Healthy Family Meals

Hello!

How are all my Fellow Agents? It snowed here again but it is pretty much all melted now. We have been pretty busy getting ready to take a trip. Packing, planning, and more! Decisions, decisions, and more decisions! So much fun. :D We have also been doing a lot of baking lately but we still try to have some family time.

I have been investigating and I found a contest that is being run by Uncle Ben's! They are trying to get parents to connect with their children. It is called Ben's Beginners! They are looking for parents with children between the ages of 5-12 to submit a video of you and your children cooking a meal that is rice-based. Make sure you include them! When you enter you could win $20,000 and a $50,000 grant for a cafeteria makeover for the school that your children attend! And you will have a chance to be on a Rachel Ray show. Make sure you go check it out.



My family has some rules for mealtime. During lunch we are allowed to read a book since that is usually a quick meal and sometimes people are eating at different times. During dinner there are no books, electronics, etc. We try to make it a family meal and we all talk over what happened that day, what board games we want to play at game-time that night, how everybody is doing on school, and what we are planning for the next day. Another thing to make it fun for the family is cooking and baking together. Include them! Make it a big deal - take pictures and video. We do that a lot. We also try and make these meals healthy. One of our favorites is rice! We put it beneath our Chili, with our meat, just as a side, etc. That is actually one of my Dad's favorite sides! He loves it. One of my favorites is to have broccoli and rice with cheese on it. I love it! My sister made some homemade Broccoli and Cheese soup the other day. My family would really enjoy the soup with rice under it. Do you have a favorite meal that uses rice? How do you keep dinner a fun family time? Leave a comment below and let us know.


I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Uncle Ben’s blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Being Able

Guest post from: Bruno Smith

There's something to be said for being able to make a new life for yourself that doesn't involve your family. When I was offered this job I was pretty worried about moving away from my mom and dad turns out it's been the best thing I could imagine for me. I've had to make new friends and learn a lot of skills that I didn't already know like emptying the dishwasher and making my bed and even started dabbling in the kitchen so I could learn to cook a little bit! I got satellite internet Muskogee at home so I can e-mail my mom because she likes to keep tabs on me but my dad is far more supportive of me having my own life in my own identity. I finally feel like an adult for the first time in my life and I think it's because I cut the cord right when I needed to. Don't me wrong, there are days that I miss my family, but I'll be okay!

5 Tips For Safe Winter Driving

It is important to be prepared for winter driving as it is a totally different environment being in ice and snow. There are many potential hazards that can occur, so hopefully these helpful hints will be an assistance to those looking to be safe drivers.

#1. My first recommendation is to make sure you have had some experience in winter driving if you are not accustomed to it. This is also a good idea for experienced drivers who may not have driven in winter conditions since last year. A good way to do this is to go to a parking lot of a closed business practicing turns and stops etc. This is a good safe way to get prepared for possible road conditions that may come during this season.
#2. One very important recommendation is to be careful to allow for plenty of braking time as you approach a stop sign or light. It is important to understand and remember that because of snow and ice, possibilities of skidding and sliding are greatly increased compared to normal driving conditions. Not stopping appropriately can lead to something as minor as a fender bender but obviously could also prove fatal if one was unable to stop and went into oncoming traffic.
#3. Use extra caution when on smaller roads. Many times country roads and those that are not highways will not have been cared for as quickly as major roads after snowfalls or freezing rain. It is very common for the salt trucks to service these roads after the highways, so do not assume that these roads are safe. As well the buildup of snow can increase quickly as the now plows again make the highways a priority over the smaller, less utilized roads.
#4. Use extra caution when in mall and apartment store parking lots. Though these normally get plowed in a relatively short time ice patches are normally still present and many times unserviced by a salt truck. Many drivers will assume they are in a quote on quote safe place to drive because they are off the highway and traffic generally is much smaller in a parking lot. This is where caution is needed as the driver needs to be sure to maintain a slow level of speed and drive very carefully, keeping their guard up in case another vehicle cannot stop.
#5. Beware of Pedestrians!! Many pedestrians are concerned more with getting out of the cold than they are safety unfortunately. So especially at crosswalks be extremely careful to allow for appropriate time to brake. Constantly be aware of any pedestrians regardless of the busyness of the particular road you are on. Again, it is imperative to be aware of any foot traffic in your vicinity.
As we consider safety tips for winter driving it is important to be mindful of the safety of others as well as yourself. Driving this time of year demands strict focus and is not a time to be talking on the cell phone or being distracted by playing with a radio dial. While the snow certainly provides much beauty during this season let us not forget to be careful, considerate, and cautious.
I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Esurance blogging program for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here
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Travel Products Review and Giveaway Griffin Earbuds

Travel Products is an awesome website. They carry all sorts of cool things from Travel Clocks to Power Converters and just recently came out with a Downloadable Travel Checklist.
I was given $30.00 to purchase one of their items and I chose the TuneBuds Earphones by Griffin.
I was not disappointed at all. They are the best earbuds I have ever had and I will probably continue to only buy these earbuds. Some of the nice things I like about these earphones is he fact that they come with a small carrycase and 3 sets of interchangeable ear cushions. I use my iPod alot for music and videos and the earbuds I normally use aren't all that great. They normally don't make a perfect fit in my ear, the sound is all that good, you can still hear outside sounds. With these new Tunebuds the sound is a lot clearer, background noises aren't near as loud and with the interchangeable ear cushions I can have a perfect fit. The TuneBuds are Earphones for the iPhone and iPod. They have a very powerful bass and crisp clear highs of sounds. High-sensitivity external mic for crystal-clear phone conversations and voice recording. The buds also have a mic that you can use to record with certain phones, iPods etc. The mic supports recording on the iPhone 3G, iPhone, iPod touch, iPod nano, and iPod classic.

One of my readers will win a $25.00 gift certificate to TravelProducts.com

Mandatory Entry
Go to Travel Products and tell me something you like off the website.
(it does not have to be what you will get if you win)

Extra Entries
#1. Visit the Travel Products Blog and tell me something interesting you found out. 2 Entries
#2. Follow Travel Products on Twitter.
#3. Like Travel Products on Facebook.
#4. Tweet about this giveaway. (may be done 3 times a day)
#5. Post about this giveaway on Facebook. (may be done 3 times a day)
#6. Post about this on your blog. 10 entries
#7. Follow my blog via GFC. 2 entries
#8. Follow my blog on Twitter.

This giveaway will end at 12.00p.m on 2/2/12. A winner will be picked by Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is picked. Giveaway open to U.S residents only. Please leave a valid email in at least one of your comments so I can reach you if you are the winner.

Healthy Snowmen To The Rescue!

Hello Agents!

How is everyone today? We actually have snow! It started snowing yesterday morning and it snowed all day yesterday, and even for a while this morning! My little sister kept begging me to go outside with her and sled down the hill, or have a snow ball fight, or make a snowman!

Speaking of snowmen... I have been out investigating looking for healthy but delicious treats. And I found some! This one is also cute. I found a really neat recipe for these healthy treats for kids (and adults!). They are little snowmen made out of bananas, grapes, carrots, apples, pretzel sticks and more! They are soo adorable... and healthy for you!

Another plus is that you can have lots of family fun making them. Plan a family night! Have some fun. You can start out by going outside and having a snowball fight, sledding down a hill, making snow angels, or other outside fun. Then come inside and have some hot chocolate and some of these healthy snowmen while drying off and getting warm. Play some board games together, read a good book aloud, etc. I know everyone will want the recipe for these so here it is.

To make these adorable snowmen you will need grapes, bananas, apple, carrot, mini chocolate chips, skewers, and pretzel sticks. Cut the bananas into thick slices. These pieces of banana will be what you use for the body. Cut the apple into triangular pieces. These apple pieces will be the hats. Cut the carrots into little slivers for the noses. First slide three pieces of banana onto the skewer. Then add a piece of apple. Put a grape on top (for the top of the hat). Now you just have to add the eyes, nose, arms, and buttons. Use the mini chocolate chips for the eyes and buttons. The Nose is just like any other snowman ... a carrot! For the arms stick the pretzel sticks on the middle piece of banana. Ta Da! You have a snowman!

Hey Agents! Make sure you all like Snyder's on Facebook!


If you have any ideas of how you could change these around leave a comment below and let us know. Or do you have another favorite and healthy snack? Please share!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Snyder’s of Hanover blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Abundant Harvest Review and Giveaway

Recently I was able to go to the Chicago Toy and Game Fair and one of the games I was able to pick up to review was Abundant Harvest. A game that as a Christian I thought would be very fun to play as it is a game that is based upon a Biblical thought that you reap what you sow. My family normally ha 2-3 game nights a week where we sit down and just have fun playing board games only. Last week we decided to try out Abundant Harvest. And although the game has a good idea and concept to my dismay we were not able to play it. My mom and dad started going through some of the scenario cards and thought that it went into to much detail and had some things that did not need to be in there. Now we are a conservative Christian family and have had most talks about things like drugs, alcohol, etc. and this game is mainly dealing with issues like these, so we did not care for it. Although this would be a great game for a lost family or a family that is saved but is not exactly spiritual. The owner of the game told me that the main reason they made the game is because nowadays kids don't get talks about these subjects from their parents but rather from their peers. Not a good idea especially if they are lost or worldy peers. So I understand the idea behind the game and am supportive of it. I just think they could have done it in a not so explicit way.
Game Play- There are 2-8 players age 14-adult (there is a kids one that does not deal with the same issues but rather ones that young kids have to deal with). The goal of the game is obviously to get around the board. But you must answer and discuss subjects along the way. Subjects like "You were pulled over for speeding on the interstate. The Police Officer said that you were going 78MPH in a 55 MPH zone. You know you had your cruise control set on 60 MPH and feel you are being wrongfully accused." What do you do? The person to whom the question is asked then gives his reply. After which the parents or other players may put in their own idea and discuss how they should respond and react to problems like this one.

One of my readers will get a free Abundant Harvest Game for themselves.
The First person to go to Abundant Harvests Website and contact them letting them know you came from my blog will receive a free game. http://www.harvesttimepartners.com/contact_us.htm
Please comment here right after contacting so I can email the company to be sure you are first.
(Only The first person will win a copy)