Cowboy Up!

Petit Jean Meats is now the "Official Ham and Bacon of the Dallas Cowboys." Yes, THE National Football League's, Dallas Cowboys!

You can now buy the same bacon that's served at Cowboy Stadium concessions. Currently Cowboy Bacon can be purchased at Brookshire/Fresh Market in Tyler, TX and in H.E.B. Markets in most of Texas. Other retail outlets are expected to pick up the Cowboy line in the very near future.

If Texas is too far to drive for bacon, it's also available online at http://www.kountryspecialties.com/.

This bacon is not only good on burgers, but anything you put bacon in, on, or serve along side. Have you tried bacon on cupcakes? Me neither, but I heard it's delicious!   

Petit Jean Meats is more than just bacon, give them a try... you won't be sorry!

Go a head Cowboy Up, and enjoy a Cowboy Burger at home!

Disclosure: I am an ambassador for Petit Jean Meats. The thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Picniking, And Having A Ball

A few months ago, I learned about Picnik.com a photo editing site, that allows you to be as creative as you'd like, or not. As you can see, I'm really enjoying it. I visited a site that generates word clouds, and thought it was neat. Then I thought, I could make my own, using my new friend.

I've picnik'd other pictures on my blog, adding frames and text, as well as making collages. There is so much more to Picnik, and I've only scratched the surface. 

Have you never used Picnik? What do you think?

Blogging, Cooking, and A Movie

My family brought in the new year watching movies. I bought Lottery Ticket and Julie & Julia. As things would have it, I watched Julie and Julia, by myself before our movie night began.

Two true stories of blogger Julie Powell, and famous chef Julia Child, are intertwined into one beautiful movie. Julie wrote a blog about her one year project of cooking through one of Julia Child's early cookbooks.

For obvious reasons I wanted to see this movie. Julie is a blogger, I'm a blogger... she loves to cook, I love to cook. Through out the movie I was rooting, smiling, and trying my best not to cry with Julie. She almost inspired me to bone a duck. NOT!

I so wanted her to meet Julia Child, and was crushed with Julia's response to Julia's project! Had it been fiction and I wrote it, Julia would have met with her, they would have cooked together, and drank a lot of wine.

I'm looking forward to seeing more movies about bloggers, blogging and social media, and of course, I'll buy them too!

I give Julie and Julia two thumbs up, it's a must see.

A Magical Beauty Collection

During the Christmas break, Disney's The Princess And The Frog, was a must see. Me and my girls went to see the movie together. I tried to wear my tiara, but they weren't having it. There was some talk about being embarrassed!

The movie was all I expected, and more! We smiled, giggled, and laughed out loud! My favorite character, after Tiana, and Prince Naveen of course, was Ray the firefly. His love for Evangeline, was heart warming.

Exciting... Baby Girl, and I had the opportunity to participate in the Carol's Daughter
"The Magical Beauty Collection," promotion. After all, she is a Princess in training, and Carol's Daughter products are made with natural ingredients, promoting natural beauty.

Having eczema, heavily scented and perfumed bubble baths leaves Baby Girl's skin dry, itchy, and red. Not very princess like. The Magic Collection's bubble bath (Sharing Means Caring), is very lightly scented, and produced tons of bubbles. Most importantly, Baby Girl liked the results, "My skin is soft, and not itchy," she said.

I was excited to try the shampoo, (The Beauty Within), and Conditioner (Inner Shine), all natural ingredients on Baby Girls natural hair. Her hair is very curly, very spongy, and very dry. It soaks up every bit of moisture, and screams for more!

The shampoo is great! It left her hair clean, without stripping. A little even got in her eye, and we didn't have a melt down. Whew, crisis averted! When using conditioner, I used half of what should have been at least a two, to three use bottle. The sponge that is her hair, went to work. I had to use the whole bottle! Her hair is very particular, and could have used much more.

And the results... My little princess.

I flat ironed it myself!

Will I use these products again? Absolutely! If the bubble bath can offer my daughter a pleasure most little women enjoy, without itching and scratching for the next week, it's worth exploring other Carol's Daughter's products.

This blog post was written as part of a promotion campaign, for Carol's Daughter, "A Magical Beauty Collection." I am a participating blogger, and received samples of the collection, free of charge to use and review. No other compensation was received from Carol's Daughter, or any other company.

Household Experiment

My daughters friend has three very adorable children. 'The Babies,' are two girls, three and one and-a-half, and a six month old boy. When I'm in need of a baby fix, we (my children and I) pick them up, and love on them for a few hours.

Saturday, like always my children were smothering, and fussing all over them. The oldest wanted to color, and Baby Girl, gave both toddlers crayons. The three-year-old colored on her paper, and the other on the wall.

Immediately, I got on the Internet and searched, "How to remove crayon from walls." Clicking on the first item that popped up, it suggested three methods of removal. And the science experiment began.

#1 Finger nail polish remover:
Finger nail polish DOES NOT remove purple crayon from walls. What it does remove is PAINT!
Now there is a brown patch, (the wall), where blue paint used to be. BUSTED

#2 - A hair dryer, and dish washing liquid:
The dryer should have melted, or softened the crayon, making it easy for the soap to just wash it off. That didn't happen either. The heat only caused the crayon to run. BUSTED

#3 - Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
While I tried numbers one and two, my oldest daughter went to the store to buy Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Just as the name boasts, it works like magic! I didn't have to use a lot of elbow grease, or stand on my head and scrub for 20 minutes. It worked quickly, and like a charm!
From now on, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will be on hand for the tough stuff! WORKED

Shortly after removing the crayon, I redecorated slightly! That ficus tree that I wanted to get rid of is no longer in the den. It has now taken up residence in the library, covering the naked spot on the wall. And Mr. Husband, who was at work, is none the wiser. SHhh!

Joshua Bell, At Home With Friends

I've always enjoyed what stringed instruments added to a musical piece. But I can't say I was a fan of violins, until my girls started playing a few years ago. Always associating violins with orchestra, my perception was BORING!

With the opportunity to review 'Joshua Bells, At Home With Friends,' I found myself really enjoying it. My favorite cut is #1, 'I Loves You Porgy.' It features Chris Botti, on trumpet. Sitting in "my chair," listening to this CD, I caught myself, closing my eyes and smiling. This CD is far from boring.

Other friends joining Josh on this project include Regina Spektor, Josh Groban, Sting, Kristin Chenoweth, Marvin Hamlisch, and more, for an awesome mix of genres.

Although, this CD won't make the 'walking play list' on my mp3, it's great for a nice relaxing evening by the fireplace. It will also make a great stocking stuffer, Christmas is right around the corner.

To learn more about Josh, and his friends, along with tour dates visit his website.