Even wonder how the studios make animated movies? If you do The Alchemy of Animation is a book you should read. This book explores the role of the directors, story artists, songwriters, and animators who each play role in the final product that we all see at the theater.  We get too see the digital techniques of filmmaking and behind-the-scenes work from many of the current Disney films.  We get to see scenes from Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, and Bolt.  We even get to see the stop-motion animation of Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach.  I knew that a lot of work went in behind the scenes to make these movies as great as they are, but until now, I really never understood HOW much work.  There is just so much stuff that goes on behind the scenes until now.  If you are interested in animation or how these blockbuster cartoons are done, then you need to check out The Alchemy of Animation.  It is definitely a great book to look at and read.

I am not a person who uses shaving gels or creams when I shave my legs in the shower. I use good old fashioned water. I am usually in hurry, and most of the stuff out there makes me break out in hives (the joys of being allergic to life itself).  I recently tried the All Natural Shaving Oil.  Yes, that little bottle will last you close to 100 shaves.  You only use 5 – 7 drops, so you do not need a lot.  It makes a little lather.  There is a couple things I noticed after using this to shave my legs.  First, it didn’t make me break out into hives.  Second, I didn’t need to moisturize my legs after shaving.  I also think it gave me a closer shave.  I also loved that there was no mess to clean up — no extra shaving cream to wipe away.  The other awesome thing is that this is a 1/2 oz bottle, so you can make it through airport security! 

I would definitely check out Pacific Shaving Company for all your shaving needs.  If it works this good on my legs, I can only imagine how great it would work on your face or elsewhere.

I love Lands End.  They have some of the greatest products.  They are priced great for the quality you get.  In case you don’t know, Lands End has more than just clothes.  I have a Lands End jacket (I did a review of it a while back), luggage, and slippers too!

Madison picked out these really cute kid slippers herself. I was leaning more toward some that looked like ice skates, and she was like “no mom, I like the penguins”, so as you see, she won that argument. We were in the market for some slippers for all of us for the basement. As you may know, we remodeled and put down tile on the floor.  However, that tile gets really, really, really cold, and it hasn’t gotten below 0 yet.  Also, my house is pretty much all hardwood floors.  Socks don’t work well, because everyone ends up slipping and sliding and falling all over.  Madison told me they were super warm and then makes me touch her sweaty feet when she shows me (the joys of being a mom).

Now, Mommy took care of herself too. I picked up a pair of these travel slippers.  They are extra flexible for easy packing and are super soft.  They also have a slip resistant outsole.  Since I go to quite a few conferences, these will come in really handy.  Also, I have been using them around the house.  These also save my feet from my ice cold floors (both upstairs and downstairs).  My husband is liking them since I am not sticking my ice cold feet on him anymore.

Another piece we have added to our travel arsenal is this wheeled duffel bag. Can I tell you how awesome it is? Without anything in it, it is small enough to fit under my bed. Space is it a premium in my house, so that is so helpful! It also comes in extremely helpful when we go up to visit my parents. We are trying to get 4 people in two tiny bedrooms, so space is limited there too!  It is made out of denier ballistic nylon which is resistant to tears, abrasion, stains, and moisture.  Basically, it wil take a lickin’ and still look great!  You can even get it monogrammed!

Now, all I know you want to know how to get your hands on this stuff, so I am having a giveaway. The winner gets to pick which item he/she wants! Here’s what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post. I want to know what you want and why!
2. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify.
3. Stumble this post. If you don’t know what Stumble Upon is, please read Lori’s post at Blogging Cents. She explains it extremely well.
4. Add this post to other social media sites like Digg, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, Reddit, Propeller, Etc. (1 entry for each social network).

For 5 additional entries,

1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
2. Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
3. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed
4. Add my badge to your sidebar:

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This giveaway will end on December 5 at 8:00 pm CST is available to US residents only. Good luck!

Ever hear of Olive Sandwiches? If not, you are missing some of the funniest things out there. They offer a broad line of retro-humor products for women of all ages. Seriously, there is something for everyone, and you don’t have to have a weird sense of humor like me to enjoy it (or even to find it funny).  I recently tried out two of their products (actually, at the same time too!).  First, I tried out the bath salts.  They smell good.  I also locked myself in the bathroom, so I could truly enjoy them and give an unbiased review (now, the hubby didn’t believe that, but I still locked myself in there).  You know you have a great bath salt when it makes you laugh at the packaging.  I included the image that I thought extremely funny.  For my bath, I tried out the brown sugar fig and truly enjoyed it.  While I was enjoying my bath without interruption, I also tried out some of Olive Sandwiches Chocolates.  These too have funny sayings on them like I taught Santa Everything He Knows and Visions of Sugar Daddies Danced In Her Head.  These organic chocolate bars taste awesome.  Now, you don’t have to eat them while you are in the tub like I did, but I got to enjoy some alone time with chocolate, relaxation, and humor.  Thank you Olive Sandwiches!

If you have anyone in on your Christmas shopping list that you don’t know what to get them, a Cloud 9 Living gift certificate is the perfect gift.  This is like no gift certificate that you have ever have given or received.  Instead of getting something, your person gets to chose an experience, and there are over 1,700 experiences to choose from using their gift certificate.  You can choose everything from dinner cruises to cooking classes to racing Nextel Cup Style Stockcars to hot air balloon rides.  There is truly something for everyone.  You can buy certificates as low as $40 all the way up to $100,000.  80% of the experiences are under $500 and 50% of experiences are under $200.  Cloud 9 Living has partnered with companies like Land Rover, BMW, and ESPN Golf School to ensure that you have an excellent experience.  Some more experiences you can pick from include the CSI Experience (now, my birthday is in March if anyone would like to get me that), drive a stockcar, walking food tours, helicopter tours, bull riding lessons, segway tours, chef for a day, trapeze lessons, etc.  Some of the VIP experiences include star in your own film, formula one racing, golf with a PGA Pro, and flying a Russion MIG.

If you want to give a gift that noone will forget, Cloud 9 Living is the way to go.  Instead of “stuff”, you are able to give an experience of a lifetime.