Skinny Cow rocks my socks

So I guess I didn't scare you off, huh? Good! Welcome back!

Remember when you were a kid and you could eat whatever you wanted without having to worry about calories or fat grams? Then you get older and you can’t even LOOK at a bowl of ice cream without feeling your pants get a little tighter. So you basically end up with two options: 1) give up your favorite sweet treats and stick to eating stuff that tastes like paste and cardboard or 2) switch to low calorie treats that taste just as good or even better..like Skinny Cow ice cream.

Thanks to the ladies at Mom Central, I had the opportunity to try two different varieties of Skinny Cow. Now I figured I was going to end up with some tiny little frozen yogurt bars or something because I’d heard that Skinny Cow treats were like 100 calories and we all know low cal stuff is usually pretty bland, right? Wrong!

First of all, I couldn’t believe how many choices we had! There were Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches in like 4 different flavors, Skinny Cow Truffle bars, ice cream cones and fudge bars. Since we had the chance to try two different kinds, I let the Princess pick one because I wanted to see if this was something that kids would like too. I mean, what’s the point in having low cal ice cream in the fridge if you have to buy the kids something different that’s going to be sitting in the freezer taunting and calling you!

Anyway…she picked out the Skinny Cow Cookies n Cream ice cream sandwiches and I got the vanilla Truffle Bars. Ok, no pun intended here but..holy cow! The truffle bars were sooo good! They were the perfect size – not tiny like I expected – and tasted just like regular ice cream. But the sandwiches…those were huge! And yummy too! Those didn’t last long in our freezer at all. Next time I’m grabbing some of the mint ones..and some fudge bars…oooh and some caramel cones!

Ok, so now that summer is here, don’t spend it depriving yourself of the most traditional summertime treat just because you’re afraid of a bunch of extra calories. Grab some Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, cones and bars instead.

Your ad here, right now: $0

We need to talk

I have something I want to share with you. Its a very personal video blog post about a very important subject: childhood sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse is not something I talk about a lot but I do talk about it openly when the subject arises. Thanks to the 12 for 12k Challenge, I have a reason to talk about it and a way that you can help.

Did you know that in the U.S. childhood sexual abuse affects 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys by the time they’re 18? Did you know that the effects of childhood sexual abuse include mental illness, teen pregnancy, drug abuse, suicide, homelessness, and crime? Did you know that we’re spending billions of dollars to treat these effects?

There’s an organization called “Stop Child Sexual Abuse” that has launched a campaign called “Stop the Silence” which is aimed at preventing sexual abuse and providing treatment for survivors. Here’s how they describe their mission:

The Mission of Stop the Silence is to expose and stop CSA and help survivors heal worldwide. Our overarching Goals are to:

1) to promote healing of victims and survivors; and

2) to celebrate the lives of those healed.

Through our work, we aim to address the relationships between CSA and the broader issues of overall family and community violence, and violence within and between communities. Our focus underlines the importance of a shift in focus on positive development within our social complexes (e.g., the relationships between men, women, adults and children, cultural groups) to support peaceful – and to hinder violence-prone – relationships.

So what can you do? Watch this video. Then visit the 12 for 12k Challenge website and do your part.

UPDATE: I’ve added the ChipIn widget from the 12for12k.org site so that a) you can just go straight to the donation page after you’re finished reading/watching this post and b) so anyone who reads this post can see how much has been donated so far. There’s a “copy” button on the widget if you’d like to do the same.
After you’ve done that, I want you to email me at thatcrazymom@gmail.com, attach a copy of your receipt showing your donation, and I’ll provide you with a free custom Twitter background. I wish I could afford to match your donations but I hope you don’t mind settling for a freebie and my undying appreciation.

Thanks for listening. Now here’s the video…oh, wait, one more thing… I want to apologize for the wobbly video. I was sitting on my bed and Princess kept coming in then climbing up and down, up and down…. And I apologize for looking like a total dork too. I’m not one of those women that can cry and still look cute.

Your ad here, right now: $0

Martha Stewart, I ain’t

I don’t have a crafty bone in my body. I’m creative enough to visualize things but carrying them out is a whole ‘nother story. If Martha Stewart herself came to my house and tried to show me how to fold dinner napkins into beautiful swans, I’d end up with something resembling road kill.

And now Princess has been asking me when we’re going to decorate our house for Christmas. I swear, my neighbors make me look like Ebenezer Scrooge’s evil stepsister. Our house is the only one out of about 15 in a row that isn’t covered in lights. Geez, even my porch light has been burned out for over a year and I haven’t even bothered to replace it. You expect me to put 500 tiny little colored lights up? Eh. Maybe. I’ll make Bubba do it.

She always wants to make gingerbread men – can you imagine the massacre? – and a gingerbread house. Oh boy.

BUT….I’m going to give it a shot. I’ve got this “How To Make a Gingerbread House” guide from Menu Planning Central and it looks pretty simple so for my baby girl’s sake, we’re going to attempt to make a gingerbread house. Worse case scenario, it falls apart and our gingerbread men have to go stay in a gingerbread homeless shelter.

P.S. If you want your own free copy of the “How To Make a Gingerbread House” guide, you can download it here.

P.P.S. Menu Planning Central has also extended their 50% off sale from Black Friday. Just click on this link, sign up for the free report, and on the next screen you’ll be given the option to sign up for the menu planning service and when you get to the checkout part, enter the code GIVETHNKS and you’ll get the discount. But you better hurry…the extended sale ends soon!

Your ad here, right now: $0

Black Friday

Why do they call it that? I mean, Black Monday is a bad thing right? Anyway, if you’re brave enough to go out shopping today…GOOD LUCK.

Personally, I’d rather stay at home where it’s safe and shop online. I’ve been getting tons of emails about sales and discounts so I wanted to share some of my favorites.

Sacred Glo lotion candles – 15% off
These are awesome! They’re scented candles that melt down into a warm body lotion. I love candles and I love scented lotions and Sacred Glo candles are both! And the container can be reused as a bathroom or kitchen accessory. They come in 4 different scents – Nevis Island Breeze, Almond Glo, Sensual Groove, and Sacred Clarity.

Leave me a comment if you’d like a promo code for 15% off.

Good For The Kids – 10% discount
Good For The Kids has a great selection of toys and gifts for babies and kids. They have name brands like Ty and Melissa & Doug, popular characters like Wonder Pets and Spongebob and allergy/asthma-friendly products and BPA-free bottles and cups.

Use coupon code TENAPT for a 10% discount.

ABT Media – 20% savings
ABT Media offers products to increase productivity, improve well-being, and encourage brain development in babies. I’ve got 4 of their CDs – for focus, productivity, relaxation, and de-stressing – and Sissy has 4 of the baby CDs. I listen to the de-stressing in my car and it makes dealing with traffic and construction much more bearable. I use the focus and productivity CDs when I’m working and I get a lot more done. And the relaxation CD is in my DVD clock in my room so I can fall asleep listening to it. Sissy puts the headphones on her belly to let the baby listen to it and its funny to watch the baby’s movements increase or decrease depending on what she’s listening to. Baby even starts kicking if Sissy takes the music away as if she’s telling her to turn it back on.

No code needed, just visit ABTMedia.com before December 18th.

Menu Planning Central – 50% discount!
You can now get access to Menu Planning Central’s services for only $9.97 per month for as long as you remain a member. That’s HALF OFF of the usual price of $19.97 per month. That monthly membership will give you access to their database of delicious recipes and a weekly menu plan complete with shopping list.

All you have to do is click this link, sign up for the (FREE) menu planning report and on the next screen you’ll have the option to sign up for the menu planning service. Just enter the code GIVETHANKS for the 1/2 off price.

Cool Computer Bags – Free Shipping
Start Shopping for the Holidays and get FREE SHIPPING on Laptop Bags for a limited time at CoolComputerBags.com. While you’re there, check out their current sales on accessories and save an additional 10% on the already marked down prices.

Easy PLR – 10% off on orders of $25 or more
PLR (Private Label Rights) articles are a great way to get fresh content for your website or newsletter. EasyPLR has a variety of PLR article packages available for topics such as Internet Marketing, Frugal Living, Pregnancy, Homeschooling and more.

No coupon necessary. Just click this link and your discount will be calculated during the checkout process.

VAnetworking.com – 50% off VBSS
The Virtual Business Startup System (VBSS) Deluxe Version which includes VAinsider Club normally retails for $695 but until midnight on November 28th, 2008 it is now only $347.50!
The most efficient and effective way to be on the road to success with your new Virtual Assistant business is to have all the tools you need at your fingertips. And the VBSS has it all. It’ll keep you well-organized and motivated and you will also have the best VA toolbox available to build, maintain and grow your business in just 30 days.

Upon checkout your shopping cart will show the sale price with 50% off.

Amazon.com
And one of the web’s largest online stores, Amazon, has some GREAT Black Friday deals so be sure to check those out too.

Happy shopping everyone! And thanks for being a loyal reader.

Your ad here, right now: $0

Time to get your shop on!

(If you go straight to the link without reading the whole post, you’re gonna miss out on a great deal! So slow down a little bit…or at least just scroll down to the stuff about discounts.)

We’ve all got 2 problems to think about when we’re shopping for gifts for the kids this year… 1) with a tough economy our Christmas budgets are a little tight and 2) with all of the toy recalls and dangerous chemicals like BPA you never know what’s safe anymore.

Well I’ve got a website for you to check out. Its called Good for the Kids (http://www.goodforthekids.com) and they feature safe, and sometimes hard-to-find, products for babies and kids. Good for the Kids has products by major brands including Ty (the Beanie Babies people), Brainy Baby and Melissa & Doug.

Now I’ve got two reasons why you should do some of your Christmas shopping at Good for the Kids. First of all, their prices are better than places like Toys R Us and Target and I’m not too happy with either one of those stores anyway. (Did you hear the story about how Toys R Us published a coupon in honor of Grandparents Day but it was limited to people OVER the age of 50?? So I guess if you’re a young Memaw or PawPaw, you don’t deserve a discount. And Target, they have delayed two things several times that I ordered back in August that I STILL haven’t received.)

Here’s my second reason: when you shop at www.GoodForTheKids.com, you get a 10% discount by using an exclusive coupon code PLUS I earn a commission. Now I could’ve just covered up that little fact and just given you the coupon code but not only do I prefer full disclosure (its more honest, I think) but I wanted you to know that not only will you save money but I’ll make some. Everybody wins!!

So are you ready for the code? Its TENAPT. Just enter that when you check out to get your discount. And its not some super-secret code, you can share it with anyone you want and there’s no limit on it. Bookmark the page, write down that code (TENAPT) and forward this on to your friends. Heck, you can even blog about it too if you want!

Thanks a bunch and happy shopping!!

Your ad here, right now: $0