Clutter Busting Challenge Day #1: 28 Items...GONE!

I have failed miserably in my attempt to simplify so far this year. Recently, Crystal at Money Saving Mom  challenged her readers to get rid of 7 items every day in the month of May, well,  I decided that this was definitely something that I could do. I will be sharing my success for each day.  Join me in the fun!

Tonight as I was folding, and putting away a mountain of clothing, I realized that my dresser drawers were so jammed packed that I couldn't find or put away items very well.  Within 30 minutes, I was able to go through each and every drawer and found 28 items to be donated or tossed.  Woo hoo!  I am off to a good start!

Kroger Makes Family Dinner Easy

I know I've shared with you my love for Kroger, but seriously I won't shop anywhere else when it comes to my groceries.  As a Bzz Agent, I periodically get lucky and have the chance to try out Kroger brand products for free.  This spring I was sent fabulous coupons for the following free items:  Kroger Cake mix, Kroger Brand Frosting, Kroger Brand Crescent Rolls, Kroger Brand Pork Tendorloin, and Kroger Brand Refrigerated Mashed Potatoes.   How awesome is that?  

We are not huge pork eaters, but mostly because I don't really know how to prepare pork.  Before picking up my goodies at the store, I researched online to find a recipe that would be easy enough, yet tasty.  I ran across a recipe that basically cooked the pork tendorloin with caramelized onions on top.  Sounded easy enough for me!  Here is how it looked...

 

While it looked super tasty, it was just okay.

 We paired it with the Kroger refrigerated mashed potatoes, Kroger canned corn, and Kroger crescent rolls.

 

The sides were super easy to prepare.  The mashed potatoes could be microwaved or heated in the oven.  I actually used the oven, and they turned out pretty tasty.  So simple and I didn't have to lift a finger.  While the potatoes were simple, the crescent rolls were a little more time consuming because the dough was completely stuck to each other and the premade slits in the dough was difficult to find so I could not make the cute crescent shapes.  They, however, tasted just as good as Pillsbury Cresent Rolls. 

Finally for dessert...a couple of nights later. :-)  We celebrated Little Brother's Birthday with some yummy Devil's food cupcakes.  They were delicious and moist.  The creamy vanilla frosting that I paired with them was just as good as the more expensive brand named forstings.  

Baby Sis was super excited to try them out...

Overall, I was pretty satisfied with the items I was able to try.  I will definitley by a Kroger cake mix again, but we might have to pass on the Pork.  Howeer, the mashed potatoes smight have to visit our dinner table again.  

Note: Thanks to Bzz Agent, I was able to try out these items for FREE.  My opinoins are completely my own. 

Try-Something-New-Tuesday: Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Miracle Dry Oil

Recently, I had the opportunity to try out a new product from Garnier Fructis for free as a Bzz Agent.  This particular product, the Triple Nutrition Miracle Dry Oil can be used on your hair, body or face.  I actually decided to try it on all three!  Let me tell you how it worked out for me...

First of the, Miracle Dry Oil is a combination of Olive, Avacodo, and Shea oils.  It comes in this handy little spray bottle which is great.   No worries about my little children dumping it all over the floor. 

I have extremely dry hair and skin.  My hair is dried out from the mousse that I pile onto my hair on a daily basis to combat the frizz that I get with natural curly hair.  There are many times where I will look at my hair and think it looks so damaged. At first, I decided that I would spray the oil on after I have all my styling aides in my hair.  I was a little shocked.  It actually made my hair curlier. Instead of my loose, frizzier hair, I had tight little ringlets.  I wasn't used to this and not quite sure I liked the tight curls.  So the next day I decided that I would try it on my hair when it was dry.  I really like it better this way.  It added a great shine to my hair and made it look healthier. 

After finding some success on my hair, I decided to try the Miracle Dry Oil on my skin and face.  At first, I was not a fan.  It took a while for the "oily" look to go away.  However, after a 45 minutes or so, the oil had fully absorbed into my skin and left it looking silky smooth and healthy.  Since my skin is extremely dry and cracked, it took several applications until I could see a huge difference in my skin.  I also tried it on my face, but did not like the way it made my skin feel.  This would be a product that I would use before I went to bed so the "oily" look would be gone.

I was given the opportunity to try this for free as a Bzz Agent.  My opinions are honest and true without compensation.

Try Something New Tuesday: Kroger Yogurt Review

 I am on my way to a healthier me!  The last couple of weeks I have really focused on eating healthier and exercising.  One change I have made in my diet is the switch from a high carb diet to a high protein diet.  Bzz Agent made this easy for my by offering me the chance to try out the New Kroger Greek, Greek Lite and Carbmaster yogurts.  I was sent a Kroger gift card to purchase my choice of yogurt.  As an added bonus, they also included coupons to give out to friends and family.  (I have a few left, so hit me up for them!)

First I tried the Greek Yogurt in the Strawberry flavor. 

One thing that I noticed right away on the carton was that it was sweetened with STEVIA!  This made me really happy to see that they used a safe, natural sweetener. It also contained 14 grams of protein and 130 calories.  I loved the taste of this, but not sure I liked wasting 130 calories on it.  

The Greek yogurt had a great smooth texture and tasted yummy!  I didn't really notice the big tangy taste that usually comes with Greek yogurt so that was a plus.  

A few days later, I was craving something sweet and remembered the Black Forest Cake Carbmaster yogurt in the fridge.  

This one was super yummy!  I was a bit bummed though when I saw that it was sweetened with an artificial sweetener.  However, it was only 60 calories, 4 carbs and 9 grams of protein.  

This particular yogurt was chunkier with bits of chocolate and cherries in it.  Overall it was tasty and I would consider purchasing it again.  

The last yogurt I tried out was the Greek Lite in the Peach Flavor.  

I liked that this was a Greek Yogurt with only 90 calories, but again it was sweetened with artificial sweeteners.  It contained 16 grams of protein which was awesome!  What a great and easy way to get protein in.  This particular flavor, however, was not a hit with me.  It reminded of sour cream...a peach flavored sour cream.  Yuck!

However, Baby Sis loved it!  While she slurped it down, I settled for the Greek Lite in the Strawberry flavor and was much more satisfied! 

And don't you love her hair?  Just woke up! :-) 

Overall, I was happy with Kroger Yogurt.  I am happy that this company is stepping up and making products that fit the healthy eating trends.  I know that it isn't quite possible yet to have a natural sweetner and also fewer calories, but I hope I see Stevia in more products by Kroger.

As always, my opinions are honest and truly my own.  I was not compensated, but I was given Free products to try. Thanks to Kroger and Bzz Agent!

Shick Hydro Silk Razor Review

Spring is right around the corner, or at least I hope it is!  I am looking forward to flip flops and warm weather.  With the warm weather, comes shorts and capris.  I will admit, that is one nice thing about winter...I don't have to shave my legs because they are always hidden.  However, Shick is making shaving a bit easier with it's new Shick Hydro Razor.  As a Bzz Agent,  I was given the chance to try it out and took it with me when we went on our trip to Florida in February. Yes, I actually had to shave me legs! 

I received a full size Shick Hyrdo Silk razor with an extra cartridge included with it, as well as, a few coupons to hand out.

 

The razor has a nice curved handle that makes it easy to use.  The head of the razor has 5 blades and this really cool moisturizing serum that gives your legs a silky smooth finish...therefore, it is the "Hydro Silk"  razor.  The 5 blades help to give a super close shave that lasts longer than a few days. 

If you look closely at the top and bottom of the blades you will see a bunch of white "dots".  This is the moisturizing serum that is activated when wet.  You can feel the silkiness by rubbing your finger over it. It truly helps to make you legs feel super smooth.  I was really excited to use it in Florida when I had to show off my legs on the beach.  I really liked the razor, but there is just one issue I had with it.  It doesn't last very long!   By the third time I used it, the silky serum was gone and the blades seem to be a bit "rough".  It does come with an extra cartridge which is handy, but if you shave more than once or twice a week you will be racking up some serious dough in this razor by changing out the cartridges so frequently.  However, if you run across a great deal on it, I suggest trying it out for yourself!

Note: I  received a Free Shick Hydro Silk razor as a Bzz Agent.  All opinions are truly my own and I was not compensated. 

MorningStar Farms Meatless Burger Review

Many of you know my struggle with weight loss...well I am at it again...try to lose some weight!  This time, I am getting serious.  I am making some big lifestyle changes, and my diet is one of them.  Right now I am tracking calories and taking a serious look at the labels of the foods that I eat.  I am trying to incorporate protein in my diet to give me the satisfaction and energy that I need to make it through the day.  Therefore, when I had the chance to try out a great source of protein as a Bzz Agent, I was on it.  MorningStar Farms is a company that I was somewhat familiar with.  I had a roommate in college who was a vegetarian and would eat the veggie burgers.  I have always been a little hesitant to try them, but when I had the chance to try them for free, I thought "What the heck?!"  

As a Bzz Agent, I had the chance to try a meatless burger from MorningStar Farms.  I settled on the Spicy Black Bean Burger.  One great thing about MorningStar Farms is that they have a variety of recipes on their website.  I was a little intrigued by the Spice Black Bean Burger Southwest Wrap.  I am huge fan of wraps and this looked tasty, so I made a few changes and whipped one up.   Another great thing about the veggie burgers, is the ease of preparation.  After defrosting the microwave for a minute or so, I quickly cooked it on a non-stick skillet.

One thing that impressed me was the lack of grease, unlike that with ground beef.  It took a few minutes to cook while flipping it every so often.  When it was finished, I cut it into a few small pieces and placed it on a whole wheat wrap.  I topped it with cheese and salsa and popped it in the oven for a few minutes to let the cheese melt. 

When I was finished, I topped it with lettuce and reduced fat sour cream...

and Ta-da!  My truly yummy dinner was born!  I really liked the flavor that the pieces of corn and tomatoes added to the burger.  I also enjoyed the Mexican spices.  While it wasn't too spicy, it did add to it's flavor.  One thing that I wasn't quite sure of was the texture.  It was a little "softer" and maybe a bit mushy when compared to a ground beef.  Therefore, I am not sure how I would like this if served on a bun.  Overall, I was happy to try this out.  I like the health benefits that these products have and I was pleasantly surprised by the taste.  Will this be a new staple to my diet...not sure.  However, I will be willing to try out some more recipes to experiment with more MorningStar Products.

Note:  As a Bzz Agent, I was given a coupon for a free package of MorningStar Farms Veggie Burgers.  I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are truly my own. 

Where's the Snow?

Okay, so I have a confession...I was hoping for at least 7 inches of snow today.  Instead, we got maybe 1 inch.  I am READY for Spring, but if we are going to get snow, then LET IT SNOW like a foot!  The last three snowfalls have been slightly disappointing.  Our local weather reporters have predicted several inches more than what we actually received. Therefore, I am a bit bummed. My boys had so much fun last week in the snow, and I was really excited to take Baby Sis out in it this week since she is finally healthy.  Oh well...instead, I'll share pictures from last week.

 Last year we didn't really get a lot of snow, so they were begging to go out and play in the snow.  They were so excited, that it didn't even matter that they were still a little under weather themselves.  We got all bundled up and heading out to make a snowman.

Here is my pathetic attempt to help my boys make a snowman.  It looks like it is melting.  We will leave this up to Dad next time. 

The boys loved it though! Then, I remembered this cool little brick making mold in my cluttered basement, and we started making this awesome fort.  Thank Goodness I never threw it away like I had planned. 

 The boys had so much fun making their little fort.  Of course, Mommy had to help a little.

 They had even more fun using it as a place to hide for a snowball fight!  

  After a short snowball fight, we had to go in side and warm up with some hot chocolate!  

While I am so excited to hopefully see the sun and green grass soon, I still long for one more BIG snow! Not sure I will get my wish.