Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Casey & Kristin's Summer Style Guide!!



Its July 1st... you know what that means??!?!!

Kristin from An Ordinary Life and I are kicking off our awesome SUMMER STYLE GUIDE!!

We're going to fill you in on all sorts of great products that are so perfect for summer... from shoes to totes to makeup and clothes... We've got your picks here at A Couch With A View and An Ordinary Life!!

We'll have discount codes and giveaways so make sure you stop back to check out all the fabulous stuff that we've got coming for you!!

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Its one of those days...

I'm having a blah day...

Its one of those days when its easier to just give the baby a bath after lunch rather than attempt to clean him up.

Its one of those days that the laundry is calling my name, but I'd rather put on some headphones to drown it out.

Its one of those days where I couldn't stand combing my daughters hair just as much as she couldn't stand it.

Its one of those days where I woke up with the motivation, but now, its gone.

Bye-Bye motivation... please come back to visit soon....

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Nike Grant Program

Nike is supporting local organizations across the country by investing up to $650,000 in grants. There are two grant opportunities; the National Grant Program, in which an organization applies directly to its nearest NikeRetail location, and the Community Grant Program that operates through Nike Factory Community Stores in Northeast Portland, South Chicago and New Orleans. Remember- applicants need votes to win a grant, so your help could make a huge difference in determining who the recipients are!



Take a minute, click the banner and vote for someone. The votes are needed to win those grants!

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Sunday, June 28, 2009

Menu Plan Monday

Here's another week of Menu Plan Monday from my home!! I'm kinda being lazy this week, but oh well! We all have those weeks!! Doing some shopping from my own freezer for a few meals this week and doing so cut down on my grocery bill a bit! WA-HOOO!!

Monday: Country Salisbury Steak

Tuesday:
Hot Dogs, Veggies & Mac Salad

Wednesday: Tuna Melts, Veggies & Mac Salad

Thursday: Crockpot Saucy Meatballs with Spaghetti

Friday:
Sirloin Roast with Potatoes, Carrots & Celery

Saturday: Cuban Sandwiches

Sunday: Lo Mein Veggies

Once again, breakfasts are usually cold cereal, oatmeal and sometimes Boug just wants toast and a banana! Lunches usually are leftovers or sandwiches paired with yogurt or fruit generally. My meals are usually a bit heavier in meats and chickens as hub is a butcher and brings so much home for free or next to nothing!! Check out more Menu Plan Monday entries at orgjunkie!!

Recipes:

Country Salisbury Steak (from Kraft)
1.5 lbs ground beef
1 pk chicken stuffing mix
1.5 c. water divided
3/4 c. chopped onions
1 pk. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c. bbq sauce

Preheat to 375, mix meat, stuffing, onions and 1 1/4 c. water until blended. Shape into oval patties and place into pan. Bake 25 minutes or until cooked through. In a nonstick skillet, cook mushrooms over medium heat 5 minutes or until lightly browned, then add in bbq sauce and remaining water, simmer on low until heated through. Serve over patties.

Crockpot Saucy Meatballs
1 package turkey stuffing mix
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup water
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 sliced green bell peppers
4 cups spaghetti sauce
1 lb. spaghetti
1/3 cup parm cheese

Combine stuffing mix, meat, egg and water. Form into balls and put on the bottom of the crockpot. Top with mushrooms, peppers and spaghetti sauce. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Make spaghetti normally and serve the meatballs over top and sprinkle with cheese!

Sirloin Roast
Large can cream of mushroom soup
1/3 can water
1 pk. onion soup mix
2 handfuls of baby carrots
6 celery stalks cut into chunks
3 potatoes, cut into chunks
1 large onion cut into chunks
Sirloin roast (I generally use a 2-3 lb. roast, depending on what the hub brings home)

I mix everthing together in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. I pull the roast out and slice it up, pour the gravy over and put all the veggies right on top or a just to the side!

Cuban Sandwiches (from Meal Planning 101)
These are some of my very favorite sandwiches from when I lived in Key West, so I'm going to try this recipe out and see how it adds up!! I'm sure they'll be wonderful!!

Veggie Lo Mein:
Vegetable oil
1 lb. pk. Stir fry veggies
8 oz. spaghetti (cook normally)
Minced garlic
1 sliced onion
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. sesame oil (I dont use this)

Toss the cooked spaghetti with 1 tbsp of veg. oil until it is evenly coated. Next heat 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or a wok. Add the onion and garlic. Sautè until the onion is tender. Add the frozen stir-fry vegetables. Cook over high heat until thawed. Add the cooked spaghetti. Stir everything all up and let it fry (about 5 minutes.) Try and let the past brown a little. Top off and toss with the sesame oil and soy sauce.

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Take the high road?

I'm going to let you in on a bit of my past.

My father is not really my father. My parents have been together for the past 9 years and in those 9 years, my step-father has been more of a father to me then my biological dad has ever been. When I was 16, after years of in and out of my life, my father decided it was another "in" time and we went to dinner one night. The night progressed by my bio-father nagging me about my mothers love life, putting her down, putting me down and being an all out jerk. We were at a restaurant where my mom worked a few nights a week for some extra money, so most of the waitstaff knew who I was, but that didn't stop him from being an ass.

Next thing I knew, my bio-dad flicked me in the forehead from across the table. Leaving a massive welt. Then when we were leaving, he smashed the door to the restaurant in my face. One of the waitresses who knew me poked her head out the door and yelled, "Casey, are you alright??" Of course I responded yes, and went on my way with my bio-dad to give me a ride home.

When we got back to my house, he wanted to come inside to use the phone and who am I to say no? Letting him in was my way of avoiding conflict. Needless to say, somehow an argument ensued and I wound up getting beat up pretty badly. By the next morning, I had a restraining order and was practically disowned by that entire side of my family.

Fast forward to recent days, I've spoken via facebook with a couple of my uncles and I've attempted to keep in touch with my grandmother over the years, but it always seemed one sided, me being the only one who wanted to actually try. About 3 weeks ago, I received a letter from my grandmother basically bitching me out for not wanting my bio-dad in my life and how I'm robbing the whole family of knowing my kids and I'm robbing my kids of their heritage.

Here's my dilemma, I'm not one to bite my lip and keep my mouth shut. I say what I have to say and thats it, but in this situation, do I take the high road and let it go and not respond? Here's my take, I'm not robbing my kids of shit. My kids are well rounded, amazing children. Do I explain the whole situation to my 4 year old and confuse her about who her grandfather is? Cause as life is now, she has an amazing grandfather who loves her more than anything. Do I possibly tarnish that bond that they have? I don't think that I can. I can't discredit my step-father for all the amazing things that he's done for us over the years. I love him too much to do that. I thought as parents we were supposed to protect our children from assholes? Do I want my kids around the same man who beat the crap out of me? Absolutely not.

I'd love to respond and explain it all to her, but I'm not sure if I can without coming off like a major bitch. Though I feel like allowing myself to be a bitch in this situation is warranted. I want to let her know that child support isn't actually doing your duty as a parent. And just because child support was paid, once again, on and off, throughout the years, doesn't mean that my bio-dad is entitled to a damn thing. Is it a matter that she feels guilty that the son that she raised acted like this? I'm positive it is. I'm positive that she wants to take blame and guilt off of herself and throw it on me. I can't allow myself to feel guilty over this, but do I just let it go? Its hard to keep your mouth shut on something that you have a strong opinion on. I'm not sure I can do it. I know for years she's only heard the one side to the story, where I probably come off like an ungrateful, rotten child, but there's 3 sides to every story. Mine, his and the truth. Fact of the matter is though, that 2 of those stories are the same. Mine and the truth. I'm not sure that I can take the high road on this one.

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Bored on a Sunday....

I'm snagging this meme from Chelsea over at Mama Makes Money, who snuck it from Ms. Modern...

STEP ONE:
Spell your name with songs.

Coldplay- Fix You
Aimee Mann- Driving Sideways
Sublime- Badfish
Elvis Costello- Alison
Yellowcard- Only One

STEP TWO:

Name: Casey

Birthday: July 23rd
Nickname: CaseyDeuce, Deuce

Eye Color: Green
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Zodiac Sign: On the Cancer/Leo Cusp

STEP THREE:

The shoes you wore today: tossed my crocs on for a minute
Your weaknesses: the kids, good chocolate, great coffee.
Your fear(s): being alone outside in the dark, harm coming to my kids
Your perfect pizza: onion!
Goal you’d like to achieve: get a job.....

STEP FOUR:

Your best physical feature: oh goodness... umm, I can't even go there, I don't have any!
Your bedtime: usually between 12 and 1
Most missed memory: my friends that have lost touch with, my friends and family that have passed away.

STEP FIVE:
This Or That…

Pepsi or Coke: Neither! I'm not a soda fan.
McDonald’s or Burger King: McDonalds only cause of their sweet tea!
Adidas or Nike: Adidas, though I've been running in Shox lately.
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Lipton Sweetened No Lemon!!
Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate!
Cappuccino or coffee: Coffee, all day, everyday!

STEP SIX:
Do You…

Smoke: cigarettes, yes.
Curse: Too damn much.
Sing: quite often!
Dance: with the kids especially!
Take a shower everyday: I try to shower everyday, though the little one doesn't always allow it.
Have a crush: Only my hubby!
Do you think you’ve been in love? Of course!
Want to go to college: Would love to go back!
Like(d) high school: Absolutely. Some of the best times of my life!
Want to get married: Already am!
Get motion sickness: Yep! Can't be a passenger in a car.
Think you’re attractive: No, not so much.
Think you’re a health freak: Goodness no, I'm trying to get in better health though.
Get along with your parents: Fabulously.

STEP SEVEN:
In the past month…

Gone to the mall: Nope,
Eaten an entire box of Oreos: not in the past month.
Eaten sushi: Ewh, I just puked a little in my mouth.
Been on stage: Nope
Gone skating: Not since I was like 13
Made homemade cookies: Yep!
Gone skinny-dipping: Nope!
Stolen anything: Not in many many many years!

STEP EIGHT:
Ever…

Played a game that required removal of clothing: Nope!
If so, was it mixed company:
Flashed anyone: Nope!
Been beaten up: Not at all!
Shoplifted: Not in many many years.

STEP NINE:

Age you hope to be married: Got married when I was 25.
Number of children: Have 2 already, I'm done. This shop is CLOSED!
Describe your dream wedding: Laid back, casual, fun!
What country would you most like to visit? Ireland!

STEP TEN:
In the opposite sex…

Best eye color: Doesn't matter!
Best hair color: Doesn't matter!
Short hair or long hair: Doesn't matter!
Height: TALL!! My hub is 6'6"!!

STEP ELEVEN:

Number of people I could trust with my life: Maybe like 3 or 4.
Number of CDs that I own: in the hundreds.
Number of tattoos: 3
Number of piercings: I'm down to just the ears.

Personal Quiz

Who were you with yesterday? Hub, Boug and Lil' Buddy
What woke you up this morning? Lil' Buddy
Where are you? in the living room.
Is tomorrow going to be a good day? certainly hope so!
Do you like anybody? Of course!

THE PAST

Ever thrown up in public? gotta love Key West, FL.
Passed out because of alcohol? sure have.
What’s on your mind RIGHT NOW? getting the little one to nap.

THE FUTURE

What kind of home would you like? Something modest. I'm a simple girl.
What do you want to be when you grow up? Not 100% sure yet.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Same as I am now, hopefully a few pounds lighter though and with a job. Attending the kids school functions and being the good mom that I am.

IN GENERAL

Do you like candy necklaces? Nope, I find them in pockets when I'm doing laundry.
When was the last time you fell over or ran into something? Practically every day!
Do you listen to music every day? Absolutely.
Do you still go trick or treating? I take the kids, yes, I steal their candy.
What was the last thing you ate? Hot Pocket for lunch.
Are you a fast typer? fairly quick.
What’s your favorite type of soda? Dr. Pepper
Have you ever moved? Ummm like 13 or 14 times in 27 years.
Have you ever won an award? I won one at my high school graduation.
Are you listening to music right now? nope, listening to nickelodeon
How long ’till your birthday? just under a month.
When were you the saddest in your whole life? when my best friend died in high school.
What time is it? 2:36 pm.
Do you use eBay to buy or sell? on and off occasionally.
Who makes you mad? My 4 year olds attitude.
Have you ever heard a song written about you? Nope.
Something you want to happen in 2009? Get a part time job that works with my schedule.
Summer 2009? Can't wait for the kids big birthday bash!!
Honestly, do you miss 2008? Not so much.


HONESTY SECTION

Honestly, what color is your underwear? shhhh...
Honestly, what’s on your mind? getting the baby to nap.
Honestly, what are you doing right now? peeking at the baby, he's almost asleep.
Honestly, have you done something bad today? Nope. Nothing bad.
Honestly, who is the last person you talked to on the phone? The hub.
Honestly, are you jealous of someone right now? I don't think so.
Honestly, what makes you mad most of the time? My daughters attitude. Money.
Honestly, do you bite your nails? all the time.
Honestly, have you had an eating disorder? Never.
Honestly, do you want to see someone this very moment? not really- maybe just the hub.
Honestly, are you keeping a big secret now? Not at all.
Honestly, do you have a friend you don’t actually like? Not really.
Honestly, are you in denial? Nope.
Honestly, do you get up in the middle of the night and eat? Nope
Honestly, do you like anyone? I like lots of people!
Honestly, does anyone like you? I would hope so...

ANGER SECTION

What do you do when you’re mad? take it out on the hub.
What’s the worst thing you’ve done when you were mad? punched a metal cabinet.
Ever made anyone cry when you were mad? Unfortunately yes.
Do you swear when you’re mad? Oh boy oh boy do I swear when I mad...

CRYING SECTION

When was the last time you actually cried? Yesterday, I had a migraine.
Ever cried yourself to sleep? I have.
Do certain songs make you cry? Nope.
What usually makes you cry? Frustration.

HAPPY SECTION

Are you usually a happy person? Yeah, I think so!
What makes you the happiest? My family.
Do you believe in yourself? Sure do.
When people say they think you are good looking/pretty, do you get happy? I say thank you and take the compliment graciously.

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HotWire.com- You SUCK!


So battling with any company is never fun, but this time its just really really getting under my skin. I purchased my flight ticket for BlogHer through HotWire.com and I thought I was getting a really good deal, thought that I was being well informed and smart. But BOY OH BOY, was I ever WRONG. Out of curiosity of course, I've watched the prices of my flight drop.... and then drop some more... and of course, I'm thinking, being a competitive industry, wouldn't HotWire want to maybe make a price adustment, like some other companies do, with my ticket so that maybe I'll come back as a return customer?

Now of course, the price of my flight has gone back up to just about that I paid for it, but the original dispute was easy. I asked if I could simply switch to an earlier flight home on the same day, and the response was, "No, not unless you pay $150 to switch as well as the price of the new return ticket." At the time, the difference in what I paid and what the price was, was right around $150. Really? You can't just put me on an earlier in the day flight and take the $150 difference in price and put that to it? There was no willing to change ANYTHING at all by Hotwire. They seemed rather annoyed that I was even ASKING to change something.

Needless to say, many more exchanges of emails back and forth and I'm still sitting on my same flights, paying the same amount and unhappy.

Someone please tell me what commercial it was where I saw that if someone books the same flight as you for less, they mail you the difference... I can't remember, and you bet your ass I'll be using them in the future instead. You lost me Hotwire.com, forever.

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Quotable Sunday

Over at a Daily Dose of Toni, each week she is sweet enough to host Quotable Sunday! If you'd like to participate, head on over and link it on up!!

This weeks quotes are from 3 people pop culture has lost this week, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.

"Honesty is the most single most important factor having a direct bearing on the final success of an individual, corporation, or product." ~Ed McMahon

"God gave women intuition and femininity. Used properly, the combination easily jumbles the brain of any man I've ever met." ~Farrah Fawcett

"I am proud of what I have got and I need an audience." ~Farrah Fawcett

"I'll always be Peter Pan in my heart." ~Michael Jackson

"The meaning of life is contained in every single expression of life. It is present in the infinity of forms and phenomena that exist in all of creation." ~Michael Jackson

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Friday, June 26, 2009

Padding my paypal...


I love to have a couple bucks in my paypal account at all times. I HATE pulling money from the debit card, checking account or anything else just because something cute on etsy or ebay or whatever catches my eye....

Soooo.... I've been padding my account a little at a time weekly by YouData!! I literally check their ad player 2 or 3 times a week and take about 2 minutes, view a few ads and then get paid a couple bucks in my paypal account weekly!! It adds up a little at a time and I love having the extra bucks just sitting there!!

Can I suggest YouData to you?? Its definitely worth the 5 minutes (tops!) a week for a couple bucks!!

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Controversial but Important: Banking Babies Cord Blood

Though its controversial, its quite an important topic. Cord Blood Banking.

The thought had crossed our minds when we were pregnant with Boug, and she's going to be having her 5th birthday next month... then the thought crossed our minds again with Lil' Buddy and he's almost a year. We opted against it, not anything against cord blood banking itself, but due to lack of money.

I mean, something as simple as banking some cord blood, can assure a 100% match if needed, for the infant donor and a 1 in 4 match for a sibling. I'd like to be able to do all that I can do in order to help, protect and ensure my childrens health.

Cryo-Cell is offering a $725 discount on cord blood banking when you use the promotional word HOT, valid through Sunday, 6/28/09. Cryo-Cell International is America's most-established family cord blood bank and has helped over 175,000 families worldwide in preserving their newborns umbilical cord blood. Cord blood that can be stored and be used to treat over 75 diseases.

Cryo-Cell website is loaded with information to make your decisions easier. There's payment plans available, no enrollment fees and are a category exclusive Upromise partner. There is 24/7 customer service available as well as links that you're able to request more information if you'd like to have it mailed to your home.

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A Big Chunk Of Pop Culture Has Left Us

I wasn't sure if I wanted to write this post. Some of it is controversial but I still feel like its the right thing to do and I, like always, want to share my opinion and input.

A huge chunk of pop culture has left us this week, not only with the passing of Michael Jackson, but with the passing of Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon as well. What is pop culture without "Charlie's Angels" and "Heeeereee's Jonny!"??

Ed McMahon was an icon in his own right, with Star Search and hanging out with Dick Clark on the bloopers and practical jokes show among other gigs. At 86 years old, I feel like Ed lived a long life and got a lot out of it. Of course I didn't personally know him, but that's the impression that I get. At 86, you can somewhat "mourn easier" because at that stage in life, passing becomes expected and isn't the biggest surprise. Though its easier to mourn this star in pop culture, we'll miss you Ed, our thoughts are with your family.

The Farrah flippy hair, the infamous poster, and of course, "Charlie's Angels", the most popular angel really now is one (at least I think she's the most popular one!) She was 62 years old and it shouldn't have been her time to go. She should have been able to see her son Redmond come out of jail, cancer took this boys mother and it takes people from us all the time. I sincerely hope that there will come a day that people don't need to be lost to a disease that ravages the body like cancer does. To the family, she is truly an angel now and she will forever be an icon.

So, he was a little eccentric. So, he got accused of horrible things with children, though it was never actually confirmed, we know everyone has their opinion of what happened with that. I'm not here to blast Michael Jackson, nor discuss the accusations made about him because I am not informed enough to make a solid conclusion what he may or may not have done. The fact of the matter is, he is, was and will always be "The King Of Pop." This will go without saying (and with!) for many many years and all court B.S. aside, he was one of the most amazing, talented musicians of our time. His body had obviously been through hell, and at the end he had done so much that he looked like a completely different person then when he was a child, but I still don't believe that it was his time to go. At 50 years old, I don't believe that anyone should have to go. He still had children to raise and a life of his own to live. Whether in eccentricity or what we would like to see him live his life as, he still had time that he should have been able to live.

Do I believe that Farrah would get more press had Michael not died? Yes. I absolutely do. But on the flip side, with the condition that Farrah was in, as horrible as it sounds, she was almost expected to die and with MJ dying unexpectedly, the unexpected overshadowed the expected. Its a horrible thing that the expected gets pushed to the wayside, but thats media. What can you say?

Pop culture suffered a major blow this week. Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Peace be with you and thoughts to your families.

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Prio on a new bathing suit!!



After yesterdays fun outside with the kiddie pool, the slip n' slide and the sprinkler among other things... I completely realized that I'm a doofus and didn't buy Boug a bathing suit yet this season. After jamming her long legs into the one from last summer and seeing how poorly it fit, I was appalled that I would even put my kid in that suit!!

So after having fun and playing around, I let Boug come inside with me and take a look at some bathing suits at amazon.com since I had cashed in some codes at SwagBucks and she picked out the cutest swimsuit all by herself!! I thought she would pick out something ugly and tacky, but my darlin' picked out something that I approve of without any arguing! Gotta love days like that...

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

EverythingMom.com BlogHer '09 Sponsorship Contest

EverythingMom.com is holding a BlogHer '09 Sponsorship contest and I have to enter. Here's the thing, I've been so blessed to have an amazing sponsor that covered my conference ticket and another sponsor that was supposed to cover another part of my trip, but needless to say I'm feeling nervous that it has partially fallen through with the 2nd sponsor. Now here's the problem- I've already paid for that part of my trip with money that I really didn't have to spend!!

The $500 EverythingMom.com sponsorship would mean the world to me and could be something that I could actually SHARE with one of my very best blogging buddies as we don't have our hotel room covered yet... Granted we're staying up the road and not at the conference, in order to save a few bucks, but if I won, I would be able to cover our hotel stay with a few bucks left over for a couple drinky-poos!!

Now, if I won, it wouldn't be just me, since I'm going to share with a friend that I've never even met IRL!! There would be a whole "2 for the price of 1" way of being able to spread the word about EverythingMom.com's Revenue Sharing Program!! Of course we're loudmouths and talkative so pimpin' out EverythingMom.com would come as a piece of cake!! We're even putting together 100 exclusive swag bags and make sure that there's some EverythingMom.com paraphenalia jammed in there along with all the other great stuff!!

What do I hope to get out of the conference? Well of course I want to meet the awesome people that I've been talking with for so long- especially K and Queen Mommy... but besides that, I haven't ever really been away from my kids and I desperately need a break!!

Everything Mom

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Summer Photo Fun!!

UPrinting.com is sponsoring a summer photo contest!! Of course I'm in it to win it!!

First one is OLDSCHOOL!!


Boug's 2nd Birthday Party, July 2006
*But Ma... Don't Us Ladies Love Mud Masks??*

These are from today!

*What Do You Mean, There's Supposed to Be MORE Water In Here?*

*Papa's Gonna Be Payin' For This One Tomorrow...*


UPrinting.com is a leading online provider of business cards, color brochures and mailing postcards.

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Purex 3 in 1 Review & Giveaway!!


I've said it before and I'm sure that I'll say it again. Things that make life more convenient are HUGE in my life. I'm sure as hell that I'm not the only one who feels like that, so when I had the opportunity to try out Purex 3 in 1 Laundry sheets, I jumped. I mean, whats not to love about something that you just toss in the washer, that includes detergent, fabric softener, and anti-static that can just go right into the dryer and includes a dryer sheet.

How does it work?? The sheet includes laundry detergent. When I took it out of the package, I noticed it had a thick, gel-like (but thicker then gel) coating on most of the sheet. Thats the detergent! It releases when it goes into the laundry water and provides the detergent for your load of wash. It also releases the fabric softener in the load and the anti-static when the load and the sheet gets transferred to the dryer.

Seriously though, the amount of packaging is way far less for the Purex 3 in 1, which is awesome for the environment. Especially because once you get the starter pack that is good for 20 loads, you can just get the refill pack after that for 24 loads which has even less packaging. YAY for another step toward environmental responsibility!!!

Also, Purex has teamed up with Kivo.com to support women owned businesses around the world. When you purchase Purex 3 in 1, you can then visit www.purexchangeslives.com to enter in your bar code from your purchase. For each bar code entered, Purex makes a donation to Kivo approved, women owned businesses. You can even choose the female entrepreneur of your choice!!

You can even grab a coupon at the site for $1.00 off your purchase!

Want to win some Purex 3 in 1 sheets?? Leave a comment here with how many loads of wash you do each week!! 1 person will win a package of Purex 3 in 1 spring oasis scent!

Extra Entries??
Follow or Subscribe to A Couch With A View
Follow CaseyDeuce on twitter and tweet this giveaway. You can tweet daily for the duration of this giveaway!!
Post my button on your blog.
Post about this giveaway on your blog!
If you don't have a blog, you can gain extra entries by emailing a friend about this giveaway! Just CC me in your email! caseyscouch@yahoo.com

This giveaway will accept entries until noon on Friday, July 10th. Winner will be drawn with random.org and emailed. Winner must reply to the winning email within 48 hours or else a new winner will be drawn. Please make sure your email address is accessible, cause if I cant contact you, how can you win??

Big thanks to MomSelect for this opportunity!

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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Wordless Wednesday


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Rockin' Out On The Couch...

Am I a bad mom for not wanting to share Guitar Hero On Tour for the DS with my daughter? Is it wrong that I've waited for her to fall asleep before I snuck the DS out of her room?

Don't get me wrong, I love to share with my darling little daughter, but the Guitar Hero On Tour is addicting!! And its not like I'm even good at it!! I absolutely SUCK! But I keep playing in the hopes that I'll get better at it. The hub on the other hand, rocks. And he's certainly not shy about telling me how much better he is than I am.

Guitar Hero On Tour has some of my favorite bands and songs on it and I'm absolutely LOVING that!! Playing Fall Out Boy, Coldplay, Lenny Kravitz and Weezer among many others definitely rocks my socks! There are 28 songs to be played!!

Since Guitar Hero On Tour is for the DS, being able to take it wherever is such a huge perk... (get it? On Tour...). Though my daughter is only 4, I know she'll be whoopin' me in rockin' on the 4 hour trips up north to see my in-laws. And I'm definitely wishing we had a 2nd DS cause I'd like to be able to play against the hub with the wireless, even though I know he's going to whoop on me too.

Like it says on my twitter page, and all over the blogosphere... "I'm rockin' out on the couch, I've got a great view of the mess." And it became even more true when I got Guitar Hero On Tour cause I'm definitely supposed to be doing housework, not playing video games....

Purchase Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits at Amazon.com or at the Guitar Hero On Tour official website!! Big thanks to Mom Central for making this review opportunity possible!

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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

It really IS easy to win!!

You've heard me speak my praises of ItsEasyToWin.com before in the past but I need to let you know that BINGO is coming back bigger then before!! To get in on the BINGO games, make sure you sign up for Its Easy To Win and then mail in a SASE to Eric and he'll mail you back your bingo cards. So for the cost of a .44 cent stamp, you could quite possibly win a couple hundred bucks!!

While at the site, make sure you check out Its Easy To Win's daily sweeps, each day you enter your email in puts you in the running for an amazon.com gift code!

Now this is my most favorite part... the LIVE GAMES!! Tonight being Tuesday means that there's a LIVE GAME going on at Its Easy To Win tonight at 9 EST. Live games rock because its not all cookie cutter crap, Eric has a personality and it really shines through during the LIVE Games. State Your Case is so much fun to watch and I've never even been picked to play. There's the wall with all the cases on it and if you get picked, you choose a case number and make a guess to which state license plate is in there. I want to be picked and guess 7-New York!! And its not just money that you could win- sometimes there's trips to be won or if you didn't pick a winning state-case combination, you could still win with the dollar amounts hidden in some of the cases!



Make sure you hit up the LIVE Game tonight at Its Easy To Win and send away for your BINGO cards before the new round starts!!

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Spanked by StumbleUpon

Remember how annoyed I was with Kristin's URL issue??

Here's another one that just pisses me right off...

Leslie from Leslie Loves Veggies has got to be one of the nicest, most genuine people that I've met in the blog world and I'm friggen' angry!! So many blogs are generous enough to give lots of extra entries in giveaways with all different means, but one of those is occasionally "Stumble This Giveaway." Now I personally don't use StumbleUpon but with this story, I will NEVER use StumbleUpon. EVER!

Now dear Leslie just did what lots of blog owners offer as an extra entry... She stumbled giveaways... which in turn did not get her a giveaway win... It got her BANNED FROM STUMBLEUPON FOR LIFE!! Leslie may love veggies... but her and many others will not love StumbleUpon...

Really? Really Stumble Upon? People are using your site and you BAN them?? How does that work??

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Monday, June 22, 2009

The Human Body Is WEIRD!!

If you read my EA Sports Active update, you'll know I was super nervous about my ankle and what the hell was going to happen when I went to see the orthopedist today.

So after dropping the kids off to play at a friends house, I headed over to the hospital where the doctors office is. First I'll say, they were AWESOME! No waiting, in-fill papers-x-rays-talk to doc-make next appointment-out.... it was so efficient, I was amazed cause I had never been to a doctors office that got me in so quick before, without any waiting of any kind!!

After x-rays and talking with the doc, he thinks that my tendon that runs down the outside of my ankle has moved itself to the wrong side of my ankle bone and that my joint is too loose. Okay tendon... wtf were you thinking jumping all around in there?!?!?! I mean really, its not your decision where you want to be and you cant just go wandering around!! The doc referred me to another doctor in the practice who specializes in feet and ankles.

So for now, its a waiting game until Friday. When I do it all over again, pack the kids in the car, drive them back down to my friends for another playdate, head over to the OTHER hospital where they have offices and see a different doctor. We'll have to see what this one says is the next step... No pun intended...

For now, I'm in an odd, velcro, lace-up ankle brace... on the label it says "game-day brace." So I'm assuming I could go play a game of pro-football with this??

I'll be having a talk with my tendon tonight, believe you me, its gonna get a serious talking-to about this wrong spot action its done.

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Sunday, June 21, 2009

Menu Plan Monday

Here we are for another week of MPM!! I actually kept ALMOST on track last week but 1 dinner got bumped to this week and I wont complain because I did TWO WEEKS worth of grocery shopping for $106.13!! I saved $83.xx and my year to date savings is $922.xx!!! I'm so proud of myself that I've saved almost $1,000 this year so far in groceries!!

Monday: Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken

Tuesday: Eatin' on the go cause we're seeing 311 & Ziggy Marley!!
Wednesday: Steak Caesar Wraps

Thursday: Pizza (made at home)

Friday:
Bruschetta Chicken

Saturday: Pesto Stuffed Steaks

Sunday:
Golden Honey Chicken

Once again, breakfasts are usually cold cereal, oatmeal and sometimes Boug just wants toast and a banana! Lunches usually are leftovers or sandwiches paired with yogurt or fruit generally. My meals are usually a bit heavier in meats and chickens as hub is a butcher and brings so much home for free or next to nothing!! Check out more Menu Plan Monday entries at orgjunkie!!

Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken:
Rinse chicken and sprinkle with your favorite seasoning. I use season salt. Place fryer chicken on top of 4-5 foil balls in the crock pot. Cook on high for 6 hours.

Bruschetta Chicken:
1 can diced tomatoes
1 package chicken stuffing mix
1/2 cup water
2 cloves minced garlic
Dried italian seasoning to taste or dried basil
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Mix tomatoes, stuffing, water and garlic. Layer chicken, basil and cheese in a baking dish. Top with the stuffing mixture and bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Pesto Stuffed Steaks:

I simply butterfly some steaks (I like to use thick ribeyes!) and jam them with pesto then force the hub to put them on the grill to each of our preferred temp!!

Golden Honey Chicken: (from Hillbilly Housewife)
2 lb. chicken (your preference, I prefer thighs on this one)
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. honey
2 cloves minced garlic (I use pre-minced to make my life easier)

Marinate chicken in ketchup, soy, honey and garlic overnight. Put chicken in a pan and pour the marinade over it, bake at 375 for 45 minutes!

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Safe Sunday

A wonderful woman that I admire is starting a "Safe Sunday" at her site, A Blessed Mommy of Six. Trina's an amazing woman who went from having 2 kids to having 6 kids overnight and anything that I can do to help her shine a light on child abuse, I will.

From A Blessed Mommy of Six:

It’s time for all of us to start standing up against child abuse. Every Sunday I will make a blog called “Safe Sunday” the blog will be stories or stats on child abuse. I am asking all of my friends to do the same and ask their friends to also do the same. So many people turn their head and close their eyes when it comes to child abuse. It’s time to open our eyes and see these stats are not going to get better until we all take action. Everyday children should be safe we can atleast take one day a week to speak out against child abuse.

Children use the internet everyday and many use blogs it takes one child to read our Safe Sunday blogs and reach out for help. We can save our children one child at a time. Let's blog our way into a safer more healthy future for our children.

We all have time to get on the internet we can make time to post on Safe Sunday's and help our children of the future, no child should ever be abused or neglect. The post could be a short post with a hotline number or a website for them to get help, it could be a story of abuse or even your own story. You could even post the same post every Sunday as long as we are posting we CAN change the future.

Trina

If you are being abused or neglected please visit http://www.childhelp.org/


Please take a minute and visit Trina's site and let her know that you'll post this on your site too!

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Sun Laundry Detergent Review & Giveaway!


If you're like me, you don't have a ton of space in your laundry area for a bunch of different detergents, but you know... you're supposed to wash the baby stuff in the baby detergent, wash delicates with woolite, wash whites with something with bleach blah blah blah blah... Does it really have to be that complicated??

I don't have anywhere near enough space in my laundry room for 20 different detergents so finding something that's good for a load of Boug and Lil' Buddy's clothes and is also good for a load of the hub's yucky chicken clothes is a damn great thing!! I was able to try out Sun Detergent and had to put it to the test on both the kids clothes and the hubs clothes. It definitely worked well on the kids load and Lil' Buddy didn't get any reaction to it at all which rocks, cause now I know that Sun Detergent can be added to the SHORT list of detergents that don't irritate his sensitive baby skin! As for the husband's clothes... the loads and loads of wash that I loathe... He comes home with chicken bits stuck all on the legs of his jeans and I had to make sure that Sun Detergent would get it out, cause if it didn't, right there it shows me it makes no sense for me to purchase it! But sure enough, hub's clothes came out smelling clean and fresh, with no signs of the chicken bit hitch hikers!!

Being HE Compatible, because we all know how popular high efficiancy appliances are, is a big perk cause not all detergents are HE compatible. And double concentrated to me means that the smaller bottle equals less waste and less space needed in my laundry room!! 1 bottle is good for 29 loads!! That's about a month's worth of laundry in my house!!

Want to win some Sun Laundry Detergent??
2 winners will each receive 2 coupons for a free bottle of Sun Detergent!! Leave a comment letting me know what detergent you usually purchase!! Each winner will receive 2 coupons for one bottle of Sun Laundry Detergent- 45.4 oz 2x liquid laundry detergent or 49 oz. powder laundry detergent in any scent (max value $3.25).

Extra Entries??
Follow or Subscribe to A Couch With A View
Follow CaseyDeuce on twitter and tweet this giveaway. You can tweet daily for the duration of this giveaway!!
Post my button on your blog.
Post about this giveaway on your blog!
If you don't have a blog, you can gain extra entries by emailing a friend about this giveaway! Just CC me in your email! caseyscouch@yahoo.com
For each $1 donated to my BlogHer '09 fund will get you 5 extra entries! Just leave 5 comments saying you donated! (Paypal link is at bottom of page)

This giveaway will accept entries until noon on Monday, July 6th. Open to US. Winners will be drawn with random.org and emailed. Winner must reply within 3 days to winning email or a new winner will be drawn. Please make sure that your email is accessible, whether in the comment or a blogger profile, cause if I cant contact you, how can you win??

Thanks MomSelect for this opportunity!!

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Saturday, June 20, 2009

Web Hosting Geeks!!

I've toyed with the idea of buying my own domain and I'm still not 100% sure of it yet. After all the crap that Kristin went through with her site and having to change it, I'm not sure I'm quite organized enough for keeping on top of my own domain. So why not make myself more informed on the whole decision for getting my own domain and figuring all that stuff out in an easy way, cause I'll admit it, I know some- but not ALL that I should know about it.

To be able to hit up Web Hosting Geeks site, I've been able to get myself a little bit more educated on webhosting and the different options that are available out there. To be able to go and see which sites are in the Top 10 or which sites have been noted for awards in Best Blog Hosting or Best Windows Hosting is super convenient. Web Hosting Geeks has lots of ways to narrow down your options or to filter to see what is relevant to you.

The best part to me? Customer Reviews- cause the way I see it, customer reviews are the most honest way to get feedback about a service, product or site. And not to forget the Web Hosting Geeks Blog where you can gain even more information to help with what you're looking for, or usually in my case- what you're trying to teach yourself!

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Blogging and IRL Friends.

Maybe I'm the only silly person out her that keeps their blog somewhat "secret."

My husband knows of course, my 4 year old has figured it out, I finally fessed up to my kid sister and my best friend, but thats all the people in my IRL life who know about A Couch With A View. Some of my friends know about product reviews, but they haven't caught on... at least I don't think.

I'm not sure that I want people in my real life to know about this place. Does that mean that I need to watch what I say about this one or that one? Not like I do a whole lot of smack talkin' anyways, but you never know...

This all comes stemmed from realizing just how many blogs are listed on facebook. I'm not one of them, but I have my own personal facebook for keeping in touch with friends and family that I don't often get to see or talk to. I was checking my facebook the other day and saw a couple friends that had become fans of a couple really popular blogs. I'm not trying to say that my friends should have nothing to do with blogging, but I'm just wondering when someone is just going to stumble on A Couch With A View....

Am I afraid of judgement? Possibly. Am I afraid of having to explain myself? Kinda... I kinda like having my own little space with my bloggy friends. Am I wrong for withholding information from my IRL friends? I don't see myself doing that though. So many of them get the same information from me as I post on my site about great sales, awesome items, cool giveaways (just not mine) and more. So am I doing the right thing by keeping A Couch With A View to myself? I haven't decided yet.

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Friday, June 19, 2009

Stinky, Itchy, Sheddy Doggies??


When I was 14, I worked for a lady who bred German Shepherds. It was my Mom's best friend from high schools mother, who also happened to be a bus driver, so after school, I'd get on her route and she'd drop me off at her house and I'd spend a good 4-5 hours 3 weekdays taking care of upwards of 12 big, ass German Shepherds. Not to mention I was there for at least 6 hours on 1 weekend day doing the same. I guess my money-hungry ways came early and I was willing to shovel dog crap in order to get my hands on some! But one of the biggest pains taking care of all those big furry pups was the grooming. They had such a thick undercoat that I had to brush out and it took forever and I came home at the end of the day literally smelling like a disgusting dog.

Well at 14, I had no idea that the dogs really weren't supposed to be shedding that much and that they really shouldn't have been making me smell as badly as I did. They shouldn't have been as smelly as they were!! We'd love to have a dog once we have a home of our own, but the main concerns are shedding and smelling.

Dinovite has a customized solution to the issues with dog shedding and smelling, thank goodness! You can browse through their guide to see which of their products are right to keep your dog from being sheddy and itchy and smelly!! With supplements, shampoos and treats you can easily manage the issues and make your dog much happier. Cause honestly, if YOU were shedding and itchy and smelly, how happy would YOU be??

The Dinovite solutions center has an awesome questionairre that you can go through, step by step to customize to your pet and see which products are recommended. You can then even email or print the report for easy access! They even have customer assistance available to call if you have any questions or concerns!

Words can't express how much I loved the dogs that I worked with, but as much as I loved them, I hated the smell that much more...

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Container Gardening



My husband has completely gone insane with the gardening.
It would be one thing if all of the plants were in the ground and not taking up my entire porch and ramp up to the porch... But no..... He's "Container Gardening" and its taking over all the space that we have to get into our house.

Not only that, he's stolen the part of my neighbor's yard by her garage. Granted she's elderly and won't be doing any gardening there herself, but still... he's gone nuts!!

So... Does anyone else do container gardening? Have you come up with a system for keeping the containers from taking over your space!?!?!

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