How to Train Your Dragon 2 in IMAX!

Looking for an action-packed weekend of fun for the whole family? Head to your local IMAX® Theater for the premiere of How to Train Your Dragon 2!

Starting this Friday, June 13th, the second chapter of DreamWorks Animation's belovedHow to Train Your Dragon franchise is soaring to all IMAX theatres domestically in select engagements. The IMAX 3D release will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience®, creating a unique environment that will make audiences feel as though they are flying alongside heroic Viking Hiccup and his faithful dragon, Toothless.

Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, T.J. Miller, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Kristen Wiig reprise their respective voice roles, joined this time by Academy Award® winner Cate Blanchett, Djimon Honsou and Kit Harington.

Can't wait to see it and my kids are sooooo excited!!  Let me know how much you loved it when you see it!  :-)

The above information has been provided to me by IMAX, and I hope you find it helpful and fun! For IMAX Theater locations and local showtimes click here!  

Raise a Giant!

If you have children, chances are you've heard and read many communications regarding bullying.  Sadly, it is a major issue in schools and many programs have been released regarding bullying prevention.  There is a chance that you have dealt with it, too.  I know it's been a factor in my life, and I hate it.

I was so happy to hear about actions by my favorite "Jolly Green Giant" to take a stand against bullying.  The Green Giant "Raise a Giant" campaign is a huge step toward helping our kids prevent bullying.  Green Giant knows that it takes a lot more to raise a healthy child than just getting them to eat their vegetables.  They need help and encouragement to navigate the world with confidence and pride.  Green Giant is partnering with PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center and We Day Minnesota to help parents Raise A Giant and put a stop to bullying in their communities.

What Does it Mean to Be a Giant?

Being a giant isn't about being the biggest or the best.  Being a giant means standing up for others. It means lending a hand to those who are in trouble and speaking up for those who sometimes find it hard to do so for themselves.  Studies show that an effective way to stop bullying is for kids to simply speak up and say, "That's not okay!" when they see bullying happen, but asking kids to have the courage to stand up to bullying is a tall order and that's why they need our help.

How Do You Raise a Giant?

Green Giant is asking parents to write a letter to their kids telling them how special they are and encouraging them to be part of the bullying prevention solution by being a giant.

Parents can visit our community at RaiseAGiant and read the letters others have written.

You can write a letter to your kids about standing up to bullying and post it at RaiseAGiant.com.

Encourage your community to write their own letters and post them at RaiseAGiant.com.

Change your Facebook profile picture to the Raise A Giant icon to show your support.

It takes a village to raise a child, but if we all work together, and support our children and each other, we can find a way to help our kids take a stand and maybe, just maybe, we can help keep our kids from being the target of school bullying.  Green Giant wants to help us do just that!

If you join the campaign, let me know about your experiences!  And know that you are making a difference for your kids, and other kids as well.  Let's all Raise a Giant!!

DISCLOSURE:  Information and incentive was provided by Green Giant through MyBlogSpark.  Opinions expressed are my own. 

Hop over to IHOP for a new Griddle Melt!

I recently received an email inviting me to visit my local IHOP to give their new Griddle Melts a try.  Needless to say, my children were THRILLED with the idea of eating at IHOP.  So Friday night, we decided to go out to dinner and check things out.

IHOP's Griddle Melts are available as a whole sandwich or a half, and come in three varieties:

• Spinach, Roasted Pepper & Cheese - Sautéed fresh spinach in a fluffy egg omelet topped with roasted red peppers and onions, melted Provolone, Parmesan and Pepper Jack cheeses on grilled artisan sourdough bread. Served with your choice of hash browns, French fries or seasonal fruit.

• Western - Smoked ham and sautéed peppers and onions in a classic omelet, topped with sliced ham, melted American cheese and served on grilled artisan sourdough bread. Served with your choice of hash browns, French fries or seasonal fruit.

• Ham & Egg Melt - Sliced ham and melted Swiss and American cheeses over a fluffy egg omelet served on grilled artisan sourdough bread. Served with your choice of hash browns, French fries or seasonal fruit.

Don't those sound absolutely wonderful???  It's difficult to choose just one!  The one that everyone could agree upon to try was the Ham & Egg Melt, so we ordered a whole sandwich with fries.  What arrived at the table was a completely stuffed, beautiful sandwich with perfectly cooked fries.  Check this out:

Lots of hot, fluffy egg, tender ham, and enough cheese to even impress my cheese-fanatic 10-year-old!  And that picture is just half of the sandwich!  

This was a fantastic value for the money and even filled my 16-year-old son.  The egg and ham were hot and freshly cooked, the cheese was melted just right, and the bread was crispy and flaky on the lightly grilled outside and soft and tender in the center.  The bread gave it a good "bite" while the fillings left us feeling very satisfied.  This was a wonderful dinner, and I know it would be the perfect start to the day as a breakfast entree - with hash browns as the side, of course!  :-) 

Here's a better shot to show you the light grilling and the generous portion of fries:

That one just doesn't show you how stuffed full the sandwich really is.  It truly is a great value for your dining dollar, and if you aren't hungry enough for the whole thing, you can order half with a side.  

Give the Griddle Melts at IHOP a try, and let me know what you think.  My kids are already asking when we're going back again.  Apparently Breakfast is the new Dinner!  :-)

If you want to know even more about these great new offerings at IHOP, check out their press release by clicking here.  I know one of these Griddle Melts has YOUR name on it! 

DISCLOSURE: I received a $25 gift card to try the new Griddle Melts, but received no other compensation for this post.  The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Pillsbury Artisan Makes Any Game Great!

As everyone well knows, we just had a huge event on Sunday!  Even if you aren't a football fan, chances are that you watched the Big Game, at least for the commercials.  It's a fun and exciting event that even my kids watched this year.  Okay, so they did it for the family "squares pool," where there were boxes of candy and gift cards to be won, but still!!  :-)

And what's a big game without some pizza??  I'm sure the pizza places all across the country were ultra-busy all day long, delivering pizzas to the masses.  Everyone loves pizza, and pizza and football go hand-in-hand, particularly when it's the Super Bowl!

We didn't call out for any pizza, though.  We made fresh, hot, absolutely delicious pizza at home! And it didn't interrupt a moment of the game, because I made it easy with Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust.  Just roll out the tender crust and top it with whatever you like on your pizza, put on some cheese, and into the oven it goes.  YUM!!  So easy and so good.....and so ideal for the big game!  It would be the perfect addition to ANY game.....from the Super Bowl to your child's Little League ballgame.  Easy, tasty, and a great family meal.

Right now, you can get an amazing coupon for Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust!  Just click on this link and you will be able to print a $1.50 off coupon.  That makes for a steal of a deal, especially when you consider what even a carryout pizza costs from a pizza place.  I'm sure your family will love it - mine does!!

If you'd like to learn more about Pillsbury and their Artisan Pizza, here are some resources:

• Pillsbury Website
• Pillsbury's Facebook Page (like them!)
• Pillsbury's Twitter Page
• Recipe Ideas

Be sure and come back and let me know how much you loved the Artisan Whole Grain crust!  :-)  Don't forget to use that wonderful coupon!!

Disclosure: The product, a gift pack, information, and additional sample have been provided to me by Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark.  The opinions expressed are my own.

Box Tops for Education and Sam's Club

I don't know about you, but I *HEART* Sam's Club, and I really *HEART* Box Tops for Education, so when you combine the two and have Bonus Box Tops, it's a total home run for me!  

Sam's Club already helps me save a lot on my grocery budget by offering products in bulk at amazing prices, and they carry quite a variety of wonderful General Mills products for deals you can't get anywhere else.  But  NOW, they have a fantastic promotion going on in all their stores that includes bonus Box Tops and a membership bonus!  Here's the scoop:

It's back to school time, and Sam's Club is providing Box Tops opportunities so you can earn more cash for your school!  Not only can you collect between 6 and 14 Box Tops on some of your favorite General Mills products, but you can also check out these additional opportunities, only available at Sam's Club!

• New Plus Members will receive 100 Bonus Box Tops.*  (A $10 value to any BTFE-participating school)
• Upgrade your current membership to a Plus membership to receive 50 Bonus Box Tops.* (a $5 value to any BTFE-participating school)
• New Advantage or Business Members will receive 25 Bonus Box Tops. * (A $2.50 value to any BTFE-participating school)

*Offer valid only with original receipt of purchased membership taped to certificate.  Only available in-Club.  Offers available to the first 50 new Plus members at each Club, to the first 100 members who upgrade to a Plus membership at each Club, and to the first 100 new Advantage or Business members at each Club.

How great is that???  Think of how much you can help your school by just purchasing the things you already love and probably keep on hand all the time anyway!  Schools across the country are struggling with funding, and Box Tops are a completely painless way that you can help your child's school - every one is worth ten cents, and they add up faster than you can imagine.  I used to coordinate the programs at two schools, and it never ceased to amaze me how much money we earned with those cute little Box Top icons!  It's an amazing and worthwhile program that makes a huge difference to our schools.

You can connect online with Sam's Club and Box Tops for Education right now.  Here are some valuable links:

• Sam's Club website
• Sam's Club Facebook page
• Sam's Club on Twitter
• Box Tops site on Sam's Club page
• Box Tops For Education website - definitely sign up here!

Check out the great promotion going on NOW at your local Sam's Club!  Then come back and let me know how many Box Tops you earned for YOUR child's school!  Thanks for making a difference in our children's education with Sam's Club and Box Tops for Education!!!!

"Disclosure: I have received gift cards, and the information contained herein from Sam's Club and General Mills through MyBlogSpark."

Guilty

I have been found guilty of completely neglecting this poor little blog. I haven't posted much lately, even though a million things have been going through my head as potential blog fodder. I just haven't set aside the time to put up a proper post, and I feel terrible about that.

So what's been going on lately? Lots, really! I've traveled the past few weeks, which has been absolutely wonderful! At the end of February, I flew to Denver, CO, to spend the weekend with a dear friend. We had a fabulous time, and the time went so fast! I rode my first light rail, learned how to properly play darts, tried Blue Moon beer (and actually liked it!), gazed longingly at the unbelievable beauty of the Rocky Mountains, and even saw a Linkin Park concert. Anyone who knows me has raised eyebrows right now, as that is just NOT the kind of music I tend to like. But I did!!! I LOVED Linkin Park, and have bought three of their cd's since I returned!

While Colorado was definitely the highlight of my life to date, last weekend I drove with a friend to a wedding in Hutchinson, KS. While that might not seem like a very thrilling drive, it ended up being very nice. We did not take the interstate coming back to KC, but instead had to take a route that included Clay Center, KS. My friend had to view a site for a work project, so we took the scenic route back. And it was beautiful!!! The wheat fields were the most gorgeous golden amber color and we drove through some very nice terrain on back highways, including a little bit of gravel. We even drove along the ORIGINAL US-81, which still isn't paved! We stopped to view the plaque stating that the highway was the original, so I know it was the real deal.

The weather is finally starting to show hints of the return of spring, which is very pleasant. Thoughts are turning to gardening and taking bike rides around the neighborhood. The girls are finally learning to ride, so I look forward to taking rides with them starting this spring. They are pretty excited about it, too!

We are also planning on another house concert next month. We had one last year, and I'm sure I mentioned it on the blog if you've been with me awhile. It's a lot of fun...we clear out everything to set up seating and have live music right there in the living room. It's a wonderful time with friends and live music. Hopefully this year will go as well as last year's performance did. I'd love to have even more people this year, and finally an event set up on Facebook today. At least I didn't wait until the last minute!! :)

I have a new cell phone addiction, as if texting wasn't enough! My friend Sam got me hooked on a game called Words with Friends. It's a lot like Scrabble, and you play on the phone with either friends or random opponents. I LOVE it!!! Nobody around here will play me in Scrabble, but I've found some very tough players on this game and am having a ball - it's a great challenge! If you play Words with Friends, look me up and start a game. My username is JanelleKC.

I guess that's about all I have to report for today. I'm hoping to get back to blogging, but I'm not making any promises. I can't risk taking a chance on disappointing the few people who are still reading this blog. I will definitely try, though!!! Enjoy the weather this week!!!!

CSN Winner - Better Late than Never....

Okay, apparently I hit "Save" instead of "Publish." Yeah, it's been one of those weeks! :-) Sorry for the delay!!

We have a winner! I used Random.org to choose the winner of the CSN Stores gift certificate, and here is what I got:

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:33Powered by RANDOM.ORG

**Note - I don't know why it pasted as 1-100 - I entered 1 to 37 and that's what I tried to cut and paste. I STILL get confused trying to screen-shot a Random.org generator.

Comment #33 was posted by Jo! Jo, I've sent you an email with the information on how to redeem your certificate. Thanks so much for entering, everyone!