Inspired Guns DVD Giveaway

Maple Mountain Communications has given me an opportunity to do a little giveaway.  You could win a DVD of the newly released movie Inspired Guns.

This film is another in the Mormon movie genre. There are a few in this genre that I've loved, mostly the more serious films like Charly, The Other Side of Heaven, and The Best Two Years. I haven't seen many of the comedies and this movie fits that category best.

Inspired Guns is a comedy of errors involving LDS missionaries, the mafia, and the FBI. Check out the press release for details on the cast and the background of this movie.

Want your own copy? Enter our giveaway now.

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I'm Still a Mom

It has been nearly a year since our boys moved out of the house. It was kind of lonely at first and it seemed like we usually had to be the ones to reach out if we wanted to hear from them. They only moved to the next city over, a quick 10-minute drive down the road, but our paths stopped crossing.

Even though it took some getting used to, we were happy to have a little more room in the house and our activities as a couple were improving. We were entering a new phase in our lives as parents.

Now that the boys have experienced living on their own and paying their own bills, we get the occasional text or phone call. They'll ask for help or advice. Sometimes they just need someone to talk to. Other times we end up helping mediate their arguments.

I have to be honest that I've enjoyed those moments where they still needed their mom or dad. Even better are the times when they realize that something we tried teaching them was true. We don't have the means to be able to rescue them from every situation. Job losses, cars breaking down, and mounting debts are all things that we've all had to deal with at one time or another. I'm glad my dear boys still come to me for help or comfort and that I get to be a mom on a whole new level.

Supporting the Local Community

As we increasingly find ourselves shopping for the best deals online, a lot of great local businesses end up finding it tough to compete. It's not just about trying to find the cheapest price. A lot of my motivation for shopping online is for the convenience. What if you could take advantage of the convenience and still support local products?

MercoBox is doing just that. They gather samples of products from your local community, packaging them in a fun box shipped to your door.

I was able to sample April's MercoLocal box:

• Eco Treasures soap nuts
• Ashley's Apothecary healing salve
• Fit Me Tea 3 tea samples and filter
• Meals that Transform power bar and protein mix
• Les Madeleines 3 madeleines
• Mason Jar Coffee Roasters Colombia Guatica
• Rodizio Grill gift card
• Our Childrens Earth gift card
• Downtime Yoga gift card
• Ballet West gift card

My first impression upon opening the box was a good one. These were unique items in quality packaging. I loved that I could try so many items produced here in Utah without a big investment. It reminds me of going to the farmer's market. This would be a very long post if I reviewed every product in the box, but I'll share some of the highlights.

The most surprising thing about the Ashley's Apothecary healing salve was its lack of smell. I'm used to these things having a pretty strong smell but this salve was odorless. It absorbs into the skin well without a greasy feeling.

One of the things you'll notice with Fit Me Tea is the lack of tea bag. These are loose leaf teas that come with paper filters. I like the packaging that tells you not only the flavor of the tea, but the function and the mood of it. For example, the G Blend says it is a "crisp, clean green with a shot of berry" and you'll feel "light & energized, like running on the beach naked." I'll have to take their word on that last part! Preparing the tea didn't end up taking any longer than throwing a tea bag in a cup and the flavor was amazing. Best green tea I've ever had and that bit of berry taste was the best part.

Of all the products, my favorites were the madeleines from Les Madeleines. These are soft, lemony little cakes that taste great alone and are absolutely heavenly when dunked in coffee, tea, or hot cocoa. I normally don't dunk things in my beverages but I'm glad I tried it. The bakery actually calls them cookies but they have more of a cake-like texture (at least to me).

Want your own MercoBox? Get one for 25% off by using this coupon code: iheartutah 

Disclaimer:  The MercoBox products were provided for this review. The opinions expressed are completely my own.

Birthday Memories

Birthdays are a funny thing. As a kid you get excited because you can't wait to get older. For a short period of time in your early adult years your birthday is a opportunity to have fun and you're not as concerned with age. At some point, you start to dread getting older and birthdays don't seem as fun.

Growing up poor meant we didn't do much for birthdays in our family. I do remember having a party for my birthday one time in all those years. Several school friends came over and I felt really special until my dad embarrassed me in front of everyone. He had a toy he was playing with - a battery operated helicopter attached by wire to a controller. All it could really do was go up or down based on running the propeller. Dad thought it would be fun to land it on my head during the birthday party. The helicopter landed gently on the top of my head and proceeded to start wrapping my hair around the propeller. You can imagine the rest...

Other than that one very interesting attempt at a party, the rest of the birthdays in our house were pretty low key. The birthday kid always got to choose their cake flavor. I always picked cherry chip cake with chocolate frosting. We also had a say in what we ate for dinner. Mom finally got tired of me always asking for chicken Kiev so she later limited what we could choose. I just liked being special for one day a year.

I was so sure that everyone else had better birthdays than I did. Imagine my surprise when I got married and found that my husband's family wasn't terribly different in how they celebrated. Any event in a Navajo family is celebrated with food. Birthdays for them were a great excuse to bring the family together. It was more than just dinner, though, and ended up being the type of family celebration that was better than decorations and presents.

With my own kids I tried to do the parties. We had some fun here and there and I even organized one heck of a Magic the Gathering party with a mini tournament and kids designing their own Magic cards. In the end it really wasn't my thing. The parties I still like the most are the big birthday cookouts with my husband's family and the gatherings at work where everyone just swaps stories.

Today is my husband's birthday and I'm sure he wishes he could be back home, having a big family cookout. I'm doing my best to make this a great birthday for him. Spam and eggs for breakfast, gifts both practical and fun, and then Navajo (or White Chick) tacos for dinner. Just spending the day together has been fun already.

What are your favorite birthday memories?