I need a huge favor!

We visited the Infinity Science Center yesterday and they are having a contest.
They want people to post a picture on their Facebook page of people in their
hurricane simulator. The contest ends tomorrow and the picture with the most
likes will win a birthday party at the ISC! Would you go like my picture???

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=587526394592808&set=o.139998272698735&ty\
pe=1&theater

If the link doesn't work, search for the Infinity Science Center page. Look for
Posts by others section and find the picture by Lori Ann Ola. Thanks!!!!

My Walmart Ad Match Experience...or why Walmart lost my business!

I have a long history with Walmart. I was a an associate back in the late 80's and early 90's. My father is currently an associate in another state. While all the world complains about Walmart's corporate practices, I remember Walmart when Sam Walton was alive. I remember a store that cared about its customers, one built on the principal of putting the customer first and being a light in the community. Sadly, that Walmart is no longer in existence. The new Walmart is focused on profit and expansion. 

I was in the Slidell at Northshore Blvd. store yesterday purchasing groceries. I wanted to use Walmart's  ad match guarantee to purchase a couple of items. The first item was boneless, skinless chicken breasts from Albertsons.Walmart's price was $1.99/lb. while Albertson's was $1.48. When I told the cashier, she had to go check the price. She was gone for about 3 minutes and came back and charged me $1.78/lb. When I told her that she put it in wrong, she sighed and said "That is what they told me it was." I showed her the ad and she begrudgingly changed it. Then I wanted to purchase Purex from Winn-Dixie's ad. The ad said, "Buy one Get one Free up to $6.49." She told me that they didn't do Winn-Dixie ads, because it says "up to" and doesn't have the price printed "really big". I asked to speak to a manager and Mary came over. She told me that not only was the BOGO not valid, but since Winn-Dixie requires a shopping card, Walmart doesn't honor any of their ads. If this is true, then they don't honor Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, or several other competitors either. What is the point of having an ad match guarantee if they won't honor any of the competitor's ads? I have shopped at all 4 Walmarts in the surrounding area and have never been treated this way. Other Walmarts honor competitor's ads with no question especially when I have the ad in hand. I am not one of those crazy couponers and don't feel that I was asking for anything above or beyond what is in their ad match policy. I feel I was treated like I was trying to cheat the company by this cashier and manager. This is the second time that this has happened to me. Last time when I called 1-800-WALMART, the manager was supposed to call me to explain the policy. He did not. Honestly, I don't trust this store not to embarrass me at the check-out and treat me like a criminal. I won't shop there any longer. I will go to Winn-Dixie, Rouses, Albertsons, Lishman's and Target. As a former Walmart employee, I expect better from the company that I once loved to work for.

Unexpected Love

Book Description

How would you characterize Jesus in his interactions with women? Gracious? Preachy? Aloof? Kind? Dismissive?
Unexpected Love is an essential read for anyone eager to understand Jesus Christ’s true heart for women. We ache for a satisfying relationship with him and crave his healing touch. So did the women of the first century. Each approached him with something they wanted. They left with more than they could have imagined.
Writer and teacher Julie Coleman carefully walks readers through the gospel narratives, offering evidence of a perceptive Savior deeply concerned about the women he met. Through vivid descriptions, thoughtful questions, and empowering applications, she brings a fresh perspective to these sometimes puzzling stories.
Unexpected Love offers a compelling vision of a Savior who meets us where we are and will take us where we need to go. Discover his passion for women. What you read will impact your own relationship with him. You will fall in love with the dynamic, beautiful, and unexpectedly personal Jesus.

My Take.....

This is a beautiful book. The author brings the stories that we have heard so many times to a lovingly personal account. It made me desire a more intimate relationship with my Heavenly Father. I highly recommend reading this book and sharing it with women who are hurting!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The MoneySmart Family System: Teaching Financial Independence to Children of Every Age

Book Description

Is it possible to raise financially responsible kids of any age in a society filled with consumerism and entitlement?
New York Times best-selling authors Steve and Annette Economides raised their five kids while spending 77 percent less than the USDA predicted. And the money they did spend was also used to train their children to become financially independent. The MoneySmart Family System will show you how to teach your children to manage money and have a good attitude while they’re learning to earn, budget, and spend wisely.
Learn how to:
*Get the kids out the door for school with less stress. *End the battle over clothing—forever *Teach your children to be grateful and generous. *Inspire your kids to help with chores as a member of a winning team. *Prepare your kids for their first paying job. *Help your kids pay for their own auto insurance, and even pay cash for their own cars. *Employ strategies for debt-free college educations. *Truly help your adult children when they want to move back home. *Be prepared to deal with your adult children when they ask for bailouts.
With clear steps for children of every age, The MoneySmart Family System proves that it’s never too early, too late, or too hard to start learning financial responsibility.

 My take....

My child is a walking advertisement for whatever products are advertised on TV during her show. It really makes me crazy that the marketers focus so much attention on kids. We will walk through the store and look at items, all the while she is spouting off lines from commercials. Needless to say, we talk about money on a regular basis. The MonsySmart Family System is a great tool for parents of kids any age! It talks about helping preschoolers through young adults manage the minefield of finances. I was very impressed with the chapter on friendships through the child's life and how parents can help their kids understand that they do not have to have the same things or spend the same amounts as everyone else on weddings, prom, toys, etc... It is worth the read!

I was given this book free through Thomas Nelson Publishing's Booksneeze program, but all of the opinions are my own.

What is Borax?

I was given a box of Borax by Purex Insiders in exchange for a blog review. Of course, all of the opinions that I express are my own!

So What is Borax? According to 20 Mule Team, 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: a naturally occurring substance produced by the perpetual evaporation of seasonal lakes. They add nothing to Borax, no phosphates, chlorine or other chemicals. One of the main things that Borax does is helps detergent work better by softening the water. We don't have extremely hard water like some parts of the country, but we do have minerals and tannins in our water. Anything that helps keep my clothes and removes stains is great!

So what did my precious child want to do with the box of Borax that we received in the mail? Did she want to scrub our kitchen and bath? Did she pull out all of her stained clothes and start doing laundry? Nope! She insisted that the first thing we do with the Borax was to make slime!

How do you make Borax Slime you ask? Mix 1 teaspoon of Borax with 1 cup of water. In a separate plastic bowl, mix 1 bottle of school glue with your favorite food coloring. Add the Borax solution to the glue and mix. Immediately, the glue will become slimy and fun to play with!

While I don't recommend giving it to small children, I feel better knowing that Borax is natural if I am going to let my child play with it. And it will get the stains out of her clothes!

Wanna try Borax? I have coupons for my loyal blog readers! Shoot me a comment below and we will pick the winners in a week! 

Stains! Oxy them out!

I was recently given the opportunity to try out Purex Triple Action with Oxi and Zout Detergent.   I use either Purex or homemade laundry detergent, but with a six year old with pink pants....I need something more! I poured it directly on the stains and it worked!
If you would like to try it yourself, I have three coupons from Purex Insiders to giveaway for a FREE bottle of Purex Triple Action Detergent!  I’m going to make this a pretty quick giveaway with easy entry!  Simply enter your name and email below.
You can also earn two extra entries:

• Share Princess in a Not so Fairytale World with your friends
• Retweet this giveaway link with the hashtag #purex and @loriola1 in it!

Classical Conversations Dice on Mod Podge

I am the proud mother of a first grader! Woohooo! For all of you who have never had a first grader, here are some of the joys of first grade:

1. She is big enough to use the bathroom on her own, but still needs to be reminded to wipe, flush and wash. And please do it in that order! 
2. First graders can do chores, but still need mom to remind her when, where and how.
3. My first grader can read pretty much anything that is put in front of her (Thanks Abeka Phonics!), but that doesn't mean that she will fully understand it. 
4. She doesn't like to give hugs and kisses when we part company, but still needs cuddles at home. 

We had a great time homeschooling last year, but there were some areas of her education that I felt were lacking.  For example, when you are homeschooling one child, it is really easy to get off schedule. It is so easy to forget to do the fun stuff or to swing the opposite direction and do too much fun stuff. I really wanted accountability this year, so we decided to look into Classical Conversations. We talked to some moms that were already doing it and attended an open house day. When we left the open house, my little princess asked, "When can we do that again?" I knew that I had to make this happen for my child.

I am not one to just step into something and see if it is right for us. No, I jump in with both feet! Not only am I enrolling my child in Classical Conversations (CC), I am going to be a tutor! Which brings me to the dice.... CC is big on memorization. Yes, I can hear the collective groan of the education world, and I was once one of those folks who groaned about how boring memorizing stuff is. But CC has a reason and a method of teaching that is time tested and has been proven. If you want more information on that, watch this video.

One of the tools that CC moms use are reciting the grammar in different voices. Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood created these nifty dice that suggest different voices, subjects and weeks to review. She made them so they can be printed, folded and glued into a cube shape which is really cool! The only problem is that with kids, I don't see the card stock dice holding up for a whole school year. I have been searching for other options. I found some really cool foam blocks online, but the cost was $5 and up for a set of two! I contemplated a trip to the craft store or even Home Depot for wood blocks, but with gas prices on the rise, I have to have a really good reason to drive across town. Yesterday, I was in my local Dollar Tree picking up some athlete's foot cream. I decided to look in the school supplies and see if I could find some dice. No, dice! How about wood blocks in the toys? Nope, but I found these great foam dice! A set of two for $1! WooHoo! I went home, printed the dice pattern, cut them out and Mod Podged them on the dice! They are perfect! The Mod Podge is a little flexible, so if the corners get crushed a the foam will pop back into place without cracking the Mod Podge. I love them so much, I am thinking about making some photo cubes out of the extra set for Christmas gifts!