Clever Girls: COOL WHIP Moms

I probably shouldn't admit how much of a part food plays in my life.  When I make plans with my family, it always revolves around food.  When I need to commiserate with someone, we meet for breakfast.  When someone has a baby or they're going through a difficult time, I bring them food to comfort them.

Food is comfort, and sometimes it's something I want to make special.  We have a couple family traditions that always incorporate COOL WHIP Whipped Topping.  The first is the Marguerite salad, a recipe I posted about last week.  It's a marshmallow salad, probably similar to that which many of us grew up eating, that my grandmother "invented" and always brought to family gatherings.  Even now, no family gathering is complete without a Marguerite Salad.  There are even debates in my family as to whether it's allowed to put cherries on top of the salad or whether that is sacrilege.  We're serious about our food.

This past week, I had a friend who recently had a baby, and I was in charge of bringing her a side dish and dessert.  While this was a school night when I'm running around everywhere, I still wanted to make something special for her.  That said, it needed to be an everyday dessert I could put together with a minimum of fuss.  After wracking my brains, I came up with the ideal solution.  I decided to make a berry cherry crisp for her - something that takes bare minutes to cook so is great for weeknights when I want to create a treat.  And even better?  I topped it with a dollop of COOL WHIP, because it's the little things that make all the difference and give it that little extra something special.

This is that recipe that Little Miss made.  By herself.  It's that easy - and that's what I needed Monday afternoon (because it's possible I'd forgotten to look at my calendar and had neglected to prepare ahead of time).  And yet I got a call from my friend thanking me for the dessert because it was so awesome and unique.  She loved it, and she especially loved that I thought to add the COOL WHIP to make it just a little bit more rich and decadent.  And yes, dessert has been that simple at our house before, too.  Just a little fruit and some COOL WHIP.  Yum.

What are your favorite everyday desserts?

The rest of that container of COOL WHIP?  Yeah, I saved it for myself.  I just might have bought a container of strawberries and used the COOL WHIP as a perfect fruit dip - just for me.  I didn't share.  Shhh, don't tell the wee ones!  I did share some of the extra berry cherry crisp with them, however.

In the interest of full disclosure, this is a compensated post as part of a campaign with Clever Girls Collective. Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content. I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own. And as always, all opinions are also my own.

Giveaway: Hallmark Greeting Cards

I wrote extensively about my time at Blissdom. There were great sessions on photography and writing and staying legal and more. The conference is able to be as spectacular as it is partly because of the sponsors who underwrite a large portion of the conference cost. As at many conferences I have attended, Hallmark had a suite where attendees were able to choose a card to send to a friend or loved one.

I love that Hallmark offers a card for just about any occasion from a pick me up to funny or sentimental thank yous to sympathy to simple hellos and more. Trust me, it wasn't hard for me to find cards to send. I had two friends at home who I wanted to send cards to. One friend was really helping by stepping up with carpooling the wee ones and taking care of them a bit when my parents and husband weren't available. She definitely needed an extra thank you - a note to let her know that I appreciate all she does for me and that I'm thinking of her even when I'm off having fun and she's ... not. Another friend just needed a little pick me up after having had a bad week the week before. And yes, Hallmark delivered.

When I arrived home, I happened to be on the phone with one friend when she retrieved her mail that included the card I had sent her. She was surprised to see mail from me to begin with, but when she opened the card and read what I had sent her, I'm pretty sure she had tears in her eyes. I also got a call from my other friend thanking me for the card and again expressing surprise that she'd received something but also just ... joy that someone had thought of her.

It isn't often anymore that we receive mail that isn't a bill or junk mail. People just don't send each other cards anymore, but it's such a great way to connect. I'm always amazed by how such a small gesture can really make someone's day. A friend of mine now sends two greeting cards to friends each week, just to make them smile. I love that idea. Although I'm not quite there yet, I'm certainly focused on sending out cards to people more often because I like being that person who brings a smile to someone else's face.

You can bring a smile, too. I have a greeting card pack to give away so you can Tell Them something special courtesy of Hallmark. So what do you have to do to win? First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count! That means that please please please leave your contact information. If I cannot get ahold of you, you cannot win!

This giveaway is open until Tuesday April 24 at 7pm CST. I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 24 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me: Who would you send your cards to?

Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):

1) Earn one additional entry for following me on Twitter, then tweeting this contest with the following tweet: "Brighten a friend's day. Enter the #giveaway for @HallmarkPR cards from @honestandtruly http://bit.ly/HthusW" (leave a link to your tweet as your comment and make sure you do all the steps!)
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog publicly via Google Friend Connect.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog Honest & Truly! publicly via Google Friend Connect.
4) Earn one additional entry by liking Honest & Truly! on Facebook. (Yay, it's legal again, so long as you know you have to leave a comment here to enter and that simply liking me isn't the entry, along with acknowledging the fact that Facebook has nothing to do with this giveaway whatsoever.
5) Earn an additional entry by putting me in your Google Plus circle. Am I already in your G+ circle? No problem - just leave a comment letting me know that you've added me or already have me there.

Good luck!

In the interest of full disclosure, I visited the Hallmark suite at Blissdom and sent two cards to friends as described above. I was not compensated for this post. As always, all opinions remain my own.

Review: Medieval Times

There are some places that I've never been but always intend to go. And there are some places the wee ones keep asking to go - especially when we drive past them on a regular basis. Medieval Times is one of those places. I don't have a good reason for not having gone, just life getting busy and not paying attention. Needless to say, when I was offered the chance to attend Medieval Times for their opening night of the new show, I jumped at the chance.

The wee ones loved the idea of seeing the horses and jousting, although they didn't know what that was prior to seeing the show. They were also intrigued at the idea of eating with their fingers - but when it came time to do so, they weren't quite so sure about how to do it.

The pageantry of the show is a lot of fun, from the royal court welcoming everyone in to the show to the knight we're assigned to cheer for (based on seating, which isn't assigned until you enter the castle). The night started with a gorgeous horse entering the arena and cantering amidst the mist before performing some trained maneuvers.

The king's Lord Chancellor introduces all the knights, and there is a great parade of all the knights' entourages supporting them. It is a great display, and the wee ones were happy to see their Green Knight and cheer him on, especially as he came to our corner of the arena. The show is in an arena, with seats on all sides. The action is readily visible everywhere. We were sitting in a corner and could see quite well. The only part we couldn't see was the royal court who sat behind us, but that didn't hinder our enjoyment of the show.

After the parade, there was another show of horse with trained Pure Spanish Horses (which looked like Andalusians to me) who piaffed - a very difficult maneuver - jumped and more without riders, just their master of horse who kept them in line. The wee ones were fascinated by the bowing at the end of the show.

Up next was the falconer. His falcon traversed the arena and dove towards a target the falconer swung. It was amazing how fast the falcon can fly. I've never seen one in action before, and it was a cool and unique addition. We spoke some with the falconer before the show began, and we learned more about how falcons are trained and how they hunt. I had always thought that falcons brought the animal back, but instead the hunter goes to the falcon and exchanges a piece of meat for the animal the falcon took down.

A dressage demonstration was up next, with riders showing their precision as the horses danced in an organized show around the arena. Having ridden as much as I have, I know how difficult this is, and it was impressive to see them staying as in rhythm as they were.

Next up was the meat of the show - if you'll pardon my pun. The wee ones were so excited to see the knights come out. It wasn't purely jousting, as I had initially thought. There were also relay races and games of skill where the knights had to capture rings on their lances at full speed. I can only imagine the coordination that would require.

As part of the show, a barbarian came to offer a gift to the king, which was mildly rebuffed. He ended up challenging the winner of the jousting tournament and added a necessary good versus evil element to the show.

The jousting was impressive. It started with knights going one on one and shattering their lances as they attempted to unseat their adversaries. Once the knights were on the ground, it was a fight to the "death" with a variety of weapons. The winner of each round continued until there was only one champion remaining. While our Green Knight won his first round, he was sadly defeated in the end. We still cheered for the ultimate champion as he battled the barbarian, of course.

While all this was going on, we were also being fed our finger food. With Little Miss's dairy allergy, I was a little concerned that she would have a challenge eating. I was reassured before that night that she would receive a dairy free menu, and the night of I discovered that this meant she could actually eat the majority of the regular menu. I requested and received a copy of both the ingredients and a listing showing the common allergens in each food served. Shockingly, the only food she couldn't eat was the focaccia. There are also vegetarian and gluten free options, which is a wonderful and surprising treat.

The wee ones enjoyed the food. Mister Man loved the tomato bisque where he dipped his focaccia, and Little Miss loved it by itself, although I had to show her how to eat soup without a spoon! The chicken and rib and potatoes were also well-received by everyone, and the apple strudel (yes, also shockingly dairy free) was devoured. There is a ton of food served, and Medieval Times smartly provides containers to take leftovers home.

The only part of the evening that I didn't enjoy was the wait staff's emphasis on the fact that they should be tipped. When our waiter introduced himself, he made sure we knew that tip was not included in the cost of the ticket. He also mentioned it after serving the food. And at the end, he placed a tip holder in front of us, reminding us again that we needed to tip him as it wasn't included in the cost of the ticket. I would so rather pay slightly more for the ticket and have that be his "tip" than have it pushed in my face repeatedly throughout the night.

The new show is now available at all Medieval Times locations across the country (and Canada). It was a great family event, and there are constantly ticket coupons and specials available to make it even more affordable.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received complimentary tickets to Medieval Times for myself and the wee ones. I was not compensated for this post. As always, all opinions are my own.

Review: Hershey's Bunny Trail

When at Blissdom this year Hershey's was a sponsor. A very generous sponsor. While I didn't get a chance to make the s'mores with several of my buds that I had planned (we brought the Hershey's chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows ourselves but I forgot the fuel for my mini blow torch), Hershey's did offer bloggers the chance to make their own Easter baskets.

Mine recently arrived, and I think Mister Man is going to be happy come Sunday. I know my husband was when I showed him that I chose mini Cadbury eggs just for him. There were so many options to put into the basket, and I loved that there were Hershey's options sans HFCS that I can give to Mister Man, something I greatly appreciate.

Every year, I create Easter baskets for the wee ones. The baskets are never the same, but they're always filled with something slightly edible (it's Easter!), but something that still fits within our general nutrition guidelines, as well as toys or activities we can do together. Because Easter is another of the family holidays, it's important to me that the wee ones know it's about doing things together, so we emphasize that with our baskets.

So far, the wee ones still believe in the Easter Bunny, but I have a feeling this may be the last year. Do third graders still believe? When they saw the Easter Bunny at an event recently, they immediately found and noticed the zipper on the hood and the blonde hair sticking out the back, but they decided it was just a "helper" because the Easter Bunny must be so busy. I can only hope to keep this tradition alive for just a little longer - without lying to them, which I refuse to do.

One thing we've never done but always intend to do is to dye Easter Eggs. It was one of my favorite things to do growing up, but this will be the ninth year I've let it get away from me. Part of it is that I am the only person in the house who likes hard boiled eggs, so what do we do with them after they've been dyed, but really we just get too busy and forget. I have three egg dying kits in my Easter bin in the basement because I have good intentions.

I'm a little sad that we've never done it. And we won't do it this year, as tomorrow is taken up by heading to the Ronald McDonald House to cook for the families staying there before making dessert for Easter, and Easter itself is full of church and an Easter Egg hunt at my parents' house and a ginormous ham dinner.

And somehow... that's enough tradition for us right now. Maybe someday when the wee ones aren't so wee (at what age do they need a new moniker?), maybe that's when we'll find the time to dye eggs, another tradition we can create as a way to cement the bonds of our family on yet another holiday.

Hershey's asked that we share our Easter traditions with our readers as part of the Hershey's Bunny Trail where there are recipes, memories, and plenty more to help all of us get ready for Easter.


In the interest of full disclosure, I received a Hershey's Easter basket. I was not compensated for this post. As always, all opinions are my own.

Giveaway: Toydozer

If your house is anything like mine - and c'mon, make me feel better and say that it is! - cleanup is not the most fun part of the day. Ok, cleanup of toys may not actually happen every single day. But you do make your kids clean, don't you? It's not just me?

I'm a firm believer in teaching the wee ones responsibility, but that doesn't mean that it has to be drudgery, right? In fact, right now the wee ones are really into vacuuming and actually argue over who gets to vacuum because I somehow turned it into a game. I'm still not sure how that happened, but I'm going with it.

Of course, before we (ok, they) vacuum, the floors need to be picked up. I've tried the timers, I've tried the races, I've tried taking away toys that aren't picked up. They do it, but grudgingly. And it's painful for everyone.

I finally received a product for review, though, that's making the pickup part as fun as the vacuuming. I was sent a Toydozer for review. It's a plastic scoop that acts like a toy bulldozer and makes cleaning up faster and easier in our house. It comes in three fun colors - yellow, purple, and blue - and the gatherer intelligently Velcros onto the scoop itself so that they pieces don't become lost and separated.

When I first gave it to the wee ones, they actually made a bigger mess so they could clean it up. While this wasn't quite what I was hoping for - I don't need any more messes in the house - Mister Man declared that it was awesome and "Mommy, can I clean some more? This is fun!" And no, I'm not making that up. I only wish I'd had my video going so I could have captured his enthusiasm. Weird, no?

Because the scoop is fairly large and sturdy, it doesn't just clean up the dreaded tiny Lego pieces that I inevitably step all over, but the wee ones have quite creatively begun to use it to pick up anything on the floor. They use it to scoop up books and put them back on the book shelf, and when there are scraps of paper by their desks from homework, they're using the Toydozer to clean up the paper and put it into recycling. This has made cleanup so much faster, and I'm not getting near the arguments I used to.

Yes, I'm sold. Not surprisingly, the Toydozer was invented by a mom who was tired of having the same cleanup battles I had. She put on her thinking cap, and now you can purchase her Toydozer from her website for $18.99, including shipping to anywhere in the US or Canada. You can find out more about the Toydozer story and what they're up to on the Toydozer Facebook page.

This is something I'm pretty sure I'll be purchasing for my friends who have children into Legos and other tiny piece toys. It would make a great birthday present for them, and not only does it have no batteries (always the mark of a great gift) and makes no noise (ditto), but it makes life easier for the parents, too.

Are you ready to go buy your own? Wait, (I feel like the infomercial!), I have a bonus for you. You can save 20% by using the code BLOGGER20. Or you can win one.

So what do you have to do to win? First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count! That means that please please please leave your contact information. If I cannot get ahold of you, you cannot win!

This giveaway is open until Friday April 19 at 7pm CST. I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 24 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me: What tricks do you use to make cleanup easier at your house?

Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):

1) Earn one additional entry for following me on Twitter, then tweeting this contest with the following tweet: "Want to make cleanup a game in your house? Enter the #toydozer #giveaway from @honestandtruly http://bit.ly/HqxzTr" (leave a link to your tweet as your comment and make sure you do all the steps!)
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog publicly via Google Friend Connect.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog Honest & Truly! publicly via Google Friend Connect.
4) Earn one additional entry by liking Honest & Truly! on Facebook. (Yay, it's legal again, so long as you know you have to leave a comment here to enter and that simply liking me isn't the entry, along with acknowledging the fact that Facebook has nothing to do with this giveaway whatsoever.
5) Earn an additional entry by putting me in your Google Plus circle. Am I already in your G+ circle? No problem - just leave a comment letting me know that you've added me or already have me there.

Good luck!

In the interest of full disclosure, this post is part of a Toydozer blogger outreach campaign. I was provided with a complimentary Toydozer to review and have been compensated, as well. That said, all opinions remain my own.

Review: Cheryl's Cookies

Can you believe that Easter is coming up already? And soon after that, spring will truly be here, and then school will be out. I already have a lot of gifts I need to plan - and of course all of them are for people who don't really "need" anything, the family I'm visiting, end of year teacher gifts, and the like. For those occasions, I really love giving food or wine because it's something that truly is just for the recipient and something that they frequently wouldn't buy for themselves.

Have you ever sent Cheryl's Cookies for an occasion like this? I was first introduced to Cheryl's over a year ago when I visited their factory and got to sample some first hand. When I told a friend about the treats I'd had, she was enormously jealous, as she is from Columbus, OH where Cheryl's was founded and is very well known - for good reason!

Cheryl's makes all sorts of delicious baked goods from beautifully decorated cookies to decadent brownies and more. Each item comes individually wrapped, so it stays perfectly fresh, and flavors don't mix when you have multiple types together.

As part of my Easter greetings, I received a Cheryl's Classic Gift Bundle, which includes three boxes, each filled with mini-goodies. One box contains chocolate pretzel clusters and confection pretzel clusters. The next contains an assortment of chocolate chip triple chocolate buttercream frosted cookies, while the last contains Cheryl's famous original buttercream frosting cookies and oatmeal raisin mini-cookies. My tummy says thank you!

I love how the package looks not just professionally put together but so elegant, too. It's something that I love to receive, and I feel good about sending it, too. Each box has a fun and unique design, and you can bet that I save those to use for gift boxes later! Opening each one to discover what's inside is a fun treat, too.

And of course, they taste as good as they look. They are made with "real" ingredients - butter, sugar, eggs, cocoa, honey, cinnamon, and the like. For someone who cares about what she's putting in her body (me), this is the kind of special treat I like to indulge in. And the cookies are always so soft and chewy, much more so than when I make them at home! I had never had the pretzel clusters before, but I really like them. It's a good chocolate with little bites of pretzel inside for a nice crunch. They're less salty than I'd expected them to be, and the pretzel pieces were smaller, but it worked, and everyone in the house who's tried them has asked for more.

A gift of Cheryl's is one of those things that makes a perfect pick-me-up, in my opinion. Cheryl's also offers a $5 Cookie Greeting, which is a buttercream decorated cookie in an adorable little box that is shipped to a recipient for $5. Did I forget to mention that $5 Reward Card toward another purchase that's included with the cookie? How much fun is this to send instead of a greeting card when you want to do something extra special for someone? I love this idea as a little thank you gift for someone who's gone above and beyond or just had a really tough time. Who wouldn't smile at receiving it?

Do you want to try some of Cheryl's deliciousness all for yourself? Right now, Cheryl's is offering a "try me" package ere you can get 6 cookies for free (just pay tax and shipping and handling). You also get a $10 Reward Card to use towards your next Cheryl's order - and c'mon, you know there's going to be a next one, right?

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a sample box from Cheryl's Cookies as described above for review purposes only. I was not compensated for this post. As always, all opinions are my own.