I recently started writing about areas of my life that I want to improve.  There are 15 total and over time I will be talking about them here and providing updates.  I’m still working on organizing my day, but I picked a pretty busy time of year to try to implement that, so it continues to be a work in progress.  I guess in some ways it, as is true in each of the areas, will always be an ongoing work in progress.

One of my 15 goals / plans is to lose extra weight I’ve been holding on to since the pregnancy.  I don’t want this to be another New Years Resolution that doesn’t make it past week one, so I’m not waiting for New Years.  My immediate goal is to lose 15 pounds in 5 weeks.  This basically takes me to the end of December.  The struggle of course will be the Thanksgiving and Christmas eat-a-thons, lol.  I will be updating my progress toward this goal as I have something to report.  If you have a goal / plan of losing x pounds before the end of the year as well, I’d love to hear about it so we can support each other. 

PINE FURNITURE

Affordable, traditional, and stylish

As a savvy frugalista that lives in the country, pine furniture has a certain appeal to me.  It has a light, natural, and fresh appeal.  It isn’t showy, which is an important factor as people realize in this economy that having the “showiest” items and keeping up with the Joneses is not all some thought it was cracked up to be.

Pine furniture is sturdy, practical and can be just as fashionable as other wood types.  Whether you live in the country or city and whether shopping for the bedroom, the dining room, or furniture for other rooms, pine furniture could prove to be a more practical answer.

The link provided are sponsored, however opinions are 100% mine.

VACATION RENTALS

An alternative to hotel stays during vacations

We just returned from a quick get-a-way to Disney where there are hotels by the hundreds.  We were in our room long enough to drop off our stuff upon arrival, then for a few hours sleep that night, so a hotel made sense for this trip. 

Earlier this year we also visited central Florida and chose a vacation rental for our week-long stay.  It was surprisingly affordable, spacious, and much more comfortable than typical hotel rooms. It was a first for us and something we will lean toward for future trips.

The links provided are sponsored, however opinions are 100% mine.

MONSTERS, INC

Disney’s Monsters, Inc was re-released on November 10, 2009 as a special Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Copy 4 Disk Set. 

Monstropolis, powered by their energy company Monsters Incorporated, is having an energy crisis.  Powered for generations by the screams of children (thanks to the visits by their “monsters in the closet”), it is unable to keep up with the increased energy demands as the children become harder to scare.

After closing time one day, Sulley goes back to the Scare Floor to finish up some paperwork for his buddy Mike.  He discovers adorable Boo and is immediately scared out of his wits.  The little toddler isn’t scared of him at all and makes him a fast friend - much to Sulley’s dismay.  The Monstropolis Child Detection Service is all over the place on the hunt for her and as Sulley and Mike try to find a way to get her back home, they stumble upon a foul plan by their co-worker and rival as he strives to become top monster at Monsters Inc.  Sulley, Mike, and little Boo have quite a time trying to avoid diseaster and find Boo’s door so she can get home. 

If you haven’t seen Monsters, Inc, I won’t spoil it all for you, but naturally it has a happy - and rather sweet - ending.  Here are some fun teasers for ya:

 Trailer

Roundtable Favorite Scene (Bonus)

On the Job (Film)

Featurette: Tokyo Monstropolois (Bonus)

Product provided by WDSHE. Photos copyright WDHSE. All rights reserved.

SWAG BUCKS

Earn Swag Bucks to get gifts cards, etc just for doing routine searches…

I recently started using Swag Bucks for my searches after hearing of it for awhile and not jumping on it.  The points add up fast, so I wish I jumped on it long before.  It is easy, just go to Swag Bucks instead of Yahoo or Google (it uses Google & Ask.com) and every so many searches (at random) you earn a swag buck… or two… or more!  Be sure to also sign up for their newsletter because they often send a free Swag Bucks code along with it!  Sign up for Swag Bucks HERE. 

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Sponsored Tweets. All opinions are 100% mine.

Sponsored Tweets:

Informative plus an easy way to make money doing what you do anyway OR tacky and clogging up tweet-space?

This morning I started looking into Sponsored Tweets.  From time to time I do sponsored posts, where a topic is presented and a link(s) within the post are sponsored, but although I’ve heard a little about Sponsored Tweets (I knew it existed, but never checked into it) this morning is the first I really gave it a look see to see if I’d want to sign up for sponsored tweets.

As a stay at home mom attempting to be a work at home mom, I am all for ways to bring in a little extra income here and there, but at the same time I don’t want to make a couple bucks at the expense of alienating others. 

The basic premise is that you sign up with Sponsored Tweets, set your criteria, and advertisers connect with you to tweet for them on a tweet by tweet basis.  No automatic tweets as you have to approve each one and manually tweet it out yourself.  What you accept or reject is entirely up to you.  

It is all professional and above board, a great idea, and with a smooth payment system.  My sole drawback is how those sponsored tweets will be received by followers.  I am very interested in your thoughts and opinions.  Do you do sponsored tweets?  How do you feel when you read a sponsored tweet?  TIA!

UP

 Released to Blu-Ray & DVD on November 10, 2009

The first portion of Disney’s UP is rather bittersweet.  Ellie and Carl are adorable and comical together - from playing as children to growing old as a happily married couple. The bittersweet? Dreams that never came true…  That is until Carl, faced with a move to Shady Acres Retirement Village, takes a big chance and begins quite an adventure!

Russell, an adorable yet chatty and overeager eight year old Wilderness Explorer, looking to earn his final badge, “Assisting The Elderly”, so he can become a Senior Wilderness Explorer, shows up on Carl’s doorstep.  Carl sends him away on an imaginary task.  The next time Russell shows up on Carl’s doorstep, he finds himself floating up… along with the rest of the house! 

During their adventure, the two unlikely companions meet a “Snipe” - a rare 13 foot flightless bird that Russell names Kevin then turns out to be female; Dug and the pack of dogs he is in that all talk, thanks to a special collar; and Carl’s lifelong hero, who isn’t exactly what Carl envisioned him to be.  They discover Kevin is in danger and it appears Carl and Russell are Kevin’s only hope. 

Carl spent his entire life thinking of the adventure he and Ellie didn’t have, until he finds a special message Ellie has left for him.  That message and his new friendship with Russell make him realize the great adventure his life really was and what it still can be.

Up is an inspiring story that reminds us to look for the silver lining and take advantage of the adventure of what appears to be an ordinary life.

As the mommy of a three year old boy, one of my favorite sniplets of the movie was when Carl suggested to Russell that they play a game to see who could be quiet the longest. Russell replies, “Cool! My mom loves that game!”  Ha!

 Product provided by WDSHE.  Images © Disney.  All Rights Reserved.

Santa Buddies: The Legend Of Santa Paws

Own it November 24, 2009
Win it HERE now

Here Comes Puppy Paws, Here Comes Puppy Paws!  On November 24th, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment releases SANTA BUDDIES: The Legend of Santa Paws on Blu-ray and DVD! The lovable “Buddies,” B-Dawg, Budderball, Buddha, Mudbud, and Rosebud embark on a thrilling journey to the magical world of Santa’s Workshop. But when the world begins to forget the true meaning of the holidays, it’s up to Puppy Paws, the fun-loving son of Santa Paws, and his newfound Buddies to save the day in another epic adventure.

Flying the Sleigh

Santa Paws is Comin’ to Town

 You can WIN IT right here!  This will be great for a pre-Christmas family movie night!  I have TWO prizes up for grabs:

Grand Prize: Santa Buddies Blu-Ray + DVD combo pack AND a Tiny The Dog plush toy

Runner-up: Santa Buddies Blu-Ray + DVD combo pack

 I don’t have a picture of the Tiny plush, but this is Tiny in Santa Buddies (isn’t he a cutie?):

HOW TO ENTER:

Read my review of Santa Buddies or check it out on Amazon, then leave a comment here about why you are looking forward to this new Blu-Ray / DVD release from Disney & who you’d like to watch it with.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

Subscribe to my RSS feed (email subscription option available):  1 extra entry

Follow Shake The Salt via Facebook/NetworkBlogs: 1 extra entry

Show some love for my new frugal blog, Savvy Frugalistas, and sub to the RSS feed to keep up with the latest deals & freebies: 1 extra entry

 RULES:

Winners must reply within 48 hours.

US Only.

DEADLINE: 11:59 PM EST Friday, November 27, 2009

Giveaway products provided by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

SANTA BUDDIES: THE LEGEND OF SANTA PAWS

On Blu-Ray & DVD November 24, 2009

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh….

OK, “one-horse open sleighs” aren’t exactly very commonplace here in Florida, but after watching Disney’s Santa Buddies: The Legend Of Santa Paws tonight, I’m really starting to feel festive.  Even if it is still hot as summer outside some days. 

I’m not as familiar with the Air Bud series of Disney movies, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this really was one cute tail tale.  Even though some of the main characters are the Buddies pups, you don’t have to be famailiar with their history to enjoy this film, though I would think if you are familiar with them, you may appreciate their individual characteristics a little more. 

Most boys and girls have heard tell of Santa Claus, otherwise known as Jolly Ole’ Saint Nicholas of the North Pole, but you may not be as familiar with his Christmas partner, Santa Paws.  The Christmas traditions of the North Pole will one day be passed on the Santa Paws’ son, Puppy Paws, but Puppy Paws has become a little bah-humbug about Christmas spirit and just wants to be an ordinary pup. He spies an entry on the Naughty List of what looks to him to be a fun-loving ordinary pup and stows away when mail is collected from all the towns with Santa letters.  Puppy Paws finds the “ordinary” pup, and the rest of the Buddies and does his best to fit in.  When caught by the Scroogy dog catcher, Mr. Pruge, Puppy Paws is locked up in the kennel next to Tiny, an adorable pup who still believes in Christmas miracles and that faith inspires Puppy Paws. 

Meanwhile, back at the North Pole, the Christmas magic is fading and they need Puppy Paws’ help ASAP.  Puppy Paws cannot do it alone and enlists the help of the Buddies.  Together, maybe, just maybe, they can save Christmas…. 

You’ll have to snag your own copy to find out - and to find out if Tiny gets that Christmas miracle!

Santa Buddies is a great family holiday film - get your jammies on and pop some popcorn and make it family movie night! 

Product provided by Disney Home Entertainment.

Hanes Comfy Christmas $50 Gift Card Giveaway

Hanes wants you to have a comfortable holiday season & they are offering one lucky Shake The Salt reader a $50 Hanes gift card!

Tips from Hanes for a comfortable holiday season:

• Stuff the stockings… with stockings: Help your family start the year off with a drawer-full of comfortable, better-fitting Hanes socks for every member of the family.
  • Smart socks: you can also help make laundry folding easier by selecting Hanes Classics EZ Sort® Ankle Socks for boys and girls — just match the logo colors and you’re done.
• Give the gift of comfort (and joy): Keep kids warm (and cool-looking) with Hanes Graphic Pullover Hoodies for boys and girls.  The assorted styles will appeal to young fashion senses with prices mom and dad will love.

Twas the night before Christmas…: Mom and Dad deserve to be comfortable around the holidays, too!  Suit up for warm, cozy winter nights with Organic Cotton Sleepshirts for mom and Hanes Jersey Flannel Sleep Set for dad. 

To Enter The Hanes Comfy Christmas $50 Gift Card Giveaway:

Check out Hanes.com, then come back here and comment on which Hanes items you’d like to stuff your family’s stockings with.

Extra Entries:

Sub to Shake The Salt’s RSS feed (email subscription option available) + comment to let me know.

Follow Shake The Salt via Facebook/NetworkedBlogs + comment to let me know.

Rules:

Winner must respond within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen.

DEADLINE: 11:59 PM EST Monday, November 30, 2009

I mentioned the other day about how out of sync thing have been feeling lately.  My to do list feels like a man eating plant or like I’m drowning in a raging sea.  At the end of the day, I just never feel like I’ve accomplished very much. 

I have the Easy Daysies magnets up on the fridge and  have been trying to update it each day (if there is a change from the previous day) and Lil Roo and I have been talking about it a little.  He isn’t at the point of thinking to look at it each day (and I’m not at the point of fully utilizing it so I don’t always mention it to him), but he was pretty excited about it when I first put it up.  Kids love to know “what’s next” so I think it really will be an asset to us once we utilize it more.

I’ve been thinking about creating something similar to the Flylady Control Journal.  I’ve tried it before, but never completed it, so I never learned if it would actually help me or not.  I think just getting a better routine for basic cleaning would do wonders on its own, instead of feeling like its a mad scramble when a few things need to be done. Small things seem a lot bigger when you already feel overwhelmed.

One area I have REALLY been wanting to work on is menu planning.  Hubs works 24 on and 48 off (not taking OT into account), so I’d like to plan out 3 weeks worth of dinners - figuring in items he isn’t crazy about on his shift days.  Figuring on 5 dinners per week (the other 2 can be grill out or eat out nights), that is 15 meals I need to come up with, schedule, print recipes, and weekly shopping lists.  I tend to grab the deals + a few basics and just wing it - which doesn’t work out so well most of the time, LOL!  The deals do, but not so much the winging it part. 

The work in progress continues…. 

I’m def open to ideas & will continue to update on my progress on this as well as other areas I have been thinking about (more on those later).

I did a little thinking last night about how out of sync everything feels these days.  I wrote my thoughts down, expanded on some of them, and made a list of what I would like in order feel back in sync, to improve how things are currently going immediately around me, and to just improve my overall feelings of well-being.  This isn’t a “resolutions” list, though New Year’s isn’t far away now.  Resolutions are typically lofty goals with no detailed plan of accomplishing them.  I don’t have all the details down, nor even all the areas I want to work on fully considered.  It - like me - will be a work in progress, but as I go along, I’d like to share my journey with you.

I want a more feasible, common-sense schedule & routine (read: I want a schedule / routine & I want one that is simple enough that gets accomplished what I need accomplished and is easy and practical enough that I’ll actually follow it). I want to go to sleep at a decent time, so I do not feel sluggish in the AM and therefore “waste” that part of the day. 

I want the routine to cover the basics: cleaning, work & blogging, Lil Roo’s home preschooling, etc. 

I’ve discovered that the slightest thing makes me feel overwhelmed.  If I had a schedule / routine that worked, that left me feeling accomplished at the end of the day, that I could stick to day after day, I think it would make a huge difference and reduce the feeling of being constantly and consistently overwhelmed.

I haven’t developed my routine yet, but I am working on Lil Roo’s (see below) and will work around that for my routine. Like I said, this is an ongoing process that I am just starting, but I’ll be posting about how it goes - as well as the other areas I will be focusing on - and any products / tools I find that really do help. 

TOOLS TO HELP

EasyDaysies Magnetic Schedules For Kids

EasyDaysies has provided three of their schedule kits that I am immediately putting to good use.  Using the three sets I have (Every Day Kit, Family Activities, and Get Dressed Routine), I set up a “typical” day’s routine for Lil Roo on the fridge, including the specifics on getting dressed as I want him to become more independent in this area.  (He’s great at putting on what I put before him, but I’d like to lay out his clothes and have him get fully dressed on his own. It is a small step up from what he is doing now, but I believe will help him feel more independent and give him a sense of pride in doing it all by himself.) 

EasyDaysies are decent sized magnets with words and pictures for each task / activity.  This allows me to put the tasks in the order I want for our routine and allow it to be changed day to day to include activities that aren’t daily (such as church, a party, or the dentist).

The Every Day Kit (18 magnets) includes all meals + snack, school magnets, hygiene / grooming, etc.

The Family Activities Kit (9 magnets) includes shopping, party, church, doctor, play outside, etc.

The Get Dressed Routine (9 magnets) includes a magnet for each article of clothing + comb hair.

Additional kits & related products are available at their site if this is something you want to explore doing for your kidlets. A blank magnet comes in some kits and you can also buy blanks individually.

The EasyDaisies products were provided to me by the company.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Researching Hotels And Their Reviews

There is a wealth of travel information available online and it continues to grow.  From hot deals to regular folks sharing their personal vacation pictures, just about everything you need to know is just a few clicks and keystrokes away. 

Oyster Hotel Reviews is one such online destination, sharing detailed hotel reviews in the hottest locations. 

Oyster’s mission:

At Oyster Hotel Reviews, we have a very simple mission: to give a comprehensive preview of the hotels you might choose to stay at, from the beds you’ll sleep in to the bathrooms you’ll use to the food you’ll eat. Our goal is to guide our users to the hotels that will best fit their needs. We do this by extensively photographing every place we visit and writing in-depth reviews based on our firsthand experiences.

According to a recent survey (1), Florida is one of the best states to get a good nights sleep. That is, if you aren’t eating up Miami’s hot nightlife! If you will be, or plan to be in Miami for other reasons, finding the hotel most suited to your needs there may be a high priority for you.  Oyster has you covered - from Miami’s best value hotels to the most romantic to kid-friendly hotels. Many other cities have extensive hotel reviews on the site as well.  

FEATURES:

Each hotel listing has plenty of pictures to give you an accurate view - no pun intended - of what to expect.  For example, the Trump International Beach Resort, listed as the best Kid-Friendly Resort, has an astonishing 478 pictures of the resort.

The preset amenities list gives a yes/no for each, plus notes where applicable, so there are less surprises when you arrive.

Map

Comments.  Have you been to the Trump International Beach Resort? Oyster has a comments section for each hotel so you can get more opinions and info.

Personally? My favorite feature is the Pro / Con list that gives you the facts straight up at a glance for each hotel.

 All in all, Oyster Hotel Reviews provides in-depth information to help you decide which hotel is your best fit for your next vacation or business event.

Know Before You Go: Researching Hotels And Their Reviews is a Sponsored Post, personally written by me.  This is a Traveling Mom dedicated post.

Here’s a few good things you may want to check out over on Savvy Frugalistas:

Hot Deals & Freebies at CVS, Walgreens,  Walmart (mega list!), and Publix.  Plus, check out how to get a Thanksgiving feast for eight for $20 & win some Downy Swag.

It is that time of year again.  There’s about to be some serious cookie baking going on over the next couple of months.  What are your favorite holiday cookies?  I’m on the hunt for some fun cookie recipes to make with my three year old son for the holidays.  Got any ideas? 

Sponsored link; however all content is my own, including my genuine interest in cool cookie recipies!