My New Favorite Toy

When I was invited to try out the HP Photo Center at Meijer, I jumped at the chance. I have about 1000 pictures on my computer that I need to make into prints. I have several times that many that have been made into prints and are just sitting in boxes waiting for that magical day when all my kids are in school and I have time to tackle projects like getting pictures into albums. What? It could happen!


See what I mean?

giant bucket full of prints


another bucket of prints


and yet another big ole tub of even more prints
I take a lot of pictures. It's a sickness. It's fun!

Anyway, thinking that I could organize some of the photos on my computer, I jumped at the chance to try out the HP Photo Center. I love this thing! Here's the deal: you take your digital images to your nearest HP Photo Center. (Click HERE to find the closest one.) You can bring your images on a USB drive, most memory cards, or a CD. All you do is pop it in the computer and follow the directions on the touch screen. You can make posters (think of those large frames that have mats with multiple openings for a collage of pictures), hard cover photo albums, DVDs, calendars, cards, and more! Father's Day gifts!!!!!!!

When I went to try it out, I made an album with over 70 pictures. I got to choose the size of the album, the color of the cover, the theme, color and design of the pages, and how many pictures I wanted on each page. I was able to crop, fix red eyes, and adjust my pictures too. I chose what order I wanted the pictures to appear in and then this magic machine did all the work for me! It arranged all the photos in the order I had selected! I previewed each page to make sure I liked the layout and then clicked ok. Voila! My photo album was printed while I shopped and I picked it up about an hour later.


(Sorry, this is a picture of my album so it didn't turn out that great - the picture, not the album, that is.)

I asked the guys who worked there if more pages could be added to the book in the future because I'm not all that organized and will undoubtedly find more photos that I'll want to add. They said it was no problem to add more pages. How cool! You could print up a month's worth of pictures at a time and each month, add a few more pages to the album. At the end of the year, you'd have a great album with that year's highlights captured in photo memories! Each month could have a theme: Easter, Halloween, vacation, Christmas, etc.

Then, because the album cost less than I thought it would, I made a DVD with those same pictures. Let me tell ya - it took a mere fraction of the time to make that DVD than any slide show or video I've made on my computer at home! This is SO easy! Now, when I was at the store playing with working on my pictures, a woman sat down at the computer next to me and was having a hard time figuring everything out. But the guys in the photo center at Meijer were nice and knowlegeable and quickly helped her out. I'm going back to make a DVD of our Discovery Cove trip so the kids can watch it again and again.

If you don't have an HP Photo Center at a store near you, you may be able to use Snapfish to order your prints or some creations online and then pick them up at a store.

I am SO going back to make albums from the rest of the photos on my computer. It's much easier to throw my pictures on a flash drive, take them to the store, and leave with a completed album in an hour than to have them made into prints so they can take up space and gather dust in my home for weeks months decades.


Check out THIS LINK for answers to your FAQs, THIS LINK for a demonstration video, and THIS LINK for a coupon for a FREE poster when you buy one.

Coming up soon: another review of an HP product that makes an awesome gift for parents and grandparents!

Caulk Singles

Just a quick note to clear up any confusion. To receive a free sample of the caulk singles, just click HERE. To enter the contest, goHERE! Leaving a comment on my blog will not enter you in the contest. Thanks! :)

GE Caulk Singles

You know those ads that run along the side of my blog Because I Said So? Truth be told, I don't generally pay too much attention to them. I hadn't really checked out the one for GE caulk until a friend brought it to my attention.

We have a leaky shower. It's been that way forever. It's been on my husband's "to do" list for like 40 years. I finally came to the realization that although I wanted the shower taken care of, this was not a high priority on my husband's list. I was so angry that he wasn't fixing it that I decided to just do it myself. I'm not a big DIY (do it yourselfer), but I was determined to show my husband that I could caulk the leaking shower myself. Brilliant plan, no?

So, I went to the store, bought a thing of caulk, got home, and realized I had no way to get the caulk out of the can. Apparently you need a caulk gun. Who knew? Bob the Builder I'm not. I mentioned to my husband that I'd bought some caulk and all he had to do was grab his caulk gun and seal the shower. That darn container of caulk sat there there for 10 years. Or something like that.

So, after my friend brought the GE caulk ad to my attention, I checked it out. Guess what - GE is giving away FREE samplesof their new caulk singles. These things look really cool! You don't need a caulk gun to dispense it. Simply tear open the package and squeeze it out. According to their ads, you should be able to effortlessly apply an even bead of caulk. I filled out the form to receive my free sample. I can't wait to get it. That's pretty cool, right? Easy peasy caulk singles that you can use to spruce up your home. But that's not all. Oh nooo. Tell us how you used your FREE caulk single to do a DIY job around your home and you'll be entered for a chance to win $1000 VISA GIFT CARD! Think of all the sprucing up you could do with $1000!


This is my shower, complete with mold damage now. Ugh. This is definitely my husband's job now. This is what happens when it isn't caulked well.


This is MY project. I'll be caulking my sink when I get my free sample.


Even I can caulk this with the new GE single. At least I think I can. I'm pretty sure I can. I'll keep you updated.

So, just click HERE to get your free GE caulk single sample.

And the Winner is...

Here are your random numbers:774
Timestamp: 2008-05-08 03:01:24 UTC

Congratulations to Linda who left the 774th comment...

"As a single mom, and also a pear shaped body, I havent had a new swimsuit in almost 7 years. I have finally reited to just shorts and a tanktop. A gift certificate would be so neat to spend on myself. Thanks Dawn, and I still hope that happen to bring your book tour into Portland Oregon or nearby. Thanks Linda"

You have won a $100 gift card from Lands' End! Enjoy!
Email me at mom2my6pack@aol.com with your information.

Thank you to everyone who left a comment!

Another Note on Lands' End Swimwear

So you know, I'm using this to select a random winner. If I had to choose a winner based just on your comments, there is no way I'd be able to choose just one! If I could, I'd give you all free swimsuits!

Some of your comments brought to my attention a couple points I failed to mention in my earlier post. Lands' End does offer more modest suits for your teenage daughters. I'm always amazed at some of the really skimpy suits that are out there today. Lands' End ones are much more classy, in my opinion.

And although, in the past, I've gotten swimsuits at Walmart or Target, I don't think I ever will again. True, they are less money. But for a reason. They're very thin and not as well made as the Lands' End one I got. It's no wonder I have to replace them so frequently. I'm pretty sure this Lands' End will last several years! (Or until I finally lose 50 pounds.) Hey, I can dream!

$100 From Lands' End!

It's that time of year. Time to go shopping for a new bathing suit. Is there anything quite so depressing as trying on swimsuits in front of those huge dressing room mirrors under that flattering florescent light? When I'm in a dressing room trying on swimsuits, I'm just sure that some kid is going to crawl under the door, see me half naked and be traumatized for life. Or worse, I have an irrational fear of the fire alarm going off in the store and being forced to emerge from the dressing room and out onto the street in an ill fitting bathing suit. I can't think of a more embarrassing situation.

Of course you have to try on swimsuits with your underwear which is just lovely if you wear big granny pants and have to tuck your underwear up into the legs of your suit to see how it will really look on you. And it's nearly impossible for poor pear shaped people like me to find a swimsuit that fits on both the top and bottom.

So, when Lands' End asked me if they could send me a swimsuit to try on in the comfort of my own home, I was interested. I was interested, but I still rather doubted they had any suits that would fit me and look less hideous than a hippo in a tutu nice. I took a look at the Lands' End website. I'd never shopped from Lands' End before and was very pleasantly surprised by their huge selection of swim wear. Not only do they have many items from which to choose, but they have so many attractive styles and a huge size range. Because I can't manage to stick to Weight Watchers for more than a week at a time, I still have to buy plus sizes and let me tell you, finding a flattering suit in a larger size is no easy feat. Lands' End has pages and pages of possibilities, however.

Of course, they also have normal sizes too. They've got everything: Slender Suits designed to flatter a variety of body shapes and make you appear slimmer, Mix and Match Separates (perfect for pear shaped people!), one pieces, tankinis, swim shorts, swim skirts, mastectomy suits, cover-ups, bikinis, custom suits, and more! They seriously have something for everyone.

That's my top up there! It fits because I was able to order a size smaller on the top than on the bottom. It has underwire too, so I won't have to tuck my boobs into my shorts.

OK, now here's the awesome part! You, my wonderful readers, can win a $100 gift card to use on Lands' End swim wear! That's right - A HUNDRED DOLLARS! You can go to your local Lands' End store or use it online. (I recommend using it online and trying your new bathing suit on in the comfort of your own home.) How awesome is that?

Just leave me a comment and I'll choose a winner on Wednesday, May 7th at 10:00 PM central time. In the meantime, check out Lands' End's website and pick out your favorite suit! Happy shopping!