The Amazing Journey Part 2

Yesterday I posted about the amazing day my son was spending in Florence and Rome.  Well his adventure continues today with a day spent entirely in Rome exploring famous sites that I'd love to see.   They are seeing the Coliseum in the morning.   I'm sure this will be one of the highlights of the trip for my son.   He'll love seeing where gladiators fought in a structure that was unbelievable for its time. 

 It was large enough to hold 50,000 roaring spectators when it was inaugurated in 80 AD. Today, it is one of the most dramatic, historic and recognized archaeological monuments on earth.


Images Copyrighted by Historylink101.com & found at Italy and Rome Picture Gallery.




 


Then later he's traveling on to see the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel.  Even though we're not Catholic he's always been fascinated by Papal history and the role the Catholic Church has played in history throughout the ages.

Vatican StPeter Square.jpg Panorama of St Peter's Square in the Vatican City.

 I would love to see the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel that was painted by Michelangelo.

Or the enormous fresco, The Last Judgment,  painted behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. 

So I hope he's having another wonderful day filled with learning, appreciation for the history of our world, and awe in the face of an incredible artist.   Now if only Mommy gets to see these sites some day.   Ciao!

Fun Activities for the Summer

My family loves to take summer vacations that feature a combination of a little beach time mixed with a lot of museums and historical sights.   If we can throw in a zoo or aquarium visit, then it's perfect!

Last summer we spent a week in the Charleston SC area.  We stayed in a condo on the beach and enjoyed a stroll every day, but what my family really loved was touring the plantations, visiting their downtown open air market, seeing Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie, looking at the beautiful Charleston architecture. and eating at all the local eateries.

  Go Graham Go and Jolly Mom will be having a "Step Into Summer" event where they will be highlighting some summer items and hosting giveaways.   So check their blogs starting June 21 and be on the lookout!

An Amazing Journey

Such an amazing journey and amazing opportunity!

My son is traveling with his AP US History teacher and a group of other high school teachers and students on a European tour of historical sites.   They have actually been there for quite a few days already but I decided to chronicle what he's doing today since I think it's so exciting.


He is starting by waking up in Florence Italy and then seeing the Academia Museum.  Included at this museum is Michelangelo's David sculpture and Botticelli's Madonna and Child. 

Afterward they'll be traveling to the American Cemetery outside Florence.  The Florence American Cemetery sits on 70 acres, where the headstones of 4,402 of our military dead are arrayed in symmetrical curved rows upon the hillside.

Both of his grandfathers were in WWII, with my father spending part of the time in Italy.   The students were supposed to study about the history of the cemetery and find the names of American soldiers buried there.   When they visit today, they'll hunt up their soldiers and place small American flags on their graves.    So my son is armed with his small flags and his names, and ready to set forth to honor our fallen soldiers on foreign soil.   I think it's great that the school includes this as part of the tour.

Late afternoon they will travel on to Rome and will spend the evening seeing the Trevi fountain (you, know...the famous fountain you throw coins in), the Piazza Navona, and the Pantheon.

So don't you agree this is a most amazing journey?  We hope he's learning lots of history and having a great time!!

"Unforgettable You" by Diasy Fuentes Book Review and Giveaway.--CLOSED

UNFORGETTABLE YOU by Daisy Fuentes

"Master the Elements of Style, Spirituality and True Beauty"

"Become a Classic Girl in a Modern World"

I must admit that when I was first asked to read and review this book I wasn't sure how much I'd like it.   I was never really part of the MTV generation and not all that familiar with Daisy Fuentes.  Plus I'm not much into "self help" type books.   So I admit that I was surprised to find out how much I enjoyed reading it.  

The book is primarily a guide to things that Daisy Fuentes has learned over the years that she hopes can help other.   She started out in the modeling world, then progressed to TV weather girl, MTV host, and recently successful businesswoman.    Along the way she's learned many things about how to navigate and be viewed positively in many environments.   I was expecting mostly items about fashion and beauty and some about relationships, and that was all there.  There were also quotes and helpful hints from people in Daisy's life or people she's met along her journey.

But just as much if not more of the book was about how to act like a lady and be seen as respectful in a world that today seems to be fascinated with girls with no underwear and who can accumulate the longest list of drunken hook ups or a plethora of sexual conquests.   She talks about how to value yourself and behave and look in a manner that will cause others to respect you and treat you well in return.  

The chapters titles:

WHO ARE YOU?  BABY, WHO ARE YOU?

Knowing Who you Are

JUST LIKE A WOMAN

Grace. Elegance, and Etiquette

I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU

Navigating Relationships with Men, Family, and Friends

LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX, BABY

Sex Etiquette 101

SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN

Spirituality and Giving

PRETTY WOMAN

Notes on Beauty

MY BACK PAGES

Letters and Questionnaires

The book is a fairly easy one to read.   But you can take quite a bit of time utilizing the tools or quizzes she includes in the book to explore your own values and likes.   The book contains many quizzes that you can fill out as you go along, or you can go back later and complete them after finishing the book.  

I think the book could also be useful for parents of girls who want their daughters to grow up behaving in a fashion that attracts people to them for all the right reasons instead of the wrong reasons.  There are a few fairly explicit terms or phrases in the book, but nothing too offensive for older teen girls. 

   You can order the book from Amazon:
 Unforgettable You: Master the Elements of Style, Spirituality, and True Beauty

or win one here!!


Victoria and Atria Books have graciously offered to give one of my readers their own copy of "Unforgettable You".

Mandatory Entry:   

Tell me which chapter sounds the most interesting to you.

Extra Entries:

1)   Become a follower of my blog in GFC or let me know if you currently are a follower.   Make sure to leave you GFC name so I can verify.

2)  Enter any of my other contests that are still current.

Rules:

1)   Contest begins now and concludes on June 25th at 10PM EST.

2)   Winner will be selected using random.org and will be notified via email.  So make sure you have an email address visible in your comments or in your blogger profile.

3)   Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email.

Good luck!

Disclosure:   I received a copy of the book to facilitate my review but no other compensation.   All opinions voiced are my true ones and not influenced in any way by the sponsor. 

ANOTHER Target Gift Card Giveaway! $20 Target Gift Card--CLOSED

I started my blog by bribing people with a Target gift card for following me.   I think my shameless bribery worked fairly well.  So I'm attempting to do it again....only better!   This time I'm giving away a $20 Target gift card!

Last time all you had to do was follow me, but now I'm wanting people to branch out a bit, so there will be several ways to enter.   They're all simple and you can do as many or as few as you like.    So let's quit yapping about it and get on with the giveaway!

GIVEAWAY:    $20 in Target gift cards to one lucky winner

WAYS TO ENTER:
1)   Follow me on GFC.   Sign up is in the right sidebar.  Make sure to leave your GFC name so I can verify.  Current followers count also.

2)   Enter any other giveaway that is currently open.   One entry per giveaway entered.   So enter at that post, then come back here and tell me the name of the giveaway you entered.  There are additional giveaways that will be added in the coming days, so check back for more entries. 

3)   Go read one of my swagbucks post here or here and leave a comment. Then come back and let me know you did.

4)   Sign up for swagbucks using the link in my post here.   This is worth five (5) entries so leave 5 different comments to make sure you get all your credit.   You must be an active member of swagbucks at the end of the giveaway period for these entries to count.   Those individuals who have already joined swagbucks under me can also claim these 5 entries.   Make sure you leave me your swagbucks name so I can verify.

5)  Daily entry:
Tell me one of your favorite movies.   Must be a different one each day. 
June 15-20 :  Go read either of the posts about my son's amazing journey here or here and leave a comment there, then come back and let me know.     
June 21-28:  Tell me an easy recipe you make for dinner.   I need some new dinner ideas!
June 29-July 7:  Sign up for RSS feed and/or email.  They are both offered in the upper right sidebar.   If you do both,  you may get an extra entry each day until the end of the contest.

RULES:
1)   Complete any or all of the entries above.
2)   Giveaway begins now and ends  July 7 at 10PM EST.
3)   Giveaway open to US and Canada.
4)   Winner will be selected using random.org and notified via email.   They will have 48 hours to respond to the email.

Good luck! 

Swagbucks deals going on now!

For those of you who have already joined swagbucks be on the lookout this week for some extra special deals. I am a member of the Swagbucks Blogger Network and got some information from "Hal" the swagbucks guy to post on my blog.

"Here are the two BIG things going on this coming week that we want you to help promote:

1. Monday we'll be having a Swag Code Extravaganza - we'll be releasing at least 5 Swag Codes throughout the day - this would be a great way for any newcomers you refer to start out with a bang!"

(so be sure to check your toolbar for news about codes and also check the blog, twitter or facebook)

"2. Each day next week we'll be highlighting a different high value Swag Buck bill, starting on Monday with the 25. Every 7th searching win on Swagbucks will be awarded that big bill, meaning that more people will have big wins next week!"


And a SPECIAL deal for those who have been thinking about signing up but haven't done so yet.

"To give your readers more incentive to sign up, they can use the code SUMMEROFSWAG when they sign up for an extra 20 Swag Bucks to pad their account. The code is good until midnight on Friday, June 11th."

So instead of the usual 30 swagbucks you get for signing up, you'll get 50!!

If you have questions about swagbucks here's my original post with some information about it. Read about it HERE

And here's the link to sign up!Just click on the banner below.




Hope there's lots of big winner!

Are you doing swagbucks? You SHOULD be!

I kept hearing about swagbucks and thinking I should do it, but kept putting it off and thinking it was too much trouble. Well I finally bit the bullet a while back, and I'm so glad I did!!

Each month, I earn enough points for $10 in amazon gift cards. Now you're thinking that's not much! But think about it....in one year I'll earn enough with swagbucks to get $120 worth of Amazon gift cards!! Think about how useful that could be at Christmas. I could buy my son a video game, some CDs, some DVDs, some books, etc, things I usually buy from amazon anyway.

You don't HAVE to buy amazon gift cards. There are many other gift cards you can get, or items you can purchase, etc. But most people buy the amazon gift cards because they require less bucks to purchase than other items and are a better deal. (You essentially use your earned swagbucks to buy these things).

So, .....How do I earn these swagbucks??? I'm so glad you asked!

You earn them by searching with their toolbar. You don't HAVE to download their toolbar if you don't want. You can just go to their site and use the toolbar, or even leave the site minimized so you can use their toolbar anytime during the day that you want. But after a few days I did install the toolbar and it's made it way simpler. My husband and son even use it to surf the web now. It was easy enough to install that even I, the computer challenged, did it in just a few minutes.

You could probably earn more if you search a lot. I really only go to the same few sites most of the time, and so don't use it too much but still have earned that much. You can also shop through a few links and earn some. Also they have twitter and facebook points that people can earn, but since I don't do either of those I haven't gotten them. So you can probably even earn more than I'm doing!

So click on the banner below and go check it out. If you have any question or comments, leave them here, or email me. Also, post here if you join so I'll know who did!