Everyday Baby Steps

This Valentine's Day tip is all about the music you'll want playing in the background when you and your sweetie sit down to dinner or lounge with champagne in front of the fire. Yanni Voices is a collection of four talented signers discovered by the legendary Yanni. The voices are Nathan Pacheco, Chloe, Ender Thomas, and Leslie Mills. These are truly some incredibly talented vocalists, and Yanni matches their talents to his compositions perfectly.

You can listen to a preview of their romantic, Mediterranean sounds on the website, but I have to say the gentlemen are even nicer to look at in the video preview. If you want to see more, take a look at their tour dates that begin in April. Maybe they'll be coming to a city near you!

I'm not sure if I'll be seeing them live in conert, but I can tell you that Bill and I will be spending Valentine's Day at home with a nice dinner and a bottle of sparkling wine, listening to Yanni Voices playing in the background. Okay, listening to Yanni Voices and Brady squealing in the background. But Yanni Voices will be there. Let me know what you think of them! And look for more from them here in the future; it's likely I'll have a giveaway or two in store!

I'd like to take a bit of time to review my new Toshiba laptop that I won from Family Eden. I'm incredibly grateful to have this amazing tool that's made my life so much easier, but Ill try to be as unbiased as I can possibly be. Though you may want to keep in mind that I'm still giddy about my shiny new "baby", and I really don't know much about computers and technology in general.

The model I received is the Satellite L305-S5875. It's got a shiny, dark blue exterior and black keyboard. The keyboard is great. Because the keys are raised and not flat, typing is a breeze. It has a 15.4" monitor. Its large size makes it easy to read. The finish is a bit glossy and may be difficult to see outside or in very bright conditions, but I haven't had any problems with it.

This computer has 3GB of memory, which I think is just amazing, considering my poor old desktop has only 256MB. It also has a 1.86 GHz intel Pentium Dual CPU Processor, which I think is good. Is it good? Anyway, what I do know is that this sucker performs well enough to meet the needs of this mommy blogger. It's fast and never freezes up on me.

My laptop also comes equipped with a webcam and is WiFi ready. I took it out of the box, and it was ready to go. i haven't tried the webcam yet, but I'm looking forward to using it with Skype so that I can see and talk with many of my online and real life friends. I've used the SD memordy card slot to retrieve my photos and the CD drive to play my music. Both of these features are important to me.

I'm obviously in love with my Toshiba Satellite. I believe this model is a moderately priced one, and it has all the features most folks would need as well as a sleek appearance. In my opinion, you can go wrong with the Toshiba Satellite L305-S5875 laptop. In addition, I have to give Toshiba props for their online advertising campaign. You've probably seen their ads on blogs and social networking sites all over the internet. This company knows how to reach its customers and aren't afraid to be innovative and step out of the box.

I'm still eating wheat and milk free. It's been nearly two weeks, and I am noticing a difference. My pants are fitting a wee bit better. My guess is that I'm losing water weight and bloating more than anything else. But it's something at least. And I have to keep reminding myself of my baby steps philosophy. It certainly won't come iovernight. Baby steps.

I'm pretty proud of myself though. Not eating ingredients that are in everything is pretty hard. I sorely miss my chocolate and cheese. Recently, I've realized that my good intentions are being sabotaged by some very sneaky snacks. Some of the snacks foods I've allowed myself, thinking they are free of wheat and dairy ingredients, have surprised me. You'd be surprised what foods contain wheat and milk.

I've told you about ingredients like casein and whey that you need to look for in the ingredient labels. These are milk derivatives contained in the flavorings of many products. But let me tell you about some of the surprising foods I've found to be culprits containing wheat and/or milk.

• Licorice - Who knew that licorice has wheat in it? Oh, yes, it does! Check out the ingredient list of your favorite licorice products like Twizzlers or Good N' Plenty. They have flour in them. My guess is the flour helps to bond the other ingredients.
• Honey Roasted Peanuts - They contain milk. Yep. At least the ones I bought last week do. I had no idea. I thought this would be a good choice for a sweet, salty, and crunchy snack. Oh well, it's probably more sugar than I should eat anyway. Bummer.
• McDonald's french fries - I so love McD's fries. Yum. But, alas, they have both wheat and milk in them.  Last I checked, anyway. Has anyone heard differently? If so, let me know!

These are just a few of the big examples coming to mind. I know there are so many others I need to be careful of. I can't avoid all traces of wheat and milk, but I'm sure trying. As a matter of fact, I'm sitting here in Panera Bread typing this blog post. And all I ordered was a coffee. No yummy, crunchy bagels. No pastries. I'm so good. Aren't you proud of me? I do have some incentive, though. My goal is to be able to wear jeans with snaps by February 20th when I go with my girlfriends to visit a member oif our group who lives across the state. I think I can do it.

Photo courtesy of evelynishere from flickr

I received a really great product to review recently. It's called The Shake n' Stack Instruments, and it's by Little First Act Discovery Toys. I gotta say, it's the coolest toy for babies. It's a stacking toy with a twist.

All babies love stacking toys. They've been around forever and are a classic because they help to develop hand/eye coordination and fine motor skills among many other developmental skills. But The Shake n' Stack adds more. The base is a tambourine and the rings stack on a maraca. How cool is that? Just take it apart and baby can explore sounds with the stacker's parts.

The rings are soft and a bit squishy, with bright colors. There's a different animal on each ring. Very cute. Brady likes to spin the rings on the linoleum. And his favorite piece is the maraca. He just loves listening to the fun shaking sound. What an amazing toy that will grow with your baby. It has so many uses. Brady shakes the instruments, chews on the rings and studies their cool shapes and colors. We just love The Shake n' Stack Instruments, and we think you will too.

Today's tip is about one of the nicest people on the web and the fabulous purses she designs and makes.  Cinnamon Cooper is an awesome woman I met through Twitter.  She runs a  business, Poise.cc, where she sells her magnificent handmade bags.  Cinnamon designs her bags and fabricates them out of the finest materials, using no sweatshop materials.

Cinnamon puts her heart into everything she makes.  She's designed purses for friends and has donated bags to many non-profit organizations.  She actually designed a purse for me!  Cinnamon asked me about my preferences and specifications and absolutely took them into account when creating my bag.  She asked me what style of bag I preferred and what was important to me in a bag; she even asked my favorite colors.  Take a look at what she came up with.

Isn't it pretty?  I just love it.  Brown is one of my favorite colors, and I actually used to have a tweed suit with this exact color and pattern!  Also, I love the gold colored rings.  I normally wear only yellow gold, so it's just my style.

Cinnamon included pockets on the inside, just like I asked for.  The bag is made of sturdy material and is sewed very well.  The beautiful chocolate brown lining is stitched with care.  I have no worries about this bag falling apart.  I'm confident it can even stand up to my treatment - I tend to overstuff my purses.  My bags can get pretty heavy.

The only thing I would possibly change on this bag is the strap length.  I'm a tall woman and am rather ample (but I'm working on that part!), so I could use a little more room to move.  But it still slips over my shoulder and is comfortable to carry.

I love, love , love my new bag!  It's so wonderful and like nothing any of my friends have.  Having my own unique style is important to me.  If being one of a kind is high on your list, you'll love Cinnamon's bags.  Check out her Etsy shop to purchase one of your own.  She offers lots of different styles, including laptop bags.  You're sure to find a bag to match your "purse-onality"!

Here's a look at the lining of my purse and a close-up of the gorgeous material. What do you think?  It's nice, huh?  Absolutely amazing!

Thank you so much, Cinnamon, for making me this absolutely lovely bag and for allowing me to review your product.  You're an amazing woman, so generous of spirit.  Thank you.

I'm super excited about today's giveaway because it's such a beautiful symbol of thankfulness.  The Gratitude Circle is an amazing website that wells one of a kind items with the concept of gratitude in mind.  Deanna Collins is the artist behind the gorgeous jewelry you'll find there.  What makes this jewelry even more meaningful is that the beads are crafted by women in Kenya who are working to improve their lives and the lives of their families.  The Gratidude "g" bead used in the Signature Series is created exclusively by this facility in Kenya.

This is the bracelet you can win!  Isn't it beautiful? I've got one, and the quality is superb.  I love the weight of it on my wrist, reminding me of everything I have to feel grateful for.  What you can't see in the photo are the sparkling, irridescent beads between each of the silver ones.  They add such shimmer to this already amazing piece.  It's definitely a unique conversation piece, and I love the small "gratitude" charm.  It's so dainty and pretty.  Also, the closure is just perfect.  I can put the bracelet on without assistance and feel secure that it won't come unhooked.

You want one, don't you?  To win, just head over to The Gratitude Circle and take a look around.  Then come back here and tell me about another piece that you think is stunning.  Also, please comment on what inspires gratitude in you!  The contest ends Tuesday, December 2nd at noon Eastern. You don't want to miss out on a chance to win this beautiful bracelet.  Good luck!

Thanks to the fabulous people at One2One network, I was recently given the chance to become familiar with a great vocal artist, Linda Eder.  Here's a little bit about Linda before I share my thoughts on her CD.

"Linda Eder grew up in Minnesota, and while her career began with a successful and lengthy run on Broadway, the mainstay of her success has been on the concert stage.  Over the years, passionate fans across the country have packed concert venues from The Greek Theatre in LA to New York's Radio City Music Hall, The Gershwin Theater, The Palace Theater, and four sold out shows at Carnegie Hall.

Now in 2008, Linda has offered us The Other Side of Me.  It features a brand new band with lots of guitars, fiddle, plenty of grooves and vocal harmonies, and even has Linda playing her own guitar."

I really enjoyed listening to The Other Side of Me.  She has a beautiful voice.  Her music was a bit country, a bit pop.  I'm a big fan of music, especially artists who have and express their own style.  Linda Eder definitely does that in The Other Side of Me.  I really like the first song, Pieces. I keep singing it over and over in my head.  Great melody with lyrics anyone who's been in a relationship can relate to.  Visit Linda Eder's website for tour dates and to hear clips of her music for yourself.

Like what you hear?  Awesome.  You can win an autographed copy of The Other Side of Me, along with your choice of an autographed hat or t-shirt.  Just leave a comment here by Tuesday, November 25th at noon EST. Simple, right?  Go take a listenn and leave your comment to be entered.

Let me tell you about some really wonderful toys my kids reviewed recently.  They think mommy has the best job in the world, and they're more than happy to help me with it!  Take a look at the toys that arrived in the mail for them to test out.

Each kid got a toy to try out, even Brady!  They've had a couple weeks to play with them, and I asked them to tell me what they like about the toys.  Okay, except Brady.  I'll have to do the talking for him.

First up is the I-Dog Dance.  Noah got to play with this one.  He was so excited.  He got the regular I-Dog for Christmas last year and thought this one was even cooler!  Noah says,"It's fun.  It's colorful, and it's cool how you can touch its face, and it'll do stuff."  It is cool how it does that.  The toy responds to touch.  You can make it stand up, lay down - it even growls when you pull its tail.  Noah figured that one out.  The I-Dog Dance plugs into most portable music devices and will play the music through the built-in speakers in its chin and back.  It is a very fun toy!

Hasbro's Furreal Friends Tumbles, My Rollover Pup is adorable.  We live in a mobile home, and with two kids and a baby, we're not getting a dog any time soon.  So Norah was thrilled to see that she could have her very own puppy when Tumbles arrived at our house!  Tumbles rolls over and wiggles almost like a real dog.  He also makes really cute sounds like wimpers and barks.  He even nuzzles and sleeps.  Is that adorable or what?  Norah says, "I love her!" (Yes, her Tumbles is a girl.) "She rolls and makes real sounds like a puppy."  So if your home is pet-challenged like ours, you should consider getting Tumbles for your little one!

Just look at this bright colored kitty from Russ Baby's Bright Beginnings Jiggle Brights.  Isn't it too sweet?  You wouldn't believe how soft and cuddly this little guy is.  Brady does love the bright colors.  He'll look at it and grin real big.  However, I think mommy likes the hug this kitty more than Brady does; he's just too much of a squirmer to sit still that long.  But I like the flat shape, and the little rattle in the middle makes a nice noise - not at all annoying like some jingly toys can be.  I'm hoping as he gets bigger, he'll love to cuddle this toy as much as I do!

So here are some fantastic Christmas gift ideas for boys and girls of various ages.  Let me know if your child has any of these toys and what they think.  And I'm happy to provide more information if you're thinking of picking one of these up for the holiday season.  Just let me know!

I must blog about my new Epson printer.  It is fabulous! I've never had such a fast printer before.  And the print quality is beyond compare.  No streaking - nothing at all like my former printer, may it rest in peace.  I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to receive the Epson Workforce 600 All-In-One printer to review; it's made my life a breeze.

As a matter of fact, it almost made volunteering for Noah's 4th grade Halloween party bearable.  I'm still saying no parties next year, let someone else do it, but you all know me better than that!  As it usually goes with these things, one or two people end up doing ALL of the work. Can you guess who one of the workers was?  Yep.  This worker had to print out twenty five Bingo cards, one at a time, refreshing after each one so the cards were all different.  I can't even imagine how long that would've taken using my old printer!  Take a look, isn't it cute?

I also printed out a fun word search, which totally saved my butt, because it helped fill that extra time at the end.  You know, the time with nothing to do, when a bunch of ten year olds start taking over the classroom because the stupid room mothers don't know anything about classroom management?  Yeah.  Thank you, Epson!

The only even remotely negative thing I can say thus far is that the printer gets kind of a loud start.  When beginning a print job, the noise kind of startles me.  But then it's quiet and so quick that you hardly know it's there.  I would definitely look into getting an Epson if you're in the market for a new printer.  I can't wait to play with the fun photo features next!

Last week, I talked about my new Epson 600 Workforce printer and promised a full review this week.  I'm sorry.  I hate to break a promise.  But this time it's for a good reason. I'm volunteering for Noah's classroom Halloween party on Friday, and I'll be using the printer to make some fun games for the kids.  So I'm sure I'll have a better review next week after I've created my projects.

So to make up for breaking a promise, I have a giveaway for your little one.  One lucky winner will get a Spanish music CD from Lango, a company that offers classes and products for teaching foreign languages to kids, ages 18 months to 9 years old.  The CD is called Con Cosmo.  You can listen to some snippets here.

If you live in California, Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, or Virginia, you can probably find a class near you.  There are Tot & Parent, Preschool, and Elementary classes, as well as a summer camp.  I listened to the music clips and was very impressed.  I believe the CD by itself would be very beneficial.  The music was catchy, and the lyrics were sung very clearly.  Did I mention that I was a Spanish major in college?  Kids to love listen to cultural music and can pick up some of the words quite quickly.

Here what you gotta do to win.  It's easy.  Just leave a comment below telling me why your child would like a new Spanish CD.  Have you listened to cultural music with him before?  Does she like Dora?  Just let me know why you and your little one would love the CD, and you're entered to win!