Sign Up To Become a Purex Insider!

As you all know, I have been a member of Purex Insiders for some time now and LOVE all the cool products I receive to review. Not only do I receive laundry detergent but I also receive body wash, cleaning supplies, pest control products and MORE!

The good news is that YOU can sign up to receive the same promotions I do and they are currently accepting applications into their blogger program. If you do apply, please be sure you are a blogger who:

• blogs about savings, product reviews and giveaways
• enjoys using social media
• blogs about family friendly content

So, if you are interested in finding out more about this Purex blogger program, visit Purex Insiders today (by clicking HERE) and start enjoying the benefits of being a Purex Insider!

Getting Great Air Conditioning Service and Repairs

When it comes to having an air conditioner, it is a wonderful invention, but is a huge hassle when it isn’t working correctly or is broken. That is how most conveniences are—convenient and wonderful until it stops working. To help ensure that your air conditioner is enjoyed more than endured, it is a great idea to have a repair service company that you like and trust with your property and money, like Petrocelli Services Inc., or another service provider in your area. Any company you hire should provide great customer service, while having many years of experience and training with all brands and models of air conditioners, and budget-friendly services that you can pay back with ease. It is worth it to take time from your life and find a company that you trust.

Budget-Friendly Services
One huge pain with conveniences is how much it ends up costing you to keep them up and running. A great option that is being used more and more by companies is the service of financing. They allow you a certain amount of time to pay back what you owe for their services so that you will call when you need help because you know that paying those bills is something you will be able to do. It is like a mini-loan, so it has its downsides, but for the most part it is just helpful and takes a lot of stress off of you when you need your air conditioner to be back up and running smoothly so you and your employees or family members can be comfortable and productive.

Experience Is Key
Another great thing that Petrocelli Services Inc. and other great companies have is experience. Lots and lots of experience is what makes a great repairman. Training is essential and so important, but training is only the beginning. Experience means that they have had practice doing the different repairs and services that they were trained to do for customers, meaning they can do it more efficiently and in less time. This makes your experience a lot more pleasant when it is a quick repair job and it is done correctly the first time so they don’t have to come back. Experience is something you never want to go without when hiring the right repairman to help you.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in part by Bucks2Blog

Three Suggestions to Find a Garage Door Repair Company

Most homes in Indiana today are equipped with garage doors that operate with the punch of a button or the entry of a code. When the garage doors are broken, they are designed so that you can still lift and lower the doors manually. However, this is not only a cumbersome process, but if you are not very strong, it can be difficult to handle. Until the garage door actually goes out, you might not even think about the need to find a company that can handle a garage door repair in Fishers. The following three steps can help you find a good company that can repair your door:

• Get referrals
• Call the company and ask questions
• Check the Internet for reviews

Get Referrals
To get a garage door repair company, start by asking for referrals. Check with your neighbors, coworkers, and friends. They might not have specific experience with a company, but they might be able give you the name of others who do. When you talk to people, ask them describe what went well with the company and what the company did that impressed them. Once you get others talking, your job is to listen and take notes. Use the notes as a resource for collecting more information.

Call the Company
Once you have one or two companies that you think you might want to work with, make contact with them. If they have a shop, go visit the shop and sit and watch what happens. You can get a good feel for a company and how they will be to work with by watching their interactions with others. If you can’t visit them, be sure to call them. Remember that the best indication of future performance is past behavior. Therefore, ask them questions that will allow them to describe events and experiences rather than ideas and opinions.

Check the Internet
The Internet is a great place to go for more information about a company that can handle a garage door repair in Fishers. Search for the company’s website to get more information about their policies, hours, and prices. You can also look at sites that allow people to post reviews about their experiences with a company. Be sure to read the negative comments as well as the positive to get a more complete picture of a particular garage door repair company.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in part by Bucks2Blog.

Happy 4th of July!

Picnics, barbecues, fireworks and family. Enjoy every minute of this day! :)

Classical Conversations ~ PreScripts Cursive Letters and Coloring Review

We are preparing to end our very first year of home school and I am very pleased with the progress that we have made. Hannah has proved to be a good student who is smart and loves to keep her brain engaged. She is the type of child that needs something to do all day long or she will get into trouble. Do you know any children like that? Well, because of her need for extra work we have really enjoyed working with this next company and I wanted to take a moment to share it with you!

Classical Conversations is a company that makes three different curriculum programs that are designed to give homeschooling parents effective and helpful teaching tools. Sometimes, it is easy to feel inadequate when it comes to teaching our children but companies like this one can help to reinforce and build confidence. Here is a bit more about this company and it's founder, Leigh Bortins...

Leigh Bortins is the founder of Classical Conversations Inc. and the mother of four homeschooled sons. In addition to teaching study skills for 20 years to children and adults, she has written several books, including Echo in Celebration: A Call to Home-Centered Education and The Core. 

Our purpose is to lead the home-centered education movement by equipping parents and students with the classical tools of learning needed to discover the order and beauty of God’s creation and to inspire others to do the same. 

We believe parents are their children’s primary teachers not because parents know everything but because each child is uniquely (and wonderfully!) made and because the people who know and love a child best are the ones most motivated to help that child succeed. 

For the purpose of this review, I was sent the PreScripts Cursive Letters and Coloring, which retails for $11.99. My main reason for choosing this out of the other books that they offer is because it focuses on cursive handwriting, coordination for tracing lines and coloring activities...which are all perfect activities for my 4 1/2 year old! Sometimes, it can help take the boredom out of a hum-drum school day with something different and that is exactly what this book has done for us!

At first, I was not sure if this would be good for us because we are learning manuscript writing as opposed to  cursive so I didn't know if it would confuse Hannah at all. All my worrying aside, we dove right into the book and Hannah set her mind to work!

The way this book is set up is there are first exercises that work with your child's coordination and ability to carefully trace. Above, you can see an entire page of circles that vary in size and shape. Hannah has difficulty tracing and staying on lines so this was nice to have. Other pages have different types of lines both straight and wavy so your child can practice the skill of writing on non-straight lines as well, which is also nice.

Other pages have detailed pictures for your child to color. Each picture consists of an image from medieval and modern world history. Now, I will say here that these are very detailed pictures and are difficult for a small child to color neatly. My four year old simply colored the entire picture one color. :)

Another feature of this book is that it contains cursive writing practice pages of the entire alphabet. This involves some finger tracing to get the child familiar with the direction and strokes that the particular letter requires and then they can practice writing the actual letter. If you look at the picture above, you can see a large, bold "F" at the top of the page. This is what the child would finger trace. This is actually something that we have done in our daily schooling with learning how to write manuscript letters and it works wonderfully! Finger tracing is good writing practice.

The one thing I didn't like is when the child is writing the letters, they don't go all the way to the top of the line...which to me, doesn't make much sense. It seems like a sloppy way to learn how to properly write letters. In her writing courses that she is taking now, neatness and going all the way to the top line is very important and in this book, that is not stressed nor do the letters themselves touch the top line so that can be confusing for Hannah at times.

So, how did we do with this book? Well, I would have to say that Hannah did quite well. She loves to pick up the book when I am not looking and work on it by herself. Her cursive handwriting skills are very rough because this is the first time she has ever tried to write cursive but all in all, this has been a great book for her to use. I am also loving all the coloring pages as they allow her to try and stay in the lines and become a neater artist. :)

I would definitely recommend that you check out this company...even if you don't home school, this is a great resource for extra curricular work for your child especially if they are struggling with a particular subject in school.

If you would like to read more reviews on this and other Classical Conversations work books, be sure to check out the other Crew Reviews by clicking on the button below.

EquityLock Protector & Home Improvement Gift Card Giveaway

Recently, we had some major MAJOR rain fall here in my area and it caused some serious flooding. In the city in which I live, there were over 200 basements that had to be pumped out by the fire department. Thankfully, our basement stayed dry and our sump pump kept up. *whew*. Being that we haven't lived here for very long we were not sure how well things would keep up and thankfully, everything turned out fine. That, however, was not the case with many around here. The water was so powerful and fast-moving that it was actually blowing manhole covers off and the water was shooting out of the manholes like geysers!! I never saw THAT happening but I guess it was pretty bad.

My backyard...under water!

When it comes to insurances, we typically think of major things...houses, cars, boats, etc. Have you ever wondered if there was any type of protection plan that would cover your APPLIANCES? Well, I never hvae thought of that and today, I found out that you can indeed have coverage for your appliances should they need repair or replacement. Here is more information about the EquityLock Protector Plan...

With the EquityLock Protector plan, you'll safeguard up to $50,000 of the value of your property and ensure your six most essential appliances are protected, including:

- washer
- dryer
- refrigerator
- microwave
- dishwasher
- range/oven/cooktop

Each of your appliances will be protected (up to $1,500 per 12-month period) including repair or, if necessary, replacement. 

To explore this company more you can check out this neat blog app that has been created just for this post today! Take a look...

I love this app because it gives you information about actually keeping your home up to snuff, which is great!

So, when it comes to protecting your appliances, you should definitely check out the EquityLock Protector Plan. Remember, it's the little conveniences of life that you would miss the most if they were no longer working properly. :)
Now, one of you has the opportunity to win the following...

• 6 months of EquityLock Protector (usually $79.95 a month, that’s over $470 in total value) FREE
• $15 EquityLock Home Improvement Cash (cash card to use at all good home improvement stores) FREE

Here are your entry options and please remember that NO P.O. Boxes are allowed for shipment of the winner's prize...
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received no monetary compensation for this post. I am working in conjunction with EquityLock Protector and they have supplied the materials used in this post. Prize is being provided and shipped by the sponsor. This blog is not responsible for lost, stolen or damaged prizes. All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.

SunFeather Soaps Review & Giveaway

As I have stated in many of my reviews, I love soap. Whether it is body wash, hand soap or dish soap, I am always experimenting with different brands, types and varieties. It is so fun to explore new and exciting scents as well. Soap is something that you use daily and it is always nice to have sweet smelling soaps on hand. During the holiday seasons, I typically have holiday-themed soaps on hand to put out in my bathrooms and I really enjoy coordinating those soaps with my bathroom decor as well as with the holiday. As far as liquid versus bar soap I really don't have a reference...it is all nice to me! 

Recently, I was contacted by SunFeather Soaps regarding their all-natural, kettle made soaps and I was very excited because I had never heard of them before! SunFeather Soaps was founded in 1979 by a woman named Sandy Maine and she had a passion for fragrant and medicinal herbs and she also had a talent for soap-making. Here is more of her story...

With a core value that a business can deliver positive products to consumers, Sandy pooled her talents and started SunFeather in her backyard with a vat of bubbling oil and $15.00 worth of local cedar oil.

For five years (while the business grew), Sandy hauled water in 5-gallon pails from a nearby spring to her farmhouse, which provided a peaceful setting and crystal clear water for making soap. Because she lived beyond the power lines (utilizing only a small generator and no telephone), all business was initially done by mail. Sandy visited the nearby town twice each week to place phone calls to customers. During that time, Saturday nights with her husband Louie were often spent wrapping and labeling soaps for shipment.

As the business grew, employees joined the business to help with the increasing workload. Eventually, Sandy gave up her role as soap maker and focused on product development, sales and marketing. Sandy’s work expanded to include authorship of numerous articles and books on soapmaking, herbal homekeeping and succeeding in business. Sandy’s work has expanded the appreciation and use of handmade soaps in ways she never anticipated. Sandy continues her product development legacy as we maintain the company’s founding philosophies. Great soap is here to stay!

I loved learning about Sandy and her business...not only does she make soap but she also writes books and shares her experience and tips for success with others. To me, that is so wonderful that she is willing to pass along her ideas to others.

So, for this review I was sent a sample pack of SunFeather Soaps to try out and I have to tell you that as soon as I opened my mailbox and saw the envelope from SunFeather, I could literally SMELL the soaps. :) Ohh, I was so very excited to try them out!

I would first like to point out that these are sample sized soaps. They retail for $.50 each and would make perfect hostess gifts, guest bathroom soaps, stocking stuffers, travel and more! I love how each is packaged nicely and looks cute too.

For the soap scents I was sent Vanilla Almond Oatmeal, Lavender Shea Butter, Honey, Goat's Milk & Clover, Cranberry Rose and Papaya Toasted Coconut. Each soap looks wonderful and full of wholesome and natural ingredients. I love the colors as well...aren't they pretty?

Even though they are small, they are perfect for washing your hands or using in the shower for your face. Personally, I have one in the shower right now and also at my kitchen sink. Sometimes, it is nice to have a different type of soap to use and adds a bit of variety to things...which is a good thing. :)

When you use this soap it lathers up nicely and leaves a soft fragrance behind when you are finished. I personally love the Vanilla Oatmeal Almond as all of those ingredients are so good for the skin. This is also great for normal to oily skin, which I have...oh, and it smells heavenly as well! Some of the other scents that I enjoyed were the Cranberry Rose and Lavender Shea Butter...mmmm, so relaxing.

The SunFeather company also makes soap for children, Bath Bombs, Liquid Castile Soap, Bug Repellents and more! Check out their website for information on these and other products and also, be sure to Like SunFeather Soaps Facebook page so you don't miss out on any special giveaways and promotions that they feature there on a weekly basis.

Now for the fun part...SunFeather Soaps has offered to give away three soap gift packs to one of you! Here are your entry options...
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received no monetary compensation for this post. I did receive free SunFeather Soaps for review purposes. All quotes and stock photos are from the SunFeather website and email. Prize is being provided and shipped by the sponsor. This blog is not responsible for lost, stolen or damaged prizes.  All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.