Four More February Winners

Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash

Two of my giveaways have ended, resulting in four winners.  The winners have been randomly drawn and notified via email.

The winner of the Dinosaur Devotions giveaway is #7, Stephanie.

The three winners of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Blu-ray giveaway are:
#11, Shelly Peterson
#45, Casey Garvey
#6, Stephanie Grant

Congrats to the winners and thanks to all who entered.  Be sure to check out and enter all current giveaways I've got going on.  They're always listed at the top left hand side of my blog.  There's no limit to how many you can enter or how many you can win.

Creamy Cold Crab Dip - Recipe

My mother used to make a Cold Crab Dip and serve it at many of our big family dinners.  I was craving some the other day and decided to make it myself.  I changed the recipe up a smidgen.  The result was just as good as what she used to make.  She'd be proud.

Ingredients:

2 packages imitation crab meat

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

1/2 cup sour cream

1 package Hidden Valley Ranch mix

1 package cream cheese, softened

Using a food processor, combine crab meat, cheddar cheese and green onion.  

In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, Ranch mix, and cream cheese.  

Transfer ingredients from food processor to the ingredients in the large bowl and mix all together until well blended.

Cover and refrigerate the crab dip until it is thoroughly chilled.

crab dip served on Ritz crackers

Serve this creamy crab dip with chips, crackers, or raw vegetables.

Lotus Produce Bags - Review and Giveaway

In October of last year I did a review for the Lotus Trolley Bag, an environmentally friendly shopping bag system.  Now I have the pleasure of telling you about Lotus Produce Bags, created by the same company.  These bags help eliminate millions of wasteful, harmful plastic bags from our environment.  

Lotus Produce Bags are sold as a set of 9 bags.  Consumers receive three of each size.  There's small (12"x8"), medium (12"x14") and large (12"x17").  Their main purpose, if you will, is to store produce.  Rather than putting your produce in one of those thin plastic bags the store provides, you can take one of the Lotus Produce Bags and put your fruits and veggies in there.  Once you get home, you can wash the produce while they're still in the bags, then place in the fridge until ready to use.

  Lotus Produce Bags are made of nylon mesh and can be washed repeatedly.  The bags are double-stitched on the sides, and each one includes a drawstring that comes with a white lock to keep contents secure.  Although they are made of white mesh, you can still see through enough to get a glimpse of what is inside each bag.  

Each size bag also has its own tare weight tag.  Not knowing what exactly that meant, I did an online search.  What it means with these bags is that the tag on the bags shows the weight of them as they are empty.  By subtracting it from the gross weight of the goods carried, the net weight may be determined.  

I love using the Lotus Produce Bags for the original purpose, to store produce.  I've also used them for many other purposes.  The bags can be used for almost any reason you'd use a plastic single-use baggie.  For instance, you can use the smaller Lotus Produce Bag to store peanuts or candies.  The bags can be used for medicines and cosmetics.  They're perfect to take when traveling.  You can stuff wet socks, swimsuits, or other clothing in there to keep separate from dry clothes.  

Lotus Produce Bags are durable, made well, and are useful for so many purposes.

green onions stored inside a small Lotus Produce Bag

Win It!

One person will win a set of Lotus Produce Bags (3 small, 3 medium, and 3 large).

*This is a Rafflecopter giveaway open to residents of the USA.*

I received products for review.  The opinions within this post are of my own and I was not influenced in any way.  Please do your own research before purchasing products or using services.  Your opinions and results may differ.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Power of Prayer Thursdays - Week 160

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

I believe in a God that hears prayers and answers them. I've witnessed the miraculous gift of answered prayer. And, I want to pray for you. I've started weekly Power of Prayer post every Thursday. We are now on week 160.  If you are needing prayer in an area of your life, please leave a comment and I'll commit to pray for your need or request. You can be as general or as specific as you like. Whether it be for healing, salvation, finances, emotions, or another area of life, I'd like to lift it up in prayer.

God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.
–1 Corinthians 12:6

Wordful Wednesday - Helping Others

Anya filling Ziploc bags with stuff

There are more people than not who've been affected by the Polar Vortex this year.  Winter's been brutal!  To help those who are homeless and impoverished during this time, our Life Group got together and stuffed backpacks with essentials.

We actually started this project in September of last year.  We are a community of around 41,000 and I was shocked to find out just how many homeless people live in our area.  We don't see them panhandling on the streets and the situation isn't necessarily right out in the open.  It wasn't until I started following a local guy on social media that brought light to the situation that I felt moved to help.

We purchased full-size backpacks on sale after the Back-to-School season, then filled them with all sorts of stuff.  Shampoos, deodorants, soaps, snacks, socks, gloves, hats, and more.  Then we got together on a Saturday evening to stuff the backpacks.  We ended up with 13 of them.

Me taking a selfie break during the sorting process

An opportune time became available to deliver the backpacks last week.  Due to the extreme cold, a local church opened its doors for people to come in and get warm.  They were able to spend the night and get a hot meal.  Although it's not the church we belong to, I spoke with the pastor and he agreed to let us deliver the backpacks there.  We did not personally hand out the bags.  Rather, we dropped them off and let the church do that.  Turns out, all bags got accounted for.  

filled bags ready to be delivered

We didn't do it for any recognition or glory but to help others to receive items they might need.  I believe that blessing others, however small, brings both the giver and recipient joy.

BCBGMAXAZRIA Women's 2-Pack Venice Lace Padded Bra - Review

In my personal opinion, undergarments can help make or break how you feel.  I like bras that are comfortable, yet feminine.  The BCBGMAXAZRIA Women's 2-Pack Venice Lace Padded Bra I received for review, unfortunately, doesn't come in my size so my 25 yoa daughter has taken and added them to her wardrobe.  The sizes available for these bras start out at 34B and end with 38D.  If you're in that range, Shelby and I recommend this pack of bras to you.  This two-pack comes with one Rose Smoke (pinkish) bra and one black bra.

Shelby has worn the bras a handful of times and feels they give her ample coverage. She advises they're comfortable and the lace detailing is charming.   The straps stay in place and the underwire doesn't poke her skin.  They don't provide much cleavage but do provide much coverage.  They're very sensual, feminine bras.

I received products for review.  The opinions within this post are of my own and I was not influenced in any way.  Please do your own research before purchasing products or using services.  Your opinions and results may differ.

Catherine Malandrino Women's 6-Pack Cotton Stretch String Bikini - Review

Don't freak out - I'm not gonna show you a pic of me in my undies.  Gotta keep it somewhat modest, ya know!  

Now that you can be rest assured, I'd like to introduce you to Catherine Malandrino Women's 6-Pack Cotton Stretch String Bikini.  They're made to be soft, comfy, and provide full coverage.  

The waistband is super comfortable and doesn't cut into my flesh.  The undies sit just right on my tummy, rather than my tummy feeling like a whale wrapped in a noose.   There are no tags to irritate my skin either.  The six-pack of underwear comes in assorted colors, mostly solids.  

In my personal opinion, undergarments can help make or break how you feel. I'm not a fan of my underwear sneaking up in places that it's not welcome. These bikini undies provide full booty coverage.  Picking your underwear out of where the sun don't shine isn't exactly flattering. Not once have I had to partake in that embarrassment with these panties.  So far, so good when it comes to keeping their shape and elasticity.  I guess it's safe to say I like these panties!

I received products for review.  The opinions within this post are of my own and I was not influenced in any way.  Please do your own research before purchasing products or using services.  Your opinions and results may differ.