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Healthy Essentials

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

We are a Johnson & Johnson family; always have been. We don’t use adhesive bandages, we use Band-Aids, we don’t use cotton swabs, we use Q-Tips, we don’t use mouth wash, we use Listerine.  I tried bargain brands and immediately came back to the real thing.  I know I can always count on the quality of their product, so I was thrilled to be chosen to write about Johnsons & Johnson, the money saving coupons that they’re offering and the Feeding America Program. 

I received a box of great products (look at that sequined look Band-Aid!) to try and was very familiar with all of the products in the box, except for the Neutrogena hand cream – I didn’t even know that Neutrogena was a J&J brand!  It’s a really nice hand cream that I now keep by the front door for people to use when they come in out of the cold.  My hands are so nice and soft – I have a really hard time with the cold weather on my skin and Florida has had a couple of serious cold snaps so far this winter.

healthy essentials Healthy Essentials

There was a large coupon offer in newspapers on January 8th with over $190.00 in coupon savings, but don’t worry if you missed it – You can sign up for all the coupons at the Healthy Essentials website.  With the holidays just passed, I know I could use all the savings help that I can get!

Even better, Johnson & Johnson has teamed up with FEEDING AMERICA™, and each “Healthy Essentials” coupon redeemed between January 8th and January 15th will result in one meal donated by Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies to FEEDING AMERICA™ (up to 1 million meals).

Save money, do good?  There’s a win/win! I love supporting companies that support communities.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies and received products to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.



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A New One’s Just Begun

January 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I love January. I love the idea of starting fresh, of putting the past in the past and making of the future what you will. I love goal setting, planning, dreaming of all the things that my family, friends and I will accomplish in the new year.  This year is no different. The last couple of years have been a little bumpy.  We’ve had some financial blips and some growing pains, but in the end, I have to say that there isn’t much I would change.  I find that the hardships always have an important lesson – whether it’s my lesson or someone else’s… I can always find a lesson and I like to move forward with the idea that those lessons will serve us.

This year, our focus is on a couple of  things:

  • The Children’s education: with both of them in high school, it’s time to start to plan the next stage of their lives. We’ve home schooled for almost a decade, we’re now using primarily Florida virtual, but maybe a dual enrollment or something a little bit different – it’s time for them to spread their wings a little bit and start to explore the world around us.
  • My Business(es): What’s working?  What’s not? What makes my heart sing?  What would I do whether or not I got paid for it?  That’s what I want to focus on.
  • Community: Volunteering, networking, making connections with like minded people, who want to build our community to become something even greater.  Focusing on art, music, theater, and local businesses.
  • Health: I have a couple of not so dramatic things that just need to be taken care of.  To that end, I just had a ton of blood work done and I have an appointment with the dr. next week to get this ball rolling.

I’ve chosen my word for the year and it’s “Connection”.  I’m looking to make connections for myself and my family and to broaden our social, business and philanthropic communities.

I don’t know why, but I have a really good feeling about 2012. I feel very lucky to be right where I am and I want to create even more of the good stuff.

So what about you? What are you most looking forward to for 2012?

5783321374 7f6b3e2b4d A New Ones Just Begun

Photo Credit: Sean MacEntee (link)



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Holiday Decorating

December 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It’s surprising to me how little I decorate these days.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’m not actually involved in any one religion and therefore don’t really celebrate the way I used to.  Fortunately, my daughter Haley loves to decorate and she’s been in charge of that department for about four years.  This year she had my husband pull out the boxes and started on Thanksgiving Day, involving our dinner guests which really made the day quite a bit more festive.  It’s fun to watch children express themselves and decorating for the Holidays is no exception.

They got our Christmas tree up, the decorations placed all over the house and I didn’t have to do a thing.  Thankfully, we scrubbed the house for our Thanksgiving Company so for the month of December, we just sort of dust and vacuum every couple of days and I sort of feel guilty because the house doesn’t get another thorough cleaning until we take the decorations down. (Shhh, don’t tell anyone, k? Thanks)

We do have some interesting decorations though… things that have been passed down or just sort of collected over the years.  My favorites are these sweaters that my grandmother knitted back in the late 70s. They make me feel close to her and I treasure them.

decoration1 Holiday Decorating

My least favorite are these creepy carolers.  Every year we talk about getting rid of them, yet – here they are.

decorations2 Holiday Decorating

Odd, right?

So what about you?  What are your favorites?  Least favorites?

I am sharing my holiday home decor and cleaning tips for the chance to win prizes from The SITS Girls and Great Cleaners.



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Here’s to More Birthdays

December 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We’ve all been touched by cancer.  I truly can’t think of anyone who doesn’t love someone who had or has cancer, or who has had it themselves.

Last summer my daughter was asked to perform at a Relay for Life benefit in a local town and as with every volunteer opportunity to come our way, we received so much more than we gave. There was an amazing dedication ceremony and as I watched the beautiful faces roll across the screen and heard the cheers come up from the people sitting on the grass in the dark, holding their candles in memory, honor and tribute to their loved ones, I couldn’t help but be moved to tears. That dedication stayed with me for a long time and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Since then, I’ve learned so much about how far we’ve come in the fight against cancer and how many people and organizations are to be commended for the progress that’s been made.

I’m so happy to be involved in this effort to bring even more attention to this vital issue. We’re all in this together and I know I’d like to have as many birthday cakes as possible. So, here’s to more birthdays. Lots more.

This post is sponsored by American Cancer Society.

By the way, the cake in the featured image is the best cake I ever had and it was from my last birthday and given to me by a wonderful friend.



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First Friday Art Walk

December 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

This week I didn’t do much more cooking than I did last week.  And the minuscule amount that I did do, had nothing new or inventive in it.  I am, however very grateful that Pomi makes a marinara that’s a fantastic base for doctoring.  Just chop some garlic and some onion, saute in a little olive oil, add some crushed red pepper flake and the marinara.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and then pour about 1/3 of a cup of balsamic vinegar in it.  Allow it to simmer while you cook the pasta, then add the pasta to the sauce to finish.  It’s really good and takes about 15 minutes.

We did go out to dinner twice, thanks to coupons that I had and Jim was off on Friday instead of Wednesday this week, so we decided to do a family day.  One of my local Tweeples, Stacy, mentioned that she was going to the Downtown Ocala Art Walk and I decided that we would do that too. We had lunner (late lunch/early dinner) at Ruby Tuesday’s (we had a coupon, I won’t be going back) and then headed over to the Art Walk.

This event happens on the first Friday of every month and I’ve never gone before.  It’s downtown Ocala, on and around the Square which is beautifully decorated for the Holidays.  They had carolers in the square, artists set up on the sidewalks in front of all the shops – the shops had their wares spilling out onto the sidewalk and it was so wonderfully festive that it really was a great time.

I knew that photographer Kent Weakley, (who happens to have a great online photography course that I’ve taken and loved!) creator of two (here and here) of the Horse Fever horses,  would be at the Marion Cultural Alliance so after we parked the car, we stopped in to say hi and look at all of the beautiful art.  Then we wandered around admiring everything and people watching (one of my favorite activities).  Haley and I bought two gorgeous headbands at Jezebel’s (our new favorite store) and then wandered back to the square to listen to the carolers. We were there about 10 minutes when I spotted Stacy and immediately knew who she was.  It’s so nice to meet virtual friends in person, don’t you think? Especially of the Geek Girl persuasion, she’s also a web developer!

Later we found Jim and Travis who had made friends with two of the biggest Irish Wolfhounds I’d ever seen.  They made Fiona look like a lap dog.  They were so beautiful and regal and well behaved and we made plans to schedule a play date for Fiona. Maybe they’ll rub off on her.

firstfriday2 300x281 First Friday Art Walk

After that we walked back to the car, which we had very serendipitously parked near Stella’s.  We spent a lovely half hour catching up with Stacey and the rest of the folks, eating chocolate covered espresso beans and drinking ginger beer and Manhattan Special sodas.

I don’t know if the Art Walk is always this much fun, but we certainly enjoyed it and I am definitely going next month!

P.S. Stacy and Stacey are two different people – just to clarify. =)



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