Here I am a year later, my hair is long and I don’t know how to style it! I own a blow dryer, curling iron and even a flat iron-that I have no idea how to use. My hair is hard to curl and in all honesty, I’m lazy. My days at home my hair is usually in a pony tail or up in a clip. When I go out, I want it to look good, special so I am determined to learn which products and appliances will help me reach my goal.

This is why I was so excited to be a part of this campaign with Walmart and TRESemme. I want to learn how to amp up my style. I have enjoyed watching the videos and learning new tips and techniques to make my hair look its best. My son’s wedding is just 3 months away and there are parties and events I’ll be involved in so I want to master some of these looks as the big day approaches.

What is your go-to amped up style? Do you like to rock the waves or do you like sleek and shiny better? Whatever your style TRESemme has the products you need, right at your local Walmart.

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To help your guy(s) find the best Dove+Men product for their hair type, Dove and Walmart have collaborated to create the Good Hair Guide which can be found at: http://Walmart.com/dovemenhair.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Global Influence. I have been compensated for writing this post. All opinions are 100% or those of my family.

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When Kmart announced several years ago that they would be open on Thanksgiving Day with special one day only sales, we vowed never to go shopping on Thanksgiving. We felt it was wrong to ditch the family just to save a few bucks on pajamas for the kids. This year that all changed again. Walmart opened at 10pm and Target opened at midnight. In my parent’s town of Venice, FL those two stores are right across the street from one another-which makes Black Friday shopping a little easier.

I only do a little Black Friday prep online. There is something about having the ads physically in my hand that makes it easier for me to plan my purchasing strategy. Honestly, this year there were no big ticket items on my list, but there were a few things I wanted at both Walmart and Target.

We arrived at shopped Walmart first because they opened at 10pm. It was mobbed but I did get what I went for and so did my dad. Then we headed across the street to Target to wait in line. We arrived at Target at 11:00pm and the line was quite long already. I noticed right away that the line was different than in years past. This year’s line was filled with young people. There were lots of groups of teens and college age kids. Also lots of young families with kids in tow!  An hour before the store opened, there was a line that went the length of Target and half of Bealls. By the time the doors opened at midnight, the line for Target went past Bealls and down the side of the building.

Target employees had warned us that they were allowing groups of 30 into the store at 30 second intervals to avoid anyone being trampled. There were barricades up by the doors and even at SWAT team member patrolling the entrance. We didn’t get into the store until 12:20am and we were about the middle of the line! The big draws were the HD LCD TVs-though they were all off brands and we’re always amazed at how many people buy televisions based on price rather than reputation. While we were still outside we had seen a lot of televisions head out the door but there was nothing else in the cart with it so it appeared the loss leader didn’t do its job very well. I was shopping for 2 specific items that were on sale. The fire bowls and the collegiate fleece. We hunted for the fire bowls first, I wanted 2 of them but when we finally found an employee to help us all he said was “They are somewhere in the middle of the store.” big help. We finally found where they were, in two separate locations, but both were sold out. Next we were off to find the collegiate fleece. As you can see, the ad shows USF, Miami and UF. When we found the fleece in the sporting goods section, the display was pretty full but all it has was UF jackets in men, women’s and children’s sizes. We spent about 5 minutes tracking down another employee to ask if they had any other school’s jackets and we were told all they got in was UF. I needed 1 UF and 1 USF so again, we were disappointed. Dad got the video game he was after at a great sale price and then we headed to the checkout line.

For the second year in a row Target had the cash registers blocked off and an employee sending small groups of shoppers to each register like loading a ride at Walt Disney World. This causes a very long single file line of shopping carts around the store. The line went across the front of the store, down the side and half way across the back. Dad got in line and I wandered the store to see if there was anything I missed. I am not much of an impulse shopper. I usually know what I am after and get that item and don’t buy a lot of extras. Target had most of their “specials” on endcaps or in green bins sprinkled throughout the store. I didn’t buy anything that wasn’t on my list. The other thing I noticed while wandering the store is that there were several groups of youth just wandering around the store and getting in the way of people who were trying to navigate shopping carts with 40″ TVs in them. I think the youth were there because there was nothing else to do in town at midnight, we’ve never had that problem at 4am. Dad was in line for about 20 minutes before he texted me to meet him near the front of the line. I noticed that the long line was making it difficult to shop everything on the perimeter of the store and few people had cut through the line to get to the Christmas candy/stocking stuffer section, the grocery section or the health & beauty sections of the store.

All I purchased was 1 UF fleece because everything else I wanted was gone before we got there. Checkout went smoothly for each of us and we each spent less than $40. As we were leaving the store at 1:08am we noticed there were still people coming into the store but there were no carts available and the line at the in-store Starbucks was really long! We moved on and headed to Bealls to continue our shopping.

We finished our shopping at 2am and realized that this new Black Friday schedule messed with another tradition which is our daddy-daughter breakfast. Neither of us wanted to eat at 2am so we headed home to catch some Zzzzzs before hitting the mall later in the day for round 2 of Black Friday Shopping. We both agreed that we will re-think our Black Friday participation next year. I’d much rather shop at 4am with other dedicated shoppers than at 10pm and midnight with the masses.

Black Friday 2011 #myBFDeals

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions are 100% my own.

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Here’s the synopsis:

When industrious high school gamer Zach Taylor lands a prized scholarship to the prestigious Digital Institute of Game Design (DIGD), his future breaks wide open. The opportunity to study under gaming legend Marcus Bentton and alongside the country’s most creative minds will certainly propel him into a successful career as a video game designer. That is, if he can pass the infamous freshman project that eliminates more than half of the class within the first three months.

Paired with brilliant yet socially awkward teammates Phillip and Donald, the trio persuades Sara Ramirez – a determined and striking team leader with whom Zach has a history (and possibly a future) – to join their team. Working off-campus in the teched-out Lincoln Alley loft, the four set out to involve the entire campus in a quirky new social interactive game. But as the group becomes entrenched in the project, Zach learns that his father Billy, a widower, is facing growing financial woes at home. To help out, Zach accepts an opportunity to work directly with Marcus Bentton on a secretive side project that seems too good to be true. The effort requires nearly all of Zach’s time and energy, which he should be devoting to the project. Struggling to keep it together, Zach is torn between his responsibility to his team, his admiration for Bentton and a chance to help his father.

Everything comes to a breaking point when Zach’s team threatens to remove him from the group and the deceptive truth behind Bentton’s project comes to light. With the guidance of Professor Abbie Lambert, Zach must make a decision that not only affects his future, but the lives and livelihoods of the people around him as well. It’s a revealing story that recognizes the magnitude behind the choices we make and the importance loyalty plays in making good decisions.

You can view the trailer here.

I had the privilege of watching this movie yesterday and I was impressed. This Family Movie Night movie is geared more for tweens and teens and I can’t wait for my boys to see it. The themes of family, loyalty and integrity are not found in most movies geared to this age group and all of them are well handled in this movie. The four main characters Zack (Titus Makin Jr), Sara (Dana de la Garza), Phillip (Nathan Kress) and Donald (Adam Cagley) work well together as a great ensemble cast of gamers. You really feel for Zack and the decisions he has to make throughout the movie.

Mark your calendar or set your DVR for Friday, December 2nd 8/7c on NBC. “Game of Your Life” is a great way to kick of the holiday season with your family. For more information you can Like Family Movie Night on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and check out their website.

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Digital Folio  is a FREE comparison-shopping app that finds and tracks price savings for you! It provides real-time pricing updates and comparisons on a wide variety of products. (Current product categories include Computer Printers, Personal Audio Players, Camcorders, Children’s Car Seats, Point ’n Shoot Cameras, Televisions, Computers, Blu-Ray Players, Refrigerators, Microwaves,Washers, Dryers, and Dishwashers. New categories always in the works!) Since you download the app to your IE or Fire Fox browser, the Digital Folio intelligent shopping list is always with you as you shop across the Web.  Adding products to your list from five of the top online retailer websites (Amazon, BestBuy, Sears, Target, Walmart) is as easy as drag ’n drop. The real-time price comparisons happen instantly, giving you price updates across each of these major retailers as you shop the Web and the prices of your saved items automatically update, even when you’re offline. You can even manage group shopping with shared lists which allows you to share your list or registry with friends and family so everyone can co-shop and compare in real time. Digital Folio is more than just a revolutionary intelligent shopping list. It compares a product—or an entire retailer listing page—in seconds, saving you hours of time normally spent visiting multiple sites. Plus it’s much more!

To kick-off the holiday shopping season we will be having the #DigitalFolio Twitter Party with Resourceful Mommy Tuesday, November 8, 8-9pm EST. Follow @ResourcefulMom and @DigitalFolio and participate in the party to be eligible to win one of six (6) $25 Target gift cards or the one (1) Grand Prize $100 Target gift card! Before the party, make sure you download the Digital Folio App into your browser, you never know what kind of questions @ResourcefulMom is going to ask, so you want to be familiar with it before the party. Also, on Wednesday, November 15, all registered Digital Folio users will be eligible to win a $200 Target gift card that will be awarded by Digital Folio a week after the party !

So right now…

1. Mark your calendar for 8-9pm EST Tuesday November 8th for the #DigitalFolio Twitter Party
2. Download Digital Folio into either Internet Explorer or Fire Fox
3. Play with the app for a few minutes looking at  Computer Printers, Personal Audio Players, Camcorders, Children’s Car Seats, Point ’n Shoot Cameras, Televisions, Computers, Blu-Ray Players, Refrigerators, Microwaves,Washers, Dryers, or Dishwashers.
4. Leave me a comment that you have indeed downloaded the app and what your first impressions are.

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Here is the synopsis:

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Check out the movie on the web and Facebook .

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Though being billed as a movie that deals with bullying, Field of Vision, is not your typical after school special on bullying-far from it. It is a well written and well acted morality tale with bullying as one of its major themes. Also, just because the poster makes it look like this is a football movie and therefore a “guy” movie, again football and team dynamics are just some of the themes touched on in the movie.

My two favorite characters in the movie were Cory-the underdog played by Joe Adler and Lucy (Alyssa Jordan Shafer), whose faith and optimism help her to always see the positive. I don’t want to write a full review because I just want you to gather the family and watch this heartwarming movie. I will say that Faith Ford gives one of her best dramatic portrayals ever as mom and guidance counselor Jody McFarland.

Star quarterback, Tyler McFarland, learns that some of his teammates have been bullying a troubled new transfer student. Aware that sharing this information with the coach might get his friends kicked off the team and ultimately cost them the state championship, Tyler must choose what’s more important: winning or doing what’s right.

Please share this post with your friends and visit Family Movie Night on Facebook.

“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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2 cups of sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1 stick butter

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups quick cooking oats

1/2 cup peanut butter

Combine the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk in a saucepan. Heat on medium heat while stirring constantly. Once it starts boiling, allow it to boil for 1 minute and then remove from the heat. Stir in the peanut butter, vanilla and oats. Drop by the spoonful onto wax paper. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes

. We decided to nibble on a few cookies and then we packed up 2 dozen to bring to church on Sunday night. Jordan gave them to Solomon Cudzillo who runs a feeding ministry to the homeless. Solomon is always looking for homemade goodies to bring to the hundreds of people he and his volunteers feed every week.

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Here is a link to a short, 7 question survey from Walmart about the product selection available at their stores. Please take a minute and fill this out as soon as you can, as the results will be shared at a meeting on Friday of this week. Thanks for your help.

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