Just in time for Father’s Day, Brain Foggles in conjunction with Become An EX and You Cast Corporation is offering a giveaway to help you quit smoking.

Seventy percent of smokers in America want to quit, but only about five percent of smokers are successful in quitting long-term. Most people just don’t know how to quit.  That’s where EX comes in. The free EX Plan, available at BecomeAnEX.org, teaches smokers how to “re-learn” life without cigarettes. Developed in partnership with Mayo Clinic, as well as input from ex-smokers, EX is a new way to think about quitting that can help smokers become an EX for good.

EX is a free quit smoking plan. There’s a catch, right? The National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation, helping people stop smoking is what we do. Inside this site, you’ll find lots of tools, resources, information and exercises that’ll help you prepare to quit smoking. It’s all broken down into three steps:

1. Re-learn Habit: You know how things, like driving, stress or just having dinner, make you want to smoke? These things are called smoking triggers. EX will help you re-learn how to handle them without smoking.

2. Re-learn Addiction: When you smoke, the nicotine in your cigarettes causes receptors in your brain to get that “nice” feeling. And that “nice” feeling makes you want to smoke more. EX will show you how to break this cycle and double your chances of quitting smoking for good.

3. Re-learn Support: The right kind of support can greatly increase your chances of quitting smoking. The online EX Community provides just that. Connect with other smokers trying to quit and see how others are re-learning life without cigarettes.

Giveaway: Two winners will receive the EX – quitpack complete with a ex-backpack, air freshener, trigger cards and stickers, cup holder, re-learn booklet and EX instructions.

The Rules:

1. Contest starts now and ends June 2oth midnight EST.
2. Open to adults 18 and over from US.
3. One submission per household.
4. Winner will be chosen by Random.org.
5. Winner has 2 days to claim prize via email.
6. Have fun and tell your friends.

How To Enter:

For One Entry For Each Below: (please leave a separate comment for each entry)

1. Visit the Triggers page. Leave a comment about what trigggers you or someone you know to smoke.
2. Enter another giveaway and leave a comment on which one.
3. Follow me, ConnieFoggles on Twitter. (Please leave your Twitter ID)
4. Like Brain Foggles on Facebook and leave your Facebook name please.
5. Use the Share Button and share this post (for example on Facebook, Reddit, etc.) Leave a comment for each place you shared. One point for each share.
6. Use the Like Button by this post. Leave a comment that you clicked on it.
7. Tweet this exactly. You may tweet this daily: (leave a link to your tweet or your Twitter ID)

#Win an EX quitpack to help u stop smoking @ConnieFoggles http://bit.ly/9OGVd2 PL RT

The giveaway is provided by You Cast Corporation and Become An EX.

Giveaway Ended.

We’re learning a lot about tonsils and adenoids in children since Sammi has been sick and on antibiotics so often these last 6 months. Sammi has allergies to almost everything, is on 3 prescription medications for allergies and gets allergy shots now for about 8 months. She was supposed to feel better after getting her allergy shots and be able to lower her prescription doses, but that hasn’t happened.

We visited  her allergist and after a thorough examination and history and another antibiotic prescription for a sinus infection, she had an x-ray of her adenoids. No need to have her tonsils x-rayed since she they can be seen as being huge. Well her adenoids are enlarged too.

Next step is a visit to an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctor. She may end up having her tonsils and adenoids removed over the summer in an attempt to stop these infections. I’d love to hear from anyone who’s child has gone through this surgery. First of all, how did the doctor decide whether or not to do the surgery? How long was the recovery? Any advice?

It’s one thing to research about tonsils and adenoids than to hear about it first hand from others.

Filtrete Healthy Housekeeping is a way to keep your home free from allergins, especially dust and mold. My daughter Sammi has very bad allergies both indoor and outdoor. We do the best we can to keep dust, mold, pet dander and pollen out of the house with good housekeeping and by using 3M Filtrete Air Filters.

Thank goodness for my husband who does the heavy housekeeping including:

Start at the Top: Ceiling fans, tops of bookshelves, and the tops of door frames harbor dust so dust often. Start at the top and work your way down, collecting all of the dust and dirt that falls to the floor by vacuuming.

Think Horizontally: Dust mites are nearly everywhere.  In fact, the American Lung Association estimates that roughly four out of five homes in the United States have detectable levels of dust mite allergen in at least one bed.  Reduce dust mites by encasing your mattress and pillows, and wash your bedding in hot water once a week.  Also, since dust mites are microscopic, place strips of duct tape on the mattress case to prevent the dust mites from sneaking through.

Clean the In-between: While cleaning what you can see, don’t forget to clean what you can’t see – the air you breathe.  Use a high performance air filter in the home, such as the Filtrete 1” Ultimate Allergen Reduction filter from 3M, to help capture particles such as pollen, smoke, dust mite debris and pet dander from the air that passes through the filter.  Be sure to change your filter at the start of every season, or every three months.

Freeze the Fur: Stuffed animals can harbor dust mites so it’s important to pay special attention to them.  Place stuffed animals in a large plastic bag and freeze them for four to five hours.  Remove them from the freezer and plastic bag, and use a vacuum with a HEPA filter to remove any leftover dust particles.

Finish With Floors: Vacuum and clean them weekly. Don’t forget to clean the floor under large pieces of furniture, which may require you to temporarily move them elsewhere.  Corners of rooms and the back of closets often are overlooked, so be sure to clean these areas as well.

Dust Items: Don’t forget to dust the items on shelves as they collect dust too.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Filtrete and received a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Lauren’s Hope provides medical ID bracelets with fashion. No more boring jewelery that announces “this is a medical bracelet” so everyone knows that you have a medical problem. Now with Lauren’s Hope you can have the medical information on hand that EMT’s, ER’s and other medical personnel needs with style.

For Mother’s Day, Lauren’s Hope is a wonderful place to shop for gifts. If your Mom has Diabetes, other illnesses or conditions or takes medicine that affects her medical treatment a fashionable bracelet would show how much you care.  There are lots of different styles and prices. For example there’s the Daisy Petals Bracelet for $39.95 and the Smooth Silver with Twist Rings Bracelet for $69.95. There’s even watches and custom made bracelets.

My Review: As someone who used to wear a medical ID bracelet and no longer does because of feeling that I stand out too much and because the regular ones are plain old ugly, Lauren’s Hope has made me a huge fan. Like that I can wear this type of jewelery and have people think it’s a fashion statement yet medical personnel can see the medical identification part of it. That medal can be turned so just the bracelet is shown but if needed in an emergency, it is easily found especially if worn on the left arm, where EMT’s, etc. are trained to look for this type of identification.

Purchase: Available from Lauren’s Hope, choose by Women, Men, Girls Boys and Pets too!

Giveaway: $25 Gift Certificate to Lauren’s Hope

The Rules:

1. Contest starts now and ends April 17th midnight EST.
2. Open to adults 18 and over from US and Canada.
3. One entry per household.
4. Winner will be chosen by Random.org.
5. Winner has 2 days to claim prize via email.
6. Have fun and tell your friends.

How To Enter:
For One Entry For Each Below: (please leave a separate comment for each entry)

1. Visit Lauren’s Hope and comment about what bracelet you like. Be sure to use the exact item name.
2. Leave a comment about a type of jewelery your mother, mother-in-law, step-mother or favorite woman in your life doesn’t ever take off.
3. Become a Lauren’s Hop Facebook Fan. Leave a message that ConnieFoggles sent you on their wall. Leave me your Facebook name with your comment that you’ve done this.
4. Let me know if you shared about my Mother’s Day Event by commenting here.
5. Follow me, ConnieFoggles, on Twitter. (Please leave your Twitter ID)
6. Use the share button below this post to share this on any network. Leave a comment for each network and your ID there. For example Reddit.
7. Write a blog post linking to this blog post. Leave a link to your post. This is worth 5 Entries. Please leave 5 separate comments such as I wrote a blog post #1, I wrote a blog post #2, etc.
8. Enter another giveaway and leave a comment on which one.
   
9. Tweet this exactly. You may tweet this daily: (leave a link to your tweet or your Twitter ID)

Win a $25 GC from @LaurensHopeID from @ConnieFoggles http://bit.ly/98QRHy PL RT

For this event I am not suggesting that children make their own purchases, especially online, without the approval and guidance of an adult. Please remember single mothers in your life for Mother’s Day. Help their children make or buy gifts so that their Mother’s Day is special too.

This Mother’s Day event will continue throughout April. Stay tuned for more suggestions, reviews and giveaways.

Giveaway Ended.