NOW is the time to change your life for the better! ($50 Giveaway)

March 29, 2011 By

 

I had some very sobering news earlier today. My doctor called with the results of the blood tests she took on Friday. I’m NOT very happy about them either.

I am Vitamin D deficient. I never knew that was a problem. I guess it doesn’t help that I don’t have much dairy in my diet because I’m lactose intolerant. My only dairy comes from cheese which I am able to digest OK. I am going to have to take prescription Vitamin D pills, at least for a while.

I have Hypothyroidism. This actually doesn’t come as a shock to me. I suspect I had it for a long time now. It runs in my family. I also have a nodule (lump) in my Thyroid which might be causing a problem too.

Aside from the slow metabolism my toes and fingers are always cold, my skin is dry and my hair falls out. These are all signs of thyroid issues.

The one thing she told me today really brought me down. I am officially Diabetic. My OB/GYN suspected it when I went to see her for a check up about a month ago. Now it’s confirmed. I officially have Type II Diabetes. I meet with an Endocrinologist on Friday. Sigh…

I am hoping (and praying) that loosing weight will help make the Diabetes go away. I know it never really goes away but you can get it under control where it’s not a big issue. That is what my goal is going to be. I NEED to make Diabetes a “non-issue” and do what I can to get it under control.

The only way I am going to do this (with our without the help of medication) is to lose weight. To loser weight I need to “make healthier choices” (I REFUSE to use the term “diet”) and exercise.

Exercise is not really my thing. Right now my only form of exercise is walking up and down our stairs (we have six flights of steps) and walking the dog. Both of which I need to stop and catch my breath along the way.

We used to have an exercise bike but it stopped working. There was something wrong with the pedals (wouldn’t move) and it wouldn’t have been worth it to get it fixed since it was about 10 years old.

Right now I cannot attend a gym or fitness classes. I need to start small and work my way up to that. Not only am I embarrassed to exercise in public but I am not at that point where I can attend a fitness class. I think that would be “overkill” at this point.

What I need is exercise equipment I can use from home. I would LOVE a treadmill or one of those “all in one” type of fitness equipment like the Total Gym or a NordicTrack.

Does anyone use any exercise/fitness equipment at home that you would recommend? I’m not keen on videos. By the time I figure out how to set up the DVD I’m already frustrated and I don’t want to work out anymore. LOL!

I’d love a trampoline. They look like fun.

If you use something that you would recommend please let me know.

All those years of not taking proper care of myself has finally caught up to me in a big way. Please learn from my mistakes. Do something for yourself RIGHT NOW! Make a conscious effort to watch what you eat. You don’t have to go on a diet. You just need to make better choices. It’s OK to have cookies. Just have one or two, not five or six. Or have two slices of pizza instead of three. You get the idea.

Exercise is key to being healthy too. If you don’t exercise regularly you need to start right away. Take a class or two, join a gym. Just do something to get yourself moving and exercise.

If you are not sure where to go to take fitness classes in your local area, or if you need suggestions on what gym to join, you can also visit the Local Page to find something near you. Simply click on www.LocalPages.com and enter in your search term (fitness, health, gym, weight loss…) to find locations near you. You can even get specific and look for Kick Boxing, Yoga, or even look for weight loss plans or meal services.

Do if for YOURSELF right now! Make a commitment to get in shape. Trust me, you do not want to end up like me. Learn by my example. Do NOT follow in my shoes.

Join me on my journey towards good health.

To encourage you to get in shape and be healthy I have a $50.00 gift certificate that you can use towards health or fitness services in your local area, compliments of Local Pages.

To enter please visit www.LocalPages.com. Do a search for a health or fitness places near you. When you find a place that looks interesting copy and paste the URL in the comment section of this post. 

FOR EXAMPLE: I did a search for Weight Loss and found a place called The Food Evolution that sounds interesting. Here is the URL. http://www.localpages.com/ny/bardonia/1854477344-the-food-evolution-diane-hch-chc.html.

For extra entries you can do any or all of the following but you MUSTdo the initial entry first and foremost or extra entries do not qualify. Please leave a separate comment for each that you have done. Extra entries are optional.

- Subscribe to She Scribes and/or Connect with Google Friend Connect. Both options are found on the right side bar.

- “Like” Local Page on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/LocalPagesCommunity.

- “Like” She Scribes on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/SheScribes.

- Follow the Local Pages on Twitter, www.Twitter.com/Local_Pages.

- Follow She Scribes on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/She_Scribes) and tweet about this giveaway. Be sure to include @She_Scribes in the tweet so I can see it too. This is limited to three tweets per day.

- Blog about this giveaway and include a link back to this post and the Local Pages (LocalPages.com). Please provide the URL of the post.

- Share this giveaway with others on Facebook, Digg, Technorati… Just be sure to tell me what you did and provide a name and/or URL so I can verify.

This giveaway is open to US residents and will end on April 10, 2011 at 11:59 PM (EST). The winner will be chosen at random using a random number generator from all eligible entries. The winner will be notified via e-mail and will have three days to reply with a name and mailing address (no PO Box) or a new winner will be chosen.

Other awesome giveaways are found on the right side bar under “Win It”.

Kimberly

*I was not compensated for this post. I posted this giveaway for the benefit and enjoyment of my site readers.

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Picture Collage Software – A fun way to share your photos

March 28, 2011 By

I have a lot of pictures. Let me rephrase that. I have A LOT of pictures. I take pictures all the time. Mostly of family, friends and stock photography. I have so many pictures that I don’t know what to do with them most of the time.

I enjoy sharing my photos with family and friends via e-mail, Facebook or even burning a CD to send to someone. I like to play around with photos to tweak them a bit to make them really “pop” from the screen. Another words I don’t like to share boring or lackluster photos. I like to make my photos memorable.

I used a variety of photo editing software. Recently I have been playing around with Photo Collage Software with has really been a lot of fun. It’s enabled me to take several photos and create really fun and colorful collages that I can share via e-mail, upload on Facebook, print out and even use as my computer’s wallpaper.

You do not need to have any photo editing skills to use the Photo Collage software. If you can upload a picture you can create a college or even a calendar page, postcard, greeting cards, posters, invitation and more.

If you are not sure of how to use the software you can simply upload photos and use one of the program’s pre-made templates. Once you get a better feel for how the program works you can create your own collages or other projects from scratch.

There are dozens of different backgrounds, clip art, masks, frames and more to create your perfect photo. You can even add text.

Here are a few samples I made using the software. The first one I am using as my computer’s wallpaper. The other two I made to give you an idea of the variety of options you have. The holiday one shows different frames, clip art and a fun holiday theme background. The apple collage has an apple background, apple clip art, text and of course apple picking pictures. You can click on each image for a larger view.

This is a lot of fun to play around with and super simple to use. I like how you can re-size photos, add different masks to them to make the photos take on different shapes. There are limitless possibilities as to what you can create with this software.

You can learn more about the program here, http://www.PictureCollageSoftware.com. You can even try it for FREEfor 15 days! You can also purchase the software for $29.90 or the PRO version for $39.90.  They also offer a 30 day money back guarantee.

The only “con” I can really come up with is that the graphics are pretty basic and simple. But other then that its a fun program to play around with and create some fun photo projects with for home, school and at work.

This would be a fun way to combine your holiday photos from this past season and create a fun scrapbook. Or use this program to create really cool family vacation collages.  

Kimberly

*I received a free sample to review this product. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.

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Arnold Artisian Flat Breads

March 28, 2011 By

When I was in elementary school there was a girl in my class name Andrea who would eat a cheese sandwich EVERY DAY. I’m not talking 2-3 times per week, I’m talking every day of every week. Ugh! How boring is that?

I make lunch for my kids almost every day (my son likes to buy school lunch from time to time) as well as my husband’s lunch. I try and come up with unique sandwich ideas that will keep them from falling into a sandwich rut. If it was left up to them the kids would probably have bologna or cheese sandwiches every day and my husband would make peanut butter and jelly (actually Goober Grape. He loves that stuff).

I like to mix it up a bit when I am making their sandwiches. I try and use different condiments, breads and fillings. I try not to serve them the same thing every day.

I’ve used just about every type of bread (rye, white, whole wheat, multi-grain, bagels, wraps…). You name it I’ve probably tried it.

Arnold (otherwise known as Oroweat on the West Coast) have come up with a new line of bread that has me thinking of new sandwich ideas for my family. It’s called Arnold Artisan Flat Breads.

Arnold Artisian Flat Breads are available in Original, Multi-Grain and Savory Herb. Not only do these breads liven up your sandwiches but they are also great for dinner and snacks too.

Here is a funny story about the Artisan Flat Breads. We had Multi-Grain and Savory Herb on the counter. My daughter was using a hazelnut spread on the Multi-Grain flat bread as a snack. Hazelnut spread is one of the ways I get my kids to eat “better for you” breads other then white bread.

One day my daughter went to make a snack out of the Multi-Grain flat bread and hazelnut spread but she grabbed the Savory Herb instead. Ewww! She was so grossed out by it after the first bite. It did not go well with the spread. LOL! That taught her a lesson. From that point on she made sure to read the labels and not just assume she grabbed the right one.

The Artisian Flat Breads can be used just like regular bread. Spread some Hellmann’s Mayonaise, a squirt of mustard and some slice of ham and Swiss and you have a very satisfying sandwich. I cut the bread in half but my husband actually made a HUGE sandwich out of two slices of flat bread.

Cut the bread up into four pieces and top with some tuna and a slice of cheese. Then pop it under the broiler in the oven for a tasty tuna melt. MMM!! Good!!!

The Savory Herb flat bread makes a great single serving pizza. Simple spread on some tomato sauce (or make some sauce out of tomato paste and water), top with your favorite topping, sprinkle on a little shredded mozzarella cheese and warm it in the oven for about 5-10 minutes (or until the cheese is melted). It’s the perfect size single serving pizza. This makes a great lunch or dinner with accompanied with a nice salad.

I made a nice snack with the Multi-Grain flat bread. I warmed a slice in the toaster. I had to turn it around and cook it a little on each end since the whole thing wouldn’t fit in the toasted. Then I spread on a little butter and topped it with a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar. Then I cut it into slices and served it to the kids. They loved it!

The Savory Herb flat bread goes great as a side dish for dinner. I just cut up small slices of the bread and drizzled some Olive Oil on a plate then dipped the bread into the Olive Oil.

The kids liked it when I made them an open faced scrambled egg sandwich using the flat breads. I simply warmed the bread in the oven then topped it with some scrambled eggs. Talk about quick and easy.

The possibilities are endless with the Arnold Artisan Flat Breads. I am having a fun time coming up with new ways to use them. They take sandwiches to the next level and beyond. The Flat Breads are great for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. They are very versatile. You are only limited by your imagination.

To learn more about the Arnold Artisan Flat Breads and to read other yummy recipe ideas, please visit http://www.arnoldartisanovens.com.

You can find the Arnold Artisan Flat Breads only in the Northeast at Walmart and Sam’s clubs. They come six slices to a package. Each slice is a very generous size and can be cut in half for a regular sandwich or in strips to dip or dunk.

What do you think you would make with the Arnold Artisian Flat Breads? I always love to hear from my readers. ♥

Kimberly

*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.

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The Black Swan Review

March 28, 2011 By

New on DVD and Blu-ray is the Oscar nominated film The Black Swan staring Academy Award winner for Best Actress Natalie Portman.

I heard a lot of interesting reviews on The Black Swan when it first came to theaters a few months ago. I heard people say the movie was totally amazing and other people said it was just plain weird. I couldn’t wait to see the movie for myself to find out what all the buzz was about. After all it was up for Best Picture and Natalie Portman was winning awards left and right for her role in the film, so it must be pretty good.

Natalie Portman plays the lead role of Nina Sayers, and up and coming ballerina for a prestigious dance troupe. Nina lives at home with her mother, played by Barbara Hershey. While at home Nina is “babied” by her mother who does everything for Nina, including removing her jewelry at night and playing her Ballerina music box for her every night when she tucks her into bed.

I’m not sure what the whole story is behind Nina’s mother but I think there might be more there then meets the eye. She is very over protective of her daughter and even though Nina is an adult she still treats her like a little girl. She also has the most bizarre paintings in her bedroom that she painted herself.

The ballet troupe that Nina is a member of is going to put on a new production of the infamous ballet the Black Swan. Nina dreams of landing the lead role as the Queen Swan. In order to completely win over the director she has to fully embody both characters in the ballet – the innocent and virginal white swan and the dark, twisted black swan. 

Nina wins the role of the Queen Swan, however she hasn’t fully convinced the director that she can fully play this part. She has the part of the while swan down perfectly but she has yet to really portray the black swan as it was meant to be played.

A new dancer joins the production name Lilly. Lilly is totally opposite of Nina. Lilly is carefree and easy going and doesn’t play by anyone’s rules, unlike uptight and straight laced Nina.

Prior to the start of the Black Swan the former queen of the ballet troupe, Beth, also known as “little princess” is forced to retire to make way for a new star. Beth totally loses it and ends up drunk and nearly losing her life when she stepped in front of a car.

Nina is determined not to end up like Beth. She will do whatever it takes to become the best Swan Queen she could possibly be.

Throughout the film Nina “sees” things that are not really there. You can tell early on in the film that she is rapidly loosing touch with reality. She sees herself in a lot of places (on the subway, in a dark alley) and strange things appear to be happening to her body which no one else can see.

To be honest with you the first part of the film was rather boring. If you are into ballet and dancing then you should be fine with the early parts of the film. My husband found it rather boring and kept dozing off. I admit it was going rather slowly in the beginning.

It wasn’t until around the last half hour or so of the film that things really started to get exciting. I found myself on edge wondering what was going to happen. Something appear to be taking over Nina, as if she was possessed by the Black Swan character.

You will never anticipate what happens at the end of the film. I was totally blown away by the ending. The last half hour or so of the film is certainly the best part of the movie.

Natalie Portman was amazing in this movie. First of all I must say she lost so much weight to play this part. She looked horrible. Her ribs were sticking out, her arms were as thick as tooth picks and her face was sunken in. You can tell she really put herself into this role 100% to lose so much weight.

Mila Kunis played Nina’s ”frenemy” Lilly. She did a great job as the carefree ballerina who didn’t care about impressing anyone. She was just there to dance and have fun.

Winona Ryder played the part of Beth, the former ballet star. I can’t get over how old they made Winona look. I still remember her from classics like Heathers and Edward Scissorhands. Its nice to see that she is getting back into making movies.

Overall I thought it was a really good movie, based upon the last half hour or so of the film. The last half of the film I’ll give 4 stars and the beginning of the film which was much slower I’ll give 2 stars.

I can see why Natalie Portman won the award for Best Actress. She did an amazing job in the Black Swan. 

The Black Swan bonus features include:

Black Swan DVD bonus feature: 

Metamorphosis: A Three-Part Series
A behind the scenes look at the film making process from Darren Aronofsky’s visionary directing, to the physically-demanding acting, to the stunning special effects.

Black Swan Blu-ray bonus features:

Metamorphosis: A Three-Part Series
A behind the scenes look at the filmmaking process from Darren Aronofsky’s visionary directing, to the physically-demanding acting, to the stunning special effects.

Behind the Curtain
An inside look at the film’s costume and production design.

Ten Years in the Making
Natalie Portman and Darren Aronofsky discuss their creative journey, from “preparing for the role” to “dancing with the camera.”

 

Cast Profiles- Roles of a Lifetime
Presented by Fox Movie Channel, the stars reflect on the their challenging and rewarding characters.

I have a screener copy of the DVD. I was only able to view the Metamorphosis bonus feature. It gave you a lot of insight into the behind the scenes making of the film. I am always in awe over how movies are created, from the start of the creative process and vision up until the films completion. This really was a very physical role for Natalie Portman. Even though she did use a stunt double she still had to put herself into this role 100%, in body, mind and spirit.

The Black Swan is available where ever DVDs and Blu-rays are sold.

Kimberly

*I received a free screener copy in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own. 

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Strawberry Shortcake Easter Basket Giveaway

March 28, 2011 By

Can you believe Easter is less then one month away? Seriously, wasn’t it just Christmas a few weeks ago? It would seem that way.

My kids are too old to believe in the Easter bunny but I still like to get them some goodies for Easter. Usually just a few candies and a chocolate bunny.

When my children were little we opted to get them small gifts instead of a lot of candy. Their grandparents loved to spoil them with a lot of candy. We would have the “Easter Bunny” bring them books, coloring books, stickers and other small gifts.

A few times we found some really nice pre-made Easter baskets to give our kids. We like the ones that come with just a few pieces of candy and several activities and toys. I like the convenience of the pre-made baskets. Not only do they come with an assortment of goodies but they are also packaged nicely in cellophane and ribbons.

This year American Greeting is releasing three fun filled Strawberry Shortcake themed Easter baskets filled with yummy delights, fun toys and activities. The baskets will each feature a special Strawberry Shortcake toy. They will be available at Kmart, Big Lots and Rite Aid. They will range in price from $10 to $19.99.

Here are the special Strawberry Shortcake baskets and their contents.

Strawberry Shortcake Sports Easter Basket ($10): Includes: Soccer ball, water bottle and assorted candy.

Strawberry Shortcake Arts & Crafts Easter Basket ($15.99): Includes: Purse, diary, sticker book, 10ct marker set and assorted candy.

Strawberry Shortcake Easter Tote ($19.99): Includes: Tote w/ chalkboard, centerpiece, activity book, chalk, 10ct marker set and assorted candy.

What little girl wouldn’t enjoy waking up Easter morning to one of these adorable Easter baskets from American Greetings featuring Strawberry Shortcake goodies.

Look for these sweet baskets at a Kmart, Big Lots and Rite Aid near you.

One lucky winner will win the Strawberry Shortcake Arts & Crafts Easter Basket ($15.99) thanks to American Greetings.

To enter please comment on one of your favorite (or your child’s favorite) Easter basket “goodie”. Personally I used to love to get crayons and coloring books.

For extra entries you can do any or all of the following. Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each that you have done. Extra entries are optional.

- Subscribe to She Scribes and/or Connect with Google Friend Connect. I ♥ and appreciate my subscribers and followers very much. Both options are found on the right side bar.

- Blog about this giveaway and link back to both this post. Please provide the URL of the post.

- “Like” She Scribes on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/SheScribes.

- Follow She Scribes on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/She_Scribes) and tweet about this giveaway. Be sure to include @She_Scribes in the tweet so I can see it too. This is limited to three tweets per day.

- Share this giveaway with others on Facebook, Digg, Technorati and so forth. Be sure to tell me what you did and provide a name and/or URL so I can verify.

- Add my button or text link (www.SheScribes.com) to your blog or website (Blog Roll, Side Bar…). Please provide the URL.

This giveaway is open to US residents and will end on April 9, 2011 at 11:59 PM (EST). The winner will be selected using a random number generator from all eligible entries. The winner will be notified via e-mail and will have three days to reply with their name, address (no PO Box) or a new winner will be chosen.

Other great giveaways are found on the right side bar under “Win It”.

 

Kimberly

*I was not compensated for this post. I posted this for the benefit and enjoyment of my site readers. Any opinions expressed are my own.

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Death by Paint

March 27, 2011 By

My family and I was upstate for a good chunk of the day at a family birthday party. The party was a brunch so we were served breakfast foods around 11:00 AM. By the time we got home around 4:00 PM we were all pretty hungry. The quickest dinner we could think of was pasta.

My husband put a pot of water on the stove and turned on the oven so we could make some rolls to go with the pasta.

I was in the living room at my desk uploading pictures from the birthday party we were at earlier in the day.

Within about a minute or so after my husband put the pot on the stove and turned on the oven I started to smell a really strong scent of propane. We have a gas stove. I know what gas smells like. This was propane. Exactly what you would smell when someone fires up a barbeque.

I went into the kitchen to make sure one of the burners didn’t accidently turn on. My husband was already on top of it. He smelled the same propane scent and was checking the burners as oven to make sure nothing was accidently turned on.

There was a really strong smell of propane coming from the oven.

Our kids even smelled it from their bedroom which is at the opposite side of the condo.

Right away we opened up the windows and turned everything off. My husband quickly made a call to the gas company. We were not going to take any chances.

Our poor son was beside himself upset. He went so far as to put his shoes and coat on just in case we had to make a mad dash out of our home. We had to do that once before when he was very little. I guess he still had a vivid memory of that day (construction people hit into a gas line).

We had to wait about a half hour before the guy from the gas company showed up. He came into our home and did some tests with our stove and oven and said everything was fine. He did not pick up a gas leak on his sensor.

To calm our nerves he went around to every unit in our building (10 units) and used his sensor to look for any gas leaks.

He told us it was OK to put our stove and oven back on just before he left.

Shortly after he left we smelled the same propane smell as soon as we turned on the oven and the stove. My husband ran downstairs to get them gas man before he left. He came right back upstairs to check it out.

The second time the gas man was here I was in the bedroom with our dog who was freaking out. My husband called for me and asked me to come into the kitchen.

When I got back in the kitchen the gas man asked me to come over and smell the oven. I did. He asked me if I smelled the propane and I said “yes”.

As per the gas man women are more sensitive to gas leaks then men are. I don’t know why that would be.

Anyway…

The gas man went on to say that someone in the building must have been painting. What we were smelling were fumes from the paint. He said paint fumes travel upwards (we’re on the top floor) and what we were smelling was the paint fumes burning off in the air when the heat from the oven and the stove was turned on. We were not smelling propane – we were smelling paint fumes!

OH GOODNESS!!!

The gas man said it was not a problem and we’d be OK and they should burn off in a few days. Meanwhile our home smells like propane, so much so we can taste it!

Eating dinner was NOT a pleasant experience this evening. We all kept talking about how we don’t want to get sick and die from breathing in these paint fumes.

I have never heard of this before. I find it very odd but the gas man was 100% serious about it.

I am NOT happy about this at all. My family has to live in what I would think would be a toxic environment until the fumes disappear? I don’t like that one bit. I don’t want my family to get sick, or worst, DIE from this!

UGH!!!!!!!!!

 

Kimberly

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