Sarah and I Have Entered the "My FiOS Home Ultimate Ugrade" Contest and We Need Your Votes To WIN!!!

Verizon FiOS is hosting this great contest, open to residents of New York and New Jersey, where you can either upload a video entry or submit an entry at an event, describing your FiOS entertainment fantasy.

Here's how Verizon FiOS describes the contest on the contest homepage:


My FiOS Home ultimate upgrade!
Make a video telling us how YOU would experience the FiOS Ultimate Upgrade and be entered to WIN a full tech overhaul and home entertainment makeover!


View and vote on your favorite videos now. Upload your video for a chance to win a home entertainment makeover! Visit experienceFiOS.com to learn everything you need to know about what FiOS has to offer. Experience FiOS at an event near you. Come to the casting call and make your video to enter the contest.


Here is the link you need to vote for us: http://www.myfioshome.com/Videos.aspx?ucid=79cea716-bae7-4ff5-a470-d32eba0594c5

All you have to do is register for the site,go to our video and hit the VOTE button on the bottom. You can vote once a day until the contest is over. As an added bonus just by voting, you are automatically entered into another contest to win prizes.

If you have ever been to my house, you know how pathetic my home entertainment system is; if not, just watch the video to see for yourself!

It couldn't be simpler, could it?

So, what are you waiting for? GO AND VOTE NOW!!!!!

And now a word from my friends at MomCentral:

Summer is a season of celebration; from Memorial Day to Labor Day, we try to squeeze in as much fun as possible. And as Moms, we rely on an arsenal of tricks that allow us to entertain families and friends with gatherings that keep our efforts and costs low, but the fun level high! One of our go-to entertaining tips is to use high-quality, single-use cups and plates to cut down on clean-up time. And just in time for those end-of-season bashes, our favorite party-ware brand has unveiled a new line of cups designed for a more comfortable and reliable hold; Solo Squared™, a first-of-its-kind Squared single-use cup.





And because winning great prizes is always fun, we have a great contest opportunity for you! To celebrate decades of great entertaining and the new Squared party cup, Solo Cup Company has launched an online photo contest with a grand prize of $5,000 for the best photo featuring a Solo Squared cup. You'll be able to enter your favorite photos at www.SoloCups4ever.com until August 14 and the winners will be announced on August 21, 2009. In addition to the grand prize, two $1,000 runner-up prizes will be awarded at the end of the contest. By entering, you'll also have the chance to win daily and weekly prizes of gift certificates and Solo products.


So, what are you waiting for...Go and Enter NOW!

Review and Give-a-way: Carolinapad.com




Although we are only about halfway through the summer, Sarah's school has already started sending letters home regarding the school supplies that she will need for the 10th grade. She takes the shopping for and choosing of these supplies very seriously! They are a reflection of the importance of the upcoming school year.

Sarah, being the girly girl that she is, lusts after school supplies with cool designs that are functional as well as stylish. We both feel we have found that combination in Carolinapad Company products.

Their products have been seen on the CW's "90210" and ABC Family's "Greek" as well as in the arms of Miley Cyrus and Carrie Underwood.

Some of the items we received for review are:

Whimsical Flower Organizational Folder

My daughter's favorite feature of this product is the 8 full size pockets. They are coated to reduce ripping and tearing. She also loves the beautiful and contemporary design on the cover.

Hot Chocolate One Subject Notebook

We especially like the fact that this notebook comes with an elastic band. It is attached to the back cover to help keep all those handouts from getting wrinkled in the bottom of a book bag or knapsack. The design series is modern and contemporary as well.

What makes these products even better is the fact that the website is having a promotion from August 1st to August 22nd. When you use the code BTS2009 you will receive a 15% discount on your whole order.

All orders that total $30 or more after the discount receive free shipping.

The part of this post that you have been waiting for: THE GIVEAWAY!!!



They put together a great package that you can win right here on this blog!

You can win a collection of items that include all the necessary supplies for back-to-school; 1-subject notebooks, composition books, binders and more!

The winner can choose between the following two collections:



The Sasquatch Collection





The Kendall Collection












To Enter this giveaway:

(1) You MUST be a follower of my blog

AND

(2) You MUST visit Carolinapad.com and write a comment providing the EXACT NAME ( Item and design) of another item you would like to own.

For example your comment could say " I follow your blog and I would like to own the Whimsical Flower Organizational Folder. ( and no...you can't use this product!) LOL!

For an extra entry: Visit Carolinapad.com and tell me one store close to you where you can purchase their products.

This contest is open only to US citizens and items will be shipped from Carolinapad.com directly. The winner will be picked via Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to the email that I will send. If no response is received, another winner will be chosen via the same method. The winner must comply with BOTH requirements stated above ( yes..I will check)

This contest will run from July 30th to August 13th, 2009 and will end at 11:59pm EST.

Update: I have a big favor to ask of you. Please take one moment and read my Sharing is Caring post and help me get to thirty comments! I would really appreciate it!

Review of " Sin in Linen - Dreamy Linen Kasbah Quilt" from Beddingsets.com

I recently received the Kasbah Quilt from Beddingsets.com for Sarah's bedroom( she is 15). We were told we could pick anything we wanted up to a certain amount from their website, and after looking around I noticed that there was a whole section of bedding that would be appropriate for a teenager.

That was important to me as I had been having some difficulty trying to find bedding for a teenager that was neither too " old" looking or too childish and that was affordable as well as durable at the same time. My other requirement was that the bedding be season specific as our heavy quilts were too big and too bulky for the summery nights.

I put my daughter to the task of using the website to find what she wanted, and utilizing the search function she was able to come up with a number of different choices within minutes.

The website gives the following information about this quilt:

Whether you're saving up for an overseas adventure, or you've returned home and you're looking to savor the memories of life abroad,these beautiful linens are modeled after the intricate tiles of Morocco. Camel caravans and snake charmers not included. Quilt is 200 thread count, 100% cotton.

Dimensions:

• Twin - 66" W x 90" D
• Full / Queen - 90" W x 90" D
• King - 100" W x 90" D

We chose the twin quilt and this is how it looked when we received it:

Here is a close-up of the pattern:



You can really see how evenly spaced and well done the stitching is!

We spread the quilt out to see how it looked and get an idea of how big it really was:

It is perfect for my daughters room, and she loves sleeping with it. She told me that it is soft and fluffy and is a great fit with her decor!

It is currently on sale for 39.00 with free shipping! They also offer the matching sheets and duvet collection, which are also available in all sizes and are currently in stock.

Thank you again to Beddingsets.com for the opportunity to review this item!

Please note: Item was provided free of charge but review is independent and unbiased.

Coming Up: A Review of Beddingsets.com

I am sooo excited! I get to do another review for my readers from Beddingsets.com This is the bedding they are sending me:

It's called " Sin in Linen - Dreamy Linen Kasbah Quilt and was picked by my daughter Sarah, who is quite picky herself!

It comes at a great time, since finding bedding that is neither too girlish but still fun has proved to be quite hard. Finding it at a reasonable price has proved to be almost impossible. So far, this seems to be both fun and reasonably priced ( under $50) and that is why I can't wait to try it out for myself and let you know what Sarah and I think about it.

Stay tuned for my review, and if you are curious, go see it for yourself!

Back from my cruise on Carnival Triumph to St. Johns, Canada

I set sail from New York on Thursday evening for my four day cruise to Canada on the Carnival Triumph.


I have been cruising for quite some time, and although I had not been on Carnival for a few years, the price was right so my family and I decided to go for it.

I won't bore you with details and/or complaints, but it reminded me why I stopped cruising with Carnival to begin with. After the past few years on Princess and NCL(Norwegian) I was spoiled.

Everything from inattentive gift shop clerks to unmotivated casino personnel and the hot water I had to pour for myself and my table mates at a high tea service made this a cruise with lots of service problems.

Not the way that your cruising experience is supposed to be like; especially in this day of decreasing vacation dollars and increased competition in the vacation industry.

Carnival, are you listening?

Beautiful Black Mountain Jewelry Win from Val's View Blog!!

I recently entered a blog contest to win jewelry from Val's View.

Yesterday I received two of these necklaces made especially for me and my best friend Kathy, courtesy of Black Mountain Jewelry company

This is the necklace that I chose:



I also love this bracelet:




I also want to tell you that Carla, the owner of this company, is the most wonderful and thoughtful person to deal with and she treated me with respect, a quality that I find priceless in today's world of indifferent retailers.

Go look and you will see what I mean: www.blackmountainjewelry.com and you will fall in love with them too!

Check this out as well: Each piece that they sell comes with a guarantee that s twofold: First they will repair or replace and item at no cost to you within the first thirty days if it fails to be free from defect in craftsmanship and materials as well as one year of free service IE: polishing, checking stones etc. After that, they provide repair and service for the life of the item at trade pricing ( 1/2 price of a jewelry store) plus shipping.

Good luck finding that kind of confidence and service at similar jewelry sites!

Let me know what you guys think...and if you order by 8/15/09 use this code for 10% off your first order: RF29.