All women have their own particular bad hair days. Face it, girls, many of us just do not have the magic of Rapunzel’s tresses. Me, I have no skill with hair. It’s wash, comb, drip-dry mostly with an occasional cut and dye trip to the local beauty salon. That’s why I was especially thrilled when hubby won me a $151+ gift certificate he had won for me at a Chinese auction fundraiser. Silly boy thought I could go to the hair dressers at least two or three times….

I booked my appointment to coincide with a party to which hubby and I had been invited. The beautician who did my hair cutting and coloring was great. She advised me to use special shampoo to protect my color longer against fading with a dandruff shampoo periodically to minimize dry scalp itch. She also advised me to condition only the ends.

A light bulb went on inside my brain. I would do my followup care with new Jason Pure Natural Hair Care products. Its bottles have 50% post-consumer resin plastic with formulas improved for quality and natural ingredients–no parabens, SLS or phthalates.

Time to try:
Color Protect Henna (COLOR TREATED): Natural Henna Extract fights fading and Wheat Protein gives a silky luster.
Revitalizing Vitamin E (NORMAL to THICK): Vitamins A, C, and botanical extracts fight environmental stressors and Vitamin E nourishes strands.
Dandruff: Healing and moisturizing botanicals, aroma-therapeutic essential oils, rosemary, neem, tea tree and colloidal sulfur.

I like the results I am getting. As opposed to being dry and damaged, my hair is shining, manageable, looking good. The regime seems to be working. For $10.49 list, I can’t beat affordable Jason hair care products. I am well satisfied with them and think they are as good as salon hair care ones I have tried.

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.

Chicken Soup for the Soul – Inspiration for the Young at Heart

• Paperback: 370 pages
• Publisher: CSS Publishing (2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN: 978-1-935096-71-9
• SMRP: $14.95

To some life ends with retirement; to others, it just begins again. The years after 60 are what one makes of it – new adventures, new careers, the privileges and wisdom of age. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for the Young at Heart‘s 101 stories of inspiration, humor, and wisdom about life at a certain age bring together the stories, poems, and cartoons that celebrate senior life.

As I read Alison Shelton’s The Other Toy Story I could imagine myself. I am no technological wizard. I loathe words like unassembled and batteries not included. I long for the days of long ago when toys came fully assembled and decorated. I remember imagination and endless kid power making toys work. It was truly a gentler time of baby dolls, simple games as opposed to the stress of today’s modern toy store electronics.

I likened myself to Shifting Sand’s author Sally Schwartz Friedman. It was so much fun being a participant instead of an observer. Family gatherings and vacations changed when the next generation, the children, became adults and had their own families. Roles shifted and reversed. We are no longer leaders; our sons and daughters, protective, watchful, caring, are now in control.

I looked into the mirror after I read Robert Tell’s poem Mushy Face Is No Disgrace. His rhymed couplets’ rhythm and verse left me interpret the images. How can time change youth to an old fossil with wrinkles and gray, balding hair?

I chuckled at March Tyler Nobelman’s, Bruce Robinson’s, and Mark Parisi’s captioned b&w graphics. Too bad that Chicken Soup for the Soul doesn’t compile a book of drawings like these. Funny and to the point, they present life in perspective – now vs back when. They are better than a thousand words. Too bad we all took things so seriously; a good laugh laugh at hair, transportation, spousal retirement, kids’ rooms might have made things different.

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.

Thanks for stopping by! If you have a picture up for Wordless Wednesday, leave your link below! Then head on over to Mom Knows It All, From Val’s Kitchen and Mom Start for more wordless fun!

Chicken Soup for the Soul Just for Preteens

• Paperback: 390 pages
• Publisher: CSS Publishing (2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN: 978-1-935096-73-3
• SMRP: $14.95

Tween years are scary, embarrassing, awkward. Physical appearance, athletic prowess, and school studies tug at preteens. They are at a crossroads. Insecurities tug at them; best friends are their saviors.

Teacher Erin Solej’s story Found is about bullying, aggressive behavior that damages those involved emotionally even physically. New seventh grader David started his new year with a clean slate. Accepted by the popular crowd, he gained confidence. When he saw Dante and the team bullying Tim, he intervened. Dante’s crowd retaliated and he was alone. Only time would prove or disprove the truth in Solej’s conclusion, “What is popular isn’t always right, that doing what is right is sometimes difficult and doesn’t always bring immediate reward, and that loneliness doesn’t have to last forever.”

I cried reading Better to Have Loved. I identified with the author. I too had lost a cat, my first cat Jezebel and it hurt. Sara Drimmie’s memory of her cat Unita is touching and poignant. Forced to put to sleep her diabetic cat, she said goodbye, stayed to the end, and cried. The lesson that it is better to know how love feels than to have never experienced it before comes with growing up.

I myself decided to be a teacher when I first started school. My own first teachers were my heroes. So when I came to Tom Krause’s poem Gifts I saw it as recognition for all those who open worlds to their students. The author created a powerful message in the rhythms and rhymes of his four line stanzas. Reading, art, teamsmanship, and belief in self make each of us grow.

The 101 stories of inspiration and support for tweens in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just for Preteens touches reality. Kids ten through twelve especially need to feel good about themselves, discover life, and learn to do what is right. Knowing that they are not alone and others have problems is a big step forward toward maturity.

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.

Hello and happy Monday! Some fellow bloggers and I are working together to bring you a great flash giveaway tonight. The prize is a $100 Amex or Amazon gift card!

HOW TO ENTER

The Hotflash giveaway is easy to enter. Just use the Rafflecopter form below, and click to earn entries. The Rafflecopter widget does all of the work for you, you just click and you don’t even leave this page. It only takes about 1-2 minutes to earn all possible entries.

If you’d like to see more of this type of giveaway please let me know in a comment.

Good luck!

Continue reading →

Chicken Soup for the Soul Find Your Happiness

• Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: CSS Publishing (2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN: 978-1-935096-77-1
• SMRP: $14.95

I like to read but usually my free time is minutes not hours. Since I don’t like to be kept hanging, in times like that I pick up short stories. The Chicken Soup for the Soul series has some of the best. Their themes are well-chosen. The selections in them are real. Their messages heart-felt.

Just yesterday I picked up Chicken Soup For The Soul: Find Your Happiness. Its 101 inspirational stories about finding purpose, passion, and joy remind readers to appreciate life, overcome adversity, and enjoy simple things. It advises the reader to try counting blessings, fostering communications, knowing yourself and pursuing your passion, keep learning, find meaning, and find quiet. I know that whenever I accentuate the positive, the negative shrinks away. This was the various authors’ spins too.

Jennifer Quasada’s story The Happy Book awed me. Who could after her parents’ divorce, a mugging, losing two friends in an auto accident, and an assault would not feel low, miserable, depressed? She grew through it though and the birth of a child gave her better habits. At the end of each day, she wrote, “What made me happy today?” She saw the positive and could look back at the good in hard moments.

Miriam Hill’s narrative Wanting versus Having is ironically true. Everyone has hopes and ambitions. Having three sons myself, I could understand her son Steve at 16 dreaming of a Porsche. He worked to make it happen; the car exceeded expectations. However, obligations made his choice unrealistic, so he sold it telling his mother that wanting is more fun than having.

Megan Rivera’s tale of Coupon Bliss took me back to me in my 20′s…no responsibilities and no money sense. Time changed things, and along came balancing the checkbook and comparison shopping. Ms. Rivera’s question to herself, “What makes me happy?” is something we all ponder in each of our lives. Her answer, “Little moments,” is real.

WIN IT!

ONE winner will receive a copy of Chicken Soup For The Soul: Find Your Happiness.

HOW TO ENTER. (MANDATORY)

To enter leave a comment telling me something that makes you happy.

BONUS ENTRIES – LOTS OF THEM!

1 – Subscribe to my RSS feed. (sidebar)
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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 Sunday 01/29/11 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!

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.

Here are the winners of this week’s giveaways. To select the winner of these giveaways I used the “And The Winner Is” plugin, and made sure the comment was eligible.

Seneca Farms Oatmeal winner – Amanda

The Gluten-Free Good Health Cookbook winner – Cheryl L

Thanks to all who entered the giveaways! Please consider subscribing to my feed so you don’t miss out on the latest posts, reviews and giveaways.