Just Short of Crazy

National Lampoon’s Vacation 30th Anniversary & DVD Giveaway

Deb — Fri, 24 May 2013 11:00:41 +0000

Sometimes a family vacation can feel exactly like the movie National Lampoon’s Vacation. It’s hard to believe that it has been 30 years since this hilarious film was released on the big screen. I still refer to this movie when I’m talking about travel.

If you haven’t ever watched National Lampoon’s Vacation here’s a little synopsis:

Chevy Chase mans the wheel and convinces his all-American family that the way to really enjoy their holiday is to hit the road west for Wally World. Much hilarity and family mishaps follow the family on their road trip.

If you are a road tripper like me you will find a lot of comedy in this film. I highly recommend popping some popcorn, gather the teens and having a fun family movie night. (Heads Up: There is cussing in the film and F bombs are dropped.)

Here are some of my favorite clips from this movie. Oh my goodness so many good memories come to mind.

Clark: “I’m going to check under the hood.”

Laughing so hard. Seriously? You’re going to check under the hood. Dude, you have bigger problems than that.

Go ahead and scroll ahead to 1:50.

Oh man, I have been on some road trips where I have been so close to losing my mind at the family. I think we have all had one of these moments.

Clark: “…I’m going to have fun and you’re going to have fun, we are all going to have so much *#&#^ fun we’ll need plastic surgery to remove our *$)%&Q smiles.”

You gotta love a good Hollywood classic. You can win your own copy by using the rafflecopter form below. Giveaway ends June 10.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Southwest Airlines Vacations Is Having A Vegas Sale!

Deb — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:00:36 +0000

This post brought to you by Southwest Airlines Vacations. All opinions are 100% mine.

Alan has wanted to go to Vegas for years. I've tried to tell him it's probably not his kind of town, but he has been pretty insistent on going. What do I know? He might absolutlely love it there. I visited Vegas for the first time last fall (without Alan…I know, rude) and would love to go back with more money and time to explore the area and take in more shows. I should probably take Alan the next time as well.

Vegas is a great place for an adult only trip. Call grandma and ask her to stay with the kids, pack a bag and whisk your significant other away for a couple nights in the city that never sleeps.

I really need to do this for Alan. The money I save booking through Southwest Airlines Vacations can be used toward renting a Harley to drive out to the Hoover Dam for a Dam tour <<–#1 thing on Alan's list of things to do in the Vegas area. I would rather use the money to take in a show, but hey, it wouldn't be a hardship to ride a Harley either.

Luckily, I might finally be able to swing a trip out there since Southwest Airlines Vacations is offering one heck of a sale right now on Las Vegas Vacations . Book between now and May 27 (yep, better act quick) and you can save up to $100. Make sure to use the promo code VEGAS.

How does it work? For packages that cost $500-$1000 you save $50; $1000-$2000 you save $75; $2000+ you save $100. That $100 can easily be used to take a helicopter ride over the strip (highly recommend), buy a ticket to see Jersey Boys (excellent show) or Rock of Ages (one of my faves). You could also indulge in some delicious food at one of the many, many fine dining establishments on the strip or even take a tour out to see Hoover Dam.

What are you waiting for? Check out the sale at Southwest Airlines Vacation and start packing.

Vera Bradley Outlet Sale

Deb — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:00:00 +0000

This April I attended the Vera Bradley outlet sale in Fort Wayne, IN and it was amazing. I’m telling you about it now so that you can mark your calendar for next year. The dates for 2014 are April 9-13. Make your hotel reservations now and plan to attend one of the best sales of the year. If you are a fan of Vera Bradley products you do not want to miss this sale!

I attended the sale as part of a press trip and to be fair I haven’t really paid much attention to Vera Bradley products. I knew of them, but it was never one of my “must have” items. My, oh my, how things can change. Vera Bradley welcomed us to the show with the cutest gift (see above) and I was immediately won over. I love this bag. The colors, the size, everything about it is just cute, cute, cute.

Since I had never been to the sale before I was wondering just how large the event would be. Um, it is big! Rows and rows of tables are set up in the Coliseum (Fort Wayne’s expo & event center) and are stacked high with product. It’s every Vera Bradley lovers dream come true.

After seeing how big the event area was I knew there was no way I would see everything. Luckily, when you attend the show you are provided with a map to easily find your favorite items. The map also includes a price list. That was my next question. How low do the prices really go? I mean, is it worth a trip to the sale? Will you really save THAT much money. Well, the prices are really fabulous and get marked down even more during the sale and the trip is completely worth it. Besides the sale there is a lot more to see and do in the area.

Here’s a few more sample of the prices from the sheet you receive when you arrive. Many of these prices go even lower during the sale. My sister bought me a travel wallet for $10!

No worries about checking out either. There were 60 checkout lanes this year. The line may be long, but it moves quickly and there are TV screens strategically placed that offer interesting tidbits that entertain you while you wait.

How The Sale Works

Register online and print off a copy of your registration to take with you. This will save you time at the show. The show is broken down into two parts. There are the ticketed days and the public days. Ticketed days were Tuesday-Thursday and tickets were $5 each for a set time frame. Public days were Friday-Sunday. The advantage of the ticketed days is a much smaller crowd and an energetic staff that cheers you as you enter the showroom floor. (That was actually a lot of fun to see) However, if you can’t make it during the week, no worries, my sister & Em went on Friday and they walked right in with no wait. There is enough room and plenty of product for everyone.

Here’s a super quick video of shoppers being greeted at the sale:

When you enter the sale you are given a pink bag to place your items in. If you change your mind about an item just toss it in one of the many grey bins around the sale area and a staff person will return it to the right location. Ready to check out? Follow the signs to the check out area and have your registration paper handy. When you check out your items are placed in a white bag. There is a spending limit of $3500 per person. If you think you’ll want to spend more be sure to bring a friend or two and a really big van.

Hope to see you there next year!

Lucky Bastard Book Review & Giveaway

Dee Schwerin — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:00:57 +0000

This is the first book from Deborah Coonts that I have read and I have to say that I found her writing to be funny and interesting. The main character in the book Lucky O’Toole is not all that lucky sometimes in life or love. The first thing you learn about her is that she is a real smartass of a character, which is one of the things that I love about her, plus she’s smart and quick thinking. Her sense of humor is shown in the first couple of pages when she finds the body of a woman who has been murder by a Jimmy Choo shoe and sees what a strange twist of fate this is for the victim.

She starts to spout off inappropriate but very funny lines of what Sherlock Holmes would think about this scene. The funniest being “Come Watson, murder’s a foot.” This type of humor is continued throughout the entire book and completely reminds me of the Stephanie Plum character from Janet Evanovich’s books. With the use of Las Vegas as a background she is able to keep the reader interested non-stop much like the city itself.

As far as love you are never really sure where the main character might find it as she has three very good options. Between Dane the ex military guy, Chef Jean Charles who is just too yummy and finally Teddie who is like a bad penny and keeps popping up when you least expect him too. And just when you think she has found her man and is going to be happy you never know what might happen next. This is a great stand-alone book from Deborah Coonts and she kept me laughing and entertained from the first chapter until the very end.

If you looking for a great set of books to read this summer I would recommend Deborah Coonts, Lucky series for its funny light-hearted and fascinating set of characters.

Lucky Bastard is available at (aff link) Amazon for $15.65

WIN A COPY HERE

Giveaway ends June 6, 2013.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Fairy Hobmother Visited!!

Deb — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:31:37 +0000

Learning About The Food We Eat

Dee Schwerin — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:00:17 +0000

Due to recent medical issues I have started really looking at where my food is coming from and how it is produced. So when I had the opportunity to go Dykhuis Farms and Zeeland Farms services with Michigan Ag Council, I jumped at the chance. I have heard many things about the raising of animals and crop for product from many sides, but I figured who better to hear it from than the farmer him/herself.

Before even going to the farm you got to see how much the farmers cared for their pigs and the product they were producing. As diseases can spread easily among the animals they follow very tight biosecurity guidelines to make sure that does not happen. Upon arriving to the farm we were required to dress in bio suits that involved two sets of shoe covers so that we did not bring any contaminates from the outside. Employees of the farm are required to take a shower and change clothes before going to work.

Robert Dykhuis founded Dykhuis farm in 1978, and is the largest family run farm in Michigan today. They are committed to treating their pigs humanely from birth to market, which is seen in the way they and their employees care for pigs. They have proven this through their need to make sure that they are part of the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program and the National Pork Board. Making sure that they are following what is best for the environment, our resources, their people and the welfare of the animals

As we toured Sandy Ridge farm one of six locations for birthing pigs with Erin Ehinger, the sow production supervisor and daughter to the farm’s founder, you could tell that their commitment was true, as she knows about every aspect of her farms operation from the employees to the care for the animals. The pigs are kept in a very controlled environment to prevent the spread of diseases and to produce a safer and more consistent product.

Once the piglets are weaned from their mother they are farmed out to one of the 42 finishing farms. These are local family run farmers in Michigan and Indiana that Dykhuis works with to raise the pigs to market weight. Each of these farms must also follow all guidelines set by Dykhuis farms and is visited by Dykhuis farm employees on a regular basis to ensure quality.

Upon reaching market weight the pigs are shipped to Indiana to the closest pork processing plant to Michigan. Approximately 90 percent of their pork is purchased by Tyson foods, according to Ehinger.

They are proud of the product they produce and
being a part of the communities in where they work.

In addition to visiting Dykhuis farms I also had the opportunity to meet with Clifford Meeuwsen, president of Zeeland Farm Services (ZFS). Meeuwsen father Robert (Bob) Meeuwsen founded Meeuwsen Produce and Grain in 1950 and in 1977 was reorganized as Zeeland Farm Services offering a variety of agricultural services. They employ more than 200 people, including 12 family members and believe in providing the best possible customer service, while offering quality products and services at competitive prices.

According to Meeuwsen 85 percent of their soybeans are genetically modified (GMO) and 15 percent are non-GMO. ZFS produces food, animal feed and biodiesel, but they also produce their own line of Soybean Oils using renewable energy. This product is distributed under the name of Zoya.

Zoya is a naturally low in saturated fat, rich in Omega 3 and 6,
Vitamin E and cholesterol free, all natural non-GMO oil.

The debate between GMO and non-GMO has been going on for years and there are people that have strong beliefs on both sides, in which they have documentation and studies to support their opinions. I feel that it is important for you to do your own research and to buy the products you feel comfortable buying. Knowing a company like ZFS is available to offer the ability to make that choice and to know that that choice is well protected by ZFS employees and independent employees. The ZFS family also believes in wasting nothing and according to Meeuwsen the highest wastes in their process comes from our plate. “In the agriculture industry, we waste nothing and that is why we feed the world.” ZFS is a believer in understanding where your food comes from which is why they support Critter Barn in Zeeland, MI. They have a curriculum focused on promoting an understanding of farming and agriculture for students of all ages.

Cooking for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet Book Review

Deb — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:00:38 +0000

For years I’ve had digestive problems that my doctor hasn’t been able to diagnose. To be fair, I haven’t agreed to any extensive medical testing. I thought the cause might be from what I eat and figured I’d try eliminating different things before agreeing to thousands of dollars of medical testing.

I started by taking carbs and sugars out of my diet in January when I done a 21-day sugar detox. The first week of that was all kinds of miserable, but after that I started feeling a lot better. Of course, I haven’t been maintaining like I should, but I’m finding the balance of acceptable carbs versus too many carbs. If I eat too many carbs in a day I start feeling awful.

Now, it’s not a medical diagnosis, but I figure if not eating the carbs makes me feel good and eating the carbs makes me feel bad, then it would probably be in my best interest to not eat the carbs and I didn’t have to go into bankruptcy over medical bills. (disclaimer: This is NOT a recommendation to not seek medical attention if you are having digestive trouble!)

All that to say that when I was asked to review the Cooking for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet book I was thrilled. I’m always looking for reduced carb recipes to try. The cookbook has a lot of yummy looking recipes. Here’s a few of the recipes included in the book:

Many of the bread recipes are made with almond flour which is usually readily available your local grocery store. I like how she rices cauliflower in some of her recipes. The only way I can ever eat cauliflower is if it’s disguised with lots of other flavors. The chapter I was most interested in was the sweet treats chapter. All kinds of goodies in that chapter and I’ll be trying the lemon pound cake very soon.

The book is written by blogger Erica Kerwien who, when one of her sons was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, set out to help restore his health with food. During her research she found the Specific Carbohydrate Diet which changed the way her family eats and cooks. The book contains over a 100 recipes with lots of color photos to appease the visual cook in me.

If you are looking for a cookbook that offers low carb, no carb options take a look at the (ad link) Cooking for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet book.

disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Cooking with Dairy & Giveaway

Deb — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to cook with the United Dairy Industry of Michigan at Ann Arbor Cooks. It was a bit of a drive for me to attend, but I love cooking and cooking with dairy is one of my favorite things so I made plans to attend. I’m so glad I did. I learned so much about Michigan dairy PLUS I got to cook with some fabulous bloggers.
Natalie and Allison from Ann Arbor Cooks were awesome! After we arrived and got settled in they demonstrated a variety of dishes for us and then put us to work. We worked in teams and were each assigned a different recipe. I was on the ‘pork loin & mashed potatoes’ team and I think that our food tasted the best (yes, I’m biased). Actually, everything was really, really good and it was a great night.

Allison is demonstrating Salted Caramel Pots de Creme. This always sounded a little too fancy for me to try, but after watching Allison demonstrate this recipe I know that I can whip this up.

If you don’t cook with dairy very often you are really missing out. It adds so much flavor to food. I actually have to be careful which dairy products I use because of Em’s lactose sensitivity, but I don’t let that stop me. Sometimes it means making a smaller dairy-free dish for her, but it’s completely worth the effort.

Natalie is mixing up Mac & Cheese. Find the recipe here.

Did you know that milk is a power house of nutrients. An 8 ounce glass of white OR chocolate milk add the following vitamins* to our diet:

As much Vitamin A as 2 hard-boiled eggs
As much Phosphorus as 1 cup of canned kidney beans
As much Calcium as 10 cups of raw spinach (I’d rather drink 8 ounces of milk any day of the week)
As much Rivoflvin as 1/3 cup of whole almonds
As much Vitamin D as 3/4 ounces of cooked salmon
As much Potassium as one small banana

*Nutrient information provided by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan. Learn more at the Michigan Dairy News Bureau site.

I’ll be sharing more fabulous recipes from the event over the next couple weeks. Be sure to follow me on Pinterest to see what I’m cooking up in the kitchen and follow United Dairy Industry of Michigan to see what they have cooking as well.

GIVEAWAY

How would you like to win your very own cheesemaking kit, cutting board with cheese knife and a copy of Mac & Cheese: 80 Classic and Creative Versions of the Ultimate Comfort Food?

Just use the rafflecopter form below. Giveaway ends May 28th. (yep, its a quick one)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Clorox Ick-Tionary: Wine & Jeez & $250 Giveaway

Deb — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:30:25 +0000

Ick happens…and it happens to everyone. Just take a look at the Clorox^® Ick-tionary – our wiki for everyday icky – to laugh, commiserate and conquer the icky situations that everyone goes through. Visit www.icktionary.com to learn how Clorox^® cleaning and laundry products can help you tackle the next icky situation in your home, like the “Boot Call” – when your kid calls you after they have thrown up in the bed – so you can laugh about it later.

WINE & JEEZ

The stain that turns your white shirt

into a Merlot color.

Raising two children I’ve had my fair share of icky moments. Actually some days it felt like I had more than my fair share. In all honesty, I have to admit that I’ve been the cause of a few icky situations. What mom hasn’t? We are usually running in a million different directions at one time trying to get it all done. Ick is bound to happen. Mine tends to happen in the form of stains on clothing.

For whatever reason I seem to have a habit of spilling red wine on light-colored tops. It’s like the wine is a magnet for my nice tops. I’ll be enjoying a nice heavenly red wine, sipping away and thinking about nothing in particular, just enjoying the moment and then BAM! wine dribbles down the front of my shirt. Seriously? Every time it happens I’m in a bit of shock that I haven’t learned my lesson from the other 846 times I’ve dealt with wine & jeez.

Luckily, Clorox has bailed me out more than once. Clorox 2 Stain Fighter & Color Booster* has quickly and efficiently removed the red wine stains from numerous shirts. Thank goodness because I do not have the resources to keep replacing clothes because I can’t get all the wine in my mouth.

*Always check clothing labels before using Clorox Regular Bleach or Clorox2 Stain Fighter & Color Booster.

Share your parenting ick moment for a chance to win $250 for Dad’s Day Out from Clorox! Visit www.icktionary.com to learn the new language for ick and how Clorox® cleaning and laundry products can help you tackle the next icky situation in your home, play games and win coupons while supplies last!

This post is brought to you by The Clorox Company. I have partnered with them to spread the word about Clorox’s Ick-tionary program. To share Ick-tionary terms and real life messes, visit [www.icktionary.com]. All opinions and stories are my own. Official Sweepstakes Rules

Snazzy New Delta In2ition Showerhead #WomansIn2ition

Deb — Mon, 20 May 2013 02:32:25 +0000

I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Delta Faucets. I received a product sample & promotional item as a thank you for participating.

It’s the little things in life, right? Little things that make us smile. For me, that little thing right now is my brand new Delta In2ition showerhead. When I was asked to be a Delta In2ition Ambassador I was thrilled. We are always working on home improvement project around the house and the bathroom shower is one of the next projects to tackle.

I really, really want a new shower enclosure (ours is so 1970) but, enclosures are expensive and I like to travel so it keeps getting delayed. However, I thought a brand new showerhead might be just the thing to spruce it up a bit until I’m ready to replace the entire tub/shower combo. I have a feeling that project is still a few years away.

I received the Delta In2ition® Two-In-One Shower Arm Mounted Shower. I love the sleek style and polished nickel finish. The finish actually looks really good with the shower enclosure.

This is a showerhead and hand-held shower all in one. This is perfect for giving little ones a bath, cleaning the tub, or, one of my least favorite tasks, giving the family dog (in our case, BB) a bath.

The handheld portion can run separate from the showerhead which I love since I don’t necessary want to get soaking wet while I’m giving BB a bath. Although, let’s be honest, when giving a dog a bath getting wet is inevitable.

Here’s a little video about more of my favorite features of this showerhead.

Another great feature, that I forgot to mention in the video, is that the showerhead has a pause setting that reduces the water to a trickle when a full spray is not needed, for example, during lathering up or shaving.

Alan installed the new showerhead while I video tapped the process which I’ll be sharing with you next week. You’ll want to stay tuned because I think you’ll be amazed at how incredible easy it is to do. Anyone can do this. Seriously, it took about 15 minutes. See you next week for post 2 of my 3 post series.