Stop Graphic Commercials during daytime sports

I like to watch sports during the day with my family on the weekends and have been surprised by some of the very graphic R rated movie trailer commercials I see during daytime television. I frequently have to tell my kids to look away or cover their eyes. I have been upset by this on a number of occasions because by the time you realize it's a bad commercial your kids have already seen some of it. I have been irritated but never done anything about it until today when I was watching the playoffs and a commercial for the movie Priest came on while my kids were watching. I told my kids to look away but it was to late. My 7 year old daughter almost immediately had tears in her eyes because of what she saw. It was this gross bald creature with fangs and claws growling or screaming. That's when I decided I had, had enough. I got online and contacted the network with the following email:

Hi,


I wanted to let you know that I am very tired of watching sports during the day with my kids and seeing horrible R rated movie commercials. We were watching the nba playoffs and saw the commercial for the movie Priest and that was the last straw. Please keep your commercials family friendly during the day. I will be dealing with nightmares and sleepless nights in the mean time from that awful commercial.

Thanks, Brittany
 
Here is the response I received:
 
Dear Brittany,

Thank you for giving us an opportunity to respond.
This is a product category that has received an acceptance in television, and the specific spot cleared (the network) advertisement standard review. We recognize that not all our viewers will view these ads as appropriate but as a national network with broad appeal, our standards recognize the widely divergent tastes of our national viewers and advertisers.

We appreciate your feedback and have shared your comments with our advertising and programming executives.

Here is what I plan on writing back:

Hi,


While I understand you view this as appropriate I can assure you that there are many parent's that agree with me and have not expressed there disgust to the network. Your clearance for advertisements are obviously very lax. I would urge you to consider only using R rated movie advertising for night time viewership. I am sure I could get many people to agree with me on this..............................(I'm not done writing the email yet)
 
Am I off base here or does anyone else agree with me?  I would like to prove to this network and other network's that it is not appropriate to show these commercials during the day, by getting enough people to voice their opinion. Please leave a comment if you agree or disagree. I would like to get the conversation going between parent's and TV network's so we can get this changed.
 You can comment on my facebook page too found here 
*all comments will be relayed to the TV network 
repost or tweet about this with a link back to this page if you want to see a change!
Thanks!!!!

Hasbro Game night offer

To help ensure that FAMILY GAME NIGHT is fun and carefree, Hasbro and TOMBSTONE® Pizza are teaming up this month to give you FREE (up to $7.01) TOMBSTONE Pizza with the purchase of a new game. For a limited time, pick up ANY Hasbro game at your local retailer, then visit the "Special Offer" tab at FamilyGameNight.com to download a mail in offer form to receive a coupon for a FREE (up to $7.01) TOMBSTONE Pizza. Whether you choose MONOPOLY or SCRABBLE, Original or Garlic Bread, head to your local retailer before this offer ends on April 30. Visit FamilyGameNight.com or Facebook for more information and full offer details.

St. Patrick’s Day Giveaway 1-800 Flowers ends 3/17

If you haven't checked out 1-800-Flowers.com before, you will be amazed at how many different goodies they have that you could send someone as a special surprise. It's not just flowers. They have the Popcorn Factory and 1-800-baskets.com it's 3 stores with one checkout. I have been lucky enough to receive a couple goodies from them and have really enjoyed everything.
I am excited about this giveaway. Flower's are wonderful and I love the Serene green flower's!!! Have a great St. Patrick's day and Good Luck!!!
 
To Win: 1-800-Flowers.com is giving 1 lucky HipTips winners a St. Patrick's Day flower arrangement. The winner will get a choice of one of these three signature St. Patrick’s Day arrangements pictured below.

St. Patrick's Day Votive with Shamrock

 Serene Green

Beer Mug of Blooms

With such festive and fun options, it is sure to pass on some luck to one special winner this St. Patrick’s Day!
How to Enter: open to US residents
Mandatory entry, In order to enter you must go to 1-800-Flowers.com and leave me a comment below telling me your favorite item they sell. Be sure to include your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you are chosen as the winner.

For additional/optional entries: (Please leave a separate comment for each entry, so if it says 3 entries leave 3 comments)

*Follow this blog via GFC under followers in the sidebar

*Subscribe to Hiptips4u emails here

*like 1-800-flowers on Facebook

*Follow 1-800-Flowers on twitter

* Follow Hiptips4u on twitter  (leave your twitter Id in your comment)

*Follow Hiptips4u on Facebook

*Post my button on your blog or website.( copy and paste the code in my sidebar) 3 additional entries.

*Blog about this giveaway on your blog and put a link to this giveaway in your blog post. 5 additional entries.

*Tweet about this giveaway on twitter. Use:  Win 1-800-Flowers gift #Giveaway @hiptips4u http://hiptips4u.blogspot.com/
You can tweet once a day for 1 entry each. Don't forget to leave a comment each time you do.

This giveaway ends 3/17 at 12:00am pst
The winner will be chosen at random using random.org
Thank you 1-800-flowers for providing the product for the purpose of the giveaway.
All opinions expressed here are my own and were not influenced in anyway.

pucker up! Valentines lip plumper beauty tip

A beauty tip I learned years ago that helped me snag my man. It's simple and inexpensive.

What you need:  A toothbrush ( buy a toothbrush to use specifically for this. We will call this your beauty toothbrush)

and Vaseline:

First apply water to your lips. Next apply Vaseline to your lips. This will lock in the moisture. Then gently brush your lips with the "beauty toothbrush" As you brush you will be removing dead skin and rubbing in moisture. You don't need to brush long. When you are done reapply vaseline or chapstick. The result should be nice ,very kissable, fuller looking lips.

Happy Valentine's Beauty's

Kikis fashions materity review and giveaway ends 2/7

Congratulations #23 Ashley you are the winner

Cute And Trendy Maternity Clothes

  About Kiki's Fashions: From their site:

Stylish maternity clothes at prices every pregnant mom will love! At Kiki's Fashions, we not only offer expecting mothers cute maternity dresses, trendy maternity skinny jeans, and modern maternity tank tops, we also offer our maternity clothing at prices every pregnant mom can afford. We add to our maternity clearance section weekly, so there are always deep discounts on maternity clothes saavy mothers can discover. And don't forget to check out our pregnancy clothes under $10. Where else can you find this large of a selection on cheap maternity clothes?

Unique maternity styles added daily!  Just because you are pregnant, doesn't mean you should be forced to wear boxy out dated maternity outfits.  At Kiki's Fashions, we prioritize on style and selection.  This means our pregnant mommies will be able to find fresh and new maternity styles that are difficult to find anywhere else.  And check back daily, because we might be releasing the exact maternity outfit you need.  But if you see something you like, be sure to act on it soon.  Our styles change often, so that particular casual maternity shirt you like might not be in stock for long!

Everyday Discounts on Cheap Maternity Clothes! We know that pregnancy only last for a short period, so it's difficult to spend a lot of money on maternity clothes you don't plan to wear for too long. This is why our goal is to provide discount prices on all our maternity clothes. We achieve this by keeping our operating costs down so that we can transfer the savings to our pregnant customers. By selling exclusively online and turning over inventory quickly, we are able to operate a lot more efficiently than traditional retail outlets. This means cheap maternity clothes for all you pregnant mothers!

The Review: I asked my friend Amber ,who is pregnant, to review a shirt from kiki's fashions and I thought it looked pretty cute on her. I wish I had known about kiki's fashion's when I was pregnant. Here is what Amber had to say about the product she reviewed: 
I am 29 and pregnant with my 4th child. I bought most of my maternity clothes years ago and have become very tired of my old tent-like maternity shirts and uncomfortable high waisted pants. I wanted to wear something more stylish but had a hard time justifying spending a lot of money on something that I would only wear for the next 12 weeks or so. I was impressed with the selection of both casual and dressy clothes at kikisfashions.com and also the prices were very reasonable compared to many trendy maternity websites I visited. The shipping was very prompt, and I received my shirt only days after ordering. It was packaged nicely and the quality of the shirt is great! I love it! One of the concerns I had was the length of the shirt since I am 5'7 with a long torso. I would even find many of my old maternity "tent" shirts would leave the underside of my belly exposed if I didn't constantly pull it down and adjust the shirt, but the shirt from kikisfashions.com did meet my expectations and the length was great. I would definately recommend this website to anyone looking for great maternity fashion at a great price.

Amber in the shirt she reviewed:

To buy: Go to kikisfashions.com

To Win: kikisfashions is giving 1 lucky HipTips winners a $25 Gift Card.



How to Enter: open to US residents
Mandatory entry, In order to enter you must go to kikisfashions and leave me a comment below telling me your favorite item they sell. Be sure to include your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you are chosen as the winner.

For additional/optional entries: (Please leave a separate comment for each entry, so if it says 3 entries leave 3 comments)

*Follow this blog via GFC under followers in the sidebar

*Subscribe to Hiptips4u emails here

*like kikisfashions on facebook

* Follow Hiptips4u on twitter  (leave your twitter Id in your comment)

*Follow Hiptips4u on Facebook

*Post my button on your blog or website.( copy and paste the code in my sidebar) 3 additional entries.

*Blog about this giveaway on your blog and put a link to this giveaway in your blog post. 5 additional entries.

*Tweet about this giveaway on twitter. Use:  Win $25 GC kikisfashions maternity #Giveaway @hiptips4u http://hiptips4u.blogspot.com/
You can tweet once a day for 1 entry each. Don't forget to leave a comment each time you do.

The winner will be chosen at random using random.org
Thank you Kikisfashions for providing the products for the purpose of the review and giveaway.
* Amber received a product from Kikisfashions for review. All opinions expressed here were not influenced in anyway.

Ahhh!!! Vacation was nice!

I took a much needed break from the computer and was enjoying the holiday season with family and friends. It feels pretty good to not even turn on the computer for days at a time.Our vacation started with a crazy road trip to Disneyland, Vegas, Utah and back home all  in 5 days. We spent one day at Disneyland. Southern California usually doesn't have rain but out of 4 times I have gone to Disneyland it has rained 3 of those times. I think that's weird, but it usually keeps the lines from getting out of control. So, that's nice. I also learned about the parent switch pass ,if you have an infant or child who can not ride a particular ride, One parent stays with the kid that can't ride until the rest of the family is off the ride then the parents switch and the parent who hasn't gone on the ride can take the kids who can ride and skip the line. We had never been to Disneyland at Christmas time when they have all the lights and decorations up so it was fun to see.

 They even had reindeer. I thought that was really cool, but not surprising this is Disney we are talking about.

After Disneyland we drove to Vegas and only stayed a couple hours. It was raining and our kids weren't really impressed. What does it take to impress kids these days? Our goal was to get to Utah anyway.We were going to visit my sister's family. They just had a baby and we were dying to get our babies together. We spent a couple days together and then headed home to get ready for Christmas. It was only a couple days before Christmas and we had to get a tree, decorate, put up lights on the house, get last minute gifts, bake and do some Christmas traditions. It was a crazy time that really hasn't stopped until this week when the kids went back to school. I like doing fun stuff, but I like time to relax on vacation too and we didn't get much of that. I am looking forward to this weekend. Hopefully it will be a little more relaxed. Maybe after my sons  Basketball game Saturday. There's always something right? haha

Hasbro holiday gift guide

Hasbro Boys’ Brands HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
Boys Toys Stocking Stuffers

spider-man action figures
 (Approximate Retail Price: $7.99; Ages 4 and up; Available now)Take on great new adventures with GREEN GOBLIN and VENOM with an all-new lineup of wonderfully styled SPIDER-MAN 3¾ INCH ACTION FIGURES in 2010! This year bringsSPIDER-MAN: from the sea, withDIVE ATTACK SPIDER-MAN, to the sky, with SKY-SPEED SPIDERMAN,or even at night with NIGHT MISSION SPIDER-MAN.  
 
STAR WARS ACTION FIGURES WITH GALACTIC BATTLE GAME

STAR WARS ACTION FIGURES (Approximate Retail Price: $6.99; Ages: 4 and up Available now)With the new STAR WARS ACTION FIGURES WITH GALACTIC BATTLE GAME, fans can battle their friends in head-to-head action and test the powers of their favorite characters. With interactive game-play, these toys are fun for newer fans, as well as long-time collectors.

My review: I was excited to get the oportunity to review the Hasbro action figures. My boys love spiderman and star wars. They have spiderman dress up costumes and of course want light sabers for christmas. I am reluctant to get the light sabers because I can just see them wacking each other in the face with them, but I would love to give them some action figures of there favorite movies and shows. My kids love the action figures they have and I know these will be a hit, but shhhh!!! don't tell.  I had to sneak the Action figures out to take a picture. I think they will think they are pretty cool.  

Thank you Hasbro for providing the products for the purpose of the review.

* I received the products from Hasbro for review. All opinions expressed here are my own and were not influenced in any way.

Auntie Anne's at-home baking kit review

About the company: (From the website)
Auntie Anne’s has Pretzel products, dipping sauces, and signature beverages in more than 1,100 locations in 44 states and more than 22 countries, with additional franchises for sale. The company stands apart from its competitors due to its unwavering commitment to extending the brand, successful growth, and providing continued value for all stakeholders. Auntie Anne’s has built its brand on the foundations of the people-focused philosophies established by its founder, quality products, exceptional customer service, attractive and efficient stores, and the fun activity of pretzel making. Today, Auntie Anne’s rolls more than 500,000 pretzels every two days, which is enough to feed a pretzel to every person living in Lancaster County, Pa. (home to Auntie Anne’s, Inc.).


About the product: Auntie Anne's home baking kit is Anne's special recipe, just for at-home baking. Mix, twist, and bake 10 Original or Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels or 15 Pretzel Dogs. Available at participating stores.

if you wanna make something other than pretzels with your At-Home Baking Kit Visit the Recipes page.
My review:  I was asked to make one of the recipes found on the Auntie Anne's site with my at home baking kit. They have dessert pizza, pretzel rolls, monkey bread, apple dumplings, deep dish pizza,pretzel dogs, pretzel stuffing, pumpkin bread pudding recipes and more. I chose monkey bread for a couple reasons. One is it's delicious and two is it's fun for the kids to help roll the balls in the sugar mix. So once we started it was pretty easy to make. I used my electric stand mixer to combine the yeast, water mix and flour. Then you just set it out to rise for 30  min. and you are ready to roll it into balls and cover it with the sugar mixture and butter.Place the balls in the bundt pan and bake. The kit has a lot of the ingredients although you do need a little sugar, butter, cinnamon and cooking spray.Those are probably things you already have. Check the recipe here for more detailed instructions. This is a great product to use during the holidays because there are so many options of different recipes to make for family guests and friends. We liked the monkey bread and I am interested in trying out some of the other recipes too. The pretzel dogs look good.

Thank you Auntie Anne's for providing the product for the purpose of the review.


* I received a product from Auntie Anne's for review. All opinions expressed here are my own and were not influenced in anyway