Find The Seasons Hot New Swimwear at Express

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Express for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you have been following my blogs for a while then you know I love the Jersey Shore. There is nothing that can hold me back when it is time to go on my trip. Since the time is getting near, sort of, I thought would take a look at what the stores are offering this year on women's swimwear. I found some great styles at Express.com for both myself and my hubby.

I really am particular to one piece suits and really love the Pareos that you wrap around your hips for some additional coverage when needed or wrap around your shoulders when the wind comes up. Express has some cute selections that I think you would like as well. This is one of my favorites.

What is neat about Express is that you can sign up for their Express e-mail and get entered for a chance to win Ten $200 Express gift cards. How cool is that??? Here is the sweepstakes rules so you can check it out and get entered as well. You can do some serious damage at Express with $200! They have some awesome accessories to go with your swimwear such as tote bags, sunglasses, sandals and hats for you and your hubby or significant other as well. Enjoy shopping for your new swimwear!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post and I was compensated by the advertiser to write this post. We were provided with the subject matter to write about but our thoughts, opinions and words are 100% our own. Please read our Terms of Service & Disclaimer Policy for additional information. All information contained on this blog is copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved.

~ Almost ~ Wordless Wednesday Post! A Day Late!

My oh my...time sure does fly and I am really enjoying my new role in life as a grandmother to my precious little 22 month old grand daughter Gia. In this photo to the left, Miss gia was watching a DVD with her Nanny for a product review on my Two Classy Chics Blog and she was sporting her new pink shoes from UMI also a product review. My little cutie pootie model loves helping Nanny with her product reviews!

When I was first told that my daughter was pregnant over 2 years ago I was laying in a hospital (had been there for 2 months) and I had given up fighting and just wanted the misery to be over. When my daughter walked into my hospital room and told me she was pregant and showed me the ultra sound photo...I immediately decided that I had to fight this awful disease called Porphyria. I had to be here for my daughter and I had to be here for the baby. When Miss Gia was born...I was in the delivery room and it was the BEST day of my life! I am so thankful that I have my daughter Jenelle and grand daughter Gia in my life.

So...yet again....an ALMOST wordless wednesday post!

How To Find A Good Primary Care Physician

Finding a good primary care physician is the most important step in being proactive in your own healthcare.

These days I see way too many people just opening up their local phone books and selecting a physician by viewing an advertisement in the yellow pages or by seeing an advertisement on television. In my opinion, this is the wrong way to be selecting your own personal physician.

Here are the steps you should be taking:

1. Ask your family and friends who they are seeing for their primary healthcare. Ask them for referrences.

2. Call your local hospital or the hospital you prefer going to and asking them for a referral. These days, a lot of hospitals have Physician Referral Hotlines.

3. Call your local state medical board. Ask them to refer a few physicians to you and let them know upfront that you do not want any referrals to problematic physicians who have complaints against them. In addition, any physician that you are considering you should be checking out their credentials with your state medical board.

4. Ask some local nurses. If you don't know any nurses personally, ask your friends and family if they do. I often find that the best referrals come from nurses who often know who is the best in the area in a specific medical speciality.

5. Call your insurance company. These days a lot of insurance companies will help you find the perfect physician and often times they are also aware of any physician who has complaints filed against he or she, information that you might not otherwise know about.

Sit down and right down the names of the physicians that have been referred to you and go over your list. If you are comfortable with a certain sex (male or female) eliminate the others.

You can call up the state medical board and check out their credentials. You can also get online and go to the American Medical Associations website and find out information there.

I also recommend that you do a web search for the physician you are considering by going to a major search engine online and typing in the physicians name. Usually, a lot of online information will pop up that you can continue your investigation.

You should always do your research before selecting a physician. One of the most important members of your healthcare team begins with the Primary Care Physician so make sure you have one that you fully trust and who is qualified to take care of you and your family.

St. Patrick's Day Party | Pot o' Gold Beverage Punch Recipe

We love hosting St. Patrick's Day parties here at our home since we all have a little bit of Irish in us (or at least we do on St. Patrick's Day LOL). This is a great party punch recipe that you can whip up and serve to your party guests in a nice punch bowl.

Pot o' Gold Beverage Punch Recipe

3 cups pineapple juice (chilled)
2 cups orange juice (chilled)
3 cups gingeral ale (chilled)
1 large orange, sliced into thin slices

You want to chill all of your juices and ginger ale for a few hours before the party. About 1-2 hours before the party you want to pour the pineapple juice, orange juice and ginger ale into a punch bowl. Toss in the freshly sliced orange slices and allow them to float on top.

This will serve 12 people and you can easily double this recipe for bigger crowds. Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day party and your Pot o' Gold Punch!

~ Almost ~ Wordless Wednesday Post!

Wow, last week flew by and it is time for another Wordless or in this case "Almost Wordless" Wednesday post! My photo today is of a page I recently made for my daughter's scrapbook featuring her and my little grand daughter together!

Scrapbooking Play Dates With The Grand Daughter!

I finally took some much needed time off today just to do a few things that I wanted to do for myself and that included a little bit of scrapbooking. I often have play dates with my little 22 month old grand daughter and I decided to scrapbook a layout today of 2 photos that I took during recent play dates with her.

I wanted a clean and simple 12x12 layout and I decided to work in purples and lime green. I wasn't sure if I would like those 2 colors together but once the page was done...I was pleased with the results.

I used a piece of distressed purple scrapbooking paper for my background and I used 2 border stickers on the layout, one across the top and one across the bottom. The one across the top has a quote about special memories. I cropped down my 2 photos and mounted them onto lime green and dark purple scrapbooking paper and rounded the corners. I then used 3-Dimensional word stickers "Cuddle" and "Love" to accent the sides of each photo. The "Cuddle" one is near the top photo because she was sitting in her rocking chair rocking her new Cabbage Patch Doll. Under the bottom photo I used to plain word stickers that say "Incredible" and "Charmer". In each corner of the layout is 3-Dimensional Buttons that I mounted onto stacked square shaped papers to add dimension. I did my journaling on the back of the layout as I wanted a clean looking front. Yes folks, you can journal on the back of your paper! I think the layout came out pretty darn cute!

~* Shelly *~

~ Almost ~ Wordless Wednesday Post!

It's time for another (Almost) Wordless Wednesday Post! This week it features my little grand daughter who enjoys having play dates with her Nanny & Pappy. On this particular play date she got her new pink shoes from us along with her new Dora the Explorer DVD. So, we spent the afternoon watching Dora and then had a little tea party! I really enjoy our play dates with her!

Feeling Unappreciated....

For the past few days I have been feeling unappreciated by family and friends and I really dislike feeling this way. As a person who is chronically ill and on home nursing care, I still work a full-time business from home and I keep my home clean and meals on the table. You know...I could sit around and watch soap operas all day long and eat bonbons and doughnuts but no...I bust my dang butt to make sure that things get done.

So, I am feeling really unappreciated because sometimes I think folks expect even more out of me or from me than what I am already giving which I think that I give too much as it is. I rarely have time for myself or time to do the things I like to do which is craft, scrapbooking, walk outdoors, etc. because I am always overloaded with work (in the house or business work). It really hurts to feel this way and I am sure that my unappreciated feeling will pass in a few days but this week...it is how I feel!

I think this weekend I will take some time off and just do the things that I want to do. Perhaps unplug from the web and lock myself in my craft room for a few hours! Or, maybe I can pester the husband to take me out for some dinner and shopping. Anyway....does anyone else ever feel like they bust their butts and then at the end of the day you feel like your hard work isn't appreciated by those around you?