Shandle Give Away

I loved getting the Shandle. And want to have another for my other bathroom. And I am going to order it soon! In the meantime, I am able to share the Shandle with you!
So here it is. I have the ability to give away 5 SHANDLES!

You will think this is different but will love it as soon as it is in your bathroom. No more touching the underside of the toilet seat. UUUGGGHHHH!
I hate that. Guys do too! And think they have to all the time. So you need to make sure you enter so you can save his hands as well.


Now it is also piratical in the fact that it helps tell kids to Wash Their Hands. You know how important that is and true we all get busy. So a lil reminder never hurts.

Follow the directions below and get your very own Shandle soon.

GIVEAWAY: REMIND YOUR KIDS TO PRACTICE HAND WASHING WITH THE SHANDLE

To Enter:

Sign up for the Shandle Newsletter at www.theshandle.com for promotions, discounts and product news and then leave a comment on this post.

Earn additional entries by completing any or all of the tasks below. Each optional task below is worth one additional entry. Make sure you comment one time for each entry so you will be counted for each one.

· Become a fan of the Shandle on Facebook.
· Post a message on the Shandle Facebook Page
· Follow The_Shandle on Twitter and Tweet about why you would like a Shandle in your home - include a link to www.theshandle.com.
· Tweet about this Giveaway and include a link
· Post a link to this giveaway in your Facebook feed
· Post a link to this giveaway on your blog

To complete your entry you must leave a comment on this post. Please state which Shandle design is your favorite and indicate any additional entries you completed and your email address for contacting.
Comment Examples:

“ I love Frog Bear Washes His Hands. He is so cute. Hope I win!! My email is Mommy (at) nextdoornyc.com

My additional entries are the newsletter sign up. My email is Mommy (at) nextdoornyc.com”

Tweeting about Shandle My email is Mommy (at) nextdoornyc.com”

Tweeting about this giveaway. Thanks for the chance! My email is Mommy (at) nextdoornyc.com”

CONTEST CLOSES ON OCTOBER 7TH, 2009 AT MIDNIGHT. All winners will be selected via random number generator. Winners must be confirmed as Shandle Newsletter subscribers and will be notified via email. Prizes will be sent directly from www.theshandle.com

Update On Randy Kazandy

I was telling you about Randy Kazandy today. Well I spoke to the author and she updated me with what will be coming up for Randy Kazandy.
I just thought you would like to know what to look forward to after reading Randy Kazandy, Where are Your Glasses?

---

From Rhonda Fischer- Author
Randy Kazandy will be getting his teeth cleaned and I have a dentist in town who wants to have a book signing in his office around Halloween to tell the ghostly news. This dentist would make a great character. Randy getting braces, yes? I need input for the series. All ideas are welcome. I also won the book of 2009 Book of Excellence Award with Creative Child's Magazine and won an award with the Children's Arts and Illustrators Museum in St. Louis Missouri. Things are looking up. I am up for about 4 more awards. I am keeping my fingers crossed! AND TOES!

The Method that Works

I have been working on losing weight for 9 months now. And it is hard....very hard. Now I can handle the exercise I am doing. Actually ready to add more of it on. Diets are something I can do but not loving. Not too hard to cut out somethings but miss others. Most of all I suck at control. It is so hard to feel that I have to always be in control of everything I do. And my weight loss is showing that I am wearing down. Getting really tired and want to revive myself so I do not lose momentum. So I was happy to read The Anderson Method. This is not a diet book. This is not a book of exercise. This is a book that works as a companion to your weight loss. William Anderson a Licensed Mental Health Counselor shares with us how to reprogram addictive habits. And eating is a necessary habit yet quite addictive at that. William Anderson lost 140 pounds (wow!) and has kept it off for over two decades now. He shares from experience and from what he has learned in years of counseling others.

In reading this book I have found ways to gain control over habits and compulsions. What sets up craving. And how to change what we crave. Also ways to adopt new habits and to stop using food for pleasure and comfort which is something I have always done.
Now I am better at conscious eating and planning ahead. Stop using DIETS and work at having a lifestyle change and stop buying those goodies that are not good for me.
I am learning to use tools for a better self image. It is has been hard for me to see the changes in my body even though everyone else sees them. With the Anderson Method I am working on written goals and self talk. I am also learning aversive conditioning which I think will help me focus on what I am doing better. Many overweight people have tried all other diets, fads and programs only to fail. But using this method of reprogramming their thought process they have won and learned the secret to permanent weight loss.

Where are Your Glasses?

Do you have a child who has to wear glasses?

I know I started at an early age and HATED it!
My glasses fell off (oops) every chance I had.
Then my mother put the dreaded granny chain on them. Oh that was delightful in school!

Well Randy Kazandy also has to wear glasses.
And he does not like it either.

But his mom knows how to stay one up on Randy and has many pairs of glasses for him. It is fun to see all the ways Randy decides to get rid of his glasses. But know he adjust with the help of his exasperated m0ther and his helpful father.

This is a delightful book to share with your child. Especially if they are new to glasses. I especially enjoy the website that goes along with the book. There they have fun and games for kids. And the story of Helen Keller, one of my heroes!
Your child can also send an email to Randy with any questions, comments or ideas about their glasses and sight. In addition to children's poetry and Randy on YouTube. Just an all around fun site. So pop over and check them out. And get this book for your new glasses owner!

Can You Solve the Cube?

Twist, turn, twirl.....oh my gosh!
I can not do this!
Pant, huff, puff..........again, twist, turn, twirl!
I give up.

No this is not the way I sound with my latest exercise program.

Image by Toni Blay via Flickr

It is me trying to make a Rubik cube work.
Yeah, you remember the colors are all suppose to be the same on each side.

Well, growing up my bother could work magic with the Rubik cube. But I could only pull the lil stickers off and reattach them in a somewhat skewed fashion.
But now I can finally one up my brother!

Yeah, I have a secret weapon and plan on pulling out all the stops at the holidays.
He will see his lil sis can do the mind bending Rubik cube.

How?
TA-DA!

Image via Wikipedia

I have the solution guide and the CD.
Pop over to you can do the cube and learn for yourself.
Leaning how to do this elusive cube has made me feel so much better about myself already.
And I did not know it also is a math tool. Figures that is why I have issues.
You can download the solution guide for free on the solution kit page.
But on top of that there are links for math teachers (home schoolers can use this too!) and for youth groups. Many youth groups are using the cube to help foster life lessons in following directions, problem-solving, negotiation and teamwork. Having members teach others how to solve the cube. The Rubik's cube also teaches math concepts. And parents we too can use this lil ol cube to bond with our children. Who do you think can solve it faster? Only you know the solution....or do you?

For fun watch Will Smith solve the cube in 2 minutes! Amazing to me.

Traveling in Life

What happened in your life yesterday? The day before? How about last week? Well, since we blog I bet we have a decent idea of the highlights. Now tell me about last year? How about 10 years ago? When you was seven? Can't be too sure can we. Our lives are made up of millions of events, billions of little things and an unknown number of who knows what. Right!
Donald Miller wrote a book titled "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years". It is a great lil ride as one man tries to catch up with all those lil memories. Finding out it is not what we remember but what we make of our lives. I had such fun reading this and thought you may want to share in some of this story. Pop over here and you will see the book cover and start reading the story for yourself.
Meanwhile let me fill you in without giving away an ounce of this tale. Here is what another description of "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" says:

Full of beautiful, heart-wrenching, and hilarious stories, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years details one man's opportunity to edit his life as if he were a character in a movie.

Years after writing a best-selling memoir, Donald Miller went into a funk and spent months sleeping in and avoiding his publisher. One story had ended, and Don was unsure how to start another.

But he gets rescued by two movie producers who want to make a movie based on his memoir. When they start fictionalizing Don's life for film--changing a meandering memoir into a structured narrative--the real-life Don starts a journey to edit his actual life into a better story. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years details that journey and challenges readers to reconsider what they strive for in life. It shows how to get a second chance at life the first time around.

Now I could not start to think of how I would actually edit my life. I mean we all take time to look at our lives and see what we have done. Plan on where we wish to be and think of how we are going to get there. But how often do we actually get out there and make those active changes. Okay, I am currently doing that in "reinventing" myself with better habits and weight loss. And it feels great but is lots of active work. Maybe that is what scares us the most. Actively working to change or become more? But we do not have to be scared. As Don reminds us, this is not a journey we do on our own. We have help. God is always with us. Walking in our steps, guiding us when we remember to follow and giving us encouragement. Sometimes we have to stop and plan, but when we do we can always focus on what changes we need and wish to make. And know we will have a great partner in that change.

"THREE THINGS EVERY PARENT SHOULD TEACH THEIR KIDS"

Here is this Monday's McLinky Blog Hop.
"THREE THINGS EVERY PARENT SHOULD TEACH THEIR KIDS"

Now we are not talking about the big things like be honest, love your parents, love God, be kind to others, accept Jesus as your Savior. But those less than obvious things.

So what would I say were the three things I taught my College Girl.

Well, let me think. I know that we had 10 rules to life. But I will not post them here. What else?

If it was a guy here I am sure we would have how to make armpit farting sounds and how to play pull my finger. And the 'goody goodies' are likely to say follow what your told by your elders and alway say yes sir and no sir.
But I am looking for those lil things that we end up finding invaluable later on.

So here is my attempt.

#1 Rely on yourself first. When you can care for yourself then you can start having others as a relationship. This way if something happens your not staying in a bad relationship because you do not have a way of caring for yourself.

#2 Pass it on. Try every day to pass it on. Do some good deed or act of kindness. Weather it is picking up the tab of the person behind you in line at the drive through. Or simple as giving a smile to the person next to you. Just find ways to Pass It On.

#3 Round up your totals in your checking account. If you write a check for 10.59 the round it to 11.00. You will never be overdrawn and at the end of the year have a lil nest egg to move to your saving account.

So what are your 3 things? Post them on to your blog and jump on the McLinky Blog Hop.


Special thanks to Purell Hand Sanitizer for sponsoring this blog hop.

Finding that Right Equation

We all need some help at some time or other. And I am right along with the rest in looking in all areas when I am at a loss. So I look online as well with the people around me for help and support.

My area of loss is in numbers. You see I have dyslexia. And while there is spell check for my email and blogs there is not a math check for my check book or budget. I have always had problems trying to make numbers work.

When I was in school I had to have Math Help. Most often in came in way of a friend. She was a wiz with numbers. And thankfully she sat right beside me. Now I am not saying to cheat! NO! But to have her right there to help when I was so lost. It was through her that we understood I did not see things the same way as she did or most others.

I had to have Algebra Help. And thankfully I was able to pass the most fundamental of classes in math. Now days most kids can get Online Tutoring. There are sites to help with most any subject. Just start searching and you can find many ways to find that extra bit for your child. I know that it was helpful to me to have a tutor in math.

Baby Makes 30+ Pounds

We all wonder how do we lose the baby fat after bearing that

Image via Wikipedia

lovely bouncing bundle of joy. And for some of us it is easy. Look at Heidi Klum! She can go from a fashion diva being very pregnant to a fashion icon soon after delivering her baby.

Now we all wish it was that easy. Of course we do not know how hard Heidi works on her exercise and diet. We only know it seems effortless.

For the rest of us we scratch our heads and try old wives tales without much avail. Well that can change. How?
How about looking into the Baby Fat Diet. No, not that our babies need to loose weight! But how to take off those pounds we packed on while carrying that lil chunk of joy. Here we can see how different things work in our favor. From breastfeeding to learning how to eat for one again. Also how important it is to eat breakfast each day. (Hey ladies that is for all of us!) This book is filled with fabulous facts, exercise suggestions and menu plans. There are also some really wonderful recipes too! I especially like the baby fat tips space at the end of each chapter. A place where you can record your own notes and highlights.

We have a new member at the Curves I go to. She joined just to lose those extra pounds that are not coming off with just breastfeeding and chasing the TWINS she delivered. I know that tomorrow I will taking this book to her as a gift! She is working hard so I am sure that she will appreciate every extra bit of information that will help her.

Fall Fashonista

I am a fan of fashion shows. I may not be able to dress in the latest fashion but I do like to know what they are. And also seeing what is coming up each season. So I thought I would share some of the information with you this year.

First for the fall fashions waist are back in! Yippee! I love showing off the waist line I am

Image via Wikipedia

beginning to have with my weight loss. So take the time to strap on that lil belt and show off the curves.
Another curve stopper is that high waisted jeans are back in. Drop those to pants that are falling off of you and go back to showing your form off. This I am very glad to see.
Oh and channel Audrey Hepburn because the lil black dress is back. Oh, how I agree that we all need a lil black dress in our wardrobe. Something that seems to go for all occasions. Add some jewelry for flair or wear with some boots to dress it down a bit.
Also the new fall/winter color for 2009 is tomato red! Yes, that dynamite color is coming up in coats, lipstick and making your blouse pop in that business suit.
Make sure you accessorize your outfit with chunky jewelry. I saw some wonderful necklaces this weekend at the pow wow. They were telling me I needed to add them to my wardrobe and it seems they were correct. Glad I know the artist so I can go back and get me a necklace or two. I would love to have a necklace like the one in the picture here. Wow, pearls and bling......just my thing.

Surprise for College Girl

College Girl received a new surprise from us (the loving Parental Units) this weekend. Well, first I want to say that CG is unique in most ways. She is not a girly girl at all but still loves fashion. So we are always on the lookout for something that just says HER. And we think we did it this time. We found her a titanium ring that is a concave band. It is different yet still simple (the way she likes things). And quality too! We even was able to have her initials engraved on the inside too.

What do you think? Pretty! Unique!

We love it and she was jumping up and down when she saw it. What a perfect production gift to give her for Saturday nights play at her University. See here is another shot of her ring.

I just had to share this with you. We have not found much that just says simple yet perfect at the same time. And to find this Titanium Wedding Band at a good price. (Of course, College Girl is not using it as a wedding band.) Well, I knew you would want to go and look and see what else is there. You can pop over to Tungsten Rings Online and find all kinds of bands. They have gold, platinum, ceramic, tungsten, milgrain, palladium, titanium and others still. And they have lifetime warranties on the rings. Check them out. Oh and here is a close up of College Girls ring. Isn't it beautiful in it's simple lines yet still unique. You can tell we love this ring.

Clean Hands

Did you know this is clean hands week? Well I did not either. But I am one lucky lady! Because this week I also received the Shandle. You have not heard of the Shandle?

The Shandle is a handle that goes on the underside of the toilet seat so you can raise the seat without touching it. Thus less germs are passed on. But there is more. The Shandle also reminds you to Wash Your Hands!

With me helping out with Emma on her potty training right now this could not be better timing. Here is the Shandle that we received.

Cute huh? Well of course Emma was excited because we have something new. And she loves the Frog Bear character. It did not take but a couple of minutes that she was ready to use the Shandle and then of course we had to Wash Our Hands. Emma is currently using a potty chair at our house. And we have to empty the potty. Emma wants to lift and close the seat and flush the toilet when we do this. So I think the Shandle will make this easier for her to do. Also it is much cleaner too!

There are a few other tips I learned too.
The Shandle is made from antimicrobial treated plastic which prevents the growth of bacteria on the surface. That is a great extra.
The Shandle works best on flat bottom seats and is not recommended for wooden or padded toilet seats.

Now not everyone wishes to have a cute character in their bathroom. And I actually feel the Shandle is great to have weather you have children or not. We all know that men have to use the restroom and they do not wish to have to touch the seat either. So Shandle has decorative handles also. And they also have Halloween ones for those who love to decorate everywhere.

Cleaning things Up

I am still learning more and more about Windows. Having used MAC for so long this like walking in a new land. First I had to learn about virus scans. Then how to defrag a system and dump cookies. (Personally I would prefer to eat cookies then dump them). There are many differences. Now I was asked if I have a registry cleaner.

Well, now I don't think so? But of course I am not sure either. What is a registry cleaner? And why does one choose to clean registry? I did not even know I had a registry? So of course I head to Nessa to ask. (Poor dear has to always be my question girl.) It seems she is a wealth of knowledge.

I find out that if you do you have the opportunity to store a computer's configuration. Conducting a windows registry scan and clean once every few weeks will make sure you're getting peak performance out of your computer. So now I know. And this is another program I am looking into for the care of my computer.

What do you learn about yours? And how do you learn about all the things you need to do to care for your computer?

Pow Wow Festival

Tomorrow is our annual Pow Wow for small town Texas where we live.

Image by Spitfire_Pisces via Flickr

And it is a fun fun event.
Top it off, this year I do not have to work the Pow Wow so I can go and have fun!
Sad to say Dear Hubby and College Girl can not attend.
But, I can take Emma and we can try out some of the events.

Which ones do you think we should do?

Fu Karate Team Demonstration

Brazos Bottom Cowographers Performance old west shows

United Freestyle Stunt Team

Image by Smithsonian Institution via Flickr

Ballet Folklorico Azteca Mexican folk dance

AirEvac Helicopter Landing

Sahawe Indian Dancers

Outlaw’s Prayer

Antique Tractor Parade

Nana Puddin’ Performer Nancy Worchester ventriloquist and storyteller

21st Annual Classic Car Show Awards

Classic Car Cruise

Image via Wikipedia

BMNCTR STATE CHAMPIONSHIP BBQ COOK-OFF Awards

Ranch Rodeo

Freedom Street Dance

We Have Winners

Luckily I won an extra copy of the book From Fat to Fit by Carole Carson. And I would like to share the book with you. So I am going to give it away.

The lucky winner is:

Lori said...

I would love to get a jump on losing weight. I think it would really help me feel better inside and out :)

And I so enjoyed my book that I am going to share it too. So I am sending my personal copy to a surprise winner. That extra lucky winner is:

adelek01 said...

I would love this book!! I am struggling to lose weight and am having no luck.

So y'all contact me so I can mail these on to you!

Fat Fried in Fat Covered in Fat?

This is a scary recipe to me! But you know people will eat anything that is cooked at a State Fair. So how many of y'all are heading out to get yours?


Fried Butter

Butter center:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons cream cheese

3 tablespoons berry jam (flavor of choice)

Cream butter, sugar, cream cheese and jam together with an electric mixer until smooth. Using a melon baller, form 1-inch balls of butter mixture and arrange them on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Freeze until solid, at least two hours.

Batter:

1 cup flour

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup chilled club soda (plus up to 1/4 cup additional if batter is too thick)

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Fold chilled club soda into dry mixture. Do not overmix; batter will be slightly lumpy and thick.

Heat 3 1/2 cups peanut oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, to 350 F.

Working with frozen butter balls, skewer frozen balls one at a time and dip in batter. Place battered butter ball in hot oil and remove skewer, using a second skewer to dislodge. Fry for 30 to 45 seconds and turn with slotted spoon. Allow battered butter to fry for an additional 30 to 45 seconds or until lightly browned.

Remove fried butter balls from oil with slotted spoon and cool on a rack for at least 1 minute. (I know it will be hard to wait.) Skewer and eat, State-Fair style. Careful, contents of fried butter will remain hot.

Variations:

Garlic Fried Butter: Omit sugar and jam from butter center; add 1 tablespoon garlic powder. Omit sugar from batter.

Plain Fried Butter: Omit jam from butter center.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Deep Fried Butter (buzzfeed.com)
• Texas Serves Up Deep-Fried Butter (diet-blog.com)
• State Fair fried food king invents Deep Fried Butter (inquisitr.com)

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]">

Wordless Wednesday