Febreeze Home Collection - Review & $20 Walmart Gift Card Giveaway

This Giveaway has ended: Congratulations to #162, Mike. 

Have you seen the new line of home fragrances from Febreze? I'm embarrassed to admit that I hadn't until My Blog Spark sent me an amazing box filled with Febreeze goodies.

I don't use a lot of fragrances in our home, but when I do, I tend to lean toward the apple cinnamon side. The Febreze home collection scents are a step above apple cinnamon. The scents include:

Green Tea Citrus, Pomegranate Mango, Cranberry Pear, and Willow Blossom.

You can see more about the Febreze home collection and get decorating tips at www.walmart.com/febrezehomecollection.

Febreze sent me an entire collection from their new premium scents collection. Take a look below to see what they sent:

Let me share what I loved about these products:

I love, love, loved the Green Tea Citrus scent. It's so different from what I usually select, but it was so peaceful and calming.

Two of the products are flameless. What mom doesn't love that? The luminary (box shaped with designs on the side) is flameless and has interchangeable sides, so you can easily swap out the colors/designs and scents.

The Reed Diffuser was my absolute favorite. Why? Because it was so unique and different. And it was flameless. It also gave us a chance to talk about science (always a science nerd, I know.) I let my kids take guesses on how "all those good smells" got out of the bottle.

The only scent I didn't try out yet was the Pomegranate Mango. I'm just not in the mood for it yet. But come winter....when I'm dreaming of islands....I'll break out the mango. :)

One thing you didn't see (because I lost the photo!) was the way Febreze sent this to me. I wish I still had the picture because I was so proud of them. All of these wonderful goodies came packed in reusable, biodegradable straw. I was so happy when I opened the box and saw such responsible packaging! I'm reusing it for some Fall decorating.

One other super great thing...My blog Spark and Febreeze want to offer a $20 Gift Card to one Suburban Jungle reader so you can go try some of this great home collection for yourselves.

How to enter:

Leave a comment telling me which scents or products you are most eager to try. You may visit www.walmart.com/febrezehomecollection to learn more and get decorating tips.

Want extra entries?

1. Blog about this giveaway, then come back and leave your link

2. Tweet about this giveaway, please copy this into your tweet: Win $20 Walmart Gift Card from Febreze & @suburbanjung http://bit.ly/45Xtfo Please RT #giveaway

3. Become a follower of The Suburban Jungle: Twitter, Google Friend Connect, or Feedburner. Leave a comment for each one you use.

This giveaway will end October 14, 2009 and the winner will be selected by random.org

This product review was based on using complimentary Febreze Home Collection products provided by P&G. P&G does not represent or warrant the accuracy of any statements or product claims made here, nor does it endorse any opinions expressed within this blogsite.

No compensation was given for this review. I did receive the Febreze products mentioned in the review. All views and opinions are my own.

I Joined the Shredding Revolution!

If you've been around the mommy blogosphere, you've probably noticed that quite a few moms have jumped on the "shred wagon." After much inner debate, I was finally convinced while reading one mom's blog as she described "walking push-ups" and that her "a$$ cheeks were sore."

Actually, it was the last part that got me. I'm almost never sore anymore. When I first started actively working out (over a year ago, can you believe it?) I used to be sore. But I only get sore now when I do some extreme turbulence training or run more than 4 1/2 miles with hills.

So....I caved. And I bought The 30 Day Shred. I bought it used on ebay for $7. When it arrived at my house, it was clear that the DVD itself had been shredded. lol But it played fine.

I instantly recognized the level 1 video. I've did it once before when it was free on exercise tv. But I decided to follow the rules and start with level 1.

My thoughts? It's a good workout. Short and tough, like a level 1 turbulence training, but not so lonely (if you count the girls on the tape as company.) But honestly, it may be too easy for me.

For one, the ab exercises were way too easy, so were the butt kickers and jumping rope. My only challenge is that I just ran 4 miles yesterday so my legs are a little tight. So doing lunges and squats (even when I do them on my own) are tough on my already over used legs. :) My legs may be tired tomorrow, but my body won't ache and my "cheeks" will NOT be sore.

I will run tomorrow, and then shred again Thursday. But I'm skipping level 1. I need to get to the walking pushups. And somehow, I need to figure out how I'm going to shred 3 times a week, and run 3 times a week. Plus, I want to keep some yoga.. Grrrr... So much awesome exercise, so little time.... Oh yeah...then there's the other mom responsibilities. ;)

If you are not a big exerciser, The 30 Day Shred(or check out turbulence training on youtube for free) will be a great tool to get you in shape. Make that whip you into shape! It's a girlier version of turbulence training and your body should respond well to it.

I'll update on the other levels as I get a chance to write it out. Oh...and if you want to get really extreme, read her book Making the Cut. I loved it, but realized I didn't want it that bad. :) I just want to be healthy and don't care about being cut (all that much.)

No products or compensation were given for this review. I bought the dvd myself. :)

Hurry and Print Your Coupons before they Reset

It's almost the end of September and you know what that means! The coupons at Coupons.com
are about to reset!

Go to Coupons.com and print out any coupons you might want to hold on to because they may be gone on October 1st. Then come back in October to see what's new. :)

10,000 Steps a Day!

When two pedometers arrived in my mailbox the other day, I took it as a hint. Over the last year, I have accumulated 7 pedometers. All arrived at my home, through no effort of my own. But I believe all things happen for a reason, so I decided to slap one on today. I've also decided to give my other 6 to random friends and/or strangers. :)


I'm sure you've seen the commercials recommending we get 10,000 steps per day. I've always wondered how many steps I take, so today I mapped it out and even kept a record of my activity.

Here's a rundown of my day (try not to fall asleep...my days can be a little lame.)

>>Made breakfast and got my son ready for Kindergarten
>>Walked son to bus stop
>>Checked my email
>>Took daughter to dance class (I sat and watched)
>>Stopped at a grocery store
>>Unloaded groceries and made lunch
>>Picked son up at bus stop
>>Pruned raspberry canes, picked cherry tomatoes, and put kids summer toys away
>>Ran 4 miles
>>Ate snack with kids
>>Kids helped me swap out summer flowers for fall flowers
>>Went into the forest to mark maple trees for winter tapping (just 7, no biggee)
>>Attended to my wounded leg (thank you prickly ash)
>>Rested on porch with kids
>>Talked on phone with friend
>>Made dinner
>>Washed dishes
>>Took out trash
>>Played video game with son (no harassment please! I know it's supposed to be bad but it's such a great reading motivator for my son)
>>Gave kids a bath, read stories, and sent them to bed
>>Checked my email and wrote a blog review
>>Watched a movie with my husband

Why did I bore you with such details? Because this is a normal day, except that I didn't do much cleaning (my husband would respond that's obvious!!) Except for the 4 mile run, I don't think most mom's schedules differ that much. But I don't know. Maybe a mystery pedometer will arrive in your mailbox, and then you'll be able to check for sure.

So how many steps did I take in this "regular day - minus any real cleaning?"  23,371 Seriously? Okay, I searched online and found out that 2000 steps equals 1 mile, so I walked (or ran) 11.68 miles today.

I was surprised by that! I felt like a rested a bunch today (or at least sat a bunch.) But I'm notoriously inefficient. When I'm gardening, I always forget something in the garage and have to walk all the way back there and then again a few minutes later. We have stairs in our house and I go up and down them frequently. I'd love to see my steps on a laundry or all out vacuuming day. Maybe grocery shopping is better exercise than I thought?

A couple of times I checked to make sure the pedometer was counting right, and it was. There were no issues. It never fell off or added without me walking. I could hear it click each time my leg lifted, so it was in sync.

I'm happy I took so many steps. In fact, it inspired me. Later this week, we are going to ride our bikes to school and back rather than taking the bus.

But it makes me wonder if I could even get below 10,000 steps a day. What would that look or feel like? Why is 10,000 steps the recommendation and do people really fall below it?

If I took out the running, my regular activities accounted for at least 13,000 steps. I bet yours do too. Maybe we're doing better than we thought.

Monday Giveaways - Link up and Enter to Win!

Link up your giveaways here! Then come back and check out some of these great giveaways! Lots of fun opportunities to win!

Don't forget to check out my giveaways for this week:

$20 Walmart Gift Card from Febreze
$50 Cover Your Hair Giveaway
$50 Quote the Walls Gift Card
Harry Connick Jr CD - Your Songs!

There will be even more to win next week!

You may also find great giveaways here:Sweepstakes Advantage - Free Online Sweepstakes Win
Instantly!

Sneaking Fruits & Veggies into your Child's Diet

Do you sneak fruits and veggies into your children's diet? I've read a lot about pureeing veggies and adding them to baked goods.

I've sometimes substituted Sweet Potatoes or Applesauce for a certain portion of oil in a recipe, but not with the intent to "hide" anything.

Our motto is: Out in the Open! That's how I get my kids exposed to fruits and veggies. We keep all of our produce (except lettuces) out in the open. Sure, that does make them spoil faster, but that's all the faster we need to eat them!

When my kids are hungry for something, the first thing they see is the produce up on the counter. But that doesn't mean we don't have challenges at dinner time.

For meals, we have 1 simple rule. You may not have seconds or dessert until you've finished your firsts. So they would need to finish their veggie servings before they could have anything else. Sometimes, they choose to eat nothing, but most often they will eat everything so they have a chance to get more of what they really like.

I think it's important for all of us to get used to eating whole fruits and vegetables. But what do you think?

Twitter moms is currently hosting a contest about sneaking veggies sponsored by Little Blends. Go check it out and weigh in with your two cents. Comment here too, I'd love to get other people's perspective.

Cover Your Hair: Review and $50 Giveaway!

This giveaway has ended! Congratulations to #79, Crystal (3 stairs). Please check your email.

Cover Your Hair is a one-stop shop where you can find all sorts of amazing things to cover (or put on/in) your hair. And they want to offer one Suburban Jungle reader a prize pack filled with hair coverings worth $50!

For our review, I selected the Cotton Candy Pre Tied Headband. Yes, I selected it for me but as soon as my daughter saw me wearing it, it quickly became hers. Well...ours.

Let me tell you want I loved about it.

It was comfy. It held my hair out of my face (super bonus points!) And I thought it looked pretty cool. My daughter loved it because it actually stayed on her head. We can't keep clips or regular headbands in her hair and this one stayed. And it kept back all the little pieces that like to escape. She was in heaven. And she's been wearing it ever since.

I also got to review the Studded Stoned Pony Holder. It was really pretty. My daughter also claimed dibs to this, but the person with the longest hair wins out in this case. Wahoo...that's me!

If you'd like to win $50 worth of Cover Your Hair products, visit www.CoverYourHair.com and leave me a comment saying which items you would love to have. You will be winning a Surprise Box of hair goodies, and maybe your favorites will end up in the box?

Want extra entries:
>>Go to Cover Your Hair and join their Google Friend Connect. In the top right corner of their site, there is a 'peel away' to click on that will bring you to the Social Center. At the right side of the Social Center click "join this site" in the Google Friend Connect box.

>>Become a Fan of Cover Your Hair on Facebook: (free item always being offered)

Come back and leave a comment

>>Follow Cover Your Hair on twitter:

Be sure to come back and leave a comment with your twitter id

>>Blog about this giveaway, and leave me a comment with your blog link (2 extra entries, leave 2 comments)

>>Tweet this Giveaway. Copy this into your tweet: RT: Enter to Win $50 in Hair Goodies from Cover Your Hair @coveryourhair @suburbanjung http://bit.ly/AMlay

This contest prize can be shipped worldwide. The winner will be selected by random.org and will end on October 10, 2009 9:00 EST.


No compensation was given for this review. I did receive a the hair coverings mentioned in the review. All views and opinions are my own.

One Lovely Blog - A blog award!

A special Thank you to The Penny-Pinching Mama and Ruminations of a Twenty Something Momma for both giving me the "One Lovely Blog Award!" Two awards in one day. Yay!

The rules of the "One Lovely Blog Award" are:

Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Here are my 15 lovely blog picks:

Minnesota Must Haves

Coupon WAHM

Mom For Him

All that and a Box of Rocks

Suburban Saving Mama

Dealightfully Frugal

Over Thirty Mommy

Getting All My Ducks in A Row

Lunch Box Limbo

Foodie Footsteps

Baby Makin(g) Machine

Riding with Jessica

One Day, One Dollar at a Time

Smart Cents Mom

A Few Shortcuts

There's still time to enter these great giveaways!

There's still time to enter all these great giveaways. Check back often for new listings and enter to win! :)

I'll be posting a Linky every Monday so come back and what's being given away each week.

Free Sample of Dunkin' Donuts Coffee

Click on the image above to get a free sample of Dunkin' Donuts coffee. I usually feed these to my plants, but have come across some great chocolate recipes lately that call for coffee, so I was happy to find this free sample.

A blast from the Past ~ Me 9 Years ago!

Nine years ago...I was at a crossroads in my life. I had just taken my first job (out of college), my boyfriend of almost 4 years had broken up with me, and I had moved to a new town (for the job). It was an emotional time for me, mostly because all my plans went out the window. I had thought I would marry this boyfriend and I was working toward finding a job where I could move back closer to where he lived.

But all that changed. I had to redefine who I was and what I wanted. It reminds me of how I've recently been changing my life. So what did I do? Lots of things!

I moved on with my life. I bought my first house and made it my own.

I taught myself to rollerblade! I never had rollerblades as a kid (we had dirt roads) and I didn't think I could be athletic because of my asthma. But that didn't stop me. After I got the hang of skates, I went to the doctor to get preventative asthma medication. And I signed up for a marathon. A real marathon...26.2 miles....on skates! I'd skate 10-15 miles a day on an abandoned railroad track. It was awesome!

That's me just about to cross the finish line! My little backpack contained food! Classic me!

Then winter came, and I bought my first cross country skis...and taught myself to ski. :) I skiied every night in an old rock quarry. Similar to today, I soon found myself underweight....I had hit 104 pounds when I finally decided enough was enough. But back then my solution was to eat all kinds of greasy, ishy things and I put on a comfortable 5-6 pounds. Unfortunately, that diet stuck for awhile.

All the while I was set up on Sooooo many blind dates. They were fun, and I learned a lot about myself by going on so many dates. This part always bothers my husband, but I was a young, single girl. A traveling sales girl at that. I had a lot of clients and they liked me. Everyone wanted to set me up with their son, their brother, their friend. It was a fun time. And it helped me to realize that I didn't need any of them. I could be A-okay on my own. I am so glad I learned that lesson!

I threw myself into my job and had my most successful sales year ever! I did so well that I started getting raises and promotions left and right. I won contests (free sewing machine, lawn mower, washer/dryer, and money, wahoo!). I even won a trip to the Bahamas....which I subsequently forfeited in order to take a promotion (and a move back to where I started).

Somewhere in the midst of finding myself, my ex-boyfriend re-found me. We started dating again, I took the promotion back to his area, bought my second house, and we got engaged. So we did get married after all? Now that's the craziest part!

But as I dusted off my rollerblades for the first time in almost 6 years, I thought about the marathon. It had been my greatest accomplishment. And it was fun! It made me think of how I react to adversity. Sometimes (okay a lot of times) bad things happen, and I usually throw myself out there, push myself to new limits, and end up having the time of my life.

Now, I'm running! Yes, RUNNING! I would have never guessed it could happen. I might even make it through a triathlon someday. I can do handstands!! Come on!! And I'm taking risks I wouldn't have considered before. I went on a cruise. I'm going to see Italy. I'm even willing to venture back to Africa (Egypt this time!). Just opening myself up to risks has opened me up to so many new adventures. And I'm thankful for it.

Shopping for 4 - Under $23!

This week's grocery total came to $22.96. A 65% savings. Surely, you're thinking a family can't survive on just what I bought this week. And you're right. But there is a method to this madness.

There's a reason why I bought 5 boxes of crackers, 5 boxes of cereal, 4 packages of deli meat, and 10lbs of apples. ;) They were either free or close to it.

I try to only buy what's on sale and if it's a really great deal, I stock up on it. Check out last week's shopping to see one of my stock up days (I spent $82!!! For $239 worth of food!)

Our pantry and freezer are full of things saved when they were on extreme discount.

My main pantry stock up items are noodles, canned tomatoes, beans, baking supplies, crackers, snack items, dried fruit, nuts, and cereal.

Our freezer is stocked full of salmon, LOTS of frozen berries, tomatoes, veggies, bread, cheese, and meats.

Click here to see my weekly shopping trips and find out how you can save money on your groceries.

3 Free Swagbucks!

Today is Mega Swagbucks Friday! When you search on Fridays, you have the chance to win Mega swagbucks. They give out 10,000 swagbucks in Mega denominations (3, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100).

If you haven't signed up for swagbucks yet, you can do so here and get 3 free swagbucks just for signing up!

Harry Connick Jr - Your Songs - Review & Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed. The winner is #89 theyyyguy@yahoo.com with the Mancrush, lol. Please check your email so I can send your info to get this great CD out to you.

I was recently sent Harry Connick Jr's new CD, Your Songs, to review. I gotta tell you, I LOVED this album!

This album is a compilation of 14 classic songs from artists like Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, The Beatles, Tony Bennett and more.

My daughter ran into the room to dance with me as soon as she heard the music start. She commented that this was "really beautiful wedding music."

I don't even have the words to describe this music, except maybe romantic. The instrumentals were amazing, the voice was fantastic, and the songs are classic. I had no choice but to lay on the floor and become entranced in the music.

My favorite song was "The way you look tonight." I felt beautiful listening to that song, even in my jammies.

Here is the track list (Originally performed by):

All The Way (Frank Sinatra)
Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel)
Can’t Help Falling In Love With You (Elvis Presley)
And I Love Her (The Beatles)
(They Long To Be) Close To You (The Carpenters)
Besame Mucho
The Way You Look Tonight
First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Roberta Flack)
Your Song (Elton John)
Some Enchanted Evening
And I Love You So (Don McLean)
Who Can I Turn To? (Tony Bennett)
Smile (Charlie Chaplin)
Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole)

You can also see Harry promoting this new CD on the following upcoming T.V. appearances:

9/25 – Oprah “Live Friday”
9/28 – Today Show
9/29 – The View
9/30 – Imus in the Morning
9/30 – Letterman
10/1 – Today Show
Week of 10/5 – Rachael Ray

You can get a copy of this amazing CD at most music stores including Amazon. You can even hear excerpts from this album on Amazon.

In addition One2One is giving away one copy of this CD to a Suburban Jungle reader. To enter leave a comment on why you'd like to win.

For extra entries:

>>Blog about this giveaway and leave your link in a comment

>>Tweet about this giveaway and leave your status link (you may tweet this once per day for an extra entry each time). Please copy this into your tweet { Enter to Win Harry Connick Jr's New CD http://bit.ly/112mqY #giveaways @suburbanjung }

This giveaway will end October 1st at 9:00 EST and the winner will be chosen by random.org

No compensation was given for this review. I did receive a Harry Connick Jr CD to review. All views and opinions are my own.

A Chipmunk Caught in The Net

Today, I went outside with a scissors to gather some more nature pieces for my wreath. I found some great rose hips to add, and then decided to venture back to the garden. I instantly noticed my raspberry bushes bobbing up and down like a fishing pole. I thought it was odd but went back to what I was doing. Then I heard some extreme rustling.

So I went down the hill into the raspberry patch. And there I saw him...the chipmunk. He was tangled in the nets. By his neck. At this point, I realized I had a scissors in my pocket. What are the odds that I would have a scissors (and a good one at that) in my pocket in the backyard?

The nets are strong, and meant to keep animals out, so they don't cut easily. I needed to get him out. The irony of my post yesterday was not lost on me. I felt like this was a test to see what I would really do. This was my garden robber. The one who gets all my berries and tomatoes.

Would I let him strangle? No. I went right to work trying to cut him loose. As soon as the chipmunk saw me, he went crazy. He twisted and turned and got himself more tangled than ever. I started cutting him free, and worked at getting him away from any of the other nets to stop the retangling.

He had the nets around his neck at least 10 times. And his arms and legs were entirely trapped. He fought me all the way. But I remained calm. I knew this was a life or death situation, that he would bite me if given the chance, and that I was his only hope. I talked to him, telling him to hold still and I wasn't going to hurt him.

Frustrated with me, my son said, "mom, he doesn't understand human talk!" At times I felt like he was trusting me, but I realize he was just losing oxygen. During those moments, I worked hard at his neck. He guarded it from me too much while he was struggling.

I managed to free his neck except for 2 strands of net. Imagine a duck with a soda ring around it's neck....but tighter. Then I freed his legs and arms. And then he took off. I tried to get him so I could get the rest of his neck freed, but it was no use. He was gone.

I can only hope one of his family members will gnaw it off. He may or may not make it, but I sincerely tried my best. If he snags on something, the net may pull off or he may be strangled.

Forgive me for not having any pictures, but if I had any pictures this time it would have meant he died.

I try hard to keep our garden as organic as possible and only use nets to keep birds and animals out of our berries as a barrier. Not a trap. If you remember earlier this summer, a bird was caught and something ate half of it's body.

I put the nets up as soon as the berries start to ripen and take them off immediately when they are done. But still these things happen. :(

On a positive note, my children were right there with me. They saw the entire thing. I doubt they listen to me half the time (as evidenced by their toys on the floor) but actions speak louder than words, and I want them to see how much we try to take care of the things that have been entrusted to us.

More important than even the basics of caring for animals, I firmly believe that it's just a small leap from how you treat animals to how you treat people. And I really want them to be caring and loving people.

Teach Your Child To Read- Part 1

The following is a guest post from Jessica at Mom For Him.

It can be pretty unnerving to think about how to teach your child to read. There are lots of different methods, programs, and books out there to assist you, which is great, but it can also be overwhelming as you try to figure out which is right for your child. Each child is unique and may learn best with different methods, but I wanted to share with you what has worked for us.

I started with the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" by Siegfried Engelmann. This paperback book is laid out kind of like a workbook, but what is nice about it is it tells the parent what to say to the child in red type. So you don't even have to think about how to present the material to your child, just read the book along with them. It starts by introducing a few sounds and making games with them. It adds more sounds in each lesson, while reviewing the other sounds, then starts putting them together into short words, so the child is reading short words very quickly, by lessons 3 and 4. By lesson 13, the child reads a short sentence that goes with a picture to teach reading comprehension. It also has a writing component to it, that the child write the sounds (letters) they are learning, but my kids have been ready to learn to read before they have the fine motor control to write, so we just skip that part.

After about 60 lessons, H was reading 3 paragraph stories in the book, and she started to get bored with the "workbook" and asked for "real books". So I began my search for true, phonetic easy readers. To my surprise, easy readers are not all easy! I finally found some that were in my opinion, perfect companions to the 100 Easy Lessons book. Bob Books were written by Bobby Lynn Maslen, a kindergarten teacher who also struggled to find easy books for her students to read. The books start out simple and add more sounds and words in each successive book. They have simple pictures and are short enough for a young child to finish in one sitting, so they can feel successful without getting frustrated. After reading one book, our kids have been ecstatic, exclaiming, "I read the whole book all by myself!" and asking to read another one. There are five sets of books.

The best part? All these resources could be available for you to use for free through your library. My library system (not my particular library, but I can reserve things online from other libraries and have them shipped to my library--awesome!) carries all these books. Another free resource that you could use to supplement these is Starfall. This has online games for children, starting with the ABCs (it teaches sign language, too!) and progressing by putting sounds together into words. My kids like the cute songs on this site, and it is easy for them to navigate on their own.

**************************
Jessica is married to Ted and has 4 girls ages 6 and under. She blogs about couponing, freebies, homeschooling, mom tips, and other topics on her blog, Mom For Him.

Become a Fishful Thinking Ambassador

I try to sign up to be on company panels and review teams whenever possible. Why? Because you get to be on the front lines on some of the coolest new products. And they usually send you free samples and coupons.
I just became a Fishful Thinking Ambassador yesterday. Wahoo! It reminds me a lot of Buzz Agent. They are sending a kit filled with goldfish and I get to spread the word. We have a bunch of play dates coming up, so this is perfect timing.
Spaces are limited and they are only accepting moms with young kids (at least one has to be under 6 if I remember right from the questionnaire.) You must also be a member of repnation (like buzz agent.)

Remember when I found grapes this spring? Well...I guess we finally know what color they were meant to be. ;)

When in Rome....don't kill the Romans!

I've hesitated to post about this because it's caused so much neighborhood and even marital strife, but I've got to get it off my chest.

Our entire neighborhood is built on/near a large forest preserve. We are surrounded by acres and acres of forest, and it is so beautiful. We're like the horrible people in Evan Almighty that built on the fringe. Except that I really do love the forest and try my best to care for it.

Even when our garden was ravaged by chipmunks and deer, I still didn't want to kill them (well maybe for a second, but I value them more than a few fruits and veggies.)

And this is where I differ with pretty much all of my other neighbors. It turns out our neighbors got together and hired a big killing company to come out and eradicate our neighborhood of chipmunks, voles, moles, wasps, ladybugs, and boxelder bugs. I'm sure there were more, but those are the ones I remember.

I was approached by 17 different families urging me to join their crusade. I refused. They convinced my husband and we battled it out. Then the "pest control" people came to our door and tried to convince me. But I wouldn't have any of it, and amazingly, my husband defaulted to me on this one.

Really? I almost never win an argument with him. Truthfully, he's not someone you want to be in an argument with, but in this case, I got to have it my way. My husband was concerned that our yard would then become a haven for all the animals running to escape the chemical onslaught that was about to occur.

That's why you can't tell him about the zillion wasps creating galls in our oak trees. ;) But I want these animals in our forest. I want our yard to be a safe place for animals (and us) to live and breathe. I want them to be SAFE in the forest. And I don't want the chemicals in our yard, air, water, anywhere!

So all our neighbors have treated their lawns and their homes (inside and out!) Our yard was a clean and safe place for people and animals until.............

I got an email (AN EMAIL!) announcing that the city would be fogging for mosquitoes in our area at 7pm that evening. I think I got the email at 9pm. I didn't see them fogging, but I did see the aftermath....

The next morning, I found hundreds of wasps writhing on the ground trying to hang on to their lives. Now people, it was a balmy 65-70 degrees outside. There was no frost that night. There was no frost that morning. These wasps did not die of natural causes. (And this is not ALL of the wasps. These were in a small 1 sqft area. The entire section of my yard that faces the road was littered with corpses.)

In fact, plenty of wasps, butterflies, and bees are still active in my garden.

The email stated that the city was fogging for nuisance mosquitoes. They would not be fogging people's homes but focusing instead on areas of dense vegetation (read: my backyard and garden!!) The chemicals used were deemed safe for people and animals. The last line mentioned that the fogging does harm fish and bees. What??? @#!@!$##!!!

I'm mad about this on so many levels. First of all, how DARE they fog my property without my written permission! How dare they spray a chemical that's known to be lethal to bees and fish on my property. Harmful to animals (of any kind) most likely means harmful to my family!

How dare they send an email notification after they already did the deed! And how dare they perform such a wasteful service! We live in the north and in just a few weeks, we will reach freezing temperatures and all those "nuisance" mosquitoes will have died on their own. What a waste of tax payer dollars! What a horrible use of chemicals!

Of course my neighbors rejoiced! They were happy to be included in the fogging.

I don't even know where to begin on this. Someone needs to be yelled at!

Still harvesting from the garden

We're still harvesting produce from the garden on a daily basis. Today's haul? We gathered a bunch of tomatoes, some beans, spinach and fresh basil. We gobbled this up in one day and had 2 nearly free meals. :)

We're getting a few handfuls of raspberries too, but you'll never see them in a picture. They never make it that far.

I'm loving my fall garden. Next year I'm buying extra packets of spinach dedicated just to fall planting.

Our Outdoor Wreath Goes Organic!

Since it's officially fall, I pulled out our annual wreath from storage and realize it was a little crusty. I bought this wreath years ago....at 90% off on an after season sale. It's lasted for years but every season it loses some color and a few pieces.

But today, we revived it by adding some sunflowers from our garden! And it looks so much better! We'll be off in the forest tomorrow to get some more leaves and grasses to make it bigger and better. I'm so glad we found a way to give it new life rather than tossing it out.

Next season, I'll most likely pull out all the faded old pieces and use the frame and some bits form nature to reform this wreath entirely. At the end of each season, I will just remove the pieces and throw them in the compost. Now that's green decorating. ;)

My blog was given an Award!

A special thanks to Coupon Teacher for giving my Blog this really cool award! She bestowed on me the" Over the Top Award."

Here are the rules for the Over the Top Award:

Use only ONE word to answer the following questions! You may copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. Once you have filed it out be sure to pass it on to 6 of your favorite bloggers. Alert them that they have been awarded! Have fun!

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1. Where is your cell phone? Lost
2. Your hair? Blah
3. Your mother? Absent
4. Your father? Puzzles
5. Your favorite food? Berries
6. Your dream last night? Running
7. Your favorite drink? Water
8. Your dream/goal? Snowshoes
9. What room are you in? Kitchen
10. Your hobby? Fitness
11. Your fear? Debt
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Home
13. Where were you last night? Forest
14. Something that you aren’t? Organized
15. Muffins? Raspberry
16. Wish list item? Ripstick
17. Where did you grow up? California
18. Last thing you did? ate
19. What are you wearing? Capris
20. Your TV? tempting
21. Your pets? none
22. Friends? Needy
23. Your life? Content
24. Your mood? Tired
25. Missing someone? Cat
26. Vehicle? Van
27. Something you’re not wearing? Hat
28. Your favorite store? Target
29. Your favorite color? Green
30. When was the last time you laughed? yesterday
31. Last time you cried? Months
32. Your best friend? sisters
33. One place that I go to over and over? Target
34. One person who emails me regularly? Sister
35. Favorite place to eat? Hibachi

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Now I have to pass this award along to 6 other bloggers.

Ladies~~~ you all deserve this award! Enjoy and have fun with it!

My Four Monkeys {Cuz she has great tutorials and giveaways}

A Nut in a Nutshell {So funny!}

Green Organic Mama {Love the content, want to eat the green onions}

Mommy has to work {Real, fresh, fun blogging}

Organic Deals {All organic savings, all the time!}

Coupon Geek {Lots of great deals!}

I only wish I could have passed it on to more bloggers! I read a lot of great blogs. ;)

The Biggest Loser Recap

Did you watch The Biggest Loser last night? Oh how I love that show. But it seems different this season and I wanted to chat about that for a second.

>> Does it seem like the workouts just aren't as an intense this season? It seems like Bob and Jillian just aren't pushing the contestants very hard this time around. Sure, they're yelling and swearing (which is overdone and annoying) but the contestants are walking slowly, pedaling slowly, lifting slowly...

There have been no hikes up the mountain, no runs to Subway to get lunch, no ultimate wall squat challenges.... Maybe I'm just expecting too much too soon, but I hope they get to some extreme fitness soon.

>>Does it seem like the contestants this season are just way too emotional? Hasn't everyone on the show cried at least once already? Weren't they super crazy about calling home, and it was only the second week! There's been a lot of man crying and that just makes me uncomfortable. Sorry, that's just how I roll.

>>What's up with Daniel coming back? I gotta admit that when he stepped out of the limo last week just in time to run the 1 mile race, I was crying FOUL! He says he works out 4 hours a day, and most of these people probably haven't worked out at all in the last year. How fair is it to have him run against them? And they had to run in the sand!!! Does anyone know how hard that is?!?! I was disappointed.

After this week though, I like Daniel. He seems genuinely supportive and interested in the success of is partners. I like him now and hope he finally reaches his goal.

>>Final thought:I hope this season kicks it up soon. My motto for Biggest Loser this season: Less Crying; More Puking!

Holding on to my little girl

She says she'll live with me forever. I have it on tape! She's very loving and wants to be at my side day and night. In fact, if it were possible, I almost guarantee she would jump at the chance to be sewn together.

Well....I'll take it! Sure I need my space, but I was once a teenage girl. And I know I've got limited years of this sweet little girl left.

How rude?!!? Nope. She's going to be a dangerous combination of her daddy's quick wit and her mommy's good looks. lol. That was funny, right? Am I seriously the only one laughing? Okay...moving on!

She loves to talk, she's very social, she's stubborn and she's very quick with her words. We're in for a firestorm when she's a teen. And we'll have other issues with her brother. Oh man! Is it weird to be freaking out 10 years in advance??

Probably, but looking ahead, I know I've got to focus right where I am and hold on to that little girl (and that little boy) while I still can.

Teaching Preschoolers to Spell - Biggest Loser Style

It's no secret that The Biggest Loser is my all time favorite show.....in the whole world. I couldn't help but laugh today when we were working on a spelling lesson, when my kids said "look, we're just like the biggest loser."

I had them each work on writing out our sight words using our great drawing pad from Trix. My daughter used a Blue marker and my son a Black marker, so they were the blue and black team.

Obviously, neither of my children are rock stars when it comes to penmanship, but they were happy to face off as biggest loser contestants...all in the name of good spelling. :)

24/7 Free Website Monitoring

Have you ever wondered what your blog looks like to others? I once read a review of my blog where the person wrote that they were inundated with pop-ups the entire time. What??

I don't have any pop-up or pop-under software embedded in my blog. What was happening? What about when your site is down? Or does your site take an incredibly long time to load?

One of my favorite blogs takes an incredibly long time to load. I've struggled with whether or not to visit the site, but have stuck it out. According to most sources, long load time causes a big loss in readers. I wonder if she knows her site takes so long to load? Well...now we can know all of those answers. And for FREE!

Do you remember my Got Free Cards review? Well, the same people that run Got Free Cards, have 247webmonitoring.com.

I just signed up for free website monitoring and am awaiting the results. I'll update this post when I have more information.

What do they monitor? When your site is down, they will email you an alert. Then they email you again when it's up and running. They also keep track of how long it takes for your pages to load. All useful information!

What do you have to give in order to get this information? Just your url. They will give you all this free web monitoring for absolutely nothing. Now, of course, they do have a premium upgrade and you can look into that if you feel it's necessary for your website.

Go check it out and have your website monitored. Now we just need to know what to do about a slow or shut down site. ;)

Just so you know...I wasn't paid or given anything to mention 24 7 Monitoring (or Got Free Cards for that matter.) They just asked if I'd take a look at their sites and share what I thought. They do tend to sponsor giveaways though, so maybe we'll see something from them in the future. :)

I'll tweet when I update this post, so you can see my experiences with website monitoring and find out how slow my blog really is (or maybe you already know, lol.)

My Bucket List ~ Always a work in progress

My Bucket List ~ A list of things I hope to accomplish before, well...kicking the bucket! These are the things I would focus on if I only had one month left. And you never know how many minutes you have left, so I'm focusing now. Some are easy and some are hard. But I'm working toward all of them (except the maybes).

I'm hoping to have years to finish these, but in any event, these are the things I'd like to accomplish.

1. Finish the Tour du Mont Blanc
2. Visit the Green and Black sand beaches of Hawaii
3. Swim with Dolphins
4. Swim in a hot spring heated by volcanoes
5. Ride in a hot air balloon
6. Have so many berries that I have to give them away
7. See the Glaciers in Alaska
8. Leave a legacy of joy and contentment
9. Notarize my will
10. Never stop saying I love you (it's easy to forget)
11. See the pyramids and see the Nile
12. Forgive my mom
13. Pick an olive and eat it
14. Hug a super old tree at Yosemite and/or Redwood national park (then my husband can legitimately call me a tree hugger)
15. Explore the mammoth caves
16. Stop swearing and yelling
17. Marvel at the Grand Canyon (again)
18. Grow a peach tree
19. Teach an aerobics class
20. Ride on a gondola in Italy
21. Rollerblade another marathon
22. Run (or walk) in a 5K
23. Ride a jet ski (by myself)
24. Canoe with my family in the boundary waters
25. See the Northern Lights
26. Ripcord through a jungle
27. Find out what really happened with my mom
28. SUP in the ocean (surf using paddles)
29. Snow shoe!
30. Do a real pushup
31. Learn more about history to have an appreciation for people that have gone before and the blessings of this age
32. Teach my children about God and how to be responsible, humble and caring people
33. Read some of the classics (war & peace, catcher in the rye, tale of two cities, etc)
34. Always have a garden
35. Be willing to go to the moon if moon traveling becomes available...and not be scared about it
36. Never become desensitized to human plight and pain and try my hardest to keep my children from becoming sensitized, lazy, selfish, rude, disrespectful, or having an attitude of entitlement
37.Ride a horse in the ocean
38. Learn to hula hoop
39. Eat Sushi
40. Eat Seaweed
41. Learn to bake bread...well
42. Go on a cruise
43. Meet a true clairvoyant
44. Ride on the autobahn (my husband can drive) and keep my eyes open!
45. Take my family to see the Mayan Ruins
46. Hike up another volcano
47. Go to Italy, and eat in rustic, old-home restaurants
48. Taste really expensive chocolate
49. Learn to rip stick
50. Watch kangaroos box
51. Snuggle up every cat I meet (and meet them often)
52. Learn to cook with fresh herbs and spices
53. Learn to cook and eat well
54. Learn to Irish Step Dance
55. Play bagpipes
56. Learn to play the cello
57. Sail in a sailboat
58. Do a real pull-up (no assist)

The Maybe's
1. Skydiving
2. Reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro
3. Learn another language
4. Take some courses on the antiquities
5. Learn to surf
6. Hang glide
7. Learn gymnastics
8. Take martial arts classes
9. Scuba dive the great barrier reef
10. Take a pottery class
11. Try skijoring (ala canine)
12. Follow the Lois and Clark Trail
13. Raise chickens (for eggs)
14. Join a Crew team (rowing)
15. Learn to dance hip/hop

How to Make Cruise Ship Towel Animals

I posted earlier about how I made these cute little towel animals, but I forgot to include any how-to's. Instead of videotaping myself, I thought I'd give you the links I followed.

How to make a Dog Towel Animal

How to make a Turtle or Frog Towel Animal

How to make an Elephant Towel Animal.

Happy folding everyone!

Win a Freezer full of Organic Food! Plus $$ for a freezer!

Enter here to win 365 Meals from Blue Horizon Organic Foods. That's one meal a day - or a Year's worth of Blue Horizon Food! If you are selected as the winner, you may select from their skillet meals, breaded shrimp, spring rolls, seafood bites and more.

Plus, the winner will receive $500 toward the purchase of a freezer!

You'll also have the opportunity to print a $2 coupon just for entering.

Thank you Organic Deals!

Link & Win Mondays: Stop in to List and Win Tons of Giveaways!

I'm going to start something new and see if people would like to link up their giveaways here. Just add your giveaway to the Mr Linky below.

If you don't have a blog giveaway, come here to search some great giveaways.

Recycling Batteries and CFL bulbs

We don't use a lot of batteries in our home, but we do end up replacing 1 or 2 each month. What do I do with them? I save them in this old plastic bag (from a pillowcase set) and leave them in our junk drawer until we go to the library. The batteries come with us every time, then the bag goes back in the drawer and waits for more batteries. Why are there rechargeables in the bag? Because after 7 years of reuse, they finally died.

Next time you are at Lowes, Home Depot or Best Buy, look to see if they have any recycling boxes. The CFL boxes are behind customer service (nobody wants one of those to accidentally break!) And check your library. You just never know. Otherwise, google it. Somebody, somewhere will dispose of them properly for you. Phew. Glad I got that off my chest!

Our new pet!

Today my son was so excited to find 2 of these beauties in our garden. He was so happy and immediately started gathering food and supplies to make them a home.

He rejoiced at "finally being able to have a pet!" Since he has so many allergies, pets are out of the question. And although he may not be allergic to rodents, I am allergic to their beady little eyes.

So we started preparing a home for our new slugs when all of a sudden I heard him cry out "mom, part of their bodies are coming off!"

He had been smoothing them and showing them love, but their poor little bodies couldn't take it. And our venture into pet ownership ended....just like that. Phew!

Winner is up! Outfit Additions Review & $50 Giveaway

The winner of the Outfit Additions $50 Giveaway is up on the original post. Thank you to all who entered. There is still time to win a $50 gift certificate to Quote the Walls.

Wondering why I post a link back to the original giveaway? It's so I can delete this posting a week later and not have it pop up in the linkwithin, confusing people about old giveaways. I know it's annoying, but I'm trying to declutter the links.

Microfiber ~ An amazing organic cleaner

The only cleaners used in our home are for our dishwasher, toilets and our washing machine. When I clean our counters, mirrors, floors, furniture, or sinks, I do not use any chemicals!

I know what you're thinking...it totally shows! Ha! My house is actually very clean and we hardly ever get sick. But surely I do something to clean up any bloody meat messes or milk spills, right? Nope!

It all started when we moved into our house and I had to figure out how to clean granite. Have you ever cleaned granite? If not, you've never had to fight with endless streaking. All polished surfaces (granite, glass, stainless steel, hardwood...all the really beautiful surfaces) streak if you wash them with just a regular dish towel and ordinary cleaning methods.

But being the cheapo that I am, and also the health fanatic (so named by my husband), I'm not a fan of extra cleaners. Then by some act of divine mercy, I found this book, Speed Cleaning 101: Cut Your Cleaning Time in Half! and learned about microfiber! I just need to tell you that this stuff is amazing! You can clean glass, stainless steel, or wood with just water and it will shine like it's brand new. Such a healthy and earth friendly way to clean! Plus it's easier!

I then happened upon a microfiber cloth embedded with silver, making it naturally antibacterial and antiviral. So I bought a set and I use them exclusively in the kitchen and bathrooms. No more chemicals, no more streaks, no more cleaning insanity. The best part about having a silver embedded cloth...my towels don't get stinky! What ever is on them gets killed. Okay, I have to stop here to tell you that silver is an environmental toxin. But I'm not throwing my towels away. I wash them and reuse them. I'm hoping they will last for years (2 years so far!)

I highly recommend you check out the speed cleaning book at your library. It was a must read for me! I really do have a decently clean house and I'm lazy. She has such great time saving tips and ways to help you keep your house clean at all times, or showroom ready in a quick 10 minute pick up.

I've been using her methods and microfiber towels for almost 2 years now. If you haven't tried them, you can get an inexpensive set at target. I think I got my first set there for $10 (and it included 4 towels, one for dusting, one for general cleaning, one really heavy duty one, and one for glass/buffing).

I added a blog roll!

I finally added a blog roll! I'm always a little slow in the html department. lol

Quote the Walls -Review and $50 Giveaway

This giveaway has ended: Congratulations to #33, Jessica. Please check your email!

When we moved 2 years ago, we worked hard to decorate every square inch of our home. But we missed one room. Our guest room. Sure it has a bed and dresser, but that's about it.

Decorating should be a mix of all the things you love, not just frames on the wall, and I really wanted to venture into the world of wall quotes. That's where Quotethewalls.com came to our rescue. They sent me the perfect quote for our guest room.

Here's a look at our guest room before we added our quote:

Pretty stale, I know. But I had run out of ideas for this room. I love quotes and have seen them in other people's homes. Yet for some reason I thought they were too difficult for me to deal with.

I couldn't have been more wrong. The installation is surprisingly simple and quick. The most difficult part was deciding on which quote to use! This is definitely a quick home improvement!

My husband and I worked on this as a team (since one of us is a perfectionist,) but this could easily be a one person job.

So how is it done?

You decide where you want the quote, tape it in place, peel off the backing and rub on the letters.

Here are a few shots of the application in progress:

Rubbing the letters on the wall. By the way, that's not me. lol This is my husband's first blog picture debut.

Peeling back the paper to reveal our new letters!

Here are a few pictures of our newly improved guest room. Thank you Quote the Walls for such a great addition to our home! It's so beautiful in person! My pictures just couldn't do it justice!

If you'd like to improve your home decor, check out Quote the Walls. The quality is excellent, the selection is great (you can even make a custom quote or add your name.)

I am more than happy with the results and will be back to order something for our bathroom.

Quote the Walls has graciously offered to give one of my readers a $50 gift certificate to use on their site. Friends, this would buy you one fantastic, large quote or 2-3 smaller ones. They even have a sale section! The customer service is great, the quality is excellent, and it will add so much to your home.

To enter: Check out Quote the Walls and decide which quotes you would buy. Come back and leave me a comment letting me know your selection. You must complete this entry first.

For extra entries:

* Blog about this giveaway and come back and comment with the link

* Tweet this giveaway then comment with your twitter id; feel free to copy this tweet @suburbanjung $50 Quote the Walls Giveaway http://bit.ly/4cFqu

*Become a follower on google friend, twitter, or feedburner. Leave me a comment for each one you joined (or if you're already a follower, let me know)

Winner will be selected by random.org on October 2, 2009

No compensation was given for this review. I did receive the wall quote pictured to sample their products. All views and opinions are my own.