Stefani Tolson, Author at Mom's Blog

Hidden Valley Ranch & Bacon Pasta Salad Recipe

March 18, 2013 by Stefani Tolson 24 Comments

Sometimes ranch just makes food a whole better. Hidden Valley Ranch happens to be one of my FAVORITE salad dressings. I also like to use ranch as a dip and also as an ingredient in some of my recipes I make in my kitchen.

When it comes to side dishes, pasta is something I make often. One way we enjoy pasta at my house is with pasta salads. It is so easy cook different pasta noodles and add various ingredients to come up something yummy.

Most of us at my house enjoy ranch, we also enjoy cheese and we also all LOVE bacon! Last week I thought I would make a pasta salad that included one of those handy Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning packets, some mozzarella cheese and some crispy bacon. My recipe is below:

Hidden Valley Ranch & Bacon Pasta Salad Recipe + Giveaway

Recipe Type: Side Dish

Author: Stefani Tolson – MommyEnterprises.com

Ingredients

8 oz macaroni noodles
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning Mix
4-5 pieces cooked bacon – broken in small pieces
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup mozzarella cheese – small cubed shape

Instructions

Cook macaroni noodles according to instructions on package.
Rinse noodles with cold water. Shake off excess water.
Add mayonnaise and stir, then add ranch packet and mix well.
Add bacon and cheese and toss to mix well.
Enjoy!

Hidden Valley Prize Pack Giveaway

One of my LUCKY winners is going to receive a prize pack that includes: 2 Hidden Valley Ranch T-shirts, 1 Hidden Valley Ranch Bottle and 1 Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning Mix

To enter my giveaway, submit your entries using the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!

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Attending Monsters University Next Month – #MonstersUEvent

March 16, 2013 by Stefani Tolson 28 Comments

Like Monsters?

This mom is so excited! I got an awesome invitation in my inbox this week to attend Monsters University Orientation in a few weeks at the Pixar Animation Studio in Emeryville, CA and I couldn’t me more thrilled.

I like Monsters you know, as long as they are CUTE!

Since I am a fan of Monsters Inc, know that there was no hesitation in accepting this invite. Not only am I super excited to attend Monsters University Orientation, my fellow classmates consist of 24 other bloggers that are just as excited as I am that I will get to enjoy this experience with.

Can you imagine all the fun and silly pictures we are going to be taking?

What will I be doing you ask?

On this upcoming journey my classmates and I will get to start the evening off with a reception at Pixar where we will get to see footage from Monsters University.

My kids are going to be soooo JEALOUS! I better bring them home something…

In addition to seeing footage of Monsters University, we will also be watching a screening of the short film The Blue Umbrella which looks like it’s going to be cute.

The next day consists of a press day at Pixar Animation Studios for Monsters University where we will have the opportunity to interview Monster’s University’s Director Dan Scanlon Producer Kori Rae and the animators. We will also get a special tour of Pixar which I am really looking forward to! I can’t wait to take as many pictures as I can take!

The following day we will be visiting The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco that features the life and legacy of Walt Disney. I will be sure to bring my camera here too! I have only been by this museum and have always been curious as to what is inside…

Want to join in on the event too? Be sure to follow this event by following the hashtag #MonstersUEvent on Twitter.

I will also be sharing pictures, status updates and tweets on my social media channels throughout this event. To follow along my journey, be sure to follow me here:

Stay tuned for more posts on this upcoming #MonstersUEvent blogger event that will include more coverage of this event including more details, photos, interviews, video footage and more!

Disclosure – I am going to be receiving an all expenses paid trip by Disney to cover the #MonstersUEvent on my blog. This post is not a paid post and the opinions stated herein are 100% my own.

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Yo Gabba Gabba Live Tour Review

March 16, 2013 by Stefani Tolson 17 Comments

Last week I was able to attend the Yo Gabba Gabba “Get The Sillies Out” Live Tour in Sacramento with my kids. We attended a Yo Gabba Gabba Live Tour in 2011 and had a blast so I knew we were sure to enjoy this one. I got lucky and got a good parking spot right out front which made the evening a little easier. Once we went inside I went to the usher with my tickets and he said “you got some really good seats”. That definitely made the evening even better.

The show started with a huge screen where we were greeted on the screen by DJ Lance and the big boombox! After the crowd gets going, DJ Lance then comes on the stage to get the crowded excited for the show. If you aren’t lucky enough to be able to attend one of of these fun Yo Gabba Gabba shows, you can watch what I just mentioned here:

This show is FULL of fun, especially for the little ones. If you don’t really like the show but your kids do, I think these Yo Gabba Gabba LiveTours are better to watch live. The show isn’t too long and they have a break during the show for those that want to take the kids to get some popcorn, drink or other snacks.

Being in the room with all the music and all the characters dancing on staged made me in the mood to dance too! I was surprised on how many other moms were just as excited being a part of this show too! If they come back to Sacramento next year, we definitely will want to go!

Want to attend one of these FUN live tours? Below is the upcoming Yo Gabba Live events:

March 16 San Antonio, TX Majestic Theatre
March 17 Austin, TX Bass Concert Hall
March 18 New Orleans, LA Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts
March 20 Orlando, FL Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre
March 21 Sarasota, FL Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
March 22 St. Augustine, FL St. Augustine Amphitheatre
March 23-24 Fort Lauderdale, FL Broward Center for the Performing Arts

For more information or to buy tickets, visit: https://www.yogabbagabbalive.com/

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VTech Cordless Answering System Review & Giveaway

March 14, 2013 by Stefani Tolson 52 Comments

Most of my friends and family only use cellphones (except my grandparents of course), but not me. I like having a home phone line in addition to our cell phones.

This month in celebration for St. Patricks Day and the color GREEN, we are using our new Vtech CS6529-14 Cordless Answering System with caller id/call waiting.

I personally LOVE the color of this phone. It has been a long time since I have had a home phone that had a pretty color!

Here are some of the features of this cordless phone system:

Handset speakerphone – Make your conversation hands-free.
Quiet mode – Silence the ringer on the handset and base unit immediately or for an extended period of time.
Backlit keypad and display – The entire keypad illuminates along with the LCD screen.
ECO mode – Uses the power conserving technology that manages consumption for optimal battery performance.
50 name and number phone book directory.
Voicemail waiting indicator

Above are just some of the features of theVTech Cordless CS6529-14 Answering System. I was most excited to find out that you can expand this system up to 5 handsets. Personally I like to have at least 2 handsets. Multiple handsets come in handy when the kids want to talk to their grandma at the same time when she calls.

Not only does this phone come in green there are also other colors too! I might just have to buy a red and blue handset to go with this cool green phone.

To find out more about VTech phones, visit: https://www.vtechphones.com.

Want to WIN one of these cool GREEN Vtech CS6529-14 Cordless Answering Systems?

One of my LUCKY winners is going to WIN one of these neat VTech Cordless answering systems like one featured in this review too! To enter this giveaway please use the Rafflecopter below to submit your entries:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure – I received a product sample to provide you with this review. This is not a paid post and the opinions stated herein are 100% my own.

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Recycle Your Unwanted CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays & Games For Cash!

March 12, 2013 by Stefani Tolson 19 Comments

If you were to want to watch a movie or play a game at my house, you would have a TON of choices. Not only do I have a huge DVD collection, I also have a huge video game collection and starting to build quite the collection of Blu-rays. While I do enjoy having all these movies and games at my fingertips, I sometimes wonder just how much I could get if I was to sell some of them.

I mean there are quite a few games and movies I have that I probably will never watch or play again. The thought does go through my mind of getting rid of some of them to make room for more.
Today I have been playing around on the website Music Magpie. This is a site that buys your used CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays and video games. I thought this concept sounded really interesting to I grabbed some of my stuff just to see how much I could get for them. Once you are on their website you input the barcode from the item you want to inquire about and hit submit. You will then see a listing for the amount you will receive for it. I went ahead and input some barcodes for a Wii game, a couple DVDs, a few Xbox games and a newer Blu-ray movie set.

Take a peek below at the screenshot showing the amount that I would receive for each if I was to sell them.

From the looks of my results, I am going to get the most if I sell my newer Wii games. Since my kids still play those, I don’t plan on selling them but it was fun seeing how much I could get. I also noticed that the Blu-rays are probably give me a better return too!

Got some stuff laying around you don’t need anymore? Be sure to find out how much you can get. Keep in mind that the shipping to send them your stuff is FREE too! For more information, visit: https://www.musicmagpie.com.

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