I cannot express how blessed I feel to be asked to review so many great products. This is a particularly fun one because it brought me back to my youth! I remember as a kid waiting through the rest of the year for late September when these favorite cereals would come back for the holiday: Oh boy was it ever a treat when my parents would let us get one! Count Chocula, FrankenBerry, and Boo Berry can often be found this time of year still, but Yummy Mummy, and Frute Brute have been gone for a while. But guess what?! Target is going back in time with exclusive retro packaging, AND they are re-introducing two throwback flavors: Fruity Yummy Mummy and Frute Brute!
And thanks to General Mills through MyBlogSpark I got the chance to try out some of these fine cereals and to share them with my family. AND I have a sweet deal to share with you, as well as a giveaway! Yipee!!! 
What is it and What is the DEAL?
Well, I guess I already told you what it is above-but to review, it is AWESOME retro cereals! And here is the deal, available exclusively at Target!
When you buy three (3) General Mills Monster Cereals in a single shopping trip at Target now through the end of the month (October 31, 2013), you’ll receive a free Monster Bash Magazine full of recipes, tips and tricks for you to have the creepiest, scariest, spookiest, most fun Halloween ever! 
Awesome!
Where can you get more information? Check out this great website: http://www.grocerysavvy.com/ Or even just stop in at your local Target store and look for these cereals! 
What did we think?
Before I answer that, let me tell you what I got to review. 
I was so happy that we were sent 3 flavors of cereal: Boo Berry, Fruity Yummy Mummy and Frute Brute, as well as a $25 gift card to Target so I could go pick up some more cereal!  I had all 5 of my kids, my husband and myself all taste test the cereal. I will say this-all were a hit, though everyone had their own favorite. And apparently our family is not super fond of Orange cream flavored cereal because the Fruity Yummy Mummy was the least favorite (though still liked). I liked Boo Berry best. Most of the kids liked the Frute Brute best, and my husband liked them all. He noted that they are particularly good cereals to put in milk then drink the milk after. I am not a fan of milk with cereal, but if you like to drink milk from the bowl after you eat the cereal, Wes says these are great cereals for that! So, after I took all the pics for the review and was ready to write it, I went to work on a few things, came back in the kitchen and found my youngest sitting at the table having helped himself to more cereal. So, I set up the cereal in a way the camera could catch it and recorded this little video of what he thought:

I guess I don't need to tell you that he was a big fan of all of the cereals. I am thinking the time frame to get these cereals is coming to a close, so you ought to run out and grab some at Target while you can-and grab that free magazine while you are at it. What can you win? (Here's the giveaway part!) Of course, you always have the chance to win some cereal from me as well, so you might as well enter and try to win! One winner will win the same package I received: 3 flavors of cereal: Boo Berry, Fruity Yummy Mummy and Frute Brute, as well as a $25 gift card to Target  You can enter here on this Giveaway Tools widget below.
This is a quick giveaway! Please get those entries in quick and share this giveaway with your friends!   Terms and Conditions of Giveaways: Winners will be picked at random after the giveaway ends! Blogger will email winner, winner then has 48 hours to respond to email to claim prize. After the 48 hours has expired, blogger will pick a new winner.  Also, Facebook is not affiliated with this giveaway and cannot be held responsible for it in any way. All giveaways are subject to fulfillment by sponsors. Blogger is NOT responsible for prize fulfillment (unless it is expressly stated in the giveaway post). By way of disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark 

So, did you all read my review of NEW Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme cereal from Big G (General Mills)? If not please go read it here (there is a fantastic story about how General Mills helped my sister and her autistic son out!)  

I told you there that I was sent all of this:


Which looks like this when unpacked:


Well, Guess what?!  MyBlogSpark and General Mills are providing another pack like the one pictured above for me to give away!!!! If you are interested in winning this prize, please enter on the form below (I am trying out a new entry method called Giveaway Tools. I find it easier to enter on these forms when I am entering giveaways, so I hope it will be easier for you on here as well!):

Many, many years ago-in what seems a different lifetime at this point, I was a drama teacher. One of the places I worked was a summer drama camp for kids ranging in age from 5-18. Way back then, the Harry Potter books were new and we were still waiting from book to book for them to come out-there were no movies. I was asked to start a Harry Potter class at this drama camp. It was my favorite job ever-EVER!

We did all sorts of fun things-a sorting hat, played Quidditch, and had potions class (to name a few). I was a newlywed and my husband was a chemistry major in college at the time and he came in and did the potions class each session for me. Probably the favorite activity to do was to make slime out of the crazy ingredients (I think we called them like ogre snot, werewolf dandruff and unicorn sweat). BUT the actual ingredients were Water (unicorn sweat), Elmer's (or white) glue (ogre snot), and BORAX (Werewolf dandruff). That lesson was always a favorite and it made me LOVE the magic ingredient of BORAX!!

So, when my Purex family over at the Purex Insider team asked me to review Borax, I immediately flashed back to that fantastic experience in my life and JUMPED to review it!

Now here is my sad, sad admission, other than using it to make slime, I had no clue what Borax was used for, or really even what it was. So let me tell you what I have learned.

What is it?

From the info provided to me from the Purex Insider:

• 20 Team Mule Borax is 100% natural Mineral from the earth. Once removed from the ground it is washed, dried and boxed for consumers
• Borax is the common name for sodium tetraborate
• NOTHING is added.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As I have mentioned before, I am a Purex Insider and as such I get to try a lot of their awesome laundry products. Most recently I was sent some Purex Baby Detergent!

What is it? 
This product is new for babies and specifically for infants! Here are a few things about it:

• Provides same bright, white clean you expect from Purex, but is sensitive enough for baby skin! 
• Baby-inspired freshness (fragrance)
• Hypoallergenic
• Dermatologist-tested formula guarantees to remove stubborn stains without hurting delicate clothing (like footie pjs-yes this is SAFE detergent to use on baby footie pjs)
• Like all Purex detergents this is formulated for use with all washers
• AND because it is Purex, you can get the best for your baby without breaking the bank

***By Way of Disclosure, I was sent a free bottle of Purex Baby Detergent for my review, and was given the 3 Free coupons as prizes for this giveaway. I was not however compensated in any other way and all opinions expressed are my own!***

Do you like to have fun? Are you always looking for something funny to read? AND do you like awesome giveaways?

Well, then you absolutely must go check The Song Stuck in my Head. My friend Brady (actual friend in real life-not JUST an online friend) writes it and the blog is as fun as he is!

He gives away some really fun, silly things and right now he is doing a giveaway that I personally think it pretty sweet. There are a number of prizes, my favorite is this awesome scorpion:
Yes, you could win that (though I hope I do as my boys would LOVE it and it would creep out ALL the kids at the same time)! So, go enter the giveaway here and make sure to tell Brady Hi for me (not that you are required to do that, but just because I would love it if you would!)!

I love food. I really do! I find myself feeling jealous when other bloggers get to review and try awesome products and I don't. So, I enter their giveaways and I buy stuff and I wish it was me reviewing that awesome food! One of the items I have been jealously stalking on other blog reviews is Farm Rich products! So, when the contacted me a while back to do a review/giveaway, I was excited beyond words!

They sent me 2 coupons for FREE products. I headed to the store and began my search in the freezer aisle to choose which 2 awesome products I would try. Should I get the famous Mozzarella Cheese Sticks or maybe go for the Mozzarella Bites or the Queso Cheese Bites?   Maybe I should get the Mini Pizza Slices or the Stuffed Pretzel Bites? But honestly, the Jalapeno Peppers, the Mini Quesadillas and the Meatballs all looked amazing too...

What did we Try?

Really I should never go shopping hungry. I could not limit myself. I got the Mozzarella Cheese Sticks, the Stuffed Pretzel Bites, and the Meatballs...on that trip. (I have been back for more...) (Not all items made it into my picture-sorry)

What did we think?

Well, it is an understatement to say we liked them. We loved them. My kids have asked for them (all of them) over and over again since we tried the first bag. You might say they had us at the first bite. Really. Let me tell you about them one at a time:

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks: OK, this was the fan favorite at the Johnson house with the children! My oldest son asks for them EVERY DAY after school since he tried them. He told me that these Mozzarella sticks paired with his favorite spaghetti sauce is the perfect food! My second son is quite a picky eater and often will not eat what I prepare for him. I made these as a side to go with spaghetti one night and he ate and ate and ate. He loved them and it was not a fight to get him to eat dinner that night! The other 3 kids also loved them and would eat them anytime, anywhere and would consider it a real treat!

Stuffed Pretzel Bites: Though the Mozzarella Sticks were the clear favorite overall, these were a close second, and the favorite for my oldest daughter. Well, really for both my daughters. My oldest daughter really loved that the cheese was inside so it was less messy "especially for the younger kids."  I agree with her on that, and they taste great! I really liked these a lot and would happily have them as an after school snack or for a party or to watch a football game, or for whatever other daily use you can think of! I would note that you need to make sure they are cooled off enough before giving them to kids after cooking them because the cheese can get pretty hot! Just to throw that out there. :)

Meatballs: This was the mom favorite for  making my life easier! What a quick easy way to make an everyday meal (for us Spaghetti with sauce) extra special for the kids! Just adding the meatballs to my sauce rather than using ground hamburger made the kids so much happier (and it was so much easier for me). My son that hates sauce, willingly ate it with the meatballs in it! And I would note that the flavor of the meatballs is fabulous! We tried both the original Meatballs and the Italian Style Meatballs, and liked both!

Where can you find Farm Rich products?

On the Farm Rich website you can find out who near you carries these great products. Just search for your area here.

There is a fabulous coupon right now...

Also on the Farm Rich website right now you can print a coupon for $1.50 off 2 Farm Rich products. Get the coupon here.

Anyone want a chance to win?

I sure hope so because one lucky Beckee's Deals winner will win 2 FREE Farm Rich product coupons (just like I got-$6.99 value each)!!  If you want to win, just enter on the Rafflecopter form below:
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As the Rafflecopter says "Please note that the giveaway will end on 11/14 at 12:01 AM EASTERN time. That means you have until 11:01 PM on 11/13 Central /time to get in entries (That is only 9:01PM here in AZ).  Please note that winners will be picked at random by Rafflecopter after the giveaway ends!  Giveaway sponsor will send prize out and I cannot be held responsible for getting it to you. Sorry. Also, Facebook is not affiliated with this giveaway and cannot be held responsible for it in any way"

By way of Disclosure, I was given 2 Free product coupons for the purpose of this review and 2 more Free coupons will be provided to my giveaway winner. I received no other compensation for this giveaway and as always, opinions expressed in this review are mine (and my kids).

I love to read. I really do. I especially love children's books. I LOVE them.

Many of you know that I was a drama teacher as a career (in a previous life before kids). But you probably don't know that my minor was is reading. That's right, reading. When I found out I had to have a minor for my degree, I looked around and discovered that with a reading minor I got to study lots and lots of children's books and tactics to teach them. SCORE!!

So, I have read a lot of children's books in my day. And as I said. I love them! I am always excited to discover new children's books which is why I was SO excited to be contacted by author Sharon Cramer to review (and give away) her new book Marlow and the Monster.

First, let me tell you about the Author and the book, then I will tell you what I thought and tell you how you can enter to win your own copy!!

Who is Sharon Cramer?

Sharon Cramer is the author/illustrator of the award winning children's series called Cougar Cub Tales. She has also written and released a full length novel and is currently working on another YA title, due for release in December! She owns Talking Bird Books, and is an indie published author. Marlow and the Monster is here newest children's book release.
She is also so great to work with! So nice-she signed our copy of the book with inscription to my 5 kiddos! They LOVE that!!
What is Marlow and the Monster about?

Marlow and the Monster is about a boy, Marlow who has a monster pestering him nightly in his room. His parents do not see the monster and (as we all say to our kids) they are always telling him there are no monsters! One night Marlow gets so fed up that he brings the monster into his 4-year-old sister's room. She is scared at first, but ultimately, she helps him figure out what to do with his monster!

What did I think?

And as a mom, I am always glad to find a book that can help a child deal with a problem. We have a lot of monster problems at this house, especially with my oldest son and his VERY active imagination. As a younger child, he had a different monster in his room every night. And to him, his monsters were every bit as real as Marlow's monster is to him. As parents we just told him things like "Well, talk to the monster and try to be his friend then he won't seem so scary." We wanted to give him strategies to deal with his monsters. I love that this book also gives the child (Marlow) a way to deal with his monster. And I especially love that it is his little sister that helps him find a way to deal with the monster. That really made my Kindle (my 4 year old girl) happy! The story is sweet and gives children a way to think about dealing with their monsters that should make them less scared.

Without giving away the whole story, I will say that my only criticism of the book is that I felt there was a transition missing from the second to last page to the last page. I can make the leap in my head, but it just feels like there is a transition missing. The point is made that the problem is solved, but I just felt there was a leap there like I missed something.

One more fantastic thing I want talk about is the illustrations. They are fabulous! Just look at this page where Marlow brings the monster into his sister's room:

Isn't it fantastic?!  To quote the info I was sent, Cramer said that the book is "My first trip onto the wild side!" It is illustrated with quill pen and ink and the only splash of color is the monster because "Only the children can see him."

Where can you get Marlow and the Monster?

You can get the book on the Talking Bird Website here or you can find the Kindle eReader edition and hardback copy on Amazon (just click the links to get to them). (The Kindle eReader edition is only $.99!!!)

Can you win a copy?!

Well, yes! In fact you have a chance to win a copy! One lucky Beckee's Deals reader will win a hardback copy of Marlow and the Monster. For your chance to win, just enter on the rafflecopter form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Please note that the giveaway will end on 10/27 at 12:01 AM EASTERN time. That means you have until 11:01 PM on 10/26 Central time to get in entries (That is only 9:01PM here in AZ).  Please note that winners will be picked at random by Rafflecopter after the giveaway ends!  Also, Facebook is not affiliated with this giveaway and cannot be held responsible for it in any way.

And by way of disclosure, I was given a hardback copy of this book for this review and a second copy will be provided to my giveaway winner. No other compensation was received and as always all opinions expressed are my own! Good luck!

I am so excited to introduce you to an awesome blog written by an old friend of mine! Brady writes the blog "The Songs Stuck In my Head." His blog, like Brady himself, is funny and fun! You should read it just because it's awesome, but in case you need a little extra motivation to head over there, I thought I would steer you toward the giveaway he has going on right now. It is fun! Go here to enter it, but do it soon because it ends Saturday (Morning)!

WOW! How time flies! I cannot believe we are into the school year already! It has been a bit of an adjustment for us this year being in a new place and getting used to a new school for the kids. We have had to make a lot of changes. In fact, we at the Beckee's Deals house are using the new school year as an opportunity to make some New (School) Year's resolutions! We want to start this year out right! Apparently we are not the only ones that make resolutions for the new school year! The makers of Plackers Oral Care and the makers of Van's Natural Foods shared this great New (School) Years resolutions list with me and I want to share it with you:

• Make breakfast a priority. Kids who start the day right with a solid breakfast keep their minds on their studies and not on their stomachs. Plan ahead to have some quick, easy breakfasts that are high in protein and whole grains and low in sugar (for example, Van’s Natural Foods 8 Whole Grains Pancakes and Waffles, or its latest better-for-you option, Ancient Grains cereal featuring 6g of protein and 5g of fiber), and make sure your morning routine includes time for kids to eat.
• Have happier trips to the dentist. The morning rush can make time for brushing and flossing scarce. Plan time for kids to brush their teeth before school and add a Plackers Kids flosser, in fun animal shapes and tasty berry flavors, to help keep the dentist’s drill at bay all year long.
• Go to bed earlier. A good night’s sleep is important for concentration and mood. Reading and other quiet activities before bedtime help children wind down better than TV or video games.
• Exercise. Kids who play outdoors after school, whether in organized school or community sports or just with friends at the local park, are less likely to gain weight than kids who flop on the couch for hours of TV, and they have an easier time falling asleep at bedtime because they are actually tired.
• Eat healthier. Lunches and after school snacks don’t have to include chips, cookies and sodas. Healthy snacks like cheese sticks, cut-up fruits, veggies and dip, frozen yogurt, whole-grain versions of kid favorites like Goldfish are just a few ideas for kids who need a snack between and dinner.

All of these items were on our back to school/new years resolutions. One thing in particular I have been trying to improve is to eat healthier and ESPECIALLY to make breakfast a priority.

I have to admit (as I have admitted before on here) that I am not a breakfast eater. Never have been. And as a mom that means it is hard for me to even remember to offer breakfast most days. We are a help yourself to some cereal type breakfast family here, but I am trying to stop that! I am trying to make breakfast good, healthy and something the kids look forward to. SO, I was very glad to get some help from Van's Natural Foods. I was sent 4 coupons-1 for free waffles, one for free English Muffins, and 2 for $ off those same 2 items. I bought the 8 whole Grain Waffles and the 8 Whole Grain English Muffins (thinking I would enjoy them and the kids would not touch them). I was SOOOO wrong! They loved the waffles and the English Muffins and were asking for more! It was an easy and healthy breakfast for my kiddos! (Easy enough for this breakfast deficient mom!!) Fantastic!

I hate to admit 2 terrible things in one post, but another area in which I have been deficient is in Dental work. With our financial situation over the past few years, I admittedly skipped the dentist for all of us. We were obviously still taking very good care of our teeth but we just skipped going  to the expensive dentist (stupidly). About 6 months ago, I made it a priority to get everyone back into the dentist and on a regular schedule again. We all went in and learned that overall, in spite of the lack of dental visits (bad mom!) everyone was doing well-only one cavity in 7 people is pretty amazing. I honestly give a lot of the credit for the great teeth health to the Plackers Kids Dental Flossers. With these babies, my kids LIKE to floss! They ASK to floss and they floss WELL! It is like a mini miracle for me to have this product around...really!

I hope you have had the chance to make some New (School) Year resolutions yourself as a family! If any of your resolutions fall along the lines of ours (healthy foods, great dental care), I have just the giveaway for you! The fantastic people over at Plackers Oral Care and Van's Natural Foods have provided me with a great pack to giveaway that includes the same products I was given: a bag of Plackers Kids flossers, 2 coupons for free Van’s products, plus additional samples/coupons for other Plackers products and a $1 and $2 coupon for Van’s products.

Want to win this? Enter on the Rafflecopter form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway As the Rafflecopter says: Please note that the giveaway will end on 10/12 at 12:01 AM EASTERN time. That means you have until 11:01 PM on 10/11 Central time to get in entries (That is only 9:01PM here in AZ).  Please note that winners will be picked at random by Rafflecopter after the giveaway ends!  Also, Facebook is not affiliated with this giveaway and cannot be held responsible for it in any way.

By way of disclosure, I was provided the same prize pack I am giving away for the sake of this post by the pr company as well as information about the New Years resolutions! I was not compensated in any other way and as always all opinions are my own.

Thanks for reading and good luck on the giveaway!!

I often like new products I try, and I often tell you about them. However, RARELY do I try a new product and love it so much that I contact the company and ask (I would have begged if it came down to it) if they would have me review it. Recently I tried an amazing food that motivated me to do just that-email the company and ask if I could do a review! They were extremely kind to comply! The amazing snack I speak of is the one, the only Pretzel Crisps®. I was lucky enough to be sent the whole deli style crisps collection
 to sample (with an awesome bag to boot!):

The flavors above are (from left to right) top row: Original, Everything, Sesame, Chipotle Cheddar, bottom row: Garlic Parmesan, Buffalo Wing, and Jalapeno Jack.

I seriously cannot tell you how much our family LOVES these! Seriously amazing! As far as I am concerned these are the ultimate snacking experience! (And BTW-love the background story which you should all check out here: http://pretzelcrisps.com/our-story/. Way to Keep at it until the perfect snack was achieved-perfect in my words, not theirs) All flavors are straight out of the bag or with dips or toppings. You could make some SWEET and easy appetizers with these babies!

The basic idea behind the  Pretzel Crisps® is that it is a flat pretzel cracker. Check out what a single one looks like:

And how flat and thin they are:

Such a perfect idea to make topping and dipping so easy, and to make it easy to eat! So awesome!

Let me tell you about them flavor by flavor:

Original: This is the favorite of both my daughters. My oldest said it is her fave because it is just "the classic". It is basically a crisp, flat, salted pretzel. Really tasty, and for my tastes I like it better than other pretzels. Of course the completely functional bonus is how easy these are to top! And the original could seriously top with just about anything. We liked cheese-any kind-on these ones or dipping them in a cheese dip for a savory snack. But we also found that you can sweeten these up for a salty sweet snack by dipping them in frosting or melted chocolate. Both are awesome options!

Everything: This is like an Everything Bagel, covered with Poppy seeds, Sesame Seeds, Onion, garlic and a pinch of salt. This was my 2nd favorite flavor and I am all about eating this one alone. Plenty of flavor and so, so good! But that being said, my aunt, husband, and XiaXia (grandma in Greek) liked them plain, but liked them even more when paired with hummus.

Sesame: My middle son LOVES this kind and calls it his favorite! When I asked him why it is his favorite he said (in his most "duh!" voice): "Um, its sesame and salt on a pretzel, how could that be bad?" And I have to agree-it is fantastic! This is the favorite flavor at our house to pair with any kind of hummus or dip (like a ranch or french onion).

Chipotle Cheddar: My Oldest Son claims this one as his fave! He loved the spicy, cheesy flavor. I think this one is a great one to pair with a salsa or cheese as a topping. It would be great with a cream cheese based dip as well (though I did not get to try that before this bag was devoured!)

Garlic Parmesan: My baby boy LOVES these. In fact, as I was typing this, he woke up from his nap, came downstairs, went to the pantry and dragged the bag out, and brought it to me to open as I typed. He eats these like crazy-and it is this flavor he picks out (he is only 18 months old though so we do break down the pieces a little). These are like a classic Italian flavor. At the request of the children, we ate them the other night as a side with our Spaghetti and dipped them in our marinara sauce-FANTASTIC! I think a great Alfredo sauce would be awesome as well!

Buffalo Wing: Oh.My.Gosh. This is the flavor that sold me and motivated me to email Pretzel Crisps®. Really-this is my absolute favorite snack. I have not tasted anything like it. It is like the spices of a buffalo wing on a  Pretzel Crisps®! INCREDIBLE! Want the ultimate snacking experience? Throw a really nice bleu cheese chunk on this baby or dip it in Bleu cheese dressing-HEAVEN!! (Can you tell I LOVE this one?!) By far my favorite! YUMMY!

Jalapeno Jack: This is a spicy bold flavor. Pairs nicely with guacamole or salsa (or pop a slice of chees on it if you want to tone down the spice on this one). It was a little spicy for a couple of my kids and me, but my hubby thought it was not spicy enough.

Please, oh PLEASE, if you have not yet tried  Pretzel Crisps®, DO IT! DO IT NOW!! They are fantastic and can be found in most grocery stores near the deli. In fact, I want you to try them so much that I am going to do something that is very hard for me...I was sent a coupon for a FREE bag of  Pretzel Crisps®. This came with my review bag and I am not required to give this away, but I am going to! Just so one of you amazing reader will get the chance to try this awesome product for free! Please enter below on the rafflecopter form-this will be an easy entry giveaway that will end in a couple weeks.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As the Rafflecopter form says: Please note that the giveaway will end on 10/04 at 12:01 AM EASTERN time. That means you have until 11:01 PM on 10/03 Central time to get in entries (That is only 9:01PM here in AZ).  Please note that winners will be picked at random by Rafflecopter after the giveaway ends!  Also, Facebook is not affiliated with this giveaway and cannot be held responsible for it in any way.

Wow-in the process of moving a lot of crazy happens! Here is one of those things! I was sent s great product to try out and to giveaway that took some time to get to me due to moving and all the fun that goes along with changing addresses. So, I will just go ahead and tell you about this product and do this giveaway now that I have everything and have had a chance to test it out.

Here goes...

Let's talk deodorant for a minute...I am generally not a very sweaty lady. And my husband is allergic to all the deodorants and antiperspirants we have found (thus his obsessive showering multiple times a day). So, (dare I admit this), I rarely wear deoderant or antiperspirant. However, moving to the hot, HOT state of Arizona has made me a lot more sweaty..a lot. And a lot more stinky. Also, I have a 9 year old girl that is going through puberty. She noted a few weeks ago that he thinks her body is now having some stinky BO that we should deal with. So, my daughter and I were happy when we got to test out Dry Idea.

I was sent a sample of the Advanced Dry Roll On. I am not usually a roll on deodorant kind of gal when using deodorant, but I wanted to try it out. What I usually do not like is the feeling of a wet product going on. However, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it did not bother me. I put on the deodorant and found it did not bother me at all. It dried quick and then I did not feel stinky throughout the day. I was very happy with the results. I was particularly pleased that it was unscented so I did not have to mell roses (or whatever) wverytime I had a slightly sweaty moment! It just smelled fresh and not stinky! ( You can get it in Unscented, Powder Fresh or Cotton Dry-so find the one you like!)

We got my daughter the same product to try and she loved it (and we noticed it made a difference in the BO she was so worried about). She has tried a few different deodorants in the past year and this one she liked enough to ask for it over and over.

I recommend giving it a try and for 3 lucky Beckee's Deals readers, you can try it for Free!! Check out the giveaway below:

Giveaway: 3 readers will each win 1 coupon good for 1 Free 3.25oz or smaller Dry Idea AdvancedDry! Just enter below on the Rafflecopter form (or you can enter on my FB page instead.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As the Rafflecopter says: Please note that the giveaway will end on 9/14 at 12:01 AM EASTERN time. That means you have until 11:01 PM on 9/13 Central time to get in entries (That is only 9:01PM here in AZ). Please note that winners will be picked at random by Rafflecopter after the giveaway ends! Also, Facebook is not affiliated with this giveaway and cannot be held responsible for it in any way.

***By way of disclosure, Dry Idea provided a free sample of their Advanced Roll-On for this Review as well as the 3 Free coupons for the giveaway. However, as always, all opinions expressed are my own.***

I know I have mentioned before how much I love Carmex. And I am so happy to be a member of the Carmex Blog Squad because it means I get to try out and giveaway a lot of different Carmex products! I have a fun SUMMER prize to giveaway and review, but I have to have a winner by the 20th so this will be a fast giveaway! But first my review:

What is it?

I was sent a package with the following products to try (The winner of this giveaway will get the same items):

• 1 Carmex Summer Bag (pretty big)
• 6 Carmex lip balms including the NEW Pomegranate (other flavors are Everyday Protecting Strawberry, Cherry, Lime, Vanilla, or Original)

What did I think?

I have told you over and over again how much I like Carmex-it is great! I use a lot of chap stick so Carmex is one of my favorite companies to review! (Now that we have moved into the intense dry heat of the desert in AZ, I use even more!!)

I LOVE to try the new flavors. I have tried the Cherry, Lime, Vanilla, Everyday Protecting Strawberry and Original before, but the Pomegranate is a new flavor so this is the first I have tried it. It has a fruitier smell than others and is a little similar to the cherry in the fruitiness. But I actually liked it better than the Cherry. It was a stronger flavor smell. For those that like Carmex but do not like the intensity of the smell or feel of the Original, this would be a PERFECT option for you!
Oh, and can I take a minute to mention how much I LOVE the bag! It is well made, sturdy and nice. I have been taking it to the water park all summer and it is still as good as new! LOVE the bag!

What Can You win?

One Lucky Beckee's Deals reader will win the same product package I was sent for this review:

• 1 Carmex Summer Bag (pretty big)
• 6 Carmex lip balms including the NEW Pomegranate (other flavors are Everyday Protecting Strawberry, Cherry, Lime, Vanilla, or Original)

How to Enter to Win?
To enter use the Rafflecopter form. You can access it on the blog in this post below, or on my Facebook Page here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway Please note, as the Rafflecopter form states, the giveaway will end on 8/19 at 12:01 AM EASTERN time. That means you have until 11:01 PM on 8/18 Central time to get in entries (here in AZ that is only 9:01pm) .  Please note that winner will be picked at random by Rafflecopter after the giveaway ends and winner for this one has only 24 hours to get back to me. I have to get winner info to Carmex BY the 20th!!!  Also, Facebook is not affiliated with this giveaway and cannot be help responsible for it in any way. Sorry, but this one is for US only.

If you do not know this, I have a bit a a sweet tooth. I eat a lot of sugary snacks (as my husband pointed out to me the other week). I am also trying to lose weight so I have been cutting down on "treats". So, I was excited to learn about ProBars. They offer delicious, convenient, healthy plant based snack foods. They're low in sugar, dairy-free and organic. They are a healthy treat that you and your kids can enjoy!!

We tried the ProBars sample pack AND the HALO variety pack. We loved both but let me just focus on the HALO bars, which included their new Honey Graham, Nutty Marshmallow, Rocky Road, and S'Mores Halo™ bars. Each bar is just 150 calories! Much less than a candy bar! (I replaced candy bars with these bars and It has saved me a ton of calories!!)

I expected these would be a hard granola type bar, but they are not at all. They are actually moist and soft (not like hard granola bars). I was glad I got to try all four flavors because in our house we had a wide array of reactions to the different flavors. Each of us had a different favorite, and there was one flavor we each disliked. I thought I would like the S'mores one best but it did not taste much like a S'more to me so I did not like it much (probably because my expectation was so different). I thought I would not like the Honey Graham so I tasted it last, but ended up liking that flavor the most! My kids thought the Rocky Road was the best, my daughter liked Nutty Marshmallow and my husband liked the Smores.

As mentioned above, I replaced a candy bar a day with these HALO bars and was able to save some major calories. I feel it has helped me along the path to lose this baby weight!! Check out this comparison of HALO bars to candy bars:

I am so glad that I get to share this great product with one of my awesome readers! ProBars is giving one Beckee's Deals reader an entire box (12 bars) of HALO Bars!! SWEET deal right?!

This will be a quick giveaway ending next week on 9/30/2011 (It will say on the rafflecopter form that it is ending on 10/1 @12:01AM EST, but that is 11:01pm on the 30th here central time, so that is why I am calling it 9/30 as the end date)

Please enter below on the rafflecopter form:



Thanks for entering!

***This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media, and by way of disclosure, I was given samples of the products mentioned above for my review but was compensated in no other way for this review. As always, opinions are my own. The sponsor will fulfill your prize and I cannot be held responsible for the delivery. ***

Well, somehow this did not post correctly yesterday, so today you get my "WINSday" update on how my winning giveaways experiment is going.
(You can see the explanation of my experiment/idea to keep track of my "wins" in the first "WINSday" post here).

I started keeping track of my wins on the blog on 1/16/11. That means that Wednesday 3/16 marks exactly 2 months since I started. So far (as of today-Wednesday March 16), I have won 45 giveaways.

This week was pretty slow as I did not enter giveaways each day-there were 3 days this week where I had no access to the laptop to enter giveaways (hubby was working from home). So, the fact I won anything this week was pretty lucky.

You can check out the complete list of winnings here!

What have you won lately?! I would LOVE to hear about your wins!!

As you likely know, I enter a lot of giveaways! A LOT! So, I am always grateful when I can enter to win something in a quick easy way.

Well, I just found out a few minutes ago that I won a giveaway over at The Frugal Free Gal. I was really excited and headed over to check out her site again, and realized that she ALWAYS makes her giveaways easy and quick to enter: Just fill out a form with name and email generally!

She actually posted earlier today a list of all the quick easy one entry giveaways she has going on! You should go check out her post and enter the giveaways here. It will be quick and easy, and maybe you will be a winner over there just like me! :)

I am really loving my Purex Complete Crystals softners, and I want you to be able to try them out!! Make sure you go here and print out a money saving coupon so you can try them yourself!!

Also, if you want the chance to WIN a coupon for a FREE bottle of Purex Complete Crystals, make sure you Go here and enter my giveaway. It is a quick giveaway-ends 3/13!!

Now that you have seen what you can win, go enter the giveaway. AND in the meantime while you wait to see whether you won, print out a money saving coupon!!

Do you remember my post about how many giveaways I have won (most of which are from the LOW entries list at Tight Wad in Utah)?!

Well, I wrote a new post about giveaways as a guest post for the Tight Wad in Utah website. You can read it here. Please Make sure you go check it out and let me know what you think...I really am begging for positive feedback here... :)

Wes and I figured out yesterday that I have won about 40+ blog giveaways/sweepstakes since February, about 30 of those are since August. I have been asked many times how I win so many giveaways, so I will tell you!

What I do to win so many giveaways:

1. I enter a lot of blog giveaways daily.
2. I occasionally enter a company sweepstakes.

How do I choose what to enter?


Here are my daily steps:

1. Everyday (well most days), I open the daily email from Tight Wad in Utah and I go to the daily "LOW entry Giveaways ending today" post. (25 or so of the blog giveaways I have won have come from that daily list)

2. If I have time that day, I go through and enter them all. (Well, I used to enter them all, but now that I have won so many I guess I am getting a bit picky and I do not enter the ones I know I do not want or need. However, that being said, sometimes I DO enter the ones I do not want/need because I have a specific purpose in mind for it in case I won it! For example, I do not drink coffee, but I would enter a coffee related giveaway because I know a lot of people that would love that as a gift!)

3. I do many of the "extra entry options" too so I stack my cards in my favor. Most blog giveaways offer a mandatory entry that you must do as your first entry in the giveaway drawing. (If that entry is too complex, I skip entering the giveaway all together-unless it is something I REALLY want) After the mandatory entry, many blogs offer additional bonus entries usually involving following their blog in various ways (through GFC-Google Friend Connect, Facebook, Twitter, daily emails, etc). I use my "junk" email to follow blogs so my real personal email does not get crammed full of blog emails daily. So-if you have not already-set up a separate email account for all your blog sign ups and for any sweepstakes or company emails you sign up for. In my gmail I even have it set up so my "junk" emails are automatically forwarded to a folder in my personal email so I only have to open ONE email to check both accounts!

4. If a giveaway has more than 200 entries already, I don't enter (unless it is something I really want to win). Seriously! I rarely enter giveaways with more than 200 entries and I rarely enter company sweepstakes. However, if I can enter something quickly and easily, I will enter it!

Basically...

I just play the odds-enter LOW entry giveaways. Do the bonus entries, and hopefully once in a while you will catch a break and get lucky!

And for those that are wondering, yes, some of the things I win are small and may not seem worth the entry, but hey-I love to win ANYTHING! And I have won some really nice things!! So, just to give you an idea, here are some of the things I have won:

• $50 Amazon gift card, multiple $10-$25 Amazon gift cards
• 4-5 different books
• 3 CSN Gift codes (ranging from $20-$70 in value)
• Knives
• Skin Care
• A Bushel of Strawberry Milanos
• An Annie Chun's Dinner Party
• Many Photo books, prints and gift codes
• A beautiful Personalized 11x14 print about my baby girl
• Baby birth announcements to use when this baby is born
• Soft Lips, Chapsticks, and Carmex gift packs
• 3 nursing covers
• an isABelt for my daughter
• a $20 virtual Visa card
• a Nuts About Granola Gift Card
• A $25 Applied Labels credit
• A UPrinting Vinyl Banner
• Tickler Tags
• A Smarty Rents 3 month Membership
• A Breyers Prize Package
•  $25 Gift Card to Quality Candy/King Leo
• A Snikkidy Package
• A Noodles & Company giveaway (lots of free food on that one!!)
• A Blush Candle (smells SOOOO good.)
• A Costco Gift pack including Supersized boxes of Nature Valley Bars and Simply Fruit Rolls and a $25.00 Costco Gift card
• A Pre Paid Phone Card

So, You can see some prizes are bigger than others, but I guarantee I loved and appreciated winning each and every one! 

I hope these little "winning" tips can help you win some fun stuff! Please let me know if you win blog giveaways! I LOVE to hear about your success stories-whether they be in winning a prize, scoring a deal or whatever!!!

Now-go enter some giveaways-you can start with the ones I have going on-see the box on the right side of the blog for the current giveaways-they all have LOW entries right now!