Tuesday, December 9, 2008

How NOT to Get Clean During the Holidays

Yesterday, I was brainstorming ideas for a blog post relevant to the holidays. Tossing around the words holidays, Christmas, clean, and soaps in the ole noggin recalled a childhood event I thought would be great to share.  My company's tag line is Getting Clean Never Looked So Good but I am going to explain how one day getting clean never looked so BAD.

One year, my parents decided to have Christmas dinner at our house and Christmas fell on my week to wash the dishes. Not a good thing at all since I have a really big family. I begged and pleaded with my parents to let me use the dishwasher which we NEVER used ever. In our house, the children were the dishwashers and the appliance itself was purely for decoration. Although they said no several times at first, they finally gave in after our family left that evening leaving dirty dishes in the sink, the family room, and the dining room.

I was as thrilled as I could be until I realized, I didn't know how to use the dishwasher! Upon figuring out what buttons to press, I loaded the dishwasher with all the dirty dishes that would fit, poured Joy dishwashing liquid into the dispenser, closed the dishwasher door, and turned it on.

I skipped away to my bedroom when all of a sudden I heard, "Lisa!" in only the tone of voice you knew meant trouble.  I ran back to the kitchen with my sisters following to find my father standing in the kitchen with soap suds pouring out of the dishwasher all across the kitchen floor.

Arlo & Janis

That day I learned there IS a difference between dishwashing liquid for the sink and dishwashing detergent for the dishwasher. My work load TRIPLED. Since we could not figure out how to stop the dishwasher, the entire time it was running, I had to stay in the kitchen with a mop to soak up the suds and water to keep the water and suds from reaching the carpeted rooms surrounding the kitchen. Basically, the kitchen floor ended up being mopped for about 3-4 hours until I got it completely dry.

And that ladies and gentleman is how NOT to get clean during the holidays.

Do you have a funny holiday story?  We'd love to hear it.  Please share in the comments.  Thanks!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Join the Club! The Cupcakes Club

Oh to be a little girl again! I have always been a baker and my favorite things to bake were muffins and cupcakes. For school bake sales…chocolate chip muffins, blueberry muffins, or cupcakes. For Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner, once again, I was making cupcakes. Now as an adult, I’m making cupcake soaps.

And the perfect thing for me would have been a cupcakes club but since there wasn’t one when I was growing up. Fortunately, for those little bakers and all the little girls with all the right ingredients, there’s The Cupcakes Club!

The Cupcakes Club was created by a mother daughter team Donna Benson and Audrey Benson Dunlop. Want to find out what makes a Cupcake girl extra special? Visit The Cupcakes Club to find out.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Serah's Cupcake Soaps on Your Carolina TV

Pink and Purple Cupcake Soaps
Serah's Cupcake Soaps (the Pink Cupcake Soap and the Pink Mini Cupcake Soap) were featured on Your Carolina with Jack and Kimberly today in the Holiday Gifts Under $40. Thank you Taryn!

Here's a link to view the video clip hosted on Your Carolina's website:
http://www.yourcarolina.tv/ycvideo/entry/holiday_gifts1/

The clip is about 7 minutes long and it counts down backwards so if you want to skip to the segment of the show where Serah's cupcakes are shown, advance forward to 1:26.

If there is some delay, the video is buffering.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Your Carolina with Jack and Kimberly, December 5th

Serah's Cupcake Soaps will be featured in the holiday gift segment on WSPA (CBS Greenville/Spartanburg) Your Carolina with Jack and Kimberly.

The show will air on Friday, December 5th between 10 am and 11 am EST in my Everything Under $40 Guide.


Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Christmas Delivery Guarantee 2008


Guaranteed delivery before Christmas is an essential part in keeping Christmas running smoothly and stress free which is why Serah’s is offering guaranteed Christmas delivery to help you achieve this with enough time left over to put the gift under the tree or in a Christmas stocking and leave some cookies out for Santa.

To guarantee delivery in time for Christmas....
  • Your order must be placed on or before Wednesday December 17th 2008, before 5pm PST
  • Applies to US mainland delivery addresses only (including APO/FPO addresses).
  • Only valid on online orders placed at www.serahsonline.com.
  • If paying by check/money order, payment must be received before December 17th 2008.

Looking for Christmas ideas?
Give sweets to your sweets. Serah's Cupcake Soaps & Mini Cupcake Soaps are perfect for the women and children on your list.

Give the gift of relaxation with our Massage Bars.

Let your gift help fight the battle against AIDS by purchasing select items that will benefit The Global Fund.


Get this at AllLayedOut.com

All packages from Serah’s are shipped through the United States Postal Service with delivery confirmation. Delivery will be confirmed using the delivery confirmation. If your package is lost in the mail, please contact your local US Post Office. Due to high postal volumes over the Christmas holiday season, we recommend you send your gifts as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

Monday, December 1, 2008

World AIDS Day 2008

Bloggers Unite

December 1st is World AIDS Day. This is a day when individuals and organizations from around the world come together to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and AIDS.gov are working with Bloggers Unite to multiply the power of the voice by thousands to share the knowledge about the AIDS epidemic and encourage participation in the fight against AIDS.

In the countries most heavily affected, HIV has reduced life expectancy by more than 20 years, slowed economic growth, and deepened household poverty. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, the epidemic has orphaned nearly 12 million children aged under 18 years. 1

The latest estimates indicate that at the end of 2003, HIV prevalence— the total number of persons with HIV—was roughly 1 million (estimated range between 1,039,000–1,185,000) [1]. Approximately one-fourth (24% –27%) of HIV-infected persons are believed to be unaware of their infection, underscoring the need to expand opportunities for HIV testing.2

There is much to be done to combat the spread of AIDS starting with HIV/AIDS prevention.

As some of you may know, Serah's is committed to helping in the fight against AIDS. Serah's hopes to donate $1000 to The Global Fund. One dollar from the purchase of select items will go towards this contribution. To view the select items, please click here.


I WANT TO READ MORE...
Learn more about the AIDS epidemic.
Read the 2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic.
Related Serah's blog posts:The Fight Against AIDS

References:
1. UNAIDS (2008) ‘Report on the global AIDS epidemic’.
2. Center for Disease Control and Prevention HIV and AIDS in the United States: A Picture of Today’s Epidemic