We like to tell people our first children are our dogs.

It’s true. They really are our first children. And it doesn’t matter how many kids we end up having, Lively and Maple hold special places in our family’s hearts because they were the small things we took into our homes to care for with love, food, and plenty of room in our bed when they want to snuggle.

Yes, we let our dogs into our bed. Don’t judge me.

One of those responsibilities, feeding those first children, is what allowed me to offer you this product review today.

I was Maple and Lively were sent a special sample of Rachael Ray Nutrish just 6 dry dog food to try and offer their opinion. They even sent a special bowl for them to use, which is great because their current bowl (yes, they share a bowl) needs a trip through the dishwasher (we haven’t taught the dogs to do their own dishes yet). Having a new bowl makes the pictures look prettier.

But I digress.

The dog food bag indicates there are just 6 natural ingredients, which based on recent commercials I have seen, is the new trend in dog food. Companies are removing the extra fillers and unhealthy preservatives to offer our dogs healthier options in their food bowls. It makes sense, especially as someone who treats her dogs like children (drawing the line at dressing them in outfits… most of the time). If I try to limit my kids’ sugar or preservative intake, why can’t I consider limiting what Maple and Lively eat?

While the ingredients printed on the back do list the first six ingredients as natural, I wonder about some of the other ingredients I don’t actually know how to pronounce. But, I figured the proof would be in this:

Empty bowls are always a sign that something went right.

First: do your dogs do this? Do they take food from their bowls, put it on the floor (sometimes in another room) and then eat the food? Well, my dogs do and we find it kind of annoying. But I consider it a sign they actually like it because maybe they want to savor it and not allow something else to interrupt them while their palettes ponder the tastes of lamb, rice, and poultry fat.

I offered the bowl to Maple and see cleaned it out. Lively was a bit put off that I gave it to her second (she is the alpha dog around here), but she took to the food and eventually cleaned the bowl. It looks like the Nutrish was a success!

If you are interested in your own free sample then check out the link to find out how to get your dog their own taste of Nutrish. Maple and Lively recommend it.

[tags]Nutrish, review, dog food, Rachael Ray[/tags]

There are plenty of annoying and earth shattering things out there in the world… and what I’m about to gripe about isn’t one of them. But it still annoys me. Frozen pizza for one person that is a decent price.

It seems like if you want a pizza at home, you have to cook an entire one to be eaten by the entire family or to be sliced up and have the left overs stored in the fridge. If you buy single serving pizzas, they usually cost $4 or more dollars. Heck, for one dollar more I’ll just go pick up a fresh and ready for the whole family. Or for two dollars more, I’ll get a frozen one for the whole family.

Well, Freshetta has changed the personal frozen pizza game by offering FRESCHETTA® By the Slice (found in the freezer section) for less than $2.

Disclosure: I was provided one of these slices for free. I bought the other three because I couldn’t leave out my husband and kids.

I was asked to provide my opinion on the FRESCHETTA® By the Slice product. So today, I hunted for the product (found at Wal-Mart, which is not my favorite shopping place), brought it home and here are my opinions:

Ease of use: the instructions were a tad confusing at first, telling me to put the slice on the side of the turntable and then again in the middle. The disconnect came for me when the entire slice covered my turntable (testament to the bigness of the slice). So, I just turned it after a minute.

Even these helpful diagrams didn’t help. I blame allergies.

Taste/ quality: Even though I was scratching my head over the directions, the outcome was actually favorable. In my opinion, the taste of the slice was pretty good. I picked the Vegetable Medley to be the subject of my review and over all I felt like I was eating pizza I had purchased from a restaurant last night and was enjoying reheated the next day. The crust wasn’t tough (as I find a lot of frozen personal pizza crusts to be) and the sauce was very good. Only the peppers had that reconstituted/ overcooked taste and texture that frozen peppers always get.

Because of the price, I think I would get these again. Though I am bummed they do not offer a sausage or pepperoni option, so maybe not often. The flavors available are BBQ Recipe Chicken, Six Cheese Medley, Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom, and Vegetable Medley. 

If you are curious, already a big fan, or looking to connect with the folks at Freschetta, then you should definitely  follow FRESCHETTA® on Twitter at @FreschettaPizza and like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/freschettapizza.

Oh, and the blog title mentioned something about a giveaway, right? Well, leave a comment on this post and I’ll pick a comment (using Random.org) and mail the winner a coupon for their own free slice. And as a bonus, there will be a set of plastic storage containers as well. (Disclosure: I was given the same plastic storage containers.) I’ll pick a winner on Friday, April 29th (aka Arbor Day!). Happy commenting!

[tags]Freshetta, pizza, giveaway[/tags]

I am so excited that Spring has finally arrived here in Northeast Georgia. It isn’t just being able to open the windows, soak up the fresh air, and see all the green awake from it’s Winter sleep. No, it also means I finally get to use our back porch again!

One of the pluses of moving here to this house was the screen-in porch. We were able to make it into a second playroom of sorts. It also serves as a second dining room and a second living room.

And no, it isn’t that big of a space. We do have a hand-me down patio set and hand-me down outdoor rug, so right now it works. But…

I would love to take it to a true outdoor room potential! Checking out Pier 1 I see there is tons of room for imagining the what-could-be and the wouldn’t-that-look-great potential of our outdoor playroom/dining room/ living room. For starters, all their outdoor furniture is more than wicker eye candy. It could really provide back porch relaxation at very reasonable prices. I have a crush on their Rockasan™ Chair which would be an awesome place for Fuller and I to curl up and read some of his school books. And these shelves have outdoor organizing potential for all those toys we deemed “outside toys.” (Which is such a plus. Not all of Pier 1′s stuff is for inside!)

Pier 1 has teamed up with Izea for a few Pier 1 Tweetups coming up very soon! And two of them are almost near me, at least in the same state! On April 5th in the Atlanta area there are two tweet ups (the wheels in my head are spinning trying to see if I can go). And on April 20th there is one in New York City. I hear they are fabulous tweet ups.

But, if you can go to one of those, what from Pier 1 inspires you for your outdoor rooms?

Last January I tried to make 2010 the year of me. Instead, God showed me it was the year of HIM. Through the sad valley of being apart from my husband for a month to the highs of moving to our new home, I was amazed at how blatantly it showed GOD was the orchestrator of my life. I tried to push round things into square holes, but GOD gently held my hand and showed me how important it was to let Him put the round things in the square holes, because those round things would only go in those square holes when He wanted them to.

If that doesn’t make sense, it’s ok. It does to me.

Sometimes I pull up my blog and read what I wrote and giggle at the ego of it all, the silliness that I could really make it all about me. I was just asking for it. And I was reminded over and over again, it is most definitely not all about me.

And when thinking about direction and the new year and what to put first, I have to say first comes God.

I was bummed I didn’t finish the Bible in 90 days project. I quit reading the blog posts and emails, only to move on to other selfish endeavors. So, first I’m going back to last years goal…

“While I know God and I have had some amazing discussion in the past year, I know I need to get to know Him more. And for me, the best way to start is reading the Bible all the way through.”

I bought the actual Bible in 90 Days book in an effort to help me… now let’s actually get it open.

P.S. I’m not signing up for the Bible in 90 Days group this time around. Too much pressure.

January 1st is a pretty popular one. It is a time of year for reflection on the past and planning the steps to make the next year even better. We make lists, set goals, plot paths to make sure the next 365 days are filled with greatness and meaning. “This year I’m going to travel to all states that border my state and then I’m going to…”

Some of us see each month as a fresh start, with new dates of appointments, events, and deadlines fill our calendars. “Just wait until we get to March, then things will start to change…”

Mondays represent fresh starts because it is the beginning of a new week, a whole seven days to get through until our next Monday, when we throw off the stale and find the freshness all bright eyed and hopeful for the good things to be found. “I’ll start my diet on Monday…”

And then, there is the personal fresh start we each get once a year, the birthday! Though it doesn’t get the fireworks and worldy stature of a holiday (unless you happen to have been born on a holiday), it is a fresh start I think most of us take personally and maybe even rely on to assist us in moving in a forward motion through life. “When I turn 40 I’m going to write a book…”

Today’s my birthday.

I’m 34 and while it doesn’t have the pomp and circumstance that a number that ends in a 5 or a 0 does, I do find myself using 34 as a stepping stone to give myself a fresh start and desire to pray, plan, and plot my way to 35. But I think first I have to follow some advice my husband was giving Fuller last night- “After a play, you need to look back and ask yourself, Did I do that right or wrong? If you did it right, then think about the steps you took to do it right. If you did it wrong, then think about what you needed to do to make it right.” (That is a loose transcript. Also, he was referring to football, not life pathways.)

At the beginning of 2010 I made a list of “pictures” of my life. Since my birthday is so close to the end of the year, it seems to be a good time to look at the list and see how the pictures developed. I’m not going to do it right here in this blog post, but it is one way I’m using my fresh start. I’ll see if any of those pictures are going to come out ok.

Health- The 2010 picture of health will be the main focus for the first quarter of this year. This is because I’m having surgery sometime this month (more on it later, and it isn’t what you might think) and I hope this surgery will help me meet some other physical health goals I have for my life.

That surgery was supposed to happen today. But about two weeks ago we received some good news in another area of our family and after taking a quick look at our immediate future*, it was obvious my surgery** would need to be postponed.

Which is how I find myself sitting lakeside of Lake Martin in Alabama. Last week the boys and I traveled here to take refuge under the roof of my in-laws while Damon remained at home to begin the final stages of renovation of our home.

But this line haunts me a little:

The 2010 picture of health will be the main focus for the first quarter of this year.

I’m trying to figure out ways to keep health (specifically weight loss and lowering my cholesterol) at a premium. I can’t work out the exact way that I want, so I ordered some Earth Shoes to help while I walk (an exercise I can actually do). When we return to Chattanooga, I hope the Wii Fit will be part of my daily routine (I refuse to buy more Wii “workout” stuff until I do Wii Fit for 30 days), so at least I make myself move more.

So 18 days in, I have changed the path, but the goal is still the same.

[tags]New Years Resolutions, change, health, weight loss, Wii Fit, Earth Shoes, Exer-Walk[/tags]

*I know I’m being cryptic, but the internet doesn’t need to know everything, right? If you know us in real life, then we are fine sharing some details. The internet will find out in due time.

**Again with the vagueness. And because I’m talking weight loss, you might have an idea of what the surgery is. But I bet you are wrong. I’ll tell you right now, it isn’t gastric bypass. It isn’t lapband surgery. And no, it isn’t plastic surgery of any kind.

If you know me in real life, if you know my background (pastor’s kid, PCA raised, Covenant College graduate), it might surprise you to know I have never read The Bible all the way through.

At one point in my life I had a brief conversation with my dad (I think I was in high school). He asked me if I had ever read The Bible all the way through. I clearly remember being taken aback at the question. Read The Bible? Like a book? Wasn’t it just a reference book, like the dictionary or encyclopedia? I memorized verses from The Bible. I didn’t sit and read it like my Sweet Valley High books.

I have read entire books in The Bible. And at the same time, there are entire books I have never read all the way through (Job and Revelations spring to mind).

Knowing The Bible is God’s word and knowing I haven’t read it all makes me think I have been tuning Him out. We joke about Fuller and his “selective hearing” but I think the “selective reading” I have done in the past is very similar. I need to give Him my full attention and I’m trying to start by participating in this challenge.

I’m thankful God pointed me to Amy over at Mom’s Toolbox so I could get started. Tonight I participated in a twitter chat for #B90Day participants and I felt so at ease knowing I wasn’t the only one who was doing this for the first time. And someone asked about the backgrounds of participants and there were plenty of folks raised in the church who were first timers as well.

I am praying for all the participants, that they would remain steadfast and find those pockets throughout the day to read the chapters and savor them in their hearts and minds.

Marching forward into 2010 I know I have to look at those pictures of my life and decide which ones I need to change- should they be brighter? Should I change the focus? If I took the picture again, would the composition be completely different? Or is it a simple shift of perspective?

I think my life mosaic is currently made up of Spiritual, Wife, Mother, Health, and Creativity.

Spiritual- this picture has to be sharper and more in focus. While I know God and I have had some amazing discussion in the past year, I know I need to get to know Him more. And for me, the best way to start is reading the Bible all the way through. Today I started The Bible in 90 Days. I am part of the Mom’s Toolbox group who is also doing it. I hope to blog some parts of it, but blogging about it really isn’t the point. Reading the Bible is. And I plan on doing it.

Wife- I think this picture is currently a bit dull. I am praying about ways to make it brighter. A stronger relationship, better communication, common goals- those are blanket goals I can list here without giving away details I’m not ready to share on the internet.

Mother- In 2009 the picture of me as mother changed by adding another child to the mix. It was a much more difficult experience than I expected. And in August we started homeschooling Fuller, making things even more difficult. I think 2010 will be an extension of the picture since I know we still have to find the new normal as a family of four. I don’t have a specific goal to list right now, but I’m praying on it.

On a wife and mother related subtopic, I hope in 2010 I can get a better handle on managing my household. A cluttered home leads to cluttered lives and towards the end of 2009 I was feeling the clutter closing in on our lives. I think the first few weeks of this year will be centered clearing clutter.

Health- The 2010 picture of health will be the main focus for the first quarter of this year. This is because I’m having surgery sometime this month (more on it later, and it isn’t what you might think) and I hope this surgery will help me meet some other physical health goals I have for my life. And when it comes to mental health, I am going to make sure I get some more time to myself and out of the house. Once a week should do it.

Creativity- Photography. Blogging. Crochet. I plan on continuing all three. So far, that is as far as I have gotten with looking at those pictures. I am learning more about photography every day. Maybe I can try a 365 project again. I want to keep blogging and building community. And I have a scarf I really need to finish crocheting.

I see 2010 full of good possibilities and I looking forward to seeing how the pictures develop in my life mosaic.

I took this picture via remote the other day when setting up for the all important large family picture. It cracks me up. For one, I have big hair. And the look on my face… well, I knew it wasn’t a “real picture” but it turned into something that I think actually looks like the real me.

I’ve been almost MIA from the online world for a while. I keep wondering what I am doing here and what my goals are. I’m not going to try to type out an answer at 11:21 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, but I’m just warning you, next year I will probably start with a blog post about goals and blogging.

Now it is 11:24 and I’m happy to reflect on 2009, knowing it is almost over and done with. While it hasn’t been the worst of years (I had a baby! I started homeschooling!) I think 2010 will be sooooo much better than 2009. I had a great Christmas, but I feel like tomorrow is Christmas again with all the possibilities dancing in front of me.

So, Happy New Year to you and yours. I look forward to sharing 2010 with you.