My darling Hubby is all about efficiency. So when I was pitched to review Nivea For Men Active 3, I knew it was a product he would want to try. The idea of one item to use and get clean in the shower, no messing with multiple bottles, now that's about as efficient as you'll get ☺.

Wow, how time flies! Today is mine and Hubby's 15th wedding anniversary! And if I had to do it all over again, I definitely would! Thanks to God for the wonderful husband he gave me who has been a perfect partner for me.

To celebrate, we'll be going to our favorite restaurant Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Next year for our 16th anniversary, Lord willing, we'll be somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean on our Transatlantic Disney Cruise!

Here are a couple pictures from that auspicious occasion 15 years ago. The first is my absolute favorite - it's my Dad holding a picture of me when I was two. The other was where we had our pictures done, inside the legislative buildings in our province. (If you click on them, they'll come up larger.) We didn't have many outdoor pictures taken as there were still patches of snow on the ground. That happens in Canada in April!

I have nearly lost control of my free time since October of 2008. You see, the cheap builder grade dishwasher that was in our home, quit cleaning. And so every day, since then, I've washed dishes by hand. Which seriously cut into my free time. Now I know that there are plenty of homes and families that don't have dishwashers, but I will admit in all honesty, I didn't want to become one in that statistic.

But since we were going on our cruise in December, have plans to become American citizens this year (which is slightly pricey), and Genius will need braces soon, I was reluctant to get a new one, because we didn't need to spend more money. And even though I didn't want to, I calmly went through each day, without getting worked up, and washed the dishes.

Meanwhile back at the office, Hubby took some reward points that he earned through work, and cashed them in for Lowe's Gift Certificates... (he could have gotten Best Buy ones for himself.)

A week earlier than Valentine's Day, this is what happened to me, because Hubby loves me soooo much.
And because I love him back (and not just because he bought me a brand new, not cheap, dishwasher), I will do the most to conserve on my spending (read here, no weekly Target trips for a few months), to help offset the cost of this wonderful appliance!

Selfless love...is there really any other kind?

This post was written for Parent Blogger’s Network’s blog blast. They’re collaborating this week with LIFE, a non-profit Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education.

I can't think of a better way for a couple to spend Valentine's Day this year, then to put your children to bed (if you have any), curl up on the couch, and pop Fireproof into your dvd player.

Thanks to Monique at Lovell-Fairchild; I was able to preview this dvd that will be released on January 27, 2009 across the country.

Quite honestly, it can feel like you are seeing parts of your own marriage played out on the television screen. If you don't I congratulate you, because then your marriage must already be Fireproof!

As you watch Caleb, a fire captain, try to re-captivate the love of his wife Catherine throughout the movie, you might (as I was), even be moved to tears. He does this with the help of the LoveDare, the book his father sends him to help and encourage him to keep his marriage together.

The movie starts off a little slow, but don't form an opinion based on that, keep watching, trust me. There is enough action, humor and truth to this movie, to keep you to the end. When you've finished the movie, and have reflected on what it is exactly you can do to help fireproof your marriage, there are many extra options on the dvd to check out. Our favorite was the "Firegoofs", we always enjoy watching outtakes of movies! The making of the movie and a study guide are just a couple of the extras that are included in this disc.

This movie and the book that goes along with it, The LoveDare, already has had a big impact on our family. Perhaps if you are a regular reader to my blog, you've seen The LoveDare posts I've been making occasionally the last couple of weeks. FamilyLife has been posting them daily, and this is just a sampling of what's in the book.

When seeing the book in the movie, Hubby asked "is that the book you received with this too?" He picked it up and leafed through it. The next day, I was out the door on my way to the homeschool co-op with Genius, leaving a pile of dishes in the sink, that I was going to tackle when I returned home. To my surprise and delight, the dishes were washed, dried and in the cupboards, when I went to do them. That my readers is the power of The LoveDare. We are both looking through it each day, trying to follow the Love Dares, and hopefully after the 40 days are done, we will have a better, stronger marriage to show for it.



No matter how good you think your marriage might be, there is always room for improvement. If you want to make your marriage Fireproof, buy this movie and/or the book, it will be money well invested.

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I don't know if you recently read the Washington Post article that featured Drew Carey, but when asked what he would be doing now if acting had not panned out for him he replied "managing a restaurant. ... I'd be at a Chili's near you. I'd be the boss that everybody liked." In response to that Chili's president Todd Diener invited Drew Carey to work at a Chili's restaurant for a day, in the L.A. area. How fun would it be to visit Chili's that day, if Drew Carey took him up on the offer?

Well we don't live in L.A. and I'm sure that we will never get Drew Carey to any restaurant here in the Northern Plains in January. But if it's fun to work at Chili's, I guarantee you it's even more fun to eat at Chili's!

Thanks to Nicole; Chili's Media Manager, I was able to take my family for lunch at Chili's.

There are a number of great reasons to eat at Chili's. In no particular order they are:

• Very reasonable cost - It isn't at very many restaurants these days that you can have a sit down meal with your family for less that $35.00 (tax and tip included).
• All of their menu items can be seen online at Chilis.com. You can view the nutritional facts of their meals and the cost too.
• They support the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Go to Createapepper.com and check out how you can partner with Chili's to help fight childhood cancer.
• They are always offering new menu items to tempt you!

Another day at sea! And so much to do!

Because we have cruised with Disney before, we are members of their Castaway Club. Which entitles us to a free gift in our state room (this time it was a really nice bag, some water bottles, stationery products and a mesh bag), and a party with the officers staff, just for us. Last cruise we didn't get a chance to go because Hubby and I had booked brunch at Palo, the adults only restaurant on board. There are special treats available at this party, my favorite....chocolate dipped Mickey Rice Krispie Bars!

This is the chandelier in the Atrium. It is all handblown glass. It's absolutely incredible.

Tonight's dinner was in Animator's Palate. The restaurant changes color with the courses of your dinner. At the end of the night as special guest makes an appearance!
Our assistant server used his origami skills and made a rose for Genius! The servers on board are so attentive and willing to make your dining experience enjoyable.
Another fun filled day has come to an end....

Sunday December 7th - A whole day at sea! This is why we prefer Disney's Eastern route to their Western one. More sea days! For us, cruising is all about the ship. While we enjoy the ports, we like the ship more.

Deck 4, is our favorite place to hang out on the ship. They have the most comfortable teak lounge chairs, and you will find us there most days, with books. (Sometimes the books are closed on our laps, because we're sleeping....) This is also their "walking track". You can walk around the whole ship on this deck, 3 times = a mile. While walking you go through where they keep the anchors and all that mechanical stuff, that keeps us from floating away when we're in port.
While the ship is extremely clean, they seem to have a bit of a mice infestation.
This was the evening of the formal dinner, and we were actually going to skip it and just eat up by the pools. Our waiter Denzak, told us to come anyway, even though we didn't pack any formal attire for the cruise. So we put on the best clothes we did bring, and hit Lumiere's for dinner. (We weren't out of place even not having formal attire, it's amazing what some people will wear for dinner.....) Some of the light fixtures in Lumiere's have a rose inside them, as it is all decorated around the theme of Beauty and the Beast (hence the name Lumiere's). The evening's show in the Walt Disney Theater, was The Golden Mickeys. Another great production. They even had a dessert for it. Hubby assured me it was quite yummy! Read the full story

So many other things have come up in bloggy world that I left my trip update behind! I'll try and catch up a bit more frequently, but be warned, there are some more reviews (and giveaways) planned for the near future!

Day 5 of our Disney Vacation, was Saturday December 6th. We said good-bye to the parks and hello to our home for a week the beautiful Disney Magic!

In the terminal area where you board the ship, they have a mini of the ship, with a cut out on one side so you can see the inside of it as well.




It's always fun to take pictures of the life boat drill. Really, everybody is walking out with their cameras to take pictures of themselves, and their families. We are preparing for the event of an emergency in which we'll have to abandon ship!!! See everything is happy with Disney.

Dinner is always a major event. The food on the ship is terrific. Lots to choose from. Genius wanted a Shirley Temple each night at dinner, and our assistant server Denis obligingly brought Genius one out every evening, with many many maraschino cherries!

The only thing I don't like on the ship is their coffee. They use Nescafe coffee from giant dispensers. It is not very tasty. However, you can't have dessert without a cup of coffee. That just wouldn't be right.

After dinner, we hit the opening variety show. There is always great entertainment, that is family friendly on the Disney ships, which is why we keep returning. Genius went to make some friends in the kids club, and then we called it a night. There is something about a full belly and the rocking of the ship, that just makes you sleepy.....
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Today's Destination Disney is all about Souvenirs. What is your favorite?

I had a hard time deciding (as it is whenever I need to do one of these memes that is all about "our favorites").

I just bought a t-shirt at Disney Hollywood Studios when we were there in December that quickly has become one of my favorites in my wardrobe. It has "Judge Me By My Size Do You?" on the front - and a picture of Yoda on the back with a Mickey Mouse hat on, holding a Mickey Ice Cream Bar in his hand, standing at a "you must be taller than this line to ride" sign, and he doesn't make it!! lol!!

I am only 4'9" tall, and this shirt was so perfect I had to have it. I am often confused for a child, given a children's menu in a restaurant, or mistaken for Genius's sister. The only one that truly can guess my age is my hairdresser.....

But that is not my favorite souvenir (although it's a close race). My ultimate favorites are my candle toppers. I started collecting candle toppers about 10 years ago. Every time we go away somewhere new purchase one to remember the vacation. I have a bunch from Disney now, but these are my two favorites.

The second one wasn't actually a candle topper to begin with. Hubby found it in the gift shop on the ship (it's a mini snow globe), and made it for me by gluing it on some wood, and voila a candle topper!


Show us your favorite Disney Souvenirs and play along at Destination Disney located at Reviews by Heidi! Read the full story

Genius has three ideas for career opportunities that she would like to explore for her future.

The first one is engineering. She is interested in getting a degree to be able to use that to design roller coasters, and if that fun job doesn't pan out, maybe just bridges (lol!). She will be attending a one day seminar at the state college in March to get a better idea of what an engineer actually does. That should be fun!

The second is to be adept at computer networking. That hardly surprised me. Hubby has had three computers networked and running since she was old enough to walk and talk (meaning she has had her own, since the day she was able to use it). Watching Daddy disassemble, insert memory/hard drives/dvd drives etc, and reassemble the computer is a daily activity around here.

The third one is to become a graphic designer. Again this didn't shock us. If she isn't drawing with paper and pencils, she's drawing on the computer. Last year I bought myself Photoshop Elements to do digital scrapbooking with, and Genius promptly absconded with the discs to load them on her computer so she could draw with it.

She designed the above book cover, for a language arts assignment, after we read the book Frindle. She was tasked with drawing an alternate cover that would explain the book. If you've ever read it, I think she did a great job, how about you?

In any case, I'm too cheap to look for any other programs for her to fiddle with at the moment. They can be very expensive, and some aren't user friendly. We've checked out some of the downloadable free ware programs, but again, either they're not easy to learn or don't have the options she's looking for.

Core Learning (who incidentally was a part of the TOS Crew Marketing Campaign, but I never received a product from them to review), has a program called Corefx Level 3, that looks perfect for what Genius aspires to do with her graphic designing.

A fellow TOS Crewer, has a giveaway on her blog for this software, courtesy of Core Learning, the deadline to enter is Friday, January 9th at Midnight CST. If you are interested in winning, head on over to Freely Educate!
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Hubby was raised in a home where it would have been a foolhardy act to spend money unwisely. My father in law worked at a job with a salary that was under the poverty line, and my mother in law worked hard at home raising five children and making ends meet each month. Hubby has said that he never felt deprived, that there was always enough to eat, and most importantly always felt loved. Sure he had to share a small attic bedroom with both his brothers, but it never scarred him either.

I on the other hand grew up in relative luxury, with a stay at home mom as well, but we wanted for nothing. I too shared a room with my sister, however, it was larger than most master bedrooms, so it certainly was not cramped. Video console systems, trips to Europe and eating out were a regular part of my childhood, and while we weren't given toys and goods on a daily basis, Christmas and birthdays were lavish events.

How do you reconcile two such views when a marriage occurs? Fortunately, we were able to. Even though I was accustomed to a different lifestyle than Hubby was, I have always been a saver, and a frugal shopper. Before Genius was born, we had decided that I would stay at home with any children we had, as we both had moms that stayed home and loved it. So the first two years of our marriage the paycheck I brought home was play money. We used it to buy a car, go on vacation and eat out. When we needed to go down to one income, it never really hurt us, as Hubby's paycheck always paid the bills, and was put away for savings. We knew the weekly outings to the movies and restaurants would be gone, and we had enjoyed them while they lasted.

Almost 15 years later, I still am a stay at home mom. With small stints here and there, working outside the home, we felt as a family, the extra income that was coming in, never made up for the family stress it caused.

Is your family like ours? Or do you wish, you had a better handle on your finances and where your paycheck goes? Do you have the desire to quit working if you are a two income family, but don't think you can?

Take heart -- The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has a new e-book coming out on December 1, 2008 entitled Living and Learning On One Income.

Chock full of ideas to make living on one income more manageable the 12 families featured come from many different backgrounds and lifestyles. With money management tips and savings, to recipes and encouragement, this book has it all. Within the pages, I felt myself warming up to many ideas that even myself as a frugal thrifty person thought preposterous previously. I also agreed with so many of the tips that I follow myself, and know that they work!

With the current economy in a slide, and many families not knowing whether they will be a two income family from one day to the next, this e-book would be a great start to check out, the reality that more income, does not necessarily equate to a happier, more wonderful life. It just might make you quit your job before the pink slip reaches your desk!
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I used to make "proper" breakfasts a lot when Genius was younger. By proper I mean eggs and toast with potatoes, pancakes, waffles things like that. Microwaved baked goods and granola bars are on the menu most mornings these days, and I miss yummy breakfast foods to be honest. Today I have a craving for pancakes -- so that's what we're having for supper tonight. Hubby really likes Buttermilk Pancakes that I used to just by the Aunt Jemima mix for. I found a recipe online though (I can't even remember where), of a from scratch variety, and it has become a new family favorite. Here let me share.

Pancakes

1 ½ cups flour

3 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1tbs sugar

1 ¼ cups milk

1 egg

3 tbsp butter melted.

Mix all ingredients together. Prepare as you would any other type of Pancake.

The picture to the left, is actually an appliance that I have. I love it. I picked it up a few years ago at KMart for $5.00. One of the best five bucks I ever spent. No flipping the pancakes, and they come out completely uniform all the time! 4 minutes on the griddle and you have perfection. It is made by Toastmaster, and I have a funny feeling they are not made anymore. Which is said because if mine breaks down, I don't know if I'll ever make pancakes again, lol.

Well we made the Key Lime Pie recipe that I posted the other day, and it was very good! I tweaked it a bit - I only added one can of sweetened condensed milk, and 1/4 cup of lime juice, I baked it for the full 25 minutes, but probably should have taken it out at the 20 minute mark. It was the perfect flavor for our family. I should note that if you make it as stated you will have extra filling the crust won't hold that much - also if you like your Key Lime Pie tart - you will want to add the entire amount of key lime juice to it. We are more sweet than tart around here! If you are looking for an easy yummy dessert, I suggest trying it. If Hubby ate a piece, it's gotta be good! Read the full story

It's dear Hubby's birthday today!

I have been blessed to be able to spend 15 of his birthdays with him.

Since Genius went to the lake with some friends this weekend -- we caught a movie and some ice cream last night. (If you want a review of the movie An American Carol, which we saw, check the next post down.)

Wednesday his co-workers are treating him to lunch at The Olive Garden, which I shall join in for.

Then on Thursday I will treat him to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.

We party hard when we have birthdays around here!

Tune in next month, to see what we do for mine! LOL!!

Happy Birthday Hubby. I love you!
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In honor of Father's Day Heart of the Matter is having a Meme dedicated to those special fathers in our lives, our husbands. We were asked to put up a favorite picture of those dear men on our blogs.

So this picture is one of my favorites. It's Hubby and Genius playing table tennis on Disney's private island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay. This was taken January 2007. If you want to see more pictures from our last cruise check here.

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