This year marks the 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off® contest and the judging has begun.  But it gets better…for the very first time in this contest’s history, you can help with the judging.  Right now, there are 100 finalists and we get to participate in You Be the Judge! to help determine the 10 best recipes that will continue on to compete for the $1 million prize!

We’re coming into it about halfway through, so jump in now and get in on the action!!! So, how does it work?

Judges will select 20 recipes to be placed online at www.bakeoff.com in pairs – two weeks for each pair. Consumers can vote for their favorite recipe in each pair. The recipe from each pair that wins the most votes will earn a spot in the final competition, April 11-13, 2010, in Orlando, Florida.

Voting is limited to one vote per person per each pair of recipes. Voters must be registered members of www.pillsbury.com and 18 years of age or older as of May 1, 2009, to participate.

The first pair of recipes was posted on May 14, 2009 and a new pair of recipes have been and will be posted every two weeks (specifically: May 28, June 11, June 25, July 9, July 23, August 6, August 20, September 3 and September 17, 2009). The voting period for the tenth and final pair of recipes will close at 11:59AM CDT on October 1, 2009. Visit www.bakeoff.com for the official rules.

Before you cast your vote though, you may be curious about how the experts evaluate a recipe. If that’s the case, I invite you to watch this short video of Jann Atkins, Bake-Off® Kitchens assistant manager, as she shares some tips for evaluating a recipe. It just might help you decide which recipe deserves a shot at the million-dollar top prize.

I’m so excited to announce that TWO commenters will receive prize packs featuring a magazine of past Bake-Off® recipes and a Pillsbury Doughboy giggle doll.

I love this magazine and I have to say that the boys and I have spent hours and hours pouring over the recipes (well, in truth, I’m the only one looking at the recipes, their mouths are just watering from the amazing photos).

To enter, please visit the You Be the Judge! site and take a look around.  When you are done leave a comment here telling me about your favorite recipe (if it is a past Pillsbury Bake-Off recipe, even better).

There are many opportunities to get extra entries as well…just be sure to leave a new comment with the necessary information for each one:

• Tweet It: Just tweet this giveaway with a link to this post and make sure your comment has your twitter handle in it.
• Blog It: Write a post about this giveaway (with a link to this post of course) on your own blog, make sure your comment has a link to your post.
• Stumble It, Kirtsy It, Digg It, Submit to Mommy Blips: Submit this giveaway to any of these sites and earn an extra entry for each one…and make sure your comment has your Username.

This giveaway is open to US addresses only.  Entry deadline is July 20th.  It is void where prohibited, be sure to read my giveaway policies here.

Disclosure:  My Blog Spark sent me the same products that are included in the prize pack.  I always give honest and forthright reviews and will not present something that poses a conflict of interest &/or that I do not like.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Going green in all the little ways in life can be challenging.  For instance, where to find the best containers to take lunch to school or work is one of those areas that I was a little less familiar with until recently. New Wave Enviro recently introduced me to their line of products and sent some of their products for me to review.

Learning about the right products to use is definitely most of the battle, so when one company offers them so conveniently it makes life a lot easier.   Doing things like using stainless steel containers in your lunch bag (bamboo lunch bag by the way) – they are healthier for you and can be recycled when you no longer need them.

You can purchase New Wave Enviro products at health food and nutrition stores throughout the USA and Canada as well as through many online retailers!  New Wave Enviro has a great store finder on their site.

I love that their Stainless Steel bottles (which come in various sizes from 12 to 40 oz) are a high grade stainless steel and come in a variety of fun colors!  I like to keep these available to my kiddos througout the day, especially during the summer.  I don’t know what it is about kids and water bottles, but they seem to love to drink out of them and with Stainless Steel I know that the container is SAFE!

Their Bamboo bag is made of bamboo that is grown completely without chemicals or pesticides and regenerates without replanting!  The Bamboo bag itself is hypo-allergenic and anti-bacterial, a definite must for kids’ school lunches.  It is a simple bag, so it would be appropriate for any age to take with them for lunch…from elementary school to the workplace!

If you’re looking for the perfect container for that lunch bag, check out their stainless steel Food Container!  No toxins, no chemicals and the perfect size to hold a sandwich, bagel, small salad or even veggies and dip.  It closes conveniently and is easy to scrub up after use.

New Wave Enviro has offered one very lucky commenter a set of three of their products…Stainless Steel food container, Stainless Steel 20 oz bottle and their Bamboo Bag!  To enter, visit New Wave Enviro’s website and learn a bit about their products.  When you are done simply come back here and tell me why you want to go green for lunch!

As usual, there are lots of ways to get extra entries for this giveaway!  Just make sure you leave a new comment for each one…

• Tweet It: Just tweet this giveaway with a link to this post and make sure your comment has your twitter handle in it.
• Blog It: Write a post about this giveaway (with a link to this post of course) on your own blog, make sure your comment has a link to your post.
• Stumble It, Kirtsy It, Digg It, Submit to Mommy Blips: Submit this giveaway to any of these sites and earn an extra entry for each one…and make sure your comment has your Username.

This giveaway is open to US addresses only.  Be sure to enter by July 9th.  It is void where prohibited, be sure to read my giveaway policies here.

*Disclosure:  My reviews are honest and forthright.  Although companies are required to send me products to review in order to be featured here, I will not post about a product that I do not like.  You can see my full disclosure here.

Looking for yet another way to go Green?  Amazingly enough, Digi-Scrapping is a great place to start!  All digiscrap kits can be used again and again and do not use any paper or other resources.  Most kits are so versatile that you can even use just one Digiscrap kit for an entire book of scrapbook pages!  You only print out the pages you’re going to put in your books.   I have saved a TON of money scrapbooking this way!

This page was designed using Meredith Cardall’s adorable new kit: Whoo Loves My Boy?

Featuring the one and only Bug!  He was about 9 months old in these photos… such a sweetie!

One of the simplest ways to start going green is to start using your own reusable grocery totes instead of the plastic grocery bags they offer in the store.  I’ll admit that this is one of the areas that I have not been as good about (sigh!).

Let’s face it, the store bags aren’t very fun typically and many of the reuseable bags offered out there are a nylon like material that  just seems awfully flimsy for my hefty groceries!  So when Goody Green Bags contacted me about their bags I was very excited to see that they offered something a little different.

When I received the bag they sent me to review I was thrilled to see that it was actually a LOT different than the other bags I’ve seen!  It completely folds into itself to make it as compact as a large wallet, so it fits in my purse perfectly.

No concerns about it’s durability either, it is made of non-woven polypropylene – a coated, water resistant material that is light-weight, durable, fire resistant and washable!

But for me, most importantly, this bag holds a lot of groceries!  Seriously a huge deal for me!  Their fun Sample Pack offers the perfect number of bags for most families!

Oh, but I forgot to mention the one thing that is possibly most important to a lot of other moms…style!  These bags are so very cute!  I received the Dottie bag and I don’t ever hesitate to use it for shopping, or for day to day tasks.  The rest of their bag styles don’t dissappont either!

Right now, in honor of Earth Day, you can get their bags for 15% off ( just click on this link and you’ll automatically get that discount).  Hurry though, this offer expires the end of April!

The Green Path Company has introduced yet another great “green” product!  A wonderful comic-style “book” for kids with amazing illustrations and a great story line that teaches your family the basics of being more green.

The Green Crusaders are a group of 3 Eco-super heroes who help families live earth friendly lives with the help of their dog sidekick.

The illustrations are truly amazing. And in keeping with an Earth friendly theme you will not find this book in paper form! It is available on CD and can be read on the computer or if you want, printed out and read.

This book is specifically for 5-12 year olds, and I think it is an especially good “family read”! That said, I highly recommend that parents read this first to get a good feel for the story line so that you can modify the message as needed for younger children or to present to your family as a whole. Older children will definitely enjoy the story though.

Be sure to check out The Green Crusaders: the Filaments See the Light, at the Green Path Company for only $5.00

Are you ready?  Do you even acknowledge Earth day?  Some of us do and some of us don’t.  For our family it’s all about balance…oh yeah, there’s that word again!

I think it’s vastly important that we take care of this amazing planet God created!  As good stewards I believe it’s our job to care for and clean up any messes we have made to retain the integrity of the beauty around us.

So, what is Earth Day…here’s the technical answer:

Earth Day began on April 22 more than 30 years ago when Senator Gaylord Nelson decided that it was important to teach everyone, especially children, about our environment. He wanted to be sure that people understood how important it was to take care of our planet.

Many people will use this day to raise awareness about global warming, endangered animals, recycling, local business support, harmful chemicals and their effects, or they may simply plant a tree. Though all of these are fine in their own right, many of them are justa little over most of our heads!

So what can we do for Earth day with our families that makes more sense?  Let me answer that by telling you just a little bit about what we do.

No, we don’t make a big deal out of Earth day per se, it is a great platform though to learn new things about our earth and to think any other things we’d like to add to what we regularly do.

Most of my suggestions boil down to one thing…make smart purchases.  I could go on all day about the changes you can make in your purchasing that are more environmentally friendly. I am responsible for almost all purchases around here, so whenever possible I do purchase things that preferrably fall into three categories…Natural, Organic & Local.   This especially goes for food and household products (detergents, etc).  This is one of the easiest places to make a change!  Most local supermarkets and many of the warehouse stores offer a wide variety of organic/natural choices that are very affordable options.

You will find that some of it is simply a matter of trial and error.  You may have to go through a few different brands before you find the one that works best or is most comparable to your regular name brand product.  Definitely look for environmentally safe products, but keep in mind…just because the brand says “natural” or “organic” in it doesn’t mean that the product is actually natural or organic.  You have to look for that information in the labeling, NOT the name!

Food: When you are buying food, make sure you look for the organic label, but also make sure that the items are in containers that are easily recyclable.

Recycling: Make recycling a regular thing in your home.  My 5 year old shocked me one day when he was just 3 years old by holding up an empty can and asking me where the recycling bin had been moved to.

Chemicals:  Always keep in mind that the chemicals you use in your home get sent out into ground and our waterways (in our case, a creek just feet from the house).  Something that many parents aren’t aware of though that is potentially an even bigger deal is that the chemicals in everything in your home are absorbed into all your family members’ skin!  Shampoo, soap, detergents, cleaning products and even the chlorine in our water.  If you have a child who suffers from any respiratory issues, remove all bleach from your home – yes, I’m totally being serious!  Do a little research on it and you’ll quickly discover why.

Those are three quick and easy ways to simply incorporate a greener lifestyle into your family’s day.  You’ll be preserving the precious planet we have been given and you’ll be offering your family a healthier home and healthier foods.

I’m always looking for greener, healthier products for my family.  Especially in the kitchen!  So, when I was asked to check out Healthy Kitchenware I was excited to see what they have to offer…and I wasn’t disappointed.

When Cynthia was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2005, she had never heard of the word. Her research pointed to the importance of nutrition and environment as the very important areas to monitor to fight this disease. When reading about endometriosis, Cynthia realized she had to change her lifestyle. She decided to get rid of all the plastic in her kitchen that came in contact with her food. This proved to be a big project, much easier said than done.

So, she decided to take matters into her own hands and now offers a variety of safe kitchen products through Healthy Kitchenware.

I’m very excited that she has many great products just for kids!  In fact, her number one seller is the stainless steel lunch carrier with sauce container…perfect for those healthy lunches you’re trying to pack for your little ones.  I love the Children’s Dish Set (includes a plate, bowl and mug)…it’s green with a frog on each peice so of course I love it!

They are generously offering a Stainless steel lunch carrier for one very lucky commenter!  To enter, just visit Healthy Kitchenware and take a look around.  When you’re done, come back here and leave a comment mentioning your favorite product.  If you want extra entries, just take a peek at this page for all the details.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian addresses, will close on April 16th and is void where prohibited.

I was contacted a while back to feature 9 tips in 2009 on surviving and thriving in turbulent economic times. The economic woes of our country are affecting everyone in one way or another, so the timing is definitely perfect. Although the book is Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Resolution, the principles still apply. I hope you enjoy these great tips from them!

Inspired by stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Resolution
By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, D’ette Corona and Barbara LoMonaco

Everyone makes resolutions: The new year motivates all of us to improve our habits, and holds the promise of a clean slate. But after January passes, many of us may beat ourselves up for letting resolutions fall by the wayside – which is why now is precisely the best time to renew commitments you’ve made to yourself. While most years, our resolutions are primarily about things like diets, being on time, becoming neater and similar issues, this year many resolutions have a different feeling. Set a household budget. Start recycling. Save more. If these sound familiar to you it is because this year, more than most years, the resolutions are related in some way to the troubled economy.

Here are 9 Tips for 2009 for surviving and thriving in turbulent economic times:

Simplify. As Mary Davis writes in her story “Resolutions for Sale,” we all have items from previous resolutions that never panned out: Exercise equipment still in its original packaging, organizational gadgets collecting dust. So why not make a buck or two and have a “Resolution Sale?” Sell all of your unwanted and unused items, make some money, and simplify your life for the better.

Go green. When going green, little changes can make a big difference for the environment — and your wallet. Ashley Sanders writes in her story “I’m Not a Dirty Hippie” that her husband was apprehensive about going green at first, but got on-board once he saw the savings benefit. “After a lot of testing and trying, we began to find products that we could not only use, but that were more affordable than the products we previously used,” Sanders writes.

Count your blessings. List-obsessed Sarah Jo Smith shares in her story “A Daily Practice in Gratitude” how even the most sincere resolutions can turn sour. “I planned to write down three things a day that expressed my appreciation and love for the things and people around me….[But] what started as a positive exercise turned into a mental list of countless complaints and worries,” she writes. However, after an emotional encounter with a stranger, Sarah realized there was much more room in her life than she previously allowed for gratitude. In the face of financial worries and other daily stressors, remember your gifts – you’ll likely discover the strength you need in life’s intangibles.

Don’t exceed your needs: Try downsizing! Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Resolution story contributor Harriet Cooper had a size problem – with her home. Saddled with double the house space she needed, she realized there was a lot going to waste. Cooper was also unhappy with her home’s “double identity” – one side that guests saw, and one side that she actually lived in. In her story “One House, Two Faces,” she writes about selling the house and moving into a smaller one. With her savings, she bought herself two years of freedom to explore new job possibilities. What’s more? Now, her guests get to visit a relaxed hostess who is happy with her (smaller) home, just the way it is.

Put the unnecessary items back. Single mom Rebecca Jay tried to save money, but every month she was living paycheck to paycheck. So she invented a game that she and her son could play to save money at the grocery store. At the check-out lane, she and her son perform a “Cart Check,” pulling out items they really don’t need. When her son puts something back, Jay rewards him with the savings. In her story “Check the Cart,” she recalls how this game not only helped rein in impulse spending, it taught her son a valuable lesson on personal finances in the process. What a great legacy to pass on to a younger generation!

Find financial peace. Kristine Byron likes to look at what she spends, rather than what she saves. In her story “Spend, Spend, Spend,” Kristine resolves to save money by cutting out certain things, but recognizes all the ways she gets to “spend” time doing something else. “As I have pledged to save on lavish meals dining out, I have vowed to ‘spend’ more time entertaining at home,” she writes. When you make resolutions to save, you can also resolve to “spend” more time with your family and doing things that you love to do … for free!
Work with those you love. Working with someone you love might seem scary at first, as B.J. Taylor describes in her story “A Leap of Faith.” But when her husband needed her to work at his company because of financial setbacks, she stepped up. The two agreed to sit down and talk every six months about what’s working and what’s not. Though challenging at first, the couple has worked with each other now for 15 years. Could it be possible to go into business with your loved ones?

Give gifts of yourself. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on the people you love, just spend time doing things with them. In his story “A Commitment to Play Dolls,” Timothy Martin recalls his decision to play with his four-year-old daughter for an afternoon. “I still thinking playing with dolls is dumb,” writes Martin. “But my four-year-old daughter, Emily, loves them. She plays with her Barbie dolls every day. Since I want to be a good father, and because Emily and I don’t get to spend much time together, I resolved to learn.”

Celebrate the old. While everyone else may be resolving to try something new, don’t forget to remember your old treasures. Dayle Allen Shockley writes in “Let’s Celebrate the Old” about all the many items, principles, and people that she celebrates every new year. “I enjoy making new friends, but old friends who have shared my pain and sorrow, celebrated my joys, and remained steadfast when trouble came knocking; they are the ones I will celebrate most in the New Year,” she writes. In 2009, which old pleasures are you thankful for? Life can be improved just by recognizing the wonderful gifts we already have.

And remember, improving yourself is not exclusive to the month of January; it’s a year-round opportunity.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Resolution (Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, D’ette Corona and Barbara LoMonaco) is published by Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC. For more information, please visit chickensoup.com.

Today I’m going to focus on the “fun-tivity” part of Easter. Dying eggs, Easter baskets, Easter egg hunt, etc.

Although I do consider myself an “easygoing” frugal mom, I have found ways to make things nice for all 6 of my kids on less than we used to spend when the oldest two were little. Not by taking extreme measures…it’s in all the little choices made along the way (could be said for much of life actually).

When we only had one, money didn’t feel so tight and it was easy to give him a nice Easter basket, but as our family grew there were many times where spending $15 or more was simply not in the budget.  So, I had to find creative ways to give each of them a fun basket of their very own that cost less than $10 each.

That amount is down to $5 each now though.  Here’s some basics:

• Find fun spring plastic buckets to reuse year after year…if you don’t have enough storage to keep an Easter box, then donate your items to Goodwill when you’re done with them each year, or see if a grandparent would be willing to store them for you.
• Be sure to use these buckets for all Easter activities and Hunts that are planned.
• Shop at the dollar store…sure, be picky in what you actually purchase or it’s a waste, but there are many things to be found there.
• As your children get older you can consider giving them alternative Easter gifts like kites or yard games.
• Choose products to fill the baskets with carefully.  Simply filling it with toys that are unsafe or will have to be thrown away later that day doesn’t usually work well.

Our children usually get a plastic easter bucket with a small amount of tissue paper (or shredded paper) at the bottom.  Then there is the traditional chocolate Bunny, a couple plastic eggs with candy, and sometimes even Peeps, though I detest the taste of them LOL.  Overall though, there are usually several other things like pencils, fun erasers, maybe a dollar calculator (they love these) and a toy car or two.

Kids don’t care if their basket is absolutely stuffed to the gills, just be creative in how you pack it so it doesn’t look empty.  Of course these are all great ideas for boys, but it can be just as simple to fill for a girl…hair things, nail polish, etc.

Every year as part of our Easter celebration we do plan a big Easter egg hunt for the kiddos in my family.  This requires a ton of plastic eggs and candy, but we try to be creative with that too.  Plastic eggs are fine as long as you plan to reuse them over and over for many years.

We usually make up about 18 eggs or so per child.  We have even purchased sets of eggs filled with Easter toys like stickers, spring animal toys and wacky balls (you can find these at Oriental Trading).  It all really just depends on what you are able to do… how much you want to spend, what you have on hand already and what stores you’re willing/able to shop at.

Not purchasing a premade basket is a great place to start for many families.  If you already make them yourself but need to save a bit in the process, think outside the box a bit and look for creative, less expensive fillers for the baskets and egg hunt.

I hope to have time to post a bit more about Easter traditions, and maybe some craft ideas and recipes over the next week or so.  In the meantime, what Easter “Fun-tivities” does your family do each year?

When in the world did I become a frugal green mom?  Sure, I do my part, but to realize recently that I “live”  it (or try to) was a little shocking for me.  The crazy thing is that it’s really simple stuff that makes the difference…not extreme measures.

Over the years, describing myself as frugal or “green” wouldn’t have come to mind.  I guess it’s a result of many contributing factors, but I have definitely become both in many ways.

Though I’m still consciously improving and learning the Green Mom part (and definitely qualify as a work in progress), I will be focusing on sharing more tips (simple though they may be) over the next few weeks.

In April we will celebrate both Easter and Earth Day, I actually find that oddly inspiring!  I love Easter…what’s not to love?  The sacrifice and rising of Jesus, resulting in new life and salvation for all who will receive…the tradition of family togetherness…even the Easter Egg Hunts (sorry, but I LOVE them!).

The great part about Earth Day being in the same season (this year, the same month) is that in many ways it also inspires thoughts of fresh new life and even seems to epitomize spring.

Getting ready for Easter can be a great challenge for families, especially on a budget, so I’ll be tackling that subject first.   I know that many families are extra strapped this year, and Easter is practically right around the corner (April 12), so on Monday I’ll be posting some fun tips to start getting ready now.

What traditions does your family have for Easter?  Do you typically do anything for Earth Day?  Blog about it (leave a comment with a link to your post so I can visit please) or leave a comment and let me know .