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.