Stefani Tolson, Author at Mom's Blog

Picture Keeper Review

April 16, 2013 by Stefani Tolson 30 Comments

One hobby that I have had for as long as I can remember is taking pictures. Even back when I was young I had a passion for taking pictures and had my mom sign me up for this photography class with our local 4-H community. As a teen, I kept taking those pictures and my friends used to call me the camera lady. Know that now that I have a family of my own, my camera never really gets a break. When I am not taking dozens of pictures of my family and foods, I can usually be found taking pictures of products and such for my blog. I seriously have way too many photos and I hate to delete any photo that isn’t blurry.

For those of you that have lots of pictures on your hard drive like me, you might want to have a Picture Keeper on hand.

The Picture Keeper is a flash drive that automatically finds and saves your digital photos for you and stores them on the drive. No software to install and is compatible with both Mac OSX and Windows. All you do is pop the drive into your computer and it will find your photos for you. The Picture Keeper can hold up to 8,000* of your photos on one handy little backup-drive.

The Picture Keeper makes for a great gift idea for moms and dads, grandparents and especially for those on your shopping list that have pictures stored on their computer.

Unfortunately I have way too many pictures to fit on just one Picture Keeper, but I can use additional drives to save all of them.

You can use this drive on multiple computers that are PC and Mac compatible. Once one of your Picture Keeper fills up, just use another one and the second will continue where the first left off. How handy is that? You can also use the drive to backup your videos too!

I have a few computers that I have saved here at my house that have photos from years ago. I am going to use my Picture Keeper to find the photos on those drives so I save them to my external drive I now keep with all my 61,309+ photos.

Be sure to score a FREE Picture Keeper by making a purchase at MailPix.

To find out more about Picture Keeper, visit: https://picturekeeper.com

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Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Products Review

April 15, 2013 by Stefani Tolson 7 Comments

Having acne is definitely something that nobody ever wishes for. I think that is especially true for every teenager. I remember thinking I should stay home sick anytime I had a pimple that I couldn’t cover up with some makeup. Luckily for my teens there is a ton of different over the counter acne products to help with those breakouts.

My teen has recently been using a couple of the Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action products as part of her daily beauty regimen. She uses the Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Daily Gel Wash twice a day. This product has been designed to work fast to open clogged pores and provide visibly clearer skin in as little as 12 hours.

My teen has also been using the Clearasil Ultra On-The-Go Rapid Action Wipes when she is away from home, like when she is staying the night at a friends. I asked my teen if she likes these products and she smiled and said yes. She said the daily gel wash seems to be working and the rapid action wipes are really easy to use.

Take a peek of this short video that I created tonight about these products…

Do you have a teen with acne? What products work well for them?

“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Clearasil. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.”

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Weekend Ideas For Frugal Families

April 15, 2013 by Stefani Tolson 14 Comments

Guest Article Feature

With spring in the air, you might be looking for fun, yet affordable things to do at the weekends. There are plenty of activities you can do during your two-day break from work, so here are four money-saving ideas for frugal families.

Arrange a trip away

Believe it or not, you don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy a trip away! There are many offers and deals available these days, so have a look around and see what you can find. Make the most of kids go free offers and book outside of half-terms or other holidays as prices will be lower. If you pay electronically, however, use a UK credit card with minimal charges and try to clear your outgoings before leaving home.

Visit friends or relatives

If you’ve got a weekend to spare, why not invite your friends or relatives to stay? You won’t have to travel anywhere and will keep costs down by relaxing at home. Of course, you’ll probably have to provide some kind of food, but supermarkets are packed with low cost snacks and value meal deals. Making things from scratch could also save you a fortune, but always compare prices between shops before stocking up on ingredients.

Make the most of outdoors

Being cooped up all day is far from fun, so grab your thermals and make the most of the great outdoors. Sure, it’s still a little cold but when you’re walking through a park or cycling through the woods, you’ll be warm before you know it! The flowers start to bloom at this time of the year and baby animals are hopping around the fields, so take the time to be at one with nature.

Enjoy arts and crafts

If the weather takes a turn for the worse and you’re stuck indoors, it could be time to unleash your creative side. Arts and crafts are great fun for the whole family, so buy some paint, paper, pens and other basic supplies and let your imagination roam free. Stickers, transfers, glitter glue and coloured card can also come in useful and are available at most arty stores at a decent price!

As a parent, you’re probably always on the lookout for low rate credit cards and other affordable deals, but don’t forget to have fun at the same time!

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National Boys & Girls Club Week – Open The Door

April 12, 2013 by Stefani Tolson 23 Comments

Did you know that this week is National Boys & Girls Club Week? This special week was created to celebrate the invaluable service that clubs can bring to our communities and to highlight why great futures start at the Boys & Girls Club. More than 4,000 Boys & Girls opened their doors to serve millions of kids across our nation as well as military bases overseas where they can grow and have a great future. At the Boys & Girls Club, you will find that they provide both guidance and lots of fun. The children in these clubs are able to participate in programs that can help them excel in school, give back to their own communities an choose a healthy lifestyle.

During this celebration, different clubs across the country have been participating in fun activities for the club members, their parents as well as the neighborhood too! Some of these fun events that have been happening include carnivals, heath fairs, teen forums, service and leadership groups and a ton more! You will also find these boys & girls giving back to their community by volunteering at homeless shelters and assisted living facilities in our communities.

Are you interested in getting your child involved in the National Boys and Girls Club Week? Take the virtual tour. If you are interested, but can’t get out to do a physical tour, you can take a virtual Club tour this week at greatfutures.org. Even if you can’t get to your local Club, you can still celebrate the spirit of our Movement by spending time with an important kid in your life.

Do you have a child that has participated in this program for kids? Feel free to share your story by leaving me a comment below!

“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. I received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

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Orientation Day At Monsters University + Tomorrow Schedule Of Classes – #MonstersUEvent

April 8, 2013 by Stefani Tolson 33 Comments

This afternoon I headed to Emeryville, CA for my Monsters University Orientation that I have been telling you about. Once I arrived I found 24 of my fellow classmates and our journey started with a bus ride to Pixar Studios, a place that full of IMAGINATION. Being a fan of the Disney Pixar movies, I was super excited once our bus made it through the gates of Pixar.

During our orientation we took our pictures for our student id cards, got to watch 40 minutes of Monsters University that comes out this summer (June 21), watched the new and upcoming animated short called “The Blue Umbrella” and ended the orientation with a reception that had some very interesting foods.

In the quad, I found some pretty interesting signs that I had to take a picture of!

I have more pictures I want to share, but this college girl needs to get her rest for tomorrow’s day of classes. I would have been asleep earlier if there wasn’t a monster hiding in my room trying to get under my bed to SCARE me!

Here is a peek at what I will be learning tomorrow at Monsters University:

ENGLISH 101: How to Tell a Great Story
Learn about the story process and how to draw a character from MU.
SOCIOLOGY 203: The Deconstruction of a Character
Learn about the design of college-age Mike & Sulley, and creation & design of new characters in the film.
ANTHROPOLOGY 152: Monsterizing the World
Learn about creating and “monsterizing” the world of MU.
DRAMATIC ARTS: Bringing a Character to Life
Learn how the animation process works, and view an animation demo on a linux machine.
PHYSICS 250: Global Illumination
View a presentation on the use of Global Illumination in MU and The Blue Umbrella.

More posts coming soon with more details and pictures of my journey at college this week at Monsters University… Be sure to follow along tomorrow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23MonstersUEvent

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