My Rays of Sunshine

Honoring our Veterans

Message from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Veterans Day 2011 November 10, 2011 Tomorrow, at the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month of 2011, we will pause to honor America’s Veterans and celebrate their contributions to our way of life. Few have given more to our Nation than the men and women who have served in our Armed Forces in peace and in war. I am privileged to join all my VA colleagues in saluting the service and honoring the sacrifices of the special men and women who walk the halls of our hospitals and clinics, offices and Vet Centers each day. God bless our Veterans. And may God continue to bless this wonderful country of ours. Eric K. Shinseki My Rays of Sunshine is asking for you to spend a moment of your time to remember our men and women who have...

Friends and Family Sales–Secret Savings Club

Ready for more Holiday savings? I think Demi looks beautiful in the Ann Taylor ad. Shame on you Ashton. Remember to follow the directions for each store. Happy Savings,

This Holiday season Target is offering a Holiday Bullseye for $14.99 from November 6 to December 31, 2011. Target will donate 100% of the purchase price to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. Holiday Bullseye is available both in-stores and online. I’m thankful and blessed to have two healthy children, but I believe it is important to help families who are less fortunate. As a reminder, Full Disclosure: I’ve worked with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® for many years. I’ve ran charity auctions for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® while I was a disc jockey and I personally donate to the hospital. Wishing you and yours a wonderful Holiday season,

Six-year-old kids, adventurous when trying new activities, not-so-much when it comes to trying new food. I get so tired of eating the same thing. Chicken and burgers seem to be the most common main course meals eaten at my house. My hubby loves eating burgers (my 6-year-old son won’t touch one unless his Coco is eating a burger) and everyone will eat chicken. Burgers and chicken become so boring and bland, I have to spice it up. Let me preface this by saying I don’t really watch television, but I love Food Network and HGTV. (House Hunters, I’m willing to be a crazy home buyer with a too big wish list. Call me.) I love, love Chopped and Iron Chef America on the Food Network. Every time I bust out a new recipe hubby asks me if it’s because of my Chopped addiction. No (Yes). But really it’s because...

Ann Taylor and Loft 50% Off | Ends Sunday

Get ready for holiday parties with 50% off deals from Ann Taylor and Loft. Happy Shopping,

It’s Holiday time and My Rays of Sunshine wants to help you save money this Holiday season. The Land of Nod is offering FREE SHIPPING on stocking stuffers, holiday decor, soft seating, plus, select toys and gifts, games and soft seating! My kids would love these chairs! Happy Shopping, Disclosure: The Land of Nod is an advertiser on My Rays of Sunshine

Dear Wasp/Hornet, You violated me and you deserved to die. I was simply mowing my backyard when you decided to take it upon yourself to sting/bite me not once, not twice, but three times! Because of your actions I had to swat you, thus resulting in your death. Your two bites/stings on my neck hurt badly, but the one my hand was the icing on the cake. My only response to your actions was to drop to the ground and scream bloody murder. The good news is my hubby actually awoke from his fantasy football daze to find me crying in the fetal position on the grass. I stumbled inside and waited for hubby to assess the damage. The results, “you’ve got two big ass marks on your neck.” You heard the man, I had “ two big ass marks.” I was clutching my hand so captain obvious didn’t...

You’re driving home from The Villages, America’s Friendliest Hometown, and you’re behind a truck with its bed full of coffins. I really hope the coffins were empty. I seemed to be the only driver amazed by this. Odd. By the way, it’s hard to drive and photograph a coffin filled truck. And to think dear hubby was kidding me about finding a sugar daddy in The Villages today. I don’t know if he meant one alive or one barely hanging in there. Happy Halloween?!?!

Why Do Razor Blades Cost an Arm and a Leg?

Seriously, why are tiny little razors so damn expensive? Hubby is getting calls for interviews because he recently earned an in-demand Master’s Degree and is loaded with experience employers are looking for. He decided it was time to buy new razors and clean-up his appearance. I guess he decided the year-old razor he’s been using wasn’t cutting it. (Ha, Ha. I made a funny!) I decided to be extra nice and buy him the bulk pack at Sam’s Club. For a steal at $38.96, I purchased 20 MACH3 Turbo razor cartridges. I hope these cartridges last two years. (Maybe a lifetime?) I think one a month is a decent ratio. So what make’s these cartridges so special (pricey)? According to Gillette: Switch your shave into overdrive. The Gillette MACH3 Turbo razor combines sophisticated shaving technologies that work together as a manual system to deliver a close, comfortable shave. Turbo...

It’s official, HuffPost’s Divorce page is satire. It has to be. No sane person would think readers would take the dribble posted on the divorce page as anything but idiocy. Author Susan Pease Gadoua suggested couples invest in marriage contracts. Why? Because everyone is getting divorced and instead of trying to eliminate high divorce rates, let’s make it easier for couples to have an out by having an expiration date. But divorce is happening and it is here to stay. If it were acceptable for people to wed for a variety of reasons, perhaps we would see contracts of 20 years for a parenting marriage,* five-year renewable contracts for a financial security marriage, and two-year renewable agreements for companionship marriages. *(parenting marriages could be renewable but, given that kids and co-parenting are a major reason spouses fight and ultimately divorce, most may not want to renew the contract). Then...

Dear FDA, Let’s Rethink This Ban on Inhalers

Dear FDA, Please don’t ban over-the-counter asthma inhalers. Did you know Primatene Mist saved my husband from an expensive trip to the ER? He had just lost his job, our insurance was gone and our income had vanished, when a late Sunday afternoon he had an asthma attack. So what do he do when he went to use his inhaler and realized it was empty? He jumped in the car, squealed away and rushed into CVS for a Primatene Mist inhaler. Guess what? That inhaler you are now banning stopped his asthma attack and saved our family a lot of money we didn’t have. Apparently he isn’t the only asthma suffer who uses Primatene Mist either. Upwards of one to two million people use it. To make matters worse, prescription inhalers can cost up to three times as much and require a doctor’s visit. So why are green...

Give Your Skin the Star Treatment on a Frugal Gal’s Budget

I love the Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System. This little brush does wonders for my skin. I used to have a Clean and Clear blackhead eraser, but it was discontinued. I’ve always wanted a Clarisonic brush, but at $150 I had to find a frugal option. Since purchasing my Olay Professional Pro-X brush, I have received numerous comments on my skin looking great. My husband said my skin looked younger too! So if my husband noticed a difference, the man in your life will too! The Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System is a great deal on Amazon for $26. For years I have used St Ives Apricot Scrub Blemish & Blackhead Control. Other than noticing my blackheads would be more noticeable if I didn’t use it, I didn’t get any real results from the product. I have always liked Philosophy products, so I was...

What Does Ponzi Scheme Mean? A fraudulent investing scam that promises high rates of return at little risk to investors. The scheme generates returns for older investors by acquiring new investors. This scam actually yields the promised returns to earlier investors, as long as there are more new investors. I will start by stating I’m politically independent. I don’t belong to either party and neither party has a guarantee vote from me. I vote based on my own personal opinion and choose what amendments I agree with and who I believe is the best candidate. I read left and right websites and books, listen to left and right talking heads, watch Fox, MSNBC and CNN to gather all sides of the stories and come to my own conclusion. 2012 is big year in our never-ending election cycle. (Really, does it ever end?) We have the Congressional, State, local...

“I spit out my cheerios…” “Sometimes something is so wrong you can’t believe it’s real.” “Please sign this petition, your daughter will thank you.” – an email I received. J.C. Penney was forced to remove the shirt “I’m too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me” after an uproar this week in social media land. Is it just selective outrage? I haven’t read or heard any outrage over these Girl Power shirts by David and Goliath. And I haven’t heard a peep from anyone screaming to ban these kids shirts from David and Goliath. Thankfully, David and Goliath have posted on their landing page “our apparel is stupid”, but I’m sure there is someone out there with too much time on their hands trying to ban David and Goliath. I agree with Ricky Gervais when he said, “You have the right to be...

Summer’s winding down and what better way to display your favorite summer memory than with a free poster from UPrinting.com! UPrinting.com, a leading socially responsible online printing, marketing and technology firm, has decided to award a My Rays of Sunshine reader with one 18" x 24" poster. Prize details: One (1) Winner of 18" x 24" Poster – Semi Gloss / High Gloss, 1 Business Day Turnaround Rules: 1. Must be a PUBLIC Google Friend Connect (GFC) follower of My Rays of Sunshine 2. Must reside in the U.S. 3. Must be 18-years-old or older. 4. Can not have won the same print giveaway from UPrinting in the past six months, if so, another winner will be chosen. 5. We will need to contact you via email to claim your prize. How to Enter: Leave a comment below and tell My Rays of Sunshine why you’d love to win...

I’m getting ready to take a shower when I hear my 2-year-old screaming at the top of lungs. I find her sitting next to the shower crying hysterically. I immediately thought to myself, “did she fall down? Did she step on something?” No, there was a spider crawling down her leg! I pulled her away from the shower and began to feverishly brush the spider off of her. Her screams were louder and her tears were falling harder. Finally, I pushed the nasty little spider off of her. I’ve never heard her scream so loud or cry so hard in my life. She handles her vaccinations better than this. I wrapped her up in her towel and tried to comfort her by rocking her. After an hour of screaming, I finally checked her for any bites. I didn’t see anything but flushed skin. I gently put her on the...

Meet Leroy Fick of Bay County Michigan. Almost a year after Fick won $2 million on a Michigan lottery show "Make Me Rich!", he admitted he still swipes the electronic food stamp card at stores. He told TV5′s Bill Walsh that more than half the prize went to taxes. Fick said the Department of Human Services told him he could continue to use the card, which is paid with Michigan tax dollars. "If you’re going to … try to make me feel bad, you aren’t going to do it," said Fick. Neighbor’s told TV5 that they have also seen Fick driving a new Audi convertible. Meanwhile, Fick’s lawyer says his client hasn’t done anything illegal. Attorney John Wilson said the state knows Fick won the lottery money, since it "issued the check." State Department of Human Services inspector general’s office director Al Kimichik said food assistance on the Bridge...