As I sat down to my laptop this morning, I had every intention of finishing up the post I'd been working on over the weekend. After visiting so many wonderful blogs over the last few weeks ( many of whom stopped by here first, thank you), I decided that I needed to post here more often AND that it was perfectly okay for me to talk more about family stuff to boot! Afterall, I am a work at home Mom; home is in my title.
So, I was writing a piece all heartwarming and domestic-ey, when I decided to take a break and see how my lil' blog that could was doing this fine morning.

Imagine my surprise when I saw that I've had a boat load of visitors this morning, but only a handful were reading my latest post ( yes, I was looking at my stats) and there were no new comments... so super sleuth that I am followed the yellow brick road of clicks to this post: http://mywahmplan.blogspot.com/2011/07/honey-nut-cheerios-freebie.html

Okay people, there could only be a couple of reasons you are visiting this old post. And I have a sneaking suspicion that getting the freebie wasn't the lure. IF you are doing a review for this brand or IF you are offering this Freebie too, kindly do your own leg work, find your own pictures ( like I did) and write your own review. Don't copy me. Thank you!

Thanks to Miranda over at Moms Book Shelf for having a Copyright Free button on her blog.
I've placed one on my blog now, so I feel somewhat protected.

I'd love to hear from you on this topic. Has your work been used without your knowledge or consent?

taking off, and the blessed relief from the heat, I was loathe to sit at the computer last night and type up my plan of action. 

Go to Ms. T's schools open house tonight

start packing away some summer clothes

re-organize the front closet

move rocking chair project higher up on my list (since it didn't get done last week)

proof read Ms. M's school website and report findings to teacher

harvest basil to make pesto

take old magazines to library for share counter

clean out frig and freezer

continue company checks on security alerts for mother-in-law

update and sync all calendars with upcoming important school/family/church dates

start a new coupon binder/organizing system

stop everything and be grateful when each of my family members arrive home safely,

look into their eyes and be present and available.

advertise new website with ad credits received from hosting company, (Google AdWords, Bing, Yahoo, Facebook, etc)

Update his profile picture

tag all photos in his gallery prior to ad placement

send follow up letters/emails to recent clients

upload latest project photos on Facebook and website

peruse September trade publications for interesting articles to share

continue to make sure he knows daily how much he is appreciated

learn more about my Google + account (ie. how to add it to my blog and other social sites)

look into hosting packages for my social media manager division

make a thank you for contacting me letter for initial inquires to hire me

research fee structure for my services

remember to not take it personally when a person or business does not follow up in the same manner or time frame I would

read blogs, take an e-course, continue to learn how best to move forward with my social media manager career

thank the Lord daily that I am blessed to be a work at home mom!

It is always nice receiving feedback on a project you've particpated in. Recently I was invited to take the  PepsiCo Women & Leadership survey. This was a very in depth, thought provoking survey and I was happy to lend my voice.


Here's a recent email I received from SheSpeaks, the company who asked me to participate:



Dear Linda,

Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in our recent PepsiCo Women & Leadership survey. As always, your feedback was incredibly helpful. We had an amazing response to this survey. It shows that female leadership is a hot topic!
What you said:
•71% of women believe that a woman will not win the presidency in 2012
•Most women think the greatest challenge to achieving leadership roles is the perception that women make less effective leaders
•Hillary Clinton was most frequently cited as the most inspirational female global leader, followed by Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey
•The majority of women have no preference between working for a male or female boss
•Women equally rank hard work and the ability to inspire as the most-needed leadership skills, as seen in the chart below
For more information, please visit the PepsiCo WIN site.

Thanks again for participating in this survey. We truly value your feedback and insights.
We look forward to offering you more opportunities to share your voice about products, services and the topics that are most important to you.

Thanks,
The SheSpeaks Team


Do you agree with the findings? Who inspires you?

Company description:

Reviva Labs The One " Health Food Store" brand used in over 1200 professional skin care salons.
A natural skin-care company who has introduced more skin-care firsts in the USA ( via health food stores) than many of the cosmetic giants.


My Take:

I was first introduced to Reviva Labs through a wonderful Mom Blogger Community I'm a member of  
Mom Says Aye.  Amber, the owner has worked tirelessly to provide a blogger friendly community complete with an Opportunity page, where Reviva Labs had posted a request for product reviewers.
One quick trip to Reviva Labs website and I was signing up.
I was approved and asked to choose a product for review. Since I am a gardener and a lady who cleans without gloves a vast majority of the time, I was very interested in their hand cream and treatments. 
 When I saw that the dry hand treatment was a 3 product process, I contacted my
helpful Reviva Labs liaison to ask her which product I should choose. I was pleasantly surprised when she said,   We'll send you all three so you can do a special "hand facial". 
 2 weeks later, I received 3 full sized products, a catalog, product information pages and a very nice letter
from my company liaison who also included a step by step guide on the hand facial. It's refreshing to have a company go above and beyond what is required of them. 



The Reviews:



Product 1: Alpha Lipoic Acid, Olive Oil & DMAE Hand & Body Lotion


My Take: I love this lotion! It is non-greasy, goes on nice and smooth, drys almost instantly ( a real plus on busy mornings). It has a pleasant almost fragrance free scent and it is non-irritating. I can use it right after shaving.  In fact, I started using this with my self tanning gel and it makes application 100% easier.
Because this hand & body lotion works so well I think it is worth $ 14.00 for 8oz and I would buy this again!




Product 2: Green Papaya & Hydrogen Peroxide Mask




My Take: This product worked wonders on my hands when I did my "hand facial".  It did as promised and exfoliated, conditioned and moisturized my hands.
This product has a nice, fruity scent that isn't overpowering. It's a little greasier than I like.
When trying this as a facial mask, I could not leave it on my face for the suggested 10-15 minutes. After 7 minutes, I started feeling a slightly uncomfortable itchy-tingling all over my face and washed it off. I had a couple of small bumps on my chin the next morning which may be because of the high moisturizing
properties of this product. I wouldn't buy it and/or use it in this summer months again, but I will use this product again in the winter months to see if that makes a difference.




Product 3: Pomegranate/Lactic Acid Peptide & Botanical Exfoliant




My Take: Any time a product says it can gently remove dead, dulling skin and impurities, I'm interested. This product is amazing! It did just what it claimed it would. Not only did my face feel super soft, but it felt really clean without feeling scrubbed to death. Oh, and this product worked wonders on my dry hands
during my "hand facial"! The only thing that could make this product any better is purely aesthetic. The color and fragrance are bland. This product is $19.00 for 2oz, so I would buy again with my hand & body lotion to save on shipping, Reviva Labs currently charges $ 8.00 postage and handling per order.


The take away:  I liked working with this company and using their products. I would re- purchase 2 of the 3 products sent me .  Visit Reviva Labs HERE for more information.