Lipstick to Crayons » Family Life

Six Ways to Reduce Fuel Costs

guest — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 02:52:48 +0000

by Andrea Woroch

Crude oil prices are surging again as commodities traders respond to the continued tension between Iran, Israel and the United States. According to NBC Nightly News, the fear of any kind of military action in the Middle East drives up the price of fuel despite no real shortage of supply. Just recently, the price of gasoline rose three-and-a-half percent and is up 42 cents from one year ago.

As winter subsides into spring, consumers should gear up for another pricey summer with gas prices expected to peak just in time for weekend getaways. But before you cancel your vacation plans, consider these tips for saving on fuel.

1. Use your smartphone.
Look up gas prices in your area and pinpoint the least expensive options on your route by using GasBuddy.com. The site also offers a mobile app that uses GPS to provide current gasoline prices per gallon based on your location. Another option is the CheapGas app which guides you to the least expensive gas station in your proximity, an invaluable resource when driving in unfamiliar areas.

2. Travel with cash.
Many gas stations advertise the price per gallon to cash-paying customers and those who use credit cards are charged an additional 10-cents per gallon. Pay with cash when you can to save.

3. Stock up on discount gift cards.
You can purchase gift cards at less than face value from sites like GiftCardGranny.com including gas gift cards for popular brands like Chevron, Shell and Exxon. For example, the site is currently selling a Hess gift card for 8-percent off. These cards go fast, so set up an alert to receive an e-mail when new gas cards become available.

4. Fuel up at the warehouse.
Membership-based stores like Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club have discounted gas. In some cases, you can use affiliated credit cards to get a double-dip discount: Pay less at the pump and get a cash back bonus. For instance, the Costco-branded TrueEarnings American Express card lets customers earn three percent cash back on up to $3,000 in gas per year.

5. Find a gas reward credit card.
If you are going to swipe your credit card at the pump, look for one that offers a high reward like Chase Freedom Visa, which offers 5 percent back on gasoline purchases. For other options, check out PTMoney’s “The Best Gas Rewards Credit Cards of 2012.”

6. Go for grocery and gas discount programs.
Many supermarket chains have partnered with name-brand gas stations to offer reward programs. Ralph customers can get 10-cent per gallon savings at Shell stations in Southern California after redeeming 100 grocery points at the pump. Other grocery chains like PriceChopper, Kroger and ShopandStop offer similar programs. Speak with a store manager to find out which local gas stations will honor the reward program, as some franchise-operated stations may not participate in the programs.

Andrea Woroch is a consumer and money-saving expert for Kinoli Inc. Andrea has been featured among top news outlets such as Good Morning America, NBC’s Today, MSNBC, New York Times, Kiplinger Personal Finance, CNNMoney and many more. To view recent interviews or for more savings tips visit AndreaWoroch.com.

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Free Chocolate Event for Moms at the Lodge of Des Peres

lipsticktocrayons — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:02:12 +0000

Dr. Diane Sanford, Ph.D. , is hosting a free event at the Lodge of Des Peres that involves eating chocolate and talking about the strategies to cope with the mental, emotional and physical challenges of motherhood. I personally owe Diane an enormous debt of gratitude because I heard her speak when I was four months pregnant with my second child. I had suffered from postpartum depression after the birth of my first child and was very worried about it happening again. Thanks to Diane, I prepared during my 2nd pregnancy and was able to ENJOY the weeks and months following the birth of my second.

Postpartum depression affects one in eight new mothers and the stress of parenting a toddler, depression and anxiety are common occurrences. They are very real, but very treatable. Start by treating yourself to an evening of chocolate-tasting indulgence.

This event (and the yummy chocolate) is free, although reservations are required. Space is limited to 100 attendees, so call today to RSVP.

Details:

Tuesday, February 21, 7-9 p.m.

The Lodge Des Peres

1050 Des Peres Road (south of Manchester Rd.) St. Louis, MO 63131

RSVP to 314-812-9366

Invite your friends, but please leave your baby/toddler behind. This is for Moms only.

About Diane:

Psychologist Dr. Diane Sanford has been passionate about helping women improve their health and lead happier lives since counseling her first postpartum mom 25 years ago. She is among the most called-upon women’s health experts and has been interviewed for TV (Good Morning America), newspapers (New York Times, Washington Post), and all major women’s magazines.

In her new book, Life Will Never Be the Same: The Real Mom’s Postpartum Survival Guide, she offers practical advice on how to thrive during pregnancy, postpartum and motherhood. To preview the book, visit her website. To schedule a consultation, please call Women’s Healthcare Partnership at 314-961-5666.

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Not Too Late to Get a Flu Shot

lipsticktocrayons — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:15:45 +0000

With the holiday season right around the corner, the American Lung Association has an important message: It’s not too late to get your flu shot!

Vaccination is recommended and beneficial into the winter months – a time of the year when spreading holiday cheer with family and friends can also make it easier for disease, like influenza, to spread when we’re in close contact. Everyone six months of age and older is recommended for annual flu vaccination, and immunization is the best way to be protected and enjoy the celebration all the way into the New Year.

Learn more about influenza and the importance of annual vaccination by visiting www.facesofinfluenza.org.

About Influenza

Influenza is a serious respiratory illness. Each year in the U.S., on average, influenza and its related complications result in approximately 226,000 hospitalizations. Depending on virus severity during the influenza season, deaths can range from 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people. Combined with pneumonia, influenza is the eighth leading cause of death in the nation.

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The Healthy School Lunch Makeover

lipsticktocrayons — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:05:07 +0000

By Connie Diekman, Registered Dietitian

As a mom, you likely know what your child eats for breakfast and dinner, but what about lunch at school? Typically, kids get about 30 to 50 percent of their calories while at school. The good news is there are several changes happening in school cafeterias across the country this year to make lunch time nutritious and delicious for students.

This year, moms will be pleased to know that school cafeterias are serving more whole grains in unexpected places (like pizza), more fresh vegetables (especially nutrient-rich leafy greens and orange vegetables), lessening sodium content and offering great-tasting flavored milk with fewer calories and less added sugar than in the past.

As the beverage of choice among students, the change to flavored milk is an important one. On average, school chocolate milk is projected to have just 31 calories more than white milk and 38% less added sugar, the result of ongoing work by milk processors with local districts across the country over the last five years.

This school year when kids pick up a carton of flavored milk with their lunch, the majority will be less than 150 calories and will have all the same nine essential nutrients as white milk – including vitamin D, calcium and potassium, nutrients that the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans say children need to consume more of.

As a registered dietitian, I know most kids ages nine and older are far from the recommended three servings of dairy a day, and it’s important to offer a variety of choices, both flavored and white milk, to ensure kids have more opportunities to get the nutrients found in milk, versus choosing drinks with no nutritional value.

The food choices kids make today can have a big influence in shaping their future. Providing wholesome, nutritious meals for students increases their ability to pay attention in class, provides energy for sports and exercise, and reduces the risk of health problems later in life. These nutrients are important for kids’ growth and development, and for many children, school meals may be the best source of real nutrition they get all day.

So remember, nutritious food doesn’t have to be boring! Low-fat chocolate milk strikes a great balance between good nutrition and good fun.

For more information on school flavored milk reformulations, please visit: http://www.whymilk.com/school_milk.php.

Connie Diekman, M.Ed, RD, LD, FADA is a nutrition communications consultant in St. Louis, Missouri. Diekman is the past President of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and is a former chair of the American Heart Association – Missouri affiliate.

She is the voice of the “Eating Right” minute, which airs daily, on WBBM radio in Chicago. She is also a former television nutrition reporter with St. Louis’ NBC affiliate and the local FOX affiliate.

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Getting a Puppy!! You can too!

lipsticktocrayons — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:01:33 +0000

Amid the craziness that defines our busy lives, we have decided to add a puppy to our family. I’m not even going to try to explain the reasons why or how we came to this decision. Just know we gave it a lot of thought, and we are putting in the time to read up on properly training this dog (which we never did before). And know that our family is over the top excited.

I’m writing about our new puppy here because I want to tell you about our breeder. We are getting our Golden Retriever puppy from Daisy’s Golden Retrievers in Cuba, MO, owned by Terry & Bob Grayson. (They also own Daisy’s GoldenDoodles). And they ship puppies out of state — see below.

We got to meet Terry and Bob last weekend when we went to pick out our puppy from a litter of Goldens that was born in August. (It was soooo hard to choose). Anyway, they have a very nice, clean, well-organized, loving environment where they are breeding Golden Retrievers and Golden Doodles.

We were so impressed with how professional Terry and Bob operate, from scheduling appointments for families to come meet the puppies, to encouraging you to take your time with these puppies, playing with them and asking questions and doing whatever you need to do to make the hard decision about which puppy is right for your family. Terry also consulted with me multiple times via email before we went to visit, offering advice on books to read, asnwering questions about what crate to buy, etc.

Our puppy was chipped already and once we chose her, Terry scanned her chip and gave us the number so we know (and she knows) what puppy is ours. We can’t bring her home until she is 8 weeks old, so that will happen around Oct. 14. On that date, we will be taking home a puppy that has her current shots, along with:

Information on NuVet Supplement (samples also)
Packet from Kennelwood Pet Resort
Knotted rope
Small brush
Puppy shampoo
Puppy Kong
Leash and collar
First heartworm/all around wormer treatment
2 year signed health guarantee
Current health record
Small bag of puppy food to mix with what we purchase
Booda bones (dog chews fighting plague and tartar)

I am super impressed with this “package” of takeaways, and with the fact that Ellie will already be chipped.

Here’s the super good news: Terry and Bob still have one female left in the litter from which we are choosing. They also have another litter of Goldens that will go home around Christmas and they have Goldendoodles available between now and Christmas. And, their prices are EXTREMELY reasonable, based on my research. So reasonable, in fact, that I questioned Terry about it, thinking there must be a catch. No catch — the dogs are pure breeds, with papers, etc. Terry just feels she makes a fair amount of money and she wants them all to be placed as soon as they reach 8 to 10 weeks. She also provides a host of references and her veterinarian’s contact information for anyone who wants to do their homework. And, she will ship a puppy on a plane to anyone who lives out-of-state. I spoke to two of her references who chose that option and they couldn’t be happier with their dogs.

Be sure to check out Daisy Pups websites (links above) and Facebook Page. If you decide to get a puppy from them, please let me know by leaving a comment below. And I’ll soon post more pictures of Ellie’s homecoming. In the meantime, here’s all the other pictures we took when we picked her:

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Diplaying Quilts as Artwork, Creating Heirlooms

lipsticktocrayons — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:17:55 +0000

I’ve shared with you that one of my prized possessions is a quilt made by Campus Quilts from the baby clothes of my three children. And now, Campus Quilts is in the process of creating another quilt for me that will honor my late father’s memory. I wrote about that here and I will enthusiastically share pictures as soon as it arrives.

My dilemma, however, has been how to display these treasures. I want everyone who enters my home to see them! Well, my problem was solved when I found Chuck Pederson and Generation to Generation Heirlooms. Chuck handcrafts a Website full of products that are certain to become family heirlooms, including children’s toys, quilt ladders and quilt racks. Here is the gorgeous 7.5-foot quilt ladder he made for me:

As you can see, I am proudly displaying my baby-clothes quilt on the rack and will soon be adding my father’s memorial quilt above that. It fits perfectly in the corner of my room, with an angled design at the top so it leans securely against the wall.

Chuck makes all of his products by hand with the utmost care and attention to detail. The solid construction of this quilt ladder is amazing, and the silky-smooth finish on it is absolutely beautiful. Due to the size of this ladder, Chuck constructs it to fold in the middle for shipping and some minor assembly is required when it arrives. Just so you know, I intended to add that project to my husband’s “honey do” list, but the instructions Chuck sent were so simple and easy to follow that I completed it all by myself using the tools he suggested: A screwdriver and wood glue. (He pre-drills the holes for the dowels, good man that he is).

You can purchase any of Chuck’s heirloom treasures on his Website (quilt racks, children’s toys and quilt project hangars) and he will ship them to you. Prices range from $100 for a Toddler Town Car, $300 for a handcrafted Rocking Horse, $100 for a traditional floor quilt rack and $125 for the 7.5-foot ladder (plus shipping). All of the toys from Generation to Generation Heirlooms would make perfect Christmas presents for children. And unlike the latest toy made of hard, molded plastic and running on batteries, these toys are certain to last through the generations, becoming family heirlooms as Chuck intended.

If you live in/near California, you can see the items in person at the following craft shows:

October 21, 22 & 23 – Independence Hall Quilters Quilt Show, Ironstone Vineyards, Murphys, CA

November 12-13 – Tuleburg Quilt Guild Quilt Show, Scottish Rite Masonic Center, Stockton, CA

Chuck’s other tentative shows for 2012 are listed here.

Please visit Generation to Generation Heirlooms to check out Chuck’s products. You won’t be disappointed.

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St. Louis-area Residents: Opportunity to Help with Hunger

lipsticktocrayons — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:44:40 +0000

Did you know that a child dies every six seconds from malnutrition and related illnesses according to reports by the World Health Organization? On Friday and Saturday, October 14-15, the Danforth Center in St. Louis is hosting a community food packaging event to commemorate “World Food Day,” a global day to increase awareness, understanding and action to alleviate hunger. It is annually observed in recognition of the founding of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.

The Center is hosting for a second year, a World Food Day Commemoration with a goal of packaging 500,000 meals with the help of 3,000 volunteers. You can sign up here. It’s a great way to help your kids get necessary community service hours for school, Scouts, etc.

The Center’s program consists of one-hour food packaging sessions, where volunteers assemble nutritious rice/soy meals to be sent to those in dire need in Africa. After packaging, participants will have the opportunity to tour the Danforth Center and learn about our long-term research to reduce hunger and malnutrition around the world.

- Minimum Age: 7

- Kid Friendly: Yes!

- Dog Friendly: No

- Non-Smoking: Yes!

Event Packaging Hours:

- Friday, October 14 – 9:00am – 7:00pm (last packaging starts then)

- Saturday, October 15 – 9:00am – 5:00pm (last packaging starts then)

In 2010, 1,900 St. Louis volunteers, packaged more than 350,000 rice/soy protein meals during the Center’s two day event that were sent to critically malnourished children living in Tanzania. It’s a great event where you can join other families, sports teams, students, scouts, youth groups and corporate teams to eradicate world hunger one meal at a time.

Questions: please contact Karina Benabe at 314.587.1072 or kbenabe@danforthcenter.org. Stay updated with Twitter at #WFD (WorldFoodDay), @WorldFoodDayStl or @DanforthCenter.

For more info visit: http://www.danforthcenter.org/world_food_day/.

Each package provides nutritionally complete servings for six children. The food is designed to reverse the starvation process, help restore health, and improve mental and physical alertness. The sealed packages have a shelf life of three years. The cost of each life-sustaining meal is approximately 25 cents. Built into this cost are all the ingredients, packaging, administration, and international shipping of the food. These costs will be covered by the Danforth Center, our generous sponsors and donations from the volunteers.

Students are asked to donate $10 and adults $20 per person for this event. Their tax-deductible contributions will be matched by other generous donors and sponsors so that the full cost of a one hour packaging session – approximately $30 per person – is covered.

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Memorial Quilt to Honor my Father’s Memory

lipsticktocrayons — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 02:22:11 +0000

My father, Roger L. Melton, Jr., died on April 30, 2011. It was somewhat unexpected and it’s still hard. As I said in my eulogy to him, he was my hero. He retired after 30 years as police officer and had a decorated (and sometimes colorful) career in law enforcement. I learned just days before his death, but unfortunately after he had slipped into unconsciousness, that he single-handedly prevented a Polaris missile from hitting a Navy aircraft. You can read about it here.

Now I have memories, photographs, a few videos and some other items that remind me of my Dad. I have some old police uniform shirts, a few medals he received while in the Army, some of his favorite T-shirts and the Sergeant’s badge from his police hat. I thought about putting these things in a shadow box, but then I remembered what I did with the baby clothes from my three kids. Campus Quilts turned those items into an absolutely amazing quilt that I will cherish forever. Here is a picture:

Campus Quilts makes t-shirt quilts, but they also make beautiful quilts from baby outfits, sweatshirts, socks, hats, and any other memorable fabric. So I figured why couldn’t they make a Memorial Quilt using my Dad’s things. So I contacted them and they said they could do it — Army medals, badges, T-shirts and all. Their sewing expertise is unmatched.

Once again, they’ve sent me the kit that describes exactly how to organize and number your items (you get to choose the order of your squares) and provides colors from which to choose for the sashing (an optional border around all of your quilt squares) and backing (the fabric on the back of your quilt). Or, you can provide your own fabric, which I might do this time. I haven’t decided yet.

I’m getting my items organized and ready to ship back to Campus Quilt. I might even email them a photo or two which they can transfer onto a white T-shirt and turn into a quilt squre. I have images of his letter commendation regarding the missile incident and my favorite photgraph of him in uniform.

I know this quilt will be among my most cherished possessions when it’s finished and is the best way I can imagine to display the things about my Dad that make me proud. As we move through this first year of milestones without him, I know it will provide me with comfort. For that reason, I wanted to share this with my readers. I think a Memorial Quilt would make a great gift for anyone who has lost a loved one. What better way to tell a grieving friend or family member that you acknowledge their loss and want to help them celebrate the memories.

Now stay tuned because you KNOW I’ll be posting pictures of my Dad’s Memorial Quilt as soon as it arrives. (And I’m hoping to have a new quilt ladder upon which to display it and my baby clothes quilt, too).

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$50 Snapfish Giveaway for Mother’s Day – Check out the Photobooks! – CLOSED

lipsticktocrayons — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 02:21:48 +0000

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I LOVE SNAPFISH PHOTOBOOKS! And what would make a better Mother’s Day present than a Snapfish photobook?

You can honor mom by capturing her favorite moments in a personalized photo book. You can even archive her favorite family recipes! Snapfish offers photo books with many creative layouts and a range of sizes including 8×11, 8×8, 5×7 and even 4×6 flip books, great for all occasions. And one of the really cool features of the photo books is the custom cover which lets you stretch a picture across the entire front cover (see the image with this post).

And guess what? I reccently discovered that Snapfish has integrated with Flickr!! This makes the photo book making process even easier. I am an amateur photographer of sorts — I’ve taken a few classes and I have 17,000 (no, that’s not a typo) pictures in my Flickr photo stream. I used to have time to have those photos printed and then spent hours creating beautiful scrapbooks, but with Baby No. 3, scrapbooking went out the window. Now whenever I want to turn my pictures into a scrapbook, I can create a Snapfish photobook and load the pictures right from my Flickr photostream. I no longer have to upload my pictures to two different places (Flickr, where I store ALL my digital photos and Snapfish for my photo books and photo gifts). Of course, you can still upload your pictures to Snapfish the “old fashioned” way!

Here are some other great Mother’s Day Gift ideas on Snapfish:

Leather bracelet with photo charm – Put mom’s favorite picture on a bracelet so she can wear it every day.

Sterling silver swinging locket – Looking for a gift she’ll cherish forever? Snapfish’s new sterling silver necklace with swinging locketallows you to display mom’s favorite photo in a locket that is sealed in a waterproof, UV-resistant coating to protect the image. Sent in a gift box, Snapfish does the wrapping for you.

Keepsake Box – Perfect for keeping all her prized possessions in one place, this beautiful keepsake box is made of dark-stained wood and features one glossy photo tile, measuring 5″ X 2¼” deep.

Hardcover Journal – Inspire mom by helping her record her special day and year with a personalized journal by Paper Coterie. The journal features a photo and several custom designs she’ll flip for.

Photo greeting card – Who doesn’t love a thoughtful greeting card? But why settle for one you can buy anywhere? Instead, show your appreciation for mom by sending her a personalized photo greeting card on her special day. Snapfish offers a myriad of selections with more than 3,000 designs. You can even create a recordable greeting card to show mom how much you care, whether she’s close or far.

Now here’s the best part about Snapfish and Mother’s Day — Snapfish wants to give one of my lucky readers a $50 gift credit to use on a product of her choice.

Giveaway Guidelines:

To enter the contest, you MUST subscribe to Lipstick to Crayons (subscribe button in upper right corner) and then comment below that you did so (or leave a comment telling me you’re already a subscriber). After completing this mandatory first entry method, you can gain additional entries by doing any or all of the following (but be sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do):

Blog about this contest.
Tweet this giveaway on Twitter (You can tweet daily, but leave a comment for each time you do so).
Add Lipstick to Crayons to your blogroll or my button to your sidebar
Become a fan of Lipstick to Crayons on Facebook.
Post a link to this contest on your Facebook page.

This giveaway closes at 11:59 p.m. Central time May 2, 2011. Be sure to include a valid email address with each of your entries. The winner will be randomly chosen via random.org and will be notified via email and announced on this post.

If the winner does not claim the prize by May 5, 2011, she will forfeit the prize to an alternate winner who will be drawn at random.

USA residents only.

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO NICOLE, COMMENT #7.

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HP Provides a New, Easy Way to Transform a Child’s Room or Play Area

lipsticktocrayons — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 18:29:46 +0000

As parents of any young children can attest, a child who weighs a mere 32 pounds can possess toys that easily over-run a room measuring 10×13 feet.

Case in point — my 3-year-old has a an enormous Dora the Explorer playhouse measuring approximately 4 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet and she loves it. We recently put it in our finished basement, along with some of her other large toys, dedicating an entire back corner of the basement to her as a new playland of sorts. But the area needed something to mark it off as her own and to jazz it up a bit so it wasn’t just a bunch of toys clustered together.

That’s where the new Nick Walls by HP came to the rescue.

Last winter, Nickelodeon and HP announced the availability of Nick Walls by HP — a quick and simple to install wall decor featuring themes from popular Nickelodeon shows such as “Dora the Explorer,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Go, Diego, Go!” and “iCarly.”

We chose the “Dora the Explorer” design and the ordering process was so easy. The easy-to-use online portal enables customers to personalize their designs by selecting and arranging images of characters, animals, flowers, landscapes and more. In addition, Nick Walls by HP can be customized to fit the exact dimensions of the room while designing around fixed elements such as windows, doors and light switches. You can make it as busy or as uncluttered as you want.

My husband chose to install the wall art while I was out of town, which was a nice surprise for me, but didn’t lend itself to any before, during and after pictures. He was able to do the installation without any help, so it wasn’t awful, by any means, but he did say it was very similar to hanging wallpaper — not something he loves doing. Unlike traditional wallpaper, Nick Walls by HP only require water and a sponge to install. It is printed on PVC-free paper with odor-free water-based inks and meets the GREENGUARD Children & Schools standard for low-emitting products. You can watch an installation video here.

My toddler absolutely loved the final result, and her play area is clearly “defined” by this fun addition!

HP Wall Art provides maximum customization at an affordable cost, with pricing starting at $3.99 per square foot. Nick Walls by HP is the first line of designs from HP Wall Art. HP plans to expand the service over the next year, giving consumers the opportunity to bring their favorite movie heroes, musicians, sports personalities and even their own photos to life in their homes.

To see pictures of other rooms that have been decorated with HP Wall art, go here.