A break from it all....

Ok I can't believe its almost been a month since I logged on here. Well I know its been a while and it was purposeful. Life's been so busy lately that by the time I get home from my full time job, I'm just too exhausted. I had to take a break from reviewing, giveaways and just writing to re-focus. Re-focus on myself and my family.
I'm hoping to be back in full swing. I miss writing here and communicating with everyone. So please accept my apology. I know its a crappy way to start off the new year but I promise it will get better.

Wordless Wednesday

Disney on Ice: Mickey & Minnie's Magical Journey Ticket Giveaway!

Who doesn't love Disney? I know we do especially the Disney on Ice shows. We are super excited about their new Mickey & Minnie Magical Journey that is about to hit the local NY/NJ/LI area. These shows are a sure hit with the boyz! Tickets are on sale now!
About the show:
Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy have their bags all packed for a journey that will transport audiences straight from their seats into the magical worlds of best friends Lilo and Stitch as they hula in Hawaii; Simba and Nala as they explore the African Pride Lands; Ariel and Sebastian as they experience an aquatic adventure in their undersea kingdom; and Peter Pan and Tinker Bell as they soar through the starry skies.
Disney On Ice presents Mickey & Minnie’s Magical Journey features an international team of award-winning figure skaters, high-energy choreography and a colorful set that captures all four unique worlds. Audiences will be entranced as they experience this exciting excursion — one that will fill the arena with magic, music, and best of all, Mickey and Minnie!

Tickets for Disney On Ice presents Mickey & Minnie’s Magical Journey are  $80.00, $55.00, $35.00, and $25.00 (prices do not include facility fees and taxes).  At Nassau Coliseum only, there is also a $150.00 VIP Dining Experience available.  Tickets are available at arena box offices, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster Charge By Phone at (800) 345-8000, (212) 307-7171, (201) 507-8900 or ticketmaster.com.  To learn more about Disney On Ice, log on to www.disneyonice.com, or visit us on Facebook and YouTube.

NASSAU COLISEUM (Uniondale, NY) – January 5 – 8, 2012:
January 5                                                        7:00 PM                                  
January 6        10:30 AM                                 7:00 PM
January 7        11:00 AM         3:00 PM           7:00 PM
January 8                                1:00 PM           5:00 PM

PRUDENTIAL CENTER (Newark, NJ) – January 12 – 16, 2012:
January 12                                                      7:30 PM
January 13                                                      7:30 PM
January 14                              1:00 PM           5:00 PM
January 15                              2:00 PM          
January 16                              1:00 PM

IZOD CENTER (East Rutherford, NJ) – January 19 – 22, 2012:
January 19                                                      7:30 PM
January 20      10:30 AM                                 7:30 PM
January 21      11:00 AM         3:00 PM           7:00 PM                                  
January 22                              1:00 PM           5:00 PM         

One lucky family will win 4 tickets to any opening night of their choice!

Professional Bull Riders hit NYC!

PROFESSIONAL BULL RIDERS (PBR) PRESENTS 6th ANNUAL MADISON SQUARE GARDEN INVITATIONAL  FROM JANUARY 6-8

Nationally televised Built Ford Tough Series to kick off the 2012 PBR season with world’s best bull riders at world’s most famous arena
NEW YORK – The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) will bring the 6th Annual Madison Square Garden Invitational presented by Full Metal Jousting on HISTORY on January 6-8, 2012, to kick off the nationally televised, elite 2012 Built Ford Tough Series season, featuring the world's toughest cowboys and rankest bulls.

The PBR’s Built Ford Tough Series will rock New York with three bone-crushing, adrenaline-soaked performances, as the Top 40 bull riders in the world – including the 2011 Madison Square Garden Invitational champion Valdiron de Oliveira – risk it all against athletic animals weighing as much as 2,000 pounds. Fans will be thrilled as they watch intense 8-second rides and jaw-dropping wrecks when riders try to stay on and survive animals 10 times their size.

The nationally televised PBR 2012 Built Ford Tough Series will visit 23 different states with 28 events in 2012. The 2012 schedule will feature the best bull riders from across the globe competing against the rankest bulls on the planet in front of millions of fans across the country to win a share of over $10 million for the season.

Tickets for the Professional Bull Riders 2012 Madison Square Garden Invitational presented by Full Metal Jousting on History are $205, $105, $50, $35, $25 and $15 (prices do not include taxes and facility fees) and are available at the MSG box office, www.ticketmaster.com, and by telephone at (800) 745-3000.

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN EVENT SCHEDULE:
Friday, January 6 -- 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 7 -- 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 8 -- 1:00 p.m.

About the PBR 2012 Madison Square Garden Invitational presented by Full Metal Jousting on History
Each of the Top 40 bull riders in the world will be participating. Following Round 2 on Saturday, the riders with the 10 highest cumulative scores will each compete with one more bull. Following Round 4 on Sunday, the riders with the 10 highest cumulative scores will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round, where they will each compete with one more bull. The overall event winner will be the rider with the highest combined score from all five rounds.

Witnessed by millions of fans across the country, the BFTS schedule has 28 stops in 23 states with riders competing for a share in more than $10 million in total prize money. The season culminates in October 2012 in Las Vegas with the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals. The World Finals is where the PBR World Champion will be crowned and awarded a $1 million bonus. The richest bull riding event in the world, the World Finals has a total purse of more than $2 million.
 
About PBR's 2012 Built Ford Tough Series                              
The PBR's 2012 Built Ford Tough Series will kick off at the “World's Most Famous Arena,” New York's Madison Square Garden, January 6-8, and will culminate in Las Vegas at the 2012 PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals, October 24-28.  Highlights of this year's schedule include the all-new four-week stadium tour, in which the Built Ford Tough Series will visit Detroit's Ford Field and Houston's Reliant Stadium for the first time ever. The tour will also visit Atlanta's Georgia Dome and Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
The PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 100 million viewers annually watch over 400 hours of primetime PBR programming on VERSUS, NBC, CBS and networks around the world. The PBR has awarded over $100 million in prize money and 21 riders have earned over $1 million, including Justin McBride with $5.5 million -- the most of any western sports athlete in history. Nearly two million fans attend Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro Division events each year. Follow PBR on Facebook  and Twitter.

For more information on the PBR, please visit:  www.pbr.com.

Time to purge, purge,purge

Why is it that when its the new year we feel compelled to clean? Hubby & I decided to rearrange our bedroom today. It's something we have been meaning to do and since we were off from work today we decided to tackle it with full force. It took us a few hours but we're pleased with how it turned out. I had to realize that I've kept so much crap over the years. Why do I still have make up from 5 years ago? Or about 20 bottles of lotions? Hubby told me "Just purge! Let them go already." I had to give him a look like what? This is my stuff. So what I haven't used that Loreal lip gloss but I will soon. I just don't know how I became a mini hoarder. So purge I did. And you know what?  It felt good! I felt like I was releasing myself from baggage, allowing myself to move forward. It may sound weird but it was therapeutic. As this is the year for a new me, it definitely was an added step toward that progression. So I just say purge, purge, purge.

DaGeDar DS Game Review

My son has seen commercials, toys and tv shows for DaGeDar that I had no idea what they were all about. So when I was given the opportunity to do a review for their new DS game, I was excited.
Here's a little information on exactly what is DaGeDar:
Battle it out with your friends or race evil spirits alone; DaGeDar's virtual raceway will keep you playing for hours. With more than 30 fast and furious raceways, you'll be looping, dropping, climbing and banking your way to the end with fury, but watch out for the blocks and gaps in the raceway! Featuring 100 collectable balls and special, limited edition characters, you'll have a blast collecting and trading your favorite DaGeDar items. Whether playing alone for sharing with a friend using the game's multiplayer download options,the action packed world of DaGeDar will keep you hungry for more racing, collecting and conquering of evil spirits in a unique 33rd dimension world.
Key Features:

• Collectables: Unlock and collect up to 100 DaGeDar racing balls, for collectable and trading fun! Special limited edition, cool characters available too!
• Unique Race Abilities: Each ball carries abilities of Acceleration, Top Speed, defense and Attack modes.
• Rewards: Earn DaGeDar points at the end of every race for special rewards and bonuses!

My 5 year old enjoyed playing the game. He understood the concept pretty quickly and had a blast racing in the different courses. When he couldn't complete one, he was able to try the practice runs before heading to the championship. He loved that he could unlock new DaGeDars. He would bring this game while we were on the road & it kept him busy.

The DaGeDar DS game can be purchased for $19.99 at Walmart, Target or any local game retailer.
Like DaGeDar on Facebook to get up to date information.

The DaGeDar DS Game was provided  free of cost to me. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are purely my own.

Sister Schubert's Review & Giveaway

Bread has to be one of my family's weaknesses. We love eating it. Who can resist? I was given the opportunity to try Sister Schubert's soft pretzel rolls & mini baguettes.

We tried these mini baguettes one night while having pasta for dinner. They were extremely easy to make. I took the bag straight out of the freezer. Popped them on a cookie sheet and baked them. Once done, we sliced them & put some butter on them. They were so delish! You would never know they were frozen.

We tried the soft pretzel rolls one night as a snack. They were made just as easily as the baguettes. They were soft inside & had the taste of a pretzel. Again we were really amazed that these were frozen. We were just disappointed that there wasn't enough in the bag!

Sister Schubert's can be purchased at local retailers. Check out their website to find one nearest to you.

Two lucky readers will each win a coupon to purchase their own Sister Schubert's product!

I received Sister Schubert’s Mini Baguettes and Pretzel Rolls in order to facilitate an honest review. The opinions, where expressed are my own and were in no way influenced by the sponsor. Others experiences may vary.

Photo Jewelry Making Review

I love gifts that are handmade or personalized. My son made soaps this year for his grandmothers & aunts. So when I was given the opportunity to create my own photo ornaments by Photo Jewelry Making I jumped at the chance.
PhotoJewelryMaking.com is a family operated business in Michigan. They offer a large selection of photo making items such as bracelets, brooch blanks, ring blanks and more.
It's a simple process to create lasting memories. You receive a cd for the EZ Resizer software that is easy to upload. Then you select the shape of your ornament, add picture, crop & print! The ornaments are so cute. I made the square ones and they look beautiful on our tree.

Square ornaments 19x19mm

printed photos

These ornaments will make a lovely addition to our tree next year. I already have our gift idea for next year.
You can purchase these adorable ornaments at their website.  A 6pk kit is on sale for $9.99 right now.

You can follow them on Facebook or Twitter @PhotoJewelry


This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. I received samples for the purpose of reviewing. Opinions are my own and/or my families and are not influenced by any form of compensation.

New Year, New Me

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe & joyous holiday season. I took a little break last week from here. My full time job was overwhelming & exhausting me so I just couldn't manage to do it all. So I decided to take a breather from writing. It actually gave me ample time to reflect on the past year & on what I hope for the new year.
Every year I make resolutions and by the end of January I always seem to break them. I don't follow through which disappoints the crap out of me. So this time as I was thinking, I'm going to make commitments. I'm never one to be scared of them. I have always followed through. Jeez I've committed myself to my husband for the past 10 years.
With this renewed sentiment, I have committed myself to become a new me. I have always been over weight in my life. I'm the "thicker sibling" compared to my sister. I have decided that I'm done with it. I turn 40 in less than 6 weeks so I have committed to make a change for the better. A change not for my husband, or my son but for myself. I have committed to live a healthier lifestyle by exercising & eating right. I'm not going to call it dieting because this term always brings disappointment and pressure along with it. If you mention that you're dieting to anyone, they always have to ask you how its going. I always feel like I'm failing someone if I don't follow through with it. So forget that. I like my new word and I am going to love the new me.
So what new "commitments" have you made for 2012?