I liked to have rolled on the floor when Donnie sent me this. I just had to sharwith everyone.

What is the meaning of courage?


Is it to fight a bull in a bullfight?

Is it to drive a Formula One car?

Is it to fly a fighter in combat?

Is it to practice free falling parachuting?

Is it bungee jumping, white water rafting?

Is it to gamble your salary on a coin toss?

Is it to insult the doorman in a bar?

Is it to insult your boss?

Is it to go on a defective Ferris wheel?

B*** S***......... those are nothing!

THIS is COURAGE!!!

It is my big 30 this Saturday, and to celebrate I am going away all by myself. No kids. No hubs. Just me, a couple of good books, and of course my camera. I am all set for some rest and relaxation. See I have been given this awesome opportunity from Country Inn & Suites by Carlson. I am getting two nights at the Harrisburg, PA site in exchange for a review. So expect lots of pictures of the hotel and amenitites! And just so you know, I will not have a computer, cell phone, UPS, FedEx, USPS anywhere near me! LOL Okay, so the hotel has cmputers available for guests, but I am not going near it. Which will mean that Saturday's Weekly Winners post will be up on Monday. I don't think anyone would be to happy with me if I came in Sunday and had to work on the computer after being gone all weekend!

And would you believe that it is awfully close to Hershey? As my momma likes to tell everyone "Brandi will eat ANYTHING covered in chocolate", so you know I am headed to Hershey! And just so you know, I won't eat ANYTHING covered in chocolate, but I do have a certain affection for the wonderful melt in your mouth goodness.  I also hope to get up to Amish country, and visit a couple of musuems. Probably will not get it all done, but one can hope right?!

While I am thrilled to be given this opportunity to get some much needed me time, I also am facing the normal guilt. The girls especially are giving me a hard time about going away for the weekend. Donnie is not helping matters any. But I am going. I have turned into stressed-out-ready-to-blow-screaming-hollering-crazy-woman so I need this time. Any suggestions on how to get my family to understand that it has nothing to do with them, per se, it is more I NEED to just have a day of not hearing "Mommmmmmmm", of not having to worry about who peed in their pants, and maybe just maybe come back a little more appreciated?

Holidays are stressful! I mean seriously look at all the work we put into those few days a year. Whether it be Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even Mother's Day. We go through a lot of trouble to make those special and memorable in some way. And on top of that, you have all the cooking! Why not take a day to not worry about the next holiday rolling around and travel to a different place. Without even leaving your home! Destination Dinners provides that option.

I was recently sent my own Destination Dinner to try out, and let me tell you, the pictures on their website do not do this kit jutice. It is absolutley adorable! I was sent the Bulgogi or Fire Meat. It is a Korean meal that you serve straight from the grill. Other than marinating the meat, it only takes about 20 minutes to cook the meal and get it on the table. You get all the spices and stuff you need, and then you are onl left buying the meat and any fresh ingredients you need (meat, fresh herbs, ect.). The kit comes in this cute red box with a little tag on top telling you where you are traveling to. Inside you will find the instructions, ingredients, and your shopping list. Along with all of this is a neat little trivia Q & A that you can play while having a cup of tea. I loved how the instructios talked about the food and where it originated from. You also get recommendations on what to serv with it. The Bulgogi had a picture of Nori with it, so I picked some up. Believe it or not Savanna went nuts on the Nori. All of my kiddos loved the meat, and we had fun sitting on the floor around the coffee table.

Destination Dinners would make an excellent gift for the cook in your family also. I have already requested a couple more from my hubs for Christmas! I am dying to try the Chicken Garam Masala from Bangladesh. Or the Pad Thai! Yummy yummy. At just $25-$30 a kit (most kits serve 6-8 adults), you are getting the experience of another place right in your own home. There are so many different kits to try and deinations to travel too, that you will have a hard time picking just one. But to get you started the wonderful people at Destination Dinners are offering one reader the dinner kit of their choice! Yep, you have the chance to win a Destination Dinner kit!

Mandatory entry:
Head on over to the Destination Dinner website, and tell me which kit you would choose.

Optional entries:
Suscribe to Destination Dinner's newsletter
Follow this blog
Grab my button or add me to your blogroll
Suscribe to the feed
Blog about this giveaway linking back to both me and Destination Dinners for 5 entries
Become a Facebook Fan for 2 entries
Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (there is a nifty button at the top to help with this, and you can do it 2x a day)
Link this giveaway anywhere on the web (every link counts as one entry so you can get countless entries here...if you talk about it on Facebook, that is an entry!)

Giveaway will end on November 25th @ 11:59pm. Open to US only!

I am a huge Disney fan. That is one reason I had kids. You know, where I could sit back and watch Disney movies without seeming too weird! LOL! Just kidding. I really am a huge Disney fan though and when I started getting chances to review them for Disney, I was excited. Each time I bring you a new Disney movie here, it is one that we have watched. Sometimes once before the review, sometimes many many times. UP was one of those movies we watched over and over again.

The story starts out with a little boy who dreams of being an adventurer. His idol is discredited, and he still longs to travel and discover new things. He meets a little girl at an old abandoned house, and they become fast friends. Fall in love. Grow together. At one point they tried having children. I still have no clue if she was pregnant or not, but they never had children. You see them at the doctor's office and you know they have been told horrible news. As a mother, that one shot in the entire movie stood out to me more than anything. I know many women who have been told the heart wrenching news that they would never hold the child they longed for. And as a woman who didn't face that struggle, I will never trully understand. But that one scene was so touching. The couple stay close. They stay in love. And when she dies, his heartbreaks. He holds on to their home even though all around it there are big businesses going up. Until finally he is forced to leave his home. During this time, he meets a little boy who is Disney's equivalent of the boy scouts. He is trying to get his "helped an old person" badge. He ends up in the bottom of the house when it takes flight.

We laughed alot during the movie. Especially when Doug (the talking dog) was introduced, even more so when Alpha hada glitch with his voice (big doberman). We sighed and said NO! when the big bird (sorry can't remember her name) was caught while trying to get to her babies and feed them. And we rejoiced when it was all said and done. The little boy had his badge, plus the extra special Ellie badge.

And then we watched it again.

This is defintely a great idea for a stocking stuffer for your little adventurer. Or your big Disney fan. You will love UP!

It seems like it has been forever since I participated in the MckLinky Tuesday blog hop. But I am here today. This weeks theme is I get to ask a quesion, and you get to leave me an answer! How fun. Now thinking of a good question is the hard part.

What is one thing about November that you just love?!

Me, I would say it is my birthday, my husbands birthday, Thanksgiving, and the beautiful colors you see when you look outside (unless you live in the desert or something like that)! I know more than one thing, but hey it's my blog!

I wanted to let everyone know about a new place to get your blog design at. Debi from Who Says 8 Is Enough? has started Remembering Tuesday Designs. All designs are free and Debi will even do a header and button to match your new look. The only thing she asks it that you make a donation to the Tuesday Fionna Whitt Memoral Fund. She really has some beautiful designs over there, and you know a custom header/button./blog layout can run upwards of $200! So head on over and check them out. If you would like to see a sample of Debi's work you can look HERE.

I like to cook, but there are nights when it just seems impossible to find the time or energy to put together a meal from scratch. On nights like that, having some quick meal options on hand is a godsend. That is where Tyson comes in. I was recently sent coupons for free Tyson Heat 'N Eat Dinner Kits to try them out and let you know what I thought!

 Tyson provides Heat 'N Eat dinner meats like meatloaf, beef tips in gray, chicken medallions in white wine cream sauce, and a number of other options as well. All you need to do is pick one up at your local grocery store, take it home, and pop it in the microwave or oven. I recently posted a Not From Scratch meal on the recipe site where we tried meatloaf. My husband loved the meatloaf, and kept enough back for a meatloaf sammie for work the next day. We also tried out the Pork Roast. Both were really yummy, and very filling. With a family of 7 we did have to use two of the meals, but it was worth it for the 10 minute fix time, and quality time relaxing with the family! At only $6 a kit, you are saving some moolah too. Think of what it would cost to go out for a family of 4!

And if the price and convenience wasn't enough, Robin Miller (yes, that one from Food Network) has teamed up with Tyson to bring you some really yummy recipes. I have them posted on my recipe site so all you have to do is click on the name and go get the recipe!

Smothered Brisket Pizza
Pulled Pork in Biscuit Cups with Ranch Slaw
Pork Fried Rice
Philly Cheese Pot Roast Sandwiches with Mushrooms and Onions

All of these recipes should be fun to try and I hope you get a chance to try them all! In addition to some great recipes on the Tyson Embrace Dinner website, but you can also enter to win a number of prizes. Everything from Netflix rentals to cookware and gift cards! The contest is weekly and you can enter it every week for a new chance to win.

And thanks to some wonderful sponsors at Tyson Foods two lucky winners have the chance to win free coupons for Tyson Heat "N Eat Dinner Meats kits. You will win two coupons for free kits.

Mandatory entry:
Visit the Tyson Embrace Dinner site and tell me one other recipe that you would like to try out!

Optional entries:
Follow this blog
Grab my button or add me to your blogroll
Suscribe to the feed
Blog about this giveaway linking to both Tyson and myself for 5 entries
Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (can b done 2x a day)
Become a Facebook Fan of Five Monkies Review
Link this giveaway anywhere else on the web. Every place you link counts as one entry, so this means lots of entrees!

Giveaway will end on Novembe 24th @ 11:59 pm. Open to US only!

Hasbro is definitely one of the names you recognize and think of great games. Now you can think of them when you think about doing something good for others. Project Zambi is a new project from Hasbro that is dedicated to raising awareness of all the children who have lost their parents to AIDS n Africa and around the world. 15 million. That is how many children are parentless because of AIDS. Hasbro decided to try and do something about it, so they created the Project Zambi Fund, and it will support organizations that benefit AIDS orphans in Africa.

How can you help with the cause? Well, for one you can purchase the most adorable FurReal Friends toy ever! Hasbro has introduced Zambi the baby elephant. The ears and feet of Zambi have a pattern that was created by children in an African community. Hasbro is donating 50% of the net profits to the Project Zambi Fund (a minimum of $500,000). Zambi would mak a great christmas gift for any child, boy or girl!

We were sent Zambi to reiew and try out, and let me tell you...I love it! Zambi is soft and so adorable you can't help but fall in love with the toy. The girls oohed and ahhed over the pattern on Zambi's ears, and the boys went nuts when it moved! LOL

Zambi retails for $49.99 at your major retailers.

With this economy I think many of you are like me and a coupon clipper. But if you also suffer from my unorganization of the pocketbook syndrome (UPS for short), then you tend to lose all those valuable coupons in the abyss. By the time you find them they are torn, expired, and may have grown legs. So you toss them. And start the cycle over.

Well, we all can save ourselves of the cycle with GlowGirlFibers Coupon Organizers! I was fortunate enough to be sent a coupon organizer to review, and I picked out this great blue and brown fabric. The organizer comes in so many different colors that it is just so much fun trying to find the right one for you. It comes with several little dividers and peel-stick labels for everything from soups to nuts. Which makes it really easy to find that coupon you need or checking if you have a coupon for something. The constrction of the Coupon Organizer is super durable, and it is built in such a way that you can hang the organizer right on the buggy while you shop. Making it even easier to save that money!

If you would like to purchase your own coupon orgnizer from GlowGirlFibers, you can do so by heading over to the GlowGirl etsy page. They cost just $12.00. It will not take long before it will have paid for itself in saved coupons! Let me tell you though, you are some lucky monkies! GlowGirlFibers is giving one reader a coupon organizer in the color of their choice! Yay you!

Mandatory entry:
Visit GlowGirlFibers and tell me your favorite color/pattern!

Optioanl entries:
Be a Fan of GlowGirlFibers on Facebook!
Follow this blog
Grab my button or add me to your blogroll
Suscribe to the feed
Blog about this giveaway linking to both me and GlowGirlFibers for 5 entries
Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (can be done 2x a day)
Become a Facebook fan of Five Monkies
Link this giveaway anywhere on the web you want. You get one entry for every link so this is countless entries for you!

Giveaway will end on November 23rd @ 11:59 pm. Open to US only!