Recently we spent five days camping. If my family did not love the time together, I’d opt out for a luxury resort. I get enough of cooking, cleaning, and making beds all year at home. Vacation to me means rest and recreation topped with a generous dollop of pampering. I am a creature comfort person. When we bought each RV (this is our third), hubby swore he would do everything–packing, cleaning, cooking, doing dishes. Well, he lied.

For twenty years we have been doing the Upstate New York Southern Tier thing. I love the Finger Lakes. When my kids were young, each promised to get me a house on the water. Now that the four are old with kids of their own, I know that isn’t going to happen. Reality flash: The closest I get to water at the campgrounds is the public shower.

I enjoyed going into town and checking out the local shops and stores. Then progress arrived several years back. Too bad so much history got lost along the way. Little by litte the  town died when the new Super Walmart opened 24/7. Competition crushed the little guys. Empty parking lots stand where wrecking balls demolished old time soda fountains, candy stores, butcher shops, etc. Some buildings were gutted and rennovated as professional offices. Malls are where it is at. As I see it, what a loss!

The natural beauty of the place still thrills me. The rocks and falls of the Glen are picture perfect. The dockside restaurants and boats along Senaca Lake bring back old times. Corning, the Rockwell Museum, Black Rock, road racing, go-carts, local wineries, and the Amish Windmill Market pull me back.

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The tag says, Designed to be fogless for a lifetime!” The tag also says, “Mirror will never fall.” My attempts at busting both of these myths failed.

Upon opening the box, hubby found mirror, stand, squeegee, pads, glue, and directions (promptly disregarded). As he brought out the huge toolbox he didn’t need, I heard him saying, “I can do this.” The Toilettree Fogless Shower Mirror was easy for him to mount.

It took my home improvement man no time at all even though the mirror does not utilize suction cups. Instead it uses a removable adhesive included. Big improvement as past experiences here has been whatever is on them eventually drops and breaks. When I inspected the shatterproof acrylic mirror with no sprays, chemicals, or coatings on it after a lengthy shower, it still was firmly attacked to the tile wall.

I wondered why it didn’t fog up like the other mirrors in the bath. Hubby showed me. Its designed with an easy fill reservoir, but I still don’t understand how it works. Enough said. Simply it does.

Anyone can use this mirror because it is adjustable and pivots to various angles.

ToiletTree Products’ new Fogless Mirror is available for $29.95 with a 30 day, no risk, unconditional 100% money-back guarantee. For further information visit www.ToiletTreeProducts.com.

What a great way to shave, remove makeup, cleanse, exfoliate, tweeze and more!

This post was written as part of a campaign for Family Review Network. The product(s) featured in this review was provided free of cost to me for the sole purpose of product testing and review. This review has not been monetarily compensated and is based on the views and opinions of my family and/or self. Please note that the opinions reflected in this post have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.

This site is being moved to a different server and host.
A some of you know, my daughter Valerie (valmg) handles my technical stuff.
She is trying to minimize downtime during this move but explained that things can, and do, happen sometimes.
Please bear with me during this move.
I appreciate YOU, my readers, very much
Thanks for your patience.

FYI: Since I began dieting eighteen months ago, I can’t eat greasy fried chips, but I can eat Pirate’s Booty. Its baked Original, Sour Cream & Onion, Homestyle Barbecue, and Sea Salt & Vinegar chips are crisp, flavorful hidden treasures. The circular chips are perfect nude or with a dip. Potato Flyers come in 1.5 and 5.5 ounce bags
with suggested retail prices of $1.49 and $2.99 respectively. Visit www.piratebrands.com for more information.

I love Pirate products. I have a variety of them in the house ready when impromptu visitors drop by. They also make a great nosh or early guests.You may remember my Pirate’s Booty All Natural Snacks Review With Giveaway last February. These snacks are perfect–all natural, baked, trans fat, and gluten free. Now that summertime and barbecuing are upon us, all suggestions are welcome to make things right first time around so I decided to share this press release with you.

SEA CLIFF, N.Y. (July 26, 2010) – Summertime is synonymous with barbecues and we are in the thick of it right now! Grilling is a great healthy way to cook and a great way to bring family and friends together. One of the only ways people can go wrong at these outdoor occasions is to select unhealthy meats, snacks and sweets.

Luckily, Emily Whelan Anschlowar, MS, RD, the in-house nutrition expert for Pirate Brands (makers of all-natural snacks including Pirate’s Booty), has created tips for your readers to throw a healthy, but delicious barbeque this summer.

Go Lean, or go home. Instead of a fatty New York strip steak or pork chop, select lean meats like chicken (sans the skin), top sirloin or pork tenderloin. Grill up burgers using lean ground turkey or bison. Fish is also delish on the barbie! For meatless meals try veggie burgers or Portobello mushrooms.

Make sure to veg out. Grilling veggies is not only healthy, but the process really brings out the natural flavors and juices. Some great grilled vegetables include corn, zucchini, eggplant and bell peppers. Shish kabobs are always a hit as they’re fun to make and eat with the family!

Don’t forget about the snacks. Greasy fried potato chips and neon orange cheese puffs are always barbeque staples. A great alternative to fried potato chips is Potato Flyers – deliciously baked all-natural potato chips that have half the fat and a quarter less calories than the leading potato chip brand. A smart swap for cheese curls is
Pirate’s Booty, which is baked, all-natural puffed rice and corn that is lower in calories, but high in taste. Both products are also trans-fat and gluten-free!

Commit to low-calorie condiments. A barbeque is not a barbeque without macaroni and potato salad. Just swap out fatty mayo for Greek yogurt in your favorite recipe – you won’t only lose on the fat and calorie intake, but you’ll gain in nutrition, as yogurt is packed with calcium, protein and probiotics. Also, try using guacamole, pesto and tomato sauce in place of store bought condiments, which are usually all additives with no actual food.

Sip your way slim and stay hydrated. Stay away from drinks high in sugar and that contain caffeine like soda. Research shows that caffeine actually dehydrates you – that’s the last thing you want while having fun in the sun! Your best bet is to opt for water or a low-calorie flavored water.

Savor that sweet tooth. Fruit is nature’s candy and should not be over looked when it comes to the grill! Banana, mango, pineapple and peaches are all delicious when grilled. Pair the fruit with a scoop of frozen yogurt and a drizzle of honey and you’re in for a real treat!

The product(s) featured in this review was provided free of cost to me for the sole purpose of product testing and review. This review has not been monetarily compensated and is based on the views and opinions of my family and/or self. Please note that the opinions reflected in this post have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.

I was in the mood to cook this morning so I made meatloaf from scratch–sirloin beef, dairy eggs, fresh onion and garlic, homemade breadcrumbs, diced tomatoes, and, of course, seasonings served with Herman T’s BBQ Sauce Spicy “Hot” instead of gravy.

Herman T’s is an original family recipe developed in the 1950’s by a University of Kansas science professor. Fifty years later his culinary chef grandson Brian decided to put it on the retail market. Boy, am I glad that he did! Its ingredients include ketchup, vinegar, honey, molasses, brown sugar and contains no MSG or chemicals. It compliments beef, chicken, fish, sausage, and pork dishes. Yum…. Love the smokey applewood and honey that comes through in the kicking hot. This sauce for sure isn’t bland.

I thought making it would be a bother, but it wasn’t. Making the sauce was easy–water, catsup, and Herman T’s. In under ten minutes I was finished from prep time to cooking. It smelled so good that I took cook’s prerogative and cut myself a small sliver of meatloaf and poured it on warm. When I later served it for dinner, comments were:

Hubby: Smells good but it’s too hot. It’s missing something.
Son-in-Law: Tastes like catsup but with an after boost; tangy; zesty.
Daughter: Sweet with kick at end; not unpleasant; good consistency.

The best thing about Herman T’s is that it is 100% fresh.  (It’s dry storage life is one year.) For more information or to order, please visit www.htbbqsaucemix.com. Varieties include Original “Mild” and Spicy “Hot”. One six ounce dry seasoning pack sells for $7.99 and two for $15.00.

WIN IT!

ONE winners will receive a two pack that (one regular and one hot) of Herman T’s.

HOW TO ENTER. (MANDATORY)

To enter leave a comment on this post telling me which variety of Herman T’s you’re looking forward to trying the most.

BONUS ENTRIES – LOTS OF THEM!

1 – Subscribe to my newsletter. (sidebar)
1 – Subscribe to my RSS feed. (sidebar)
1 – Follow me on Twitter AND leave your Twitter name here. (sidebar)
1 – Tweet this giveaway.
1 – Friend me on Facebook. (sidebar)
1 – Blog about this giveaway, including a link here.
1 – Place my button on your blog. (in sidebar)

Leave an additional comment for each entry you qualify for. You must have completed the first entry according to the instructions to be eligible for any bonus entries.

THE SMALL PRINT.

US addresses only please. This contest will end on Friday 08/28/10 at 11:59 pm est. If you’ve entered any of my giveaways before then you know that only comments containing all of the requested information will be eligible for entry. The winner must contact me to confirm they wish to receive the prize within two days of my email notifying them they’ve won. Good luck to everyone!

This post was written as part of a campaign for Family Review Network. The product(s) featured in this review was provided free of cost to me for the sole purpose of product testing and review. This review has not been monetarily compensated and is based on the views and opinions of my family and/or self. Please note that the opinions reflected in this post have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Licorice, a really sweet root, dates back to the days of Alexander the Great. Culinary spice, tobacco flavoring, herbal tea, natural medicine or candy???? It depends on how you look at it. As a little kid I was into chocolate mostly. My change of pace back them was licorice like Black Jack Gum, Crows, Good & Plenty, and Allsorts. I still enjoy chocolate but moved on to Red Vines and Twizzlers.

Recently I sampled Natural Vines Black Licorice. Its chewy texture reminded me of Good & Plenty only better (no sugar coating). Although I have been avoiding black licorice due to my dietary issues, I took a few of the bite-sized pieces. I had to caution myself to eat slowly, chew well, and not overdo. I really enjoyed and had to keep reminding myself not to eat the whole bag. Its hint of anise didn’t dominate. Definitely gourmet quality.

Black Vines Black Licorice is for real and black, jet black. It’s taste is high quality sweet. Ingredients include molasses, wheat flour, sugar, brown rice syrup, cane syrup, caramel color, licorice extract, palm oil, natural anise flavor, salt.

Next hubby shared some Natural Vines Strawberry Licorice with me. It did smell fruity. We decided it was unsweetened strawberry bitter but not sour, much like the real fruit. Its ingredients are molasses, wheat flour, sugar, brown rice syrup, cane syrup, caramel color, licorice extract, palm oil, natural anise flavor, salt.

Consumers can find both Black and Strawberry Natural Vines Licorice at select grocery stores, natural markets, gourmet food distributors and online. I like the manufacturer’s description: quality all-natural ingredients with flavorings and color from natural food sources; made with no preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, or trans fats. Suggested retail price for an 8 ounce bag of either variety is $3.49.

The product(s) featured in this review was provided free of cost to me for the sole purpose of product testing and review. This review has not been monetarily compensated and is based on the views and opinions of my family and/or self. Please note that the opinions reflected in this post have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.