Sunday Blog Hops 10/3 - You are invited!

photo by Kathy Thomas, Northern Beauty

Blog Hops are a great way to explore new blogs
and meet friends and new followers with similar interests.
To participate, click the image for the hop.
read the rules for each hop and enjoy!
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12 million children in America are hungry - click to donate

Click to Donate:

Feed Hungry Child (2 causes)

Donate One Meal

Food for Hungry in India

Hungry Children

Solve Poverty

Hunger Fighters

Polish Hunger Site

Feed Kids in Argentina

The Hunger Site

Help Feed Kids in Africa (click cup)

Children in Need

Help Village Feed Itself

Help Finance Loan

Donate Rice (Click Answers)

Free Flour (Click Answers)

Help Thirst (Click Answers)

Donate Water (Click Answers)

Donate Bread (Click Loaf)

It is impossible to talk about hunger without talking about poverty. More than 32.3 million Americans are poor, most of them children. In fact, the United States has the highest child poverty rate of any industrialized nation.

One in every five American children is poor. Hunger strikes particularly hard at children. An estimated 12 million children in America are hungry or at the very edge of hunger today, because their families lack the money to buy sufficient food. Despite these alarming numbers, the problem of hunger is less visible here than in impoverished parts of the world.

Hungry children in America rarely die of starvation; instead, they tend to suffer from chronic malnutrition or under-nutrition, they are listless and tired, can't pay attention in school, miss more days of school and suffer from more childhood illnesses than their non-hungry counterparts. Childhood hunger can cause lasting impairments that prevent children from growing up to be productive members of society.

It would take 13 billion dollars a year to end hunger for all the Earth's poorest citizens. Of course that is not a trivial amount of money. But consider this fact: Every year, 18 billion dollars is spent on pet food in the United States and Europe.

Are we winning the fight to end hunger worldwide?
Yes. Thanks to you.

Bloggy Award Winners - and The Winners Are...

The Bloggy Award Rule:
~ Acknowledge and link to the blogger who presented you with the award.
~ Give the award at least 3 of your favorite mom bloggers, or 5 if you really can't narrow it down!

I would like to acknowledge some of my favorite Mommy Bloggers
with a Bloggy Award! These blogs are active, friendly and outstanding:
Visit the to network with the best.

1. Still Blonde After All These Years
Happy Birthday!

She has a huge list of ways to promote your giveaway plus awesome giveaways!
This is a must read blog!

2. Design it Chic

She teaches us how to put borders on images and other ways to beautify and
speed up our blogs and buttons with her free HTML tutorials, also love her blog hops!
about her:
"I am a twenty something years old gal married to my highschool sweetheart and the love of my life. Since we've been married our lives turned into an exciting new adventure and we're enjoying every single bit of it:) I love my life and I learned how to dream big! I love everything pretty and chic and I'm as random as anyone.. that's a fact! Welcome to my world!"

3. Always Around Boys

She has a delightful mix of yummy recipes, freebies, blog hops, and giveaways.
Light and cheerful "must read' blog. She also the kind of caring friend you wish you had.

about her: Emy "I'm a happily married 20 something mommy that enjoys fashion, beauty, cooking, traveling and spending time with her family."

Congratulations to the Winners!
Thank you so much for all you do, your work is deeply appreciated!

We are Adopting a Dog - where to find a dog to rescue

We are hoping to adopt this beautiful dog. I will update you on our adoption process.
I live in a very small town where I can only assume that these people all grew up
with each other and therefore don't see the need to knock before entering our
home, which I find unsettling, though I'm sure they mean no harm.
Our solution is to adopt a dog who would let us know we have company
before strangers enter our home. After much research, we have located
the right breed for us and have chosen to adopt a dog that was going to be put
down. She will have a cushy indoor life as our only "pet". If you are considering
a new pet in your life, please consider rescuing one.

Many Animal Shelters list available pets here:
Petfinder

Ava Maria - Jackie Evancho, Reminds us How Great All Kids Are

This is my celebration of great kids, everywhere.
I'll bet many of you have some amazing kids at home.
What could bring more joy to our lives than our own children?
Thank You Jackie, for reminding us all how great our kids are.
So take a break and enjoy Ava Maria
from:

usedmeb4 | October 03, 2008

This is the first of four songs Jackie recorded in studio for us to keepsake and look back upon in the years to come. She's 8 now and has 3 months of voice lessons under her belt!

Diet Tips - Magical Peppers are your Diet Friend

peppers you can buy at Henry Fields

Pep up your diet with peppers.
Mild, Hot, Sweet, Smokey...loaded with flavor.

When you are cutting back calories, salt , sugar, sweets, your diet can be blah and boring.

My diet tip of the day is to add some beautiful peppers to your diet.
Stuff some, grill some, chop them and add to any dish to get lots of flavor
and very little calories.

Hot peppers will rev up your metabolism and contain
a potent pain killer, good for arthritis pain.

Thrifty Tip - grow your own peppers. You'll get varieties that aren't available
in most grocery stores and save a bundle. I've had pepper plants live for years
potted as house plants, even bell peppers will grow indoors.

GiveAway - The Penguins of Madagascar DVD & General Mills Trix Cereal from Times are Tuff

Thanks to Times Are Tuff for this Great Giveaway

Win a Penguins of Madagascar Prize Pack.

Your kids will love it.

I know my daughter and grand daughter did as they enjoyed a bowl of Trix Cereal as they watch the new Penguins of Madagascar DVD.

Trix are for kids silly Rabbit!

ENTER HERE

This Penguins of Madagascar prize pack includes one box of Trix cereal, a Penguins of Madagascar launcher and the new Penguins of Madagascar

movie, The Penguins of Madagascar Operation: DVD Premier.

Product information:

Inside specially marked boxes of General Mills cereals, you’ll “commence operations” with one of five characters from The Penguins of Madagascar; Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, Private or King Julien. Each participating cereal contains one character launcher with mission details outlined on the back of the box including:

• Dive In, Soldier – Set an empty plastic cereal bowl on the table and try to pop your launcher into it. Wear a helmet or you’ll be squid bait.
• Longest Propulsion Launcher – Challenge your troops to see who can launch their character the furthest. Go long or go back to the zoo.
• Target Practice – Create a landing zone with a spoon and try to strategically drop your character into the sweet spot. Hit the target or go back to the drawing board.
• Clear the Wall – Do you have enough projectile pop to push your launcher over the top of the box? Proceed launchin’ troops, earn those wings!

Each character is unique and has their own specific role, and together, they’re a team with lots of character. With five character launchers to collect, make a splash this summer and try to successfully complete all of their missions.

This is open to US residents only. You must complete the mandatory entry before completing optional entries.

ENTER HERE

Give away ends on August 15th at 11:59 pm est time.

Winner will be pick by Random.org and notified by email.