Recently I was contacted by Costume SuperCenter to review one of their Halloween costumes.  If you've read my blog for awhile, you know that Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  I love to dress up, it makes me feel like a kid again!

I really enjoyed looking through their selection of costumes.  They had a lot of new costumes that I haven't seen anywhere else yet.  Costume SuperCenter also has a good selection of plus size costumes for women.


However, once my oldest son saw me looking at costumes, he begged me to let him pick out one.  He already knew what he wanted to be, it was a video game character.  I wasn't really sure we would find it online, but was pleasantly surprised to find several versions of the costume at Costume SuperCenter.


My son is 13 and big for his age, so we looked at the men's Halloween costumes.  We got him a Halo 3 Master Chief costume.  It arrived very quickly!  We got the adult standard size and it fits him really well.  It's a little bit long, but not enough to matter.  He says it is comfortable and he likes the way the helmet is made.


Halloween will be here before you know it!  It's so much easier to browse the selection of costumes online rather than driving from store to store looking for that perfect costume.  Costume SuperCenter breaks all their costumes down into categories to make it easy to find just what you're looking for.  Since Mitchell knew exactly what he wanted, all we had to do was type it in the search box and it came up right away!  I'm sure you'll love looking at the costumes just as much as I did!


A costume was sent to me from Costume SuperCenter in exchange for a review.

I really need to heed the words of this song and spend more time in prayer!
I hope everyone has a blessed Sunday!


1. Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
    that calls me from a world of care,
    and bids me at my Father's throne
    make all my wants and wishes known.
    In seasons of distress and grief,
    my soul has often found relief,
    and oft escaped the tempter's snare
    by thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

2. Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
    the joys I feel, the bliss I share
    of those whose anxious spirits burn
    with strong desires for thy return!
    With such I hasten to the place
    where God my Savior shows his face,
    and gladly take my station there,
    and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

3. Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
    thy wings shall my petition bear
    to him whose truth and faithfulness
    engage the waiting soul to bless.
    And since he bids me seek his face,
    believe his word, and trust his grace,
    I'll cast on him my every care,
    and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Today I turned 40!  The big 4-0!  How depressing is that?  I feel old.  People call me ma'am and Mrs.  Aren't I still too young for that?  In the Halloween costumes this year they have an 80's party girl costume.  That was when I grew up.  Isn't it too soon for that to be a period costume?  I sure don't think I act 40.  I still feel young at heart most days.

I have heard some people say life only gets better with age.  Man, I hope they are right!  I need something to look forward to!  Right now I just feel tired and a little depressed.  Maybe tomorrow will be better! 

After all  ... Tomorrow is another day.

When my computer stopped working, I lost the pictures for Hunter's birthday party which was almost two weeks ago.  Luckily, Barb had taken pictures too and I was able to get copies of those pictures from her.  So his birthday post is a little late.  By the way, my laptop is still rebooting a lot on it's own and I never can tell when it will work or not.  If I can keep it working, I plan to start posting more.


Hunter was really excited when we brought the cake out and sang Happy Birthday!  Since he loves trains we got him a Thomas the tank cake.  He loved it!  He also enjoyed eating the cake and ice cream and drinking from a big cup.


Then it was time for the presents.  He tore them open in no time. 


His reactions were priceless.  He was overjoyed with each present.


He was given several trains and a train set.


His friends were quick to help him put the tracks together so they could play.


We saved the biggest present for last.  Hunter got a new 4 wheeler!


He was so happy he smiled all day while riding it!


Barb's son, Adam, has the exact same 4 wheeler, so we put an orange flag on it, so Hunter could tell the difference.  That flag didn't last long, it fell off.  But we also put him on a license plate with his name on it, so that helps too.


He has ridden that 4 wheeler every day since he got it.  It's the first thing he asks for when he wakes up.


My baby is growing so fast!  I love you Hunter!

The winner of my Sam's Club $25 Gift Card Giveaway as chosen by random.org is comment #5 JC!  Congratulations JC!  

If you didn't win, don't forget to visit Barb, she has the same giveaway going on here and it lasts til Sunday!

My Sam's Club $25 Giveaway ends tonight.  So if you haven't entered, be sure to do so here.

My friend Barb has the same giveaway going on over at her blog that ends on the 22nd, so you can double your chances of winning if you enter there too!  You can find her new blog and giveaway here:  A Life Of Contentment.  Be sure to let her know you visited!

Remember the old Hee Haw song Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me?

Gloom, despair and agony on me-e!

Deep dark depression, excessive misery-y!

If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all!

Gloom, despair and agony on me-e-e!

Well, I just feel that way sometimes!  With all the problems last week, then this week my laptop died.  I had to reformat the hard drive and I lost everything!  EVERYTHING!  That is just so depressing!  I know I should have backed up stuff better, like files and pictures.  But, you know, I always ended up putting it off for later.  But, this time later never came!

The good news is that my laptop still works, it's just empty of everything I had.  At first I couldn't even get on the internet.  I lost all my drivers for everything, so I had to download them onto a disk and then download them on my computer.  That took a lot of time.  I'm still finding programs I need to re-download like Tweet Deck and my Swagbucks Toolbar and all.  I'm sure I'll still be remembering things a few weeks from now.

I'm sad cause I had finally gotten caught up with reading y'alls blogs last weekend, and now I'm behind again.  I'll have to try and get caught up again, I guess.  One day I hope to be on top of things again.  Wish me luck, lol!

I recently received some products from ecoStore USA to try out.  EcoStore sells eco friendly plant based and mineral based products.  Their products are famous for having No Nasty Chemicals.  They make everything from cleaning products, to laundry detergent, to baby and bath products.

I love to try eco friendly products, but some of them just don't work as well as others.  The All Purpose Cleaner from ecoStore USA worked really well and didn't leave a film on my island, counters, or table.  It seemed to clean just as well as those cleaners with harsh chemicals in them.  I was very impressed!  It also has a light citrus smell, not overpowering at all.  The All Purpose Cleaner sells for $9 for 17 ounces.

• D-Limonene (from citrus)
• Palm and coconut based non-ionic and anionic surfactants
• Fatty acid derivative
• Ethanol
• Filtered water

I also tried their Laundry Liquid.  It worked just as well as my regular laundry detergent even on my husband's work clothes.  Plus, it's good for people with sensitive skin.  It does have a strong smell of Eucalyptus straight out of the bottle, but not after it's finished washing.  The clothes just smelled clean.  The Laundry Liquid is $11 for a 32 ounce bottle which goes a long way since you only use a small amount.

• Palm and Coconut based non-ionic and anionic surfactants
• Fatty acid derivative
• Mineral hydroxide
• Certified organic Eucalyptus oil 

Since there was a slight delay in shipping, I was also sent a bar of  Manuka Honey & Kelp Bar Soap.  It has an awesome smell and made my skin feel great!  It sells for only $4 from ecoStore USA.  I thought that was great of the company to send a little something extra to make up for the delay.

• Sodium Palmate (palm oil)
• Sodium Cocoate (coconut oil)
• Sodium chloride (salt)
• Vegetable Glycerine
• Tetra Sodium Etidronate and Tetra Sodium EDTA (antioxidants used to preserve the stability of vegetable oils in soap base. Derived from vinegar. Safe for skin)
• Kelp
• Wheatgerm oil
• Manuka Honey
• Bran
• Natural pigments
• Fragrance

You can follow ecoStore on Facebook and learn more about them on their blog.

I received these products from ecoStore USA in association with Mama Bzz in order to do a review.

It's that time again, to start thinking of back to school.  It always seems such a fun time with fresh new beginnings.  When my son was in school he loved collecting Box Tops For Education.  The kids would win something for their class if they collected enough.

From August 11-31 you can earn more cash for your child's school by going to the Sam's Club Back-To-School Event.  You can find 6 Box Tops on participating General Mills products.


Even better if you visit Sam's Club and upgrade to a Plus Membership by August 13, or while supplies last, you can get an extra 150 Box Tops!


I was given a $25 Sam's Club gift card to go and check out the great Back-To-School bargains they have in the store.  Pictured above are some of the great Box Top products I bought.  We love Lucky Charms cereal so I purchased 2 big boxes of that and I surprised the kids with a huge box of Fruit Roll-Ups.  They were so happy!


   Tell me your favorite Box Tops item for your first entry
   Follow my blog for an extra entry
   Put my button on your sidebar for another entry
   Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway for
   another entry (Please include hashtag #myblogspark)
   Mention this giveaway on your blog for
   3 extra entries

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.  Giveaway is open to US residents only.  Giveaway will close  Monday night August 16th at midnight.

I was given a Sam's Club Plus Membership, gift card, and information for this giveaway from General Mills and Sam's Club in association with My Blog Spark.

The winner of my Bark Off/Crazy Critter Giveaway is comment #7 Marianne!  Congratulations Marianne!  Please email me your info and I'll make sure it gets out to you!

Thanks to everyone who entered!  Please come back and visit soon!

The winner of my Total Pillow Giveaway as chosen by random.org is comment #20 Buttercup!  Congratulations Buttercup! 

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Yesterday I went with Barb back up to where she used to live in NC.  She had a few things to take care of and wanted some company.  We took our youngest two children with us. 

Sometimes while riding Hunter gets carsick.  Unfortunately yesterday was one of those days.  He got sick on the way up there about half way and a few more times until we got there.  That wasn't too bad cause he hadn't ate much at the time.

We went and ran around to different places and he did fine the whole time we were up there.  I thought he would be okay on the way back since he ate fine up there and didn't get sick.  But, boy, was I wrong.  He erupted like Mt. Vesuvius!  The poor baby!  He knew it was coming, because he asked for a wipe.  But it started coming out his nose and he seemed so scared.

That time it was awful because he had just had a shake.  It was such a mess in Barb's van.  We had to stop and buy some Febreze to help with the smell. 

When we finally got home, he seemed much better and didn't get sick anymore, so I guess the boy is just extremely sensitive sometimes.


Then today we were going to pick something up for my husband and the car died.  It started right back, but when we got where we were going, it wouldn't crank.  Luckily we were at a lawn mower shop and the mechanic there jiggled something and it started.  It stopped once on the way home and Barb jiggled some wires and it started again. 

Thankfully we made it home, now it's up to the hubby to fix it.  I just hope it doesn't cost too much!

Today I am sharing a video of the song Come To Jesus. I hope y'all have a blessed Sunday!