The Pic She Wanted...And The One She Didn't

Me, Traci, Sandy, and Donnie

This was always mom's photo-taking conversation:

"Kids, kids.  Look at me.  C'mon, look at me."

"I'm being serious.  Stand up straight.  You know I hate when pictures have the head cut off."

"Look at me.  Look at me.  LOOK AT ME!"

"Stop putting your finger in Donnie's nose."

"Loooooook at Meeeee."

"Keep your tongue in your mouth."

"Move over.  You're blocking Sandy's face."

My mother, bless her heart, was a stickler about photos.  She wanted straight-forward poses and wasn't fond of candid shots.  We'd all have to be looking.  She'd throw a picture away if it came out with the top of a persons's head cut off.  Drove us about bat shit crazy.

So in the spirit of still driving her nuts in the afterworld, my siblings and I recently got together and took a "good" picture.  But not before taking some pictures with our tongues out and fingers in our noses.

We love you mom! :)  :)  :)

Mastermind - Game Review and Giveaway

Founded in 1922 Pressman Toys has been delighting families for decades with classic games such as Mastermind, Rummikub, Tri-Ominos and innovative licensed products.  I've heard of the Mastermind game before but hadn't played it until somewhat recently.  Now me and the teens play it fairly often.  Apparently it's considered one of the world's most popular games, and I can see why!

Game contents

Mastermind game console with built-in storage tray and code shield

108 Code pegs in 6 colors

30 Key pegs in 2 colors

Complete instructions

For 2 players, ages 8+, Mastermind is a game of strategy.  You have to use logic and deduction to crack a code in 10 moves or less.  The object of the game is to solve your opponent's code in fewer turns than it takes your opponent to solve your code.

For each game, one person is the Codemaker and the other is the Codebreaker.  The Codemaker takes four Code Pegs of any color they choose and places them in the code area.  It is then up to the Codebreaker to try to duplicate the exact colors in the exact way that they've been lined up by the Codemaker.  If the person guessing has gotten one right, a red Key Peg is placed.  A white Key Peg indicates that  Code Peg has been placed in the right color, but not in the right position.  This continues on until the code is broken or until ten tries have been made.  The player with the most points after playing the agreed amount of games is the winner. 

To the very right are the Code Pegs that the Codebreaker needs to try to duplicate via logic and deduction.  In other words, they get 10 tries to place yellow, blue, green, and white vertically in the exact order as the code.  

There are examples of how to play in the instruction manual and it's actually easier to understand once you've read the directions and played a couple of times.  A red pull-out storage tray is attached to the plastic game board so you can store all pegs when not in play.  It gets kind of tricky trying to pull the tiny pegs out of the holes, so I advise you be careful when putting them away.

Mastermind is a game that puts a person's thinking skills to the test!  

Win It!

One person will win a Mastermind game.

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

I received product for review from Pressman Toy.  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.

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Chico's: 40% Off Your Order

Save on the artisan clothes you love with a Chico’s promo code.  With deals on apparel, discounts off your online order, and free shipping offers, saving money is just a click away. You can wear the high end fashions you desire, but without paying the premium price.

From now until 12/24/18, take 40% off your order when you enter coupon code 96081 at Chico's checkout.

This post contains affiliate links.  Please do your own research before purchasing products or using services.  Your opinions and results may differ.

Power of Prayer Thursdays - Week 151

Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger 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 151.  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.

All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.
–1 Timothy 1:17

Wordful Wednesday - Forrester Sister Date

hanging in the hot tub

Due to the difference in age between my mom and dad, and other marriages with the two, I'm sort of spread out in age with my siblings.  My sisters are 58, 56, and 52.  My half-brother is closer in age to me, only being a year and a half younger.

Sisters we'll always be...

I say all this because I'm very close with my sisters (two of them anyway) but I didn't grow up with them.  And now, being adults, we don't get a lot of together time.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we decided to fix that and have our own "Sister Date".  We booked a suite at the Stoney Creek Inn and had such a good time that we want to start making it an annual event.  

The "Sister Date" did include a husband and a 14 year old boy that stayed in the suite with us.  My oldest daughter and her husband also stopped by for a bit.  But the main focus was reminiscing and giggling with my two sissies.  

George pretended he was embarrassed by our actions, but he low-key liked it.

I had such a good time.  I laughed and laughed most of the night.  My gut hurt from laughing so hard.  We didn't act overly stupid.  I think it was just being able to be together and not act uptight.

Sandy and Traci brought 16 bottles of wine.  I'm not quite sure if they thought we were going to intoxicate the entire hotel but that's a lotta wine!  To be honest about it (if I must) the three of us went through seven bottles.  As you can guess, we were a little schnitzled by bedtime. #DontJudge

free coffee and water bar

(We needed it after all the wine we had!)

It was simply a hotel stay hanging with the sisters and other family, but it was hands-down one of the best times I've had.  Love the memories made.

Mrs. Renfro's - Salsas and Sauces Review and Giveaway

More than any other food, me and my husband are most interested in delicious condiments, spices, salsas, and sauces.  I think it's because we like to add a variety of flavors to our food.  For example, pork chops can be enjoyed in a variety of ways if you dress them up with different tastes and flavor textures.  Mrs. Renfro's creates distinctive salsas, relish, peppers and sauces.  I was able to sample two of their offerings.

Black Bean Salsa - This hearty flavor-packed salsa is an ideal topper for baked potatoes, a zesty base for southwestern-style pizzas and makes a mean Black Bean Salsa Soup.

Ingredients:  Tomatoes, Water, Black Beans, Onions, Green Chile Peppers, Sweet Green Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Jalapeno Peppers, Corn Starch, Salt, Garlic, Spices, Cilantro

slow-cooked chicken with Mrs. Renfro's Black Bean Salsa

I used a jar of Mrs. Renfro's Black Bean Salsa, chicken breast, and a few other ingredients to make a slow-cooked pulled chicken meal.  The blend of ingredients in the salsa combined with the chicken, shredded cheese, and sour cream created an amazing dish.

I'm one of those girls that believes cheese can make most anything taste good.  Mrs. Renfro's Nacho Cheese Sauce is oh-so-good, whether warmed up or eaten right out of the jar.  I chose to warm it up and pour it over tortilla chips.  Jason went an unconventional route and ate hot & spicy fried pork skins with the cheese sauce right out of the jar.  

Some of the ingredients that make up Mrs. Renfro's Nacho Cheese Sauce are green Chile pepper, garlic powder, sweet red pepper, tomato, and onion.  In other words, it's a cheese sauced packed with a lot of flavorsome components. 

The Mrs. Renfro's brand includes more than 30 salsas, peppers, relishes and sauces.  

Win It!

One person will win two products of choice from Mrs. Renfro's.

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

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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. 

Ten Reasons The SwampButt Underwear Gift Card Is The Best Choice For Christmas 2018

SwampButt Underwear™ offers electronic (virtual) gift cards for delivery via e-mail from its web site at www.swampbutt.com to anyone with an e-mail address located on planet earth. There are plenty of reasons why giving and receiving these types of virtual ‘cards’ are a good idea for the 2018 gift giving season. The SwampButt Underwear cards are especially good for the following reasons:

1.  Better than giving cash because unlike cash, these virtual gift cards are only good for SwampButt Underwear and cannot be lost, stolen or traded for intoxicating liquors.

2.  An actual plastic card needs to be registered in case of loss, and it will get lost creating zero value for anyone. What a pain in the SwampButt (Underwear).

3.  There is no time limit. The cards from SwampButt Underwear can be redeemed any time of the year through 2019.

4.  There are no hidden fees with the SwampButt Underwear gift card. The same is not true of many physical gift cards from banks, clothing stores or that coffee place that asked to stop mentioning them. So, whether buying a $5.00 card or a $500.00 card, the money the gift giver intends to give to the gift receiver gets got by the one so gifted the way the gift giver intended.

5.  Easy to send at the last possible minute or any other minute leading up to the last possible minute.

6.  The person receiving the card can select the color, size and style of SwampButt Underwear they prefer without having to reveal that their 38-inch waist is really a 52-inch waist to anyone.

7.  If you forgot to include someone while Christmas shopping, sending the virtual card will mean no one will know. So no hurt feelings or reinforced experiences based on childhood trauma; fewer trips to the therapist in the new year along with a dryer backside.

8.  Underwear is a necessity and most people wear it. Giving it is a way of saying you care about the state of your relative/friend/neighbor/co-worker/clergy/first responder/kids music teacher/scout leader/other kind of kids teacher/coach’s backside etc. and have thought about that persons rear a great deal. Very thoughtful of you.

9.  The SwampButt Underwear brand and label are very unique and will be a welcome surprise to the one who receives it unlike socks, ties, calendars or anything from a temporary kiosk at the mall. SwampButt Underwear is a company with a product that solves a real problem and answers the question, ‘is this a real company.’

10.  No awkward surprises forced ‘I love its’, griping in the car on the way home about a bad gift, Facebook posts complaining about the bad gift you later take down because ‘they might see it’, re-gifting, or trips to the mall for a return.

I will receive product in exchange for this post.  Please do your own research before purchasing products or using services.  Your opinions and results may differ.