Strange Daze Indeed

It’s almost Mother’s Day and  a group of fabulous bloggers have come together to share gifts and giveaways all geared toward the special woman in your life – or for yourself!  We’re happy you are here to celebrate the Something Special for Mom Giveaway Hop hosted by Lindsey Blogs and Viva Veltoro.

Be sure to hop around and check out the cool prizes, including two Grand Prizes.  Viva Veltoro has an amazing gift package for one beautiful Mom featuring products from Cake Maternity, Chewbeads, and Poncho Baby and on Lindsey Blogs you’ll find Gift Cards for Jamberry Nails and aka originals hand stamped jewelry.

Here at Strange Daze Indeed, I’m thrilled to be partnering with a wonderful company who are a favorite of yours and mine!

That would be the incredible Udderly Smooth.  Moms should be pampered every day but especially on Mother’s Day. Silky-soft, smooth and soothed are the words that come to mind.

Made in the USA for over thirty years, Udderly Smooth products contain rich moisturizing ingredients. Not your average moisturizing lotion- Udderly Smooth can be used on Dry Skin, Cracked Skin, for Diabetes Foot Care, as a Facial Moisturizer, as a General Moisturizing Lotion and for many other uses. It’s great for sunburn also!

I love the cool smooth feel on my skin and the way it absorbs without being greasy, but, most of all, it’s really one of the best moisturizers around to help keep your skin hydrated and youthful.

DailyCandy.com editor, Kimberly Miller names Udderly Smooth R as must-have beauty product on View from the Bay, San Francisco , ABC

So, ok, what do we have for Mom?

First of all, she’ll get a basket full of Udderly Smooth goodies including lotion and creams.

But, we wanted to add more fun surprises. So, Mom will also get this Udderly adorable bowl made of hand painted earthenware with non-slip silicone feet!

It’s great for cereal, soup, ice cream or whatever your heart desires.

That’s sure to brighten up any day.

Mooving right along. Y’know those stressful days, the ones that make you want to crawl back into bed with a good book or go on a Netflix binge. Well, if you can’t do that right away, there is always the anti-stress Cow! Mom’s getting one of these too.

 Hakuna Mootata!

Just enter below.  This giveaway is open to the U.S. and Canada and ends on 5/11/15. Good luck!

Happy Mother’s Day! And remember, 

So Easy Being Green, Viva Veltoro, and the Something Special for Mom participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.

It’s Not Just Any Golf Camp – It’s the PGA Junior Golf Camps

New this summer, juniors can now learn from the leaders in golf instruction – the PGA of America. With programs designed for beginners through advanced players, each camp is taught in a nurturing, safe, and supportive environment where the emphasis is placed on kids having FUN!

With their unique ‘progressive skill development’ system, kids ‘learn, improve, and perfect’ golf skills each and every day with updates forwarded to mom and dad to keep parents informed of all the progress being made on the course. Each week culminates with a fun and friendly “PGA-Play-A-Round Tournament” which includes prizes and awards and even an open invitation for parents/guardians to join the on-course fun.

Connect:

PGA Junior Golf Camps on Facebook

For Kids ages 7-17 and of all ability levels.
Half-day and full-day programs are available at 25+ nationwide locations.

Enroll today to save up to $50 off the price of camp and receive a free golf cap ($25 value) by using coupon code USFAM15.

Register here!

Article – How to Pick a Summer Camp

This is a sponsored post in partnership with DataRank, however all opinions are strictly my own.

If you have children in diapers, it seems you can never have enough. They go through them so quickly, and, of course, you want the best!

Make sure to be on the lookout in your Sunday paper this weekend, April 12th, to find a great money-saving coupon. This coupon is not available online and will give you $3.00 off two boxes of Luvs. Heaven knows this will come in handy!

– Luvs with NightLock, the official diaper of experienced moms, helps to lock away wetness  – even overnight – with Luvs’ largest absorbency area ever.

– Luvs with NightLock has superior overnight protection that locks away wetness better than Huggies Snug & Dry*.

*Locks away wetness better than Huggies Snug & Dry, sizes 3-6

With great prices, super absorbency and comfort, Luvs really cares about Moms and kids!

Check out Luvs website, Twitter and Facebook pages for more great info!

This post was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Luvs. I was compensated for my participation in this campaign, but all opinions are 100% mine

My Mom always said I didn’t talk much as a child. She worried about it until the day I came out with a sentence: “I need a light.”

Two things about me:
I love reading. I’ve always been a seeker.

These are a few of the reasons that Soul Sessions by Carson Gage really appealed to me.

Sometimes your worlds merge and what you do for work coincides with what you love. I got the chance to read Soul Sessions by Carson Gage in order to write a review. Just the thought of diving into a new world, sitting in my favorite nook of my favorite coffee shop had me excited to begin. I love reading at home, but, someone always seems to need something. Here, in my sanctuary with my book and my favorite Caramel Macchiato, I settled deeply into the buttery soft leather chair. Nick’s story grabbed me. It was extremely relatable.

He was depressed which is something both I and many friends have gone through in this lifetime. Sometimes I have wondered why there is so much depression, anxiety and fear. Often have I wondered if it has to do with the physical reality in front of us, or if, perhaps, it’s something deeper.

Nick’s world had spiraled so far downward he could no longer find joy or pleasure in things he once enjoyed. As thoughts of giving up swirled through his mind, a fortuitous call from an old college friend was the impetus that sparked a profound journey of awakening.

Given the name of a therapist by his friend, Nick was somewhat skeptical, but the sense that something was missing kept driving him to keep the appointment he had made. Working with Katrina, he realized that her methods were somewhat unconventional, yet they spoke to his longings.

Through regression therapy, Nick began to explore the prospect of past lives, for it is not only our early childhood experiences that can affect us, but, something much deeper.

As Nick discovered his soulmate, the best friend and lover he had spent lifetimes with, he felt compelled to search for her in this lifetime. Searching for this deep love, his life opened up in many exciting ways…

To tell you more would be to ruin the story, as, in some ways, its unraveling reminded me of a good detective novel, only in this case the discoveries took place not only in linear time, but also in his mind, heart and spirit.

I really enjoyed reading Soul Sessions whenever I could escape my busy routine, which is exactly what I needed! I,too, have experienced what Nick felt. I, too, have had the sense that life is so much deeper than our surface reality.  I was a curious child and remain a curious adult, always asking the bigger questions with friends and loved ones.

Perhaps you have wondered too. Is this life the only one, or is it possible to have multiple lifetimes that leave their mark on us. Do we have a pre-life plan when we come to earth and how does it co-exist with the concept of free will? What happens after we die?

Do we have soulmates? On that question, I believe that we do. I have met quite a few of them in this lifetime and I have learned, often painfully, that we are not always meant to spend our lives with them. But, the learning continues nevertheless. Do you know that feeling of knowing someone even though you have just met, a deep knowing that creates instant comfort? I have been blessed with this quite a few times and each time I learn more about myself and the nature of everything. Perhaps you are spending your life with your soulmate now. This book was fascinating for me as I love the way the story is integrated with the revelations Nick experienced, revelations which I feel most readers can relate to when reflecting upon their own lives.

One concept discussed through Nick’s story is synchronicity, those happenings that really are not coincidences, but instead are signs we are given, if we choose to explore them. I do believe my reading this book at this time was perfect serendipity. I had been feeling a bit lost.

Throughout my life I get bits and pieces of my purpose and the meaning of it all. Just like Nick’s story, it is like a puzzle with each piece illuminating the greater picture. I surely don’t have all the answers. Throughout my life, I have sought and been blessed with so many wonderful spiritual teachers. From Ram Dass to the Dalai Lama, each meeting was a gift to guide me on my path.

One of my teachers, Papaji, from Lucknow, India, once told me something. He said, ‘You don’t have to go anywhere, or do anything; just keep that fire burning inside of you’. He understood my passion for truth, for knowledge, for enlightenment. I believe this. If you want to live a deeper life, pay attention to the signs and signals along the way.

If you lose your way, something will always bring you back; if you let it.

Soul Sessions helped me refocus my priorities and get in touch with my true self. Sometimes that connection gets lost in the day to day. This book reawakened in me glimpses into the infinite mystery of existence which has always intrigued and delighted me.

I highly recommend it.

 About the Author

Carson Gage has been interested in the mysteries of life and death since the age of seven, when he survived being run over by a speeding car. This experience led him on a journey of discovery for answers to some of life’s biggest questions.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

My Mom was a teacher.

That is a simple statement, but, the legacy my Mom left is far from simple.

Besides her family, teaching was her life’s passion, and she instilled in me a love of learning early on.

In her own words:

“My mission on earth has been to help people, whether my own family, my students, or those who come to me for ­enlightenment.”

“I hope I have made a difference in their lives.”

Mom, the differences you made in this world are beautiful and vast, the ripples you began are never-ending and continue to inform my life today.

I love you.

When I graduated with my degree in Communications and Creative Writing, my Mom was so proud. I still remember the day she surprised me with my framed diploma and a poem she’d written with all her hopes and dreams for my future. I remember that day so well and both the poem and the diploma mean a great deal to me.

As we move into Spring, we are coming up on Graduation Day for our friends and loved ones! If you are like me, you strive to find just the right gift. I learned a lot in College, both on and off the page, and it was truly one of the best times of my life. My nephew will be graduating from Boston College this season and I am so incredibly proud of him! I’ve watched him grow into such a thoughtful and insightful young man. He is not only very bright and a gifted athlete, but he has a wonderful heart.

Graduation will be a time to celebrate his achievements and him! I am sure that I have found a fantastic gift. Thinking back to my own experience, I am glad that I have discovered Church Hill Classics diploma frames.

Church Hill Classics was founded in 1991 as a home-based business in Newtown, CT.  At first, the company offered limited edition artwork of college campuses in the Northeast. Over 20 years later, they continue to thrive in the adjacent town of Monroe and their core focus is creating diploma frames and document frames for colleges, universities and professional associations all across the country All frames are handcrafted here in the US.

Perhaps you are looking for the perfect frame for your own college diploma, or you are, like me, searching for a very special graduation gift that will honor this momentous occasion.

If you haven’t found a gift yet, you are not alone. In a recent survey conducted by The Motherhood, 98 percent of respondents who have a close relative graduating from college this year haven’t yet purchased a graduation gift for him or her.

I think that a diploma frame is a memorable gift. After all of the time and money spent earning that degree, no diploma should end up in a drawer, forgotten about, or ruined. This can too easily happen, as the same survey revealed that 56 percent of respondents never framed their own diploma.

At Church Hill Classics, all frames are officially licensed and they offer an extensive selection of custom frame styles for more than 1,500 colleges and universities. You can choose from frames featuring unique, color-enameled medallions of the school seal or athletic logo, beautiful campus images, foil embossing of the school name and/or seal and even an opening for their tassel. You can also customize your frame with moulding and matting options for the ideal gift.

Here is the frame I’ve chosen for my nephew! This is the Presidential Masterpiece Diploma Frame in Madison with Black Suede and Gold Fillet Mats. This frame is truly stunning and elegant with a handsome flat panel in a gorgeous dark walnut finish.

And here is the frame in my home, where I am keeping it safe and sound until I can give it to him on Graduation Day! It’s even more beautiful up close and personal.

Do you have a love one graduating this year? A diploma frame from Church Hill Classics is a lasting and memorable gift!

WIN!

In addition to providing wonderful gift choices on their site, Church Hill Classics is also generously offering one of my readers a beautiful diploma frame (up to a $200 value). Simply enter below!

Disclosure: This post is part of the blogger program by Church Hill Classics and The Motherhood, who compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are my own, and I hope you enjoy them.

Are you a foodie? Do you love discovering new healthy snacks? Do you like surprise packages?

If so, then Love With Food is for you!

I review a lot of subscription boxes, but I have to say that Love With Food is one of my favorites!

Each month, you can have new all-natural organic snacks delivered straight to your door, and, I love the surprise of not knowing what’s inside each one. I have been eating much healthier this year, and I’m finding that as I exercise more and eat healthier, that the choices I might have made in the past don’t appeal to me as much. I find myself reaching for a piece of fruit or a healthy snack instead.

Starting at just $10 a month, you can choose from the tasting box, the deluxe box (double the snacks!), or a gluten-free box. Each is a curated package of unique, hard-to-find tasty snacks which varies based on seasonal themes. No artificial junk!

And, here’s something supercool. For each box, Love With Food donates a meal to foodbanks across America. This makes the service even sweeter!

I received a box for review this month and it really was full of great choices! This particular box was curated by Megan Rooseverlt, the founder of Healthy Grocery Girl and plant-based Registered Dietician.

What was in the box?

• Moringa Organic Tea by Miracle Tea
• Choco Chews by TruJoy Sweets
• Annie’s Chocolate Bunny Grahams
• Chocolate Banana Mini Snack Bar by 2 Degrees Food
• Hemp Hearts by Manitoba Harvest
• Roasted Chickpeas with Sea Salt by The Good Bean
• Sea Salt Bops by Good Boy Organics
• Almond Butter Cacao Truffle by Two Moms in the Raw
• Nutty Rice Bites with Cranberries by 180 Snacks
• Herbes de Provence by The Spice Hunter

Inside also was a gift card towards a purchase at Urban Remedy, some helpful information and a brochure describing everything in the box.

I was happy to see the Moringa Tea. I’ve been using Moringa powder in my morning smoothies and I love the healthy benefits I’ve been seeing. I’ve always wanted to try the tea. Dried Moringa leaves contain more than 90 different nutrients, including 47 antioxidants and complex amino acids. I’ve found that Moringa gives me that extra burst of calm energy to stay focused on busy days. The flavor is apple-cinnamon and it tasted warming and delicious.

The Choco Chews – vegan, gluten-free and organic – reminded me of healthy Tootsie Rolls.

Annie’s Chocolate Bunny Grahams were devoured here almost before I got to taste them, but I loved the crunchy taste. Kids love them!

The Chocolate Banana Mini Snack Bar was filling and solid. It tasted healthy with quinoa, chia and millet and I loved the dark chocolate and dried banana tastes together! I loved this one.

I added the Hemp Hearts to my salad. They gave it an interesting nutty taste. Also good on yogurt or cereal and a very good plant-based protein source.

I like savory as well as sweet so was happy to find the Roasted Chickpeas. I loved the crunchy sea-salt goodness and would pop these in my purse for on-the-go snacking.

Sea Salt Bops are super healthy potato-chip like snacks. Not my favorite, but, I liked them with hummus.

For a nice dessert treat, the Almond Butter Cacao Truffle was not too sweet but incredibly good! I’ll be buying more!

Another favorite of mine were the Nutty Rice Bites. I love crispy rice and these little bite-size clusters are so flavorful! I love the pumpkin seeds, almonds and cranberries! Simple healthy ingredients that taste amazing. I wanted more!

I used the Herbes de Provence in my mushroom omelette and they really added a nice zing! I will look for this as well. It’s a delicious blend of thyme, rosemary, basil, marjoram, sage, fennel and lavender.

Each product also has its twitter handle, and, if I like the snack, I love looking up the websites to see what other products are made by these brands.

Some I can buy online, some at Amazon, some at Love With Food online and I have also seen some at my local grocery store. This is such a great alternative to buying a whole bag of something only to find you really don’t like it at all or skipping over something that just happens to be amazing!

I whole-heartedly recommend Love With Food and have a special offer for my readers.

You can try a box for free (just pay $2 shipping) and get a box full of treats! Use this link to sign up for the special offer!

I can’t wait to see what surprises next month brings!

Disclaimer: I was provided a sample box for review, however, all opinions are completely my own.

It’s not easy to find delicious and healthy baked treats and mixes for yourself and your family, but, if you’re searching, ginnybakes may be just what you’re looking for!

A certified holistic nutritionist and health coach, Ginny Simon founded ginnybakes in 2010, creating delicious freshly-baked cookies, brownies, bars and baking mixes that are gluten-free, organic, non-GMO and kosher.

Ginny combined her passion for nutrition, active living and baking with a desire to help people everywhere lead healthy balanced lives.

I received a box of treats from ginnybakes for review with some delectable treats:

Chocolate Chip Love, Chococolate Chip Macadamia Love, Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bliss, Coconut Oatmeal Bliss, Double Chocolate Happiness, Buttercrisp Love, Dreamy Vegan Delight, and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bliss Ginyminis.

Recently, ginnybakes was  recognized in Prevention magazine’s 100 Cleanest Packaged Food Awards,  the best, healthiest and cleanest packaged foods of 2015. The Chocolate Chip Love ginnyminis were chosen as a winner in the snack category, with their tasty and perfectly proportioned 150-calorie packs.

So, how do they taste?

Delicious!

They are buttery, crispy and crunchy and the Chocolate Chip Love are most definitely my favorites. My second favorite are the Coconut Oatmeal Bliss, and the Double Chocolate Happiness have a rich chocolatey taste. They really do not taste like gluten-free cookies at all, so if you or someone you love is gluten-free, this would be a really yummy treat! Even if you’re not on a gluten-free diet, these are crunchy bites of joy! If you like homemade crispy cookies, you’ll love them.

The current family of ginnybakes foods includes cookies, ginnyminis,  bake mixes, ginnybars and crumbles.

The packaging is attractive, well-designed and keeps the cookies fresh.

Ginnybakes treats not only taste delicious, but, all products are organic and handmade with love in a gluten-free kitchen and are free of artificial preservatives so you can feel good about what you’re eating!

Ginnybakes are available at retailers nationwide and online at ginnybakes.

Disclosure: I was provided review samples, however, all opinions are expressly my own.

I think I’ll call you Roomie 

When I was growing up, my Mom had a monster of a vacuum cleaner. It slept in the closet in the basement until some brave soul went to drag it up the stairs. Wheezing and noisy, it then proceeded to annoy everyone in the house. Dogs barked, babies cried. It was a mess! Heavy doesn’t even begin to describe it.

I still find vacuum cleaners to be fairly heavy, at least the one I have, and the stick vacuum I bought on sale really does a poor job picking up debris.

But, friends, Romans, countrymen, I am in love! Completely in love!

It amuses me that as I get older I can fall in love with appliances, but, truly I have. I had the pleasure of testing the new iRobot® Roomba® 870 which was sent to me by Best Buy.

Roomba and Docking Station

It’s a simple and intuitive set-up and the instructions are clear and well-written. Although it is technologically brilliant, you really don’t have to be.

I really am so impressed with this vacuum cleaner. It works equally well on my floors and carpet. With the revolutionary AeroForce™ Performance Cleaning System, it’s the most powerful iRobot Roomba cleaning system yet, with 5x the suction and it removes up to 50% more dirt, dust, hair and debris.

I had to test this out. Somewhat reminiscent of the door-to-door vacuum salesman, I had my bag of tricks to dump on the rug. It worked great on dustballs, hair, dirt, and tiny particles I didn’t even know were there. So very impressed! Featuring HEPA filtration, Roomba 870 traps particles as small as .03 microns, making it ideal for allergy sufferers and pet owners. Plus, the Tangle-Free AeroForce Extractors are virtually maintenance-free so hair jams and brush cleanings are a thing of the past.

The Roomba also comes with Virtual Wall Barriers which can be used to confine Roomba to clean a specific room or area.

What’s really cool is the way it cleans under my furniture, tables, dishwasher, drawers, cabinets and bed. In short, anywhere its slim profile can fit, it will go, while the spinning side brush is grabbing dirt and junk from hard to reach wall edges and corners. Seriously, it’s fascinating to watch. Or maybe I am easily fascinated!

It had absolutely no problem going from the floor to the carpet, and I love how it intuitively works its way out of jams if it gets into a tight spot. I’m amazed that it is persistent and will find its way in or out!

A really great feature is that you can schedule your Roomba to vacuum when it’s most convenient to you and I love the way it returns to its Home Base where it recharges in between cleaning.

It really takes up so little room and, not only that, it’s so quiet that you can listen to music, tv or have a conversation while it’s running. If only all guests were like that, and as tidy!

Fabulous Features

• iAdapt® Responsive Navigation Technology with cliff-detection sensors
• Large HEPA filter keeps dust, dander, and other allergens out of the air
• iRobot® XLife™ Extended Life Battery provides double the battery cycles
• Bin Full indicator light lets you know when the bin needs emptying
• 2 Virtual Wall Barriers keep Roomba in the rooms you want to vacuum & out of the ones you don’t
• No more cleaning brushes! Tangle-free AeroForce™ Extractors are virtually maintenance free, making it even easier for Roomba to tackle daily dirt build-up  and leave more time for you to enjoy your day.
• Roomba’s large HEPA filter keeps dust, dander, and other allergens out of the air – ideal for homes with pets and allergy sufferers
• Just press CLEAN or schedule Roomba to vacuum when it’s most convenient for you.

I can tell the air is cleaner. My allergies are not acting up since I’ve been using it and what a great feeling to leave and come back to a clean living room! Though, I have to admit that watching it is a form of meditation for me. As I said, I’m easily fascinated lately.

Boots, no problem. I’ll just head the other way.

In the past, when I heard about Roombas, I had no idea if they really worked. I was so pleasantly surprised by the superior performance. So much better than my old vacuum cleaners in every respect. Not only is it easy, but, it actually does a better job.

And, really, to be honest, the effect it has had on my health is priceless. I have fibromyalgia and stress and overwork cause flare ups. To know that I can keep my home clean without hurting my back or re-injuring my shoulder is wonderful.

I honestly recommend the iRobot Roomba 870 for anyone. It’s great for homes or apartments, for young or old.  Because it’s so easy to use, you can use it every day, not just when you have time or are in the mood. That extra time saved can be spent with family and friends or taking some ‘me’ time for yourself .

 Kick back, put your feet up, and let someone else do the work for a change!

 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.