Have you ever watched a movie and felt like you could relate with almost every character in some way or another? How about wanted to reach through the screen and give them all a big hug? Last week I was given the opportunity to pre-screen the independent film Mighty Fine that will be released in select theaters on May 25^th.  While watching it those were a few of the reactions I had.

The Fine family is played by Chazz Palminteri (Joe), Andie MacDowell (Stella), Rainey Qualley (Maddie), and Jodelle Ferland (Natalie). The emotional and what seemed to be unending roller coaster of pins and needles was heartbreaking to watch at times.

Joe only wanted the best for his family and often times the lengths he went to in order to make that happen caused even more stress and anger to build up. When it came to the surface it often times was out of nowhere and almost deadly. Stella was a doting wife and Mom who knew just what to say and when to smile to try to make the girls feel better, the only thing is that they were getting older (and wiser).

For me, I think parts of this movie ‘hit home’ in so many ways because I’ve seen and endured some of the things firsthand.  I know what the consequences are when you have a parent with anger and rage issues, sometimes the effects last a lifetime.

When the credits rolled I was in tears, almost not wanting to participate in the Skype chat that had been arranged with Chazz and Rainey.  But I’m so glad I did because that’s when I saw just how different Chazz was from the character he portrayed.  He was very soft spoken and eager to answer any question he was asked, such a nice person.  And Rainey? She has the sweetest personality and I hope to see her in more movies in the future (loved her).

I highly encourage you to go see this movie if have the opportunity.  And not just because I said so, but because I want you to see that there are rainbows after every storm.

You can check out the Mighty Fine official movie site to get more information on tickets, an in-depth look into the actors, writer/director Debbie Goodstein, and the story that inspired the movie. If you would like to follow them on facebook you can find their page here: http://www.facebook.com/mightyfinethemovie

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Mighty Fine and the distributor. I received access to an online showing of the film and a promotional item to thank me for participating. www.momcentral.com/mcc

A few weeks ago I received a box in the mail filled with goodies to try out the new Duncan Hines Frosting Creations.

My first thought was to keep them all to myself.

But then I remembered I’d have to at least share with Brandon and the girls…sigh.

Then, Lexie came up with the idea to have some of her friends over to try them out too.

Long story short, we ended up with six 10 year old girls at our house for a Saturday sleepover. We ate pizza, got cupcake manicures, ate cupcakes, played games, and watched movies.

What we didn’t end up doing was sleeping.

Which brings me to this conclusion….

I am officially changing Sleepover to SleepNEVER

(Seriously, it was 7 am before my eyes were able to close and there was no giggling from upstairs.)

Now onto the good stuff:

CUPCAKES!!

We made 4 different flavors using our Frosting Creations: Cotton Candy, White Chocolate Raspberry, Strawberry Shortcake, and Mint Chocolate Chip.

After sampling those four flavors it was unanimously decided that the best one was COTTON CANDY!! I seriously could have eaten 4 or twelve by myself…YUM!!! Strawberry Shortcake came in a close second, it didn’t have the ‘fake’ strawberry taste that some flavorings have.

Have any of you tried them yet? If so what has been your favorite so far?

If you haven’t I hope you do soon, it was so easy to mix the flavors into the ‘starters’. I’ve even been told that you can mix the flavor packs into cake and brownie mixes, you know I’ll be trying that one

Want some coupons to try some for yourself? The first two readers to leave a comment will receive some coupons to do just that

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a sweet ‘Cupcake Monday’!

I received products from Duncan Hines to write this post.

This is the end of the final round in the Soldier vs. Brother bout. It’s over, and there is a clear winner.

To be honest, I thought I was a contender.

I thought I had this thing whooped.

This is me after the bell rung:

This is the Brother P-Touch Labeler:

I’m kidding. That’s not really me. That IS, however, the labeler. (Not very sportsmanlike is it?)

Anyway, before I tell you how round 3 went, feel free to read the recaps of round 1 and round 2, then come back here.

~~~

Round 3 started out promising. The heat didn’t affect the labels I placed on my metal trailer “room” over in Iraq, but as the Winter started, I thought my odds of winning were going to go up. Sure, you can make a lot of things withstand heat and lots of handling, but cold, wind, occasional rain, and sandstorms? No way.

Wrong again.

My labels withstood everything. Unfortunately, I was not able to get pictures of the labels on the trailer or the steel moving container (connex) I affixed them to. (The camera I had geo-tagged. Big “no-no” for us. I never really gave it a thought until they briefed us to stop taking pictures with stuff like that.)

I can tell you though—the label on the connex survived overseas freight shipment… on an open-decked vessel. Yeah. Salt water, high temps. (These little suckers a TOUGH!)

So, determined to win somehow, I decided to give the mug I showed you in Round 2 a “haymaker.”

I continued to use it well after I got home in December and have put it through the dishwasher (on various settings—to include sanitize) about 10-15 times.

Here is what the label looked like back at the end of October, 2011:

Here is what it looked like this morning, March 21st, 2012:

Take a closer look at the wrinkle on the label:

(I applied it very quickly and accidentally left a lifted wrinkle… I thought this would have ruined it at some point.)

Final Test:

And for good measure, I removed the label a few hours ago, just to see how bad the glue stuck and if the label would tear up. Aside from where I pried at the label with my fingernail to pull it up and a little around the wrinkle, the label came off clean as a whistle and left ZERO sticky residue.

So there you go, folks. The Brother P-Touch Label Maker is a champ. If this bout isn’t enough proof of it’s durability and quality, I challenge YOU to try and do something rougher than I did to it.

Good luck. You’re going to need it. I’d start training now if I were you.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Brother P-Touch and received a product and gift card to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

If you didn’t see the last free digital scrapbook paper pack, be sure to check it out HERE. In this post, however, I’ve upped the ante a little with the package.

Before we get to that, though, here’s some updates:

• The Dubbed Publications website is in progress now (sign up early for more updates and exclusive offerings!)
• There is now a Twitter account I’d appreciate you following, where you can get quick news and more.
• The Facebook page will come along shortly.

I’ve also been toying with how to put together the various offerings Dubbed has for you, like a shopping cart for a la carte purchases and subscription options that will allow you monthly and lifetime access to almost everything Dubbed will have to offer.

You don’t want to pass up that kind of value! (Seriously—be the first in line to pick up deals like this. Click here to get started.)

For a little taste right here and now, though, I am offering you the following:

A FREE digital scrapbook paper pack featuring TWELVE different digital papers designed with large and small alternating diamond patterns.

Click this image or download link below to download.

Details:

All papers are 300 dpi for excellent digital and print quality, sized at 12″ x 12″ for quick integration into your digital scrapbooks without having to scale or tile the image, and saved in a high quality PNG image format.

You get twelve separate papers inspired by the following Crayola crayon colors:

• Orchid
• Yellow-Green
• Sky Blue
• Timberwolf
• Navy
• Jungle Green
• Blue-Green
• Dandelion
• Tickle Me Pink
• Silver
• Cerise
• Vivid Violet

All of these fabulous colors are pictured above, all papers are uniquely designed by me, PLUS, as an added bonus, there’s a little extra something in the .zip file for you!

BUT you have to download it to see what it is. ;D

So have at it. Enjoying this awesome AND FREE digital paper pack and let me know what you think!

*** Note: If you use these somewhere online, leave us a link in the comments where you did and we’ll feature it on our Go Team Duncan Facebook page!

So I got another wild hair up my ass and decided that I needed to start working with my hands again. I’ve always been fascinated with building things, but in all honesty, I never gave myself enough time to get “good” at it. This weekend was yet another testament to my severe lack of “Villa” blood.

Why try?

In our effort to start (finally) working toward our eventual retirement career (a mere 10 years away come this June), we have been stocking up and organizing our craft stocks, woodworking tools, and business/savings plans.

Things are going great; however, if you have ever gotten into crafts, scrapbooking, or any “rainy day stores,” you know these items breed after you go to bed… like rabbits… rabbits on Spring Break… on ecstasy.

So, I bought some tools a month or so ago to begin working on a craft cabinet for Brandi to organize and put things away. Of course, I bought the original materials with cost effectiveness in mind.

HA HA HA.

If you aren’t a solid DIY’er, do not EVER try to build something like a cabinet out of 3/8” or 1/2” plywood. Sure it looks good, but you will sand yourself into the pissed-off locker and it ends up sturdy enough to hold a paperclip—if you can get it to stand on its own.

Woodwork take 2.

Well, I upgraded the wood. Not by choice—well, sort of—NOT having a choice is still a choice, I suppose. Anyway, I went and bought a few sheets of 3/4” MDF (a cross between plywood and particle board) to build the cabinet.

Much better choice. Not only does it stand on its own, but the stuff is a bit easier to cut and no sanding is required.

It is, however, ridiculously messy.

Case in point, I took a router to it in order to make grooves to sturdy the frame up.

WOW.

My garage now looks like a sawdust ski resort. I’m not sure there is a square inch NOT covered in tan powder. Which I need to clean up….which is an entire day out of my already hectic schedule. That’s ok, I’m sure my lungs will heal before I retire.

It’s built, now what?!

Even with my lack of skills and judgement, the cabinet did get built this weekend. The problem was getting this behemoth into the damn house.

Oh yeah, 7 foot tall, 3.5 feet wide, and 2 feet deep on paper looks just fine. Coming through a doorway, on the other hand…

Well, long story short, we managed not to actually break anything getting this monster in the craft room. One small victory for Team Duncan. I do, however, feel sorry for the movers getting this big SOB back out of that room when we leave. (Sorry guys!)

Ah, gotta love doing things with your hands, eh?

Here’s a pic of it in all of its shining glory—ready to hold… RIBBON!

What do you think? Overkill? LOL!

"TA-DA!"