The Mom Jen, Author at Jen is on a Journey - Page 235 of 322

The Best Travel Spot in North America: Hawaiian Islands Hand’s Down!

November 10, 2011 by The Mom Jen 5 Comments

In the past few years our family has done quite a bit of local travel, within our state, and bordering California. I’ve been so thankful for my blog for giving us the opportunity to explore cities, counties, and even outside my home state. Hotels.com is running a promotion on Facebook called “Fall in Love with Travel,” and this week they are celebrating North American travel destinations. They wanted to find out what my favorite North American travel destination is, and I’ll tell you it’s the U.S. Hawaiian Islands!

Before this year, we took our first family vacation to the islands of Hawaii, Kauai, back in 2006. As of today, we’ve visited two more of the islands and I’m more impressed and more in love each visit!

In Kauai, our first experience with warm Pacific Ocean water was magical, the chance to visit the amazing Waimea Canyon and there’s the Napali Coast, purely breathtaking .

Maui had my husband taking surfing lessons with the view of Lanai as his backdrop. We explored desolate beaches with black sand, and cruised along side dolphins.

In Oahu, you can reflect at historic sites like Pearl Harbor and the Battleship Missiouri, walk the beaches alongside gorgeous sea turtles. Or why not tour sites where movies and television shows are filmed.

February, 2012 my husband and I will explore both Lanai and Molokai and my goal is to get to the big island of Hawaii before my 40th birthday.

Sponsored post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Weight Watchers Cheese Swap-It Challenge #1 Chili Bean Cheese Dip

November 8, 2011 by The Mom Jen 4 Comments

I’m turning to vlogging today to tell you how I started the Weight Watchers Cheese Swap-It Challenge. I’m substituting Weight Watchers Cheese for our normal brand in different recipes to let you know that it’s healthier, contains less fat and sodium, and completely delicious! Take a peek…

Here’s the low down on my recipe it’s so simple to make you can whip it up in less than ten minutes!

Chili Bean Cheese Dip

8oz Weight Watchers Whipped Cream Cheese
1 15oz can of Chili with Beans
1 cup Weight Watchers Shredded Mexican Style Cheese

In a glass pie dish (8-9 inches round) spread a layer of Weight Watchers Cream Cheese to cover the bottom. Spread one can of chili with beans to cover the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1 cup of Weight Watchers Shredded Mexican Style Cheese on top. Heat in the microwave about 5 minutes. Stir (or not) and dip your favorite tortilla chips in and enjoy!

My son and husband devoured it after work and school. They had no idea about which cheese I used, no questions or comments about it tasting any different. I reheated it for them and the cheese melted smoothly a second time and was just that good! I have two more challenges coming up for you including swapping Weight Watchers Cheese into the main course and a dessert, stay tuned!

I wrote this post as a part of series with Weight Watchers Cheese. Opinions are 100% my own. I was sent products to make the meals, a gift card to shop for ingredients, and electronics to produce the videos.

Tiny Prints Holiday Cards

November 8, 2011 by The Mom Jen 80 Comments

I am so excited that my Christmas Cards are on their way! I got my email stating that they’ve been printed and are shipping as we speak, I feel so on top of the holidays already! How are you doing on your holiday cards?

If you are still looking to take that one great family shot, think about those places that you love as a family and use it as a backdrop. I recently saw someone shoot their family photo on the beach below the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk amusement park. If you’re going to just use you fireplace as the setting inside your home, buy matching clothing to tie the photo together. Or, if you have an impromptu picture in your files from the past year, though there’s a lot of color going on, make it black and white then choose a colorful card design to contrast!

Better yet, use 3 or 4 photos in your card. Whether they are all from the same occasion, or snapshots of all the travel you did all year, the sky is the limit at Tiny Prints. Just looking through all the cards available may just inspire something you would have never imagined.

Similar prizing was offered, all opinions are my own.

Bass Pro Shops: Sporting Goods Gift Ideas and Review

November 7, 2011 by The Mom Jen 7 Comments

Just about 90 minutes northeast of home is a little town of Manteca, CA. Heading there for a baseball tournament for my son, I realized there is a Bass Pro Shops store the size of Disneyland to explore. Okay it’s not quite that large, but believe me, to many men, including my husband, it’s is like a theme park when you visit.

I had to giggle approaching the front doors when you see this:

Pretty remarkable from the outside, as you enter the front doors you get a taste of what this grand store of hunting, fishing and camping supplies has while peeking through none other than the General Sherman tree replica at the entrance!

Looking around you see floors of merchandise for the outdoorsman in your family, you can literally spend hours here and not get to everything! They even have the best smelling General Store with fudge, popcorn, candy apples, moon pies, and plenty to keep your kids (and wife) happy while you stroll!We spent a lot of time in the camping section, something we love to do as a family but haven’t done much of it in the past two years, it’s definitely a must on our spring/summer 2012 to-do list. I’ve found the perfect outdoor rocking chairs for out campsite as well. Strong and sturdy, and built for two!

The “stuffed” animals were a sight to behold left and right and you explore each section of the store. You feel you’re one with nature, and to be honest, the kids were both enthralled and scared!

My daughter in the kids’ sections for clothing and the Disney character fishing supplies, grandpa always wants to take her to the lakes and reservoirs nearby. I loved looking at the Columbia women’s sportswear, my husband drooled over the kayaks.After an hour in the store, you forget how expanse it is, but upstairs you get a look and see when looking for the people in your family, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack! I walked by the waterfalls and large fishtank about 50 times, luckily it’s a beautiful and calming spot in the active store.

This was one of many texts back and forth to my husband and some of the items we left with…

If you love hunting, fishing, boating, camping, and all things sportsman, you have to get to a Bass Pro Shops in your area, visit online, or purchase a gift card for the holidays to put a smile under the tree for someone you love! Find them online also on Facebook and Twitter to keep up on the latest news and deals.

We were given a gift card to explore the store, all opinions are our own.

Home Warranties – Peace of Mind for the Entire Family

November 7, 2011 by The Mom Jen Leave a Comment

It’s a dreaded downward spiral. In the middle of a busy workweek, the washing machine breaks down. Which means the laundry start to pile up from sports uniforms, dance costumes and work clothes. And that means you have to take time out of your busy schedule to find a time to get it repaired. And whether you’re a multitasking stay at home mom or working mother, that’s often easier said than done.

That’s why home warranties are both a time and life-saver – especially one from American Home Shield. With an American Home Shield Home Protection plan, you can purchase a one-year home warranty contract that covers many of the home system components and appliances that typically break down over time.

When you experience one of these problems, you simply request service online or call to request services and make a home repair appointment 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They’ll send out a contractor to you to repair or replace the problem.

It’s easy to find a California home warranty with a pricing tier that is right for you, or anywhere else in the country. You can also build a plan customized for your individual needs.

And with almost 40 years in the business and a current rate of more than 2.5 million service requests handled each year, they take customer satisfaction seriously. Visit American Home Shield today to find out how you can arrange peace of mind for your family. Now that fall and winter is upon us, you don’t want a broken heater to get in the way!

Sponsored post.