A new kind of New Year's resolution

As we close the chapter on 2013 and say goodbye to another year; I wanted to share my advice for an awesome 2014. This is a once in a year chance to start over. Forget about the resolutions to lose weight and make more money. How about this year we do something for everyone? Let's make next year the year of doing better, by being a better person. The old saying "It doesn't cost anything to smile at a stranger" is so true. Did you know this can actually make a person’s day? Think about it, if they were having a terrible day and you were the first person to smile at them, how would that affect them? It would make their day better. Just being kind to one another can cause a great happiness effect. Another great idea is to compliment a stranger. Yes a simple "I like your sweater” or “Nice hat” can change a negative mindset. It's true; YOU have the power to change someone’s day.  

While you are in a kind mood, think about donating to a local charity. This helps the people in need right in your neighborhood. It’s great to see your money at work with a new park, landscaping or murals. You can even donate gently used shoes and clothing to homeless shelters. Plus, you can take the tax break at the end of the year. It’s a win-win situation. So as you get ready to close out this year and bring in the New Year, remember to think of others. Make a resolution that will help everyone. I promise you will feel great about it.  

 

Have a fantastic New Year, 2014 is going to be amazing for all of us!

Melissa McCarthy on the cover of ELLE magazine

I was so excited when I heard that Melissa McCarthy was going to be on the cover of ELLE magazine. What a step in the right direction America. I decided to pick up a copy to support her. I was in shock at the "outfit" she picked out. She was covered from her shoulders down. I couldn't believe it. She's smart, beautiful, funny and a great actress. The fact that she's not a size zero makes you want to cover up? I just don't understand that. Way to make young girls accept themselves for whatever size they are. They look to magazines for inspiration. This cover says "If your a big girl you have to cover up." I really thought this cover would help to make change in the world. Instead, I feel that they failed us. We really need to focus on positive body image. Our children deserve it.

The picture on the left is the cover and the picture on the right is the beginning of the article "Women in Hollywood." Notice anything different? More skin perhaps? Sexier pose? Both are women of Hollywood. Both are smart, beautiful, funny and great actresses. 

  

                                         

The pictures above are courtesy of ELLE magazine.  

Can you help support families in the hospital this Thanksgiving?

We know how hard it can be to spend the holidays next to your child's bedside in the hospital. It would be great to have a home cooked meal. Well that's exactly what we thought. Mended Little Hearts of Tucson is feeding families Thanksgiving lunch again this year.We have received a lot of food donations but we still need more. Please click the link below to help out locally or you can make a donation that we will use to purchase food. 

Thank you all in advance for your kindness for others this year.  

                                                    

Help Wounded Warriors while grocery shopping.

Before you head out for all that holiday shopping, head over to the Wounded Warriors website. They have a lot of great coupons available for you to print. When you use the coupons you help support the Wounded Warriors Project. This is a great way to support the Wounded Warriors and their families, all while purchasing groceries. 

FREEBIE Alert, Children's Best selling book "Suzy Snowflake" for Kindle

We found an excellent FREEBIE today. Its a FREE book download from Amazon called "Suzy Snowflake". It's for ages 0-6 and can be downloaded immediately. If you would like to download this FREE book please click the link below. 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ACQIVLW

The importance of helmets.

I was recently reading a magazine cover while waiting in line at the grocery store. It had a picture of two celebrities riding bikes with their children. The children all had bicycle helmets on but the celebrity Mom and Dad did not. I started thinking, what would happen if the Mom was to fall off her bike and hit her head? What if the fall was really bad and she ended up in the hospital? I see this everyday in my own neighborhood. Parents who insist that their children wear helmets but refuse to wear one themselves. I always make my children wear a helmet while riding bike and I always wear one too. I think it's important to lead by example. Wearing a helmet while riding a bike is like wearing your seat belt while riding in a car. It's meant to protect you. Most importantly, it's protecting your brain from injury in the event that you fell and hit your head. I guess we have to ask ourselves, who will take care of my family if I am seriously injured? Is it worth the risk to not wear a helmet? I don't think so. 

Do you think it's important to wear a helmet while bike riding with your children?

This helmet can be purchased at  www.bikerumor.com/

If you would like more information on bike safety please visit KidsHealth.org

Buy 1 dinner get 1 FREE at Mimi's Cafe (printable)

Here is a buy one dinner entree and get one dinner entree FREE coupon. All you have to do is buy two drinks. Please print the coupon below. This offer is only good from 11/10-11/14. One offer per check. Please don't forget to tip :)

Eczema relief

My children get what I call "Winter Eczema" every year. I've had several parents ask me about Eczema and what I use to control it. My answer is simple and cheap, I use olive oil. It's a wonder oil for many reasons. It works excellent on moisturizing the skin. This is the only product I apply on my children's skin at night after their shower. It's all natural of course and it works great. It's safe for babies, toddlers and children. I highly suggest it. 

They have several brands available at your local supermarket. I use the Wal-Mart brand and it runs about $5.38 each. I've found that olive oil is olive oil so you don't have to spend alot to get a quality product. 

For more information on Eczema please visit 

NationalEczema.org

/ 

$1.00 off Sabra hummus

This is one of my favorite brands of hummus. They have lots of great flavors. This makes for a great quick after school snack.

They are currently running a contest where you can win lots of great prizes. You will also get a coupon for $1.00 your next purchase. You can't beat that. Please click below to enter to win and get your $1.00 off coupon. 

GET MY COUPON

Follow them on Facebook to keep up to date on all promotions and coupons. 

Help Make-A-Wish

Please join Macy's in supporting Make-A-Wish this holiday season by writing a letter to Santa and dropping it in the special Santa letterbox at your local Macy’s store. For every letter received, Macy’s will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to 1 million dollars -

That is alot of money that will go towards helping sick children. www.macys.com/believe. 

Please click here for more 

information about Make-A-Wish

Get a $10 Starbucks giftcard for only $5

This has to be my absolute favorite Groupon. For $5.00 you get a giftcard for $10.00. This will come in handy soon when I'm freezing and need a hot drink. 

Click here to get yours now, just search for Starbucks

Thank you Starbucks 

Dogs need water too

We have been taking our dog for evening walks since she was just a few months old. She like to run along side of us while bike riding and she even makes a great running or who am I kidding jogging pal. I don't run lol I always have water for myself and the kids but I haven't been able to find something portable and convenient for her. So while shopping at Old Navy I found a portable water bottle for dogs. I know that's a little odd to find at Old Navy but I did an it's perfect. 

Click the picture below to see one similar in different colors.It doesn't leak either :)

Sad knowledge

We attended a funeral last night for a very good friend. He was only 44 years old when he died. It was so sad to see the unfinished life he left behind. Several people spoke about him and shared stories that made them smile. I felt like I should have stood up and shared a story but my body was still. I was in deep thought thinking about my own family. I was wondering how I would manage if anyone close to me ever passed. It’s interesting how much death teaches us. We learn more about the deep love we have for each other. We again understand how much “one life” really means and we try to live it to the fullest. 

Don’t forget to tell all the wonderful people in your life how you feel each day. You never know when it might be your last.

Excellent music video about bulling

Hey Bully-The music video

Why you should stop texting and driving.

Texting and Driving, The truth and why it's BAD! 

Question: How many seconds are your eyes off the road while texting?

Answer: The average time is 5 seconds. If you were traveling at 55 mph that is enough time to cover the length of a football field.  

Think you have mad driving skills and can text and drive? Try the simulator and see now http://www.itcanwaitsimulator.org/

Did you know, a texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into an accident than a non-texting driver? 

Over 100,000 accidents per year are caused by people texting. 

Here are some pictures of cars after the accident.

 http://teensagainstdistracteddriving.com

http://www.examiner.com

As of 2012 drivers are subject to a fine of $100.00 or more if caught texting and driving. This amount varies state to state. If it can be shown that texting while driving was the cause of an accident the fines go up considerably. As of today they start at $250.00 per each incident.

The police use technology in our cars and cell phones to accurately gauge the precise time you were texting. You can' t just say "I wasn't texting". 

If you were to cause an accident that ended in death, you will be charged with vehicular manslaughter. 

You can be pulled over if you appear to be texting, even if you have not broken any other laws.

If you cause an accident while texting, you WILL be sued for not only negligence, but for punitive damages as well. Texting while driving constitutes a course of conduct which creates a substantial risk of significant harm to others. 

Research has been done that shows texting while driving has the same effect as driving while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs. 

Please take that time to pledge not to text and drive >>>> Pledge Now

#itcanwait 

What's your favorite fruit?

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FREE haircuts at ULTA on 10/13/13 100% of proceeds go 2 Breast Cancer Research

Come out and get a FREE service of your choice. You can choose from Shampoo & Haircut, MicroZone Skin Treatment (sorta like a facial),  or A Pink Hair Extension?

Stop by THE SALON at ULTA on October 13th from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. for their annual CUT-A-THON.

 

Just a minimum $10.00 donation you can pick a FREE Shampoo & Haircut, a MicroZone Skin Treatment or a Pink Hair Extension. You can donate $30.00 and get all three services. They will also be collection hair for Locks of Love.

 

100% of the proceeds go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation ! No appointments accepted. Walk-ins only. 

 

To find the location closest to you go to http://www.ulta.com/salon/

A must read, feel good story.

My daughter has tutored in the special education 
class called the "Dream Team" in her high school for two years now. A few weeks ago she came home and said someone started a hashtag on Twitter for a senior in the class named Kevin to be nominated Homecoming King. She was so excited when she explained the whole story to me. I couldn't help but feel excited too. I headed over to Twitter and checked out the hashtag myself.

You can find it here https://twitter.com/search?q=kevinforhomecoming2013&src=typd 

Below is a picture of the amazing young lady who started the hashtag #kevinforhomecoming2013 her little brother also has down syndrome. I wanted to hug her the first time we met. She's fantastic!   

Photo credit to https://twitter.com/Niki_Stitches

The kids started spreading #Kevinforhomecoming2013 and it took off. On the day of nominations all the kids were reminding one another to VOTE 4 KEVIN. 

I thought this would be a great story for our local news. I typed up a quick status update and asked all my friends and family to share it. We took to Twitter and Facebook to spread the word about #Kevinforhomecoming2013 The story took off. Within only a few hours I received a phone call from a reporter. She was touched by the story and wanted to know more. The next day she was at the school interviewing Kevin and some of his friends.   

A few days later all the votes were in and guess what.......

KEVIN WON!      

Photo credit www.tucsonnewsnow.com

I am so proud of the kids at Canyon Del Oro High school. This is kindness at the fullest.

After trying to get just one news station to pick up the story we got three, yes three stations wanted to cover this great story.

Please click the links below to watch now. 

~Remember Be Kind and Pay It Forward~

KVOA channel 4

http://www.kvoa.com/videoplayer/?video_id=16061&categories=15

KGUN channel 9

http://www.kgun9.com/news/local/227338591.html

KOLD channel 13

https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=434049600035055

Good news story ~Please Share~

I wanted to tell you about something amazing I've witnessed recently at CDO high school. They have a senior special education student named Kevin who has Down syndrome. The whole student body recently rallied to make him homecoming king. They used social media to spread this news. They came up with #kevinforhomecoming2013 on Twitter and the news grew fast. On Friday October, 11th he will be crowned homecoming king. I think this would make an excellent story for our local news. It's a feel good story that shows our children in a wonderful light.

 Please share this so we can get this awesome story on the local news.

My trip to the Tucson Reptile Show

I saw a commercial for the Reptile show last week and thought it would be a fun family activity. So off we went………Never in a million years would I believe you if you told me that I would be attending a reptile show. See, I still scream like a girl when I see a spider. I freak out when a snake slithers by me. Living in Arizona we see a lot of tarantulas and rattlesnakes but that doesn’t make them any less scary. I decided to push my fears aside and be brave. After all they’re just “animals” right? I mean, I love animals so this shouldn’t be too bad. After a quick pep talk I headed towards the entrance. Thank God there was a line. This gave me a little more time to prepare myself. Upon walking in the door it appeared that we were at a zoo or museum.  I guess I was expecting creepy crawlies everywhere. At first glance it wasn’t that bad at all. Actually pretty interesting!

We started near a snake vendor. All the snakes were tucked into plastic

containers and organized by type.

 

               

 

 

This is a "Bumblebee" snake.  

 

 

Did you know, there are over 2,600 different types of snakes in the US? You can read more about the North American population of snakes here http://www.pitt.edu/~mcs2/herp/SoNA.html

 Our next stop was the chameleons.  Boy were they cute, just like in the Disney movies.

     

                 

 

 

 

They also had frogs. The frogs are actually pretty cool. They can't bite you but some are poisonous if you touch them. 

 

This frog is safe to touch. He will not bite and he is not poisonous.

 

 

Ewww and they had spiders, scorpions and centipedes too...................... 

 

 

                 

 

Oh and lizards. I’m okay with lizards. Someone handed me a bearded dragon at the exhibit. Trying to act cool, I held him in my hand, pet his tiny head and rubbed under his chin. He didn’t bite me and was surprisingly cute for a lizard. The people who ran the exhibit were very informative and actually got me to consider getting one. After I held it I passed it off to Alyssa. It was love at first sight. The lil guy actually fell asleep in her hand.  Oh so cute!

 

                 

 

  

  

  

  

       

 

  

This was a huge lizard guy just hanging out and letting everyone touch him. The bottom right picture is me petting him :) 

 

             

 

             

 

The several different types of tortoises.

            

 

            

  

  

  

 

  

  

                       

 

Random butterflies frozen in time.

 

 

While walking around a young man about eight years old hands Alyssa a lil mouse. She was scared at first then thought it was super cute. At only one dollar a piece we almost went home with one.

                  

 

The next exhibit was called 'Recycled Roadkill". The guy named Dale has been collecting roadkill for many years. He turns them into amazing products. He had everything from snake wallets to earrings for sale as seen below.

 

                  

 

                  

 

Have you ever pet a real alligator? We did! Cool fact: The alligator with the blue leash had a prosthetic tail. It was the very first of its kind in the US. Their handler explained that these two are very good friends. Just remember, you must sanitize your hands before and after petting the alligators.

                  

 

                   

 

                  

Oh hello there!

    

 

Look at this guys teeth!

 

 

 Oh and here is a picture of me being totally brave and holding a snake.

 

Here are more of the snakes and iguanas we saw on the way to the GIANT tiger python.

                

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

This guy was my favorite snake.

 

                

 

 

 

 

                  

 

 

 

 Are you ready for the GIANT python?

 

 

 

 

Okay here is her face peeking out at us.

 

This is me petting her.

Alyssa dared to touch her too.

 



Notice she's not behind any glass. That blew my mind. All I could think off was her trying to eat us. I ask her handlers what she ate and they said large bunnies and frozen goats.

 

So yes, if she wanted to eat us she could. However she wouldn't because she loves people. They think she is so calm around people because she was hatched in a humans hand.