Monte Carlo

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Monte Carlo for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have to admit, I like Selena Gomez.  It's a good thing, too, because my daughter absolutely loves he.  She has a new movie coming out (Selena Gomez, not my daughter) titled Monte Carlo that I am actually looking forward to seeing.  Check out the trailer:

The movie comes out Friday, July 1st, so I think I'll plan a date night with my daughter.  She has been bugging me about having some mother/daughter time with just the two of us, and this will be the perfect thing for us to do.  I can get tickets early (starting June 29) through Fandango, so I can plan out our night beforehand.  I am not sure if I will let Brandi know ahead of time, because I have a feeling that if I do, she will drive me crazy waiting.  I could keep her occupied by having her like the movie's Facebook page, where she can find all kinds of information about the movie.  Se is already "friends" with Selena Gomez on Facebook, and writes on her wall all the time.  My kid is seriously obsessed with her.  But, I don't mind, because unlike a lot of young actors and singers these days, I think she is an excellent role model for my daughter.

Parent's Choice Infant Formula Savings Sweepstakes

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of PBM Products for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Are you a new parent?  If so, have you thought about how you are going to find the money to put your child through college?  I remember when my kids were infants, saving for their education was the furthest thing from my mind.  I wish it wasn't, because now my kids will have to find the money themselves through student loans and scholarships.  Ryan will be graduating soon and Kasi will be right behind him.  I know there is no way that I will be able to afford to help both of them financially, and I really want both of them to continue their educations.  I know first hand how hard it is to find a job without having a college degree.  Heck, these days it's hard to find a job with a degree.

You can enter the Parent’s Choice Infant Formula Savings Sweepstakes to try and win a $10,000 college scholarship in the form of a College Savings 529 Plan to help your child afford college tuition when the time comes.  I have no idea how expensive college tuition will be eighteen years from now, but I have a feeling that like everything else these days, the price will only increase.   Doing what you can to help make college more affordable for your kids will be such a blessing. 

Walgreens

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Are you happy with your pharmacy?  I am.  I recently switched to Walgreens, and I have been very happy with their products.  I used to think that I had to buy the name brand products for quality, but now I know that store brand products work just as well.  I have tried several Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products, and have been satisfied with all of them.  Brandi had an infection in her ear a few weeks ago, and I used Walgreen's Brand Triple Antibiotic Ointment on her earring hole and it cleared up very quickly. 

Buying these products also benefits Walgreens Way to Well Fund™ .  This fund will provide free preventive health tests as well as other health and wellness services and education to local communities.  Walgreens will contribute up to $3 million annually to this fund, which is pretty generous.

Right now, there are several blogger doing giveaways where the prizes are Walgreens gift cards.  I know I am going to enter every one of them. Or all of them if I'm lucky. Right now, every cent I earn is spend before I get it, so a gift card or two would come in very handy. 

I Like to Know How Things Are Made

Thanks for the post, Erasmo Wiley

“How It's Made” is a great television show. Seeing how everyday objects are manufactured is really interesting to me. I watch it on my http://www.expertsatellite.com every chance I get. When the show has some really interesting items that will have their manufacturing processes shown, I record it on my DVR. From raw materials to finished product, the show demonstrates in great detail how things are made.

I remember Fred Rogers showing little segments of how things were made when I was a child. I've always wondered why no shows were made that had the entire premise being about showing how things are made. In Pennsylvania, there is a PBS show that shows what goes on inside some of Pennsylvania's factories, but “How It's Made” shows products from around the world.

The factory segments are fascinating to me. Seeing the machines produce vast amounts of a product from raw materials is really interesting. There has been more than one occasion when I've used a product and wondered how it came to be. The sheer volume of raw materials that go into making a simple item such as a snack cake for the masses just boggles my mind. Giant bags of flour and sugar are dumped into mixers that are big enough for a group of people to stand in. Then the machines go to work all the way to the point of packaging and shipping. It's good to know where things come from and how they are made.