Karen

Have A Sweet Holiday With Sweetworks Candies

This is a Fashionista Event and a promotional item was provided to me by Sweetworks. Hosts for this event are Still Blonde after all these Years and ModlyChic.

Oh, my goodness! I love my UPS guy most of the time, but I really really loved him this week. The day he delivered my Sweetworks package, Fabgrandpa came into the bedroom, where I was still snoozing, and woke me up to say “I think someone sent you a box of bricks.” It turned out to be 21 pounds of candy! Now, if you are like me, you get excited over candy, even in small amounts. And if that candy includes chocolate, well, then the excitement level only escalates in direct proportion to the amount of chocolate included.

So, because I know that Fabgrandpa and I couldn’t possibly eat all that candy, I decided to give most of it away. So, I started counting out how many children I could make happy that day. There were my 6 grandchildren: Parker, Spencer, Amelia, Owen, Sarah, and Michael. My nieces children: Stella, Kyleigh, Brodie, and Kathryn. And my neighbor’s children: Abi, Brady, Timmy, and Gracie. I threw in a bag for my sister as well, because it is her “birthday month”, and got to divvie-ing up all the candy. I wound up with 15 quart zip lock bags of Sweetworks Candies, including Sixlets; Gumballs; and Foil Wrapped Chocolates.

15 quart bags for the candy fairy to deliver to all the good boys and girls!

After I got all the candy counted out (yes, equal numbers in every bag because the Candy Fairy KNOWS that kids will argue if there is even 1 more nut in the bag the other kid got), I still had tons of candy left. What to do? Well, make a cake, of course!

My Patriotic 4th of July cake, decorated with Sweetworks Candy

This cake was so easy to do! Just use your favorite brand of cake mix, and prepare it according to package directions. (If you use Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix, you will need two boxes of mix if you want a two layer cake.) Use two tubs of your favorite ready to use white frosting, and generously frost the cake. After you spread on the white frosting, use 10 packets of red Sixlets, and 10 packets of blue Sixlets to make rings around the bottom of the cake. Then, Sprinkle one package of Star shaped candies on the top. Easy! And you have a cake for your 4th of July celebration! Or, use your imagination and any combination of Sweetworks Red, White, and Blue candies to make your own version of a sparkling cake.

My 4th of July Cake decorated with Sweetworks Candy

You can buy Sweetworks Candy at their online store, or check here to find a retail store that carries them. To get your imagination going, Sweetworks is giving away $1250 worth of candy! Yes, 25 bloggers (I’m one of them) are each giving away $50 worth of Sweetworks Candy. Here is a sample listing of what your winning package could contain:

Item Description Qty Value
Royal Blue Sixlets 14oz Stand-Up Bag 1 $ 5.00
Shimmer White Sixlets 14oz Stand-Up Bag 1 $ 5.00
Royal Blue Gumballs 14oz Stand-Up Bag 1 $ 5.00
Red Gumballs 14oz Stand-Up Bag 1 $ 5.00
Red & White Peppermint Crumble Jar 1 $ 3.00
Blue & White Vanilla Crumble Jar 1 $ 3.00
Red, White, Blue Sixlets Small Peg Bags 2 $ 2.00
Red, White, Blue Pearls Small Peg Bags 2 $ 2.00
Red, White, Blue Stars Sweet Shapes 2 $ 2.00
Red Foiled Milk Chocolate Hearts 1/2 lb $ 6.00
Royal Blue Foiled Milk Chocolate Balls 1/2 lb $ 6.00
White Foiled Milk Chocolate Balls 1/2 lb $ 6.00
Total Package Value $50.00
Sweetworks could decide to make substitutions, but the total value of each giveaway will remain $50.

Use the Giveaway Tools form to enter the giveaway here at Fabgrandma. You can also enter the 24 other giveaways! That gives you lots of chances to win. Scroll past the Giveaway Tools entry form to find the linky with all the giveaways!

Entry -Form

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My Garden This Morning

Karen · 8 Comments

The Geranium hasn't bloomed yet. — The Geranium hasn’t bloomed yet.

I used to love to grow flowers and vegetables in my yard, but now I am not able to bend over or dig, so I have had to find new ways to do this thing that I love. Last year, I planted my garden in chairs, something I found on Pinterest and decided to give it a try. Let’s just say it was a Pinterest fail, because it did not work.

Fabgrandpa's Moss Rose with a cute birdie. — Fabgrandpa’s Moss Rose with a cute birdie.

This year, I am trying a new approach. When my closet organizers were delivered, some of the pieces of it were eighty-four inches long, and were on a pallet at least that long. I asked my neighbor, the one who cuts our grass, if he would gather up the concrete blocks from various places around the yard, and stack them up two high, and put that piece of pallet on them so I could put my plants on it.

Once my little raised platform was completed, I started potting up my plants. I have three different kinds of tomatoes, two different kinds of cucumbers, three kinds of peppers, and an eggplant. It took me a long time to get these all potted up.

When I got up this morning, it was foggy and drippy outside. The saucers under the planters were overflowing, so I went out there to empty them so that the plants wouldn’t be too soggy.

All of my plants are doing really well in this improvised raised bed. It is just in front of the front porch, so that I can water it from the porch if it doesn’t rain. I can also enjoy looking at it when I sit on the porch.

My eggplant. I think eggplant plants are beautiful. They have purple flowers when they bloom.

A couple of days ago, I planted some green bean seeds in several of the pots. I am hoping that they sprout before they rot. It has been very rainy here for the past couple of weeks. Too much water is just as bad as not enough when it comes to a garden.

This is a sweet potato plant that my daughter, Becky, gave me for my birthday.

Becky and Rafe gave me this lovely plant for my birthday. When I got it home and looked at the tag, I found out that it is a sweet potato plant. I can’t wait for it to bloom. I have never seen sweet potato flowers before, so it will be interesting to see what color they are.

I also have basil, parsley, and oregano growing in my garden. I love basil! I love the way it smells, I love the way it tastes, and I love the way it looks growing in a garden.

Are you growing a garden this year? What do you have planted?

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Traveling Gluten Free With Glutino

Karen · 13 Comments

This post is brought to you by Glutino Gluten Free

Now that summer is here, we are all ready to hit the road. Whether it is to the beach, to the mountains, or to Grandma’s house, getting there is so much better when you know you are going to have some gluten free snacks on hand for when the hunger pangs start.

Visiting Great Smokey Mountains National Park

It doesn’t matter if you are a toddler, a teen, a Mom on the go, or a Fabgrandma like me, if you get hungry you want something to eat RIGHT NOW. In the beginning, when I first started eating a gluten free diet, it was hard to walk into a convenience store looking for a snack or into a restaurant looking for a meal. Well, it still is, but now I have some ammunition in my arsenal to help fight back hunger, gluten freely.

A salad is a good choice when nothing else is on the menu gluten free.

There are more and more restaurants that offer a modified gluten free menu. While the choices are not that great, they are still options. Two of my all time favorite restaurants offer almost everything on the menu in a gluten free version. Those are Pizazzo’s Italian Kitchen in several cities in Arizona (OH! How I wish they would come to Atlanta!) and Mellow Mushroom, with several locations around Atlanta.

Grilled Ka-bobs with chicken, bell pepper, onions, and tomatoes. A gluten friendly meal on a stick.

And if you go into a restaurant and there is no gluten free menu, there are still some choices in most places. For instance, if there is nothing else on the menu, I can get a Chef Salad, hold the croutons and cheese. Boiled eggs and grits makes a filling meal until you can get where you’re going. I have also been known to order “a la carte” tomato slices, bacon, and a fruit cup. Sometimes getting creative with what is already on the menu is your weapon against hunger. I often order a hamburger with no bun, or a hamburger steak with a side of sliced tomatoes or vegetable of the day. Use your creativity and think outside the menu. I have found that most places will cook something I request, even if it is not specifically on the menu, but from looking at the menu I can see that all the parts are there.

Glutino Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix--Bake some up to take on your next road trip! — Glutino Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix–Bake some up to take on your next road trip!

Finally, while traveling, stock your car with lots of snacks that are totally gluten free. Apples, bananas, and grapes are good choices. So are any of the products from Glutino. Muffins made from the Gluten Free Muffin Mix travel well, and are so easy to make. Put together some peanut butter and banana sandwiches on Glutino Gluten Free Cinnamon Raison Bread or egg salad sandwiches on Glutino Gluten Free White Bread before you leave home. There are also Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks, Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, Animal Graham Crackers, Vanilla Creme Cookies, and more! Take a look at all the Glutino Gluten Free goodness at their website!

What is your “go to” gluten free snack for taking on the road?

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Could Your Prescription Medication Be Making You Sick?

Karen · 33 Comments

Back in February of 2010, Fabgrandpa was going to the VA in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, getting all of his health checkups and tests done. One of those tests was a colonoscopy, done by a private doctor outside of the VA. They did not have a doctor who does colonoscopies at the Tuscaloosa location.

The doctor who did the colonoscopy also did an endoscopy, looking down from Fabgrandpa’s throat into his esophagus and stomach. Dr. Brown diagnosed him with Barret’s Esophagus, and prescribed Prilosec, or omeprazole, for acid reflux to prevent the Barret’s Esophagus getting worse.

Fabgrandpa and me at our grandson's graduation in May 2015 — Fabgrandpa and me at our grandson’s graduation in May 2015

As you all know, unless you are a brand new reader, Fabgrandpa started feeling off balance last year, and finally started going to a series of what seems like never ending doctors appointments, trying to find out what has been causing him to be off balance, walking like a drunk man, looking like he may fall any minute. His other symptoms include muscle cramps all over his body; ear pain without ear infection; sore throat; trouble swallowing; tingling in his feet, hands, face; headaches; anxiety; depression; just to name a few.

We saw the primary care doctor; and ear, nose, and throat doctor; a neurologist; and a vascular surgeon, who operated for an ulcerated carotid artery that was found while looking for the cause of the off balance feeling.

After all of those doctor visits, and tons of money out of pocket for the doctor visits and tests that were done, there has been no cause found for the off balance feeling, or any of the other symptoms.

Every now and then, when I can’t sleep, I search for causes by googling Fabgrandpa’s symptoms. Now, in all this time, I have only googled one symptom at a time. And with my google searches, I have ONLY focused on diseases that may be associated with the symptoms that Fabgrandpa has been having. There are many many different diseases that COULD have one or two or three of the symptoms, but I have not found any that could have them all. Things like Parkinson’s Disease; Multiple Sclerosis; to Ear Infection, to Toxic Shock Syndrome. But, he does not have any of these things.

Last night, I was googling yet again trying to find out what is wrong with my husband. I decided to type in this search: “off balance, muscle cramps, tingling, numbness, ear pain, anxiety“. The 4th search result was for this:

PRILOSEC: Side effects, ratings, and patient comments. After nine months of doctor visits, tests, and googling symptoms looking for a DISEASE, I found evidence of the problem being a reaction to a common prescribed medication that my husband takes. I’ll let you be the judge. Read the pages and pages of patient symptoms and notes from taking this drug. Leave me a comment to let me know what you think.

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MGM Gold Strike Casino: The Perfect Girlfriends Getaway Part 5

Karen · 44 Comments

This post is sponsored by MGM Gold Strike Resort and Casino

On Saturday afternoon of our stay, Elaine and I were treated to a behind the scenes tour of the Gold Strike Casino and Hotel. We learned a lot from the tour and from various employees of the facility. We were introduced to the Director of Hotel Operations Craytonia Collins, and Front Office Manager Kyle Buggs, by the Communication Manager Keisha Oliver.

kdkddkkd — **Craytonia Collins, Keisha Oliver, and Kyle Buggs**

They all welcomed us to MGM Gold Strike Resort and Casino. Then we started on our tour. The first place we went was to the Presidential Suite. This is where the high rollers stay when they come to town to play at Gold Strike.

presidential suite mgm gold strike tunica — The Presidential Suite

This suite goes for about $800 per night if you were to pay to stay in it, but Mr. Collins told us that the usual guests are high rollers who are comped for the room. Can you imagine staying in such a huge suite? He also said that some of their guests who stay in this suite are flown in by private jet for the weekend. I guess that is how the other half lives!

The bedroom of the Presidential Suite has a huge king bed.

Look how big that bed is! The whole bedroom is separate from the rest of the suite. I wanted to stay in that room for just one night.

The Presidential Suite also had a dining area with a dining table with six chairs, and a kitchen with a refrigerator and stove. I think the whole suite was larger than my house! One more photo of the Presidential Suite and we’ll move on: The bathroom!

The bathroom in the Presidential Suite. NICE!

From the Presidential Suite, we went to Housekeeping, where we met Carolyn Wright, Director of Housekeeping. It was so interesting to me to find out that housekeeping handles about 30,000 pounds of linens a day with 60% occupancy of the hotel. That is a lot of towels and sheets! They send all their linens out to a laundry service to be washed and folded. Even with that, they have 91 Guest Room Attendants, 10 Housemen, 13 supervisors, 5 managers and office staff, for a total of about 130 employees in the housekeeping department.

We left Housekeeping and went to Food Service. That was amazing to see. First, let me say, the kitchens here were very very clean. I was impressed. (Fabgrandpa and I delivered foods for a Hot Shot delivery company in the late 1990’s in a pick up truck, and we saw some really ugly kitchens.) The Executive Sous Chef, Anthony Cieplinski, took over as our tour guide for the kitchens.

The Executive Sous Chef, Anthony Cieplinski

Anthony showed us where the kitchen employees were making desserts and hors d’oeuvres for a private meeting that was to take place later in the day. They all looked awesome. There were little individual fruit tarts and crab cakes in progress when we were there. We also learned that everything they serve at the restaurants at MGM Gold Strike is made fresh on the premises.

Little Fruit Tarts being made up for later in the day.

Look at all those delicious Crab Cakes! Someone was going to be very lucky later that night!

All of the employees we met along the way on this tour were so nice to us, and every single one of them was smiling. They all looked so happy to be working at MGM, and that says a lot to me about a business. When the employees are happy, they must be doing something right. By the way, did you know that MGM Gold Strike Resort and Casino employs a total of 1,357 people?

This is just a small part of the employee dining room. All employees of MGM Gold Strike can eat here for free. The food was the same food that is served in the restaurants on site, and all of it on the employee buffet the day we were there looked really good. There were several options, with healthy choices available. This is so unlike any employee dining room of any place I ever worked.

Next, we went to the kitchen where they were preparing the foods for the Saturday Night Seafood Buffet. There was a huge stack of boxes of snow crab legs, taller than me. Anthony said that all of those crab legs would be served that night, and they would probably bring more up from the freezer before the night was over. They serve between 3500 and 4000 pounds of crab legs in a weekend.

Making dressing for the chicken and dressing on the buffet.

They will serve this huge vat of dressing on the buffet in one night.

In addition to the snow crab legs, there are also steamed crab claws, raw oysters, steamed shrimp, and so much more on the buffet. Even Sushi!

Finally, the last part of the behind the scenes tour, was the liquor vault! This is where they keep all the alcoholic beverages at MGM Gold Strike.

Assistant Beverage Manager Alex Thornton unlocking the gate to the liquor vault.

The Assistant Beverage Manager Alex Thornton took us into the area of the liquor vault. We didn’t actually get to go inside to take a look at the inside of the vault, because anyone who goes in there has to have a member of security with them to go in. We did get to see the liquor setup, and I was so amazed!

The open liquor bottles are all set upside down in the troughs. See the pipes on the left side of this photo? When a bartender in one of the bars in the casino or one of the restaurants pours a drink or mixes a drink, the liquor is pumped through those pipes to the bartender’s spigot. The spigot has different buttons on it to program in the correct drink, and mixes it automatically from the wells in the basement. COOL! There were rows and rows of these troughs and pipes, leading all sorts of liquor and mixers to the different bars throughout the property.

Alex explained that by using this system, all the drinks of the same kind have the same amount of liquor in them. From the beginning of the night, to the end of the night, from one bartender to the next, all the drinks are uniform, and liquor is not wasted. What do you think of this setup?

Here are some interesting things to know about the casino:

There are 1,325 slot machines. Table games available to play are Black Jack, 21 + 3 Black Jack, Lucky Ladies, Craps, Crapless Craps, Baccarat, Roulette, Mississippi Stud, Mississippi Stud Progressive, Three Card Poker, Three Card Poker Progressive, Four Card Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, and Let It Ride. Thereis something for everyone here.

Tomorrow, I will continue with the rest of the tour, where we met Jack Hanna of Into the Wild!

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The Car Is In The Shop

Karen · 13 Comments

In September when we went to Alabama for Fabgrandpa to have surgery on his nose, the dashboard indicator light came on for some weird thing that said “Service Traction Control”. Nothing happened to the car, which is a good thing, because we were barreling down I-20 towards Birmingham at a high rate of speed. The light went off when we stopped the first time. That was also good because we were in a hurry to get to the clinic.

A month or so later, it happened again. And again, nothing happened, and the light went off. This has happened several times now. In addition to that, all of a sudden when we were going down the road a couple of months ago, something under the dash started thumping very loudly. Every time we touched any of the air conditioner controls, the car made that loud noise.

The noise starts when we get in the car, before we even insert the key in the ignition. It continues until we get started down the road. It is very annoying, and embarrassing when someone goes somewhere with us.

Last week, we got a letter from Chevrolet. It said:

“This letter is intended to make you aware that some 2010 model year Chevrolet Impala vehicles may have a broken solder connection within the accelerator pedal position (APP) sensor. This condition may result in reduced engine power and loss of traction control assist. All other accessories and vehicle systems will function normally. While the condition is present, the driver information center will display “Engine Power is Reduced,” and may also display “Service Traction Control” and “Service Stabilitrak”.

The letter went on to explain that “General Motors is providing owners with additional protection for the condition described above.” They are NOT calling it a recall. Hmmpf.

So, we made an appointment to take the car in and get the additional protection they are providing us. At the same time we are having them repair that thing under the dash that make the loud thumping noise. They have to keep the car overnight to complete these repairs, so we had to get a rental car from Enterprise. No, they no longer provide a loaner car when you get service done on your car.

The rental car was a bargain, though. The Chevrolet dealership has a deal with Enterprise, so that we can get the rental from them for $35 a night. Plus gas. No milage charge. What a deal.

Can you guess how much it is going to cost us to get rid of that loud thumping noise under the dash? Go on, take a guess!

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Save 25% On Naturalizer Shoes Through May 29th

Karen · Leave a Comment

This post contains affiliate links

I have always loved Naturalizer shoes. They are so comfortable, and they have so many different styles that you can find a pair for just about any occasion. The good news is that every pair is on sale through tomorrow night. Every pair of shoes on the entire website is on sale for 25% off! Get two pairs at that good price!

Naturalizer Shoes: Save 25% sitewide thru 5/29/15

Some of my favorites:

Hutton

Fryna

What’s your favorite Naturalizer style? Get them 25% off sitewide* with code: May25

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JeepCheap.com: How Do You Know Which Dealership To Use?

Karen · Leave a Comment

Are you are looking to buy a new car? If so, where do you start? Unless you have shopped with a particular dealer in the past, and know that they will be able to arrange a deal that is advantageous to you, it really is like taking a shot in the dark. You can ask your friends and co-workers, but if none of them has ever had an experience with the dealer you are thinking of using , you are back to square one.

However, now that there are so many people using social media, it is possible to check online for reviews of the dealership, before you decide to use them or not. Thompson Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Augusta, Georgia, or Jeepcheap.com, has had many positive reviews online at google+. Yes, there a few bad ones as well, but the positive reviews far outweigh the bad. Based on the reviews I have seen there, if I was looking for a Jeep, I would definitely go to see the salespeople at JeepCheap.com.

Here are some samples from the many posts on google+:

ddddd — Buyer of a used vehicle from Thomson Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

When you don’t know anyone to ask about a dealer, try checking out social media such as google+, Facebook, and Twitter. Word of mouth these days is word online!

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