Life With Sharon | Texas Mom Blogger / Vlogger

What Makes You Smile Contest!

Sharon — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:10:30 +0000

TopDentists.com wants to give you a free trip to NYC for a teeth whitening session, photoshoot, and $1000 in spending money!

Just enter a photo of whoever makes you smile with a short description.

Help with Infant Meningitis

Sharon — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:52:36 +0000

One of the leading causes of infant death is meningococcal disease. The highest risk group is the ages of one to seven months of life. Approximately 1 in 16 cases of meningococcal disease results in death and 50 to 60% of these cases are preventable are vaccine preventable. Meningitis is a difficult disease to diagnosis and can kill in as little as 4 hours making it very difficult to diagnose and treat. Of those who survive 1 in 6 will suffer from limb amputations, paralysis, seizures, strokes, hearing loss, blindness, organ damage, severe scarring, brain damage, and more.

Meningitis Angels is a national non-profit organization founded in memory of Ryan Wayne Milley,whose life was taken at age 18, as a result of meningococcal meningitis. There are hundreds of families from across America and the world who make Meningitis Angels one of the largest meningitis organizations in the world. They educate the public, health professionals, child care facilities, schools and universities on meningitis and other vaccine preventable diseases and preventions including vaccines, through stories, educational brochures, posters and videos. As an organization Meningitis Angels is dedicated to the support of victims of bacterial meningitis and their families.

Let your voice be heard and help ask the CDC to make the decision by adding the lifesaving meningitis vaccine to the infant immunization schedule so please sign the Protect Infants Now petition so that you can help protect infants too. It could help save lives of children and even adults.

Watch this Meningitis Angels PSA to learn more:

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central and Meningitis Angels. This campaign was made possible in part through support provided by Novartis Vaccines. A small donation to a charity of my choice was made in my name from Mom Central as a thank-you for participating. All opinions in this posting are 100% my own.

Home Lighting Decorating

Sharon — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:39:02 +0000

One of my requirements for my home is to have it well lit. I really don’t like it when it is too dark, unless I am sleeping or watching TV. I was browsing around LampClik and found a selection of fabulous lights that would look wonderful in my home when I am able to decorate. Especially when I have a bigger home with more space.

A home with more space will mean that I can have more lighting and maybe even a foyer for beautiful foyer chandeliers. I would love to have something like this one:

Isn’t that beautiful? And wouldn’t that provide a nice well lit and welcoming entry into your home. I think that it would also look nice over the dining table in a formal dining room. Now I am definitely day dreaming over having a bigger home with formal entries, dining, and even living rooms.

Just think of the nice dinners and dinner parties that could take place. Now I am really dreaming, because maybe I just want to play interior decorator. I think most women would agree that that is a fun game to play.

Now just to get the bigger place and funds and I will be decorating business.

Retail Resource

Sharon — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:20:48 +0000

From the time I was a small child I always thought that it would be neat to have my own store. Mostly because I didn’t realize everything that would go into it and had the crazy idea that I would get free things. But sadly that is not how it works at all. A lot of different things go into having a store and sure supplies are number one so that customers can buy things but having store supplies is also at the top of that list.

To run the store one would need racks and shelves and display fixtures. And if you had a clothing store display mannequins to dress up in your items. I could imagine all kinds of fun to have with those. I think that is one of my favorite things about shopping is checking out how the mannequins are fixed up and accessorized in the stores clothing. But to buy these things for a retail store one would need to know where to go to get them. Retail Resource is a great resource for all of your retail store fixture and set up needs.They have shelves, mannequins, hangers and even t-shirt display shelves just to name a few.

I still toy with the idea of having a store of my own and if I were to go through with I would definitely be checking out all of the shelving and resources that I can find from them.

Getting Ready for Summer

Sharon — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:02:43 +0000

That cold weather that chilled you to the bones is fading away, which means it is time to think about the summer months and time to get ready with some new gifts for yourself. Whether you are gathering up the camping gear to head to the mountains or just staying home and lounging in the pool, now is the time to start gathering what you need and checking what you have.
Bathing suits are the top of the list when it comes to new buys for the summer months. Be they for you or for your children, it is fun to go bathing suit shopping. It may just be that little punch in the ego that you needed to kick your new year’s resolution to exercise more, into high gear. If you’ve been good about keeping up your exercise then you should treat yourself with something you wouldn’t normally buy. Show off all the work you’ve put into self improvement.
Camping gear is an area in which there is a lot to consider but only a few simple items that you should have on hand. Sleeping bags and camping tents are great but under those sleeping bags, you should slip some sleeping mats to help keep you from sleeping on a rock all night. The thick, foam filled ones are the best.
The next piece of camping gear that you should definitely get your hands on is the simple camping stove and some extra canisters of fuel. If you have a camping stove, the right fuel and some canned food then you will never worry about getting hot food for dinner. Just make sure you have a can opener.
Camping gear doubles as survival gear, which makes it amazingly useful in a lot of situations that have nothing to do with camping. Get some and feel confident in your survival skills.

Snacking with Pretzels #Snyders

Sharon — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:43:23 +0000

Since the new year started I have been trying to eat more healthy and with that of course snack more healthy. And with snacking better pretzels have been my number one snack of choice. With my pretzels I enjoy eating fruit, to kind of give me a sweet and salty flavor. Way more healthy than eating chocolate dipped pretzels that I enjoyed during the holidays. However besides eating pretzels with fruit or dipped in chocolate there are also plenty of recipes to make with pretzels that are healthy and tasty.

Some of my favorites are mixing pretzels with different seasonings with mustard. One of my favorite recipes Honey Mustard Pretzels:

Ingredients:

3 cups pretzels sticks

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 1/2 tablespoons prepared mustard

1 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/16 teaspoon garlic powder

1/16 crushed red chili pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray baking pan with no stick cooking spray.

Combine butter, mustard, honey, Worcestershire sauce, chili pepper and garlic powder in medium bowl. Add pretzels; toss until well coated. Place pretzels into pan. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring halfway. Cool completely before serving and storing.

And if that yummy recipe isn’t enough to make you want to eat pretzels there are plenty of other reasons to eat pretzels. Some benefits of pretzels are that they contain calcium, B vitamins, carbohydrates and folic acid. Which are all very good for us not to mention that regular pretzels are low in fat and perfect for a low calorie snack.

Since I have been trying to get into better shape this year I frequently snack on pretzels in between meals to curve my appetite and to keep myself from snacking on less healthy things like candy bars and donuts. This is perfect for me especially since I work on the computer all day and have a bad habit of snacking while I am sitting there and not moving around. I also carry around a sandwich bag of pretzel sticks with me so that when I am out and about I can grab them instead of hopping into the line of a fast food restaurant. I also save a lot of money this way since pretzels are relatively inexpensive. So I am eating better with less calories and fat and saving money.

Be sure to like Snyder’s Pretzels on Facebook:

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Snyder’s of Hanover blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here. All opinions are 100% my own.

Using Tide Coldwater! #tide #washcold

Sharon — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:50:03 +0000

This school year we made the decision to switch the boys to a different school which requires uniforms. Uniforms that consist of lots of khaki pants and white shirts. White shirts and khakis that I think I am going crazy trying to keep looking good. I have always believed that washing things in hot was supposed to get things cleaner only I never do because I also believe that hot water makes colors fade. So I was very excited to get to try the new Tide Coldwater on our laundry.

Usually I do actually wash our white clothes in hot water in hopes that it will get cleaner and because of my crazy fear of stains So with that in mind I was kind of nervous about washing them in cold water.

These are my whites before, see all the dirty little boy socks:

This is them right before I took them out of the washer to dry:

Now see how awesome they look? I can honestly say that we have had a great experience with Tide Coldwater.

Tide Coldwater is specially formulated for cold water conditions so you can save energy and money when you switch loads to cold.

Tide Coldwater is definitely a new favorite of ours and takes some of the stress out of keeping my boys school uniforms and my clothes looking great.

I was provided product and a gift card by Tide and SheSpeaks for my review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Seeing more clearly on Valentines Day!

Sharon — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:57:44 +0000

I think I have mentioned in an earlier post and I am sure that we all know it but if you didn’t Valentines Day is soon upon us. And it is time to find those awesome gifts for your loved one. Well wouldn’t it be great to have a fun pair of Valentine’s Day glasses to celebrate with? They also would be certainly great for having clear vision to find that perfect gift too. Not to mention looking really awesomely stylish to celebrate the big day and days leading up.

I think these Valentines Day glasses are pretty awesome:

These awesome glasses can be found at Zenni optical who pride themselves on offering high quality prescription eyeglasses from $6.95. Which are a great deal. I have a 10-year-old son who has worn their glasses for five years now and I can’t say that I have any complaints about them. However since he is a 10-year-old boy I can’t really talk him into Valentines day glasses but I am sure I would look awesome in a pair of them. Especially the ones in the picture above, I adore those. Seriously though for great inexpensive high quality glasses check out Zenni Optical!

Butterfinger Cheesecake Recipe – No Bake!

Sharon — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:52:14 +0000

So while I had fun making my Reese’s Cheesecake I decided to experiment and try another kind of cheesecake with another favorite candy bar of mine! The extra tasty yummy Butterfinger Bar. I bet your intrigued already, right?

There are a couple of things I changed about this recipe, such as in my cheesecake filling I thought that it might be good to change out the chocolate chips for peanut butter chips. Which was a smart move because peanut butter cheesecake filling is extra divine! Only I will point out it was a bit stiffer to mix than the chocolate chips were. For this one I topped it with whip topping, but I am considering trying it with chocolate syrup, I bet that would be a really great option too. This recipe is still super easy and best of all NO BAKE!

So far my test audience meaning myself, the boys and my sister have said that this one is extra yummy and rich!

Here is the full recipe to make your own Butterfinger Cheesecake:

Butterfinger Cheesecake Recipe

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 3 hours

Total time: 3 hours 10 mins

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups peanut butter chips
12 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 stick butter or margarine, softened
2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 chocolate packaged pie crust
1 and a 1/2 full size Butterfinger Bars cut in pieces

Instructions

In a small microwave-safe bowl microwave peanut butter chips at 50% power 1 minute; stir. If necessary, microwave at 50% power an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, just until chips are melted when stirred. Set aside to cool.
Arrange Butterfinger pieces in bottom of pie crust.
Mix cream cheese, sugar and butter in large bowl on medium speed of mixer until creamy. Gradually add melted chips, beating on low speed until blended. Mix in whipped topping until blended; spoon into crust.
Refrigerate until firm.
Serve with whipped topping if desired.

Geared up for Valentine’s Day!

Sharon — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:59:57 +0000

Valentine’s Day is coming up and we all know that while a lot of people give and receive gifts that it is mostly a time for gifts for her. Because let’s face it us women always want a Valentine and love getting something from the one we love. Especially things along the lines of flowers, candy, and jewelry. Now I guess I need to find me a valentine to get me those flowers that I have been drooling over and picking out the perfect vase for.

For me however the thing is for my special someone the whole situation gets a bit tricky since my birthday is right before valentines. Just a little over a week. So they birthday gifts are a most. Or just very welcome if someone is looking. Oh yeah that is a hint, or is it?

Nah, I am not begging for gifts I am just having fun but I could think of a number of things that as a woman that I would love to have for either my birthday or Valentines Day. For your own Valentine though, I am betting that valentines day flowers would be perfect.

It is hard after all to find a woman that doesn’t love flowers. Before you know it though valentines day will be upon us so if you don’t want to end up in the dog house so to speak. I would get to shopping!