Living away from both of our families, I tend to send a lot of Christmas cards out.  Addressing the envelopes is not my favorite part ☺.  

I have fairly large handwriting and trying to get the return address to look nice in the left hand corner is a chore.  I know, I know I could use the abundance of free labels I get from all of the charities that solicit donations from me, but generally I don't like the pictures on those.  I could make my own I suppose, but I'm too lazy.

I have always wanted a self inking stamp for my return address, and recently got one from Overnight Prints.  This has to be the handiest way to get your return address on multiple pieces of mail quickly.
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I love to eat.  And I can eat. A lot.  This 4'9" less than 100lb body, can eat her Hubby's 6 foot frame, plate for plate.  Actually I could probably beat him and eat one more!

Of course the love of food comes at a price, and on a 4'9" person it doesn't take much to make those extra pounds noticeable.

7 years ago, I realized I was heading down an unhealthy slope and began the Weight Watchers program.  I lost 30lbs and have kept it off.

It isn't always easy but companies like Vitalicious sure do help!

Vitalicious makes all natural, high fiber products.  They are very low in fat (most of them are fat free), and they are chocked full of vitamins too.

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I am fortunate to not have any food allergies in my family.



For those families that don't eat gluten as part of their diets, Michael Season's is a good way to snack.  The gluten-free and wheat-free snacks come in chips, crisps, puffs and curls.  All natural ingredients are used to make their products.
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Are you per chance going to the movies this weekend?  Maybe you're planning to take the family to see Fantastic Mr. Fox?

Well maybe your Thanksgiving weekend doesn't include going to see a "fantastic" movie, but perhaps you would like to celebrate with a fantastic soundtrack....
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When I clean I generally use microfiber towels. I have ones about the size of a hand towel (but square) and use them for virtually every cleaning task in my home.


Ultimate Cloth is made from MiraFiber™ Technology, which has open spaces between fibers that act as millions of tiny 'scoops' that pull dust, dirt, oil & other contaminants into the cloth and hold them until washed away with mild soap or detergent. (Can also be bleached for disinfection.)
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Are you looking for a way to cut calories?  Silk Hearth Health SoyMilk is a great way to cut your calorie intake and at the same time help to make your heart healthy too!

Silk Soymilk can be substituted for milk in many of hte recipes you're planning on making this holiday season, and no one will be the wiser either ☺.

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THE GHOSTS OF LONE JACK
by Lance Lee Noel

Jared Millhouse and his dad plan to spend an uneventful summer on his grandfather's farm in Lone Jack, Missouri. Then Jared runs into the ghost of a Civil War innkeeper and wonders if he's lost his mind. With the help of his grandfather--and some local characters--Jared and the Crossroads Gang uncover the truth about the Civil War battle that trapped so many bloodthirsty ghosts in Lone Jack. They even recruit a pair of eccentric ghost hunters to help. When it comes to facing down the local bully, dodging the power-crazy sheriff, or escaping convicts, Jared can count on his friends. Together, they face haunted baseball diamonds, embattled cornfields and abandoned mines. But when Confederate and Union ghouls line up on the battlefield, the entire town relives the gruesome Battle of Lone Jack, as it was fought in 1862. Then only Jared can save the town from its ghosts.

I really like the idea of fiction books teaching history. This book centers around the battle that took place in Lone Jack during the Civil War, and some of the more noted soldiers who served.

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Back in February when I was still getting my feet wet doing reviews, I had the wonderful privilege to review and host a giveaway of some jam from The Jam Lady (also known as Pat) from T P Kitchen.

The organic blackberry jam that I got to try was so tasty, I mean you could really taste the berries, probably because you could see the berries, so you knew they were in there lol!  The berries in the jams are all organic and the jams are all home made one batch at a time.  You know that a lot of care goes into the making of these products, which in turn is reflected in their taste.

There is so much you can do with T P Kitchen jams besides the obvious breakfast toast spread.  Use them as ice cream toppings, pair some of the flavors up with cheese and crackers, english muffins, how about blueberry jam on blueberry scones?  I'm sure when you see the abundance of flavors Pat offers up in her online store, you could think of a bunch of other pairings too.
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I'm sure you have noticed by now the cold and flu season having kicked in.  If it has passed by your home this month, feel fortunate!  I thought we were going to get through November unscathed by illness, and then this past Monday morning, I woke up with a most painful sinus cold.  Ick!

I don't know what kind of options you've chosen to use when you and your family get sick, but myself personally, I don't like to shove a lot of drugs in my body, for a couple of reasons.  One is that I already take enough meds for other ongoing medical problems, and the second is because a lot of over the counter drugs make me feel lethargic and sleepy.

Being only 4'9" and under a hundred pounds, my body size is more like a child than an adult so I tend to look to children's products first when needing some relief from cold and flu symptoms.

Lucky for me, I had been sent some Boiron products for children in the mail last month, that up until now had no reason to use for either myself or Amber.  With a full blown sinus cold and headache, I was ready to start popping anything like candy!
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In 1983, November was recognized as National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness month.

As you get older, you may notice a decline in your mental faculties, and that can be because of changed connections among cells in your brain.

Just like exercise keeps the muscles in your body healthy, keeping your brain active seems to help with function and maybe even generate new brain cells.

Crosswords and other puzzles are a great way to keep your brain active and so the Alzheimer's Association presents The Big Brain Puzzle Book with over 200 puzzles from Terry Stickels.

Three levels of puzzles are within this book.  they range from basic reasoning to higher level math equations.

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Here are a couple of gift ideas that are sure to please the tweens and teens that you need to buy for this year.

Yum Drives are a perfect stocking stuffer, or an easy and light mailable gift.

These Jazwares products come in all the "flavors" the kids (okay grown ups too!) like best.  Hershey's Milk Chocolate,

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I originally posted this review in January of this year.  I am re-posting it for this winter season and because Skin MD also would like one of my readers to experience this lotion as well.

I have often encountered difficulties with my skin. Living in a place that has a harsher winter climate attributes to some of that. A few years ago I was diagnosed with Dyshidrotic Eczema. I have tried so many different prescription and over the counter lotions and medications to relieve the symptoms of this. Some work with varying degrees, and for certain amounts of time, but I have never found one that I can use all the time.

I had the opportunity to try Skin MD Natural, and jumped on the chance. Because of the eczema and the fact that I have not found anything to use on it for the long haul, if you look under my sink, you will find scores of different lotions!
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I struggle with menu planning.  Sometimes I go armed to the grocery store with a list and coupons in hand, all ready to cook for the week.  Yet other times, I wander the aisles aimlessly, wondering if this is the week my family loses 5 pounds, because I can't decide what's for dinner.  Can you identify?

I was introduced to this great website called relish! last month, which has helped me overcome the cooking blahs.

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