Winner, Lilla Rose, and Tropical Traditions

Things have been so busy this week, that I never got the winner of the Woodcarver DVD announced. Sorry about that. The winner was entry #53 out of 116 entries. Congratulations Sarah!

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Would you like a chance to win a Lilla Rose Flexi Clip? I am sponsoring giveaways on two different blogs right now, and I would love to have you visit ABCD Diaries and For Him and My Family to enter!

I am also offering a Buy-3-Get-1 FREE promo during the month of March. Buy 3 or more flexi clips this month, and I would love to send you a voucher for a FREE flexi clip of your choice (up to $15 value). Only one voucher may be used per account.

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Have you tried out Tropical Traditions yet? There are still lots of products that I haven't tried yet (hopefully I'll be able to one day), but we've loved the products we have tried. Two of my favorites are actually on sale right now!

Their Virgin Coconut Oil is on a Buy-1-Get-1-FREE sale! That's an $80.00 retail value for only $40.00, and $15.50 OFF of their normal sale price for two jars! I know it's expensive, but it's very high quality, wonderful coconut oil.

Special Price! - Organic Raw Honey - 17.6 oz. glass jar

The absolutely delicious Organic Raw Honey is also on sale! Through today (3/22), you can buy a 17.6 oz jar of honey for 50% off. Yum!!

2 FREE 8x10 Prints From Walgreens

Are you in need of any 8x10 photos? Walgreens is at it again offering FREE 8x10 prints. This offer is only good through tomorrow (3/17).

Just use the codes FREEONE and 1PRINT to receive 2 free 8x10s. You'll need to place two separate orders to use both coupons though. Only one coupon can be used per order. Choose in-store pick up and your prints will be completely free!

Freezer Muffins

Our family LOVES muffins! We often have them for supper, and they also make a great breakfast on the run. There are SO many different varieties of muffins - blueberry, apple, pumpkin, and lemon to name just a few.

Although muffins don't really take long to mix up, sometimes you just don't have the time (or maybe the energy) to make them. Or maybe you're like our family which isn't big enough to eat a whole batch of muffins before they spoil. Let me introduce you to an idea that maybe you haven't tried before. Freezer Muffins.

No, I don't mean just baking muffins and freezing them. Most of us have probably done that many times. That does work great most of the time, but fresh muffins are just SO much better, and sometimes you just really want HOT muffins not cold ones. The tip I'd love to share with you today is freezing not baked muffins, but muffin batter!

I found this idea several years ago on someone's blog (I've long ago forgotten where). To freeze unbaked muffins, simply fill your muffin tins with batter like normal. Then instead of baking your muffins, immediately place them in the freezer. Usually I let them stay in their pans in the freezer overnight to make sure they freeze solid.

Once you're batter has frozen, you can then remove the muffins from the tins and place them in freezer bags or containers. This frees your muffin tins up to make other muffins, and you now have batter in the freezer all ready to pop back in your muffin tins and into the oven anytime you want fresh muffins in a hurry!

To bake your muffins, I've found that it works best to bake them at 350 for about 35 minutes. When baking fresh muffins, I know the temperature is usually higher than that and the time shorter, but this longer time and lower temperature seems to work best for frozen muffin batter.

Some muffins work better with this freezer method than others, and your muffins may not look quite the same as if you baked them fresh, but they taste great, and it's such a blessing at times to be able to just open the freezer, fill up my muffin tin with muffins, and pop them in the oven!

Another really fun benefit of this freezer method is that you can make and freeze several different kinds of muffins and then when you're ready to bake and serve muffins for breakfast, snack, or supper, you can surprise your family with a variety of muffin flavors!

I'm linking up at:

The Woodcarver DVD Review & Giveaway

Our family recently had the opportunity to preview a new Christian DVD. 

The Woodcarver

Description:

Restoring their faith in God and in Life.

Matthew Stevenson is a troubled kid from a broken home. When he vandalizes the local church to get back at his parents, Matthew has to repair the damage to the church to avoid criminal charges. While working at the church, he meets Ernest (John Ratzenberger), an accomplished wood carver who created the intricate woodwork decoration that Matthew destroyed. Ernest has become something of a hermit, but reluctantly comes out of reclusion to help repair the church. Now Ernest and Matthew must work together to preserve the church's beautiful antiquity, and along the way, they also manage to restore their faith in God and in life.

As I began to watch this, my heart went out to this young man. He was so confused, frustrated, and hurting. His parents were heading toward a divorce, and his world was turning upside down. He desperately needed a father who would be the head and spiritual leader in his home, and instead all his father ever does is yell at him!

Our family appreciated the Christian values and message in this movie. It was encouraging to be able to see God working in the hearts and lives of each member of this family through circumstances they find themselves in after Matthew is assigned to help repair the church and begins to work with Mr. Otto. God is ready and willing to turn our problems around and forgive us when we turn our hearts back toward Him.

We did feel that this movie ended rather abruptly - more like it was the first part of something rather than a stand alone movie. I would also add a word of caution. This is a movie about a broken home, and the parents (particularly the father) yell at each other and their son A LOT especially in the first half of the movie. This may not be appropriate for younger children.

Over all, we did enjoy this story. It has a good message, and a Christian basis.

I am now able to offer one of my readers their own copy of The Woodcarver DVD. Simply enter the giveaway in the Raffleopter form below. Or if you don't want to wait, you can also purchase the movie here.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it  on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally  and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Lilla Rose Flexi Clip Giveaway

Would you like a chance to win a Lilla Rose Flexi Clip to try out? My good friend, Anna, is doing a huge "No More Student Loan" giveaway event on her blog, Feminine Adventure, and I'm thrilled and honored to sponsor a Lilla Rose giveaway for her.

I'd love to have you pop on over to Anna's blog and enter the giveaway! It ends on Monday the 5th.