I’m going on a blog trip!  Marie at Mommy Fest / Mommy Community had this great idea for us to do a Road Trip theme blog party.  Each day is going to have a theme and I just may SHOCK you all by posting every day of it.  No promises though.  I’m easily distracted, ya know. (In fact, as I write this I am currently distracted at PKMU, but I’ll tell you about that later… I don’t want you getting distracted too before you even finish reading MY post. She can wait. ).

So… wanna join me on the road trip? Maybe we can do a caravan kinda thing.  (OK, the song “Convoy” just popped into my head. Randon. And weird. Anyone else remember that song?).  You can get details of how the Blog Trip is going to work, the itinerary for the week, and the Day One (Sept 1) Mr Linky, enough info to have you totally ready to cruise. 

The theme of the first day, other than getting all packed up, the car loaded and stuff, is to do a little welcome message.

Welcome.

OK, moving along.  What? All right, that was kinda blunt and rude.  But I did mean it in the nicest way.  Honest.  I’ll see if I can do better.  (Don’t blame me, I’m still distracted). 

Welcome to Shake The Salt.  I’m Christy and I am really excited about my new blog here.  It officially launched on July 25!  I want to get one of those cool Blogiversary buttons, but I can’t decide which date to use. I created the blog on June 20. Doing all the background stuff and getting the design done took a little bit, so I wasn’t really posting here.  I started posting regularly on July 18 I think, but didn’t officially “launch” the blog until July 25.  So, I’m confused. 

I’m a thirty-something mama to a sweet two-year-old little handful of a boy and wife to a very busy fireman.  It is yet to be seen if our family will be blessed with a little sibling for B.  We live in the country & love it.  I love, love, love frugal shopping – it really is like a game to me! I score awesome deals and have a crazy stockpile!  I enjoy doing product reviews – it is such fun to see some of the amazing ideas fellow moms come up with & to check out things that are new or at least new-to-me.  Shake The Salt is all about promoting fellow moms!

I have a giveaway going on until 11:59 PM EST Tuesday, September 2, 2008, for a beautiful hand stamped initial charms necklace from J. Lawson Designs.  I have one (with my son’s initials on it) and LOVE it.  Be sure to enter for your chance(s) to win. 

I am wrapping up the Launch Party (all the winners have been announced on the blog) and I am working through the list contacting winners and sponsors.  So, if you are reading this, and are a winner or sponsor and I haven’t touched base with you, I will really soon. 

I’ve started posting random questions, so if you are bored play along.  :p  If you like free stuff, I post some every week.  And if I haven’t frightened you away yet, you are more than welcome to come follow me on Twitter.  That way, I’ll have another chance. 

OK, not sure if I followed the guideless exactly (probably not) but this post has gotten super long and I’m sure you are ready to move along already, right?  Go check out who else is taking a blog trip!

The Joy Of Pregnancy, The Complete, Candid, and Reassuring Companion For Parents-To-Be, by Tori Kropp, R.N. is an easy read, full of practical information.  The Joy Of Pregnancy takes you step by step, from becoming pregnant, through each month of the pregnancy, to life with a brand new baby. 

Each chapter is full of features that help you navigate this important journey: important info highlighted in a softly colored boxes, Ask Tori, R.N. (questions she has received over the year along with her answers), Dad’s Corner (great infor for the expectant father for each step of the journey), Tori’s Tips, and more.  The use of color and boxes really breaks up the great expanse of information so that it is not monotonous and it is easy to locate just the info you are looking for.

About Tori Kropp, R.N.:

 

Tori Kropp, R.N. has attended the births of thousands of babies. At Califormia Pacific Medical Center and elsewhere. She is founder and director of Pillowtalk, a child-birth edication program in Marin County and San Francisco, and founder of Stork Site, a pregnancy-and-parenting website. She lives with her family in Marin County.

If you are expecting, I would recommend picking up a copy of Tori Kropp’s The Joy Of Pregnancy.  I don’t think you will find a more easily digested, practical resource for your pregnancy.

My soul, wait in silence, for God only, for my hope is from Him.
- Psalm 62:5

Raising The Bar is the newest television series from Steven Bochco and TNT.  It is courtroom drama meets daytime soap opera.  It brings together an interesting mix of actors: Mark-Paul Gosselaar (NYPD Blue and Saved By The Bell), Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm In The Middle), Gloria Reuben (E.R.), J. August Richards (Conviction), as well as other talented actors. It took a bit for me to look beyond the roles I was accustomed to them being in (with the exception of J. August Richards).

 Meet Kellerman, a public defender passionate about the clients he believes in, yet quite confrontational… Trudy Kessler, a quirky Judge easily swayed by her law clerk Charlie Sagansky and Sagansky, who has his eye on his own judgeship, has a little secret, just a few of the characters in this sure to be a hit television series. 

There is as much happening on screen in the personal lives of the characters as there is in the courtroom, so don’t expect this to be your typical legal drama. 

I wasn’t as impressed with the pilot as I felt I should have been, mostly due to the seemingly never-ending confrontations between Judge Kessler and Counselor Kellerman. Things did pick up for the second and third episodes, and this may very well be another show added to my Tivo list.

Series premieres September 1, 2008 10 EST / 9 C

You may remember the review I did recently on the organizational website List Plan It, as well as the giveaway that went along with it (congrats also to the winner – Michele H you are going to love this prize!). 

Jennifer, the brain and talent behind List Plan It, was recently featured in the Home Business Magazine Online. 

Congratulations, Jennifer! The recognition was well deserved!

There were 264 entries for the The Taffy Box Silver Name Pendant giveaway.  The number chosen by the Random Number Generator is:

209 – Diane Corlett

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Look for an email from The Taffy Box.

There were 264 entries for the Surprise Gift giveaway.  The number chosen by the Random Number Generator is:

66 - Ren

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Please send me your mailing address.

* I’ll get a pic & details up before it goes out.. oh, the suspense!  LOL!

There were 118 entries for the Girls 18m Hawaii Sunset Outfit giveaway.  The number chosen by the Random Number Generator is:

49 - Erica

{Did not respond, so a new winner has been chosen}

13 - LynnC

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Please send me your mailing address.

There were 126 entries for the Wiggle Giggle Learn Starter CD giveaway.  The number chosen by the Random Number Generator is:

1 - Tracye

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Please look for an email from Wiggle Giggle Learn.

There were 138 entries for the Strappys Jewelry Bra Straps giveaway.  The number chosen by the Random Number Generator is:

124 – Veronica Garrett

UPDATE 9/10/08: After three attempts via email (bounced back due to full mailbox all three times), plus an announcement on Twitter, I have not heard form Veronica and had to choose a new winner:

129 - Reeva

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Please look for an email from Strappys.

There were 103 entries for the Huggies Pull-Ups Potty Training Success Kit giveaway.  The number chosen by the Random Number Generator is:

47 - Natalie Plummer

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Please send me your mailing address.

There were 148 entries for the DaniNotes Notecards giveaway.  The number chosen by the Random Number Generator is:

4 - Elizabeth

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Please look for an email from DaniNotes.

There were 124 entries for the For Your Bug-A-Boo Baby Shampoo giveaway.  The number chosen by the Random Number Generator is:

70 – Erma Hurtt

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Please look for an email from For Your Bug-A-Boo.

There were 170 entries for the Green Path Company Tote Bag giveaway.  The number chosen by the Random Number Generator is:

160 – Samantha Pruitt

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Please look for an email from the Green Path Company.

There were 212 entries for the NMC Toys giveaway.  The four numbers chosen by the Random Number Generator are:

6 – Tracye

61 – Kathy Scott

120 – Dawn Newbern

184 - Linda

UPDATE: A new winner had to be chosen…. and it is…..

98 - Charline

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Please look for an email from NMC Toys.