Are You Afraid of the Dentist?

Anyone who has had any extensive dental work done is familiar with all the hoopla that patients are subjected to.  So many precision tools and dental accessories for even the most basic restoration.

So being someone who is no stranger to dental procedures, I got over any fear I had of going to the dentist back in my late teens.  Before that, trips to the dentist were brutal with the old techniques of drilling out huge holes in teeth for even the tiniest imperfection or blemish.

Many years and countless dental procedures later, I'm lucky to be one of the few who can easily fall asleep in the dentist chair, even during root canals.  I hadn't really thought of anything to be frightened of during my semi-annual check up now that science and new technology have made dentistry practically pain free.

That is until my current dentist shared a few mishaps that she's heard of that are more common than we might want to think.

If you have a fear of going to the dentist, be warned, this post is NOT for you!

Decided to read on?  Well here are just a couple of things you might find creeping into your mind the next time you're propped up in that dental chair with your mouth hanging open.

My dentist told me of a case where the drill bur broke off during a routine filling and could NOT be located either in the patient's mouth or anywhere on the floor, on the patient, or on the chair.  That patient had a quick trip to the nearest hospital with a duplicate bur in his pocket so the radiologist would know what to look for in his lungs and abdomen during his x-ray.

My own dentist had just hired a new assistant who was a little too aggressive with the suction and accidentally pushed a patient's tongue right into the spinning drill.  That patient ended up with a stitch in her tongue to control the bleeding so my dentist could finish the filling.

Luckily she hasn't heard of anyone swallowing a wad of cotton or any other dental accessory that gets shoved into our mouths but I bet it's happened!

So next time you're at the dentist, take it from me and just close your eyes, relax and don't chat with your dentist!!  No telling what other mishaps you might hear about!!

Any of you have any dental horror stories to share?  

Thursday Friends & Giveaway Cafe Links!

Welcome to "Thursday's Friends & Giveaways Cafe" hosted by Tammy of Tammy's Two Cents  and me!

The first link is for meeting new friends!  (See second link below for adding your giveaways.)  Please Follow Tammy, the Guest Host and me.

Congrats to Aleksandra of
 Busy Working Mama  for being our Co-host this week!



     

Our second link is for Giveaways only!

Add your giveaway valued at $25 or more!

Giveaway links will stay active all week!  New link codes for the blog hop and giveaways hop will be available every Thursday at 12:01 AM EST on both Menopausal New Mom and Tammy's Two Cents so hope to see you then!

My Lip Stuff Review and Giveaway (CLOSED)

Winner:  Tiffany of The Savin' Queen

When Brea of My Lip Stuff started the web page for her fabulous enviro-friendly lip balms with the sentence "Welcome to your new addiction" she wasn't kidding!!

She sent me three delicious flavors to try and they were awesome!!  I tried Strawberry Milkshake, Butter Cookies and Autumn Punch and found them to not only smell yummy but to be super smooth and creamy with maximum staying power.  Each was made using the perfect blend of completely natural butters, oils and beeswax.  Add in the option to pick from over 500 mouthwatering flavors and you really do have the Perfect Lip Balm!!

And I love how earth and animal friendly this company is.  No animal testing!! Each and every lip balm is completely natural and chemical free and Brea has thought of everything including great ideas on how to recycle your lip balm tubes once they are empty.

Talk about the perfect gift idea! You can choose from tons of different label options in different themes so you can customize your order.

I love the fun labels like "Boozy Balms", I would definitely go for the "Mai Tai" flavor or how about choosing one of the "Mood Lip Balms".  I think "Bitchy Ginger Peach" would definitely be at the top of my list.

And there are Party Themes too.  Something for every occasion and every taste. And what a great way to customize gifts for the bridal party, shower gifts, company promotional gifts or any time you want to add that personal touch or message!

And when you want to pamper the rest of your body, My Lip Stuff offers an entire range of other products like body butters, bath salts, scrubs, linen sprays, perfume sticks and lip glosses just to name a few.

You can check out My Lip Stuff and place your order Here

 OR

You Can Win 6 Yummy Flavored Lip Balms right here!!

Brea is going to send one of you 6 (yes that's SIX!!) of her flavorful, randomly selected Lip Balms!!

Here is How to Enter For Your Chance to Win!!

Mandatory for first entry/comment or all others will be deleted

Visit My Lip Stuff and tell me what flavor you would love to try!!

Want 15 More Chances to Win??

Follow my Blog (1 entries/comments)

Grab my flashy Menopausal New Mom Button and display it on your blog (3 entries/comments)

(if you don't do buttons, put me on your blog roll instead)

Grab my Cute Thursday's Cafe Button and display it on your blog (3 entries/comments)
Subscribe to my blog (must activate) via email (3 entries/comments)

Blog about this Giveaway with a link back to this post (5 entries/comments)

Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry.  Giveaway begins now and ends Friday August 13th at 12:00 midnight EST so get those entries in!!  Winner will be announced shortly thereafter and will have three days to confirm.  Open worldwide!!

Disclosure:  I received 3 lip balms to try out before writing my review.  I was not compensated for writing a positive or favorable review and this is my personal opinion of the products.   I am not responsible for mailing out the prize. The winner will have 3 days to respond once they have been contacted. I will then forward  their email address to My Lip Stuff. Thank you for entering and Good Luck!!

Monday Minute Kmama Style!

Time for Ian's  Monday Minute once again, this time hosted by Kmama!

1.  Who is your "what-if" person?

I'm lucky I don't really have one.  I didn't marry the first, second or even third guy to come along and with good reason!  Waiting for Mr Right even if it did take years was worth it!!!

2.  What is your nickname?

"Tom", I earned this when I was about 4 or 5 years old from a lovely old gentleman who used to work for my parents.  And I still answer to it when I hear it!!

3.  If you could choose how you died, how would you like to die?

If I could choose, I would keel over at the computer while blogging of course!

4.  If you could have named yourself, which name would you have picked?

Well, probably not "Tom".  Hard question with answers that have changed throughout the years, when I was in grade school, I loved the name "Valerie" but now as an adult, I'm pretty happy with "Deb"

5.  Who were you named after or for what reason did your parents choose your name?

You guys are really focused on names this week.  I wasn't named after any one in particular, I think that "Debbie" was such a popular name back then it was either that or "Susan".

And that's another edition of Monday Minute!  If you liked the questions this week, copy them and link up over at Kmama's Place!!

Giveaway Scout

I'm so glad to be back on line after being at the cottage with no computer for an entire week.  Being able to schedule posts in advance is a great option but nothing beats the day to day interaction with all of you.  I'm so glad to be back!

And before I get back to regular blogging on Monday, I wanted to tell everyone about this fabulous site where thousands of current giveaways are listed by category making browsing and finding exactly what interests you so easy!

You can visit their site GiveawayScout which is updated hourly and find the latest and greatest giveaways going on right now!!  That's where I'll be hanging out for the rest of the weekend!!

Check them out and if you love to host giveaways on your blog, link up!!  It's so easy to join!

Friendly Reminder!

I've been out of town all week but for those of you who want to get in on my latest Giveaway of

  TWO

fabulous Ladies Smart SavvyCents Wallets can find the link Here.

  Entering to win is easy!!!

Winners get to choose between Basic Black and Smashing Pink!

Good Luck and See You Next Week!!!

Thursday Friends & Giveaways Cafe Links!

We're back and it's week Seven of "Thursday Friends & Giveaways Cafe" hosted by Me and  Tammy's Two Cents.

Here's how it works:

First Link is for the Blog Hop

and

Second Link is for Giveaways ($25 Value & Up ONLY).

You can grab the codes at the bottom of each link to show the hops on your own blog so go ahead and link up with us!

Friends Hop Is Here

Grab our cute "Cafe" button and post it on your blog

Add your Blog Name and Blog URL to the First Link below

Follow both Deb and Tammy along with this week's Guest Hostess

Ali

and then
Visit as many Blogs as you'd like!

Each week, one entrant will be chosen by random.org to be our Guest Host the following week!

And check out the "Giveaways" posted on the Second Link below.  With each one having a value of $25 or More, you just might want to check back often!

Here Is the Giveaway Link

 please provide:

Name of Item, Value, End Date and URL to that Giveaway

Each item must have a dollar value of $25 or More to qualify

Giveaway Link stays active all week while the Blog hop Link will expire at midnight on Sunday so you can take your time browsing and hopping.

New Link Codes for Both Hops will be available every Thursday at 12:01 am EST on both Menopausal New Mom and Tammy's Two Cents so hope to see you here!

*Comments have been turned off, I'm away from my computer this week but will be right back here Monday morning to catch up.   Hope to see you then!!*

Winners & Giveaways!!

First, I want to thank each and everyone who took the time to enter the giveaway for the $50 Gift Certificate from The Vintage Pearl online jewelry store.  Their hand-stamped custom jewelry is absolutely gorgeous!!

So now it's time to announce the lucky winner of that $50 Gift Certificate!!

Drumroll Please!!

I want to Congratulate #212

Blue Violet

of

A Nut In A Nutshell 

who has just won herself that $50 Gift Certificate!

If you love fine custom-created jewelry, visit The Vintage Pearl and order your own personalized, handstamped sterling silver jewelry!  You will love it!

And don't miss out on the opportunity to win one of TWO awesome SavvyCents Ladies Wallets!  I use mine everyday and love it!

You can find the details and enter to win your choice of either a Basic Black or Smashing Pink one Here!

*Comments have been turned off.  I'm away from the computer all week but the Thursday's Cafe Hops will still be open*

Time To Get On Our Green!

It's Friday and just like last week, Erin of The Mother Load and I are getting on our Green again.

This week, June of 3! A Charm  grabbed our cutesy Stamp of Approval button to do her own Green post on a new enviro-friendly addition to her home.  Erin is posting lots of helpful Green tips and I'm tallying up my plastic bags refused stats.

As part of my effort to convince you that your ONE household can make a huge impact on the environment, I've been keeping track of how many plastic bags I "refuse" by opting to bring along my own reusable bags when shopping.

And just like I mentioned last month, I am not a "shopper" and buy only groceries and necessities for our three-person family. And to help demonstrate this same point for a two-person household, my mum is keeping track too.

During the month of May,  I was able to refuse 71 plastic bags!  So to update that total for everyone, I kept count in June too.  And even after spending almost two weeks at our cottage where we didn't shop, we still refused 29 bags!!!!

That's a cool, even 100 for a two-month period!!  100 less plastic bags that needed to be manufactured, or worse, ended up blowing around, hanging on trees or clogging our landfills.

My mom's two-person household refused 38 bags in May and 37 in June!  That's 75 for only TWO months!

Can you believe two small households were able to prevent 175 plastic bags from being used during the months of May and June??  It's shocking how quickly they add up!

And just like I posted last month, why not join us with your own stats and either count the bags you do accept or better yet, count the ones you don't!


If you want to help make a difference, Erin is posting loads of Green tips today and don't forget to check out the enviro-friendly addition to June's family too!


PS:  Just found out I'm on stage over at LOL today, want to take a peek?  It's Here!!

Thursday Friends & Giveaways Cafe Links!

We're back and it's week six of "Thursday Friends & Giveaways Cafe" hosted by Me and Tammy of Tammy's Two Cents.

Here's how it works:

First Link is for the Blog Hop

and

Second Link is for Giveaways ($25 Value & Up ONLY).

You can grab the codes at the bottom of each link to show the hops on your own blog so go ahead and link up with us!

Friends Hop Is Here

Grab our cute "Cafe" button and post it on your blog

Add your Blog Name and Blog URL to the First Link below

Follow both Deb and Tammy along with this week's Guest Hostess

Angie of

Sunshine and Lollipops

and then

Visit as many Blogs as you'd like!

Each week, one entrant will be chosen by random.org to be our Guest Host the following week!

And check out the "Giveaways" posted on the Second Link below.  With each one having a value of $25 or More, you just might want to check back often!

Here Is the Giveaway Link

 please provide:

Name of Item, Value, End Date and URL to that Giveaway

Each item must have a dollar value of $25 or More to qualify

Giveaway Link stays active all week while the Blog hop Link will expire at midnight on Sunday so you can take your time browsing and hopping.

New Link Codes for Both Hops will be available every Thursday at 12:01 am EST on both Menopausal New Mom and Tammy's Two Cents so hope to see you here!

Fabulous Savvycents Wallet Giveaway (CLOSED)

A couple of months ago, I received a Savvycents Wallet to review and I quickly fell in love with how well it organized the chaos that had been in my purse.  I was so impressed with it that I contacted Melinda Claudepierre who created it to ask if she would consider sponsoring a Giveaway so one of you could win one.

 And Guess What!!!!  

She not only said YES!! but offered to Give Away TWO of Them!!

This smart wallet is not only Functional but so Cute and Fashionable.  It contains everything you need to get organized with room for either monthly or weekly budgeting. There is a flexible accordion style file system inside the wallet to separate your paper by category whether you're carrying money, coupons, receipts, lists etc. And this clever wallet comes with pre-printed file cards as well as blank labels so you can customize your wallet to your own specific needs. And to make sure that your change is easily accessible, there is a zippered coin pocket located on the back. 

Everything will stay neatly organized with 6 pockets for debit, credit and store discount cards. On the opposite side there is a spot for your driver’s license and even a place for your checkbook.  Closes securely with a sturdy zipper to keep everything neat and in its place.

And when you don't feel like bringing a purse, this wallet makes a stylish clutch being 8" x 4" in size and it's available in 3 colors you are going to want to show off. 


There is Basic Black,  Deep Red and the perfect shade of Pink.  All are in a glossy patten finish. 

Any one who is tired of losing and searching for items in their purse needs this wallet!!

You can visit their website for more information and buy one at SavvyCents for the Fashionably Frugal for only $24.99 + tax/shipping (when applicable)

OR

Two of you will win One in your choice of either

Black or Pink Here!

Here's How To Enter For Your Chance To Win!

Follow My Blog on Google Friend Connect (3 entries/comments)

Grab My Menopausal New Mom Button and display it on your blog (5 entries/comments)

(if you don't do buttons, put me on your blogroll instead for 5)

Grab My Thursdays Friends Cafe Button and display it on your blog (5 entries/comments)

Blog about this Giveaway with a link back to this post (8 entries/comments)

Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry.  Giveaway begins now and ends Aug 6th at 12:00 midnight EST so get those entries in!!  Open to USA and Canadian residents only.

I am not responsible for mailing out the prizes and each winner will have 3 days to respond once they have been contacted. I will then forward  their email addresses to Savvycents who will contact them so they can select their color choice. Thank you for entering!!

Good Luck!!!

Once You Get Started......

Funny how you can update one thing in a room, love how it looks and then all of a sudden,  you start to wonder if maybe it's time to replace something else.

That's exactly what happened when we replaced the lighting fixture in our old log cabin with a pretty feminine chandelier (yep, with your help, I got my way!)

We finally get the thing up, I stand back to admire it and when I'm done, I look around the room.  One quick glance at the two old sofa beds that are there has the words new sectional sofas echoing through my head.  Something modern, sleek and comfortable!

The two old hide-a-beds that are there now were probably picked out by the ex-wife and don't reflect my taste at all.  They are too bulky for the space, covered in some disgusting green velvety fabric like velour and just plain old ugly and uncomfortable. Not to mention, I can't think of anyone who has even bothered to try to sleep on what is left of the mattresses and I've been going there for 12 years now.

Yes, I think it's about time for a new sofa and with only one discount furniture store in our little town, I bet I will find exactly what I want at CSN Stores. I love shopping there, they ship to the USA and Canada which means directly to our cottage.

Here are three styles that I chose for the log cabin.  (Oh, I should mention that the interior walls are dark aged cedar )

This looks cozy to me!

This one says "Vacation"

Got to give hubby a leather option and I like this one!

Yes, I think if hubby wants me to continue spending time with him at the cottage, I'm going to need a nice and comfortable spot to stretch out on while I'm admiring that sparkling chandelier!

I've got my favorite, which style gets your vote?

I've Got A New Best Friend This Summer!!

Look at what I will be hanging out with this Summer!  She's stylish, sleek, purrs like a kitten and with her own set of wheels can follow me anywhere around the house.  And if she came with a rechargeable battery, I'd dress her up and take her out!

Oh yes, it was time to buy a portable air-conditioning unit and this new addition to the family comes from Sears. Let's just say that mixing a heat wave with menopause is like pouring gasoline on a raging fire.

So now I'm comfortable no matter how hot it is outside and hubby knows he had better not bitch about the power bill.  Let's just say that in this marriage, he's learned four very important little words that he wasn't taught the first time around.

Happy Wife, Happy Life!

It couldn't be more simple, could it!  How do you plan to beat the heat this Summer?

Oh, and there is still time to enter my giveaway for a $50 Gift Certificate from The Vintage Pearl Jewelry, you can enter and read about it Here or click on the giveaway link on my top right sidebar!

We Are Getting On Our Green Today!

Today Erin of The Mother Load and I are getting on "Our Green" to help spread the word on what little changes we can make that add up to a huge difference for our environment.

We would love to have you join us by grabbing our cute "Green Stamp of Approval" Button and doing your own "Green" post just like our Green Team Gal Stephanie at Babes Rockin Mami did here!  And check out these stylish reusable produce bags that our clever Green Team Gal June of 3!A Charm made Here.  At this rate, one of these days we just might add a link!

Nothing shocked me into the "Go Green" mode more than Oprah's Earth Day show last year.  I have never forgotten the disturbing images broadcast that day and I look at our environment in an entirely new way because of it.

If you haven't already jumped on the "Go Green" bandwagon, I hope this little video narrated by Oprah herself will change your mind.

Directly from Oprah's Earth Day Show, please take that 1:34 minute for the sake of our environment and watch it.




I know that cleaning this thing up is well beyond anything the average person can do but here is what I hope you will take away from watching these images.

When you are outside and you see a piece of plastic or other garbage blowing by, please take that few minutes to pick it up and put it in the trash. I used to believe that if it wasn't "My" garbage or in "My" yard, it wasn't "My" problem.

WRONG!

Any time we see loose plastic or Styrofoam blowing in the wind, stuck to the ground or hanging on a tree, it is the responsibility of EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US to pick it up and put it in the nearest bin.

Since seeing Oprah's video and those images of helpless wildlife entangled in our trash, I see EVERY piece of loose garbage now as a hazard and heading straight toward our waterways and on to the nearest Ocean's Garbage Patch. After all, this is just the Pacific Patch. There is at least one Garbage Patch in every ocean on our planet.

So next time you see a piece of garbage littering your yard or street, think of our beautiful oceans and the precious wildlife that depend on them and I know you will do the right thing. 


And please take a few minutes to visit Erin, Stephanie and June to check out their Green Posts too!  Don't forget to tell us if you do one yourself, we love to spread the word!!

Have a Great Weekend Everyone!!

Thursday Friends & Giveaways Cafe Links!

Welcome to week five of "Thursday Friends & Giveaways Cafe" hosted by Me and Tammy of Tammy's Two Cents.

Here's how it works:

First Link is for the Blog Hop

and

Second Link is for Giveaways ($25 Value & Up ONLY).

Want the codes so you can have all the links on your own blog?

You will find the Link codes at the bottom of each hop so link up with one, two or both! We want to make this hop successful and we need your help to do so.

So if you would like to join the Friends Hop, Here's how:

Grab our cute "Cafe" button and post it on your blog

Add your Blog Name and Blog URL to the First Link below

Follow both Deb and Tammy along with this week's Guest Hostess

Judy of Judy's Handmade Creations
and then

Visit as many Blogs as you'd like, and when you follow a new blog,

please leave them a comment so they know you dropped by

And it's always nice to return the favor when someone finds you

Each week, one entrant will be chosen by random.org to be our Guest Host the following week!

And check out the "Giveaways" posted on the Second Link below.  With each one having a value of $25 or More, you just might want to check back often!

If you would like to List Your Giveaway
 please provide:

Name of Item, Value, End Date and URL to that Giveaway

Each item must have a dollar value of $25 or More to qualify

Giveaway Link stays active all week while the Blog hop Link will expire at midnight on Sunday so you can take your time browsing and hopping.

New Link Codes for Both Hops will be available every Thursday at 12:01 am EST on both Menopausal New Mom and Tammy's Two Cents so hope to see you there!

The Vintage Pearl Jewelry Review & Giveaway (CLOSED)

Who doesn't love a gorgeous piece of custom-created genuine jewelry so you can imagine how delighted I was when The Vintage Pearl offered to ship a piece of their fabulous jewelry to me for review.

If their name sounds familiar, perhaps you've seen them in your favorite magazine. After all, they have advertised their gorgeous hand-stamped creations in several popular magazines such as Parenting, Woman's Day, Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart, Self and Glamour just to name a few.

At the Vintage Pearl, only the finest materials are used in their hand-stamped jewelry with each and every piece made entirely of sterling silver.  From the chains to the jump rings, unless otherwise noted, you can count on receiving only the finest quality with incredible attention to detail.

And you can customize your piece making these unique creations the perfect personalized gift or keepsake.  I chose the delicate birthstone charm with chain pictured in the center above and had my daughter's name stamped on it.  And speaking of their custom stamping, they offer several fonts so you can easily design your own unique piece.

Here is just a sample of the jewelry their talented artisans create

Custom Stamped Bracelets

Custom Stamped Charms for Necklaces

Custom Stamped Silver Spoons
The Perfect Baby Shower Gift

Want to place an order?  You can visit The Vintage Pearl Online and order your custom hand-stamped jewelry Here

OR

You Can Win a $50 Gift Certificate!!!

The generous folks at The Vintage Pearl  are going to provide a $50 Gift Certificate for one of you to use in their online store!!!

Here's How To Enter For Your Chance To Win!!

Mandatory for first entry/comment:

visit the The Vintage Pearl online and tell me in your comment what you would purchase with the $50 Gift Certificate if you win!

Want More Chances to Win??

Follow my blog  (3 entries/comments)

Grab My Menopausal New Mom Button and display it on your blog  (5 entries/comments)
(if you don't do buttons, put me on your blogroll instead for 5)

Grab My Thursday's Friends Cafe Button and display it on your blog (5 entries/comments)

Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post (8 entries/comments)

Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry.  Giveaway begins now and ends Friday, July 16th at 12:00 midnight EST so get those entries in!!  Winner will be announced shortly thereafter.  Open to USA and Canadian residents only.

I am not responsible for mailing out the prize. The winner will have 3 days to respond once they have been contacted. I will then forward  their email address to the Vintage Pearl. Thank-you for entering!!

Good Luck!!!