Save 25% off all Household Labels throughout the month of January!

**This post contains affiliate links. Once links are clicked, I may be compensated if purchases are made.**

Welcome to 2015!
How are those resolutions coming?
I played it safe this year and didn't make too many resolutions other than to get back on my feet and get a home for my daughters, which will happen within the next couple months! YAY!

When it comes down to it, we all have the best intentions of keeping our New Year's resolutions. Even though many of them can be quite difficult to keep. You agree?
If one of your resolutions just happens to be getting organized then I have the perfect solution for you... Mabel's Labels! They can not only help you get organized but also help you stay on the organization bandwagon all year long by offering 25% off all Household Labels throughout the month of January!

From the kitchen to bedrooms to storage room and more.... It's time to get labeling so you're not wasting precious time searching for your needed items! No more losing your stuff and having to repurchase it and wind up finding it all months later (more than likely while your searching for something else!), which burns up your hard earned money faster then realized!

At checkout, Enter the coupon code: TIDYHOME
to save 25% on Household labels ONLY!

Disclaimer: This blog accepts compensation in the form of products and/or monetary for selected posts which will be labeled as sponsored. No matter the compensation, I only write about items and/or services that I have personal experience with and believe my readers will enjoy and/or benefit from. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of others.
View Full Disclosure for further details.
This post may contain affiliate links.

Treat Your Feet Giveaway

Winners have been announced via rafflecopter form below!!
Congratulations to the 3 lucky winners!!

As you enjoy the last days of summer fun with the kids at the pool, beach, or back yard, don’t neglect your feet. The sand, chlorine, and sun exposure can take a toll on your tootsies! Your Strong Tower, Two Classy Chics, and a great group of bloggers have teamed up with TableclothsFactory.com to bring you the Treat Your Feet Giveaway! Win one of three foot pampering prizes, plus great items from Tablecloths Factory. 

Our feet are some of the hardest working parts of our body and they deserve a break every now and then... Don't you agree? We stand on them all day everyday - sometimes unprotected on hard painful surface. Noone enjoys having soar feet so when the opportunity arises to give your feet that much needed pampering time.... Don't hesitate - Jump to it and start relaxing!

Our first big winner will receive HoMedics HHP-350 Percussion Action Massager AND their choice of any 3 Ruffle Trims Styles.

Our second winner will be enjoying seen Conair Waterfall Foot Spa with Lights, Bubbles, and Heat + 7 Colors of Lovable Satin Stripes Table Runners.

Our third lucky prize winner will receive a Powerful Emjoi Micro-Pedi Callus Remover + 72”x72” Couture Tulle Satin Overlay in Black Gold.

TableclothsFactory.com has high quality table linens at wholesale prices! They carry a huge selection of colorful linens and décor items that's sure to put a smile on your face when you start shopping for all your fall festivities - including: business conferences, Halloween and Harvest parties, or fall weddings. If you need chair covers, tablecloths, runners, sashes or simply table napkins, TableClothsFactory.com is the place to go and find gorgeous fabrics in a rainbow of colors. Don’t forget, they're great party supplies such as neat favors, balloons, LED lights, and cake stands for all your entertaining and decorating needs.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway is open from Wednesday August 6^th thru Monday, August 11^th 2014. Open to US residents ONLY - Age 18+ (Prizes CANNOT be shipped to Hawaii or Alaska.) My Kind Of Introductionis not responsible for prize shipment. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen

Disclaimer: This blog accepts compensation in the form of products and/or monetary for selected posts which will be labeled as sponsored. No matter the compensation, I only write about items and/or services that I have personal experience with and believe my readers will enjoy and/or benefit from. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of others. View Full Disclosure for further details. This post may contain affiliate links.

Receive a Custom Photo Pillowcase for Just $5

Save $16.99 on your very own

Custom Photo Pillowcase at York Photo!

Pay just $5

Use Code: FIVEPILLOW

S&H Not Included. New Customers Only.

1 Use. Quantity Limit 1 at Discounted Price.

Cannot Combine Coupon Codes.

Exp. 03-19-2014.

Disclaimer: This blog accepts compensation in the form of products and/or monetary for selected posts which will be labeled as sponsored. No matter the compensation, I only write about items and/or services that I have personal experience with and believe my readers will enjoy and/or benefit from. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of others. View Full Disclosure for further details.

This post may contain affiliate links.

Comparing Life - 2 Years later

"Life never claimed to be easy but I never though it would be as hard as it's been."

Excuse my spelling.... I never once claimed to be a great speller because I knew better :-)

While cleaning up my house a couple days ago, I ran across a couple index cards from 2011, in an old pocketbook. I always end up leaving things inside my pocketbooks when it's time to switch to a new one so I didn't think much about these cards until I flipped them over and read what had been written on them....

I was quite surprised, to say the least!

Let me explain -- In 2011, my fiance and I had found ourselves falling on some pretty tough times. Our family was without a stable home for quite a few months. We had been living with some friends who were kind enough to let our little family move in but the situation was nowhere near perfect. For a few months, things were great. Besides the fact that the home we were staying in was a 3 bedroom trailer deep into Waynesville NC while Alan's job was in Asheville, not a drastically long distance apart but it was about a 30 minute drive to and from the job and home. Another downfall about our living quarters was the amount of people living in the home along with the amount of space and privacy. I failed to mention that between both families who were living in this trailer... It started out as 4 adults and 5-6 kids (One boy only came over on the weekends) but after a court case, 2 more kids moved in full time- bringing the total amount of people to 11-12!! At that time, the kids ranged from the age of 8 being the oldest and age 2 being the youngest! I know your probably wondering how we handled the situation but like I said - The first few months was great. One of the kids that we moved in with just happened to be my fiance's son... Yes you guessed it... We were living with my fiance's ex-wife, her husband and their 3 kids (4 on the weekend), and one of those kids was also ours, MJ... As we say "We share him". All the kids knew and liked each other and surprisingly enough... Not only was I extremely close to Dawn but Alan also considered his youngest son's step-father as one of his best-friends. 

Living with 8 kids can be tough sometimes but we figured out a routine pretty quickly!

After a few months, attitudes started clashing and I was over the large amount of kids the not so much privacy time. As the time went on, my attitude started clashing with CM's attitude (Dawn's husband). We were too much alike and it got to the point that I could no longer live in the house with that many people anymore. So we left and stayed at my mama's for a bit.... Until her landlord had other plans.

We ended up renting a room in a Weekly Rent - Vacation Hotel type place where we would pay weekly and had our own area. It wasn't an actual hotel, I always called it the Hotel Apartment and even though it was pretty pricey .. We wasn't living with another family, but we did all have to share one living space, but that didn't bother us too much. It was quiet, nice and Alan's job was not even 5 minutes down the road and stores were close by. I lost 2 very important people while living at the Hotel Apartment and if it wasn't for them... We wouldn't of been able to stay in our room for as long as we had...... After dealing with the pain and loss of 2 important people, we knew things had to change. We had just celebrated both of our daughters' birthday's in that room and according to the date on one of the index cards, I wrote them just hours before Pops passed away and his wife was just days later. (Moms passed away the morning after we laid her husband in the ground.. She couldn't live without him) They were our best-friend's mom and step-dad and losing them both just days apart was a complete surprise and a bit of a wake up call. I didn't want my daughters to continue living that way. Loran was scheduled to start Kindergarten during the following August and I wanted a home before then. And even though one of the cards is labeled as my New Years Resolution, I know for a fact that I didn't write it in January because I never owned those Post-It Sticky Index Cards until we was at the Hotel Apartment, which was during May and June of 2011.

Photo's taken from in and around the "Hotel Apartment" during June '11

Near the end of July, we finally were able to rent our own home and live normally again! It took us a while but we did it. Yes we still have our struggles, that will never change, but knowing how much my family has overcome through our years together... I'm happy to say that we stand strong even on days when we can't help but break down.
We've lived in the home where we are now since July of 2011 and as you know - It's the month of June in 2013. Two years later and I find those cards just days from when they were written. A part of me is sad when I think about those moments in time where I was nowhere happy with how my life had turned out. And even though my life today is not exactly how I want it to be... we're happier, and on our own again! That's the main thing, I'm not a "Live with people" type of girl and don't plan on having to put my family through something that crazy again. (That living arrangement with friends was not the 1st time)



While our life now don't match my dreams exactly to what I wanted for our family...but it's not far off:

We have a place to live in that we can call home, I'm not selling my own items like I wanted. (I'm a crafty person and use to make all kinds of things including kids pillows, purses and others) But I do run this blog and to me... It's pretty much the same except I'm not selling my products, I'm still making a bit of money and get to express myself however I like.

We don't have alot of extra money to spare, there's no Beach Vacation in our near future, but we are able to stand on our feet and pay the bills on time... for the most part atleast :-)

And we're happy, not jumping for joy like winning the lottery but we have the things we need and that's good enough for us. Our daughters are happy and go to the same school that I grew up in and I couldn't be happier about it!

Life is good and I hope it gets nothing but better.
My little family - with 2 daughters, fiance and myself - mean everything to me and aslong as we have each other then we have all we need in life.

The Orgreenic - The Perfect Non-Stick Green Pan

I recently started a promotion where other bloggers and/or my readers (Meaning YOU!) can write up posts about things that you believe need to be talked about. I will be posting these Guest Posts throughout the next few weeks. The topics will vary. I have received a WONDERFUL review on a n Eco-Friendly Fry Pan that a good friend recently got as a gift and I would like to share it to you.
Enjoy!

I am still accepting Guest Posts from Readers and Other Bloggers! If your interested: Contact me
via Email - AutoFaerie@gmail.com
Via Twitter - @AutoFaerie
Via Facebook - The Realm Of Freebies, Deals & Fun
Or Comment below

The Orgreenic - Non-Stick Green Pan

Written By - Christina Petersen of FL

If you are like me, you have your favorite frying pan. The one you always call on for a perfect omelette or eggs. Mine is as old as I am, but I've been hesitant to get rid of it because they just don't make pans like they use to.

Recently, my fiance's coworker told him about the Orgreenic perfect green pan. He told him that it was sold at CVS and other retailers for $19.99 plus tax.

After some convincing he got one for me, and I tried it out.

I instantly fell in love.

The directions are simple and straight forward. Before your first use, you "season" the pan. *For anyone who doesn't know - seasoning is simply applying butter or Crisco to the surface, heating it till it is hot enough to slightly smoke, then letting it cool, and washing with warm soapy water.

The pan does everything the packaging says it does. NOTHING sticks to it (Not even melted caramel or burnt chocolate!!), and you don't even have to use butter! Perfect for healthier cooking! The price is very reasonable and worth every penny. My very first omelette out of my Orgreenic pan was 5 star perfection! Cleanup is amazingly easy. Since nothing sticks, washing is a snap.

The pan is not only for stove top cooking. It can be used in the oven and broiler as well! The handle is metal and never gets hot while on the stove. I got this pan over a week ago, and I have been telling everyone I know about it. The Orgreenic green line also features a griddle pan and a perfect flip pancake pan. Those two will be in my kitchen inventory very soon. This pan has NO downfalls! You will not be disappointed with your purchase, I guarantee it!

If you would like to learn more about Orgreenic Nonstick Ceramic Frypans line you can visit them on their website at https://www.orgreenicskillet.com

Also available at Kohl's



Disclaimer: The review above is an honest opinion from a non-blogger who purchased the product herself or had it purchased for her. No compensation was given or received. I only post information and products on My Kind Of Introduction that I believe in and that I think will benefit my readers since they are top priority. We are in no way affiliated with the brand and/or company mentioned.

#ChallengeToWrite -- A little about my hometown....

Okay, so my regular readers will know that I joined a ChallengeToWrite at the beginning of May. I hate to say that I haven't been up to the challenge everyday :(

I have forgotten about it or had planned to write my post... Even get it started... And then get distracted and the posts never get finished.

I have decided to catch up on the topics that I missed. Even though they will be out of order, I'll post the date that I was supposed to write them and the topic name with each post.

I'm warning you... These posts will be EXTREMELY out of order!!!

I would like to start my out of order catch-up with the topic from May 9, 2013:

A little about your hometown....

My hometown is Candler, North Carolina. A small town outside Asheville, NC. Most people would say that I live in Asheville, and I do say it often but the truth is that I live in Candler and I have for almost my whole life. I was born in Asheville because that's where the hospitals are but my home has always been in the country. Candler isn't very big and you can drive through it in just a few minutes. We have farmers markets, lots of mom and pop stores, horses and cows! if you take any back-road in Candler, your sure to pass a pasture with either some horses or a few cows... sometimes both. But it doesn't smell bad like you would think it would with all the animals. (I have cow fields near my house and you would never know it.... unless you payed attention when you was on your way here of course!) My fiance always says that Candler isn't the mountains but I believe it is. The views are beautiful and sometimes you can see for miles! It can get pretty bad in the Winter though and I'm not a fan of that one bit! Most of the places that I've lived have been off back-roads and it's always been hard to get to and from home when a big snow storm hits. I try to be prepared when the weather is calling to be bad.

We're near the Blue Ridge Parkway (in Asheville) and it don't take too long to get to the big stores and entertainment that ALWAYS goes on in Asheville. I am sad to say that I have lived in this area my whole life (minus 3 months when I lived in Hickory, NC) but I've never been to the Biltmore House or an Olive Garden! I know... Crazy right?! Hard to believe, but true. I've also never ate at the local Red Lobster... even though my fiance works there! That's okay though because I'm not a big seafood fan.... If it came out of the water then I'm not going to eat it. Well, that's a lie. I do eat tuna every now and then and I have been known to eat a bit of crab dip. But the Biltmore House, Olive Garden and Red Lobster are in Asheville, not Candler. To be truthful.... there's nothing big and popular in Candler. We're just a bunch of country people who know how to party on the back-roads! (When I was a teen and young adult, I was always at some sort of party off one of the many Candler back-roads!) That's one thing we have LOTS of... BACK-ROADS!! I love them, you can go on a drive and take in all the scenery.
(We do have Enka High School, their sports teams have been known to win a good bit of games!)
I love my hometown!
I love Candler, NC!!

Honey... We have a problem... A Bug Problem

**WARNING** -- THIS POST WAS WRITTEN WITH EYES WIDE OPEN AND PANIC FLOWING THROUGH MY VEINS!

Note To Self - Never spray half of your house with bug spray if you don't have time to spray the other half...

We have a bug problem!!! It wasn't that bad of a problem until I convinced my fiance to spray part of the outside of the house, before he headed to work, yesterday afternoon.

It started out as a simple ant problem once the weather started warming up. The ants were starting to show up in our daughters room a little bit, where they would drop trash behind the dresser and forget about snacks on shelves. They even popped up in my room when I would forget a drink can sitting. It wasn't much though, just a few here and there. A quick spray with some bug spray and the problem was gone.

While I was getting some summer bags out from under our house, I noticed a decent size ant trail going up into my floor, under the master bedroom. I had recently signed up for a BzzCampaign from BzzAgent for an Amdro PowerFlex Pest and Weed System and had been expecting it in the mail soon. It showed up at the Post Office and I was able to go pick it up yesterday. I was so excited about using the system that i convinced my fiance to spray the area under out house that I saw the ants at. He also sprayed at out back door, on the same side of the house. He then had to go inside and get ready for work. I was pretty relaxed, Alan had sprayed the ants that were coming into my room so I didn't have to worry about my drink getting attacked when I was asleep.

He went to work and I continued my day as usual. It wasn't until Alan got home from work, after midnight, that I went into my room. On the opposite side of the room from where he sprayed the outside and under the house, is my side. Our bed is in the middle of the room and I have lots of things on my side including a couple bags of summer clothes that I haven't went through yet. I also have one of those plastic drawers that hold my lamp and LOTS of randoms. The dryer is not far away (Yes the dryer is in my room.... I have no clue what the the designers were thinking).I have a couple Mountain Dew cans on my dryer and now I am afraid to touch them..... ANTS ARE EVERYWHERE! I can't figure out where the trail is starting at. If I remove the cans, where ever I take them, the ants will take over that area. They have lead their trail in, out and over my stuff so well that I can't just start spraying! The only way to remove all the ants is to start by moving all the stuff. I can't be making all that noise while the kids are asleep and I can't go to sleep with my room half covered in ants! My fiance fell asleep on the couch so I can't run there either.... 

Atleast I can say that I have only seen 3 ants on the other side of my bedroom! I have learned my lesson! Never spray half of your house with bug spray if you don't have time to spray the other half! I have so many ants in my room right now. The weird thing is that the ants look odd.... Some are the normal tiny black ants and then some have a stripped butt! I thought that maybe the queen had the stripped butt and then I remembered the queen has wings, not a different butt. That's when I started noticing that more and more of the ants had the stripped butts!!!! I'm not sure what kind of crazy ant-bug I have in my house but they are giving me the creeps! I can't even go to sleep. I stayed in the living room for as long as I could and then I figured I needed to let Alan get a few hours of sleep without the lamp on and me typing on the computer. So I moved to my room... Now I'm sitting in the middle of my bed and feeling like I have ants crawling all over me. I keep feeling something even though the ants are not on me. I'm afraid to go to sleep even though I'm starting to get really sleepy since it is now 6:30am (when I am typing this post, the time will be different when it gets posted live and you get the chance to read this.)!! Today is going to be on LONG day! My fiance works all day today and it's a weekend so I won't be able to catch up on my missed sleep while the kids are in school like I normally can when I end up staying up too late.

Somehow I will have to get up enough energy to find how the super ants are coming inside and GET RID OF THEM!!!! I cannot go another night with these ants slowly taking over my room. It seems like they don't even have to have something to go after to show up. Yes they have a couple drink cans but they are not all after them Most of the ants are crawling on the outside of a summer clothes bag that has nothing sweet or food like inside it. Good thing this new Pest and Weed System has stuff for inside and outside because I would be flipping out more than I am now if I didn't have a way to get rid of these ants. I hate bugs, they make me itch, I feel like they are on me when I know they are not. 

Wish me luck! I'm not sure how this job will get done or how long it will take but IT WILL GET DONE... SOMEHOW!! 

Just Moved or Planning on Moving soon?

File your USPS Change of Address Form!

Have you recently moved or are planning on moving soon? Noone likes to lose important mail due to an address change or lost all of our magazine subscriptions!

File your USPS Change of Address Form today and keep up with all of your mail during and after your big... or small... move!

#ChallengeToWrite - Something in my house I can't live without

#ChallengeToWrite

One thing in your house that you can’t live without, and why?

The one thing in my house that I can't live without (Other than my kids) is my computer! I know it's sad but I don't get out much and my computer is how I connect with everyone... Including family. I work on the computer as well as a bit of play. It's become a HUGE part of my life!

I've always been a computer person. I had a computer in my room as a teen and took computer classes in high-school. I use to do nothing but play the Sims games and surf the web but now that I'm an adult, the computer has many different uses for me these days.

I'm a Photographer - I use my computer to edit and store my photos. I have programs downloaded to help with the editing and I have been known to sit and edit photo's for hours!

I'm a Blogger - As you all know... I run a blog. No, you don't have to have a computer to run a blog but I prefer to have one. I don't have an iPad or a notebook and i don't like blogging on my phone but I do have 2 desktops and a small emachines laptop (It may not be a great little laptop but I only blog on it so it works for me. My daughters goto PBSkids.com on it sometimes but not often) I am ALWAYS on my computer, I try to blog all day but I freeze up and I'm always behind a bit.

I'm a Gamer - I LOVE Games! My favorite game is for Xbox (The Fable Series) but I am a huge fan of Sims and other fun games. I play facebook games (sometimes), Games on Swag Bucks and that's pretty much it.... When I need a minute away from blogging, I play a game :-)

My computer is how I know whats going on. I don't watch much tv so if I lost my internet and computer... I would be lost for a bit until I got use to it all being gone. (I could get use to it though because I've done it before)

What's the one thing in your house that you can't live without?

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Question of the Day - April 25

- Question of the Day -

What's the one house chore that you dislike the most?

Mine is Washing dishes but lately it's been folding clothes. Our washer and dryer has been broken and we recently got new ones but since our old washer and dryer were broken for so long... Our clothes started piling up because we wasn't able to afford to go to the laundry mat very often. So now I have soooo much catching up to do that it's extremely overwhelming!

What's the one house chore that you dislike the most?

Show HGTV what Home means to you

What does Home mean to you?

Home is where you feel safe, your family, your city, your friends or your favorite place to hang out. Home can be alot more than just a simple address. It's the one place that you want to be when you have a bad day. The place you fall in love with over and over again.

HGTV wants to see what Home means to you!

Capture the moments and share the love of all things home in a single Photo! Include the hashtag #love home in your Twitter and Instagram posts!

You may even see your photo on HGTV!!!!

Watch this video below to learn more or click here

• Take a picture that captures the meaning of home to you. Visit http://www.HGTV.com/lovehome for inspiration.

• Include a short description of your photo about how this photo captures the meaning of home for you. Include the hashtag #lovehome

• Share your pictures on Twitter/Instagram by using #lovehome and mentioning @HGTV

Lets Show HGTV what Home really means to us!