Winner Announced!

And the winner of the Ecowear Bracelet is...

 102 t.h. Ransom! With a Picket Fence Vote! You can view the Rafflecopter here.  Winner has been confirmed :)

 Thank you all for entering and don't forget to enter the other awesome giveaways on My Little Lily Bud!

  Kindle Fire Giveaway live today, so get your entries in!

Kindle Fire Giveaway! Ends 5/15

KINDLE FIRE GIVEAWAY!

Techy Tribe, Mom to Bed by 8, the Iowa-Mom and Bella Savvy have teamed to to giveaway a Kindle Fire to one lucky reader! This is a perfect gadget gift for anyone on your list including mom! No matter if your are a social media junkie, book lover or even a ole' fashioned web surfer, this is one product you want to win. Special thank you to the wonderful bloggers who made this possible including our co-hosts: Giveaway Bandit, Mommy's Memorandum and eReading on the Cheap.
Kindle Fire, Full Color 7" Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi - RV: $199
Movies, apps, games, music, reading and more, plus Amazon's revolutionary, cloud-accelerated web browser

• Over 20 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books
• Thousands of popular apps and games, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, and more
• Ultra-fast web browsing - Amazon Silk
• Free cloud storage for all your Amazon content
• Vibrant color touchscreen with extra-wide viewing angle - same as an iPad
• Fast, powerful dual-core processor
• Favorite children's books, graphic novels, and magazines in rich color
• Amazon Prime Members enjoy unlimited, instant streaming on thousands of popular movies and TV shows.
• Amazon Prime Members choose from over a hundred thousand books to borrow for free.

Giveaway starts on April 30 at 12:01AM EST and ends May 15 at 11:59PM EST. Open to the US and Canadian only; must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

Who is ready for some techy summer fun? Enter to win a Kindle Fire below on the rafflecopter form.

(click Read More for form! If it does not load, please refresh)

Copy Kids Healthy Eating DVD: Review and Giveaway! Ends 5/9

My family has a history of diabetes, so both my daughter and I are at risk if we don't eat properly.  I want to instill healthy eating habits in our family, so I know I need to start early with Lily to see that happen.  However, I am not 100% sure where to begin.  Sure, I feed her healthy foods, but what happens when she no longer wants to try new things?  I know that day will come, and I dread it.

I then read about Copy-Kids and became relieved!  It a DVD designed for kids so that they learn from the best source -- other kids!

Let me explain:

Caturday!

Tike Jumping for Joy.

It's that time of the week again!  And I'm SO excited because Animal Planet had Cats 101 on earlier.  I love that show!

So, time for today's cat fact!

*Ahem*
"Having a cat declawed is a major surgery known as onychectomy, performed under anesthesia, that removes the tip of each digit (from the first knuckle out) of the cat's forepaws. There is a slight chance of death in the surgery, and a declawed cat may have an increased risk of infection and life-long discomfort in its paws. This surgery is not recommended for an adult animal and is considered an act of animal cruelty in some countries. "
-http://www.catfacts.org/declawing-cat-facts.htm

So please refrain from declawing your cats.  You can instead clip them carefully with a claw-clipper, or get kitty claw covers.  If you clip the nails, make sure you do so very carefully and only cut the tip because the claws have a vein in them and it could really hurt or even kill your cat if cut too deep.

Image from Here.

Image from here

Go Organic With Whitney Farms Plant Food

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

Personally, I feel like organic is the way to go when growing plants, especially plants you will be using to feed yourself and your family.  But it should not just be the plants that are organic, but the food as well.  I know I want my garden vegetables to be all organic, even if it is just cow peas and tomatoes! 

Whitney Farms® allows you to have the healthy organic garden you want this year.  Their 100% natural organic plant food has been perfected over the 25+ years Whitney Farms® has been around.  Their plant food mix has:

• Low to no dust
• No manure odor
• Is easy to apply
• Contains beneficial microbes
• Has specially designed protein-based blends that provide your plants with both macro and micronutrients they need to grow and thrive

With all of these in mind, it is no secret that Whitney Farms organic plant food is great for plant health.  It promotes the growth of large flowers and vegetables while shunning harmful chemicals. 

I know when I am caring for my garden I want organic soil, so Whitney Farms is the way to go.  I would LOVE for my garden to look like this:



Okay, maybe not THAT big, but definitely that healthy!

And you can get in on Whitney Farms® beneficial plant food with a  $3 coupon when you follow any of the links to their site! Awesome, right?! So get out there and get your green on with Whitney Farms®!


 

Foraging Friday

Lately I've been looking into the foraging scene and blogs like Eat The Weeds, learning how to live off the land.  It might sound weird or gross at first, but talk about the ultimate freebies.  Wild edible plants in your own backyard... Sounds good to me!  Organic and healthy is even better, right?

Plant identification can be tricky and it is important to pay very close attention to what you eat.  Some plants are poisonous, obviously, and can also look similar to edible plants.  BEFORE YOU EAT ANYTHING WILD, BE 200% SURE YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS!!!  Err on the side of caution.

I'm not here to teach anyone about foraging, just sharing my experience. Go to a professional to learn, please.

Dandelions are one of these edible plants. Every part is edible -- leaves, flower, stem, and roots -- all used for different things. Today I decided to cook some dandelion leaves.

Lily is my foraging partner.  She likes to pick up whatever we're around. 

These are the parts of the dandelion, minus the roots I did not get.

Lily decided she wanted to help.

And wanted to try them raw.

"Oooooh, Dandelions!"

This is the broken stem of another dandelion plant.  Notice the white sap?  Most plants with white sap are lethal, so make sure you know which ones are not before munching down!  Dandelions are an exception :)  The white sap makes them bitter though.

This is why we boil our dandelion greens!!  I boiled mine for about 5 minutes, changed the water, and boiled them again for another 5ish.  They could have used a bit more in my opinion, but the boiling helps get rid of the bitterness.

Sideways picture... my bad.

And the finished product!! 

How did it taste?  Well, it actually tasted pretty good.  It could have used some seasonings, but because it was my first try I wanted the full natural-taste experience.  

Dandelions have long been used for medicinal purposes, and the roots for magical purposes.  If I am not mistaken, a dandelion root can make a nice tea :)

I can't wait to try some more!

Anytime Costumes Review and Giveaway (Ends 5/8)

I have always been a big fan of dress-up and costumes.  Halloween is definitely my favorite time of year to dress up, but it isn't the only time.  There are Renaissance fairs that I dream of going to as well as just days I want to be fun.  Not to mention movie theater premiers, right?  But stores don't always carry costumes, and Halloween Express is not always open all year (much to my dismay!)  That's where Anytime Costumes comes in!