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About Alyson

Alyson is a Stay-at-Home Mom blogger and a work-in-progress author. She is blessed to get to raise her three crazy, amazing girls and be married to her favorite man. She loves all things Disney, scrapbooking, reading, travel, cowboys and horses. You can read about her ups, down and craziness on Facebook or Pinterest. https://plus.google.com/+LouiseBishop/

Werther’s Originals Sugar-Free: No Matter How You Say It, They’re Good!

January 11, 2014 by Alyson Leave a Comment

by Alyson LaBarge
MomStart Contributor

Thank you Werther’s Original Sugar Free Candy for sponsoring this post.

As I am in the mode of changing my habits and getting healthy and fit, candy is not something I have on my approved list of snacks.  I am not a Diabetic and I want it to stay that way, ya know?  But when Werther’s Originals came out with some new flavors to add to their repertoire of Sugar-Free Caramels, well, I couldn’t pass trying them.  They were kind enough to send a package (and what an awesome package it was) of  their Werther’s Sugar Free Candies.

My youngest daughter was very curious as to what I had.  I let her try one and she immediately fell in love with their smooth, creamy taste.  She couldn’t quite say “WERTHER’S ORIGINALS”.  We had to practice over and over again until she could say it correctly.  Of course, she wanted to try another one each time she did. 😉

 

Werther’s Sugar Free Candy comes in four delicious flavors:

  • Classic Caramel
  • Caramel Apple
  • Caramel Coffee
  • Caramel Cinnamon

Each of the flavors have a rich creamy caramel taste with a hint of apple, coffee, or cinnamon. My favorites are the Classic Caramel and the Caramel Coffee.

 

Werther’s Original Sugar Free Caramels are made with real butter and fresh cream making them taste great, yet each piece only has 3g carbs and 8 calories which is 40% fewer calories than their original caramels.

 

To Learn more ‘Like‘ Werther’s Original Sugar Free Facebook page.

Buy Some:

Werther’s Original Sugar Free are available in store at a variety of retailers nationwide. Be sure to like Werther’s Original Sugar Free on Facebook where you can get a $1 off coupon!

About Alyson

Alyson is a Stay-at-Home Mom blogger and an Aspiring Author of Contemporary Cowboy/Country Romances. She lives in Texas with her family of three crazy, amazing girls and her Prince Charming. She loves all things Disney, reading, writing, travel, cowboys and horses. You can read about her daily ups, down and craziness at Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys or her reading and writing at Liberty Ann’s SnifferWalk Books.

Filed Under: Alyson, Candy, review Tagged With: Caramels, new flavors, Werther's Originals Sugar-Free

Take Care of Your Face: Perricone MD Photo Plasma SPF30 Review

January 11, 2014 by Alyson Leave a Comment

by Alyson LaBarge

MomStart Contributor

Have you ever heard of Perricone MD?  I have at my Dermatologist’s office so I had always imagined that it was a high quality product.  Imagine how tickled I was when I was recently given the chance to try some of the Photo Plasma with SPF30 and report back on it.

Photo Plasma is super lightweight, oil-free, and an anti-aging moisturizer with a mineral-based, broad-spectrum SPF 30.

It’s really not heavy, greasy or sticky which are the things I so often object to with face creams.  Its lightness is partly because Photo Plasma is an oil-free cream, designed to glide onto skin smoothly.

The shell pink cream helps to create an invisible shield against environmental contaminants.  With its mineral-based broad spectrum SPF 30, it guards against both UVA and UVB damage.

 

It also contains Vitamin C Ester and Alpha Lipoic Acid which helps to brighten skin and smooth out any surface imperfections.  It worked wonderfully on my windburned cheeks after spending the day in the sun and the surf while on vacation.

The Perricone Photo Plasma promises that it will leave you skin soft, hydrated and radiant and is designed for anyone seeking protection against the most common skin aging factors.
Dr. Perricone recommends applying in the daytime as a final and finishing step to any skin care regimen.

Each 2 ounce jar contains Photo Plasma Broad Spectrum SPF 30 and is made in the USA.  You can buy it online at Perricone MD for $69.00 as well as high end cosmetic and skin care retailers.

Perricone MD carries a wide variety of skin care and anti-aging products including Vitamin C Ester Serum, DMAE creams, Intensive Pore Minimizer and more.

Follow PerriconeMD online at the Perricone Blog, Facebook and Twitter.

Alyson is a Stay-at-Home Mom blogger and an aspiring author. She feels blessed getting to raise her three crazy, amazing girls and be married to her favorite man. She loves all things Disney, scrapbooking, reading, travel, cowboys and horses. You can read about her ups, down and mid-life craziness as well as her reading and writing at Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys and Liberty Ann’s SnifferWalk Books.

Filed Under: beauty, review, Skin care Tagged With: Perricone Skincare, PerriconeMD, Photo Plasma, Skin Cream, SPF 30

Zits and Wrinkles It’s More Common Than you Think! Better Get Some Bioré®

January 10, 2014 by Alyson Leave a Comment

by Alyson LaBarge

MomStart Contributor

 

I was blessed with fantastic skin as a teenager.  I had minimal trouble with acne or other blemishes so I spent very little time perfecting a skincare routine.   Then I turned 30.

Yes, you guessed it – Zits and Wrinkles, at the same time.  I developed a super oily T-zone, tons of blackheads and blemishes galore .  Yes, Mother Nature has a wicked sense of humor.  I needed to develop a first class skincare routine and fast.  After much trial and error, plus a decrease in my sugar intake/increase in my water intake plus straightening out my hormones, I began to see positive results.  The oily areas decreased, the blemishes became few and far between and blackheads were a thing of the past.

Unfortunately, the blackheads left a bumper crop of large pores in their wake.  One of the products I had tried and had some success with along the way was Bioré®, specifically their Deep Cleansing Pore Strips as well as their Pore Unclogging Scrub.  When I had the chance to try some of their other products, I eagerly anticipated some modicum of success.  I tried their Steam Activated Cleanser and 4-in-1 Detoxifying Cleanser.

 

I added the Steam Activated Cleanser to my daily shower routine each morning.  It featured Biore’s exclusive SteamActiv™ beads. This exclusive formula, combined with the shower’s pore-opening shower steam, not only dissolved whatever gunk my pores had trapped in them but also washed away any remaining traces of makeup, oil or bacteria.  The Steam Activated Cleanser is

  • Dermatologist Tested
  • Hypo-Allergenic
  • Non-Comedogenic (won’t clog pores)

It did a fantastic job cleaning out my pores, leaving my face feeling refreshed instead of over dry and tight as some other products had done. It also allowed the other products I used to reduce the size of my pores, leaving me with a smoother, clearer complexion.  The only negative was the new packaging – the tube was difficult to open, especially with wet hands.

The 4-in-1 Detoxifying Cleanser was the next product I tried.  I used it in place of my usual daily face wash, even when I was traveling.  Oil free, this light and airy foam removed all toxins, leaving my skin feeling smooth, toned and refreshed.  Packaged in a easy to use pump, I loved having to worry about the product accidentally being released in my luggage and leaving me with a huge mess and I only needed one product instead of four.

Both of these Bioré® products are now part of my regular cleansing routine as I work to banish my blemishes and wrangle my wrinkles.  The 5 ounce Steam Activated Cleanser and the 6.7 ounce 4-in-1 Detoxifying Cleanser are available at Amazon.com, Walmart, Target and drug stores near you.

 

About Alyson

Alyson is a Stay-at-Home Mom blogger and an Aspiring Author of Contemporary Cowboy/Country Romances. She lives in Texas with her family of three crazy, amazing girls and her Prince Charming. She loves all things Disney, reading, writing, travel, cowboys and horses. You can read about her daily ups, down and craziness at Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys or her reading and writing at Liberty Ann’s SnifferWalk Books.

Filed Under: Alyson, beauty, review Tagged With: Bioré®, health and beauty, review, Skincare

All About P&G and Cincinnati, Cincinnati and Proctor &Gamble!

January 10, 2014 by Alyson 2 Comments

by Alyson LaBarge
MomStart Contributor

Note to readers: I was hosted by P&G (Proctor & Gamble) for this blogger conference.   Accommodations and travel expenses were paid for by P&G.

A while back, I was lucky enough to attend a two-day awesome event called Access P&G. This event was created to bring bloggers and P&G brands together and they pulled it off in grand style!

I learned so much in those two days!  I truly never realized just how many products that I use day in and day out that fall under the Procter and Gamble umbrella!  See how many of these are in your home:

  • Crest
  • Charmin
  • Febreeze
  • Iams
  • Tampax
  • Bounce
  • Nice ‘n Easy
  • Bounty
  • Swiffer
  • Pampers
  • Puffs
  • Pantene
  • Head & Shoulders
  • Cover Girl
  • Olay

… the list goes on and on and on.

I now know I use a TON of P&G products!

Having never been to Cincinnati before, getting there was half the fun!  I left DFW and changed planes in Charlotte.  The plane from Charlotte was the smallest plane I had ever been on…we even walked out onto the tarmac and climbed a flight of stairs to get on the plane.  It was really quite fun. lol

 

 

The hotel they put us up in was SO cool. It was in the heart of downtown at the swanky 21C Museum Hotel.  It was amazing and I would love to go back just to stay there again.  21C Museum Hotel doubles as both a hotel AND a fully-functioning art museum/cultural civic center.  Each room had a super artistic touch in the funky tiles in the shower that showed a variety of body parts – an eye, ear, nose, etc.  The staff was outstanding in seeing to our needs and my absolute favorite thing was the giant yellow Penguins that the staff constantly move around the hotel.  I even got a mini-ceramic one to take home and he makes me smile to this day!

While we were there, we had a super and busy itinerary:
  • A meet and greet event held in an interactive digital playground exhibit at the Cincinnati Contemporary Art Center that included Celebrity mom and Cincy native-by-marriage Vanessa Lachey , sharing the virtues of P&G laundry solutions like the ever-popular Tide Pods and Downy Infusions.  We were also introduced to my newest favorite, the Cincinnati wonder, Graeter’s Blackberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.  Delicious does not begin to describe it. 😉
  • Tampax-sponsored yoga. I’ll spare you the photographic evidence but it was very relaxing and the expert tampon engineer even managed to make the braid feature totally exciting. Seriously!  I knew I liked Tampax and now I know why. *giggle*
  • A visit from J.B. Kropp, a Strategic Partnerships fellow at Twitter who talked to us about Optimizing Your Blog through Social Media.
  • A walk through a couple of blocks of super cool Cincinnati downtown architecture.
  • A visit to the main P&G headquarters.
  • Putting Bounty Duratowels to the test.
  • Lunch created by and with Top Chef Stephanie Izard.
  • A tour of the the P&G Archives.
  • Meeting Pawl Griffin… (also known as the VP of Canine Communications for IAMs) and learning about the healthy background of IAMS So Good Dog Food.
  • Meeting and getting tips and trends from Celebrity hairstylist David Reposar and makeup artist Bruce Grayson.
  • Danielle Smith, Access P&G attendee and author of Social Media Engagement For Dummies, was the moderator for our group discussion on Balancing Blog and Home.
  • Dinner at legendary Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse.

Watch for my other posts regarding some of the great information and events that took place during Access P&G!

Probably one of the biggest bonuses of this trip was that I finally got to meet several bloggers whom I’ve known online for years like Naomi at Superdumb Supervillain, Zippy at Champagne Living,  Alicia at The Mommy Insider and Danielle from Extraordinary Mommy!

I had a wonderful trip and am so grateful that I could attend.  A special thanks to the amazing PR team Sara, Molly, Tim, and the rest of the crew for putting together an unforgettable conference and giving me a chance to explore all the great products P&G has to offer!

 

About Alyson

Alyson is a Stay-at-Home Mom blogger and an Aspiring Author of Contemporary Cowboy/Country Romances. She lives in Texas with her family of three crazy, amazing girls and her Prince Charming. She loves all things Disney, reading, writing, travel, cowboys and horses. You can read about her daily ups, down and craziness at Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys or her reading and writing at Liberty Ann’s SnifferWalk Books.

Filed Under: Alyson, beauty, Proctor & Gamble, review, travel Tagged With: Access P&G, Cincinnati, P&G, Proctor and Gamble

Eggo® Wafflers™, a Sweet and Instant Hit

January 9, 2014 by Alyson

by Alyson LaBarge

MomStart Contributor

Thank you Eggo® Wafflers™  for sponsoring this post.

 

Mornings at our house are kinda crazy.  My tween has discovered the joy of morning showers, my 10 year old wants to hurry as fast as possible through her morning chores so she can have computer time before school and the 7 year old can barely drag her cute little hiney out of bed.  While I am busy making lunches and making sure they have all of their signed papers ready to go, they are supposed to have some breakfast to to jump start their brains and stave off the hungries.  Cereal, eggs or toast are common choices but they do get old.

Thankfully we can intersperse some waffles occasionally, especially if they are running late.  We heat it up, wrap it in a paper towel and out the door they go.  Of course, that means it is a plain and dry waffle.  Blech….

 …until now…

Meet Eggo® Wafflers™ .  With sugar and other yummy tasting  ingredients added to their recipe, Kellogg’s has re-designed our go-to waffles and created a scrumptious treat, morning or night.

The Wafflers come in two special flavors: Strawberry Struedel and Brown Sugar Cinnamon Roll. We tried the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Roll variety first and they were an instant hit with all three of my girls as well as myself.  While they are sweeter than the regular Eggo’s, they have less sugary stickiness, something I, as a Mom, love.  So the next time you are in the market for fast and super easy breakfast ideas, give the Eggo® Wafflers™ a try and see what your family thinks.  We bet they will be an instant hit!

Available at most major grocery stores where Eggo® Waffles™ are sold.

(Nutrition Facts – 2 waffles/4 waffle bars – 250 calories, 80 calories from fat, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 510 milligrams of sodium, 55 milligrams of potassium, 40 less than 1 gram of fiber, 16 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein, and a bunch of vitamins and minerals)

 

About Alyson

Alyson is a Stay-at-Home Mom blogger and an Aspiring Author of Contemporary Cowboy/Country Romances. She lives in Texas with her family of three crazy, amazing girls and her Prince Charming. She loves all things Disney, reading, writing, travel, cowboys and horses. You can read about her daily ups, down and craziness at Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys or her reading and writing at Liberty Ann’s SnifferWalk Books.

 

Filed Under: Alyson, Food, review Tagged With: breakfast, Eggo® Wafflers™, Eggo® Waffles™, quick and easy

16 STORIES FOR AMANDA ~ A Benefit to Fight Against Bullying

October 16, 2013 by Alyson 1 Comment

Having just watched Amanda’s video she made and listened to her parents speak after her death, I am heartbroken.  Has our World really gotten that backwards that a child who was trying to move past a couple of mistakes made at a young age would be abused, stalked and emotionally tortured for years?  And was this an isolated case? No it was not.  My 10 and 12 year old daughters both suffered some bullying separately at school just this past week for no reason other than someone else thought they could.

I am honored to be a part of working towards a positive change.  These authors have taken a horrible event and created something that can bring good.  The 16 stories they have written are enjoyable and educational.  Please read about these Stories for Amanda.

~ Alyson

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About Stories for Amanda:

Amanda Todd was a young girl who dealt with bullying for three years.  Lured into a bad decision by a cyber-stalker when she was only 12 years old, she was mercilessly targeted online and in real life over and over again, until it became more than she could deal with.

She wanted to help other kids by sharing her story and letting them know they should never be punished for who they are or for making a mistake.  AmandaToddLegacy.org is an organization that reaches out to kids in need, educates about the harmful effects of bullying and provides resources that can make a real difference.

If you don’t know Amanda’s story, you can search her on YouTube and see a video she made 3 weeks prior to taking her own life (she tells her story) because of 3 years of vicious bullying.

 18480551

When people try to bring you down, it’s because you’re above them.

You only need one person to believe in you… that person is YOU.

With love to Princess Snowflake and others in need…

100% of the proceeds from sale of this book will be donated toward that vision.

The authors are humbled and proud to offer our support to this very worthy cause.

 

Stories for Amanda is a collection of short stories from these 16 VERY talented authors:

Karen Avivi: Out of It (Stand Alone story)
Kahlen Aymes: When I Met You (Missing Scene from The Remembrance Trilogy (Ryan and Julia)
E.K. Blair: Hoping (Missing scene from ROTTEN)
J.L. Brooks: Unforgettable (Stand Alone)
Claire Contreras: Love is Blind (Stand Alone but characters from upcoming release, Catch Me)
Kelly Elliott: Beautiful (Stand Alone)
Kailin Gow: Saving Snowflakes (A You & Me Trilogy Story for Book 1: Saving You Saving Me)
Karina Halle: Defying the Dust (Stand Alone featuring characters from The Artists Trilogy)
Nina Lane: Pie Love You (A Spiral of Bliss short story)
Raine Miller: Priceless (A Rothvale Legacy Story)
E.L. Montes: Jacob & Noelle (Stand Alone)
Alexa Nazzaro: The Squall (Stand Alone)
Jessica Prince: More Than Life Itself (Short story from Picking Up The Pieces Anthology)
Madeline Sheehan: Just Breathe (Stand Alone)
Michelle Valentine: Rock the Beginning (Black Falcon prequel to Rock the Heart)
Nikki Worrell: The Marriage Clause (Stand Alone)

 

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A MESSAGE FROM KAHLEN AYMES:

I was approached by Flirty Dirty Book Blog after the RT Convention last May about this cause so I researched Amanda’s story and like so many others, was moved to tears. I have a daughter that is just a year or two younger than Amanda was when she ended her life. I asked Denise Tung… “What if we put together a book where 100% of the proceeds went to help fund the anti-bullying effort?” She was thrilled with the idea and then I reached out to some of my author- friends. The response was overwhelming and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now it is 16 stories (some missing scenes from a popular series) and some brand new short stories, from 16 authors that reach across the Young Adult, New Adult and Romance genres. It is our hope that our readers will come together to support this very worthy cause and that we can help, in some small way, to keep even one more child from suffering from this horrific epidemic…

 These are very generous women and I feel honored to share pages with them.

 

 

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Filed Under: Alyson, charity, e-book, Facebook, kids Tagged With: Anti-Bullying, Benefit to Fight Against Bullying, Created in Response to an actual event, Stories for Amanda, Tagged Amanda Todd

CROWDFUNDING FOR SOCIAL GOOD: Financing Your Mark on the World by Devin Thorpe

September 4, 2013 by Alyson 10 Comments

Although I knew who Devin Thorpe was, before reading this book, I had no idea what Crowdfunding was. This book explains it and how to use it to do good in our needy World. Check out my thoughts on it plus enter the giveaway below to win a FANTASTIC prize!

Crowdfunding for Social Good, Financing Your Mark on the World

by Devin D. Thorpe

Published:  July 27, 2013

Publisher:  Createspace

Length:  168 pages

Genre:  Non-fiction Financial How-To Book

Available at:  Amazon – Kindle |  Amazon – Paperback |  B&N

 

About Crowdfunding For Social Good:

 

“Over the last year of writing my Forbes blog, I have had the opportunity to really dig deeply into the world of crowdfunding. I’ve just completed my first draft of my new book, Crowdfunding for Social Good: Financing Your Mark on the World.”  – Devin Thorpe

The book is a guide to successful crowdfunding for people who want to change the world.

The book is not a sequel to my book, Your Mark On The World, but it is written in the same spirit. I’ve studied a dozens of successful crowdfunding campaigns, interviewing the people behind them to learn their secrets for success.

Devin’s Book, Your Mark on the World, was downloaded over 75,000 times and reached the #19 spot on Amazon’s free book list–among all free books. It remains on the top 50 free nonfiction books at Amazon.

 

 

 

My Thoughts on CROWDFUNDING FOR SOCIAL GOOD?

Well for starters, not being an economic whiz kid, I had to find out what Crowdfunding was.  In short, it is a currently favored manner to raise capital in tiny amounts from a very large group of individuals via social media and the Internet.  I recently saw this in action via another book and the author’s use of the site Indiegogo.  Pretty ingenious, if I do say so myself.  It is a method that appeals to me.  I am a pretty frugal soul so I would not normally just give my funds to a stranger without a pretty good reason but participating in Crowdfunding?  Yes, I would.

So how does Devin’s book bring it all back around to doing things for the social good, i.e humanitarian efforts?  Well, he goes into what steps to take to make doing something for others just because you can and they have need easy.  He gives specific examples of how to make good use of all of  our amazing Social Media resources and make your dream to do good come alive.

I have read Devin’s books before and have to admit that while I normally could not care less about a financial book and therefore would not normally even pick one up, his manner of presenting information is clear, interesting and easy for even the lay-person to understand.  This book really hit home with me, especially after my trip to China to adopt my daughter.  I believe in the Starfish Story…while maybe I cannot make a difference for everyone, I can make a difference to the ‘one’ .  This book shows me how to make that possible.

***5 STARS***

 

About Author Devin Thorpe:

Devin D. Thorpe thinks he is the luckiest person alive. After being “let go” from the best job he’d ever had—as the Chief Financial Officer of the multinational food and beverage company MonaVie—he and his wife ended up living in China for a year where he wrote Your Mark On The World and embarked on the career he’d always wanted yet hadn’t dared dream.

Now, as an author, a popular guest speaker and Forbes contributor, Devin is devoted full time to championing social good. His current life isn’t much like his past.

As an entrepreneur, Devin ran—at separate times—a boutique investment banking firm and a small mortgage company. He served as the Treasurer for the multinational vitamin manufacturer USANA Health Sciences years before becoming CFO for MonaVie. Over his career he led or advised on the successful completion of $500 million in transactions.
Devin squeezed in two brief stints in government, including two years working for Jake Garn on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee Staff and another year working for an independent state agency called USTAR, where he helped foster technology entrepreneurship during Governor Jon Huntsman’s administration.

Devin is proud to have graduated from the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business, which recognized him as a Distinguished Alum in 2006. He also earned an MBA at Cornell University where he ran the student newspaper, Cornell Business.

Today, Devin channels the idealism of his youth with the loving support of his wife, Gail. Their son Dayton is a PhD candidate in Physics at UC Berkeley (and Devin rarely misses an opportunity to mention that).

Follow Devin Online:

Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Google+  |  Tumblr

To get all of Devin’s updates please subscribe here to his newsletter
Giveaway:
Devin is giving away a Kindle Fire HD!

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**Note: I received this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.  All opinions are my own and no further compensation was received.

 

Follow the Book Tour

Filed Under: Alyson, amazon, book review, giveaway, Uncategorized Tagged With: 5 Star Book Review, book review, Crowdfunding, humanitarian, Kindle Fire HD, Promotional Book Tours

With BasicTalk, You Can Call All Your Friends and Still Have Money Left Over

August 25, 2013 by Alyson 16 Comments

Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Phones, phones, phones.  With a pair of Tweens in our home and a 7 year old who wishes she were one, phones are a frequent topic of conversation.

Mom, when can I have my own phone? 

Dad, I want a phone like Hallie has! 

Mom, let me just send this one more text!

I have no idea where all my minutes went, Dad!

Sound familiar?

Brett and I both have cell phones, however, we are not comfortable having no phone at the house and we are soooo not ready to equip everyone with a cell.  We do, however, want to cut costs and with as many area codes as there are in play around the Metroplex, well, phone charges can add up in a hurry.  Voice-over IP (VOIP)  has proven to be a terrific answer for us.

By having Voip for our home phone service, it costs less that a traditional land line plus we are able to cut back on some of the amount of minutes we purchase each month for our cell phones. Now, there are several choices available to you when selecting a Voip service.  The one we are using is Basic Talk.  At $10 a month plus tax, Basic Talk’s home phone service offers a very affordable way to keep in touch with friends and family near and far, without breaking the piggy bank.

 

Basic Talk Basics:

Basic Talk phone service offers unlimited calling within the United States (see the reasonable use policy here). There is no contract to sign and there are no hidden fees. You can even keep your existing number if you’d like (a facet I know my Mom would love), or just get a new one at no additional charge. Included with the service are voicemail, caller id and call waiting. You can also set it up to be able to make 911 calls and if you ever have questions, it is super easy to contact Basic Talk’s customer service online.

 

You will need a working internet connection as well as a home phone. The other components (come included in the box) are the power cord and an ethernet cord.   The power cord goes from the modem into the power outlet.  The phone cord runs from the telephone to the modem. The ethernet cord connects the modem to your web service.  The Basic Talk phone receiver modem was a breeze to hook up. My husband handled it for me and had it hooked up and in working order within minutes.  He didn’t even have to stop for directions. *grin*

 

 

Basic Talk is exclusively available at either your local Walmart or online at Walmart.com.  When you purchase BasicTalk online from BasicTalk.com, you pay $9.99 for the first month and they wave the $29.99 fee for the box.  Either way, you activate the service on BasicTalk.com and minutes later, viola, you have clear, easy to use, inexpensive phone service.

 

So What Do I Think About Basic Talk?

Truthfully, I really like it.  It has been clear, crisp and easy to communicate on.  We are a band-width hogging household, where it is not unheard of for two computers, a tablet or two and a phone to be in use simultaneously.  I have been happy as can be with the quality of the calls and even happier with the monthly cost. *grin*  This is an affordable and easy to use product I happily recommend!

 

Your Chance to Win Basic Talk Service for a Year:

Here is your chance to win a BasicTalk box plus a year of service for FREE!  Giveaway runs now through Wednesday, September 4th at 12:00 am CST, US only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BasicTalk provided product for this review and giveaway as part of the BasicTalk blog ambassador program.  My review is an honest opinion based on my own experience and has not been reviewed or edited by BasicTalk.

Filed Under: Alyson, freebie, giveaway, review, Save money, Walmart Tagged With: BasicTalk, phone service, VOIP

Smooth, Creamy and Powerfully Delicious!

August 22, 2013 by Alyson 1 Comment

by Alyson LaBarge

MomStart Contributor

 

In December of 2011, I had a surgery that stopped my Migraines in their tracks and gave me my life back.  Part 2 of the the remaking of me was when I underwent Gastric surgery in June of 2012.  If you have ever spent any time around someone who has had this surgery, you know that one of the most important nutritional items in our day is our protein intake.  I have been a product label reader for a long time but now I am always on the look out for ways to pack in the Protein while keeping the portions small and be something that tastes good.  My doctor had encouraged me to substitute Greek yogurt for ‘American-style’ yogurt that I already liked so I did.  While it contained twice as much protein, Blehck!  I could not stand it.

 

Soon, however, I noticed that Yoplait®, one of my favorite brands of ‘American-style’ yogurt (especially Blackberry Harvest!) had a line of Yoplait Greek 100 so I decided to give it a try.  Delish!  It comes in the following eight flavors:

 

  • Black Cherry
  • Lemon
  • Key Lime
  • Mixed Berry
  • Peach
  • Strawberry
  • Tropical
  • Vanilla

 

 

Even better, now Yoplait has a new, deliciously blended, Yoplait® Greek line, available in dairy section of your favorite stores.  It retails for about $1.29 and comes in six unique flavors including:

  • Blueberry
  • Strawberry-Raspberry
  • Tangerine
  • Coconut
  • Pineapple
  • Vanilla

Each cup is made with simple ingredients – using natural colors, flavors and sweeteners – and real pieces of fruit.  In addition, each 5.3 oz. serving contains 150 calories or less per serving and 100% more protein than regular yogurt.

 

 

It is so smooth and delicious, with pieces of real fruit.  My favorite way to eat it is to blend in a serving of either granola or fresh fruit.  My favorite flavors are probably the Tangerine and Vanilla…or maybe the Blueberry and Pineapple…or… *giggle*

 

How about you?  Do you have a favorite flavor or way to eat it?

 

* Many thanks to Yoplait for sponsoring my family some delicious samples of their Greek Yogurt to try.*

 

I was given the product featured in this post to facilitate my review. All opinions are 100% mine and not influenced in any way.

 

About Alyson

Alyson is a Stay-at-Home Mom blogger and a work-in-progress author. She is blessed to get to raise her three crazy, amazing girls and be married to her favorite man. She loves all things Disney, scrapbooking, reading, travel, cowboys and horses. You can read about her ups, down and craziness on Facebook or Pinterest.

 

Filed Under: Alyson, Food, general mills, review, yogurt, yoplait Tagged With: Yoplait Greek Line

Little League®, all® and Snuggle® Bring Families Together

August 22, 2013 by Alyson 24 Comments

I just went through an event that would terrify any mother…

My washing machine was out of order!! 

Thankfully, my clever hubby was able to locate the defective part, order a replacement and get the job done.  Phew!!  That was a scary few days.  Thankfully no one in the house decided to get sick and throw up during that time or create loads of laundry that just ‘had’ to be done like a sports uniform, for, say oh, I don’t know –  The Little League World Series which is going on right now!  Did you know that there are nearly 2.5 million boys and girls playing 10,000 Little League baseball and softball games every year?  And although none of my girls have been bitten by the ‘ball bug, I know that each of those kids in Little League dream of becoming a star.

Of course, going along with all of these baseball and softball playing kids are about 2.5 million moms who get stuck with grass, mud, sweat and everyone’s favorite – red clay – that are often ground-in stains! Good news though because the experts are on hand to keep those uniforms looking homerun worthy every day.

all and Snuggle brands announced a multi-year, exclusive partnership as the official laundry products sponsor of Little League Baseball and Softball beginning this year.  As such, several exciting and fun-filled activities are being sponsored by all® and Snuggle® in both the real and virtual world.  People who are lucky enough to actually attend the games in Williamsport, PA can check out all of the excitement in the Fan Fun Zone. Families and Little League players can participate in all sorts of great activities between games.

 

 

Yesterday, August 20th, teams and individual Little League players were invited to a very cool event at the Fan Fun Zone — the “Strike Out Stains Challenge.”  Each participant got to pitch as many socks as possible into the all and Snuggle washing machine and for each sock that makes it in one minute, the brands are going to donate $5 to the Challenger Division®. The Challenger Division® is a unique a division of Little League, enabling boys and girls with physical and mental challenges to still have a chance to enjoy the game of baseball.

 

 

Of course, you and I (if you are reading this *giggle*) probably didn’t make it to Williamsport in the flesh so here is where we come in:  For every homerun hit, 100 coupons will be released on the all Facebook page. So, be sure to watch the Little League World Series games as well as “like” all® on Facebook and save some money on cleaner clothes!

Oh I am not done yet!  Noooo, I am going to go one better for two lucky MomStart readers…  Enter the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win coupons for all® stainlifters and Snuggle Exhilarations for free!  Just the thought of all those clean, soft and fresh smelling clothes feels like a homerun for sure!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Filed Under: Alyson, coupons, freebie, giveaway Tagged With: all® stainlifters, Little League World Series, Snuggle Exhilarations

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