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Win a trip to Disney from Rayovac!

May 13, 2010 By 1 Comment

What are you doing this summer? Going camping?  Having a stay-cation in your own hometown?  How about going to….

DISNEY!!

rayovacNever dreamed you could afford to visit this Mouse this summer, huh?  But what if you could WIN a trip for four to either Disney World or Disneyland?  Heck Yeah!  From now until July 31st, you can enter the Magic Wand Sweepstakes.  Let Rayovac power up your imagination and rev up your vacation!

Want to know more?  Join Rayovac and MomSelect for a special Twitter Party to support the exciting Rayovac Powers Your Vacation-Magic Wand Sweepstakes! You can win more than 20 fun giveaways ranging from a summer supply of Rayovac batteries to Disney Gift Cards!  So sit down on May 19th from 7pm-9pm CST and join the fun!  Simply follow @Rayovac_Battery, @MomTalkRadio, @CirclePRMary and #rayovac.

I wrote this post on behalf of MomSelect for the chance to win a gift card.
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WINNERS!

May 12, 2010 By 4 Comments

Thanks to all who participated in the recent giveaways! Was it your lucky day?

Dominos $20 Gift Card:  Kelly

Nestle Cherry Raisinets:  Ky2here

Vitatops:  Cheryl F.

Cardstore $50 gift card:  Desiree

Scentsy:  Jennifer R.

Martha Stewart Prize Pack:  Heather M.

Whole Foods Gift Card:  Jessie C.

Stride Rite $40 gift card:  Nicole C.

Bake Me a Wish:  Jeanine

Trendy Brandy:  Tina S.

Little Tikes: Annmarie W.

Congrats to all the winners! You will all be sent an email shortly. Please respond within 72 hours to claim your prize!

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Flings Bins: Review and Giveaway

May 12, 2010 By 86 Comments

hypothesis Flings Bins will make recycling not only fun, but convenient at parties, school functions or even just around the house!

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One Flings Pop Up Recycling Container, a house party and the time to teach my two daughters the importance of recycling.  About Flings:

flings“Flings recycling containers can keep up to 60 bottles and cans out of landfills – and that’s a win for everyone.

In the kitchen, at a party, on the back deck, at a kid’s soccer game, on a boat, or wherever you need a quick and handy recycling container, Flings stands up to the job. Now you can easily capture all those water bottles, soda cans, wine bottles, you name it. It even works great in an home or small office for paper recycling duties as well.

As we looked at the United States relatively low standing for recycling versus other developing countries, we knew how important it is to help make recycling easier, neater and more fun.
Help us in our mission to make recycling easy and convenient — it’s the right thing to do.”

resultsDid you know that according to the EPA, only 30% of Americans recycle their garbage?  What would lit take to increase this number?  Does recycling need to be more convenient, neater, more accessible?  Well, the people at Flings have taken all of these excuses into account and created some great pop up recycling containers!

I will admit, we don’t normally recycle in my home because after Hurricane Katrina, we lost our curbside pick up of recyclables.  There just isn’t an easy way to recycle anymore.  So, I was happy to try out the Flings Bins in my home and take the opportunity to teach my two daughters about the importance of saving the Earth.  After removing the outer wrapping, the bin popped up automatically.  Just listen for the snap to ensure the bag in totally upright.  Each bag holds 60 bottles and cans and features a drawstring top making disposal incredibly easy.

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Another great aspect of Flings is that is makes answering the question, “Do you recycle?” very easy!  In fact, you may not even hear the question again!  Pop up a Flings Bin next to your garbage can during a party and watch how many people will choose to use it!  We found that our bin was very sturdy and durable.

hypothesis At just $15.99 for a set of 4 bags, Flings makes a great, convenient and attractive way to recycle at a party, sports event or picnic!  I found the bags to by very sturdy and easy to set up and my family enjoyed using them.  You can even get a Fling Pop Up Recycling Container in a print to match your event, such as holiday, birthday or even BBQ!

Having a backyard party?  Need a way to recycle?  Lucky you!  I have one Flings Bin in the Recycle Print to give away to one lucky reader!

How to enter:

1. Visit Flings and tell me which pattern would love  to try next!

Additional entries:

1. Blog about this giveaway and link to The Not-So-Blog and Flings (10 extra entries).

2. Follow me (@BridgetteLA) on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway. Every time you tweet you get an additional entry! Unlimited! (You must have over 50 Twitter followers to qualify for unlimited entries!)

3. Subscribe to my blog.

4. Become a Fan of The Not-So-Blog and Flings on Facebook.

5. Place my blog banner on your sidebar.

6. Subscribe to my Feed.

Contest ends at 11:59pm CST on May 26th. Prizes not claimed in 72 hours will be forfeited. Open to U.S. Residents only.

This product review is the opinion of the Experimental Mommy. Other may have a different experience with the product. I was not compensated for this review other than a product sample provided by Flings. All opinions are 100% mine.

Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: , ,

Breakfast at SUBWAY: Review and Giveaway

May 11, 2010 By 716 Comments

As you probably know by now, I have been transforming my eating habits with the help of Weight Watchers.  I have well and actually reached my weight loss goal!  Now, I have to keep it off which sounds much easier said than done.  Traditionally, I eat small breakfasts consisting mainly of a granola bar and hot tea.  For variety, I will switch up the flavor of the granola bar, but after several months, I am getting quite bored with breakfast.

subwayBoredom is the death of diets!  When I get bored with my meal plan, my will power starts to fade and I crave french fries, sodas and sweet treats.  So, I was thrilled when SUBWAY approached me about trying their new breakfast menu (especially because there is a SUBWAY within walking distance of my home!).  I knew with SUBWAY’s reputation of providing healthy options, I would be able to spice up breakfast without the guilt!  From the press release:

“SUBWAY breakfast offerings feature a variety of sandwiches ranging from our Western Egg White Muffin Melt, only 4 grams of fat for a quick snack, to a more filling meal with a Steak, Egg and Cheese sandwich. When Building Your Better Breakfast, don’t forget to customize! All of our breakfast sandwiches come on your choice of English muffins, subs or flatbread with a variety of veggies and toppings.”

subway2I chose to try the Western Egg White Muffin Melt which consisted of egg white and cheese on an English Muffin all toasty warm.  Let me just tell you….it was the BEST 4 grams of fat I ever consumed!  It really was a great breakfast and definitely filled me up to lunchtime.  And the best part?  The whole sandwich is only 2 Weight Watchers Points…same as my granola bar!  Incredible!

GIVEAWAY

Looking to break the breakfast boredom?  I have three $10 SUBWAY cards to giveaway to my readers!

How to enter:

1. Visit SUBWAY and tell me which breakfast item you would purchase with your gift card!

Additional entries:

1. Blog about this giveaway and link to The Not-So-Blog and SUBWAY (10 extra entries).

2. Follow me (@BridgetteLA) and @SUBWAYFreshBuzz on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway. Every time you tweet you get an additional entry! Unlimited! (You must have over 50 Twitter followers to qualify for unlimited entries!)

3. Subscribe to my blog.

4. Become a Fan of The Not-So-Blog and SUBWAY on Facebook.

5. Place my blog banner on your sidebar.

6. Subscribe to my Feed.

Contest ends at 11:59pm CST on May 25th. Prizes not claimed in 72 hours will be forfeited. Open to U.S. Residents only.

This product review is the opinion of the Experimental Mommy. Other may have a different experience with the product. I was not compensated for this review other than a $10 SUBWAY gift card to facilitate my review. All opinions are 100% mine.
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Wordless Wednesday

May 11, 2010 By 21 Comments
Mother's Day with my two girls!

Mother's Day with my two girls!

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Pringles Multigrain: Review

May 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

“Can I have a snack, pleeeeaassee?”  is a phrase I hear quite often around my home.  While I know I have two girls who are growing, I do not like to have them snacking all day long!  I struggle to find snacks that won’t fill them with sugar and empty calories, but will satisfy the “snack monsters” in my home.  So, we were eager to try the new Pringles Multigrain Chips!

pringlesI received three canisters of Pringles Multigrain Chips including the Original, Cheesy Cheddar and Creamy Ranch flavors as well as a tote bag and fun recipes including the new chips!  Who doesn’t want to cook with chips, right?!?  My girls dove into the Cheddar while I opted for the Creamy Ranch.  My girls did give them a second glance because they do look a bit different than the regular Pringles, but none of us were disappointed in the taste!  I found that they tasted very similar to the regular Pringles and am not sure that I would be able to tell the difference in a blindfolded taste test.

Another great reason to try this nee product is the “U Taste. We Donate.”  program initiated by Pringles Multigrain and supported by celebrity chef, Tyler Florence.  The campaign seeks to aid Share Our Strength with its mission to end childhood hunger in America.

Simply enter the UPC code from any Pringles Multigrain product at PringlesMultigrain.com, and Pringles will donate $1 to Share Our Strength through June 30, 2010.  Codes can be found on any of the 3 flavors!  While your there, check out the yummy recipes created by Tyler Florence including the Grilled Streak Sandwich with the Creamy Ranch Pringles Multigrain Chips.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Pringles Multigrain and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”
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Tide Coldwater and Target Celebrate Earth Month: Giveaway

May 9, 2010 By 233 Comments

I have been fortunate enough to work with Tide a few times this past year on various projects including the Tide Loads of Hope program currently helping victims of the floods in Nashville.  Seeing the inner workings and passion of such a large company definitely makes me brand loyal and willing to help spread the word.  While Tide is hard at work in Nashville, they are also partnering with Target and Proctor & Gamble to celebrate Earth Month!  From the press release:

tidecoldwater“In honor of Earth Month, Procter & Gamble will offer valuable brandSAVER coupons on Tide Coldwater® and PUR® redeemable at retailers nationwide, including Target stores. Tide Coldwater is one of three sponsors of special Earth Month reusable Target store shopping bags, made from 100% post-consumer recycled PET bottles. Target will distribute 1.5 million of these reusable shopping bags to customers later this month. Both Tide Coldwater and PUR are designed to save customers money and help the earth.”

Tide Coldwater is specially formulated to get your clothes clean in cold water which will save energy and your money!  My electric bill tends to get out of hand, so any chance I get to save energy is a good one!  I have had the opportunity to try Tide Coldwater (available in two scents) and can say that it works well on my clothes!  The detergent dissolves well and gets my clothes just as clean as when I use hot water.  Love it!

GIVEAWAY

Proctor & Gamble would like to offer one of my readers the chance to win a Target Reusable Shopping Bag as well as a few Tide Coldwater Sachets!

How to enter:

1. Visit Tide and tell me which product you would love to try!

Additional entries:

1. Blog about this giveaway and link to The Not-So-Blog and Tide (10 extra entries).

2. Follow me (@BridgetteLA) and @Tide on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway. Every time you tweet you get an additional entry! Unlimited! (You must have over 50 Twitter followers to qualify for unlimited entries!)

3. Subscribe to my blog.

4. Become a Fan of The Not-So-Blog on Facebook.

5. Place my blog banner on your sidebar.

6. Subscribe to my Feed.

Contest ends at 11:59pm CST on May 23rd. Prizes not claimed in 72 hours will be forfeited. Open to U.S. Residents only.

This product review is the opinion of the Experimental Mommy. Other may have a different experience with the product. I was not compensated for this review other than a review product provided by Proctor & Gamble. All opinions are 100% mine.
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Epson Artisan 810: Review

May 9, 2010 By 1 Comment

Key Features Reviewed: Wireless Printing, Individual Ink Cartridges, Printing Directly from a Flash Drive or CD

The Epson Artisan 810 is an all-in-one, printer, copier, scanner, fax unit. Set up was a breeze, as was installation of the printer drivers on both PC and Apple laptops.

One of the big advantages of the Epson Artisan 810, as well as many other Epsons, is the fact that printer cartridges can be changed individually. No need to throw away a cartridge containing perfectly good ink in other colors just because one color has run out! You only need to change the color you are out of. Most printers have 4 inks: black, cyan, magenta and yellow. The Epson Artisan 810 has 6, the standard 4 plus light cyan and light magenta. The extra colors give more color definition to your images. Photos print with true to life colors on photo paper. There is no bleeding of colors even in dense images. Text is very sharp.

Even with my print quality always set at the highest “Best Picture” level the inks seem to last a long time, at least as long as other ink jet printers I have used. I have found the inks to be smudge and water resistant, no image or text has ever changed after I printed it. Epson says the inks are also scratch and fade resistant.

Another fabulous feature of the Epson Artisan 810 is remote wireless printing. Using my Wi-Fi network both laptops printed from anywhere in the house without a hitch, including sending the print job from the first floor to the printer on the second floor.

Two features took me a bit of a learning curve, 2-sided printing and red-eye correction. Two-sided printing from a computer is a multi-step process. From the Print command you have to select Properties, then Page Layout , then select Auto or Manual 2-sided printing. It would be great if Auto 2-sided printing could be selected in the original Print window. The current method can be frustrating if you are printing a series of documents that all need to be double-sided. Manual 2-sided printing prints one side and waits for you to feed the sheet back into the unit for the second side, so is not convenient with remote printing. It will however, allow a dense image to dry before being fed back through so the first side does not smear. When you select Auto 2-sided printing the printer asks if you would like to reduce the density of ink on the image to lessen the likelihood of smearing the ink on the first side. I have always declined to reduce the density, and have never had an image smear.

Red-eye correction can be addressed by selecting Print, then Properties, then Main, then Fix Red-Eye from a computer. After several attempts using this option I could not get the command to correct red-eye in pictures that were printed from either the PC or Apple laptop. What did work was to print the picture from a flash drive which was inserted directly into the USB port of the Epson Artisan 810. Red-eye correction was then selected from the panel on the printer and the picture printed with no red-eye.

Because of the Epson Artisan 810’s terrific wireless printing feature I am rarely in the room with the printer when I send a print job. When I have watched pages print I believe Epson’s approximately 9 pages per minute (ppm) estimate, for both black & white and color printing, is correct.

Copying using the Epson Artisan 810 is faster than printing, and the copied image is sharp. There is little if any visible bleeding around text on the copied page and the color of copied pictures is very good, very close though of course not exact to the original.

Printing directly from a flash drive is a convenient feature of the Epson Artisan 810. The printer automatically seeks pictures on your flash drive when it is inserted into the printer’s USB port. You can, however, backspace to the drive’s menu and print other types of files directly from the drive without using a computer. If you print pictures from a flash drive you can crop the image from the panel of the Epson Artisan 810. Just choose your paper size after cropping, or the crop will not take effect.

The Epson Artisan 810 scanned quickly and the images were accurate. Our Wi-Fi network did not allow the images to be sent back to either the PC or Apple laptop wirelessly, but the pictures could be saved to a flash drive using the printer’s USB port.

The Epson Artisan 810’s fax capability was not reviewed. I primarily use a cell phone for communication and did not have a land line convenient for testing.

SUMMARY

Pros: individual ink cartridges, wireless printing, intuitive control panel, great print quality

Cons: multi-step Auto 2-sided printing, red-eye correction only working from the printer panel and not remotely

This is a guest post written by a product reviewer for Experimental Mommy.  No compensation was received for this post other than a unit for review provided by Epson.
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Village Candle: Review and Giveaway

May 6, 2010 By 168 Comments

I am the kind of person who is scent-obsessed.  I buy tons of things strictly by how they smell….lotions, shampoos, cleaning products, even baby wipes.  One thing I am never without in my house is a candle that smells good.  I was so excited to get to review a scented candle from Village Candle! Village Candle sent me one of their Lemon Pound Cake scented jar candles, which I was anxious to try, having never heard of them before.

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The candle arrived on a perfect afternoon because I was making dinner the night after my husband had to pinch-hit for me.  He had spilled something in the oven and I didn’t realize it until I was preheating and the kitchen filled with a burning smell.  After I got the mess cleaned up, I lit my new Village Candle on the kitchen counter.  Within just a few minutes,  I was glad to smell that the candle scent was taking over the burned smell.    I have continued to light my Village Candle each day and have enjoyed it immensely.   It has the perfect amount of scent…enough to notice and not too much to be too powerful.  I would highly recommend the Lemon Pound Cake scent to anyone who loves the smell of baked goods.  Village Candle has their website set up so that you can choose your candle by type of scent, color, or type of candle, such as a jar or votive.  Village Candles are also extremely budget-friendly so it won’t cost you a ton to have your home smelling great!

Village Candle has so much to offer to suit anyone’s taste….or smell!  From the website:  “Our candles are handcrafted under strict quality control using only the most refined wax, the richest colors and the finest fragrance oils. Our packaging is singularly unique. Our techniques to produce “marbling” give particular character and distinction to each and every candle. Every day that we make candles, Village Candle® is working to meet the challenge and responsibility of this tremendous honor of being identified with the quality products that are synonymous with Maine. All of our candles are made with old Yankee pride.”

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Village Candles would make a perfect addition to your house or a perfect gift for Mother’s Day!  There are so many different varieties to choose from you might just be tempted to try them all!  Village Candle is generously offering two lucky readers a Village Candle of their very own!

How to enter:

1. Visit Village Candles and tell me what scent you would love to try!

Additional entries:

1. Blog about this giveaway and link to The Not-So-Blog and Village Candle (10 extra entries).

2. Follow me (@BridgetteLA) and @VillageCandle on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway. Every time you tweet you get an additional entry! Unlimited! (You must have over 50 Twitter followers to qualify for unlimited entries!)

3. Subscribe to my blog.

4. Become a Fan of The Not-So-Blog and Village Candle on Facebook.

5. Place my blog banner on your sidebar.

6. Subscribe to my Feed.

Contest ends at 11:59pm CST on May 21st. Prizes not claimed in 72 hours will be forfeited. Open to U.S. Residents only.

This product review is the opinion of the Experimental Mommy. Other may have a different experience with the product. I was not compensated for this review other than a review product provided by Village Candle. All opinions are 100% mine.

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Freschetta Flatbread Pizza: Review

May 6, 2010 By 1 Comment

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Freschetta. All opinions are 100% mine.

As a Mom of two who also works outside the home, planning meals ahead of time is a must!  My husband and I try to prepare meals, not only for nutritional value, but meals that are cost effective as well.  Another must?  The kids have to want to eat it!  Fortunately, Freschetta FlatBread Pizza fits the bill!

Frozen pizza is a quick and convenient meal that my kids love.  However, we have tried to but a “value” pizza only to have it go to waste because the quality was poor.  Since that experience, we have been loyal to one particular brand and have not ventured away from it in quite some time.  So, I was glad that Freschetta gave me an excuse to think outside of the box.  The good people at Freschetta supplied me with a few coupons to take their pizzas for a test drive with my family.  We selected both the Freschetta FlatBread Pepperoni and the Freschetta Rising Crust Four Cheese pizza. About the Freschetta FlatBreads:

flatbread“Go ahead – indulge in pizza tonight. For this amazing flatbread, we start with just the right amount of only all-natural cheeses and a sauce made from real, ripe tomatoes. Then, we top it with colorful vegetables and generously sliced meats. All of these aromatic flavors sing through on our amazing ultra-thin crust, created to bake up incredibly crisp. Freschetta® Flatbread is a perfect balance of big flavors all on a crispy crust for a unique taste that’s on the lighter side of pizza.”

Both pizzas smelled wonderful while cooking and Aubrie enjoyed watching the Rising Crust Pizza takes its shape in the oven.  But how did they taste?  Fabulous!  I enjoyed the FlatBread pizza while my girls loved the Rising Crust pizza because it looked more like traditional pizza (and how food looks is a big deal when you are 2 and 5).

After checking out the Freschetta site, I saw that the line also includes single serving pizzas.  I will definitely be trying those next because they would be a great way to spice up lunch at work!  Interested in trying Freschetta?  Download a $1 off coupon and run (don’t walk) to the grocery!

Visit my sponsor: Freschetta Pizza

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