I've started a Facebook group to share my passion with others who also enjoy taking photos of our homestate of Michigan. If you are interested, you are more than welcome to join us, we'd love to have you.

Roadside Michigan Photography Facebook Group · 160 members Join Group A place for everyone to share fun and interesting pictures from all over Michigan. You can share anything you see around the state that could be consi...

Green Heart Garden Bypass Pruning Shears

I love gardening.  In fact I think I have a slight addiction.  My yard is filled with various flower gardens, which include annuals, perennials, shrubs, bushes, and more.  With all of these plants, I need tools, and I need tools that work.  One of the tools I recently got a chance to try are these Good Heart Pruning Sheers.

They have a nice design for both cutting and comfort.  They have plastic coated handles for easy gripping.

These sheers also have a nice sharp blade for cutting and leave a nice clean edge without doing any damage to the stem or branch left behind.  I have a large rose bush on the side of my house that needed trimming, and these worked perfectly.

 They also worked nicely trimming up some dead lily stems.

And even were able to cut some small branches from one of my pine trees with ease.

They have a safety lock which is nice when your not using your sheers to keep your fingers safe from accidental cuts.  I no longer have small children in the house, but I would rest easy if I did, knowing that they wouldnt be able to cut themselves if they got hold of these sheers.

All in all, I am very happy with my purchase.  Thase are made with a premium carbon which makes them rust resistant, so I will be able to use them for several years.

If you are interested in checking them out, you can do so by visiting this link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RANX6DS

Tropicana 3X Vitamin C & Zinc

Thanks to Tropicana, I was lucky enough to be chosen to try a free bottle of Tropicana with 3X the Vitamin C and Zinc in return for my honest opinion of their product. I absolutely love other Tropicana orange juices, so I was very happy to be able to give this a try. 

 I served it to my family with breakfast and it was such a hit that we almost polished off the entire bottle in one sitting. The juice itself had a great consistency, not too thin and not too thick. The flavor was great too, a perfect blend of sweetness and citrus, but the absolute best part of this juice was the extra Vitamin C and Zinc. It's a great way to sneak in some healthy benefits!

Some other great tips I've found for sneaking in healthy benefits include:

• Adding garlic to many recipes, as garlic is a super food and great for many things like high blood pressure for instance.  
• Going swimming at the local pool.  The kids love to swim, and I love that they don't realize they are getting great exercise!
• Using applesauce instead of oil in cakes and brownies.

It gives me peace of mind knowing that I can sneak in added benefits like these and my kids still enjoy it, even though my kids aren't really that picky, so I don't have to be that sneaky.

Sure Fresh & Cool Anti-Perspirant & Deoderant

As a member of Influenster.com, I was recently chosen to receive my very first VoxBox, this one being the Comfort VoxBox. 

There were several items that I received in the Comfort VoxBox, and while I wasn't chosen to receive the Sure Fresh & Cool Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant, I still had the option to complete several tasks to receive a badge.  I really wanted to get this badge, so I went and bought myself a stick of this product to see what it was all about. I found the Sure Fresh & Cool at our local WalMart for a great price.

I started using it the very next day and was pleasantly surprised upon removing the cap. It has a great scent and comes in my favorite form, a solid stick.  As I applied it to my underarm area, I noticed how easily it glides onto the skin.  No drag and not overly dry, that's great!

I went through the entire day, working up a sweat, helping my husband do some work at his construction business, and not once did I notice any wetness under my arms.  My shirt stayed dry and I did not smell any body odor at all.

Overall, I was very impressed with the Sure Fresh & Cool Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant.  I will definitely buy this product again in the future.

Johnsonville Fully Cooked Original Recipe Sausage

As a member of CrowdTap, I recently received a coupon for a free package of Johnsonville Fully Cooked Original Recipe Sausage.  When I went to the store, I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive at first.  I've had precooked foods before and they've never really lived up to the hype in my opinion. So, I wasn't expecting these to be any different. 

You can microwave them or heat them up on a skillet.  I decided to heat them on the skillet because I don't really like the effect of microwaved food. It only took a couple of minuntes and they were ready.

I served them with cheesy scrambled eggs.  My husband, my daughter, her friend who had stayed the night, and myself all enjoyed our breakfast.  The package came with twelve links, and even though there were four of us and I served each person two sausages, we ended up eating every last sausage.  The girls really loved them and wished we had more.

Overall, in my opinion, I was surprised.  They tasted really good, just like they were made from scratch.  They had great flavor and great texture.  The best part of it all was that they were so easy to cook and didn't take long at all, saving me a lot of time. In fact, it took me longer to cook the eggs than it took to cook the sausage, and usually the sausage takes longer.

Summer With Snuggle Bear

I was selected to be a part of the Summer With Snuggle Bear Mission.  For being a part of this mission, I received a free Snuggle Bear by Snuggle Fabric Softener, and in return I have taken Snuggle Bear on my summer vacation.  Here are a few of the places that Snuggle Bear got to enjoy while on our mission.

Here he is getting ready to go. 

Here we just started our visit at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We got a nice view of Lake Superior and the Sable Dunes.

The two shots above were taken on our walk back to the car from the Log Slide overlook. The tree in the bottom picture looks like it would be a great place for a den, wouldn't you agree?

Here we are at the Miners Castle overlook.  Isn't it breathtaking?

And a wave goodbye from our last stop.  This was at the Pickle Barrel house in Grand Marais, Michigan.

If you are interested in being a part of the future Snuggle missions, you can click here.  In return for your reviews, you can receive free stuff, like fabric softener, coupons, and even Snuggle Bear.

Gorilla Shipping Tape

I recently received a free full size trial of the new Gorilla Shipping Tape for my participation on Smiley360.  Since I do a lot of selling on Amazon and eBay, this was a very welcome freebie for me.  In the past I've used several different brands of shipping tape, and most of the time the tape is too thin and does not hold up well, or it has a good thick consistency, but the strip isn't as wide, making it so I have to use more tape to cover the seams of the boxes that I am sealing.

First of all, the Gorilla shipping tape is thick and strong.  I don't have to worry about it tearing easily, giving me piece of mind that it will hold up through the entire shipping process.

And, if you look at the picture above, you can see on the right is the Gorilla tape which is considerably wider than the brand on the left.  This really saves me a lot of time and tape.  One strip down the middle and I am done sealing.

Overall, I am very happy with this product and I think I have found a new favorite! Although the tape does cost more, it really is worth it.

I Love Zentangles - Artist Trading Cards

One of my favorite quiet time activities is creating.  I especially like to doodle and paint.  I've actually been keeping quite busy with my creativity these past couple of weeks.  This week alone I painted two birdhouses, which I will post about on another day, and two artist trading cards.  I am a member of swap-bot.com, so I basically get prompted to create the artist trading cards, or ATC's for short, by signing up for ATC swaps with other members.  It's fun to create something for someone else and then get a fun surprise in the mail from another artist.  The two swaps I had to swap this week were "Stamped ATC That You Color", and "Zentangle With Red & White"

This was the stamped ATC.  On a piece of black card stock, I stamped the word "love", and then used a baby blue embossing powder and a heat gun to get an embossed effect on the letters.  On the rest I used my favorite Sakura Souffle markers to fill in the text and to create the hearts.  The outlined areas were created with Marvy Opaque Stix.  I really like the light on dark.

Then of course, this is my zentangle on red with white Sakura marker.  I love the raised effect of this markers, and I think they look pretty good on the red background, which is actually a red Sharpie marker on a piece of white cardstock.

Snuggle Fresh Spring Flowers

There is nothing like putting on fresh, spring scented, soft clothes, or getting out of the shower and drying off with a fluffy, spring fresh scented towel.  That why I was excited when I received a free box of the new Snuggle Spring Fresh Flowers dryer sheets for being a member of the Snuggle Bear Den.

After using a dryer sheet on a load of my daughters clothes, she requested that from now on we continue to use these.  She loves when I use fabric softeners, but this was the first time she specifically requested that I continue to use a specific brand.  I have to say, I completely agree with her.  These sheets made my clothes soft, cling free, and the scent was wonderful and refreshing.  This one sheet thrown into the dryer with her load of clothes left her laundry smelling absolutely amazing and her clothes were oh so cuddly soft.  These are definitely on our shopping list from now on!

Winter Isn't Over Yet

Mother Nature decided to throw a wrench in the system today.  Woke up to some freezing rain, which eventually turned into slushy snow.  Not really feeling up to par today, so just relaxing a little bit and nursing a headache.  Glad that I had the day off from work!

Happy Days

I love days like today.  No, the sun isn't shining, and nothing really in particular happened today.  It's just a good day.  The kids are both home, no school for them today, I have the day off, and Mike has no jobs on the schedule.  Everyone in the house seems happy, which is rare for everyone here to be on the same wave length at once. 

Tsu - The Social Network That Pays - Tsu Invites

I was watching the news this morning and they were talking about a new social media network, but not just any social media network.  This new site is called Tsu (pronounced sue), and this site actually pays you to do what you already do on other social media networks.  I did a little research on it, and it sounds quite interesting and possibly quite lucrative if you already have an active social network.  I don't know about you, but I am on several social media sites none of them have ever given me anything (except maybe a little drama here and there).  Anyway, this you can only get in to this new social network through someone that is already a member.  Guess what, I am, and I have a link for any of you who may be interested in signing up.  https://www.tsu.co/PhotoCandy

I Just Joined Smiley360

I Just Joined Smiley360. This is a site that allows you to try new products for free.  They send you samples, and extras to share with your friends and family.  They have lots of great products to try.

Hershey's Spreads

I was recently selected by CrowdTap to receive a sample of a new product from Hershey.  As you can imagine, being a chocolate lover, I was thrilled to have been chosen to take part in this sampling event.  The new product is called Hershey's Spreads.  It comes in three different flavors: Chocolate, Chocolate with Hazelnut, and Chocolate with Almond.  I received the Chocolate with Hazelnut sample and was very happy to receive a full size jar as my sample.

There are many ways one could use this spread.  You could use it on bread, on crackers, on fruits and veggies, and even on potato chips (trust me I've tried it and it's great)!  I personally love bananas and chocolate, so that is what I opted for when I first tried the spread.

Their website also has lots of great recipe ideas.  You can view that by clicking here .  I researched the spreads on Pinterest and founds tons of great ideas there as well!  I think the Hershey's Spread would be a great replacement for peanut butter in many recipes too!

Pennington Smart Feed Sprayer System

I received my Pennington Smart Feed Sprayer System for free, as part of my BzzAgent membership.  As I have posted before, I have been a member of BzzAgent.com for several years now.  They send me free or heavily discounted products in return for my word of mouth and also evaluation of the product.  I can say that the Pennington Smart Feed Sprayer System has been one of my favorites that I have received.

The Pennington Smart Feed Sprayer that I received came with a sprayer and six Flowers & Blooms fertilizer tablets.  The sprayer makes it so easy to fertilize your gardens.  All you have to do is attach the sprayer to a garden hose, unscrew the sprayer barrel, drop in a tablet or two, close the barrel, and start spraying over your garden.  When the water is blue, you know that the sprayer is working correctly.  There is no measuring or spraying involved, so no second guessing or over fertilizing.

The sprayer itself has four different settings:

• Shower
• Drain
• Jet
• Flat

The fertilizer comes in three different varieties:

• All Purpose
• Flowers & Blooms
• Tomato & Vegetable

All in all I was very satisfied with this system.  I was able to cover my garden with one tablet, and all my plants look beautiful and are in full bloom.

Here are a few shots of my gardens.

Winter Inconveniences

Another wonderful snow storm came through our neck of the woods yesterday, causing my kids to have a snow day.  Okay, so honestly, it's not so wonderful.  I had to work, and I work about 45 miles from where I live.  Getting to work was easy, as the storm hadn't quite begun until after I got there.  Fortunately for me, my mom and grandmother live a few miles from where I work, so staying at their house was an option.  

All through the evening, guests and co-workers kept talking about the weather and road conditions.  Those that know I live far away kept asking if I was going to stay at my moms, and through the night I kept thinking to myself  "I can make it home, just have to be careful and take my time".  I've grown up in these conditions, so I know how to drive in the snow.  I had full intentions on going home when my shift ended at 9:30 last night. 

Well, after I left, and started on my journey home, I realized this wasn't going to be quite as easy had I imagined.  Needless to say, I called my husband to give him the heads up and then turned around and went to mom's house.  I have so many things at home to do, but I guess the plus is that I saved money, since I didn't have to pump $4.00 per gallon gas into my car.

I have to work the same shift again today, so I decided to just stay here at mom's until it's time to go back in to work.  The weather is still kind of nasty, but it's supposed to clear by the time I get off work, so hopefully I will be able to make it home this evening.

In Loving Memory...

In the middle of the night, she passed away.  We knew the time was coming, and we prayed she wouldn't suffer.  She had cancer and it was hard to watch her deteriorate.  

We were blessed to have had her as a part of our family for 7 years.  We adopted her after seeing an ad in the newspaper.  When we first saw her, she looked skinny and not well cared for.  We were skeptical at first, but we took her home and with a little love, she became a healthy vibrant dog.  She was a little shy and timid, but very faithful, and very loving.  She wasn't a licker, but she loved to place her paw on you to show her affection.

Cheyenne, we will miss you dearly, you were the best dog we have ever had. We will see you again someday sweetie, waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge.

Our Puppy & His Momma

Our  black lab recently had a pup, yes, just one pup.  She had two others, but they were both still born.  When he was about two weeks old, Cheyenne, his momma, stopped feeding him, so we had to bottle feed him.  Not much longer after that, Cheyenne got sick.  We found out she has cancer, and it's too far gone for us to do anything about, so we've been keeping her as comfortable as we can while she is still with us.  

It is bittersweet.  We have a cute, playful little puppy that so wants to be near his momma, but she is dying, and we have to keep him away from her as she gets quite agitated by him.  We were going to give him to a farmer that we know, but since he is a part of her, we've decided to keep him.  Now we are trying to come up with a name for him that is a spin off of her name.  My husband suggested Chez, but I'm not sure if I like that or not.

Anyway, here some pics of the pup and Cheyenne.

This was taken within an hour after he was born.

Here's a pic of them together.  This is probably the last picture I will have of her, as she has lost a lot of weight and does not look so good.  I don't want to remember her that way.

Here's one I took of him just the other day.  He is now just over six weeks old.