Is My Apple Juice Safe?

 I enjoy drink juice. I find it refreshing and often a quick way to get some fruits and veggies. I have seen these signs all over the juice aisle and now wonder is it the brand over the sign or all the juices on this shelf. There is a store brand and a Natural brand on this shelf and I am not sure which one to buy. Lead in the juice and it can cause birth defects and reproductive harm. Seriously, and its still on the shelf? Its baffling to me that knowing it has lead they still sell it, just put up a little sign so they cant say we did not warn you. Its juice, kids are a main consumer of juice. Its also right next to a sticker that represents the CA nutrition program for kids and pregnant women. So do they endorse this juice? It does NOT seem like a good thing for kids and pregnant women to drink if there is lead in it. I LOVE apple juice and grape juice I now need to find out which ones dont contain lead. I am sure there has to be some, right???

Do you have these warning labels on the juice aisle in your state?

Life's A Beach

Here in Washington State people always think it's raining. We deserve the reputation of being a wet and soggy place to live because it does rain a lot of the time.

But when the sun comes out, there is no more prettier place for me. The water, the mountains, and the sky all add up to the word Gorgeous. We aren't called the Emerald City for nothing.

This is a photo from last weekend and we have been blessed with beautiful weather all week. That is a Washington State Ferry in the background. But the forecast calls for rain next week, so I'm hoping to go out today and soak up a little of this beautiful sunshine while it lasts.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Bass Pro Shops Go Outdoors Event and Online Sweepstakes

While reading Field and Stream magazine I saw an ad for Bass Pro Shops Go Outdoors events. I thought that would be super fun to attend and expose my little guy to the endless world of fishing gear. Then I realized I have not seen a Bass Pro Shop anywhere near here. I looked online to see a store near me and its very far way. I was super disappointed we could not attend the events. I also saw there is no Bass Pro Shop in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Utah and more states where people love to fish. I will look into it further as to why there is not one but until now we can Enter their Online Sweepstakes to win a trip to Maui.

If you live on the East Coast there will be a FREE Summer Kick Off Bass Pro Shop Go Outdoors Event on May 26th and May 27th. There will a Family Backyard Adventure Challenge to compete in, a photo contest along with FREE crafts and more. It sounds super fun!

For now I will have to shop at retail stores for my fishing gear for the summer but hopefully in a few years we can go to a Bass Pro Shop. After all I do live in Northern CA that has the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other side, there is tons of water ways to go fishing in!

Here is a link to the Bass Pro Shop Event and the Win an Outdoor Adventure Trip in Maui. NOTE: The giveaway to Maui does not start until May 22nd.

If your like me and there is no store near you there is a online promo code to get Free Shipping for Footwear or Clothing FSCLSH12. Great time to start thinking about Father's Day Gifts.

Monkey Love & Kohl's Cares

He has taken this monkey everywhere this week! Showed it off in line at the Redbox too lol

 Earlier in the week we went to Kohl's to shop for sunglasses. I could not find any I liked for my Mother's Day gift so I thought I would take a peek at the after Mother's Day sales. I found a super cute pair for $11! I had a $10 gift card so I only paid less than $2 after taxes.

While we were in line my son spotted a monkey stuffed animal on the Kohl's Cares $5 items display. He grabbed one and said "awwww monkey" and gave him a kiss. Oh it melted my heart! He has been talking about Monkeys since I bought him a pair of Curious George flip flops (only $1 for those!) His first and most adored pillow pet is a monkey and when he was a few months old I bought him a Monkey Halloween costume just to see how cute he would look in it. So we have a bit of Monkey Love around here. My older brother had tons of stuffed animal monkeys when he was a kid. I can remember two of them very clearly. One looked creepy real lol and the other was a baby one that could take a binkie. It must be a family trait to adore stuffed monkeys!

Normally I try not to buy something my son grabs off a shelf, if I did that we would own the whole store lol. But the sweetness in his eyes and the tender way he patted the monkey on the head and hugged him made me think this is the monkey he needs! We have been having house repairs done and its been hectic, he is not on his normal routine and he has been cranky. Knowing that the $5 we are going to pay for the stuffed animals goes to the Kohls Cares program to help kids in need made me feel awesome to buy it not only for my son but to help another child in the world.

When we left the store my son was smiling sooooo big! It was so beyond worth $5 to see that kind of a smile after the frustration he has been having this week with the construction at home.

Two little monkeys sitting on the couch.......

Easing My Back Pain With Help From Tempurpedic

A few years ago I found myself suffering from terrible lower-back pain. The pain came on suddenly and I couldn't find a way to lessen it.

Thank goodness I finally found some relief in easing my back pain with the help of a Tempurpedic pillow.
Millions of people a year suffer from intense, often debilitating back pain. To say that it changes your whole life is not an exaggeration. My daily routine of being a wife and mother was interrupted by constant pain.

Getting in my car to drive, bending over to pick something up, or just sitting on the couch became a constant, painful struggle. I had heard about how agonizing back pain could be, but it is impossible to understand it until it happens to you.

I went to my doctor but he couldn't find any explanation for my pain and recommended pain relieving drugs and heat therapy. I only took over the counter medicine and used a heating pad, which did not help. My pain continued on for about six weeks.

I had been doing yoga and walking around my neighborhood before my back pain started, but that was impossible now. I only moved as little as possible to avoid experiencing pain. Finally one of my daughters told me that she had read that walking was the best cure for the pain. Slowly I started a little walking each day, and began feeling a little better.

I went to a family member's house to visit for a few days and told her about my back pain. She has experienced back pain before too, and gave me her Tempurpedic pillow to sleep on. Sleeping on this pillow for a few nights made all the difference. Each morning I woke up pain free. The pillow conforms to every contour of your head and neck. This allows your neck and shoulder muscles  to completely relax and help relieve the pain.

I had been tensing up these muscles during the day, contributing to the pain, but at night when I slept on the Tempurpedic pillow, they were allowed to relax. Using the pillow, walking, and slowing starting my yoga practice again all contributed to my back pain finally going away.

I haven't had a recurrence of back pain, thankfully. But if I ever do, at the first sign I will go right out and buy myself a Tempurpedic pillow. Or better yet, I think I'll start looking for one now so that I can keep my back feeling good.

*This post brought to you by Healthy Back