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Things & Travel

Traveling to Seattle with the #TravelingBunny

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Traveling Bunny Seattle

I recently got a my first chance to go to Seattle with the Windows Champions Summit! And I took the #TravelingBunny on his (or her) first trip! I may be in love with Seattle and we already knew that I am in love with Microsoft.

Microsoft treated us right! They had us down in the Ballard area of Seattle and put us up at Hotel Ballard. We are talking seriously posh and hip! The design of the hotel is great but beyond that the linens and service were top notch! And do you see that bath tub? It was huge and so luxe.

But the focus of the trip was Microsoft! I got to go to Microsoft’s research area!!! I saw dancing robots and a huge image project! Then we popped over to their main campus and had some great time learning about some Skype tools and Xbox One. I even got to see their coffee shop but then we got to go to the campus store! Yes, I got my geek on;). 

We also got some great time to soak up Ballard and the Seattle are with my fabulous Lumia Icon. They have a great Farmer’s Market with great flower vendors. The food was fabulous! There was a lot of farm to table places including a restaurant with the farm on the roof;).

I also got to visit Snoqualmie Falls! What a gorgeous area. They also had a fabulous restaurant up there. The thing about our venture up there was just how gorgeous the drive was. Great views from the freeway all the way up.

I think I have fallen for Seattle. Thanks Microsoft for bringing me up! I am sure you will hear more about my trip and the fabulous things I heard about!

And yes, Microsoft took me up there but all thoughts and opinions are mine alone!

Contesting Monday

Contesting Monday 5/12

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So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.

Before you run off to enter all the fabulous giveaways make sure to enter my 2 fabulous giveaways! I am giving away a Nature’s Sleep Memory Foam Slippers and I am also giving away a great bath package from Lush Cosmetics!

So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!

Fresno, giveaway, Things & Travel

Lush Has Come to Fresno (and a Giveaway!)

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Fresno Lush

Fresno got a LUSH store! Lush is a natural, handmade cosmetics store that apparently everyone else knew about except me! Lush makes the most divine smelling (and working) bath and body products along with cosmetics. They are possibly best known for their many varieties of bath bombs but they have lots of other great products. I received a package with some great soaps, shower gel and bath bombs that were divine! (side note: I really love the It’s Raining Men shower gel)

The Fresno location of Lush opened in April over at Fashion Fair Mall and I got a chance to pop in and look around. While I was there I also picked up some bar shampoo and conditioner for a trip! When you walk in you smell fabulous scents and see beautiful products! There are lots of items out for you to try from soaps to lotions to makeup. It is just a fabulous place!

To celebrate their opening of the Fashion Fair they are having a Grand Opening Party on Saturday. May 10th from Noon to 5:00pm. They will be doing face care demos, giveaways with $50 purchases and more. If you RSVP to the Facebook event and are once of the first 100 you will get a free gift too.

Lush has also decided to do a giveaway here on my blog! 1 lucky winner (who is here in the US) will win a Ray of Sunshine package! Just enter in the Rafflecopter!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(Disclosure: I was provided Lush products! All thoughts and words are mine.)

Homeschooling, Homeschoooling

Carnival of Homeschooling

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WhateverImageA

I am hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling again! This time is looks a little different. We just have a couple of entries but they are fabulous!!!

Why Homeschool has a great piece where Henry answers a variety of questions from a mom who recently began homeschooling!

Mel over at MamaBuzz is busy debunking homeschool myths about age gaps and hours they keep. (Keep debunking those myths!)

Here on the Nerdfamily Blog, I talked about Great Science Reference Books to have on hand!

I talked this week about avoiding the summer brain drain over at Homeschool Hangout! Homeschool Hangout happens every Thursday at 1:30pm pacific over on Google Plus!

Thanks for joining me for the Carnival of Homeschooling! Make sure you comment on all these great pieces and participate yourself next week!

Contesting Monday

Contesting Monday 5/5

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So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.

Before you run off to enter all the fabulous giveaways make sure to enter mine! I am giving away a Nature’s Sleep Memory Foam Slippers.

So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!

giveaway, Things & Travel

Nature’s Sleep Memory Foam Slippers Review and Giveaway

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Mommy Slippers and Monkey Slippers
Mommy Slippers and Monkey Slippers

I recently got my hands on a pair of Nature’s Sleep Memory Foam Slippers to review! I have been looking for great slippers for a while but have met failure after failure. I make be at home but I am working from home and needed slippers that could support me in my ventures! I think I have found them.

First things first, just because I am at home doesn’t mean I am just sitting around! I need foot support and that is 1 thing most slippers seem to be missing. They are either flat or fluff but usually slippers seem to be missing any form of support. But not the Nature’s Sleep Memory Foam Slippers. They have the memory foam core so it adapts to your feet and gives them great support all along the foot. So I can wash dishes, cook, do laundry, whatever and not have aching feet. This is a big deal for me because if your feet hurt, it can trash a productive day. But because it is memory foam, it gibes you that luxurious floating, squishy feeling that scream comfy slippers!

The next thing is durability! I need to be able to run outside. No, I am not wearing slippers grocery shopping. But I have 4 kids that I homeschool, can you even imagine how many I get called outside to see things by my kids;). I also don’t want to have to stop to put on shoes just to grab the mail or get something out my garage. My kids seem to get a little water on the floor every time they empty the dishwasher. But hey, at least they are emptying the dishwasher! I really don’t want wet feet or to stand in their way!

It is a little thing but it is integral to me! I don’t want to worry about them getting stained or wet on the bottom. So I love the fact that these slippers have a very durable sole that comes up an inch around the sides of the slippers. It means that you don’t have to worry about a little water that splashes on the kitchen floor.

My final analysis is… I love the Nature’s Sleep Memory Foam Slippers and I highly recomend them! They would be a great item to buy for yourself or a gift. But you could also win a pair here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(Disclosure: I received a pair of Nature’s Sleep Slippers to review. All thoughts are mine and mine alone.)

Books, Brick and Mortar, Comics, Deals

Free Comic Book Day is Coming!!!

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10thcomicbkdayhaul
Previous year’s haul!

Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday!!!! Yup, you heard me. The words free and comic books together!!! Free Comic Book Day is an event that happens every where on the first Saturday of May. The comic book industry provides a variety of comic titles to giveaway in order to not only encourage comic book reading but reading over all.

10comicbkdaycharacterSo how does it work? Just look online for a local comic book shop that is participating (we usually go to Heroes here in Fresno) and show up on Saturday. You may have to wait in a bit of a line, depending on your location, but it always goes much faster than you would think. Heroes (in Fresno) often has great costumed characters that interact with the kids.

Then when you get into the store you get to pick out at least 1 comic book (sometimes more). And that is it. You can of course look around and shop. Many comic book stores run some great sales on Free Comic Book Day but you are under no obligation to buy.

I do have one recommendation if you have youngish kids. Check out what is being offered ahead of time (they list them all) and have in mind what you would like. But don’t tell the kids until you get there because, depending on the crowds, they may not have your first choices.

I also recommend you wear something geeky but that is just for fun;). I mean, how often do you get to wear a super hero cape shopping;)?

Contesting Monday

Contesting Monday 4/28

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So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.

So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!

Musings

National Send Your Man Nudes Day ( #NationalSendYourManNudesDay )

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By InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Apparently it is National Send Your Man Nudes Day, at least there is a hastag that says it is;). When it comes to sex, nudity and the like my general rule is I don’t care what consenting adults do. But I think this is a mistake. And I have 3 basic reasons.

1) The internet (and texts) are forever. I know, Snap chat isn’t supposed to last. Or it was a private message on Facebook. Or they deleted the email. That may make you feel better but it isn’t completely true. The pictures never really go away and tend to become public at the absolutely worst moments.

2)You could get your partner (or worse, yourself) flagged for porn by your employer/school/provider. Yes, really.

3) If you are under 18 you can be trafficking in child porn. Yes, really. It could be a crime that follows you around the rest of your life.

Contesting Monday

Contesting Monday 4/21

1 Comment

So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.

So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!