Archive for the 'Everything Else' Category

McDonald’s Recalls 12 Million Shrek Glasses

Published June 5, 2010 Everything Else 2 Comments
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If you have any of the McDonald’s “Shrek Ever After” Glasses at your house  THROW THEM OUT!!!  Yesterday, McDonald’s recalled 12 million of these due to potentially dangerous levels of the metal cadmium which have been detected in the paint on the decorative images. Per the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), consumers should stop using the glasses immediately and the Web site cautions that long term exposure to cadmium can cause adverse health effects.  You can read the CPSC recall report here. On Monday, McDonald’s is supposed to announce how you can obtain a refund of these glasses.  You can visit their Web site for more information. 

Happy Meals aren’t so “happy” in this California county

Published April 29, 2010 Everything Else 3 Comments
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This week Santa Clara County, California became the first in the nation to ban toys from fast food kids’ meals high in calories, fat, salt and sugar.  The ordinance will ban restaurants from giving away toys with meals that have more than 485 calories, more than 600 milligrams of sodium, or high amounts of sugar or fat. County supervisor Ken Yeager was quoted as saying the ordinance “prevents restaurants from preying on children’s love of toys to peddle high-calorie, high-fat, high-sodium kids’ meals,” and would help fight childhood obesity.

According to county officials, this ban would affect restaurant giant McDonald’s who is famous for their Happy Meal toys.  The limits are said to include all of the chain’s Happy Meals — even those that include apple wedges instead of French fries.

Personally I am not sure how local politicians decided to make themselves the toy police.  I don’t think the exclusion of a Happy Meal toy is going to stop kids from eating at McDonald’s either.  I am interested to know what you think.  Do you think this move will help curb childhood obesity or have local lawmakers gone too far?

Weigh in your opinion!

The “Man Your Man Could Smell Like” Commercial

Published April 8, 2010 Everything Else 1 Comment
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I think this new Old Spice commercial is hilarious! The “Old Spice Guy” as he is called, tells women that anything is possible with Old Spice body wash, and that their man might not look like him, but they could smell like him if they would stop using lady-smelling body wash and switch to Old Spice. The “Old Spice Guy” is actually former football player – now actor - Isaiah Mustafa who was on Oprah last week. During Oprah’s show, Tyler Perry revealed that he was giving Mustafa a part in an upcoming movie.

I think this commercial is SO Will & Grace.  If you haven’t seen it out check it out here.  I am sure Jack McFarland would approve. :D  

Attention Walmart Shoppers

Published February 23, 2010 Everything Else Leave a Comment
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walmartI am very proud to be a part of the Walmart More Than Eleven Moms group, and we need your help in completing a Walmart survey.  This survey is being presented at an officers’ meeting at Walmart this Friday and they need your feedback to continually improve the products and offerings at your local Walmart store.  The survey is short with only 7 questions; it only takes  just a few minutes to complete.  You can participate by clicking on the link here:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WHHX8LY

Thanks for your help!

Macy’s Go Red Campaign & Gift Card Giveaway (CLOSED)

Published February 3, 2010 Everything Else 896 Comments
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Macy’s GO RED FOR WOMEN campaign is celebrating National Wear Red Day on February 5th. Go Red For Women is the American Heart Association’s nationwide movement that celebrates the energy, passion and power of women to join together and wipe out heart disease, the #1 killer of American women and men. With one out of three women still dying from heart disease, Macy’s is committed to fighting this No. 1 killer that is largely preventable. Since 2004, Macy’s customers and employees have contributed more than $21 million to the Go Red For Women movement.  You can learn more information by visiting GoRedforWomen.org

Want to participate in the Go Red Campaign?  Don’t forget to wear your red on February 5th.  Additionally, check out these ways you can help:

Macy’s $25 Gift Card Giveaway

In celebration of this important campaign, Macy’s is giving away a $25 gift card a reader of the Write Gal’s blog! 

Main Entry

To enter, tell me in a comment why you want to win.  Maybe you need to purchase a little red dress or a new pair of shoes. Whatever you want to spend your gift card on, let me know. That is all you have to do to enter. 

Extra Entries

  • Follow me on Twitter @writegal and tweet my contest – 10 extra entries per day. After tweeting this contest once per day, please let me know by leaving 10 comments on this post for that day.
  • Subscribe to the Write Gal blog by clicking on that nifty little purple button in my sidebar (Current subscribers just let me know you already subscribe) – 10 extra entries

Please leave one comment per entry as the winner will be chosen randomly. The contest is open until 11:59 p.m. EST on February 15th. to residents of the United States only. The winner will be notified via email and will have 72 hours to respond back to me. If no response is received another winner will be drawn.

Good Luck!

  

  

 

 This article was written with information provided by Macy’s and M80. The $25 gift card giveaway is being sponsored by Macy’s. The opinions expressed in this article are my own, and I was not compensated for writing this post.

I hate my new gray hair

Published December 11, 2009 Everything Else 5 Comments
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I am a natural redhead and often get asked what “color” I use for my hair.  Well the color I have you can only get from my parents!  I LOVE my red hair and always have.  The last few weeks I have been noticing at first what I thought were blonde streaks in my bangs and at my roots.  A friend of mine pointed out by yanking one out that these are not blonde hairs I have noticed, they are GRAY!!  OH NO!!!!!!!!!!  I thought it wasn’t possible to go gray before you turned 40.  Well apparently not because I am gray and I have a while to go before I hit 40.  And whoever said redheads go gray last were WRONG!  What I hate is the coarse texture and how the gray hairs are all wiry. 

I guess wrinkles are next.  :(   I HATE getting old.  Dear Santa this is NOT what I wanted for Christmas.

Macy’s BELIEVE & Giftcard Giveaway (CLOSED)

Published December 2, 2009 Everything Else 314 Comments
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Macy’s once again this year is making a difference with its BELIEVE campaign which will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Come to any Macy’s store and drop off your letter to Santa and show your support.  For every letter received Macy’s will donate $1 to the Make-A-Foundation up to $1 million.  For the closest Macy’s location to you click here.

This year Macy’s is adding to the spirit of “Believe” with a national Santa Tour, an honorary National Believe Day, a “Yes, Virginia” animated special, and a new TV commercial featuring Queen Latifah.

Macy’s “The Trek” TV Commercial – The new national television spot called “The Trek” features Virginia making the trip from her home to Macy’s, where Queen Latifah helps her mail her letter to Santa.

Macy’s National Santa Tour – Following his celebratory kickoff of the holiday season in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Santa will embark on a whirlwind tour across America, greeting young boys and girls and spreading holiday joy.

National Believe Day / “Yes, Virginia” Animated Special – On Friday, December 11th, Macy’s will celebrate the first National Believe Day to recognize and reward acts of kindness and generosity from coast to coast. Also that day, CBS will premiere a new original animated special called, “Yes, Virginia.” on Friday, December 11, at 8 p.m. ET.

Click here for more information about this campaign.

My friends at Macy’s are very generously giving one lucky Write Gal reader a $25 Gift Card to spend at any Macy’s store or at Macy’s.com. Here are the details:

Main Entry

Leave a comment on this post telling me why you want to win.

Extra Entries

  • Tell me in a comment something you learned from visiting the Macy’s Believe Web site (5 extra entries).
  • Subscribe to my blog (5 extra entries).  Current subscribers just let me know you already subscribe.

Please leave one comment per extra entry as the winner will be chosen randomly. The contest is open until 11:59 p.m. EST on December 12, 2009 to residents of the United States only. The winner will be notified via email shortly thereafter and will have 72 hours to respond back to me. If no response is received another winner will be drawn.

Good Luck!

Walmart gives back this holiday season

Published November 7, 2009 Everything Else 1 Comment
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I support Walmart's Holiday Giving 2009I am  proud to be affiliated with Walmart and as part of their More than Elevenmoms group, I learned that recently Walmart and the Walmart Foundation launched a program called Walmart Gives Back to benefit those in need this holiday season.  This holiday giving initiative will provide $32 million in monetary and in-kind donations to charitable organizations across the United States. Recently executives from Feeding America, Meals On Wheels and Walmart packed Great Value-branded products and fresh apples onto 35 refrigerator trucks, then sent them out to help put meals on tables in communities nationwide. Feeding America estimates the trucks will help food banks provide an additional 52.5 million pounds of food – or 41 million additional meals – per year. 

In addition, the Walmart Foundation is providing a $2.2 million grant to Meals On Wheels Association of America. Through this funding, 140 Meals On Wheels programs across the nation will upgrade or replace delivery vehicles, stoves, refrigerators and freezers. These improvements will help increase the number of meals provided to the one in nine seniors facing the threat of hunger. Walmart also gives at the local level to the Salvation Army and this season the Red Kettles will fundraise at Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations nationwide from Friday, Nov. 27 through Thursday, Dec. 24.

I am proud to be a Walmart shopper because I know that the company does so much for our communities throughout the year and for those in need for the holidays.  Support your local Walmart as you do your Christmas shopping this year!  To learn more about Walmart’s Giving Back campaign and how you can help visit walmartgiving.com.

As part of the More than Elevenmoms group, Walmart provides me with news and company information which you will see in this blog post.

Pebble.com makes price comparison easy

Published August 14, 2009 Everything Else 1 Comment
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pebble2Recently I discovered Pebble.com which is a price comparison Web site.  There are a lot of price comparison Web sites out there but this one is unique.  Not only can it help you find the best deal on the Web, it also has a feature where you can ask questions about products. This is a great benefit to the consumer because often my biggest pet peeve about buying online is the inability to ask questions.  It is a Catch – 22 because if I go in to the store to ask a salesperson my questions I get a massive sales pitch.  If I buy it online I run the risk of not knowing everything about the product. I actually prefer buying online when I can and when I don’t have to pay load of shipping costs. I like shopping in the comfort of my home without having someone try to sell me something.  With Pebble.com you can actually fully research a product before you buy it because now there are people to answer your questions.  And these are not biased store employees answering your questions either but regular consumers who have experience using the product. 

pebblepricecompareI tried Pebble.com to search for a Keurig.  I am really wanting  a Keurig in white to match my kitchen appliances and I have had a hard time finding one locally.  Hopefully one day the great people at Keurig will finally give this Mr. Coffee user a chance to trade up and give me a review and giveaway. I am not sure if that will ever happen in my lifetime so I am probably going to have to resort to purchasing one on my own.  I searched Pebble.com to find my white Keurig and they had six stores with price data.  Now I did have some questions about owning one so I checked out the question databank for this product and sure enough someone else had already asked my question which was about what type of filtration system the machine used.  A user responded with how the Keurig does not take separate filter but uses their own line of special K-cups to make the coffee which acts as the filter. I knew the Keurig used the K-cups but I did not know they acted as the filter. I found that information to be very helpful in my search for a Keurig.  (Special note to the people at Keurig: If you are reading my post will you pretty please let me review one of your machines?  Pretty please?)

The next time you need to do some price comparison shopping, give Pebble.com a try. 

Now I know why I dread the dentist

Published August 12, 2009 Everything Else 6 Comments
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redheadsMy fellow redhead and friend Trisha from Sweet ‘n Sassy Girls introduced me to an article about how redheads are more susceptible to pain.  Now I know why I hate having dental work done.  According to the article, research shows that people with red hair need larger doses of anesthesia and often are resistant to local pain blockers like Novocaine. As a result, redheads tend to be more nervous about dental procedures and are twice as likely to avoid going to the dentist as people with other hair colors.  I have always dreaded the dentist. Always.  I thought it was because of my past TMJ surgery which does bother me a lot when I go because it hurts to hold my mouth open for a long time.  But now I know why it hurts so much when I get shots of Novocaine and why they don’t feel like they numb me at all.  So now in addition to the freckles and sunburn, I have to worry about a gene  mutation that causes redheads more pain.  Researchers believe redheads are more sensitive to pain because of a mutation in a gene that affects hair color. If you want to read the full report, check out this article from The Journal of the Americal Dental Association.

The good news is that soon I am going to have a very understanding dentist.  In December my cousin Cathy, a dentist, will be moving back to the U.S. from Germany. So finally I get to go to someone who I know will understand my pain.  My current dentist just blows me off when I say I am still hurting. 

:(

I have to say pain or no pain, I wouldn’t trade my red hair for anything in the world.  Thanks Mom & Dad for the redheaded gene.  I guess I better also thank my Grandma who had red hair since it skips a generation in our family.  One day, a long, long  time from now I hope to have some redheaded grandkids.  We can commiserate about our dislike of dental procedures together.  Any other redheads out there feeling my pain?

 

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