Friday, May 25, 2018

Win a KFC Colonel-Shaped Pool Float!

Summer is almost here, school in letting out, the weather is warming up (or boiling if you live in FL), and there is an air of fun and adventure all around. The time is coming for soaking up the sun and lounging around the pool. Why not do it in style?

KFC wants to help you do just that. That's why they have a sweepstakes to win one of hundreds of Colonel-shaped pool floats. Not only is it giant, and whimsical, it is exclusive. It is only available to winners of the sweepstakes. There will never be any other way to get one. Who doesn't love to be the only one in their circle to have something?


Not only that it is totally practical. It has special holders that hold a drink and a BUCKET of KFC! If a float can't hold a bucket of chicken, what good is it, really? I mean, if there is anything as synonymous with summer as the pool it is great food. You can get that bucket of chicken for less money by using a KFC coupon code.

I can see it now: me, snuggled up with the Colonel, floating peacefully on the crystal blue water, while eating an entire bucket of Extra Crispy by myself. I might not look good in my swimsuit, but everyone will be so focused on the Colonel that they won't even notice. Ahh, paradise.

If you want a similar experience, make sure you enter to win one of these magical floats before they are gone forever. The sweepstakes ends on June 22nd, with winners being chosen on June 23rd (my birthday.) Enter at KFCfloatie.com. Good luck. 

Friday, May 11, 2018

Dinnerly Review

If you know me, you know I love food. I actually like cooking, and I am good at it, but I hate planning recipes. Hubby is not adventurous at all, which doesn't help, and it is stressful to me to think about each meal so far in advance and shop for every ingredient I will need all at once, since we only shop once a week.

Now is especially stressful since we are in the last few weeks of school (and there are a million school functions and planning teacher gifts, goodie bags, etc.), hubby will be returning to work after his surgery, which changes his entire schedule up, and summer approaching, which changes the kids' schedule. Meal planning is the last thing I want to worry about.

Thankfully, with Dinnerly, I don't have to. Dinnerly ships all the ingredients I need for 3 complete meals right to my door. No searching for fresh produce, no wondering how much I need or wasting money on a full bottle of a spice/condiment I will only use once for the recipe.


I get to choose the recipes I want. There are great choices both vegetarian and meat based. I love my meat, but they all look very good. The recipes each use only 5 ingredients or less and require minimal chopping and only a few steps. They are quick and very easy to make.

This week I have tried 3 amazing recipes. They were all delicious; even my picky hubby loved them. Best of all, they were recipes I never would have thought of on my own, and now I can add them into my regular rotation.

Beef & Broccoli Noodles with Teriyaki-Peanut Sauce:


This was so good. I love peanut sauce and all Asian style noodles. These are made with spaghetti noodles! Can you believe it? I was really surprised how well they work in this dish. And I've never done ground beef in a dish like this, but it totally works. This one is definitely going to be a regular.

BBQ Chicken Skillet Pizza with Peppers & Onions:


I had to teak this one a tad since I don't have a cast iron skillet. I made it with thinner crust on a baking sheet instead. It still came out wonderful. This has a lot of bold flavor, without anything being overpowering. I can only imagine how good it would be with a thick, fluffy, crispy pan crust. I will need to try it again when I get a cast iron pan.

Mediterranean Meatball Pitas with Lemon Tahini Sauce:


This was fantastic! It is not something I would have ever thought of. I don't cook much Mediterranean style food. I don't know why. The perfect balance of flavors and textures. And so easy. I totally added more sauce after I tasted it. It is just the right pop of brightness and flavor depth. I had this last night. I already want to eat it again.

I love getting to try recipes that I would never think of, and I love that this kind of pushes hubby to try new things that he would probably scoff at if I suggested it. In fact he was wary of these, until he tried them and loved them all.

I love that Dinnerly is way more affordable than other meal delivery services. And I was a bit worried at first that it was because the ingredients were not as good. I was wrong. They use high quality ingredients like grass-fed beef and antibiotic-free chicken. The portions are great too.

They, instead, cut costs by not sending printed recipe cards, but you can download them and view on your phone/tablet or print them out yourself. I do normally like a recipe card, but the savings is worth that trade-off and it's better for the environment.

Speaking of savings, I mentioned the affordability, but did not say just how much of a bargain it is - only $5 per serving! Each meal for 2 is only $10. 3 meals for 2 is only $30 plus $8.99 shipping. Total, shipping included is less than 2 meals before shipping from another meal delivery company. I spend almost $5 for my morning coffee, I can certainly afford that for my whole dinner.

I am loving Dinnerly and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a simpler way to cook and try new, delicious and satisfying recipes. Have you tried Dinnerly yet? DO you have a favorite recipe? Do you want to try it? What do you like most about Dinnerly? Let's discuss in the comments.

*Although I received this product at no cost to facilitate my review, all opinions are 100% my own.*

5 Tips for helping your kids improve their writing skills

Writing is a skill that needs to be established as early on as possible. That's because it's not only something that they will use during their school years but throughout life.

Even until people start working or have their own families, the skill of writing is still being practiced.
It's important that children not just improve their writing skills, but they should also enjoy it. If you want your kids to improve their writing skills, follow the tips below.

1. Be a model for your child - kids will never learn the importance and significance of writing if they don't see you doing it yourself. They might just associate writing with something that only needs to be done in school because they do not see the adults in their home actually doing it. So in order to show them that writing is important, show them how you use it. It may be something as simple as a grocery shopping list or writing a letter to a relative.

2. Connect writing with something they are interested in - make it more fun by having them write about their hobbies or interests. For example, they read a book or watched a movie that they really loved. You can have them write a review or summary. Or maybe there's a person, like a public figure that they admire, you can help them pen a letter to that person to express their admiration to them.

3. Encourage them to read - reading and writing go hand in hand. The mire that kids read, the wider their vocabulary will be. They will see how different words are used and it becomes easier for them to use the words in their own compositions. If you have a young child, even if they cannot read yet, it would be advisable to read to them every day so that they can learn to love words.

4. Use a variety of materials - don't limit writing to just the old pen and paper. There are so many writing materials you can use so that it will be fun for kids. Aside from providing colorful pens and papers, you can also use materials such as chalk or even paint. If you are training young kids, making it more fun can make them love writing more. You can even incorporate the use of technology so that writing is more accessible and they know that technology is not just for playing games or watching videos.

5. Invest your time teaching your children - don't just entrust teaching writing to school teachers. If you are a parent, you also need to affirm whatever they are learning at school. You don't need to spend hours to teach the school. Look at what they learned in school for that day and just come up with exercises that will test that. You can look at good composition writing examples and compare your child's so that you will know what areas they will need to improve on.