'Tis The Season Cash Giveaway

'Tis The Season Cash Giveaway

***This Contest Is Now Closed***

Brought to you by:
The Mystic Kitchen | The Missing Niche | Posh on a Budget | Almost Supermom | Displaced Yinzer

Enter below for the chance to win $100 Paypal Cash!

*You only need to enter on one blog.
*All entries are optional.
*You can complete 1 entry or ALL of them.
*The more entries you complete the better chance of winning. But you MUST complete at least 1 entry to be in with a chance of winning. Winner(s) will be announced here on the entry form, under the Winner’s List tab & emailed (check your spam folder!).


*Come back for your daily tweet (it counts as an extra entry every day!)
*Be sure to open a Paypal Account , so you can claim your prize! (Paypal is the best way to send & receive money online- its free, easy, and best of all SECURE! It is also the #1 payment system used by eBay and other major online stores)


Please show some lovin’ to all the sponsors! Visit them and be sure to enter some of their giveaways too!
The Mystic Kitchen | The Missing Niche | Posh on a Budget |Almost Supermom | Displaced Yinzer


a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Hysterectomy Poem

Farewell to my uterus,

I tried to get along.

But you've worked against me,

and now you must be gone.

You held my 3 children,

though reluctantly.

Delivered them all early,

Why'd you do that to me?

I wonder what it will be like,

to not wake up in pain.

To not have cramps all day,

that drove me insane. 

So on our last day together,

glad to say to you:

"You're outta here!" 

for all you put me through. 

What If We Need Help!!

Living so far away from mostly everyone we know is very difficult. My husband has made friends, and I am working on it, but you just can't call someone and say "Hey, can you watch my kids, I need to go somewhere?" that you just met!

We've been blessed with the fact that in the past year we haven't had any major emergencies. The power went out a few times, but luckily the weather wasn't too bad that we didn't freeze or get overheated. A few minor issues with the house, but the Landlord took care of those. What worries me the most is health issues.

Earlier this year I had a minor procedure done. My husband had the kids, and had to drop me off at the hospital alone. I was sad. I felt really lonely. Surgeries are scary enough, but when you're sitting in the hospital alone its a bit worse. Luckily my post op nurses were very wonderful and kept me in good spirits. One wheeled me down to the car at discharge so that Marc, my husband, didn't have to lug the kids in to get me. That night it was almost business as usual with the kids as they didn't understand I needed rest. We could've used an extra person to help out!

This past month my 2 youngest took turns getting sick. Marc was able to get them back and forth to the doctors on lunch hours. Then, my daughter gets worse while my husband was out of town for work! What to do! I call the pediatrician and they say she needs a chest X-ray right away! I don't drive! I don't have anyone I can call! Again, luckily, my husband called a friend who was able to drive me and the kids back and forth from the doctors to the imaging center and home again. Thank goodness he was available!

Next up is a surgery I have scheduled for tomorrow. Its laparoscopic, but still pretty major. My husband is off work, and this time we have care set up for the whole day for the 2 kids at my son's school.  Hopefully the day goes smoothly, and our timing is perfect, and all works out well. They then have plans to be out of the house most of Thursday, so I can (hopefully) get some rest.

This is a time I definitely wish I had someone else here. To talk to, to hold my hand, to tell me everything is going to be ok. Marc has been WONDERFUL and very supportive. I couldn't have asked to be any more there for me than he has been. But to have a support "group" would be great! Maybe in time, as I meet more people and make more friends!

The Ease of Bromeliads

When we first moved to Florida I had no idea what a Bromeliad (bro mele ad) was. They are tropical plants which are very easy to grow. Bromeliads are epiphytic plants and pull water and moisture from the air. They do not collect water from the soil.

These are my very own bromeliads. The flowering one was only $3.00! These plants are very budget friendly and propagate very quickly.

This arrangement was made from smaller plants that propagated off ones I purchased a few months ago. I love how they look in this multilayered pot!

These 2 pots hold a variety of bromeliads, all which need very little watering and sunlight. I keep these all on the porch and this is the most light they get on an average day.

Did you know that a pineapple is a bromeliad? Once you cut the top off your pineapple, you can twist off the leaves, remove some of the smaller leaves and you will reveal roots! You can then plant the leaves to grow a whole new pineapple plant. I read that it takes well over a year, and this is my first plant, and I am looking forward to the whole process of growing my own!!

One fun thing about having plants in Florida is that you never know who you might meet inside your plants! This little frog was just hanging out, hiding from the sun!

This little anole thought that I didn't see him. All these critters provide entertainment while caring for these plants.

Turn It Up With Tone and the Holiday Gift Guide

I love Tone products and this Holiday Season they are having giveaways each week with some of their best washes along with some other great goodies! Make sure to enter, good luck and I hope you win!


Enter to win a weekly gift set giveaway from Tone!!

Thanksgiving Done Untraditionally

My Thanksgiving post is a day late because yesterday was a tough day. Although it was our second Thanksgiving away from the Burgh, it was the first without my oldest son. He is an adult, and when we relocated, he stayed behind. Days are getting a little easier being away from him and our other family, but Holidays and special occasions are still difficult.

My husband, our younger son and daughter and I had a quiet day at home. We originally had reservations for Thanksgiving dinner, but the boy was sick and we stayed in. We didn't have any of the fixings for a Thanksgiving meal and ended up ordering Denny's. Was a nice impromptu meal. 

I have many things to be thankful for. I have a wonderful husband who works hard to provide for our family. I have 3 healthy children. I have many family members and friends who keep me going despite the miles and miles between us. And, even though it displaced us from all we knew, I am thankful for our move as it has provided us with opportunities, events and experiences we wouldn't have had otherwise! 

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! 

Lancome DreamTone Try It From SheSpeaks

I received a complimentary bottle of Lancome DreamTone from SheSpeaks. As soon as I received my product I began to use it. Within a day or two I noticed my skin felt much smoother and supple to the touch, and dry patches had gone away. Within a week I was beginning to see the redness and blotches disappear. This was wonderful as I have adult acne. I also noticed that it helped blend out my silly tan line from my glasses! The smell is wonderful and its very easy to apply. I feel the price tag may be a little pricey to add to my permanent regime, but if I can indulge and purchase I will!

Here is my #bareselfie as proof!

DreamTone is the next generation in dark spot correction. This customized skin tone correcting serum is so powerful, 72% of women dare to bare their skin.* The new DreamTone is 3 barely-tinted serums formulated to visibly correct dark spots, color imperfections and give you a more even-looking skin tone. It comes in 3 serums customized for your skin tone: 1- Fair, 2 – Medium, 3 – Dark.

The results:

IMMEDIATELY:
• 74% saw glowing skin*

7 DAYS:
• 70% noticed a more even skin tone*

4 WEEKS:
• 69% saw the appearance of dark spots reduced*

8 WEEKS:
• 78% saw color imperfections reduced*

*All results based on global self-assessments of women of multiple ethnicities in an 8-week study. 72% reflects 8 weeks of use.

How to Use: For best results, apply the product twice per day, in the morning and evening under your moisturizer.

Purchase Information: Lancôme DreamTone retails for $98 for a 1.3 fl oz. bottle and is available for purchase at Lancôme.com and department stores nationwide.

*Opinions expressed are strictly my own. I received a complimentary full sized Lancome DreamTone from SheSpeaks to sample and review.

Shop Zulily for Wonderful Bargains!

I love shopping Zulily for great bargains. Every day new sales open. Often the sales are for great brands like Disney, Mattel and Seasame Street. They also have plenty of clothing and housewares for adults. The sales are for a limited time and quantity and there are new sales everyday. You can shop online or with their app. Sign up and see for yourself!! Check out Zulily today!!

1 Year Anniversary of Our Big Move

One year ago today I made the biggest move of my life. I, along with my two younger children, left Pittsburgh and moved to Florida. My husband had already been living there for 4 months as he moved before us for the new job he accepted at a college.

Him accepting the job and us realizing we were leaving all our family and friends, and the city we knew so well, was very difficult. One of our children would not be moving with us as he was in college and that made things even harder. 

One year later and I can say I still get homesick. I missed the smell of fall and the brisk air. I miss being familiar with all my surroundings. I miss my family and my son most of all. 

I'm starting to settle in more. I'm talking to my neighbors. Met a few local moms. I'm taking walks and learning the area. But I will always be a Burgh girl. 

My First 5K

One accomplishment I wanted to make this year was participating in a 5K. I made that happen today. I walked, but finished. I was far from first, but not last. I beat my own expectations which was making it at under an hour. Now I have set my beginning pace and time and want to better it next time.

One thing that is definitely nice being a Yinzer in Florida and starting to walk/run is all these flat roads and trails and nice weather! No slippy streets! No snow! And no sidewalk potholes either! 

My participation today benefitted Peace, Love, Cure for Diabetes. A cause close to my heart. 

Start of a New Decade of my Life

At the beginning of this year I made a few "goals" instead of "resolutions. Needless to say moving 1000 miles away from home with 2 young kids was a major enough adjustment to life! It is now Mid-November and I still haven't reached these goals.

So, with my 41st Birthday that was this past weekend, I decided that I will have Goals For My Next Decade. That sounds more reasonable, does't it? I'm including the goals I made for this year, as well as a few new ones. As I make progress on them I'll update here.

Please feel free to post your own goals, ask questions or just post some encouragement for me!

Let me introduce myself

I lived in Pittsburgh, PA for 40 years of my life, 30 of those spent living in the same house I grew up in.   I knew the areas, the sports teams, and how to talk n'at. Had jobs in Oakland and Dahntahn and drank pop and ate chipped ham sammitches. My family is almost all in Pittsburgh and I was comfortable in my surroundings.

Then, in May of 2012 my Husband Marc was offered a job in Central Florida! Talk about a major life change! It took a lot of thinking and brainstorming, but we made the move.

My name is Jocelyn and I'd like you to follow my blog to hear about how moving changed our lives, and how we continue to change. When I post I may not have things in chronological order, they may just be what I want to share that day.

I'll be sharing things about our lives, sales we may come across, products I try, crafts, and hey, maybe even the weather! I'd like this to become a place that you too could share these things, and maybe even just what you feel that day.

I look forward to "meeting" you!