Happily Blended Blog | Positive Lifestyle | NH Mom Blog

I Bet You Know The Type

Published on July 26, 2010 by brandyellen in Brandy's Life

Aggravation fills my blood every time I have to deal with these type of people … who are they? The type that will only be nice to you, go out of their way to help you and be your friend or close family member only if it has some benefit to them. The kind of people that give only to receive annoy me for one simple reason, they think that I don’t see what they are doing. It’s like they feel I am naive and never played these types of games in my past.

I hate to break it to everyone but I was not and certainly am not miss sweet and innocent by any means. I do not go out of my way to make other peoples lives miserable nor do I believe in revenge. I used to believe in revenge, holding a grudge and being a giver only if I were to receive something in return.

I now go out of my way to give and give no matter what is returned to me. I enjoy going out of my way to make other people smile, not be miserable. I get so annoyed with a lot of the people I have been friends with or even some family members who like to practice only being nice to me if it has some benefit for them. Although I should not let people like this annoy me, it is hard not to do. When I see myself as a giver and not a taker then see family members who are major takers it makes me wonder where in the heck did I get my giving genes from?

My answer to that question is easy, I trained myself to be a new person and it took about two years. Not to mention I do have a lot of giving people in my family, therefore it’s not fair to wonder where I get my giving genes from. Most of my family are givers and naturally very wonderful people who I love very much but those that are takers, my love for them is as strong but I often wonder what I can do to change them in the way I changed myself.

Tags: Blood, Editorials, New York Times, Organizations, Social network, United States, War on Terrorism, Warfare and Conflict

5 Comments

CLOSED GIVEAWAY Send a Smile with 1-800-FLOWERS

Published on July 26, 2010 by brandyellen in giveaways

1-800-FLOWERS.COM is on a mission to spread smiles across the nation this summer. That’s why they’re calling it the “Summer of Smiles,” encouraging everyone to brighten someone’s day with thoughtful gifts and flowers.

You know me, I love making people smile and love helping others find the positive in the challenges that arise in life! So when I was approached to work with 1-800-FLOWERS on this fantastic campaign, I was totally game! I was able to send a gift to any person of my choice, who did I choose? My Gram, why? Well quite simply because I don’t get to talk nor see my Gram as often as I used to and she has a lot going on in her life!

Bouquet I Sent to my Gram

I used to spend nights over at my Grams house when I was younger and I feel bad that my children don’t really get to experience that. My daughter gets to sleep at my Mom’s house on occasion but overall my sons don’t have a grandparent that will take them, pretty sad but you know when they are out of diapers my father has agreed to make a room for the boys and take them out fishing and farming!

For now, I am on a mission to share some smiles with friends and family which is the reason for this blog post. I am giving away a $50 gift certificate to one lucky person for use at 1-800-FLOWERS!

GIVEAWAY RULES

Enter to win by completing any and all entries listed below. The required entry must be completed first but all other entries are extra and not required. Giveaway will end at 12am EST on August 7, 2010. All entries that are not following the rules will deleted without notice. Winner will be chosen using Random.org and contacted via direct email. Winner has 48 hours to reply otherwise a new winner will be randomly chosen!

FIRST REQUIRED ENTRY:

Visit 1-800-FLOWERS and have a look around. Then come back here to this blog post leaving me a comment telling what product you will use your gift card for should you win.

ADDITIONAL EXTRA ENTRIES:

Blog about this giveaway linking to this giveaway post. Leave a comment below with the link to your blog post.
Stumble this post on StumbleUpon and leave your StumbleUpon username in a comment below.
Follow @brandyellen on Twitter. Leave your Twitter name in a comment below telling me you followed me.
Tweet up to 3 times per day, not all at once, just randomly through out each day of the giveaway running time. Come back here leaving a comment with the link to your tweet.
Subscribe to Happily Blended via email or RSS (see links in ride hand sidebar). Leave a comment below telling me which method you subscribed.
Subscribe to Happily Blended’s weekly Newsletter. Leave a comment below telling me you did this.
Leave a comment on any non-giveaway blog post here at Happily Blended and come back to this post telling me which blog post you commented on.
Follow Happily Blended on Networked Blogs and Like Happily Blended both on Facebook. Leave me a comment saying you did this with your Facebook Profile name included in comment.

Thanks and good luck to all! Have fun spreading smiles!

Disclosure: The bouquet sent to my Gram was sent free of charge through contact with 1-800-FLOWERS and MWW Group. All opinions are that of my own!

Tags: 1800Flowers, facebook, Flower, Online Communities, Random.org, RSS, StumbleUpon, twitter

179 Comments

Giveaway Scout Lists Your Giveaways?!

Published on July 25, 2010 by brandyellen in giveaways

Now most people come to my blog on Saturday morning, bright and early (like midnight EST to be exact) to link up their giveaways for people to enter them, but today I read another post over at Two of A Kind Working on a Full House about this new site where you can have help networking your giveaways!

The site is called Giveaway Scout and here are the services they offer:

Publish your giveaways on multiple channels (Our web, newsletter, Twitter, Facebook and widget network)
Get more exposure to your blog and giveaways.
THE BEST PART: 100% Free of charge

Tags: facebook, Full House, Hardware, organization, Posts By State, twitter, United States, Veterans

1 Comment

CLOSED: Let’s Grow Safety First DVD Review & Giveaway #giveaway

Published on July 25, 2010 by brandyellen in giveaways, Product Reviews

As a member of the Band of Bloggers for PBS KIDS Sprout I am excited to be offering a fantastic review and giveaway today for you all, Let’s Grow Safety First on DVD which is a new series from PBS KIDS Sprout only available on DVD.

ABOUT LET’S GROW SAFETY FIRST

The fun of learning continues in the Let’s Grow DVD series with “Safety First” hosted by Sean and Chica from The Sunny Side Up Show, featuring a special collection of adventures with your favorite friends Barney, Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, Fireman Sam and Kipper. These heartwarming stories will inspire and entertain, while demonstrating valuable life lessons and important safety tips along the way. Hosts Sean and Chica show young viewers how they can put safety first by grabbing their bicycle helmets, looking both ways and always buckling up. So follow along and learn all about the importance of “safety first!”

EPISODES INCLUDED

Barney: Home, Safe Home
Thomas & Friends: Thomas and the Runaway Car
Bob the Builder: Slow down Scrambler
Kipper: Skates
Bonus: Angelina Ballerina: Angelina’s New School

MY BOYS LOVE LET’S GROW SAFETY FIRST

My two sons will be 2 and 4 in August and they are cute in that one of them prefers to watch shows like Kipper and Bob the Builder while the younger one still loves Barney and Thomas the Train. This DVD was the perfect selection so that both of them could stay happy while learning at the same time. Call me an educational dork, but I am more for allowing my children to watch cartoons if they are somewhat educational and this DVD has impressed me as a Mom and impressed my sons as well. I completely enjoyed watching their faces light up while they watched this wonderful DVD.

WIN A COPY OF LET’S GROW SAFETY FIRST ON DVD

One lucky person who enters below will win a brand new copy of Let’s Grow Safety First on DVD. Giveaway is open to United States only and will be shipped directly from me, not the sponsor, within 48 hours of giveaway ending. This giveaway will end at 12:01 EST on August 1, 2010. A winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be announced live on site. If you are not subscribed you should do so now to ensure you see if you won. Winner will also be notified directly via email and have 48 hours to reply or else another winner will be chosen.

HOW TO ENTER:

Complete any or all of the following as ONE ENTRY EACH into this giveaway. Be sure to leave a comment for EACH entry completed to ensure your multiple entries are counted. Twitter posts may only be shared up to 3 times per day.

Visit The Band of Bloggers page on PBS KIDS Sprout and come back here to leave a comment telling me another blogger who is a member of this group.
Visit Sprout for Parents Online and read one of the articles from one of the parents, leave a comment and then come back here to tell me which article you read and commented on within your comment below.
Like Happily Blended on Facebook and Follow Happily Blended through Networked Blogs on Facebook. Leave a comment below with your Facebook Profile name.
Write a blog post about this giveaway and include a link to PBS KIDS Sprout (www.sproutonline.com) as well as a link to this giveaway post. Leave a comment below with the link to your blog post so I can go read it.
Stumble, Digg and any other social share of this giveaway post will count as one entry each, so leave a comment with your username for that particular site if you shared it. (Includes Facebook Shares)
Follow @brandyellen on Twitter and you may tweet about this giveaway up to 3 times per day. Leave a comment that you follow me with your Twitter username. Leave one comment for each tweet you share, this can be done daily!
Subscribe to Happily Blended via Newsletter, Email or RSS. Look at right hand sidebar for the links. Leave a comment below telling me that you subscribed and the method you are subscribing.

Thanks and Good luck all!

Disclosure: I received two copies of this DVD from PBS KIDS Sprout, one for mailing to the winner and one for myself to keep. All opinions of the DVD are based on my personal and children’s personal experience with the product.

Tags: Bob The Builder, Digg, PBS Kids Sprout, Random.org, Social network, Sunny Side Up Show, twitter, United States

19 Comments

ProFlowers Review Sago Palm Bonsai

Published on July 24, 2010 by brandyellen in Product Reviews

When I had a chance to be a review blogger for ProFlowers I was very excited. Having never really tried their service in the past I wanted to give it a whirl. I chose the Sago Palm Bonsai for my product as I wanted something that would last a bit longer. Mama Dweeb reviewed some great bath products, but you see I am over loaded with bath products so this Sago Palm worked well for me.

When the Sago Palm arrived I was flat out excited to see the appearance, this Sago Palm makes me feel like I’m in a tropical place but right in my home! My daughter, who will be 8 in October, felt the same way. My daughter’s first words were “wow it’s like the trees on an island”. I agreed with her!

I was bragging on my Facebook Profile about this cool new product I received from ProFlowers and found out that one of my Facebook friends actually used to work for their customer service department and she had nothing but great things to say about how ProFlowers treats their customers, which made me feel even better about working with them on this review!

About the Sago Palm Bonsai

Easy to care for, our miniature version adapts to indirect light or full sun and needs only occasional watering.
Comes with an ornamental river rock.
Arrives in a cream-colored, hexagon-shaped, glazed ceramic container
Plant: 14″-17″H
Pot: 7″ x 5″ x 2 1/2″H
4-7 year old tree

“Practiced for centuries in China and Japan, the art of bonsai captures nature’s beauty in a confined space. Not your traditional bonsai tree, the exotic, tropical Sago palm brings a bit of paradise down to earth.” – Taken from item description

This is a great gift idea for a family member or an addition to your house plants.

Disclosure: I received this Sago Palm Bonsai from ProFlowers.com and all opinions are based on my own opinion of the product.