Free Kindle e-Books

I found a post today on the blog Savings Lifestyle I thought I would share. There are several new Kindle e-books available for FREE. I bought every one listed. At least one of them was a $25.00 book. Instead of stealing her post and listing each one, I'm giving you the link to the original blog post. Enjoy!

(Hey, Momma, there's even a gluten free book listed on there! For free!)

Tweet

Restaurant Review: Ruby Tuesday (more a service review than food review)

I usually don't go out to sit-down restaurants often. I have a child that yells, "French fries!" every time we pass a McDonald's, Burger King, Sonic or Hardee's. Not that we eat fast food that often. But when we do eat out, it's usually something from a drive-through while we're in town running errands. (My child also knows when we go to Walmart he can get "Pop chicken" in a cup, so we have to get some every time we go through the door there.)

Last Saturday was my Mom's birthday (Hi Mommy! no, I'm not going to tell how old you are. Even though you're younger than ALL of my friends' parents.). My sister and I wanted to do something kinda nice for it, since my mom doesn't get to eat out often. She has Celiac disease. She can never, ever eat anything with gluten in it. For the rest of her life. Nothing with wheat, barley, rye, and a host of other ingredients. Nothing that could have possibly been cross-contaminated with The Gluten. Unless you know someone who has had to go gluten free, you have no idea how difficult it can be for a heathen gluten-eater to prepare anything that can be eaten by someone who is GF (gluten free). We do, when we can, but it's stressful for us. We take extreme measures to prevent cross-contamination in anything our mother will eat. We get anal about food prep and serving. If we didn't, she would get really, really sick from eating the food we prepare for her.

So my sister had the fabulous idea of taking her out to eat. There are a few restaurants that offer gluten free menus. Olive Garden is one. But the closest one is in the next large-ish town over. We don't have one in our hometown. But we DO have a Ruby Tuesday, and they offer GF menu items. SO my sister and I decided we would go to Ruby Tuesday. Belle (my sis) also invited our grandparents to eat with us. Since it IS their daughter and all. We kept the location a secret from Momma.

Belle baked a gluten free cake for our mom, using brand-new never-been-used-before mixing bowl, whisk, cake pan, rubber spatula. Using a box of cake mix that probably ran about $4.00 at the local grocery store. Using GF butter and icing. She carefully baked and iced the cake and wrapped it for the ride to the restaurant. She arranged for the waiter to hold it until after our meal, then bring it to the table with clean plates.

Our waiter was fantastic. I have never had better service anywhere. He totally got that our mom would get very sick, and stay sick for several days, if anything she ate was cross-contaminated with gluten. He had a very lengthy discussion with her on what she could and couldn't eat. She listed what extra ingredients to look for in items her food was prepared from. He diligently checked the ingredients list on everything that went into her food. He ensured the chef would carefully prepare her appetizer and meal, so that cross-contamination would be avoided.

Momma looked over the menu and selected appetizers that we could all share in. (We got the Spinach & Artichoke dip, Cheese dip and Guacamole with corn tortilla chips. De-lish!) She ordered her entree. We all ordered our entrees. The appetizers arrived. After Momma spooned out her portions, we all dove in. (We waited to avoid cross-contaminating the dips before she got hers out.)

The entrees arrived, and we all dug in. Lots of conversation and laughs were had over our late lunch/early dinner (it was, like 4:00 in the afternoon. But we planned it that way to avoid the dinner crowd. With, like, four decent restaurants in our town, dinner time on the weekends is really crowded. no matter which one you eat at.)

After our meal, the waiter brought out the cake and a stack of clean plates. We lit candles (Belle's boyfriend, The Beast, bought those Magic Re-light candles. Excellent! Momma enjoyed the joke as much as we did.) GF cake was ingested by all.

After a while, we started getting concerned glances from the wait staff. Kinda like, "These people have been here for two hours. They've had appetizers, entrees, and a cake they brought from home. They're paid their bill and left their tip. They haven't eaten a bite of food in the last twenty minutes. And here comes the dinner crowd. When are they leaving?" They had been so gracious and patient with all of our demands. We understood that they would like to break down the two tables they had used to make ours with and get our mess cleaned up before they got every other table in the joint filled. After all, the wait staff can't make more tips if we're occupying their tables for over two hours. So we took the party outside, to the benches in front of the restaurant. After another twenty minutes, we finally decided to call it a party well done and part ways.

I would like to extend a heart-felt thanks to that poor waiter. He put up with us so well. He was very friendly, and never complained about our requests with my mom's food. At least, to our faces. We were definitely not his easiest customers that day.

The best part of all? My mom didn't get sick. Success! We took her out to eat AND served her a homemade GF cake, and she was OK. It's all thanks to our exceptional waiter, who went to great lengths to ensure she got GF food. I don't remember his name, but I thought about going in there just to tell him that he did excellent that day.

What about you? Have you had an exceptional experience at a restaurant lately? What made it such a great experience?

Tweet

The Painted Bra Art Project

October is quickly approaching. We all know October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I think every month should be breast cancer awareness month (along with several other conditions/diseases/disorders/causes).

With that in mind, I bring to you a very worthwhile art project. The Painted Bra Art Project is devoted to spreading the word about breast cancer, as well as raising funds for breast cancer research. Participants buy a new bra, decorate it any way they choose, and donate it to the project to be auctioned. Photos of each bra (or "Brasterpiece", as they are called) are posted on their Facebook page, along with the artist's name, Brasterpiece's name, bra size, who the bra was creaed in memory/honor of, and materials used. Proceeds from the auction will be given to the Liz Hurley Breast Cancer Fund at the Huntsville Hospital Foundation.

There have been 81 bras blinged-out and donated so far. Some are coming from other countries.Their goal is to have at least 100 before September 22, 2011.

Please help them by liking their Facebook page and telling all your friends about the project. Blog and tweet about it. Paint and donate a bra if you can. Bid on a brasterpiece if you can. There are some absolutely gorgeous bras in their photos that have been donated. Details can be found on their Facebook page under their info.

Men can participate, too. There are already several Brasterpieces designed and decorated by men that have been donated. Get all the men in your life involved in spreading the word or creating a Brasterpiece of their own to donate.

Remember, every little bit counts.

Tweet

Product Review: Moodeez

Have you ever been frustrated to discover a new, unused tampon or maxi pad has unwrapped itself in your purse, rendering it dirty and useless? Has it ever been the last one you had in there? Was it at a time when you desperately needed one? I think every woman on Earth has had that happen a couple dozen times.

During a recent shopping trip, I bought both tampons and maxi pads. The box of maxi pads had a free gift, something called a Moodeez. I had never heard of it. I figured if it was total crap I could always trash it when I got home, or give it away.

As soon as I got the Moodeez out of the box, I knew there was no way I was going to get rid of it. It was stylish and compact. The quality of craftsmanship is excellent. This pouch is made of two layers of fabric (a printed outer fabric with a color-coordinated solid inner fabric) for extra durability and stability. I immediately loaded it up. In over two weeks of being shamelessly abused and tossed around inside my purse, all the contents are still in perfect condition. I have yet to find the flap has come open. Quite frankly, I don't expect to. The hook-and-loop closure isn't made of the heaviest-duty material out there, but it isn't made of the cheapest, either. It fastens really, really well.

Isn't it beautiful? This print is called Patti Paisley. I was able to pack mine with two ultra-thin maxi pads and five tampons (two ultra size and one each of the super, regular and light size). I think I could stuff either one more PDF or tampon in there, but that might be a tight squeeze. The manufacturer says this will hold two pads and 4-5 tampons, so I'm already maxing this poor thing out, I think

One of the perks is it's fabric. With no batting or other filler. It can be washed if it gets a little grungy. I totally plan on washing mine in cold water and laying it flat or hanging it to dry when it starts to look filthy.

These retail on their website Moodeez.com for $14.99 each, plus shipping. They currently offer 12 patterns to choose from, with gorgeous names like Cherry Wallflower, Dainty Damask and Happy Dots. They are all absolutely fabulous looking. For a limited time you can snag one free in a box of specially marked Tampax® or Always® products.

You can also like the Moodeez Facebook page for Moodeez giveaways and more.

And now, for the obligatory fine print: I got my Moodeez for free in a box of ultra-thin Always®. I just happened to notice some of the boxes had extra writing on them. Turns out it was the above-photographed feminine product caddy. Moodeez is not compensating me for writing this review, except for the good fortune I had at my local Walmart in finding one free in my box of sanitary napkins. The good people at Moodeez don't even know I'm writing this review of their stellar product. Also, I like waffles.

Tweet

Android App review - Do It Tomorrow - FREE app

I found a totally cool, totally free app for managing my master to-do list. My written to-do list is my brain's dumping ground for every time I think, "Oh, yeah. I need to..." Paper lists frustrate the Dickens out of me. They look so... disorganized. Disheveled. They look like they should come with a raging case of bed-head and kickin' morning breath.
Not so with this app. You type in your item and tap on the Done button. That's it. Drag and drop makes reordering and prioritizing a snap. You can cross items off your list when they're complete, or move the items to tomorrow if you need to. If you don't complete a task by the end of the day it automatically gets moved to the next day.

There are even two font options. Regular looks just like a regular typeface. Handwriting is a really pretty font to give your list that pretty (duh) handwritten feel, but neater.

The only problem, for those who want to pencil in an exact date to do something, is you can only view today and tomorrow in the Android app. That doesn't matter to me, though, since I use this as my master to-do list. If I need to schedule and actual date or time to do something I write it in my spiffy momAgenda planner (more on that at a later date).
Do It Tomorrow is more than an Android app. There are also apps for the iPhone, iPhone HD, iPad, and a web-based version (found at www.tomorrow.do).  And if you have a need for more than one version (say, for instance, a phone app, an iPad app, and the web version) you can set it up to sync between all the versions you (or your family) use. You just have to use the same email address in each version that you want to sync. Totally cool!

I have personally only tried the Android app, but I love it. It caters to my ADHD.

And now, for the mandatory fine print: I have not been paid in any way to write this post. The good folks behind Do It Tomorrow don't even know I'm writing this. I do have the free Android app, which I stumbled upon in the Android Market completely by accident. No one recommended this app to me. I didn't read about it anywhere before I saw it in the Market. The opinions expressed above are mine alone. The only version of Do It Tomorrow I have tried is the Android app. I have no idea if the other versions are just as cool.

Tweet

Read for the Record Day - October 7, 2010

This year's Read for the Record Day is set for October 7, 2010. On this day, you can read The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats online for free at WeGiveBooks.org. You can create your own profile on the site, and pick from several literacy-minded campaigns to donate your books to. For every book you read online, the organization will donate a book for free to the campaign. The goal is to promote early literacy in children, and to get more books into the hands of children. You can pick from campaigns supporting Haiti, local libraries, East Africa, Asia, Volunteer USA, Jumpstart (the recipients of the donations through the Read for the Record Day), and many more.

Please visit the website for specifics on how this works. Please support childhood literacy. Read to a child.

I love reading. As a child, I would read anything I could get my hands on. I demanded my Mom put the cereal box in front of me each morning so I could read it as I ate. I would read the same box every time I ate cereal, until the box was empty. I even read the ingredients list and nutrition facts! I attribute this to my mother passing her love to read on to me by reading to me often. As I began to read myself, she would let me read to her. As a toddler, she read Three Little Kittens by Paul Galdone to me 
 so many times I could "read" it to her. I had heard the story so many times, I could recite it to her from memory.

Now, as a mother, I read to my children. My youngest had a small library before he was born. Our friends and family bought him books for us to read to him. I buy a new book almost every time I step into a store. Of course, right now he listens for about thirty seconds, and then wants down to play. But I still read the book, and show him the pictures. One day, maybe he'll thank me.

Read to a child today! It WILL make a difference in their lives.

Tweet

Product Review: Udder Covers

Photo taken from www.uddercovers.com

I promised a review of my free-plus-shipping Udder Covers, and here it is.

Please note, I received my Udder Covers for free by using a promo code posted on someone else's blogger (don't remember who) the first time I ordered, and by using a promo code Udder Covers emailed out to, I'm guessing, their entire e-mail list, the second time I ordered. Udder Covers has not, as of yet, provided me with any free product in exchange for a mention on my blog, a product review, or anything else that might give them a little publicity. I love their product, and choose to blog about it, unbeknownst to them.

I bought scored my first {free} Udder Cover many months ago. I don't remember when, exactly. I tried to look it up on PayPal, but I must not have used PayPal to pay for the first one's shipping. Anyway, I ordered my first one back when they offered solid colors. I ordered a light blue solid. I was delighted when I received it in the mail. I was even more delighted when I used it the first time.

Ya know, breastfeeding your first child is hard the first couple of months. It's clumsy, it hurts, and innocent bystanders are apt to get a surprise view of Mama's Tatas if you're not careful, or if the baby moves, or if.......

Anyway, I found it really hard those first few months to nurse my son in public (meaning outside of our house, or outside of the bedroom if we had company). I wanted to nurse my son on demand, but I wanted to retain my modesty and dignity. I didn't want my brothers-in-law getting flashed in the process. One of my grandfathers wasn't bothered in the least by my nursing in the same room as him (as long as I tried to keep some modesty about it all), while the other preferred for me to go into another room, even if I covered up.

Strangers in the grocery store all had their own opinion, and I had them voiced to me more than once. (Thankfully for them I only got the good-for-you-I-nursed-my-babies-too-and-at-least-you're-modest-enough-to-cover-up-in-public, and not anyone who tried to convince me to nurse my child in a bathroom stall.) I always covered up if someone was uncomfortable by my nursing (family members - mostly the males) or if I was out in public. This was difficult because my baby was born in the middle of June. In Alabama. Do you have any idea how hot it is in Alabama in the middle of June? (Not quite as hot as it usually is in August in Alabama, but close enough for discomfort.)

I worried that the blanket, even receiving blankets, made him too hot. They trapped carbon dioxide. I had read that researchers now believe this to be a contributor of SIDS. My baby liked to fall asleep while nursing if you didn't watch him. Blankets had to be held in place if you or the baby were moving around. I couldn't grocery shop, carry the baby in my front carrier, hold my boob in his mouth, and hold a blanket up (while juggling shopping list, coupon book, copy of our menu plan, etc. etc. etc.). I was new at this Mommy stuff. I hadn't yet developed the ability to juggle five things at once while holding baby and nursing while retaining my "modest blanket".

Enter the Udder Cover. I had seen similar items on the internet, and even tutorials for making your own. I liked the idea (I have a couple of totes full of fabric-by-the-yard-or-five). I have a sewing machine. What I didn't have was time in my busy day to sit down, cut out one or a dozen, and sew them all up. I didn't have time to sleep hardly. (At least it felt that way, with the baby needing sustenance every 2-3 hours.)

The Udder Cover is a large piece of fabric, big enough to cover a nursing baby from your collar bone to your hips. It has a long, thin, piece of fabric at the top, and two D-rings. You thread the long piece of fabric around the back of your neck and through the D-rings. Ta-da! The cover stays in place. The top edge has a rigid neckline, which makes it stand out away from you slightly, allowing you to peek in on your little nursing cherub.

This product is simply amazing. I love it so much I have already ordered and received a second cover. I just ordered a gift set for myself. I want to try out the breast pads. If they are anything as good as the Udder Cover itself is, I'll be ordering quite a few of them the next time we get crazy and decide to breed (another) spawn.

I have used my Udder cover everywhere. Wal-mart during grocery shopping? Check. My hands stayed free for buggy pushing, item grabbing, list marking, and coupon culling. Christmas with our families (times three)? Check. No male family member was made to look at my boobies. Pumping breast milk in the car (not while driving, but while riding shotgun) or at work? Check. Co-workers and other people on the road were not shocked by the sudden sight of two stark-white boobs. Nursing our son in the living room, and unexpected company shows up? Got it under control. Throw this on and we're good to go.

This thing has lived in my diaper bag, my work bag, on the back of the couch.... I usually kept my strap ran through my D-rings and loose enough that I can slip it on over my head if need be. Then I could just throw it on the back of the couch behind me, and if company showed up I could grab it and throw it on without getting up or disturbing my son. That was handy.

I am hoping to order a few Gift Sets and a few Udder Covers to keep on hand for gifts. I think every breastfeeding mother should own one when they first start out. It would have made my life so much easier in the beginning.

I do have one complaint, but it is minor (to me). This cover wrinkles pretty easily. I am somewhat lacking in housewife skills, so mine usually sits in the dryer and the laundry basket for a while before being folded, so maybe it's just me. I'm sure if I took it out while still warm and folded it, it would not be near as wrinkled. It could also be ironed, if one was so inclined. (I own an iron. Somewhere in my house. Maybe on the shelf above my dryer? I haven't used it in forever, but that's where I think it is.) However, the trade-off is the fact that it is made out of a very lightweight, very breathable cotton fabric. Great for summertime. It wasn't too unbearably hot underneath it, unlike receiving blankets. Add in the convenience of the strap and the rigid neckline, and this is a great product. The fact that the prints are beautiful is a bonus. There should be a style for everybody.

****I have not received any direct compensation from Udder Covers. I did receive both of my Udder Covers for free (plus shipping charges), however, I received them for free using a promo code open to everyone who wished to use that code. Udder Covers has not, directly or indirectly, compensated me in any way for blogging about their awesome product. If they wish to do so, I would be more than happy to take some free stuff off their hands. {Wink, wink!}

Tweet

Promo Code - Udder Covers

I received this code in my email, and I thought I would post it here in case anyone is interested and sees them. Be advised, though, that all Udder Covers are on back order until September 15, 2010. This is not a big deal for me, as I'm keeping mine for myself (I want to try out the reusable nursing pads - could save a TON of money with our next child just by using these instead of disposables, plus be eco-friendly about it and all that).

You can get a free Udder Cover (retail value is $32) or an Udder Cover Gift Set for $5 (retail is $37). These are very nice nursing covers. They have six beautiful colors to choose from. I already own two Udder Covers (one solid light blue, which they no longer offer, and one "Jones", a cream color with a beautiful light blue pattern), and have just ordered myself a Gift Set in "Elsa". My total for each Udder Cover I already own was $9.95 (which is the total shipping cost, as each of my Udder Covers was absolutely FREE!). My total for my Gift Set I just ordered in $14.95.

OK, for the good stuff: The promo code is "Breastfeeding". I'm not sure how long it is valid for, so you may want to hurry. Rush on over to http://www.uddercovers.com/ right NOW! This code can be used more than once, but you will have to open a new browser window and pay the $9.95 shipping for each item ordered. Meaning, each item ordered has to be a completely separate order. Pain in the but, I know. I promise if you're pregnant and planning to breastfeed, or know who someone is, or just haven't bought one for yourself/someone else yet, then it is definately worth the $$$ in shipping charges for one or more of these.

The Udder Cover Gift Set includes one Udder Cover in the color of your choice, a color-coordinating MilkBands bracelet, and a pack of 4 reusable UdderCovers breast pads.

Look for my separate post, a review of my Udder Covers, if you'd like my totally unbiased, not-paid-for-in-any-way-except-my-two-free-plus-shipping-Udder-Covers opinion. (The only reason I got them for free is because I happened to stumble across a code like the one I'm giving on someone's blog. Now that I've ordered from them before, I get codes emailed to me periodically. This means if you don't wanna buy one today, that's OK because I get these codes emailed to me every month or two, so there will be more.)

****I have not received any direct compensation from Udder Covers. I did receive both of my Udder Covers for free (plus shipping charges), however, I received them for free using a promo code open to everyone who wished to use that code. Udder Covers has not, directly or indirectly, compensated me in any way for blogging about their awesome product. If the wish to do so, I would be more than happy to take soem free stuff off their hands.

Tweet