Help the Tide Loads of Hope Effort

Remember way back when to the nightmare that was the Katrina disaster? Remember how people had no homes to return to and nowhere to live? They had no way to clean up either. Germs and disease and no way to do laundry or have clean clothes for the hundreds of thousands of people was enough for Tide to step up and find a way to help. Tide's Loads of Hope truck went to Camp Hope in the Metairie, LA area and washed well over 10,000 loads of laundry. If you can help support this effort, buy a Tide Vintage Tee.

To read more about this amazing program, click here.

Any program that helps in any person after a natural disaster is okay by me. Tide has partnered up with Feeding America to travel to disaster affected neighborhoods with the Tide Loads of Hope truck or vans, our free mobile laundry service. The Tide Loads of Hope truck has "32 high-effiency washers and dryers stationed on the truckCan do 300 wash and dry cycles a day - equal to one year's worth of laundry for a single family [and] will wash about 9,000 loads of laundry over a four-week period. The truck is useful during massive disasters where electricity is unavailable." The Tide Loads of Hope vans partner up with local laundromats and provides free laundry service at the same load rate as the Tide trucks.

So far, the Tide Loads of Hope "has washed more than 35,000 loads of laundry for over 20,000 families. Most importantly, the Tide Loads of Hope program means we're equipped to take action whenever and wherever there is a need in our country."

Who couldn't get behind that? Tide Loads of Hope can also be supported through the purchase of a Tide Vintage Tee. All profits go to support families affected by disaster.

The makers of Excedrin pulled a fast one

The below mentioned product was purchased by me for my personal use. I am not being monetarily paid for this review. I will give my honest opinion and thoughts regarding said product anyway.

vs

I am a tool and the makers of Excedrin can kiss my ass. Don't get me wrong. Excedrin is a rocking headache medicine. It does take away my headaches including some of my milder migraines which makes my prescription meds last that much longer.

However, I have been paying extra for YEARS, years people! I have paid extra for the Excedrin Migraine because they really work and they work fast, only to find out they are the exact same product as Extra Strength Excedrin.

If I won the lottery, this would probably not mean anything to me because money would be no issue. However, since I live in the real world, where I work and work hard for my money, budget is a word I am quite familiar with.

I have drastically cut back on certain household and grocery items like brand named items and I have been really paying attention to see where else I could shave off a few dollars. Every dollar counts right?

So, I need Excedrin the other day and Extra Strength is on sale, buy one, get one free. That is a screaming deal normally. I buy Excedrin Migraine because of the combination of Acetaminophen, Aspirin and caffeine which work together to kick butt on headaches. I grabbed a box of Extra Strength Excedrin and guess what? It has the same active ingredients!

So, for years and years and years, I have paid on average an extra two or three dollars a bottle for the Migraine product when in fact, I could have been paying much less FOR THE SAME DAMN THING called "Extra Strength." I supposed the inactive ingredients MIGHT be different, but if you look at the box, you will see the active ingredients are the exact same for Extra Strength and Migraine products. 250 mg of Acetaminophen, 250 mg Aspirin adn 65 mg of caffeine. The only difference I see is one is packaged in a pretty green box and the other is a pretty red box.

I'm pissed. I won't lie. I feel I've been duped by a product I used to trust.

EZ School Supplies

My kids start back to school August 11^th. While the end of summer brings some relief from boredom, it does bring other stresses like picking out new school clothes and getting all the school supplies they need before school starts. I end up with two lists, one for each class and each class has specific wants, needs and desires. I usually have to shop at least two stores to find it all. Frustrating and enough to make mom cranky on a hot Phoenix day.

I got an email a couple weeks ago for EZ School Supplies.com. I checked it out and the prices are reasonable. I’m not sure what impressed me more, the variety of supplies or the fact that they would ship it right to my door. No shopping for me on 115 degree days. The fact that my designated group receives a 10% donation from each order made from EZSS as a cash donation and can be used for any project at the school or can come in the form of additional supplies is purely a bonus.

“How to Participate”

Step 1.

Register Your School at EZSchoolSupplies.com!

Create a login name and password for your school. Have each teacher or grade level login and create a school supply list. Lists can be customized by grade or teacher and easily updated throughout the year.

Step 2.

Inform Parents and Staff of the New Service!

Download flyers, newsletters and a link from the EZSS website. Add the EZSS link and information to your school’s website. Include information in your school’s newsletters about EZSS. Distribute the EZSS information to the parents and students. Parents can easily order, with a few clicks of the mouse, their student’s required school supplies all year long.

Step 3.

School Supplies are Delivered to the Home or School!

Orders can be shipped to the School for FREE, or sent to the homes for convenience. Your support group receives a 10% donation from each order. The donation from EZSS is a cash donation and can be used for any project at the school or can come in the form of additional supplies.

Arizona Department of Health - new vaccine recommendations

I received an email the other day from the Arizona Immunization Program Office. I'll post it here verbatim because they do a better job at getting to the point than I would:

Dear Blogger,

The Arizona Department of Health Services would like your help to inform your readers about newly released meningitis and pertussis vaccine recommendations for adolescents. As a blogger, you can play an important role in spreading information about new requirements to Arizona parents. We ask that you help us by writing a blog post about adolescent vaccination recommendations. Below is some information about the new vaccine recommendations and requirements. This information can also be found at the websites for Arizona Department of Health Services or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thanks very much for your time and effort! We appreciate your help!

You can also spread the word by sending an e-card to other parents, to youth, or to Spanish-speaking parents.

Background Information

The Arizona Department of Health Services now requires children 11 years and older entering 6th grade to be vaccinated against meningitis and whooping cough if 5 years have passed since the last tetanus/diphtheria containing vaccine. The new requirement goes into effect September 1, 2008.

This requirement is a positive step toward protecting the health of pre-teens and teens, including your child. Meningococcal disease, or meningitis, is a serious bacterial infection that can lead to death or permanent disability within hours of first symptoms. Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a bacterial disease characterized by prolonged cough that can be complicated with pneumonia, rib fractures and other serious complications. Both diseases are contagious and can be very serious in young people; fortunately, both may be prevented with safe, effective vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Your child can receive the vaccines during a routine doctor’s visit. Your child can also receive any recommended childhood boosters or other adolescent vaccines, such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for girls.

FAQs

Why should my child receive these vaccines?

Meningococcal disease (meningitis) can be very serious, even deadly. The disease can progress rapidly and result in death in 48 hours or less. Even with antibiotic treatment, adolescents die in about 10% of cases. About 20% of survivors will have long-term disability such as loss of a limb, deafness, nervous system problems, or brain damage. The meningococcal vaccine can protect your child against meningitis!

Pertussis, or whooping cough, causes coughing fits that can last for several weeks or even months. Pertussis can be so severe that adolescents can miss school or become unable to participate in sports or other social activities. Parents may also have to miss work in order to take care of a sick child. A coughing adolescent can easily spread whooping cough to an infant. Infants have the most severe and sometimes fatal cases of pertussis. The required Tdap vaccine protects your child against pertussis, and provides protection against tetanus and diphtheria.

Are the vaccines safe?

Vaccines are safe and effective. Before any vaccine is licensed and made available to the public, it must be extensively studied and the FDA must approve it as safe and effective. Side effects of the vaccines are usually mild, such as a sore arm.

How do I pay for the vaccines?

If you have health insurance, all or most of the cost is usually covered. Your child may be eligible to get the vaccines free through the Vaccines for Children program (VFC) if they are Medicaid eligible, uninsured, American Indian or Alaska Native. Contact your local health department for vaccine information.