Today, I’ll be posting about the Animal Kingdom aspect of the Disney trip. I’ll be talking more about the people that I met during the entire week-end next week, but I did want to introduce you to the nine other wonderful African American moms that attended the mixer:

ALSO…

A few of us promised Ryan who works at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn that we would give him a mention on our blogs. He was a really sweet guy who knew little to nothing about blogs, but he promised to read them to see if we would write about him. “Hi Ryan!”

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1. Nexxus Keraphix: Since my hair stylist recommended using a hair reconstructor every other week, I purchased this one (after reading various reviews). So far, it’s working very well.

2. Revlon ColorStay Soft & Smooth Lipstick in Divine Port Wine: Nude, red, pink and burgundy are the “major” lip colors for the fall (from what I’ve read). I chose burgundy and I really like this one. (I tap it on with my finger for a less intense shade – I got that tip from InStyle magazine!)

3. Banana Republic: I purchased two of my favorite fall tops there. I’m glad that I got them on sale though…because one has already been ruined by one of the kiddos.

4. Dark Wash Levi Jeans: I like their Boot Cut 518 Jeans. (I’ve -once again- decided that jeans and dresses are the best options for my body type. So, I’m into all types of jeans!)

5. Kristin Peep Toe Shoes: I read about these shoes in Cookie magazine a month or so ago. I couldn’t believe that they were from Payless! They’re not the most comfortable “walk around all day” shoes, but they’re good and cute for brief stints.

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(To see other “Wordless Wednesdays” around the web, visit here or here.)

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Okay, not really. I DO have a soft, fluffy towel that I won’t let anyone else in my home touch though. I’m even careful about not snagging it with my engagement ring. (Lately, I’ve noticed that I have snagged many of my towels by forgetting to take off or flip around my rings…)

On a side note, I have stopped doing my monthly “Seven Favorite Things” list for now. Rather, I’ll just post about my faves as they come up. The Bamboo Towel from The Company Store is officially one of my favorite things. There are few things that are better than slipping a soft, comfy towel around myself after taking a relaxing bath or shower. On the environmental side, I like that the towels are made of bamboo (30% cotton /70% bamboo), the fastest growing woody plant in the world. I’m not sure how they make something so soft out of bamboo, but it feels nice to be able to do something good for both myself and the environment at the same time!

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I’m not really a technology savvy person. In fact, last month was the first time that I ever uploaded pictures from my digital camera to the computer (my husband usually does it). So, when I first heard about the Flip video, I really didn’t pay much attention.

My sister-in-law was excited when she received one last Christmas from my brother-in-law. I was happy for her, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. More recently, I went to a Mommy Mastermind event (which I blogged about here). While there, the speaker Sree Sreenivasan raved about the Flip as “A new kind of video camera”. He focused on how easy it was to use and to share your video with others. That piqued my interest, but I still wasn’t completely sold on getting one. Then, I was at the cooking event on May 1st (that I blogged about here). While there, several of the women pulled out their Flips and recorded the event. At that point, I was like, “I want to get one of these”.

A couple of weeks ago I reached out to their company and I was given one Flip to review and one to giveaway (how fun! - be sure to enter the giveaway here). I tested the video camera out at a kiddie birthday party. The things that I like the most are:
-It’s small and cute. (My hand cream is larger! So, it easily fit into my small purse.)
-It’s easy to use. (All you have to do is press a button and you’re recording. Really, if I can use it, anyone can!)
-There’s so many different ways to share the videos you make. (The Flip comes with various connectors so you can easily attach it to your TV or to your computer.)

I’m now a huge fan of the Flip. If you don’t win it, definitely consider getting one!

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1. GoodyBlog: This blog (by Parents magazine) is great. They have a wide variety of timely parenting news, reviews along with giveaways and much more.

2. Honey Teddy Grahams Snacks: These little snacks are so addictive! My son’s great-aunt brings them over for the kids, but I end up snacking on them too.

3. Wii Fit: What can I say? This system is wonderful. Recently, we had some friends over and ended up getting into a hula hoop contest. It was a blast.

4. Nic’s Sticks by OPI: Honestly, I didn’t think that these would be any good, but now I’m a believer. I was able to polish my nails in the car on the way to church using one of these sticks - and my toenails looked great! The ads are true - really - all you do is shake it, give a few clicks of the pen and then paint your nails. I’m hooked.

5. Mary J. Blige - Just Fine: This is my theme song for “35″. Every time that it comes on the radio or I play the cd, Michael says, “Mommy - your song” and Sean throws his little hands in the air and bounces. The rhythm, the lyrics - I love it all. My favorite lyrics (they pretty much sum up how I feel about my life) are the following:
“Feels so good, when you’re doing all the things that you want to do
Get the best out of life, treat yourself to something new
It’s a really good thing to say
That I won’t change my life, my life’s just fine”

6. Gold Bond Foot Cream:As the weather gets warmer, shoes cover less. This is my favorite foot cream of the moment. It moisturizes my feet well without feeling too slippery or sticky.

7. Victoria Secret’s Love Spell: Part of the Secret Garden Collection, this scent is my husband’s favorite. Every time that I wear it, he starts sniffing around like he has never smelled it before. It’s so cute! He was so happy when I received it again for a gift in May.

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Once again, I can’t think of two more things to make 7 (?!)… 

1. Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara: My husband and two sons have long, beautiful lashes.  I don’t.  Such is life.  Every few months, I try a new mascara.  This is my current favorite.  It actually makes my lashes look full (with no yucky clumps). 

2. Carnival Games by Global Star:  I like this Wii game that my son received for his birthday.  Of course he beats me at many of the games (he has incredible hand-eye coordination!).  I don’t take it personally though — he beats most visiting adults!  The only thing that I don’t like about this software is that you can’t choose a black or brown character to represent you like with the other Wii games.  They need to change that.  Other than that, it’s really fun.  (Be forewarned that the carnival game "hosts" talk a lot of trash when you miss/don’t win at games.)

3. Bloglines.com: Now, in addition to reading parenting/family magazines and newspapers, I’m really into reading blogs.  There are so many great blogs out there that I don’t have the time/energy/inclination to visit each of them.  This free service is great.  You just put in the blogs/news sites/etc. urls that you like and they give you a brief synopsis of current posts.  That way, I can skim and see what I really want to read.  I love technology!

4. Tabletops Unlimited Swirl Multicolor Pattern:  When we were at the Jersey Shore, the place that we stayed had this tableware.  It’s cute and inexpensive.  I found it online at Replacement Ltd.

5. Zappos.com: My four year old son has wide feet (blame me, not his dad).  So, when Stride Rite doesn’t have any cute shoes for the season in his size (11W), I find myself in a bind.  I wasn’t having much luck online until I hit shoe pay dirt at Zappos.  They had multiple pairs of cute athletic shoes in his size (he, my husband and I all had different favorites - we went with my husband’s pick).  Of course, after making my pick I did a google search for "zappos coupons".  There are none - ever.  They don’t charge for shipping though, so that (somewhat) makes up for that. 

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I know that I usually do seven favorite things, but I couldn’t come up with two more (?!)  So, here’s my top five. 

1. Massages:  Massages are my "thing" for 2008 (as in I’m going to have one at least once every 3 months).  I had a really great hour-long deep tissue massage at Graceful Services.  I felt so fluid and relaxed immediately afterwards.  The next day, I felt a little sore (which is supposedly normal).  Then, I came down with the flu.  So, I’m not sure if the rest of the body aches were from the massage, the flu or a combination of both.  Hopefully, I won’t be catching the flu again this year, so I’ll have a better judgment after my next massage!

2. PedEgg™: My family members (this time it was my mom) keep giving me these products that they see on television.  I love this one though. It’s this egg-shaped foot file that collects the skin shavings (which is simultaneously kind of gross/kind of fascinating).  In any event, this file really works.  I just may be able to wear some of those cute open-heeled shoes for the spring/summer after all!   

3. Clinique Long Last Soft Matte Lipstick in Pink Chocolate;  I’ve never really thought about Clinique’s makeup.  I’ve always associated them with skincare.  However, when I was at the Macy’s in VA with my mom (that doesn’t have either MAC or Bobbi Brown), I tried out their lipsticks.  I was looking for a pink shade for the spring and I fell in love with their pink chocolate.  (Of course my mom takes the credit for picking it out…)

4. Forever21: This is my new, favorite place for cute, inexpensive trendy spring dresses that I only plan on wearing once or twice. (My rationale: If I don’t spend a lot, I won’t really care if I get kid mess all over me.)  I’ll save my money to spend on timeless, classic pieces.

5. Live Chat: Several online merchants that I’ve been dealing with (from Clairol to Corbis) use this technology. Basically you talk with an online customer service person by typing your questions and answers back and forth.  I love it.  I’m not a huge phone person (I never know when one of the kids will decide to use this time to practice their vocal "skills"), but I love getting an immediate answer.  This is the best of both worlds!

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I’m in a home cleaning/ rejuvenation mood, now that spring is around the corner.  My favorite color for the spring is yellow.  Following are seven home items that I have gotten or want to get for the spring season:

1. Swivel Sweeper: I don’t normally order things from tv.  However, I’m often pleasantly surprised when people gift me with such items.  One of the Christmas gifts that we received from my husband’s aunt was the Swivel Sweeper. We love it!  It’s a quick and easy way to clean the floors and the 360 degree swivel head helps to get in corners and such.  My sons think that it’s a game when I turn it on and like to grab/ "catch" the sweeper (they’re such funny, weird kids sometimes!).  After I finish with it, my oldest son takes "his turn".   

2, Floral pillow covers: I’m a flower and plant killer.  Even when I diligently follow the florist’s advice, I kill them.  Spring doesn’t seem like spring without flowers though.  I considered fake ones but that just feels so wrong to me.  So, I found a floral pattern that both my husband and I could agree on (the yellow one) at Pottery Barn.

3. Textured Throws: I love throws.  For the spring, I want a yellow one.  No matter what time of the year it is, I like having a throw on the edge of the couch to cuddle up under by myself or with the guys in my life.  Of course, with little kids around, throws take on multiple personalities (i.e. ghost covers, caves, etc.)!

4. Classic Stripe Shower Curtains: It’s something nice, clean and crisp about the right striped shower curtain.  For some reason, it reminds me of spring/summer on the beach.  Personally, I like green and white stripes because my bathroom tile is green and white.

5. Seashells in a Vase: I’m going to take a chance and place this in my bathroom.  I’ll just have to be especially watchful of little hands not knocking over the glass!

The last 2 picks are my husband’s practical home favorites from our recent shopping trip to Wal-Mart.  (We went to use a Christmas gift card.  That store is so huge that it’s overwhelming to me!)

6. Rubbermaid Food Storage Containers: My husband has a thing for Tupperware/Tupperware like products.  We had a whole set but over the years, the pieces had been loaned out for various reasons and people forgot to return the pieces.  So, my husband picked out a whole new set and has warned me not to give anyone, anything in them.  (He says that I should keep the "good" Chinese food containers to give food to people.  That way, he won’t care if we don’t get it back.)  He does have a point.  I’ll try to keep this set.  We’ll see.

7. Brita Pitcher: Within the last year, my husband broke one Brita.  Then, I broke the next one.  Instead of replacing filters, we seem to be replacing the pitcher every few months (?!)  However, this is one of only a few home things that my dear husband gets excited about.  Also, water is the drink in our home.  (This is one of the best habits that I’ve picked up from being married.)

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Instead of highlighting products, I’m focusing on events that I’m looking forward to in February.
1. Library Lovers Month: I love books.  I love free books.  I love libraries.

2. Black History Month: I’m Black.  I love learning about my history year-round.  I love when the rest of the country joins in.  (Don’t miss the network premiere of A Raisin in the Sun on 2/25.)

3. Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year (2/7):  My older son is already talking about celebrating Chinese New Year (The Year of the Rat?!).  I’m not quite sure if it’s because he’s so cultured by way of growing up in NYC OR if it’s because that’s the day the new Nick Jr. show Ni Hao, Kai-Lan  (I saw a preview - it’s a really cute show!) is premiering.  I suspect that it is the latter.

4. Random Acts of Kindness Week (2/12 - 2/18): Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.” -Seneca

5. National Pancake Day (2/12): Celebrate National Pancake Day at IHOP by receiving a free stack of pancakes.  In exchange, they ask that customers consider donating to the Children’s Miracle Network.

6. Valentine’s Day (2/14): Personally, I’m especially looking forward to going away to a retreat for married couples this year.  I have compiled a list of local Valentine’s Day events here.
and MOST IMPORTANTLY…

7. ***My baby Sean’s FIRST Birthday on 2/22 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SEAN-Y***

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