Sponsors Archives - Page 27 of 27

Springing into Clean

March 19, 2012 By Shannah Leave a Comment

This post is sponsored by Pine-Sol® Clean & Disinfect with Pine-Sol®: The Powerful Scent of Clean.” I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own.
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Tomorrow marks the official beginning of Spring! Along with the beautiful weather {and currently some seasonal allergies}, spring brings with it a sudden urge to clean the house.
My two wonderful kiddos, H and E, bring with them messes both big and small. I’m sure when you see these darling faces

you are thinking that there is no way they could make big messes at all. It is the angelic vibe they give off. It’s all a ruse though because they are definitely capable of destroying a house in no time flat. Want some evidence?

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It’s All About the Benjies

March 15, 2012 By Shannah Leave a Comment

Let’s talk about money, shall we?
No, not about how much you make or anything awkward like that. We are going talk about things more fun than that!
First, let’s chat about some ways to make money with a heavy emphasis on making money from blogging.
Have you ever noticed some of the buttons on my sidebar? A few of them are actually links to ad networks that I use to generate a {small} income from my blog. Obviously, if your blog is bigger than my little ole thing then you would stand to generate more money!

Rivit is an ad network that I partner with to generate some of the ads you see on my sidebar. They rotate on a regular basis automatically. A simple click on the ad generates a small amount of money for the blog. Rivit also pays on a CPM basis which pays for 1000 page hits your blog gets.

Social Spark connects bloggers with advertisers. Most often, these are done as paid posts on a certain product or website. You get offers and get paid for the ones you accept and complete. Social spark connects with your blog through google analytics and even gives you a recommend dollar amount to ask for per post based on your site traffic.
Other Ad Partners

I also partner with the Clever Girls Collective and Bucks 2 Blog. Most often, these opportunities are where you are asked to write about a subject or try out a product and then blog about it.
I also find affiliate opportunities through Share a Sale, Google Affiliates and the Escalate Network. With these, you simply apply to be an affiliate for a company and, if approved, you put an ad button on your blog. Typically, these pay only per purchase versus per click or page impression.

**This one isn’t blog related but I thought I would share it because it is a great way to generate some extra household income and get free stuff! I have participated in mystery shopping for several companies including:

Shopping for these companies offer benefits like free groceries, pizza or small products in addition to the fee you get paid to complete a shop.
If you ever consider doing mystery shopping though, be wary of any company that requires YOU to pay anything to sign up. These are almost always a scam**

Ok, so now you’ve made some money {or at least know some places to help you with that}. Let’s talk about spending it.
Back to the sidebar we go…see those cool ads for places like these

They are there because they are places I actually shop and so I sought them out for ad partnerships. Want a sampling of some of the great things I just bought from these awesome places to shop? Of course you do…check it out.

Check out this awesome inkwell from One Kings Lane! It’s en route to me as I type.

I love my new necklace from Stella & Dot jewelry.

I shared a whole post of my recent treasures from Pick Your Plum. Here is one of my favorites.

I use my Thirty One stuff for just about everything. My favorite product {right now} is the organizing utility tote.

Ok, so any tips for our fellow bloggers on how to earn some money? Or, got some suggestions on places to spend money? I’d love to hear them.

Picking Plums

February 16, 2012 By Shannah 3 Comments

Have you visited Pick Your Plum? If not, you should right now…and then return each and every day.

Pick Your Plum is a daily flash sale site that sells craft supplies. Each day, they feature a limited amount of one item at a huge discount. I’ve been doing a lot of shopping there recently.

Want to see some of my loot?

Cute stuff, huh? I am excited to get started using them items in some new projects.
Got any ideas on what I should do with them? Have you bought anything from the “Plum” recently?

P.S. If you ever want to know what the daily deal is over at Pick Your Plum, just look for this in my sidebar

Resolution Check-up

February 9, 2012 By Shannah 2 Comments

It is February which means that it is time to take a good look at some of the resolutions we made during the month of January. A biggie in that category for me was to eat better and lose some weight.

[How to Get a Small Waist]

Now you may remember that, awhile back, I was looking into different options for weight loss such as the Slim Fast plan, Weight Watchers, etc.

[Shake Recipes]

It amazes me all of the options out there for people who are looking to reduce their weight. And if one doesn’t work, there is always something new to try.
If all else fails, of course, there is also the option of lap band surgery. Of course, unlike replacing meals with shakes for a while, lap band surgery is a serious procedure that take a lot of time and should be completely thought out before pursuing. However, I know people have had great success with the procedure so it is an option out there for people who may want or need it.

So, where am I with my resolution? I have improved my eating habits a little but still have a long ways to go. I got something new to help me with that for my birthday too which I’ll share with you soon {once I put it into action}. I’d love to get to the gym more often but I need about 4 more hours in my day to realistically go as often as I’d like to. Baby steps I guess. Some things that have helped me so far:
1) Reminding myself each day that smaller size = more energy!

2) Pinterest is full of inspirational quotes that are always good at helping keep me focus.

[Your E-Cards]

3) Pre-planning meals as much as possible. I find that, if I start off with a good breakfast, I am more likely to make smart choices all day. Oh, and no matter how much I try to convince myself…cookie dough does not make for a good breakfast!

[Shutterstock]

4) Enlisting help! I try to have Mathlete or even other friends help keep me on track. This is especially true when we are out to eat because it is so easy to fall into the trap of making poor meal choices.

[Microsoft Help]

5) Watching the liquids that go in to my mouth. It is amazing how many calories you can rack up with drinks and not even realize it. I’ve cut back on my Starbucks (cut back…not cut out) to help with this.

How are your resolutions going? Is one of them to lose weight? If so, what steps are you taking?

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog for lap band surgery and was compensated. However, the views, opinions and weight loss struggles are all my own.

Avocados – More than Just Guac!

February 2, 2012 By Shannah Leave a Comment

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

I shared a few ideas for Superbowl Party food recently. As I was searching, I was amazed how many different types of recipes contained avocados. Now, my household loves avocados! But, I don’t know that many people realize how truly versatile an avocado is…they definitely extend way beyond guacamole! Since I am all about sharing things I love with you guys, let’s talk about a few things to do with this awesome food. Avocados from Mexico are what I find most often in my grocery store so I am most familiar with those.

1) Use it as baby’s first (or close to first) food. H and E both had avocado as their first foods. We simply smashed a ripe one up with a fork and then added a little milk. They loved it and I loved how great the nutrition was compared to some of the first food options available.

2) Make a smoothie! Throw some avocado, milk, honey, yogurt and ice into the blender and go. The result is a beautiful green breakfast on the go.

3) Replace your butter and jam with avocado on your toast. Add a little salt and pepper and you’ve got a delicious snack!

4) Give yourself a facial! Just mash the insides up and put on your face for 3-5 minutes. This is especially great during the dry winters.

5) Use them as an ingredient in tons of recipes. From chicken dishes to salads to soup, avocados can be used in so many dishes. My favorite is throwing a few cubes into chicken tortilla soup right before serving. Yummy!

Now that I’ve shared with you a few ways to use avocados, where can you find more? First, you can visit I love avocados on Facebook. There you will not only find other avocado lovers but also be able to get neat items like this badge to put on your website or blog.

You can also follow them on Twitter @guacgrl or use hashtag #iloveavocados in your tweets.

How do you typically eat avocados? Do you use them in unconventional ways like facial masks?

Project Organization: Career

January 27, 2012 By Shannah 2 Comments

We are nearing the end of January which means my mini-series on getting and staying organized is coming to an end (read about other topics here, here and here). We have one last thing to discuss though: organization in your career.

One of the most important things for keeping your professional life organized is to make a resume and keep it updated.

Sounds simple enough, right?

You would be surprised how difficult it actually is for a lot of people to stay on top of their resume. A great job posting comes along and they are rushing to update and add all their recent accomplishments to a seriously outdated document.
Sure, resume templates are really helpful if you are starting from scratch or need to jog your memory on what to include.
But, the best thing to do is schedule a time once per quarter to add new accomplishments to your resume and ensure that all of your information is up to date. That way, you are super organized and ready if you happen to stumble upon a great job you want to apply to.

Now, you may be thinking:
How does this really apply to me since I don’t work in a traditional career?

I think it is just as {if not more so} important for bloggers to keep an update to resume. It is helpful when you are working with potential advertisers and when trying to build your blog by getting your work in front of “bigger” blogs.
So, what are you waiting for?
Go make {or update} your blogger resume so you’ll be ready for the next opportunity!

I am participating in a blogger campaign for Bucks2Blog for a resume templates company and was compensated. However, the views and opinions stated here are my own.

Basement Reno – Blocking Cold and Sound

January 7, 2012 By Shannah 1 Comment

Plans for the basement renovation (i.e. turning it from an unfinished storage area to a finished space) are well under way. After we had the floor plan all mapped out, we started talking about other details of finishing the space. One of the big questions: how much insulation do we need?

[Must Know How]

Of course, since our space is mostly underground, we need to add some kind of insulation to serve as a protector such as a thermal block. We planned to have insulation installed in the walls but weren’t completely decided on whether we would need to add it to the ceiling area as well.

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Shaking It Up

December 14, 2011 By Shannah Leave a Comment

This post brought to you by Slim-Fast. All opinions are 100% mine.

It’s no secret around here that I’ve been trying to focus more on losing weight. With the holidays here, I am sure weight loss or weight management is a high priority for everyone. Parties, office dinners and yummy Christmas treats makes it harder than ever to really eat well and, especially difficult to lose weight! I know I’m a sucker for anything chocolate or gingerbread and those things are out in volume this time of year!

A co-worker of mine has been using protein shakes in place of one or two meals as way to help her maintain her current weight. She has amazing willpower when it comes to all the sweets bring around too. The protein shake discussion intrigued me. I’ve tried a few shakes before and many of them had a strange taste that I just couldn’t stomach. I’d seen a few ads recently about the new Slim-Fast shakes which touted an improved texture and taste. So, when Slim-Fast asked me to check out their shakes, I jumped at the opportunity. Shopping for the shakes was simple and easy. I just went to my local Target store and picked them up! I’ve seen the products at places like Wal-Mart, Harris Teeter and Safeway too which is really convenient.

Slimfast Shakes

I picked up a four pack of shakes which I knew would take me through two days. Two days is plenty long enough for me to tell if I will be able to handle the taste and texture of the shakes. If you are unfamiliar with the plan, you simply replace 2 meals a day with a shake or meal replacement bar and then eat your 3rd meal as you normally would. Simple, right?! Want snacks to help you watch calories? They’ve got those too. I’ve actually been eating the little snack bars as desserts for quite some time.

The Verdict: The shakes were definitely delicious and didn’t leave that typical funny after taste. Tomorrow is day two and I plan to try my other two shakes at breakfast and lunch. They seem like a very easy way to replace meals with a guaranteed low calorie option. I liked Slim-Fast on Facebook so I can keep up with new flavors and products {or maybe score a coupon or two!}. I think my next flavor to try will be the cappuccino delight!

Losing the Dark Circles

November 23, 2011 By Shannah Leave a Comment

This week unexpectedly got really crazy and has left me looking like this

Only my dark circles are more like this

[Skin Options]

With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, I know the camera will be clicking away and I can’t look like this! So, I have to figure out some ways to get rid of the dark circles that are currently plaguing me. The obvious answer would be more sleep since lack of sleep is the main cause but I don’t think that will be happening.
Ideally, I would spend the next few days doing this all day

[Skin Care Beauty Zone]

Let’s all take a moment and dream of how that would be for like a week. Ok, back to the reality of two {wonderful} kids, a job and other life related tasks.
So, how do I rid myself of these little “gifts” (and no I don’t mean my kids!)? I did some searching online and came across some dark circle remover products. There are a ton of options from home remedies to eye creams to gel products. I think I might be a little too far into eye crater territory for the home remedies so my google search really should have read extreme dark circle remover. I’ll be giving something a try starting tomorrow to hopefully make a recovery in time for family pictures!

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was compensated. However, the views, opinions {and eye circles} are my own.

Organic Meat – To Buy or Not?

November 9, 2011 By Shannah Leave a Comment

Wednesdays are food days here thanks to the weekly What to Cook Wednesday feature so I figured it was a good time to talk about other food topics too. It’s no secret that I am a food lover! I even got a cookbook for my anniversary (thanks Mathlete!). I especially like meat: steak, chicken, pork…I don’t discriminate!

[Steamy Kitchen]

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