GIVEAWAY Simply Fido Bamboo Rayon Nap Mat & Organic Cotton Pet Toy

Product Description
The Simply Fido Bamboo Rayon Collection features Certified Non-Toxic, environmentally friendly toys and accessories for our furry friends. All of the items are colored naturally with plants and minerals using Simply Fido's exclusive PureWaterWashTM process. The silky, bamboo rayon fabric is hand-dyed in chemical-free soy water that is purified before it is released back into nature.

The design team at Simply Fido chose bamboo rayon fabrics for this collection because bamboo is one of the most sustainable materials in the world. Bamboo trees release 35 percent more oxygen into the environment than any other tree or plant on Earth. They have very rapid re-growth and their long, strong roots help to hold the soil together and prevent erosion.

Simply Fido Bamboo Rayon Nap Mats are reversible and quilted for extra softness. They roll up easily for travel and are available in two color schemes--pink/yellow and green/yellow. Perfect for puppies, the Small Nap Mat measures 24"x19" and retails for $34. Larger dogs will enjoy relaxing on the Medium Nap Mat that is 28"x20" and has a suggested retail price of $40.

My take on the product: When these two products arrived, I thought that they were for babies. They quality was something you would expect for a new born baby.  Instead, these were pet products! I was 100% impressed with the quality of the material, colors, designs and more. They are also very easy to clean. 

You can purchase the SimplyFido's Oliver Rope Toy at Petco stores across America. The Bamboo Rayon Nap Mats are sold at specialty retailers (visit simplyfido.com for store locations).

GIVEAWAY

Ends 5/28

USA only

Win BOTH a Nap Mat and an Organic Cotton Pet Toy

Mandatory Entry:  Go visit Simply Fido and come back here and tell me something you learned, you would considering purchasing,etc.  Leave an email with your entry.

Bonus Entries: 
1) Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect, Twitter, Facebook, Email subscription or RSS Feed (Click link or find ALL on right sidebar.) Each with 2 bonus entries

2) Click the SusieQTpies Personal Recipes tab at the top of my blog and leave comments on any of the recipes. Come back and get 2 bonus entries for each comment you leave.

3) Leave a comment and tell me who these Simple Fido products are for. 2 entries.



I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Cake Pops and Cake Balls using Amish Friendship Bread

Do you make Amish Friendship Bread? Share with me your favorite variations and recipes! This recipe is made from an already made loaf of Amish Friendship Bread. Need the starter recipe or Amish Friendship Bread Recipes? Check them out here, Amish Friendship Bread.

Kids and adults of all ages love these cake pops! Decorate them to suit any theme.

Amish Friendship Bread Cake Pops or Cake Balls

Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 1 hour
Servings: 40-50
Yield: 40-50 pieces

Ingredients

1 baked Amish Friendship Bread
1 package cream cheese, room temperature
1 package vanilla or chocolate almond bark or colored  candy melts
Lollipop sticks, cut in half
1/3 cup crushed cookies, optional
Decorative sprinkles, colored sugar, mini-chocolate chips or crushed nuts

Directions

1. Completely cool (4 hours or overnight) any Amish Friendship Bread.
2. Put cake in a large bowl and break it up with your hands into small pieces.
3. Add in cream cheese and mix into cake until well incorporated.
4. Cover baking sheet with aluminum foil.
5. Roll into bite-sized balls and place on baking sheet. Stick in lollipop sticks and put in freezer until firm. This sets in 30-40 minutes.
6. When firm, melt chocolate in melting pot, double boiler or microwave bowl.
7. Dip each ball into the chocolate until covered, tap off excess chocolate, gently. Stick into a styrofoam to keep lollipops upright.
8. Add decorative topping right after you dip into chocolate. Top with extra chocolate for decoration once all the pops are dry.
9. ENJOY!

Kitchen Notes

Variations:

1) Upside down cake pop: Once ball dipped into chocolate, place on baking sheet with the stick up in the air. Decorate "upside down."

2) Cake ball:  "Quickest method" Don't stick lollipop sticks into cake. Once firm, use two forks or a toothpick to dip into melted chocolate and another toothpick to push ball off onto aluminum foil. Use extra chocolate to cover the top where toothpick was inserted. Decorate.

Stick figure family fun Review

Product Description

Our family stickers are made with our own stick figure designs out of the highest quality outdoor vinyl - rated to last 7+ years in any weather.  While the most frequent application is car windows, they can also be used on mailboxes, and we have cut them in our indoor material for wall art in Kids' rooms and Doctors' offices.  Our unique collection offers over 11,000 individual combinations so you'll find something perfect for your family.  This giveaway is for up to 7 customized figures (individuals and pets) so you can show off your whole family.

My Take on the Product: What a fun product.  I've seen these everyone on cars but I never purchased the because I didn't like how the family names were on the stickers. I didn't think that was safe to have all the kids names, parents names, etc on the car for obvious reason.  So when I had the chance to review for Belvedere Designs, I found out that you can pick and choose if you want names on the car stickers.  I loved this option and order a set for my family.

Their website was very easy to use.  Within minutes I was registered at had items in my shopping cart. You can even put pets on your car sticker which is what we did! So fun. My girls all picked their own head, clothes, accessories,etc.

Do you want to win a $50.00 gift certificate? Go enter the monthly photo contest. Check out their Facebook page because they offer discount codes and other special offers. 

Check out their links:

Wall Quotes http://www.wallquotes.com
Family Stickershttp://mybelvedere.com/familystickers.html>Family Stickers
Vinyl Letters http://www.wallquotes.com/vinylletters/customvinyllettering.php

 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

How to Avoid going Goofy at Disney

Guest article written by Maisie Knowles. Leave comments on your tips and tricks for Disney! We'd love to read them. If you have blog post written on the subject, feel free to leave your links!

I just returned from a spontaneous weekend trip to Disneyland with my husband and two daughters, ages 11 months and 3 1/2 years. Most of my friends thought we were crazy and, in hindsight, we may have been!

My oldest daughter had a great time touring Disneyland and she'll always remember meeting Mickey and Minnie Mouse. However, I learned a lot from this trip and the next time we make a visit to the "happiest place on earth," I'll spend more time planning. So to help other mothers plan a more perfect Disneyland getaway, I put together several tips based on the lessons I learned during this experience.

1. Character Dining
Make the most of your time at the park and skip the "Meet and Greet" lines for Disney characters. Waiting in the "Meet and Greet" lines doesn't always guarantee you'll meet your character of choice. Opt instead for Character Dining, where your child is guaranteed to get an up-close encounter with their favorite Character. You'll find these opportunities at:

Disneyland Park - Plaza Inn Disney California Adventure - Ariel's Disney Princess Celebration
Disneyland Hotel - Goofy's Kitchen
Grand Californian - Storytellers Breakfast
Paradise Pier Hotel - PCH Grill Breakfast

2. Best Time To Go
Crowds are overwhelming during school holidays and three-day weekends. The summer months are extremely busy as well, but the park is open longer and most of the rides and attractions are operating. Try Sundays, when the park is usually less busy.

January and February weekdays are the least busy times, but the park is open fewer hours.

3. Fast Pass and Rider Swap Tips
Every Disneyland ticket comes with the opportunity to receive Fast Passes for specified rides. A Fast Pass will give you a return-time window so you can skip the standby line and head to the front. If used correctly, Fast Passes allow you to maximize your time at the park. Usage is complex, however, so make sure you know all the rules before buying a pass.

4. Cheap Tickets
Discounts on Disneyland tickets are hard to find. If you purchase your tickets online in advance, you can save a couple dollars through travel sites like Priceline, Expedia, Orbitz and Disneyland.com.

5. Discount Disney Gift Cards
Before your trip to Disneyland, buy discount Disney gift cards on GiftCardGranny.com and save up to 10 percent at Disneyland's ticket counters, stores, restaurants and food stands.

If you're willing to take a risk, however, you might try buying tickets on eBay. Alternately, you can try hitting up a cast member for the complimentary passes they receive (make sure you tip) or ask patrons leaving the park if you can have their tickets. Look for the most expensive tickets that haven't been signed.

6. Time to Ride
People tend to head to the right side first when entering the park, so go to the left side of the park in the morning. The rides with height restrictions had smaller lines first thing in the morning during our visit. Another good time to ride is during parades and firework shows, but be aware that some will close. You also might check with your hotel to see if they offer extended Disney hours.

7. Strollers
Tie a brightly colored ribbon to the stroller so you can locate it more easily. You'll also want to write your name on a piece of tape and hide somewhere on the stroller for identification in case of theft.

Dont lock strollers to anything or leave them in one spot for an extended period, as cast members will remove them.

8. Baby Care Centers
The Baby Care Centers at Disneyland are located at the end of Main Street. At Disney California Adventure, you'll find it next to the Mission Tortilla Factory in the Pacific Wharf. The centers include rocking chairs, nursing rooms, filtered water for formula, changing tables, etc. There's also a kiosk that sells diaper-changing kits and such basic baby-care items as food and formula.

9. Save on Food
Even though there are plenty of food kiosks at Disney, you'll find most food is overpriced. Instead, pack food in a cooler and store it in a locker. If you're traveling from out of town, there's a Target less than a mile away from Disneyland where you can stock up on supplies. Be sure your hotel has a mini fridge, if you plan on storing cold food items during your stay.

If you're traveling with older children, buy a discounted gift card for them to use in place of cash when they're touring the park on their own.

10. Save on Pictures
Park photographers will give you a Photo Pass so you can view your pictures online and pay between $10 and $30 for prints. Instead, use the Photo Pass to view your photos, then download a screenshot.

11. Save money before going using Manilla and get or travel reward programs organized- Manilla is a free web based service that helps consumers better manage all of their household accounts, including financial, utilities, subscriptions and travel rewards programs, in one secure place online. Under a single password, Manilla provides customers with an automated, organized view of all of their account information, text and/or email reminders to pay bills and unlimited storage of account documents that Manilla has seamlessly retrieved for the consumer.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Manilla.

Maisie Knowles is the founder of BestBabyStuff.com, a website reviewing only the best baby products, and co-founder of FreeShipping.org. She earned a B.A. in Communications from the University of Colorado in 2003 and currently spends most of her time at home with her two young girls while continuing to be involved in business operations for Kinoli Inc. in Fort Collins, Colorado.To read the full story "How To Avoid Going Goofy At Disneyland" please visit http://www.freeshipping.org/blog/how-to-avoid-going-goofy-at-disneyland/.

U Follow Me I Follow U Friday Blog Hop

<center><a href="http://cafescrapper-scrapsoflife.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv59/susieqtpie/ufollowmefollow.jpg" border="0" alt="UFollowMEFollow" /></a></center>

Welcome to my Follow Friday- U Follow Me I Follow U Hop!

That simple.

1) You are here, so please follow my blog (all the ways are on the right side bar- GFC, Twitter, Facebook, Email, RSS Feed, Networked Blogs) and leave a comment on how you are following me so I can return the favor.

2) Leave your blog link or anything links that you want others to visit.

3) Look at the Linky and find new blogs to visit and follow.

4) Put my U Follow Me Follow U Button anywhere on your blog (optional)

5) From those who left a comment I will choose 1 blog to join my hop and cohost with me next week.  My last Blog Hop winner is NCSue from IN HIM WE LIVE AND MOVE AND HAVE OUR BEING.  When you are done on my blog, please go show her some bloggy love.  The link to her blog will take you to her "Blog Hops For Every Day Of The Week!" page.  She has complied a list of blog hops and it keeps growing. So go visit her, follow her and leave a comment and check out her list! *Awesome*

*Remember to leave a comment so I can follow you back! 
Happy Friday xoxoxo SusieQTpies

Alexa Blog Hop! Improve your blog ranking

*IF YOU stop here today, please leave a comment so I can come visit you. In your comment tell me how you are following me, all the links are on my right side bar, I will follow back!

If you’ve been participating in our Alexa Blog Hops the past few weeks, you have probably seen a significant improvement in your Alexa rank. If you just started last week, try again as Blogger made a mess of our Hop last week. If you are a new blogger looking to decrease your Alexa rank & gain new GFC (Google Friend Connect) followers, please participate.

You will need to install the Alexa Toolbar on your browser. it only takes a few seconds! There are toolbars for Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox. (for those that are worried, don’t be this is NOT an additional toolbar, just a little “A” icon that will show up in your toolbar)

The Alexa Toolbar will allow you to keep track of your daily Alexa Traffic Rank- which will give you an idea of how your blogging efforts are paying off. you can also use it to check out the Alexa Rank of any website.
e.g. Facebook is ranked a 2, Blogspot is a 5, Anthropologie is 5,654, and today Spearmint Baby is 92,242 and my blog SusieQTpies Scraps of Life 162,786. Your Alexa Traffic Rank will most likely fluctuate daily and the lower you are the better.

Here are the rules:
*download the Alexa toolbar
*add your blog name & URL to the linky list below.
*then, follow any blogs on GFC that interest you (be sure to leave a friendly comment on their blog letting them know that you are a new follower so they can follow back!) if you are already a follower of their blog, just leave a comment asking them to visit you for the Alexa hop!
*feel free to grab the Spearmint Baby Blog Hop banner & post on your blog to get new people involved. (the more new people the better!)
* please note that i keep this blog hop open all week so you have plenty of time to visit all of the blogs on the list.

We have Spearmint Baby and her 3 cohosts me, SusieQTpies Scraps of Life, Kelly’s Lucky You, & Our Family World. Be sure to follow them as well.

Sue Ellen's Girl Ain't Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy Recipes and Facebook PARTY!

Sue Ellen’s Girl Ain’t Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson- The bestselling author of Suck Your Stomach In & Put Some Color On! returns with more helpful how-to's and keen observations from Dixie.

Guided by principles from the ancient Belle Doctrine, the host of radio and television's All Things Southern offers down-home advice on everything from health and fitness-managing thy caloric calculations without going Straight Running Crazy and surviving the Raging Inferno Syndrome (aka hot flashes)-to the Southern art of handling your man (Bubba Whispering).

Whether giving business tips or debunking the Big Boned Theory, making political observations or celebrating the inevitable resurgence of big hair, Shellie is an adviser women can relate to and laugh with regardless of their age or which side of the Mason-Dixon they call home.

 Scrap of Life Book Club Review: Some how I missed the first book by the author, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson which was Suck Your Stomach In & Put Some Color On!  That book is now in my Kindle queue. If it is even 10% as hilarious as this book it will be well worth the Chick Lit read!  When I agreed to read this book for the LitFuse book tour I didn't realize that it was also a cookbook! Such tasty southern treats are hiding in this book.

This book was truly and laugh & cry out loud book.  It was truly made for women.  I loved that she covered topics such as Raging Inferno Syndrome "hot flashes", big boned, SRC "straight running crazy" and "bubba whispering."  Each chapter ended with "Tips" and "Recipes."  The tips cracked me up more than the actually stories in the chapters. The tips were the "Thus Saith The belle Doctrine" and just were incredibly hilarious.  A few of my favorite tips were "Thou shalt not give plastic surgery as a gift unless it has been requested,"Humor is a great Band-Aid, but thou shalt use respect lest it stick to someone's bobo" and "Carying matches in thy purse is considered a welcome sign of public consideration."

My favorite chapter was the last chapter "If All Else Fails, Laugh!" She pointed out that you can find humor everywhere if you just look for it.  So no matter what the situation is, you can find something good in it.  I thought that was a great way to end the book.  This is a must for your summer reading list.  Pick up several copies and pass along to a girl friend that needs a pick-me-up!

I lived in New Orleans, LA for 5 years so I really appreciated the Southern humor and way of speaking. It brought back a flood of memories (we left when Hurricane Katrina took over our neighborhood), good and bad. Some of which I wish I would have let myself see the humor in at the time.  The recipes all look DELISH and I plan on trying as many as I can. Here is one that I tried. I will be blogging more of her recipes over the next few months!

Spinach and Strawberry Salad (Click for printable recipe)


Ingredients
2 bunches of spinach, torn into bite size pieces
4 cups fresh strawberries, cleaned and sliced
1 cup pecan halves

Dressing Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Directions
Combine washed and prepared spinach with strawberries and pecan halves. Prepare dressing by whisking together olive oil and white wine vinegar.  Stir in sugar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, minced onion, sesame seeds and poppy sees. Drizzle salad with dressing and chill before serving.

My Kitchen Notes: I've always loved this salad but had never made it before. This recipe is so easy and very tasty! I love the paprika in this one and it is now on my family list of recipes to eat over and over again! Yum and healthy.


About the Author: Shellie Rushing Tomlinson and her husband Phil live and farm in the Louisiana Delta. Shellie is the author of Lessons Learned on Bull Run Road, Twas the Night Before the Very First Christmas, Southern Comfort with Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, and the Penguin Group USA release, Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some Color On, voted Nonfiction Finalist of 2009 by SIBA Independent Booksellers Alliance.

Tomlinson is owner and publisher of All Things Southern and the host of the weekly radio show All Things Southern as well as a weekly video segment by the same name. Listeners also hear Shellie in her All Things Southern radio segments aired across the South. Shellie writes a weekly inspirational feature in Newsstar and a monthly print and online column for Lousiana Road Trips.

When Shellie isn't writing, speaking, taping her show, answering email or writing content for the next deadline, you can find her playing tennis with Dixie Belle, (the chocolate lab who thinks she is in charge of running Shellie's life).

(OVER) About the Facebook Party: To celebrate the Sue Ellen’s release, Shellie is having a Facebook Party!
Join Shellie and the gang on June 2nd at 5:00 PM PST (6 MST, 7 CST, 8 EST) for a Southern style shin-dig! She'll be dishing on Bubba Whispering, debunking the Big Boned Theory, and how to manage going Straight Running Crazy. If you don't know what any of that is, then be sure to pick up a copy of the book (Not necessary to join the fun! Who knows - you might win a copy!) and join us at 5:00 pm on June 2nd at Shellie's Facebook page. And tell your friends - she's giving away copies of her books and some great gift certificates.


Thanks to LifFuse for including me in, yet again, to another book tour! I was given a copy of the book to participate in the tour. My own tasty words and opinions were expressed here.