Garth Brooks, and Travelin’ Prayer, the b-side of the Piano Man single.

I’ve listened to Billy Joel for years as he’s been one of my favorites, however, the versatility that is found in this album has rekindled my interest, and I’m enjoying some of the underappreciated tunes.

 I had never even heard “The Night Is Still Young”

This romantic collection is ideal for Valentine’s Day, but, to be honest, it’s great for every day of the year. Joel’s smooth vocals, brilliant melodies and honest lyrics are timeless.

As a special Valentine’s Day treat, you can win your own copy of Billy Joel’s She’s Got a Way: Love Songs right here.

Track Listings

a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclosure: I received a copy of this cd from Sony Legacy in order to facilitate my review, however all opinions expressed herein are completely my own.