Gift Ideas: ShāToBu: The Workout You Wear

The Workout You Wear
Make It Your Little Secret

ShaToBu is meant to be worn all day every day
Specially designed for optimal comfort
Just enough resistance to provide significant toning and calorie burning
The extra exercise is effective and effortless

ShaToBu - The Workout You Wear - is the revolutionary shaper that helps women shape, tone and burn more calories during everyday activities.

The benefits go beyond ordinary shapewear - ShaToBu instantly gives a sleeker silhouette, but women can also see and feel a difference in their bodies with regular use over time. By incorporating resistance bands right into the garment, muscles work a little harder and more calories are burned during daily activities.

ShaToBu helps women fit a workout into their normal day, while looking and feeling great.

ShāToBu™ - Footless Shaping TightUSD$ 34.00

Style: 12704A (U.S.A.)
Buy Here

Soft and slimming, these footless shaping tights are a fashion must-have to not only pull together your favorite outfit, but to also tone your muscles and burn extra calories as you go about your day! Whether you choose to wear these under pants, with a skirt or a dress, you’ll be looking fabulous while you’re getting fit.

• Helps tone muscles and burn extra calories
• Shapes your trouble spots in thighs & derriere
• Smoothes bulges and panty lines

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ShāToBu™ - Shaping Tight

USD$ 36.00
Style: 12702A (U.S.A.)
Buy Here



Our revolutionary new shaping tights provide all of the same muscle toning and calorie burning benefits of the ShaToBu shapers, but in addition, make any outfit look fashionably chic. They not only help shape and support for an instantly sleeker silhouette, but also provide a light workout for more toned legs and derriere long term!

• Helps tone muscles and burn extra calories
• Smoothes bulges
• Eliminates panty lines

For more great gift ideas from ShaToBu, click here.

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Great Gift Idea: Luminess Air

Luminess Air was developed by leading makeup artists from the fashion, print, television and film industries along with leading cosmetic chemists and colorists.  Our Luminess Air formulators and cosmetics designers have a minimum of 15 to 30 years of experience in the cosmetics industry and have run the research and development departments of some of the leading cosmetics brands in the country. Our formulations are rated amongst the best makeup in terms of quality, result and design.


Luminess Air never tests products on animals.  We believe in making our cosmetics as simple, holistic, organic and natural as possible.  And you will never find us sitting still; our designers and formulators are constantly working on the next generation innovation to revolutionize cosmetics.

Today, Luminess Air is the leader in airbrush cosmetics with the most advanced airbrush cosmetics formulations and airbrush innovations.  Chances are that you have seen our product on Hollywood A-listers, films, TV shows, covers of major fashion magazines, runway shows and network television anchors and celebrities for a while now without ever knowing about Luminess Air.  We were once only available to the trade by word-of-mouth and now, today Luminess Air is available for everyone.

Furthermore, Luminess Air and its founders have a strong sense of responsibility and giving back to communities, organizations and causes which help those in need.  Luminess Air strongly supports UNICEF and other children’s causes along with various breast cancer and women’s health causes.  We believe that everyone should have one more chance!

Kelly System

Buy Here

The Kelly System comes complete with four foundation shades.  You may be wondering why we are sending four shades of foundation in your starter kit?  We include 4 personal shades of foundation to ensure that you get the most precise, personal color match. Not to mention, your shades change from season to season. And as an added plus, you can mix and
custom blend by placing a few drops of multiple shades for even a closer match. Now you can finally have the best skin-foundation match ever!

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Home Tan

Buy Here

Luminess Tan™ is a major breakthrough in home self tanning. Because so little is known about airbrush tanning, it is easily confused with spray tanning. Airbrush tanning is the ultimate way to apply the smoothest, most natural lasting sunless tan. The secret is in the exact control application, which provides the most flawless results.

Our high performance tanning system has two major components. First, Luminess Tan™ features our highly innovative airbrush body application system. Do you know that Luminess® is the #1 brand in airbrush beauty and perhaps the largest manufacturer of personal airbrush systems in the world?Our technology is based on the principles of great results, ease of use, reliability and value. The airbrush system is comparable to those used in high end tanning salons & spas. Please don’t confuse airbrush tanning to misting booths, which are extremely messy.

The second component of Luminess Tan™ is our highly innovative tanning solution. The formulation features both an instant bronzer for immediate color and tanning actives designed to physically darken skin. Our formulation features dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which is approved by the FDA for external use.

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Ultra Foundations

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Available in a variety of shades, a little goes a long way.  Become a Pro Member and save even more money.

Check out Luminess Air for more great gift ideas.

Read my review on the Luminess Air System and how much I LOVE it!

Great Gift Idea: SmileyCookie

It started as a half-baked idea more than 20 years ago — a smiley cookie as the vehicle to communicate the ethos of a restaurant — Eat’n Park, the Place for Smiles. Soon our cookie became not just the signifier of a delightful family dining experience, but a symbol of commitment to community and charitable giving, indeed, the mascot of the company. (Who knew a six-foot walking sugar cookie would have such draw. You have to be cracking a smile by now!)

Today, every child that dines at Eat’n Park receives the surprise of a buttery, rich, delicious smiley cookie, totaling more than 1 million free cookie treats each year. Every day, our cookies are distributed to community, charity and fundraising events. Every year, more than 200,000 smiling cookies are donated to local non-profit organizations. That’s a lot to smile about.

Crumb on and Try Our Cookie Delivery Company!

And now, our smile has gotten even bigger with our online cookie delivery company — fresh-baked, hand-iced Smiley Cookies delivered all over the country — fast and fresh. Smiles for miles each and every day!

That’s because our convenient online cookie company makes it easy for you to share a smile with anyone, anywhere, for any occasion. (Note how our cookies take the celebratory shape of hearts, shamrocks, bunnies, jack-o-lanterns and more for holidays and special occasions, and are available in virtually any color combination to sweeten the offer.)

You can even order customized cookies to match wedding colors, sport teams, corporate logos and more, and have your cookies delivered fresh nearly anywhere to as many addresses as you choose! And with our smart cookie pricing, you don’t need to spend a lot of dough! Did we say, “SWEET”?

Original Smiley

Buy Here

The prototype. The icon. The one-and-only Smiley Cookie — a classic American sentiment, revered by young and old, that says happiness, warmth, yes and more — baked fresh in our ovens, sent straight to your door! That rhymes.

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Dozen Smiles Starlight Combo (Six Star Cookies & Six Original Cookies)
Buy Here

Do stars make you smile? Do smiles make you starry-eyed? Then our Dozen Smiles star cookie basket is the way to say “way to go” to your super star or to send a star-struck message to whomever you have your eye on

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Smiley Travel Mug - Cheer To Go!
Buy Here

The trip always goes better when you take a smile along with you! Just ask the thousands of journeyers, gypsies and jet-setters who won’t leave home without their Smiley cookie travel mug!

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Smiley Milk Chocolate or Dark Chocolate
Buy Here

Smiley Milk Chocolate

When Smiley met Sarris Candy, makers of the best chocolate in the world, the resulting Smiley milk chocolates proved unequivocally, that when worlds collide, the results can be stellar.

Smiley Dark Chocolate

Even candy-making has a dark side and our confectioners are the first to embrace the bittersweet as they take a whisk and introduce the mood-altering charm of our Smiley dark chocolates.

Check out SmileyCookie.com for more great gift ideas.

Become a Fan on Facebook here.


Follow on Twitter here.



Don’t forget to sign up and join the club to save $5 on your next order - see site for specific information.

America The Story of Us: An Illustrated History by Kevin Baker Review

Have you had a chance to watch the History channel and view America The Story of Us?  I have and loved it and when I was provided an opportunity to receive a complimentary copy, I was more than happy to read and provide my thoughts.  The author, Kevin Baker, wrote this great supplement to the History channel special that chronicles the United States from colonial settlement to modern day.

The book is broken down into 12 chapters with numerous illustrations supporting the stories.  The illustrations range from drawings to photos from objects to maps and so much more.  The illustrations were a treasure to this book given how much it added to the entire book.  The insightful stories provided an almost first hand account of what it must have been liked to have been in some of the situations described along the way.

 

This is a 400 page powerhouse that follows the series along thus reinforcing what the viewer watched if for educational reasons or just for pleasure.  America The Story of Us: An Illustrated History is perfect for the novice or historical buff.  My favorite chapter was on WWII and I particularly liked seeing an actual copy of Roosevelt's address to Congress. There is a final section for extended reading should the reader like to find additional information to supplement the book.

Overall, I would recommend this book as an educational aid or just for pleasure.  Very well written, informative, factual and excellent complimentary illustrations that keep you wanting more.


Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of this book for my honest review.

KT Tunstall's Tiger Suit Review

KT Tunstall just released her third studio album featuring more dance like hits compared to what I read about her other two prior albums.  I've never heard of KT Tunstall prior to receiving this complimentary CD but did enjoy it.  Some of the tracks were reminiscent of the type of dance music I have heard while traveling in Europe.  Glamour Puss was interesting as she also incorporated whistling within the song itself to offer a different sound.

 

The opening song, Uumannaq Song, is named after a village in Iceland.  It's described as having heavy tribal vocals and has a nice rhythm.   Each song is enjoyable and had a good beat although heavily European influenced with the techno aspect.  


KT even stated, "“making the album felt a bit like an archaeological dig, digging deeper to uncover what most turns me on,” says Tunstall. “The best way I can describe it is that I felt I discovered the indigenous part of myself by going back to campfire dance music just as much as club dance music. When I grind my boot heel into the floor it’s connected to when I went clubbing in Berlin. Losing yourself in the middle of nowhere around a fire is no different to losing yourself surrounded by hundreds of people on a dancefloor.”


Track 8 Come On, Get In was probably my favorite song with the beat and the catch vocals.  You can listen to samples here.  Overall, it was a different CD with what to me, was a variety of different songs from this talented singer.  Take a listen and you might just like her sound and stop by her site to catch the latest information here.


This review is my personal opinion and that I have been entered to win a gift card through One2One Network by participating.

Holidays are Coming: What Do You Want as a Giveaway?

Christmas is my favorite time of the year as I always write.  One thing I love the most about Christmas is giving back to others.  Even though my blog is only a little over year old, I like to give back to my readers.  Last year, I took a poll to see what you would like as a Christmas giveaway so this year, I thought I'd do the same.

Gift cards and from where?

Seeking Sponsors for Holiday Gift Giveaway Hop

As part of the upcoming Holiday Gift Giveaway Hop, I'm looking for sponsors that would like to participate.  The event runs December 1 to 5th and there over 200 blogs participating so far.  This exposure will generate a lot of hits to your business and will be fun for everyone involved!

The giveaway theme is cash and gift cards/gift certificates and I'm looking for businesses who would like to sponsor my blog with a gift certificate to their business.  This can be US or international the choice is yours.

How might you benefit?

One of our organizers, Simply Stacie is expecting this to be a high traffic event and the buzz is already building online about it.  I am offering a tier level of sponsorship packages that you can choose from.

Sponsorship Packages are:

Premium Package:  

Provide a Gift Certificate of $100 and up for the winner and in exchange you will receive:

• A Company or Product Feature Post - This 300+ word post will include two keyword links of your choice to include pictures.
• A Sidebar Button Ad - I will provide a sidebar button ad for the month of November up until December 15. 
• A Facebook Post - I will provide a Facebook post on your business and will suggest your page to my followers.
• Weekly Tweets - I will send weekly Tweets out to my 1700+ Twitter followers about your company and a link to your site starting November 1 to December 5.
• Description of your business - I will provide a link to your site and a picture on the Holiday Gift Giveaway Hop post.

Basic Package:

Sponsor a Gift Certificate of $50 to $99 and you will receive:

• A Sidebar Button Ad - I will provide a sidebar button ad for the month of November up until December 15. 
• A Facebook Post - I will provide a Facebook post on your business and will suggest your page to my followers.
• Four Tweets - I will send weekly Tweets out to my 1700+ Twitter followers about your company and a link to your site starting November 1 to December 5.
• Description of your business - I will provide a link to your site and a picture on the Holiday Gift Giveaway Hop post.
• 
  

Economy Package:

Sponsor a Gift Certificate 0f $49 or less and you will receive:

• A Facebook Post - I will provide a Facebook post on your business and will suggest your page to my followers.
• Tweet - I will send a Tweet out to my 1700+ Twitter followers about your company and a link to your site starting November 1 to December 5.
• Description of your business - I will provide a link to your site and a picture on the Holiday Gift Giveaway Hop post.

If interested, please send an e-mail to staying_younger@yahoo.com or if you have any questions.

What can just $20.11 do for YOUR business or blog this coming year?

What can just $20.11 do for YOUR business or blog this coming year? It can get you anAMAZING promotional BOOST -  211 tweets - never more than once a day.  211 facebook statuses - never more than one per day. 6 blog features - never more than once a month.  All with dofollow links to your product(s)/business/post(s)/blog. And a permanent link to your business/blog on www.parkerpronline.com/2011-booster-club .  This promotion will fill up fast - so sign on today!! Doing so will earn you bonus tweets, facebook statuses, and blog features - as well as your link on the BOOSTER CLUBpage NOW, well before the official January 2011 Kick-Off, when the price rises to $105!!  Send your payment plus referral #6 via PayPal to blogmaniapr@gmail.com and give your business/blog a BOOSTtoday!!!

The fine print. Your BOOSTS will go out on:

www.parkerpronline.com/2011-booster-club

www.parkerponline.com

www.facebook.com/GinaParker4PR

www.facebook.com/Blogmania

www.facebook.com/EASY2ENTERgiveaways

www.twiiter.com/Gina_Parker

The minimum number of BOOSTS is guaranteed,  however due to the large quantity of BOOSTS - updates will not be provided, they must be tracked by you.  That said, we will keep a running count, just not specific urls in our  files.

If you would like to have your BOOSTS go out over any other member of the 2011 BLOGMANIA Dream Team's  accounts as well, please include an additional $10.00  - and the blog name of the blogger you would like to send your BOOSTS.  Please add on $8 for each additional blogger after that.

Save your PayPal receipt as this promotion is tax deductible under advertising.

Tuesday Blog Hopping

It's everyone's favorite day of the week again, Tuesday..

So that means it's time to link up & follow for

Follow Me Back Tuesday

Hosted By:   Survey Junkie, Little Yaya's,  
Review Retreat  &  Boobies,BabiesAndABlog 

This week joining us as our Guest Host is:

Stacie from Simply Stacie

 How F.M.B.T Works

• Follow all 4 Hosts & Guest Host - Spots 1-5   leave a comment w/ link so we can follow back  ( only leave a comment that you follow if you actually follow )

• Snag their button & make a F.M.B.T. post. 
• After you post use that link to add your blog to the hop along with blog name  

( NO BLOG HOPs & GIVEAWAYS PLEASE  ) These entries will be deleted.

• Follow the blogs you like & Follow Back who follows you

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The Joys of a Grandchild

I had no idea how wonderful having a grandchild would be but then I rarely get to hold her because her mama, my daughter, always has her!  It's so cute seeing the love and adoration she has for her.  I always told her that having a child brings about a completely new love that you only experience with your own.  She thought she knew it from being so involved with raising my three and seven year old until now.  She loves my two more than words can describe but she has definitely picked up a new love and it's so evident by watching her interact with her.

We took pictures the last two days and had tons of fun:

The above is a tutu dress that I won from another blogger, Village of Moms, and love it!  She has a blue tutu too that matches my girls.

Tons of fun with girls and I'm loving it!  I can't wait for Christmas!

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Cricut Personal Cutter and Elmer's Craft Bond

This weekend, I worked on a few projects for my cousin's children's birthdays coming up soon.  I have a Silhouette SD Digital Cutter and a Cricut Personal Cutter.  There are differences with the two and each has their pro's, con's and things in common.  I also have the Cricut Cake which I'm still trying to figure out as it's not as easy as cut and bam, you have something magnificent.

The great thing I just discovered is from Craft Edge and it allows you to purchase software that you can download SVG files and send to your Silhouette or Cricut! That allows for so much more diversity and if you search for free SVG files, you will find a ton of freebies.  I purchased the Sure Cuts a Lot program and love it.  I was able to create so much more with it and with this program, you don't have to rely on the Cricut cartridges alone.

For my first project, my cousin's son is having a Cat in the Hat themed party so I made a banner, cupcake wrappers and cupcake picks.  I still have to make the water bottle labels.

I used the Cricut to cut the Cat in the Hat and the shapes and used Elmer's Craft Bond to glue them together.  I followed up with hot glue to affix the bamboo forks to the cardstock.  The other picture of picks are for the spa theme.

I copied and pasted the images below and used my Kodak printer on sticker paper.  I believe there is paper that is waterproof but I haven't taken the time to find or buy it.  I just used 3m wide clear packing tape to carefully wrap the bottle which creates a nice appearance.  I also use Crystal water bottles due to the flat shape in the middle that allows for perfect placement.

I used the Cricut completely for the banner.  I cut out the different layers of the Cat in the Hat and used Elmer's Craft Bond to glue them all together.  I received a package of different Elmer's products as a Bzz Agent and have been experimenting with them.  I used the Craft Bond and the X-Acto cutter for edges on the toothpicks.  I like Elmer's Craft Bond as it's a pen and allows easier use and the right amount of adhesive.  It's handy and really maintains a strong hold.

For the second theme, her daughter is having a spa theme.  I used a downloadable scrapbook theme coupled with the Cricut and Elmer's Craft Bond.  I printed the images and placed on Cricut cut shapes.  The water bottle labels are printed.

I'm going to write a comparison post on the Cricut and Silhouette soon.

10 Ideas for Incorporating Fun and Play into Your Child’s Daily Activities

Having fun with your kids can be an easy task and can make simple tasks much more fun for all.  I have many opportunities where I try to find ways to sneak in educational or healthy opportunities in our day to day lives.  My kids have taught me a need to find unique ways to teach and allow them to teach me at the same time.  They are always inspiring me and I try to inspire them.  TwitterMoms provided a new opportunity via The Hub on 10 ideas for incorporating fun and play into your child's daily activities. 

1. Preparing breakfast is a fast and easy way to change up the boring most important starting meal of the day.  Granted, it's not easy to do on school days but on the weekends, we can jazz it up with this cool pancake pen I have.  We create shapes out of the mix and have fun eating our creations.  They get to cook, they eat and everyone is happy.
2. Grocery shopping can be a chore when kids aren't happy. Just yesterday, we shopped and made a game out of it.  Each one held on to the sides of the cart.  If I picked up something from one side, the corresponding child was able to take it and place it in the cart.  They were learning how to cooperate, take turns and learn right from left.
3. Picking up toys is never fun but with a handy little catchy song, it makes it a little more tolerable.   "Clean Up" can trigger fun if song right.  Sometimes the race to clean the quickest gets slipped in there and then I'm the winner.  Whether it's a competition to clean first or helping one another, it can be a fun time.
4. Bath time is a fun time in our house and it's easy to incorporate fun activities there.  We have the writing soaps to keep them busy.  They can write on themselves and guess the picture so while they are having fun, they are also cleaning themselves.
5. We occasionally take walks and when we walk, we try to spot the animals we see along the way.  They make it a game to see who can spot the most animals and the bonus is they learn to count.  They take great pleasure in seeing how many they can spot and who spots the most.
6. Car rides can be boring pending on the mood and how long the distance is.  We make it fun by singing songs like the alphabet or other catchy tunes.  Having them change the tones of their voices also makes for interesting, giggly fun by all.
7. Family fun night is an easy one but it ties into how well they did over the week.  If they had a good time at school, behaved well during the week and so forth, they get rewarded with a family fun night of a movie and dinner we fix together.  Knowing they get rewarded gives them something to look forward to such as doing their homework, cleaning up and getting along.
8. When they get dressed in the morning, they get to help pick out their clothes.  They especially love picking out their own clothes because they are so picky.  To make it more fun, they get to decide the night before what they want to wear and they make it a game by choosing something they saw during the day that inspired them.  For instance, if they watched Snow White, they can find something that reminds them of a princess.  They use their imagination to figure out what to wear.
9. Brushing teeth is a chore in my house with reminding them every day to complete the dreaded task.  We have the kiddie toothpaste, the kiddie toothbrushes and then they can brush along side of a song that gets them inspired to brush for a long time.  Their teeth are clean, they are fired up ready to go and I'm happy.
10. Physical activity is another important task and with kids today, it's hard to get them motivated.  Luckily, they like our wii system so while they are playing, they don't realize they are getting a work out. It works for me too as I break a sweat and burn some calories.  This is definitely something that provokes fun!

No matter what tasks you have to do with your kids, it's easy to incorporate a little fun to offer some change and willingness to participate.  What fun ways do you have?  Please share!

About the Hub:

The Hub, a NEW TV channel for kids and families where great things Come TOGETHER!

The Hub will have shows that seamlessly blends play with curiosity. Featuring original animation, live-action series, game shows and specials, The Hub will entertain, enlighten, empower and educate kids and families.

The Hub's schedule is designed to address the viewing needs of the entire family. MORNINGS on The Hub are all about the HubBub block, developed to spark preschooler imaginations and make learning fun. AFTERNOONS and early evenings are Kid's Prime, attracting kids 6 to 12 with clever stories, multidimensional characters and unexpected heroes. PRIME-TIME programming will showcase original and acquired series as well as movies selected for the whole family to enjoy.

More info: www.hubworld.com

Disclosure:  I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and The Hub blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here

Amy's Burritos & My Moms Meet Party

Eating healthier and living better is something I half way strive for.  I would love to jump full force into it but I have picky children that no matter what I try, I can't break the barrier yet.  I am happy to see so many products available that are also convenient such as Amy's Burritos.  There are so many varieties that they will satisfy most anyone's taste if they like burritos.  I was selected to host an Amy's Burritos Party for 13 of my select mommy friends from Mom's Meet.

Amy's Burritos are made from the finest natural and organic ingredients which gives me peace of mind knowing that I'm providing what I deem as healthier food.  No meat, fish, poultry or eggs are ever used in Amy's products.  The shells are made of organic flour and filled with great tasting organic beans, rice, vegetables, cheeses. tofu and their own sauces.  The best part of them all aside from the natural goodness, you pop them in the microwave or oven and you have a quick snack or a meal.

Amy started business in 1988 and her products contain no MSG, additives, preservatives, GMOs or trans fats.  I've been reading more and more about GMOs so this is another feature that appeals to me.  Cheese is made from hormone free milk.

Here are the available choices from Amy's:

• BEAN & RICE BUR RITO (Dairy Free/No Cho les terol) also avail able in Light in Sodium
• BEAN & CHEESE BUR RITO also avail able in Light in Sodium
• GLUTEN FREE BEAN & RICE BUR RITO (Gluten Free/Dairy Free/No Cholesterol)
• GLUTEN FREE BEAN & CHEESE BUR RITO (Gluten Free)
• BLACK BEAN VEG ETABLE BUR RITO (Dairy Free/No Cholesterol)
• BREAK FAST BUR RITO (Dairy Free/No Cholesterol)
• BUR RITO ESPECIAL
• SOUTH WEST ERN BURRITO

For our mom's party, I served the breakfast burritos, southwestern burritos, bean and cheese burritos, black bean vegetable burritos and the bean and rice burritos.  Each mom received their very own coupons full of savings and free product to try when they left.

We had five children and 13 moms present.  The children were hit and miss on liking the burritos and I found those that liked Mexican food, seemed to like the burritos.  All the moms were surprised at the taste of the different varieties.  They all agreed they liked and enjoyed the flavor with five, including myself, did not like the breakfast burritos made with tofu.

Overall, the party was a hit and some moms were educated on the differences with organic foods, GMO foods and pesticide use.  It was a good party since I was able to share information that some weren't aware of.  Amy's was a hit!

Interested in becoming a Moms Meet Ambassador, click here.