Genesis Today is such a fun company. They want to create some excitement about their super juices and we thought it would be great to have some fun with all of you…creating recipes. There are 5 different blogs with contest running, but my contest isn’t just any recipe…..I get the Cocktails!! (yippee)

So get out your blenders, ice, glasses and any combination of party, cocktail or punches made with alcohol that you would like to make up. If you would like to participate but would prefer not to use alcohol in your drinks, at the bottom of the list you will find another contest with non-alcoholic drinks to enter.  Have some fun experimenting on how you can make either Resveratrol, Acai or Goji berry Genesis Today juices into a cocktail that you will be happy to serve at your next evening get together.

Be sure to also check out Genesis of a Great Idea site to enter your social media idea and possibly win $10,000!!  If you are one of the top 5 ideas chosen you will get to travel to Austin, TX and see the headquarters and meet Dr. Lindsay Duncan.  I will also be going to Austin, TX (so I’ll get to meet you too!) The panel will chose between the top 5 ideas and the winner will receive $10,000 and will help to implement their idea. The other 4 people will still win their free trip and $1,000 each.  (The Genesis of a Great Idea contest ends Nov. 15th at MN CT – so enter ASAP!!)

Genesis Today promotes health and wellness with their juices.  They do not promote alcohol consumption as a source of health and wellness. But if you are going to have a cocktail party then using one of the Genesis Today juices as a mixer in your drink is a healthier drink than without it. So we thought we would add this category as something fun and playful.

Rules

1) You need to use either the Resveratrol, Acai or Goji berry juice in your recipe. (You can purchase at Walmart or Sam’s Club)

2) You can make either a party drink, punch or cocktail.

3) I have to see in your pictures or video which Genesis Today juice and ingredients you are using.

How to Submit Your Idea to Win!!

1. Do a blog post how you could use any of the three Genesis Today Juices in an cocktail. Link to http://www.genesisofagreatidea.com is required. Come back and leave a comment with your link.

2. Create a Whrrl story (www.whrrl.com) of your creative fun and how you are making your recipe, also be sure to take pictures of your shopping trip to buy your juice and include those. Use the #genesistoday hashtag in your story. Leave a comment here with the link to your whrrl story

Here is an example of a Whrrl Story.
4. Create a YouTube video of your shopping trip to buy your juice and then concocting your cocktail. Leave a comment here with a link.

You can do all 3 if you would like!

Some extra ways that can help you to win!

1) Go to Genesis Today and tell me 2 important health benefits each for the Acai, Goji and Resveratrol in your blog posts, vlog or whrrl story. Leave those in the comments. You can do a separate comment for each juice.

2) Set the scene for a party! Make me feel like I am really at a cocktail party. If you have done this in your pictures, vlog or whrrl then please leave a comment here and mention.

Be innovation and creativity how you use Genesis Today juices in your submission!
The winner will be chosen by random, but if you win – your blog, vlog or whrrl story will be displayed on both of my blogs. So please make it great!

What is in it for you?  You will realize how healthy these juices are for you and you can win 3 month supply of the 64oz bottles (12 bottles) of your choice of Resveratrol, Goji or Acai berry juice.

Here are the other blogs that have different recipe idea contests going on.  Be sure to visit: You can enter all our contest if you would like!  (Links will be added as posts are live)
1) Crafty Mama of 4 – Smoothies, non-alcoholic drinks, healthy drinks

2) Mom’s Favorite Stuff – Holiday Dinner

3) Coupon Princess - Desserts / baking

4) Adriennes House – Dinner

Contest ends at 25, November, 2009 by midnight CT.

Genesis Today or Collective Bias are not choosing the winner of this
giveaway. Genesis Today and Collective Bias employees are ineligible to
enter.  Entries that do not done by the entry requirements will not be
considered. The winner will be notified and have 2 days to confirm receipt
of the email. If no response is received within 2 days, another winner will
be selected. Open to participants in the U.S. 21 years and older. Full
disclosure: I received a three month supply of Genesis Today Juices to test
them myself.

This is a picture of their web page I took with my camera.

Walmart is a massive company. They don’t have to do anything to help others….but guess what? They are. The Walmart Gives Back Holiday Campaign this holiday season is giving $32 million. There are several things they are doing….Check them out!
Here is a video that shows the big kick off.

Walmart (foundation) has provided 35 refrigerated trucks to bring food to 35 different food banks across America. That is a lot of food people! There will be Walmarts Great Value products along with fresh apples. This will provide families with food to prepare their Thanksgiving meal. Something that so many of us take for granted. Watch the video of some of the people this helps. There are so many people that depend on these food banks to feed their families. Most of them are just having tough times due to this economy. We all hope that we never have to use a food bank ourselves, but I’m sure all those who are now depending on them….used to feel the same way. Thank goodness there are companies as generous as Walmart Foundation to help.

They are also donating a $2.2 million grant to help fund 140 Meals on Wheels member programs across the nation that serve seniors. Wow! I have seen how these programs help many people. I was organizing a client and she had a husband who was disabled by a stroke. She was soooo thankful for the Meals on Wheels program. She worked full time and they came in once a day and provided her husband with a meal that he would have been unable to get himself while she was gone. That is just one family of millions that this program has helped.

Walmart is really impressing me. Not only are they doing all of the above, but they are working with the Military families and they are having the Salvation Army Bell Ringers back to their stores this holiday season.
Thanks Walmart!!

Disclosure: As part of the More Than Eleven Moms Group, Walmart provides me with news and company  information that you will see in this blog post.

It isn’t every day that I make a post about an employee of a store. Actually I never have before…but this man made me want to. I was standing in line waiting my turn to check out of the Easton Walmart in Ohio and I have to say I completely enjoyed watching this “greeter” say hi to people and check receipts as others left.  What did I notice?  His smile, his genuine smile.  It wasn’t a fake “I’m the greeter and I have to have a smile plastered on my face” smile…he was truly enjoying what he was doing.  A greeter in Walmart….not a high powered businessman making millions, not a movie star signing autographs, but a Walmart greeter.  I was impressed.  He wasn’t putting on a show for anyone, he didn’t know I was watching or anyone was watching. He was just being friendly.
I told the cashier that I was enjoying watching him. She told me that they put the right person there.  I told him as I left that I enjoyed watching him.  He smiled and told me that was nice of me.  I walked out of the store.  Went to my car and felt like I wanted to do more.  I called customer service….and waited…and waited and almost hung up, but I didn’t want to, I wanted to tell someone about him. When she answered,  I asked his name and asked what I could do to let someone know he was doing a great job.  She said I could contact the store manager and tell him or send in a letter.

I left, went to another store and shopped but felt compelled to go back. I wanted to take his picture and do a blog post…ok, how strange will that be I thought?  Hi…I am going to take your picture.  I have to say that I was out of my comfort zone. I pulled in the parking lot and told myself as I went down the full row of cars that if I got a close space I would get out and go get his picture. Sure enough the 2nd car from the end pulled out just then.  I pulled in and then I saw him walking in the parking lot.  Perfect I thought.

I went over to him and told him I was so impressed with his attitude that I wanted to do a blog post on him. I asked if I could get his picture and he agreed.  He told me I was sweet.

His name is Jamar.   If you see this Jamar…be sure to tell him hi and smile at him.  If you see any “Jamar” as you go about your day…be sure to tell them their smile made your day.

How often do you feel like your day was improved because someone smiled?  Someone was friendly…..someone who was  a Walmart greeter….made my day brighter.  I’m impressed.  I hope this man goes far in life….he deserves to.

I finally am able to share my Walmart room reveal with you.  I have had a few issues along the way, but we finally got the room complete and just love it!!

Our journey was so fun to do Tim’s room.  Tim, 16 years old and Drew, 15 years old shared a room.  They made the decision together who would keep the Walmart room and who would have a room in the presently unfinished basement.  Drew decided he wanted the basement room. He calls it his “Man Cave” and loves it.

We used the Walmart Your Zone website to do our decision making.  There were things on the site that we couldn’t find in the stores, and seeing it all in one place and being able to use the virtual room make over feature on the Walmart site made it easier.

Over all we have been thrilled with the Your Zone line. Yes…we really did do the “Happy Dance”. The colors are fun, the products are very reasonable and you can create so many different looks for your teen.  I would have no  problem recommending Walmart and the Your Zone line to any of you.

We got the bed in the store and actually my 16 year old was able to assemble it himself. I was impressed by that.  We ordered the Your Zone desk, comforter and a gadget holder that he can use to keep his cell phone and Ipod in to charge off the site.  There was a problem with the area and a tax change (somehow there was a glitch in the system)  so I could not  order the products  for a couple of weeks.  But  Walmart had several people working on it and I was contacted personally by phone by them letting me know what was going on and that it would be resolved on August 20th.  It was and I was able to order them.  They came within a few days. You can also order “Site To Store” and they will ship the product to the store for you to pick up and that way there are no shipping cost for you to incur.

I do have a couple of concerns with two of the products that I want to share with you.  I pride myself on being honest on my reviews…so all of the good stuff you can believe!! And 99% of it is good..but here is the 1% I feel I need to tell you.

Tim got to work putting the desk together as soon as it came and while he was doing it the shelf broke…he was turning it on an angle to screw in another piece and it snapped. Walmart again was wonderful and told me they would send me a new desk.  When it arrived my husband put it together.    It is a great desk for a student and is a wonderful price, but he said that he had to be very careful putting it together.  The screws were stripping very easily and he couldn’t screw them in as tight as he felt he needed to.  It isn’t wobbly at all though.  He also was very careful when he came to the part where it broke for Tim, it had to be flat instead of the angle you might want to put it at that point (it does tell you to have it flat in the directions). Now that it is up and in the room, he loves it…and I don’t see any problems with it. It does seem very solid.  If it seemed real “cheapy” I would let you know…but it doesn’t at all and I do not see any future problems with it.

The other problem we had was when the gadget holder came (online only) it was damaged.  I had thought I would order another one, but was concerned after seeing this one, that it might not be the quality that I had hoped it to be, so I just returned the one and did not order another one.  If it had not been damaged it would have worked out fine I am sure, but it was not as solid as I had thought it would be.

But with both of those negatives being said…I have to say I would do it all again. I would order the desk and I would order the bed and everything else that is in the room.  My son is absolutely thrilled with his room. He has taken pictures on his phone and sent them to friends to “show off” his room.

I have been so impressed by the selection, products and the great prices.  It makes it possible for most any of us to remodel a teenagers bedroom for very little money.  Who doesn’t like that?

Thank you Walmart, Your Zone for making this possible.  Thank you also for offering my readers the chance to make over a room themselves.  I can’t wait to see the make over room of my winner!!

How exciting this contest has been for me. I have been so thankful to Walmart and Rockfish for providing me with this wonderful opportunity to transform my sons room. My video should be coming in just a day or so with the story of our bedroom adventure.
But the winner of my contest is Christine from Live Laugh Love. Here is a post she did on her sons room and why she needs this make over. She prepared this post for Dr. Mommy Chronicles blog..who also was having this same contest (and yes…she also won that one too…so this is one very lucky woman. …but she entered both our contest fair and square and was chosen randomly as the winner in each of our blogs…so we certainly can’t say she can not win.) She has let me know that she has a 2nd teenage son that is going to get his room redone also!! They have been through a lot with her as she has been battling cancer and just had a recent thyroid surgery…so this is a true blessing for this family. I will have her before and after pictures once the room is complete….and you can see that post in November. Here is her before post for her first son. I think she will send me pictures of her other sons room before and after for my contest.

See these other posts:

Walmart Room Reveal

Walmart $500 Bedroom Makeover Contest (closed)

The Walmart Remodel is in progress!
So what happens to a teenagers bedroom when you are in the process of remodeling, but things aren’t complete?  It becomes a nightmare!!   We have his loft bed (which he put together himself by the way) up. His desk chair is waiting….because I don’t let him have the new bedding until the video is ready..he has been sleeping on his futon. I know, we could put other bedding on and I have asked him to, but he wants to wait.  But he has no storage! What happens to a room without storage….stacking, things on floors…dresser surfaces covered. Just like you see.  You should see his closet (no you shouldn’t!!).  He has stored all the goodies we are going to use to redo his room in there.  His desk and comforter have finally shipped from Walmart. As soon as they get here, we will put them together…and have this room in shape for the big reveal!!  I am hoping by this weekend.

Hint…storage…storage….storage. If you are going to have “things”..you need places to put those “things”.

See my giveaway post for a $500 Walmart card so you too can redo your teen’s bedroom with Your Zone products.

I have also posted another post with the other bloggers that I know of so far (I will add to the list) that are also participating in this contest…so you can have more chances to win the Gift card.

Click on the picture to go to my Review site to Enter

I have a new Contest going on at my Review site!  Walmart gave me a $500 gift card in order to redo a teenagers bedroom with the line of products called Your Zone.  But they also offered one of my readers a chance to do the same!! Is that cool or what?  (I am sooooo excited about this contest!)

Go to my Review site and follow the rules to enter to win a $500 gift card from Walmart to be  used to remodel your Teen’s (down to age 8) bedroom with Your Zone products.

Just one of the Cute products that Your Zone at Walmart have to offer.

I was lucky enough to be asked by Walmart to do this bedroom makeover  and I am thrilled to be able to pass it onto you. They provided me with a $500 gift card to redo one of my teens rooms. I have to present a video of the finished product to them and they will feature it on their “Get Inspired” area of their web site.

Walmart has a great line of products for Teen bedrooms called Your Zone. These are all mix and match, very reasonable priced products that make it both easy and affordable to completely redo a bedroom for a price that most of us can handle.  I know for me, bedrooms are lower on the list of priorities for spending much money on…so this was so much fun to do. They have a really cool tool on their site that lets your virtually design your room.  We were able to use the make over section and Tim helped to figure out what he wanted in his room.  (Of course I had to make sure I had some organizing features in it too…you will see when my video is complete.)

We have 5 children living in our 2,000 sq ft home.  We are a little cramped…but its all good. We have had our two teenage boys sharing a bedroom. Tim 16 years old and Drew, 15 years old have had a set of bunk beds, two dressers and not much else in this 12×12 room (approximate). I discussed this project and the two of them made the decision. Tim was going to stay upstairs and have his room redone by Walmart.  Drew was going to go to the basement and have an unfinished portion of the basement made into his “Man Cave” (as he has nick named it) So off we go. Stay tuned to my blog as I will have pictures of Drew’s basement transformation too.

I will soon have Tim’s room complete. We have his bed up and most everything purchased, walls painted and we are almost ready to go. Stay tuned for the completion video.

RULES TO WIN (Please follow if you want to be eligible to win)

To have a chance to win this $500 gift card from Walmart to be used to purchase Your Zone products to redo your teens bedroom..this is what you need to do.  I am going to include a little younger than teen also. I have 8 year old triplets and they love the products. So since I do need to pick a cut off age, instead of going 12- years and older (this is really geared more for the 12-17 year age group)….I am going to go down to 8 years old (by August 20, 2009) and no older than 17 years old…be eligible for this giveaway.  The winner will not be picked by a voting process because I want all of you to have a fair chance.

You must agree to spend the $500 to redo the bedroom  if you win.  I would like a before and after picture that I can  post on my site.

THESE FIRST 3 HAVE TO BE DONE TO BE ELIGIBLE.

1) Go to the Walmart Your Zone site and tell me if you would be remodeling for a girl or boy…their age and which bed is your favorite.

2) Your e-mail address has to be easily accessible either on your blog or preferably  in one of the two above comments.

FOR EXTRA CHANCES TO WIN: (Each of these has to have a separate comment.)

1) You can  subscribe to my blog either by e-mail or by feeder. Come back and comment in a separate comment that you have done so.

2) You can  blog about this contest with the link back to this post. (10 extra chances…make sure to add a comment for each. (example…blog#1, blog#2…)

3) Follow me on Twitter

4) Tweet this contest. You can do this up to 3 times per day – leave a comment with link for each one.

5) Facebook - follow me.

6) Facebook - Tell about this contest on your wall. You can do this up to 3 times per day – leave a new comment with link for each one.

7) Stumble Upon This

8) Recommend to Technorati

9) Follow me on Linked In

10) Pick up any of my 3 buttons and put on your sidebar (Blog, Review or Pouchee). For each one – leave comment

11) MomTv – (5 extra chances to win)  Sign in and join me on my live show Monday nights at 8:30 pm est.  Leave the name you signed in with for the show, so that I will know it is you. Be sure to add 5 comments…MomTV #1, Momtv#2..so that you get credit for all.

See there are lots of ways to enter!!

This contest will be open to US residents only.  You must respond within 48 hours if you win.

This contest ends on Thursday September 10th, 2009 at 11:59pm est *THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED ANY COMMENTS AFTER 11:59pm est on SEPT 10th WILL NOT BE COUNTED**

Room Remodel

We have begun! We are completely redoing my 16 year old son’s bedroom thanks to Walmart. Today is painting! (No..my son hasn’t been sleeping on the floor without any bedding. LOL) We already carted out the the bunk beds that were previously in there. He did share a room with my step son. We have moved Drew down to the basement. {He chose it and is calling it his “man cave”}
We have already planned out the room on paper. We have purchased most of what we are going to use in the bedroom. I have a couple of things on order that Walmart does not have in the stores.

Now for the paint. My sister is an artist. She has such an eye for what looks right. So I consulted with her. We have decided to go with a very dark gray on 2 of the walls. I know it sounds really strange…but you will just have to follow along over the next couple of weeks to see how it is going to look.

See the follow up on this Room Remodel

The Big Room Reveal

Remodeling A Room

You have decided you want to redo your teen’s bedroom? Your teen or almost teen has outgrown The Dora the Explorer or Scoobie Doo comforters and are begging you to make their room a little “older”.
Where do you begin?

Steps To Remodeling

1) Take a “Before” picture. I love before pictures…it lets you see how far you have come once you finish the project.

2) Decide on your budget. This is important BEFORE you go shopping for anything. It will determine if you are shopping at a high end store or garage sales.

3) Get some graph paper and figure out your scale. 1 square = 1 foot or 2 squares = 1 foot. Measure your room dimensions and then measure any furniture that will be staying in the room. Then you can cut out the pieces and play with different arrangements in the room.

4) Pick a theme / colors for the room. (That is the fun part!)

5) Clear out the room and clean. Paint if you are going to paint

6) After you know how your furniture is going to fit into the space, then move the new or old furniture back into the room.

7) Add your new decor and you are done.

The Sorting Process

Be sure that when you take things out of the room…you go through your sorting process.
1)Keep
2)Donate
3)Move
4)Store
5)Trash

You can be in on the announcement I made on my show if you watch my momtv show playback!
Or you can wait a couple of weeks and see it on my blog!

You can see my Before and After Remodel posts below.

Room Makeover is in Progress

Walmart Room Reveal