Roundabouts Review and Giveaway

If you are like me, you are always looking for ways to make life easier!  Planning birthday parties, showers, and other events are no exception!  I had Sophia's 2nd birthday party and my sister's baby shower back-2-back weekends and boy was that exhausting!!  (Mental note: Don't do that again!)

I must have made 4-5 dz homemade cupcakes total for the two events.  I spent tons of time making the decorations for the cupcakes!  (Don't get me wrong, it was fun, but lots of work!)  I wished I would have known about Roundabouts cupcake sleeves prior to my big events!

I could have used this one for Sarah's shower!

Or maybe this cute one for Sophia's birthday party?

They even have fancy ones for those really important occasions! 

Here is some great info about The Roundabout Sleeves:

- They come with simple instructions printed on a clever cupboard door hanger.
- They can be personalized and customized for special events and parties.
- They are produced on archival quality acid-free stock (for you scrap-bookers out there)!
- They are manufactured without the use of water or toxic ingredients, and are chlorine free.
- They are resistant to grease and oily substances and will not yellow or become brittle (even in sun).
- They are easy to display.
- The packaging is designed to minimize waste and is 100% recyclable.
- They are designed and made in the USA!

My Review: Sheri sent me the Lil' Burger sleeves.  They are so cute!  She suggested I tint vanilla frosting to make it look like a hamburger bun.  Or I could bake chocolate cupcakes and use peanut butter frosting to get a perfect color like a hamburger.   Since I received my sleeves a week after making 5 dz cupcakes, I wasn't about to make another dz cupcakes, but I did try a sleeve out on some of my GF muffins I made and they worked perfectly.  The self-adhesive is SUPER sticky and easy to use.  They really go on easy-peasy!!

Here are pictures of the three steps:

STEP ONE: Begin with a frosted cupcake

STEP TWO: Wrap self-adhesive sleeve around side

STEP THREE: Add simple toppings or sprinkles!

Isn't that easy as 1-2-3??

Maybe you need to buy a pack for the upcoming Super Bowl Game!

BUY IT: HERE

WIN IT: Sheri has graciously offered a package of one dz sleeves (Winner's Choice) to one lucky Go Long! Go Green! follower!!


Links that you will find helpful for the giveaway:


Go Green Go Long on Facebook
SGsMama on Twitter
Roundabouts Homepage (to pick your fav one)
Roundabouts on FB
Roundabouts on Twitter

This giveaway is open to the U.S. and will end on Wednesday February 23, 2011 at midnight. The winner will be drawn via random.org and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be drawn. Please, no PO Boxes.

Disclaimer:

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.


Sponsored by Tomoson.com

Friday's Tip to Be Greener!

My dear friends over at Home Grown Families have inspired me to try to post more tips for my followers about being more GREEN!  Here is my first and favorite one to date! HA!! :) 

Did you know : The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated last year that 840,000 tons of telephone directories went into the municipal waste stream in 2008.

I have an answer.....OPT OUT!!

Go to Yellow Pages Goes Green where you can quickly opt out of receiving the 5 bazillion page book!!!


And what about your neighbors you let that book sit on their porch for 5 months before it starts to disinegrate or the other neighbors who have never recycled a thing in their life??

SIGN THE YELLOW PAGE PETITION, AND HELP EVERYONE!! The petition is for an on demand system, where phone books will not be shipped unless you ask for one- kind of like recycling bins.

Who knew you could save up to 19,000,000 trees in just 5 minutes!! Amazing!

Thanks Melissa for such an inspiring post!  You better believe I already OPTED OUT for our Yellow Pages!  I think I have seriously received 2-3 copies over the past 8 months!

GO GREEN READERS!!!  GO GREEN!!!

Cold winters call for fun in the sun ...

When the winters get tough, the tough get going? Right?  We decided to soak up every ray of sun this morning and try to find fun activities to do in the kitchen with the sun hitting our back!  We also need every bit of natural vit d we can get!!

Here are a few pictures of our mid-morning Play-Doh party!!

Smiling next to her little "pond"!

Notice my pond has a shark in it! HA!! :)

Sophia's pond creation .. you can kind of tell there is a shark in it too! :)

Cheesin' it up next to the birthday cake I made for her!

Hummmm ... maybe I should taste a little piece!!

Who knew Play-Doh and sun rays could provide so much fun!!  Thank to the Gray's for the awesome birthday gift!!  Play-Doh ... the gift that keeps giving!

Contentment ....

I receive quite a few "feed burner" emails daily from my favorite blogs.  I usually just blow through them super fast without even pulling up the blog.  Look at the titles, see if I have any interest, then delete if none ...

This post from The Cheap and Choosy almost brought me to tears .... I wanted to repost it over here and link up to it ... it is worth the few minutes to read it to re-center your thoughts and bring things back to the heart of the matter!

(I cut and pasted it as well for those of you who do like I and only read the feed burner email!)

There are two kinds of contentment. There is that which is necessary to live at peace with God and experience His power. That is the kind of contentment that Paul spoke of when he said, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (Phillipians 4:12) It's the kind of contentment spoken about in the book of Hebrews that says, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5).

It's even deeper than that. It's the contentment, or should I say "rest" that knows deep within that "there is no good thing in me,"(Romans 7) and that Jesus IS my "clean hands" and my "pure heart." (Psalm 24:3&4) That He "accomplishes all things for me." (Psalm 57:2) The peace of knowing that we are in Christ and He is in us, and that we cannot nor do we need to DO anything in our own strength or initiative. It's the rest that knows we are the tree, and He is the life. (Psalm 1) We are the well, and He is the water, we are the branch, He is the vine (John 15). There is a rest that we should seek to find in Him, that keeps us undisturbed and secure from every storm, whether it's a teething baby ;), a person trying to tear us down by criticizing us, a sickness, a financial crisis, a -fill in the blank-. Whatever the storm, we can be at rest.

Do you remember or have you heard the story of Jesus and his disciples on the stormy sea? (Matthew 8) It was a horrible storm. It seemed totally and completely impossible that the little boat would survive. Everyone was totally freaking out, and rightfully so...except one. Jesus. He was ASLEEP. Let that sink in a minute. We're talking *big* storm here. Major thunder, lightning, and humongous waves knocking the boat around and splashing with tremendous force on the deck. 

The story tells of how the disciples woke him up, how they couldn't fathom how He could possibly be sleeping at such a time. The lovely, wonderful thing was that He got up, went on deck, held out His hand and said, "Peace. Be still." The storm immediately ceased. Just stopped. Just like that. In an instant. The disciples marveled. Who must He be that even the wind and the waves obeyed Him?

Friends, it is so wonderful that He stopped the storm. I love Jesus. He loves us so much. He meets us where we're at. He knows how much we can handle. He is so merciful.

But let me tell you, I want to be so wrapped up in Him. I want to be so aware that I am hidden in Christ in God (Col. 3:3), that I can just cuddle up with Him and rest, and not be afraid of the storm. As it is, I think I probably would have been right there with the disciples, shaking Him and pleading for Him to wake up and DO something.

It must have been amazing to see His hand and see Him display His control of nature with a single word, but how much more amazing would it be, to know Him enough and trust Him enough to have already known that He had it under control, and to have been asleep with Him? How awesome would it be to have never been gripped with fear and panic and hysteria? He loves us so much. He doesn't get ruffled because of our fear, panic, and hysteria. Trust me I know, as an expert in all three, but He tells us again and again. Do. Not. Fear. I think He would love for us to curl up with Him and rest, and maybe even be the ones to speak peace into the lives of others in the storm.  

Let's let our striving be for rest...for entering into HIS rest. He hasaccomplished everything for us! All He asks is that we trust and obey. That is a good kind of rest, a good kind of contentment.

This didn't go the direction I'd planned, but it's been encouraging to me as I've written. I hope it encourages someone else.


Hopefully you were impacted as much as I ... may we all find rest and contentment in Christ Jesus our Lord!

A few pictures for you ...

I know I haven't been blogging much!  Honestly, the January weather leaves little to be desired plus I have been a busy busy woman since Thanksgiving!  

A few things keeping me busy ...

My one and only favorite sister is PREGO and due in 5 weeks!  Yipee!  Sophia is really excited to meet Baby Hannah!!  Here is a good pic of sis and I at Christmas!!!  She of course is way fashionable as a prego-girl!!  I never was that fashionable!!

I also just threw sissy a baby shower a few weeks ago so that took lots of my time and planning!!

 MamaD101 (aka my mom) and I at Christmas .... she had an amazingly tasty spread at Christmas and even worked 12 hours the night before delivering babies at the hospital!  (She is an OB nurse!)

Trying to find things to do with this little one who is always full of energy!!! :)  We just had her birthday party a few weeks ago!  Can't believe she is already two!!

Riding on her friend Isaiah's horse! 

All sleepy on the way home from Dayton for the Long family Christmas!

Honestly, I haven't had the camera out for the past few weeks thus minimal pictures!  Without good pictures, sometimes I lack the motivation to blog!!!

Hopefully you can understand!  I promise ... more blogs to come over the next month, but Jan might be a little slow!!!  

WINNERS!!!

We have THREE winners to announce today ......

Boiron Homeopathic Pack .....

Sara H.

GFC Follower

Comment #20 out of #57 

Tea Collection $50 GC ....

Megan H.

"i'm loving the artista wrap dress!!"

Comment #148 out of 597

The GoGreen Pocket Diaper CHAMP .....

Angie T.

I would like to see ... "Easy-changing elastic...elastic included"

Comment #1180 out of 1657

 (Whew, I am exhausted counting that high!)

The winners have all been emailed and have 48 hours to respond or I will pick a new winner!

Congrats again to the winners!

Thanks for reading and following Go Long! Go Green!!

Giveaways ending tonight ....

Hey Go Long Go Green readers!  


Life has been absolutely CRAZY and stressful this week with various happenings within my family, so needless to say I have yet to choose a winner of these three contests!

I will not choose one till after 8pm tonight which is great news for those of you who haven't entered yet!!

The CHAMP Pocket Diaper by GoGreen Pocket Diapers 
The Tea Collection ($50 GC) 
Boiron Homepathic Pack (Very low entries -- great chance to win!)


Pass these on to your friends too!

Amazing Amazon GC Deal!

Hey Go Long! Go Green! readers!

Join in the fun and buy a $20 Amazon GC for half price ... only $10!  Yep, it is totally legit!!

Here is the link .... https://livingsocial.com/deals/21336?ref=personalized-link-box-4254267&rpi=4254267

Go Get 'Em Bargain Hunters!!!!  Over 515,264 735,748 have been purchased since this deal started! WOW!

PS: If you are curious ...  Here is the fine print ...
Limit 1 per person, no gifting allowed • Amazon.com Gift Card does not expire • Voucher purchase is valid for US-based customers only • LivingSocial Terms and Conditions apply • The Amazon.com terms and conditions set forth below are deal specific terms that supersede any inconsistent terms in the LivingSocial terms and conditions. • Amazon Gift Card cannot be purchased with Deal Bucks.

Boodle Bottoms Review and Giveaway

One of my only complaints with cloth diapers compared to 'sposies is their bulkiness!  I have found myself purchasing the next size up in pants to allow extra wiggle room for Sophia's cloth diapers!  Jeans are the worst!  Poor Sophia gets squeezed into a pair of jeans and I know it can't be comfortable!  

I was online (shocker, I seriously don't know what I would do without internet) and found this amazing company, Boodle Bottoms!  She was a mom like me, in search of pants to fit her two cloth diapered kiddos! I knew her products had to be good!!  

We received the Natural Classic Pants in a 2T size!  I was a little nervous that the 2T wouldn't fit my little girl in terms of length, but I was impressed with the length!  Finally, we have a pant that fits her around her diaper and the length!  Another quality that impressed me about these pants was the fabric!  The Natural Classic Pant is made from an undyed 70/30 blend of organic bamboo and organic cotton!  They are SOOOO soft and comfortable!!  You might be thinking, how do you know they are comfortable?  Well, I put one of the legs on my arm and WOW ... LOVED IT!!  I wish they made adult size pants in this fabric because I would for sure purchase them!!  I think they are the most comfortable pair of pants Sophia has in her whole wardrobe!  

The pants come in a variety of sizes, so you will be sure to find one that fits where your little peanut is in the growth curve!!  Sizes include: 0-3, 3-6, 6-12, 12-18, 18-24, and 2T.  In addition to the natural color, they come in green, blue, and pink!!  

Finally, I loved how this company has a socially responsible business style!  Here is an excerpt from their website:  

Boodle Bottoms are more than stylish pants that fit your cloth diapered baby.  We work very hard to make the most socially and environmentally responsible product possible. 

  Our pants are made in the USA, from the knitting of the fabric to the final stitching.  Workers are fairly-paid and provided a clean, comfortable work environment.  Many clothes available today, both adult and child, are produced in sweat shops by child labor.  Boodle Bottoms are made for children, not by children, right here in the USA.  We even package our pants in bags made in the USA, then label them with hang tags made in the USA!

  All fabric (and even the care tag) is made from certified organic materials.  The main component of our pants is organic bamboo, one of the most sustainable plants grown and harvested on Earth.  It is incredibly smooth and soft when used in clothing while providing natural UV protection and odor resistance.

 Scientists estimate that plastic packaging can sit in a landfill for 1,000 years or more!  Boodle Bottoms are uniquely packaged in reusable, unbleached, American-made cotton bags.  These make great pouches for small toys or household items, and if discarded will decompose in 5 months or less.  The hang tags used are printed in the USA on 100% recycled, FSC certified, chlorine-free paper.

  We ship using 100% PCW recycled boxes and all shipments from Boodle Bottoms are tracked by GreenShipping.com.  Boodle Bottoms purchases carbon offsets for each shipment that goes out of our doors to minimize our impact on climate change.

Awesome GREEN packaging!  The bag can be used for something else!

The FRONT of the pants

The BACK of the pants

Here is a little excerpt from her website:


My husband and I run Boodle Bottoms while chasing after our two little ones, ages 4 and 1. We created Boodle Bottoms after going through our own cloth diaper journey. Here is how it all started...

When I was pregnant for the second time, I started meeting moms who cloth diapered. I loved the idea in concept, but who would want all that work? Aren't the diapers stinky? Who would want to add another load to wash when there is already so much to do as a mom?  I started reading more about cloth diapers and fell in love with the concept of not throwing away thousands of diapers that take 500 years to decompose. I bought my first covers and started using high quality organic prefolds.  My baby was so cute in them and I was helping the environment at the same time! Diaper washing just slid in as part of the routine, and I found the activity of hanging them to dry very calming. It was fun to experiment with different brands and covers. Who knew diapering could be so much fun?

There was one issue I was constantly trying to solve: finding pants that fit. The organic prefolds worked great because they were so absorbent (no leaks!), but they were also quite bulky. Most of my daughter's clothes were hand-me-downs from her sister who wore disposables, so they were very trim. If the pants fit around the diaper, they were always too long. Hmm, I thought, someone must make pants to fit cloth diapered babies. I started doing research, and there were no pants specifically designed for cloth diapered babies. Sure, some brands were better than others, but none that were just right. So our company began to help other parents cloth their babies in pants that fit just right. And in keeping with our family's motto to live lightly on the earth, we have committed to being as eco-friendly as possible, with every detail from the tags down to the shipping.

Welcome to our company- we hope your baby and all subsequent babies your Boodle Bottoms are handed down to enjoy the pants!

BUY IT:  HERE

WIN IT: Boodle Bottoms has most graciously offered a pair of Boodle Bottoms for 1 very lucky Go Long! Go Green! reader!!  ($21/value)


Links you will find helpful for the giveaway!


QUICK TIP:  So you don't have to leave the entry form below, right click on each of the links and "open them in a new tab" ... you can go like on fb, go to their website, do whatever you need, and then always come back here to this tab and finish your entry form!

Boodle Bottoms
Pant selection
Boodle Bottoms on FB
Go Green Go Long on Facebook
SGsMama on Twitter

This giveaway is open to the U.S. and will end on Thursday January 27, 2011 at midnight. The winner will be drawn via random.org and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be drawn. Please, no PO Boxes.

Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not monetarily compensated for this review.

Dear GI intruder,

In case you didn't know, you are not welcome at our house!!  I order you and beg you to LEAVE right now!  How dare you strike our precious little daughter the night of her 2nd birthday party?  Why did you cause her to throw up for the first time in her entire life?  Why have you cursed our successful daytime potty-training learning with horrible explosive diarrhea and extremely potent gas?  We have gone through more underwear in the past 4 days than we have since we started potty-training learning!  She was doing great before you came uninvited,  now she is traumatized to even sit on the potty and holds it for 4-5 hours at a time!  I hate you GI intruder!  Hate is a strong word, but you are wrecking havoc on our household!

If you don't understand the above paragraph, you will understand these words ... I AM EVICTING YOU AS OF 3:10pm Friday afternoon!  Do not return or pay the consequences (bleach and scalding hot laundry water!)

JustPaperRoses REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

Have you been searching for a unique Valentines Day gift for you loved one?  Something you won't find at Target or Meijer?  Maybe you should consider some Valentines Day Toilet Paper?  Nothing says "I love you" better than the repeated message (multiple times a day) in a whole roll of TP, "I Love You From Top To Bottom."  That is one loved bum!! :) 

Actually, the TP is pretty soft to the touch! Much softer than any other
 "gift message" TP's I have seen before. It is 2-ply.

Or maybe saying "I love your amazing kisses" with this The Kiss (aluminum) figurine.  This romantic figurine stands 8 inches tall and weighs in at 2 pounds! The rough terra cotta casting leaves pits and imperfections but is solid (like your marriage) - a true everlasting symbol of your love!

Or maybe you are just looking for something small, with an incredible message .... These Wood Hearts would be perfect!  "Two Hearts Wood Beat As One."

Or maybe you want to splurge on something beautiful for your wife ... Origami Orchids might be the way to go!

Whatever your price range or taste JustPaperRoses has the perfect Valentines Day gift for your loved one!  

If you already have your Valentines Day gift picked out, consider browsing his selection for other special occasions, such as Anniversaries, Sweet 16, Birthday, Holidays (more than you can imagine), there even a special "Gifts for Him" section for husbands searching for something meaningful for their wife!

Jeff over at JustPaperRoses sent me this 4th Anniversary Gift along with a copy of his book, "Steel Wool on a Stick, My Hobby on Steroids"  Each anniversary gift has the traditional symbol with the roses!  How clever!  I had the chance to flip through and read a large part of his book.  Jeff tells his whole life story about how he made his "American Dream" come true as an Entrepreneur.  To this day, he continues to have a successful business, mostly built by word-of-mouth!  He uses humor to tell his difficult story!  It is a quick, fun read!

MY REVIEW:  I was really impressed with the quality of the TP.  I can say I was a bit sckeptical at first, but upon opening the roll, I felt as though it was as soft as my Angel Soft TP.  The red ink writing is really easy to read and very clear.  It came gift wrapped and packaged quite nicely!  (Thanks Jeff for doing the work for me, one less thing for this busy mama!)  The anniversary rose is very life-like.  The block of wood that it stands on is sturdy plus has 4 felt pads on the bottom to make sure it doesn't scratch the surface!  Some might call the variety of gifts on his website corny, but I think they are pretty witty and clever!  Nice Job Jeff Block!

PS.  JustPaperRoses ships FREE to APO/FPO military addresses!  How about that for amazing support for our troops!!

BUY IT: HERE

WIN IT: Jeff has most graciously offered a $50 GC to JustPaperRoses.com!  You can win it just in time to pick out something for your loved one(s) for Valentines Day!

Links you will find helpful for the giveaway:
Go Green Go Long on Facebook
SGsMama on Twitter
JustPaperRoses on Facebook





This giveaway is open to the U.S. and will end on Thursday January 27, 2011 at midnight. The winner will be drawn via random.org and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be drawn. Please, no PO Boxes.

Disclaimer: I received these products free of charge.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not monetarily compensated for this review.

Sophia's 2nd Birthday Party

Wow, I can't believe it!  Sophia Grace is TWO years old!  It seems like yesterday when she was learning to walk!!  She has filled our lives and hearts with such joy and gladness!!

Happy Birthday baby girl!!  

A smile ... what is that says Sophia!

RIP Elmo Jello-Mold!  You were going to be such an adorable part to the birthday table, but the only place suited for your presence is the DRAIN PIPE!  RIP!

This year I got a little more crafty with our homemade cupcakes and icing!

Some of these guys just didn't fit on the stand!

Sophia's friends loved helping her open her gifts!  Maeve really had a nice time!!

We were planning to snap a picture of all who attended, but as you can see, that didn't happen!  The party went so fast and before I knew it, there were only a handful of people left!   Maybe next year!!

Nate did snap a cute video of everyone singing Happy Birthday to Sophia!  Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Sophia! :)

Tabasco Original Red

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TABASCO® Original Red. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

My husband loves anything hot and spicy!  The hotter the better!  Me on the other hand, I am pretty much a WIMP!

 

Nate loves to use TABASCO® Original Red on lots of food to make it spicy!  Recently a friend made some traditional tamales and you better believe TABASCO® Original Red made it on top to heat it up!  He loves it on top of eggs too! The options are endless!

 

TABASCO® Original Red was the first sauce introduced by the McIlhenny family back in 1868 and continues to be their most popular sauce of 6 total sauces.

 

TABASCO® Original Red has an amazing effect on pizza!  It's football season and the Super Bowl is right around the corner, make sure to try some TABASCO® Original Red on your pizza and hot wings for a new 

game day tradition!

 

TABASCO® Original Red is "So Much More Than Hot." TABASCO® Original Red is not about heat for heat’s sake. It’s about what heat does to the flavor of food. The simple combination of salt, red pepper, and vinegar are perfected in a 3-year aging process that produces a hot sauce with the uncanny ability to bring the most out of your food. Other hot sauces add their own specific flavor to food. TABASCO® Original Red simply enhances the flavor of food.  Gotta make each calorie count!

 

Check out the Game-Day Party Menu page for some simple ideas & recipes for food everyone loves!

 

Don't forget to check out the Pizza Perfected as well!

 

Make sure you add TABASCO® Original Red to your next grocery list!

I Won the Stylish Blogger Award!!

For the second time in two weeks, I have won the Stylish Blogger Award!  How cool is that?  Jodi over at A Mom Having Fun awarded me with this fun award!  She chose Go Long! Go Green! because she thought my blog was "Stylish" in that it didn't have embedded music, didn't have to scroll left to right to see the entire blog, and it has a nice, uncluttered feel to it!   Thank you Jodi for the honors!!

There are 4 duties to perform to accept this award:

1.  Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award

2.  Share 7 things about yourself

3.  Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers

4.  Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

SEVEN FUN FACTS ABOUT ME!

1. I am so blessed with an incredible family and tons of great friends.

2. My husband, Nate, is my best friend and I am so lucky to have him.

3. We have a beautiful, healthy 2 year old daughter.

4. I have a doctorate in Pharmacy from BUTLER UNIVERSITY.

5. I am an avid Butler Bulldogs Men's Basketball Fan. Go Dawgs!

6. I am obsessed with working out, staying fit, and eating super healthy!

7. I want to have at least 10 children ... JK ... how about just 2 or 3! :)

I follow SO many blogs and it was hard to nail down only 15 awesome blogs!  These 15 blogs are some of my favorite to read!  Some of them always have great giveaways, while some of them always have awesome information that helps my family!  I am honored to bestow this award to ....

Here are my 15 nominations for "great bloggers!" 

A Year with Mom and Dad

Arrows Sent Forth

Be Joyful Always

Chronicles of a Babywise Mom

Discovering the Mommy in Me

Home Grown Families

Joyful Creations ... At Home

Mama to 4 Blessings

My Silly Monkeys

Raising My 5 Sons

The Cheap and Choosy 

The Crafty Charlestonian

The Small Town Mom

What Mama Wants

Trees Will Bend