Stompeez Review and Giveaway

I have always been an avid fan of stuffed animals. I have my teddy bear from when I was a child, always bought them for my own children and now that my grandchildren are here they have several as well. I believe that is why I love Stompeez so much. Not only are they adorable animals but very useful as well. These Illinois weathers are not always the tamest and well whenever we can have fun wearing something on our feet all the better. 

Stompeez are 

animated slippers skyrocketed in popularity last year during the holidays, thanks to the soft, playful characters kids wear on their feet for stomping fun. And while popularity is a good thing, it also overwhelmed the brand, which at that time was new. Now under new management, Stompeez has stepped up its production and distribution efforts to ensure it will be able to meet this year’s holiday demand with ease. The company works hard to create, promote and sell products that children and parents will love.

Stompeez™ stuffs fun and imagination into ordinary slippers for kids. These cute, soft, comfy slippers are a hit at slumber parties, as well as for just romping around the house. Stompeez are available in eight colorful animal characters that pop to life with each step. They come in sizes to fit kids of all ages, from toddlers to teens. With the holidays approaching, Stompeez are affordable and unique gifts at $19.95 plus shipping and handling. Stompeez slippers are ready to ship with a guaranteed delivery date, including in time for the holidays.

Stompeez work by stepping on the heel of the slipper. When pressed down the heel compresses a little bulb in the heel that is full of air. This little bulb when compressed sends air to the front of the slipper and causes the stompeez animated face head and ears to flop up. No batteries needed just simple fun with natural wear. 

Stompeez are available in sizes from childrens all the way up to teen sizes. Retailing for $19.95 Perfect for young children and teen sleep overs 

we were sent the puple playful puppy and I just know Princess will love them. I have no pictures of her with them yet as they will be a Christmas surprise for her. Oh what a super cool morning it will be when she is stomping all over the place with her Stompeez. Simply can not wait. I personally wish they had them in my size as well they are so super soft and cute would be sure to give warmth and comfort to anyones feet. 

Stompeez can be found on facebook and twitter

Want to win a pair of stompeez for someone special that you know? Well you are in luck as the makers of Stompeez would love to give one reader of Annies Home a pair of Stompeez of their own. 

To enter giveaway:

first visit Stompee and let me know which pair of Stompeez would be your favorite?

Extra Entries:

Follow my blog on gfc 

follow Stompeez on twitter

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tweet about this giveaway (unlimited leave link on comment)

like stompeez on facebook

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Giveaway starts now and ends December 22, 2012. Good Luck 

We would like to thank those that have provided this product for review purposes. I have wrote this blog post with my own thoughts and was not influenced in any way. 

Grinch Punch

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• 1/3 cup Imperial Sugar® / Dixie Crystals® Granulated Sugar
• 6 tablespoons plus 1-1/2 teaspoons water
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 12 drops neon green food coloring
• 1 bottle (2 liters) lemon-lime soda, chilled
• 2 pints vanilla ice cream

• In a large saucepan, combine sugar and water. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved; remove from the heat. Stir in milk and extract. Transfer to a bowl; cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
• Just before serving, transfer milk mixture to a punch bowl. Stir in the food coloring and soda. Top with scoops of ice cream. Yield: 4 quarts.

Angels Among Us

Saturday 6

1. N is for NAME: Were you ever tempted to change your name, and if so, which name would you rather have had?

never attempted to change my name always loved it but I do think that the name Nancy sounds special as well

2. N is for NATURE: What do you enjoy most about being in the great outdoors?

I love being outside in every season some seasons I spend more time outside than others but all the same I love it. I would say that my favorite thing about being outside is the wonderful nature in play after all we live in wonderful southern illinois Shawnee forest where there are amazing colors and animals playing

3. N is for NEWSSTAND: If you had to purchase a magazine at a newsstand, which title would you be most likely to buy?

all you is often my magazine of choice 

4. N is for NICKEL: If a president were to replace one of the current presidents on our coins, which one would you like to see immortalized on our currency next?

well my favorite president in my life time was Bill Clinton while I do not feel he should replace a coin president he is my favorite 

5. N is for NOSE: Which aroma from the kitchen is your favorite?

food cooking in the oven like this time of year wonderful pumpkin pie

6. N is for NUT: When you’re ready for a snack, which variety of nut is your favorite?

love cashews

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Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Blue Christmas

1) Do you ever suffer the blues during the holidays? 

at times when I think of Christmas's of past and the fun we had with those that are no longer here. I also seem to have the blues when I think of those that I miss because they live farther away from me than I like 
2) More than 18 million visitors have toured Elvis' home, Graceland. Have you ever been there? 

I have had friends that have visited there but never been there myself 

3) Elvis dyed his naturally light brown locks black. Do you dye your hair?

no I have never dyed my hair but my daughters do

4) He also insisted his young girlfriend, Priscilla, dye her hair jet black. If your lover asked you to change your hair, would you? 

that would all depend as I would do something to make him happy if I felt comfortable doing it and agreed about it but I would not do it just because he insisted

5) Elvis served his country at an Army base in Friedberg, Germany. Have you ever been to Germany? 

No
6) Elvis famously had an affair with Ann-Margret during the filming of Viva Las Vegas. Have you ever indulged in a dalliance with a coworker?

well I have worked with  my husband before so if he counts yes I have other wise no 

7) Thinking of his movies ... Elvis was, by and large, unhappy with his film career and once said, "The only thing worse than watching a bad movie is being in one." Are you happy with the way your career is going/has gone?

Yes and no I love what I do for a living yet wish I had more education thus making for a larger paycheck

8) Elvis lost "the battle of the bulge" toward end of his life. Are you happy with your weight?

right now I am have been losing weight and looking pretty fine if I do so myself
9) As a teenager, Elvis worked as an usher at a movie theater. What was your first job?

first job was answering phones in a little office

come join us in this meme here

Oh What Fun ...

Work Christmas Party Was A Blast 

Last night was our companys Christmas Party. We had a blast, all had fun and I even won a prize. My guest was my mom which all in itself was a treat. I love to take my mom to events as she loves to get out and have a bit of fun

Share your 6 word phrase at Show My Face

Christmas Recipes

This is a list of Christmas Recipes that I have shared on this blog previously on this blog Annies Home

Chrstmas Cookies 4 Way

christmas wreaths

reindeer cookies

Tiny Tims

thumbprint cookies

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

St. Nicholas Day

St. Nicholas Day is always celebrated December 6, 2012. Saint Nicholas was truly a christian saint who lived in the the country of Greece. Saint Nicholas gave up his belongings and followed Christ into the ministry of being a priest and later a Bishop of the early Catholic Church. Famed for giving to the needy people, especially the children. 

The practice of hanging up stockings originated with Saint Nicholas. As the ancient legend goes, Saint Nicholas was known to throw small bags of gold coins into the open windows of poor homes. After one bag of gold fell into the stocking of a child, news got around. Children soon began hanging their stocking by their chimneys "in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there".

It wasn't until the 1800's that the spirit of St. Nicholas' life evolved into the creation of Santa Claus. And, this happened  in America. Santa Claus emerged (or evolved) from the stories and legends of St. Nicholas. Santa Claus was kind and generous to children. Unlike "St. Nick", Santa Claus is largely a non-religious character.

Mitten Tree Day

Today according to thinkquest.org is national day for mitten tree day. So I thought I might just share a few ideas of what you could do today for this  holiday

Mitten Tree Day is always celebrated December 6, 2012 Often celebrated by grade school children

One way you can celebrate this day is by reading the book The Mitten

Also a great day to set up a tree to have others bring in mittens to donate. Its cold out there and since December and Christmas is the season of giving its a great time to allow others to give and receive. 

Yummy Snack Idea

Had to share this yummy snack I found on pinterest Very simple to do Take some crunchy grapes , dip in caramels melted with a little cream and then dip in finely chopped, salted peanuts
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shared at 
meatless monday

Seasons Harvest Review

Are you looking for a gift for someone who loves to cook or perhaps they simply love good food. Either way I want to share a great gift idea for you that those on your list may simply love. I know that many families love to give gift packages to other families. I believe you would love the great gift packages that are available at  Seasons Harvest. Through the month of December you will find all gift sets are 1/2 price Our family loves pasta and we love sauces as well. In fact if we could shake it up with new sauces every day I believe I would try. That is why I was pleased with the gift package  TEMPTATION CLASSICS PASTA SAUCES 

We were sent a package of sauces. Very tasty if I must say so myself and since I am writing this post I guess I am. The two tasty sauces we were able to taste test were the Portobello Mushroom and Puttanesca. They were packaged very nicely perfect for a gourmet gift for anyone on your list. 

Let me share with you that the sauces did not dissapoint. Our daughter created a wonderful meal using the portabello mushroom sauce and chicken with pasta. Oh my we were very hapy to say the least The second sauce is on hold until my second daughter comes home for Christmas she is sure to be happy to try the new sauce and we are as eager to taste the what we believe will be amazing sauce. 

Season Harvest can be found on twitter , facebook and also be sure to follow them on pinterest 

We would like to thank those responsible for sending us a product to review for this post. We shared our thoughts as well as company shared information. Our opinions were stated and were not influenced by anyone

Make Ahead Cookies : Pecan Cookies

• Cookies:
• 9 ounces all-purpose flour (2 cups)      
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 10 tablespoon butter
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans 
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°. To prepare cookies, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and baking powder, stirring with a whisk. Place butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg, and beat until well blended. Beat in vanilla extract. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture to butter mixture; beat just until combined. Stir in pecans. Shape dough into a 4-inch round, and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out 40 (2 x 3–inch) cookies, rerolling scraps as necessary. Place cookies 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 9 minutes or until lightly browned on bottoms. Cool on a wire rack. Dust cooled cookies with powdered sugar. Dust cookies with a bit of powdered sugar for a finishing touch that's not too sweet. Place sugar in a fine sieve, and shake it over cooled cookies.

shared at 
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Holiday Lunch Idea

For most of the time we are headed in so many different directions at one time. Shopping, dinners,  special events and the list goes on and on. To take a delicious break from the big dinners of the holiday season check out this delicious recipe from Driscoll Berries 

Chicken Salad

• 4 tablespoons fresh shredded ginger
• Grated zest of 1/2 lime
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon Asian dark sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallion (white and green parts)
• 1 package (6 ounces or 1 1/3 cups) Driscoll's Blackberries, halved crosswise
• 1 Chicken breast half with skin and bones (12 to 14 ounces)

Wontons

• 24 Round wonton wrappers

INSTRUCTIONS

Wonton Cups

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
   
   Fit a wonton wrapper into each cup, folding and pleating to fit. Bake until the cups are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Carefully remove from the pans and let cool completely. (The wonton cups can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.)

Chicken Salad

1. Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Put on a baking sheet, skin side up, and bake at 350ºF until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the chicken reads 165ºF, about 40 minutes. Let cool completely. Remove the chicken skin and bone and cut the meat into fine dice.
   
   A handful at a time, squeeze the juice from the shredded ginger into a medium bowl and discard the solid ginger; you should have about 1 tablespoon of liquid. Add the lime juice, lime zest, rice vinegar, soy sauce, hot pepper, and sugar and whisk to dissolve the sugar. Whisk in the canola and sesame oils. Add the chicken, bell pepper, and 1 tablespoon of scallions and toss well. Season with salt to taste. (The chicken salad can be covered and refrigerated for up to 12 hours.)

To Serve

1. When ready to serve, spoon the chicken salad into the cups. Divide the blackberry pieces among the cups. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and remaining scallions and serve immediately.

Delicious Christmas Recipe

We have a tradition of making these Cornflake Wreath Cookies each Christmas. Simple to make and taste great as well

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Macho Nachos

1   can refried beans
1   large bag white corn tortilla chips
1   medium onion, chopped
1   can chili (recommended Hormel) or your favorite chili recipe
1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 cup green onion, chopped
1   tomato, diced
1   jalapeno sliced

Have all ingredients prepared and ready to assemble nachos. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan on low, heat refried beans until they are loose enough to spoon onto nachos.  On a large oven proof platter, spread out tortilla chips and quickly put a teaspoon of hot refried beans on each chip.  Working quickly, sprinkle with onions, Jack cheese, and jalapeno slices.  Spoon on chili and top that with Cheddar cheese. Repeat this layering process until ingredients are used up. Place chips in the oven at 350 degrees until cheese has melted.  Remove from oven and place on a trivet or heatproof surface.  Top nachos with sour cream, green onions, diced tomato and jalapeno slices and serve hot.

recipe source: Paula Deen

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National Fritter Day December 2

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• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

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• 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole-kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Stir in onion, bell pepper, whole-kernel corn, and cream-style corn; mix well. Add muffin mix and black pepper, stirring until well combined. Pour into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

I joined the monday mingle and shared this there 

Pumpkin Dip Recipe

Are you entertaining a few friends for the holiday and are looking for a great dip to share? Well this Taste of Home recipe sounds awesome to me

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup Daisy Brand Sour Cream
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• Gingersnap cookies
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• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin, sour cream, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and ginger until blended. Serve with gingersnaps. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 4 cups.

Easy Homemade Gift For Little Ones : Homemade Playdough

Sometimes we simply want to give everyone something we made for them. Well if this is you and you are looking for a wonderful gift for those little ones in your life why not make homemade playdough for them. Here is a link to a post that I shared earlier here on my blog that has several playdough recipes available.

Peppermint Crunch Puppy Chow

I love to make peppermint bark every year and in fact will be sharing a recipe for it here on my blog during our Christmas 2012 season. But look what I found peppermint crunch puppy chow. Oh my delicious you will have to check it out as well if you kids love puppy chow as much as mine do. For those of you who do not know this is not puppy chow like we would feed the dogs but a delicious snack that everyone seems to love.

Diet Dessert Dip Recipe

Skinny Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Dip 

looking to trim a few calories during the holidays can often be hard to do with so many temptations out there. But with recipes like this one that I found on the blog Sallys Baking Addiction

• 1/4 cup almond milk (or fat free half-and-half or skim milk)1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 Tbsp reduced fat cream cheese (or fat free)
• 1.5 cups chickpeas (1 can), drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar (or Splenda. Can use up to 1/2 cup, go by taste preference)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon (plus more for garnish)

Drain and rinse your beans very well. Pat dry.

Add all ingredients to the food processor, starting with the milk at the bottom. Blend until very smooth, scraping the sides of the blender down every so often. You will need to stir it every 30 seconds or so to get things moving.

Garnish with a touch of cinnamon and enjoy!

Melting Snowman Cookies

1 dozen sugar cookies
1 pouch Betty Crocker® White Cookie Icing
1 pouch Betty Crocker® Black Cookie Icing
1 box Betty Crocker® Classic Colors Writing Icings
1 bottle Betty Crocker® Rainbow Sprinkles
12 marshmallows

Ice cookies with White Cookie Icing. Allow icing to drip off sides to create melting effect. Let cookies dry for 30 minutes. While cookies are drying, cut about ¼ inch off the marshmallows to shorten the snowman’s head. Use Black Cookie Icing and Orange Sprinkles to make faces on the marshmallows. Once White Cookie Icing has crusted over, adhere marshmallows carefully by adding a small amount of additional White Cookie Icing to bottom of marshmallow.  Add remaining decorations with Cookie and Writing Icings.  Cookies will be completely dry within 4 hours.

recipe source Sprinkles and Grins