Every so often I try a new product. I might be strolling the aisles at Costco. I’ll see a sample kiosk. If I have my children with me, we ALWAYS stop. No questions asked. I’ll stand while my children take a sample. If there are enough samples left, I take a sample myself. I’m rarely disappointed. I’ve found samples that were so tasty. Without the sample stand in a discount warehouse or grocery store, I would never have known.

Last summer, the Musings from Me family journeyed to Southern California. While the kids and dad explored San Diego, I walked the Expo Halls at BlogHer. I met people, played in-booth games at the Expo Hall, learned about products I had never heard of, and most importantly, sampled some awesome treats. Walking the Expo Hall is thirsty work.

As I hauled my bags out of the Expo Hall one day, I spotted a white booth with comfy white couches. As I cast my eye to the side and back of the booth I spotted several displays of Trop50. Trop50? I was intrigued as I looked at the familiar shaped bottles with a name I had never heard of. What was this Trop50? Looked like the Tropicana I buy for my family, but what was it exactly?

I sampled the Trop50 Lemonade. Let me tell you how it tasted…it was delicious. Tart, but not too tart. Sweet, but not overly so. Kind of like a lemonade stand lemonade, but with 50% less sugar and 50% less calories. Plus, no artificial sweeteners. I knew my family would love it and that I would be happy to buy it for them. In fact, I brought a few bottles back to my family in our hotel room, which we enjoyed on our drive to Legoland. Delish!

Which brings me to New Year Resolutions and the thorny subject of sticking to ‘em. I think of resolutions each, but do I stick to them? Sometimes. I find that the smaller, more focused, and more doable the resolution, the more likely I am to do it. For instance, resolving to exercise is not nearly as effective as resolving to exercise every other day. I need a resolution spelled out for me. Another resolution is to cook more dinners that are healthy, with mostly fresh ingredients. My resolutions need to be short on vagueness, and long on specifics.

More about Trop50…

• Trop50 by Tropicana offers fruit juice goodness with 50 percent less sugar and calories, and no artificial sweeteners.
• Trop50 juice beverage comes in the following flavors: No Pulp, No Pulp with Calcium + Vitamin D, Some Pulp, Farmstand Apple, Pomegranate Blueberry, Lemonade, Pineapple Mango, and Raspberry Lemonade.
• New! Trop50 introduced the following new flavors: Red Orange, Raspberry with Green Tea, Peach with White Tea, and Pear Lychee with White Tea. Can’t wait to try these!
• Do you like those funny Jane Krakowski spots? Here are a few funny ones.

Connect with Tropicana and Trop50:

• Find a store near you that sells Trop50 juice beverage.
• Like Trop50 – 50% Less Sugar and Calories on Facebook.
• Follow on Twitter by following @TropicanaOJ and searching for hashtag: #Trop50.
• Visit the Trop50 Web site.

I was given samples of Trop50 juice beverage to facilitate my review. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

Way, way back when my oldest was born, going out was a snap. Dinner? Movie? Dinner and a movie? No worries. I’d pack her and her diaper bag. I wouldn’t pack my daughter in the diaper bag, of course(!), but I’d pack practically every other baby gadget, gizmo, you name it. With everything packed, I’d hustle my husband to the car. And, that was it.

Grandma and Grandad were always willing and able to babysit. We would drop our daughter off with food and diapers, leave a list of instructions about what her routine was, and hightail it off to dinner with friends, to watch a movie, or even a date night. At the end of the evening, we’d return to my parent’s house. My husband would carry our sleeping (and happy) daughter out to the car. And that was it.

Many years later with a Teen, a Preteen-now-Teen, and a Kid, going out is exponentially more complicated. We have to sync my work calendar to my husband’s work schedule cross referenced to the sports/school/activity schedule of the three kids and then if the stars are aligned and no one gets sick we can go out. Are you exhausted? Do you think we go out a lot? If you answered “No,” you are correct!

Two Saturdays ago, the stars as they say aligned for us. One kid went to bed early. One kid stayed home to babysit the sleeping kid. One kid was at a friend’s house. And so my husband and I ventured out on a sleety, icy Saturday night around 9ish. We eat late, but never that late. Actually, and I know this sounds a little pathetic, but I was actually quite excited to go on an impromptu date night even though it was late and we would have to be home by 11 p.m. at the latest. But, excited I was!

I was last at Red Lobster in the late 80/early 90s. Today’s Red Lobster is very, very different from what I recall. The restaurant we visited on Saturday night was in Frederick, Maryland. My first impression was wood. The wood paneling is dark…reminded me of a the galley of an old sailing ship. I loved all the wood paneling and decorative accents. The nautical theme was subtle but not overpowering. We were shown promptly to a booth in a quiet part of the dining room. There was a small bar area as we walked in that was also nautically themed.

The service was impeccable. Our waitperson seated us. A few moments later a second person stopped by to let us know that our waitperson would be with us momentarily. She appeared a few minutes later. Good service!

While we both wanted to try Red lobster’s new Four Course Seafood Feast, with the lateness of the hour and the fact that both of us had had snacks earlier in the evening, we chose to share two appetizers instead. We will definitely return with the kids. In fact, the next day the “sleeping” kid asked if he could try the Seafood Feast the next time we go. I said “Yes!” This kid has a bigger appetite at 8 than his sisters combined when they were 8.

We shared two appetizers: Shrimp Nachos and Lobster-Crab-and-Seafood Stuffed Mushrooms. I washed my meal down with a yummy Sangria drink. By the way, there are variations between the menus at each Red Lobster restaurant. Each restaurant offers a fresh catch of the day. Our server announced that Atlantic salmon, tilapia, rainbow trout, and North Atlantic haddock were available that night. To find out what is available go to the Red Lobster Restaurant Locator page, find the location nearest you, and take a peek at the offerings at that location. I know your mouth will start watering as you read the dishes.

As our meal wound down, our waitperson returned to see how we were doing. We told her we were definitely coming back with our children.

For more information about Red Lobster…

• Follow @RedLobster on Twitter.
• Like Red Lobster on Facebook.
• Don’t forget the Four Course Seafood Feast! Four yummy courses AND Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Only $15. Limited time only!
• Find a location near you and find out more about menu offerings.

I was given a gift card to Red Lobster to facilitate my review. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

I have nightmares that one day I will see myself in a news story about overweight people. Only the story isn’t about me or my weight gain or loss. No. I am just one of the people filmed from the waist down as I walk down a city street as part of the background film for the story on overweight people. Yikes, I’d hate to see myself in this type of news story…wouldn’t you?!

As the new year progresses, I am making goals for myself. I don’t want to blog about my New Year’s resolutions because (1) I’m not ready to commit them to “paper,” and (2) I see resolutions as for my eyes only. But, I will admit to wanting to change a few things about my way of life. As with previous years, a huge goal of mine is weight loss. I’m one of those people still trying to lose baby weight from a decade ago. Yikes! It’s hard reading that sentence, but the reality is that I need to make changes.

One of my downfalls is snacking. I either eat foods that are not that healthy OR I eat a too large portion of healthy and nonhealthy foods. One key factor for me is portion control. If I bag up popcorn or baked chips, I eat less. Recently, I was given a few boxes of fruit snacks.

Now if you are picturing those super-sugary, character-themed snacks your child begs you to buy in the grocery store…think again. Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored Snacks are in a different league. The fruit flavored snacks are full of taste. You can taste juice spilling out of the fruit snack.

Now for the details on Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored Snacks…

• Great snack for kids and adults. Pop a pack in the lunchbag or stash a pack in your purse. Tasty anytime.
• Available in two delicious varieties, Ocean Spray^® Fruit Flavored Snacks: Assorted Fruit and Berries and Cherries.
• Made with real fruit juice, natural colors (colors from natural sources), and flavors.
• Made with apple, pear, and cranberry juice concentrate, but are not intended to replace fruit in the diet.
• 80 calories, gluten free, and contain 100% of the Daily Value of Vitamin C.
• Like Ocean Spray on Facebook.
• Follow @OceanSprayInc on Twitter.

BONUS for MOMS of SCHOOL-AGED KIDS! Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored Snacks are available year round Double Box Tops! Is your school a member of the Box Tops for Education Program? If not, why not? For more information on Box Tops for Education, click here.

The kind folks at Ocean Spray have asked me to host a giveaway. Did you know that 80 years ago Ocean Spray was started as a cooperative with three families? Today, the values of community are integral to Ocean Spray’s 600 grower families? But, back to the giveaway…

Four lucky readers of Musings from Me will each receive 6 boxes (3 of each variety) of Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored Snacks!

Winning is easy. First, leave a mandatory comment. Second, leave one or more of the optional comments. Remember, you must leave the mandatory comment for the other comments to count. Oh and don’t forget to leave your email address in the comment. so I can contact you if you win!

Mandatory Comment — Leave a comment.

Subscribe to Musings from Me via reader.

Optional Comment — Leave a comment.

• Follow @MusingsfromMe on Twitter.
• Like Musings from Me on Facebook.
• Tweet this giveaway and leave a link to your tweet: @MusingsfromMe is giving away @OceanSprayInc Fruit Flavored Snacks! Enter for a chance to win! http://bit.ly/xXrXvO #MyBlogSpark #giveaway
• Like Jill MusingsfromMe on Facebook.
• Stumble one of my posts that is not a giveaway.  Use your Stumble toolbar or use the Share button that is placed to the left of the post.
• Subscribe to my YouTube Channel.

Keep your eye on this blog for more giveaways. Posting reviews and giveaways through the end of January and beyond. Coming soon: Another fun toy from Best Pals and a Giveaway! And a week of DVD Giveaways!

I was given six boxes of Ocean Spray^® Fruit Flavored Snacks to facilitate my review. The review samples, information, and giveaway have been provided by Ocean Spray^® through MyBlogSpark. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity. Giveaway ends January 23, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

Christmas break was short this year. Very short. School ended for the kids at 3 p.m. on Friday, December 23rd. The next day was Christmas Eve. The next Christmas Day. The best day for Christmas Day to fall on is a Wednesday. Schools won’t Here are instructions and editorial guidelines for your post: The school system will never schedule school on Christmas Eve. Plus, the system won’t open schools for a one-day week. But, the hand we were dealt was a short Christmas break.

Since Christmas break was so short, we spent lots of time at home. Opening presents. Playing with presents. Watching movies. And eating. Lots of eating. We’re n0t a “cook a 5-course dinner”-type of family. We’re more a “let’s heat up a bunch of hors d’oeuvres”-type of family. With snacking, meals, and of course, candy and dessert eating, making sure that the kids brushed regularly was essential. You know how teens want to skip the daily shower? Well, younger kids want to skip the whole toothbrushing routine. Ick, I know!

I always ask myself the question: “Just how much energy does a child need to expend to brush their teeth twice daily?” Really, how hard is it to pick up a toothbrush? Apparently, the twice daily act of oral care takes too much energy! Thankfully, we had started the kids on the Listerine Oral Care Challenge before the holidays.

Each day the younger one will place a sticker on the Listerine Oral Care Challenge calendar whenever he brushes his teeth, rinses with Listerine, or flosses. I don’t require the older two to use the stickers. As one is just out of braces and one is in braces, both know the value of regular brushing, and of course maintaining a regimen of good oral care and hygiene.

As the kids start back to school, we’ll continue our Listerine Oral Care Challenge. I an pleased to say that since starting my youngest has not once missed brushing his teeth. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, kids love using a sticker or reward chart. The fun Listerine products don’t hurt either. My kids liked using the Listerine Smart Rinse in the Phineas and Ferb or Barbie versions.

• Save $1 on Listerine or Reach kids’ products.
• For oral care advice by age, check out the Listerine Kids site.
• To learn more about the Listerine family of products, go here.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Listerine and received a sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Cheese. Cheddar. Gouda. Smoked Cheddar. Creamy Swiss. Mission Jack. And even Jalapeno and Cheddar. To me, cheese is a major food group. I can eat cheese morning, noon, night, and even late in to the night. Cheese hits the spot. It’s satisfying, filling, and can be a meal by itself.

As a child in England, cheese was a major part of fancy restaurant meals. As the saying goes, a good meal goes from “soup to nuts.” The multi-course fancy restaurant meal would begin with soup or an appetizer, followed by the meat course, and a dessert. But, the meal wouldn’t end here. After dessert, waitstaff would bring around a cheese tray. The tray would feature English cheeses…Cheddar, Wensleydale, Leicestershire, Cricketer cheeses, an assortment of biscuits (in the U.S. biscuits are the same as crackers), pickles, pickled onions, lettuce, and tomato. The English cheese tray could be a meal in itself!

Although I have known about Hickory Farms for many years, it wasn’t until Thanksgiving that I experienced a Hickory Farms Gift Box.

I knew we were joining my parents for Thanksgiving Dinner, so I brought the Summer Sausage & Cheese Gift Box to share. As soon as I arrived, I found a wooden cutting board. As my mother put the finishing touches to the meal, I cut up the Summer Sausage. I couldn’t help myself from sampling a slice or three. In fact, my son had a few slices as well. Luckily, the Gift Box came with two rolls of Summer Sausage.

Once I had cut up the sausage, I sliced the Farmhouse Cheddar. As a cheese lover, I am pleased to report that the Farmhouse Cheddar was delicious. Just the right amount of creamy to sharp, but not too sharp. The Gouda even though it was smoked and I tend to prefer cheeses that are not smoked, was good too. I wasn’t as fond of the Smoked Cheddar Cheese, probably because Cheddar is my all-time favorite cheese.

All-in-all our family of 5 plus two grandparents, devoured most of the Gift Box. I left a roll of Summer Sausage and part of one of Smoked Gouda in my parent’s fridge.Perfect beginning or end to a meal. Good for snacking too!

Want to learn more about Hickory Farms?

• Like Hickory Farms on Facebook.
• Follow Hickory Farms on Twitter.
• Shop for gifts on the Hickory Farms site. You’ll be amazed at the variety of gifts.
• And finally, Hickory Farms is offering 3-day shipping for $3 (see infographic above for all the details).

In 2011, Hickory Farms is partnering with Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry:

• Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry is a national nonprofit that is working to end childhood hunger in America.
• Go to the Hickory Farms Facebook page and take the Pledge to Help End Childhood Hunger.
• This holiday season Hickory Farms will donate $5 from each Party Planner gift box sold to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign.
• Hickory Farms provides free shipping on select products to APO/FPO military addresses across the globe, allowing loved ones overseas to share in holiday traditions.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Hickory Farms and received a product sample to facilitate my review.

I see it. The kids are long gone to school. The gleaming stripe looks glossy but a little hard. The stripe of toothpaste is almost touching the sink. I sigh. My son yet again forgot to brush his teeth. Sigh.

My son’s morning routine is different to his sisters. His sisters wake or more correctly are awoken and told in no uncertain terms “Don’t go back to sleep!” They brush their teeth. Shower. Dress. Fuss about with makeup and all sorts of unnecessary processes. Honestly, the time wasted on makeup should be spent eating breakfast and getting out the door to the bus. But, I’m not a teen so what do I know?

In the case of teeth brushing though, both are regimented. Neither would get up and go without brushing. One has braces. One just got out of braces. Both have had it drummed in to them by dentist, orthodontist, mom, and dad, that teeth brushing is not optional. In fact, at the orthodontist, the patients are awarded for excellent brushing.

Must be an age and maturity thing. Perhaps it is a boy v. girl thing. Or, more likely it is my son’s routine on weekday mornings. He wakes, he sits up in the bed, and in one movement he bolts downstairs. He has no time for teeth, screens await! TV. PC, DS. iTouch. He’s not picky as long as it is a screen. I can’t blame him really. His bus arrives over an hour after his sister’s bus. He has time to kill.

Because he bolts downstairs, he does not pass go. He does not collect $200. And…he does not brush his teeth. Cue…heavy sighing and tut tutting from me. Usually, I ask when he comes downstairs “Did you brush your teeth?” If he is dressed in school clothes, there is a good chance he did brush his teeth. If I have any doubts, I send him back upstairs to “check.” This is my code word for “I think you didn’t brush your teeth, but why don’t you head back upstairs and brush them.” If he is wearing pajamas, there is absolutely no chance that he brushed his teeth. Go back to where I wrote about the way he “bolts” out of bed. There’s no stop for tooth brushing when games playing and Lego building are ahead of us.

I found that we needed a system to ensure that he brushed his teeth on a regular basis. I was very excited to be asked to join the Listerine Oral Care Challenge. With this challenge, I knew that I could get my son on a plan of twice daily brushing, flossing, and mouth rinsing. How would I make this happen with a young child? Simple! I asked the entire family to take the challenge.

Kids love when mom, dad, and siblings — older and younger — join them. I placed a chart on the wall outside the kids’ bathroom. The chart shows the month of December. I made copies of the chart for all the months in 2012. I want to get the Musings from Me family on the road to good dental health. It was recently suggested to me that I should use a water flossing device. I could use encouragement to add this new process to my daily routines.

So, far the Listerine Oral Care Challenge is working for all of us. I see the chart and head straight to my bathroom. My son reminds is that he put another sticker on the chart for brushing. In just over a week, I have seen none of the telltale glistening, but slightly hardened globs of toothpaste on top of his brush. Added bonus less toothpaste mess to clean up in the sink!

Be sure to come back to see how we are doing with the Listerine Oral Care Challenge.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Listerine and received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

You never know what the day will bring. You know what they say about the best laid plans. You can plan, plot, map out your day, but invariably a spanner will get in the works. Yesterday was a case in point.

I woke relatively early for me…considering it was Thanksgiving Break and a Saturday. My husband made breakfast for all of us. I trailed down after a few moments…minutes…hours…uh not hours but I didn’t exactly bound out of bed. My husband had prepared a delicious breakfast of waffles, eggs, and fruit. We all ate breakfast together. The Teen surfaced shortly after I did. She appeared for breakfast after much prodding. I read a magazine. In the back of my mind, I knew I needed to get down to my office to finish a blog post and prepare a package for shipping. The two assignments were intrinsically connected.

I put the magazine aside and marched myself to the office. After some time the blogpost was done. I did a bunch of other projects. Packaged the item I needed to send. Checked on pickup schedules. Calculated what time I needed to leave the house in order to mail the package. Once I knew the time needed I mobilized the troops. Easier said than done.

We’re not early risers. Except for the kid. We’re a group of people who dilly dally. A shower for me. A change out of pajamas for everyone else. I gathered the package and my purse. Instructed the kids to find a book for the journey. We’ve all played way too many games for the kids and too much TV for me. With the kids all set for the journey, I waited for my oldest to be ready. Did I mention dilly dallying? Yep, that’s us.

Once on the road, we headed to drop off the package. After the dropoff, it was off to Target. While at Target, I would have to say that we didn’t have the best time. Not to get in to details, but it wasn’t the most fun I have ever had. The item we were looking for wasn’t there, but that wasn’t the issue for our Target trip of discontent. Suffice it to say that we left Target and headed to our next stop in virtual silence, Once at our next stop…the mall…it was all about regrouping. Getting those ducks back in a row.

My method for getting back on track was a request that everyone make a commitment to not do or to do something during our restaurant meal. I won’t go in to details, but I was proud of everyone for making a commitment to get back on track. The “almost derailed day” was close to being back on track. Now all we had to do was successfully enjoy our meal out.

And enjoy it we did. Call it a reset. A reboot. Once settled in to our booth at the restaurant I breathed a sigh of relief. Our meal was back on track after a little conversation.

We had wanted to take the family to P.F. Chang’s for dinner. Tonight turned out to be the perfect night. We eat Chinese food all the time, but I knew that I wanted to kids to branch out of their comfort zones. One kid only eats kids’ meals. Another kid only likes Wonton Soup when we are at a Chinese restaurant. Another kid is a very adventurous eater. As we perused the menu, suggestions popped up from everyone at the table. Dumplings. Crab wonton. Honey shrimp. Kung Pao. Lo mein. And green beans.

Our meal was a success. I splurged and ordered a final dish. I have always wanted to try lettuce wraps. The vegetarian wraps were super tasty. My son liked the lettuce without the filling. My daughters tried the filling. My husband was a little too full. I’m proud of my kids for showing me that they could get back on track. I needed a bit of a reboot too!

I’m not a deal blogger, but I would by lying if I said I could resist a good deal. Chances are good…if I see a deal I like…I buy it. Lately I have purchased a number of deals that fit with what we do as a family. I bought a kiddie cooking class lesson from Plum District. Just in time for some holiday baking! I’m treating my kids to a session at a local place for trampolining…Rebounderz…thanks to Certifikid. Should be a good way to let off holiday steam!

New deals from Juice in the City that my pique your interest as you buy for your holiday gift list and plan for activities with your family for 2012…

Atlanta: Atlanta: Buckhead/Midtown
$16 for a Set of Eco-Friendly Semilla Snack Bags

Austin: North Austin
$37 One Hour Deluxe Custom Massage at The Wellness & Relaxation Lounge

Austin: South Austin
$6 for $12 Worth of Gourmet Popcorn at Reel Popcorn

Charlotte: South Charlotte
$27 Ticket to Charlotte Symphony’s “The Magic of Christmas”

Charlotte: North Charlotte
$27 Ticket to Charlotte Symphony’s “The Magic of Christmas”

Dallas – Fort Worth: Collin County
$39 Laser Hair Removal Treatment at The Spa at Willow Bend

Dallas – Fort Worth: Denton County
$10 for $20 at Blue Hangar Café

Dallas – Fort Worth: North Dallas
$37 for a 1 Hour Swedish or Deep Tissue Massage at Massage by Stacey

Dallas – Fort Worth: North Mid Cities
$5 for 2 Tickets to “The Reindeer That Saved Christmas” at Artisan Center Theater

Denver: Central Denver
$10 for $20 Worth of Home Delivery Dry Cleaning Services

Denver: South Denver
$9 for $20 Worth of Food & Drinks at Off the Vine

Houston: Greater Katy & Sugar Land
$12 Ticket to “Little Women: The Musical” Presented by Queen Theatre

Houston: Northwest Houston
$72 Kid’s Holiday Art Camp at The Artist Within

Houston: The Woodlands
$10 for $20 Worth of Italian Food at Russo’s New York Pizzeria

Los Angeles: Pasadena
$24 for 2 Full Service Oil Changes at Our King Auto Repair

Los Angeles: San Fernando Valley
$11 for Baby’s First Haircut at The Yellow Balloon

Los Angeles: South Bay
50% Off 1 Month of Voice Lessons at Amber Q Voice Lessons

Los Angeles: Ventura County
50% Off 8 Weeks of Gymnastics Classes at California Cartwheel Center

Los Angeles: Westside
$15 for $30 Worth of Authentic Italian Fare at San Gennaro Cafe

And don’t forget the Juice in the City National deal…

National: Everywhere
$16 for a Set of Eco-Friendly Semilla Snack Bags

New York: Brooklyn
$37 for 2 Chinese Language & Folk Dance Classes for Kids

New York: Downtown
$20 for 8 Weeks of Kids Dance Classes at Piel Canela Dancers Company

New York: Uptown
$10 for $20 Worth of Tea and More at Alice’s Tea Cup

New York: Westchester County
$6 for $12 Worth of Gourmet Frozen Yogurt & Candy from SoYo So Yummy

Phoenix: Phoenix: Scottsdale
$6 for $12 at Yogurtopia

San Antonio: San Antonio
$10 for $20 Worth of Food at Espana Bar de Tapas

San Diego: North County Inland
50% Off a 3-Hour Holiday Lights Tour from Adventure Limos

San Francisco: East Bay
$36 for Four 30-Minute Swim Lessons at American Swim Academy

San Francisco: Mid Peninsula
$59 for $150 Worth of Skin Care & Body Treatments at Z-Beauty Lounge

San Francisco: East Bay
$36 for Four 30-Minute Swim Lessons at American Swim Academy

San Francisco: North Peninsula
51% Off a 1 Hour Facial at Advanced Skin Solutions

Local friends might like this Juice in the City deal for D.C./The District…

Washington DC: The District
60% Off a Private 2 Hour “How to Get Your Kids to Eat Healthy” Class

or Bethesda/Chevy Chase…

Washington DC: Bethesda/Chevy Chase
60% Off a Private 2 Hour “How to Get Your Kids to Eat Healthy” Class

All links are to my Juice in the City or other affiliate links. Score the deal or use my Juice in the City link to join the JITC affiliate program.

Way, way, way, way, and even way-er back I was not a U.S. citizen. That’s right I was actually a citizen of another country. I had the world’s…well, obviously not the world’s worst childhood…far from it…but definitely the world’s most nomadic childhood…

• I was born and lived in England from newborn through age 4.
• Moved to the U.S. from age 4 through age 7.
• Moved briefly back to England at age 7.
• Returned to the U.S. for a year or so.
• Moved back to England from age 9 through 10.
• Moved back to the U.S. the year I was in 6th grade.
• In April of my 6th grade year, I moved back to England for good.

So, that’s 2 countries, 7 moves, 4 schools in less than 8 years. Yeah, I’m exhausted too, just reading this list. I cannot imagine how my parents did all those transatlantic moves with two children. And this from someone who has lived in the same home for over 17 years. Nomadic childhood = Not-going-anywhere-adulthood. But, anyway, back to what I was writing about.

I renounced “allegiance to foreign potentates” in 1992. That’s right in order to become a naturalized U.S. citizen you have to swear off allegiance to your country of birth. I still held my British passport until it expired a few years later, but I proudly held a U.S. passport and citizenship from 1992 onwards.

I THOUGHT I knew why I became a citizen until the tragic and unfathomable events of 9/11. The Friday after 9/11 I gathered at my sister’s home to participate in a candlelight vigil. All across this nation families, individuals and groups gathered with lit candles to commemorate the dead, pray for the injured, support our troops, and express how proud we were to be Americans. It was on that night in September of 2011 that I understood what U.S. citizenship meant to me. As I gathered with people of English, Welsh, New Zealand, and U.S. descent, on that evening I was proud to be an American.

So, that’s why I am coming here tonight to urge you to participate in a campaign to support our troops. I have not had a member of my family in the military since my greatgrandfather was a member of various British regiments in the early 1900s. My husband worried about being drafted in the days after 9/11. I will support any of my children who choose to join the military. Until then I thank my lucky stars that there are brave men and women willing to fight for what is right and true.

Cheerios and the USO have partnered in a postcard campaign to spread a little good cheer to the noble and honorable families of those serving in the military. On specially marked boxes of Cheerios cereal you can find “Cheer postcards.”

Cut. Write. Send Cheer to the Military!

• Simply, cut out the postcard on specially marked boxes of Cheerios.
• Write a note of encouragement to military families.
• Mail the postcard.
• Here’s the wonderful part…for each postcard, from a participating cereal box, received by November 30, 2012, Cheerios will contribute $1 to the USO.

Act fast because the specially marked boxes are only on shelves through November 2011, although you will have over a year to mail the cards.

Sending a Cheer postcard is an easy way to recognize the tremendous sacrifices that the military make. Thank military families who rise to the challenges at home while their loved ones are serving our country.

Don’t forget for each Cheer postcard received Cheerios will donate a $1 to the USO. In fact, Cheerios has already donated $150,000 to the USO and will donate up to an additional $100,000 based upon the number of postcards received. The donations will support USO programs that help support military families.

And don’t forget that you can send in the Box Tops for Education on every box of Cheerios cereal and other products to your K-8 school.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Cheerios and received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to post.