Hi Everyone,

I usually blog at night after my kids are asleep. I'm often exhausted by this time, but it is the only chance I get to do this. So, despite my efforts to edit my work before posting, after posting and rereading what I've posted  I find that I've managed to post a lot of mistakes. Every now and then I take the time to go through a few posting and correct the mistakes, but this week- this month I have very little time to do this. Instead I'm turning to my readers for help. Go through my entries one by one and in the comments section for each entry let me know where I screwed up.Please provide detail so that I can know exactly where and how I screwed up. The person that catches the most mistakes in the next 5 days will receive $5 via paypal. Make sure  you leave  your link so I can contact you and give you your reward. I will announce the winner on my blog and link to whatever website you may have.


If you have any questions please type them in the comments section.

My relationship with my mother-in-law (MIL) has gone up and down a roller coaster throughout the years.  In the beginning I never stood up for myself. I would let her make racist remarks about me, give me her opinions whether I wanted to here them or not, let her walk in the door when she'd pop over and surprisingly visit even if the timing was bad or inappropriate. Then something she did- disrespecting my home- made me realize I needed to stand up for myself.

I began to stand up for myself and she just couldn't handle it. It angered her and we bickered for over a year, but then eventually, I'm not sure when we found a little bit of common ground. We still often butt heads on many things and she still at times is very pushy and unaware of how selfish she can be, but I've learned along the way that for the most part, deep down inside she means well and though it doesn't come across that way to often I try not to let it bother me so much anymore.

Still I've been hoping for something to come along to help my MIL and I have a closer relationship, more of a mom daughter relationship, instead of just a common courtesy one.  So when the opportunity to review The Daughter-In-Law Rules:  101 Surefire Ways to Manage (and Make Friends with) Your Mother-In-Law by Sally Shields came along I was excited. The book was a quick and simple read. I was able to read it in less than a week. I'm sure if I would have set my mind to it I could have read it in even less time.

My thoughts on the book?
I have mixed feelings about the book. Though I found many of the rules helpful I also felt that many of the rules required a sense of self-degradation or at other times fakeness in order to order to get a long with my MIL. I have a problem with that, because this is what I was trying to get away from. It is sad for me to think that the only way to get along with my MIL is to pretend to be someone I'm not by pretending to agree with everything she says just to make her happy (be fake) or my degrading myself (putting myself down to make her feel better about herself).

Of course, like many women, I have no desire of continuing to butt heads with MIL. Still I was hoping to do it by having an open and honest relationship with her. In doing so, I would accept her for who she is and she would accept me for who I am. Perhaps I am a dreamer to think this is ever possible, but this is my ultimate goal.

Fortunately this book did have some rules that I could work with and that would help me find common ground with my MIL. Examples of these good rules are: rules 2-7 and 35-38. There are others as well.  I agree woman should not speak ill of their husbands to their MIL. Your MIL did give birth to your husband and if it weren’t for her he wouldn't be around. I agree that I should do my part calling her more often, making sure she receives a gift on special occasions, etc. I also agree that when spending the night at my MIL or anyone else's house, making your bed and wrapping your "dirty napkins" is extremely important and a sign of respect for others as well as yourself. You are a grown woman you should clean up after yourself.

Rule number 47 is just absolutely funny. Though I’ve never flatulated in front of my mother (that she is aware of at least) I do have a very funny story of her flatulating while giving me an angry "welcome to the family" hug. My brother-in-laws who were behind her tried so hard not to laugh, but as she kept loudly and quickly tooting one-right after the other like a machine gun they just couldn't hold the laughter back. She kept calm and cool and just acted as if nothing happened. I had to admire her for that.


I tried rule 11 once and it completely backfired on me. I don't think I will ever try it again. I completely disagree with rule number 32. To allow yourself harm because you are afraid of being honest with your MIL is ridiculous. There are nice ways to ask your MIL not to wear the perfume around you because it harms you. The same thing goes with rule number 69. Your baby and your baby’s health come first. Let her know smoking is NOT allowed in your home and especially not near the baby. There are no "ands, ifs or buts" about it. Your baby's health is more important than her feelings. If she is willing to chew some nicorette gum to deal with this, great but if not and she thinks your a fool and refuses to listen to you you need to stand up for you and your baby.
 
To improve the book I would like to see more rules on bigger issues. Many times it isn't the little issues but the big issues (ex: bigotry) that keep DILs and MILs from ever getting along.  I don't think it’s a good idea to just nod your head and smile when racist remarks are made. Walk away or let it be known that racist remarks are not okay. You don't need to argue, but you don't have to stay and listen to them either. She needs to know those kind of remarks are not welcome around you or your family. Remember things she says can influence your children.

I would like to continue by stating that one of the reasons I could not agree with many of the rules in this book is because I cannot relate to it as well as I would have liked. The MIL character in this book just sounds absolutely terrible and disrespectful to her DIL.  I mean she is out right mean. She puts her DIL down, curses at her and around her, makes hateful remarks, etc. On top of all that she is the type of woman that will invade your fridge with her dishes and throw yours out. I would never stand for that. Call me prideful, but I call it verbal abuse. I have my limits. When you disrespect me, my family or my home - you're out of there. My MIL can have her rude moments, worst in the past, but if she was ever like this character in this book I would not take it.

I am grateful that my MIL isn't like the one in the book.

For other points of view take a look at this video http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1732351772

it was an expensive job, but I love the sofa. I am trying to find a before picture, but have been unable to in my huge set of pictures. I will keep looking. Here the after picture of my sofa in Avacado green.
Don't mind the floor. I will soon have floors put in. I know this should have been done first but stuff happened and the floors still need to be done.  I have a picture of the loveseat recliner sofa too but I wasn't as impressed with it. They didn't do the bottom of the sofa (the recliner part) as well as the should have in my opinion but it does look better than it previously did. Its also a different color than the sofa but I knew that in advance. They  only had enough Avacado green to do the sofa. I will use the color difference to my advantage. 

I've recently seen and on tv about a website https://www.freetriplescore.com that provides free credit scores form all 3 bureaus so I thought I'd check it out since most place charge to view your credit score. I check it out and not surprisingly its what I consider to be a scam. It really isn't free. Its a 7 day trial which requires your to use a credit card to sign up. You are charged a $1 and then refunded it if you cancel within the 7 days, but if you don't your credit card is charged nearly $30 every month. How is this free? Free is free not sort of free or pay it first and we'll refund you if you cancel within a very short time free.

The Flip and Tumble is a nice sized bag. According to the website, the exact measurement of each bag is 12"x14"x5" with a 26" strap. The strap of the bag has a nice shape and length that makes it easy to fit around the shoulder. The strap is also thinly padded for extra comfort.

Its compact ability is a great feature. When compacted it is rolled up into a little soft ball. How? The bag easily stuffs back into itself by being stuffed into the attached pocket. Because it stuffs easily and softly into itself it takes up less space than other compact reusable bags such as the zippered ones. The size that that the Flip and Tumble compacts into makes it small enough to fit in a purse, in a vehicle cup holder or even in pant pockets. The size and ease of use and storage no longer provides the famous excuse  "I forgot to bring my reusable bag" to be used again.

The bag, with its simple solid color, is indeed stylish enough to carry around everywhere: restaurant, gym, grocery store, farmer's market, visiting friends and family, etc. The bags material (lightweight ripstop nylon) is stretchy and allows for a good amount of items to fit inside. I can fit my gym items (water bottle, CD, wallet, etc.) inside with no trouble. In fact now I can also stuff a towel in the bag if I need.

The bag has the capacity to hold 25 lb. To prove this I tested it out and placed 25 lbs of free weights inside the bag. It held well, though the strap pad did little to pad my shoulder. The padding did not make my load feel any lighter. Then again I don't see myself carrying around 25lbs of solid weight. Do I? How much does two gallons of milk way?

My favorite aspect of the bag is that once it's worn and overused it can be sent back to the Flip and Tumble Company to be recycled. In other words nothing goes to waste and thousands of plastic bags stay out of the landfill thanks to the reusable bag.

The only thing I don't like about the bag is that if I toss it in my car and its filled to the top with items it topples over and the items spill out. I'd love it if there were a few snap buttons across the top of the bag, or some Duffy Velcro making it easier to keep the stuff in the bag inside the bag.

The $12 bag comes in the following colors: lime, evergreen, pink, blue and black. Though, a bit pricy for just one bag (as compared to the dull dollar grocery store bags with the store name on it I've bought) I will say that the Flip and Tumble is a lot cheaper than most reusable "stylish" bags available.

For more information go to Flip and Tumble.

Read All About The  500 Solar Flashlight Give Away

My sister and I were discussing customer service the other day, discussing the good and the bad. We agreed that it’s the good customer service that keeps us going back. We may not spread the word as much as we probably should about it but we keep going back. When we receive poor customer service we not only stop going to the place that made us feel like scum we also tell everyone we know about it. Then we began to wonder why business with poor customer service don't even care they're providing bad customer service. Don't they know the damage they're creating for themselves, don't they care or are they so self-absorbed that they think there will be no consequences to their bad service. What do you think? Share your good and bad customer service below.

I've heard a lot of complaints from people living in small spaces (dorms, apartments, condos, etc) about their inability to garden due to lack of space. I promised some of you I would keep a look out for innovative ways you can garden even with your limited space. Thanks to The Gin Lady, I have come across a possible solution for some of you. It's called the Foldable Greenhouse. More

"Preserve Toothbrush was designed by dentists and engineers to be an innovation in both oral care and eco-friendliness." How well do they brush? To find out I took the opportunity from MomCentral to test and review these Preserve toothbrushes.

How is the toothbrush made? The toothbrush handle has a dentist-recommended 45° curved handle and soft bristles. The handle is made from recycled plastic, including Stonyfield Farm® yogurt cups. Are the bristles really soft? Yes! Comfortably soft.

What I like best about this line of toothbrushes is that the toothbrushes aren't just made of recycled material but they are recycled once again when they've worn. Dentists recommend that they be replaced every 3 months. To have these toothbrushes recycled once they've worn, print a mailing label from the Recycline website  and mail the toothbrush and its case back (for free!) to Recycline to be recycled into plastic decking, picnic tables and boardwalks!

Please conserve by mailing as many as you can in one package, though due to post office restrictions, Recycline can only accept packages under 13 ounces.

As a consumer I'm completely satisfied with this product... well as always I have a suggestions. If I could change anything about the Preserve toothbrushes it would be the mail back system. Instead of mailing the toothbrushes back why not have drop off sites at certain locations (maybe Target) so that a bulk amount of toothbrushes can be mailed back at once, cutting down on packaging and emission cost. Wouldn't this be more eco-friendly?

Recycline also has a whole line of other recycled and recyclable products such as: Preserve juniors for children 2-8. These toothbrushes are made just as eco-friendly but with and easier handle grip for children. In addition, there are Preserve tongue cleaners, toothpicks, triple razors, cutting boards, picnic ware, and more. Check them out at the Recycline Website.

Preserve toothbrushes are available at Target stores nationwide for only $2.04. For Recycline Preserve coupons visit the Recycline website.

It turns out I didn't know as much about lice as I thought I did and that though getting rid of the bugs may help it's important to get rid of the eggs as well. This is not an easy task, I found out through some research. The lice secrete this glue that hardens with the eggs they lay. This is what makes the eggs stick so well to the hair strands. So even if eggs die they stay on these strands of hair until they are peeled off one at a time or cut off. If any of these eggs are left alive they can hatch and create the lice problem all over again. Since the eggs take several days to hatch it is difficult to tell where a child may have picked up the lice. This is the problem I had with my girls. I'm not sure if LiceMd didn't kill off all the eggs on their hair or if my daughters picked up the lice again from the same place they did last time, where ever that is.  This is what is so difficult about lice.  Needless to say about two weeks after LiceMd saved the day I had to clean all the bug off my girls and I again. And yes, this time I had them as well. Unfortunately when I went to the store to buy some more LiceMD there wasn't any available so I had to go with another brand that appeared to be non-toxic. This also killed the bugs, but it didn't get rid of the eggs either. That's when I began my lice research. I found out that stuff like olive oil or mayo when rubbed through the hair, let to sit for sometime, then combed out with a nit comb and finally washed out with shampoo help suffocate the eggs but also helps remove the eggs. Did this work? I tried it and it helped but we still have some eggs in our hair. Are they alive or dead? I'm not sure, but I'm paranoid, checking my girls everyday. My oldest checks my head. So far we've been clean for two weeks (for the exception of the eggs) and just to be on the safe side I've continued to reapply mayo to our heads every other day. I HATE lice!

Huddler has a contest for everyone. Write a few reviews or invite a few friends and you will be entered to win a bag full of green goodies.

Other great features make this book journal a pleasure to have. For example, the day-to-day fetal development information is great to read. Because of it I get an idea of what's going on day to day with my baby and with me rather than those monthly or per trimester reports most popular books provide. So far I have used this feature to explain to my kids how the baby is growing, how mommy is feeling and should be doing and eating.

Another great feature is the due date count back. Yes it is confusing and yes it can be off a few days, but pregnancy is never exact. This serves as a guide and is not written in stone. In fact, I’ve written my dates down in pencil just in case.

Charting your weight and size is a good idea too, though I admit I’m too shy/embarrassed to measure mine so often. I need to though because I’m the type of person that likes to look back at details like these and see how big or small I was at a certain date.

The Did You Know segments are my favorite of the segments. I love fun facts like these. The childbirth and child rearing in different cultures segments is a keeper too. Learning how other women give birth around the world is eye opening, but I must say I had some trouble understanding the way it was written at first.

In addition I enjoyed the quotes at the bottom of each page and other good segments like: For Your Health and Parenting Tips, etc.

The book setup allows me to personalize my pregnancy with the dates and the notes. I don’t see this books as a detailed medical pregnancy reference book but more as a quick guide I can use to jot down notes, emotions etc. Doing this reminds me of a scrapbooking. In fact to me The Pregnancy Journal is a little bit journal and a little bit scrapbook combined. Maybe it should be called Pregnancy ScrapJournal.

If I could personalize this Pregnancy Journal to my Exact liking I would: add places to add pictures (like ultrasound pictures), add just a little bit more space for notes but not much. After all if I want a blank journal to jot down all my thoughts I can go get one. I would also add some pockets at the beginning and end of week so I can keep pregnancy memorabilia inside it. Yes this would convert it into a scrapbook pregnancy journaling book but I did say it was personalized for my liking and I think it would make for a special keepsake after baby is born.

Now as a journal I feel there isn’t much room for notes so I have to write small. Like I mentioned before, just a little more space for this would make a difference. I would also have liked to have had more on pictures of a growing baby, more detail on emotional changes, skin changes, sleeping challenges, aches and pains and if possible a section of good pregnancy exercise tips to help our aching pregnant bodies.

All in all I think this is a good and entertaining pregnancy journal to keep right along side a pregnancy books that provides detailed information.

 
BOOKS ON HEALTH; Pregnancy and Childbirth: More Than How-To Guides

The Pregnancy Journal Review

Chroniclebook The Pregnancy Journal, Revised Edition Review

Buy the book at Amazon

Kids cafeteria meals need a lot of improvement. Here is one way to help make that change for improvement. I believe in it. If you do donate or register your school. Kids should have healthy meals to eat at school.

Adopt a School Garden® Program

I hesitated for a moment, almost drove back home, but then I told myself it was for the greater good, better environment. Why the hesitation? Because I knew the end price would be about the same as buying brand new sofas. At the end of the entire deal, after I picked out the exact fabric I wanted and told them exactly how I wanted my sofas reupholstered I left the store wondering if I did the right thing. The price? I was right about the same as buying a brand new sofa set. The benefit, a good structured (but smelly) sofa with poor fabric doesn’t end up in the landfill. Instead they are given a new life with a more vibrant color and can be used over and over again for years to come. Buying new sofas just didn't feel right.  So I did it. I went for it and in 3 weeks my old sofas will have a face-lift. This 3-week period will allow me enough time to put the paneling down on the floor. It looks so bare now that I removed the 20-year-old carpet. It smells better though and I'm sure it will help reduce our allergies at home.

This was emailed to me by Pete Grimaldi:


"Hi Gloria,

Thanks for the review of Gloves In A Bottle, I'm glad you like it!

Please feel free to let any other bloggers know that I'll send them samples
of Gloves In A Bottle to try if they are willing to post a review on their blog if they like it. All I need is their blog URL and mailing address. They can contact me at
petegrimaldi@earthlink.net . You can even post that if you wish.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance, or if you need any
more samples.

Sincerely,
Pete"

So, if your interested in giving your honest opinion about products here is a good place to start.