Something to Think About...

   I recently read a lovely quote by one of my favorite authors, C.S. Lewis, and it is this:

"You don't have a soul.

 You are a Soul.

 You have a body."

 

I love that; like I said, something to think about.

 

I had taken the photo above during the summer; I titled it, "Imperfect Flower." I am not sure exactly what it is about this little daisy, (we get lots of these in the spring and summer), but something about this little one keeps drawing me in...

Psalm 103:15-19,22

15 As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children's children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.

²² Bless the Lord, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

My Experience With Green Mountain Fair Trade Certified Coffee ThroughBzzAgent

I had joined BzzAgent.com (a fun-spirited social marketing/word of mouth company) a little while back, and have only recently been involved in my first campaign with them as a BzzAgent. I was sent 3 two packs of Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Certified K-Cups in the "Three Continent Blend" Extra Bold flavor, some great coupons to share with others toward a new Keurig machine, and some informational materials:

See Kelly Clarkson, there on the packaging? She's more than just a pretty face with a great voice, she's a socially-conscious celebrity with a refreshing down-home heart. She's also a three-time Grammy Award winner and a Green Mountain spokesperson with great taste in coffee and causes, such as spreading the word about the importance of buying Fair Trade Certified coffee. Before I give my synopsis of the meaning of Green Mountain coffee's Fair Trade Certifed coffees, I encourage you to take a few moments and watch the two YouTube videos below and see the farmers faces that grow and harvest these wonderful beans, and hear from the communities that are now able to give an education to their children, thanks to the movement of Fair Trade:
Kelly Clarkson Learns About Fair Trade:

Kelly Clarkson in Peru, Meeting the Farmers and Communities Involved With Fair Trade:

Those videos touched my heart! It made me realize how important it is to choose Fair Trade Certified coffee (and now that I've had Green Mountain's coffee, I'm pretty much a coffee snob to any other kind now ;)

*I snub all other coffees, now...thanks a lot, BzzAgent ;)*

In short, when I choose Green Mountain Fair Trade Certified coffee, I am choosing to buy from a brand that has made a commitment to always give the farmers a fair price for their beans, and always with a guaranteed minimum. Green Mountain's choice to do this gives farmers better choices: choices that include being able to afford their children an education, their families a better way of life, and their communities a way of moving forward in a positive direction. Choosing Green Mountain Fair Trade Certified coffee is a simple choice that I can make that gives other people in other communites around the world better choices! It's simple: I get a consistently great, high-quality cup of coffee, and the farmers who grow these beans consistently get a fair price for their crops! It's a no brainer.

My particular flavor that I was sent, Green Mountain "Three Continent Blend, Extra Bold" was spot-on for superb flavor, strength, smootheness, and absolutely no bitterness. Because I prefer stronger coffees, I have often had to deal with a certain amount of bitterness, but was delighted to find that there was none with this. Prior to adding my usual creamer, I tried it black first, to get a fuller sense of the actual taste of the coffee, and it was very good by itself. With my creamer, it couldn't have gotten any better, it was just so delicious, cup after cup. My daughter, who I made a cup for as well, said it was the best she's had yet. Looks like we are both hooked on this brand and flavor now!

Below is what came in my BzzKit:

                     My first-ever BzzAgent campaign!                     

My first Green Mountain Coffee K-Cup in my Keurig:

...Brewing...(The rich warm aroma filled my kitchen delightfully!)

I cannot tell you HOW HARD it was for me to take these pictures before trying the coffee, the anticipation was brutal:

Green Mountain Fair Trade Certified coffee is a winner in our home!

I was surprised how rich (and smooth) coffee can truly be, and got quite an education on the importance of Fair Trade. It's such a good feeling to know that when I purchase Fair Trade Certified Green Mountain coffee, I'm helping others around the world. To sum it up, every delicious cup I help myself to helps others around the world, and that is a wonderful thing!

BzzAgent

BzzAgent is a social marketing company that is free to join that allows members to receive invitations to try new products, then share their experiences with friends and family, as well as on various social sites and blogs. I recently became a member and have been invited to try Green Mountain Fair Trade Certified Coffee. This is called a "campaign" and the shipment of this product and related materials is called a "BzzKit." I'm truly excited to try this brand of coffee, as I am a champion coffee drinker!

I am expecting my first "BzzKit" to arrive this week, and will be reviewing the product and posting photos of everything, so be sure to check back if you want to get the 'scoop' about Green Mountatin Coffee and learn more about what it means when something is "Fair Trade Certified."

Meanwhile, if you want to check out BzzAgent and see if it's a good fit for you, click here.

A Little About the SheSpeaks Community

SheSpeaks is a great community site that is free to join, connect with other members, and try new products and share your opinions with not only the community, but also with family, friends, as well as whatever else social sites that you participate in. When you try product offerings and share what you think, this helps influence the product manufacturers hear what you have to say! Since being a member of SheSpeaks, I have found a lot of helpful ideas, taken interesting (optional) surveys (often with a chance to win gift cards or other prizes), and even gotten to try some new (full size) shipped products at no cost to me. The only thing they ask is to please share your honest opinions of whatever products you were given, as I have done here.
If you are interested in becoming a member of this fast-growing community, here's a quick linky to get you there. Check it out, and let me know what you think!

Free Jiffy Mix Cookbook Via Snail Mail or PDF Download

Don't you love the way cornbread seems to nicely round out a meal of soup or beans? I make my round cornbread in a pyrex pie plate in the microwave, and it turns out great every time. Or, you could make it the night before for breakfast, and drizzle some honey on top YUM! If you like Jiffy Cornbread Mix, as well as other Jiffy products, you will want to either order their free cookbook (free shipping too, thanks Jiffy!) via this link or alternately, you can download the PDF version here . I orderd mine via snail mail, and it's really showing some wear, we've used it so much! It's a smallish 64 paper cookbook, but it's packed full of great recipes and ideas!

Target's Free Samples

Have you tried Simple Skincare products yet? Now's your chance to for FREE! Go to the Target site, here: and fill out the short form.

You can also sign up for a free sample of Airborne's Immune Support Supplement via the same link above. Get it now, and keep it on hand for the upcoming cold and flu season.

Twinnings of London Tea Samples

Like tea? Like free? Then this is for you! Twinnings of London is kindly offering 3 free tea samples. You can choose from a nice variety of green, white, black, decaffeinated, or organic teas. You will need to fill out a form, here and you can expect your samples to arrive in 4-6 weeks.

Calling All Ladies with a Sam's Club Membership:

Thanks, Sam's Club! This ALMOST makes up for that time you were sold out of my favorite (um, sausage) gravy!"]

If your local Sam's Club has a pharmacy, mark October 12, 2013 (Saturday) on your calendars to get your free Women's Health Screening. This will include a TSH test, a self-breast exam gel pack (to use in the privacy of your own home, of course), an HDL total cholesterol/good cholesterol check, and glucose screening. You can read more about it here The fine print: Limited quantities are available, your Sam's Club must have a pharmacy, screening and availability may vary by club, but all will be performed by a licensed professional, so don't forget to mark those calendars!
Ladies, you take care of everyone else, don't forget about yourself!

Like Free Movies?

 For a limited time, you can get from 10 to 20 free digital movies (to own) by signing up/registering for a free UltraViolet/VUDU account, here. You do not get to pick and choose which ones you receive. For the next 10, simply go here  and scroll down a bit until you see the ad for 10 free movies. You will need to either link your existing UltraViolet/VUDU to the new Target Ticket account, or create one. You will need to have a VUDU-enabled device, or have streaming to your PC in order to enjoy your free movies. Grab some popcorn and you're golden!

Educents Needs Your Votes!

Here's How:
Please check out then vote for this up and coming educational discount supply site by reading and following the directions below:

"You have supported us since our inception, encouraged us through our launch and
you cheer with us as we continue to grow. This may sound like a crazy dream but
being the small business we are, we are daring to dream BIG. And as always, we
need you.

Educents is competing in a promotion by Intuit called Small Business Big Game,
and the winning company gets their own Super Bowl TV commercial to be aired
during the Big Game in February, 2014.

But to make it to the next round of the contest, we need your votes.

We’ve got until this Sunday, September 22, at midnight (PST) to invite you, our
colleagues, friends, family, teachers, parents and anyone we know, to vote for
our entry every day from now through Sunday.

Voting couldn’t be simpler. Here’s how you vote:
Click on this link http://intuit.me/15idjj6 and then click on the yellow button
that says “Vote for us.”

Boom. You’re done… until tomorrow when you get to vote again.

So here’s what we’re asking you to do:

1. Vote every day.
2. Forward this email to people you know and ask them to vote for Educents.
3. Post this link on Facebook and invite your social media friends to vote for
us daily through Sunday."

(portion above from a correspondence)
Please consider checking out this small business and help by voting!
Thanks :-)

Are You Looking For Some Free English/Grammar Resource Links? Check Out This Great Site:

Another great site, where the thoughtful site owner/author has compiled a HUGE list of free (non-commercial use only) grammar resource links for homeschoolers/educational use:

http://homeschoolfreestuff.wordpress.com/english/grammar/

I noticed that there are many other subjects in which the site owner/author has compiled many other resources as well, so be sure to check out the rest of the site as well!

Homeschoolers, Parents, Students: Need Help With Math? Check Out These Great Resources:

If you are looking for some great math resources to help your middle school to high school child, or simply wishing to brush up on long-forgotten math skills, here is a list of helps I have found so far:
(All have free resources, some have the option to upgrade to a paid subscription to "unlock" all content).

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/  (has some free math help on it, and some available for purchase; I included it because it has some very helpful/reader-friendly instructional help).

http://www.visualfractions.com/index.htm

http://www.thegateway.org/search/apachesolr_search/math?filters=tid%3A141

http://www.khanacademy.org/exercisedashboard  (this site not only has excellent lessons/how-to and
step by step help for math, but so many other subjects as well!)

http://patrickjmt.com/ (tutorials)

http://illuminations.nctm.org/Lessons.aspx

http://www.mathicando.com/products (I haven't tried this one yet, appears to be free with option to upgrade for more services/apps, but read a good review on it, and this site does not support the Internet Explorer browser, only the Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers).   
http://www.mathtv.com/ (tutorials)
 
http://www.youtube.com/user/MathMammoth (youtube video channel, math help).
 
http://www.cosmeo.com/ (offers some free math help, as well as option to upgrade to full access).

http://www.webmath.com/?campaign=flyout_students_webmath (an offshoot of DiscoveryEducation).

http://www.brightstorm.com/math/ (free tutorials, but some functions are for paid subscribers only)  
http://www.aaastudy.com/alg.htm#topice (up to grade 8, good for review)

http://www.hstutorials.net/ (tutorials)
 
http://www.hippocampus.org/

http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/math/algebra/av5/multdivide.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/20991/alg2/frace.html

http://www.purplemath.com/modules/rtnlmult2.htm

http://www.sophia.org/ (many subjects, inc math; free to join to access free content)

http://www.shmoop.com/pre-algebra/ (many other subjects as well)
 
http://www.algebra-class.com/

http://www.themathpage.com/alg/algebra.htm (grouped well into easy to reference page)
 
http://www.intmath.com/

http://algebramethods.com/  (alternative to PEMDAS method, this is the Bracket method)

http://www.mathsteacher.com.au/year9/ch02_linear/07_fractions/fractions.htm

Sites homeschooling parents might find especially useful for worksheets and reference guides:

http://teachers.teach-nology.com/index.html

http://www.theteacherscafe.com/Math/Algebra_Lessons.php

http://lovetwoteach.gotop100.com/index.php

http://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra/introduction-to-algebra

http://www.sophia.org/ (many subjects, inc math; free to join to access free content)
 
http://www.homeschoolmath.net/worksheets/

http://www.freemathtest.com/

http://www.algebra-class.com/basic-algebra.html

http://www.algebra-class.com/algebra-tools.html

http://www.algebra-class.com/algebra-formulas.html

http://www.algebra-class.com/basic-algebra-formulas.html

"Alleluia" Sung by Jotta A; This Child Has an Amazing Voice and Heart

Prepare to get goosebumps. Wow!

"Carrots, Eggs, or Coffee; "Which Are You?"

Maybe you've seen this one before, it's one of my favorites:

Grandmother says... Carrots, Eggs, or Coffee; "Which are you?"

A young woman went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, "Tell me what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft.She then asked her to take an egg and break it.

After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The granddaughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma. The granddaughter then asked. "What's the point,grandmother?"

Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity--boiling water--but each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her granddaughter.

"When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?

Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level?

---AUTHOR UNKNOWN —

When facing adversity, remember this:
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 ESV
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

Meditating on Him

Did you know that God holds all of your tears in a bottle?

It amazes me that the Holy Creator of the universe

loves and cares for each of us so much, that

He holds

every

single

tear

we cry

in a bottle...

See Psalm 56:8 (ESV)

You have kept count of my tossings;

put my tears in your bottle.

Are they not in your book?

It's such a comfort to know that the LORD GOD, Holy and Almighty, has this kind of love for us...

Share, Love Celebrate the Best of P&G Product Experience and Reviews

Thanks to the "Share, Love, Celebrate the Best of P&G" Program and SheSpeaks.com, I was provided four of some of the most popular P&G products to try out for myself, and in return give my feedback on my experiences with and opinions of these items. The four products I was provided in this Program were:

• Tide-To-Go stain removing pen,


• Olay Total Effects Anti-Aging Body Wash,


• Cover Girl Outlast Double Lip Shine, and the


• Gillette Fusion ProSeries Irritation Defense Soothing Moisturizer.

Tide-To-Go: First, I was very pleased with how well the Tide-To-Go stain removing pen worked. To test it, I had a piece of white cotton cloth and dropped some hot sauce on it. To see the pen in action, I blotted the stain, wet with some water, blotted again, then laid the fabric down on the counter then applied the tip of the pen with back and forth movement, watching the stain disappear before my very eyes! I already knew that Tide detergent was great at removing stains, but was somewhat skeptical on how well this would work in such a portable form. This one's a keeper, and it's in my purse, ready to fight stains on the go! On a scale 1-5 stars, 5 stars being the highest rating, I'm giving this magic stain-fighting wand 5 stars!

Olay Total Effects Anti-Aging Body Wash: I typically use bar soap in the shower, then follow with creme or lotion when I am done. I was looking forward to trying this body wash, although I wondered if it would leave me oily or filmy-feeling. However, being a "woman of a certain age" I am naturally interested in a product that can help me minimize the appearance of aging. I first noticed how nice the scent was of the wash, clean and feminine. I soon realized that a little goes a long way, and that it provides lots of lather quickly. I found it to rinse well and after drying off, (and with no oiliness or filmy skin), I decided to go without lotion or creme, to really put it to the test. What I noticed was that my skin had that moisturized look and feel and still had a faint, nice scent at the end of my day. The next day, I decided to use this while shaving my legs, and that worked fabulously as well and still, no need for lotions or other moisturizers. Again, I was happily suprised at how well the product worked and how much I liked it. 5 stars!

Cover Girl Outlast Double Lip Shine: I was most excited to try the Cover Girl Outlast Double Lip Shine, because I hate reapplying lip balm and lipcolor as frequently as I do. I first applied the lipcolor, then followed up with the second step, the lip shine. My lips felt sticky, like glue that's almost dry kind of sticky, and it took about 10 minutes for them to feel more normal. However, there was still some stickiness to them, and my lips felt very dry. However, I decided to put the "Outlast" portion to the test, and had my meal as I normally would. I checked the mirror and the lipcolor and some shine was still there! While that was impressive, I couldn't get past the dry feeling of my lips, and went and applied some of my lip balm, and felt much better then. However, within the next hour, the lipcolor and shine were almost completely gone, probably due to having used a very moisturizing balm on my lips. I do tend to have naturally and constantly dry lips, so that may be a consideration. One of my daughters, however, tried it, loved it and took mine :) While the dry lips part was too much for me to get past, but the color and shine truly did last as well as it did through the meal, drink and time, I'm only taking one star away from an otherwise 5 star rating: 4 stars.

Gillette Fusion ProSeries Irritation Defense Soothing Moisturizer: I was tickled to give my husband the Gillette Fusion ProSeries Irritation Defense Soothing Moisturizer to try out for himself. The scent is clean and has definite masculine notes without being overpowering or perfumey. My husband has sensitive skin, but has used other Gillette products before and never had a problem with skin irritation from them, so he was game. He applied the moisturizer after shaving as usual, and said it had a somewhat cooling effect. His skin felt soft, without feeling greasy and no razor bumps, no irritation, even though the razor he used was on it's last leg. He liked it, and I liked how soft and great-smelling his face was after using it. Another winner, 5 stars.

Thank you again, SheSpeaks and P&G for providing me free and fabulous products to try out at home and share my experiences with them with others--it was a pleasure!

Want to learn more about the free SheSpeaks program? Click the shiny badge:  and you will magically be transported there!