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Mom~E~Centric does all kinds of fun stuff to help children and families.  Normally I just hang out and add in my two cents every now and again.  This time, I had the chance to do my own good work with Champions for Kids..  I had the chance to choose a needy child, one that would appreciate the goodies.  So, I went with a little boy that we were delivering to at the YWCA.  We had some refurbished bikes that we were carrying over to a group of kids but I wanted to do something super duper.  So, after looking through all the Disney ornaments, stockings and stuff, I grabbed the candy and then I started getting it all together.

As you can see, there’s little to choose from for little boys:

I did find this small stocking and ornament.

This little ornament would make a great start but I needed more……this had to be super duper special.

I found some toys that would fit in a larger stocking if I could just find one….

Now, a bike, not a refurbished bike but a shiny new one…..

I added the toys to the big stocking, the ornament in the little stocking, the goys in the big stocking and I hung it on the handlebars of the new awesome bike.

We were off to deliver and, bam……lo and behold we found…..a Disney Christmas Tree to park the bike in front of for the little boy…….how ironic that is.

Take a close look, and if for some reason, these go missing, you know my wife has been snooping around there….check out the Disney stuff…You can read more about the Champions for Kids on their @Champsion4kids Twitter page as well as Champions for Kids on their Facebok page.  And you can see all the photos on the Google+ story

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  The choices and opinions are all my own.

My wife goes all out when she attempts something.  I normally prod her along with ideas and tech support and let her do the dirty work.  This time, I’m grabbing the rope and I’m going to find me a deserving little one who will just be as excited as the first snow of the season when this stocking is unveiled. 

Here’s how this is going to work, I’m working with Champions for Kids which you can find on Twitter @Champion4kids and on Facebook as Champions For Kids. 

We’ve completed our two big projects this Christmas but we have one stop left.  We will be making a run to the YWCA in Birmingham which serves the 26 shelters in Birmingham.  I’m going shopping for a really awesome Disney stocking, a super sized one with lots of Disney goodies to go inside.  This is going to be my project, my giving and I’m doing all the work. 

After our fun last weekend surprising the two families, it seems like the season is barreling in now quicker and quicker.  One day we were fretting boxes of stuff and no where to put it and the next day I’m making room for our own tree.  It just makes your heart feel good when you do something for someone else and my wife had been pushing me to do more and more.  This time, I’m doing this up big!

We are also going to be promoting a Champions for Kids Twitter party on December 15^th at 9:00 EST.  That’s going to be a lot of fun as well so don’t forget. 

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  Opinions, thoughts and items purchased or linked to are done by my own choice.

I didn’t get to shop alone this time so pardon me if there’s more food in my cart than actual car goods.  Something about shopping with family means I have to concentrate on feeding the masses instead of just taking car of cars.  Either way, I headed out to my local Walmart to shop for STP Products.

The STP Facebook page is offering a coupon when you ‘like’ the STP Facebook Page and you can keep up to date on any upcoming news and/or coupons by following STP on Twitter.

I was lucky enough to grab a bottle of that before my wife insisted that I stick to the plan.  The plan, bahumbug, what’s a plan?  I guess it’s what happens when women get involved in cars.  I went ahead and did my shopping…and I even let her take picture or two….

See, she barely let me squeeze my can of STP in the top of the buggy before she started loading it up…….I may or may not have been able to sneak one of these in the buggy when she wasn’t looking *shhhhhhhhhhhh*

At least I can treat an engine and restore some of the luster to my baby (the Mustang, it’s my baby, even if it’s old, it’s my baby).
You can see all the photos on my Google+ Page as well under Wayne Reason
Ok, where were we?  Oh, back to the STP Motor Treatment.

Take Note!

STP® Multipurpose Motor Treatment is safe for use in all gasoline and diesel engines. Add this product to your existing STP regimen to help keep all of your engines running at their best.

For Engines in Storage (which is what we are doing, putting the ATV up for the winter)

STP® Multipurpose Motor Treatment does not contain water absorbing alcohol like other fuel stabilizers and helps prevent many of the negative side effects that can happen when engines sit idle for long periods of time. It helps:

• Stabilize fuel
• Fight rust build up in fuel tank
• Prevent oxidative degradation in fuel
• Fight tough cold starts
• Prevent corrosion in the fuel line

For Engines in Use (my Mustang never gets too much TLC)

Great for the fuel system, crankcase and intake, STP® Multipurpose Motor Treatment helps:

• Clean engine deposits and fight friction
• Clean fuel injectors and intake valves
• Protect against viscosity build up
• Protect against crankcase sludge
• Prevent fuel line freeze by removing water
• Provide upper cylinder lubrication

So, coming up next for your informational purposes is the first video I did for the STP Motor Treatment.  And, as soon as this rain cuts loose, I’m going to show you how to winterize the ATV and maybe even give you a peek at the Mustang in action.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias  All Opinions are my own.

Ok, I’m not going to lie, I asked Mom~E~Centric to help me write this because, it simply isn’t the same story without it.   The reason is because I want to put a series of events in order and she is just better than me at doing that.  So, here’s how she says it played out.

First, this was Roll Tide Country and she wasn’t relenting.  Then I came along and she agreed to cheer for the Tide all the time and LSU except for when they were playing Alabama.  We called a truce and hung a flag of each kind on our porch.  The winner of the LSU-Alabama game owned the right to fly their flag higher.

Fast forward to giving birth to a kid that runs around yelling “Go Aubren”*** and she almost lost her composure.  Now that kid wasn’t taught any of this, he simply states that he “goes for Aubren all the time and LSU unless they are playing Aubren but never for Alabama”.

And a controversy was born.  Now, since she handles most of the clothing purchases around here, the boys have all kinds of Bama gear as does she.  I have one LSU hat but that’s about to change.  You see, not only do I have bragging rights for now since LSU beat Bama a couple of weeks ago, I’m on the prowl for the perfect LSU beat Bama Tshirt. 

Not only that, I now have the opportunity to get Jace, the all-Aubren fan but willing to cheer for LSU if he needs to a cute LSU outfit.  And, get this, he is cool with that.  After the LSU-Bama game where my wife and I cheered for our respective teams from opposite sides of the country, Jace came up to me and yelled, “Go Tigers!”!  I’ll be teaching him to say GEAUX Tigers soon.

Moving right along, here’s what I was given the chance to do.  I was asked to check out the MascotWear Nation and see if I could find something I liked.  Seriously that was the easiest task I’ve been given in a long time. 

Naturally I navigated to the LSU gear first….but I want to be fair and see what other mascots look like.  But, being conscious of the fact that Jace is an “Aubren” fan but would definitely take any opportunity to bug his mother, I know I can talk him into something cool from LSU.

Ok, so now I have to decide, which is the most LSU-like and which he will realistically wear.  I think that the hoodies is our best option.

This is going to be fun.  Jerri Ann gets packages all the time but she won’t be opening this one with the excitement that she grabs the others.  Ha!

Too bad…not big enough for Walker…..

If I were not a huge LSU fan and I was buying for a younger child, these make some awesome costumes…or mascot gear!

Once I had perused the whole site, I chose the LSU hoodie, size 5T and at $29.99, it’s a plain out steal.  Now, do I bite the bullet and get the other kid some more Alabama gear while I’m at it?  Maybe……Maybe not…..Oh shucks, it doesn’t come in his size…it’s going to be LSU all over this house……

The checkout process was a breeze…

I breezed through the check out process, and with great pride, I used the paypal that I know Jerri Ann will be looking at so she can see clearly that at least I bought for the kid when I bought LSU…..I’ll get my locally (ha)

What could be sweeter?

*** Aubren is Jace’s pronunciation, I know that’s not technically the correct spelling.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias  The opinions and the choice of gear was not influenced at all.

My wife is out of town and with that, I’m left to my own devices.  I decided that I would catch up on some good TV that she wouldn’t want to see if she were here.  I really don’t like it when she is gone but this time, I’m going to make the best of it.  My first decision, will I go to the theater alone or just go buy myself a movie? 

I made a few stops at various stores and took the boys to baseball lessons.  I knew they would be headed for my mother-in-laws as soon as we were home so I decided to go the route of buying myself a movie.  But, what movie? 

I already had Mission Impossible 1 and 2 so I was thinking 3 would make a nice addition.  First things first, I needed to make a Murphy USA run before I did anything.

Gas prices are coming down substantially and I’m glad.  It sure makes it easier on my wallet this way.

I had been asked to try out the new SCVNGR app so I grabbed my phone and headed to the Media store.  I downloaded the app but couldn’t find my store listed.  Apparently there are some scavenger hunt type things to do if the app has your location in it.  Mine wasn’t listed so I headed inside.

I grabbed some snacks.  I couldn’t resist a arm load of Cokes at 2 for $2.22.  I like my drinks out of bottles better than cans anyway and this was after all, my date night…alone.

I looked around and then paid and left.  My  next stop….Walmart!  I know the place is going to be crowded with the first weekend of the month ahead and I also knew that with big football games on tap, people were going to be shopping early.  I was right, the place was packed.

I headed through the store grabbing the odds and ends that I needed for home while Mom~E~Centric is gone.  I got some sandwich meat, some canned foods and some lunches for the boys for next week.  Next stop, find myself a movie…specifically Mission Impossible 3. 

That’s a lot of choices but I still decided to go with my first instinct…

Once back at home, I got the boys settled and I grabbed my snacks, my drinks and the remotes.  I hooked up my surround sound before crashing.  I had been meaning to get that hooked back up for months but since I was alone, why not go ahead.

Once that was finished, it was show time……..

My general thoughts on the movie, without giving away the good stuff are condensed below:

If you like slow paced and boring, predictable action movies with quiet soundtracks; the MI3 is definately NOT for you. lol.  Ethan Hunt is enticed (forced) out of retirement to save someone he trained. Oh, and to save his wife. Lots of explosions, high tech gadgets, hand-to-hand, and foot-to-face combat galore. With his highly trained crew assembled, the bad guys don’t stand a chance. But watch out, there are twists and turns around every corner. And not everybody is who you believe they are, or who they sound and look like.

Just to make sure everyone knows, this was a shop and date courtesy of a shopper based initiative with Collective Bias.  The opinions are all my own though.

I had my chance at resting and relaxing with my movie date with myself so it was time to turn to that never ending honey-do list that Mom~E~Centric leaves when she travels.  Indeed, she leaves no stone unturned.  Her first request was for me to rotate the tires on her truck.  I did that at work one evening.  Of course since her truck is our primary method of transportation, it requires careful maintenance.  I decided to go ahead and check tire pressure and look for leaks while I was working on them. 

Once that was done, I had to go shopping.  I headed to Murphy USA first, obviously, her truck had no gas in it when I started to drive it.  That’s nothing new, she hates to pump gas and leaves it for me often.  I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that gas prices were on the mend.

I went inside to grab snacks and pay for my gas….and decided to check out the STP and funnels while I was inside.  Yep, indeed, if I ever need to buy there I know they carry it as well.  But, I had a bucket list of items for home so I decided to head to Walmart.  I knew that was going to mean a fight of the weekend crowd but I had to get her list checked off.

I went inside for lunches for the kids, snacks for home, food to eat on while she is gone, milk, breakfast foods, stuff like that.  And, then, I headed over to the automotive section.  I browsed through the various engine treatments, oil treatments, oil and other maintenance products before making my decision.

Once I found the STP, it was an easy choice from there….

Seeing that on the cans made the choice easy. I’m not always the thrifty one in this family but this time…I’m not going broke.

I grabbed it up, added it to the buggy and headed out.  Once I get home, I’ll handle the actual use but I was mostly interested in getting out of that store. 

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias Opinions are my own though.

Ok everybody… Christmas is less than 60 days away.  It’s time to start getting ready for “Light-Up” day.  For the past few years I have been using motion and music in our outside light displays.  I found almost all the info i use on the Vixen Lights website.  I will be trying to update my progress this year as I get my hardware and software ready and put up.  If you’re not familiar with it, this is a computer software that flashes your lights to the music.

My car gets very little attention these days.  I was lucky though, the items I bought for my wife’s car are going to do double duty on mine.  Well some of them anyway.  We headed into Murphy Express on Friday night with the intentions of getting gasoline and hitting somewhere cheap and local for dinner.  Apparently my wife had other plans and she insisted I fill up her truck with gasoline.  She did of course have a road trip in mind.  That meant I needed to double check a few other things before we hit the road.

This wasn’t a big road trip, but definitely we weren’t going to stay local, I filled up the truck, $3.389 a gallon, with almost $50 of gas and headed inside. 

The first thing I had on my mind though, something to snack on, since dinner was going to be delayed.  I went in search of my favorite snacks, something for Walker and something for Mom~E~Centric. 

Ok, so the Dorito’s and the Jerky are mine, Mom~E~Centric opted for crackers and of course, Walker had to have some donuts.  I knew we were going to be late getting dinner but not that late.  We had to have drinks though….

This is definitely the best drink special and this makes it easy for Mom~E~Centric to get diet and caffeine free.

I have different tastes….as does Walker….so…for me…

and for Walker..

I even entertained some of these…

I even went so far as to look through the gift cards to see if there was one where we were headed…

Now, what I really needed was car stuff.  I had to replace a fuse in the truck a few weeks ago, so I headed directly over to that aisle in the store.

Got what I needed there and the decided that since she had put gas in her truck at a station that’s not real reliable (lest she run completely out) the other day, I went ahead and grabbed a can of injector cleaner.

I looked for some of the stuff to help with the gas tank but didn’t find it.  I moved on to getting some windshield wiper fluid because …..she uses that stuff like it’s no bodies business.

I will at least get to reap the benefits of some of this.  And, if you read my article on Cheap Gas Blog entitled Car Maintenance for Performance and Long Life you know I don’ t necessarily recommend purchasing a cheap tire gauge but in a situation like this, you get what you gotta get.

I checked out using my coupon to get one King Size Recee Cup Free when I purchased one, heck we need all kinds of snacks for traveling.  I headed outside to check a few things and install the fuses and wiper fluid before we left.  I wanted to check the brake fluid, transmission fluid and antifreeze before I purchased any of those.

Luckily, all was well there and we headed out…..the night concluded will a round of sushi and all was well with the world!

This shop/project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.”

What a better time to kick off the weekend with nothing but football.  College teams are hitting the field, the NFL is getting better prepared to do so and high school teams have been in action here for over a week.  You can take your Friday night football into Saturday college games and top it off with a Saturday night movie.  Game Time:  Tackling the Past is a sports movie that is a don’t miss. 

This big movie will hit the airways on Saturday night, September 3 at 8 PM EST on NBC.   The bottom line is a professional football player feels like he is living his dream. After all, what kid doesn’t dream of making it big in the professional world of sports.  But, true to form, reality sets in for this youngster as he has family troubles and then learns about career problems. 

Since his father is the high school football coach and there was a lot of controversy surrounding the small town when he left, this star is having troubles with all the circus surrounding his father, his father’s illness and even coping with his own troubles as a professional football player. 

Right on cue, his high school sweetheart shows up to help him get his confidence back and help him take over for his father.  Then, just like clockwork, another bit of drama is infused leaving this star wondering if he is meant to be a professional athlete or if he is better off in his hometown doing what he loves as a coach and not a player. 

Jake is the professional player and he is played by Ryan McPartin.  Add in Beau Bridges, Catherine Hicks, Josh Braaten, Lisa Varga, Katie Carr and Maxwell Perry Cotton and you’ve got a great crew making your weekend special.  You can go to the official Family Movie Night site and check out the movie premiere too.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Dad Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

I’m not a big dresser.  My wife almost fell on the floor when I said that aloud so maybe I should clarify…I work in a dirty job, I come home nasty and smelling bad.  I do clean up quite well, or at least I think so, even if that means a t-shirt and jeans.  However, every now and again, I try a little harder.  Yesterday was one of those times and luckily, Land’s End was on hand to help me.

My kids were in a drama at church and I had to break out the khaki pants and a “real” shirt.  Lucky for me, I had been chosen to receive a Polo shirt from Land’s End.

That’s a far cry from the grease and grime I bring home each week day.  Here’s a little Land’s End information about their Original Mesh Polo’s.

• Heftier, softer fabric – Lands’ End added weight to the fabric, while still making ensuring it stayed soft to the touch
• No-curl collar – After wash or wear, the polo collar lies flat under a blazer, sweater or on its own.
• True tennis tails – This polo detail helps keep the shirt tucked in, or gives it classic un-tucked style.
• And more – From stronger buttons to jersey-taped seams at the neck and shoulders, the new men’s Original Mesh Polo offers lasting quality and genuine value (at $29.95).

And my thoughts are this….great colors, easy breathing material and even I clean up well in this shirt.  You can add one of these to your Father’s Day gift and you will be the favorite of the party, just bet me.

There is way more to this than you have seen so far..you see, one lucky reader will get a great Polo Shirt from Land’s End as well.

Contest Information!

1. This contest starts at 2 PM CST on 6/13/2011 and will end at Noon, CST on Saturday, June 18, 2011.  The contest is open to U.S. Residents only unless otherwise specified.
2. The winner will be given 48 hours to reply with a mailing address and then another winner will be chosen.
3. The winner will be chosen via Random.org’s Random Integer Function
4. Most of my giveaways require one entry and I give tons of bonus entries. Each additional entry is always optional and EACH ONE MUST BE LEFT IN A SEPARATE comment to count.  If you don’t follow the giveaway rules I will just delete your comment.
5. I don’t like to devote posts to winners nor do I like to mention it in my posts.   My plan is to keep those posts in the pages area in the right sidebar, I will simply mark them closed with the information to identify to the winner in the post until the prizes have been claimed by the winner.  Please make sure jareason@gmail.com is white listed in your email so that you can receive information from me regarding contests

The Mandatory Entry:

The mandatory entry is to tell me why you would like to win a Land’s End Polo.

Extra Entries:

Extra Entries: Various Combos of this Can and Will be Used

1. 2 extra entries will be awarded for posting about this contest on your blog, you must return and leave a comment with the link to the exact urn of your post, not your general urn.  If you have multiple blogs, you can post about this contest once on each of your blogs and receive 5 extra entries for each blog.

2. 1 extra entry each will be awarded for following me on Twitter @Gadget Magnet .   If  you already follow me, leave your twitter name, if you are just following me, come back and leave your twitter name so I know to look for you so I can follow you back.

3.  1 extra entry each for tweeting about this contest with @Gadget Magnet and the link to this contest in your tweet.  You can do this a maximum of 5 times a day.  You must use @Gadget Magnet.

4.  1 extra entry for checking out the Facebook Page for Educate My Alabama. Facebook has made the rules such that I can’t ask you to “like” that page in order to gain points for a contest.  However, I’m asking you to take a look at it, if you feel inclined to like it, then by all means, please do.  If you don’t want to get involved and “like” the page, return here with something you learned from the page and leave it in the comment section for your extra entry.

8.  10 extra entries for voting for the following school on Parenting Magazine.  The school was completely demolished and this is a contest to get a little bit of money in their hands to work through the disaster recover. In case you get lost, you are looking for Hackle burg School entered by jareason.

Let’s get started!

Disclaimer: Gadget Magnet’s reviews and its author assume no liability for damages associated with any prizes awarded here or contents contained therein. Prizes lost in the mail or those not delivered by sponsors are not the responsibility of Gadget Magnet or its author. Prizes not claimed within two weeks of notification to the winner will have to be forfeited.

Entrants must be 18 years of age or older to enter, and entrants must follow state and local laws concerning sweepstakes.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Dad Central Consulting on behalf of Lands’ End and received a polo shirt to facilitate my review, one to giveaway, and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.