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There are many things that I hate about moving all of the time. #1 on that list would probably be the fact that we really can not change a lot about the homes we live in.

I would love to get new sinks for this house. The kitchen one drives me crazy the most often. I hate trying to wash all of my large pans and not being able to fit them in the sink. I have to wash them one side at a time. I also hate that the sink is porcelain. I hate scrubbing off all of the marks that are created on the sink.

I was checking out granite sinks on Mr Direct website and found a few that I would love. I really do not need a double bowl sink so this large single sink would be more what I would want. It can be a top mount or undermount granite sink. Plus a granite sink would not get full of marks from pans.

Mr Direct is a pretty cool site. They have great prices and fast shipping.

We have a winner to announce in the 100 Custom Printed Postcards Giveaway!

The winner is Sue Mickelson! Congrats Sue!

Thank you to UPrinting for sponsoring this blog and providing us with tons of products and giveaways. We are still doing a lot of giveaways so make sure to check out our Current Giveaways.


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I love the new Soft Scrub Total Bath & Bowl and it is not just because I am a Soft Scrub Club Captain! Today it proved to me once again how wonderful it is. I really love this stuff!

Today was just a half day at school and while we think that should mean a fun day... James says that it would be the perfect opportunity to clean. Who wants to clean on a half day? He is no fun!

I hate cleaning and I have passed that hatred on to my children. One of the things I hate about cleaning is that you have to drag out tons of cleaning supplies and then put them all away again. Many times that takes longer than the actual cleaning.


I have cleaning supplies everywhere. The cupboards under every sink are stuffed full of cleaners. We even have 3 shelves in the basement full of cleaners that can not fit in our cleaning cupboards. I have not even used half of the cleaners in ages because I do not like them.

Between Soft Scrub Total Bath & Bowl and Soft Scrub Total Kitchen, I can now clean out those cupboards and free up some space. It also made cleaning super fast and easy. I am all for spending less time cleaning! Do people actually like to clean? They must have a sickness.

Soft Scrub Total Bath & Bowl takes the place of all of your cleaners and has two surprise design extras. I have never seen a bottle like this. The nozzle has a screen that opens and closes. When the screen is closed the spray becomes a thick foam. When you open the screen it becomes a regular spray.

You may have noticed the strange shape of the bottle already. It is specially designed so you can spray it upside down. The angle of the bottle makes it easy to spray into any area. Now one bottle can reach and clean anything in the bathroom with a spray or foam. How convenient!

I timed my cleaning today... 10 minutes to a clean bathroom!

I quickly sprayed the foam under the rim of the toilet and then in the sink and on the handles of the faucet. While the foam went to work I changed it to spray and cleaned the mirror. I wondered if it could really do the mirror but it left a streak free shine.

I then cleaned the wall around the sink and some spots in the shower that looked dirty with the spray. I went back to clean the counter and the sink that had the foam in it. Then it was time to tackle the toilet. I cleaned the seat and under the seat with spray and then scrubbed the foam in the toilet.

That's it... 1 spray bottle and 10 minutes later... the bathroom was clean. I did not even have to drag out a ton of cleaner. The bathroom even smelled clean and not full of chemicals.

*As a Soft Scrub Club Captain I received my bottle free for review. My opinion is 100% my own and was not influenced.

I really love the Seiko Kinetic Watches. Yes, they look great but I love that they are self powered. How awesome is that? The movements of your arm powers the watch! Why didn't anyone think of this before?

A seiko kinetic would make an awesome gift for the man that has everything. They have that really expensive look plus what a conversation piece. Men love to show off their gadgets! I thought about getting one for James for Christmas but he rarely wears watches. He would probably destroy it at work.

I still might get him one in the future. He could wear it when he is not at work or for his meetings and conferences.

When we first sat in our seats at the United Center I immediately noticed the two big screens. On each side of the stage there was a big screen showing everything tweeted @eddieizzard. Twitter on big screens at a show?

What a cool idea! As we sat waiting for the show to begin we got to see what everyone wrote.

It was fun to read as we waited. It also brought the audience closer as they started to talk about the tweets. It took a bit longer to notice what the background was.

Behind the Twitter stream was a changing background. Then we realized that it was actually a video being recorded within the venue. It would zoom in on two people for awhile and then move on to an other area in the audience.

It added to the fun as audience members started a kind of "Where's Waldo" and tried to hunt down who was getting taped at that time. The most fun backgrounds were of people that had no clue they were being shown on the big screen. There were tons of people stuffing their faces with popcorn and pizza.

I think that was the most fun I have had waiting for a show! I was a bit disappointed though. I figured that there was no reason to bring my cell phone along so I could not send anything onto the Twitter screen. :(

I was just introduced to a neat site that makes premium photo books. They are the only company in the UK that will make premium photo books for the general public. Usually you have to go through a photographer who will add on their own fee. They will even ship internationally.

Usually you have to pick between a cheap photo book or go through a photographer and get a very expensive one. These premium Photobook are beautifully designed by a professional. You then receive full proofs to review before you order your book.

These books would be great for any special occasion. Many people are cutting back on expenses on their weddings so the Wedding albums would be perfect. You could wait until you get caught back up on bills and then order one. A Wedding album would also make an incredible anniversary gift.

Slowly but surely I will finish everything. Life has been very busy though. Today I will do the review on the hotel we stayed in. I usually get paid to do reviews or get something for free but I do bad reviews for free!

We chose the Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro. We picked it solely because it was a short walk from the train station.

I will start by giving you their statement from their website...

Cutting-edge luxury awaits you in our sleek and modern guest rooms and suites, offering romantic views of the Chicago Skyline and an amazing downtown location.

I would say that yes, it looks like it was once a sleek modern hotel but it has not aged well. It has been very neglected. Right away as we entered we found that the "automatic" revolving door stopped being automatic as soon as you entered it. That is when the bellman runs over and helps you push the heavy door so that you can enter.

Check in was very fast since we paid online. I liked the security of not being able to go up on the elevators without using a room key. When we got out of the elevator I found the hallways had filthy carpet. I told myself that it was winter and a Friday so maybe they just could not keep up with vacuuming.

Then we entered our room. I found that the carpet in the room was also filthy. Either they do not vacuum often or they really need to replace their vacuums. I pulled back a curtain so I could hang my coat and I found a pair of someone's socks. This really bothered me. How much cleaning could they have done?

I was also not very impressed with the bathroom. One of the things I love about hotels is the sink and mirror area that is outside of the bathroom. They did not have that. They had a very small bathroom with a sliding glass door. The door sat on track on the outside of the bathroom and overlapped a little. The glass was frosted but still! The one time in life that I do not want to be behind glass is when I am on the toilet!

James had a conference call right away so he loved that they had a desk and wifi. He wanted some quiet so I decided to take the girls to the grocery store across the street. That is when I noticed that they did not even have a little fridge and microwave. As a mom this is a must! Even crappy hotels have them. I quick checked to be sure that there was a coffee maker or someone might die! There was a coffee maker but it was the cheapest most pathetic thing I have ever seen.

The rest of the room looked dirty and old. The bedding and towels were dingy and their signature little red Crowne Plaza pillows had their seams ripped open and frayed. The furniture looked like it was once nice but now the corners are all chipped and broken.

On the plus side the room did have a chaise so my one daughter chose to sleep there rather than sleep with her sisters. There was also a beautiful view from the balcony which we used to keep our drinks cold since there was no fridge.

Will I go back? I would rather not. I will try to look for another hotel that is close to the train station. The Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro could be a beautiful place but it is clear that no one cares to do any upkeep.