Day 5

Today I am thankful for blog giveaways!  And one less thing on my Christmas list.  I won this totally awesome camera bag from sixsistersstuff.com!  Don't forget to get out and vote tomorrow.  I have to say,  I won't be sad to see all the campaigning end.

Summer Carmex Review and Giveaway 2012!

Well, we just got back in town last night from our last vacay as parents of one, I had lots to blog about before I left, blogged about nothing when I was there, and now have got to get this review up so you guys can have a chance to win this really great gift set.  It's time for another Carmex giveaway!!

For the last couple of years I have been reviewing and giving away Carmex products. At first it was just a few chap sticks here and there, then last summer they gave away a really cool package with a beach/picnic blanket and this year, I was super excited to receive a beach/pool bag PLUS 6 different flavors of lip balm.  I had just commented earlier in the month that I needed a new beach bag and now here it was!  And I will say, it came in super handy on our vacay last week!

Not only did I get this awesome beach bag that was super roomy and had a magnetic closure, I also received 6 different moisturizing lip balms, or 'click sticks' as Carmex calls them, in all of the flavors they have to offer:  Original, Vanilla, Lime Twist, Strawberry, Cherry and their brand new Pomegranate!  All of the Carmex lip balms have SPF 15, which is a plus in my book, who can't use sunscreen on their lips?  They also all have a cooling sensation, regardless of their flavor.  All of the Carmex balms contain germ-killing menthol and phenol that help to speed up the healing process.  I think the Original flavor speaks for itself and is just a down right smooth feeling balm.  The Vanilla flavor is a little sweet tasting to me and I seem to smell the Lime more than I taste it.  The Strawberry and Cherry are nice, but my favorite was definitely the Pomegranate.  I really think that the flavor is a personal preference and no flavor is better than the next....kinda like ice cream!  In any case, they all have the same smooth, silky feeling and the ever important SPF.  I'm just glad now I have one for my desk, my purse, my bathroom, my car and everywhere in between!

One of my lucky readers can now win the package you see above including the Carmex beach/pool bag, and the 6 different flavors of Carmex ultra smooth lip balm!

All you have to do to enter to win is

1) Leave me a comment telling me which flavor you think would be your favorite.

2)  Follow me using GFC.

3)  Visit Shabby Apple (link on right sidebar) and let me know a product you'd like to have.

4)  Leave me a comment on another post and let me know where!

Don't forget to leave your email.

One entry per comment. 

Good luck!

The giveaway will end August 20th, 2012 at midnight EST.  I will notify the winner August 21st.

*Although Carmex did contact me and send me these products to review, the above thoughts and opinions are all my own!



Enter my Giveaway!

Guys, I have another Carmex giveaway!  Please hurry to enter.  I have to  have the  name drawn by tomorrow morning.

Carmex Winter Review and Giveaway: (Healing Lotion and Healing Cream)

Once again, I am back with another great Carmex giveaway!  This time I was very excited to get to review their new skin care line!  As you know, I've always been a fan of Carmex's little yellow jar, their lip balms and recently their 'click sticks' from this summer.  So when I got the newest package in the mail and it contained Carmex Healing Lotion and Carmex Healing Cream I was super excited. The last few winters my hands have been a mess, so I was hoping this would be just the thing I needed.

In addition to the 2 tubes above, I also received 2 small purse size tubes (about an oz. each) of both the Lotion and the Cream.  These are perfect, because my husband is always asking if I have any lotion with me and on these cold winter mornings coming up, I can always have some at my fingertips when I get to work.

The Carmex Healing Lotion comes in a 5.5oz tube (and now a pump!) and retails for around $5.99.  It contains Aloe and Vitamin E and if you use it for a few days in a row, you can really start to feel the difference!  It's a thinner consistency lotion, but that's ok because Carmex has the Healing Cream as well.  It has a fairly pleasant scent, but that's probably my least favorite part about the product.  It is fresh and 'clean' smelling but reminds me a little too much of baby lotion.  If you're not as sensitive about the smell of your lotion as me, you'll love it because it's not too strong but yet isn't odorless.  Although neither are particularly greasy, the Lotion is more so than the Cream.

The Carmex Healing Cream is definitely my favorite from the two.  It comes in a 4oz. tube (also for aroud $5.99) and contains 9 healing ingredients.  It's definitely not as greasy as some creams and I don't feel the need to wipe off my palms after applying it.  Also, this tube will probably last you a while, but a little really does go a long way when using this.  AND this is exactly what I was looking for when it came to my dry, cracked knuckles.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with these products and to have some new lotions/creams to try out this Winter.  I am excited also that the lotion comes in a pump still (for some reason I prefer that) and it would certainly come in handy on my desk at school.

Now it's your turn to try Carmex's new line of beauty products:  their skin care line!  You can either head on over to Walgreens, CVS or Walmart or you can enter to win one of these great packages!

One of my lucky readers will win one full size tube of each the Carmex Healing Lotion and the Carmex Healing Cream, as well as one purse/pocket size tube of each! (MSRP ~$14)  They come packaged together in a cute little yellow bag and would make a great stocking stuffer!

There are 3 ways to enter my giveaway!  Just leave one comment for each entry.

1)  Leave me a comment telling me your favorite lotion in the Winter time.

2)  Follow me with GFC.

3)  Leave a comment on any other post.

This giveaway will end in one week on Sunday, December 4th.  I will contact the winner by the 6th and you will have 48 hours to respond!  Good luck and thanks so much for entering!

Also, I'm excited to report that Carmex has a few new flavors of their Carmex Moisture Plus lip balms that I reviewed last year this time, plus they have a jar of healing ointment that I'd love to check out too!

*Although Carmex did contact me and send me these products to review, the above thoughts and opinions are all my own!

A Wrap Up...

Sorry guys, I have been waaaayyy busy with the start of the new school year.  I know, I know we got home on Friday from our crazy vacation and I haven't posted any pictures or anything.  I think I just needed some down time.  As  I mentioned it was a vacation for the books and I spent the weekend relaxing.  We spent more than a week away from home and that's exhausting in itself.  Not to mention....an excessive amount of vomit, a busted lip, an earthquake, an almost really bad accident that resulted in an Urgent Care visit, an electrical current through a pool, a bad reaction to medicine AND a hurricane evacuation....it's definitley enough to wear you out.  So....as I said, I have been regrouping and preparing for another crazy school year.  We didn't get as many pictures as I had wished, but I will post some in the next few days.

A few more things to wrap up....my Carmex giveaway ends on Friday.  Please enter if you haven't.

Also, aside from birthdays and my monthly letter to Gage, I will refrain from posting anything other than pictures for the month of September.  Last year, I took a 'September Break' in order to get a little more organized at the beginning of the year and to spend some time with my family, now that I seem to have less of it.  I enjoyed it and will do the same this year.  I'm pretty sure October will be here before I know it and I'll be back in the saddle.  Until then, I will still read blogs when I get the chance, but am really going to try to limit my screen time (computer) and spend more time with myself and my family.  Plus, it's football season so I'l have plenty to do! Talk with you soon!  And don't worry, I'll still post pictures of Gage!

Also had to get rid of the rainbow, I felt this background said 'Fall' a little better.  Now I gotta get working on a new banner as well.

Don't Forget....

to enter my Carmex giveaway!  I promise I'll write more soon.

Carmex Summer Review and Giveaway!

To end the summer I am hosting a giveaway sponsored by Carmex.  I am reviewing two new flavors of their lip balm.  One lucky winner will not only win one of each of the new flavors, but also a super cool  waterproof roll-up picnic blanket, plus a clear Carmex Moisture Plus Lip Balm. 

Back when I was in college, I used to carry around Lip Smackers attached to my keys.  Anyone else remember the Lip Smacker key chains (late 90's??)  If you asked anyone, they could always tell it was me coming because they heard my keys dangling as I put on my chap stick.  Or you can ask my college roomie who could always tell what I was doing in the dark (putting on chapstick before bed) because she could once again hear my keys dangling.  In any case, I LOVED chapstick/lip balm, etc.  If you read my review from last December, you'd remember that although I have always loved lip balm, I don't care too much for colored lipstick.  So I was super excited when I got my letter from Carmex last month that said I would be trying out new lip balm that wasn't colored, but was flavored instead! 

I received their 2 new flavors, Lime Twist and Vanilla!  Yummy!  I have to say I personally prefer the 'taste' of the Lime Twist, but both are oh so nice and smooth on the lips.  Again, I have rough lips and often am very picky about my lip balms.  Both of these really hit the spot. They have 3 new moisturizers that aren't found in the Carmex original lip balms.  (and I already love those!)  They both also have SPF 15, which of course is very important this time of year.  I tried them out last week at the beach and am happy to report the SPF worked!  My only disappointment is that I don't get to review these in the Winter to see if they hold up to the opposite elements as well!  I think one of my favorite parts is also the tube they come in.  They don't just slide up like regular lip balm, they make this clicking sound that makes you think you're really moving the balm up and are not going to end up with a big mess at the end.  Both of these products, as well as other items in the Carmex line are available for purchase at Walgreens, Walmart and my favorite, CVS!

Now it's your turn to try out these totally cool new products! 

One of my lucky readers will win the following package including the Lime Twist click stick, the Vanilla click stick, the picnic blanket and the Moisture Plus Lip Balm.

This could be yours!



And as you can see, Gage immediately took to the blanket. It was very odd, he knew exactly what it was and wanted to open it right away.  He then proceeded to want to lay on it every day for the rest of the week.  And as you can see, it's a pretty good size. This side is felt-like where the back is a canvas (the black material seen in the picture above). These really are nice blankets because of the way they roll up and are easy for travel!

Because I'm going on vacation for the next week and a half, this giveaway will start today and run through Friday, September 2nd.  I will notify the winner on September 3rd.  Please leave one comment for each entry. 

1)  Tell me your favorite brand of lipstick/lip balm and why it's better than the rest!

2)  Follow me by GFC.

3)  Comment on any of my other posts

Good luck!

*Although Carmex did contact me and send me these products to review, the above thoughts and opinions are all my own!

WINNER WINNER Chicken Dinner

Ok, well noone actually won a chicken dinner, but I did choose a winner for the Carmex Moisture Plus Lip Balm and apparently, she is my biggest fan!!

You see, Brittany wrote this:  Oooh, pretty please! Choose your biggest fan (ME!) hehe.

Congrats Brittany, being a fan really paid off!  hah....

I chose Brittany using random.org; however, am not smart enough to figure out how to post the graphic on to my blog.  Ah well, I'm sure you will believe me.....anyway, I am one of Brittany's biggest fans as well.  You've got to go check out her blog  and her super cute son, Henry over at Hairy Babies.  Goodnight all!  Only 6 more days 'til Christmas.

Soooo busy....

fMy oh my,  Xmas is upon us and wow, have I been busy?  I'm sure we're all in the same boat, yet everyone else seems to be able to find the time to write.  Not me.  I really am looking forward to writing a real post of substance one of these days.... it's been like 2 weeks.  However, today is not the day.  Sorry to disappoint.  Who am I kidding?  I'm sure noone is disappointed...ha.  Anyway, maybe this weekend. For now, don't forget to enter my Carmex giveaway!

'Night.

I REALLY want one of these!

So I've always wanted a KitchenAid mixer but I'm too cheap to buy one for myself!  Here's a fun giveaway I found that was super easy to blog about!  Hope you decide to enter too!

3 Kids and Us and KitchenAid want to make your holiday wish come true and offer you the chance to win a brand new KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer in your choice of over 20 colors, valued at $349.99!


Enter the KitchenAid Stand Mixer Giveaway and check out the Homemade Holiday Feast recipes that show all the ways the KitchenAid Stand Mixer and attachments can be used to create unique family dishes and save you counter space with one appliance that can be converted to meet your every need.

Carmex Moisture Plus Lip Balm (Review and Giveaway)



As I stated previously, I'm not even sure how I got hooked up w/ Carmex, but alas, here goes it.  My first product review! 

A small disclaimer first:

If you knew me really well, you would know that although I do wear makeup every time I leave the house, I rarely, if ever wear any kind of lipstick.  Not because I don't like the way it looks, I just don't like the way it looks on me. The last time I can remember liking lipstick that I wore was at my wedding.  And it was picked out by someone else and put on by someone else, so that should explain it.  I want to like  lipstick, I really do.  But I'm more of a lip balm/gloss kind of girl.  In fact, I used to be addicted to it in college.  However, every few months or so, I see a lipstick that I like in a magazine and think, 'I could wear that', then I buy it, get it home and wear it once.  My lips are always dry and the lipstick cakes and I remind myself why I don't like lipstick after all.  I have also tried 'tints' and lip glosses that are slightly colored and again find them too sticky or too pink/red and again, realize I should just stick w/ straight up non-colored lip balm.

So....when I recieved the package from Carmex for their new line of Moisture Plus Lip Balm, I was excited, but apprehensive at the same time.  I love the old school Carmex products (namely the little yellow and red tube and jar) but I wasn't sure how I would feel about the tinted lip balms.  I hadn't had good experiences in the past with other brand's 'tinted' products. (see above).  Once I opened the package though, I was pretty stoked to be able to try out something new and to share my honest thoughts on it! 

The new Carmex Moisture Plus Lip Balms come in a super cute slim little tube that's just the right size to fit in your pocket and not be too bulky.  I reviewed 2 shades (Sheer Pink and Sheer Peach) that have just the right amount of color to brighten up your lips but not to scare you away if you're not the 'lipstick' kind of girl.  I tend to shy away from too much color, so this was perfect for me.  And then the moment that I applied the balm, I wanted to jump for joy!  It was sooo soft.  Even softer than the Carmex's original products; it was exactly the consistency I was hoping for.  NOT sticky, YET with enough moisture to make my lips feel soft and to get rid of the dreaded lip peel that had been my problem in the past.

                                        

In the winter, when my lips become drier due to the weather, I like to apply lip balm often.  I like for my lips to feel soft, who doesn't?  This lip balm is great for that.  Again, not too heavy or too much color to apply as often as you like!  Both the Sheer Pink and Sheer Peach have great tones, although I can't see too much of a difference between the two.  Then again, I'm sure that anyone who wears lipstick on a regular basis, probably can.  Right now, Carmex has only the 2 shades of the Moisture Plus Lip Balm, but as I was perusing their website, I was pretty excited to see there is also a non-tinted version if color isn't your style. I would love to see Carmex come out with more colors in the future.

Something else I was pretty excited about was to see that Carmex also has a line of lotions.  If they make your skin feel as soft as Carmex products make your lips feel, I'd love to try those out as well.   After reading, if you're tempted now to pick up one of these products for your own, currently the tinted versions of the lip balm are only on sale at Walgreens and Walgreens.com.  I, personally hope to see them at other drugstores in the future.  In the meantime...

One of my lucky readers will win both the Sheer Pink and Sheer Peach Moisture Plus Lip Balms.

Just leave a comment on this post and I'll choose a winner next Saturday, December 18th.  Good luck!

*Although Carmex did contact me and send me these products to review, the above thoughts and opinions are all my own!

My 1st Giveaway!

It seems that much of my blog traffic from the summer, or otherwise has decreased.  I've always wanted to participate in a giveaway and tried to pursue some over the summer.  I wish I had done some then, when my traffic was at its peak and when I was a devoted blogger.  Nevertheless, you have to start somewhere, right? 

I was offered to do my 1st giveaway early last month.  Many of you might also be participating in the advertisement of the new Carmex Moisture Plus lip balm, as I don't remember exactly how I got hooked up w/ it.  In any case, I've been 'reviewing' in the recent weeks and will be posting my review and the giveaway on Thursday!  Stay tuned, I hope some of you will participate!  Happy Holidays!

Another awesome giveaway!

Again, I entered another awesome giveaway, or awesome for us anyway.  I know, I know I am getting a little crazy with these things. Anyway, over at Thanks, Mail Carrier, Xenia is now giving away a Flip MinoHD Camcorder ( I want one of these sooo bad, since we don't have a video camera at all!)  This time, Cafe Press is the company giving it away so you get to design a really cool face plate for your camera!   With so many giveaways, I can't decide which one I want the most (not that I get that choice, ha!)  Wish me luck!

Giveaways and a Birthday!

I haven't blogged all weekend, I was feeling kinda eh about blogging on Friday night so I decided that the pictures were enough and that I would wait until I was more motivated.  I am always thinking of things to blog about and wish that I had more time, but I also need to spend time doing other things with my husband, little boy and myself.
 
In saying all of that I want to blog about some totally cool giveaways on Thanks, Mail Carrier that I have entered.  I'm really excited about them b/c Xenia gives away some pretty cool stuff and I'm usually lucky (don't know why I just wrote that) so maybe I'll win something one of these days.  She has giveaways that appeal to all tastes and I make sure to only enter the ones that I really want to win so I don't just win stuff to win it.  Anyway, right now she is running several.  I have entered the pediped shoes giveaway, a giveaway for a Senseo coffee maker and one for a kokopax baby carrier that looks pretty cool compared with some other baby carriers.  One more giveaway that I entered that absolutely can't be beat and I'm not sure how it was pulled off anyway is over at Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous.  Tenille is giving away a Britax Advocate carseat!  Holy crap!

On another note, I have to give one of Gage's BFF's a shoutout for his 1st birthday today!  You have seen Jake featured many times on my blog as his Mom is one of my best friends.  Here is one of the most recent pictures I have of him when we were at the beach in late June.  He is 11 months here. 

Happy Birthday Jacob Bradley!

Speaking of, his birthday party is next weekend and I don't know what to buy the one year old that has everything.  If any of you have some good suggestions for a unique gift, please let me know.  I'll post pictures from the party next week.