{Guest Posting} Fruit and Yogurt Parfait

December 31, 2010 By 1 Comment
Happy New Year’s Eve from Dandy Giveaway!  Can you believe that tomorrow it will be 2011?  Are you ready for it?  Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions?  One of my big ones for this next year is to get more exercise and continue on my weight loss path.  Here’s a little tidbit that you didn’t know about the Tara, because I’ve yet to disclose this information on here…  :)    It’s actually my eleventh week on Weight Watchers and so far I’ve lost 22 lbs!  (Gasp I know!)  I’d be happy with losing just 10-15 more.  Then of course I plan on eating healthy and working out to maintain.  That all being said I’m really excited this week to feature Kendra from The Things I Love, because she is sharing a healthy breakfast option!  So welcome back Kendra!
 
Fruit and Yogurt Parfait
This is the breakfast I ate everyday while I was on my diet. I actually still eat it every day!
I start out with 3 T oat bran and put steaming hot water on it until it is mushy like oatmeal. Then I add 1tsp butter. After that I measure out 8 oz {1 cup} plain yogurt, and put that on top. After that I mix in 1 packet of Stevia {0 calorie Sweetener} Then I add 8 oz of what ever fruit I want. Most mornings it’s a banana and frozen Costco blueberries, but lately I have been getting a lot of fresh produce. Some of my favorite things to add are blackberries, fresh strawberries, peaches and mangoes. It is a very filling breakfast, and I NEVER get sick of it!!
Since going off the diet if I don’t feel like oat bran I will do a 1/4 cup of granola
Yogurt is so good for you. Go hereand read about the benefit that it has for our bodies! I usually buy Mountain High or Cascadean farms plain yogurt at the health food store. If I buy flavored yogurt I try to steer away from light yogurt. It is usually sweetened with Aspartame, which is not very good for you. I have heard a lot of good stuff about Greek yogurt, but I haven’t tried it yet, but I will! I have also made my own yogurt but I will save that for another post!!
Have a wonderful day!!
 
Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Dandiness Tagged With: ,

{Review} CSN’s All Modern.com

December 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

 

Here at Dandy Giveaway & More we love working with CSN.  After all, they are the only place online where you can find over 200 stores.  With that number they carry EVERYTHING!  Recently they sent me a gift card that will go perfectly towards a new modern light fixture.  I’m just a modern kinda lady!  Good thing that CSN has tons of stores that are all about modern.  Like All Modern.com… where you can find loads of modern wall art and decor. 

Now we are all fans of unique wall vinyl and All Modern.com does not disappoint in this department. 

How cool is this chalkboard wall decal?

 

Then isn’t the duvet set the cutest?

 

I for one am a London fanatic.  So anything that is reminiscent of the land across the pond is way grand in my book!

  

Aren’t these pillows too fun?  LOVE them!

Yep All Modern.com truly does have everything modern.  They aren’t fooling with that ALL stuff.  :)   It’s not surprising that we can’t wait to feature a great shop from CSN again in the future.  Stay tuned…

Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Dandiness Tagged With: , ,

Be on the look out…

December 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

For a viewing of some dandy wall art and decor  from CSN later this week!  Maybe a little of this…

Or alot of this…

But definitely a whole lot of modern!

Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Dandiness Tagged With: , ,

{Giveaway} Kidorable ***ENDED***

December 27, 2010 By 86 Comments

 

I’m all about adorable items for kids, so of course I’m all about the items from Kidorable!  Especially these way fun, but also way functional rain boots:

Kidorable sent a pair for Banjo and he thinks they are the coolest boots ever! 

Seriously didn’t want to take them off.

The boots are durable, cute, keep the feet dry, and make stomping in puddles even more fun!

And they even work wonderfully in the snow my friends!

What else is functionally fun at Kidorable?  Well, they have whole rain gear ensembles in a variety of styles:

And…………………….

Aren’t these knit gloves so cute?

 

Yep all can be found at Kidorable!  Ready to enter to win a Kidorable Umbrella?  That’s what is being given away this week and it’s winner’s choice of which one!

*** This giveaway is open to US entries only ***

There are 5 chances to win. Be sure and leave separate comments for each entry on this posting to enter. **If you qualify for all 5 chances then leave 5 separate comments**

(1): Leave your name, email address, or whatever you feel most comfortable leaving in a comment. (ex: “Dandy Smith”)

(2): Go to Kidorable, have a look around, and tell us your favorite item and why. (ex: “Dandy Smith = I love all of the umbrellas, but the Ladybug one is just sooo0 cute and fun!”)

(3): Follow Dandy Giveaway on Google Friend Connect (in the right sidebar).  (ex: “Dandy Smith= follow dandy”)

(4): Tell people about this giveaway AND our current Dandy Deal of the week and then tell us how you told!  (ex: “Dandy Smith= emailed, called, texted”)

(5): Like Kidorable on Facebook or if  you already do.  (ex: “Dandy Smith =like”)

This giveaway will be open for entries the entire week and end on Sunday, January 2nd at 5 pm CST. Be sure and check back on Monday, January 3rd to see if you won, so you can claim your prize!  ***Remember***  Winners are not notified through email, so you have to check back to find out if you won!

Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: , , ,

{Giveaway} Sure Cuts A Lot ***ENDED***

December 27, 2010 By 102 Comments

Who has a Cricut?  How about a Silhouette?  A Craft ROBO?  A Wishblade?  Maybe you want one?  Ready for some more questions???  How about… Who knows someone who has any one of those craft cutters?  Alright, so that basically covers everyone!  You either have one, want one, or know someone who has one.  :)    I personally own a Cricut and LOVE it!  Did you know there’s computer software to eliminate all the cartridge drama with the Cricut?  Yep it’s true.  Now I have a Mac.  What’s a girl with a Mac to do?  Enter Sure Cuts A Lot!  It’s THE Mac (and PC) compatible software to use on all of those afore mentioned craft cutters!  I was slightly discouraged by the whole cartridge thing for the Cricut and the fact that we were switching to a Mac.  Wondering what software I could get that worked with a Mac???  Until…  One of my friends told me that she had Sure Cuts A Lot.  She said that it was awesome and Mac compatible.  That was one happy day for me!  So I immediately contacted Craft Edge, the makers of Sure Cuts A Lot.  They sent me my very own copy of the software and you know what?  My friend was sooooo right!  I think that this is by far the easiest program I’ve ever used.

It gives you the entire mat placement right there on the screen.  So all you have to do is add the images or text and then you can just drag and drop to any location.  It’s also a real paper saver,  because you can make sure that every square inch is used on a project.  Seriously LOVE this program!

Wanna see what I made?

These would have come in real handy for my SIL’s baby shower a few months back!

And of course:

 The image designs are totally unique from Sure Cuts A Lot and there are TONS of different font options!  I also really like the way I can design everything intricate right on my computer and then basically just use my Cricut as the printer.  It’s such a time saver!

Guess what’s being given away???  One lucky winner is going to receive the Sure Cuts A Lot Version 2 Software!  A $90 value!!!

*** This giveaway is open to US entries only ***

There are 5 chances to win. Be sure and leave separate comments for each entry on this posting to enter. **If you qualify for all 5 chances then leave 5 separate comments**

(1): Leave your name, email address, or whatever you feel most comfortable leaving in a comment. (ex: “Dandy Smith”)

(2): Tell us why you need this software! (ex: “Dandy Smith = I have the software and it’s awesome!”)

(3): Follow Dandy Giveaway on Google Friend Connect (in the right sidebar).  (ex: “Dandy Smith= follow dandy”)

(4): Tell people about this giveaway and then tell us how you told.  (ex: “Dandy Smith= I emailed.  I called.  I texted.”)

(5): Like Sure Cuts A Lot on Facebook or if  you already do.  (ex: “Dandy Smith =like”)

This giveaway will be open for entries the entire week and end on Sunday, January 2nd at 5 pm CST. Be sure and check back on Monday, December 20th to see if you won, so you can claim your prize!  ***Remember*** Winners are not notified through email, so you have to check back to find out if you won!

Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: , , , ,

Dandy Deal on Bronzed Envy Tan in a Can

December 27, 2010 By 1 Comment

Did everyone out there survive Christmas?  I think we used our weight in wrapping paper and ribbon and my children are still coming down from the sugar high…. but we’re gonna make it!   Did you lovelies know that the official first day of winter didn’t come around until December 21st?!?   Yep, for those of you who have been chillin’ in the snow for months now, hope you had a good fall.  That means we’ve still got awhile before the sun is out and we can head to the park in short sleeves. 

For me, that means a few more months of …. pasty {GASP!}  Yep, I’m practically see-through.  That’s why this is the. perfect. time to get yourself a beautiful, natural-looking glow from Bronzed Envy.  Bronzed Envy is a favorite here at Dandy Giveaway and we’re so happy that Blakeley is back with us this week to give you all such a deal on the famous Bronzed Envy Tan in a Can!

 

For regular peeps, the Tan in a Can retails for $24 {plus around $8 shipping}.  Not bad.  But this week — for you Dandy readers — you can get the Tan in a Can for just $14 {plus just $6 shipping}!  That’s a whopping …. {pause to check my math} 37% savings! 

You’re welcome.

(US only)

Item

*********************************************************************************
Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Deals Tagged With: , ,

‘Tis the Season

December 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Merry Christmas Eve!  I hope that you all are having joyous time with family and friends this holiday season.  It truly is a special time of the year.  A time of giving.  A time of receiving.  A time of blessings.  A time of gratitude.  I simply love this time of year!  Can you tell?  During this season of giving I would like to share with you a great cause.  My cousin is running a marathon in the spring with Girls on the Run.  In doing so she is also currently raising money for their cause.  Their mission is to “to educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living.”  What a great organization!  If you would like to donate to my girl’s fundraising efforts please GO HERE. 

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Dandiness

{Guest Posting} Do you ever feel a little overwhelmed reading blogs?

December 23, 2010 By 2 Comments

Welcome Kendra…blogger from The Things I Love!

A few months ago I read a blog titled The Super Mom, or something like that {I will not post the real title in case some of my readers know this person}. It had a lot of amazing ideas for any woman that has 400 extra hours during the day and $400 extra dollars to spend daily. I wrote this post a while back on my family blog and wanted to share it with you…..

Do you ever feel a little overwhelmed?? I did yesterday. I had a friend send me this link, The Super Mommy Blog saying how awesome this blog was. So I went to it, and then started scrolling down, and down, and down, WOW, by the end of page 3 I was thinking I am such a slacker mom. Don’t go look at it if you want to still feel like you are a good mom. I have always wanted to be a “super mom”, you know the mom that has crafts and food and decorations and an amazing scrapbooking contraption to make cute things for my whole house, but it just is so expensive, and time consuming. Then I started to think of all the food blogs that people have and wished that I cooked like them. I was on this “Wo is me” kick and turned the computer off.
I laid in bed that night and started thinking about it, and where we could get the money for me to do stuff like that, and then the thought came to me that those things are fun, and it is okay to do fun crafty things every so often, but it doesn’t need to consume me. I don’t need to decorate and bake and make tons of crafts for every holiday. Then I got to thinking that most people are not like this “super mommy” {the super mommy probably has her days of not being a super mommy}, but we are all super mommy’s and daddy’s in our own way. I started to think of things we do to help our kids everyday. Sure it would be fun to make amazingly cute crafts, bake yummy treats, and go on fun trips, but kids really don’t care. They care that we sit next to them and read to/with them, they care that we feed them good food, and a treat every so often, they care that we are teaching them about right and wrong, and about God and his plan for them. They care that we do fun things as a family, and they care about how much time we spend with them. They care that we have a warm house and a nice bed for them to sleep in. Then I realized, I may not be like this “super mommy”, but I am a “super” mom to my kids. I can not compare myself to other people and especially their blogs :) So thank you Super mommy for your cute craft ideas, you keep them up and maybe one day I will make something from your blog!

I just read a couple of blogs today about how blogging posts can sometimes make the readers feel like the author is like Mary Poppins, Practically Perfect in Every Way!! I was just discussing this with my husband recently, and told him that I hope my readers don’t think I am some perfect mom that cooks and has a clean house, and perfectly well behaved children {My neighbors can attest to this} I do try, but we are all human and none of us are perfect. We all have hard days. Life is hard. I try to stick to a schedule, a menu plan, and be super healthy. I really wish that every day I could have time to cook perfectly healthy food from scratch for my kids and get take away all eating of high fructose corn syrup, white flour, white sugar and have it be all organic everything, but that will probably never happen. I wish my days went by perfectly. But they don’t…Strange huh. Not one day goes by as planned, I give in and make Yellow Death for lunch, I eat not just one but 6 chocolate chip cookies when I was trying to just do a treat a day. My kids talk back to me, I yell at my kids, my husband and I miscommunication and are frustrated with each other. I want you all to know I am in no ways perfect at everything put on here. I am just like you, a normal person trying to make my family life as good as I can. We sometimes miss Family Home Evening, Morning Prayer and reading scriptures. I have days where I get frustrated at my kids way to much. I have moments where I just go to my room and shut the door and cry because I am stressed out about finances and wish money grew on trees or my kids are being super naughty and I just can’t handle it anymore! Know that just because I home school does NOT mean that I was born with way more patience than you. I have my days where my kids and I butt heads and I just want to give up. I have hard days, don’t we all? I do think though, that we can make progress and work on things a step at a time. I know I will never be perfect at home school, dieting, crafting, feeding my kids healthy food or even being a super mom, but I do love to blog, and who really wants to hear about the hard things going on in my life. My blog, for me, is a time to look at the positive and to work on being a better me. I hope you enjoy what you read and keep coming back, and feel free to comment or email me if you have any question, I am happy to help!

Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Dandiness Tagged With:

200 Kickbucks!

December 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Shopkick is at it again!  For the next two days when you download the app just enter promo code kudu82 and you will get 200 kickbucks instantly!  :)    Have a happy holiday week!

Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Dandiness

{Giveaway} iMainGo2 ***ENDED***

December 20, 2010 By 50 Comments

We are music people in this house.  I mean really who isn’t?  Music is a way dandy thing!  Since we are fans of the music we also have multiple ways to listen to it.  You know the portable ways, because we are always on the move.  Banjo does keep us on our toes!  I’m talking the iPhone.  Then the iPods… that’s plural!  Oh and not to mention a few other random brands of MP3 players.  Yep lots of ways to hear the music.  But now we have a great way to listen and protect the music maker at the same time.

Recently Portable Sound Laboratories, Inc. sent me their iMainGo2 and we love it!   Spectacular sound quality?  Check.  Great protection for the iPhone, iPod, and other MP3 players ?  Check.  Check.  Check.  It’s the perfect way to take your music anywhere.  The park, backyard, anywhere!

This is one amazing portable speaker system!  Christmas is this week folks and if you have a music techie on your list then this is the perfect gift.  Go to Where to Buy to find a store near you.  Or you can always find the iMainGo2 on Target.com and Amazon.com.  :)

Want to win your very own iMainGo2?  Well, then it’s your lucky week, because that’s what is being given away!  So enter away!  :)

*** This giveaway is open to US entries only ***

There are 5 chances to win. Be sure and leave separate comments for each entry on this posting to enter. **If you qualify for all 5 chances then leave 5 separate comments**

(1): Leave your name, email address, or whatever you feel most comfortable leaving in a comment. (ex: “Dandy Smith”)

(2): Follow Dandy Giveaway on Twitter or if you already do. (ex: “Dandy Smith = Twitter”)

(3): Follow Dandy Giveaway on Google Friend Connect (in the right sidebar).  (ex: “Dandy Smith= follow dandy”)

(4): Tell people about this giveaway AND our current Dandy Deal of the week and then tell us how you told!  (ex: “Dandy Smith= emailed, called, texted”)

(5): Like iMainGo on Facebook or if  you already do.  (ex: “Dandy Smith =like”)

This giveaway will be open for entries the entire week and end on Sunday, December 26th at 5 pm CST. Be sure and check back on Monday, December 27th to see if you won, so you can claim your prize!

Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With:
« Older Posts