Maddy's First Christmas Party. Woof.

This was a first for me. I've never chaperoned Maddy to a party for dogs!

On Saturday I took Maddy to Fetch Delivers for their holiday party and dog food drive. They were collecting food for local shelters, featuring vendors and offering pictures with Santa. They had refreshments for both the humans and our dogs. It was a cool idea!

Maddy did very well! She was nice to the other puppies and made lots of new friends. She even posed prettily to have her picture taken with Santa! I was sure she'd be scared of him, but no! She hopped right up next to him!

Fetch Delivers is the company that I order Maddy's food from. They deliver it right to the door so I don't have to lug the huge bag in and out of my car or up the stairs! It was very kind of them to hold this party and food drive!

Disney Musical Hand Wash Timer Review and Giveaway

During the flu season proper hygiene, especially hand washing, is more important than ever. It's important for parents and teachers to teach kids the right way to wash their hands. This means making sure all surfaces are scrubbed and that they spend at least 20-25 seconds washing their hands.

Healthy Hands has come up with a new gadget that will make hand washing more interesting for kids and encourage them to wash for a full 20-25 seconds. They sent me their new product, the Disney Musical Hand Wash Timer to review.

This is a neat device. It will attach onto the top of any liquid soap dispenser. When your child presses down on the dispenser the timer begins to play music. Then the song finishes, it's time to rinse! The timer I sent is a Cars theme and plays Lighting McQueen's "Real Gone" music. The timer also currently comes in an Ariel theme, which plays "Under the Sea". According to the manufacturer, more new characters will be released in the near future!

I appreciate that this timer can be used with any pump dispenser. It doesn't require a parent to purchase a certain variety of soap, they can use whatever they prefer. It's easy to use and the upbeat music will keep the kids interested. I also appreciate that it's inexpensive! It would be a nice stocking stuffer for the child in your life.

Buy It!

The Healthy Hands Musical Hand Wash Timers are available on their website as well as from select retailers.

Win It!

Healthy Hands is generously allowing me to give a Musical Hand Wash Timer away to one lucky reader!

How to enter

Tell me who would use this timer should you win it!

Want additional entries?

Do any of the following and post another comment telling me you've done it.

- Leave a relevant comment on any other blog post!
- Tell me how you've encouraged good hygiene in your children
- Promote this giveaway in some form (suggestions: a Mr. Linky, your blog, etc.)

Facebook Followers and members of my email list automatically receive entries just for being loyal readers! Want to become one of them?
- Become a fan of A Self-Confessed Foodie on Facebook
- Sign up for the A Self-Confessed Foodie email feed!
- Sign up for the Today Is My Someday email feed!


Contest closes Friday, December 11, 2009 at 7:00pm CST and is limited to those 18 and over who reside in the United States!

And now for the fine print:
Open only to those 18 and over. United States residents only.

Contest closes December 11, 2009 at 7:00pm CST. I will randomly select winners shortly after and notify those people by email. Winners have 48 hours to contact me with their mailing address.

If a winner does not contact me within 48 hours of notification I will choose an alternate winner.





The product reviewed was provided to me free of charge.I am in no way being compensated for my review. I am allowed to keep the product. This review is entirely my own opinion and has not been influenced in any way.

Chuck E Cheese Pizza Maker Play Set Review and Giveaway

I recently was sent a Chuck E Cheese Pizza Maker Play Set to review.

This play set is actually pretty cute. It looks like a little oven with the mouse, Chuck E Cheese, standing behind it. It comes with mixes to make your own little pizzas, which you could in the microwave oven, not in the play set.

Alright, let's be honest. How tasty can microwave pizza really be? (Please keep in mind I'm also a food blogger and would prefer to make my own dough!) The concept is neat, though, and kids will be proud of themselves for having made their own pizza! The kit comes with everything kids need to make four little pizzas, two at a time, which they microwave with a parent's help.

The play set holds all the pieces securely and seems to be made from a pretty durable plastic. The microwave tray snaps in underneath, the oven holds the bowl and your spare ingredients and the mouse himself, Mr. Cheese, acts as a utensil holder.

What I appreciate about this play set it that, even after you've run out of ingredients and not had the chance to buy more, this set can still be used for pretend play. You've still got the mixing bowl, the little utensils and the oven you can use to play pretend pizza parlor. I see this as a big difference from, say, an Easy Bake Oven, which you really can't play with if you don't have a mix. Add a little set of dishes and you've got a small kitchen!

Buy It!

The Chuck E Cheese Pizza Maker Play Set is available online and in stores. The toy retails for $19.99 and refill

Win It!

ThinkWow Toys has graciously offered to give a Chuck E Cheese Pizza Maker Play Set to one lucky Today is my Someday reader!

How to enter

Comment with your favorite pizza topping OR your children's favorite pretend game!

Want additional entries?

Do any of the following and post another comment telling me you've done it.

- Leave a relevant comment on any other blog post!
- Tell me who this toy would be for!
- Promote this giveaway in some form (suggestions: a Mr. Linky, your blog, etc.)

Facebook Followers and members of my email list automatically receive entries just for being loyal readers! Want to become one of them?
- Become a fan of A Self-Confessed Foodie on Facebook
- Sign up for the A Self-Confessed Foodie email feed!
- Sign up for the Today Is My Someday email feed!


Contest closes Friday, December 11, 2009 at 7:00pm CST and is limited to those 18 and over who reside in the United States!

And now for the fine print:
Open only to those 18 and over. United States residents only.

Contest closes December 11, 2009 at 7:00pm CST. I will randomly select winners shortly after and notify those people by email. Winners have 48 hours to contact me with their mailing address.

If a winner does not contact me within 48 hours of notification I will choose an alternate winner.





The product reviewed was provided to me free of charge.I am in no way being compensated for my review. I am allowed to keep the product. This review is entirely my own opinion and has not been influenced in any way.

ICEE Instant Slushy Maker Review and Giveaway

Growing up I loved ICEEs. Cherry was my favorite flavor. I loved the texture of the ice, the fine little particles, and the syrupy cherry sweetness. I thought they were great but they weren't widely available when I was little. I got them only on special occasions, when we happened to be somewhere that sold them.

You can now make ICEEs at home with a new toy, an ICEE Instant Slushy Maker. It makes ICEE Slushies in under five minutes. It is a shaker with an aluminum canister and comes with three flavors (watermelon, cherry and orange). It comes with clear instructions and only requires that you add ice and salt!

I do wish they made a blue raspberry flavor or a grape! I'm not a huge watermelon fan. Maybe in the future!

The ICEE Instant Slushy Maker was easy to clean, which is always fantastic.

The bottom line is that it creates a reasonable approximation of an ICEE and is a fun toy for kids!

Buy It!

The ICEE Instant Slushy Maker is available online and in stores. It retails for $9.99 and refills are available for $5.99.

Win It!

ThinkWow Toys has graciously offered to give an ICEE Instant Slushy Maker to one lucky Today is my Someday reader!

How to enter

Comment with your ICEE flavor!

Want additional entries?

Do any of the following and post another comment telling me you've done it.

- Leave a relevant comment on any other blog post!
- Tell me who this toy would be for!
- Promote this giveaway in some form (suggestions: a Mr. Linky, your blog, etc.)

Facebook Followers and members of my email list automatically receive entries just for being loyal readers! Want to become one of them?
- Become a fan of A Self-Confessed Foodie on Facebook
- Sign up for the A Self-Confessed Foodie email feed!
- Sign up for the Today Is My Someday email feed!


Contest closes Friday, December 11, 2009 at 7:00pm CST and is limited to those 18 and over who reside in the United States!

And now for the fine print:
Open only to those 18 and over. Residents of the United States only.

Contest closes December 11, 2009 at 7:00pm CST. I will randomly select winners shortly after and notify those people by email. Winners have 48 hours to contact me with their mailing address.

If a winner does not contact me within 48 hours of notification I will choose an alternate winner.



The product reviewed was provided to me free of charge.I am in no way being compensated for my review. I am allowed to keep the product. This review is entirely my own opinion and has not been influenced in any way.

Earn with MyPoints

Ready for the next installment of my ideas for making a little extra Christmas money? So far I've mentioned Swagbucks and Ebates. Today the spotlight is on MyPoints. If you're going to shop online this season you might as well be rewarded for it, right?

This is a cool website MyPoints. You can earn points by clicking links on emails, answering polls on their website, taking surveys or shopping through the links on their website. You can redeem your points for a variety of gift cards, such as Target, Borders, Pottery Barn and Panera. You can also earn points through referrals.

You typically receive 5 points per email or poll, with surveys providing about 50, on average. They add up faster than one might think. Rewards typically start at about 1,400 points for a $10 gift card. Gift cards are usually mailed to you and typically arrive in just a few weeks.

Since I started using MyPoints I've earned roughly $80 in Borders gift certificates (my preferred reward, I'm such a geek), just by reading emails and taking their polls. I think that's a pretty good return considering I spend approximately 10 seconds a day with it!

If you'd like a referral to MyPoints, please leave me your email address in the comments or send it to me via email. Sadly, one of the downfalls to MyPoints is they don't provide a referral link, only the ability to invite via email!

Ebates for Rebates

Here is the latest installment in my series of articles geared at helping you earn money for holiday gifts - or to save it while shopping! The first was on Swagbucks. Today I'm going to introduce you to Ebates!

Ebates is a website that will give you cash back when you shop through the links they provide on their website. They have a huge variety of merchants that offer from 1%-25% back. You receive $5 in bonus when you sign up for Ebates.

When you have earned $5 in rebates they will send you a Big Fat Check. They send out Big Fat Checks quarterly. I've been using Ebates for 6 years and I have only had good experiences. I highly recommend them! Why not get a little extra back on your Christmas shopping?

Have You Heard About Swagbucks?

I want to share with you a few of my favorite ways to earn money for Christmas shopping or save money on Christmas shopping with very little effort. Today, episode 1, Swagbucks!

Have you heard about Swagbucks? It's a search website that randomly rewards you for using their search function. You won't win a reward for every search, but they are generous! You can also earn rewards for referrals (one Swagbuck for every Swagbuck your friend earns, up to 100) and they randomly give codes that will give you additional Swagbucks. Swagbucks can be redeemed for a huge variety of prizes, including gift cards, or for entries into their sweepstakes.

You can use the Swidget on the right sidebar to sign up, search or to see if there's a current swag code!



I have been using Swagbucks for about six months now. I typically earn a couple of Swagbucks a day, enough to redeem approximately two Amazon gift cards per month, just through searching and redeeming codes. I'm small potatoes. Your earnings can grow very quickly if you recruit others to the program through a referral link. Swagbucks is really great about making it easy for you to recruit others.

I've been saving up my Amazon gift cards and plan to use them for Christmas presents. Saves me having to deal with the huge crowds in the stores!

Swagbucks is also planning to offer special discounts on a gift card a day between Black Friday and New Year's. It will be a great time to stretch your Swagbucks a little further!

I hope you'll consider signing up for Swagbucks!




Disclosure: all links above are referral links. I appreciate anyone who signs up under my referral but I understand if you don't feel comfortable doing so.

Skin MD Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Lisa, the winner of the Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion Giveaway!

Lisa said: "I want to take care of my skin because i want my skin to have a healthy glow."

I have sent Lisa an email letting her know she won!

Congratulations, Lisa, and thank you to everyone who entered! Be sure to keep your eyes on my blog, I've got several great giveaways that will be going up in the next day or so!

Ultimate Cloth Review Update

Remember when I posted my review of the Ultimate Cloth?

Well now, according to the manufacturer, you can get your own free Ultimate Cloth.

Details are available on their Twitter page as well at their Facebook Fan Page.

If this product is of interest to you, I encourage you to check it out. I just wanted to pass this opportunity on to you!

Review - Myachi, the Original Hand Sack

When a box arrived on my doorstep, containing a product called "Myachi", I wasn't sure what it was. I didn't know it was coming but it only took moments for me to figure out what it was. It's a toy I've actually seen demonstrated on The Martha Stewart Show of all places and it's pretty cool!

Myachi is sort of like a hacky sack for your hands. You use your upper body (primarily) to toss around the Myachi sack and do tricks with it. The only rule is you can't touch it with the palms of your hands!

They have lots of great videos of Myachi moves on the website, divided into skill levels. It combines the hand motions of martial arts with full-body coordination. The movements can look amazingly smooth, leaving you wondering how they could possibly do that without dropping the hand sack.

This is a toy that should be used in an area without breakable objects, at least until your child develops a certain level of skill. It's really fairly light but why take the chance? Have the kids play outdoors or in a playroom.

Myachi has been approved for ages 3 and up. I think that young kids will be able to do some of the more basic movements but older children will enjoy it most. I used to teach toddler/preschool gymnastics and it reminds me of how we used beanbags with the kids. It will help build coordination and motor skills and they will progressively improve their skills.

I think this would make a great stocking stuffer or birthday gift for a child. The Myachi hand sack comes in about a dozen different colors at a time but I wish they had more female-friendly color choices. I would think this toy would be most appreciated by children ages 6-12. As someone who buys gifts for a number of kids but doesn't want to spend a fortune, I appreciate that each package (a Myachi hand sack and two finger grips) retails for less than $7!