Tuesday, March 24, 2009

myinstantwin.com message board

I am an online instant win game addict and have been for many, many years. There are many places on the web to learn about legit instant win games. One of my favorites for a long time was myinstantwin.com but for some reason starting last July, the owner stopped updating the site. I am not sure why it happened and hope that all is ok with her. It was due to her site that I won many, many items over the years.

However, the members of myinstantwin.com's message board have continued to update the board with the newest and latest legit instant win games. The best way to learn about legit instant win games is word of mouth on message boards that has lots of members! More boards are listed at the bottom of this posting. I am going to tell you about the message board itself, how to play, and some of the things I have won.

  1. You need to go to http://myinstantwin.com/message/YaBB.pl
  2. Then you need to click on Instant Wins
  3. Click on Instant Win Game Page
On this page you will see a list of the games that you can play. These are all legit games where you can really win cash and prizes. Some prizes are digital (like music downloads, wallpaper, etc) and others are actual material items (like t-shirts, coupons for free stuff, cell phones, and ever cash!).

The folks at the board are really nice, so if you are having a problem or not understanding how to play a game (I have been playing these games for 13 years and I still have problems sometimes) then register an account on the board and as for some help! They are great and someone will help you!

I have won lots of little things through out the years but the two biggest wins I have had are $500 cash I won last October from Kibbles N Bits dog food and a Nintendo DS about a year ago from Ball Park Hot Dogs.

Now for this past month I have won a few single candy bars from Mars, a Playstation 2 and thre games from Little Ceasars and Pepsi, a t-shirt from Castrol, a bottle of Vitamin D from Wellesee and $50 cash from Family Dollar and General Mills and the month ain't over yet!!

Two other places I frequent for legit instant win games is Contests - Sweepstakes
at YDS boards
and
http://www.online-sweepstakes.com/

Good luck and have fun with it!!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Ok so now the bad news

Long story short, I am once again a smoker. I am so disappointed in myself. However I am not going to give up! I am going to keep trying until I quit.

My best friend and I are going to attend a hypnosis session on April 3rd to quit smoking. Until then I am going to keep reading my book and who knows, maybe I will quit before then!

Upcoming reviews

I thought that I would post a little list of upcoming reviews so y'all will know what to expect.

In the next few weeks I will be reviewing the Made By Me Product line (candles, lip balms, soaps, etc), Kids, Kritters, and Families Too Photography (we just had our pictures done today! Can't wait to get them!), The Coupon Mom website, eHow, Portrait Innovations Photography, Wii Fit, plus any small businesses that I come across.

Also within the next week or so I will be hosting a giveaway featuring some of the products that I have reviewed! Be on the look out!

Donna's Common Scents Goat Milk Soap



Today I am going to review Donn's Common Scents Goat Milk Soap. The sample that I am reviewing is the Tea Tree Goats milk soap.

I gotta tell you, this stuff is awesome! I have never, ever in my life used goats milk soap before. I am a serious body washaholic so I tend to shy away from bar soap. But lemme tell you I may never use body wash again!

Ok first off, the stuff lathers really nice. The smell is great! We have a shower/bath combo with a sliding door so the shower/bath can be completely cut off from the rest of the bathroom. I keep it closed when not in use. When I opened it to take my shower I discovered the most pleasant aroma of tea tree wafting from the shower area! It was cool!

I am used to have a residue on my skin after using a body wash. I never liked the residue but just figure that is was par for the course because the few times I used bar soap I would get it too. However, this soap washes cleanly away with no residue what so ever.

I also used it for shaving my legs. It worked quite well, the razor just glided over my skin so nicely!

Donna's prices are VERY fair and she is a really nice lady, so if you are interested in checking the soap out, contact her! Her website info is in the post below this one.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Donna's Common Scents

Today my family and I visited the The Indoor Fleamarket in Akron, Ohio. While there I was drawn to a lovely booth run by Donna of Donna's Common Scents. I noticed that she had a wide variety of many lovely smelling items. She also had super great prices which is awesome in my book! She makes 100% soy candles and they are very cute!

I opted to purchase 3 sample candles. Today I will be reviewing the Hot Cocoa candle I bought.



First of all isn't this the cutest thing you have ever seen!?! i would love to know how she makes those little marshmallows! Here is the way it looks unlit.
Yeah I realize that I should have taken a photo before I lit it but it just smelled so good that I couldn't wait! The smell is just so wonderful and travels far within the house. I am downstairs in our sub level right now. The candle is burning upstairs in the kitchen and I can smell it as if it were right here in the room with me. And these candles are seriously long burning. I lit this sample candle at least two hours ago and it is still going strong. Looks like i will have enough left to burn all day tomorrow!

I have two other candles that I purchased from Donna that I will be reviewing later this week Donna also makes Goat Milk Soap, which I just happen to have a bar, so I will be reviewing that this week as well. I have never used Goat Milk soap so I am very interested to see what it is like. It smells great! Check back for those!

And if you want to get your hands on some of these wonderful candles or any of the other items that Donna makes (gift baskets, goats milk soap, sachets, etc) check out Donna's website; Donna's Common Scents


Well I am a non-smoker

and while it is rough it is not half as bad as it has been in previous attempts. I keep the book handy so when I get a real strong urge to smoke I whip it open to my favorite, what I feel most encouraging chapter and read it.

I must say it has been amazing today. I had smoked for 22 years. Today was the first day I can remember that I have not coughed one time. My husband smokes and he reaks! Can't believe that I smelled liked that and never, ever noticed! Yuck!

Also I have been having problems with my voice. It's been fading in and out for the past couple months. Today my voice has been normal, not one fade!

This is awesome! While it is rough in spots the benefits that I am seeing already far outweigh the urge to light one up. After all non-smokers don't smoke and I am now a non-smoker! Yay for me!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Yeah well

Today I am not a non-smoker but it has nothing to do with the book. I never got to finish the book last night and the book states that you are not to quit until you finish the book.

Now mind you, I did not intentionality not finish the book. While waiting for my husband to come home so I could start dinner, my 2 year old daughter and I began playing a game of chase. So my daughter being 2 decided to play let's look over my shoulder and not look at where I am going. Before I had a chance to tell her to stop and watch where she was going, bomb! She ran right into the wall. She was just turning her head to see where she was heading when she hit the wall. Poor kid looked like a unicorn she got such a large lump on her forehead. To make a long story short, I called the nurse to see what I need to to watch for (in case she had a concussion. Yeah she hit it that hard.). So anyway I had to keep her close to me last night, also had to wake her up throughout the night to make sure she would wake up. No time to finish my book!

I am happy to report that Lily is fine. The bump on her head is now almost gone. And I will be able to finish my book tonight, which is awesome.

The thing about this book is it makes you want to quit. I am so excited by it and cannot wait! Why not do it now, you ask? Well, the author states repeatedly in the book that if you quit before you finish the book chances are you will fail to quit. I don't want to gamble and have yet another failed attempt at quitting. This time it is for good.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday!

Friday, March 13, 2009

The Easy Way To Stop Smoking






Howdy folks! I am going to do something a bit different this week. I am going to review a book called The Easy Way To Stop Smoking by Allen Carr. The reason that this review will be different is because I will be blogging about becoming a non-smoker. Don't misunderstand me, as I type right now I am smoking. However, with Mr. Carr's book you are to continue to smoke until you finish the book. I will be finishing the book tonight, so tomorrow will be my first day as a non-smoker.

Notice that I said non-smoker and not my first day quitting or trying to quit. There are many ways people trick themselves into not quitting or set themselves up for defeat from the get go. Alot of the addiction to cigarette's are in the mind. Now I am not saying there is not a physical addiction, that would be silly since we all know that there is. But I have always believed that my addiction to cigarette's was something that I would have to fight out in my mind more than physically. This book by Allen Carr totally supports that. Mr Carr dispels a lot of the myths that are assocatied with smoking and has really opened my eyes to alot of things!

Now you may be saying to yourself how can a book help me become a non-smoker. I have tried so many times to quit and failed every time. I understand how a book can sound absurd, but honestly think about it. We as human beings know that knowledge is power. This book gives you the knowledge that you need to defeat the demon that holds you captive.

Follow my blog and see how my life changes with the help of this book. I am so excitied to be able to post here come tomorrow that I am a non-smoker! I cannot wait!

This book has helped many people quit. Don't believe me? Google the book and look for reviews or check out the reviews on Amazon. I encourage you if you are a smoker or have a loved one that is a smoker, get the book. Read it. After reading the book if you choose to continue to smoke than you have lost nothing at all. And if you do read it and quit just think of the gain!

If you are a smoker I have a challenge for you. Just for today when you lite a smoke do nothing else but smoke it. Don't talk on the phone, don't talk to others, don't read, and don't let your mind roam. Give your full attention to the cigarette. Really taste it, really feel the smoke entering and leaving your body. Pay attention to how you feel once you have smoked it. I think you may be surprised.

If you would like to check out the reviews for the book on Amazon you can find it here. The Easy Way to Stop Smoking: Join the Millions Who Have Become Non-Smokers Using Allen Carr's Easyway Method

Friday, March 6, 2009

Yankee Magazine's Living Well on a Shoestring: 1,501 Ingenious Ways to Spend Less for What You Need and Have More for What You Want




If you are serious about saving money, then this is a great book to get your hands on! This book offers many ways to save money in almost anything you do. From travel, to decorating, to grocery shopping and more. I have found it to be an irreplaceable resource particularity now with the economy in it's current state.

The down side of this book is it is a bit long and wordy. Also some of the info is out dated but most of it is right on target.

To check out more about the book or to order Yankee Magazine's Living Well on a Shoestring: 1,501 Ingenious Ways to Spend Less for What You Need and Have More for What You Want

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Silk Naturals Pure Mineral Makeup

I love this stuff! Goes on great, does not look cakey at all. As an added bonus it is Bismuth-free!

And here before your very eyes you can see how well it works!


To the right are my tools for this demonstration. A mini Kabuki brush and a sample of Silk Naturals Pure Mineral Makeup Ivory Foundation.







Now you must bare with me. It is laundry day and I look a
serious mess so I will not be doing this demo on my face. Instead I will be using my hand. You will have to wait for another day to see my hotness (insert sarcasm here lol!).



This mineral makeup is not hard to apply at all. Make sure that you exfoliate your skin first. Then apply a light moisturizer. Allow a few minutes to soak into your skin. If there is excess moisturizer left on your face (um or hand in my case!) blot gently to remove with a tissue or cloth.


Next pour a small amount into the lid, just a small amount! You do not need a lot to get good coverage. Next, you want to swirl the brush around in the lid to pick up the mineral makeup. Tap the brush gently on the lip of the lid to remove the excess. Now buff it on to your face, using a swirling motion. For more info on how to apply mineral makeup see my article on eHow How to Apply Mineral Makeup.






Add as many layers as you need for the coverage you want. Here is the finished project. What do you think?




If you would like to check out Silk Naturals line of products please visit http://www.silknaturals.com/creb/

And if you would like to read about how to choose a mineral makeup please see my article at eHow How to Choose Mineral Makeup

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Review of the Swiffer Sweeper 2 in 1 Starter Kit


Well I must say that I was pretty excited to get my hands on one of these! I thought that this would be something great that would cut done on my cleaning time and would help with little messes that happened through out the day.

However, I was less than impressed after trying it.

Let's first start from the beginning. It was easy enough to put together. As you can see the pieces are pretty explanatory. Putting the dry cloth on it is a little bit of an adventure though! You have to be careful and not get your fingers caught in the catches that hold the cloth in place. Besides that it was quite easy.





While the dry cloth did pick up a lot of stuff off my floor (things I didn't even know that I had on my floor!) and was great for getting under things that I can't get under with a broom I found that it did not pick up everything that I hoped it would.





Little pieces of this and that were still left all over the floor still calling for the need of my trusty ole broom and dust pan.




Next, I decided to give the wet mop cloth a try. Upon opening the package a large amount of cleaning solution drops on the floor and my socks. Not a big deal, at least I know the pad is well saturated. The mop pad has a scrubbing pad on it that I thought (note the word thought) was pretty cool. Attaching this pad was about as hard as the dry pad, but you have to make sure that you have the scrubber in the right place.

Using it was pretty easy except for trying to use the scrubber on it. Every which way I would turn to try to scrub the floor the silly thing would flip on me. I finally reached down and held it so I could see how well the scrubber, well scrubbed. Yeah, not so great at all. It lifted nothing off the floor at all with the scrubber. I had more luck with my fingernail.

The wet mop works well on light dirt. However with the wet mop nor the sweeper did I see any deep corner cleaning at all. As a matter of fact all either did was push dirt into my corners. Looks like I will have to get my scrub brush out and clean those in the morning. The wet mop solution does leave a nice scent that lasts for a bit.

All in all I am very disappointed in the product and will not purchase again.

Welcome!

Welcome to The Stay At Home Mom's Review! In the upcoming weeks I will be reviewing all sorts of products here on my blog. Some of the products I will be reviewing will be cleaning products, makeup, clothing, children's toys and games, computer software, children's website, etc. I hope you enjoy it! All comments are welcomed!