Three NEW Blogmania sponsors!!!

Wooo, so excting! My list of sponsors is growing!!

My latest sponsors are:
ListPlanIt - All the lists you could think of and more! I have been playing round with it this morning and am in love! A full review will be coming in a few weeks when I get chance to really use it, but as soon as this post is done i will be printing off a few lists!!

My second sponsor is Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce. This sauce is delicious!!!And a full review will be forthcoming.

And last but so definitely not least is Cowgirl Chocolates. Chocolate and spice and everything nice! lol. I won these in a blog giveaway awhile ago and gobbled them right up. (The not as spicy ones - the spicy ones I just took a tiny bite before Jeff gobbled them up!!).

I am still looking for more kitchen/baking/cooking related sponsors. Catch the Blogmania Fever and click the Contact Me link above if you'd like to be a sponsor!!

Also, my  Easy Lunchboxes review will be up this weekend!!

Menu Plan Monday

OK this has gotta start happening again, since WW is all about planning!

Monday:  leftover 10 layer crock pot bake. YUMMMM.
Tuesday: see above!
Wednesday:weeknight chicken and pasta from taste of home healthy cooking (with mods to make it less points!)
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: Chicken With Scallion Sauce from Weight Watchers 
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: probably more leftovers lol!! I might grab a recipe from Relish! I do have a few from this week that I have printed out!

To join MPM or for more meal ideas, visit this week's Linky at I'm an Organizing Junkie

HOORAY to plans!!!

Woo hoo!!! (andcheck out Dear Crissy's giveaway)

I lost 5.1 pounds :D So great! Worth the sacrifice lol!! And today i did the pre planned routines on Wii Fit - gave any of you done those? I did a couple of different ones and man, am I feeling it lol!! It is a good hurt... right?

To go along with this, two things happened... First, I received the Fitness Prize Pack that I won from Kiddies Corners Deals Nichol's blog was one of the first that I started reading when I git into blogs, so it was even more awesome to win this pack that she put together herself, esp. when I had just started Weight Watchers! Wanna see what I got??? Go to her post here!! I had forgotten how yummy Luna bars were and only 3 points! This is all gonna get some great use from me!

The other thing was that Dear Crissy started a Weight Watcher products giveaway!!! This is what she is giving away:
A copy of Sensibly Tasty, Deliciously Easy: 50 Anytime, Anywhere Recipes
and vouchers for:
Weight Watchers Cheese Products
Weight Watchers Frozen Novelties (ice cream!)
Weight Watchers Sweet Baked Goods
Weight Watchers Chocolate by Whitman’s Mint Patties

YUM!!!! I haven't had many of those foods but the Giant Cookies and Cream bars are my FAVORITE!!! Weight Watchers also has a Facebook page JUST for their food that is available in Supermarkets! Click here to "like" it. I am entering this giveaway as soon as I publish this post. If oyu want to enter, CLICK HERE

Hee, ok, that is all for today. Week one was a success... on to week 2 :D

Free Goodies this Weekend!!!

Friday is National Donut Day! YUM!!!

Krispy Kreme is giving away a free donut!  Go to krispykreme.com for a list of participating locations

Dunkin Donuts is giving away a free donut on Friday too! However, you have to buy a beverage. Go here for more info!

And my favorite... on Saturday the 5th from noon to 5 p.m. Friendlys is giving away a free scoop of ice cream in a cup or a cone!ANY flavor!!You can read the press release here.

I have to look up the nutritionals, but a scoop of watermelon sherbet is calling my name. MMMM.

Blogania and life update!

Man, this week just killed me. I don't know why, but it was a crazy week, and it seemed like I had no time to get anything done! Then this weekend J and I have gone to two outlet malls and seen a movie, plus run a few other errands. No time!!

My biggest announcement is two NEW BLOGMANIA sponsors!! Easy Lunchboxes is compartmentalized food container, that, combined with the cooler lunchbag, is an easy, eco-friendly way to prepare lunch. A full review will be posted soon.

My other sponsor is bradens grace wall art from etsy. I will be giving away a set of 12 3-inch circle chalkboard vinyls. These are perfect for labeling jars, glasses and  other containers!

My giveaway now has a title - FROM OUR KITCHEN TO YOURS, thanks to Gina  at crush. I just love it :D I am working on getting more sponsors! If you have kitchen, baking, cooking themed product, please e-mail me. Just click on Contact Info up at the top of the page. Thanks :)

In personal news... J and I joined Weight Watchers. Finally, I say LOL I have done WW before, but it is kinda different nowadays! J's brother has lost 73 pounds on WW!! Amazing, man. So hopefully this will jump start something good. My biggest problem is willpower, so hopefully doing it with Jeff will help me stay on track :D

One of the reasons why I wanted to join is the the TTC is still not happening. I'm hoping that my weight is the issue, so WW should help. i KNOW that stress is a big one too, but other than keep on trying to get a new job, there is nothing I can do. Frustrating. We will see how June goes, then see if we need to go a step farther to see a dr or someone. :\

So, that is what is going on! Happy Memorial Day - and a big thank you to all the soldiers out there.

General Mills Sweet and Salty Prize Pack Giveaway! --CLOSED!

 ****CLOSED***

Today's Radical Review Wednesday post includes a giveaway :)

Jeff LOVES is when he comes home from work, and I say, "I have surprise for you!" ... especially when it involves food! And he got a big surprise when the Sweet and Salty prize pack arrived!

The first item I made him try was the Bugles Hot Buffalo, since he is a much braver man than me! His initial reaction was "Woo. Wooo hooo." I was only brave enough to try two, and they were HOT! He ate half the bag and said he was done... then an hour later ate the rest lol!! He loved these, since he loves hot stuff,.

Nature Valley Oats `N Dark Chocolate Crunchy Granola Bars: We tried these the next day, and they were pretty good. I am not a huge fan of crunchy granola bars (hey this WAS a prize pack for Jeff after all!), but these weren't too bad at all. He liked them too, said they had a nice crunch and good chocolate taste.

Saving the best for last, we tried the Cocoa Puff Treats Triple Chocolate. Oh. My. God. Jeff's quote:  This is the single best thing I have ever eaten in my entire life. This bar is amazing. It is so,so chocolaty in the delicious chocolate way, and the coca puffs are an extra chocolate explosion. I had to force myself to stop eating it so I could save some for later.

All of these items you can ONLY buy at convenience stores.... and this cereal bar I would go to a convenience store just to buy! It is that delicious!!

Our prize pack also included  a Bugles t-shirt and a Nature Valley insulated travel mug. Everything you see here:

 AND YOU CAN WIN IT!!!! I have one prize pack to giveaway.

Entering is easy.

Mandatory Entry:

1. Tell me which of these products your man (or you!) would like to try the most.. (1 entry)

Bonus Entries:

*must do the mandatory entry first*

*for items with more than one entry, leave a separate comment for each entry*

2. Subscribe to me via e-mail. (2 entries)

3. Subscribe to me via Google Friend Connect ( 1 entry)

4. Subscribe to me in a Reader (1 entry)

5. Follow Me on Twitter. Leave your Twitter name in your comment (2 entries)

6. Tweet this giveaway, using the following tweet or your own that includes a link to this post and @lbandj.
    "Win a General Mills Sweet and Salty prize pack @lbandj http://lbandj.blogspot.com/2010/05/general-mills-sweet-and-salty-prize.html"
(2 entries for the first tweet. Can be done daily for one additional entry per day)

7. Add my button to your sidebar. Leave link to your blog. (1 entry)

8. FOR 5 EXTRA ENTRIES - Blog about this giveaway, with a link to my blog and come back and leave the link to your blog post.

LEAVE YOUR EMAIL IN YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN REACH YOU IF YOU WIN!  Giveaway will end on Thursday, 6/10. Open to U.S.
Good luck! :)

The prize packs and information were all given to you from General Mills through MyBlogSpark. All opinions are my own.

You Shave Product Review

They Say:
Imagine getting a closer, smoother shave while effortlessly protecting the environment and saving hundreds of dollars every year. YouShave™ products do exactly that! In fact, we guarantee you’ll shave closer, eliminate razor burn, and keep bucket loads of plastic razors out of landfills.
We have engineered our products to suit an array of shaving needs, and to extend the life of your razor blades. Virtually all of our customers have experienced a smoother, closer shave and 100% of our customers are spending less on replacement razors or blade cartridges.

Why should you shave with our YouShave™ blade lubricants?

No other product, gel or foam, will give you as smooth of a shave, leaving your skin incredibly soft and supple while looking and feeling great. Whether you're shaving your face, legs, underarms, bikini area, or anywhere else on your body, YouShave™ lubricants treat your sensitive skin to the soothing relief it deserves. YouShave™ lubricants are also a great solution for anyone suffering from pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB). All of the YouShave™ lubricants are naturally moisturizing and protect your skin while shaving.

•  Specifically formulated for shaving course hair.
• All Natural (non-toxic) YouShave™ lubricants avoid irritation, especially for sensitive skin.
• Protects your razorblade from getting mineral buildup.
• Moisturizes, softens, conditions, cleanses, and forms a barrier between the razor blade and your skin while shaving.
• No more nicks and cuts, eliminates razor burn, prevents razor bumps, stops razor rash and shaving irritation.
• You save hundreds per year on replacement blades, and your blades last longer.100% natural, does NOT contain any synthetic additives, chemicals or preservatives.

I Say:
I really liked this product. I was not brave enough to use it without shave cream, however, my shaves are smoother and the blade works a lot better. Jeff has been using the lubricant by itself, and he loves it! It gives him a really smooth shave. The oil is a little greasy at first, but that doesn't stay greasy long.  He also has noticed that his razor has less"gunk" on it.

My only real issue was the shavebox (see pic below)

It does come with instructions on how to hang it, but I guess i did it wrong, because my box stayed up for a few seconds - then fell to the ground, where the little pins holding the clear part in broke. I crazy glue'd them back in, but its now a bit too hard to open lol BUT as you can see, the ShaveBox stands up on its own, so we keep it on the sink counter, and that works just fine.

I give this product 4 stars and a recommendation!

Buy It:
You can buy it direct from youshave.com. You get one bottle of lubricant and one box for $14.99. They also have a special now - FREE priority shipping to all U.S. states or $5 off shipping for everyone else! This link will take you straight to the order page!

I was given one bottle of lubricant and one shavebox to review from Business2Blogger, no other compensation. All opinions are my own or my husbands and were in no way influenced..

Baking Fail = Baking Win!

I  have never, in my life, burned cookies or had to scrape off hardened ANYTHING from a baking pan. Never.
Until Thursday night.
I was attemptig to make the Chocolate Chewies from How Sweet It Is' blog. I think I didn't use enough powdered sugar. Ad I also used the wrong implement to mix it. And the wrong kind of cocoa. So almost every batch was too dark or stuck on the pan. It was a disaster!!!! I added more and more powdered sugar, and ended up with a batch that wasn't at all like it should have been but was all right... more candyish than cookieish. It was still totally wrong, though.

As dumb as it might sound - I was embarrassed. Jeff, he doesn't care, but I knew I could do better. So I decided to try another new recipe, one that HAD to be no fail because....

It used brownie AND cookie mix!! you can't mess that up... right? THE first recipe I bookmarked in my new recipe folder in Firefox, Choc. chip cookie brownies from Bakerella, adapted from good ole Betty Crocker.

These are so easy to make! Preheat oven to 350. You make one package brownie mix as directed and pour  in a greased 13 x 9 pan.Then you make one package cookie mix as directed (choc. chip is traditional - I used a pumpkin spice mix I had leftover from the holidays). Drop the cookie mix my spoonfuls on the brownie batter. You might have to press them down - I used thinner, regular brownie mix so mine kinda sunk on their own.

Bake for 35 to 40 mins - until the edges brown a little. Let them cool completely! Bakerella put chocolate ganache on hers, so I had to also! Here is her recipe:
Chocolate Ganache
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
6 Tbsp butter

• In a small saucepan, heat cream and butter until just before the boiling stage.
• Pour over the chocolate morsels.
• Let stand about 20 seconds and stir until smooth.
• Pour over brownies and let set before cutting.

DELICIOUS!!!

 I am very glad that I made a disaster turn into something yummy. Now we just need to invite some people over to help us eat all these brownies! lol

Radical Review Wednesday: Pretzel M & M's

Welcome to my new, weekly feature: Radical Review Wednesdays! In an effort to post all the reviews in my head that I need to type out and to get a weekly feature going, I decided to start this one! Some weeks a giveaway will be included - this isn't one of those weeks, but it will happen in the future!

You might have heard that M & M's was giving away bags of pretzel M & M's on their Facebook page. When i first heard this, I was intrigued: Are they pretzels with M & M's on them? M & M's in the shape of pretzels? I honestly was confused! But duh, of course, they are just M & M's with pretzels inside with the chocolate!

And they are pretty darn good! At first biting into them  is strange because you're biting into an M & M... but it doesn't taste like one. It is very crunchy and a little salty, which just a little bit of chocolate taste. They are similar to chocolate covered pretzels but with a little twist. They are definitely more portable and less likely to melt!

I give these 4 stars!

First Blogmania Sponsor!!

Yes, I have my first BLOGMANIA sponsor for September's BLOGMANIA!!!!

You can win a $15 gift certificate to thinkgarnish.com. Check out all of their food packaging supplies, including cute straws and disposable loaf pans that you can actually bake the batter in! They have such great and cute ideas to use their products too.

So excited to have them aboard! If you would like to add your product to my kitchen/baking/cooking themed BLOGMANIA giveaway, then please contact me for details!!

(Many thanks to Gina at crush blog for the help!!)